Nothing Personal

by Jaci Burton

  The plane touched down and Faith, Ryan and their two chaperones disembarked and piled into the awaiting limo.

  Their hotel, owned by the McKays, was an opulent twin-towered high rise located on Waikiki Beach. When they exited the limo, Faith didn't know where to turn her eyes first. She inhaled, filling her lungs with the heady fragrance of the abundant ginger permeating the front entryway of the hotel.

  They were shown to their rooms immediately by the bellman. Faith and Ryan's top floor suite overlooked the ocean. It took up the entire floor, obviously the best one in the hotel.

  "Shouldn't this suite be saved for one of the paying guests?" she asked as she followed Ryan onto the balcony.

  "No. This is my personal apartment. It's never rented out to paying guests. There's another suite like it in the adjacent tower."

  Personal apartment? It was more like a mansion, and bigger than most homes. The long hallway stretched as far as she could see, and Faith counted at least four bedrooms in addition to the oversized master, which had its own private balcony overlooking the ocean.

  She loved the tropical decor, with wicker chairs and sofas, lazily turning ceiling fans and fresh flowers in every room. Floral pillows with hibiscus and birds of paradise decorated the well-cushioned furniture.

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  Right now she was transfixed on the sparkling blue ocean. Never had she seen such beauty. She could already imagine drifting off to sleep with the sounds of ocean waves lapping against the shore right outside her bedroom window.

  It was almost too perfect, too inspiring. "It's beautiful."

  "Yes, it is." He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

  Despite the incessant thrumming of her heart, she rested against him, the rhythmic ocean waves calming her. The floral scents intoxicated her and Ryan's strong body made her feel more secure than she'd ever felt before. It was perfect and she never wanted to move again.

  "Tell me again what we're doing here?" she asked.

  "We've been working hard on the Worthington purchase. Things are flowing well at work right now, and I never got a chance to take you on a honeymoon."

  Honeymoon. The one he was going to take with Erica. The one Faith thought she'd never have. She smiled.

  "What would you like to do first?" he asked.

  His voice sent shivers down her spine, thrilling her senses.

  "I have no idea. You've been here before, what do you usually do?"

  She leaned her head back to see him.

  He smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, really. I'm usually here on business or entertaining clients, so I'll usually have a boat or event chartered."

  She pursed her lips. "That doesn't sound like fun. What if we get out and explore the island?"

  She almost laughed at the look of horror on his face. Obviously he was not accustomed to mingling with the tourist population.

  "Come on," she urged. "It'll be fun."

  "If you say so."

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  came out, Ryan was already waiting for her, having donned a pair of shorts and a polo shirt. She stopped and grinned at him.

  "What's so funny?"

  "Look at us. We're the typical tourists, even wearing the same colors."

  Ryan looked at his khaki shorts and white polo shirt, then at Faith.

  "Great minds think alike?"

  She laughed. "I guess so. Shall we?"

  He had arranged for a rental car after Faith objected to touring the island in a limo, claiming she just wanted to be a tourist. Ryan didn't understand why they couldn't be tourists from a limo, but she said half the adventure was grabbing a map, driving yourself and seeing where the road takes you.

  "So you're an experienced navigator?" he asked as he made his way onto the main road.

  "Are you kidding? I can barely find my way around Las Vegas and I've lived there for years."

  "Great. We'll be lost for sure."

  "From what I see on the map," she said, scanning the cumbersome paper on her lap, "we take this road and drive around in a circle. It would be difficult to get lost."

  "I hope you're right."

  They spent the next few hours driving the circumference of the island. Faith stopped him several times in order to view a particular expanse of ocean, or watch surfers ride the waves, or because a certain shop caught her eye and she wanted to get out and browse.

  While she shopped, he waited. And, she had to be friendly with everyone she met, so Ryan found himself waiting, while she engaged in conversation with most of the storekeepers.

  Not once did she ask Ryan to buy anything for her. He found that so odd. Of course many of the things they looked at were junk, but to Faith it seemed like a treasure hunt, every shop more unique than the last, each holding items she claimed to have never seen before.

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  They passed several high class malls and shopping centers, but Faith didn't give them a second glance. She seemed content to browse and look.

  What an unusual woman.

  And all the while he couldn't take his eyes off her.

  They pulled over to watch windsurfers sail their boards high into the air, only to crash back down and expertly cut through the water. Faith grabbed his hand and dragged him to the beach.

  While she focused on the wind surfers, he focused on her.

  Her ocean-like eyes widened with pleasure as she planted her feet in the sand near the water's edge. Oblivious to the wind whipping her hair or the salt spray on her clothes, she turned her face up and let the elements wash over her, and then laughed out loud when a crashing wave knocked her down, soaking her.

  Ryan reached down to help her up and she giggled and pulled him into the water. He spit out a mouthful of salty seawater and she laughed at him.

  He gazed down at her, lying like a mermaid in the water and sand.

  Her hair was tangled and her clothes soaked.

  Desire hit him with such force it threatened to knock him back on his heels. Never before had he felt this stabbing pain, this ferocious aching need. He hardened instantly despite the uncomfortable and less than private surroundings.

  Faith must have felt it too, because the smile died on her face and her eyes darkened like the sky at dusk. She didn't move to get up or away from him, despite the fact he was lying on top of her.

  Ryan took her lack of objection as invitation and bent his head to the mouth he'd been dying to kiss for weeks.

  Faith couldn't have objected if she wanted to. This was simply too glorious a moment, one she'd remember as long as she lived. Ryan's eyes went from light gray to smoky dark, the orbs gathering in a storm of passion so violent it shook her. She couldn't move a muscle, mesmerized by the hot desire etched on his face.

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  Oh God, he was going to kiss her. But instead of finding a way to avoid it, she went stock still as if any movement on her part would make him stop. She didn't want him to stop. She wanted this kiss more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life.

  He cupped her cheeks with the palms of his hands and drew her toward him. His lips claimed hers and rocked her senses to a fevered pitch despite the water swirling over them. He tasted like the salty air, wild and whirling around her like a hurricane. Her body was awash in passion, flaming every nerve ending like a raging, out of control fire.

  Nothing else mattered at that moment. All she knew was this man and an unprecedented need to have him touch her, kiss her, taste her.

  She let him control the passionate assault on her mouth, unable to do anything but hold on for dear life. He threaded his hands into her hair, pulling her closer. But closer wasn't enough.
She wanted so much more. She could have wept from the sheer pleasure of his kiss, but still she wanted more. For the first time in her life, Faith wanted. And what she wanted was Ryan.

  Wanted him with an all-consuming desire that was terribly inappropriate considering their surroundings. Ryan buried his hands in her wet hair and positioned his body over her.

  The sudden realization hit her like a tidal wave. What must they look like on a public beach?

  She grasped his shoulders to gently push him away. He pulled back, shocking her with the smoldering intensity of his gaze.

  "What's wrong?" he rasped. His husky, passion-filled voice threatened to send her back where they'd been, but common sense told her this was not the time or place.

  If they continued, she knew he wouldn't stop. And she didn't have enough strength left to resist. She wanted this as much as he did.

  "We're in public, Ryan. Please, let me up."

  He frowned, then nodded and stood, grasping Faith's hands to pull her up.

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  "We'd better get back to the hotel and get this sand and salt water off," he said.

  Faith couldn't help the emptiness she felt at losing that intimate contact they had briefly shared. "I suppose we should."

  On the ride back she could gather no clues to how he felt. Neither happy nor angry, his expression lacked any emotion. She sighed, knowing somehow she had screwed up what was, to her, the most intensely erotic moment of her life.

  They showered and prepared for dinner. Stan and James made an appearance to check on them, but both announced they had other plans and would be gone for the remainder of the evening.

  Faith was pleased they wouldn't have chaperones for their first dinner together in Hawaii. This was a special night.

  Ryan wanted to have a meal brought to their room, or close the restaurant downstairs so they could eat quietly and alone, but Faith had a different idea. Armed with brochures she had picked up on the way into the hotel, she was firm in her resolve to choose where they'd eat dinner. And she wanted it to be a surprise.

  Ryan didn't look pleased, but said the trip was for her and she could choose any damn place she wanted to eat dinner.

  Boy, was he cranky!

  After their kiss that afternoon he had gone mute and took every opportunity to avoid standing anywhere in close proximity to her.

  Faith had no earthly idea what she had done wrong this time. It had to be because she'd stopped their kiss.

  If it had been any other location but the middle of a public beach, she would have welcomed the opportunity to continue their passionate kiss, and possibly what might have followed. Feelings and sensations she'd never known existed were suddenly available to her, and all she had to do was reach out and take them.

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  Little by little, the idea of making love with her husband became more appealing. Not that the thought hadn't been appealing before. How it would change her life and her relationship with Ryan had frightened her. That alone made it scary, but in a different way.

  Despite her intent to remain detached, she'd jumped into the deep end and become emotionally tied to Ryan. His involvement was purely sexual. Business, of course.

  It didn't matter. She knew what she was required to do in this marriage, and however she felt about it, at some point she'd have to fulfill her obligations.

  But not right now. Now she had a surprise for Ryan. A surprise that hopefully would put the smile back on his face.

  Ryan grumbled under his breath. She'd made him wear this awful Hawaiian shirt. He'd come out of the bedroom dressed in Dockers and a short-sleeved shirt, and there she stood in a bright blue sundress with wide white flowers plastered all over it, a gardenia in her hair and sandals on her feet.

  She should have looked ridiculous, but she didn't. Damn if he didn't find her desirable in that getup. She looked like one of the island girls, with her creamy tan and sunburned nose.

  Then she presented him with a shirt she'd bought him. A red shirt.

  With big, tropical birds on it.

  Good lord!

  She insisted he put it on and change into shorts, then explained it had to do with their dinner this evening and he had to be dressed appropriately.

  This was appropriate? Where the hell were they going--a Worst Dressed Tourist contest? Faith would probably think that was fun. He wanted to hide his face as they headed outside the hotel. Instead, he slipped on his sunglasses and tried to blend in with the other tourists.

  Not too difficult considering how he was dressed.

  Faith grinned. "All you need is a straw hat and you'll be set."

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  He threw a frown at her. "Don't even think about it."

  She laughed. "All right. Shall we go?"

  At least this time she'd agreed to the limo. Faith squirmed in her seat the entire ride, even giggled a few times. He swore he was traveling with an excitable child, not a grown woman.

  She'd even bought one of those cheap travel cameras. He would have bought her a Nikon or Minolta if she'd asked for one. But then again she never asked him for anything.

  The limo pulled to a halt in front of Oahu's Bird of Paradise Luau.

  Not a luau! He stifled a groan as they exited the limo and joined the massive crowds awaiting entry outside the gate.

  Faith handed him the tickets she'd purchased from the hotel concierge. And she was still grinning.

  "Surprised?"

  "Uh, yeah, you could say that."

  "I'm so excited, Ryan. My first luau. I know this is probably old hat to you, but it's something I've always wanted to do."

  He shrugged. "I've never been to one either."

  Her eyes widened in shock. "Never? Really?"

  "Really." He'd been lucky so far. All his trips to Hawaii and he'd never once had to deal with this overly commercialized hokey. Guess his luck had run out.

  "Then it's a first for both of us!" She grabbed his hand and hurried through the gate.

  Ryan trudged along beside her, desperately looking for a way out of this dilemma, but finally resigning himself to the fact he was going to have to endure the next several hours without complaint.

  After all, this trip was for Faith. He wanted to show her a good time, and hopefully, just hopefully, out of sheer gratitude she'd award him with her virginity. If it took a luau to get it, he'd endure it. His goal was to make love with his wife.

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  To get her pregnant, of course. That's all. To meet the terms of the will. Nothing more. Just business.

  Then, why did it somehow seem to be getting personal?

  Maybe it was the kiss today. Had they been anywhere but on the beach, Ryan would have slipped her clothes off and made love to her right then and there. Judging from her reaction to the kiss, he didn't think she would have objected. No, he knew for certain she wouldn't have objected. Her body had melted against his, and the sounds she made told him she wanted the same thing he did.

  Never before had he been so incredibly excited by a woman. He was confusing sexual desire with emotional attachment, that's all. He never got emotionally involved.

  But what he'd felt with Faith today had been different. When her lips met his he was stunned by an all powerful, knock your socks off hit to his nether regions like he'd never experienced before. He'd gotten so hot so quick he'd forgotten all about where they were. In fact, he could have cared less had they stripped down and done the deed right there on the beach, bystanders be damned.

  But it wouldn't have been right. Not for Faith--not for her first time.

  Faith strolled over to the fire pit where the pig was roasting. She searched for him, then smiled and waved when she caught his eye. She wore that cheap camera around her neck like a prize, tak
ing pictures of him, the pig, the other tourists, even the cook. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat, her blue eyes startling in their intensity. She'd never looked happier.

  Or more beautiful. Or more desirable.

  Ryan was glad for the long, if hideous shirt as he felt the familiar stirrings in his jeans. Not once since this afternoon had he had a coherent thought. Visions of the two of them rolling around in the ocean kept sailing across his mind.

  He still wanted her. More now than ever.

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  "Ryan, hurry!" Faith ran over and tugged at his hand, excitedly pulling him along. "Dave and Terey have agreed to take our picture, and then we'll take theirs."

  Oh great. Now she'd made friends with another couple.

  Dave and Terey, it turned out, were from Minnesota and celebrating their fifteenth wedding anniversary with a trip to Hawaii.

  "Now put your arm around me and smile for heaven sakes. You look like you're in pain," Faith instructed, then slipped her arm around Ryan's waist and smiled.

  He did his best to give as genuine a smile as he could muster considering the circumstances, but was certain it came out looking more like he had an ulcer.

  To make matters worse, after the exchange of picture-taking Faith invited Dave and Terey to sit with them during dinner.

  Terey was an enthusiastic woman who liked to talk. A lot. And she was as loud as the oversized, flowered muumuu she wore.

  Her husband dressed in typical tourist fashion. Dave's pink multi-flowered shirt was even more hideous than Ryan's, and blended nicely with his blinding white shorts, black socks and sandals. Topped off by the straw hat.

  Ryan needed a drink.

  "How long have you two been married?" Terey asked.

  "A little over one month," Faith answered, glancing at Ryan with a shy smile.

  "Newlyweds!" Terey exclaimed loud enough for the other five hundred people to hear. "How wonderful! Is this your honeymoon, then?"

  "Um..."

  "Yes it is," Ryan answered at Faith's hesitation. "Unfortunately, I had some pressing business matters come up right after the wedding, so our honeymoon had to be delayed."

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