Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 1049: Like a Flower

She stopped herself, then glanced at the plate he was holding.

”The fish, please. A little of the vegetables as well.”

”Like this?”

”Yes. Thank you.”

He set the plate before her. Yunohana looked down at it for a moment before taking up her chopsticks, her smile growing softer.

Aria’s advice was proving very pleasant to follow.

”Good?” he asked after she tasted it.

”Very. Would you try some?”

”That’s the plan.”

Yunohana lifted a morsel of fish with her chopsticks before he could reach for the serving spoon again. She held her free hand beneath it as she brought it toward his lips, smiling when he leaned closer.

”Here.”

Kaiden accepted the bite, and she drew the chopsticks away with a delicate turn of her wrist.

Yunohana watched him chew with such earnest interest that he nearly laughed.

”Excellent. Though I might need another sample before I’m certain.”

”You have a plate of your own.”

”Yours tastes better.”

”Is that so...”

She gave him another bite. ”Then I shall give you many more.”

...

After lunch, they moved to the long seat beneath the canopy. Yunohana sat close enough that her bare arm rested against his, and Kaiden put his hand over hers on the cushion.

She turned her palm upward for him.

For a while, they watched the water together. A breeze reached beneath the shade, carrying the smell of the sea, and Yunohana stretched her legs with a contented little sigh.

”Would you like to rest?” he asked.

”If I close my eyes, you must promise not to return me to the estate.”

”Is that likely?”

”You have several very attentive women waiting for you there. I would like to keep my afternoon.”

Kaiden brought her hand to his lips.

”I’m quite happy where I am.”

Yunohana watched his mouth touch her knuckles. Her fingers curled around his afterward, keeping his hand in her lap as she leaned back beside him.

She wanted to move closer. The wish was becoming easier to recognize, and she was pleased to discover that acting on it required very little courage. She shifted until her shoulder rested against his arm.

”Is this comfortable?” he asked.

”Mm. Very.”

The afternoon passed with the coast slipping by beyond the rail. They talked while the attendants cleared lunch, fell silent to watch a distant ship, then began again when Yunohana caught him examining the cookies brought with their tea.

”You may have mine if you like.”

Yunohana picked up a cookie and held it toward his mouth. Kaiden smiled at her, leaving his hands where they were.

”You’re going to go hungry on our date. I’m starting to feel bad.”

”Perish the thought. I am enjoying watching you eat far more than I thought possible.”

She brought the cookie closer, and he leaned down to take a bite straight from her hand. His lips brushed her fingertips before he drew back. Her gaze lingered on his mouth, and she seemed to have forgotten to hide her smile.

”Good?” she asked softly.

”Very.”

Yunohana giggled and offered him the rest. This time, she kept her eyes on his as he accepted it, thoroughly pleased with her choice of company.

When the tea was finished, she rose and offered him her hand.

”Would you come down with me? There is something else I would like to do.”

Kaiden followed her toward the stern. Below the upper deck, a narrow blue boat rested in a pair of lifting cradles, its pointed bow facing the open water beyond the yacht.

Silver runes followed its hull. Behind the low windscreen stood a steering console with a padded support for someone driving upright. A passenger bench occupied the rear, with handrails running along both sides.

Yunohana stopped beside the captain.

”Could you have the tender lowered for us, please?”

He glanced from her to Kaiden.

”Of course, my lady. I will have a helmsman join you.”

”I would like to drive it myself.”

The captain hesitated, looking at the dress she had gathered clear of the steps.

”The covered launch would be more comfortable. We could bring you alongside-”

”This one, please. We have been comfortable all afternoon.”

Kaiden looked at her. Yunohana met his eyes with a smile that made him considerably more interested in the little boat.

”You drive it yourself?”

”You sound concerned.”

”I’m trying to work out how fast it goes.”

”Would you like to find out?”

”Very much.”

She turned back to the captain, looking extremely satisfied with that answer.

”We will stay within the yacht’s support range. Would you keep our position on your chart? I will call before we go ashore anywhere.”

”Naturally, my lady. The beacon is already linked.”

He spoke to the crew, and the lifting arms began swinging the tender out over the water. Blue light ran along the hull as an attendant tested its wards.

Yunohana watched the boat descend with her hands folded before her, still looking ready to receive important guests.

”What about your clothes?” Kaiden asked.

She glanced down at herself.

”What about them?”

”Your dress. Your beautiful hair. After all the trouble you girls went to this morning...”

Yunohana lifted a strand of hair away from the little clasp of her earring as she considered him.

”Beauty is like a flower, Kaiden. You appreciate the blossom because it will not remain there forever.”

”I’m listening.”

”If a woman looks perfectly beautiful every moment you spend with her, eventually she simply looks like herself. You become accustomed to it. Without contrast, even something extraordinary becomes ordinary.”

He looked at the curve of her waist beneath the blue fabric, then back at her face.

”That sounds like a very elegant excuse to drive a very fast boat.”

”It can be both.”

Kaiden laughed, and her composure finally gave way to a delighted smile.

”I wanted to look lovely for you today,” she admitted. ”I am very happy that you noticed. But I would also like to enjoy myself, and it is difficult to do that while worrying about every strand of hair being perfect.”

”Then we’ll ruin it beautifully.”

”That’s the attitude.”

She took his arm and led him down to the boarding platform.

A glowing mooring line held the tender against the yacht’s boarding platform. An attendant opened its side rail while another handed Yunohana a fitted blue jacket.

”The outer ward turns spray away,” the captain explained to Kaiden. ”The hull is reinforced for impact, and the stabilizers keep it from rolling. Please remain inside the rails while she’s under power.”

”Will do.”

Yunohana slipped into the jacket, easing her sore arm through first. Kaiden held it behind her while she settled the fabric, then helped free the hair caught beneath her collar.

”Thank you. I believe I shall leave the hair in your care afterward as well.”

”You’re trusting me with it again?”

”I shall be supervising.”

She stepped aboard with his hand supporting hers. Once he joined her, she laid her bag in the compartment beneath the passenger bench and secured the catch.

At the console, Yunohana pressed her palm against a silver plate. The runes along the gunwales brightened, and the mooring line released them from the yacht.

Kaiden felt the deck firm beneath his shoes as the boat’s stabilizers took over. A curved barrier shimmered above the bow, then became transparent enough that he could see the water through it.

”Ready?” she asked.

”Where would you like me?”

”Somewhere you can hold on.”

She reached for the wheel with her right hand, leaving enough room between her back and the padded support for him to step in behind her.

Kaiden took that room.

His arms went around her waist, his palms resting across her belly over the thin dress. Yunohana drew a startled breath as he settled against her, his chest warm at her back.

For a moment, she forgot the wheel entirely.

”Here?” he asked beside her ear.

She looked down at his hands. The jacket hung open around them, leaving her acutely aware of how comfortably his arms fitted her waist.

She liked it so much that she had to collect herself before answering.

”That is a brave decision.”

”Bravery is like a flower, Yunohana.”

Her lips pursed.

”Kaiden.”

”If I were brave all the time, you’d stop appreciating it. I have to choose the moments with the best rewards.”

His hands moved a little closer together across her stomach, holding her securely against him.

”This seemed like an excellent opportunity.”

Yunohana laughed, then covered his fingers with her left hand. She could feel his breath stirring the hair beside her cheek, and the thought of spending the ride like this made her want to hurry out onto the water.

”You have put a great deal of thought into this.”

”Quite the contrary. I moved on pure instinct.”

”...I see.”

She let herself rest against him for another breath before returning her attention to the console.

”Then I suggest you hold on properly.”

”I thought I was.”

Yunohana’s thumb moved over the control set into the wheel.

”You thought wrong.”

The boat surged forward.

”Oh, fuck.”