A Little Harmless Addiction (3 page)

She took a long drink then said, “I have it on good authority that out of everyone, Shannon and I got all the looks. The boys are just ugly as sin.”

“How many brothers do you have?” Mr. Aiona asked.

“Three. Although Chris is the worst of the bunch. Being the oldest, he always thought he could boss us around.”

Before Mr. Aiona could ask her another question, she heard the door behind her shut. Even without looking, she knew who it was. She glanced over her shoulder, and even though she had tried to prepare herself, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to him.

Kai Aiona had been gorgeous a few days ago, but tonight, damn, he was mouth-wateringly delicious. He was wearing a Hawaii University T-shirt that stretched over his massive chest, leaving little to her imagination. He was built, that was for sure, his shorts were short and stopped just above his knees. It gave her an excellent view of a dragon tattoo on his right leg.

“Kai. You are late.” It wasn’t said as an accusation, but said by his father with a smile and a wealth of affection.

“Sorry, Dad. I picked up some more ice because I figured you’d be running low.”

He gave his father a hug and then turned to face her.

Mr. Aiona’s smile took on a conspiratorial slant. “Jocelyn, this is my son, Kai. He’s my oldest.”

“We met the other night,” she said, without taking her gaze from Kai.

“You did?” This came both from Mr. Aiona and her brother.

She laughed, then looked at Mr. Aiona. “Yeah. He stopped by my first night with a basket from May. And I sent him home with sugar cookies.”

Kai smiled and it brought out two dimples. Lord.

“They were delicious, thank you.”

“Cookies? I never had any cookies.” His father sounded suspicious.

She looked at Mr. Aiona, then to Kai. “I sent a dozen home with Kai.”

A blush stained Kai’s cheeks. “I ate them on the way home.”

“All twelve?” she asked.

His father let out a booming laugh and slapped Kai on the back. “You’ll get fat, my son.”

“Not a chance. I’m going to grab a beer. Does anyone want anything?”

No one did and she watched him walk away. Inwardly, she sighed. It had been a long time since a man had caught her attention, but it seemed her libido had just come back to life. Damn, the man was put together fine. As she had noticed the night she met him, he wasn’t tall, but he was built. She studied the way the worn fabric moved over his shoulders and could tell that he was definitely defined. And from what Cynthia said, he had more than just that dragon tattoo.

She noticed that her brother and Mr. Aiona had gotten quiet. Kai’s father wore a knowing smile that had her face heating in embarrassment. God, how horrible. Caught ogling his son. When she turned to Chris, his thunderous expression didn’t settler her nerves. She didn’t need her brother going into protection mode the first night she met all of his friends.

Jocelyn knew she needed to get out of there. Chris was opening his mouth to say something when Cynthia walked up and saved Jocelyn from his wrath. She slipped her arm through Jocelyn’s and tugged.

“May, Dee and I want some girl time with Jocelyn. Go look at the meat and make manly sounds.”

Chris didn’t look all that happy about it, but he wasn’t about to make a scene, especially with Cynthia pulling her away.

Once they were out of earshot, she said, “Girl, thank you. That was embarrassing.”

Cynthia laughed. “Yeah, I could see that. I can’t blame you. Kai is hot. And he is a sweetie.”

Again, Jocelyn felt her face heat. “Yeah, well, nothing like lusting after a man in front of my brother. Not to mention his father. I thought Chris was going to say something.”

Cynthia’s blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “I’m sure he wanted to, but he has to weigh how it will look. If he makes too big of a scene, he’s afraid Kai will intrigue you even more.”

Jocelyn stopped and pulled her arm out of Cynthia’s. “What does he think I am, fifteen?”

“Yeah, I think so. He still sees you that way. And I’m going to warn you, Chris is going to be overprotective.”

She laughed. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know. He’s always been that way. My first date he sat on the couch pretending to clean our daddy’s gun.”

“No, really?”

Jocelyn sighed. “Yeah. First real date and he wouldn’t hold my hand. Chris can be a pain in the ass.”

“Of course.” Cynthia slipped her arm through Jocelyn’s again. “I just want you to know that he was so very scared when we went to Atlanta.”

Shame washed through her. She should have never allowed it, should have never been in that position. Greg had pretty much escalated things and it had been out of her control in the end. But it didn’t mean that every day she didn’t fight the battle of shame versus anger. She’d learned through therapy she had to quit blaming herself, but there was a part of her that never would. It was the part that hated her family had been hurt by Greg’s actions and the resulting incident.

“Don’t start looking like that,” Cynthia said.

She glanced at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. The militant look on her soft features almost made Jocelyn smile. She might be petite, but Cynthia could be a tiger when it came to people she cared about.

“I hate that he went through that,” Jocelyn said.

“I don’t want you to feel guilty. You have no reason to be. It was bad, worse than I am sure you told us.”

Jocelyn looked away because it was the truth. And she could feel the press of hot tears against the backs of her eyes.

“Hey, stop. If you cry, I’ll cry.”

She fought back the tears and looked at Cynthia who was wearing one of the most devious smiles she’d ever seen.

“What?”

“I just want you to understand and not kill him.” She hesitated, then continued. “I would hate to raise our child alone.”

For a second, what Cynthia said didn’t sink in. When it did, Jocelyn opened her mouth but Cynthia shook her head. “I haven’t told him. I just found out today and I had to tell someone. If I had said something to him, he would have freaked out. And I didn’t want the party to be about that.”

“Cynthia, oh, God, I am so happy for you.”

She smiled. “I am pretty happy too. We weren’t really trying, but since Anna and Max—you know Max, Chris’s best friend, had their first three months ago, I started having the pangs.”

“You haven’t told anyone else?”

She shook her head and stopped to look at Jocelyn. “I wanted to tell family first, and since you’re my sister, I thought it would be nice. I’ll tell Chris tonight after the party.”

“I’m going to be an auntie.”

Cynthia laughed. “You sure are. Now come on and meet Dee.”

Kai watched as Jocelyn and the other women stood around talking. He was trying not to pay attention to her, but he couldn’t seem to keep himself from looking at her. It was understandable. The night he had met her he had been intrigued by her big doe eyes and that curvy body. Now though, she’d had rest and adjusted to island time and she was nothing short of stunning. It was going to take more control than he thought he had to keep his hands off her. He would have to. There was no doubt about that. She might look like she had everything together, but now that he knew her background, he could see the signs. She rarely let men touch her, unless it was her brother. She’d shake hands when offered, but she kept the contact brief.

He turned to check the cooler to make sure they had enough drinks and almost ran into Chris. He was trying to look like he had casually walked up behind Kai, as if he had not a care in the world. But Kai read the intent in his eyes.

Shit.

“Hey, Kai.”

He knew that tone, had heard it come out of his mouth many a time when dealing with men who were interested in his sister. “Hey.”

“What are you doing?” Chris asked casually. Too casually.

“I was going to check the cooler to make sure we had enough to drink. Then I was going to go in and grab the rainbow salad.”

Chris frowned. He was an easygoing guy and it was one of the things that Kai liked about him. From the time he had hired May, Kai had felt comfortable with Chris. That was until tonight.

“I was sort of surprised Jocelyn didn’t say anything yesterday about meeting you.”

Kai shrugged. “Maybe I didn’t make an impression on her.”

Chris said nothing for a moment or two, but one eyebrow rose as he studied Kai. “Oh, I have a feeling it’s the other way around.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Look, Chris, say what you came over here to say. I have things I gotta get done. If May’s cookout isn’t perfect, you know how mean she can get.”

His lips twitched. May’s boss knew well and good that you didn’t mess with May’s plans. “I just wanted you to know I really like you, but my sister…she isn’t…”

“May said she had some trouble. Don’t worry. While I think your sister is stunning, I promise hands off.”

Again, Chris studied Kai and he had to fight the urge to fidget. But after a few moments, Chris’s shoulders relaxed and he grinned. “Thanks. Normally, I wouldn’t mind, but she’s had a hard time. She is just getting back on track.”

“No problem.”

“With everything that happened, she lost her boyfriend and most of her working relationships. It was really hard on her.”

Kai shook his head. “Believe me, I know what it’s like to be in a bad relationship.”

A knowing look came into Chris’s eyes and Kai needed to escape.

“I better get that rainbow salad.”

Chris said nothing but nodded as Kai turned to walk back into the house. Kai hated that everyone knew about Keisha and what she had done to him. He had always been private about the women he dated, but when they had gotten serious, everyone had figured it out. Keisha had worked at Rough ’n Ready as a waitress while they were dating. The whole sad thing played had out in front of his family.

The one thing he couldn’t handle now was the careful handling. He hated it, but he used it at the same time. He avoided questions and people assumed it was because he was still hurting.

He’d just taken the first swig of beer when his brother-in-law sauntered into the kitchen. He would have never picked a man like Evan for his sister. Hell, he didn’t want to think about the way their relationship had started at Evan’s BDSM club, but Kai knew without a doubt, Evan was dedicated to May.

“You’re a brave man, Evan.”

He smiled and spread his hands wide. “What do you mean?”

Kai tsked. “Late to a party that May is throwing. I wouldn’t want to be you, bra.”

He laughed. “Ah, but she loves me more than she loves you. And you shouldn’t be talking. I take it you’re in here to do her bidding.”

He nodded. “After being grilled by Chris about his sister, I thought it wise to disappear for a while.”

Evan’s demeanor changed in a flash. The easygoing smile dissolved into a frown and he narrowed his eyes. Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked, “You hit on Jocelyn?”

Kai should have realized that Evan would see Jocelyn as a little sister. And now he had to contend with another inquisition. “Back off, bra. I was only admiring.”

Evan studied him for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. Well, just be careful there.”

Irritated, he took another swig of beer. “Christ, Chambers, let it go.”

Something passed in Evan’s eyes and then an understanding bloomed there. “Sorry. I thought you might be ready to start dating again.”

Jesus, he would never be able to live his relationship with Keisha down. Taking May’s worried pampering was bad enough, but having one of the guys act like that was beyond embarrassing. His tough-guy status had been demolished by one little messed-up woman.

Thankfully, his sister had good timing for once. “What the hell is going on in here? I thought you were getting the salad, but you seem to have taken up residence in the kitchen. And you,” she said pointing at Evan. “You’re late.”

Evan’s demeanor softened as he looked at May. If Kai had ever had any kind of reservations about their relationship, they would be blown out to sea by just that look. It said only one thing to him. Complete and utter devotion.

“Ah, but you love me,” Evan said as he walked toward her.

“Not that much,” she said, but there was little heat in her words.

Evan pulled her into his arms and gave her a loud smacking kiss on the lips. “Forgive me, darlin’.”

She sighed. “I guess I have to because I’m stuck with you. At least you arrived clean.”

He smiled. “As promised. What do you need me to do?”

“Go watch Grandpa. He’s already had too many beers and I have a feeling Micah might beat him over the head if he hits on Dee any more.”

He gave her another kiss, then slipped out the door.

“You having any problems with Chris?”

Kai shook his head as he opened the drawer and retrieved a spoon for the salad. “Just a jackass brother trying to warn me off his sister.” He smiled at her. “Been in his shoes before.”

She frowned at him and he could almost hear her brain working it through. “Who?”

He sighed. “Tommy Dixon.”

She made a face. “He was your best friend.”

“Was being the operative word. You don’t try and sleep with your best friend’s sister.”

She sighed. “He didn’t get anywhere.”

“Doesn’t matter. There is a code.”

She rolled her eyes. “Brothers are stupid.”

“You can say that again.” Jocelyn’s amused voice, laced with that thick New Orleans’ accent, filtered into the kitchen.

He looked over at her. A small smile played over her full, sensual lips and he found himself mesmerized by her unpainted mouth.

“I swear, I’m lucky I’m so smart or their stupidity would have rubbed off on me,” May said with a smile. “Having issues with the boss?”

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. “Always. I was wondering if you need any help.”

May shook her head and walked toward her and slipped her arm over Jocelyn’s shoulders. It was funny looking because May was so much shorter than Jocelyn.

“One thing about brothers, since they’re so stupid, they tend to do what I tell them. Kai’s getting the rainbow salad. I want to get you in a corner and learn embarrassing things about Chris from his childhood. That way, I’ll have some leverage at work.”