Druidess Found (Druidess Trilogy Book 1) by Machelle Hanleigh (interesting novels to read txt) 📕

Moto let her go.

Kaily dove back into Crystal Lake before Moto could grab her again.

Moto cursed and paced along the edge. He stopped his pacing long enough to take off his vest and trousers. He paced some more, and then dove into Crystal Lake. After he located her, he swam to the surface with his arm locked around her waist. He cursed and grabbed the edge.

"Dammit!" Kaily's attention focused on the stone which remained out of her grasp.

"I don't know if I should just kill you myself and be done with it or let you continue to do it yourself." Moto said, still clenching his teeth.

"Don't be rude." Kaily said. She didn't look at him.

Moto forced her gaze to meet his. "Why are you trying so hard to get a stone? You aren't even Kahoali."

Kaily narrowed her eyes on him. "I don't need reminded by you that I am an outsider. I just want to see one up close. Is that so wrong?"

"You aren't Kahoali!" Moto said.

"I wasn't going to keep it!" Kaily said.

"That's not the point, Kaily."

"Then what is? Why are you so angry with me?" Kaily felt too angry for tears which was probably a good thing. She didn't understand Moto. Where'd the hell he come from anyway? All of a sudden, he was around? How fair was that? She didn't give voice to any of those thoughts.

"I'm not angry at you." Moto said.

Kaily could tell that he still tried to calm his temper still very close to the surface. She didn't know how she knew that; she just did. "Are you sure about that?" She asked her eyebrows rising.

"Fine, I am." Moto closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Moto," Kaily touched the side of his face and moved closer to him as they clung to the edge of Crystal Lake, "talk to me. Why are you so angry with me?"

Moto looked at Kaily. He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. "You scared me, Kaily."

"I didn't mean to."

"I know." Moto pulled her into an embrace. "I know."

Kaily wrapped her other arm around Moto, "please talk to me. What am I missing?"

Moto caressed the side of her face. "Everything," he kept her from turning away from him. "Don't pull away."

"I don't want to, but I can't keep getting half answers from you. You asked me to stay and be patient with you, but I can't if this is what we are going to keep doing. And that's when you're around. Where the hell have you been for the past three days?"

Moto didn't answer.

Kaily let out an exasperated sighed. "I need answers, Moto."

"I know." Moto took a deep breath. "You're not Kahoali. Let me finish," he said and laid a finger across her lips. He rubbed her furrowed brow. "You have to be willing to stay for the answers and allow me to give them in my own way."

"Then get on with it." Kaily snapped.

Moto shook his head, "patience, little one."

Kaily glared at him.

Moto half smiled. "What you are missing IS that you are NOT Kahoali. You shouldn't be able to see the stones in the first place. In reality, you shouldn't have been able to use the portals to get to Crystal Lake and yet here you are. You have no ability to touch the energy of Ki and yet here you are."

Kaily frowned, "I don't understand."

Moto laughed. It was not an amused laugh. "I know." She felt and heard his frustration. "I know, Kaily, and I don't know how to explain it to you. Your world is not like this one and yet I have to find a way to explain concepts to you that you have no basis to understand."

Kaily shook her head. She opened her mouth to reply and then closed it several times. Finally, she laid her forehead on his chest with a heavy sigh. What could she say to that argument? As much as she hated it, he was right. She saw things she couldn't accept, let alone understand.

He cupped the back of her head in his palm.

"Where have you been, Moto?" Kaily asked although she refused to look up at him.

Moto kissed the top of her head and then forced her to look at him. "Can you still see the stone that caught your attention?" He didn't answer her question of his whereabouts.

Kaily peered into the water and nodded. "Yes."

Moto took a deep breath. "I must be losing my mind," he said to himself.

Kaily turned her face so that her gaze met his and smiled.

Moto shook his head, "don't smile. The hard part is just beginning." He kissed her hard on the mouth. "Don't kill yourself or I'll make sure you don't sit for a week if you do."

"You can't if I'm dead."

Moto's hand found her butt under the water.

Kaily squeaked as he smacked her again. It surprised her that he could deliver one under the water like that. "Got it! No killing myself." She liked his playfulness. It filled her with joy. She liked this side of him, not that she saw much of it to go by. She couldn't deny the pull between them and she wanted to understand what drew them. She wanted to understand who Moto was inside and out, which was why she stayed in the first place. She focused her attention on Moto.

Moto shook his head. "You are going to be a handful, aren't you?"

Kaily smiled.

He shook his head in return. She thought she might have glimpsed a small smile too. "The secret is to bring the stone to you." Moto held up his hand and a smooth stone with strong reddish tones appeared in his hand.

Kaily reached out to touch it, but it disappeared as fast as it appeared. "Show off."

Moto smiled. "It is a bit harder than that, but the concept is the same. Picture the stone in your mind's eye and as you dive under the water, see the stone in