Chapter Five
Kulani’s expression was one of fear as she sat with her hands pressed into her lap while Dev drove back to the airport. Even in the shadows, he could see her face was tense and her eyes narrowed in some kind of pain known only to herself. After pulling into the parking lot next to her office at the airport, right beside her little red Mazda Miata sports car, he turned off the lights and shut off the engine. Being around Kulani meant having to deal with feelings—with his and hers—Dev was discovering.
He angled toward her and slid his arm across the back of the seat. As he cupped her drawn up shoulders in solace he could feel the tension she was holding in them. He could see strain in the planes of her face. As she lifted her chin, the anguish in her eyes turned visceral. It made Dev’s stomach knot.
“Please…don’t go exploring on the Na Pali Coast.” Kulani forced out the words from between thinned lips. “It’s a deadly place….” She gulped against the avalanche of emotion threatening to overwhelm her. Kulani told herself she barely knew this man; yet Jack had opened her heart effortlessly and now she was afraid for him, fearful of the danger he was placing himself in. “There’re so many other safer places to hike.” She waved her hand nervously toward the dark silhouette of the volcano in the distance.
Moving his fingers gently across her tight shoulder, causing the fabric to slide across her warm flesh, Dev whispered, “Look, I didn’t mean to upset you, Kulani. Hell of a thing.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “Here I wanted to take a beautiful lady to dinner, to thank her for an incredible flight over her island, and then I go and say the wrong damn thing and ruin the whole night.”
Holding on to her shredding composure, she honed in on his touch. Kulani felt his strength. Indeed, she welcomed it. She felt greedy, very greedy. How long had it been since she’d been touched in such a way that made her feel better? Too long. The past seemed to be trampling upon her present. Why couldn’t Jack be anything but a mountain climber? Her heart was pounding as she lifted her lashes and met and held the gleaming, good-humored look that danced in those fathomless green eyes. She saw his concern; it was very real. Why did she feel like she’d known this man all her life? She shouldn’t; he was a stranger who had walked into her life just this afternoon. Yet spending that special time with him at the restaurant, sharing his pain over the loss of the baby daughter he’d never been able to hold or say goodbye to, had created a different picture of him in her heart. He was a good man, and in many respects like—Kulani shut the door on the rest of that thought.
“Listen,” Dev teased softly, “how about a good luck kiss?” He moved his hand more surely around her shoulder and drew her closer to him. “I could use the luck of an old Hawaiian goddess on this exploration. I know it’s a tough valley to climb into. I’ll be careful, I promise.” To his surprise, he felt Kulani acquiesce as he nudged her gently closer.
Nothing had ever felt more right than this moment for Dev. The danger of his mission, the possibility of locating an anthrax lab on the island, the anticipation of climbing down the sheer lava wall into the valley, all exploded within him as he leaned down, down, down, to capture Kulani’s parting lips. He had expected her to pull away, not ease forward. When he felt her hand come to rest on his left shoulder, her long, graceful fingers curving to follow the line of his tightening muscles, a shudder of need roared through him. Closing his eyes, he opened his mouth and drew in a deep, pleasurable breath because she was going to allow him the treasured privilege of kissing her.
Unprepared for the softness of her lips, Dev brushed them tentatively. He heard a soft gasp escape her. He felt the curve of Kulani’s fingers tighten firmly against his shoulder as he slid his other hand along the clean line of her jaw and angled her head just enough so that his mouth could fit fully—and perfectly—along the contour of her lips. She was so soft and velvety! And he tasted the sweet remnants of the ginger sauce combined with the rich taste of coffee upon her eager mouth. Strands of her hair tangled against his cheek as he pressed his mouth more fully against hers. Her lips eased open like a shy orchid bloom, allowing him deeper entrance, and he groaned, the sensation rolling through every muscle in his body.
Dev had kissed a lot of women in his life, but this kiss was different. Provocative. Questing. He found himself boiling in a hot cauldron of violent need, his lower body tightening suddenly and painfully. Her lips were slick and parted, her breath coming in small, chaotic gasps—as was his. Those facts, and the hesitant, shy touch of her hand on his shoulder, served to warn Dev that she was new to this. Or, that she hadn’t been kissed in a very long time. All those things registered within his barely functioning mind. He knew so little of Kulani. And he wanted to know more. Much more.
But now was not the time. This was a stolen kiss. He’d been thinking about ravishing the lips he held captive beneath his mouth right now all night long. Since he’d first seen Kulani’s photograph, he’d wanted to kiss her. Now he felt like a penniless beggar who had struck gold. Her mouth was soft and flexible, giving as well as taking. Kulani was warm and alive and responsive. Something told him not to carry the first kiss too far. Usually, Dev overrode such a niggling thought. But tonight he didn’t. He paid close attention to his intuition regarding this beautiful, ancient goddess, the royal Hawaiian princess. She struck him as being from another time and place, and in some wild, unexplainable way, he felt blessed to have met her.
“Sweet…” he rasped as he reluctantly broke contact with her searching mouth. He barely opened his eyes, lost in the pleasurable flow of heat pooling in his lower, hardening body. Her lashes fluttered and then opened. Looking deeply into her moonlit eyes, he saw stars shining within them. Caressing her cheek with his roughened fingertips, he heard her sigh. It was a sigh of pleasure, and that made him feel damn good about himself. He wanted to make Kulani happy, perhaps in trade for the healing she was giving to him. Lifting his hand from her cheek, he brushed several ebony strands of hair away from her face. In the moonlight she looked ethereal, from another realm and not really human. Yet the strong, sleek strands of hair that ran through his fingers were real. And so was the desire burning like molten lava in her eyes.
Kulani tried to get ahold of herself. She trembled violently as he ran his hand lightly across the crown of her head. There was such tenderness to this man! It shook her to her wounded soul. Fear merged with soaring and unexpected joy. Her lips tingled maddeningly from his strong mouth and she ached to reach out, slide her fingers around his thickly corded neck and draw him back within her reach. The wounding she’d experienced in the past warred with the tantalizing present.
“This was the best dessert I’ve ever had,” Dev told her in a low voice as he held her sultry gaze. “And I hope you think so, too.” Reluctantly, he glanced down at his watch. “I have to get going. Even though I don’t want to…. But I have to get a good night’s sleep, because I’m going to be on that trail at first light tomorrow morning.”
He saw instantaneous fear leap to her eyes. “Kulani, do me a favor?” he said softly. Dev enjoyed speaking her name. It rolled off his tongue like sweet, hot honey.
“What?” She sat up, struggling with the collage of emotions that his heated, exploratory kiss had torn loose within her. His shadowed face was thoughtful, serious. He was no longer teasing her.
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night? How about if I pick you up here, after work? I’m staying at the Princeton Hotel up on the north shore of Kauai, off Hanalei Bay.” Once again, Dev had to touch her. Threading his fingers through her hair, he moved the thick, glinting strands across her shoulders. Kulani was incredibly alluring, more goddess than woman to him. “Just say yes,” he said in a rasping tone.
What was she stepping into? This man was a mountain climber, just like Stephen had been. Her heart couldn’t take the loss of another man like that. “Well…I—”
“Good, then it’s settled,” he said, a devastating smile of triumph pulling at his mouth, as he eased himself out of
the car.
Shaken, Kulani emerged from the Mercedes after he opened the door for her. He looked so sure of himself as he walked her over to her car. “Jack—I really don’t think—”
“Shh,” Dev whispered as he leaned over and placed his fingers against her lips. “I see the fear in you, Kulani. What we have is good. You can’t deny that. Can we take what we’ve discovered one day at a time?” He saw the agony mirrored in her eyes. He also saw longing—for him. That made him feel good and strong. It also made him feel very protective of Kulani. She was holding a secret. A very ugly one, from the looks of it.
Gripping the car keys in her hand, Kulani moved away from Jack’s persuasive and magical touch. Did he know how much he held sway over her vulnerable emotions? Kulani wasn’t sure. Making her voice as firm as she could, she whispered, “No, Jack. I’m not going out with you again. I can’t.” Looking up into his darkened, scowling face, she went on in an aching tone. “It’s impossible. I mean, I am. No…I can’t do this again. I’m sorry. Please try and understand….” And she quickly climbed into her car, started it and backed out of the gravel driveway.
“I’ll be damned,” Dev muttered. He watched Kulani speed off down the road. Glaring around the parking lot, he wondered what the hell he’d done or said. What did she mean, she couldn’t do “this” again? What was she talking about? Maybe she had a fear of heights, and mountain climbing scared the hell out of her? Maybe there was something in her personnel file that he’d missed? Dev had slept during most of the flight, and hadn’t had a chance to read the file on her Morgan had given him. He’d go back to the hotel and check it out more thoroughly. Her reaction was too strong and he didn’t understand it at all. One thing Dev did know was that he had a mission to fulfill. Kulani, as beautiful and competent as she seemed to be, wasn’t cut out for this job, just as he’d originally thought. Mention mountain climbing and she went pale, like cold marble. No, he’d been right. He’d call Morgan tonight and tell him of his decision to perform this mission solo.
Kulani thought taking a hot bath would assuage the pain and the sense of loss she’d felt in her heart all day. Last night, after Jack’s hot, wonderful kiss, she had barely slept. This morning she had been groggy. The flights today had gone well enough, but her heart hadn’t been in them. Instead, she’d replayed her conversations with Jack, remembering his unexpected tenderness toward her and that world-altering kiss he’d shared with her. All day she’d yearned for his voice, his company. She still did. Not even her bath had helped soothe her, she realized now as she dried off and put on a rayon sarong with bright orange-and-purple bird-of-paradise splashed across the clinging material. Tying the cloth behind her neck, she padded barefoot from her bathroom to the living room. The place was small and filled with antique bamboo furniture with jade-colored cushions. The coffee table, also constructed of bamboo, held a little rock-and-fern waterfall that sang brightly through the room and reminded Kulani of her beloved ocean.
Moving a comb through her thick, damp tresses, Kulani wandered into the kitchen, where the windows looked out toward the distant Pacific Ocean. She could see the cobalt water, the evening grayish-white clouds, like plumped-up cotton balls, scudding in from the sea as the sun began to set.
She’d been home an hour, and her mind had never left Jack—or his mountain climbing expedition. Had he fallen? Was he dead? Shivering, Kulani put the comb in her pocket and placed her hands flat on the cool pink tiles of the counter. Hourly, she’d berated herself for turning down Jack’s invitation to dinner. She was so scared. He at least deserved to know the truth, and she hadn’t been honest with him at all. Her brows dipped. That wasn’t like her; she based her entire life on honesty. Rubbing her arms absently as she watched the soft clouds race in off the ocean, Kulani decided she didn’t like herself very much at the moment.
The doorbell rang. Kulani straightened and turned. Who could it be? She wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe it was Cappy, her climbing mentor, who lived a mile away. Usually, he came during the day to take care of her garden. Barefoot, she moved across the polished teak floor. Opening the door, she gasped. It was Jack Carson!
Dev stood there, grinning bashfully. In his arms, he had the largest bouquet of bird-of-paradise, red and yellow ginger, and purple and pink proteas that he’d been able to find. The fragrance washed between them, light and warming. He saw surprise—and joy—appear in Kulani’s widening eyes.
“Well, I survived my little hike and I’m here to take you to dinner.” He thrust the bouquet forward. She opened her arms and gently nestled it against her breast. How beautiful she looked! Her hair was damp and hung around her shoulders. The sarong she wore was colorful and revealing, the cloth falling to just above her knees. Right now, she looked like an island girl, a wahine, not a helicopter pilot from his world of concrete, steel and glass. Dev watched with pleasure as she leaned over and inhaled the fragrance of the colorful ginger.
“They’re beautiful,” Kulani whispered, a catch in her voice. “Thank you.” Looking up, she met his warm green eyes, which danced with impishness. Today Jack wore hiking boots that were mud splattered with the red clay of Kauai. His jeans were dirty, too, and she saw a couple of tears in the material along one of his powerful thighs. The dark green, long-sleeved cotton shirt he wore looked worse for wear, too. But what alarmed her most were the many fresh cuts adorning his large fingers. Eyes narrowing, she pointed to his right hand.
“It looks like you tangled with some brush and lava today?”
Dev shrugged it off. “All part of climbing, right?” He held up his hand. “Hey, I promised you dinner at the Princeton Hotel. Best food on the island. I charmed your address out of your office manager and I thought I’d pick you up on the way there, get cleaned up in a hurry at my suite and then take you to dinner at the nice little Italian café in the hotel. What do you say?” Never had Dev wanted a woman to say yes more than Kulani. He saw her hesitate. His heart plummeted with fear of rejection. “Listen, you come the way you are. That sarong looks damn good on you.” Good, hell. She looked delicious enough to devour. When he saw Kulani flush, he wondered why.
“For your information, our island sarongs are worn with nothing beneath them.” Kulani saw his thick brows arch with surprise, and then a hungry gleam come to his eyes as he absorbed the information. The resulting feeling was good, exciting and a little scary for Kulani. She perused the huge bouquet, which she knew had cost him a lot of money. Should she go to dinner with Jack? After all, she hadn’t been honest with him, and he deserved that much from her.
“Okay,” Kulani said, stepping aside and ushering him into the bungalow. “If you can give me ten minutes, I’ll put on something more acceptable for dinner at that five-star hotel. The maître d’ would have a stroke if I showed up in a sarong. Anyway, I owe you an explanation for the way I behaved last night.”
Dev shoved his hands into the pockets of his dirty jeans and grinned wolfishly. “You just made me the happiest guy in the world. And I don’t need any explanations, Kulani. This dinner’s on me and it will have a happy ending.” As she walked toward the kitchen, he admired the sway of her slender hips. She was tall and lean, like the graceful palms that adorned her yard. The entire hill was cultivated with ginger, bougainvillea and other tropical flowers. It was as if he’d driven up the dirt road to an enchanted kingdom, and she was the Hawaiian princess who oversaw this lovely, mystical palace.
“I’ll be back in a little bit,” Kulani promised breathlessly, giving Jack one more glance across her bare shoulder. Just the way he stood made her heart pound. He was so ruggedly handsome! Like a magazine model come to life. And that boyish and charming grin of his was her undoing. That and the burning light in his dark green eyes, which made her heart yearn eagerly for more of his unexpected, tender touches.
Kulani’s hand shook a little as she placed the blossoms in a large, pale orange vase. She was remembering how Jack had looked to her when she opened the door. His hair wasn’t combed but tosse
d by the wind, and she had had the maddening urge to thread her fingers through the strands and tame them—and him. Yes, there was a wildness and freedom to Jack that she’d never seen in another man. It beckoned her. He was dangerous to her heart, her safe little stable world, Kulani decided, quickly moving to her bedroom. From her closet, she chose a pale apricot, silk dress that had a scoop neck and elbow-length sleeves. It was a simple gown, but one that wrapped lovingly about her body to show off her best attributes. She placed a gold hibiscus on a simple chain around her neck and delicate earrings of the same design in her earlobes.
Reaching for her favorite perfume, Piki Piki, she sprayed some lightly on her hair and then brushed the strands until they shone like the wing of a raven in sunlight. Kulani was suddenly looking forward to having dinner with Jack! The gloom she’d felt all day was miraculously lifting. In its place was…hope. It was a feeling she thought had died with Stephen.
Kulani knew she shouldn’t be going out with Jack. He was a mountain climber, too. And judging from the way he looked, he’d had a rough day of it. How close had he come to falling to his death? The question unnerved Kulani. She stood there in front of her bathroom mirror in anguish. Did she have the guts to tell him the truth? She had to.
“I have a confession to make,” Kulani began, once they’d ordered a bottle of burgundy wine. She sat at a small, square table opposite him in the Italian café, which had one of the most desirable views on Kauai, overlooking the huge, bowl-shaped and very shallow Hanalei Bay. Opening her hands nervously, before Jack could speak, Kulani said, “I feel awful about this and I’m not good at withholding the truth. It’s about my past, Jack, and my reaction to your mountain climbing here on Kauai.”
Hunter's Pride Page 7
