by Mirren Hogan
“Wherever you want to be,” he replied. “Wherever, however, whatever and whenever.” He couldn’t imagine her wanting him to do anything he didn’t like every minute of.
“Such a damn tease . . . ” Her body writhed back onto the bed, trying to get into a position that left no doubt about where she needed him the most. Long fingers curled into the sheets in anticipation as she panted in the flashes of lightning that lit up the room.
“Damn straight.” He chuckled. “Is that a complaint?” Flynn had stretched out beside her hips and decided to take the situation in hand. He didn’t want to touch firmly enough to satisfy yet, just enough to build her desire.
“If I complain . . . will I get the payoff faster?” She reveled in the little tremors that ran through her body. Heat rose through her gradually, becoming a slow burn that made her toes curl back in anticipation. “Maybe I should beg?”
“Begging isn’t very modern, independent woman,” he pointed out. Instead, he’d give her just what she asked for.
Makani cried out, her fingers tightening in his hair. Her uninjured leg locked around his body, urging Flynn on. Her hips rose off the mattress as he touched sensitive flesh, first with his fingers, and then his tongue.
Flynn wanted her to feel good. More than good, he wanted her to be breathless. His tongue began a long, slow dance over the most sensitive places. He tasted the first of her juices and decided that wasn’t going to be enough. With relish, he pressed her thighs farther apart to better enjoy the woman lying in front of him.
Her blood really started to boil. Her skin turned a dusky shade of pink along her chest and up her cheeks, soft lips parting as she moaned and panted at the sweet pleasure starting to travel through her whole body.
Her response had him even more aroused than before. He had to shift position on the bed for his own comfort. Taking a breath, he worked her a little harder, a touch faster.
The shivers started in her toes as they curled back. Her muscles tightened up in her thighs as they shook around Flynn’s. Her hips pressed forward as he sent her soaring up. A long, low moan started in her throat and poured from her parted lips, fingers bunching in his hair and holding his mouth exactly where she needed it.
He could hardly breathe, but he persisted. His eyes found her face. It was a beautiful sight, but everything about her was beautiful.
She came down from the high, and let Flynn’s hair go. Her chest rose and fell with every ragged breath and she licked her lips, biting them to bring herself back to reality. She lay, trying to catch her breath for a long while.
“I love you,” Makani said as she leaned down and tugged him close enough lay kisses on his throat and jaw.
“I love you,” he said. He ran his hands lightly over her belly, around her hips, and gripped her rear. “I’ll never get tired of this.”
“Neither will I.” She leaned up to kiss his lips.
His mouth opened to hers. Gently, he sucked her tongue.
Catching one of his hands in hers, she laced their fingers together, holding firm, as though they could capture the moment and stay in it forever.
A few seconds later, an enormous clash of thunder rang out directly overhead. He laughed, low in his throat. “Nice exclamation point.”
Makani slumped forward, still breathless. She nibbled along his jaw and up to his ear, and whispered, “At least we can have loud sex and no one will know.”
He laughed more loudly and then yawned. The lower half of his body wanted to keep going, but the upper half had enough sense to know they were both exhausted. “I hope the storm is still around in the morning then.” It probably already was morning, technically.
“I’m sure it will be.” She resettled herself in the crook of his arm, sighing in contentment. Her eyes were already closed as she wound her unbandaged leg around his, snuggling in close for warmth.
CHAPTER 7
The sun was streaming through the window. The storm had passed some time during the night, leaving the island air clean and clear. The waves crashed onto the beach. A dog barked in the distance. Chickens clucked in the neighbor’s yard. The night before could easily have been a terrible dream. Makani felt Flynn stir and nuzzle her neck.
“Mmm . . . you’re not a dream, are you?” Her voice had a wistful note to it, as if she thought he might not be quite real.
“Hmmm?” he murmured. “I don’t think so. Maybe you should pinch me?” He ran a hand over her stomach.
She giggled softly, moving to press her back against his chest. “Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to get pinched?” This was by far the best dream her overactive imagination had come up with. She felt along his arm and laced her fingers through his, all without bothering to open her eyes.
“I wouldn’t pinch you, I’ve seen you with a spray can and lighter.” He laughed softly. His stomach rumbled. “I’m going to go for a run, then I’ll make us breakfast. You want to come?”
“Yeah . . . I guess I can run. My leg doesn’t hurt anymore.” She flexed her foot experimentally. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as she remembered it being, last night. “But that means having to get out of bed and putting clothes on.”
“You could run naked.” He sat up and stretched his arms over his head. “But people might stare.”
“You’re right—we don’t wanna give the old people heart attacks, do we?” She sat up and kissed Flynn’s cheek, before padding softly to the bathroom. “Please tell me you have shorts I can borrow? Or at least a pair of boxers? All my stuff probably smells like sewer water!”
“I doubt mine would fit you. Luckily the last tenant left a few things behind. Some of them might be all right.” A few minutes later, he tossed a couple of pairs of shorts into the bathroom, barely missing the sink. “Sorry, they’re pink, but that’s all I could find.”
A few minutes later, she stepped out in a pair of tight powder-pink shorts. It might be one of her least favorite colors. “If I ever have a daughter, I swear, she’s never wearing this color. Ever!” Makani tried to walk with as much dignity as possible, which was hard with the pants riding up her butt.
He grinned. “Not exactly on trend, but you look amazing in them.” He laced up his running shoes. “Do you think you can keep up?” he teased.
“Hopefully?” She stole a pair of his socks and started getting her hiking boots back on. They were the only thing she had, other than her rubber slippers. Flip flops. Thongs. Whatever the rest of the world called them. Knocking the mud off on the grass by the stoop, she laced up and stretched gently, hoping her left leg would hold up.
“I’ll go slowly.” He locked the door behind him and shoved the keys into his pocket. “What time does Annie get up?” He glanced at his watch.
“Like . . . whenever the people upstairs from her start arguing and slamming the door? Usually a little before noon.” She shrugged and started back toward the beach. Much as she hated running for exercise, this was preferable to running from nightmare monsters. Makani was mindful of the people and things she saw, always keeping her eyes open for things that didn’t belong.
“Sounds like uni.” He set the pace for them both, nice and slow for starters. “Do you think she’ll get anything off the phone? Maybe we should take it to the cops. Not that we can explain where we found it . . . ”
“Oh, yeah! Sure!” She panted softly. “Let’s tell them we forcefully removed it from a giant man-eating gecko . . . no, better with Annie. There’s no red tape and paperwork to file, and she can do more than HPD can.”
“Yeah, but should she even be involved in this? Not that she isn’t already,” he added, jogging around a man who had stopped to let his dog relieve its bowels on the sand.
“Trust me, she’s better at getting out of messes than anyone I know. Including you and me.” She looked back at the man and shouted, “Seriously, yo! Pick up after your damn dog!”
They had to keep the run short, because Makani’s leg started to throb and the bandage was turning red. That was fine b
y her—she was hungry. Chinese food never lasts in your stomach.
Flynn was barely even sweating as he unlocked the door. “What do you feel like for breakfast?”
“Protein bar?” She flexed her foot and winced. “No? Coffee and sex? Maybe not together?” She sat down on the couch and started peeling away the bandages on her leg. The burn was a livid pink, but that was expected. The bite, however, was ugly, the edges around each puncture turning red. “Eeew, I think I’ve got an infection.” She reached for the iodine and pads, cleaning out the wounds again before replacing the bandage with a fresh one.
Flynn made a face, then some coffee and toast. He put it on the table in front of her while she finished re-wrapping her leg. “When this is done, we need a holiday, somewhere warm, idyllic and quiet.”
“So . . . visiting your mom and dad is out of the question?” She flicked her eyes up to him and smiled, swinging her foot down and picking up the mug. “How about . . . Barbados? I don’t know any legends or monsters from there.” She grimaced at the thought, holding the warm cup against her chin. “Or New Zealand? Go and stay in a hobbit hole and watch Mt. Mordor blow up. It’s active, right now.”
“Do you know what they call Christchurch?” he asked between sips of coffee. “Christ-it’s-cold-church. Besides, they’ve had enough bad luck with quakes over there in the last few years, I wouldn’t inflict us on them.”
“How about Tijuana? We can’t make that place any worse!” She snickered between bites of her toast. Reaching for her phone, she shot a text out to Annie. The response came shortly after. “Oh, look! She’s awake.”
Flynn snorted. “But it’s not even ten AM. Maybe she’s just still up? What did she say, anyway?”
“Ummm . . . ‘bring Redbull . . . and chocolate.’ “ She shook her head and put the phone down. “Time enough for a quickie in the shower?”
His blue eyes regarded her sadly. “If it wasn’t about my family,” he said regretfully. “I’m going to get changed.”
“Sorry . . . I’ll clean up here, and I’ll be right behind you, okay?” That was a sure way to mess up a good mood. Gathering up the mugs and plates, Makani washed them quickly before following Flynn to the bedroom. She yanked a comb through her hair and stole a white tank top from Flynn’s shirt drawer. “I owe you a clean shirt when I have time to go shopping, deal?”
“Just don’t buy anything in pink,” he said, “or purple. Or pea green.” He tugged a dark red shirt over his head and pulled on a pair of khaki cargo shorts. “Ready?” He pushed his feet into his running shoes and sat on the side of the bed to lace them.
“Yeah.” She grabbed the rubber slippers from her bag and put those on, wiggling her toes at the much softer texture. “I really hope we don’t have to do any running today . . . ” As a precaution, she grabbed her boots with Flynn’s socks inside them. Fishing for her keys, she started toward the jeep and got to the business of hot-wiring it.
He held the bag with the phone inside it on his lap. Taking it out gingerly, he pressed the power button. “It’s dead as a dodo. I hope this friend of yours has magical powers or something. Otherwise this will get us nowhere.”
“Trust me.” The jeep rattled to life. “Annie tracked it inside a mutant iguana’s stomach. She can get something useful off of it.” Makani gunned the engine and backed out of the driveway, nearly taking out a flock of hens crossing the street. “Hey, look, they really do cross to get to the other side!”
He laughed. “They better cross faster or they’ll be lunch.”
“Be nice! They might be a kid’s pets. Chickens are fun to keep.” She laughed and punched the jeep faster, speeding back onto the freeway to get them downtown
“They’re even more fun to eat,” he pointed out. “At least they lay. Shame they’re eggs.” He grinned.
“Boys never quite grow out of dirty jokes, do they?” The rest of the drive was uneventful as they pulled onto the street below the old building where Annie lived. Makani made the trek across the street to a small mom-and-pop shop and picked up the asked-for Redbull and chocolate bars, before they started up the stairs.
“Annie! Let us in!” She pounded on the door and stood, tapping her foot impatiently.
The door swung open. Annie’s usually messy hair was as bad as ever. Today she wore a t-shirt that proudly declared “I’m no longer with stupid” over a pair of torn floral jeans.
“Yo, c’min,” She stepped back out of the way to let them in.
“Hey . . . wasn’t that mine, like . . . last year?” Makani pulled Flynn through the door, handing the bag of cans and chocolate to Annie. “Thanks for getting back to me. Did you sleep yet?” She stepped over the mass of extension cords and settled onto the couch.
“Some.” Annie shrugged. “Yeah, it was yours. I borrowed it. Thanks. So, what’s your racket today? More shit-scary, blood-sucking monsters?” She gave Flynn a seductive—for her—smile, which he ignored. She pouted and turned her attention to Makani.
“Kind of. That GPS signal you tracked? It was from Flynn’s brother-in-law’s phone. We retrieved it—” and this part was brilliant “—from the belly of a teenaged mutant psycho lizard. Unfortunately, it’s water-logged. Or gut-logged, we don’t know. Anyway, think you can pick anything out of its guts?” Her hand rested on Flynn’s thigh in a show of territorial posturing, something she’d never really bothered doing before. “Flynn, hand it over to Annie.”
“Yes ma’am.” He pulled out the phone and handed it over.
“Dude, when will people learn that water is hell for phones?” Annie let it drip. “At least it’s not an iPhone. Your brother-in-law is a tight ass, brah. This is a cheap sucker.”
Flynn just shrugged. “I guess that’s how he’s rich.”
“Gimme a bit.” Annie slid the back off the phone and dried the individual pieces with a bright yellow cloth. She connected the phone up to one of her laptops and switched the computer on. “If there’s anything left to find, I’ll find it.”
“Good! I guess we could have tried the rice bag trick. Would that even work on gastric juices?” Makani looked around, and pulled her own phone out, checking emails. “Hey, look—I’ll actually have work this coming week. That’s nice.” If they survived that long. If they found Flynn’s family. Family—dinner—”Crap! I’ve gotta cancel dinner for tonight!” Her fingers moved at lightning speed across the screen, shooting a mass text out to her brothers and cousins.
“What a shame,” Flynn muttered sarcastically under his breath.
“Oh man, I have to go shopping then. The only food I have in the place is chocolate and Redbull.” Annie opened a chocolate bar and bit into it. Mid-chew, she made an urgent sound and waved her arm at the computer.
“What, what?” Makani dropped her phone on the couch and bounded to the screen, ignoring the sudden flurry of vibrations and pings as her siblings and parents responded. “Okay, that just looks like a ton of coding and crap. Chew, woman!” She popped a can open and handed it to Annie.
Annie gulped down a mouthful and swallowed. “It’s the locations the phone has been since it was switched on.” She tapped the screen. “See? Sydney, Newcastle, Bateman’s Bay—where the hell’s that?” She glanced at Flynn, and then back to the screen.
“Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco . . . Honolulu. And a few places on the island.”
“HNL, Sandy’s, Kaka’ako . . . all the way to Kaimuki . . . ” That gave Makani pause, but she couldn’t quite figure out why. “And down to Moili’ili. That’s where we found it.” She chewed her lip in thought. “Why would your sister’s family head up that way, if their car was left at the Waterfront Park?”
“I don’t know where ‘up that way’ is, but I don’t know how or why they’d leave the park and their SUV.” He shrugged. “They’re not exactly active people . . . Where is this Kaimuki?”
“Ummm . . . up the hill from the karst.” Makani turned around and started looking at time signatures. It was a half hour between the time th
ey were at the park, and when they made it to the residential part of Kaimuki. She hated to think it, but it was a plausible idea, “Maybe someone kidnapped them?”
He looked like he was about to protest, but then he nodded. “The kappa could have found the phone at the park and swallowed it. Jason is rich, maybe someone wanted his money? This could be unrelated to the monsters. Or not.”
“I don’t know . . . Annie, can you show me on a map where exactly in Kaimuki we’re talking about?” For all she knew, they’d taken a cab to look for a famous malasada shop and got murdered by the driver. That had happened before. No one ever said paradise was perfect. But she had a bad feeling about what they were going to see.
“Yeah.” Annie tapped at the keypad and brought up a map of the island. A few strokes more and the screen showed a road map of the area, with a line marking the phone’s movements. Pins marked the locations where it had been stationary for any substantial length of time.
“Okay . . . not malasadas . . . they were at a house? On . . . Ninth Avenue . . . on the corner . . . ” She kept leaning in closer, trying to figure out why exactly the location was bugging her so much. She vaguely recalled going to the area as a teenager, but for what reason? Makani’s eyes went wide when she realized why. “That house is supposed to be haunted!”
“Oh good, now we have ghosts?” Flynn complained.
“Not quite . . . maybe?” She straightened up and started pacing. “The story goes, back in the fifties, there was a murder/suicide that took place there, and to this day it’s remained unsolved. Messy affair, blood and guts splattered on the walls, only teeth and a couple fingers to identify the corpses. A detective on the case reported witchcraft had been the cause, but no one believed him. All these years, people have tried living there but won’t stay because weird stuff keeps happening. Furniture moves, things break, kids get scratched in their sleep. You name it, it’s happened. Now here’s the kicker: it’s supposed to have been vacant for the last fifteen years.” Makani’s mouth moved on auto-pilot, recalling the story and history in her tour guide voice.