33. Beach Party
Chapter 33
Beach Party
Penthouse suite—Four days later
C erissa rolled sleepily out of bed. The ding on her phone meant the hotel had delivered breakfast. She threw on a wrap, found the coffee carafe on the kitchen’s bar, and poured a generous cup, adding cream to top it off. The first heavenly sip brought her wide awake.
After the attack on the cruise ship, the rest of the honeymoon had been uneventful and wonderfully relaxing. There was plenty of sightseeing to do at night, and with the help of the Hawaiian community, they’d toured a pineapple farm, strolled through the gorgeous botanical gardens on the North Shore, and visited some of the historical monuments from World War II.
Sunrise was three hours away, and it was still solid dark outside. Cerissa knocked on the door to Karen’s room. “Rise and shine, sleepyhead.”
She heard shuffling behind the door, which then slowly opened. “Why did I agree to this?”
“You can sleep in the RV. Do you have your overnight bag packed?”
“Just a few more things to throw in. Give me five minutes to change and all.”
“Breakfast is here. Make yourself a plate to go. The guys are already downstairs meeting with the Honolulu chief.”
The Hawaiian community had adopted the traditional tribal government designations for their leaders, and the community’s high chief, Kai Aukai, had invited them to surf on the south shore and arranged sleeping accommodations.
When Cerissa got downstairs, she could feel the excitement pouring off Henry. He gave her a smooch and made the introductions.
Kai shook her hand. She’d read up on the high chief. He was a native Hawaiian and had been turned vampire in the late 1700s, presumably by a vampire who stowed-away on a European ship, since none existed on the islands prior to Kai. He had short wavy black hair, dark skin, and wore only tropical board shorts and a coco bead necklace.
“Thank you again for arranging the RV,” Henry said. “As soon as the sun sets tonight, we can start our lessons. The surf forecast is excellent for beginners.”
“Even better, Jill Hendrix is joining us.” The way Kai spoke and gripped Henry’s arm, he seemed excited about having out-of-town guests. “She’s an expert instructor—you guys would do well to spend time with her.”
“We will consider taking advantage of Jill’s expertise,” Henry said with a straight face.
Cerissa looked at him questioningly. Seeing Jill again would be awkward. He just shrugged.
Kai walked up the two steps into a recreational vehicle almost the size of a bus. “This is yours for the party. Come on in, bring your bags. There are two beds back here for your mates, and if you don’t feel like burying yourself in the sand, you can always sleep here.” He touched what looked like a solid panel on the support beneath one bed. It opened, apparently kept in place by a hidden set of hinges. “You can crawl in and lock it from the inside, and it’s light-proof.”
“Ingenious.” Rolf leaned over, running his hand across the woodwork. “You can’t tell that’s a compartment.”
Kai tilted his head, accepting the compliment. “I enjoy working with wood, so I’ve installed these modifications on all of our RVs.”
Karen arrived and claimed a bed, rolling on her side and pulling the blanket over her. “If you don’t mind, I’m going back to sleep.”
“No problem,” Kai replied. “A lot of the mates are already asleep in RVs at the beach. They’ll set up camp in the morning and keep an eye on the area for us.”
Cerissa stayed awake for the ride. If she got a couple of hours’ sleep after Henry tucked in for the day, it would be plenty for her.
The mortal driver was friendly, and he and Kai gave a running commentary on the areas they passed by. When they pulled into the parking lot at Ehukai Beach on the North Shore, ten RVs already filled most of the spaces. Someone ran out and removed an orange cone from the last space, and the driver pulled their RV into it.
“They have a fire ring going,” Kai said. “Come on, and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
As they strolled into the firelight, she spotted Jill.
“Hi, Henry. Hi, Rolf,” Jill called out. “And Cerissa. Is Karen with you?”
Cerissa waved. “Yes, we’re all here.”
Kai looked surprised. “So, you know each other?”
Cerissa nodded. “We met on the cruise ship.”
“Really? Jill didn’t mention it.”
“Perhaps it slipped her mind.” Cerissa wrapped her hand around Henry’s. They all sat on the sand, circling the fire, and Jill walked off with an indifferent shrug.
“Strange, calling us over, then walking away,” Cerissa whispered.
Henry shrugged. “I can’t say I’m shocked by it.”
When sunrise approached, the vampires who were sleeping in the sand disappeared to go find some place private to dig in. Cerissa returned to the RV, along with Henry and Rolf. She changed into PJs in the small bathroom—a shorts-and-t-shirt set—as the guys each unpacked a light-proof outfit that was a cross between a sleeping bag and hooded pajamas, except they could zip the hoods closed to cover their faces completely. Rolf vanished into his compartment.
Cerissa waited for Henry to enter the enclosure beneath her bed, then crawled in after him. “You won’t go to sleep for another fifteen minutes. I’d like to cuddle.”
“Very well, but you will leave before I fall asleep.”
“Of course. And I’ll make sure you’re zipped in and the door is tightly sealed.” She snuggled next to him and spoke quietly. “You’ve never surfed?”
“Never had the opportunity. I lived mostly inland. I was rarely close enough to the ocean to go surfing at night. So I never tried.”
“I love learning new things about you. And this is like having a slumber party, with Karen right there and Rolf below her.”
Henry hugged her tightly. “You have a strange perspective at times. Now be quiet, or you will disturb the others.”
Cerissa rested her head on Henry’s shoulder, curled her leg over him, and enjoyed cuddling. Sex was fabulous, but sometimes she just savored being physically near him. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her back.
Before the sun rose, she zipped his hood closed, crawled out of the space, latched the door shut, and climbed into her own bed.
By noon, she and Karen joined the other mortals for an all-day beach party. When they tired of the sun, they retreated into the RV for shade and air conditioning. Kai had made sure the kitchen was fully stocked, so they weren’t lacking for drink choices. Dinner was an outdoor barbecue.
Cerissa had donor blood warmed and ready for the guys when they woke. Kai had placed bags in the refrigerator. She served them that, rather than clone blood, to vary their diet because of the clotting problem.
“Come on, boys, don’t be laggards,” Kai called out from the door of the RV. “I have your boards here. Jill wants to get the lessons underway.”
Cerissa accepted a kiss from Henry before he headed for the waves. He’d shaved his face and lopped off his ponytail, trimming his hair short and spiky so wet strands wouldn’t block his vision. By tomorrow night, the tail would grow back.
The sun had set less than ten minutes ago, and dusk still lit the beach. She decided not to try surfing. The temptation to compete with the vampires on the high breakers was too great, and her physical abilities might prompt them to question her true nature.
Karen took one look at the size of the pounding surf and groaned. “No way am I going out there.”
Empty chairs circled the firepit. Cerissa grabbed one, throwing a towel over her legs, then poured a glass of wine. Karen joined her.
Cerissa leaned back and adjusted her vision to enjoy the show. Watching Henry surf? Wow . His abs and pecs tightened as he struggled to stay upright on the board, the cut muscles looking sexy even at a distance. His broad shoulders hunched slightly, his knees bent with movement, and his narrow hips thrust to adjust his balance.
The waves rose at least twenty feet, curled, and crashed. Cerissa took a sip from her wineglass. After a while, Karen grew tired and said her goodnights, returning to her sleeping berth on the bus. Not feeling sleepy, Cerissa sat with the fire beside her, the rocks ringing it emitting a comforting warmth, and the black, churning ocean stretching in front.
Most of the vampires rode the tall whitecaps like they were two-footers, but this was Henry’s first time. She watched closely when he tumbled off the board and got caught in the wash cycle, concerned until his head popped out of the water. He wasn’t bad for a beginner.
Rolf surfed like he’d had prior experience. She could see Jill giving pointers to both of them, but Rolf was the superior surfer. No way would she voluntarily tell Henry that. Honesty was important, but some observations were best kept to oneself.
The wind loosened wisps from her braid, and she brushed the strands back behind her ear. As the night deepened, the light ocean breeze grew gusty. She tucked the towel tight around her legs to keep it from blowing away.
She guessed the surfing lesson was over when Jill rode her board to shore and walked out of the surf, water dripping from the ends of her blond hair, her bathing suit plastered to her skin and her surfboard stowed under her arm. Dry sand kicked up as she jogged onto the beach. A vampire Cerissa hadn’t met yet strolled by, intersecting Jill’s path, and the two stopped to exchange words.
Cerissa could have extended her hearing to listen, but decided not to invade Jill’s privacy, despite the way the woman had invaded Henry’s space by propositioning him.
The stranger who spoke to Jill hadn’t been surfing and wasn’t dressed for the water. She had long, dark hair, curled and bouncing around her shoulder blades in the wind, white skin with a large, straight nose, was maybe five feet tall, and she wore a knee-length tunic with tight silk pants underneath. A shawl wrapped over her shoulders. When her hands moved, her fingernails reflected the firelight. The stranger stretched to kiss Jill’s forehead, and Jill bent to receive the benediction.
Something about the stranger looked familiar.
Their conversation ended, and the woman stepped barefoot to where Cerissa sat and took the empty chair Karen had left behind.
What the hell? Cerissa side-eyed the woman. It was unusual for a vampire to approach someone else’s mate, especially when they hadn’t been introduced. At least, she didn’t recall meeting the woman before. “You’re friends with Jill?” Cerissa asked.
“I’m friends with all the unaffiliated.”
Up close, Cerissa could see concern in the stranger’s brilliant blue eyes.
“They are all my adopted children. I don’t agree with the North American treaty’s deadline. Killing the unaffiliated is an abomination.”
“But if vampires don’t rein in their reproduction, they’ll run out of donor blood—”
“You’re taking care of that, are you not?”
Cerissa choked and stammered, fear washing through her. She glanced around, but Henry was still riding the waves. No weapons were within reach. Stalling was her only option.
“Y-you know who I am?”