A Kiss For a Cure (7 page)

 “Diving here isn’t like real diving. Cai, pay attention.”

He dragged his eyes up from ogling Jordan’s body practically painted into the suit.

“I am paying attention,” he said, giving her an innocent smile. His thoughts were anything but, with her dressed in a skintight suit. It left little to the imagination about what she would look like naked, except for the important bits in between. “I’ve never been diving, though.”

She tugged the zipper on his suit up to his collarbone. She stared at his chest. As close as they were, he could sense her emotions. She ignored her attraction to him. Or tried to. Laying his hands over hers, trapping her hands against his chest, Cai leaned toward her.

“So what else should I do?”

Jordan scowled and pulled her hands away. Her cheeks were pink, and not from the warmth. “Be serious. The fish here aren’t big enough to be deadly, but I do have one white and a bull that are big enough to hurt a person. Have you at least gone spalking?”

Cai snorted. “Of course. My mother took all of us out for our first space walk.” He held his hands up and allowed her to put a harness and belt on him. The weight was awkward, but nothing designed for spalking was comfortable in gravity either.

“All of us?” She paused in the middle of fastening her own gear. “You have brothers and sisters?”

He nodded. “I have seven brothers and sisters. It’s an average size family by our standards. That’s not the same for you, though.”

She shook her head, her hands still planted on her hips. “No. Most people have one or two kids.”

He reached out and shoved the clasp for her belt together with a click. “And yet it’s humans who populate the universe.”

“Can’t argue with that.” She spun away from him and grabbed two sets of flippers from the wall. She gestured to the portal. “Come on. Oxygen tanks are in there.”

He let her go first. The view of her ass swaying as she moved was enough to make his wet suit uncomfortable. There was enough give to the fabric to make it damn uncomfortable if he started sporting a pipe.

Getting the rest of the gear on wasn’t difficult, but he enjoyed playing dumb. He could have easily situated his own tank and mask, but getting Jordan to put them on for him was more fun. By the time they were finally ready to dive, he was trying to be discreet about the quarter pipe. He hadn’t had sex in weeks, which for humans wasn’t saying much, but for his people was equal to a year. Finding release at his own hand might give him some pleasure, but nothing more. He missed that connection, the sharing of emotions, feeling what his partner felt. Then there were the smaller things. Holding someone while they slept. The feeling of fingers in his hair.

“Cai.” She snapped her fingers in his face. “Are you okay?”

Jordan stepped close, peering into his eyes as if he were one of the specimens she’d been examining earlier. She brushed her hand across his cheek and up to his forehead. Out of habit he leaned into the touch, drawing in more of her.

“Are you okay? Cai, I need you to tell me if you aren’t.” She lifted his arms until they touched the bare skin of her neck.

His hands curled around the base of her throat. Little wisps of her hair brushed his fingers. He swiped his thumbs up and down, feeling the muscles constrict as she swallowed. He didn’t need the feedback from her, but he wanted it.

“Cai, if I’m going to help you, you’ve got to talk to me.”

“Sorry, got carried away.” He was a devil, but he was okay with that. He’d chosen her over the alternative. Bending, he brushed light kisses across her lips. She still started with each touch. The thoughts bundled up with that were too complex for him to understand. He didn’t like their bitter taste though.

He wanted to groan when she leaned into him and parted her lips. He didn’t want to tarnish this kiss with the bitterness. It was one of the drawbacks.

Instead of thrusting his tongue into her mouth and satisfying them both, Cai tilted her head back, nibbled her jaw and down her throat. She gripped him in the same spot she did every other time. He was beginning to think his shoulders might be her favorite part of his anatomy.

The feedback changed, becoming spicy sweet. The flavors on his tongue were a new combination, but one he knew. Arousal. Lust. A sexual hunger.

Cai captured her mouth, stroking her with his tongue. Her mouth lightly constricted around him, as if she were unsure of what she was doing. Moaning his approval, he dropped a hand to her ass and pulled their lower bodies together. Rocking his hard cock against her abdomen felt like bliss.

Jordan gasped, her eyes fluttering open.

“Sh.” Cai gentled his hold on her, but kept her close.

Clearing her throat, Jordan tried to pull away. “We should get going.”

“Not yet. Do you want to tell me about it?”

“What?” Jordan’s head jerked back.

“I’m getting more from you.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek where the color was highest. “Something’s bothering you.”

“You’re reading my thoughts?” She jerked away, folding her arms over herself.

“No. It’s not like that. It’s strong emotions.”

“Can we talk about this later?”

Cai sighed. “Sure.”

Jordan took a deep breath. Cai could see the emotions flitting across her face as she pulled herself together. Sweetness lingered on the tip of his tongue, a testament to how she truly felt.

“Okay, let’s get in the water. We can figure this out later.”

Chapter 6

Cai backed off and put on his flippers. He followed Jordan through the portal and obeyed her instructions for priming his tank.

The door shut behind them, sealing the room against the water. The pressure began to change, squeezing him. Jordan had explained it was part of the anomaly of the space reef, and one of many unique factors holding the ecosystem together.

Water trickled into the room, rising to their ankles. It was hard to not be a little nervous. He’d never been submerged in this much water before, and despite Jordan’s reassurance that it was similar to spalking, it didn’t feel anything like space walking now.

Her eyes were owlishly large behind the goggles. She slapped his arm and gave him a thumbs-up. He echoed the gesture. There was an entire language of hand signals that went with diving. He understood about five of them.

The water continued to rise. It was colder than he’d been prepared for, and he shivered. Jordan sank below the surface, becoming an alien-looking, black blob. Bending his knees, Cai submerged himself. A full body shudder had him undulating. His jaw clenched against the biting cold.

Hands tugged on him, and his eyes focused on Jordan as she adjusted a strap on his harness.

Green lights along the edge flashed, increasing in speed, indicating the room had reached water capacity. An army of air bubbles raced up as the far wall crept upward.

A small fish the size of his hand, darted into the chamber. It didn’t appear bothered as it coasted between them before making a break for it.

She jerked her head to the opening, another complex hand signal accompanying the movements. The meaning was lost on him, but he still nodded.

She pushed out first, her flippers kicking up bubbles in her wake. Jordan made it appear effortless. He had no illusions about his own skill. Crouching, he propelled himself forward, but crashed into the side of the opening. His body went into a gentle spin, and he reacted as if he were spalking, spreading his limbs to slow the momentum.

Despite having been told there was little gravity, he’d been expecting to feel something. But, true to Jordan’s lecture, he couldn’t. Getting his movements under control, he turned himself around using his flippers and hands until he caught sight of her a short distance away watching him. He could imagine her chuckling at him. Grinning in his mask, he kicked gently, feeling the flow of water over the wet suit.

The minimal effort it took to get moving was startling. While he’d understood the ease by which the fish could move was one of the factors benefitting their survival, it was still strange to experience it.

Jordan made another gesture and kicked off, heading out across the reef.

She’d explained at length the details of the reef. Though he hadn’t understood half of what she’d said, the way she spoke about her job both entertained him and let him see into her life. What he did understand was that the reef was a long, oval shape which spread little year to year. Coral had grown over a giant asteroid and the remains of the ship that brought the fish here. They were heading to a bit of the reef in the middle that was the most active, where her nurse sharks patrolled.

The water had a deep blue color, and in the distance he could make out tiny pinpricks of light and space beyond. Large lamps anchored into the edge of the reef provided artificial sunlight and warmth. Jordan explained when the reef was first discovered, it was on the verge of collapsing from the cold and vitamin deficiencies. One of the first things installed in the reef were the huge lamps, which phased in and out, simulating night and day on the reef.

They passed below lamp one, not disturbing the school of brightly-colored fish hiding below it. As much as he wanted to pause and watch them, he couldn’t. Jordan was already moving faster than he was.

Doubling his effort, Cai shot through the water. Below him, the coral began to take on a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. There were some that were rounded, appearing more like a brain than a living rock. Others were softer, more plantlike in appearance. Darting in and among all of it were fish–small ones, great big ones and others which looked like butterflies. By the time she stopped at lamp six, his neck hurt from constantly glancing around.

Jordan floated in the water next to him. She grasped his arm and pointed below. A five-foot shark glided under them.

* * * *

Jordan wondered what Cai thought about her sharks. The male nurse shark was a player, as far as shark personalities were concerned. It was easy to get this one to interact on most days, but today she wasn’t interested in him.

The diving mask blocked all of Cai’s lower face, but his eyes were as big as a small planet.

Squeezing his arm, she gave him a shake to knock him out of whatever trance he’d fallen into. He shook his head, sending little air bubbles skittering in all directions. Without much gravity the bubbles were subject to the current, which was hard to get used to.

Cai gave her a thumbs-up. She suspected he’d forgotten half the signals. If they were doing anything besides observing, she’d be worried about his inability to communicate.

Gesturing away from the heart of the reef, she kicked her feet. He was moving with more grace through the water the longer they were submerged.

She suspected the shark pups would be on the outskirts, in the younger forest. Since it was daytime on the reef, the nurse sharks would be asleep. This was the best time of day for her to observe the health of the day-old pups.

In the water, among the fish, was her favorite place. If she could have grown gills and transplanted herself, she would.

Stalks of kelp rose haphazardly from the reef floor. The older kelp was close to twenty feet in height and stretched in every direction. Jordan kept them on the outskirts of the kelp forest. Her bull sharks liked to hide in the kelp and were aggressive ambush hunters. She didn’t want to make them targets if she could keep from it. Their wet suits would protect them from the teeth, but not from the crushing force of the bites.

Finally they came to the area she expected would be the most likely place for the pups to have taken up residence. She slowed her swim and began moving in a large circle, watching the knee-high kelp for little dorsal fins. In the end, she didn’t see them first.

Cai slapped her thigh, pointing at an outcrop of rock. There, in the relative shelter of the reef, were her shark pups. She didn’t want to disturb them. They kept their distance while she counted to make sure they were all there. She’d brought a few scanners with her, which she used to gather data from the tags she’d put on the pups the day before. The data was priceless, considering it would be the first for young sharks on the reef.

If it had been up to Jordan, they would have settled on the reef bed and watched the pups for hours. But the oxygen levels in the tanks were getting low and she didn’t want to rush their return trip.

Jordan gestured back to the Center and allowed Cai to take the lead. She followed him from Lamp Six to Two, taking time to stop so he could admire some of the more colorful inhabitants and examine the stationary coral and plants. What she wouldn’t have given to have his ability, to sense his joy and wonder.

Pausing, she watched as he reached out to stroke an inquisitive fish. Having what Cai had was special. He’d never be alone unless he chose to be. She’d been so busy feeling sorry for him, she hadn’t paused to consider how good he had it, but still his need could be misused, and he could be taken advantage of. For that reason, she wanted to give him what she would never have. Real freedom.

He pushed up from the reef floor and rose in front of her. The skin around his eyes crinkled. He gave her a thumbs-up and jerked his head toward the Center. Nodding, she kicked her flippers and propelled herself through the water.

The chill from the water had settled in her bones. Usually she was active, moving around a lot when she was on a dive. Not so much this time, which allowed the cold to seep into her muscles, making the first few kicks difficult. She exaggerated her motions, working the blood back into her limbs.

Cai jerked on her arm, his other hand waving wildly.

Twisting around, Jordan searched for what alarmed him.

A white shark. And not just any shark. It was Zeus.

Her whites were still juveniles, but big enough to do serious damage to soft tissue. The biggest, a nine-foot-long bull, circled them.

Latching onto Cai’s arm, she pulled him down to the reef bed and made herself as small as possible, bringing her knees in to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Cai did his best to follow her example, but he was so much bigger than her.