Page 56 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
Kasia made another excruciating pass with her tongue before she pulled back. “If you insist.”
In a second, she had Tierney’s panties off and had returned her tongue to where Tierney needed it. She swept, and pressed, and entered, building more pressure than Tierney could bear.
She tried to sit up to slow things down, but Kasia pushed her back to the bed. Before long, the sensations built to a point where she couldn’t hold back. She screamed and held Kasia’s head close as another orgasm was teased out of her.
When she came back to her senses, Kasia had moved up next to her and covered them both with the blanket. She pulled Kasia even closer.
“Things are getting lively outside, so maybe we should sleep while we can.”
Tierney’s post-orgasm drowsiness made that sound like a good idea as Kasia pulled her into her arms.
“I love you, Tierney. Whatever happens in the future I want you to know that.”
Tierney didn’t know how to respond. Her feelings for Kasia were off the chart, but this wasn’t her home, and “I love you” seemed the wrong thing to say. She placed a gentle kiss on Kasia’s neck, and they lay listening to the beginnings of the storm lashing against the building. Tierney wondered why it would be such a bad thing to stay here forever, wrapped in Kasia’s arms.
Beep beep beep.For a second the noise didn’t make sense, but as Tierney drifted back into consciousness, she recognized the dreaded sound of Kasia’s lifeboat pager. When she rolled over, she saw Kasia already across the room pulling on her clothes. The bedside clock read three fifteen. “Can I do anything?”
“No. I need to go.” Kasia leaned across the bed as she pulled on her coat. “Look after the hotel and Fergus, and I’ll see you soon, okay?” Her kiss was fleeting before she ran for the door, stamping her feet into her boots as she went.
“Please stay safe.”
Kasia looked back with a tight smile and nodded. Tierney realized she knew Kasia well enough now to read the fear in her eyes. Once again, she admired the strength it took Kasia to be a part of the crew and conquer her anxiety.
When the door closed, she was left alone to wonder about the nature of the emergency. No leisure craft would be out at this time of year. A fishing boat in trouble, maybe? There was a chance Kasia wouldn’t be chosen for the launch. The Inishderry boat only needed four crew, and Joey would soon be there, deciding with Seán which volunteers to select.
She jumped out of bed. She couldn’t sit there guessing what was happening. She padded down to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. The storm raged outside, and she stood at the window, peering out to see the lifeboat. Sure enough, the tractor was easing down the slipway, pushing the lifeboat into the thrashing sea. The crew all looked identical in their yellow gear and white helmets, but she knew Joey would be at the helm. The fourth member sitting at the back might well be Kasia. She couldn’t bear to watch any longer as the carriage descended into the water.
She poured herself coffee and pulled up a chair at the table. When the noise of the storm increased, she jumped. Fergus shot down the stairs and leapt onto her knee. She stroked his fur as soothingly as she could, but she wished someone could soothe her. A crashing noise upstairs made her almost jump from her seat again and Fergus pierced her with twenty tiny daggers. She lifted him carefully and placed him on the chair next to her. “Sorry, Ferg, I need to check out upstairs.”
Before she could reach the main staircase, the lights flickered and died. Was there any end to the horror of this night? She pulled out her phone and carefully moved up the stairs. Jumping at a crack of thunder, she told herself to get a grip. She’d faced far worse out on her boat.
The noise sounded as if it came from the south of the building in the end rooms. She crept along the corridor, opening each door to check for damage. Every room was secure. Finally, she faced the last door. She gripped the handle and pushed. The resistance should have been a clue, but she powered on until she was in the midst of a maelstrom. The big feature window had blown in, and wind and rain tore through the room.
Tierney looked around in horror. A gust blew her back against the door, and the building shuddered as the wind fought its way upward. She tried to manage the panic. What could she do to minimize the damage?
A tearing noise above accompanied the sound of cracking like gunshots. That could only be the roof slates.
“Shit, shit, shit.”
Worry for the hotel won out against the inertia of terror, and she ran back through the door. Slamming it, she hoped that might contain the damage. As she pounded down the stairs, the groaning and cracking from above got louder.
She threw herself through the front door and pulled with all her strength to close it behind her. A tile smashed next to her feet, and she ran to relative safety farther away from the building. Rain and wind buffeted her, soaking her in seconds. She pushed the sodden hair from her eyes and squinted to see the damage. More tiles smashed to the ground in front of her, and lightning forked across the bay, immediately followed by thunder.
Fear pushed her back inside but not before the lightning briefly illuminated several large, ragged holes in the roof. Shecouldn’t hold back a wail. She was helpless to stop what was happening. It would kill Kasia when she returned to see the damage, especially since she had pleaded with Tierney to get the roof replaced. All their hard work over the winter was going to come to nothing. Glass fell around her as she stood in the hallway, and she realized she had no choice but to take cover in the basement. There was nothing she could do, and no one to save her.
She pulled on her down jacket and a beanie, calling Fergus as she went. She stumbled downstairs by the light of her cell phone, sobbing while she wished she’d had the sense to pick up Kasia’s flashlight. Her phone battery was low, and it could be a long night in the dark. She almost tripped on Fergus when he rocketed down the stairs ahead of her. She was relieved he was safe.
She wandered around until she’d found her bearings in the damp-smelling concrete space. She opened a metal cabinet and pulled out the contents. The process knocked the phone out of her hand. She sobbed and dug around in the pile of tents and groundsheets, trying to locate the dim light of her phone. Finally, she found it and held it up to illuminate the pile while she hunted for and found a couple of old sleeping bags.
The thunder crashed above, and she cowered, tears falling. She managed to pull the sleeping bags to a corner that didn’t feel too damp. She kicked off her boots, zipped her coat, and pulled up the hood. Then she pulled the sleeping bags over her legs and shrunk down deep inside them. Fergus soon joined her, his furry body adding warmth to their cocoon. The cold of the concrete still seeped through underneath, but it was dryer than outside. Something crashed above her.And it was safer than upstairs.
She lay quietly crying for a while, watching the light from her phone illuminate the bare ceiling. She flinched at every crack ofthunder or crash of glass. It wasn’t just her granny’s home being destroyed, it was Kasia’s dream. A dream she’d begun to share.
She’d messed it up. As always. She should have pushed her dad to understand how urgent the work was, and she should have insisted they get it done. But she hadn’t, so now she’d failed Kasia.
When her battery eventually died, she stared into the darkness. She lost track of time wondering if this awful night would ever end.Please, please, just let Kasia come back safely.
TWENTY-SEVEN
