Chapter 6

We were a decent stretch away from the luau, but I still slowed my pace to steal more moments with her. In the distance, sounds of ukuleles, children laughing, and inaudible chitchat floated toward us, sounding louder due to our silence.

I had so much I wanted to know about her, causing questions to bounce around my head. But the more I’d ask, the more I’d have to tell…and my tell would be mostly lies.

She seemed comfortable with our lack of conversation as she walked beside me with her shoes in one hand and Spike’s leash in the other. As we watched him dash in and out of the ocean, I took the opportunity to start a dialogue between us.

“Does he swim?”

“Not really. He tries, though.”

And just as she said that, Spike looked at an incoming wave, squared his shoulders, and dove in. But he missed, and instead hit the shallow water with a pathetic splash. He surfaced immediately, disoriented and annoyed enough to run out to try again.

I couldn’t help but laugh…and at the sound of it Zara laughed, too…and at the sound of hers I halted. It was so carefree and easy. She glanced over when she realized I was now staring at her, a broad smile still in place that proudly displayed her two perfect dimples. When she smiled like that, it took her beauty and injected it with steroids.

Like an idiot I clammed up, not knowing where to take the conversation next besides something so crass and tasteless as, Please fuck me?

A slight bend in the landscape had the water blocking our path. Comically, both Zara and Spike looked up at me for direction. By then Spike had had enough, and darted away from the water, wanting no part of the ocean that had repeatedly kicked his ass.

Zara shifted her shoes to the other hand and scooped him up before he could take off running. As she took one step into the surf, the bottom of her sarong hit the water, causing it to cling to her ankles.

“Shit.”

Impulsively, I lifted her to carry them both through the span of ocean we needed to cross. With one arm around her bare waist and the other around her thighs, I knew having her in my arms was asking for trouble. Yet I didn’t care.

“You don’t have to carry me,” she said with her face inches from mine. Spike turned his gaze toward her and yipped in disagreement.

“I don’t mind.” She went to argue, stopping when I shook my head and repeated what I’d said.

Her tropical scent invaded my senses. She was so close I could count the golden flecks in her eyes. Combined with the way her right breast pressed against my chest she was making things very hard for me…in more ways than one.

Regardless, I wasn’t letting her go. That became obvious when my feet were no longer immersed in water but instead hit firmly packed sand.

A few seconds later she said, “I think we’re good to go now.”

I nodded, yet still continued to carry them. Our eyes met, and a small smile played on her lips.

“Lance?” Just as she spoke, the rocking motion caused Spike’s eyes to slide shut, and if I could have kissed the dude without looking insane, I would have.

“Shh, poor guy is exhausted. Let’s not wake him.”

“You can’t carry me all the way to the luau.” Her head turned to the right where the noise level intensified.

“You’re right.” Without warning, I walked closer to the tree line and lowered us to the sand, sitting with her still firmly held in my arms, and with her ass now firmly pressing against my cock.

Until then he had been behaving…until then.

Her eyes searched my face hesitantly. “Now what are you doing?”

“I’m resting for a few minutes.” I lifted my chin to the right. “We still have a way to go.”

Her eyes widened when I spread my fingers, covering the exposed skin from right below her bikini top to right above her sarong. The feel of her silky skin made me want to drag my tongue over it.

“I barely know you,” she whispered, her lips so close I could feel her warm breath over my face.

“What do you want to know?”

“What’s your last name?”

“White.” My chest tightened at the lie. “What’s yours?”

“Jobert.”

“Zara Jo-bear,” I repeated phonetically. Spike suddenly released a short loud snore, causing us to laugh at the exact time. “How old is he?”

“He’s two.”

“How long have you lived in Lanai?”

“My family moved here when I was ten.”

“That must have been difficult for you.”

“It was. My sister and I wanted no part of moving away from our home in South Africa. Until we got here and instantly fell in love.”

Her eyes focused on the surf. The sun hung low over the horizon and had a good hour before it set. The golden highlights of her hair looked like spun silk in its rays.

“Where is your sister now?”

“Annia got married two years ago. She and her husband, Kai, live in Honolulu. Kai is a real estate agent there, and Annia works in a daycare center. I miss her.” She glanced down at Spike. “That’s why I got Marshmallow.”

“Does he know he’s a substitute?”

“I don’t think he cares as long as he has a constant supply of peanut butter crackers.” My mouth gaped open in the most embarrassing way. “What’s wrong?”

“I am absolutely addicted to peanut butter crackers. It feels like Spike and I were separated at birth,” I said on a short laugh.

“That’s actually really weird.” Her eyes cut between Spike and me in wonderment. “What brings you to Lanai?”

“It looked like the perfect place to relax.”

I hoped she wouldn’t ask why I needed to relax, or even how long I would be staying. I was prepared to lie, and would if necessary, even though I hated doing so. There was something about her that made me want to start talking and not stop until she knew every damn thing about me. And I couldn’t be sure if it was my head, my heart, or my cock that had me feeling that way.

“Do you have siblings?” she asked.

“A brother.”

At my silence, she asked, “Where does he live?”

“New Jersey,” I lied again.

Her eyes widened. “Are you not close?” My flinch caused her to retract. “I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t be. It’s just complicated,” I said while watching the surf.

Even though I’d started this question-and-answer game, mainly because I wanted to know her better, I needed to end it for now. I’d learned enough to know I wanted to know more. And having her against me forced me to reveal my hand.

I turned toward her, bringing us practically nose to nose, and said, “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

She scoffed and turned away. Without thought, I cupped her cheek and gently moved her line of sight back to my face.

“I want to kiss you.”

“Do you always ask first?”

I wanted to say no, because I never cared to ask first. Instead, I turned the tables. “Is that a yes?”

“I guess I’m wondering what you’d say if I said I didn’t want you to.”

A glint in her eyes meant she was teasing me…and I loved that she was.

“I’d say I don’t believe you. And then I’d kiss you anyway.”

My lips fused with hers, and upon impact a violent surge of need consumed me…a need to have every inch of her.

That first taste caused an instant high. Each second that passed as my lips moved against hers sent my high soaring. When my tongue slipped into her mouth to introduce itself, the high then intensified to the point where I couldn’t fathom what life had been like before tasting her. I didn’t care what the side effects were, or what I’d experience when the time came to endure withdrawal. In that moment, kissing Zara was worth any hell I’d be sure to face once the high eventually wore off.

When she pulled away—and to be honest it wasn’t as quickly as I thought she would have—our eyes locked with so many questions bouncing between us.

Mine were along the lines of, Can I have another taste before tasting every inch of you?

Her puckered brow had me wondering what she was thinking.

“Was that not good for you?” I asked, running my thumb over the crease in her forehead. “Because, embarrassingly enough for me, I think you can tell my reaction to that kiss.”

She blushed when my eyes cut downward. “It was amazing. But, Lance, we just met.”

“No. We met days ago. And I wanted to kiss you since that day.”

Spike chose that moment to shift, thus causing her to as well. I gripped her thigh, the fabric no longer there as a barrier. My hand flexed over her smooth skin, and instead of moving it or asking me to, she leaned in and surprised me by initiating another kiss.

I couldn’t tell you how long we sat on the beach kissing like teenagers, but it wasn’t long enough.

During our make-out session she moved Spike to the sand beside us. He looked up, circled, and settled back to sleep in between my spread ankles.

Zara had also moved her position, placing her butt on the sand between my thighs. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my hard-on or in spite of it.

The moment she did I went right back in, holding her face in between my hands. When she again pulled away a few seconds later, I instinctively leaned in to chase her mouth.

She stopped me by placing a finger across my lips. “We are so late. My father will have the search parties out soon. He still treats me like a teenager at times.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.” The look on my face forced her next question. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-one.”

She looked away shyly, but didn’t respond. Her entire demeanor changed. Gone was the confident woman I was just kissing passionately, and in her place was now a contemplative quiet girl whose thoughts were apparently running rampant. Eight years could be considered an eternity to some, and I worried she’d have a problem with the gap.

Before I could say age meant nothing, she stood up and brushed away the sand without making eye contact. “We really should go.”

“Where do your parents think you are right now?”

“Taking Marshmallow for a walk.”

The fact that she hadn’t mentioned me hurt more than I wanted to admit…and now, after the way things had taken an awkward turn because of our difference in age, I wondered if she would even bother to.