Heating Up Hawaii

by Carmen Falcone

  “Luc, let him go.”

  He held Darren by his collar with one hand as if he was weightless, while the other closed into a hard fist.

  “Enough of the testosterone contest.” She raised her voice and smacked her hands against his arms. “Luc, put him down.”

  Luc cocked his head. Though Darren mumbled something inaudible under his breath, she noticed a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Luc loosened his hold slowly, not moving an inch or breaking eye contact with the man.

  “Darren, please go now,” she pleaded. “We’ll talk later.” She regretted her last minute bargain immediately after saying it.

  “You heard her,” Luc growled behind her.

  “Good-bye for now.” Darren glared at her. He shot Luc an unsatisfied stare, and Luc responded with a much stronger one in return. Darren mumbled something, clenched his jaw, spun around, and left. His compact frame disappeared under the Red Maple tree shadows and into the night.

  They both slid inside the limousine and mortification quickly crept up on her. What should she do? Thank him? No. The last thing she needed was to give his ego a deep tissue massage. Explain to him? No. He had nothing to do with her personal affairs, and the less he knew about her, the better.

  Luc sat next to her, though she scooted to the far side of the leather seat, preventing their limbs from accidentally touching. After exchanging a few words with the driver, he glanced down at her.

  Penny swallowed her embarrassment, when a quick peek back his way showed her his smile. He was smiling! His eyes focused forward, lost in thought.

  During the rest of the ride and their arrival at the Michelin-starred eatery, he didn’t speak.

  The restaurant had high ceilings and an airy interior. The entrance was a hustle and bustle of activity. They were lead to a booth located in a quiet corner where the ambience was undeniably cozy. A musician played a huge piano under the dim lighting and there was the warm scent of vanilla from the candles burning on each table.

  “Luc, I have our contract with me, and if you’re ready we can start discussing your needs,” Penny spoke after they placed their orders. She knew she had her work cut out for her, with the date of the re-opening party fast approaching.

  “When did you end your engagement?” His syrupy accent didn’t conceal the touch of impatience in his voice.

  She raised her eyes to his only to find the blue one darkening to the color of a gray overcast sky, and the hazel deepening into a dark brown shade. A thrill of excitement and fear zinged down her body and shook all her nerve endings.

  She blinked. “I don’t see how this is relevant.” Penny managed to sound casual.

  “Eight months ago?” He tilted his head and edged closer to her.

  She folded her arms together, desperate to create an invisible layer of protection against that question. Against him.

  “Six,” she said at last. “How do you know that I ended it? It could have been him.”

  Luc chuckled a hearty sound, which annoyed her. “That’s obvious. How long before the wedding did you do it?”

  Penny hesitated. She stared at the short flame swaying on the wick of the white candle in the middle of the table. She touched the brown metal candle holder, her fingers caressing the pattern along the round object.

  The worst isn’t over. It’s just beginning.

  “The day before.” She avoided meeting his gaze.

  “The day before.” He repeated with a nod. “A runaway bride.” He squared his shoulders, and slid away from her, back to his original place. “I’m not surprised. Running always was your forte.”

  And using women to your advantage was always yours.

  She looked up at him with an effort. There was no trace of mockery on his lips, no amusement in his eyes. His stance was deadly serious.

  What could she say? She hadn’t run. This was no unsolved, long lost love. On that overcast New York day, Luc had confronted her. He had questioned her reason for telling Allegra, the investor’s daughter, about their secret affair.

  Well, secret had been how he had wanted to keep it. Penny understood as a hotel manager it didn’t look good for him to date an intern and it even went against company policies. She had lived with it for two months, never telling a coworker the reason of her smile or sweet humming in between check-ins at the front desk.

  But when a coworker alerted her that Allegra Smith, the daughter of the hotel owner and known investor, had a crush on Luc, things had changed. He had told her all he needed was to be on the Smiths’ good side to pitch his bold business idea to her father. How could she in clear conscience play along, when the pain she both caused and felt from her childhood still haunted her?

  She swallowed the bitterness lodged in her throat. “I merely finished my internship a couple of weeks early.”

  She wanted to move on her seat, but his eyes pinned her like they often did when unexpected. There was no warmth in them, just a flicker of resentment. She imagined a man with an ego the size of NASA hadn’t enjoyed being dismissed by a woman his junior, his work subordinate. Or anyone else, in Luc’s case.

  “I never slept with her.”

  “You seduced her.” She sat stiffly.

  “Didn’t you hear what I just said? I never slept with her, before, during, or after we were together.” He drawled the last sentence.

  “You don’t have to sleep with someone to seduce them.” Good God, I certainly learned that the hard way. There wasn’t one female employee at the New York hotel who hadn’t at least once made a comment about his seductive accent or striking looks. Married or single, old or young. And she, Penny Ashbrook, had fallen in love like a blind fool. The idea of being the one he broke the rules for only adding to the intensity of her emotions. “Don’t pretend you’re unaware of your effect on women. Modesty was never your forte.”

  “But not on you, correct?” His features softened, his seriousness took a backseat to typical male arrogance.

  “In the past, yes, but…not now. Not that it matters. We are different people. We want different things out of life.” She tossed her hair. “Plus, even if we weren’t, I know what kind of women you go out with.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “What kind?”

  “Society types, models. A couple of actresses.”

  “I’m surprised.” He ran his finger along his jaw, and amusement laced his voice. “I had no idea you read so much about me.”

  Penny shook her head. “I didn’t. I started today, going through all kinds of articles to know more about my new client. I do that with everyone.” A big, fat lie.

  A smile ruffled his mouth. She wasn’t sure if he believed her or not, but the way his luscious lips quirked up made heat melt the knots in her stomach. One by one.

  “I also ask everyone else to sign this contract.” Penny handed him the folder. Yes. He’s just like any other client. And the knots should be where they belong, thank you very much.

  Luc glanced at the sheets, and fetched a pen from his inside pocket to sign. The waiter brought them appetizers, and throughout the steak dinner they discussed the needs for his Maui resort.

  Talking about something not personal put her at ease, even though there was no verbal encouragement from his part. She’d want it when time came to gather his promised recommendation letters, but now his attention on what she did best sufficed.

  “Do you have any questions?” Penny took a bite of her cheesecake as Luc sipped on dessert wine. Take that, microwave dinner.

  “Aren’t you afraid of getting fired?”

  The sweet, chunky piece had made its way halfway down her throat when she’d heard his question. She reached for the glass of water and sipped some immediately to keep from choking and sputtering like a fool.

  “Charles obviously doesn’t like you, and I can only imagine he’s got the right reasons, after you made a fool out of his son,” he continued, his voice cold and exact.

  “Charles wouldn’t fire me,” Penny said in a rush of words, her belief in t
hem fading as she spoke. “I’m hardworking and qualified. I’ve earned my position.”

  Luc’s eyes assessed her in a slow sweep from head to toe. “Daniel still thinks he can win you over. That’s why Charles hasn’t fired you yet, because his son is pressuring him not to upset you while he changes your mind.”

  “Not exactly.” She had wanted to resign after the whole wedding fiasco, but Charles hadn’t let her, unwilling to lose a couple of profitable accounts she’d managed. To ease her conscience and do the right thing she had agreed as long as she paid for the expenses of the wedding party. Although his family had footed the bill for the outrageous wedding services, she was the one to pay for whatever they couldn’t cancel on time. The downside was that she’d eaten tuna sandwiches and chicken salad for about a month.

  But it was the right thing to do, the consequence to her action. Never mind that Charles had sneakily cleared her out of any big accounts for the past months. Luc didn’t need to know that.

  “It’s Darren. And he’s been through a rough patch after our break-up.” Penny squared her shoulders, her fingers tense on her lap.

  The understatement of the year…Though Luc didn’t need to know that her ex relapsed from his addiction to alcohol in the weeks following the wedding being canceled. She felt guilty enough, and by the predatory looks Luc shot at her, he would only make her feel worse.

  “Why don’t you set him straight? That things are over?”

  “That’s what I did when I called off our wedding.”

  He shot her an annoyed look. “Yet, he still hounds you.”

  Yes. “It’s not like that.”

  “I beg to differ. I’ve seen how uncomfortable he makes you. I think you don’t want to set him straight because if you do, you’ll be fired.”

  “I worked for DG for a year before I even met Darren and got engaged. What happened between Darren and I has nothing to do with the quality of my work.” Penny said out loud what she had been repeating to herself and others; her mantra. For how much longer would she pay the price for mixing business and pleasure?

  “Do your coworkers feel the same way?”

  “I don’t care how they feel,” she lied.

  “So ruthless, ma petite.” His finger circled the edge of the wine glass. “What happened to the idealist woman I met?”

  “She matured.”

  “I see that.” His stare moved from hers, down to her lips.

  Her neck pulsated when his gaze slowly slid down to her chest. Her nipples strained against her bra, and her breasts heaved. She crossed her legs tightly. Unsure if her heart beat faster than the pulse between her thighs.

  The waiter approached them with the bill. She rubbed her slick palms against each other, under the table, to give her fidgety fingers something to do.

  Luc simply shrugged, and a cool, blasé expression masked his face. He barely went through the motions, just paid the bill and steered her out of the restaurant. The limousine purred on the curb. The driver opened the door with a smile and she got in, followed by Luc. But she noticed something was different.

  A hidden emotion lingered on the air and pressurized the atmosphere inside the limo in such way that they might as well have been sharing a Smart Car.

  What happened to the idealist woman I met? The question rang in her ears. For several years, she thought she’d replaced idealism with pragmatism. Things were much easier when they could be rationalized, organized, and planned. That’s how she grew professionally, by thinking and anticipating.

  Too bad her love life was different. And she’d tried, damn it. She’d tried to turn her engagement and marriage to Darren into a smart decision. But perhaps that romantic girl still lived inside her somewhere, carefully tucked underneath the wounds.

  It doesn’t matter, her practicality warned. Her performance on this assignment would be key for her opening her own business. For her success. For her career, which had been the only stable thing in her life. If she allowed herself to fantasize about Luc, she’d get wrapped around the memories of how unfit for each other they were. Well, not in the bedroom…

  Penny cleared her throat. “We haven’t talked about when you’ll need me in Maui.”

  “Tomorrow,” he said casually.

  “Tomorrow?” A chill knotted her stomach.

  He sobered. “I actually mentioned it when the waiter brought the bill, but maybe you didn’t pay attention. The reopening party is in three weeks. You’ll have lots to do until then.”

  “Of course.” She was glad at how professional and confident she sounded, unlike the mix of excitement and fear pumping in her veins. This was really going to happen.

  When the limousine stopped by the sidewalk that led to her ground-level apartment, she sighed. Luc got out of the car first and came around to open her door just before her fingers reached the handle.

  Penny stood up. “You don’t have to walk me to my door, Luc.”

  “That’s the most important part, Penelope.”

  For a moment she said nothing, her eyes fixed on his. He could be a rotten product with a great gift wrapping. He could be a bastard disguised as a well-mannered European… Luc Leoni could be pretty much anything he put his mind to. Blood pounded fast in her veins every time she allowed herself to remember what he had once been.

  My first lover.

  Her heart hammered in her ears, growing louder with each step toward her door. This wasn’t a date, but the end of a successful business dinner.

  She had the chance to wow him so he could refer her to his hotshot business friends, and make it possible for her to start her own boutique PR firm from scratch.

  Their arms brushed as they reached her front door. Though he wore a long sleeve shirt, a jolt of electricity snaked up her arm.

  Penny clasped her fingers around the door handle.

  She glanced over her shoulder. He remained behind her with a half-smile that would have a weaker woman praying for mercy.

  Or ripping off her clothes.

  “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Luc.” She conceded. “I will give you everything I’ve got.”

  “And I shall take it…all.” His lips almost turned into a smile, but instead he inhaled and nodded. “Have a good night.”

  Chapter Three

  “Has she arrived yet?” Luc asked the flight attendant as soon as he stepped off the white metal ladder and onto the carpet of his private jet.

  “Not yet, sir.” The blonde flight attendant smiled, reached out and lightly stroked his sleeve. The message in her eyes evident–if whoever he expected to come did not, well, she was available and willing.

  He could care less. Since the previous night he couldn’t stop thinking of Penny. Getting emotionally involved with her was not an option–been there, done that. But a raw need within his body had awakened, and since then a rush of adrenaline shook his system every time he thought of her. When was the last time he felt this anxious over a woman?

  Invigorated. Excited. Thrilled.

  He took his suit jacket off, handed it to the flight attendant and plopped down on a cream oversized seat with a heavy sigh.

  It was his personal policy not to mix business and pleasure–and the last experience with her had made him act on it with military discipline.

  When he’d given Penny the assignment, the main thing in his mind was that she had talent, and he always sought the very best. His resort in Maui, an adult-only property which was a new market for him, deserved the best.

  He loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. Just the thought of her was enough to burn his skin.

  What bothered him on a level he couldn’t quite explain or understand was the presence of her former fiancé in her life. Why would the man still hover after being publicly humiliated? After she had walked—no—ran from his life.

  At least I wasn’t the only one she walked away from.

  Penny’s abrupt departure from her summer internship early and his brother’s death six months later showed hi
m that the freedom that love brings can be easily held back with thick, heavy chains.

  Yet all the common sense in the world didn’t change his reaction to her. Why did he respond so intensely to a woman who was no good for him? It had to be because of their shared history.

  He’d always considered himself smart. But a part of his brain chose to shut off her lack of loyalty whenever she was around. What if he had her again? He looked at the small but functional suite at the back of his Challenger 850. A dark fantasy filled his mind...to have her and end this nonsense. He thought wanting her was wrong–but what if not addressing the problem was even worse? How would he be able to focus and do his job, without a clear mind?

  Mon Dieu. He laughed at himself, at how pathetic he sounded. Yet, the image of a naked Penny lying on the queen bed of his suite became sharper by the minute. A shot of desire spread through his veins.

  The sound of a couple of female voices and footsteps had him focus his attention at the door.

  A flushed Penny made her way into the jet and toward him. A dark green dress hugged her curves. She wore a black scarf wrapped around her shoulders, and he looked down, recognizing the same red stiletto shoes she’d worn when he’d first seen her at the rooftop bar.

  Those shoes. He couldn’t wait to have her legs wrapped around his waist, with the red heels knocking against each other as he thrust deep and hard inside her. His cock swelled and he quickly grabbed his tablet computer and placed it on his lap.

  “Oh, hi Luc. I talked to your PA, she didn’t tell me you’d come too. She told me you had to fly to Paris,” Penny said with a surprised look on her face, and sat opposite him, near the small oval window.

  “That’s only in a few days.”

  “Right.” She chewed on her lower lip and his libido stirred again. “I guess I didn’t know you would be this involved on the re-opening of the resort.”

  “But I plan to be very involved,” he said truthfully.

  The flight attendant returned to get their drink order.

  “Just water, please.” There was a pang of nervousness in her voice that he hadn’t noticed at the rooftop hotel or during their dinner together.