by Anna Lowe
“Would going to the police help Boone with that guy?” she asked.
Hunter shook his head firmly then studied her long and hard, as if to ascertain whether she could be trusted. “Look, Boone and the rest of us need to keep a low profile.” She wondered what exactly that meant, but for once, Hunter went on, uttering more than one sentence at a time. “But going to the cops might help you.”
She chewed a nail then shook her head decisively. No. She wasn’t ready to go to the police. Not without talking to Boone first.
Hunter drove on in silence, constantly checking the rearview mirror and throwing Cruz annoyed looks. The other man was tailgating, trying to force Hunter to speed up. Nina stared straight ahead, trying to remember something. Anything.
Nina Miller… Who am I?
They were nearly back at Koa Point when red and blue lights flashed behind them. Hunter groaned and glared at the speedometer.
“Damn it, Cruz,” he muttered as he pulled over.
Nina looked back in alarm. “Bad news?”
Hunter shook his head quickly. “Just a speeding ticket,” he sighed.
Cruz had pulled over, too, and Nina watched in the rearview mirror as a female police officer approached the Ferrari, checked Cruz’s license, then continued to the Jeep.
Nina was expecting a stern, Do you know what the speed limit is here? but it didn’t quite play out that way.
“Mr. Bjornvald,” the policewoman said, a little breathlessly.
“Officer Meli,” Hunter whispered.
They stared at each other for a long, quiet minute. So quiet, Nina could hear the swell roll across the shoreline not too far away. Hunter’s chest heaved up and down, and the officer’s cheeks were pink.
“Driver’s license, please,” the policewoman murmured. She shot a glance at Nina, who did her best to make it clear she wasn’t with Hunter for anything but a ride. It must have worked, because the policewoman trained her full attention on Hunter again.
Hunter scrambled into action, suddenly a puppy, eager to please. He hurried the ID out of his wallet and handed it over. Nina pursed her lips. Hunter sure had a thing for the policewoman, and who could blame him? The woman was downright beautiful, with smooth, perfect features that reflected a blend of Polynesian, Asian, and Caucasian heritage. Her jet-black hair hung in a shiny braid that reached to her waist, and when it swayed, Hunter seemed to sway, too.
Classy. Demure. Serene. The policewoman was everything Nina wasn’t. Nina heaved an inner sigh.
Hunter and Officer Meli gazed at each other as tongue-tied as a couple of smitten eighth graders at a dance, neither knowing quite how to make the first move.
“If he was speeding, it was my fault,” Nina offered. She’d caused enough trouble already. She didn’t want Hunter in trouble with the law. Especially not with the officer of his dreams, if Nina had read the signals right.
The policewoman barely looked at her, so focused was she on Hunter.
“Um, Officer Meli? Can we go, please?” Cruz called, tapping his hand restlessly on the open roof of the Ferrari.
Nina blinked. Did everyone in this part of Maui know each other by name?
Officer Meli straightened quickly and handed Hunter his license. “Watch your speed next time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he murmured.
Their fingers brushed briefly, which made Hunter’s cheeks flush, too.
“Bye, then,” Officer Meli whispered.
“Bye,” Hunter breathed.
Nina sat as still as she could, giving them a last moment of…of whatever it was that was going on between them. Then Officer Meli walked away. Moments later, she pulled away in her patrol car.
Hunter kept both hands locked on the steering wheel and heaved a dreamy sigh. Then Cruz beeped, making Hunter jump.
“Shit. Sorry,” he said, throwing the car into first gear and driving on. He thrust his wallet and license at Nina. “Do you mind putting it back in?”
The license was upside down when she took it, and a memory shot through her mind.
Nina Miller. That’s what was printed on her license.
I’m Nina Miller. Mom was Margaret Miller. We live in New Jersey…
And just like that, a batch of memories came tumbling out. Not everything, but enough to take her breath away. The flowers blooming on her back porch. The YMCA where she’d learned to swim. The walk to the bus stop to get to work…
The moment Hunter parked the Jeep in the garage at Koa Point, Nina hurried to the beach and sat on a boulder, hugging her knees. A shearwater flew past, but she barely registered it. Like the rest of the view, it was there, but her mind was a thousand miles away.
Nina Miller. My name is Nina Miller. Cottage Hills, New Jersey is home, but there is no one there for me.
The sun was slipping toward the horizon, the blue sky weeping color, matching her mood.
Her mother was dead. Her father wasn’t part of her life — she couldn’t remember the details, but it didn’t seem to matter. Whoever he was, he didn’t figure into her life. She didn’t have any sisters or brothers, either — all that was clear in her mind. There was a sweet old man named Lewis she couldn’t quite place, but she remembered that he’d passed away. No one had reported her missing, either, and if that wasn’t proof that no one cared, she didn’t know what was. She was all alone.
A bird chirped in disagreement, and the swish of the waves said, You have Boone.
She hid her face in her hands and rocked quietly. Boone was great, but she was far too fragile to trust her feelings right now. The most important thing was to figure out the rest of her past, right?
But the past was scary. Ugly memories knocked on the edge of her consciousness along with beautiful ones, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for either. She wasn’t sure of anything, so she just sat there, rocking herself and wishing she could start anew in a place like this. And why not?
Don’t wait for a good day. Make it a good day.
She could do that. She could remake her entire life.
Happiness is a recipe you create with whatever ingredients life provides.
Hell, she was in Hawaii. And no family ties meant nothing to pull her back to New Jersey, right?
Every great journey starts with one small step.
Really, what was stopping her?
A wave swirled around an offshore rock, reminding her why. Someone had tried to kill her. Someone who was still out there.
Boone will help. He promised.
The sun glinted off the ocean as she tried convincing herself, though she didn’t get far. What was in it for Boone? Hadn’t she already imposed enough?
She waffled back and forth, much like the waves on the shore. They stirred the sand into little patterns, only to erase them and start all over again, making her despair. But eventually, after an eternity of sitting on that rock, feeling piteously alone, something inside her soul lifted. Something even more beautiful and idyllic than the surroundings she’d ignored. She couldn’t fathom what it was until she turned to see Boone striding down the path.
Her heart leaped out of her chest, and a chorus hit a high note in her head. He’s here! He’s back!
It was ridiculous, reacting like that, and she forced herself to sit still, letting him come to her instead of launching herself into his arms where she didn’t belong.
“Hey,” he said, climbing the boulder and settling in beside her, nice and close.
It should have made her soul dance with joy, but the bounce was gone from Boone’s step, the fight out of his eyes. He looked tired, and his sunny smile was gone.
“Are you okay?” he asked, though the way he looked, Nina thought she ought to be the one asking him that.
“I’m fine. Fine,” she said.
His arm was close to hers, and she couldn’t help stroking it, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. If anything, Boone leaned closer, so she didn’t stop. Maybe it was her turn to console him for a change.
“Who was that back at t
he hotel?” The second she asked, she regretted it, because the little bit of tension that had eased from Boone’s shoulders slammed back in again.
“No one,” he said, so bitterly, she knew it was a lie. One she couldn’t begrudge him given the way she was avoiding her own truths.
She let the subject drop and sat quietly, running her fingertips lightly over the corded muscles in Boone’s arms. Over and over until the sinews softened a little. He leaned closer with every stroke, nestling against her side.
Nina sighed. Reality sucked, but she’d give this fantasy a ten out of ten. A moment of quiet togetherness she hadn’t been able to share with anyone in a long, long time.
You’re not alone, came the distant voice. You have him.
Turning slightly, she brought her body closer to his, wanting him to feel it, too. That he wasn’t alone, either. He had her.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” Boone whispered.
An hour earlier she might have said, Yes. No. I don’t know what I want. But now, her answer was startlingly clear. “No.”
Hell, no was more like it. She took his arm and hugged it, needing something to hold on to. Something even better than a teddy bear.
The sunshine warmed the loneliness right out of her, and she closed her eyes, relishing the inner peace Boone gave her. And before long, she went from stroking Boone’s near arm to stroking the far arm, reaching across his body to do so. Invisible energy started crackling between them, and her body heated slowly. She fell into a dreamlike state, tuning in to the subtle signals coming from Boone. The slight twist in his body as he turned closer to her. The heat pouring from his side, inviting her in. The soft, easy breaths that told her he felt better, too.
It was peaceful. Easy. Natural.
Without thinking, she cupped his cheek and stroked it with her thumb in slow, even strokes — the way her mother used to do after a nightmare shook Nina out of sleep. Which was fitting because that was exactly how she felt now. Her skin might still tingle from the panic of the nightmare, but the fear was past, and she was all right again.
When Boone started touching her, too, Nina wanted to purr. The line of palms sheltering them from the rest of the estate was like a wall against reality, and she would gladly allow fantasy to rule for a while longer. And it did, right up to the point that Boone turned, angled his head, and kissed her.
She opened her eyes and found a sea of blue shining at her, as pure and bright as anything she’d ever seen. And, oh — that wasn’t the sea but Boone’s eyes, soaking her in. Asking an unspoken question. Did she want another kiss?
Yes. Yes, she did.
She nestled closer, slipping her hand from his cheek to his neck, where his pulse skipped. Boone tugged her closer, and she opened to his kiss. He tasted like sunshine and coconut, and his lips were pillow-soft. The longer she held the kiss, the more insistent that primal sound grew.
This is right. This is good.
It did feel just right. And good — incredibly good. She savored his salt scent, his rich taste. The soft feel of his hair between her fingers, the rise of his chest against hers.
This man is yours.
She’d heard legends about gods and magic in places like Hawaii. Spirits, too. Were they talking to her now? Or was it the primal beat of the earth seducing her the way it had enticed sailors in centuries long gone?
Her lips moved against Boone’s the way the water pulsed over the sand, ebbing and flowing in steady waves. Taking and giving. Breathing without seeming to breathe, because she didn’t dare let go. There may as well have been a bonfire and a row of drummers on the beach, the way her blood stirred. A steady rhythm of arousal she couldn’t deny. A rhythm she didn’t want to deny, because she’d been through so much. Wasn’t it time she found something to rejoice over? To embrace with mind, body, and soul?
The skip of Boone’s pulse became a gallop. Nina found herself touching his bare skin, pushing his sleeves up to explore. Boone did the same, running his hands under her shirt to touch her sides before pulling away with a sharp breath.
“Nina,” he whispered. His eyes were wild. Hungry. Almost glowing — unless she was dreaming, which was totally possible given her state of mind.
“Don’t stop. Please don’t stop,” she begged.
Her lips played over his, and her chest heaved. This was it. A make-or-break moment. Would the primal rhythm win out, or would reality come crashing back in?
“Are you sure?” he asked, dipping his head to suckle the skin of her neck.
An unfair question, given the way it made her nipples stand up, but Nina wasn’t about to complain. For once, she wasn’t going to deny herself a pleasure as she had so often in the past. The memories were all there — the scrimping and saving, the improvising and making do. There had to have been some mistake at that luxury hotel that held a few of her belongings. In real life, she barely made ends meet. She had a mountain of debts to pay. She—
She cut off the thought there, because she had a man kissing her senseless, and that was all she needed just then.
“So sure. Boone…” She trailed off, not quite sure how to articulate what she wanted. Sex? A lifetime of boundless love? A promise that she would never, ever be alone again?
She knew she wasn’t thinking clearly, but sex seemed like a good starting point. She could research her identity later. Right now, she knew exactly who she was and what she wanted. She was a woman drawn to a man, and she wanted him. Desperately.
Chapter Ten
Boone knew he shouldn’t go any further. He was crazy to have kissed Nina in the first place, because he wasn’t supposed to be necking with a human on his favorite boulder by the beach. But the kiss came out of nowhere — a little like Nina had, that first night he’d found her — and once it started, it took on a life all its own. A force he wasn’t capable of stopping, the way he couldn’t stop the tide.
Why stop? His wolf howled and clawed at the last of his resistance. This is our mate!
The back of his mind tried to serve up an excuse — something about honor and duty and being a gentleman — but the idea never quite came together, not with her kissing him like that. Not with his wolf yowling away.
She needs us. Can’t you feel it?
He could feel it, all right. Deep down in his bones, the same way he could feel a storm building over the Kahalawai peaks.
No need to hesitate.
He was hardly hesitating. In fact, he was already pulling Nina toward this place. But in his mind, he was still negotiating a dozen roadblocks that stood in the way. Like the fact that he really ought to be following up on the leads they’d uncovered instead of relishing how soft and silky her hair felt against his cheek. The fact that he had to investigate Kramer’s sudden appearance on Maui instead of soaking in the taste of her kiss. Or the fact that…that…
The checklist slowly faded from his mind, making it hard to remember what he had to do other than satisfy the woman in his arms.
He ducked under a palm frond and pulled Nina against his body, drowning her in another hungry kiss. He’d kicked his shoes off by the beach, and the earth felt cool under his feet. The breeze tugged on his shirt, urging him to toss it aside and let Nina caress. Touch. Kiss.
She wants us. We want her. Need her.
He needed to protect her, not mess around with her. Not at a time like this.
Destiny wants this, don’t you see? his wolf insisted.
His step faltered. He’d been smitten with Tammy, once upon a time. What if he was wrong again?
Tammy was totally different, his wolf reminded him. It was all lust, no love.
Boone had to give the wolf that one. At the time, he hadn’t realized it, but now, the difference was crystal clear. God, he’d been such a fool. But still — how could he be sure about his true mate?
Follow your heart, a deep, ancient voice whispered in the back of his mind. The voice of destiny?
His wolf huffed. Fine. Pretend she isn’t our mate. She’s s
till a woman, and you are a man. So get to it, idiot!
Boone had to give the wolf that. He’d hooked up with a few women over the past couple of years. Why the hell not? But that was just fooling around. This was totally different. This was destiny, and if he screwed it up…
“Boone,” Nina begged.
He lifted her effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing her body against his, stoking the fire inside him.
Need her, his wolf said over and over. Need her.
In the end, that hunger beat his better judgment by a long shot. Boone found himself peeling off Nina’s clothes, then his own.
“Nice tattoo,” she murmured, touching the wolf inked into his arm. Then she gasped at the sight of the scar on his abdomen. A souvenir from his military days — the closest he’d come to dying for his country. Awfully close, in fact, as the scar proved, because it took a hell of a wound to leave a mark like that on a quick-healing shifter.
He guided Nina’s hands away from the scar and led her under the outdoor shower beside his bungalow. Nothing was going to stop him now. Seeing Kramer and Tammy—
Ta-ma-ra, his wolf corrected, rolling his eyes.
—had made him feel dirty and used, and he had to wash that away before getting any closer to the pureness that was Nina.
The open-air shower was sheltered by long vines of morning glory and brilliant red ginger with long, green leaves. The floor was made of smooth local stone. There was always a certain thrill to showering under the sky, a pureness to it, like standing under a waterfall. As if it was just the two of them on a desert island and they had weeks, even months to hide away from the world. But there was urgency, too, the way the setting sun conveyed a sense of urgency. He’d been resisting Nina’s pull for too long, and suddenly, he had to have it all.
“Is this okay?” he murmured, pinning her against the wall. His heart hammered, and his cock jutted against her hip.
When she squeaked her approval, his wolf roared.
He held her hands high, kissing her deeply, trying desperately to hold back the full brunt of his passion. Then kissing wasn’t enough, and he worked his way down her body, bit by bit, nipping and licking desperately. Her throat was musky with the scent of arousal. Her collarbone so fine and gracefully arched, he spent a full minute there. Then he slid lower, over the swell of her breast.
