Waves of Change (World Above Water, Book 1) (11 page)

When he lifted his hand to her shoulder, he noticed a faint glow of bioluminescent light in various spots on his skin. The glowing areas extended up his arms, and they became symbols, pictographs in his native language. Alicia’s body began to mimic this glow with symbols that were the mirror images to his.
It’s done; we’re together before
Enki.

The act of completing the
Ber-yh-ahnaal
began to overwhelm him as grunts and moans were released between his licking and sucking. Alicia’s head began to thrash back and forth, and her speech became a mixture of incoherent words and keening cries. Daniel lifted his head as he felt the beginnings of her climax and gritted his teeth in an effort to last through her release.

Her muscles contracted and locked, her back remained arched, and her inner walls began to spasm rhythmically around him. Her mouth was open, but for a time no sound came out. She seemed to be in the midst of a silent scream as she gripped his forearms tight.

Seeing her this way and feeling what he did was too much, Daniel stopped holding back and allowed her sensations to bring him to his own release. He swore in his native tongue, and he continued to pump into her at a frenetic pace.

The symbols’ intensity increased during their orgasms, and they covered both of their bodies. As they began to calm, he looked down at Alicia while still inside her. He lifted a hand and traced a few of her symbols with his fingertips. “Beautiful.”

He watched as she stared at the symbols covering her arms and chest. He followed her gaze as she looked down to find more pictographs on her legs.
“We are bonded now.”

Alicia looked at him with wide eyes, and he could feel her disbelief.

“We will be able to speak this way as long as we are touching water or touching each other. You can communicate with me using your thoughts too. Don’t be afraid. Talk to me.”

He felt a great deal of uncertainty within her for several moments, and he could feel her inner dialogue as she wondered what else a Leuk Ahnal was capable of. He released a breath of relief when she smiled up at him. He couldn’t wait to hear the first thought from her.
“I love you so much, Daniel.”

His reaction was immediate, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
“I love you too, beautiful.”
He could feel himself pulse within her, and he groaned, knowing she could feel it too.

“Wow, I thought the refractory period would be longer than two to three minutes.”

Daniel brought his lips to her breasts and placed light kisses in response. “I guess the person who wrote that in your medical textbooks was not bonded to
you
.” He lifted her from the bench and held her securely as she wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her legs behind his back. After he turned the water off, he carried her out of the shower and into her bedroom where he proceeded to make love to her again.

He had waited for her; he wanted this closeness for so long, and now that he had the chance, he wouldn’t waste a second. He took her over and over, carrying her into every room of the house, even on the kitchen floor. The kitchen floor was a compromise because Alicia would not allow him to have her on the table or on the island.
“I’ll never let you go.”

Chapter 12

Alicia woke with a start, and squinted when the light of morning greeted her through her basement windows. “What time is it?”

“Hmm?” Daniel responded in a sleepy voice, and she could feel his deep relaxation. Without any other words, he pulled her closer and drifted back into sleep.

“Daniel, let me up! I need to shower and get to work.” Alicia struggled to free herself from his embrace and the tangle of their legs. Her actions were halted when she felt his arms close in a firm grip around her.

“No.” He opened his eyes and glared at her as if she’d committed a crime.

“No? What do you mean, no?” She lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head as she stared at him.
Why does he think he has a right to tell me I can’t go to work?

“I’m not trying to keep you from work, beautiful, but someone tried to kidnap you yesterday. You can’t just walk out of here like nothing happened. Can’t you take the day off while Chris and I figure out a way to have a few guards around you?”

His explanation calmed her, and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I have patients, surgery, important commitments… I can’t just take off from work. People’s lives are at stake here, not just my own.”

“You have to understand where I’m coming from, beautiful. Someone, not just anyone mind you, but someone from the nation of Ver-Rist Tokos tried to take you. I can’t ignore that.”

“Ver-Rist Tokos?”

“Let me explain.” Sitting up, Daniel held both of her hands in his as he prepared to give her the details.

“Danny, please. I can’t just leave my patients like this. I have to go to work today at the very least, while we figure out what’s going on.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“Going with me to the hospital?” It wasn’t strange for him to meet her at work to take her out to lunch or dinner, but he’d never visited for long periods of time.

“Mm-hmm, there is no way in the Mariana Trench I am leaving you alone when I know you aren’t safe.”

“Just how is this going to work? I have surgeries. You can’t just walk into the OR and hang out. There are protocols, and we don’t allow visitors in that space.”

“I won’t have to be in the OR. I just need to be in the hospital, preferably on the same floor as you. Come with me; I need to give you something.” Daniel stood up and offered his hand. When she took it, he led her up the stairs to the main level. After running upstairs and putting on his pants and undershirt, he ran out to his car. When he left, Alicia grabbed a robe from the bathroom on the first floor and took a seat at the kitchen island.

When he came back in, he joined her in the kitchen and took out a large glass and filled it with water from the sink before he set it on the counter behind her. “These are for you.” He offered his open palms and waited.

Alicia looked at the ring and earrings in Daniel’s hands and covered her mouth in surprise. “They’re beautiful!”

“I had them made by one of our jewelers the day after I met you. These gems and metal can hold a small amount of water that will never evaporate. As long as it’s touching your skin, I will be able to find you. We’ll also be able to speak with our thoughts.

“I know you remove your rings before surgery, so that’s why I had the earrings made too. The ring also converts to a pendant, so you can wear it on a chain while you work.”

Alicia stared in wonder as she looked at the designs. There were small diamonds on the ring, each graduating in size as they reached the center. The center stone was large, but not garish. It was an emerald-cut diamond that looked to be about four carats to her untrained eye. The earrings were lever backs with diamonds and emeralds the same color as Daniel’s eyes.

“The day I met you at the restaurant, I read your water. I knew you were the only woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, so I had these made. I based them on the things I learned from you when I touched you. I was hoping you would wear the ring as a symbol of our bond and…”

He paused, and she watched him try to gather himself before he spoke again.
He’s nervous. Why is he nervous?

“I was hoping you’d wear them as a symbol of our bond and as a symbol of me asking you to take my name.”

Alicia’s entire world seemed to stop. She held her body still and looked into his eyes. His pupils had dilated, and his irises were a bit deeper in color. She could almost feel his anticipation, and she blinked several times as if she could force herself to wake up. “Daniel, are you asking me what I think you are?”

He smiled and moved closer to her. “After we met, I knew I would never really be able to live my life if you weren’t in it. We’ve developed into more than I could have ever imagined, and I never want it to end. I only want it to grow.

“I want to wake up with you in my arms every day. I want to come home to you, and I want to be there to help you and take care of you when you need it. I want to share all of your hopes and dreams, and I want to create new ones with you. I want to leave you breathless so you know how I feel whenever I look at you. I want everything from you, with you.

“Dr. Alicia Renee Lewis, will you continue to bring light, joy, warmth, lust, and love into my world? Will you stand beside me for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me?”

Alicia could feel herself tremble, and her eyes welled up. She was about to speak when she saw the water from the glass float in midair and form words.

I will never take you for granted.

I will be there to catch you if you fall.

You will always hold my heart in your hands.

I need you.

I love you.

Please say yes, Alicia.

The last four words hung in the air, and Alicia closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing tight. “If I read all the books in the world, I don’t think I could find the words to describe the feelings I have for you that you create in me. I am so fortunate to know you, to have you as a part of my life. For months, I woke up with thoughts of you in my head, and I found you in my dreams. But I’m awake now, and you’re still here. So if you are asking me to spend the rest of my life by your side, there’s not a force on this planet strong enough to keep me from saying yes!”

When Daniel pulled back to look at her, she could see he too was in a battle to hold back the tears. He took her left hand and brought it to his lips. After several kisses, he slipped the ring onto her finger. Clasping his right hand with her left, he began to pull water from her body and his.

Alicia watched as small globes rose from both their hands. The two became one and Daniel lowered them into the ring. She looked on as the water was absorbed by the stones and metal, and she stared in wonder as the bioluminescent symbols reappeared on her finger. Daniel repeated the process with the earrings and placed them in her earlobes.

Reaching into his pants pocket, Daniel retrieved an intricately woven metal necklace and repeated the same process, adding both of their water to it. When he placed it around his neck, his chest glowed with the symbols.
“We’ll always be able to find each other now, beautiful. We’ll always be able to talk like this.”

Alicia smiled and kissed him with passion. It didn’t take long to lose herself in him, but in an instant, her high was shattered by panic. “I still don’t know what time it is!”

*

Daniel watched her run up the stairs and closed his eyes as her thoughts became a blur of:

“I’m late! I’ve got to shower. Mitral valve prolapse.”

He laughed and looked down to see the light from the symbols fade and disappear from his chest. A thought popped into his head, and he pulled his lips into a grin in response.

“Danny. Be serious, I am already late!” Alicia yelled down to him from the bathroom.

He strolled up the stairs with casual steps and stood in the doorway. He watched as she stood in front of the shower with a look of exasperation. It was all he could do to keep from laughing when she made a sweeping gesture toward the water droplets suspended in midair while raising an eyebrow. “Beautiful, if you think there is any way I would let you shower alone after last night, you are out of your gorgeous mind.”

He returned her stare with a quirked brow of his own. Before she could say anything else, he walked into the bathroom, removed his clothing, got into the shower, and extended his hand to her.

Alicia stood still for several moments looking back and forth between the levitating droplets and his outstretched hand. “This really is pretty cool, but I have to get ready.”

He stepped closer to her and slid her robe off. After helping her into the shower, he began to kiss her with deep and lustful abandon. When she moaned, he allowed the water to fall. He wanted her again, but there was something wrong. He could sense an ache within her, and his guilt was immediate. “You’re sore. I can just pleasure you.”

Daniel slowly dropped to one knee, trailing kisses as he descended. He watched the water travel over her brown skin, and he chased the racing rivulets with his tongue. In no time, Alicia’s hips began to grind against him, and her moans grew louder.

“Danny, please…” Her plea was soft and needy, a combination he had a hard time resisting, and he pulsed and throbbed as he felt her thoughts. She wanted him, and he wasn’t about to deny the needs of his
Dau-Hael
.

“I’ll go slowly.” He stood up and positioned himself at her entrance. His gaze was fixed on her face as he pushed into her in one long movement. Alicia released a long breath and gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer and erasing his earlier resistance.
She’s definitely going to be late.

Chapter 13

After Daniel and Alicia managed to leave the shower and have a quick breakfast, they took Daniel’s car and headed to the hospital. He took the opportunity to explain a few things, and he talked as he drove her to work. “I told you about the evolution of our people, so now I’ll tell you a bit more about our sovereignties. There are five nations of the Leuk Ahnal. We are members of the Pa lel nation. Our ruler, King Philip, is charged with protecting the
Halai-ah Kyindi Ehl
, our most sacred artifact.

“One of the other nations, the Ver-Rist Tokos, is at war with our people. Their ruler, King Davidus, seeks possession of the
Halai-ah Kyindi Ehl
. He believes he can manipulate its power to grant everyone in his nation the ability to not only manipulate the water of anyone in proximity but to also control anyone who touches water.”

“So not every Leuk Ahnal is able to manipulate the water of other people to control them?” Alicia was intrigued by this revelation and wanted to learn as much as she could.