Sun Kissed

by JoAnn Ross

  As he and Donovan burst into the cabin, there was no conversation. No threats, confessions, any of that stuff that tended to fill up the last twenty minutes of a movie where the bad guys shared all that they’d been up to, and ended up getting either arrested, or, shot by the good guys, who walked away, either with the girl or each other, if it was a buddy flick.

  The thugs who’d been pounding their fists into Ford Britton’s face spun around, guns drawn. And wouldn’t you know it, they held the guns sideways, like gangsters always did in the movies, and, as Donovan had learned on a couple of earlier occasions in his vice days, in real life. Which might allow for a quick draw and look real cool, especially up on a big screen, but was a piss-poor way to get an accurate aim.

  Fortunately, because he and the SEAL had been taught the double-handed, thumb forward hold (because, dude, it helps to point in the direction you actually want the bullet to go), the rapid-fire exchange ended up good guys two, bad guys, zero. And the dumb guy tied to the chair screaming like a girl as he pissed his pants.

  “I suppose you should untie him,” the SEAL/pilot drawled.

  “Why me?” Donovan asked, wondering how many times FBI guys ever actually used those guns he saw in the weapons vault. He was used to talking things out. He’d been trained to do exactly that. But there was a reason he spent all that time at the range. Because sometimes either the bad guys had nothing to lose or were idiots. From what he knew about the way Capelli handled family business, he suspected, for these two, it had been six of one and one-half dozen of another. Because the odds were that they’d be dead either way.

  “Because it’s your mission. I’m technically not here.”

  “Talk about a cop-out.” Donovan had stuck the Glock back into his jeans when Lani suddenly showed up. And, dammit all to hell, she was not alone.

  23

  When the explosive sound of a gunshot shattered the night, Lani instinctively crouched down and wrapped her arms around herself. Another shot rang out, fading into the darkness as the night fell silent once again. The ominous quiet was unnerving.

  With the gunshots still ringing in her ears, she made her way stealthily toward the shack, following Donovan’s example by keeping hidden in the shadows as best she could.

  She’d almost reached the open door when an arm reached out from behind a tree and grabbed her around the neck.

  “One word,” the man growled in her ear as he pressed a gun painfully into her side, “or if you try anything, you’re a dead woman. Is that perfectly clear?”

  She nodded, fighting for calm, even as her blood chilled to ice and her body trembled. As he pushed her into the one-room cabin, she saw two men lying on the floor, guns still in their hands. They weren’t moving.

  “Fuck,” Donovan muttered.

  The pilot, whose casual ease with the dangerous situation suggested piloting charter planes was not his usual occupation, said nothing. But he did roll his eyes.

  Unsurprisingly, neither man appeared at all happy to see her.

  Ford, or she had to assume it was him, since his once handsome face was unrecognizable, was tied, hand and foot, to a wooden chair. What little bit of blue eyes weren’t buried in swollen black-and-blue bruises, were wide with fear, and he’d wet himself.

  Not that she blamed him for that.

  “Here’s the deal,” the thug who’d grabbed her told Donovan. “First off, unless you want me to shoot the little lady right now, you’re both going to drop your weapons.”

  “Are you okay?” Donovan asked her.

  “I’m fine.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  “I don’t remember inviting chatting,” her captor said. “Drop. The. Fucking. Guns. Now.” She couldn’t help a slight cringe as the gun pressed deeper into her side. Toward the back, which she remembered from one of the Jeopardy! answers was not that far from her kidney.

  She gave Donovan her most sincere “I’m so sorry,” look, but his face remained expressionless. As did the face of the man who was definitely no mere pilot.

  Even as both men dropped their pistols as ordered, Lani felt a spark of encouragement. Ford was obviously going to be no help. The way she saw it, there were three against one. Two of whom were professionals trained to handle situations like this. The odds were in their favor.

  “Now, your friend here is going to tell me where the ship’s vault is.”

  “You’re taking a big risk for not that much dough,” Donovan said.

  “It might be,” the only man left holding a weapon agreed. “But there’s also three million dollars in uncut diamonds in the vault.”

  “Which weren’t on the manifest,” Donovan said.

  “Oops,” her captor said. “I wonder how those got overlooked.”

  “Must’ve been some careless dockworker,” Donovan suggested in a dry tone.

  Lani recognized what he was doing. Keeping the bad guy talking while he came up with a plan. The only problem was, if she knew the ploy, the bad guy probably did as well. She might watch bad guys on TV, but the thug with the gun actually played one in real life.

  Still, she considered, that didn’t discount the element of surprise.

  Fed up with the way these men were ruining Christmas and her plans for the upcoming romantic New Year’s, when, as the clock struck midnight, Lani was going to tell Donovan that she loved him, she shifted her weight and took a deep breath.

  Her surprised captor shouted as he slipped through the air, landing with a thud on top of one of his former gang members.

  “Damn,” Donovan said, as the pilot retrieved the gun from the guy on the floor, then with one well-placed punch, knocked him out. “You really do know judo.”

  “I told you I had a brown belt,” she reminded him. “It may not be a third degree, but this guy was easy. I could’ve handled him back at my green-belt level.”

  Now that the excitement was over, a rushing sound was filling Lani’s head, and her knees were suddenly turning as weak as water. As she felt the blood leaving her face, Donovan took her into his arms. “Take a deep breath,” he said. “And sit down.”

  She glanced down at the floor that was mostly taken up with two dead and one unconscious bad guy. Which didn’t make his advice the most appealing she’d ever been given.

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured him as she shook her head to clear it, then wished she hadn’t.

  He’d just picked her up in his arms when three more men came tearing through the open door, guns drawn, faces grim. Would this night never end?

  “You guys missed all the fun,” Donovan drawled.

  “We thought we’d leave that to you.” A broad grin split Chief Kanualu’s dark face. “Professional courtesy, along with island hospitality, and all that.”

  “I appreciate it,” Donovan said. “How’d we do with Capelli?”

  “The federal boys took him into custody as soon as his jet touched down.” The police chief shook his head. “Unfortunately he didn’t seem to appreciate our aloha spirit.”

  “I can’t understand that,” Donovan said with a smile of his own.

  “Neither can I,” Manny Kanualu agreed. “After all, it’s not like we greet every haole who arrives in the islands personally.”

  He beamed with obvious satisfaction as he tipped his hat toward Lani. “ Mele Kalikimaka , Lani. It’s good to see you. Donovan told me you’d probably be coming along. My wife’s going to write a proper thank you note, but please tell your parents how much we enjoyed this year’s luau bash. The snow was inspired. Our grandkids had a super time.”

  * * *

  “You had the police in on this from the beginning,” Lani accused Donovan as they lay in his bed, arms wrapped around each other, while the sun rose outside the window.

  Donovan brushed a strand of fiery hair away from her face. “Not exactly from the beginning, but once I figured out what was going down, I thought the le
ast I could do was share the information. I know I hate it when some other jurisdiction is messing around in my precinct without informing me ahead of time. It’s also a good way to get shot.

  “Besides, once those FBI guys started following us, I didn’t have any choice but to fill them in before they got the wrong idea and decided we were working with Britton.”

  “That was nice the way you told everyone that Ford had every intention of turning the money over to the government.”

  Donovan shrugged as he ran his hand down her side. “Maybe he really did have that in mind all along, hoping to negotiate a finder’s fee. You didn’t see him arguing, did you?”

  His mouth created a sizzling path along the slope of Lani’s breasts, and her voice grew husky with desire as she tried to concentrate on their conversation. “Would you have argued if you’d been in his shoes?”

  “Hell, no.” The damp heat of his mouth moved with tantalizing slowness down her body, leaving trails of exquisite lightning.

  “You lied to me, Donovan.”

  “And you lied to me.” Sighing heavily, he reluctantly stopped his seductive kisses and lifted himself up on his forearms. “Dammit, Lani, do you have any idea how much danger you could have been in?”

  She smiled up at him, framing his scowling face with her palms. “Don’t be silly. I was with you.”

  “I think it’s a toss-up,” he said finally.

  She pressed her lips against his. “What?”

  “Which one of us is going to drive the other crazier.”

  Lani could feel his smile against her mouth. “You’re probably right,” she agreed cheerfully. “But think how much fun we’ll have in the meantime.”

  With a groan that was part agreement, part anticipation, Donovan lowered his body onto hers, locking her securely under him with his thigh. That was the last either of them had to say for a very long time.

  24

  This was, Lani considered happily, as she awoke in Nate’s house the next morning, a delicious way to live. She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss against Donovan’s tanned cheek before getting up. Sliding out from under the sheet, taking care not to wake him, she left the house on her customary morning walk along the beach. The sharp tang of the salt air cleared her head, and the comforting swish of the warm tropical water against her ankles soothed the anxiety created by thoughts of Donovan’s inevitable return to Oregon.

  Fully restored to her usual good humor after what could have been a horrific night, she practically skipped up the steps and entered the house. Her smile faded when she discovered Donovan on his phone. His dark frown left her no doubt that the call was business, not pleasure.

  It’s the commissioner , he scrawled on a notepad beside the phone.

  Lani’s heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t time, she thought. They still had another week until New Year’s. But the frown lines that she remembered from his arrival on the island gave her the distinct feeling that this call was going to take Donovan away from her.

  “I’ve got work to do. I’ll see you later,” she said.

  Donovan caught her by the wrist. “Wait a minute,” he said before turning his attention back to his caller. “Jack, give me just a minute, okay? Something’s come up.”

  He covered the phone with his free hand. “I thought, now that we’ve gotten Britton back safe and sound, that we were going to Fern Grotto Restaurant for brunch this morning.”

  “We were,” she agreed. “But that was before the commissioner called.”

  “He doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

  Doesn’t he? Lani was tempted to ask. But that would be breaking the rules she had insisted on from the beginning. No ties. No commitment. Just two people—a man and a woman—enjoying each other for as long as their time together lasted. That was all this interlude with Donovan could be. It was all she could allow it to be.

  “All right. He’s forgotten.” She touched her fingers to her lips, then his. “I’ll see you later.” Lani felt as if the forced smile was about to freeze on her face.

  “Later,” Donovan agreed as she left the house.

  As he watched her walk away down the beach, Donovan considered hanging up on the commissioner and following her, but prudence and self-discipline won out, and he reluctantly decided not to give in to the tempting impulse.

  Besides, Donovan reminded himself, he and Lani had an agreement. No strings. No ties. It was without a doubt a practical, sensible rule. And he was nothing if not a practical, sensible man. Ignoring the little flicker of doubt in the back of his mind, Donovan returned his attention to the obviously harried man who’d interrupted his vacation in paradise.

  Unable to keep her mind on her work, Lani paced the floor of her own house, determined not to think of Donovan. But that proved impossible as her rebellious eyes kept drifting toward the sparkling curve of coral sand, watching for him. Waiting for him.

  “This is ridiculous,” she muttered, glaring out over the turquoise water. “You just got carried away. You can’t possibly love the man. His world is light-years away from yours.”

  He was also not interested in commitment or permanency, she reminded herself firmly. He’d told her that from the beginning. To expect a future where none existed was sheer folly. And that, Lani considered, was the crux of her problem.

  Annoyed with herself, she sat down at her rattan desk and turned on her computer, researching topics for a student version of Jeopardy! the library would be putting on in the new year. After all, she strongly doubted that Donovan was over at Nate’s house, fretting about their relationship. No, he was undoubtedly deeply immersed in the reason for the commissioner’s telephone call, his attention focused solely on his own future. His own ambitions. Determined to do likewise, Lani began to read.

  “That must be some dynamite topic.”

  As Donovan’s deep voice broke her concentration, Lani lifted her head, surprised to see him standing over her.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I knocked, but your mind was obviously somewhere else.”

  “Arizona.”

  “Arizona?”

  “It’s illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona,” she explained.

  Donovan smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I visit Phoenix.”

  Lani nodded. “I certainly hope you will. After all, it wouldn’t do for an FBI agent to be arrested for camel poaching.”

  “The powers that be would probably hit the roof,” Donovan agreed easily as he pulled up a chair.

  “And wouldn’t that be a disaster,” she muttered.

  His brow furrowed in response to her acid tone. “Are we fighting?”

  “No.”

  He continued to study her thoughtfully. “Good. Because I don’t want to waste time fighting, Lani. Not with you. Not now.” He took her hand in his.

  “Are you going to tell me what that call was about?” she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady as he brushed his thumb lightly over her knuckles. How was it that such an innocent touch could make her feel as if her bones were melting?

  “I can think of better things to do than to talk about the commissioner.” The sexy gleam in his deep blue eyes reminded Lani that their relationship had been based on mutual pleasure.

  “You’re not answering my question, Donovan.”

  He ran his palm up her arm. “Why don’t we talk about him later?”

  “Why not talk about him now?”

  Muttering an oath, Donovan forced his mind off the satiny texture of Lani’s skin and back to their conversation. He didn’t want to waste time talking. Despite his need to make love to Lani, Donovan knew that by ignoring her repeated request, he would be giving her the idea that the only thing he wanted—or needed—from her was sex.

  Though the sex was admittedly the best he’d ever experienced, Donovan knew that something else was happeni
ng. Something that he’d vowed to figure out by New Year’s. Unfortunately, his time had just run out.

  “Martin Henderson, the current police chief, had a heart attack early this morning.”

  Lani drew in her breath. “Is he—”

  “He’s going to be all right,” Donovan said. “But it forces his retirement a few weeks early. At the moment, Portland is without a chief of police, which is the reason for the call. Now can we make love?”

  “In a bit of a hurry, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t have any choice. The plane leaves from Kauai in less than three hours to make a connecting flight in Honolulu to the mainline.”

  Lani had been expecting this since the moment she had entered Nate’s kitchen and seen Donovan’s grim face. The news came as no real surprise. Why did she feel so miserable? She forced back the stinging tears behind her eyelids, vowing that she would not cry. She would not ruin what had been an idyllic holiday by behaving like a clinging female.

  Annoyance was the safest emotion Lani was experiencing at that moment. Allowing it to surface, she struggled to keep her voice steady. “Don’t let me hold you up.”

  “I want you to come with me, Lani.”

  Lani struggled to read the real message in Donovan’s suddenly shuttered blue eyes. What was he asking of her? “To Portland? Why?”

  “I don’t like the idea of being away from you,” he said. His calm tone concealed the fact that a giant hand seemed to be squeezing his gut in two. “I thought you might be feeling the same way.”

  Lani felt as if she were treading on eggshells and didn’t particularly care for the sensation. She had always been the frankest one in the family—with the admitted exception of her grandmother—but this morning she found herself censoring not only her words but also her thoughts.

  “Oh, Donovan,” she said regretfully.

  He frowned, wishing, not for the first time, that women came with a manual. Had he misread what they’d shared? Had those blissful hours meant so much more to him than they had to her?