She thought of the panic she’d felt when the waves swallowed her up. She had been alone then. So very alone. And she’d almost died alone.
She didn’t want to die alone.
Her phone rang in her hand, her mother’s number flashing across the screen.
“Allie! Honey, are you all right?” her mother exclaimed, worry giving her voice a ragged edge. “I woke up and saw the news and... Are you at an evacuation center?”
“I’m okay, Mom. I’m fine. I...I’m with Dallas. He’s the man I told you about. He actually saved me...” Allie almost mentioned the near drowning, but then thought better of it. Her mom had enough to worry about. “From the tsunami. We were on the beach when the earthquake happened. He drove me to higher ground.”
“Thank goodness,” her mother exclaimed, literally exhaling into the phone. “Henry and I were so worried!” Henry was her mother’s husband. She’d remarried about five years ago, after Allie was out of the house. Henry was a good man, a mild-mannered accountant who doted on her. Allie could see how much happier her mother was. She’d thought she’d found someone like Henry in Jason, but she’d been so wrong. “Are you okay?” her mother asked, and this time she didn’t mean physically.
“I’m okay.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah.” She wasn’t the least bit sure.
“Jason’s mother called me. Again. She can’t stop apologizing. She said she doesn’t want to bother you, but she’s so sorry...”
Allie felt her stomach clench. Jason’s mother and sisters were all so sweet. She hoped they were giving him hell, but still...the idea that they wouldn’t be her family anymore just hurt. She wished she’d never gotten to know them. It was painful to lose them. That was what made trusting people so hard, she thought. It wasn’t the betrayal; it was after they’d disappeared, when they weren’t there anymore.
“I can’t talk about her, Mom. I don’t want to...”
“I’m sorry, Allie. I just...I just wanted you to know. I’m sorry about Jason.”
Nothing Jason’s family could do or say changed the facts of what Jason had done. Allie knew that.
“I know. I’m fine, Mom. Got to go. Phone’s dying!”
She clicked off, swallowing a lump in her throat. As she fought for her composure, she realized the sky above her had darkened, signaling that daylight was going fast. As the sunlight faded, Allie felt goose bumps rise up on her arms. Did it get cold up here? A shiver ran down her spine, telling her she was far from the tropical climate of the beach. They were high up on the mountain. Farther up, she’d heard that snow sometimes fell at the peak. Leaving would be foolish, she thought.
Allie turned and headed back into the forest toward the cabin. By the time she rounded the final bend, the sky had turned dusky, and she smelled a campfire. She saw Dallas had made a small blaze in the fire pit in a clearing near his truck. The pit had a metal grill attached, where he’d set a pan filled with baked beans. He also had some sausage on a stick, which he carefully rotated in the fire. Allie’s stomach growled as the maple smell of sweet barbecue sauce hit her nose.
“Found some more things our honeymooners left. Hungry?” he asked her as she cautiously approached. He didn’t mention the kiss or her sudden escape. For that, she was grateful.
“Starved,” she said, rubbing her hands together.
“Have a seat,” he said, nodding toward the other folding chair across the fire from him. She felt relieved to be sitting outside, away from the single queen-size bed in the tree house. She happily sat down, watching Dallas expertly maneuver the oversize sausage link over the flames. Observing the skin grow crisp in the heat, he added, “Just about...done.”
Expertly, he pulled the sausage away from the fire, heading toward the open tailgate of his pickup truck, where Allie saw he’d spread out plates, the tequila, some bottled water and their cups from inside. He gently slid the sausage off the metal roasting fork and sliced it easily with a carving knife he’d brought from the kitchen, dividing the meat between two plates. He grabbed a tea towel and wrapped it around the handle of the pan, gently lifting it from the metal grate. He served up some beans and more tortilla chips and handed her the blue plastic plate. She immediately began to scarf down the food; the spicy sausage tasted especially good. Dallas watched her out of the corner of his eye as he served himself dinner. A small smile played at the corner of his lips.
“You were hungry,” he said.
Allie nodded between gulps. “Yeah, thanks. I was. This is a feast. Why did the couple leave all this?”
Dallas shrugged. “Who knows why tourists do what they do?”
Dallas ate slowly and thoughtfully. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming back,” he said as he sat in his chair. The firelight threw shadows on his tanned skin. “But I figured I’d cook enough for two just in case.”
“Yeah...I almost didn’t,” Allie admitted.
“I’m glad you did. It gets cold up here.”
Allie shivered a bit, and Dallas walked over and put his fleece jacket around her shoulders. “Scoot up to the fire. It’ll warm you.”
“Thanks,” she said, watching his every move, remembering what his strong arms had felt like when they’d carried her to the beach. The way his lips had felt on hers. Soft, inviting.
She shook herself. What was wrong with her? Getting involved with Dallas was a bad idea. A very bad idea.
The air temperature dropped rapidly. Another chill shook her as she finished up her plate. She put her hands up to the fire and felt the warmth from the flames spread across her palms.
“If you really want to warm up, you could try a swim in the heated pond.” Dallas nodded backward toward the tree house. “It really is warm, 24/7.”
“Not boiling with lava, I hope.” Allie hugged herself as she put down the plate on the ground near her.
“Nothing like that. It’s the perfect temperature. Here, let me show you.” Dallas put his empty plate down and walked back by the tree house. Allie followed, watching as he made his way between two lush trees. Several large stones made a path through. “Here, it gets tricky.” Dallas offered his hand and helped her over a small boulder. His fingers felt big and dry and strong as they led her. Allie could hear the sound of water, and when Dallas swept several thick branches to one side, she found herself staring at a beautiful pond, fed by a trickle of a waterfall down a wall of black lava rock. Even in the silvery moonlight, the scene looked like something from a glossy tourist brochure, the bright white moon above their heads reflected in the clear pool. Dallas kept hold of her hand as they made their way on the slippery black rocks to water.
“Go ahead, dip a toe in.” Allie could see Dallas’s bright white smile in the dusk. She kicked off a flip-flop and dipped her right foot in.
“Wow,” she exclaimed in surprise. “This is like a hot tub!” She kicked off her other shoe and waded in up to her shins. “This feels...so good.”
“I told you.”
“I’m going in.” Allie let go of Dallas’s hand so she could lift her sundress up and over her head. Without another care, she tossed it over her shoulder, with Dallas struggling to catch it.
She hesitated when the water reached the cut on her leg. She winced slightly as the bandage got wet, but the stinging soon subsided.
Allie’s yellow string bikini glowed in the moonlight as she waded out across the warm, slick rocks beneath her feet, and stopped when the water reached nearly chest height. She dipped her head under, feeling a rush of fresh warm water envelop her. She could feel Dallas’s eyes on her as she went, and she hoped he liked what he saw. She turned, pushing water with her hands.
“You coming in?”
Dallas hesitated on shore, still holding Allie’s sundress. He seemed to be having some kind of inner conflict. Probably because the second he kissed you, you ran off.
“Come on. You scared of getting wet?” Allie splashed water in his direction, not really intending to hit him. A few drops landed o
n his otherwise dry shirt. He looked down, and a big grin spread on his face.
“Oh, you’ve done it now,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. He dropped Allie’s dress on the rocks and pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket, gently laying it far from the water. He lifted up his shirt, and his bare chest looked as impressive as she remembered, even more so in the silvery moonlight, the clear ridges of his abs leading like a ladder down into his drawstring swim trunks. She found herself wondering what he looked like with no clothes on at all. He ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair and walked around the pond, grinning. Then he gave a rebel yell and launched himself into the middle, sending up a wall of water that splashed Allie in the face.
She giggled and sprayed him back, and soon they were in a full-on water fight, Allie showing Dallas no mercy.
“Ah!” Allie shrieked as Dallas sent a wall of water her way. She kicked at him, sending wave after wave toward him, the last one hitting Dallas straight in the face. He shook off the water, spray flying every direction.
“Oh, you’ll pay for that,” he promised, and stood, hands up like claws, as he circled her.
“Oh, no!” Allie shrieked a laugh and scurried away from him, sending up sprays of water in a defense. Dallas shook them off, intent on getting to her, and the more she fought, the more determined he got. The pond was only so big, and it was only a matter of time before Dallas managed to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.
“Gotcha!” he declared, even as she squirmed and giggled.
“No!” she cried.
“Give up, Splash Lady of the Lake! I’ve got you surrounded.” Dallas tightened his grip on Allie’s waist and lifted her up out of the water as if she weighed nothing.
“I surrender! I surrender!” The last laugh escaped Allie’s throat in a rush of air. “Put me down!”
“You asked for it.” Dallas heaved her up in the air, and she went splashing back down in the pond. She came up laughing and pushing wet hair from her eyes.
“No fair! I surrendered!”
“Oh? Should we try that again?” Dallas lunged for her once more, and she retreated, only to find herself trapped against the waterfall and Dallas. Allie pressed her back into the hard rock wall behind her.
“Now I have you.” Dallas grinned, putting up two monster-size hands above her head. Allie craned her neck to see the playful streak in his stark blue eyes. But now, suddenly, she realized it was no game. He was so close to her, she could feel his breath on her cheek. His bare chest was so near now, she could touch it. She saw beads of water dripping near his taut pink nipple, and without even thinking about the consequences, she put her finger there, following the line of water down his smooth chest. The muscles were just as firm and seductive as she’d imagined they’d be. She looked up, meeting his gaze, and realized the moment had gotten serious fast.
In an instant, his mouth was on hers, and the raw desire exploded in a symphony of sensations. His tongue moved into her mouth, and she opened for him, eager to taste him, eager to feel every part of him. Every logical thought, every hesitation disappeared in that moment as they fed on each other hungrily, their kiss taking on a life of its own. Dallas’s hands roamed down her body, finding the small of her back as he deftly maneuvered her to him. Pressed against him, she could feel the tautness of his stomach and the thickness in his shorts rising to meet her. Dallas hungrily asked for more, and she gave it to him. He eventually broke free first, only to trail kisses down her neck, down the curve of her cleavage, stopping at the tied string of her bikini. She let out a thick groan, her body responding to him forcefully, her belly growing warm beneath the water as she could feel blood rushing there.
Allie had nearly died that afternoon, and now all she wanted to do was live. She didn’t want to think about how vulnerable she’d been, how lost. Right now, all she wanted to do was celebrate life in the most primal way possible.
Dallas tugged on her bikini top with his teeth, instantly undoing the tie in the front, and suddenly her top fell away, her breasts exposed. She hardly had time to care before Dallas began worshipping each one, flicking each brown nipple with his tongue, gently caressing her heavy breasts in his hands. If she’d liked his tongue in her mouth, she liked it even more here, as he gently sucked each nipple, teasing her, tantalizing her. She had no time to worry about being half-naked in front of a stranger. There, in the moonlight, all she wanted was more. She arched her back, moaning, feeling the throbbing want between her legs. It was too late to stop now. There was no way she wanted to.
Then Dallas returned to her mouth, kissing her fiercely as he pulled her to him. Instinctively, she clutched his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, knowing he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She pressed her bare breasts against his chest, feeling the hard warmth and safety of his arms around her as he carried her away from the wall. He deepened the kiss even as he moved her closer to the rocky shore.
She found her anticipation growing as Dallas kissed her hard again, stirred at the naughtiness of it. He pulled her to him, and she could feel his arousal, hard and strong and unyielding, against her belly. Dallas pressed his hands into her waist, pulling her to him, when his phone rang.
He ignored it, but Allie already saw the face of the phone near her.
“It’s Jesse,” she said, disappointment ripping through her as she realized there was no way they could not answer. She might be in trouble. Or Kai. As much as she wanted to throw the phone in the water, she knew she couldn’t.
Dallas groaned, reluctantly pulling away from her as he reached for his phone. Allie crossed her arms across her bare chest, suddenly very aware she was nearly naked. “I’m not finished with you yet,” he swore in his thick drawl as he answered the call. Almost instantly, his expression grew somber. “Calm down, Jesse. One thing at a time. What about Kai?” Dallas listened patiently, his eyes growing more serious. “When was the last time you heard from him?” Allie felt a sudden chill as she waited for news. Dallas listened for a bit. “Uh-huh. Okay. Let’s not jump to any conclusions, all right? No need to worry until we have something to worry about. I’ll see what I can do, Jesse. You sit tight.”
Dallas ended the call and frowned. “Is everything all right?” Allie asked, already knowing by the expression on Dallas’s face that it wasn’t.
“Kai never made it to the evacuation center,” he said, sounding grim. “He’s missing.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“YOU’RE NOT GOING,” Dallas declared, as he cleared out his pickup bed of everything but the kayak and paddle, and rounded the driver’s-side door. “It’s dark and it’s dangerous, and the wave train might not be done. There could be more aftershocks out there.”
“It’s been hours, the tsunami was close in and my phone says they think the worst is over.” She held it up to show him. “And, there’s no way you’re going without me. Kai is my friend, too.” Stubbornly, Allie climbed up into the passenger side of the truck and slammed the door. Her wet bikini top was already bleeding through her sundress, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to be left behind. All she wanted was for him to even try to test her on this. He’d find out just how much she meant business. “You’ll have to carry me out and duct tape me to the tree house, because I won’t stay willingly.” Allie crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Dallas.
“Don’t tempt me, woman,” he said and sighed as he eyed the fixed set of her chin. “Okay, fine, but this is a search-and-rescue mission. We’re in and we’re out as quickly as possible. From everything I can tell from the news, we’re going to be facing catastrophic damage, downed power lines, demolished buildings with leaky gas lines, you name it.”
Allie nodded. “I got it. I can do this.”
“Okay, then, let’s go.” Dallas slammed his door.
“Go...where?”
Dallas turned the ignition and eased on the gas. “Jesse said Kai left the beach but stopped to help evacuate Rainbow Daycare south of K
ona. He went to check on his cousin’s daughter. Kai never got to the high school, and now his phone is going straight to voice mail.”
“That’s just like Kai,” Allie said. “Stopping to help. Do you know where Rainbow Daycare is?”
“Sure do,” Dallas said, voice low. “Jennifer’s daughter, Kayla, goes there. I used to drop her off every day.”
Allie felt a sudden constriction of her throat, as irrational jealousy gripped her. She imagined the gorgeous real estate agent and Dallas playing family, him doting on an adorable little girl...and then Dallas leaving them. It felt as if she’d been splashed with a cold bucket of water. Dallas had abandoned them, and he could leave her, too. He’d said he hadn’t cheated on her, and she believed him, but he couldn’t deny that he’d left. That much was true.
Maybe he wasn’t the kind of man who stayed. Maybe the interruption at the pond was fate trying to help her not make the mistake of her life.
Allie watched Dallas’s profile carefully as he tried not to look worried.
Allie slipped her hand in her pocket, finding the forgotten pieces of Teri’s mango candy there. Absently, she pulled two out, offering Dallas one.
“Do you think Kayla was there? When the tsunami hit?”
“No. I...saw her at the evacuation center. She made it out.” Dallas gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
“Good.” Allie felt genuine relief as she unwrapped a piece of mango candy and ate one. She was glad the kids got out. The idea of a wall of water demolishing a place filled with little kids...she shuddered at the thought.
“Still, I should’ve gone to check on her,” Dallas said, voice sounding ragged.
Allie recognized the guilt in his voice. She knew what it meant to feel as if you hadn’t done everything to save someone you love.
“We didn’t have twenty minutes, Dallas,” Allie said, hoping her reasoning would get through. “All the news reports said we missed the water by maybe minutes. We were lucky to get out, and to get Teri and her stylists and Jesse out in time. If we’d stayed even five minutes longer, none of us would’ve made it.”
Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) Page 14