15. Grace

Chapter 15

Grace

B y the next morning, we'd pulled into Suva, Fiji. I put on comfortable walking shoes because I was going to do an audio self-guided tour of the town, ending at the museum and the botanical gardens. Mama was staying on the ship because she wasn't up to walking that far, but Micaela was not letting me out of her sight. Neither were Sebastian and Kazi. Sebastian was no problem, but the lion… was a problem.

I knelt in front of him. "You can't come with me today. They don't have lions here. You can't just roam around, you'll scare people."

Kazi gave me a look.

"You'll scare little kids," I warned him. Kids were Kazi's favorite kind of people.

He didn't look happy about that, but seemed determined, nonetheless, to scare a few kids in favor of keeping me alive. "It's illegal to bring you into Fiji. Do you want Sebastian to get into trouble?" I said, trying a different tack with him.

Kazi gazed at Sebastian, who was waiting patiently while I tried to convince the huge kitty cat that he couldn't come. Sebastian was not being at all helpful as he leaned against my door.

"We'll only be a couple hours and Sebastian and Micaela will be with me the whole time," I tried, as a last resort.

Now Kazi gazed thoughtfully at Sebastian, as if weighing whether he could protect me adequately.

Sebastian chuckled. "Don't push it, Kaz. I'll keep her safe. She nearly died last time because Rafe is an idiot. And obviously you or I would have detected someone out on her balcony. That's Micaela's fault."

I could hear Micaela's outraged "hey!" from the bathroom, and I laughed.

Kazi finally relented, but as we left the ship, I saw him head up to the top deck so he could keep an eye out for me. It made me feel ten feet tall to have a lion love me so much.

Fiji was gorgeous. The waters were super-clear and a beautiful turquoise. Palm trees and sand were everywhere I looked. I worried about Sebastian in the unrelenting sun, but he carried an umbrella with him, which he used to cover both of us, helping me to avoid the worst of the sun as well. I didn't burn easily, being olive skinned, but I still burned if I was going to be in direct sun for hours on end. Thankfully, I'd put some sunblock on before we'd gotten on the transfer boat.

Micaela was hanging back quite a bit, close enough to see me, but far enough away to give us some space and the illusion of privacy.

The tour was really interesting. It was a historical history tour, so I got to see a lot of the historical sights. There were also delightful open-air marketplaces that were filled with all kinds of treasures. I picked up a few shell necklaces and a gorgeous hand-carved sea turtle that made me think of the turtle that had saved me. Sebastian picked up a hand-carved dolphin from the same booth, and we carried our carvings with us as we walked to the museum.

"Thanks for coming with me," I said, making sure I held both handles of my bag securely in the grip of my fist. I didn't want to drop my carving and break it. "You must have done this tour a million times."

"I have not. I'm normally too busy during cruises, and I get little downtime."

He held out a hand and gently grabbed mine. I was still super-sore from the abuse my body had endured lately. Nothing was broken, fortunately, but I moved stiffly, and I was still taking ibuprofen around the clock for bruising and inflammation, so Sebastian continued to be very gentle with me.

I pondered the unusual start we'd had to dating each other. On the first date we'd kissed, then I'd pulled back, then Sebastian had wanted to give me the taking it slowly that I'd foolishly requested. In the interim, we'd become good friends, completely comfortable with one another, and preferring to spend the bulk of our free time with each other.

I knew it was sudden, but it also felt really comfortable. Like taking off your bra and putting on your pajamas at the end of a long, brutal day. Not that I was going to tell the vampire holding my hand that.

Ever since my harrowing few hours in the middle of the ocean, Sebastian seemed more than happy for us to move past just friends. I think I'd terrified him that night. The way he'd called my name and the tremors in his body had said it all. I would wake up sometimes and find him sitting up in his bed, reading, with his privacy curtain pulled open just enough so he could see me, like a man panicked to let the person he loved out of his sight.

I wondered when we would all go back to normal and cursed the still unfound woman under my breath for the thousandth time.

Obviously, we knew that the person who was attacking me was a person on the cruise, but I'd been wracking my mind for someone on the cruise who matched the appearance of the woman I'd seen on the platform at the zipline place, and I was coming up empty. Right now, they were searching through the records of those who'd disembarked that day, but it was a hefty list, and they didn't want to cause widespread panic on the ship by telling people a woman was onboard trying to kill another guest.

That was just a basic cruise no-no. Widespread panic with nowhere for people to go created all kinds of problems and injuries.

Sebastian and I found a bench in the botanical gardens and just sat and enjoyed the little pond they had there. It felt cooler among the plants, flowers and trees, and I appreciated the coolness as I tilted my face up to the slight breeze. The heat made me glad I was wearing a flirty cotton dress. Cotton breathed. In the distance, dark clouds grew on the horizon, heading our way.

"We'd better head back to the ship. It looks like a storm is coming." He nodded, and we started slowly making our way back, trying to squeeze out as much alone time as possible by walking at the pace of a turtle. To pass the time, we started playing have you ever. I figured it was a good game to play when you were desperate to get to know someone.

Sebastian held my hand and occasionally, he absently brought it to his lips to kiss. Did it make me weak in the knees that he was absently kissing my hand like a tender lover kissed the hand of the person he adored? Yes. Yes, it did.

We moved quickly through favorite movies, songs, and books. His were all things I'd never heard of, but he didn't take offense. "Have you ever been to Disneyland?" I asked.

"Of course. I even hugged Mickey Mouse."

Awww!

"What's your favorite Disney character?" Sebastian asked.

I made a face. "I don't think I can pick only one, but I tend to love robots and droids, so I'd say Baymax, Wall-E, R2D2, and C3PO, followed by Mickey and Minnie." I gave him a cheeky smile. "And that's really only the beginning of the madness. I'm kind of a Disney addict."

He nodded seriously, as if this were completely understandable and I didn't need some kind of ten-step detox program. "We need to visit Disneyland Paris together. I'll translate all the rides for you."

"You speak French?"

He chuckled and ran a callused finger over the sensitive skin on the top of my hand. "I speak... a few languages."

He seemed embarrassed, and I found this adorable. "Less than ten?"

He did the more or less thing with his hand and I gaped at him. "It's over ten, isn't it?" I guessed.

"Fourteen."

"Well, I'd be all set to travel the world with you," I said in faint amazement. "You could probably translate for me anywhere I cared to go."

We stopped as he gazed fondly down at me. "I'd be happy to translate for you anytime, Grace," he said tenderly.

Did men know that when they said sweet things like that, women wanted to tackle them down to the ground and kiss them senseless? I was so tempted to do just that, but we were already running perilously close to the time we were supposed to be on the ship, and I hadn't used my words like an adult yet and told Sebastian I was all in with him. I just kept trying to find a darkened corner and kiss his lips off. I felt like that would be pretty self-explanatory, but I knew I needed to have that adult conversation instead. He deserved that from me.

"We'd better hurry. I think we're supposed to be there in five minutes," I said, trying unsuccessfully to tow him behind me faster as I started double timing it to the ship.

"It's not like they're going to leave without me, angel."

Hmm. Good point.

I slowed, shivering a little at his sweet nickname for me and the way he wrapped an arm around my waist as we went up the gangplank to the ship.

The next day, Mama, Micaela, and I had found a quiet pub at midday and were playing hearts at a corner table. Later, I was going ashore alone, except for my guards, to do a thermal mud bath and then a natural hot spring, followed by a massage. Supposedly, it was fun and totally relaxing. And with all the stress I'd been under lately, I needed a little relaxation. My last attempts at a massage had not gone well at all.

Mama swept the card game, per usual, while I tried to pick up the pieces of my pride and Micaela argued that Mama had cheated. She hadn't. My mama was just a card shark.

A massive guy suddenly stood in front of me, holding out a somewhat crumpled flower. Micaela was already up and about to put the guy in a headlock, but I held her off with a wave of my hand. My sonar was telling me he was a good guy.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Lincoln. I wanted to give you this flower. I know you're with the vampire who owns the ship, but I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you are, and I thought... all ladies like flowers, right?" He looked genuinely confused on this point, and I smiled gently as I took the flower.

"Well, this lady likes flowers. Thank you so much."

He bobbed his head and strode off.

"You know he stole that flower from somewhere on the ship, right?" Micaela said, eying the guy like he was going to pull a gun out of his pants at any moment and take a shot at me.

"It could have been a flower arrangement from his room," Mama said, defending the guy. "Ours has one every day."

Micaela snorted. "You guys have a royal suite. Not many rooms get flower arrangements each day."

"It doesn't matter," I said. "It was a sweet gesture, and he was harmless." I turned to Mama. "We need to get going if we're going to make that comedy show tonight."

Mama pursed her lips. "Where's my loot for winning the game?"

Micaela put her hands on her hips. "We were playing for licorice, and you already stole all of mine."

Mama, who had a licorice rope sticking out of her mouth, grinned mischievously. "Wanna play poker tonight, Micaela?"

Micaela cracked up laughing.

Mama ditched me that night, pretending to be sick, and just as I was about to call her out on her mischief, Sebastian showed up. He presented each of the ladies of the suite a bouquet of colorful flowers, kissed Mama's cheek, and gently took my hand before leading me out the door.

"You both are devious," I said, shaking my head at how well they'd planned everything.

"You're precious to me, angel. I want to show you that. And I love being with you. I'm more worried that you're going to get sick of me."

Was it possible that my suave vampire had the tiniest bit of insecurity when it came to me?

I pulled him to a stop and turned him toward me. "You don't have to worry about that, Bash. I love being with you, too. As a matter of fact...I." I bit my lip, trying to gather my courage. "I really care about you, Sebastian. And I'm really tired of taking things slow."

Sebastian moved into my space, close enough for me to get a whiff of his heady cologne, which he always wore sparingly. He drew the hand he still held to his chest, placing it against his heart. I could feel it beating wildly, yet outwardly he was all intensity and calm. If he felt my chest right now, he would feel the same thing. And I didn't think I was anywhere near as outwardly calm as he was.

"What does that mean, Grace?"

I lowered my voice as he had, like we were two lovers whispering secrets to one another that no one else should hear. "It means... I think you're mine. And I think I'm yours. And I'm ready to stay on whatever ship you're on and continue to get to know you and date you. And then... one day, get married, and have children with the best person I know. With... the man that is quickly becoming my best friend. I want everything, Bash."

Sebastian gathered me in his arms, closed his eyes, and kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Grace." He nudged my face up to meet his intense eyes. "I know you're not quite there yet, and that's okay. I'm just so glad you're giving me the chance to prove to you how good we are together." He kissed my nose, then gave me a barely there kiss on my lips. "Thank you for being brave," he whispered. And then he backed me up against the wall and kissed me like the world was going to go up in flames tomorrow.

Something went up in flames.

But it wasn't the world.

When I came out of my kissing induced haze to realize my legs were wrapped around his waist like an anaconda, and that his arms and the wall behind me were holding the entirety of my weight, I blushed and groaned, thumping my head against his chest in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, mortified. "I think I lost control a little bit."

"I like it when you lose control," he whispered in my ear, making me shiver. And then, as though he didn't just slay me with sexiness, he let me slide down until I was on my own two feet again, then gently grasped my hand as we started toward the elevator.

"You'll like the comedy show, angel. Bruce's act is one of a kind."

I stared at him, I'm ashamed to say, still dazedly. How did he do that? Switch from sexy to chatty in the blink of an eye? I was still seeing stars from our kiss.

I laughed when I caught his smirk.

Apparently, my vampire liked me swooning from his kisses.

No problems here because I still couldn't see straight.