Tropical Temptation

by Angela R. Sargenti

  “Come out here on the lanai for a minute,” he said. Samantha followed him out to the balcony and together, they leaned against the rail, admiring the view.

  “What’s that ship out there?” she asked, pointing to a ship with lights in its mast making its way across the horizon.

  “They have dinner cruises on those. If you want, we can go on one tomorrow.”

  “Okay. But what’s a dinner cruise?”

  “Uhm...it’s a cruise? With dinner?”

  She cast a sharp glance at him and caught his teasing grin. She turned back to the view and, grinning herself, watched the waves crashing over the beach and the late-afternoon surfers finishing up their day’s sport. The vendors in the shacks down below were closing up for the night, and things were winding down.

  After a while, Samantha casually strolled back into the condo to have a better look around. First she went into the dining room to admire its furnishings. There was the prettiest painted leather four-panel screen that separated it from the living room. Each of its panels depicted a sweeping section of Asian landscape with mountains, cherry trees, and a stream. The dining room itself was set with a large round table, with six Regency-style rosewood side chairs ranged around it. A bronze deer sat in the middle of the gleaming mahogany tabletop, and a matching sideboard stood against one wall. A fichus tree with a braided trunk occupied one whole corner of the room.

  Alex called her from the other room and she went to see what he wanted. She checked the living room, but he wasn’t there, so she went to find him. As it turned out, he was in one of the bedrooms down the little hall. He’d placed Samantha’s luggage on the bed and was inviting her to make herself at home.

  “This is your room,” he said, indicating his surroundings. “I hope you’ll like it.”

  She glanced around. The room resembled an upscale, gender-neutral hotel room.

  “It looks nice,” she told him.

  “I’m in the room next door. If you don’t need anything else, I think I’ll go get comfortable.”

  “No, I’m okay” she assured him. “But can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Did you have a professional decorator do this place, or what?”

  Seeming really pleased, he shook his head and smiled proudly.

  “Nope. It was all me.”

  Samantha, deeply impressed, found herself smiling. She’d never in her life known a man with such exquisite taste.

  She turned her attention to her luggage. She’d sent most of her things ahead and had only an overnight bag and a suitcase with her. She opened her suitcase and began to unpack what she needed for the night. She turned to the dresser and found a beautiful arrangement of fresh pink tulips and anthuriums sitting on it. There was a card attached, which she read.

  Dear Samantha,

  Welcome to Hawaii. I hope you’ll like working for me.

  Alex.

  She smiled, gingerly touching one of the leathery red blossoms. When she turned around again, she saw Alex standing in the doorway, a boyish grin on his face.

  “Thanks for the flowers. That was very sweet.”

  “No problem. Listen, why don’t you unpack later? I’ve got a Jacuzzi in the other room. We can go relax in there and I’ll open up some wine.”

  “Okay.”

  Samantha retrieved her bikini from her suitcase and Alex left her alone to change. When she was done, she shyly opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

  “Alex?”

  “In here. Come on in.”

  She went through his bedroom and found him in the master bathroom, filling an oversized sunken marble tub, easily big enough for two. He already had a couple of bottles of wine chilling in an ice bucket within easy reach of the tub. He turned on the whirlpool jets and switched on some violin music, and then he handed Samantha into the tub and uncorked one of the bottles, passing the glasses to Samantha before he climbed in himself.

  “This is really nice,” she told him. “I was kind of stiff after that long plane ride.”

  “I know. That’s the main reason I insisted on putting this thing in,” he told her. “Here, have a drink of this wine and tell me how you like it. It’s not like that swill they had at the club the other night.”

  “No, it is good,” she agreed, taking a sip. “Where’s it from?”

  “France. Cote de Nuits-Villages. Do you know anything about wine?”

  “Not that much, but I guess I do all right. I actually prefer red wine, though.”

  “Do you? Which ones?”

  “My favorites are Barbera and Cab, but I do like a good Chianti or Bordeaux.”

  Alex seemed pleased with her answer and refilled her glass.

  “We’ll get along fine, then,” he told her. “I have a fully-stocked wine cellar back at the ranch.”

  She smiled, thinking how pleasant it was going to be living with him. He was kind and thoughtful and generous to a fault, and she felt herself growing more strongly attracted to him than ever. In fact, she realized she was aching to kiss him, aching to feel those sensuous lips on hers. She suddenly glanced up and surprised a look of raw desire in his eyes as he gave her another glass of wine.

  “Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Shannon?” she teased, holding her wineglass aloft and trying to keep her voice playful.

  “Do you mean you still don’t trust me?” he asked lightly, in a tone to match hers.

  “Too late now. You could have your way with me if you wanted to.”

  A crooked grin played on his lips. “Is that a statement or an offer?”

  Her teasing smile slipped away and Samantha found herself blushing yet again. Alex bent down to her ear and called this to her attention.

  “You’re very sexy when you blush,” he told her. “I haven’t met a woman who could blush in ten years.”

  “I guess we’re a dying breed.”

  With a long, elegant forefinger, he tipped her face up to his.

  “I can’t quite figure you out, Samantha. The other night you were almost in tears, terrified I’d find you attractive. And tonight? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to seduce me.”

  He was leaving her an out, she realized and, like the coward she knew herself to be, she took it.

  “Then it’s a good thing you know better,” she said primly.

  From the depths of his dark, soulful eyes, Samantha perceived that Alex knew the truth, and she was grateful he’d given her this chance to back off. There was a flame of burning desire in his gaze that she could hardly fail to notice, but he deftly turned the conversation to less dangerous topics.

  And, oh yes, truth be told, she had wanted to make love to him, and found him infinitively attractive, but sensed it wouldn’t do either of them any good to pursue this train of thought. They stayed together in the Jacuzzi for a long time, talking of silly, trivial things. Samantha allowed the hot jets of water to blast away all her anxieties until finally, she began to grow weary.

  Turning to Alex, she refused another glass of wine and he set the bottle aside.

  “You’re right,” he said. “We’ve both had enough.”

  “Besides,” Samantha said, closely examining her waterlogged fingers, “I’m turning into a prune.”

  “Yeah, I noticed,” he said, stealing a glance at her.

  Samantha turned to him in surprise but, realizing he was teasing her, she playfully swatted him on the arm.

  “Brat. I said prune, not prude.”

  “My mistake,” he told her with a chuckle, throwing up his hands in mock-surrender as he climbed from the hot tub.

  Samantha was forced to laugh, too and, satisfied he found her attractive, too, she climbed from the bath herself and toweled off. Alex went into the bedroom and dug t
hrough his luggage until he located a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt to put on.

  “I’ll go get changed,” she stated, leaving him alone to undress.

  Chapter 4

  Back in her own bedroom, Samantha dug out the least-suggestive nightgown she owned from her suitcase and put it on. When she came out into the living room, Alex was watching the late news on television.

  “Anything interesting happen today?” she asked, gesturing toward the T.V.

  Glancing up at her and taking note of her flannel nightgown, Alex shook his head. “Not really.”

  “Do you mind if I call my parents? I want to let them know I’m all right.”

  He checked his watch. “It’s three in the morning there.”

  “Oh. Never mind. My dad wouldn’t like that.”

  She sat down beside him, starting to feel genuinely tired.

  “I’m not yapping too much, am I? Do you wish I’d shut up?”

  He grinned at her. “No. I like having you around.”

  With that, he got up and shut off the T.V.

  “Let’s have a fire,” he suggested, and Samantha watched him as he kneeled, intending to let him do all the work, but she soon realized the fireplace was piped with gas. Within seconds, a lively fire burned in the hearth and he returned to the couch.

  “You really look beat,” he told her.

  “I am.”

  “Here,” he said, arranging a pillow next to his leg. “Put your head down.”

  Samantha did as she was told, glad of the chance to rest. They watched the fire burn briskly and Samantha thought about their evening together, about all it might have been.

  We might be making love now, she acknowledged. However, she was too exhausted to pursue this thought and shut her eyes.

  “Samantha.”

  She opened her eyes, realized she’d been sleeping. Alex helped her sit up.

  “Come on, let’s put you to bed.”

  Like a sleepy child, she took his hand and let him lead her to bed. He pulled the covers up to her chin and dropped a chaste kiss on her forehead. As he started away, she grabbed his hand.

  “My dad tucked me in like this ’til I was fourteen,” she told him. “Good night, Alex.”

  “’Night, Samantha.”

  She slept like a log through the night and, in the morning, her head hurt and she felt a little ill. She wasn’t used to drinking, really, but Alex had kindly anticipated her condition and brought her breakfast in bed.

  Perched on the edge of the bed, he slowly stirred his coffee, waiting until she revived a little before discussing their plans for the day.

  “Let’s rent a car,” he suggested, once she perked up a bit. “I want to show you around the island.”

  With some food in her stomach and some caffeine in her veins, Samantha felt much better, so the prospect of this interested her. He disappeared for about an hour, leaving her to get ready. He’d mentioned a beach, among other attractions, so Samantha put on a bikini with a pair of shorts and a top.

  After a while he returned, keys in hand. “All they had left was a red convertible Mustang,” he told her, indicating with a subtle gesture that such a car would not have been his first choice. “Do you drive, Samantha? I’ve never seen you drive.”

  “Of course I drive. I just haven’t got my own car, is all. What’s that?” she asked, indicating the plastic grocery bag he was holding.

  “Frozen peas.”

  “For what?”

  “Come on, you’ll see.”

  They drove to a place called Hanauma Bay and were lucky enough to find a parking spot in the crowded lot. Alex carried their things down the steep hill to the beach.

  “Ever go snorkeling?”

  She shook her head. “You still haven’t told me what the peas are for.”

  “They’re for the fish.”

  They were soon equipped with snorkeling gear and Alex was instructing her on its use.

  “It’s just like making love, Samantha,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. “The important thing is to relax. Let your body think for itself. It knows what to do, if only you’ll let it.”

  Their eyes met. He was clearly teasing her about last night, so Samantha kept her lips clamped together, trying hard not to smile.

  “Here, you take some of these peas. Don’t be afraid when the fish come to you. Watch.”

  He plunged his hand under the sparkling clear water to demonstrate and released a handful of the frozen peas. Several vividly colored fish chased the trail of peas all the way to his hand, apparently unafraid of him. Some were quite large, and Samantha asked nervously whether they’d bite her.

  “Not if you’re smart enough to let go of the peas. You’ll be all right, though. I hear you’re a genius.”

  Alex coaxed her into using the snorkel and she ducked under the water. The mask made the coral seem much closer than it actually was and it took some time for Samantha to adjust to this optical illusion.

  She swam among the fish, admiring them. A few were a dull gray color, but most were brilliantly colored, with backs and fins of electric blue, some a solid, sunny yellow, still others sporting bright orange tails. They swam where Samantha swam, coming right up to feast from her hands, but she managed to stay calm and even - as Alex had suggested - to relax. In time, she began to take pleasure from it, enjoying the weightlessness of her body and the way she seemed suspended over the strange, underwater kingdom.

  But breathing through a tube proved to be trickier than Samantha had thought it would be and, as a result, she tired easily. They decided to turn in their gear and lie on the beach for a while to enjoy the heat of the sun on their bodies.

  Samantha gazed out to the turquoise water.

  “I felt just like the Little Mermaid, feeding those fish,” she told Alex. “We sure don’t have anything like this in L.A. You must really hate going back there.”

  “Not at all,” he told her. “Except for people always thinking I’m somebody else. Once in a while I really hate that damned guy, but he does seem to lay low, so I try to return the favor.”

  “Is that why you left L.A.?”

  “No. It was just...too hard to work there. Paris and I went out all the time, seems like all we ever did was party.”

  “Really?”

  “This was a long time ago, before AIDS got so mainstream, before everybody got so uptight. Paris and I were constantly chasing women and beating the hell out of the other men. It got old after a while.”

  Samantha fixed him with a fascinated gaze, secretly thrilled by this vision he gave of himself, she herself having never known a life of rough adventure. She found it very appealing. For all of her life, she’d known nothing but the tamest of men and boys.

  He smiled at her, rugged and handsome.

  “Don’t get the idea there was any kind of glory in that lifestyle,” he warned, seeing the admiration in her face. “And anyway, I lead quite another kind of life now.”

  Samantha sighed, not caring.

  She looked up at the unbelievably clear blue sky. It was still more glamorous than anything she’d ever known before, even when she was Marianne’s roommate. Marianne’s stepfathers were always well up on the social register, but nothing to compare to this. It was nice, she decided, not having to worry about every nickel, dime and dollar one spent.

  Later, Samantha gazed out from her place at the table, toward the shore, toward the glittering lights of Honolulu. The band on their dinner cruise struck up a sweet, slow song and Alex stood up, clasping her hand.

  “I like this song,” he told her. “Come and dance with me.”

  Doing as he asked, Samantha rose to her feet and allowed him to lead her onto the wooden dance floor. She felt safe and content in his arms and knew now why so many couples ch
ose Hawaii as their honeymoon destination. Samantha shut her eyes, allowing herself to imagine that they were on their honeymoon, too.

  That first sweet song was followed by another slow one, a soft, romantic rock ballad. They lingered together on the dance floor, each unwilling to give up their private little piece of paradise. But, when the band resumed playing popular music, the pair of them relinquished their hold on one another and reluctantly went back to their places at the table. Samantha sat in a dream-state, mute, playing out her happy little fantasy in her head.

  “Oh, God,” she suddenly heard him say, and the smile was swept from her face. Samantha, following his glance, saw the eager approach of a would-be fan and felt herself tense, too. She stood up and immediately shielded Alex from the girl’s view.

  “Wait,” she called out. “I know what you’re thinking and before you get started, let me go ahead and tell you he’s not Jesse Dent.”

  “Are you sure?” the girl asked, glancing past Samantha doubtfully.

  “Yep. I’m pretty sure. He’s my new husband and his name’s Dave. He works in a video game factory and we’re here on our honeymoon.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry, but he really does look like Jesse Dent.”

  “Yeah, no problem,” Samantha said cheerfully, drawing the girl off. “We get that a lot.”

  Once she led the girl away, she went and sat back down with Alex. There was a slight tension between them now, one that hadn’t been there earlier and it finally occurred to Samantha that, all these times he’d taken her out in public, he’d done it for her sake alone, had done it solely for her entertainment. He’d been exposing himself to the world at large each and every time, and she knew then it would never get any better. How could it? Even if people recognized Alex for himself, the two of them would be in the same position, having to continually fend off strangers in a crowd.

  Shifting her glance, she found Alex’s gaze fixed upon her. He’d called her name several times, she realized.

  “I’m sorry. Yes?”