Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart

by Nicole Flockton

  The Hawaiians called it the Aloha spirit; it comes from your soul. She loved what they called the Ha’aha’a, the value of humility and to be humble, be modest and to open your thoughts.

  She turned to face the cottage, painted in pale blue and white trims and the strangely beautiful orange door. An image flashed of a tall broad shouldered demigod and strangely, for the first time in years, she felt happy. Could it be the Aloha spirit? Smiling, she gave her thanks.

  A red jeep pulled up, and she watched as the most handsome man smoothly slid out. He wore a blue Hawaiian shirt and loose linen pants and she stood there grinning at him. Her heart raced at the smile he gave her. “Aloha. Hello you.”

  “Aloha. You’ve been busy. What happened to having a rest?” Harrison said while scanning the area around them.

  “I tried but it was easier to get on with it. Some of the neighbors didn’t do so well. How’s your place?”

  “Yeah, it was in the direct path of the storm, half the house is gone…a right royal mess, but nothing that can’t be rebuilt. I’ll have a team working on it in the next day or so.”

  “Oh no, I’m so sorry. You should have been there last night. It’s my fault.”

  “No. No way. There’s nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. I was better off here. Trust me.”

  “I’ve been so worried. How’s your mom?”

  “She’s good. At least her place is fine. I managed to tidy things pretty quickly.” He raised his hand and gently danced a finger along her face, softly pushed her hair back behind one ear. “I like how you genuinely care for someone you barely know.” He only had to speak, his voice quenched her, deep inside and she swallowed hard.

  The warmth from his fingers touched her soul, warming her heart, she leant into his hand, wanting more of him, like a magnet pulled, tugging at her need for love and affection. She had no willpower when it came to this man. She became weak and powerless to his charm and all he had to do was smile.

  “Caitlynd?”

  The way he purred her name, she almost melted like a dollop of butter in a hot skillet.

  “Hhmm.” She raised her face and got lost in the crisp blue eyes in sheer competition to the sky gracing them with its beauty.

  His lips found hers, intensifying her need for closeness and she pushed herself against him, molding to his hard body and she easily fit into his arms wrapped around her. She was lost in him as their kiss deepened. Hot tongues danced to a tune of their own. She sketched a hand through his smooth silky hair.

  She felt him pull away and her breath came hard. He leant his forehead against hers, panting. “I should get you inside, but I don’t trust myself.” His voice rattled out in a jagged whisper, breathless. “What you do to me.”

  Her chest heaved, and as realization of what she had done came through, panic rose. “Oh…” She swallowed hard, with difficultly. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She pulled away from him and stepped back. Her head bowed. She couldn’t look at him.

  “Hey. It’s okay. I’m glad you kissed me.”

  “No. I mean…I’m not this person. Oh God, I…I don’t know who I am…”

  “Caitlynd. It’s okay, honest. You’re exhausted. Come on inside and let’s talk.” He gently tugged at her hand.

  She mindlessly did as she was told as tears pooled uncontrolled. She hated the weak person she had become. She blamed her ex-husband for making her this way. Confused. Scared. Wary. She wasn’t like this before James. She had to find herself again, and become the person she was meant to be. Not the meek and mild, obey your every word, pathetic creature she had become under James.

  James who belittled her constantly. James who told her she was useless and stupid. James who told her where to be, what to wear, who she could be friends with, who she could see and who she couldn’t. She remembered a brief time when James worshipped her and told her how beautiful she was and how worthy of her love he had been. That was until he placed a ring on her finger and became the monster he truly was.

  Caitlynd was led blindly to the kitchen table and Harrison pulled out a chair for her. She sat and folded herself over the table. “I’m so sorry. I, um…” she swallowed hard. Her face scrunched and she covered it with a hand.

  “Aahh love, that bastard really did a number on you didn’t he? You have nothing to be ashamed. You did nothing wrong Caitlynd.”

  “I can’t do this. I need…time.” She sniffed loudly.

  He found a box of Kleenex and passed her a couple. “Here,” and sat on the chair next to her.

  “I have all the time in the world. I’m in no hurry. I promise to refrain from kissing you again.”

  She raised her head, vision blurred through waterlogged eyes. “No…don’t do that. I like your kisses.”

  His eyes widened and he pushed back slightly. “Well, I’m confused.”

  She let out a strange laugh, so unlike her. “Hah, that makes two of us.”

  5

  Through the window, Harrison spied Caitlynd as she inspected the gardens in Kale’s backyard as Luana explained the different varieties of plumeria. Through the simple act of watching her, he felt the blood pound through his veins. This woman of contrasts confounded him. One minute she was hot and all over him and the next, she was a crying mess, apologizing to him.

  If he ever got his hands on the creep ex-husband for hurting her, he would do such a number on him, the man would never recover. At least Caitlynd’s wounds would heal, eventually; he would make sure of it. He promised to go slow, but damn it was getting harder on him. The way her face softened and her eyes danced in the sunshine as she looked at him, burned inside him. He felt her passion, he could see it in her eyes and yet, it terrified her. He had to find a way to unleash it, to eradicate the pain she feared. To free her from the mistrust she felt.

  As the weeks progressed, Caitlynd helped him with the redesign and rebuild of his house, and was impressed by her ideas and worked them in where he could.

  She had easily made friends with Kale and his wife Luana, and they fell in love with her. Even though Caitlynd was shy at first, she was slowly coming out of her shell and embracing the Hawaiian lifestyle. Her body glowed with a lovely tan. The easy style linen floral dresses and sarongs filled her wardrobe, replacing the heavy denim and t-shirts. She was embracing the Aloha spirit.

  Her dark hair had even lightened in the sunlight giving it bright burnished highlights throughout. Her eyes would sparkle each time she looked at him and he was falling deeper and deeper in love with her.

  “Look at them two, they’ve become besties. Like sisters.” Kale looked out the same window, leant against the kitchen sink.

  “Did I tell you, I’m going to build Caitlynd an office next to mom’s store? They’re going to go into business together. Mom’s store and Caitlynd’s interior design are a match made in heaven. She would like Luana to work with her, for her Hawaiian cultural expertise.”

  Kale pulled a face and nodded his head. “But, Luana already has a job.”

  Harrison looked at the big man and pretend punched him into his gut. “You mean looking after you my fat friend. You look worried. This is a good thing, isn’t it?”

  “Sure. Of course. Why not, huh?” He nodded his head peering out at the two women. “And, I’m not fat…it’s all muscle.”

  “Huh…muscle.” Harrison grinned at his good friend. Kale was an absolute athlete, and for a big guy, there was not a pinch of fat on him. He turned to watch the two lovely ladies hug each other laughing and his heart swelled to near double, filling his chest with a love he never knew he was capable of.

  “You are in trouble my friend.” Kale’s heavy hand smacked him on his back.

  Harrison coughed and rubbed at his shoulder. “Kale…what makes you say that?”

  “Harry. Harry. Harry. You can’t hide it my friend. I see the way you look at her. She has the same look in her eyes too. Luana mentioned the same, she sees it all. And you know w
hen my wife says something, it’s true aye.”

  Harrison looked at his big friend and sucked in his breath. He pursed his lips together tight. “I’ve never felt like this. It terrifies me. But you know I can’t rush this, whatever it is.” His eyebrows rose and he sucked in deeply. “How did you know? With Luana, I mean, that she was the one.”

  “Ha…I didn’t. I mean…who does? It happened. One minute I was a single happy man, doing what I do, surfin’ each day, hangin with the boys. Drinkin’. Yahooing. You know…typical man shit. And then she came and my balls. They’ll never be the same.” He grabbed his genitals and laughed.

  “Jeez Kale, you talk shit. I’m being serious here.” Harrison shook his head at him in disgust.

  Kale looked at him, his dark eyes, almost black. “Okay, serious. I don’t know man. I do know I didn’t want Luana to be with anyone else but me. I figured it was love. I did everything she wanted to do. You know, all the corny stuff, even if I hated it, but with her, I enjoyed myself. We wined and dined. She taught me to dance hula. Man, I don’t dance. But, at every opportunity I gave her flowers, took her to the movies, we went swimming, I taught her how to surf. Man I even spent time with her family.” The big man shook himself and then stopped for a moment and smiled. “I know…I took her to the place. Yeah…yeah. I’ll draw you a map. You need to take Caity there and you know its Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Perfect timing. She will fall hard after being there. Yeah.” He grinned with satisfaction. “Yeah.”

  Harrison raised an eyebrow. “Of course, Valentine’s Day, I’ve been trying to come up with something special. Tell me more about this special place.”

  Kale nodded and tapped at his nose grinning. “I’ll draw you a map. It’s secret.”

  Harrison sometimes questioned if Kale was all there some days. “Okay.”

  “Oh hey…we have our family luau in a couple of weeks yeah, you will come right? Will you bring your mother, and the lovely Caity?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Harrison, where are you taking me?” Caitlynd questioned for the tenth time. His instructions were to ensure she had her bikini and to wear hiking boots. He would arrange the rest.

  They drove over bumps, potholes, deep ruts and boulders. Through the lush rainforest that in places was so thick she was worried there was no road at all.

  “You can keep asking me, but you know I’ll not tell you. You will have to wait. Enjoy the scenery.” Harrison smiled brightly toward her like a big kid with a big secret.

  She loved the wide goofy smile he gifted her daily. He wore his dark swimming trunks and a bright red shirt with a mixture of VW kombi van images, surfboards and large flowers printed over it in varying colors. It was the worst shirt she had seen him wear and couldn’t help laugh at him when she saw it. She let out another giggle.

  “Are you still laughing at my shirt? I’ll have you know, these are the quintessential holiday wear on these islands, and you can’t possibly not like it.

  “Ha, but I do like it,” proceeding to laugh some more.

  As they bounced along, she let out a yelp as they hit another boulder the size of a flattened motorhome. “I’m not sure my kidneys can take much more of this Harrison. Are you sure you know we’re on the right track?”

  He peered out in front of them. “Well, I’m going by a rough map Kale drew me, I can only hope it’s the right way.”

  “You mean to say, you’ve never been here before?” She wasn’t sure this was such a good idea. The road, or the meagre suggestion of a road, was getting tighter and narrower by the second.

  “Honey, I believe we’ve arrived. There should be an opening here somewhere. We will go on foot for a short walk.” He turned to look at her. “Oh babe, don’t look so worried. It will be worth it. Trust me.”

  She swallowed hard and was grateful he was driving slow, inching over the narrow path.

  “Okay, this could be it.” He pulled the Jeep over to one side of the pretty clearing and looked at her grinning. “Excited yet?”

  “Oh, yeah…for sure.” She couldn’t help but laugh at his almost childish enthusiasm while a ripple buzzed across her spine and she gulped hard.

  He jumped out of the SUV and collected the bags he had in the back seat, easily swinging them over his broad shoulders. She had no idea what was inside the bags, but he seemed to handle them with ease. She stepped from the car as he came to her.

  “Ready to be amazed?”

  “Amazed? Okay big fella, bring it on…” She had no idea what was in store, but decided it was easier to go with it and enjoy, even with the frizzle of trepidation running through her.

  He leant and kissed her, his lips soft and warm covered hers and all of her worries disappeared.

  “Okay, it’s this way.” He took her hand into his and they walked. “I was told it wasn’t far from this clearing, provided we stick to the path.”

  She let out a soft laugh. A nervous laugh. The luscious scent of hibiscus and frangipani, mingled with fresh rain, filled the warm clean air. It was delicious to her senses and she inhaled deep.

  “The land belongs to Kale’s uncle and is private. I’ve been given special permission for us to be here. We won’t be disturbed by tourists or anyone.”

  “Okay, but it doesn’t look as if anyone has been here for a hundred years, it’s so overgrown.”

  Harrison let out a laugh. “But, it adds to the charm.” He stopped and she almost bumped into him, it was so abrupt. “Listen. Can you hear it?”

  She focused on the sound and realized it was water. Water flowing. And fast.

  They continued to walk a little further. “If Kale’s instructions are correct, we should be…here.” He raised some large green fronds in front of them and stood still.

  Caitlynd stepped slightly ahead of him and gazed ahead of her, she turned slowly in a semi-circle as she took in the incredible sight before her. “Oh my God…we may have found the original garden of Eden. Look at the size of those flowers, they’re huge. Oh…and the colors. This is so magical.”

  The waterfall and large pool-like pond seemed so secondary to the magical garden surrounding. It took her a moment to register, the water was so clear you could see to the white sand bottom. In areas, the water glistened like crystals in the sunshine as it rippled.

  She chanced a look at Harrison who seemed as stunned by the beauty in front of them as she was. He peered at her with his trademark goofy grin, his eyes glowed, matching the sparkling blue of the water. “I’m so happy you like it. I wanted today to be special.”

  “Are you kidding me, I love it and it really is, thank you. Are we allowed to swim in there?” She realized her hand was still in his as he squeezed it and she swallowed hard.

  “We are.” He let go of her hand and placed the two bags he carried under a banyan tree, with its myriad of roots all around it. He removed his shirt and shoes.

  Caitlynd licked her suddenly dry lips, watching as so smooth and tanned skin glowed under the dappled mid-morning sun.

  “Hey, what are you waiting for, get your shorts off. Unless you want me to throw you in as you are?” He laughed as he made his threat.

  “Um no…hang on.” She stepped over the root system and found a spot to sit to remove her shoes and clothes.

  Even though they were alone, when she turned to see Harrison’s eyes gaze over to her, a solid flush scorched her from her chest upwards. She swallowed hard, to push her trepidation down. She had no illusions she was beautiful or sexy in any way, but the way he looked at her made her believe perhaps she was in some way.

  He was so opposite to her ex-husband, who made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. Harrison expressed nothing but approval and caring encouragement and something akin to love. Real love.

  She stopped suddenly and placed a hand over her mouth. Could it be? No. Surely not. She closed her eyes and gave a mental shake. No, you’re confused and imagining things. Relax and have fun.

  She opened her eyes, to find him sta
nding directly in front of her. “Caity, is everything okay? I didn’t mean it when I said I would throw you in.” He held out his hand and took hold of hers.

  “Oh, I…yes, I’m okay. I…suddenly…nervous. I don’t know why. You’ve been nothing but an absolute gentleman to me.” She had no idea how to explain how or what she was feeling in that moment, only the more he looked into her eyes, the warmer she became and the more she wanted him to kiss her. Kiss her now. She swallowed, her throat constricted and dried. It was as if the world had stood still. No wind blew. No birds chirped. The sound of the running water evaporated into thin air. She moistened dry lips.

  “Caity, you know I will never hurt you. You have nothing to fear from me. Ever. I promise. I will protect you. I would look after you, if you will let me.”

  With a will of its own, she placed her free hand over his heart. His smooth skin branded her palm. Heat radiated as his heart beat powerfully against her fingers. She raised onto her toes, kissed his chin, and slowly moved against his mouth as they joined, longing for each other.

  Breathless, his lips moved across her cheek to her ear. He moved slowly, kissing her forehead, on top of her head, and pulled her closer to him. Her cheek rested against the inside of his shoulder, his bare skin silky to the touch. She breathed him in and felt so alive. More alive than she’d been for years.

  “This is where I want you. In my arms. Caity, I know this is soon, but I feel as though I’ve known you all my life. You have captivated me. I would do anything for you. I have fallen for you.” She felt his words against her as he whispered his longing. She felt his words inside her, as they filled her heart with longing. She had been lonely, for such a long time. Could she love another man this easily? So quickly. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she pulled him even closer, leant against him.