by Elle James
Kalea held onto Hawk’s hand and prayed to Kanaloa, god of the ocean; Kane, the god of the sky; and Lono, god of rain, for a safe journey through the path of the storm. What happened would happen. Then she prayed to the Christian God to deliver them safely back home.
A gray, weathered building made of tin appeared ahead as the wind picked up and pushed them forward, as if hurrying them toward the shelter.
Hawk stopped outside the building, studying its structure and integrity with a frown. The tin roof flapped on one corner with every gust of wind. Other than that, the rest of the building seemed sturdy enough.
“I’ll see what I can find in the way of a nail and hammer to secure that sheet of tin.”
“I’d rather you didn’t climb up on the roof in this wind,” Kalea said.
“I’ll be careful not to fall off and leave you stranded, caring for a man with a broken neck.” He winked. “Let’s see if we can get inside.” He reached for the doorknob and turned it.
The handle didn’t budge. “Okay. Let’s see if there’s another entrance. You want to stay here or go with me around the hut?”
“I’ll go with you.” She wasn’t ready to release his hand, liking the feel of his strength wrapped around her fingers.
After a quick walk around the rectangular building, they determined the only door in or out was the one in front.
Kalea searched the area around the door for a potentially, hidden key. With no flowerpot or doormat to look beneath, she ran out of options pretty quickly. “We have a building, but we can’t get inside,” she said. “Guess we’ll get wet in the storm.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Hawk released her hand, set her away from the door then kicked it hard. The doorframe split, and the door slammed open.
“That’s one way to do it,” Kalea said with a crooked smile.
Hawk stepped through the doorframe and was swallowed by the dark interior. What few windows the building boasted were covered in a thick layer of salty grime that barely allowed light to shine through them.
Not wanting to let Hawk out of her sight, Kalea stepped in behind him and let her eyes adjust to the gloom.
The room appeared to have been some kind of barracks with metal bunk racks lined up on either side of the space for the length of the building. Old black and white striped mattresses were folded up at one end of the lower bunks.
“Looks like these have been used recently.”
“They have volunteers come out periodically to help maintain the old buildings, plant native vegetations and weed out invasive species.” Kalea looked around the sparsely furnished living quarters. “They usually stay on the other side of the island, but probably use these quarters when their work brings them this far over.”
“We can make it work.”
“Now, if only we could find some food stashed away in a pantry, or something.” Kalea rubbed her flat belly. “Otherwise, we’ll get hungry before they send the Coast Guard to rescue us.”
“I have a handful of protein bars we can munch on. That will hold us over until help arrives.” He laid his backpack on a bunk. “I think I’d rather sleep on the floor. These bunks don’t look very sturdy.”
“We can stack the mattresses and make a pallet on the floor,” Kalea suggested. “I have a beach blanket back in the plane we can use to spread over the mattresses.”
The wail of the wind blowing through the cracks in the walls increased as the storm neared the islands.
“Good idea,” Hawk said. “I’ll go back and get the blanket.”
“I’ll start stacking the mattresses.” Kalea gathered a thin mattress from one of the bunks and spread it out on the floor.
“The blanket can wait. Those mattresses look heavy,” Hawk said and grabbed one from a bunk, laying it out next to the one Kalea has already positioned. Soon, they had the mattresses stacked three deep.
“We’d better go get that blanket before the storm hits,” Kalea said. “I’m coming with you.”
Knowing the way and traveling downhill made it faster getting back to the plane. Kalea did her best to keep up with Hawk, refusing to slow him down. She considered herself in pretty good shape, but Hawk had her beat by a mile.
The wind had picked up considerably since they’d landed, causing whitecapped waves on the ocean, and driving them into the shore. Thankfully, they’d pulled the plane up far enough on the sand to keep the waves from dragging it back into the water.
“I’m glad we landed when we did,” Kalea said as she climbed up into the plane, found the blanket and handed it out to Hawk. “I couldn’t have landed in this.”
“I’m glad we did, too. Hopefully, the storm won’t last long.”
Kalea didn’t respond to his comment. Was it wrong of her to want the storm to last a couple of days? Then she could be alone with Hawk, with no one judging or interrupting their time together. She liked the man and admired his dedication to protecting her.
Was his attraction to her purely part of the act? Or was he just trying to make the client happy? Kalea preferred to think he really found her irresistible and worthy of his kisses.
Once again, they held hands all the way back to the building.
Inside, they spread the blanket over the stacks of mattresses and settled onto them with their backpacks to inventory what they’d managed to bring for sustenance.
Kalea smiled as she pulled out a brown paper bag. “I could kiss Maleko,” she said.
Hawk frowned. “Do you kiss all your employees?”
She gave him a sassy flip of her hair. “You’d think I did, based on the number of times I’ve kissed you.” Kalea held up the bag. “Maleko doesn’t like it when I eat fast food. Whenever I travel to Oahu, he packs a bag full of sandwiches and veggie snacks.” She opened the bag and peeked inside. “He packed enough for both of us. Two sandwiches each.” Digging around again, she unearthed a flashlight and set it in the middle of the floor. “We can use this later when the night really settles in. But for now, are you hungry? Would you like a sandwich?”
“I am,” Hawk said. “But let’s bank on a longer lead time for our rescue and eat only half a sandwich. We can save the other half for dinner.”
“Good point.” She opened the wrapper and handed a neatly cut half of a sandwich to him, taking the other for herself. “Mmm. Chicken sandwich. Must have had some leftovers from dinner last night.” She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. “So, what do you want to do for the next few hours until night? I have a deck of cards I keep to play solitaire when I’m alone. We can play rummy.”
“Sounds good. After I repair the roof tin. But I have to warn you. I’m amazing at cards.” He winked and bit into his sandwich.
Kalea liked it when he flirted with her and smiled as she finished her sandwich, sipped water from the only water bottle they’d brought from the plane, and then pulled out the deck of worn playing cards. She set it aside and went out of the building to watch as Hawk climbed up onto the roof with a rock and a nail he’d found in a cabinet drawer. After he banged the nail into the tin to hold down the corrugated sheet of roofing metal, he slid off the edge of the roof and landed on the ground beside her. She wrapped her arms around him until he was steady on his feet.
“Thanks. You know you’re pretty handy to have around.” He bent and kissed the tip of her nose. Then he pulled her against him and kissed her lips in a long, passionate kiss, leaving Kalea’s head spinning when he finally came up for air.
“What was that for?” she asked, her voice barely audible over the wailing of the wind.
“Just because. When we get back to the ranch, I probably won’t get to do that again. Hell, I shouldn’t have done it now. But what do you expect from a man stranded on a deserted island with a beautiful woman?”
They played rummy for the next couple of hours as the storm surrounded them. The clouds thickened and blocked out the daylight, making it as dark as the darkest night, hours before the official sunset.
The st
orm raged outside the building, rattling the tin roof. Kalea was thankful Hawk had nailed the loose tin before the storm hit. At least the rain wasn’t coming through the ceiling.
Too dark to play cards, Kalea used the flashlight like a candle for them to eat their dinner by. Each had half a sandwich and half a candy bar for dessert. They drank from the water bottle and capped the remainder for the next day.
With nothing else to do, and wanting to conserve the battery, they decided to turn off the flashlight and try to sleep.
The only time they could see anything was when lightning lit the sky. For a while, that was every five or ten minutes as the storm passed overhead.
“Pele must be angry,” Kalea murmured in the darkness following the lightning.
“Pele?”
“The goddess of wind, fire and lightning.” A rumble of thunder shook the building.
Hawk chuckled. “She’s definitely making her voice heard.”
Kalea shivered and moved closer to Hawk, laying her head in the crook of his arm.
He held her close. “Scared?”
“Not of the storm.”
He shifted. “Are you afraid of me?”
She shook her head against his chest. “No. I think I’m more afraid of myself.”
“How so?” He rested his lips against her hair, his breath warm on her scalp.
“I’m becoming far too dependent on you.”
“Only until we figure out who’s after you.”
She laid her hand across his chest. “Not dependent on your protection, although I do appreciate it.”
“I don’t understand,” he said, turning her to face him.
A flash of lightning revealed he was looking at her. And after a brief second, all went black again.
Could he see what was in her eyes? Could he tell that she was falling for him?
“Never mind.” She snuggled closer to him, enjoying every second of the time she had left with him. They could figure out who her attacker was tomorrow, arrest the man and Hawk could be on his way back to Montana.
Her throat tightened, and her eyes burned. A single tear found its way out of the corner of her eye.
At that exact moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the room.
Hawk frowned. “Is that…?”
Darkness.
“—a tear?” he asked softly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, quickly wiping away the evidence. But another popped up behind the first and slipped down her cheek.
“Why are you crying?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“If I could, I’d get you back home right this minute,” he said. “But for now, we’re going to be all right. The storm will pass soon, and we’ll be rescued.”
“I know that,” she said. “I’m not worried about that.”
He touched a finger to her chin and lifted it. “Then why are you sad?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said and pressed his palm to her cheek. “We’re here now. We should sleep.” She turned her face and kissed his palm.
Hawk found her lips in the darkness and captured them with his own. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be stranded with on a deserted island.”
“I know you’re being paid to look out for me. You don’t have to say nice things.”
He chuckled. “Okay. Then I quit.” Again, he pressed his lips to hers. “Ah…that’s much better.”
Kalea laughed. “You’re crazy.”
“No, really. I’m not working for your father anymore. I’m under no obligation to be nice to you. And best of all…you’re not my client. I can kiss you without breaking any rules.” To prove it, he kissed her again.
Kalea wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, opening to him, thrusting her tongue past his lips to tangle with his. She pressed her breasts to his chest, her hips to his hips and felt the hard ridge of his erection nudging against her belly.
Again, lightning lit the sky. An answering jolt of electricity ripped through Kalea’s veins, shooting downward to coil at her core. She couldn’t get close enough to this man. Finding the hem of his shirt, she pushed it up his torso.
His hand covered hers and halted her progress. “If we start this, I can’t promise I can stop.”
“Please,” she said. “I don’t want you to stop. I want you. Now.” He moved his hand, and she pushed up the shirt, drew it over his head and dropped it on the blanket beside them.
Then she grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked it up her body.
“Hey, that’s my job,” he said and took over, dragging it slowly over her skin, following it with his lips, touching the skin he bared as he went.
Kalea was on fire, the heat building like lava trapped inside a volcano, compressing until it could force its way free. Her hands found the button on his jeans and flicked it free. She slid his zipper downward until his shaft sprang free into her palm.
He was hard, thick and pulsing with energy.
He groaned. “Sweetheart, you’re killing me.”
“Then we will die together,” she said.
Hawk reached behind her and unclipped her bra, sliding the straps over her shoulders and down her arms.
Kalea threw back her head and drew short, shallow breaths, finding it difficult to breathe, she was so affected by his hands on her naked skin.
He bent to take one of her nipples between his lips, rolling it on his tongue, and then nipping the tip.
Her core spasmed, and she arched her back, urging him to take more.
Sucking her breast into his mouth, he pulled hard then left it to treat the other to the same pleasurable pull.
By then, Kalea could barely catch her breath. She reached down to unhook the catch on her trousers. Again, Hawk’s hand covered hers and stopped her before she could get started.
“Let me,” he said, his mouth touching the sensitive spot below her earlobe. Then he kissed the length of her throat, traveling over her collarbone to the swell of her breast. He didn’t stop there, searing a path over each of her ribs until he found his way to the waistband of her trousers.
He paused long enough to unhook the metal clasp on her trousers and slid the zipper down.
Kalea bucked beneath him. “Too slow,” she moaned.
He chuckled and dragged her trousers over her hips. “Better.”
“Yes,” she said on a sigh, counting the seconds until he finally pulled the pants all the way off her legs.
Then he slipped his fingers beneath the elastic of her panties and cupped her sex.
Kalea thought she was going to die right then and there. How much longer would she have to wait to have all of him inside her?
Chapter 13
A flash of lightning illuminated Kalea’s face as Hawk hovered over her, his finger slipping into her channel. “So wet. So very wet,” he said and leaned up to kiss her lips.
He couldn’t help himself. She was amazing, both in body and spirit. He’d never met anyone quite like Kalea. He could fall in love with this woman, if he hadn’t already.
He set about pleasing her first before slaking his own desires. He followed the same path down her body as before, moving quickly to the sweet spot between her legs. There he paused, his breath stirring the curls covering her sex.
She quivered beneath him, a moan sounding in the silence between roars of thunder. Her body tensed beneath him, as if waiting to see if he’d go that one step further.
And he did.
Parting her folds, he bent to touch the tip of his tongue to the strip of flesh packing myriad nerves.
Kalea arched off the mattress, her fingers threading into his hair, digging into his scalp. “Yes!”
He chuckled and flicked that nubbin, sending her into another spasm. Then he sucked that button of flesh into his mouth and twirled it around with the tip of his tongue, flicking and licking until Kalea dug her heels into the blanket and pulled on his hair as her body quaked with her release.
He kissed her there and thrust a finger inside her, swirling around, loving how damp she was and ready.
“Now,” she said on a gasp. “I need you inside me. Now.”
He dug into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, fumbling in the dark until he found what he was searching for. When he did, he dropped the wallet, tore open the foil packet and applied the protection over his straining cock. With his jeans pushed down around his hips, he lay down between her legs, his staff poised at her entrance. “Tell me what you want,” he said, pressing a kiss to the pulse beating so wildly against the base of her throat.
“You. I want you,” she cried. Kalea gripped his hips in her hands and brought him home.
He slid inside, her channel convulsing around him, pulling him deeper. Easing in slowly, he allowed her time to adjust to his girth before going all the way. When he was as deep as he could go, he paused. “Okay?”
“More than okay,” she said. She pushed his hips away, stopping before he completely disengaged and brought him close again. In and out, she set the pace, starting slow and increasing the strokes, moving faster and faster until Hawk took over.
By then, he’d gone past control and thrust again and again, the tension building, adrenaline roaring through his veins, and ripples of electricity shooting outward from their intimate connection, all the way to his fingers and toes.
He thrust once more and buried himself deep inside her, holding steady, until the tremors ebbed, and he could once again draw a breath into his lungs.
Hawk collapsed over her and rolled her onto her side, facing him, maintaining their hold on one another. He smoothed a strand of her hair away from her cheek. “I wish I could see you. I can’t tell what you’re thinking.” Suddenly, he was nervous, wondering if he’d pushed her too fast. “Was this too soon? Did I hurt you? Talk to me, Kalea.”
“You should have quit before we kissed in the pool at the ranch. Now, I’m imagining what we missed,” she said on a sigh. Her hand slipped up his arm, feeling along his neck until she cupped his cheek in her hand. “I’ve never felt quite so…satiated.” She followed her hand to his mouth and pressed her lips to his.