With his Trident Read online

  Liviana shook her head, “Actually your grandmother and I used to have plenty of conversations of our own.”

  Tane lifted his eyebrow. He couldn’t imagine what his grandma could possibly have had to discuss with his nemesis. His eyes dropped to the dish in her hands and he lifted his eyebrows. She seemed to become aware that she was still holding the plate and stepped into the room, putting it down on their kitchen table, “Well, I’ll just leave this here okay?”

  Tane ran his fingers through his hair, aware that he was being beyond rude, “Look. I’m sorry okay? You startled me is all. Stay. Have a piece of pie with me.” He said.

  “You sure?” she said eyebrows lifting hopefully.

  Tane huffed a laugh, “It’s probably high time we had a civil conversation. Don’t you think?”

  Liviana smiled and Tane was struck by how truly striking she was. Also he realized that he could tell them apart now. He hadn’t even wondered which twin this was.

  “Where’s your sister?” he asked as he retrieved a second plate from the cupboard.

  “Oh, Gill is in air traffic control now.” She said.

  “Really? I wouldn’t have thought someone as quiet as her would enjoy telling people what to do.”

  Livy laughed, “Yeah it was a surprise to her too. She’s fine when she doesn’t have to look anyone in the eye. She’s quite in her element in fact.”

  “That’s good to hear. And you? Went straight into the hospitality business too huh? Like your parents?”

  “Actually I was working as your grandmother’s PA while taking a business course online.”

  “Oh yeah? She never mentioned it.”

  “I don’t expect the identity of her PA usually comes up in your conversations.”

  Tane laughed as he passed her a glass of apple juice, “No. We don’t usually discuss her staff.”

  There was a pregnant pause.

  “Your staff now,” Livy said quietly as she ate her Lau Lau.

  “I beg your pardon?” Tane said brow furrowed in confusion.

  “I said, they are your staff now.” Livy said slowly.

  Tane stared at her in surprise. That consequence of his grandparents’ death hadn’t occurred to him quite yet. Her grey eyes met his ice blue ones, more serious than he’d ever seen them. Tane straightened up, wondering if that was why Livy was here. Did she want to lobby for her job?

  As if she saw the question in his eyes, her expression became wry.

  “Your mom and I, we’ve bonded a little in the last half year. Turns out we have quite a lot in common.”

  Tane’s brows brushed his hairline, “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  She smiled, looking more like her old self than any other time during this bizarre visit, “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said sipping her drink.

  “What does that mean?” Tane asked as he eyeballed her.

  Livy laughed, “Nothing. I guess I haven’t gotten out of the habit of baiting you.”

  Tane opened his mouth to say something snarky but then changed his mind midway and shut his mouth with a distinctive sound. Livy watched him oscillate with amusement in her eyes, glass poised halfway to her lips. Tane hesitated and then leaned forward confidentially.

  “Why did you bait me so much?” he asked.

  Livy just shrugged; face flushing again before she buried her head in her glass, eyes demurely cast down. Tane stared at her fascinated at this display of shyness or embarrassment – he wasn’t sure which.

  “Everything okay?” he asked trying to hunch downward to meet her eyes.

  “Yeah fine,” Livy said abruptly. She got to her feet, straightening out her dress and marching to the door, “I have to go. Things to do.” She called as she practically ran out of the house.

  Tane watched her go, a bemused look on his face.

  “Well that was strange,” he said to nobody in particular.

  ***

  As Nikora Patariki mounted the steps of the wooden stage and walked to where the coffins were laid out, a hush fell over the crowd. They were hot and tired, having listened to The Mayor of Maui and Julius Carstairs, the acting head of Wilkins Industries, speak about the couple that was laid out in front of them. Harris Oz Wilkins and his wife, Louisa, revered members of the Maui business community and beloved family members to Nikora and Tane.

  The tragic death of such well known people would have drawn a large crowd regardless, but many were there just to see Nikora, rumored heir to everything. They were curious as to what her plans were; so many livelihoods depended on how she presented herself and her ability to carry on her family’s legacy.

  Looking at her as she positioned herself in the middle of the stage, she looked regal and tragic, strong yet bent with grief. She wore a gaily colored blue and yellow dress as was the tradition, though it covered her from throat to feet. The only jewelry on her was a necklace that ended in a golden ring and a single silver ring on her finger.

  She’d twisted her sleek auburn curls into a crown on her head, yellow ribbons intertwined with them to contrast beautifully. The rest of her hair was unbound and fell like a cloak to her waist. Her mouth was painted nude, blending in with her tanned skin. Her light ice blue eyes, identical to her son’s, were outlined in black as she surveyed the crowd before her. They seemed to pierce every soul that met her gaze.

  Her grief was palpable as was her strength. Her husband was present, standing still and tall behind her like a rock she could lean on, if she chose. Her son stood just to the left of her, head down, shoulders shaking with grief. They made a poignant pretty picture and cameras were going off left and right.

  Her eyes drifted down to the coffins laid out before her. She tensed, almost overcome and her husband took a step toward her, arm already stretched out. But she straightened her shoulders and raised her chin, jaw clenched with determination.

  Nikora still did not speak when her eyes came back up to the crowd. She waited until the shuffling and murmuring had stopped, until the entire crowd was completely silent, waiting for the first words to tumble from her lips. What would her voice sound like? Would she cry?

  She closed her eyes for a moment, her lips parted slightly, and she took a deep breath.

  “Today, we are here to honor for the last time, Harris Oz Wilkins and Louisa Wilkins.” Nikora’s voice did not waver and it was not raised, but it was commanding. It compelled one to listen to her. Her voice was like wind chimes, light and ringing without being loud. The whole crowd was captivated, waiting for her next word, her next breath. “My father loved to be in control. He hated not knowing what was going to happen next. My mother indulged him in this by controlling his life.”

  Laughter from her audience.

  “I never knew where I stood with them. Were they proud of me? Or was I just the only child they had? I never knew for sure until I had a child of my own. And then all the complexities of parenthood became clear to me and I appreciated them more. I leaned on them more. Burdens were easier simply because they existed. And now…”

  Her face crumpled, twisting in grief and her body began to fall to the ground. But Tipene was there to catch her, and Tane led the way off to the side of the stage where someone hastily provided a seat for Nikora to collapse on.

  ***

  A tentative cheer came from somewhere in the crowd and then everyone joined in. Soon, the whole square was clapping and cheering. Nikora, with her family around her sat and waited, not showing whether this outburst surprised her or what she expected. She let the people cheer for a few moments, before pulling herself together and standing up again.

  The moment she held up her hand, the crowd fell silent instantly. The Mayor of Maui, who was sitting behind her on the stage, pursed his lips. He did not like that the people seemed to respect Nikora the same amount, or more, than they did him. Nikora, if she chose to, could be a huge political figure in Maui. But she wanted nothing to do with politics, finding all the sitting around and
talking instead of action annoying. She also had no intention of playing an active role in Wilkins industries. Her family knew the terms of the will quite well, although the general public did not. Nobody had expected that they would have to deal with this so soon.

  “My mother was an amazing woman. She ran everything with such sleight of hand no one ever realized it. I will miss her with all my heart.” Nikora finished and then let her husband lead her to her seat.

  Chapter Two: Awkward Encounters

  Tane was out of his head with grief for most of the ceremony. He registered it when his mother stood to speak and he could feel waves of her distress washing over him, amplifying his own. He had loved his grandparents with all his heart but even he hadn’t expected the grief to affect him like this. He felt physically weighed down by it. At his peripheral vision, he could see Liviana hovering. She put a bottle of water in his hand a second before he realized how thirsty he was. She led him away from the crowds and into a secluded area just when he began to feel claustrophobic at the press of people during the wake. She sat quietly with him, not talking, providing a silent buffer between him and all the people wanting to ‘touch base’ or ‘have a word.’ Or worse, press people wanting some sort of quote.

  He really had not appreciated what prominent citizens his grandparents had been. They had just been nana and babi who doted on him and made him feel loved and appreciated. They were two people who celebrated every tiny thing he did, and he was just realizing how much he relied on that love. How much confidence it had given him in himself and his abilities. His parents were great, and they for sure were proud of him and loved him. But there was something special about a grandparent’s love. It was less complicated, more adoring, with little or not judgment. He would miss that dearly. He would miss talking to them, and just simply having them around.

  Tane swallowed a lump in his throat and was less than surprised to see a napkin appear in his vision, held by a delicate porcelain hand. He’d never noticed Livy’s hands before; how long and elegant they were, with neatly clipped square nails. He took the napkin, wiping the sweat from his brow…and any other moisture that might have been on his face.

  ***

  After the funeral, Tane let Liviana take him back to her place.

  After the wake held at his grandparents’ mansion Nikora and Tipene had held dinner at their house for a few close friends and family. Surprisingly, Liviana was there; being a helpful quiet presence in the background. Tane saw how easy his mother was with her and had to concede that maybe Livy hadn’t been lying about becoming close with Nikora. After dinner, people began to tell stories of his grandparents. Happy stories, sad ones…Tane just wasn’t ready to hear them.

  His mother saw his discomfort and asked Livy to take him away.

  Which she did.

  And Tane let her.

  Much to his surprise.

  Tane found himself reaching out as they walked —a hand on Liviana's shoulder, against her back—only to find himself frozen, as though he couldn't recall what to do next, as though he was afraid that his suspicions about her feelings for him were just a dream he'd conjured to help face the damp, crushing darkness—a dream to chase the ghosts away. And Liviana—Liviana had seemed almost scared to touch him, until tonight, when Nikora had whispered something in her ear as she hugged her goodbye.

  Both of them looked over at Tane then, and Liviana had nodded; moments later Tane felt Liviana's hand on his arm, guiding him, leading him to the footpath that led to her house. He followed without thinking, letting her guide him down the path, take him inside her cottage, finding himself standing in Liviana's small bedroom, facing her.

  Liviana seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then she leaned forward and kissed Tane softly, slowly—carefully, as though he was made of glass. She cupped Tane's jaw with one hand, and when he pulled his lips away, the hand slipped down Tane's neck, and pushed one brace from his shoulder.

  "Please," said Tane.

  "Okay."

  "I need—"

  "I know."

  But Liviana didn't know, she couldn't know, so Tane grabbed her by the waist, and tried to pull her even closer, tried to crush their lips together so hard that it hurt, so hard that they couldn't breathe—but somehow Liviana managed to slip a hand between them, holding Tane back, and Tane found himself unable to move again, unable to do anything but close his eyes as Liviana raised her hands to Tane's collar.

  It was almost torture, the way that Liviana slowly undressed him, meticulously undoing each button, each zip, each clasp. she bent down to remove his shoes and socks, then stood to unfasten both his belt; she pushed Tane's other brace from his shoulder, and kissed him again, before removing his shirt, and easing him out of his pants. And somehow, in the midst of this, she managed to remove her own clothes too, so that they stood in front of each other, close, naked, trembling.

  Tane felt Liviana's hands curl around his back, enclosing him, pressing them close together. He felt Liviana's breath on his neck, felt her heartbeat, felt her shudder, as though she could almost sense the shades that lurked in the corners of Tane's memory.

  Because he couldn't do anything else, Tane went almost meekly as Liviana maneuvered him into a kneeling position at the top of the bed, facing the wall. He parted his legs as Liviana climbed onto the mattress behind him, and knelt between Tane's calves. Tane tried to get on his back, trying to pull Liviana forward, trying to make her straddle him, but Liviana brushed Tane's hands away. And instead of riding him, instead of burning him up with desire, hot enough to sear away the images that pressed at the corners of Tane's vision, instead of giving him that relief, Liviana's hands found their way onto Tane's shoulders, slowly working at the muscles there.

  Tane relaxed in spite of himself as Liviana's hands thrummed their way down his back, tracing familiar patterns, applying pressure in exactly the right places, melting him, breaking his guard. He couldn't resist, he couldn't hide, even if he needed to. He couldn't hold himself aloof, he couldn't stop, he couldn't protect himself from them, and he couldn't stop them from surrounding him.

  Fuck.

  "God, Liviana, just get on with it," said Tane hoarsely, under his breath.

  Liviana leaned forward, and her teeth sunk into the skin of Tane's shoulder, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to hurt a little: one short, sharp, brilliant burst of pain—one moment of relief. "No. Not yet."

  "Please, Livy."

  "You're not ready."

  "I don't need to be ready."

  "Then I'm not ready."

  Tane could feel Liviana's erect nipples pressing against her back, but he suspected that she wasn't talking about arousal. Liviana's hands continued their way down his back, kneading his flesh, forcing it to unwind. When they reached the base of his spine, Liviana drew back a little, and Tane felt her reach across to the bedside table, and heard the snick of a lid opening, the smell of lavender and mint immediately permeating the air. And then, finally, finally, she was turning him around, placing him on his back as she rubbed the lubricant into his skin. Tane pushed back against her, trying to make her go faster, trying to tell her not to be so damn gentle, so damn considerate. But somehow, no matter how hard Tane pushed, Liviana kept her pace slow and almost-steady, with just enough variation in the tempo, just the right balance between regularity and surprise. And it felt good, oh fuck, it felt good, but Tane didn't want good, he wanted mindless, hard, and rough. He wanted to flinch and grit her teeth, he wanted to bite down on his lower lip so that he wouldn't scream, but Liviana was having none of it. Her palm closed on his tumescent flesh, caressing slowly, softly, laying him bare, denying him the pain that might let him forget their faces for one fucking moment.

  Tane gasped in dismay when Liviana removed her hand, but then he heard the dull rip of a condom packet, and then she was slipping it on him with nimble fingers. She leaned forward, bracing herself against the bed-frame with one hand, spreading her legs further a
part as she straddled him. Tane tried to hold himself tense as Liviana lowered herself onto him, but Liviana had been too thorough; Tane's body was clay; it molded itself willingly around his lover, his tormentor.

  Even to his own ears, the sound that emerged from Tane's mouth sounded suspiciously like a sob.

  ‘Get it together Patariki,’ he thought, ‘haven’t you cried enough?’

  And then Liviana's teeth were at his shoulder again, applying just enough pressure, just enough to allow Tane to breathe in sharply as he regained control. But a moment later, the teeth were gone, replaced with lips and tongue and hot breath that tickled his neck, caressing him, calling him back.

  With every soft finger strumming his skin, with every kiss that Liviana planted along his jaw and across his neck, Tane saw them—his grandmother laughing at his cheesy jokes, promising to come snorkeling with him the next time they were in Honolulu. His grandfather looking on fondly, indulgent to the end. The horror of their accident. How scared they must have been when they realized they were free falling into the mountains. The pain they must have suffered as their bodies broke. Liviana summoned them all with her hands, with her mouth, with her body, and Tane was powerless to stop her.

  Tane's body betrayed him, arching upward and then pressing forward as Liviana began to move inside him with greater speed. Those eyes, those indulgent, fond, laughing, empty eyes, couldn't stop the warmth that radiated through every muscle; they couldn't stop the glorious pressure of Liviana's inner muscles on his cock, or the sweat that trickled down his back. And, at the last, they couldn't stop him from coming, hard, when Liviana's teeth met his shoulder for a third and final time.

  Tane managed—just—to hold himself still until he felt Liviana shudder against him with a low moan, and then he slumped backward, holding onto the bed-frame with both hands, as though it was all that stopped him from falling into oblivion. Liviana waited a moment, her hands trailing down Tane's chest, before pulling back, leaving Tane both empty and relieved.