Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes) (16 page)

“Which is where I came in.”

“Um…yes.”

Jack let out a long breath, unclenching his hands on the steering wheel as traffic sped up again, down the long hill to Kona Town.

She was silent for a long moment. “So are you waiting for me to apologize?”

Jack glanced over to see her staring out the side window, her graceful profile turned to him. One arm rested up on the edge of the window, but her other hand was clenched on her purse in her lap, her knuckles white.

An edge of satisfaction eased the tightness in his chest. He’d worried about using her that night, but she’d had no such compunction herself. Well, turnabout was fair play. At least she was honest about it. No coating it in sugar for this wahine.

“Oh, hell, no,” he said lightly. “Like I said, if I can be of any further service, you just let me know.”

He smiled to himself as her cheekbones flushed a dusky pink. “We are
not
having sex in public, haole boy, so don’t even go there.”

Jack just grinned. He drove on to town without looking at her again, but the atmosphere inside the truck cab was charged with sensual heat.

As a Realtor, Jack was used to using an onboard navigation system, but Kona wasn’t that big. And he’d searched WorldWide Kona’s location on his computer before leaving Nawea. The realty was housed in a sleek new building just across the street from the sea wall in Old Town Kona, facing the esplanade. Mingling with tourists, he and Lalei walked up the steps to the raised lanai and past an luxe jewelry store, to the realty office’s open door. There was a coffee shop on the right.

Lalei paused outside the door. “You want a coffee?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, surprised. “Get me a latte. Some local flavor.”

“Passion fruit?” She batted her lashes at him.

“Appreciate the thought, but in coffee? Sounds revolting. How about toasted macadamia nut?”

“Got it. Something with toasted nuts.”

He chuckled, pausing to watch her walk into the coffee shop, just because he loved the way she swung that ass—elegant, yet sensual. Heat curled low in his body. She could toast his nuts anytime she wanted.

Chapter Ten

WorldWide Kona was typical of the upscale realty’s many locations. The front office held the requisite number of huge, tropical plants and photos of spectacular Hawaiian views. A young Hawaiian sat at the sleek reception desk. He looked up from his computer to smile as Jack approached him.

“Aloha. I’m Ken. How may I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Jack Nord, from WorldWide Santa Barbara. Wonder if I might speak with your broker.”

Ken popped out of his chair. “Sure. I’ll see if she’s available. One moment, please.”

He disappeared into one of the two semi-enclosed offices that took up the back half of the space, and Jack heard the murmur of his voice, then a feminine one. He waited patiently, staring at a view of the northwest shore, the green cliffs diving down to the blue sea, huge waves splashing up on the rocks.

Ken reappeared to sit at his desk, his smile still pasted on. Behind him, a short, curvaceous woman walked out of the office, pulling her long, wavy black hair out of her jacket. Jack blinked—she was about his age, thirties, pretty if not for her tense, drawn expression. He was surprised to see this plum location under such a young agent, unless she was an assistant.

She tugged at her white jacket, straightening it over her black-and-white dress and patting the WorldWide badge on the pocket as if to make sure it was still there. Then she took a deep breath and smiled at Jack. “Aloha, I’m Sondra Baker. Nice to meet you.” She had the Hawaiian inflection, a liquid quality to her speech.

Jack gave her his best smile and held out his hand. “Hi, Sondra. I’m Jack. Nice to meet you too.”

She shook his hand once and then let go. Her hand was cool and damp. “So, Jack, how can I help you? You’re not here to buy property, yeah?” Then she blushed, her smooth, golden cheeks darkening.

Ken laughed as if she’d told a wonderful joke. Jack joined in, trying to help set her at ease. He leaned back, using his body language to show he was no threat, but his mind was racing ahead. The way she spoke indicated she was the boss.

“No, you’re right about that. Actually, I just have a few questions about a local matter. I’m hoping you can help me out a little, if you have time.”

She and Ken exchanged a lightning glance. “Sure. Anything we can do. Um, is it about one of our properties?”

“No, no. It’s actually about a development up off Mamaloa Highway. TropicSun.”

Sondra Baker frowned. “Oh. Are you involved in that?”

“No, no,” Jack assured her. “Far from it.”

She gave him a real smile, white teeth flashing. “Good. Please, come into my office. Let’s sit down.”

Jack followed her into a spacious, bright office with comfortable chairs around a large desk. She sat down on the other side, straightening the already neat computer pad to one side, and folded her hands on the desk. Jack sank into one of the chairs across from her.

“Coffee?” Ken poked his head in the open door. “We have an excellent shop next door.”

“Not me, thanks.” Jack shook his head. “I have one coming.”

As if she had been summoned, Lalei breezed through the open door, swerving around Ken. She carried a large, sleeved paper cup in each hand. “Here you go, honey.” She handed Jack the largest cup and then sat in the chair next to him, crossing her long legs and turning her sweet smile on the woman across the desk. “Aloha, I’m Lalei Kai-Ho’omalu.”

Jack saw the name register in the slight widening of Sondra Baker’s dark eyes. “Aloha. How nice to meet you. I’m Sondra Paleo Baker.” She glanced curiously between Lalei and Jack, while Jack resisted the urge to either laugh or shake his head.

He took a sip of his coffee instead. Hot and sweet, it coated his tongue with the taste of rich coffee and toasted macadamias. The flavor of the islands, like the woman beside him.

“Paleo,” Lalei repeated with polite interest. “I went to U of H with a Gaby Paleo.”

“My cousin on my mother’s side,” Sondra replied. “And you are one of the Kona Ho’omalus?”

As they chatted, Jack perused the series of large, framed photographs lining the wall behind the desk. In one, Sondra Baker stood beside a beaming Hawaiian man, arms around each other. In the others, the man held large, framed certificates that Jack recognized as Realtor awards. Some of the people with him were vaguely familiar—maybe WorldWide execs.

Lalei nodded graciously. “I live in Honolulu. I’m here for Daniel’s wedding.” She gave Jack a melting smile, leaving no doubt as to the other reason she was in Kona.

He nearly choked on his mouthful of hot coffee. Okay, now that he had been effectively stamped as her property for reasons he couldn’t fathom, maybe they could cut to the chase. He swallowed.

“Sondra, I’m hoping you can help us,” he said. “I’m not up on Hawaiian land use law, and while I could do some research, I’d rather speak to an expert.”

She sat back in her chair, her smile slipping. “Jack, I will be honest with you. I’ll do everything I can to help you, of course, but I am rather new at this. I recently…inherited this business.”

He nodded toward the photos behind her. “Your husband?”

She blinked hard. “‘Ae. He died two months ago…cancer. It was very sudden.”

Jack and Lalei murmured their condolences.

“He was ono, the best,” Sondra said. “The top Realtor in Kona for three years. But when he passed, his partner left for another agency, and we’ve lost many clients.”

Jack glanced at the empty office next to hers. “You a licensed broker?”

“I will be soon. I want to keep this office open. But enough about me. Let’s talk about your questions.”

Jack had to give her credit, she rallied with grace. He explained why he and Lalei were there.

“Oh yes,” Sondra said. “I know about this development. It’s going to be huge, if they get it through.”

“If?” Lalei asked, leaning forward.

“It’s not certain, from what I hear,” Sondra told them. “They must still get through all the zoning regulations and have their permits approved by the state and county.”

“Somebody seems pretty sure of it,” Jack said grimly. He told them about the heavy equipment he’d seen on the mountainside above Nawea.

“No,” Lalei exclaimed with a scowl. “They can’t do that. I’m going to call David.”

Jack put his hand on her arm, holding her back from rising. “He’s over in Hilo right now, babe, meeting with the lawyers. We’ll have a powwow when he gets back.”

“A powwow?” she repeated dryly, but she subsided back into her chair, clutching her coffee cup.

Jack shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips. “Mainland native-speak.”

He turned back to Sondra. “I still don’t see how the land ownership up there can be in doubt. You have records in your archives.”

Sondra grimaced. “We do, but some of them are in a mess, to tell you the truth.”

“Daniel and David mentioned the great ma-something.”

Both Lalei and Sondra nodded wisely.

“The Great
Mahele
,” Lalei told him. “Great Division, to you.”

“Happened in the late 1800s,” Sondra explained. “Wealthy haole businessmen pressured our King Kamehameha into dividing up Hawaii into formal land areas. Then they promptly used the new system of ownership to grab land in return for favors. Of course, the result was that soon outsiders owned a big chunk of the available real estate on the islands.”

Jack shook his head. “Pretty typical of business practices of the day, unfortunately. So now the title of the land around the Ho’omalu place at Nawea Bay is in doubt, huh?”

“Depending on who you talk to,” Sondra said. “As you say, the problem is title. Hawaii had an oral tradition for thousands of years. When everything was finally written down, some of it not until the Mahele, not all of Hawaiian land ended up where it should rightfully have gone. And sometimes the registration was vague. Now there are lawyers suing to break the old contracts. People claim they are invalid because they weren’t filed properly.”

“Hawaiians have always been too trusting,” Lalei put in.

“That, unfortunately, has been the history of indigenous people around the world,” Jack told her. “But your family isn’t taking this lying down.”

“No, we’re not,” she agreed, a fierce light in her dark eyes. A thrill raced down his spine, as if he gazed into the eyes of a warrior queen. “And you’re going to help us.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He would have agreed to do damn near anything for her in that instant—if he could. Damn it, this was so huge and moving so fast. He felt like a man watching the mountainside slide down toward him while he stood with only a shovel in his hands.

She smiled and laid her hand over his, a warm brand. Just in time, Jack remembered that they weren’t alone. He dragged his thoughts back from dark, naughty images of hauling Lalei out of her chair and astride his lap. She’d help him forget his worries in a Honolulu minute.

Sondra Baker smiled a little wistfully at them. “If you’d like, I can do some archival searching for you on the Ho’omalu property. But that will take some time.”

“Thanks,” Jack said. “We appreciate it, Sondra.” He rose.

“Anything I can do to help a fellow WorldWide agent,” she said gamely, reaching to shake the hand he held out.

She and Lalei said polite good-byes, and then Jack ushered Lalei out of the office, one hand on the small of her back, half on smooth fabric and half on warm, silky skin, smooth muscle rolling underneath as she walked.

Jack took a last drink of his lukewarm coffee as they stepped out into the warm, cloudy day, and tossed the empty cup in a trash barrel on the sidewalk. Lalei dropped her cup in as well.

“Come on,” he said, applying pressure to her back. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” A little smile curled up her lips.

“Somewhere I can show you what happens to little girls who flirt with the big, bad haole.” Somewhere he could lose himself in her, at least for a while. And forget that he was chasing clouds that would probably slip through his fingers, leaving nothing behind.

A delicate shiver ran through the bare skin under his hand. “Ooh, I’m shaking in my slippahs.”

He admired her sexy sandals. “Let’s see if I can shake you right out of them.”

Jack made it out of town without any mishap, but he knew the road up across the mountain was too long with the shape he was in right now.

He pulled off in the first quiet shady byway they came to and cut the engine. The windows on Malu’s pickup truck were shaded, and the leather seats had plenty of room for moving around.

The only sound was the radio playing a mellow Hawaiian tune, and his own breathing. His cock was as hard as the gear shift, pressing against the zipper fly of his shorts. Need rode him so hard he was ready to grab himself and jack off right here.

Lalei gazed straight ahead at the shadows of leaves playing on the windshield. Her breasts rose and fell with her quick, agitated breaths. He was a mean asshat, he guessed, because he was willing to suffer for a few more minutes if she was suffering right along with him. He smiled to himself, willing to bet she’d never made it with a guy in the front or back seat—too much class.