by Angel Payne
Because now, life felt even emptier than before.
Which made his next statement even harder to form.
“Yeah, well…from now on, you’ll be the one giving her what she needs, man.”
Kellan let out a heavy breath. “Fuck. You…you really think?”
“Hell yes. Take it in little bites—or in this case, gentle swats. You and Lani have the most important element already. Open, considerate communication. Talk to her. Ask her what feels good and what doesn’t. She’s very good at expressing herself.”
I need to please both of you…at once…
Dear fuck was the woman good at self-expression.
“Okay. I can do that.” The statement was Cool Hand Luke, but Kellan’s fists, now twisting with each other atop the table, were complete Joan-Crawford-with-a-pile-of-wire-hangers.
Despite the throb in his groin, another grin was surprisingly easy to produce. “Hey, it’s all right to be a little scared.”
“A little?”
“Breathe, Slash-aroni.” He chuckled. Kellan didn’t.
“T…I have to say something. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this way for a woman before.” His gaze flew across the floor as he worked his jaw back and forth. “I don’t know what this shit is. And I don’t know whether I even like it.”
“But imagining your life without it is impossible?”
Kell gawked like he’d just revealed the secret formula for time travel. “Exactly!”
“Imagining your life without what?”
The interruption came from the doorway to the house—and the woman standing there, a little sleepy, a little disheveled—and a lot of too fucking sexy. Tait adjusted his position to try hiding his hard-on, already given a kick-start from the flashbacks of last night. Lani wasn’t helping things a goddamn bit with her girlish stance and robe-covered body. The garment, clearly borrowed from a female’s closet somewhere in the house, was a pale pink contrast to her hair, which she’d tugged into a loose side braid. He wondered if she was still naked under the thing. Part of him prayed yes. Part of him bellowed no. If Kell decided it was time to start “communicating” with her right now about their newfound discovery of kink, it was going to be time for a long, long torture session of a run for him. Or maybe he’d just go out to Waimea Canyon and wear himself out on a ball-breaker of a wilderness trail. Or five.
“Well, good morning, Starshine.”
Thank fuck one of them was still able to function. Besides, it made more sense for Kell to go greet her, rise, and pull her close with a tender kiss on her lips, which were still plump as ripe strawberries from all the attention they’d gotten last night.
Stop staring at her goddamn lips. Stop thinking about anything they did with you last night. Or to you.
Tait rose as well but headed as far down the lanai as he could without seeming a reclusive douche. Lani peeked around Kell and gave him a mock scowl anyway. “What, no ‘good morning, dreamgirl’ from the T-Boner?”
What was that word Franzen used for her? “Sass-slinging?” Yep, that was about right. Every muscle in his body longed to stalk back to the woman, hike up that pretty kitty robe until he saw pussy of another kind, and make her sling sounds of a different kind until she apologized for letting that snark fly.
Instead, after tossing a shit-eating smirk of his own, he swept a low, teasing bow. “You twinkle above us, babe, and we twinkle below.”
She giggled.
His pulse raced.
Yes, his fucking heartbeat raced, like a line from a bad pop song by a guy with good hair.
Shit, shit, shit. Time to lie low—translation, cut the hell out of—this bantering with her. It was playful and innocent yesterday. It was outright flirtation today. All three of them knew it.
Thankfully, Lani let the moment slide, as well. She wasn’t benevolent enough to give him mercy from her sweet smile, swinging it to both him and Kellan. “Thanks for letting me sleep in. Guess I needed it.”
Tait studied her. “Guess you did, considering all the times you got up to pace.”
A glance from Kellan indicated Tait had stolen the words out of his mouth. So his buddy had noticed her nocturnal ramblings too. Kell hooked a gentle hand to her elbow when Lani turned, presumably to gaze over the ocean. “You were up at least three times, sweetheart.”
“Four,” Tait corrected.
“Wasn’t counting her stop at the head.” Kell said it without breaking his attention on Lani. “Care to share what’s going on in that beautiful mind, sweetheart?”
The pause before her reply was long enough to notch up Tait’s apprehension, as well. “I’m fine,” she finally asserted. “Really. Just fine.” Her averted eyes, gleaming bright as the foam topping the waves, said otherwise.
“And I’m Tinkerbell.” Tait strode back with slow but purposeful steps. “You want to try that one again? Keep in mind that your audience is a couple of guys who’ve been trained to tell someone’s lying in less than a minute.”
“I—” She gave a little huff. Pursed her lips. She was clearly going for frustrated, but Tait was so entranced by her effort, he hoped she never got there. “I just have a lot on my mind, okay?” In a surprise turnabout, she dropped the insecurity for a new, saucy smile. “Besides, it was fun watching the two of you sleep.”
“Oh, how sparkly vampire of you.”
Hell. How long had he lasted on the ban to the bantering? A minute? But the gibe was too good to pass up. Lani’s impish grin said she agreed. Damn. He could get addicted to that smirk of hers…to the warmth it spread through his senses, pleased as hell with himself for lightening her day. But that was the problem with addiction. The words itself had synonyms like dependence and enslavement. And somewhere in that mess, there was guilt, leading him back to the throne in his soul reserved for the one woman who’d ever dared occupy it.
Luna.
She was still there, all right. He felt her, reclining in her serene feline glory—but why the hell was she only smiling, giving him cute little golf claps of approval?
Why are you playing with me like this, woman? Where the fuck is my slam of remorse, my gut punch of grief?
They were gone.
And he was confused.
Thank God for Kellan and his disgusted scowl. “Sparkly vampire? Did you really just go there?”
Lani laughed louder. Another box added on the addiction list. “He totally did. And it was cute.”
Tait narrowed his eyes. “I don’t do cute.”
“Yes, you do.”
Kellan joined her on the comeback. His friend sobered fast after that, running his touch up to her shoulder. The guy’s features went gooey in a way Tait had never seen before. “You want me to take you back to the ranch?” he queried. “I’m sure you want to see Leo.”
Lani returned the Valentine’s card stare, running a thumb across the stubble on Kell’s jaw. “He’s up and off to school by now. At least he’d better be.”
During her statement, the phone on the table binged with an incoming text. Tait knew that because the phone was his. “I can confirm the school arrival,” he said, reading the window. “Killer K says he’s going to first period, sends his love to sis and Slash-gasm, and promises there won’t be any cave explorations on his behalf again today.”
Lani’s face relaxed. At the same time, she slanted him a curious glance. “Killer K?”
“The kid doesn’t have a monopoly on creating dumb nicknames.”
She smiled at that, but the look was a more subdued version of her norm. Once more, Tait observed that Kellan shared his insight. There was a deeper issue on the woman’s mind, and a rocket-science degree wasn’t necessary for figuring it out. “Tait’s made some coffee,” Kell offered. “Let’s all go grab some and then sit down for a talk.”
Tait wasn’t surprised to watch Lani’s posture stiffen. Fuck. He knew the feeling. So much to say. So few ways to say it without everyone signing up for Camp Uncomfortable. Forget wanting to spank her. Now he just wa
nted to pull her close one more time, inhale the jasmine of her hair, and tell her everything was going to be all right. Everything. They were going to protect her land from Benson, and he was going to save her spirit from conflict.
What she and Kellan had forged together already was clearly awesome. He refused to be the dickwad to stomp all over that, no matter how incredible things had been over the last forty-eight hours. All he had to do was say that, right? A cup of coffee, a few lines of speaking the truth, and they could all shelve the last couple of nights into the closet of damn good memories. Best plan for everyone. Safer for all. Especially Lani.
“I don’t want to talk.”
Except if the woman herself dropped a grenade on the plan.
Kellan slid his hand from her shoulder to her nape. “Sweetheart, I think we need to. I can speak with confidence for Tait in this case. We’ve both come to care about you—a lot. And while the last two nights have been…errmmm…enjoyable for everyone—”
“Enjoyable?” Tait shoved out a snort. “Step down, Poindexter. You aren’t talking for me anymore. They were fucking awesome.”
“All right,” Kell muttered. “What he said.”
Lani’s gaze shined at sun-bright power once more. “I couldn’t agree more.” Her smile, though tinged by sadness at the edges, was no less dazzling. “Which is why I don’t want to talk.”
He fell into silence along with Kellan. Damn. This was an unexpected impasse. As his buddy jammed hands into his pockets and shuffled in confusion, Tait let his stare fall on Lani. He really studied her now. Tension still gripped her stance, but that celestial calm continued to rule her gaze. In short, she revealed nothing.
“Shit,” he finally muttered. “Lima-Lima-Mike-Foxtrot.”
“Copy you loud and clear, brother.”
“Huh?” Lani queried.
“Lost like motherfuckers,” Tait explained. When she returned a puzzled grimace, he charged, “Why don’t you want to talk? Girls always want to talk.”
Her whole face darkened. “You don’t always get to peer under the dome, okay?”
He hated admitting it, but she was right. She wasn’t his submissive. She wasn’t even his girl. From now on, it was probably best that she wasn’t even his friend. She was his stunning mission asset, and nothing more.
“Fair enough.” He took a measured step back. He wondered why her face fell like he’d shot one of her horses at the same time, but maintained his new position. That plan didn’t earn a thumbs-up from the woman, either. Her eyes squeezed as if she were about to open the waterworks again. Kellan stepped over and grabbed her shoulders again, shooting him a what-the-hell-happened glare, and Tait spread his arms in a wide shrug. This was the most bizarre “morning after” he’d ever experienced.
The next second, it twisted even weirder.
With a tight cry, Lani shoved away from Kellan too. In an instant, Tait realized why his buddy had just been glowering at him. Seeing her upset in the arms of another guy, even his best friend who’d done nothing, made his very marrow scream with the need to yank her away and hold her.
“Starshine? You sure you don’t want to—”
“I don’t need a talk.” As she cut him off, she also spun back toward the house. “I need a drive,” she called from the living room. “We all do.”
Kellan didn’t look back to Tait until she’d crossed the living room and disappeared toward the bedroom. His friend blinked a bunch of times, as if trying to reconcile his perception with reality, before muttering, “I guess we’re going for a drive.”
Tait rocked back on his heels. A black laugh tempted his lips, “Appears so.”
Kell paced to the edge of the lanai, turned, and came back. “You think Leo will be all right if she totes our asses to the opposite side of the island?”
He nodded. “Ike adores that kid like the son he never had, so I can text him to be diligent. Besides, Gunter doesn’t know we’re digging in his secret underwear drawer…yet.”
“Good point.”
Tait glanced down at his feet. “Think we should put on shoes?”
“Hmm. Probably.”
“Do you have any idea where we’re going?”
As he issued the question, Lani walked back through the living room, pink robe replaced by a dress apparently borrowed from the same closet. From the photos in the house, Tait knew Franz had a couple of biological sisters. Thank fuck they were similar in size and coloring to Lani. The dress was stunning on her. It was pink, too, but in a darker shade, pulling out the gorgeous glow in her cheeks and the color in her lips. Her hair hung free now, brushed to a sheen so smooth it reminded him of black latex.
Fuck. Yeah.
Pink was nice, but black latex? The best invention since shoelaces. And Christ, would that woman’s curves look amazing in a corset formed of the stuff, cinching and exposing her in all the right places…
Shelve it, Bommer. High up and far, far away.
“Uhhhh…what’d you say?” Kellan finally blurted.
He swallowed before answering. “Just…errr…asked if you knew where we’re going.”
Kellan chuffed. “Does it matter?”
“Very good point.”
* * *
He was damn glad they’d decided to put on shoes. That didn’t stop him from feeling five kinds of underdressed and unsanitary from the second they’d exited the car at their final destination. As they walked down a pretty stone pathway shrouded by thick tropical trees, he still kept jabbing both hands through his hair, hoping the thick strands would, for once, behave.
Kellan walked up and punched him in the shoulder. “You want to relax, Benson groupie wannabe?”
“Huh? What the hell?”
“You’re coming off like a pretentious ass from a hair product commercial. Worse, you’re missing all this beauty. Look at this place! It’s like the freaking Jungle Book.” The guy scooted in close enough to murmur, “You know, this’d be an awesome spot for a nudist colony.”
He seized the chance to land a counterpunch into Kell’s arm. “It’s a church, you bozo. Show some respect.”
“Right. Because look where all your forced time in Sunday School got you.”
“At least I’m not a heathen, walking around here with nudity on my mind.”
“Why is it even called that? Sunday School needs a new name. Maybe even a new image.”
“Are you really skipping down that yellow brick road?”
Lani slipped between them from behind, looping her arms beneath both their elbows. “You’re both right—and wrong.” Though she pulled them along, her pace was slower, reverent. Her voice matched. “Though the Saiva Siddhanta Church is located here, the complex is about much more than that. It’s a spiritual sanctuary for over twenty swamis, yogis, and sadhakas from all over the world, furthering the Hindu principles of humanity’s unity and divinity through harmony, generosity, and love. It’s also a center of learning for pilgrims from all over the world. Besides all that, it’s amazing.”
With every word she spoke, Tait felt a smile growing and his stress liquefying. He watched the same effect taking hold of Kellan. At face value, the syntax of Lani’s words were normally hippie-talk hooey he blew off faster than incense ash, but the peace on her face, joined with the music of her voice, worked a strange magic on him. As he lifted his head and peered around, the feeling grew. The place really was amazing. Though there wasn’t a square foot of this island that wasn’t breathtaking, the sanctuary grounds were like Kauaˋi in ultra-high-def, with towering banyans, eucalyptus, and palms overlooking bushes that were covered in lush vines that sprang from carpets of ferns. The air was better than any florist shop on the planet, a bouquet of plumeria, hibiscus, sandalwood, lilies, and even a little cinnamon and curry. As they climbed a gentle slope, he glimpsed a sparkling river that was fed by postcard-perfect waterfalls.
Kellan tugged at Lani. Though he kept his voice down as well, there was no missing the tease to it. “So how am I right and wrong?�
��
Her smile quirked with her unique style of mischief. “Let’s just say you’re not the first one in this party to think about ‘doing the naked’ in this neighborhood.” As Kell smirked and preened, she hurriedly added, “Which means that unlike Tait, we both need more Sunday School.”
“Pffft.”
“Do me a favor and elbow him,” Tait quipped. After Lani obliged by giving Kell a good-natured nudge, she added a smile that rivaled even the scenery for radiance. Tait couldn’t take his eyes off her. She’d always been double-take beautiful, but something about this place and this mountain added layers to the pull she had on him. In every part of his mind…and body.
Hell. The natural-and-naked fantasy party had a brand-new member.
He needed to steer the topic elsewhere. Now. Thankfully, the feat wouldn’t be difficult. Clearly, Lani loved this place. He’d simply enroll her as their tour guide. Maybe that would haul his mind from the scene that unfurled in his head, of stretching her out on one of the grassy riverbanks, stripping her nude, and worshipping her as a newly inducted goddess of this place…
Tait Gabriel Bommer, you’re in church! Straighten up and pay attention, or there will be no cookies at hospitality for you.
Wonderful. Like his senses needed any more havoc today.
“Okay, Mom,” he murmured, holding on to the sweetness of the memory for a tiny moment longer. If he closed his eyes and concentrated hard enough, he could almost smell the Juicy Fruit gum she’d always kept in her purse…and her floral shampoo…and the cracked leather of her Bible…
“Okay who?”
Lani’s soft inquisition made him cough hard before shoving Melody McKay-Bommer to the back of his soul again. “Nobody.” He locked down his smile. “Nothing important.”
“You sure?” Her gaze flicked over his face. A breeze sifted through the trees, blowing her hair at him. It smelled like flowers…
This whole place smells like flowers, you dumbshit.