Over The Crescent Moon

by Karen Badger

  Chapter 18

  Roberts and Frankie were in the war room reviewing the schedule for their plan when Makenna came in.

  Frankie looked up from the map that was spread out on the table. “How’s Spencer?” she asked.

  “She’s sleeping. She went out as soon as you left. I’m a little concerned that she wasn’t given food and water when she was locked up. I’ll need to follow up on that.”

  “You don’t need to do that, Makenna. Spencer confessed to me that she threw the food back at the guard when he gave it to her. It’s her own damned fault that she’s dehydrated.”

  “What are the two of you doing?” Makenna asked.

  “Roberts and I were just discussing the schedule. I hope this thing with Spencer hasn’t put us behind.”

  “It hasn’t yet, but we need to talk about what to do with her. She is a variable I hadn’t planned on.”

  “What do you mean?” Frankie asked.

  Makenna didn’t answer right away. Instead she walked around the room and then stopped to address Roberts. “Would you mind leaving us alone? I have something I need to discuss with the doctor in private.”

  Roberts frowned but then tipped his hat. “As you wish. I’ll be at the helm if you need me.”

  Frankie watched the door close behind Roberts. “Makenna?” she said.

  Makenna placed her palms on the map table and leaned forward. “I don’t know what to do with Spencer. The way I see it, we can either keep her captive here, and maybe even recruit her for the cause, or we can put her back on shore and hope she doesn’t say anything. I don’t know if I can trust her. She’s an unknown quantity. Hell, I don’t even know how much she’ll be missed if she doesn’t go back ashore. That’s the main reason we pulled out of the harbor last night. I didn’t want anyone coming to look for her.”

  “She still doesn’t know about Lei and me being part of the insurgency. Maybe we should tell her and give her the option to join us,” Frankie suggested.

  “And if she refuses?”

  “Then we’ll have no option but to keep her on board until it’s over. We can’t risk her exposing us to anyone. On the other hand, if she agrees to join us, there’s a good possibility that she could be our eyes and ears on the docks if we put her back ashore.”

  Makenna nodded. “Okay. We’ll head back into the harbor tonight. It should be dark in a few hours, so we’ll slip into port after sunset. I’ll run the red flag up the pole in the morning as a signal for Lei to come to the ship.”

  ***

  Makenna returned to her room to find Spencer sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling her boots on. She closed the door and leaned against it. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “Tired, despite the fact that I’ve slept most of the day away.”

  “You’ve had a traumatic twenty-four hours. I’m sorry my men were so rough with you.”

  “Yeah, well, this whole month has been rough. I’ll just put my boots on and get out of your way.”

  “You’re not in my way, Spencer.”

  Spencer looked at her with sad eyes.

  “You’re breaking my heart with those puppy dog eyes. What’s troubling you?” Makenna asked.

  “I have this overwhelming feeling that my life has been turned upside down. I don’t know who I am, and I absolutely know I don’t belong here, but I’ll be damned if I know my way home.”

  Makenna walked across the room and sat on the bed beside her. “You are Spencer. Frankie told me you recalled that name from your memory.”

  “Yes, my name is Spencer—but Spencer what? All I’ve got is a first name...and visions of you.”

  “You have visions of me?”

  “Yes. You’ve come to me in my dreams. I know you, but yet I don’t. The depth of emotion this woman in my dreams evokes is overwhelming. It is you...but yet it’s not.”

  “How do you know it’s me?”

  “The woman who has appeared to me is beautiful...like you. She has the same face, same hair and same eyes, and she has a crescent moon tattoo above her left breast. She doesn’t dress quite like a sexy pirate like you do, but it is definitely you.”

  Makenna pulled the corner of her left collar open. “A crescent moon tattoo...like this one?” she asked.

  Spencer looked at the tattoo and wept. “Yes. Like that one.” She reached forward and traced the tattoo on Makenna breast. “And in my dreams, it has a trail of stars leading down to...” Spencer’s finger trailed over Makenna’s clothing to where she imagined the trail of stars ended.

  Makenna captured Spencer’s hand and placed it inside her blouse. She closed her eyes and tried to control her own ragged breath as she released the two remaining buttons that held her breast captive. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as Spencer lifted her breast from inside her blouse and exposed the trail of stars.

  Spencer looked directly into Makenna’s eyes for silent affirmation, which she received with a perceptible nod of the head. Slowly, she lowered her face to Makenna’s breast and inhaled the nipple into her mouth.

  Makenna’s head tilted backward, and she braced her arms behind her on the bed as a deep guttural moan erupted from her throat. “Spencer, by all that is sacred, I need more.”

  Spencer’s head snapped up and she looked at the passion on Makenna’s face. A vision flashed through her mind. Shower stall...soap...tattoo...stars...Spencer, I need more! Mak!

  Makenna opened her eyes. “Spencer. Please don’t stop,” she whispered.

  Spencer rose from the bed and stood between Makenna’s legs. She cupped Makenna’s face between her palms and kissed her passionately, then placed a trail of kisses along her jaw line and neck. Makenna’s head was once more tilted back and her eyes were closed. She leaned back on her hands.

  “I’ve missed you, Mak,” Spencer whispered.

  Makenna’s eyes flew open and she sat up. She pushed Spencer back. “What did you say?” she asked.

  Spencer took a step back. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  Makenna reached out for Spencer’s hand. “No. You didn’t hurt me. You said something. What was it?”

  Confusion clouded Spencer’s features. “I don’t remember.”

  Makenna inhaled deeply. “Spencer, I may not be who you think I am.”

  Spencer stepped forward and once again, took Makenna’s face between her palms. “You are the woman from my dreams. I know how she makes me feel, and I know how you make me feel.”

  Makenna put her hands on Spencer’s hips. “I don’t want to hurt you, Spencer. You need to go into this with your eyes wide open.”

  “Eyes opened or closed, my heart sees clearly.” Spencer kissed her tenderly. “Let me love, you, Makaya.”

  Makenna pulled back once more. “Spencer, you just called me Makaya.”

  Spencer’s eyes opened wide and then narrowed into slits as she contemplated Makenna’s words. “I did?”

  “Yes, you did. Spencer, despite my reputation, this isn’t something I take lightly. I can’t be a stand-in for someone else.”

  “But you’re not a stand-in. You’re Mak. You’re her…the woman who comes to me in my dreams. I swear you are.”

  “I want to be her, Spencer. Believe me I do. I have never met anyone who’s had such an immediate impact on me like you do. The moment you walked into this room this morning, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. I literally couldn’t breathe.”

  Spencer closed the distance between them one more time. She leaned toward Makenna, which caused her to lie back on the bed. Spencer hovered, supported by her hands on either side of Makenna’s shoulders. Her nose brushed Makenna’s cheek as she placed feather-light kisses on her lips. Her abdomen was pressed into the vee between Makenna’s legs. “Let me love you, Mak,” Spencer whispered hoarsely.

  Try as she might, Makenna could not control the desire she felt for the woman above her. She wrapped her arms around Spencer and then slipped her hands into the waistband of her trousers. She dug her fingers into S
pencer’s buttocks and pulled her closer as she thrust her breasts forward and leaned her head back.

  Spencer ground her abdomen into Makenna’s core and nipped gently at her neck.

  Makenna removed her hands and pushed gently at Spencer’s chest. Spencer immediately suspended herself on her elbows and looked into Makenna’s eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Makenna tugged at Spencer’s shirt. “Off with this. I want to feel your skin against mine.”

  Moments later, both had shed their clothing and they lay side by side on the bed, exploring one another’s bodies. At one point, Spencer flipped Makenna and left a trail of nips and kisses from Makenna’s neck, down her back and to the top of her buttocks.

  Out of the blue, Spencer chuckled. “I remember these,” she said.

  Makenna raised her head and tried to look over her shoulder. “What are you looking at?”

  Spencer grinned. “Your dimples. Here...and here.” Spencer placed a gentle kiss on the indentation above each butt cheek. “I always loved those dimples,” she added.

  Makenna rolled onto her back and invited Spencer to lay beside her. “Come here.” When Spencer complied, she traced her fingertips across Spencer’s brow and down the side of her cheek. “Spencer, you’ve never seen those dimples before. This is the first time we’ve made love.”

  “Not true. I have made love to you countless times. I can’t get enough of you, Mak. I want to make love to you through all eternity.”

  Spencer rolled on top of Makenna and kissed a trail from her neck to the triangle of hair above the center of her being...stopping at each breast along the way to nip and suck Makenna into a near frenzied state. By the time Spencer reached her final destination, Makenna was more than ready to receive her.

  The climax was intense and emotional and at the peak of ecstasy, the concept of oversoul rushed into Makenna’s mind, and she accepted that their souls were destined to meet and to be together again and again for all time and that perhaps...just perhaps, this was one of many encounters she and Spencer would make along the timeline of eternity.

  Spencer climbed back up the length of Makenna’s body and took Makenna into her arms as she cried. “I’ve got you, love. I’ve got you,” Spencer whispered again and again until the emotions subsided and Makenna returned to herself.

  Makenna traced Spencer’s lips with her fingertips. “That was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. Thank you.”

  Spencer smiled and kissed Makenna softly on the lips and then found herself on her back with Makenna straddling her hips.

  “My turn to love you,” Makenna said.

  ***

  Leilani Kanhanamoku was in attendance at the morning session of the island council meetings when it was interrupted by a messenger.

  “Forgive me for intruding, Kaukau Ali’i, but you asked me to inform you if the steam whaler returned to the harbor.”

  Leilani looked around the room. “Excuse me, e na luna.” She rose from the table and followed the messenger out of the room.

  “You say the ship has returned?”

  “Yes, Kaukau Ali’i.”

  “Did it raise a flag?”

  “A red flag.”

  “Thank you. You may go now.”

  Leilani returned to the meeting. “I’m afraid I must excuse myself from today’s meetings, e na luna. Something has come up that I need to attend to. Aloha.”

  Leilani flagged down a passing carriage and went immediately to the port. As the carriage approached the docks, she saw the whaler moored offshore. Relief immediately flooded her senses, knowing that Frankie was on that ship. The ship had left its mooring the day before without warning, and she had hardly slept the night for worrying.

  Leilani borrowed a skiff. Making sure she was unobserved, she surreptitiously rowed herself out to the ship. She tethered the small boat to the side of the ship and climbed the netting to the deck. Frankie was there to welcome her aboard.

  The first thing Leilani did was to take Frankie into her arms and hold her close. Tears ran freely down Leilani’s face. “By the gods, I missed you. I was so worried when I saw the ship had left. Please don’t ever leave like that again without letting me know.”

  Frankie wrapped her arms around Leilani’s waist. “Please don’t cry, love. I’m okay. We’re all okay. We had to leave unexpectedly. So much has happened in the past day. I have a lot to tell you, and we have more planning to do. Circumstances have changed.”

  Leilani held Frankie at an arm’s length. “What is this all about, Frankie?”

  “Come to our cabin and I’ll tell you all about it. Then we need to meet the others in the war room to discuss what to do.”

  ***

  Leilani stood by the cabin door with her arms spread wide. “You’re telling me that Red is on this ship? Are you seriously telling me that right now?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you, but before you get all angry with her about it, you need to know that it’s not her fault. She didn’t come here willingly.”

  “Explain yourself.”

  “She was working as a security guard on the dock, and several times a day, she watched this ship through a telescope. Well, you know how Makenna is. It didn’t take her long to notice the surveillance, and she sent some of the crew out to kidnap her. Now that she’s here, we don’t know what to do with her.”

  “Does she know you’re here, Frankie?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well that’s just great!” Leilani said sarcastically.

  “That couldn’t be helped either. She was injured during the kidnapping and she needed medical attention.”

  “Lovely. So I assume she knows our whole plan then?”

  “Not yet. That is an option, though.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “Makenna and I are at that point now. We don’t know what to do with her. We’re leaning toward telling her what’s going on and hope she agrees it’s the right thing to do, in which case, we could release her and recruit her to be our eyes and ears on the dock. The other option is to hold her hostage here until the whole thing is over.”

  “What does Makenna think of this?”

  “Well, judging by the fact that Red didn’t return to her cabin all night, I’d say Makenna wouldn’t mind keeping her around.”

  “For the love of Pele, don’t tell me they...”

  “Yes, I do believe they have.”

  Leilani pointed to the door. “That woman has been nothing but trouble since she came into our lives!”

  “Who are you talking about, Red or Makenna?”

  “Both!”

  “Oh, and by the way, Red’s real name is Spencer. The knock on the head that Makenna’s thugs gave her during the kidnapping shook that memory loose.”

  “Ahhhh!”

  ***

  Spencer sat in a chair in the middle of the war room and waited for Frankie and Leilani to speak.

  “Spencer, I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re having this meeting right now,” Leilani said.

  Spencer sat back and crossed one leg over the other. “Actually, no. I’m pretty sure I know why we’re here.”

  Leilani raised her eyebrow. “Okay, so why don’t you tell us.”

  “All of you are in cahoots with the insurgents. How close am I?” Spencer asked.

  Leilani looked at Makenna. “I assume you told her all about it during your little pillow fest last night?”

  Spencer lunged out of her chair and got into Leilani’s face. “You have no idea what happened between us last night. Say what you want to me, but I won’t have you disrespecting her. Am I making myself clear?”

  Makenna walked in between Spencer and Leilani. “Stop. There’s no need for saber rattling. Spencer, I don’t need you to defend me. I can take care of myself. And Lei, I agree with Spencer—a little respect would be a good thing. There is a lot at stake here. We need to come to an agreement we can all support. Understood?”

  Spencer sat dow
n again and crossed her arms.

  Leilani stood in front of Spencer. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have been disrespectful. Like Makenna said, there is a lot at stake here. Let me try again.

  “You are right. We are all involved in the insurgency. We believe Hawai’i is vulnerable, and in danger of being assimilated by one of many foreign governments. At this point, the offer on the table by the U.S. Government is an extension of the Reciprocity Treaty of eighteen seventy-five for seven more years in exchange for Pearl Harbor. At the end of those seven years, it would be an easy transition for the United States to just annex the Kingdom of Hawai’i.

  “From where Frankie, Makenna and I sit, the Hawai’ian people have the best chance of maintaining our customs under U.S. rule than under the rule of any other foreign country in the area. For us, it’s a win-win situation.”

  Spencer leaned forward in her seat. “Leilani, we had this discussion on the voyage between Kauai and O’ahu. If you remember right, I questioned why the monarchy was fighting it. To me, this treaty is a no-brainer. I agree with you. Why are we even having this discussion?”

  Frankie stepped forward. “We are having this discussion because what we are planning to do could ultimately be considered treason, and in order to achieve statehood for Hawai’i and stay out of jail for the rest of our lives, we need the full cooperation of everyone involved.”

  “How does your father feel about this, Leilani? Didn’t he send you to these island council meetings to try to stop an insurrection?” Spencer asked.

  Leilani’s shoulder’s fell in defeat. “It haunts me every day, Spencer. Papa is from the old school. He believes Hawai’i will survive forever as a monarchy. I just don’t see that happening. We are too small a nation. We have no military to speak of, other than what protection the U.S. provides. We would not survive a hostile military takeover from any country—including the United States. My thought is to more or less volunteer for a non-hostile annexation by the United States. I honestly think it’s what’s best for the Hawai’ian people…for my people.”