“Don’t let the consequences stop you.”
“Honesty is the best policy.” Michaela gave her a quick smile and then darted away.
That was weird.
She walked over to the building where the Kincaide’s had their penthouse rooms and took the elevator up. She couldn’t help compare the two resorts and tried not to hear the chugging of the elevator or the slight wobble and screech as it stopped.
Knocking on their door, she didn’t get an answer. But Marcus opened his up. He scowled out until he saw her, and his face changed to a delighted smile.
“I wanted to return Amelia’s laptop,” she said. “She let me borrow it today.” Her heart gave a little stutter when she saw him. Stupid heart.
“For what?”
“Checking email and stuff. Do you know where she is?”
“They’re spending the night on the yacht.”
Michaela grinned. “Good for them. Can I give it to you?”
He nodded. “Come in for a bit. Do you want some dinner?”
“No thanks. I already ate.”
Marcus didn’t move out of the doorway enough, so she had to brush up against him as she went by. It sent a flush of excitement through her.
“How’s your head?” Michaela set the laptop down on an end table and turned back to scrutinize the wound.
“Good as new,” he said.
It didn’t look good as new, but it wasn’t puffy or sore. “It still looks like it hurts.”
“Worst part is I can’t go in the water for a while.”
“That is bad news.” Because she couldn’t help herself, she hugged him. “I was really worried about you.”
His strong arms wrapped around her. “My head is tough. I’ve had worse.” He stroked her back.
She leaned up on tiptoes and kissed him. His mouth was warm and soft. Michaela sighed as he licked and nibbled on her lips. He kissed like a dream. They were keeping it light, so she didn’t drop her hand to his pants like she wanted to. She had to remember that the doctor said, no strenuous activity for a few days. When his hands went up her shirt, she backed away.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She pointed to his head. “We need to take it easy until you’re better.”
“I said I was fine.” Marcus took her hand and dragged her back into his arms. He placed her hand on his cock. She couldn’t help but rub his hard length before putting it chastely on his chest.
He let out a long, suffering sigh. “So what did you do today?”
“Went sightseeing.” She gave a short laugh.
“Where did you go?”
“Wailea. Nice place.”
He rubbed her back. She cuddled in closer to him, no longer wanting to go back to the Kaimana Resort no matter how pretty it was.
“Missed you today.”
“What did you wind up doing?” she asked.
“Not a damned thing. I walked around a bit though to get some air. I was hoping to run into you. Why didn’t you answer your cell?”
“Huh?” She pulled away from him to check her phone. There were five missed messages. Two from him. Two from Gerald, and one from Amelia. “Oh shit. I must have had it turned off. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you about something.” He took her hand and led her over to the couch.
She sat next to him. “Is this a serious conversation or can I stretch out?”
“Make yourself comfortable.”
Kicking off her shoes, she lay down on the couch and draped her legs over his knees.
“Ticklish?” he asked, grabbing her feet and massaging them.
“Not even a little bit.” She grinned at him and relaxed. “That feels good.”
“If you want to get more comfortable, feel free. I can help you take your shorts off.”
Her panties were already soaked from his kisses. If her shorts came off, she knew there would be strenuous activity.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Marcus stroked her leg. “I’ve been thinking about you and our circumstances.”
“What about?” she asked, spreading her legs a little so he could reach higher. This was probably going to get out of control and she should leave. In a minute. Or two.
“I’m not sure how to say this, so I’m going to come right out with it. Please don’t be offended.”
“Uh oh,” she said, wondering where this was going.
“I want to offer you a job.”
You too? Almost popped out of her mouth before she clamped it shut.
“A job?” she gave a half grin, not sure if he was serious or not. “I figured you’d be asking me for one.” She licked her lips and eyed his lap.
His eyes darkened. “Don’t distract me.”
Actually, that sounded like a really good idea. If she knelt between his legs, it wouldn’t be too strenuous for him.
“We’ve been looking for a surf instructor and I think you’d be great at it. We’ve got a good salary, paid benefits, room and board.”
Michaela pulled her feet away and sat up. A part of her actually considered it. If she was going to quit her job, hanging out at the beach all day sounded really nice. She gave a half laugh, so much for all those college loans and all-nighters studying. “That’s really very generous of you. I’m not sure why you’re offering me a job, though.”
At least with Tetsuo, she knew it was a carrot versus the stick approach. He wanted her on his team if she found out something that could be used against him. Plus, he probably thought that it would yank Marcus’ chain.
“Can we be honest with each other?” Marcus leaned in.
Michaela broke out in a cold sweat. The gypsy had told her to be honest. “Of course.”
“Do you have a place to stay at nights?”
She nodded. It wasn’t even a lie, as long as he didn’t ask about Hani and Amelia helping her out.
“You’re not really on vacation are you?”
That threw her. She cocked her head at him. “Yeah, I am. I’m here for two weeks. Then it’s back to California.”
Maybe, the little voice who was still considering Tetsuo’s offer whispered.
“Where are you staying?”
“Wailea,” she said, glad that she didn’t have to lie to keep Hani and Amelia from getting in trouble. “Why are you asking me this?”
“I think you’ve hit some hard times and could use a helping hand.”
“I’ll admit I’ve had better weeks, but I’m okay. Really, you don’t need to worry about me.” She leaned in and kissed him. “You’re a sweet man. But I don’t want to work for you.”
“Why not?”
She straddled his legs so they faced each other. His hands immediately went to her ass. “Because I’d rather do this.”
“I’m worried about you,” Marcus said. “You’d tell me if you were in trouble right?”
The gypsy woman’s words flashed back at her. If she was right there was a lot of trouble coming.
“I would,” she said, caressing his cheek. “I’m worried about you too. You made a powerful enemy.”
“That’s why you should answer your phone when I call you,” he growled.
“Did you want to see me this afternoon?”
“I wanted to see all of you this afternoon.” His hands went up her shirt again, and this time she let him play with her breasts.
She kissed him until, she was rubbing herself over his hard cock. Breathing heavily, she came up for air. “We can’t do anything too strenuous until your head heals up.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted.
“But I’m only here for another week and a half, and I don’t want to waste all of our time.” She pulled her shirt over her head and unhooked her bra.
Marcus groaned. “Stay here tonight.”
“If I do, we’re going to tear the staples out of your head with our exertions. Am I right?”
“Who cares?” he muttered.
“I
do.” She leaned forward so the tips of her breasts brushed against the stubble on his face. Marcus took a nipple in his mouth and sucked on it.
Michaela groaned, “Yeah.” Scooting up closer on his lap, she used his hardness to rub against her clit.
“Take off your shorts” he said. “I want to be inside of you.”
“No,” she said on a half moan. “No sex, until you’re better.”
He clasped her breasts together and took both of her nipples in his mouth.
“But that doesn’t mean, we can’t have a little fun tonight.” She cried out again, putting her hands on his shoulders.
He was fully dressed, with his hands down the back of her shorts. Michaela got herself off on the hard ridge of his cock through his jeans while he lavished kisses and licks over her breasts.
She came, making sounds like an animal. Still in a frenzy, she slid down his body to her knees. Tearing open his jeans, she pulled them and his underwear down when he lifted his hips to help. Michaela licked up his hard shaft, mesmerized by the feral look in his eyes.
“Come back up here.” He crooked his finger.
Instead, she took him in her mouth and bobbed slowly up and down. Marcus held her head, but she didn’t mind. His thumbs caressed her cheeks.
“You’re so pretty,” he said.
She took him deeper.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “I can’t last. It feels too damn good.”
Michaela increased her pace. Gritting his teeth, Marcus shouted as he came. Smoothing her hair back with a shaky hand, he muttered, “Up here, now.”
Climbing back on the couch, she kissed him. “How’s your head?”
“Spinning,” he sighed. “But in a good way.”
Unbuttoning her shorts, Marcus kept kissing her.
“No over exerting yourself,” she breathed, arching her neck as we licked down to her throat.
“I’m just going to move my two fingers,” he said, pushing his hand down the front of her shorts.
Michaela moaned, spreading her legs wider for him.
“I can’t wait to sink my cock into this wet heat.”
He strummed his fingers against her clit until her head spun. They kissed faster, and she rode his fingers into a limb shaking orgasm.
Teasing her a little more, Marcus swallowed her little gasps as we went back to her breasts. “Stay with me, tonight.” He tongued her nipples until she purred.
Michaela tangled her fingers in his hair and he hissed in pain.
“Oh, sorry! Sorry.” She backed away from him.
“It’s all right. Well worth it. Come back here.” His slow grin was all sex and promise.
“Let me put my shirt on first.”
“Where’s the fun in that? He said, but he was tucking himself back in his pants. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Why don’t we go down to the tiki bar?” she said.
“Because the liquor’s shit. I should know. I buy it.”
She fastened her bra and pulled her T-shirt over her head. “I can get you the good stuff. I know people.”
“Oh yeah?” Marcus tugged her to her feet and wrapped his arm around her. “We can always go to my yacht.”
“You have a yacht?”
“Let’s take a walk and I’ll show you where she’s anchored.”
Chapter Thirteen
Marcus was drinking a rum and coke that was more rum than coke. Michaela had a Mai Tai in a tiki glass and from the way she was staggering into him, her drink was just as strong.
“Can’t hold your liquor.” He tsked tsked her.
“It’s the sand.” She giggled. “I can’t get my footing.”
“I’d carry you if I could, but with the rum and my head, I’d probably drop you.”
“Are are the shark signs still up?” she asked.
“I don’t know. They shouldn’t be.”
“Do you think Tetsuo paid someone off to keep the signs up so that the tourist will get pissed?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him. But he’s screwing all the hotels on the strip, if he is. That takes some balls just to try to stick it up our ass.”
“There are plenty of other beaches too. All he’s doing is being annoying.”
“Like a fly that needs to be swatted.” But Marcus didn’t want to talk about Tetsuo. He made his head hurt, even though the rum and Michaela had been the best medicine. “Tell me about yourself, beautiful. I want to know you.”
“What do you want to know?” she asked, tugging him down on the sand at a safe distance from the pounding water.
“Everything. Start from the beginning. I was born and then what?” Marcus realized he was on his way to drunk, but it was a happy drunk, so he went with it. He probably shouldn’t be drinking after his head injury, but he was already giving up sex with Michaela, he deserved a drink.
“I can’t remember that far back. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering what I had for lunch.”
“You’re first memory, then.” Marcus pulled her in front of him, sitting her between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. She smelled like sunshine and the ocean, like she was the embodiment of Hawaii for him. He’d never have met her if he was in New York. He’d still be dating gorgeous socialites who wouldn’t want to surf for fear of breaking a nail.
“A birthday party. I think I was five. There was an ice cream cake with the chocolate crunchies inside.”
“I love those,” he said in her ear.
“My dad hired a clown.”
“Creepy.”
“Right? I wouldn’t go near it. But my father took off work and spent the day with me. I think that was the last time he ever did.”
“Did the clown scare him too?”
“Maybe,” she nodded. “He owns his own business, Harris Industries in Malibu. As the CEO,” she changed her voice to sound gruff and deep. “I have a lot of things on my plate. People depend on me for their jobs.”
“If I didn’t work so hard, you wouldn’t have all these nice things,” Marcus said in the same voice.
“You too, huh?”
“Mine’s a politician. He was a Senator when we lived in Maryland. My mother’s a photo journalist. They’ve been divorced for a few years now. She’s in Costa Rica somewhere and he’s working on his third trophy wife. We’re not very close, but we email a few times a week.”
“You seem close to your brother.”
“He’s an asshole,” Marcus said without any rancor in his voice.
“It’s obvious that he cares about you. He was worried about you taking your medicine this morning.”
Marcus stiffened. “That’s because it wasn’t my medicine.”
She tilted her head back. “They sent the wrong prescription?”
“No, it was another “fuck you” from Tetsuo.” He rubbed her arms when goosebumps came over her flesh. Was he going to tell her the deep, dark, family secret? He was feeling good enough that his anxieties over it had faded. And after some sleep and some sweet kisses, Marcus wasn’t obsessing over the pills anymore. His new obsession was currently in his arms.
“That’s awful,” Michaela said. “You could have gotten sick.”
“Worse,” he said. “I could have gotten re-addicted.”
She tried to spin around, but he hugged her tighter. “No, it’s easier if you’re not looking at me. I don’t have to see any judgment and you don’t have to see my shame.”
“I would never judge you.”
His laugh was without humor. “Everyone else did.”
She stroked his arms and leaned back against him. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“There’s not much to tell. I tore my ACL playing football. The coach wanted me back ASAFP. I healed. Got surgery. All the time taking these little pills that made everything all better. I waited the minimum amount of time and I was back on the field.”
“You’re lucky you can still walk.”
“I’m l
ucky I’m still here. Eventually, the doctors caught on and I couldn’t get my prescriptions filled. So I took to the streets to find another supplier.”
“How old were you?”
“Eighteen. Samuel was just entering high school. I was just leaving it. One of the kids had connections and I coasted there for a while. Then he told me that heroin had the same effect, but it was cheaper and easier to get.”
“Oh no,” she said.
“I went to the buy. But that stupid, little shit of a brother of mine followed me. I wasn’t going to buy drugs with him looking on. So I dragged him home and told my parents I had a problem.”
“Good for you.”
“They told everyone that I had gotten into college early, and they shipped me away to rehab. I didn’t have to stay. I was an adult, but they told me I’d be cut off without a cent if I didn’t stay for the full year. So I spent my senior year in a mental institute.”
“What?”
He nodded. “Brutal, but I got to hand it to them. It scared me straight. I never played football again. It’s been over ten years and I usually don’t take anything for pain. This week has been an exception.”
“It certainly has.” She was silent so long, he thought she fell asleep.
“My father wanted a boy,” Michaela said. “He’s got no use for women. He runs an industrial plant where men work on big machines and men sell his products and men come up with the marketing. Women are good for answering phones and such. So even though we had the money, he didn’t think it was a good idea for me to go to college.”
“What?” Marcus snorted. “What century is he from?”
“So he refused to pay for it. He wanted me to find a rich husband instead.”
“What did your mother have to say about that?”
“Darling, please don’t shout. Mommy has a headache. Can you fix her a nice martini? There’s a good girl.” Michaela drawled on in a high pitched voice.
“What did you do?”
“He forgot to take away my credit card. So I charged the first two semesters before I maxed it out. By that time, I had a full time job and was able to get some loans to help out.”
“Did he ever offer to pay for some of it?”
Michaela shook her head.
“Are you still paying it off?”
Beach Happens (Hawaii Heat, #2) Page 11