Zara

Besides his stunning looks, his amazing body, and a set of crystal-blue eyes that could cause me to lose all train of thought, I truly liked Lance. That was rare for me, to actually like someone.

My mother often teased that if a man could finally get past the shield and armor I wore around my heart, I’d probably marry him. Of course, a lot of my issues stemmed from my father and how insanely overprotective he’d become after my sister’s murder. But my mother argued with him that even as a young child in South Africa, I had kept to myself. Besides being very shy, I was also very guarded. I had probably inherited that trait from my father; my mother was always much more trusting than he.

But with Lance, things were different. I wasn’t looking for faults or signs to push him away, just the opposite. The more I got to know Lance, the more I wanted to be with him.

It was obvious Lance wanted to know all about me, but I was even more curious about him.

“What do your friends think of you picking up and vanishing to Hawaii?”

“I really don’t have many close friends. It’s funny how people change once you become successful.” He looked away and shrugged, almost embarrassed by his admission.

“I don’t know about the successful part, but I do know I usually don’t mix with people in general. I’m a loner.”

A sad smile spread over his lips. It looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he nodded. “I get that. I guess I am as well, in many ways. We can be loners together.”

“Sounds like a plan. What do you like to read, and what kind of music do you like?”

“James Patterson, and my favorite band is Coldplay. You?”

“Stephen King and Justin Timberlake.”

“Justin Timberlake? The Mouseketeer?” He was unable to hide his astonishment. “He does it for you, huh? Those round black ears and dorky smile?”

“That was when he was a kid,” I defended him. “He’s very sexy.”

“Mouseketeers aren’t sexy. Once a Mouseketeer, always a Mouseketeer.” He shook his head, pretending to be disgusted, but the smile on his sexy lips contradicted his expression. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Well, Hawaiian pizza of course.”

“Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza.”

“You’re wrong. What’s your favorite food?”

“S’mores.”

I laughed at his answer. “Are you five? What adult loves s’mores?”

“Are you kidding? What’s better than taking a marshmallow, roasting it until it’s burnt—”

“Yip. Yip!”

“Not you, dude.” He dismissed Marshmallow’s complaint with a wave of his hand. “Then smashing it between crunchy graham crackers oozing with melted chocolate. I even add a thin layer of peanut butter. It’s the best combination. I’ll have Kaholo pick up the ingredients next time he goes to the main island. Trust me, one taste of my s’mores and you’ll become addicted.” His words innocently described his favorite treat, but the way his eyes drilled seductively into mine said so much more. The double entendre caused me to blush.

I cleared my throat and asked in a raspy voice, “Do you soff?”

“What’s soff?”

“You know.” I raised my arms out to the sides and swayed my upper body. “Soff.” He blatantly laughed at me, causing me to swat at him. “You’re mean.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t resist. No, I don’t soff,” he said, mimicking my accent.

“Don’t they have waves in New Jersey?” It was my turn to tease him.

“Of course they do, silly. It just wasn’t something I was interested in, and anyway I never had time. Maybe you can teach me?”

“I can. This beach isn’t the place to learn, though.” I shifted my gaze to the view of the ocean through his front door before coming back to his face. Seeing ice-blue eyes staring intently into mine, even though two seconds earlier he was doing just that, once again caused the familiar pulsing to travel within me. I could literally stare into his eyes all day…while kissing him as I gripped his silky hair.

“It’s too rough,” I continued once I remembered what I’d been about to say. “The waves are too ambitious for a novice. We’d have to go east to Lopa.”

“Sounds like a date. Just say when.” He took one of my hands in between his own and I sucked in a breath. “What?”

“How do you do that, Lance?”

“Do what?”

“Get my stomach to flip whenever you touch me.” I slapped my hand over my gaping mouth. “Shit, I can’t believe I just said that.”

At my admission, his thumbs stopped tracing lazy patterns on my open palm, and my eyes focused on the lack of motion.

“Oh, does it now?” he asked smugly. “You do know what that means, right?”

I shook my head as if trying to clear my thoughts…as if trying to wake from a trance. The way I zoned out whenever he stared into my eyes was becoming a problem.

“You can simply forget I blurted that out,” I finally said, waving my other hand in an attempt to dismiss my last comment.

“No can do. This means something.”

“It probably means I’m so repulsed by you that I’m about to throw up,” I quipped with a contradicting smile.

“Nice try. It means you love me.”

“Love you?” That caused me to pull my hand away in disbelief. “You’re insane. It does not!”

Again, he laughed, reaching and taking my hand back into his grasp. “Yes, it does. It means you are head over heels in love with me.” He raised it slowly and placed a kiss in the center of my palm. With his lips lingering on my skin, and his gaze fixed on my face, my heart began pounding in my chest. “I did it again, right? Caused your stomach to flip? I bet I could do even better.” His lips traveled up my arm until he stopped at the crease of my elbow and sucked softly.

Oh. My. God.

“You don’t play fair, Lance.” I slid my arm out of his hold. My body was betraying me, and I couldn’t trust that my mind would keep me from jolting out of my chair to attack him. “I better go.”

Spike lifted his head and barked.

“Spike isn’t ready to go. You should make him happy.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “Marshmallow.”

“I can’t call him that. I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever else you want. I’ll even eat Hawaiian pizza, but please don’t ask me to call him Marshmallow.” He dazzled me with a stunning smile, which I returned.

“I had fun, but I do have to go. I promised my mama I’d go to town with her. She’ll wonder what’s taking me so long.”

“Where do you live? I can drive you back. Save some time.”

I’d love nothing more than to spend more time with you, I agreed in my mind.

“I’m near the ferry in Manele. It’s only about a twenty-minute walk, but you can’t get there by walking the beach.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“No, I’ll walk.”

Undeterred, he said, “Then I’ll walk with you. I wasn’t kidding when I said I like spending time with you, Zara.”

I smiled warmly. “Me, too. But…”

“No buts. Just say, ‘I like spending time with you, too, Lonce,’ ” he said, pronouncing his name the way I did.

“I like spending time with you, too, Lonce.”

“Now you’re learning.”

“But…” Before he could argue I quickly added, “I’d really rather you not walk me home today. Okay?”

He nodded and reluctantly agreed. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

He stood and tugged my hand until I was out of my chair and standing before him. “Then you’ll just have to agree to kiss me, to make up for breaking my heart.”

“Why do I feel like I don’t have a choice?”

“You do. You always have a choice. Just say no.” In a shameless attempt to convince me, he wrapped his arms around my waist, placing his hands right above the curve of my ass. He then lowered his lips to the skin below my ear, kissing me sweetly just once. The tiny sigh I released didn’t go unnoticed. I felt a smile spread over his lips before he resumed nibbling on my neck.

My body instantly relaxed in his arms. When he straightened, he glanced at Spike, who watched us from the couch. Turning back to me, he gauged my face while waiting. “So? Yes or no? May I kiss you?”

My response surprised us both. I dug my fingers into his hair, raised my head, and kissed him first. The firm press of his lips against mine sent an immediate electrical charge through my entire body, and our kiss took on a life of its own.

“Bye, Lance,” I whispered against his lips before I finally pulled away.

Not giving him a chance to argue, I grabbed the leash on the table and scooped up Marshmallow, glancing his way one last time as I walked out the door. The look in his eyes made it nearly impossible to leave…but I did.