I sat at the vanity and put on my makeup and a spritz of perfume. Luke came out of the bathroom looking and smelling gorgeous. He wore khaki slacks, boat shoes, and a blue and white Hawaiian shirt. I got up and went to kiss him.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, as he brushed the hair off my shoulder and kissed my collarbone.
“So are you.” I grinned. “We could order in again.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t bring you to Hawaii to keep you all to myself for two weeks. This will be fun. I think you’ll enjoy it. And I know I will.”
“So you’ve been to a luau before?”
“I have…once. I’m going to enjoy this one even more though,” he said.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He tried—unsuccessfully—to look innocent. “I’m just saying I think we’ll enjoy it. Plus, we’re going to use it as an opportunity to find out whatever we can about the Columbus murder…right?”
“Yeah….”
“When we first get there, let’s get a couple of mai tais and mingle separately before the dinner begins,” he said.
“Oh, so that’s it. You’re going to ditch me.”
He smiled. “It’s not like that. We’re going on a fact-finding mission.”
“What happened to we’ll enjoy ourselves?” I asked.
“We will. I just think we can try to gather a little information in the process.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Come on. You’re a journalist. You enjoy talking with people.”
“That’s true.” I narrowed my eyes. “Still, I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”
He blew out a breath. “Okay. You might find some of the foods a little too unusual for your palate. But, if that’s the case, we’ll order up some chocolate-dipped strawberries to have in our room after the luau.”
“Okay.” He might’ve thought he had me fooled, but he didn’t. Whatever he was hiding from me had nothing to do with the food.
Hand in hand, we left the room and went down to the luau. A beautiful woman and an equally beautiful man dressed in native attire were on hand to provide us with leis. The woman placed the fuchsia and white flowered wreath around Luke’s neck and kissed his cheek. The man did the same with me.
We thanked them and made our way on into the large party room. A band was setting up to play live music later on, but for now, Over the Rainbow by the late Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole was playing.
“He had such a gorgeous voice,” I said.
“Yes, he did,” Luke agreed.
I looked around at the crowd. “So…now what?”
“I’ll grab us a drink and—”
“No,” I interrupted. “If we’re going to be talking with people about the murder, I want to be clear headed. I’d rather not drink until we sit down to dinner.”
“All right then. I’ll go get a drink, and you can start to mingle.”
“Okay.”
He kissed my cheek and then began winding through the crowd.
I was wondering where to start when an older man approached me.
“That your husband?” he asked.
“It is,” I said.
“He’s a lucky man.”
I turned to take in the man’s gray hair, rheumy brown eyes, and bony shoulders. He somehow reminded me of a tiny bird.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Yep. You’re a nani wahine. That means ‘beautiful woman.’ I’ve been learning some Hawaiian.”
“Well…thank you,” I said again.
“You probably think I’m a lolo kahiko kane—a crazy old man!”
I started to laugh, but suddenly the panties Luke had bought me sprang to life and began vibrating against my clit.
I stifled a yelp and began searching the room for Luke.
“Are you all right?” the man asked.
I kept looking for my husband. There he was…one hand holding a mai tai, the other in his pocket…looking smug…wagging his eyebrows…grinning all over his handsome face.
I glared at him. Suddenly, the vibration intensified. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“Miss?”
The vibration suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes.
The old guy now had his hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Okay. I thought maybe I’d made you hu hu—that means angry,” he said.
“No, I just…um…had a twinge. I’m okay now…I think.” I needed to at least try to get my mind off of Luke and the fact that these panties had a hidden vibrator in them to which Luke had the controls. “So…did you hear about that man getting killed this morning?”
The man shook his head. “I didn’t hear a thing about it. What happened?”
Again, there was a sudden jolt of electric ecstasy to my clit. I drew in a quick breath. “Um…could you please excuse me?”
He nodded, obviously thinking I was having some sort of physical or mental breakdown.
I started in the direction where I’d last spotted Luke only to realize he wasn’t there anymore. I looked around frantically.
The intensity deepened, and I had to brace myself against the wall.
Although my pal, the birdman, had disappeared, someone with the hotel came to my assistance. She was an Asian woman with a severe bun. Her eyes were filled with concern.
“Are you all right? Do you need to sit down?” she asked.
“I’m fine….” I panted. “I’m…oh!”
I heard Luke’s voice from behind us.
“Here, darling, let me help you.” He took my shoulders and started leading me toward a chair.
“Cut it off!” I hissed.
“Hmmm? What are you talking about?”
The glint in his eyes told me he knew exactly what I was talking about. He did not, however, cut it off.
He nodded a dismissal to the Asian woman. “Thank you so much for your help. I’ll take care of her now.”
The woman left us to see to her other patrons.
He was still headed toward the chairs, but I went past the chairs and into the hallway.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
I didn’t answer him. I went around a corner to a deserted part of the hallway.
Luke, of course, was right behind me. “Come on…. Wasn’t it a nice surprise?”
“In a room full of people?”
Luke put his hand in his pocket, and the vibration came to an abrupt halt. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. I’m sorry to add that I couldn’t hide that disappointment.
“Aha! You did like it.”
“Of course, I liked it,” I said. “I just didn’t like—don’t like—that I’m this turned on and we can’t do anything about it.”
“Says who?” He spotted a darkened room with an open door. “Come with me.”
“Luke!”
He took my hand and tugged me toward the empty room. It was a business room. It had two computers and a printer for anyone who might need to do some work while enjoying the island.
He pulled me into the room and closed the door. Without the ambient light from the hallway, the room was now pitch dark.
Luke pulled me to him, kissing me with an intensity that told me that he’d been just as excited by his prank as I had been. Well, maybe not as excited, but pretty excited.
He ran his hand up my dress and untied one side of the panties. He placed his fingers inside me.
“Oh, yeah. You’re soaking wet. How many times did you cum while I was playing with you?” he whispered.
“Only once.”
“And you’re ready to do it again, aren’t you?”
He fingered me until I did cum again and then begged him for more.
“Please,” I moaned.
“Please what?”
“Please make love to me. I can’t stand it any longer.” I unfastened his pants.
He was already hard. I stroked him until he pic
ked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and rode him until we both came.
As we stood breathless in each other’s arms, Luke whispered, “Are you ready to go back to the luau?”
I nodded.
We got our clothes back in order. I rolled up the “magic” black panties and slipped them into my purse.
“I’m not taking any more chances with these tonight.”
He laughed softly. “I’ll turn on the light to make sure we look all right before we go back.”
Before he could reach the light, we heard a voice from right outside the door.
“He wasn’t good enough for you anyway,” a man was saying. “No, of course, I’m not saying I’m glad he’s dead…I just…well…I love you. I always have.”
I clutched Luke’s arm.
“That’s ridiculous,” the man continued. “The police have no reason to suspect you of any wrongdoing…. I don’t know. I just know it wasn’t you. Let me come up and see you. Please, Julie. I love you.”
The voice became faint, and Luke opened the door. A man was returning his phone to his pocket and walking down the hall away from us. He was wearing a red polo and jean shorts.
“We’ve got to find out who that man is,” Luke said.
I nodded. “He might very well have killed Mark Columbus.”
Chapter Five
When we reentered the party room, a live band was playing. There was a man with a ukulele, one with a guitar, another with a nose flute, and one playing bongos. Three women dressed in grass skirts and floral halter tops were dancing the hula on the floor in front of the dais.
We scanned the room for the man with the red shirt and jean shorts.
“I think I see him,” I said. “Right over there. He appears to be the right height.”
“Okay, you approach him. I think you’ll have better luck than I will,” Luke said. “Hurry, though. I think they’re going to be serving dinner soon.”
“All right.” I squeezed his hand. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need it, but good luck.”
I walked over to the young man in the red shirt. He was handsome. He had dark brown hair, pale blue eyes, and a killer smile.
“Hi,” I said. “Weren’t you at the Columbus-De Marco wedding?”
“Yes,” he said. “I was one of the groomsmen.”
I held out my hand. “I’m Brandy Fontaine. I’m so sorry about Mr. Columbus’s death.”
His smile faded. “You know about that?”
I nodded. “What a tragedy.”
“It is,” he said.
“Had you and Mark been friends long?”
He shook his head. “I’d only known him for the six months he’d been dating Julie. She and I go way back. We grew up together.”
“How is she holding up?” I asked.
“Not well. I plan on going up later to talk with her.”
I patted his arm. “Don’t talk. Just be there. If she wants to talk, she will.”
“All right. Thanks.”
“She’s lucky to have a friend like you,” I said.
“I’m the lucky one.”
The host announced that it was time to be seated for the luau. I turned and wasn’t entirely surprised to find Luke right there by my side. I started to introduce him to the groomsman, but I realized I hadn’t gotten his name, and he’d already wandered off into the crowd anyway.
Luke put his hand at the small of my back and guided me to a table. We listened while the host welcomed us to the luau, introduced the band, and gave us information about the various dishes served on the buffet. We were joined by another couple, so we had no chance to talk about the groomsman.
After the host had invited us to partake of the foods on the buffet, he left the stage, the band resumed playing, and everyone got in line.
When we got up to the buffet table, I looked at some of the unrecognizable foods and then glanced up at Luke.
He smiled. “It’ll be fine. Try some of everything. You might be surprised at what you like.”
If you say so.
With trepidation, I took a purple taro roll, some kalua pua'a (roast pork), huli huli chicken, and teriyaki beef. I got some long rice and potato salad. And then we were at the fruits. I breathed a sigh of relief as I piled my plate with grapes, melon, papaya, banana slices, and pineapple. I’d already discovered that Hawaiian pineapple was the best in the world. It was so fresh and sweet and juicy. So much better than the pineapple back home.
We took our filled plates and returned to our table. There we ate and conversed with the couple from Alabama, who had seen their youngest child off to college this year, and had taken the trip to Hawaii to help combat empty nest syndrome.
“And here you two are just getting started with your lives,” the wife said. “Enjoy every moment of it.”
Luke raised my hand to his and kissed it. “We intend to, ma’am.”
I thought about the panties in my purse and blushed. The couple thought I was shy and charming. This, of course, made me blush even more because I was remembering what Luke and I were doing just before coming back into this room.
I looked over at the woman, though, and I could’ve sworn I saw a sparkle of camaraderie in her eyes.
“It just keeps getting better,” she said.
I laughed, and she winked.
After dinner, Luke and I walked back to our room.
“Marge and Bill were nice, didn’t you think?” I asked.
He nodded. “Somehow, I got the feeling they were as eager as we were to get dinner over with and get back to their room.”
“I got that feeling too,” I said. “And I don’t think they wanted to watch television.”
“Well, they might,” he said. “They could be looking for some inspiration.”
“Maybe, but I didn’t get the impression they needed much inspiration.”
“Like us, maybe the inspiration is right there in front of them,” said Luke, stopping to pull me into his arms for a kiss.
“Or inspiration could be in her purse.”
He laughed. “You have to admit, that was priceless. The look on your face when I first flipped the switch! You were surprised and then…oooh….”
I slapped his arm. “You’re gonna pay for that, you know.”
“Promise?”
“Count on it,” I said.
We reached the room, and Luke unlocked the door. Just inside was a manila envelope.
Luke picked it up. “Great. Very efficient.”
“I take it this is something you were expecting?” I asked.
He nodded. “While you talked with the guy in the red polo shirt, I spoke with the hotel photographer. I slipped him a couple hundred to provide us with a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Columbus.” He opened the envelope. “He did us one better. He gave us a photo of the couple and another of their wedding party. I’ll have to tip him tomorrow.”
I peered over his arm at the photograph of the wedding party. “That’s our guy—second from the left. He was the one we heard talking on the phone. He admitted that he’d only known the groom for the six months he’d been with Julie De Marco, but he and Julie grew up together.”
Luke took a closer look at the photo of the bride and groom. “Wonder if Julie De Marco married Mark Columbus for his money? It’s obvious he had plenty.”
“How can you tell from that photo?” I asked. “They look like any other bride and groom to me.”
“He’s wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch.”
I gave him a blank stare. I’d never heard of Patek Philippe.
“It’s a fifty-thousand-dollar watch.”
“Wow. Does it make coffee and do your taxes?” I asked.
He grinned. “Patek Philippe is a renowned watchmaker.”
“You have one of those, don’t you?”
He shrugged.
That was a yes. I came from more modest means—much more modest means—than Luke, so we didn’t talk about money very often. I still trie
d to live on a budget most of the time, and he tried to encourage me to spend more. Somehow, we struck a happy medium.
“I still owe you for that little prank you played,” I said.
“Yeah…I guess you do.”
I went to my bag and got my bondage kit. I opened it and pulled out the furry handcuffs and dangled them in front of him.
“Wonderful! Now I get to tie you up and have my way with you,” he said.
“You got that backward,” I said. “Are you going to be submissive for me?”
“For now,” he said. “I do love how much we think alike.”
I pressed my lips together, suddenly curious as to what else he had in that plain brown bag of his.
“Nope,” he said. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” He held out his wrists. “Tie me up and punish me tonight. I’ve been bad. Just know your time is coming.”
I gulped. I wanted my time. I did. But I also wanted to pleasure Luke. I wanted to make him beg me to let him climax. I snapped the furry cuffs on his wrist.
“Is that too tight?” I asked.
“You aren’t supposed to care.”
“All right. I don’t care…. I was just curious.”
He chuckled. “They’re fine. You’re not very comfortable with this, are you?”
“Are you?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow,” he said.
“I’ll get comfortable with it,” I said, determining to do just that. I pushed him backward onto the bed. Then I took the bondage tape out of the box and secured his handcuffed hands to the finial on the headboard.
I slipped off my dress and let it pool on the floor. I wanted him to see the black corset before I blindfolded him. It was obvious that he liked it.
I went ahead and slipped the satin eye mask over his head.
“Are you worried?” I asked.
“Should I be?”
“Maybe,” I said.
Okay, he was totally right. I had no idea what I was doing. But I didn’t want him to know that. I wanted to give him pleasure. I wanted to tease him. That’s what I needed to concentrate on—not whether or not I knew how to correctly do bondage fantasy.
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