What the Tide Brings

Chapter 21 - Kaelin - A Painful Thought

The loud roar of the motorcycle engine caught Kaelin's attention, distracting her from her vegetable chopping duties. She wondered if Liam had left her alone again; he was probably upset with her for what she said. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her finger. She looked down to see the line of blue blood seeping from a nick in her skin. She looked around to make sure there was no one to witness her oddly colored blood. Satisfied that she hadn't been seen, she hurried to the sink to douse her hand in refreshing water. Drawing power from the water, she healed the tiny cut, with little effort.

After drying her hand on a towel, she abandoned her assigned task to go find out what was going on.

She found Cynthia in the living room, fawning over a tall, dark-haired young man. He resembled Liam quite a bit. They had the same cheekbones and strong jaw, but where Liam's eyes were a lovely shade of brown, his were blue.

The stranger caught sight of her and flashed a mouthful of pearly teeth. He smiled wider than anyone she had seen thus far on land. "Who are you?" His voice was a deeper timbre than Liam's, and she detected an undertone of excitement.

Admittedly, after what happened with Liam, it was nice to have someone find her desirable.

Cynthia took the lead. "Sweetheart, this is Liam's older brother, Andrew."

"Of course." Kaelin felt oblivious for not realizing that on her own.

"Andrew, this is Kaelin." Cynthia informed him. "She's been staying with us. It's a bit of a long story."

Andrew did not appear to be listening to his mother any longer. He had his eyes locked on Kaelin. His lips were turned up to the side, slightly pouted. His brow was arched in a manner that could only be described as seductive.

He proudly strutted across the room to stand rather close in front of her. He lifted a hand to the wall beside her, to lean further forward so that only a few inches of a space separated them. His eyes drifted down to her neckline and lingered for too long on the cleavage the shirt showed off—she had forgotten to fasten the top buttons when Liam came to her room, earlier, to apologize. She quickly remedied that, feeling exposed under his gaze in a way that she never had with Liam; not even that time she was completely naked. The thought of his face going a lovely shade of scarlet red, as he looked every except at her, brought a smile to her face, until she came back to the present and focused on Andrew again.

When Andrew's eyes met hers again, he licked his lips, unabashed by his lack of decorum. "How long will you be with us?"

Kaelin didn't have an answer for that. She looked past him to Cynthia for assurances. Because she had stayed longer than the invitation that she was extended. She was supposed to be gone before the rest of the family arrived, and now here they were. She wondered how long she could impose before they got tired of her. Liam seemed to be withdrawing his affection already.

Cynthia, whose hands were clasped in front of her, took a small step forward. "She's staying until she's ready to leave."

That made Kaelin smile. "Really?"

Cynthia nodded. "Even if you do manage to contact your family, you are welcome to stay."

"Sounds good to me," Andrew said. "I can't wait to get to know you better." He winked, flashing his dazzling smile again.

Kaelin pressed her lips together, unsure what to do. He was friendly—if not too much so—and quite toothsome, but it felt odd to have him be so amorous, especially since she had only just met him.