“And now that the pleasantries are over, are you hungry?” he asked, completely deadpan.
When she looked his way, she saw the small lift of one corner of his mouth and, for some reason, the small humorous quip had helped to break the ice.
“I hope you don’t mind but I placed our orders for dinner.”
When she asked what he’d ordered he told her he wanted to surprise her, give her a sampling of what Hawaiian food had to offer.
She took a sip of the ice-filled goblet and hummed in appreciation. “What drink is this?” she asked.
“It’s pineapple iced tea. I took the liberty of ordering that for you, as well. If you prefer I can order you something else,” he asked, and she waved a hand, shaking her head no.
“This is delicious,” she said, smiling up at him.
He returned the smile. “Glad it meets with your approval. I also ordered appetizers,” he said, and, as though on cue, the waitress came over with a platter in her hand, placing it down in the center of the table.
“I had no idea this would be such a feast!” she said, rubbing her hands together, a grin splitting her face.
“And this is only the appetizer,” he said, and she groaned, but the grin remained.
When he’d asked where she’d like to go, she’d said she wanted something local, but local for Hawaii was unlike any other place in the world, as it was a mixture of cultures with Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese cultures highly influencing their food.
Before her was a veritable smorgasbord of exotic foods on the large, pretty platter.
She had an idea of what some of the dishes were but turned to Keanu to find out about the rest of the food.
He smiled slightly as he pointed out what the dishes consisted of.
“What is it, exactly?” she asked, staring down at the good-smelling yet odd-looking assortment of delicacies.
“You’re going to love it. This,” he said, pointing to one of the white, flaky, steaming buns on the platter, “is manapua, which comes from our Chinese culture—char siu. It’s barbecue pork in a bun,” he said, lifting one of the steaming buns and breaking it open.
Sonia closed her eyes, inhaling. “Smells divine,” she said.
“Tastes even better. Wanna give it a whirl?” His voice was husky low.
Sonia opened her eyes to find his gaze on hers. She glanced down at the roll in his hand, the offer to eat from him one she couldn’t resist.
Leaning forward, she took a bite, allowing the sweet juice to stream down the corner of her mouth. His finger dipped, caught the juice on the tip of his forefinger.
She watched as he brought it to his mouth and licked the juice away.
“Delicious. Just like I knew it would be,” he replied.
Oh, God, she felt her heart drop and her gut seemed to hollow out at the simple yet intimate gesture.
She blew out a long breath, forcing a break in their connection.
Just like that, he had her. The man did things to her like no one ever had.
Suddenly shy for no apparent reason, she swallowed, forced a bright smile on her face and, with a shaky finger, pointed to another appetizer. “And this one?” she asked, clearing her throat. “What is this?”
She glanced up at him from beneath lowered lashes to see the familiar, sexy, small smile play around his mouth.
“This one is nori maki sushi rolls, from our Japanese heritage. It’s vinegar rice with tuna, shrimp flakes, egg, carrots, gobo all rolled in nori and sliced. Want to try this one, too?” he asked, the light in his eyes challenging as he deftly picked up the chopsticks and lifted one of the rolls onto it.
She straightened her back, lifted a brow. And smiled.
She knew he expected her to say no.
Which is exactly why she leaned forward and opened her mouth for him to feed her.
* * *
When she moved to take him up on his challenge, Key bit back the groan. God, the woman was turning him on even as she ate, tempting him to not only lick the sauce that dripped down her sweet, full lips but to take those lips and give her the kiss he’d wanted to give her since he’d seen her walk into the restaurant earlier.
When she’d entered, looking like sin wrapped in the skintight gold-colored silk kimono, she was a gift he wanted to open. When he’d glanced down at her small feet in the stiletto heels, the ends tied in a bow around her slim ankles, she definitely was a present Key wanted to unwrap.
He wondered how he’d kept his cool and not carted her off to the nearest hideaway to see what lay beneath the sinfully wrapped present. From head to toe, the woman was gorgeous.
He was used to her hair being straight. When she was on set, she wore a ponytail, positioned at the back of her head.
But for tonight she’d left it loose. The normally straight strands were a riot of natural wild curls that cascaded down her bared shoulders in the sexy dress that hugged and outlined each one of her scandalous curves.
Damn.
She’d used a light touch when it came to makeup, as she normally did; however, she’d paid close attention to her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, deftly outlined in a soft shade similar to the color of her dress.
The cut of the dress gave ample attention to her generous breasts, outlining and lifting them, emphasizing their perfection, making his mind race with thoughts of peeling the material to the side to get a small glimpse of what lay beneath, what she kept hidden from his view.
His cock hardened at the thought.
He glanced over at her, keeping the smile away. He hadn’t thought she’d go for it again. Thought he’d scared her into chickening out. Despite himself, his admiration for her seemed to keep on growing.
He quickly reminded himself what his mission was. He was the seducer, not the other way around.
He brought the roll to her mouth and watched as her small, white, even teeth took the entire roll in her mouth, gently, thoughtfully chewing before swallowing.
“You’re right. It is delicious,” she said. “As delicious as anything I’ve had in a long, long, time,” she finished, a small dimple appearing in her cheek.
Key ignored the way her quirky smile, the one that was as much a part of her as her humor, came out after she made the quip. He ignored the way it made his heart seem to thump harder against his chest.
Before he could say anything more, the waitress brought them the main meal. He sat back in his chair, feeling as if he’d just been run over by a steamroller, more than glad for the interruption.
It was getting to be where he was second-guessing who was the seducer and who was the one being seduced.
Chapter 11
When the main course arrived, Sonia’s face lit up. “So much food...it’s like thanksgiving!”
“This one I’m sure you’re familiar with,” he began, jumping right in with explanations. She grinned—if she didn’t know better she’d swear he was enjoying his food tour as much as she.
“It’s seasoned mahi mahi, a pelagic fish. Next to it is fried nenue, another tasty fish, but this one is eel,” he said, using a fork to lightly pierce the flesh. “This is laulau, which can be pork or chicken—in this case the Mai-Kai used chicken. And this piece is a butterfish wrapped in taro leaves, held together with ti leaves and steamed.” He paused, brought a small mouthful to his lips and took a bite, his eyes closing. “And the best fish you’ll probably ever have,” he said, and Sonia’s eyes darted to his mouth and throat as his strong column worked the small bit of food down.
She forced her eyes away and focused her attention on the food. She caught but ignored the knowing look that passed over his face. “Continue,” she said, waving a hand over the food.
He inclined his head briefly. “I aim to please,” he murmured, and their glances caught and held. It was
she who broke away this time. He cleared his throat, continuing. “Sweet-and-sour spare ribs, beef stew and poi, a Portuguese bean soup, round out the rest of the meal.”
She sat back, her eyes wide, taking it all in.
“Oh, my...” she murmured, her mouth watering as she glanced at the food. “Why did they bring us so much?” she asked.
Keanu grinned. “It’s just a sampling of each, not full servings. Besides, I wanted to make sure you got the full...flavor of the island. Didn’t want you to go away...unsatisfied,” he said, and her eyes flew to his.
She got the impression he wasn’t exactly talking about food.
* * *
“And for dessert, we will bring you our famous kulolo,” the pretty waitress said, dimpling as she returned to the table. “It’s made primarily from mashed taro corms and coconut milk.” She stopped and frowned, considering the dessert, then snapped her fingers. “It’s kind of like a pudding, or fudge. Tastes like caramel, you’ll love it!” she enthused, and Sonia smiled, knowing the young woman had given the description for her sake, as Keanu no doubt knew of and had eaten the dessert many times before.
“I make it myself. My mother handed the recipe down to me, from generations,” she finished with a look of pride crossing her young face. “Please enjoy!”
At that moment Sonia’s stomach growled loudly and she glanced up and caught his grin.
“Hungry?” he asked, a small smile playing around the corner of his sensual mouth. The incredible spread before her was completely forgotten briefly.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
Their glances held, and had it not been for their waitress bringing a fresh pitcher of the delicious, tinkling, pineapple iced tea, Sonia feared she would have made a complete and utter fool of herself by hauling him over the table and feasting on him instead of the meal in front of her.
She felt heat warm her cheeks at the thought. In addition to his other talents, she hoped like hell the man wasn’t a mind reader, or she was in serious trouble.
“Do you like what you see?” he asked, and she nearly groaned but kept it together. Without looking down, she nodded her head.
“Do you?” she asked boldly, and was rewarded when she saw his reaction to her words. A flicker that came and went in his light blue eyes.
“You could say that,” he agreed huskily.
Again the moment stretched out before them. It was as though the two of them were alone in the crowded, popular restaurant.
“I’m glad we did this,” he said, and she nodded her head.
She wiggled in her seat, rubbing her hands together, her attention diverted to the delicious array of food in front of her.
She glanced up in time to see Key trying to not show the grin on his face, but she waved it away. “Laugh all you want!” she said, one side of her lips kicked up in an unrepentant grin. She held three fingers, ticking them off as she spoke. “One, this looks good. Two, I’m starving like Marvin. Three, I haven’t eaten since breakfast and a certain person left me hanging for lunch, and, four, did I mention this looks absolutely divine?” she asked, and laughed outright when she heard his low chuckle.
She had just taken a bite of the flaky white mahi mahi when she heard a rusty-sounding laugh from Key.
Surprised, she quickly chewed the fish and looked at him. “What?” she asked, after swallowing.
“Nothing,” he said, the smile lingering. “I’d better eat in case you finish it off before I can even get my napkin open,” he said, deadpan, the humorous glint in his eyes making her laugh.
As they continued to eat, the conversation flowed smoothly, with rarely a moment of silence. By the time the meal was complete, Keanu had never known a moment where he’d felt so relaxed in the company of a woman.
“And when he and the dog both began to howl to ‘Atomic Dog,’ in harmony...I lost it. Game over,” she said, her laughter bubbling over and contagious. She’d been regaling him with stories, or Hollywood horror tales of the wannabe rich and famous, as she dubbed it, sharing the story of the time she’d helped her best friend, Dee Dee, in a casting session to pick contestants for a new game show. Not only was she hilarious in the retelling, but her humor was contagious and Keanu found himself actually laughing out loud several times throughout the evening.
As she laughed, exposing her beautiful white teeth, he bit back a groan.
God, she was gorgeous. She looked good enough to eat, and although the conversation was kept light, easy, he’d had a hell of a hard time not staring at her mouth the entire time. As she ate with gusto, enjoying her meal, his mind played tricks on him, images and thoughts of what else she could do with those pretty, full lips of hers playing hell on his mind.
As she leaned back in her chair, a satisfied look on her expressive face, he bit back a groan. He wanted to be the one to give her that look.
Every time that thought surfaced, he ruthlessly pushed it down. He was with her only to gain information and nothing more.
But he hadn’t been prepared for how utterly charming she was.
Although they’d communicated often before, it had always been business, and though he’d caught glimpses of a more carefree Sonia, nothing had prepared him for this. Funny, beautiful and sexy. Damn, she had it all. And with each moment he spent in her company he could no longer fool himself that he had agreed to the date to keep the enemy close.
He noted that she hadn’t brought up the contract once during the conversation, and he placed the ramifications of that fact in the back of his mind for later consideration.
For the moment, he wanted to enjoy...her.
“Oh, God, I could go on and on,” she said, lightly giggling. She glanced over his head, saw the clock above the wooden tiki totem and covered her mouth with her hand, one eye closing as she grimaced. “I’ve been talking nonstop! Why didn’t you stop me? Once I’m on a roll, I never stop,” she said with a grimace. “I must have bored you to death!” She groaned, and he shook his head.
“No, in fact, it was the exact opposite. I don’t know the last time I’ve had such a good time. Who knew the job of hotshot Hollywood producer could be so, uh...” He paused, not sure how to phrase it.
“Crazy?” she filled in. “Sometimes that’s the simplest way to put it!” She laughed before sobering, pinning him with a stare. “What did you have the waitress put in this drink? I’m spilling my entire life story and you haven’t told me anything about you, Keanu.”
“Nothing much to tell. You pretty much know my life story, don’t you? With the film crews around there isn’t much to hide. Besides the whole mistaken-for-my-brother episode, that happens more times than I want to share,” he said, shaking his head.
“Come on, there’s got to be something more. Something you can share with me. It’ll be just between the two of us,” she replied lightly.
He raised a brow. And just like that, his earlier suspicions came to mind. Did she know that his mother had had an affair with one of the richest ranchers in the United States? And if so, what did she plan to do with the information?
He kept his reply light. “Maybe if you stick around long enough, I’ll share all my family’s dirty laundry. But for now, would you like to dance?” he asked, as the band that had been on break returned to the stage.
Standing, he walked to her side and held his hand out for her to take.
* * *
Sonia glanced down at his hand and placed her palm inside his without hesitation. The minute the band had set up and the music began in the softly lit restaurant, she’d wanted to dance with him. But the conversation had been so good she’d quickly lost track of time. Then she noted the change in him once she asked him to talk more about himself.
Sonia knew she had said something wrong the minute the light dimmed in his blue eyes and his features, once relaxed, stiffened. But
when he asked her to dance, she glanced at his face and saw the genuine warmth reflected inside.
Gladly she had placed her hand in his, and allowed him to lead them to the small dance floor.
When he brought her body close to his, she kept her hand in his and the other around his waist. With their nearly foot difference in height, she knew it would be awkward at best if she tried to place her arms at his shoulders.
He didn’t seem to mind; in fact, he drew her nearer and swayed lightly with her in time to the surprisingly bluesy number the band was now playing.
“Ranching was the only life I knew. The only life we’d been brought up knowing,” he began, his head low as his chin lightly rested against the top of her head. She drew in a breath when he began speaking, glad he couldn’t see her face, as she knew it reflected her surprise when he spoke willingly about himself.
He spun her around lightly, deftly avoiding contact with another couple who’d joined them on the dance floor.
As she listened to him talk about growing up on the ranch, her body completely relaxed into his.
As they danced close, she felt him gently rub his chin back and forth against her hair while they moved as one, as though they’d been born to dance this way together, on the dance floor.
This close to him, his natural musky, masculine scent reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into its heady embrace, and she shamelessly went along.
Nuzzling her body close, she inhaled deeply. Not only did he look good, he smelled so incredibly good.
Sonia loved a man who smelled good.
And his scent was so appealing to her that her nipples beaded beneath the silk kimono. Held this close against him, she wondered if he could feel them against the wall of his rock-hard chest. When he brought their joined hands, which lay in between them, tighter against his chest and squeezed, she knew he had.
She didn’t care, because just as he was affecting her, she was doing the same thing to him. Sonia smiled when she felt the hard edge of his shaft behind his slacks nudge her lower belly, stifling a groan at how good that felt, as well.
To Have a Wilde (Wilde in Wyoming) Page 8