Beach Happens (Hawaii Heat, #2)

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  There was a lull in the waves and the wind changed. Based on the grumbling, Marcus didn’t think there would be anymore big waves for a while. Time to go back and grill Hani about Michaela. He never did get her number, but he wasn't going to give up on dinner. Even if it did mean a dinner of breaded mahi and fries at Zippy’s.

  But when he got back to Palekaiko, no one was in the lobby or at the desk.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Marcus growled and stormed out into the courtyard.

  All the vendor’s tables were empty too and some chairs were knocked over. That wasn't good. His first thought was, “What had Tetsuo done now?” But then Marcus heard the screams from the beach and he broke out into a run.

  In the ocean, he saw Samuel’s Zodiac zooming in towards the beach, overloaded with people. Out of the corner of his eye, Makoa, Hani and Kai were running down the beach with another inflatable boat.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, catching up to them.

  “Shark attacked a guy kite surfing, and everyone’s panicking,” Kai said.

  “Is he all right?”

  “One bite and the shark spit him out, but he was in shock. They think he might lose his arm. The ambulance just left.” Kai jumped in the boat and Marcus helped push him into the water.

  Squinting out into the waves, Marcus didn’t see any fins. He waded up to where Samuel had beached his boat and helped people out of the water.

  “Where’s Amelia?” Marcus asked him.

  “Meeting with DLNR and the other hotel managers.”

  His brother wore sunglasses and a ball cap. He had on neon board shorts. His shaggy blond hair hung to his shoulders and he looked like a dirt bag. But he got the kids in the boat with him to laugh and they gave him fast shakas as they ran up the beach to go jump into the pool.

  Marcus wished he could bounce back that quickly. His heart was still pounding, and he was out of breath. The Department of Land and Natural Resources would close down the beach until tomorrow at least. And after inspection, they’d probably give the all clear before noon. Sharks happen. But tell that to the guy who just got chomped.

  “Tetsuo is with them,” Samuel said.

  Marcus snorted. “Did he bring the shark?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

  Kai was on his way back in with a full boat. It looked like they got everyone on their stretch of beach, except for a chick in a white bikini on a long board. His brain short circuited when he realized it was Michaela. Instead of body boarding in, like a sane person would, she was paddling further out.

  “What does that lolo think she’s doing?” Samuel said.

  Marcus scanned for a fin, but even though he didn't see one, he grew cold and started dragging the boat. “Help me get this thing back in the water. I’ll go get her.”

  Michaela was kneeling on the board, hunched over. She was heading for something.

  “All right. Got a cold beer with your name on it when you come back.” They tugged the Zodiac out and Marcus jumped in.

  “I might need something stronger.”

  He set the outboard and rode out as fast as he could. Before he could shout to Michaela, he saw the kid. Holy shit, how did they miss him? As he got closer, she helped the boy on the board with her. She swayed as his long legs almost knocked her in the water, but she held steady on the board. The kid was about fifteen and had on a snorkel and mask. Where the crap were his parents?

  “Get in,” he said, pulling the small boat beside them.

  “Wait,” Michaela said, as the teenager lunged off the board and scrambled into the Zodiac. Michaela flipped over and landed in the water.

  Marcus' arm shot out and grabbed her. He hauled her up and over into the boat. She flopped across his lap. It wasn’t graceful. It wasn’t pretty, but no limbs were in the water. Her surfboard was still leashed to her ankle, so it trailed behind them as they headed for the beach.

  “Thanks for saving me, man,” the kid said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I was underwater throughout all of it.”

  “Did you see the shark?”

  “No,” he groaned in disappointment.

  Michaela hadn’t moved from being sprawled over him. He was uncomfortably aware of how smooth her skin was and how very little the triangle swatch of fabric over her ass covered.

  “You okay?” Marcus asked her.

  “Michaela is not in right now. Please leave a message and she’ll get back to you shortly,” she muttered, her face buried in the side of the boat.

  “All right, then.” He patted her back.

  Samuel was waiting for him with the rest of the crew and they pulled the boat up to the beach. The kid jumped out.

  “Thanks again,” he called as he headed down the beach towards the time shares.

  “Dry land,” Marcus said and helped Michaela to her feet. Hani slipped the surf board’s leash off her foot.

  “How were the waves?” Hani asked.

  “Not now,” Marcus said, holding Michaela up when her knees jiggled. “I’m going to need your hammock,” he said to his brother.

  “K’den,” Samuel said, eyeballing the two of them.

  Marcus hooked his arm around Michaela’s waist and half carried her up to the hammock.

  She wrapped her arms around him and hugged so tight, he could barely breathe, but who needed air anyway? “You should lie down.” He tried to disengage her arms.

  She wouldn’t budge.

  “Okay. I’m going to lie down and take you with me.” Easing himself into the wide hammock, Marcus laid down. Michaela immediately snuggled in next to him.

  With the soft breeze and the bright sun, he could almost see why his brother chose to spend his days swinging on the hammock and drinking beer.

  "So this is awkward," she said, her face buried in his chest.

  “You're right. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Marcus Kincaide from New York. I own a chain of hotels there, and one here in Maui.”

  “Michaela Harris,” she whispered. "I surf in shark infested waters and laugh in the face of danger."

  "Laugh?"

  "More of a whimper, actually."

  "I think you're very brave." He smoothed his hand over her hair. It was pulled back into a pony tail, and he itched to undo it to see her hair fanned out over her back. “So now that we’ve been introduced, it’s no longer awkward.”

  She laughed against his chest. “I’ll let you go in a few minutes.”

  “No hurry,” he said, and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. As long as her leg didn’t move up a few inches, he could hide his growing hard on. She felt like she belonged in his arms.

  “Isn’t your brother going to want his hammock back?” she mumbled.

  “Fuck him.” And for good measure, Marcus gave Samuel the bird as he walked by. Not one to miss a witty rejoinder, Samuel grabbed his balls and mouthed, “Blow me.”

  “So, how was your day?” she asked.

  He told her about the rest of the waves at Honolua Bay and how he caught four more. All in all, it was a good day of surfing. As he droned on about the details of the waves and what each surfer did, her body slowly unclenched and relaxed against his. He, however, was sweating and it had nothing to do with the sun. He was well aware all he had to do was pull on the string and her top would be undone.

  “I saw the fin,” she said, pushing up into a seated position.

  Marcus grabbed one of his brother’s ball caps that he had lying around, and strategically placed it in his lap.

  “How far away was it?” he asked, stroking her arm because he couldn’t help himself. Her skin was flawless.

  “Far enough that I convinced myself I could body surf back to shore. But when I looked back to see if it decided to follow me, I saw the kid’s snorkel tube.”

  “So you turned back around?” That took serious balls.

  “You would have done the same. What was I supposed to do, scream for help? I was right there.”

&n
bsp; “Where was the shark?”

  Michaela shrugged. “Who knows? He could have been right there or he could have swam away.”

  “What happened to the kite surfer?” Marcus knew that sharks were a matter of course. While attacks were more common on Maui, it wasn’t a daily or even a weekly occurrence.

  “I didn’t see it, but I think the shark took a bite out of him and his rig.”

  “So there was blood in the water?”

  Michaela nodded. “Had to be. So more sharks could have been coming to investigate.” She thunked him on his chest. “Thanks for that. I was just beginning to calm down.”

  “You handled yourself great.” He reached over to his brother's cooler and pulled out two Coronas. He handed her them. "I think the opener is on the palm tree."

  “It’s not my first time swimming with a shark." When she stood up and opened the beers, he took the time to admire her long legs. "But I have to say, this time was the scariest. The last few times I was closer to shore and wasn’t trying to rescue anyone but myself.” Michaela tossed the caps in the trash and came back to sit next to him on the hammock.

  “Brave and beautiful,” he said, moving over to give her a little more room.

  She shrugged, but a tiny smile crossed her face. She handed him back a beer.

  “Let me take you out to dinner," he said. "I know it’s no Zippy’s, but there’s a great restaurant down the beach called Leilani's. After all this excitement, I figured you could use a nice bottle of wine and some ono grindz.” He mimicked her pidgin from this afternoon.

  “You rescued me. Maybe I should be buying you dinner.” She took a healthy gulp of the cold beer.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m easy. As long as we have a date tonight.”

  “A date?” She tilted her head and looked at him assessingly.

  “Unless you have a boyfriend.”

  “Not anymore,” she said. “I got dumped a few days ago.”

  “The man’s an idiot,” Marcus said, and then realized he said that aloud.

  Michaela nodded. “I’m beginning to think so.”

  “So where can I pick you up?”

  She shifted her eyes away. “Just tell me where and when and I’ll meet you.”

  Hmm, she was cautious. He had to work on getting her to trust him. It was hard to think, though, sitting so close to her when she had on that little bikini. Marcus forced his eyes up to her pretty face instead of the soft curves that had just been pressed up against him. He drained his beer to try and cool off.

  

  Michaela's heartbeat was finally back to normal, but she still wanted to lie back down into Marcus' arms. How long had it been since she cuddled with a warm body? Too long. And certainly not with a muscled surfer, not since high school at least. Her eyes traced the line of hair that went from his abs to his belly button. His board shorts were slung low so she could just see the V handles on his hips. What were those called? Obliques? No, the Adonis belt. She grinned. That certainly was a fitting description. Michaela resisted the urge to jump back on top of him.

  "So how about you? Is there a girlfriend hanging around the beach looking to drown me?" she asked.

  "Nope."

  “Why the hell not?” Michaela asked, and then realized she said that aloud.

  He stretched and she admired the flex of muscles. Unable to stop herself, she placed her hand on his chest. His gaze went molten as they locked eyes.

  "I caught my fiancée bent over her desk by her paralegal."

  Michaela snatched her hand back. "That's awful." His cheating fiancée had been a lawyer. No wonder he hated attorneys.

  He reclaimed her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. It was charming and sexy all at the same time. "Better than waiting until after the wedding to find out."

  "You got that right," she huffed.

  Marcus sat up, his legs straddling the hammock. His knee brushed her thigh and she realized she was seriously considering kissing him.

  It was supposed to be her honeymoon after all.

  "She had told me she was going to be working long hours on her case. She was a prosecutor on Long Island. I drove in from the city to surprise her with dinner in her office." Marcus gave a half laugh. "I surprised her all right."

  "I'm sorry," Michaela said. At least she had been spared that from Gerald. "How long ago?" She could still hear the pain in his voice.

  "Two years." He shrugged.

  "You must have loved her very much."

  "It was a good match."

  She cringed. That sounded too familiar. "Why did you ask her to marry her if you didn't love her?" When she heard the anger in her voice, she realized she wasn't really asking Marcus that question. "Sorry," she sighed shakily. "None of my business." She looked out into the ocean and wondered if the shark would put her out of her misery.

  Damn it, she didn't want to still be hurt by Gerald's fuckery.

  "It's a valid question." He stared over her head, lost in thought. "I guess I thought it was time to get married. We were compatible. I liked her and she liked me. Our families got along."

  Each word was like a punch to her gut. She took another gulp of her beer.

  "I hated that she cheated on me, but was worse was she lied to me. I felt like a fool."

  Michaela could relate to that. "She should have been honest with you and told you she wanted to marry for love."

  "She still wanted to marry me," Marcus scoffed.

  Michaela's head whipped back to him. "What?"

  "She was screwing her secretary. She wanted to marry me. I had money and prestige. She had it all figured out. Fucking lawyers. I hate them."

  Story of her life.

  "Why wasn't she fucking you instead?" Michaela clamped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I'm not sure where the hell my filters are today."

  "She was. It wasn't like we were too busy for each other. We went at it like rabbits just the night before."

  Michaela was officially mortified. More beer. That had to be the solution. She took another swig. "So did she apologize for having the affair and swore to never do it again?"

  He barked out a half laugh. "No, she suggested that we have an open marriage. We'd be a power couple to the media and at parties, but if one of us wanted to indulge in an affair, then why not? She made a good argument."

  "Lawyers usually do," Michaela said lightly.

  "Hey, why did the shark..."

  "Professional courtesy." She considered dumping the rest of her beer over his head.

  "She could debate circles around me. It was sometimes just easier to give in, than make everything a court room battle."

  "Why didn't you go for it? It sounds like the perfect arrangement for any guy. All the sex you want, and none of the guilt."

  Is that what Gerald had wanted, but was smart enough not to suggest that to her? Suddenly, she wanted to check Facebook and see if his ex girlfriend was still with her bass player.

  "Because I don't share what's mine."

  His tone had her snapping her attention back to him. Very caveman of him. She liked it. Digging her toes in the sand, she asked, "Why aren't you with anyone if it's been two years?"

  "It's easier to just have short term relationships. Hot, intense, and over before anyone can get hurt."

  He made a good point.

  "Must get awfully lonely," she said, sipping from her beer bottle.

  "Just the opposite."

  She smiled without humor. Yeah, he probably didn't have a hard time finding women to keep him company.

  Michaela wanted to touch him. Her fingers itched to stroke his thigh, but a part of her was afraid of pulling on the tiger's tail. The way he was looking at her left little doubt that he would be ready and willing to escalate the situation. Short, hot, intense. No strings.

  That so wasn't her. But maybe it could be. Just for a few days.

  "I work a lot. So I don’t really have time to put into a relationship."

  “You get out what y
ou put in,” she said.

  “Roger dat,” he said with feeling and winked at her.

  She groaned. “Not what I meant.”

  Michaela should go before she got herself into trouble. The temptation was huge to rebound right into Marcus' arms. Hell, she had spent a good hour in them already. Her body wanted more of his hard muscles under her fingers and the soft cushion of his chest when she rested her head there. But she had never before slept with a man so soon after meeting him. Michaela wasn't even sure she could. Then again, what else did she need to know about him? Boozy sex was what she had been looking forward to. Why not indulge in a vacation affair?

  "I’ve been meaning to get back to my life in New York, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. I can be more efficient on the East Coast. Amelia can handle everything here, as long as Samuel grows the hell up. Sometimes, I think I’m missing out on something obvious and that’s why I’m here.” He gave a half laugh. “Amelia’s aunt is a fortune teller. She sets up a table with the rest of the craft vendors on Thursday, but sometimes you’ll catch her around. She likes to read my cards.”

  “What does she say?”

  “The same cryptic crap that they all do. My destiny is in my own hands and I need to be patient.” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t do patient. She tells me that I need to learn to lighten up and relax, that my temper will be the means to my doom” Marcus dragged out the last word in a deep ominous tone. “Frankly, I think Samuel tips her a twenty just to say those things.”

  “I’ll have to look her up. I’ve had a major upheaval in my life I could use some guidance from the great beyond.”

  His phone rang.

  “Shit,” he said. “I forgot I had that in my pocket when I went out to get you.”

  Michaela didn’t want to have him answer that and leave her sitting there awkwardly. Taking a deep breath, she was about to get up when he switched off the phone.

  She blinked at him in surprise.

  "How did it end with your man?" he asked.

  Did she want to tell him? Admit how pathetic she was. She shook her head. But he shut off his phone for her. Gerald never would have. The last thing she wanted was his pity, though, so she kept it vague.

  "He stopped calling. I got the message."