As he let himself in with Kristen’s key, his heart was racing, he could hear voices. Had something hap…
He stopped short a couple steps in.
“Luke,” Amy called to him from the kitchen. “I wondered if you’d taken Kris’s key.” She was scooping something from a saucepan into a bowl.
Kristen’s boat driver, Kekoa, sat at the bar, glaring at him. “She had to get up to let us in.”
Luke blinked. His first thought was, Then why didn’t you stay home? His second was more charitable. These people were her friends. She must have called them. Wanted them here.
“How is she?” The dog growled at Kekoa and Kekoa stood glaring down at the canine, challenging him. The dog barked.
“Oh, Kris told me you’d adopted a dog.” Amy came out of the kitchen and put herself between the dog and Kekoa. She squatted and extended her hand palm up and Dog sniffed at it before licking it. “That’s a good boy. What a good boy!” Amy rubbed the dog’s head and under his neck and back.
“I was going to take him to the shelter nearby, but I thought I’d see if you knew anyone who wanted him first.” Luke cleared his throat. That was mostly the truth.
“Oh, I’ll take him!” Amy’s eyes lit up as she looked at Luke. “I’d feel so much safer in my place with a dog around.”
He didn’t look much like a watchdog right now, rolled over, presenting Amy his tummy to rub, and his tongue lolled out to the side.
“You don’t feel safe in your apartment?” Kekoa scowled.
Amy stilled, then straightened and faced Kekoa with a brilliant smile. “I will now.” She sashayed back into the kitchen and came out carrying a tray with a bowl, spoon, mug and napkin on it.
“I’ll take that to her.” Luke stepped up, hands extended to take the tray.
“Oh, that’s okay.” Amy smiled but ignored his hands and continued down the hallway.
Luke hesitated. He didn’t feel he could just walk into her bedroom now. Uninvited. Barging in on her privacy.
“You planned to check her blood pressure?” Kekoa appeared beside him, nodding toward the BP cuff and stethoscope Luke had dug out of his luggage and brought with him.
“Yes. As well as her pupils and the cut on her head.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Kekoa nodded. “Go on in, but we probably shouldn’t keep her too long from resting.”
Luke bristled at the order. “I think I can restrain myself.” He raised a brow and stared down the arrogant boat driver.
Kekoa’s eyes narrowed. “She’s a good friend. I don’t like seeing her hurt.”
The inference being that Luke would do something to hurt Kristen. But, of course, he had, hadn’t he? Still, he ground his teeth in frustration. “Does Amy have to work this evening?”
“Yes. But you don’t need to worry. I’ll be staying.”
Like hell. “If anyone is going to stay with Kristen tonight, it’ll be me.” He leaned in, displaying the time-honored nonverbal communication of dominance.
“She doesn’t need you around right now.” Kekoa leaned in, too, and practically growled.
“I’m a doctor, don’t tell me what she needs.” Luke gritted his teeth.
“What is going on?” Amy appeared in the hallway, fists on hips.
“As a medical professional, I’m the best qualified—”
But Kekoa was speaking at the same time. “This haole thinks he can just barge in here—”
“What did you just call me?”
“I’m staying with Kristen tonight and that’s final,” Kekoa ground out between his teeth.
“Like hell you are.”
“Hey!” Amy shouted to get their attention. “Neither one of you are staying. Kristen wants you both to go home. Luke?” She walked over to him. “You can go in now, but when she starts acting sleepy, it’s time for you to go.”
Damn it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like a schoolboy getting a lecture from the principal. Chastised, Luke unclenched his fists, schooled his features and nodded.
“Kekoa.” She turned to face the boat driver. “Thank you for coming, but there’s no reason for you to stay.”
Kekoa’s scowl grew more menacing and he raised a hand to run through his hair. As he did, Amy flinched away, her arm raised in front of her face as if to protect herself from a blow.
Luke blinked.
Amy dropped her arms to her sides and lifted her chin.
Kekoa stepped close to Amy, took her by the shoulders. “Amy. You think I’d hit you?” She shrugged and glanced away. He bent and whispered in her ear.
“No. Kekoa, please, go.”
Luke couldn’t have resisted that pleading tone either and Kekoa stalked out the door.
Without another word, Amy stepped aside, gesturing for Luke to go into the bedroom.
The way Kristen smiled when she saw him was like balm to his wounded ego. “Hey.”
He didn’t have to work up the smile he gave her, even if her pallor was slightly worrisome. She was sitting up and eating, and she looked so damned beautiful, he wanted to gather her up into his arms and kiss every inch of her.
He took her hand the second he sat on the bed beside her. “I had to leave to go check on—”
“This big ol’ mutt?” The dog had followed Amy back and made himself at home on the end of Kristen’s bed. “Of course you did.” She bit her bottom lip and held tight to his hand. “Thought you were going to take him to a shelter.” Brows raised, she gave him a skeptical smile.
He shrugged. “The dog didn’t want to go.”
Her smile widened into a full-out grin. “He seems well behaved. Amy says she’s going to adopt him from you? That sure works out well. I think Amy needs a pet. And if that’s the case, we need to name him. Amy and I were just suggesting names. What do you think of Max? Or Blackbeard? Since he’s got that black muzzle and ears? Were you thinking of a name? I hadn’t heard you call him anything. But then, I haven’t—”
Luke grinned, shaking his head.
“What?” Kristen glanced at Amy, who’d come in to take the tray, and then at Luke again. Amy was chuckling.
“I was going to check your blood pressure and your pupils, but I’m not sure that’s relevant anymore.”
Her little brows wrinkled, but then her eyes widened. “Oh! Because I’m rattling on and on and no one can get a word in?” She let go of his hand, but he caught it and brought it to his mouth for a soft kiss on the back. He turned it over and kissed her palm, and then her wrist, his gaze never leaving hers. “I think it’s adorable.”
“You do?” Her voice sounded all breathy, and that did funny things to his pulse. And his cock. If they’d been alone, he would have pulled her into his arms and kissed her until they were both breathless. But he made himself let go of her hand, stand up and step away.
“I can see you showered, I hope you were careful to keep your stitches dry. But there’s no bandage to change, so, I guess I better go.”
She swallowed, and the desire in her eyes gave his ego another boost. “Yeah. Okay.”
He bent to kiss her gently on the temple. “But I’ll come by tomorrow.” He glanced at Amy, who raised a brow. But he’d be damned before Kekoa or anyone would stop him.
“Okay.” She breathed the word more than spoke it.
He made to leave when she called to him. “Luke?”
He spun back, his brows raised.
“Thank you for…today.”
“Absolutely.”
He was out the door before he noticed the mutt had stayed on the bed with the women. No dummy, that dog.
But Luke’s condo felt even emptier than it had before. And the night loomed before him like an endless void.
11
KEKOA SPED DOWN MOKULELE Highway on his Ducati, his mind a confused mess. He loved his boat and being on the water, but that was work. When he needed to get away and think, he hopped on his bike and roared away in whatever direction he found himself going.
; Did Amy really believe he’d ever hit her? Had he been so arrogant and controlling with her that she feared him?
He poured over every memory he had of them together. He didn’t like what he remembered.
Still, she had to have some reason for fearing violence. And he wanted to know everything about her life before he met her. He knew hardly anything about her. And that was his own fault for never bothering to ask.
He needed to talk with her, but he wouldn’t disturb her at Tradewinds again. Somehow he had to get her alone and willing to open up to him.
But how many times would she tell him no before he gave up? She’d only called him today because Kristen asked her to let him know Kristen wouldn’t be diving anytime soon.
He knew what he wanted. But he also knew his duty to his Ohana. And yet, if Amy were to give him a chance to get to know her, he’d break it off with Mahina right now.
Kanapapiki! He squeezed the brakes hard, pulled over to the side of the road and put a booted foot down. He was ready to choose Amy over his Ohana’s honor!
As if he’d been struck in the head with a surfboard, like Kristen, Kekoa felt the revelation slam into his psyche. His gut had known for a long time what his head refused to acknowledge. He had feelings for Amy. And those feelings were real and powerful. From her brazen style of dress to her vivacious smile and her flippant attitude, he was hooked.
That night in the Tradewinds garden, when she’d refused him so spectacularly, he’d become obsessed with having her. At the time he’d chalked it up to the thrill of the hunt. But he knew now he’d been caught by his prey. She was a loyal friend, with a caring heart and a strength of will he admired.
Damn.
Maybe it was time to let his captor know he’d been tamed.
He checked traffic and then pulled back onto the highway, a plan forming in his mind. Now that he knew what he wanted, he couldn’t consent to marrying Mahina no matter what happened with Amy. He gunned the engine and slowed his Ducati only to exit into the town of Puunene, his hometown.
Once a thriving sugar-plantation town, Puunene now consisted mainly of a post office and the Sugar Museum.
Though it was barely over twenty minutes from Kamaole to Puunene, Kekoa didn’t visit often—as his parents liked to remind him. He preferred his houseboat on the marina. No commute. And no disapproving parents either. But he was almost thirty years old. It was time to claim his independence.
And then claim his woman.
AMY KICKED HER SHOES off the minute she walked into her house. Her shirt came next, off over the head and tossed wherever it landed on her way to her bedroom. Then her skirt and bra. The trail of dirty clothes was a sarcastic salute to her ex, who’d once broken her jaw for leaving her shoes out.
Now she could clean if she wanted to, or not, if she didn’t feel like it right at that moment. And, at this moment, all she wanted was a hot bubble bath and a mug of hot chocolate. With whipped cream. She’d spent the past two days alternating between checking in with Kristen in the afternoon—although that felt unnecessary with Luke there all the time—and then working shorthanded at Tradewinds in the evening.
She started the water running in the tub, added honey-vanilla bath salts and then donned her short silk robe to go make her cocoa. As she put the water on to boil she heard a deep rumbling engine approach until it was in front of her very tiny rented bungalow.
Her heart started pumping faster and her stomach flip-flopped more times than a politician’s opinions. Kekoa.
How did he know she was home? She’d spent the last two days and nights at Kristen’s when she wasn’t waitressing. But Kristen was up and around now, and Luke was there a lot…
The hairs on Amy’s neck stood up and she shivered. Had Kekoa been following her? She wasn’t frightened or weirded out. Despite Kekoa’s imposing manner, she felt instinctively that he lived by a code of honor. And that honor would never allow him to bully someone weaker than himself.
At Kristen’s the other night, she’d just been reacting to the stress of the situation. But she really hadn’t wanted to reveal that sad story to Kekoa.
He banged on her door and she remembered she wore only her robe and thong. Maybe if she didn’t answer he’d think she wasn’t home and go away. Oh, her car was out front. He knocked again.
Too bad her new dog was still staying with Kristen.
She padded over to the front door, slipped the safety chain on and opened it just a crack. “Kekoa. It’s late and I’m exhausted. Can we please—”
His hand shot up to hold the door open. “Please, listen? Give me three minutes?”
Amy sighed. “Okay.”
His stern expression relaxed but he didn’t attempt to come inside. He cleared his throat. “One, I broke my engagement to Mahina. Two, I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. And three, I will never hurt you, or try to control you or take away your independence. And to prove it—” he held a large roll of duct tape through the door opening “—you can tape me to a chair while we talk. We don’t have to have sex. I just want a chance to get to know you. But if you tell me to leave you alone from now on, I’ll respect that.” He held his hands out in front of him, wrists together as if he were waiting for a police officer to handcuff him.
Amy blinked a couple of times as his words sunk in. Glancing between the tape and Kekoa with his hands extended… It was ridiculous. She was supposed to bind him up and, what? Have a conversation?
Hell, if she was going to go to all the trouble of duct-taping his hands and feet…
She pictured him naked, lying on her bed, with his hands duct-taped above him. He’d be helpless to her every whim. She could do whatever she wanted to him and he’d have to take it.
Pushing the idea aside, she licked her lips and tried to bring rational thought back to her brain.
Other than experiencing a fantastic night of sex, what would that solve? Wait a minute. What had number one been? He’d broken off his engagement? For her? Amy blinked away water in her eyes. And he wanted to talk. It sounded as though he wanted more than sex.
Actually, if sex with her was all he’d wanted, he’d already had that. That ship had sailed. Been there already. She was getting loopy, maybe high on the endorphins of imagining Kekoa at her mercy sexually....
The piercing whistle of her teakettle made her jump. “Hold on.” She ran to the kitchen—which was only about five steps away—lifted the kettle off the burner and turned the stove off.
When she rushed back to her door, Kekoa still stood there, hands extended, wrists together. He could’ve reached inside the door, slid the chain off the lock and come inside if he’d wanted to. Oh, for heaven’s sake. She slid the chain off and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
He hesitated, but eventually dropped his hands and stepped forward. Amy glanced out the door before shutting it and leaning against it.
“Do you have water running somewhere?”
“Oh, my gosh! My bath!” She raced back to her bathroom and shut off the water. But already, honey-vanilla water flooded the floor. “Great. Just great.”
“Put me to work,” Kekoa offered.
By the time they’d soaked up the water with old beach towels and sheets, the bathwater had cooled and so had Amy’s mood.
She looked over at Kekoa on his hands and knees. His jeans were soaked from the knees down, and his biceps bunched with every swipe of the towel. A trickle of sweat ran down his temple, but his entire focus was on getting that last bit of water from behind the toilet.
What kind of man did that?
Blake would never have helped her clean up. Just the opposite. He would’ve slapped her around—at the very least—for making such a mess and wasting water that he paid for with his hard-earned money.
Why was she thinking of Blake?
She leaned against the tub, suddenly aware that her robe didn’t cover much of her. And if she were bent over, it probably gaped down the front, too. Yet he hadn’t so much as leered. Much
less made a move on her. “Thank you.”
He sat back on his boot heels, dropped the dripping towel into a laundry basket, and shrugged. “It’s my fault this happened.”
His humility was almost as powerful an aphrodisiac as the way his gaze smoldered when it traveled down her body. She thought of his wanting to talk. Why not? She had nothing to lose, as far as she could tell. He could talk till the cows came home and she’d never give up her independence again. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun and companionship for as long as it lasted.
“Did you really mean it? You broke off that engagement?”
His back straightened and he lifted his chin. “Yes.”
Amy swallowed. Was she really going to do this? “Then let’s go to the bedroom.” Wow. She was.
His eyes flared. “I didn’t come here tonight just for that.”
“I know.”
“Amy, there’s so much I want to learn about you.”
“You will. There’s time.” She got to her feet and held out her hand. His gaze traveled up her legs, lingered on her breasts beneath the silk and finally met her eyes. He took her hand and rose as gracefully as the panther he reminded her of.
As she led him to her bedroom, her breathing quickened. She sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs. “Undress for me.”
Without hesitation he bent and tugged off one boot, then the other. The thunk of each boot as it hit the hardwood floor matched the pounding of her heart. As if in a trance she watched him peel his T-shirt off over his head and then unzip his jeans and shove them and his underwear down his legs and step out of them.
He was standing naked before her, for her. Her stomach fluttered. His eyes met hers and never looked away while she studied his body.
Oh, my.
They’d made love on his boat. She’d felt the strength of those muscles in his arms when they wrapped around her, lifted her, but the vision before her was breathtaking. The dark, honey-brown skin rippled with defined abs and bulging biceps. His narrow hips emphasized long, thick thighs. And the cock standing at attention between them. She’d felt his hard length inside her. But she’d never actually gotten to see the total package in all its glory.
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