by Reina Torres
It was probably big enough for the foot in his mouth, but he’d worry about that later.
Train stepped up behind her and gently gathered her in his arms, tucking her against his chest.
Even though she turned her head away, he didn’t ask her to look at him. He just held her.
If he asked her to talk to him, she would probably keep quiet.
He needed to do what he should have done in the beginning and that was wait.
Using his elbow, he turned the dial and lowered the heat of the shower to a warm soothing temperature. Her skin was already red from the heat and he wasn’t going to let her burn herself.
Ku‘uipo relaxed a little against him when the heat wasn’t pouring over them anymore. She hadn’t set the water that hot before and it was likely a spur of the moment decision.
He needed to give her the time and space to think.
“I’m scared.”
Her hand wrapped around his forearm and he didn’t mind the slight bite of her nails into his skin.
“I’m so scared…”
Train heard her sob and it killed him.
Cut him to the quick.
“I thought I had it all under control. I knew what I wanted. I knew what my purpose was. I knew what I was doing.”
Her head hung forward and she pressed a kiss on his arm. It was a tender gesture given the strain she was feeling.
“And then I met you.” Another kiss.
He had to fight off the need that flooded through him. Train had to remind himself that she needed comfort, not anything else.
“You made me laugh. You made me see myself beyond my goals and my title. And I told myself I wasn’t going to let myself get in over my head.” She blew out a breath and he rubbed his cheek along her shoulder.
“And here we are, Efrain. A laundry list of things that could go wrong tomorrow. The sheer number of people that want me to fail just so they could remind me that they predicted this from the beginning would fill Aloha Stadium. And add to it the fact that my whole plan to ‘enjoy the moment’ with you has been a complete and utter failure! It’s only fitting that I have water pouring over my head.
“If I’m lucky, it will drown me where I stand. Then I won’t have to worry anymore.”
She drew in a breath and let it out.
“Because I know I’m not just going to lose you in three days. With what you’re telling me about your job, I could lose you forever. I could be at work here doing… whatever it is that I’m doing… and you might be somewhere in the world, bleeding… suffering… dying. And I might never know!”
She turned. Her movement sudden enough that it took him by surprise.
Wrapping her arms around his body she held him so close he couldn’t breathe.
He didn’t seem to care.
“I can’t, Efrain. I can’t care for you like that. I can’t spend every moment wondering where you are.”
He was waiting for her to push him away.
To tell him to leave.
To tell him she never wanted to see him again.
Or that she hated his guts.
But she didn’t.
Her hands clawed at his back, drawing his shirt up even though it was heavy with soaked in water.
She tugged and pulled until she yanked it over his head and dropped it to the tile floor at their feet.
Ku‘uipo held his face between her hands and pulled him down for a kiss. He drank more water than he drew in air, but he was fine with it because her lips were on his and she was drinking the water from his lips.
When she moved her lips to the edge of his jaw, he had a moment of insanity.
“Baby, wait.”
Her teeth nipped at his skin. “No.” Her hands dropped down between them and pushed into his pants, wrapped her fingers around him. “No more talking. I don’t want to think anymore. And I need to think to talk.”
Ku‘uipo’s hands shifted in his pants and he felt one hand grip the base of his cock while the other dipped lower and cupped the heavy swell of his balls.
“Fuck.”
She didn’t say a word as she worked him.
She didn’t even look at his face.
Her eyes were focused down so all he could see was the top of her head, but damn he felt so good.
“I’m so tired of losing control.” The words sounded like they were torn from her lips. “I just want one thing in my life where I’m in control.”
He couldn’t seem to form a word in his head, let alone on his lips.
And maybe that was what she needed.
She needed a few more hands to do what she wanted. There was his zipper to contend with and she didn’t want to release him.
The way he felt in her hands was incredible. His erection felt like silk and velvet over a thick core, and the rough scratch of hair on her other palm had her aching between her legs.
How she turned off the water and got him into the bedroom was a mystery. One she didn’t care about solving because the instant she had him on his back, she pulled his pants clear off, tossing them in a wet splat on the floor.
She crawled higher on the bed and pushed her wet panties off her hips and then down to her knees as she knelt beside him.
Speed wasn’t the point here. What she wanted was clarity. She wanted to know that she was doing this. Consciously aware of every inch of skin that she was revealing to his gaze.
And he was watching.
His eyes traveled over her body up and down, drawn every time she moved her hands. Moving her knees apart, she saw Efrain’s eyes dart from her knees to her face, his lips parting on an exhale. “Baby.”
She shook her head and swallowed, the motion drawing his attention to her neck.
Control.
She had it.
And she wanted to keep it.
“You’re leaving.”
She narrowed her gaze at him, enjoying the way she towered over him on the bed.
“You’re leaving and that’s okay. I can let this go. Let you go. What else can I do?” She drew in a breath and watched as his eyes fixed on her breasts still encased in her strapless lace bra.
Her nipples tightened, pressing painfully against the cloying clasp of her lingerie.
The pain helped her. Reminded her that this… this thing between them was coming to an end.
She was going to grab onto these last moments and hold tight.
Ku‘uipo moved her hands to her hips, enjoying the swell that dipped into her waist as she felt the moisture from the shower squelching at her touch.
Higher. There were no ribs to feel, she wasn’t model thin, but what she had, she liked. And higher.
The scrape of the fine lace against her palms as she cupped her breasts.
Efrain lay before her, his hands splayed flat on the coverlet, his arm muscles tense and strained. And his cock. Yes. It was hard, thick and curved… trembling like the rest of him.
Yes.
She hooked her fingers into the cups of her bra, felt the slight scratch of her nails against her swollen skin and her sensitive nipples.
She had his attention.
She had his lust.
But she knew she didn’t have him for much longer.
Ku‘uipo pulled the cups of her bra down, freeing her breasts into the humid evening air.
She knew she didn’t have the kind of breasts that made the magazines, but he liked them.
Efrain’s tongue traced his lower lip as his eyes fixed on her breasts and she gave her nipples a slight pinch just to see his reaction.
She wasn’t disappointed.
His eyes fluttered closed for a second before he forced them wide open and it was her turn to have her attention diverted.
Movement turned her head and she saw his balls draw up under the base of his cock as a pearl of pre-cum quivered on the tip.
Reaching behind her, she unhooked the bra and dropped it down to the floor. Cupping one breast, she pushed her other hand down over the swell of her lowe
r belly and continued as her fingertips slipped through her wet curls. And she moved her knees just a little further apart as her fingers dipped low enough to spread her folds so she could easily slip two of them in.
Hips arching off the bed, the drop of pre-cum rolled and fell like a long silvery thread to the flat of skin just below his navel. “So damn beautiful.”
And she agreed. The body laid out before her was better than sculptures from the masters. Living, breathing, masculine perfection. That’s what she had.
That’s what she was going to take.
Leaning to one side, she pulled her panties down and kicked it off her ankle as she reached over to the nightstand. Taking a wrapper in hand she moved back, well aware that her breasts were passing within inches of his lips.
He kept quiet.
He kept hands and lips to himself.
But she saw the way he looked at her.
Hungry.
No, starving.
And she was about to give him a feast.
The wrapper was gone in a heartbeat.
Her hands smoothed the condom down over his dick.
But her resolve shook when she was about to straddle herself over his hips and sink down over him.
It was his eyes.
Those amazing, warm, observant eyes.
She couldn’t look at him.
And she just didn’t want to get up and turn off the lights.
Ku‘uipo turned toward the bottom of the bed and straddled his hips. It was the coward’s way out, but she’d punish herself for that later.
Later, when her body ached from his penetration instead of her need.
“Hold my hips.”
He didn’t disappoint. His hands were on her in a minute, hot and heavy against her skin.
“I want you to help me- ah…”
He pulled her down onto his cock and when she pushed down further to take all of him inside of her, his fingers dug into her hips.
It was crazy how well he fit her body. The delicious friction that they created together. His hands on her body danced across her skin, coaxing breathy gasps and needy moans from her throat and wringing ecstasy from her body.
And with her hands braced on his thighs, her body riding his, her face turned toward the wall, he couldn’t see her cry.
Fifteen
Someone was playing with his hair. Miles reached up a hand and brushed it over his head. “Stop.”
The oddly soothing touch was starting to lull him back to sleep, but he knew he had to get up. He had to do something.
Something tugged at this ear and he rolled over onto his back. “Stop!”
He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised or the chicken.
But the chicken was the first to move and tried to peck at his face.
Miles swept a hand at the vicious thing, instead of just knocking it away, he knew that a squawking chicken was going to call attention. Lunging at it under the house, he felt the exposed pebbles dig and scratch at his knees.
It took two frantic tries, but he grasped the chicken by its throat and pulled it close. He felt a tremor in its neck as he tightened his hold, but before he could think better of it, he wrapped his other hand around the neck and gave it a quick twist.
He felt something give, or maybe it was just the strain of his muscles as he ended its life.
Either way, it was over.
And by the look of the darkness surrounding him, it was time to get things going.
Train’s phone buzzed from the nightstand and he reached out an arm, snatching it from the polished wood and holding it up close to his face so the light wouldn’t bother Ipo.
It was from Mace.
SECURITY FOUND BREAK IN THE FENCE ALONG THE EASEMENT
“Fuck.”
“Hey…”
He heard Ku‘uipo turn and her hand reached for him under the sheets.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. Go back to sleep. I’m going to stretch my legs.”
She wrapped her arms around him and lifted a leg over his hip. “I can help you stretch…”
He was an idiot for speaking in the first place and now he was going to get out of bed when she was in a very touchy-feely mood.
“Baby, I’ll be right back.”
She pouted, still more asleep than awake. “Fine, but I might not be in the mood when you come back.”
He was going to have to take his chances.
Leaning over her, he pressed a kiss to her temple. “Rest up.”
Sliding off the edge of the bed, he managed a silent groan. His muscles did indeed need a good healthy stretch, but he’d get that on his run.
The picture that Mace had sent to accompany the text also came with a GPS pin. It was across the property along the edge where Kailani Palms ended and ceded lands began.
Slipping his feet into his sneakers he picked up Ku‘uipo’s keys from the kitchen table and made his way outside. Leaving the porchlight on, he locked the door and made his way down the stairs.
Miles heard the movement across the floor and he crawled on his belly, following the sound. His heart pounded in his chest as he fumbled for the lighter in his right-hand pocket. It was too early for Ku‘uipo to be awake. There wasn’t anything that needed to be done this early in the morning.
But then again, Ku‘uipo was thorough and completely a Type-A people pleaser. If she thought it would make people happy, she’d get up and cook breakfast for the whole staff or climb the plumeria trees down by the pool and string leis.
He heard the front door open and pounded his fist into the dried grasses that he’d piled up. If she was leaving, he’d have to figure something out on the fly and without a pick-me-up of the chemical persuasion, he’d be at a disadvantage.
Scooting over to the side of the house, he started to look for a hole large enough to squeeze out of but stopped short when the feet that jogged down the steps weren’t hers at all.
As the man took off across the lawn, Miles got a better look at him and recognized one of the soldiers that had come around after they’d rescued the groom from that ledge off the Nounou Trail.
That was the thing that started all of these problems. His first real attempt to drown the Kailani Palms in bad press. Really. How was he supposed to know that the drunken bachelor was going to roll over the edge and fall onto a ledge?
“Shit.”
Still, his outlook brightened at the thought that if it was the soldier leaving the cottage, Ku‘uipo must still be inside.
Given the activities earlier in the day and the quiet exit he’d just witnessed, she was likely asleep.
And with her muscle-bound boyfriend likely investigating the hole he’d pried open in the fence, he had time.
Yeah.
This was going to work.
After all, Ku‘uipo was the heart and soul of this place. If she was gone it would fold and he would get his reward.
Opening the top of his lighter he struck the flint and watched the flame bloom at the top of the lighter. The bright flare hurt his eyes a bit, but he’d spent the last few hours hiding under a house. Holding his free hand around the back of the pile of tinder, he tipped the lighter until the flame kissed the dried blades of grass and leaves.
It flickered a little as if it was a tongue getting its first taste of a new dish. A moment was all it took for the fire to decide that the dried cuttings were worth the effort and the flame caught.
Maintenance arrived almost at the same time that Train arrived at the fence, their offices were the closest to the area. Looking over at his friend, Mace, Train caught his eye. “Did you call the detective?”
Mace nodded. “Sure did. He said to cover it over but try not to touch the edges. Later on, they can see if there’s any kind of evidence on the fencing, but he agreed that it’s not a good idea to leave it open.”
“Where’s Shado?”
Mace nodded toward the maintenance building. “He’s gone to inspect all of the electricity. Even
though there wasn’t any disturbance to the locks or other accesses, Uluwehi said they never managed to get the keys back from Miles and the local locksmith had to special order enough to change all the locks on the main access points.”
Train watched as the two maintenance men got to work with a spare piece of the iron fencing that matched the perimeter area along the ceded lands.
As fast as they were working, Train could tell that they knew their jobs and they’d be done in moments.
But that didn’t stop him from picking up his phone and making a call.
“Let me guess,” Baron answered with a distinct growl in his tone, “you miss me and want to cuddle.”
“You’re not that good of a kisser, B.”
“How the fuck do you know how I kiss, Choochoo? What do you want at this ungodly hour?”
“We have a perimeter breech.”
“Orders?” All of Baron’s gruff humor was gone in a moment.
“We need everyone on patrol. Check and recheck security in every building.”
“You think he’s going to make some kind of a statement at one of the public events during the opening?”
Train felt something twist inside of him. Putting him off-center. Off balance. “I don’t know what he’s going to do. I would have pegged him for a guy to just sit back and relax. He’s not a doer.”
Mace moved closer. “Unless he has to do something. I just don’t know what that would be.”
Shado’s ID popped up on the screen of Train’s phone and he pulled him into a conference call. “Go.”
“Something’s going on.” Shado’s voice was unusually quiet. “I can’t see anything out of place. Nothing set up in the electricity or the water systems.”
“Shado sense?”
Normally, Baron would have scoffed at the question. He wasn’t at all superstitious, nor did he believe in anything outside of the physical plane, but the fact that Baron kept himself quiet was an indication of how ‘on edge’ they all felt.
