Chapter 6: Sunset Dinner
Kai, Sebastian, and Savannah all decided to eat outside on the back porch. Kai helped to set up the table and chairs while Savannah prepared dinner. She decided to do barbecued chicken, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. Everything was cooking on the grill and all she had to do was wait.
Savannah, on occasion, would glance over at Kai, who was rough housing around with Sebastian in the freshly plowed field. She smiled to herself as she thought about how primal and cat-like they both were. She was beginning to think that she might actually have found the man that she was destined to fall in love with and who obviously held a lot of affection for her and her cat.
She had to laugh when they decided to play hide and seek with each other. She thought they were evenly matched. Both had a good sense of smell. Both could blend in with their surroundings. Both were fast. Both could sense everything that was in their area.
"Meow" Sebastian said as he pounced on top of Kai but, Kai moved quickly to avoid the blow of the large feline.
"That's it, fur ball, your hide is mine" Kai stated as he took off after Sebastian, determined to catch the cat for being able to sneak up on him without Kai's knowledge. He was surprised when Sebastian outran him through the open field and then turned around, causing Kai to fall into the stream.
"Ha ha ha" Savannah laughed as soon as she saw Kai stand up with water dripping off of him.
"Just you wait, little fox, you're next" Kai was a little disappointed in himself because, Sebastian had actually tricked him.
"Oh, I'm shaking in my sneakers" Savannah was trying to taunt him as she stepped off the porch and onto the ground.
"You better be because, I plan on catching you and dumping you into the water, little fox" Kai stated very coolly as he strode towards the Savannah with the sole purpose in mind to dump her into the stream.
"Uh, Kai, what are you doing?" Savannah nervously asked when she saw Kai heading in her direction at a pace that was amazingly fast.
"I just told you" Kai said as he quickened his pace towards her. He was determined to get even with her.
"Oh shit!" Savannah yelped when she realized that he meant to catch her and actually dump her into the stream that he had just come out of.
As quickly as she could, she ran and he pursued her. She laughed when he tried to grab her and she dodged his arm, which made him fall forward. But, he quickly regained his composure and was going after her again. Savannah thought that she had finally gotten far enough a head of Kai that she could slow down a little bit. But, just as she thought of it, Savannah tripped over a rock and fell forward. Kai was immediately on top of Savannah and began to tickle her.
"Now, who has the advantage?" Kai asked with a laugh as he pinned her arms above her head and sat down on her waist but, was very cautious not to use his full weight for fear that he could easily hurt her.
"I don't know, who" Savannah laughed as she watched Kai loom over the top of her. She hadn't felt this happy in years and she was relishing this moment that she prayed would never end.
"You know" Kai stated with a chuckle when he realized that she was joking around with him.
Kai released Savannah's arms and placed a hand on either side of her shoulders, on the ground. He felt her tiny hands slide up his muscular arms and come to rest on his broad shoulders. He could see the apprehension in her green eyes as he leaned over and buried his face into her unbound hair. Gently, he began to nip the side of her neck and was pleased when she moaned. Her breathing started to become erratic as one of his hands slide down her side and came to rest on one of her hips, pulling her closer to him.
"Meow" Sebastian stated as he placed a massive paw on Kai's back.
"Thanks Sebastian for reminding me. Our dinner might burn if I don't get back over there and check on it" Savannah stated nervously as she pulled herself out from under Kai and then walked awkwardly back to the porch.
"Meow" Sebastian said as he looked at Kai with a mischievous look in his eyes.
"You did that on purpose" Kai softly growled at Sebastian who merely lay down and rolled over, as though he were laughing.
Kai exhaled heavily as he stood up and looked at Savannah who was setting the table. He involuntarily groaned when he watched her lean over and the top part of her breasts was revealed to him. Now he wished Alex had never told him about Savannah because, he was having a hard time keeping his body under control.
"Dinner's ready" Savannah called out to Kai, who was standing there staring at her. It felt odd to have a man watch her so intensely with a look that she had never seen another man have.
"Come on fur ball, let's go eat" Kai said to Sebastian, who immediately rolled over and followed Kai up onto the porch.
Kai sat down next to Savannah and ate dinner. He had to admit, the chicken had a very sweet taste to it. The potato needed a little bit of seasoning, which Savannah provided for him. The corn took a little bit of work but, Savannah showed him how to cut the corn off of the cob. Being that this was his first time eating barbecued food, he thought he did rather well and Savannah had definitely proven herself as an excellent cook. Just like the rest of the females in her blood-line.
"You are a very good cook" Kai stated as he watched a mysteriously yet satisfying glow light her face along with a tinge of blush.
"Thank you. It's been a long time since I cooked for anyone other than myself and Sebastian" Savannah softly stated as she smiled at Kai, her eyes softening as her smile touched her green eyes.
"You're welcome" Kai started to say, "Look, a red sky."
"It's beautiful" Savannah started to say, "Do you want to know what is said about a red sky?"
"I would love to" Kai honestly stated as he gazed into Savannah's almond-shaped eyes with his dark golden colored ones.
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning" Savannah repeated an old tale that her mother had once told her a long time ago.
"Which means?" he asked as he took hold of her hands and looked intently at her.
"It means that for the next twelve hours, the weather is going to be good if there is a red sky at night. But, if there's a red sky during the morning, there's going to be some bad weather. About ninety percent of the time it's correct" Savannah softly chuckled as she became lost in Kai's eyes.
"Makes sense to me" Kai purred as he brought both of Savannah's hands up to his mandibles and gently nipped them.
"I thought so to when I first heard it from my mother many years ago" Savannah confided as she felt his mandibles against the backside of her hand.
She could electricity dancing on her skin where ever he touched her and she relished the feel of him but, she was still afraid of him at the same time. It wasn't him, personally, it was just the fact that he was male and could possibly hurt her the way those men had almost eight years ago. She didn't want to have a repeat of what happened prior. But, isn't this different? I know Kai. I didn't even know those men who took my parents away and then hurt me. But, still, one can never be too cautious especially with someone as big and very male as Kai. Savannah thought as she lowered her eyes away from Kai's hypnotic glance before she decided to surrender herself to him.
"Are you okay?" Kai questioned when he saw a change come over Savannah. She became cold and distant. It was as though someone had doused her with below freezing water and extinguished all the fire that was in her eyes.
"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all. I'm going to take a bath and get some rest. Let me show you to the guest bedroom" Savannah softly stated as she removed her hands from Kai's and stood up. She needed to put some space between them before all of her good intentions went up in smoke. He's just a friend of the family and nothing more. He can't be anything more than that. I won't allow it. I have been alone far to long to allow one man to come into my life and turn it upside down.
"Okay" Kai agreed but was a little confused by her actions. One minute she had stars in her eyes and the next minute she became scared.
"This way. Come on, Sebastian" Savannah tried to smile but inside, she trembled with fear.
"Meow" Sebastian stated as he followed closely behind his mistress, purring very loudly.
She walked down the hall and opened a door to the guest bedroom, which was directly across the hall from her bedroom. But, it was the only other bedroom in the house and she was thankful that it had its own bathroom. She hated the idea of a man being in her bathroom. She had finally arranged everything in her bathroom to be just the way she wanted it to be.
"Here's where you'll sleep tonight, Kai" Savannah softly stated as she showed him around the bedroom. It also had a king size bed, a massive dresser, night stand, and a huge walk-in closet. It was designed exactly like her room except hers was slightly larger to accommodate her computer desk.
"This is nice" Kai commented as he touched the blue cotton bed spread and then looked around the room. It was no where near as large as his room on board the ship but, it would suffice. It would take at least five of these guest bedrooms to match his room.
"Thank you. I'll be in the bath if you need me. Please make sure to knock so this way you won't scare the shit out of me. It will also give me time to throw a towel around myself" Savannah softly chuckled as she walked out of the room and into her own.
"Oh Sebastian, what have a I gotten myself into?" Savannah solemnly spoke as soon as she closed and locked the bathroom door.
"Meow" was all he said as he opened the linen closet up and pulled out a couple of towels for her.
Savannah trained him to help her out with some household tasks that didn't require hands. He normally opened doors that were inside the house. He could turn on the television and call her at work. She had her number and Shakira's number side by side on the phone pad. All he had to do was lift the phone up and press either option 1 or option 2. Then he would let out the loudest meow that he could and one of them would be there in less than thirty minutes.
"Thanks big fella" Savannah smiled as she sat down on the edge of the tub and started to run her bath water. She then leaned over and patted Sebastian on the head.
"Meow"
"I know. It's been a long day handsome" Savannah stated as she stripped out of her clothes and turned on some music. She heard the signature sound of "Aliyah" singing the song "Try Again".
"What
would you do
To get to me
What would you say
To have your
way
Would you give up
Or try again
If I hesitate
To let
you win
Or would you be yourself
Or play your role
Tell all
the boys
Or keep it low
If I say no
Would you turn away
Or
play me off
Or would you stay
Chorus"
Savannah slid into the warm bath water and allowed the music to carry
her mind away. At least for a temporary basis. She closed her eyes
and listened to the rhythm of the music, trying to drown out the
nagging voice inside her head that was telling her that Kai was the
one for her. She didn't want to hear it because, she knew it was
the truth. She had seen it in his eyes.
"If at first you don't
succeed
Dust yourself off and try again
You can dust it off and
try again
If at first you don't succeed
You can dust it off and
try again
Dust yourself off and try again"
Opening her eyes, she looked down at her wrists and didn't like
what she saw. She could see the scars from previous suicide attempts
on her wrists. The criss-cross marks stood out like a sore thumb and
were unmistakable. Of course, she hadn't tried that in about a
year, which was about the time she found a new therapist who finally
put her on some medication to calm her frazzled nerves.
"I'm
into you,
You into me
But I cant let it go
So easily
Not
'til I see
What this could be
Be eternity
Or just a week
You
know, our chemistry
Is off the chain
Is perfect now
But will
it change
This aint a yes
This aint a no
Just do your
thang
We'll see how it goes...ohhh"
Savannah looked over at Sebastian and began to question herself as to
when she came to care about any man, except for Sebastian. But, he
was a completely different story. He was her protector and loyal
guard cat. She had nothing to fear from him, except a huge
hairball.
"If at first you don't succeed
Dust yourself off
and try it again
You can dust it off and try it again
If at
first you don't succeed
You can dust it off and try it again
Dust
yourself off and try it again"
"Oh Sebastian, what am I to do?" Savannah asked as she tried to
push all thoughts of Kai aside and tried to think about how warm the
water was.
Hook
"If you don't wanna throw it all
away
Might be shy on the first date
What about the next
date
huh, huh, huh, huh
If you don't wanna throw it all
away
You might be buggin' on the first date
But
what about the next date
um, um, um, um"
"Oh! To hell with it! Why does Kai affect me so damn much?" Savannah tried to refrain from screaming her thoughts aloud. She didn't want to let Kai know what and who see was thinking about while she tried to bathe.
As she slid down into the water, allowing it to come up to her neck, she started to try to remember her grandfather. She recalled that he had the kindest blue eyes and the blackest hair she had ever seen. She also remembered that he was very young the last time she saw him. He didn't look older than thirty and yet he was suppose to be her grandfather. Come to think of it, her grandmother looked to be about the same age. She had blond hair and brown eyes.
As Savannah washed her long hair, she thought about everything that needed to be completed tomorrow. She still had the field to rake, a barn to paint, and fences to repair. She felt swamped but, was contemplating asking Kai for his assistance. She was pretty sure that he would help her out, if she asked.
As soon as she finished washing her hair, Savannah stepped out of the tub and wrapped a large green towel around her. Grabbing a large paddle brush, she began to brush all the tangles out of her hair and started to sing.
"No
more sadness
I wanna be the one to make you happy
I wanna be
the one to give you hope
But in these days of conscious
living
We've got to take it slow
You can't be sure of who
you've met
You just don't know what you might get
Cause in
these crazy times we're living
Love can turn into regret
But
you, could be the one to change my point of view
It's all up to
you,
Give you love without the pain
Show you light beyond
the rain
Gonna make you happy
Gonna make you happy now
There'll
be days when things go wrong
I'll be there to make you
strong
Gonna make you happy
Gonna make you happy
I wanna
find a place where dreams can happen
I wanna find a love who'll
take me there
And in your eyes I see a vision
That makes me
want to care
And if two people both agree
That only love can
set them free
Then together let us make a world
Of which others
only dream, ..
And you can be the one to make it all come
true
So what you gonna do
I'll give you love without the
pain
Show you light beyond the rain
Gonna make you happy
Gonna
make you happy now
There'll be days when things go wrong
I'll
be there to keep you strong
Gonna make you happy, Make you happy
now
Some days the sun don't wanna shine
And I'll be yours and
you'll be mine
Gonna make you happy, happy
I ain't the kind to
be untrue
Wanna spend my life with you, ..
Gonna make you
happy, ..
Make you happy Yeah
Make you happy Gonna make you
happy
Make you happy Make you feel so good
Make you happy Happy
in love
Make you happy Love without the pain
Make you happy
Light beyond the rain
Make you happy Gonna make you feel so
good
Make you happy Happy
Make you happy Yeah Yeah Yeah
Make
you happy
It's all up to you
I'll give you love without the
pain
Show you light beyond the rain
Gonna make you happy
Gonna
make you happy now
There'll be days when things go wrong
I'll
be there to keep you strong
Gonna make you happy, make you happy
now
Some days the sun don't wanna shine
And I'll be yours and
you'll be mine
Gonna make you happy, make you happy now
I ain't
the kind to be untrue
Wanna spend my life with you, .
Gonna
make you happy yeah
Make you happy yeah
Be your love I wanna be
your love
Show you light beyond the rain
So what ya gonna do
I
give you love without the pain
Show you light beyond the rain"
(Celine Dion-Gonna make you happy)
"Are you okay, little fox" Kai asked as he knocked on the bathroom door. He had heard her singing and thought there couldn't be a voice that sounded more beautiful than hers.
"Yeah, I'll be out in minute. Just have to get some clothes on" Savannah stated as she pulled on a pair of underwear and a tank top, which Sebastian had brought in just before she locked the bathroom door. Before unlocking the door, Savannah quickly grabbed a turquoise terry cloth bathrobe and put it on.
"About time, I thought you got lost in there" Kai joked as he looked at her. It was the first time he had ever seen a female in a bathrobe before and he was confused as to what kind of purpose it served.
"It's a robe. I use it when I have company because, I normally don't wear much clothing to bed when I am by myself" Savannah confessed as her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. She had never felt so brazen before in her entire life and now she felt so comfortable being around Kai that she could just tell him anything.
"Sounds…intriguing" Kai purred as he cupped Savannah's chin with his hands. He had never felt skin that was as soft as silk and it was driving him crazy.
"I'm going to bed. You should get some rest to" Savannah nervously stated as her body quivered, slightly, under Kai's gentle touch.
"Good night, little fox" Kai softly stated as he removed his hands from her face and walked back into his room.
"Wow" was all Savannah could say as she closed her door and removed her robe. Sebastian was already asleep when she climbed into bed. It didn't take her long before sleep came to her to.
