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“I know. These names are crazy. I have no idea how to pronounce the highway we’re on.”
“You mean Kalanianaole?” he asked smugly.
“Like I would know if that’s right or not. That sounded pretty good, though. What’s up with that?”
“I cheated. I listened to the vocal part of the GPS directions earlier.”
“Sly, Pearson, very sly.” She turned enough to rest a palm on his chest, then tilted her head back and gazed up at him, daring him to kiss her.
A tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth was the only reaction she got. But for him, that was something. In his dark glasses, she saw her reflection, saw what a mess her hair was, and sighed.
He nudged her chin up a fraction. “What’s the matter?”
“I just caught my reflection in your glasses. My hair. Yikes.”
He gave her ponytail a light tug. “I like your hair. Especially when it’s down.” His warm moist breath bathed her cheeks, made her heart skip a beat. “You used to start out with it down when you came to work in the morning. It would still be damp.”
She was blown away that he’d noticed that minor detail. It seemed he’d barely spared her a glance unless they were working together on a case. “Your hair would be slightly damp, too, sometimes.”
“Mia, I want—” He closed his mouth, gave his head a small self-deprecating shake. “We’d better get on the road. We have a lot more to see.”
She stopped him from drawing away. “David, please.”
“Look, you’re only here for a week, you’ve made plans with your friends, and here I am butting in.”
“That’s not what you were going to say.”
“No,” he admitted, clearly conflicted about something. “This is more complicated than I anticipated.”
“This? You mean, us?”
He nodded.
Mia didn’t try hiding her frustration. “We’re in Hawaii. I don’t work for you anymore. We’re obviously attracted to each other. What’s complicated about that? It’s only one week, David, and then we go back to our respective lives.”
He flinched slightly, something she’d never expected. Had she hit a nerve? Was he worried that she’d want more from him than he was willing to give? His life was already full, between work and social obligations that went with being a Pearson. If the rumors were true, his mother not only fixed him up with dinner companions to attend company functions, but family gatherings, as well.
A sudden and truly awful thought struck Mia.
“We both know what I’m going back to,” David said, his voice bringing her out of her dark thoughts. “But what about you? What’s life going to be like for you now that you’ve left the firm? Shelby mentioned something about a business?”
This time, she drew back and focused on the waves that had gotten choppy, spewing whitecaps toward the rocky shore. There was one huge reason why he’d be hesitant to engage in no-strings sex.
Without looking at him, she asked, “Are you seeing someone?”
“What? Jesus, no.” He made a sound of disgust. “Of course not. Where did that come from?”
“I figured that’s why you’d backed off last night. Why you seem kind of skittish.”
He snorted. “Skittish?”
“Poor choice of word maybe, but I’m pretty sure you know what I mean.”
“Come here.”
At the way his voice lowered to that sexy rasp, she sucked in a breath and shot him a sidelong glance. Her heart started to race as she slowly swiveled back toward him. Taking her hand, he drew her close. His arms went around her, and he locked his hands at the small of her back. She was certain he was about to kiss her. Instead, he moved his mouth near her ear.
“If I told you what I want to do to that body of yours,” he whispered, his jaw grazing her sensitive skin, “you’d run as far and as fast as those long sexy legs could carry you.”
Her brain went numb. She had no clever retort. The rest of her body sprang to life, blazed with excitement. There was no place for her arms except to loop them around his neck. Leaning into him, she felt the beginning of his arousal.
He took her lobe between his teeth, nibbling lightly, and then briefly pressed the flesh between his lips before nuzzling the side of her neck.
A stiff wind whipped off the sea and buffeted them. Already mentally off balance, Mia pressed her entire body against him, trying to steady herself. He was broad and solid, so much more than she would have guessed a week ago. With a deep inward sigh, she relaxed her hand and dragged her palm over the contour of chest muscle beneath the green tennis shirt.
“Ah, Mia,” he murmured against her warm skin.
There were still people using the lookout, cars whizzing past them on the highway. Did he even remember where they were? Did she care? How could she? This was David. This was what she wanted.
Her lips parted, and he pushed his tongue inside, kissing her with a sweeping thoroughness that made her forget everything.
They broke apart only when a noisy minivan full of children pulled off the highway and parked not far from their rental. David straightened and finger combed his hair. Feeling like a guilty teenager who’d been caught making out, Mia tugged at the hem of her shorts and adjusted the front of her blue tank top. It didn’t seem to matter that she wore a bra. Her nipples were tight and hard and testing the elasticity of the fabric.
“We should go,” she said, averting her eyes so that she didn’t have to meet with the white-haired van driver’s disapproval.
“Just a minute,” he said, concentrating on something on the horizon.
She swung her gaze toward the open sea. “Another whale?”
David noisily cleared his throat, sounding as if he were trying not to laugh.
“Oh.” She spotted the problem. They really were going to have to do something about that swelling.
They waited until the gang was clear of the van and headed for the lookout before David used the remote to unlock the BMW’s doors.
“Where to next?” she asked breathlessly.
He stuck the key into the ignition. “You have a swimsuit under that?”
“I do.” She had on bottoms, anyway.
“Good.” He exhaled a long breath. “Maybe we can find someplace to cool off.”
SO MUCH FOR STAYING in public to prevent him from stripping off her clothes and kissing every inch of her. David mentally shook his head as he guided the car onto the highway. He hadn’t checked the GPS but he already knew that as long as he stayed on the coastal road they wouldn’t get lost.
He was acting like a damn kid, unable to curb his libido. Hell, he had more pride and self-control than to put himself—or Mia—on display. In fact, he took pride in his self-control. How messed up was that? And acting the way he had in front of a carload of children? He wasn’t himself. He was never reckless. It didn’t matter that no one here knew him. That wasn’t the point. He knew. Worse, Mia knew.
“Why are you scowling?”
He tossed her a glance, noticed the gaping neckline of her top, and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I’m sorry about back there.”
“I’m not.”
He shook his head. “That was inappropriate.”
“Wait,” she said. “I want to be clear. Do you feel that way because somebody saw us, or because it’s me you were making out with?”
He cringed at the term. “Both.”
She made a low growling sound. “You do not get to say that. Not after that kiss last night, or for that matter, after what you whispered to me earlier.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry for all of it.”
“First, I’m pretty sure you’re speeding,” she said, and he checked. She was right.
He eased his foot off the accelerator, even more irritated now. The highway was starting to wind, and he had no business being distracted from his driving. Having Mia sitting beside him was dangerous enough.
“Second, you’re here in Hawaii, not at work. You’ve already shown your hand. You can’t run hot and cold on me. It’s not fair.”
He smirked at that. She was inarguably right. Her impeccable logic was part of what made her a good lawyer. “I didn’t think I should jump your bones without taking you out on a date first.”
Mia chuckled. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.” She sighed. “For God’s sake, I hope today qualifies as a date.”
He cocked a brow at her. “This is an interesting new side to you.”
She laid a hand on his thigh, close to his crotch. “Back at you.”
He hissed in a breath. If she was waiting for a comeback, she’d be disappointed. She hadn’t actually put her hand where he’d like it, but his body reacted anyway. “Um, for the sake of our well-being, I think you might want to keep all your body parts on your side of the car while I’m driving.”
“So, pull over.” She chuckled again, sounding completely satisfied with herself as she tucked her hand into her lap, wiggled around—more to drive him crazy, he suspected, than to get comfortable—and laid her head back against the headrest. “I’m ready for a swim.”
“So am I,” he muttered, and steered them off onto a turnout. “So am I.”
She quickly straightened, her lips parting in surprise, her eyebrows arching above her sunglasses as she stared at him through the dark lenses. Good. She thought he’d called her bluff.
Ignoring her and trying to quash a smile, he consulted the GPS.
“Are we lost?” she asked.
“Nope. I think there’s a beach nearby where it’s not too rocky to swim.” He turned on the GPS’s audio, and they listened to the voice pronounce the odd-sounding Hawaiian street names. “Did you get that?” he asked.
Mia started laughing. “If you’re counting on me, we’re never going to get back to Waikiki.”
Her cheeks and nose were pink, and although he’d applied sunscreen earlier, he figured he probably had gotten too much sun himself. He reached over to the glove box, his arm grazing her breasts in the tight confines of the car. Hearing her sharp intake of breath, he smiled to himself.
“Here.” He tossed her the tube. “You can use some on your face and shoulders.”
She squirted the white cream onto her palm, then removed her glasses and slathered the sunscreen on her face, shoulders and arms. Looking over at him, the sun shining in her face, her green eyes so beautiful, they sparkled like emeralds, robbing him of oxygen. “You, too,” she said, her gaze lowering to his mouth and lingering. “Take off your sunglasses.”
She waited for him to do as she asked, then squeezed more sunscreen into her palm. Using her fingertips, she smoothed the cream across his chin, dabbed it over his cheeks and down to the tip of his nose.
“Thanks.” He rubbed in the leftover white spot on her chin.
“I’m not done with you,” she said in a throaty voice that got to him in a not so surprising way. “Look down.”
He frowned, automatically glanced at his fly, then smiled to himself when she applied the sunscreen to his exposed nape. When she was finished, he asked, “Done with me now?”
“Not even a little.”
He looked up. Their unguarded eyes met. Something so primal stirred inside him that he didn’t know what to do.
She was wrong about one thing. He hadn’t shown his entire hand. He hadn’t told her the firm wanted her back, and that he’d been ordered to do anything to make that happen.
But he’d been wrong, as well. Wrong not to tell her up front. He knew what he had to do. He didn’t like it, and didn’t much like himself for agreeing to do it. But his feelings changed nothing. The firm needed her.
6
THEY STOPPED BRIEFLY at Sandy Beach, aptly named because the rocks were fewer and a long stretch of white sand left plenty of room for sunbathers, picnickers and children building sandcastles. The problem was there were too many people for David’s taste, and even if there weren’t, the waves were too big for a pleasant swim or any other water activity that interested him.
A few people rode surfboards and kept safely to the left of the swimmers and kids using boogie boards. He and Mia mutually decided to move on.
Makapuu was the next beach, different than Sandy in that it was a bay surrounded by rocky cliffs that kept it somewhat hidden. Again, the main drawback was the number of people, mostly bodysurfers testing their skills against the powerful waves, or the spectators sunning themselves.
“Let’s stop for a while,” Mia suggested just as he was about to pull onto the highway again.
Although David preferred going elsewhere, he cut the engine. “No swimming here. The way the waves break in the middle of the bay makes it too dangerous. That’s why there are only bodysurfers in the water.”
“I do want to swim, but I’d like to have a better look at the bay and those two islands out there. Wish we had binoculars.”
He squinted at the pair of barren islands not too far from the coast. “Not much to see. One of them is called Rabbit Island. No rabbits left, though. It’s a seabird sanctuary now.”
She grinned at him. “You’re just a fountain of information. Did you get any sleep at all last night?”
“Not much,” he muttered, as he watched her get out of the car, the hem of her shorts riding up high enough that he caught a glimpse of her peach-colored swimsuit. Grudgingly he climbed out behind her. “I’m thirsty. Supposedly there’s a small town about ten minutes from here.”
She smiled over her shoulder at him. “I just want a quick peek. I doubt I’ll ever make it out here again.”
He stood alongside her, their shoulders almost touching. “You mean to this side of the island?”
“No, Hawaii.”
“Too many other places on your list?”
“I wish. More like too much work and no time for anything else. Not to mention no money,” she added ruefully. “This is kind of a last hurrah.”
“Ah, the business Shelby mentioned.” After he’d returned to his room last night, he’d belatedly wished he’d asked questions during dinner with Shelby as a buffer. Find out if their new venture would be a further complication for him. “I understand now why you felt you had to leave us,” he said casually. “With the hours you worked, starting up a business would have been nearly impossible.”
“Nearly?” She chuckled. “Not a chance I could have done both effectively.”
“I didn’t catch what kind of business it is.”
“Sort of a concierge service.”
He waited for her to elaborate, and when she didn’t he said, “Good thing you have a PR person.”
“Look at you being all funny.” Mia gave him a wry smile. “If I thought I could nab Pearson and Stern as a customer, I’d be all over it. We’re going to rent out everything from power tools for that small one-time do-it-yourself project to designer handbags in case you want to impress your future in-laws.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Or if you need a wife for the day, we’ll provide that, too.”
He choked out a laugh. “Pardon me?”
Mia’s teasing grin made her eyes sparkle. “To do errands or plan or help host a party, that sort of thing. Our sorority held a fundraiser when I was in college, and Shelby, Lindsey and I rented ourselves out for a day. That’s how we came up with the idea. But we never had the seed money until now.”
“Should I even ask what service you rendered?”
“Oh, just use your imagination.”
“Right.” That could get him in trouble. “So I assume the new firm you’re going to work for is smaller and won’t swallow up your time.”
She looked startled. But when she said, “I don’t want to talk about work or anything related,” he understood. She looped an arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. “This week will go by fast enough.”
Briefly closing his eyes, he deeply inhaled the exotic scent of her spicy shampoo. His initial instinct had been right. Maybe it was wrong to tell her about the offer now and ruin her vacation.
This was insane. He’d never in his life been this indecisive. Or cowardly.
No, business would wait. For once, he was putting himself and Mia first.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
MIA HAD DONE THE RIGHT THING. She’d spent enough sleepless nights expounding on the pros and cons of quitting the firm. If her decision disappointed David, then too bad. No “if” about it. A third-generation lawyer like him wouldn’t understand that she simply didn’t want to practice law. Neither would her family and her former coworkers. That’s why she’d withheld that small detail. She couldn’t help it if everyone assumed the new business was a sideline. Eventually she’d have to tell her parents and siblings, but she figured the shock would be easier to overcome once Anything Goes was a success.
She finished off the last of her ice-cold strawberry slushy just as they found Bellows Beach Park. Unlike the other beaches, there were trees. Lots of them, providing both shade and privacy. Fortunately, there weren’t many people there: a small group of surfers, a few teenagers who probably should’ve been in school. But that was it, and the white sand seemed to go on forever, which meant they weren’t likely to be bothered by newcomers.
They easily found a secluded spot where someone had recently been camping, if the charred remains of a small cook fire were any indication. Nearby, palm fronds had been used to erect a makeshift shelter. The lean-to wasn’t much, probably helped to block the breeze, but it also provided privacy. Privacy she had no intention of wasting.
She glanced over at David, who’d just cut the engine, and found him watching her. Was he thinking the same thing? “I wish I had thought to bring a beach towel from the hotel,” she said, “or picked up a couple of those straw mats I saw people using.”
He gave her an amused smile.
“What?”
“Did you enjoy that slushy?”
“I did. You can’t say I didn’t offer—Oh, crap.” With a swipe of her tongue, she’d figured out why he was still smiling and pulled down the visor. In the mirror, she regarded her clownish reflection with a sigh. “You could’ve said something earlier.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything at all. It’ll fade soon enough.” The way his voice dropped told her he had the same idea about how to use their lucky spot.
She dabbed ineffectively at the red stain that made her lips look as if they were twice as big as they were. “How did I manage to do this?”
“Fortunately I love strawberry.” He leaned over and kissed her briefly before sweeping his tongue across her lower lip. “Hmm, very good.”
“I dare you to do that again.”
“Plan on it.” He winked and opened his door. She really wished they’d done more kissing before he got out, but she quickly changed her mind when he stepped out of the car, removed his sunglasses and yanked up the hem of his shirt. After exposing his flat belly, he paused to unfasten another button at his neck before pulling his shirt off altogether.
Mia blatantly stared. It was rude. Definitely embarrassing because she couldn’t quite close her mouth. And she didn’t give a damn. He had a gorgeous chest, tanned and lightly muscled. But how? He worked all the time.
“I’m not stripping,” he said. “Not here. No matter how much you beg.”
“Even if I get on all fours?”
He gave her a long, studied look. “You get down there, and I’m sure we could come to some kind of agreement.”
“Oh, wow, if the ladies in the office could hear you now.”
A flush tinged his cheeks. “What happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii, remember?”
“I’m just saying…” She opened her door and slid out, unable to drag away her gaze. “How do you have time to go to a gym?”
“I don’t.” He shrugged. “I have a few routines I do at home every morning to keep in shape for tennis.”
“Plus, you’re tan.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s March. You used a tanning bed.”
“Right,” he said dryly. “I had to be in Florida recently.” He stuck his head inside the car, and fiddled around, the fluid movement of his shoulder muscles holding her gaze prisoner. “Do you play tennis?”
“Badly.” She was dying to ask what he’d been doing there, why he hadn’t been home licking his wounds because Friday had been her last day. Obviously it wasn’t all business that had taken him south, or he would’ve had no time for the outdoors.
She heard the trunk pop, and met him at the rear of the car to see what he had stashed.
There were a pair of folded blue beach towels and two rolled-up straw mats that seemed to be a favorite of tourists crowding Waikiki beach.
“Should have bought a cooler and drinks.” He grabbed the towels, passed them to her and then got the mats.
“I’m impressed you thought to bring these, although not surprised. You’re thorough, if nothing else.”
He closed the trunk and pocketed the keys, watching her the whole time, a wicked glint of amusement in his brown eyes. “Yes, I am, I’m thorough in everything I do.”
Somehow the amusement melted into a promise that made her skin tingle with yearning. If this were a dream, she’d be hitting the snooze button, loath to wake up. Good God, this was David. In Hawaii. With her. Sure, she’d known him for a long time, but that was some other David, who in some ways she’d gotten to know quite well.
This version brought back the old feelings she’d struggled with early on, day after day.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” He rubbed her upper arm, as if she were a child that needed soothing.
“Like what?”
He frowned, the tender concern in his eyes nearly her undoing. “As if you’re afraid.”
“That’s crazy. What’s there to be afraid of?”
His mouth curved into a thin smile. “I hope not me.”
She sucked in a breath when she realized he was right. Fear had tucked itself in a small corner of her heart. But that wasn’t on him. It would be her own fault if she tried to make more of this week than it was. “Nope. I just want to have a good time, no regrets, no expectations.”
“I want that, too.”
“Perfect.” So why did his agreement hurt a little? Now that she’d had a small taste of him, was she getting soft? Getting greedy? She had to stick to her cheesecake rule. She could only indulge when she ate out. Not even a sliver was allowed to reside in her refrigerator since one bite was impossible for her. It invariably led to a minibinge.
Thinking something might come of this week would be a mistake. If David had seriously wanted to pursue her for a real relationship, he could’ve done that in New York. No, she’d seen the women his family deemed appropriate, and while she was no slouch, she wasn’t on anyone’s social radar. Now that she wasn’t even going to practice law, she could just imagine his parents’ horror. But that was good, right? All she wanted was a one-week fling—that’s what this trip had been about from the beginning. That it was with David didn’t change the game.
His hand closed over hers, and she snapped out of her musings. “We don’t have to stay,” he said quietly. “Say the word, and I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
“No, I’m having a great time. I spaced out, I know.” She shrugged. “Sorry. It’s just that—Nope, not talking about work.”
“No argument here.” He let go of her hand, and used the car to balance himself while he kicked off his deck shoes.
“Mind opening the trunk again? I want to leave my purse and sandals.”
He did as she asked, then frowned at the peach-colored bikini top she pulled out of her bag.
“It’s my top,” she said.
“I know.” He glanced at her breasts. “Where are you going to change?”
“Here.”
He didn’t seem thrilled with the idea, but then he didn’t have a say. He squinted through the trees at the pair of figures walking close to the water at the south end, far enough away that their genders were undistinguishable. “I saw a sign for the restrooms about a mile back.”
“It’ll take two seconds.” She reached under the tank top and unsnapped her bra. “You can warn me if anyone’s coming.”
“Okay,” he said, doubt reflected in every syllable of the word.
She smirked. “You do have to turn around.”
“Right.” He surveyed the area once again before he slowly gave her his back. “You might feel more comfortable changing in the car.”