She reacted to Daniel's presence with a mixture of brittle defensiveness and pretended aloofness. She was afraid of being hurt—afraid of making a fool of herself all over again. In any event, it was obvious to her that Daniel wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, because from the minute he set foot in San Diego, he was careful to avoid her.
Two months later Anne Reid was dead, and three months after that Jonathan suffered his first heart attack. Daniel flew in from Hawaii on both occasions. Lani responded to his pro forma expressions of sympathy with cold civility, and took full advantage of the fact that the care of her infant brother provided a convenient shield to hide behind. Only once was she trapped into being alone with him, after Jonathan's heart attack; he had barged into her room just before leaving for Hawaii. He insisted on paying for a full-time housekeeper, but Lani angrily rejected the idea, saying that she wanted nothing to do with his filthy money and that she could manage perfectly well on her own.
Daniel had seized her arm and pulled her against him. For several moments they had stared at each other—steel-cold gray eyes meeting furious blue ones. Then he had cursed under his breath and turned on his heel, stalking out of the room.
Over the next several years, Daniel usually managed a week's vacation with his father in San Diego in addition to occasional business trips to the mainland. Although Jonathan took Brian to Hawaii each winter, Lani never joined them. She told her stepfather that she needed this yearly vacation from her little brother, an explanation he readily accepted.
At the age of twenty-nine Daniel was promoted to the Vice Presidency of Prescott & Thomas's Recreation Division. Lani added his new position to her list of grievances. Her occasional gibes as to his role as chief despoiler of the islands were invariably met by patient defenses of the importance of tourism to Hawaii's economy. But she still remembered the time she had gone just a little too far, and the blistering set-down she had received as a result. She had never again challenged him that way.
Although Jonathan made an excellent recovery from his first heart attack, he never regained his former energy and stamina. Lani's time was spent in school or at home, taking care of the house and looking after Brian. Although her physical beauty could be intimidating to young men, her warm, approachable manner encouraged invitations from them. Sometimes she accepted, but usually she was simply too tired to go out. None of her boyfriends made any deep impression on her or aroused her to the point that she wanted any deeper, more physical involvement.
In her more honest moments, she knew she was comparing every boy she dated to Daniel. None of them made her feel that wild abandonment she had experienced during those brief moments in his arms. Undoubtedly he had long ago dismissed the entire incident, but Lani never could.
For the past several years he had been polite yet distant with her during his visits to California, careful to inquire how she was managing and often offering his help, but never pressing her. She couldn't blame him for being aloof—every time he came too close, she stiffened with alarm. She reacted to any show of friendliness by coldly withdrawing, wary of Daniel but even more wary of her own, wild emotions.
In time, Jonathan confided the full story of his first marriage to Lani. He had met Laura Prescott just after the war, when she was in her middle twenties and had long ago lost count of how many wealthy bachelors had proposed to her. Under pressure from her parents, she was about to accept an engagement ring from a suitably upper-class man.
Jonathan had tried to pick her up on the beach, and Laura had been amused enough to permit it. Within weeks both of them knew they would become husband and wife. When Laura introduced the handsome but ordinary naval officer to her family, they were appalled. They vehemently opposed the marriage and cut their daughter off without a penny afterward.
This ostracism was abruptly relaxed after Daniel's birth. Jonathan characterized his in-laws' subsequent behavior as correct but frigid. Only Daniel received their loving approval—from the day he was born, he was spoiled not only by his grandparents, but by his uncle and aunt and their two teenaged children.
The Prescotts immediately established a generous trust fund for Daniel, so that by the time he reached his teens he was wealthy in his own right. The elderly Mrs. Prescott survived her husband by six months, dying when Daniel was twenty-eight. She divided her fortune evenly between her son, Daniel's Uncle Charles Prescott, and Daniel, who was the only descendant of her daughter, Laura Prescott Reid.
Given his money and position, not to mention his devastating good looks, Daniel became the target of every marriageable woman in his social set, a fact which greatly amused his father. After each trip to Hawaii, Jonathan would regale Lani with stories of how ardently poor Daniel was pursued, prompting her to observe acidly that she doubted he ran very fast. She was not amused to learn from Jonathan that Daniel usually checked up on whether she was involved with anyone. No doubt if she had behaved the way he seemed to, he would have labeled her as shamefully promiscuous.
She added this double standard to her list of grievances against him, And now, she thought unhappily, she was being hauled off to Hawaii, to face the snubs of his family, the patronization of his women, and the domineering manner of Daniel himself. She would have to remember all her reasons for keeping him at a distance, because she was very much afraid that in the tropical paradise of Hawaii, the summer sun would thaw all the ice she had so carefully buried herself in.
Chapter Three
On Monday morning, Daniel took Lani to the office of Jonathan Reid's attorney, Robert Epstein, to discuss the contents of her late stepfather's will. She learned that once her mother had married Jonathan Reid, all payments made to Lani as a result of her father's death had been invested for her. After fourteen years, this had grown into a sizable nest egg.
With the exception of a number of items willed specifically to Lani and bequests to various charities, Jonathan had left his entire modest estate in trust for Brian with Daniel named as guardian and trustee.
"Your father changed his will five months ago, after completing payment for your education, Lani," the attorney explained. He cocked an eyebrow toward Daniel. "My understanding is that he discussed the matter with you on his last visit to Hawaii?"
"That's right. He was afraid that I might railroad Brian into the Prescott family business," Daniel said with a thin smile, "and I assured him I would invest Brian's money and turn over control to him when he reaches twenty-one. My father wanted him to have some independence."
"Lucky Brian," Lani inserted sourly. Certainly she approved of her stepfather's logic—she had no need of his money, especially in view of her own newly discovered assets. She only wished that Jonathan had trusted her enough to give her guardianship of Brian, but then he had had no idea of how she felt about Daniel. Naturally he would assume that she would be enthusiastic about returning to her home state.
"Please don't think your stepfather wasn't concerned about you, Lani," Robert Epstein told her. Obviously the attorney had misinterpreted the reason for her sarcastic comment. "He felt that once you graduated, you would be capable of earning your own living. And of course, your stepbrother had promised to be responsible for both of you. I'm sure that Jonathan never doubted your fitness as a parent for Brian, he simply felt that you had sacrificed enough of your life already. He told me that if you married he would reexamine his thinking on the matter, but as long as you remained single, he felt that both of you should make your home with Daniel."
Daniel was lazing back in his overstuffed leather chair, apparently amused by Lani's tight-lipped expression. "So the two of you arranged my future as well as Brian's," she accused angrily, "and you never considered consulting me about it!"
Daniel shrugged. "What was the point? You would have objected." He stood up and reached across the desk to shake the attorney's hand, effectively preventing any further arguments from Lani.
"Thank you for your time, Robert. I appreciate your handling things on this end. Keep in touch abou
t the house."
Lani rose as well, repeating her stepbrother's handshake but limiting her comments to a cool thank you. There was nothing to be gained by airing family quarrels in front of the attorney. Her resentment was directed at Daniel, not at Robert Epstein.
Daniel took her arm and led her out of the one-story building. As soon as they reached the parking lot she pulled away and said in a low, husky tone, "You and Daddy arranged all this, didn't you? Neither of you wanted to give me any choice about what I would do if he died! Why?"
"We both felt that you and Brian should make your home with me. You're the…"
"How convenient for you that Daddy died," Lani spat out viciously. "If he…"
Daniel clamped his fingers around her upper arm and spun her around with enough force to leave her breathless, frantically inhaling the salty air. After a single, brisk shake he said furiously, "One more smart crack like that and I'm going to take a belt to your backside. I loved my father. Four years ago he agreed to move to Hawaii as soon as you finished college. And if you think there's any way I'm going to let you stay here alone, think again!"
"For heaven's sake, Daniel, I'm twenty-two years old. I'll do whatever I want to do!" Lani wriggled out of his grasp and stalked off toward the car, but found that Daniel had locked it. She felt like an idiot as she stood next to the front door, waiting impatiently for him to catch up with her.
When he reached her, his anger was unmistakable. It was visible in the rigid way he held his body and in the grim squint of his eyes. She noticed that he kept his hands thrust into his pockets, as if not trusting himself to leave her alone. "Don't ever walk away from me again," he ordered. He unlocked the door, slamming it shut as soon as she was seated.
Lani already regretted her sarcastic comment about Jonathan's death. It had been an unforgivable thing to say to Daniel, and she knew she owed him an apology. But he looked so furious she wondered if he would accept it. Her "I'm sorry, Daniel" was a mere whisper.
He nodded curtly. "Right!" He continued to hold the car key in his right hand, making no move to insert it into the ignition. He was staring out the windshield, still quite enraged with her, and Lani wondered if he allowed his temper such free rein in his business dealings. She doubted it.
Perhaps, she decided, she could tease him out of his black mood. After all, she was about to move into his home, and couldn't continue this constant battle.
"Daniel," she purred, "don't you think I'm a little too old for spankings?"
He glanced to his right, took in her broad smile, and quite deliberately let his eyes roam over her body, his appreciation all too obvious. "There are only two ways to control a woman like you, princess. The first is to beat her. Of course, I've never tried that. The second is to make love to her. As I remember, that works fairly well. Any preferences for the future?"
Lani felt her face heat up with embarrassment. Blast the man for reminding her of how effectively the latter method of punishment had handled her seven years ago! She refused to let him have the last word. "If your beatings are as painful as your way of making love, count me out of both!" She tossed her hair and stared poutingly at him, waiting for the inevitable mocking retort.
But he only smiled, slowly shook his head, and started the car.
Lani was amazed to find that the next few days passed without a harsh word or angry grimace. Daniel helped her pack, assuring her that he had plenty of room in the attic of his house for anything she wished to keep. She knew that he was eager to return to Hawaii as soon as possible to supervise the shakedown period for Prescott & Thomas's newest hotel, which had opened the day before Jonathan's funeral, and yet he never seemed impatient when she had difficulty in making a decision about how to dispose of some cherished item. The Maunalua Bay Hotel, she learned, was the reason he had flown back to Hawaii on Monday afternoon, and not a day went by without a phone call from its manager.
Even so, when Brian begged for a trip to the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday afternoon, Daniel readily complied, telling Lani that they could finish packing that night. It was obvious to her that Brian idolized his big brother, but she felt no jealousy. How could she, when the three of them had spent such a delightful day together?
To Lani's relief, Daniel was friendly but impersonal, saving his hugs and kisses for an ecstatic Brian. She told herself that as long as he kept his distance, she would manage to live amicably with him. She allowed herself to hope that he would understand that she had led her own life for seven years now, and valued her independence. She would simply have to learn to control her physical reaction to him.
They flew to Los Angeles early Wednesday afternoon, picking up Brian from his final half-day of school in order to make the plane. Lani was amused when they were met at the airport by a trio of middle-aged men, all of whom wore an assortment of gold jewelry around their necks. Daniel had mentioned that they were from a television production company which had developed a series about a Hawaiian resort hotel. They wanted to shoot the pilot at Prescott & Thomas's new Maunalua Bay.
Daniel disappeared into an airport conference room with the Hollywood trio, and Lani passed the hours until departure time by taking Brian for a long walk around the airport, buying him lunch, and reading him stories.
The flight to Honolulu was an uneventful one. Lani and Brian sat in the front of the first class section; Daniel was directly behind them, working. Eventually Lani started to talk to one of the flight attendants, a girl in her early twenties who had also grown up in Honolulu. When she found out that Lani was a native Hawaiian who was returning after a twelve-year absence, she laughingly cautioned her about the changes in their home state. The girl found it an improvement. She enjoyed the bustle of activity during the daytime and the availability of entertainment at night, not to mention the increased numbers of handsome young men who surfed at Waikiki Beach each day.
The pilot landed the jumbo jet with silky precision. After deplaning, they walked down a flight of steps and were greeted at the bottom by a smiling young man whom Lani judged to be about her own age. He was several inches shorter than Daniel, with equally dark hair and eyes a darker shade of gray. Instead of the bronzed skin of her stepbrother, he sported an uncomfortable looking sunburn.
Slung over his arm were two flower leis constructed of purple vanda orchids, dozens of the little blossoms strung closely together. Most of the passengers from the flight had received no such welcome, and were proceeding directly into the shuttle trams that would take them to the baggage area. However, the members of a large group that had traveled with them were also being adorned with leis made of less expensive flowers: carnations and plumeria.
Daniel grasped the younger man's outstretched hand. "Tommy, thanks for meeting us. This is my little brother Brian and my stepsister Lani Douglas. This is my cousin Tommy Prescott, Lani."
Tommy bent down and placed one of the leis around Brian's neck, giving him the traditional kiss on each cheek along with the greeting of "Aloha." Then he rose and smiled at Lani, but before he could repeat the procedure, Daniel intercepted him, smoothly removing the lei from his arm.
He walked to within inches of Lani, placed the lei over her head, and gently lifted her hair to fan it out over the flowers. When he placed one hand on each side of her waist, she instinctively stiffened, her hands flying up to push lightly against his chest. Daniel bent his head, kissed her just in front of her left ear, slowly trailed his mouth across her face to nuzzle her lips, then continued across her right cheek to bestow a lingering kiss against the sensitive part of her neck just below her right ear.
The teasing sensuality of it left Lani breathless and confused. There was no doubt that Daniel had deliberately sought to arouse her, and his triumphant smile told her that he was well aware of how thoroughly he had succeeded. Her hands had curled themselves into tight fists that clutched his suit jacket; he unfolded them into his own hands and eased them down. "Welcome home, Kaiulani," he murmured, and then added with a grin, "Was that gentle enough fo
r you?"
Lani pulled away from him, embarrassed by the intensity of her response to what she suspected was no more than impulsive teasing. Two could play that game, she told herself!
She flounced off toward his cousin Tommy, slanting him an inviting smile. "Don't I get a greeting from you, too?" she asked seductively.
He needed no further encouragement, placing his hands on her upper arms and kissing each cheek. After a quick glance at Daniel's stony expression he winked cheerfully at Lani and took possession of her mouth, letting his lips remain on hers for several seconds.
"I left the car in the garage," he told Daniel. "Why don't you take Brian for a ride on the tram to the baggage claim area while I take Lani to the car? I'll meet you outside."
Brian immediately began to pull Daniel toward the tram, and he had little choice but to follow, his gray eyes frosty as he told his cousin, "All right. Just remember that she's my sister, not one of the haole wahines you like to amuse yourself with, Tommy!"
Tommy only laughed. "Look who's talking. You take your pick of the mainland women and we get your rejects. Besides, she's not really even related to you." He took Lani's arm and followed Daniel and Brian out of the building.
"Is there something between you two that I should know about?" he asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "From the way my cousin kissed you, I'd say he'd like to do a whole lot more. But if I'm wrong, I'd like to take you out some time."
"And I'd love to go," Lani said, keeping her voice neutral. "Daniel has an odd sense of humor sometimes. The truth is, we aren't close at all." She studied the large buildings to her right and the parking structure to her left. "I don't recognize this place. There used to be a small terminal here. It was surrounded by flowers… it was beautiful. Now it looks just like the mainland."
Island Conquest Page 4
