Illumine Her (30 page)

“As much as the sound of a shower together sounds tempting, Alana, I fear that without your clothes on, your aura would blind me for life,” he added.

Alana gasped and laughed out loud before she smacked him hard on the arm. What a flirt! He laughed in return and she silently thanked him for making light of her rather shameful question. She could handle his light-heartedness—bold as his statement was—and she was beginning to really like that quality about him; it brought everything back to safe territory. But the flirting! Well, two can play that game.

“Oh?” she responded, blinking innocently. “That’s a pity, because I was going to suggest skinny dipping.”

With those final words, she turned and reached for the door handle again and this time shoved it open. The wind was strong and pushed the rain inside, and she scrambled to get out before it too pushed her back, and she would have to face the full force of her embarrassing comeback. What was she thinking saying that out loud? She shut the door and ran around the car towards the direction of the bushy trail that led to the valley near her house where a river flowed. When it poured heavily, the river rose and moved rapidly towards the shoreline with banyan and banana trees sweeping alongside it. The rain was fierce and unrelenting, drumming down hard on the wild vegetation that surrounded her home, and Alana shielded her eyes as it continued to prick and prod at her skin. When she reached the familiar pathway, she screamed in surprise when Chase suddenly appeared and grabbed her around the waist before hoisting her over his shoulder.

“Chase!” She gasped.

Words evaded her with her stomach pressed against his hard shoulder as he marched down the steep slope to the river, her arms dangling down his back. When they reached the bottom of the hill, he shocked her even more when he threw her in the water. The coldness stunned her, and she emerged, coughing and spluttering, her hair undone and tangled around her face.

“That was not funny!” she exclaimed trying to wipe the strands away. Chase stood on the bank with his hands on his hips and a look of smug satisfaction on his face.

He gave her a slow, sensual smile, and she scowled back in return.

Alana turned and dipped under the water to smooth the hair out of her face. When she emerged, he was nowhere in sight. Frowning, she did a three-sixty degree turn to search for him. No luck. When she started to wade towards the bank, strong arms suddenly wrapped around her torso and pulled her against a solid chest. Alana’s heart took off sprinting. Her head spun, but then he had her spinning around to face him. The rain continued to beat down on the water, sending drops bouncing back up into the air. The sound effects of the tropical rainstorm were deafening to the ears, but the beat of her heart was the only sound she was aware of. She raised her eyes to his and was met with a fiery blue that seemed to penetrate through to her very soul. He gazed at her intently with an undefinable emotion while his hands gently gripped her waist and sent a pulse of warmth through her body. Alana inhaled his crisp scent of soap and sweat mixed with fresh earth and sky and wondered how she ended up in the arms of this man who was far above her in every way. His hair was slicked back, and raindrops trickled over his forehead and down his nose as he caressed her face with such tenderness that set her heart on fire. His eyes took in every feature, every scar and imperfection—her eyes which were wide and searching; round cheekbones which were rosy from his nearness. He focused on the small mole on the side of her eye, the scar on her chin, and her lips which were parted and trembling but not from the seeping cold. He inched his face closer to hers, and she inhaled shakily, anticipating. Waiting.

“You are exquisite, Alana,” his deep voice spoke softly, his warm breath fanning across her cheek and shooting tingles up her spine. She realized at the moment that she wanted this with every pore of her being. Closing her eyes, she slowly lifted her chin to bridge the distance, his height looming above her.

She felt his lips brush softly over one closed eye, this first contact making her body shiver and sending goose bumps to ripple along her arms. He chuckled deeply and pulled her in closer, engulfing her in his warmth. He trailed his lips slowly to her mole and paused, pressing his mouth to her birth mark. She sighed and lifted her hands to his waist, trying to draw herself closer. Chase lowered his head and found the scar on her chin, kissing it gently. Anticipating his closeness, Alana bit her lip. So close. She drew in a sharp breath and felt like her heart must have stopped beating. But how could it have stopped if she was standing there, feeling every cell in her body thrumming and pulsing with life? She was wrapped up in a dream, the rain trickling down and surrounding them in a haze.

And then his lips met hers.

Feather light, his mouth was warm and firm, lips caressing softly and worshiping. She trembled as he touched his mouth tenderly first to her upper lip, drawing it between his mouth and then moving to her lower lip. The sweet slowness was pure torture, clouding every thought in her mind but him. When he finally claimed her mouth with a passionate kiss that left her knees weak, her head light, and heart racing, she yielded to him, giving as much as receiving, her arms tightening around his waist as he raised one hand to grip the back of her neck, fisting a handful of her damp hair and pulling her closer—

A sharp scream suddenly pierced through the air and ripped Chase out of their embrace leaving her stunned. She reared back and almost slipped and went under.

“Who was that?” she asked breathlessly, her voice quivering with worry as she tried to hold her balance. For a split second she panicked. If it was Sala or her mother, she was going to sink under the water and never come back up again. But the scream was an unfamiliar one, the voice unrecognizable. Chase looked at her with dark, wide eyes and took a step backwards. She tried to reach for him but then he was gone—whipping out of the river in a blink, and then taking off along the length of the bank before disappearing behind some tangled bushes. How did he move so fast? Alana frantically kicked her legs and swung her arms to get out of the water if she had any hope of keeping up with him. When her feet hit the bank she raced towards the direction he ran. But he was long gone.

Chapter 20

A
lana heard a woman’s anguished voice muffled in the distance. Like a compass, she followed the noise, stepping over fallen branches and knotted weeds until she reached a small clearing. Stopping short, her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. An older woman was on her knees on the side of the river bank, gesturing wildly to the middle of the water.

“My son! My son! Please help him!” she shrieked over the rainfall. When Alana followed her line of sight, she noticed a little boy desperately hanging onto a log the width of two fallen coconut trees that connected the two sides of the river. His head bobbed in and out of the water as the current tried to push him down. The river there was wider, deeper, the current faster and stronger.

And there was Chase swimming towards him, his strokes powerful and quick.

Alana ran to the woman and crouched down beside her. “What happened?” she asked in Samoan.

Without taking her eyes off her boy, she replied anxiously. “We were crossing the river on that log when he slipped and fell in. It was raining so hard, and I couldn’t pull him back up. When I tried, I fell in and the current carried me away.”

Alana noticed the woman’s shirt and
lavalava
were soaked and smudged with dirt, her thick greying hair around her wild eyes and face. She stroked her comfortingly on the back and looked back out to the river. Chase had the little boy in his arms and was making his way to the shore. Alana sighed in relief.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said calmly to the woman.

When he stepped out of the water, Chase laid the shivering boy out on the ground. Alana and the woman immediately rushed forward and crowded his sides. His mother wept in relief as Alana examined him carefully, her skills automatically kicking into action. She became his nurse there on the side of the river, checking for any sign of injury. The little boy looked to be five or six years old with cuts on his hands from clutching onto the log, some fingernails torn and bleeding, and lips darkened from the cold. Chase stood back to give her space as she carried out her ministrations. The little boy’s eyes were wide with shock as she inspected his body for any tell-tale wounds.

She looked up to Chase when she was done. “He seems to be alright. A few cuts and bruises but nothing broken.”

He nodded in acknowledgment. Alana turned to the little boy’s mother and relayed the same information to her.

“I’m a nurse at the National Hospital. You have to keep a close eye on him for the next twenty-four hours,” she instructed. “If he has persistent coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, or is extremely lethargic, you must take him to the hospital immediately because if he has water in his lungs, there’s a possibility that he can still be in danger.” Alana lifted his hands. “When you get home, clean and bandage his fingers well so there’s no infection.”

The mother sobbed loudly and grabbed Alana’s hand. Then she looked up to Chase and thanked him for pulling her son out of the water through her tears. He smiled warmly down at her, and something in Alana’s heart moved. He crouched down and laid his hands on the little boy’s feet. There was no blue light, but she knew what he was doing—heating his body with warmth from his hands. He talked to the mother as he healed her son, the dark hue in his little lips fading away as his body temperature returned to normal.

And the feeling slammed into her.

Alana drew in a sharp breath as a powerful emotion took over her senses, occupying every lonely space and filling it up with a sensation that almost choked her.
Incredible, immense bliss
. The feeling was thrilling, overpowering her body and stirring her soul. The impression swelled her to her core and left her almost breathless. Her breathing grew ragged as a result, and her hands shook. It was then and there that she knew. Wet and shivering in the middle of a tropical rainforest, the realization hit her like a volt of electricity.

The moment was monumental but an even stronger emotion gripped and took over. What did this mean? What now? Is this what her sister meant when they hiked Mt. Vaea? Compounded with fear and confusion, Alana sat back on her haunches. She clutched her chest in an attempt to even out her breathing while Chase continued to speak to the woman in Samoan. His soothing voice blurred in the background as she fought for control. Where did she go from here? What could she possibly do about it?

Embrace this. Be honest and tell him
, her conscious mind coaxed her. But she was frightened. She was torn between her feelings and her actions. While her heart grappled for one emotion, her mind wrestled with another. Her heart whispered sweet tenderness; her soul quivered and purged what loneliness there was before, but her mind raced to contend with her spirit.
He’s immortal. Nothing can ever come from that. You can’t build a life with someone like him.
While her mind grasped this knowledge, the noises around her had ceased. When she finally came to, she realized that the woman and boy were gone. How long had she been in a daze?

She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. Of course he already knew. How could he miss it? Her aura probably set off a lightening show. She fisted her hands to stop the shaking and cajoled her heartbeat to slow down. Avoiding his gaze she finally spoke in a strangled voice.

“Will…will they be alright to walk home?”

“They don’t live too far from here,” his deep voice replied quietly. “They won’t be going near the river, so they’ll be okay getting back. I checked his chest and there’s no sign of water there. He’ll be alright.”

Alana averted her eyes and nodded.

Tell him.

Three little words. But how could three simple words evoke what she felt? They seemed miniscule to what she felt burning in her core. They didn’t do justice to the incredible swell of emotions that were in her heart, her spirit, and her very soul. But what good would come from that? She knew there was no place in his life for her. How could there be? She remembered his words in the cave.
To fulfill my purpose without fail
. He made it perfectly clear that he was built specifically for one purpose only and that was to heal and save lives. He would be around for eternity while she would eventually grow old and die. The thought struck her like a cold fist of reality. Then of course there was the fact that healers and non-healers were discouraged to come together romantically. She certainly didn’t want him to get into trouble for that. There was a pause where the rain seemed to ease, and the wind died down as if nature was holding its breath for her. Her clothes were soaked and muddy, sticking to her skin and leaving her vulnerable to the seeping cold. She shivered as a result.