by Kat Bastion
Racial Tensions Flare as Hot as the Passion in RULE BREAKER, a Modern-day Romeo and Juliet Story
Leilani Kealoha wants to be set free. Of family expectations. Of generations of prejudice.
Chafing at rules made by the proud Hawaiian men in her family, she yearns to discover herself and hungers to explore the world. Her adventuresome heart? Longs for something even greater, deeper.
The last thing she expects is an East Coast haole surfer to hold the key to everything.
Mason Price is done walking his parents’ path. Done with social acceptance—with cold politics.
On a surfing quest to reinvent himself, Mase finds an exotic beauty standing on his towel. But it’s her feisty bargaining that catches him off guard. When he challenges her with a “Truth or Shots” drinking game, she unwittingly reveals more than she’d intended about herself…and him.
The raw truth stuns him: She’s suffered like he has, is lost like he is—keeps secrets like he does.
But will young love and shared situations be enough to conquer racial and cultural divides?
Lines in the sand…were meant to be crossed.
Praise for
“This book has definitely earned its five stars and I am just floored right now. The passion is explosive, the story itself is beautiful, and the emotions are so real my heart is ready to burst. Beautiful book. Absolutely breathtaking.”
~ One Page at a Time
“Heartrending, passionate, and captivating! Heartbreaker is a riveting page-turner that will leave you breathless with raw emotions, and the need to hold tight to the ones you love!”
~ Beneath the Covers Blog
“This book is all about flawless writing, exemplary storytelling, f*#king insane character development. The right does of sexy hotness...”
~ Love N. Books
“The Bastions are at it again with this beautiful and heartbreaking story. You will absolutely fall in love with Kiki and Darren’s love.”
~ Under the Covers Book Blog
“Heartbreaker is a phenomenal story.”
~ That’s What I’m Talking About
“I loved it...wonderfully compelling, a story that touched my heart in so many ways and characters I will remember for a long time to come.”
~ Girl Who Reads
Praise for
“One of the best romantic comedies of the year!”
~ Agents of Romance
“The No Weddings series is one of the best I have read that follows one couple. Cade and Hannah are both lovable characters, the storyline is real and entertaining, and the banter is fun and witty.”
~ Lives & Breathes Book Blog
“I loved it, and I mean REALLY loved it!”
~ Orchard Book Club
“This is an exceptional series...You find yourself fully engrossed in their world and can’t put the book down.”
~ Books -n- Kisses
“The No Weddings series has a group of such amazing characters; you can’t help but relate to them and feel the emotion in every situation they encounter. It has been a long time since a story has made me feel that way let alone an entire series!”
~ Under the Covers Book Blog
“The story of Cade & Hannah’s relationship is realistic, heart-warming, and filled with real-world connections that shook me in a way that few titles I’ve read this year have managed...I have loved every minute of the No Weddings series.”
~ That’s What I’m Talking About
Table of Contents
About RULE BREAKER
Praise for HEARTBREAKER
Praise for the NO WEDDINGS SERIES
Title Page
Author’s Note & Glossary
Other Books by Kat Bastion with Stone Bastion
Dedication
1 - True Nature
2 - The Unanswered Question
3 - Enticing Negotiations
4 - Truth or…
5 - What Lurks Below
6 - Sobering Reality
7 - Nuttin’ but Trouble
8 - Too Close…
9 - A Touch Rough
10 - When the World Tilts…
11 - Paradox
12 - Skirting Real
13 - Seeking the Hard
14 - Forbidden
15 - Wisdom and Fools
16 - The Weight of Armor
17 - Clear Minority
18 - Powder Keg
19 - One Act at a Time
20 - Spinning in Neutral
21 - About the Journey
22 - Territory Uncharted
23 - Watched Over by Stars
24 - A Fragile Step
25 - The Thrill of the Ride
26 - Fleeting Moment
27 - Breathless Leap
28 - Fear of the Fall
29 - In Plain Sight
30 - It Always Catches Up
31 - When Monsters Roar
32 - In Pursuit of Happiness
33 - A Whole New World
34 - When Nothing and Everything Changes
35 - If You Love Someone…
36 - Taking a Stand
37 - What Do You Believe In?
38 - The Truth About Bloodlines
Epilogue
Lawbreaker Sneak Peek
Want to Read More?
About the Authors
Charity Support and Awareness
Copyright Notice
Hawaiian, Pidgin & Surfing
The Hawaiian and Pidgin languages are beautiful, poetic, and complex. There are also differing opinions on correct spelling and use of the ‘okina (like a backwards apostrophe) and kahakō (line above a vowel) in some Hawaiian words and names. The world of surfing also has its own terminology. We’ve done our best throughout Rule Breaker with words and terms, using artistic license where we felt necessary to be more digestible for smooth reading. Any deviations or errors appearing within the book, including terminology and ‘okina and kahakō use, are ours and ours alone. Below please find a glossary of the Hawaiian, Pidgin, and surfing words and phrases used in Rule Breaker:
a‘a (ah-ah): rough, jagged, sharp lava (versus smooth pahoehoe, like a parking-lot surface)
‘āina (EYE-nah): land, earth
aloha (ah-LO-ha): spirit of love, affection, kindness – often used as hello or good-bye
‘ass right: Pidgin for “that’s right”
auntie (ANT-tee): an older female, not necessarily related, is a term of respect
barrel: surfing term for the tube, curl of the wave
brah: Pidgin for friend, brother (also bruddah) even if not by blood
boddah you: Pidgin for “Get lost!” or “Wot, you like start somet’ing?”
bure (bur-AY): a Fijian word for a hut, typically made of wood with a thatched roof
corduroy: surfing term for the image of a line of swells flowing endlessly from the horizon
da kine (da-KYN): noun or verb that can mean anything…like whatchamacallit
drop in, dropping in: surfing term used in Rule Breaker to mean the first descent into a wave, a drop-in can also mean when one surfer cuts off another surfer
figgah, figga (FEE-gah): Pidgin for figure, typically used as “How you figgah?”, meaning “That makes no sense.”
grindz, grinds: Pidgin for food
grom: surfing term for a young surfer
hā (hah): Hawaiian for the breath of life
haole (HOW-lee): white person, non-Hawaiian, foreigner, outsider
honi (HOH-nee): a Polynesian kiss where two people touch foreheads and noses, inhaling simultaneously
howzit (HOW-zit): Pidgin greeting for “How’s it hangin’?”, “How goes it?”, “Hello”…etc.
imu (EE-moo): Hawaiian cooking pit where stones are used to bake food, typically pig
kai (KIE): the ocean, the sea
kanak (kah-NAHK): Hawaiian man typically referred to by a Hawaiian, strong macho man
keiki (KAY-key): child, children
lanai (lah-NIE): porch, patio, veranda
lineup: surfing term for the area in the ocean where surfers wait to catch waves, behind the breaking zone
local: someone born in Hawaii but not of Hawaiian descent
lolo (LOH-loh): crazy, feeble-minded, stupid
mahalo (mah-HAH-low): thank you
makai (mah-KIE): toward the ocean
mana (MAH-nah): spiritual force or power, in honi, between two people
mauka (MAU-kah): toward the mountain, inland
makuahine (mah-KOO-a-HEE-nay): mother
makuakane (mah-KOO-a-KAH-nay): father
mo‘opuna i ke alo (MOH-oh-POON-ah ee kay AH-low): Hawaiian for beloved grandchild
‘ohana (oh-HAH-nah): family
‘ono (OH-noh): delicious, tasty
paniolo (PA-nee-OH-lo): Hawaiian cowboy
poi (poy): Hawaiian starchy food from the taro root, fermented, baked, and mashed
point break: surfing term for a wave that break perpendicular to a point of land jutting out into the ocean
pono (POH-noh): goodness, righteous, moral, excellence, fitting, proper…and the list of meanings goes on
quiver: surfing term for a group or collection of surfboards
rail: surfing term for the edge of a surfboard
rash guard: surfing term for a tight-fitting polyester shirt to prevent skin irritation from the board
reef break: surfing term for a wave that breaks over seafloor rock or coral
rocker: surfing term for the curve of a surfboard bottom from nose to tail in profile
sailboard: surfing term for a board used in windsurfing
shaka (SHAH-kah): common hand signal with closed hand but raised pinky and thumb, used for many things, as a greeting, “What’s up?”, “It’s cool.”…etc.
shishi (SHEE-shee): to pee, urinate
sick: surfing term for wicked cool
slippahs (SLIP-ahs): flip-flops, sandals
stoked: surfing term for exhilarated, excited, buzzing with energy
swell: surfing term for the energy-driven oceanic ripples powered by localized winds or distant storms
talk story, talking story: Pidgin phrase meaning to chitchat or gossip
uncle (un-KOH): an older male, not necessarily related, is a term of respect
went grad: Pidgin for graduated
wot: Pidgin interjection used like “what”, typically before a question
Standalone Novel
The Espionage Effect
Unbreakable Series
Heartbreaker
Rule Breaker
Lawbreaker
No Weddings Series
No Weddings
One Funeral
Two Bar Mitzvahs
Three Christmases
For Valentine’s
(a steamy nightcap novella)
Highland Legends Series
Forged in Dreams and Magick
Bound by Wish and Mistletoe
Born of Mist and Legend
(future release)
Found in Flame and Moonlight
(future release)
Romantic Poetry for Charity
Utterly Loved
Foreword by Sylvain Reynard
To the human race…
May we find peace with one another.
We wish everyone aloha.
Mase…
The wave can kill…or save.
Its staggering force humbled—kicked my ass often. But when I pointed toward the curling crest, shot up from its thundering energy, then caught perfect air…the rest of the world faded.
Breath.
Pulse.
Wind.
Spray.
Gravity…ruler of all.
I dropped in on a one-eighty spin. Tail skimmed down the face of the wave. The collapsing barrel roared with fury behind me. And through a salty cloud of mist, I glided out, riding the exhilarating power of nature.
But once I hit sand, the peace I’d sought ended. A lone girl stood by my gear.
I heaved out a sigh and tucked my board under my arm, preparing to face yet another one.
“Are you Mason Price?”
“Mase.” I dropped my board, then grabbed my towel. Had to tug the corner out from under her bare foot.
“Mase, for sure.” She gave a nod.
Pretty thing, but then they all were. Want to bait the fish? Need a tempting lure.
“I’m Leilani Kealo—”
“I’m not interested,” I grumped. My stomach growled; even my body hated her intrusion.
Her expression darkened. “You don’t even know what I want.”
“Not interested in a sponsorship.” I did my best to ignore her exotic beauty and enticing curves when I uttered the rest with a poker face, “Not interested in a beach-bunny fuck.”
Her eyes narrowed, gaze locked to mine. Unlike all the others, she didn’t notice my body. They’d always swept hungry gazes over me like I was a mouthwatering cut of steak. But not her.
“I’m not interested in either.”
I snorted. “On an isolated beach that took me days to find, on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific, you show up with your very Hawaiian sounding name” —I arched my brows on a questioning pause— “standing by my stuff. What do you want, then?”
Fists clenching tight, she rose to her full height—all five-foot-nothing of her—pulled back her slim shoulders, and lifted her chin. “Not a damn thing.”
She scowled then stormed off in a huff.
I grinned, entertained by the drama.
But a frown pulled at my mouth as I watched her.
She plucked a stubbed-antenna satellite phone from a front pocket of her short flowery dress and crossed the single-lane dirt road. A horn blared from the one moving car on the roadway as she stepped in front of its bumper without looking up. Hand still on her phone, she held the other up and gave a slight apologetic headshake to the driver. After jogging out of harm’s way, she stopped a short distance down an alley beside the only restaurant on our windward side of the island, then dropped her head, talking into the phone.
Curious, I grabbed my gear and followed.
“…don’t know why. Yeah, probably every other idiot after a money grab. No, I know that’s not what we’re—” She paused, as if cut off. “I’m here aren’t I? N’kay, fine. I will. I will try. Yeah, Makani, ‘ohana. I know. How can I forget? You keep reminding me.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“Gotta go,” she murmured into the phone before dropping it back into her pocket.
Coffee-brown eyes pegged me with a penetrating gaze. On a slow breath, her expression softened and she gave me an assessing once-over. “Could we—”
“Look I was—” I ran a hand through my hair.
“—start over? I didn’t mean to stomp off…”
“—rude back there…” We paused, processing what we’d said while talking over each other.
She let out a defeated sigh. “Could I buy you lunch?”
“Now that I’m interested in.” I leaned my board against the faded red wall beside the door.
When I gestured an arm ahead for her to take the lead, she paused in the doorway and stared at my beat-up surfboard. “Not windsurfing?”
“Not always.” Obviously.
“But you do windsurf…competitively?”
“Plan to.”
Also obvious? Her line of questioning. It smacked of sponsorship.
I held up two fingers to my man Rico behind the bar and he nodded. By the time I glanced back, she’d already grabbed a table by the window, one apparently she’d claimed before; green sandals hung from a corner of her wood chair, and a Tommy Bahama beach bag slumpe
d on another chair nearest the cement wall, right under a framed and signed black-and-white picture of surfing icon Kelly Slater.
“But…” The furrow between her brows deepened. “I thought you won two competitions.”
“Did you see them?” Didn’t deny it, but wanted to know how devoted she was to her cause.
“No, but—”
My stomach growled again. Matched my mood. “What do you want to eat?”
“What do you recommend?” She cut a glance toward the menu-board over the bar.
Rico slid two beers between us, then dropped an appraising look at her before arching a brow at me while he answered her question, “Fish tacos.”
“Done.” I gave a short nod. “Five. I’m starved.”
She spread a paper napkin over her lap with an outward sweep of her hands. “Two, please.”
Please. The proper way she said the word struck a chord. So did the poised manner in which she held herself and the way she’d schooled her expression after the phone call. Her overall demeanor, including how she controlled her breaths and her practiced smile, pinged an alert with me—an undercurrent rumbled beneath her carefully polished surface.
Impressed with the flair in which she hid her true nature, I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. I studied her with an unwavering stare.
“Why are you here?” Direct. I was all about getting to the bottom of her mission.
“Your sailboard.”
I blinked. “My equipment brought you here?”
“And my brother.” Almost imperceptibly, she let her perfect posture slump on a short sigh.
“Your brother.” The word flattened with my growing confusion.
“Makani.” She gave a nod, as if his name explained everything. After taking a healthy swallow of her beer, she stared at the amber bottle for several long seconds.
Then the most amazing thing happened: She smiled.
And the exotic girl who’d been merely pretty…became stunning.
