by Karen Badger
“Bear, please let go of my arm. You’re hurting me,” Spencer complained.
Bear removed his hand from Spencer’s arm.
“What the hell was that all about?” Spencer asked.
“We don’t need you causing a stir, Red...or drawing attention in any way. I’m sorry if I was a little rough, but there’s too much at stake here for you to ruin it with your temper.”
“What makes you think I would ruin anything?”
Bear crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at her.
“Okay! Okay, I confess I was ready to rip that guy a new asshole, but he pissed me off. Mak hasn’t done anything to warrant those kinds of remarks.”
“She hasn’t done anything here, but her reputation does precede her, Red. She’s not innocent, you know, and we don’t need you giving anyone the impression that you are a pirate sympathizer.”
“Spencer!”
Spencer turned at the sound of someone calling her name and saw Leilani walking toward them.
“Frankie told me you were taking your purchases to your room, so when I realized Makenna’s ship was coming in, I thought I might still find you here.”
“I want to see her, Leilani. Correction—I need to see her.”
“I’m afraid that will have to wait. We can’t risk you being seen with her. We can’t risk any of us being seen with her. You’ll just have to wait until all of this is over,” Leilani explained.
“I agree,” Bear said.
“And besides, she will drop anchor out by the reef and stay there for at least the next day. She won’t move into the harbor until later. It will be too far for you to row out to...and you will draw too much attention to yourself if you try,” Leilani explained.
“Why would she not come directly into the harbor?” Spencer asked.
“She can’t risk anyone seeing what she has on board. She is beyond the reach of a telescope out there by the reef. I suspect it will be after dark before she drops anchor in the harbor. Now, Frankie is on her way to pick up a few produce items from the farmer’s market. I told her we’d meet her there. She should be just about finished, so I need you to come with me.”
Spencer turned to look toward the harbor. She felt the pained and heartsick expression on her own face.
Leilani squeezed her arm. “Monday is only two days away. Please be patient.”
Spencer rubbed her forehead and then dropped her hands to her sides. “Okay. Okay, I’ll try.” She turned to Bear. “I will be back tomorrow evening so I’ll be ready for work at dawn on Monday.”
Bear glanced at Leilani and then at Spencer. “I think you shouldn’t plan to come back to work until Tuesday. Things are going to get hectic around here on Monday.”
“I agree with Bear,” Leilani added. “Come on, Frankie is waiting.”
***
Spencer went to bed that night in the guest room of Leilani and Frankie’s suite. She lay there for hours, unable to get visions of Makaya from her mind. Finally, she got up and quietly made her way to the lanai where she sat in one of the chairs and lowered her head between her hands. She closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened to her since she woke up on the beach in Princeville.
Slowly during the past month, some of her memories had filtered in. She remembered what Makaya looked like and her heart knew without a doubt, that Makenna was really Makaya.
She knew Makaya was as good with a sword as she was—and maybe better. Makaya had defeated her in their match in the warehouse. She knew Makaya was a nurse, but she struggled to understand why she had given up nursing to become a pirate. She knew that she was in Hawai’i for a wedding, but she couldn’t remember whose wedding it was. She also knew that she and Makaya were engaged to be married. She distinctly remembered Makaya putting the flower behind her right ear when she asked her to marry her. Spencer knew all of this, but she still didn’t know who she was, and she didn’t know where she came from.
The most important thing Spencer knew was that she was head over heels in love with Makaya. What she felt for Makaya went well beyond love. She needed Makaya in her life. She craved her touch, the softness of her skin, her intellect. She was the air she breathed, and she knew that she would surely die if something happened to her. This was the reason Spencer felt she needed to be there on Monday. She needed to be there to protect the woman she loved. She would die for her if necessary.
Spencer’s head suddenly snapped up at the sound of a rustling noise nearby. She stood and looked around, but failed to see where the noise had come from. After a few moments, she relaxed and assumed it was caused by a bird. She turned around to go back into the room and then froze when a whisper called out her name. She whipped around quickly to see Makenna standing on the edge of the lanai.
Spencer’s legs threatened mutiny and she held on to the chair to remain erect. “Mak!” she whispered.
Makenna rushed toward her and they embraced and clung to one another in desperation. “I have missed you so much,” Makenna rasped.
Spencer took Makenna’s face between her palms and kissed her soundly. She then touched her forehead to Makenna’s. “Mak, is it safe for you to be here?”
“I couldn’t stay away. We dropped anchor in the harbor about an hour ago, and I needed to see you. Bear told me where you were.”
“Stay with me tonight.”
“I don’t have much time. I need to get back to the ship before daylight.”
Spencer nodded. “We can make that happen. Please, stay with me through the night. I need to hold you.”
“I will.”
Spencer took Makenna’s hand and quietly led her to her room. Once inside, she pushed Makenna up against the door and kissed her passionately.
“I need you, Spencer,” Makenna said.
Spencer took a small step backward and removed Makenna’s long leather jacket. She placed it on a nearby chair and unbuttoned Makenna’s blouse as Makenna unbuckled the belt holding her sword and it dropped noisily to the floor. Spencer winced and looked toward the adjoining wall to Leilani and Frankie’s room. She held a finger to her lips to indicate they needed to be quiet and then returned to her task of removing Makenna’s clothing.
Spencer pushed the blouse from Makenna’s shoulders and the leather trousers from her hips. She could barely control her trembling hands as they roamed across Makenna’s back and buttocks. She grasped two handfuls of Makenna’s backside and pulled her closer as she devoured her mouth.
“Make love to me, Spencer. I need to feel you,” Makenna whispered.
Spencer took Makenna’s hand and led her to the bed where she laid beside her and traced the outline of Makenna’s naked hip with her fingertips. “You are so beautiful,” she said.
Makenna tugged at Spencer’s shirt. “Take this off.”
Spencer pulled her shirt over her head, slipped her pants off and then lowered herself onto Makenna. Makenna spread her legs wide and allowed Spencer to lie between them. Spencer ground her abdomen into Makenna’s core while placing tender kisses on her neck. “By all that is sacred, I love you, Mak,” Spencer whispered.
Makenna’s eyes flew open and she fought back tears, but she didn’t respond.
Spencer shifted her weight to her knees and hovered above Makenna. She lowered her face to Makenna’s and kissed her tenderly. Her tongue traced Makenna’s lips before it dipped inside her mouth.
Makenna tilted her head to the side to allow Spencer better access to her throat. Spencer sucked on the sensitive skin of her neck and then moved to her breasts. Spencer teased Makenna mercilessly by spending an inordinate amount of time exploring the crescent moon tattoo above Makenna’s left breast with her tongue before she finally pulled the nipple into her mouth.
Makenna dug her fingers into Spencer’s back and pulled her closer. “My God. That feels so good.”
Spencer reached down and ran two fingers through Makenna’s folds, and shuddered when she realized how wet she was. She tried to contain her own passion as
she withdrew her hand and shifted her weight to hover above her. “I want to taste you, love,” she said.
Makenna encouraged her to do just that. She placed her hands on Spencer’s shoulders and gently applied pressure to guide her downward as Spencer slowly kissed her way down Makenna’s body.
Spencer did not want to rush the time she had with Makenna. She resisted her effort to move forward quickly. She took her time feasting on Makenna’s breasts and then slowly left a trail of nips and kisses down her stomach to her navel.
Makenna tried to push her lower. Spencer looked up at her. “Patience, my love,” she whispered.
Spencer moved next to the area between Makenna’s navel and hip. She ran her tongue in circles around her hip bone and then dipped into the crevice where her leg joined her abdomen.
Makenna’s need grew too great to contain. She sat up and pushed Spencer to her knees. “Spencer, I need you, and I need you now!”
Spencer pushed Makenna back down onto the bed and lowered herself between her legs. For the next several minutes, she feasted on Makenna’s essence.
Unable to control herself, Makenna moaned loudly as she raised her hips to meet Spencer’s mouth.
When Spencer sensed Makenna was near climax, she drove three fingers deep inside her. Makenna arched her hips and met Spencer’s thrusting rhythm. Before long, a low growl emerged from her throat and Spencer had to cover her mouth with her free hand to muffle the screams, as waves of orgasmic intensity flowed from the woman below her.
For a long time, Spencer savored the ripples of orgasmic spasms she felt running through Makenna until finally, they subsided and Makenna lay on the bed beside her like a rag doll. Spencer removed her fingers and gathered Makenna into her arms. She buried her face into the crook of Makenna’s neck. “I will love you forever, Makaya,” she said.
Makenna’s eyes flew open and tears ran freely down her face.
***
Leilani sat up quickly in bed. “What was that?” she said.
Frankie rolled to her side and opened her eyes. “Lei, what is it?” she asked.
“I heard a noise. A clunking noise, like someone dropped something.”
“I’m sure it’s just your imagination. Come back to sleep.”
“It wasn’t my imagination, Frankie.”
Leilani sat quietly in bed and strained to hear more. After several minutes, she gave up and lay down, but continued to listen. Frankie, in the meantime, went back to sleep.
Leilani forced herself to remain awake for as long as she could, but soon, she faded...that is, until a loud moan startled her awake again. She sat up and shook Frankie awake. “Frankie. Frankie, wake up.”
“Lei, please. I’m tired.”
“No. Wake up and listen.”
Frankie sat up in bed beside Leilani and they both strained to listen in the darkness. It didn’t take long for the muffled screams of passionate lovemaking to make themselves known.
***
Leilani sat in the dark common room and waited. Sometime before dawn, the door to Spencer’s room opened and a lone figure exited. She watched the figure tiptoe slowly toward the front door and reach for the door handle.
“That was a pretty stupid move, Makenna.”
Makenna jumped and she drew her sword.
“Put the sword away. You won’t need it.”
“Lei?” Makenna said tentatively.
“Yes.”
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“You are risking the mission by being here, Makenna.”
“I needed to see her.”
“You mean, you needed to fuck her. Yes...I heard you last night. You’re playing with fire, Makenna.”
Makenna walked toward Leilani’s voice, and stopped just short of her. “No, I’m giving us both what we needed.”
Leilani sighed audibly. “You know she wants to help on Monday.”
“No! I don’t want her anywhere near it,” Makenna said vehemently.
“Why? Are you afraid for her...or do you feel that way for selfish reasons?”
“Selfish reason? What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that keeping her away will make it easier for you to leave. You have a way of avoiding commitment, Makenna. What happens to Spencer when you leave?”
“I am not who she thinks I am, Lei. She will survive—just like the rest of us. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the ship before daylight.”
Chapter 25
After Makenna’s departure in the early hours of Sunday morning, Leilani was too roused to sleep, so she made a pot of coffee and sat in the dark waiting for the rest of the household to rise.
Spencer was the first to emerge. Before sunrise, she threw open the door to her room and darted into the common area. She looked around frantically.
“She’s gone,” Leilani said from where she sat in the dark. “She’s been gone for a few hours already.”
“Lei?”
Leilani lit the oil lamp on the table beside her chair. The room was immediately illuminated by a soft yellow glow. Leilani tilted her head to the side when she saw Spencer. “Ah, you might want to put some clothing on before we have this discussion.”
Spencer looked down at herself and realized she was naked. She abruptly turned around and went back into her room, only to reappear moments later with a robe on. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to be sorry about—except, that is, the visitor you had last night.”
Spencer put her hands on her hips. “I will never apologize for loving Mak,” she said.
“Nor would I expect you to, however, having her here was a pretty reckless move on both your parts.”
“I for one, am glad she came.”
“I suppose you are,” Leilani said. “I spoke with her before she left. She still insists that she doesn’t want you involved with this event tomorrow.”
“I don’t care what she insists on. This is my choice, not hers,” Spencer replied. “I want to know that she makes it through this unscathed, and I can help to make that happen.”
“She won’t like it one bit.”
“What is she going to do about it...kill me?” Spencer quipped sarcastically.
Lei raised her eyebrows.
Spencer frowned. “You can’t possibly think she’d do that, do you?”
“People have been motivated to do much worse for much less reward,” Leilani said.
“I don’t believe she’d ever harm me. She loves me.”
“Does she, Spencer? Has she told you she loves you?”
Spencer sat back in her chair and sulked.
“I can see by the look on your face that she has never said those words to you.”
“Makaya has told me repeatedly that she loves me,” Spencer insisted.
“Makaya has...but has Makenna?”
“She loves me. I know she does,” Spencer said pathetically.
“Spencer, we need to talk about what your plans are after tomorrow. As you know, Frankie and I are going back to Kauai sometime next week. In fact, we are packing up today and boarding Makenna’s ship tonight. My father is going to need help holding the constitutional monarchy together until something is done to change that. As an only child, that responsibility will fall on me. You, on the other hand, have a job here. You will need to decide whether to keep it or to move on.”
“I am going with Mak,” Spencer said adamantly.
“Does she know that?”
Spencer stood and paced the room.
“Spencer?” Leilani prompted.
“We haven’t talked about it, but that’s what I want to do,” Spencer said.
Leilani leaned forward in her chair. “Spencer, what do you think will happen when all of your memories return?”
“I don’t know. I had this discussion with Doc. I simply don’t know if I will suddenly return to the future, or stay here.”
“I want you to know that you will always have a support network with Frankie and me. If you
choose to return to Kauai, we will be there for you.”
***
By mid-day on Sunday, November thirtieth, Leilani and Frankie were packed and ready to go. Leilani arranged with Bear to transport their luggage to Makenna’s ship after dark.
While Frankie and Spencer stood on the dock waiting for Bear to collect their bags, Leilani went to the head of the Port Authority and recommended that a boat be sent out to the whaler to investigate the purpose of its return to the harbor. She volunteered her services as a representative of the Hawai’ian government, and suggested that Frankie go along in the event the purpose for their return was related to medical issues on board. It took little effort for Leilani to convince the authorities to carry out her suggestion, and by two that afternoon, she and Frankie were in a skiff and rowing toward Makenna’s ship.
After a teary goodbye, Spencer retrieved her looking glass from her room and sat at the end of the dock to watch the ship. She was still there several hours later, after darkness had fallen.
Spencer was busy watching the ship when she suddenly felt a soft object hit her leg. Startled, she reached for the gun on her hip and drew it.
“Whoa there. Take it easy. There’s no need to fire that thing. Now put it away before someone gets hurt.”
Spencer looked up to see Bear standing beside her. “You scared me,” she said.
“I thought that since you seem determined to sit here all night, that you might as well be warm, so I brought you a blanket.”
Spencer holstered her gun and then looked down at the object that had hit her leg. She picked the blanket up and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Thanks, Bear. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m about to take these bags out to the ship. Is there anything you’d like to send out with me?”
“Not unless you have a bag big enough for me to fit into,” she said in all seriousness.
Bear squeezed her shoulder. “I know this is hard, Red. Hopefully, things will get better after tomorrow.”