Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes)

by Cathryn Cade

  “All for you.” She sank down on him, and he filled her up, all the empty places. He held her close in his arms, surging under her as she rode him until they both cried out in ecstasy.

  The Ho’omalus celebrated with a dinner on the beach lanai. They were ebullient, their laughter carrying on the soft evening air.

  Lalei happened to glance over at the dock, thatched roof rustling in the breeze while behind it the sun sank into a bank of clouds. She gazed at the beautiful colors, from coral to lavender reflected in the clouds and sea. The palm trees on the point swayed gently. A peaceful, tropical scene, quintessentially Hawaii.

  And she was exactly where she wanted to be, with people she loved and admired.

  Was it only a week ago she’d stepped ashore here at Nawea? For an instant she saw again the busy dock the day they’d arrived, full of guests under the hot mid-day sun. And herself, stiff with nerves and anger, feeling like an outsider among her happy cousins. Wanting Jack, even while she tried not to.

  She turned to watch him as he spoke, noting again his easy way with her family. Daniel caught her eye and winked solemnly. She giggled and clapped a hand over her mouth at the girlish sound. She never giggled. But on the other hand, who the heck cared? She was happy.

  How very different her life was in such a short time. Oh, she still had to make peace with Suzy, but she loved her mother. Maybe losing the house would turn out to be good for both of them. Suzy could sell some of the antiques she and Lalei’s father had collected, and get herself a condo in Honolulu.

  As for her daughter, Lalei had plans, plans she couldn’t wait to share with Jack. Nerves twisted in her stomach as she wondered what he would think of them. She took a deep breath and reminded herself to relax. She was in charge of her own fate now and everything would work out.

  “A toast,” Homu boomed, raising his mai tai. “To all our children, for working together to protect our home.”

  “‘Ae,” Tina agreed proudly. “To all of you.”

  Their smiles encompassed not only Daniel and David, but their wives, Bella and Joel, and Jack and Lalei.

  “To our ohana,” David agreed.

  “To our ohana, and to Hawaii.” Jack and Lalei clinked their glasses of sparkling juice and Lalei leaned over to kiss him, not caring if anyone saw. He didn’t seem to mind a bit that his drink was non-alcoholic.

  She was aware it wouldn’t always be this easy for him, but with Pele’s blessing and God’s help, anything was possible. She and the other Ho’omalus were living proof of that.

  After the dinner was cleared away, Jack and Lalei wandered down along the beach, hand in hand. He was feeling pretty damn pleased with life. The development had been halted, he was in paradise with the woman he loved, and, last but not least, it didn’t bother him a bit that others had rum in their mai tais at dinner while he drank juice.

  “So,” she said, gazing out to sea. “I’ve been thinking about moving over here, to Kona. There’s an empty shop on the esplanade that would be just right for a gallery.”

  “Yeah?” he asked. “That’s great. You’d leave Honolulu, huh?”

  She nodded. “Homu and Tina think it’s a great idea. So do the guys. That way their art could be for sale here in Kona, instead of just on Oahu.”

  He bowed his head as he scuffed his bare toe in the damp sand. He sighed. “I have to go back to California for a while, at least. But I’ve been thinking about coming back here and talking to Sondra Baker about buying into her realty.”

  She nodded.

  “That’d be okay with you?” he asked warily. “I mean, you wouldn’t worry about her and me?”

  “Oh, Jack, of course not.” After the way he’d made love to her? Not in this lifetime. “But what about us?”

  He stroked her hair back as the evening breeze blew it across her cheek. “Lalei, I love you. More than I ever thought it possible to love a woman. But you deserve a whole man. I’m—I’m an alcoholic, or a drunk, as Lenny so poetically put it. It’s something I’ll always have to deal with. I’ve just finally accepted that about myself. I need to go to counseling, treatment. Then, when I get a handle on this, we can talk about us.”

  He didn’t know what he expected. Maybe that she would smile and assure him she’d wait faithfully.

  Instead, her arching brows drew together, a storm gathering in her eyes. He swore he could see lightning flicker in their depths. “Jack Nord, if you think I’m going to wait around for you to declare yourself, you better think again. I love you, no matter what. And I’m going to marry you, so get used to it.”

  He couldn’t help the wide, stupid grin that spread across his face. His heart was swelling with tenderness, so big it felt as if it might burst from his chest. “You are, huh?”

  She narrowed those Ho’omalu eyes at him. “I am. I know you have to get straight with your drinking, but I also know you can do it. There are treatment centers right here in the islands, you know. You can stay there or with me in the house I’m going to rent.

  “And besides, I want Suzy off my back about getting married. If you try to leave this island before you put a ring on my finger, I’ll create such a storm they won’t get any planes out of here for days.”

  He started to laugh; he couldn’t help it. “Isn’t that irresponsible use of rain? Even to get your mother off your back?”

  She laid one hand over his heart, hers shining in her eyes. It was like gazing into forever. “For you, Jack, I would set the rain on fire.”

  He groaned, everything in him responding to her. He pressed his hand over hers. “Believe me, when you make love to me, baby, you burn up the rain.”

  Joyful certainty settling in his very bones, he dropped to one knee before her in the sand and held her hands in his as he gazed up into those fierce, warrior-queen eyes.

  “Lalei Kai-Ho’omalu, I love you. Will you marry me?”

  “For better or worse,” she promised, her eyes going soft with love as her long hair blew forward around her face. “Yes, Jack Nord, I will.”

  Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to the delicate tattoos on each of her hands, so slender yet so strong. “Then I’ll do my best to live up to your faith in me.”

  Standing, he bent and slid one arm behind her knees, lifting her high in his arms. She slipped her arms around his neck and hung on, her cheek against his. “And I’ll do my best to keep the storms away.”

  “Nah, let ’em come,” he said, bearing her up across the lawn to the house and his bed. “We’ll get through them together.”

  About the Author

  Cathryn Cade lives in the Big Sky Country of Montana. She and her family share their property with a golden retriever, and the various deer, antelope and elk that wander through their hay fields. From her computer, Cathryn looks out across the prairie at the rugged Rocky Mountains. Without much effort, she can visualize the cowboys, Indians and vigilantes who once rode the range—some from her own family.

  When she’s not inhabiting her fantasy world—um, when she’s not writing—she is usually reading, quilting or trying a new recipe. She also enjoys boating with her husband, hiking and exploring their home state’s colorful history in museums and ghost towns.

  She and her husband love Hawaii, and on their yearly visits like to snorkel, stroll on the beach and fantasize over mai tais about how to make the Big Island their second home. Cathryn spends way too much time on the Internet and can often be found chatting on Facebook, Twitter, or via email. She loves to hear from readers. Stop by her website to join her contests, sign up for her newsletter, read reviews of her books, and enjoy her Free Reads.

  You can find her at: www.cathryncade.com, www.twitter.com/CathrynCade, cathryncadesblog.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/cathryncade.author, http://store.samhainpublishing.com/cathryn-cade-pa-351.html, http://about.me/cathryncadeauthor

  Look for these titles by Cathryn Cade

  Now Available:

  The Orion

  Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bryght

&n
bsp; Her Commander

  Prince of Dragons

  Deep Indigo

  Hawaiian Heroes

  Walking in Fire

  Rolling in the Deep

  Blooming in the Wild

  Born to defend his people, he will sacrifice everything…for her.

  Walking in Fire

  © 2012 Cathryn Cade

  Hawaiian Heroes, Book 1

  Nawea Bay, a remote Hawaiian paradise, is just the haven Melia Carson needs to escape the chill of heartache. Instead, she finds herself swept up in a tropical heat wave, fueled by her unexpected attraction to a handsome native she meets on a snorkel tour.

  He’s big, powerful, hot enough to melt her defenses—and he’s not all he seems. How else could he survive an injury that should have killed him…and why does she dream of him garbed in ancient native dress and wreathed in flames?

  David “Malu” Ho’omalu is on the Big Island to find and destroy a cache of dangerous designer drugs before they can be sold to his people. Fending off amorous female tourists is part of the job, but one look in Melia’s blue eyes, and his instincts scream that she is his.

  As Melia surrenders to the desire burning between them, she discovers more than a fiery heritage that defies modern logic. She discovers a man who would descend into the molten heart of the volcano to protect his island. And her…if she can find the strength to trust her heart to him.

  Warning: Hot, hot Hawaiian hero with volcanic passion on his mind. Better pack a heat-proof bikini for this island paradise.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Walking in Fire:

  Malu set the cooler down and leaned back on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. His biceps bulged. Melia realized she was staring again and looked quickly away. Darn it, she had to quit that. She had the mad urge to race out of the house and dive into the water again, to quell the flush of heat under her skin—equal parts arousal and embarrassment. She always seemed to be flushed around him, as if heat emanated from his very persona.

  “You just saying dat because I have to cook so much when you’re here,” Leilani said to Malu, but she was smiling. “Dis man eat for days.”

  “Hmm,” Melia answered. Hard not to notice when he sat across from her eating two helpings to the others’ one—he obviously had to fuel that physique.

  “Maybe Melia cook for us, yeah?” He was laughing at her again, darn him. Not out loud, but that sensual mouth was tilted up at the corners, and his dark eyes held a suspicious gleam. She’d like to cook for him all right—a nice serving of ipecac. “Melia paha.”

  Leilani laughed easily, then looked quickly at Melia. “Sorry, not laughing at you. Malia paha mean ‘maybe’. Close to your name.”

  “Meh-lee-ah,” Malu said, rolling her name on his tongue. “You have a Hawaiian name.”

  “Yes. It means plumeria. My parents spent their honeymoon here,” she said. “They liked the name.”

  “So, you cook Hawaiian?” he went on, still with that gleam in his eyes. “Know any good Spam recipes?”

  Melia frowned, wary of a trap. She knew the canned ground ham product was an island favorite, but she’d never actually eaten it. Malu grinned, and she narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m sure I could come up with some recipes, just for you.”

  Leilani shook her head at him. “She cook fresh, not canned. Anyway, dis girl here on vacation.”

  “Yes, I am. Nice talking to you, Leilani.” Without looking at Malu, Melia turned and sauntered out the nearest door, which turned out to be the one to the rear lanai.

  Behind her, she heard Malu say something to Leilani. Both of them laughed. She wondered if they were laughing at her, and then rolled her eyes at herself. That was so junior high. And Leilani was nice, even if Malu was a big recipe gone bad.

  It was dark on the back lawn, just the light shining from the windows. The only sounds were the rustling of foliage and a few frogs piping in the forest.

  Melia flipped her hair off her shoulders and blew out a long breath. Good grief, why did she let him fluster her this way? She wandered slowly along the lanai. The soft caress of the humid air and the sweet scents wafting on it soothed her. Walking on, she stopped to sniff a familiar acrid odor, then wrinkled her nose. Eww, some of the group were smoking pot, right up in the trees. She heard Clay or Jimmer laugh, and shook her head. What a useless waste of time, not to mention illegal.

  She followed the faint sounds of island music around the corner. Frank was perched on the porch railing, playing a small ukulele. He smiled at her as she walked into the light of the tiki torches stuck in the garden. Curling up on one of the rattan loungers, she listened to the soft melody and let her mind drift.

  She was bothered and bewildered by her attraction to Malu. She’d better handle it before she was bewitched. The Big Island was exerting its magic on her. That was it—he was part of the tropical ambience, like the lava flows, jet black against the green-and-gold mountainsides, like the turquoise water in the bay, the surf curling into frothy white on the golden, sandy beach.

  Just another Hawaiian native, as beautiful as the fish eddying over the reef, the sea turtles paddling slowly along or the dolphins leaping joyously from the waves, as full of quiet power as the mountain that towered behind them. Hopefully without the menace.

  Realizing the poetic nature of her thoughts, she blushed, glad no one else could see in the dim, flickering light of the torches. Good grief, next she’d be putting it to music and playing the ukulele in the moonlight.

  She opened the nearest door into a quiet sitting room now in shadows. She bumped an end table, and something fell with a rustle to the woven floor mat. Melia fumbled for the nearest lamp and snapped it on. A sketchbook lay on the floor, a page poking out as if torn.

  Bending, she picked it up and opened it, then blinked in surprise as she gazed at a pencil sketch of the bay, obviously done by someone on the front lanai. The sketch was rough, as if it had been done quickly, but even to her untutored eye, it was very good.

  She sank onto the rattan settee next to the lamp and turned the page. Another sketch of the bay, like the first, only a little more refined, the black lava rocks shaded in, the palm trees textured. Were these by the same artist whose work hung on the walls?

  She flipped to the next page and the next. To her disappointment, all were bare, except the loose one. As she pulled the page carefully from the sketchbook, she caught her breath. This sketch was of a woman. She was seated on a rock, foliage behind her, her head bent. She held a single flower in her hands, and she looked down at it with dreamy concentration. Her shoulders were bare, a few vague lines suggesting she was nude.

  Melia narrowed her eyes. The woman’s hair was undefined, her features only a few tender lines. And yet she looked somehow familiar.

  The edge of the paper was crumpled, as if the artist had begun to discard it and then changed his or her mind. A little guiltily, Melia set the sketchbook back on the end table, the sketch of the woman still in her hand.

  The artist had nearly thrown it away. Surely he or she wouldn’t miss it if she just enjoyed it while she was here. She’d return it before she left.

  She went to her room. After setting the sketch carefully on her bedside table, she readied herself for bed, her mind full of the activities and tensions of the day. When she closed her eyes, she felt as if she were still in the water, being rocked gently by the waves. She turned onto her side and hugged the extra pillow to her.

  She dreamed of Malu.

  He lounged in the shade of the beach palms, smiling lazily at her, even though Cherie and Jacquie snuggled close at his sides in their bikinis.

  Melia walked toward him, drawn by a force beyond her control. His dark eyes slid down over her in a caress as strong as if he had stroked her with his hand. Heady triumph filled her—he wanted her, even with the other women available.

  He beckoned her with one finger.

  Her heart beat in slow, heavy strokes. She knew what he wanted. Slowly, she lifted her h
ands to the ties of her bikini top and unfastened them. The top dangled from her fingertips, then fell to the sand, leaving her breasts bare to his gaze. Her nipples hardened, thrusting toward him, feeling his gaze like a caress as soft as the fresh flower lei she wore.

  He gestured again, and, naughty excitement flooding her, she hooked her fingers in her bikini bottoms and slowly pushed them down until they fell in a soft puddle around her bare feet. As his hot gaze fell to her mons, she caught her breath, trembling with the force of her excitement and arousal. She felt daring, free, and so turned on her legs were weak.

  In the perverse way of dreams, she suddenly realized that Dane sat nearby, watching her with an enigmatic look on his tanned face. Clay and Jimmer were there too, smiling avidly.

  Uncertainty filled her. She looked back at Malu, and he smiled as Cherie and Jacquie pressed close to him, their hands all over him.

  With a whimper of sheer humiliation, Melia turned to run.

  His beast will have her beauty…but only on his terms.

  Prince of Dragons

  © 2010 Cathryn Cade

  Orion, Book 3

  Sirena Blaze has left a string of smiling males across the galaxy—but she’s not smiling now. After two attempts to sabotage her ship, it’s time to call for backup. Her warriors deserve the best, and that means recruiting a member of the elite Serpentian guard as co-commander.

  One look at Slyde Stone, and Sirena’s smile returns. She sets out to indulge in the sensual delights for which his people are legendary.

  Slyde would like nothing more than to bed the famous beauty, but a secret binds the hands that burn to take her. He is a half-dragon shifter, a race thought to be nothing more than a myth. He’s real, and so is the code he must live by—he can mate only once.

  Sirena’s fury at Slyde’s refusal knows no bounds—until saboteurs loose a pair of deadly serpents on board the Orion. And the infuriating man has the gall to make a wager. If she finds them first, she can have him. But if he wins, she must agree to be his alone—for life.