Kamon “Shadow” Aromdee just got lei’d for the last time. Hawaii held little meaning to him now that his mother had passed on. With her funeral done, there was nothing to go back to. His mother had been an only child and his grandparents were long dead. A tourist resort now stood where his childhood home once was. People moved on. Time changed things. Memories were all he had, and that was enough.

The sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean rippled beneath him as the plane left the island. He leaned his chair back, letting himself drift to sleep.

“Is this seat taken?” a soft voice with a faint accent stopped him from dozing off.

“Huh?” Kamon blinked himself awake at the odd question, since they’d already been in the air for nearly thirty minutes of the thirteen hour flight.

The woman smiled and pointed to the empty seat next to his.

He glanced up and locked gazes with the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Long, dark-brown hair brushed against her delicate, high cheekbones as she leaned closer. “The guy sitting next to me fell asleep and keeps drooling. I thought maybe I could escape and come sit here.”

Words stumbled at the back of his throat and he only managed a nod.

“Thanks for rescuing me.” Her smile radiated a warmth that lit his soul on fire and he found the need to adjust his tightening jeans.

“No problem,” Kamon choked out, and he prayed she wouldn’t glance at his lap.

It had been a long time since a mere look at a woman hit him right in the soft spots. His focus had been either on his missions with his Navy SEAL team or on his dying mother. He had zero room for a relationship outside of them, let alone a romantic one.

Sure, there’d been the off and on hook-ups when he’d get back to base in San Diego. But most of the women he encountered were looking for the same thing─a release, not a relationship—which suited him just fine, since he was in no position for one himself.

“That’s a really interesting medallion.” She pointed to the pewter disk hanging from his neck.

He brushed a finger across the front of it as the memory of his father hanging it around his neck crossed his mind. “A gift from my dad. He said it means safety, and that I should always wear it for protection. I took his word for it, since I don’t speak Thai. I was raised with my mom in Hawaii.” Kamon shrugged. “It was the last thing I have of my father. He died shortly after.”

“Oh,” the woman said with a nod as she adjusted herself in her seat. “Is that why you’re traveling to Thailand?”

Kamon pursed his lips. As beautiful as she was, he didn’t feel the need to share every detail of his life with a total stranger. Maybe that was why he was still single.

Since he’d probably never see her again once they landed in Bangkok, he decided to take the chance and practice actually having a conversation with a woman, at least about more than just ‘Your place or mine?’

“Naw, my father died when I was twelve. My mom passed away last week. I’m taking her to her final resting place next to my dad.”

His mother’s one wish was to be cremated and her ashes spread next to her husband, Rune, in Thailand. Kamon knew very little of him, having only seen him a couple times a year in his youth. Rune’s job took him overseas the majority of the time, but when he did come home his dad always brought some kind of gift, like the medallion Kamon wore around his neck daily. Probably trying to buy his love with bribery. But for some reason, the medallion felt special. Maybe because it was the last gift he’d ever get from him.

Kamon had never been to Thailand, the birthplace of his father. At eighteen, Kamon joined the Navy, becoming a SEAL, and had been in the military ever since.

“I’m sure she’ll be very happy to be reunited with your father. So, he was from Thailand and your mom lived in Hawaii?” She turned toward him and crossed a sexy leg over the other and his gaze traveled the length of it to her very short red skirt. Palpitations ripped through his heart at the thought of what lay beneath the fabric, and he had to tear his focus from her thighs back on to the conversation about his dead parents. That should keep the boner in check.

“Yeah. We didn’t see him but a couple times a year. Part of me held a grudge against him for a while, not being there for most of my life. Mom always worked to make sure we always had a roof over our heads, plenty of food to eat, and never wanted for anything. He would show up for a few days, bring us shiny gifts, then disappear again for months.”

Soft, warm fingertips pressed against his forearm, jolting another ripple of adrenaline to his heart. “It must have been hard emotionally. Material items mask a hole, but don’t fill it.”

Kamon glanced to her hand, watching as her red-tipped fingers brushed against his skin. Goosebumps launched up and down his arms. He jerked his hand up and ran it through his hair to avoid her feeling them.

“So, ah, enough about me. What’s taking you to Thailand?” He needed to shift the conversation away from himself and on to her. If she kept touching him like that, he’d have to excuse himself and take care of business in the tiny airplane bathroom.

She leaned in, propping herself up on her elbow and rested her chin on her closed fist. Soulful deep-brown eyes stared at him, taking his breath away. Perfect red lips puckered as she formulated a response, and it took all his strength not to close the two-inch gap between them and claim her mouth.

“I’m not actually going to Thailand. Well, I have a stop to make in Bangkok, but then I’m getting off in Laos for work.”

The way she said Bangkok repeated in his mind on a loop. He’d certainly like to… He shook his head, forcing himself back to the conversation and away from fantasizing about her as he pulled his tray down over his lap to cover the evidence. “What do you do?”

She bit her lip before answering, as if she had to think about it. “I work at a hotel. I just got promoted to a new position.”

Every single word she said lead to more fantasies … hotel … position … getting off … Bangkok. He was either far more sexually frustrated than he even realized or this woman was sex incarnate. For a brief second he considered asking her if she wanted to become part of the mile-high club, but his condoms were in his checked luggage.

Sucking in a deep breath, he cleared his throat and forced out some words. “Well, good luck with the new position.”

“Thanks.” She extended her hand. “I’m Malia, by the way.”

He slipped his hand under hers and brought the back of it to meet his lips. “I’m Kamon.”

A soft giggle floated from her lips. “Aren’t you the gentleman, Kamon. You keep that up and I could be convinced to stay in Bangkok.”

Her words lit a smile on his face. Maybe there could be a hook-up between them after all. “Well, I’m not staying in Bangkok either. I’m eventually headed north to a small village along the Mekong River where my dad was from.”

“So sad. How does that song go, One Night in Bangkok?” A sly smile curved along her lips and he could practically taste the cherry-scented gloss covering them.

He caught himself leaning in to kiss her and jerked himself upright before their lips met. “Are you from Thailand? I noticed a slight accent.”

She bit her lip with a soft sigh, which did nothing to help the growing need in his pants. “I was born there, but moved to the states when I was five. My biological parents were killed by one of the local drug cartels, and I was eventually adopted by a couple from California. They were great parents, but there’s still a hole in my heart for my real family.”

This time, Kamon was the one to place his hand on hers at the emotions staggering through her words. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. Do you remember much about them?”

She laced her fingers with his and brushed her thumb along his skin, sending another rush of excitement through his heart. “A few foggy memories, which unfortunately aren’t all that good. The ones I have are from their death. I witnessed it. But I have pictures, and from stories that were told, they were standing up to Thet Yaza, the Opium King, and they were slaughtered for it. So I know they were honorable people.”

Malia’s eyes glassed over and Kamon slid his thumb against her cheek, catching a tear. “I’m sorry to have asked something so personal. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“It’s weird. I haven’t talked about this to anyone in years. I have no idea why I shared it with you.” She shook her head. “I just felt compelled to tell you. You’re very easy to talk to, I guess.” She sniffed and pulled away, curling back into her own seat.

Sadness welled in his heart, not only at her story, but that she put space between them. He actually enjoyed their conversation and her nearness. Something about her drew him to her. He longed to know more about her.

“I know what you mean, though. I haven’t talked to anyone about my family either, ever. No one except my best friend, Jinx, knows my story. That’s kind of why I’m also going to Thailand. I want to know more about my father, and I hope that I still have some family there willing to fill in the gaps my mother couldn’t.”

“Your best friend’s name is Jinx?” She laughed.

His lips pulled into a smirk. “It’s a nickname. His real name’s Ezra, but he hates it.”

“I see.” Malia smiled before letting out out a sigh as she rested her head against her seat.

The rumble from the jet engines filled the silence between them for what seemed like forever. Kamon dipped his head and glanced out the window at the darkening water of the Pacific Ocean below as night fell. He hoped he didn’t sour their conversation.

Malia turned her head to face him and slid her hand over his on the armrest between them. “I hope you get the answers you seek, Kamon. I pray they are joyful and soul-filling. Not heart-wrenching and destructive. Sometimes the past is almost better left there.”

Kamon blinked and processed her words. Odd for someone to say, almost like she knew something he didn’t. Or perhaps it was just because her own past was filled with destructive memories that she didn’t wish that upon him.