Heat Wave (28 page)

“How so?”

He gives me a lopsided grin that makes him look boyish. “You don’t realize what you’ve done here. Or maybe you do. I don’t know. I know I’ve been giving you a hard time since you arrived.”

“You can say that again.”

Now he’s full on beaming. “I’ve been giving you a hard time,” he repeats. “And it’s about to get harder.”

I laugh. “Okay, you are the worst at innuendo.”

“I know. But I am serious. I’m proud of you.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone tell me they were proud of me, not like this. I try and brush it off but the fact is, it hits deep. It hits in a place I never thought possible. Tears are springing to my fucking eyes. All those years, all those years of just needing someone to believe in me and having no one, no one in my corner at all. You grow up thinking that your family will be the ones to believe in you but that’s not the case at all. Your family might be the first ones rooting for you to fail.

“Hey,” Logan says softly, brushing away the tears from my eyes. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head, looking away.

“Ronnie,” he says and the sound of my nickname makes my heart soar. “Please.”

I take in a deep breath. “It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

“Hey,” he warns, his eyes turning hard and glinting.

I sigh. “I’ve never had anyone tell me they were proud of me.”

He seems stunned. “Never?”

“Never,” I admit. “I mean, I never really thought about it until you told me. It didn’t seem to matter what I did, it’s just that no one seemed to care. And, contrary to popular belief, I did do things that were worthy. At least I thought so. But…no one noticed.”

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he says, voice throaty as he runs his thumb over my lips. “I’m sorry that no one has ever seen how special, how beautiful you are. You need to know that the moment I saw you…I couldn’t forget you.”

I know I should just take the compliment and move on but I can’t. I stare up at him. “Then why did you marry her? Why did she steal you away from me that day?”

He closes his eyes briefly, breathing out of his nose. “I was a fool.”

“It’s that simple?”

He nods, looking me dead in the eye, washed with regret. “Sometimes there isn’t some elaborate story why two people end up together. I was…dumb. Thinking with my dick.” I grimace. “Sorry. And I bloody hate talking about this, you know. Because…I was blind. I saw your sister and she was beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“Veronica,” he whispers. “You know more than anyone the ability she had to blind people. You’re a million times more beautiful, gorgeous, real and everything, and I knew that. I knew that when I saw you and I knew that you would take me on a ride. I knew that if I had left that bloody party with you our lives would have been turned upside down. In the best possible way. And I wasn’t ready for that. I was so business-minded. I could only think about the hotel, about getting it off the ground. I was blind to everything else but my ambition. And I saw Juliet and that way she had, that way she tricks people. She made me believe that I would rise to the top with her. And I fell for it. Somehow she fell for me.”

I can’t help but look away.

“You know I don’t like talking about it,” he says. “But it’s the truth. By the time we were married, it was too late. I was in too deep. And little by little, day by day, I started realizing the woman I was married to wasn’t at all like I thought. It was like she was hiding every aspect of herself until she had me and only then she came out. You have no idea, Ronnie, no idea.” He pauses. “I don’t think she was trying to trick me. She wasn’t…duplicitous, like the plumeria flowers. It wasn’t like that. It was just a case of hiding your true colors. She was afraid to be real.”

“Well she was hiding from me too, if that helps.”

“I think she was hiding from everyone. You, me, your mother, your father. I don’t think anyone knew the real Juliet. I don’t even think that prick she was with knew either. She died a mystery. And that’s a shame. But that was on her. The sad thing is, no one ever knows when we’re going to die. So it’s best to live life as open as you can. Juliet thought she was invincible, like we all do sometimes. I’m sure if she knew she’d die young…she would have made amends.” He runs his hands through my hair. I close my eyes. “You want the truth about me and your sister?”

I nod, closing my eyes.

“I loved her.” His words are a fist to my gut. “But I didn’t like her. Does that make sense?”

“Perfect sense,” I whisper.

“Look,” he says to me, leaning in so his nose is brushing against mine. “Sometimes you love someone but you don’t actually like them as a person. Like family, right?”

“Right.”

“I know this is hard to hear…”

I give him a small smile. “It’s not hard to hear. I would just rather not hear it right now.”

“Fair enough,” he says. “How about we save your dish for tomorrow night?”

“Then what’s on the menu tonight?”

He grins. “Do you even have to ask?”

He grabs my hand and hauls me over to the door.

“Wait,” I say, taking my hand out of his and untying my apron. “We can’t just go out there holding hands. Remember? You’re supposed to be an asshole and you’re failing at that.”

He’s still smiling. “I can’t help it.” He clears his throat and slides his hand over his face, his expression changing to stone. He looks burly and wild and fuck I want this man more than anything.

“Better?” he asks, voice low and rough.

“Yeah. In many ways,” I tell him.

“I’m going to head out the door. You do what you need to do. Meet me on the beach.” He pushes open the doors and steps out.

A thrill runs through me as I wait a few moments, hearing him say goodbye to everyone. Who knew sneaking around could be so much fun? I mean, with Erik it was the same idea but it was his idea we keep it a secret, mainly so he could screw other chicks on the side. Thank god I was smart enough to always use a condom with him and then had myself tested a few times after, just to be safe. An STD would have been icing on the cake.

I step out of the doors to see Kate, Johnny and Daniel all staring at me from the bar.

“Hey, get your butt over here,” Kate says, waving me over.

I sigh. This isn’t going to be easy.

“What’s up?” I ask, trying to keep my smiling to a minimum.

“What’s up?” she repeats. She’s tucked a red hibiscus behind her ear that matches her Moonwater Inn tank top. Which reminds me, I need to get one of those. “First of all, where were you last night?”

I roll my eyes and avoid looking at Daniel. “Why does everyone keep asking me that? I turned in early.”

“Did you really?” she asks. Because the light was on in your room all night,” she says. “And I called out to you but you never answered.”

Shit.

“I passed out. I don’t know what Dan was serving but they were just as potent as that fucking luau punch.”

“You did look really tired,” Daniel says carefully. “Must have been the turkey.”

“That’s exactly what it was,” I say, giving him a grateful smile. “Anyway, I’m zonked right now as it is. Think I’m going to go for a walk on the beach and clear my head.”

Then I get out of there before they can grill me anymore.

The rain has moved in again, a light drizzle that makes the night come alive. Everything smells like the world is being born again, every flower perfumes the air, making it sweet and heady. The earthy loam of the wet grass and soil, the tang of the waves.

I try to inhale it all but my breath is shaking. I’m too nervous, too excited. My heart is dancing, skipping, spinning around inside me.

My feet sink into the damp sand and I walk along the shore, going around the large dark lava rocks that dot the beach. Then I see him, up by the plumeria bushes, his tall silhouette backlit by one of the beach houses.

“Hey,” I whisper to him. “Sorry to make you wait in the rain.”

“I’ve been waiting for you for seven years,” he says, “a little rain is nothing.”

He reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me to him. I breathe him in deeply, my nose to his chest. I can’t help but run my hands down his sides, kissing him, before I drop to my knees and sink into the wet sand.

He stares down at me with hooded lids. “I see.”

“The other night I couldn’t finish what I got started,” I tell him, unbuttoning his pants.

He grins, wicked, devious, and helps me out, unzipping and taking his cock out.

Even in the dim light from the houses in the background, I’m mesmerized by the hardness of his cock as it bobs in front of me, the rain as it falls on us, highlighting his length. I wrap my fingers around the thick base of his shaft, tentative at first. I’m eager for him, to have him come inside my mouth, to feel his desire, but it’s been such a long time since I have given someone a blow job, I don’t want to rush it.

I take in a deep breath and slowly, carefully slide his tip through my lips. My eyes fall closed at the sound of his moan. The taste of him hits my tongue and spurs something deep inside of me, making me crave him even more.

“Oh hell,” he murmurs as his voice breaks into a groan, grabbing my hair and tugging, which brings a moan out of me, the vibrations spreading outward. I slide my lips to the end then stroke along the underside of his shaft with my tongue, feeling how hot his skin is, smoothing over every vein and rock-hard ridge. Fuck, he feels beautiful.

“Look at me,” he says, voice hoarse. “I want you to watch me watching you.”

I look up, rain in my eyes, slowly bringing his length out of my mouth, and our eyes meet in a torrent of lust. Slowly, so slowly, I slide him back into my wet lips.

It’s too much for him to handle. He pinches his eyes shut, forehead wrinkled, mouth dropping open as he sucks in air, a deep groan rattling through his chest. All because of me.

With my confidence up and this man in my hands, I want to take my time, watch him slowly succumb. The power I feel is incredible and while he may be getting his world rocked, I’m feeling on top of mine.

The moans that come out of his mouth now as I work him steadily with my hands, lips, and tongue, are becoming lower, like they’re rising from a deeper, more animalistic side of him. I want his complete surrender, here on this beach, in my mouth, all because of me. I want him to crave me to the point of insanity. The rain continues to fall, adding to the wildness of the moment.

His legs stiffen and his body becomes strained, the tension building inside him. I glance up and our eyes meet briefly and his glazed expression tells me that he’s in awe, that at least for now, he’s mine and at my mercy.

Then his mouth drops open, panting with lust, as the rain streams down his face and he groans. “I’m coming, oh
fuck
.” His voice is hoarse and broken and another rush of power rolls through me. His cock becomes hotter, his skin stretched under my lips, and I keep going as I feel him change in my grasp.

He stills, strained, almost like he’s being put on pause, and then he’s over the edge, shaking, groaning, wild. His cum is shooting into my mouth, almost to the back of my throat and I swallow almost immediately, wanting every part of him.

“Bloody hell,” he rasps, his hands still tangled in my wet hair. “Freckles…I had no idea you had that in you.”

I slowly get to my feet, the instability of the sand and the rush I’m feeling cause me to waver off-balance. I grin at him and the sated expression on his face, and work out the kinks in my mouth.

“There’s a lot more where that came from,” I tell him, wiping the rain from my eyes. “As soon as my mouth gets used to the size of your dick.”

He laughs, then shakes his head, droplets falling from his hair, and exhales loudly. “I’m still shaking inside,” he says. “Come on. We’re just getting started.”

He zips up and takes my hand. We giggle as we walk along the beach and to his house.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Charlie got back from vacation today and not a moment too soon. I normally don’t mind all the hours in the kitchen and working overtime here and there but lately, work is the last place I want to be right now. And who can blame me?

It’s been a few days since Logan and I started up our…what’s even the right word? Affair? Sounds too shameful. Tryst? Too vulgar. I guess the only way to to phrase it that makes sense to me would be love affair. Not that either of us have uttered the L word, I know I’m trying my best to not put a label on my feelings. I’m trying not to think too much and just enjoy it, even when a feeling is burning away inside of you, growing day by day.

Anyway you put it though, what we have has been stealing my thoughts and my heart away from everything else. All I do is think about him, all want is to be with him. It’s like I’ve finally given myself permission to feel all the things I’ve tried to ignore and I’m drowning in it. It’s a beautiful way to go.

I’ve been with him every night except last. I think Kate’s gotten a bit suspicious with me disappearing and coming back so late. What I really want to do is sleep overnight at Logan’s again and wake up in his arms, but I think from now on she’ll notice if I don’t come home. She’s tricky like that, maybe because she and Charlie were sneaking around.