Inferno Anthology (22 page)

“I told you, I don’t feel ready to start dating yet.” We had already had that conversation on the plane on the way to Hawaii, and I’d suspected Sienna had given up much too easily to have put the subject behind us.

“Who said anything about dating?” She smiled at me. “Just pick one out and have a great time. Don’t think about it and don’t overanalyze it. Fuck it, don’t even find out his name. Just have fun, Syd. That Michael sucked the life out of my partner in crime and we are resurrecting her this week!”

I may not have been ready for a new guy, but I was definitely ready to go back to living my life and having fun. I responded to her speech with the only word that I knew would make her happy, other than agreeing with her. “Shots?”

Sienna squealed in delight and hugged me as she called the waiter over to order our tequila shots.

We were halfway between tipsy and drunk as we made our way down to the bonfire. It was a beautiful night and torches lit a path through the sand down to the water’s edge. A huge bonfire was burning and a Caribbean calypso band played a song on steel drums with an older gentleman singing. Waiters floated around delivering fruity cocktails and women wearing bikini tops and hula skirts offered fresh flower leis.

I looked around and wasn’t surprised to see that most of the partygoers were couples. After all, the resort was a favored honeymoon destination. It made me sad to think I was supposed to be there with Michael, relaxing after my wedding. Sienna picked up on the change in my mood and guided us to the large bar set up under the lights on the beach. “Two tequila shots please.” Sienna’s answer to every problem was always the same, tequila and a party. We drank back our shots, licked the salt off of the back of our hands and sucked our limes in unison.

“Another round for the ladies and all my friends, please.” The deep velvety voice immediately sent a shiver up my spine. I turned to trace the voice to the face and was met with the most startling green eyes I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the man, but I gasped and felt goose bumps breaking out on my arms. The eyes smiled down at me and I was momentarily unable to break the gaze. I blinked, forcing my eyes to escape the hold, and slowly looked down and realized that the captivating green eyes were attached to the most magnificent man I had ever seen, who was staring at me, watching me take him in. The corner of his perfect mouth turned up in a sexy half smile, and I knew he had just watched my body react to him. But he wasn’t going to be a gentleman and pretend he didn’t see it. Instead, he took a step closer into my personal space and I felt the heat radiate between us.

I turned back to the bartender to escape the intenseness of his glare and the bartender held out my next tequila shot. I twisted back around to thank the green-eyed god, and nearly slammed right into his chest. He had not moved out of my personal space. Instead he stood his ground and looked down at me, slightly amused. I held up my shot. “Are you joining me?”

“I’d love to.” He smiled, but had no shot in his hand. He arched an eyebrow with a sexy grin on his face and I got the feeling that he wasn’t accepting an offer to have a shot together. I laughed and shook my head before throwing back yet another shot, salt and lime. My head buzzed, and I knew I should probably stop drinking at that point, but I was thousands of miles from home with Sienna and that surely wouldn’t be happening.

Sienna grabbed my hand and pulled me from the bar, oblivious to the beautiful creature standing behind me. “Come on, let’s do one for old times’ sake.”

Only Sienna could talk a middle-aged Calypso band singer into letting us sing at the resort’s welcome bonfire without knowing if we could even carry a tune. The last tequila shot went straight to my head and I was feeling no pain as I followed her to where the band was set up, anxious to sing with her. It had been years since we’d played together and I really did miss it.

Sienna spoke to the band and we sang one of our all time favorites,
Shake Your Body
, by the Jackson 5. It was a 70s boogie disco beat that people usually couldn’t help but start to dance to. When we were done, people were applauding and dancing and the band asked us to do another song. What else could follow up a classic Jackson song but the Wild Cherry 70s hit,
Play That Funky Music?
Of course, we did our own version of the song, but people danced and sang along nonetheless. Even though it had been years since we’d performed together, no one would have guessed it. We worked together effortlessly, and it had been that way since that very first time in third grade. By the time we were done, the tequila had hit us with its full effect and we both laughed our way back to the bar, stumbling just a slight bit.

The bartender stopped pouring drinks as we approached and clapped his hands slowly for us, to which we responded with overzealous bows and a curtsy. He gave us each another shot of tequila on the house and we did our swallow, salt, lime routine in expert tandem. The handsome guy that had sent us drinks in the restaurant came over with a few of his friends.

“You ladies were amazing. That was incredible.” He was smiling and it was obvious he was being sincere and it wasn’t part of his pick up line.

“Thank you, it was so much fun!” Sienna responded, and I smiled. We were both on a post show high. It had been so long since I’d felt the familiar rush that I’d almost forgot what performing could do to me. We talked for a while and found out that the boys club wasn’t actually in Hawaii for a rugby tournament or an underwear commercial shoot, they were there for a bachelor party.

“Wow, that’s some bachelor party,” I said to our new friend Tyler, the guy who’d bought us drinks in the restaurant.

“Yeah, the best man is loaded and is throwing the whole party. We have the penthouse for the week. Some of the guys are staying and others are going back in a few days. It’s pretty sweet.”

I actually felt, rather than saw, the green-eyed man return. I was positive that he was standing right behind me, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and check. “Speak of the devil.” Tyler pointed behind me and I slowly turned, finding the green-eyed god standing ridiculously close, staring down at me.

“Hi again.” My words came out as a whisper. I could feel the heat radiating off his body and it was playing tricks on my brain that was swimming in tequila.

He looked down at me and smiled, but made no attempt to move. He was tall, probably a good eight inches taller than my 5’6 frame. His shoulders were broad and his dark green polo pulled slightly to contain his girth. His shirt fit his athletic frame as if it was made for him, and his jeans hung low on his narrow waist.

“Your voice is beautiful.” His voice was deep and he spoke to me in low controlled words, even though we were standing so close, surrounded by what I assumed were his friends.

“Thank you. So are you.”
Holy shit, did I just say that out loud?
I was glad that we were outside so that he couldn’t see my face turn red; I blushed so deeply that not even my tan skin could conceal my embarrassment. I’d been thinking it, but I hadn’t meant to say it. Another dangerous side effect of the tequila shots.

He smiled and raised his eyebrows in surprise. I turned my back to him to catch my breath. Tyler took it as an opportunity to offer to buy me a drink. Just as I opened my mouth to respond, the green-eyed man responded for me. “No thanks, I’ve got her next round.” I watched in shock as his friend took the hint and walked away smiling.

I whipped around and looked up at him, a bit unsteady on my feet from the tequila. He still hadn’t moved and was standing in my personal space. It was almost a possessive stance, the way he hovered above me and made his size known. “What if I wanted him to buy me a drink?”

“You don’t,” he said in a low voice and straight face. Was he joking or being serious?

“How do you know what I want?” I could feel the tension between us rising.

Sienna walked over, oblivious, and interrupted our little heated exchange. She was still giddy from our singing and her smile and happiness brought back such great memories. “What are you two chatting about all quietly over here?” She hung one arm around my neck and I was pretty sure she was using me to maintain her balance.

“I was just telling your friend how beautiful her voice is.” He spoke to Sienna but his eyes never left me.

Sienna smiled. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” She extended her hand. “I’m Sienna.”

The green-eyed god took her hand in his and held it; I was relieved that his focus had finally left me. “Jack. Nice to meet you, Sienna.” He quickly turned his eyes back to me. “And you are…?”

Sienna quickly intervened, slightly slurring as she spoke. “Her name is Jill.” I looked up at her like she was crazy and then she winked at me. She made no attempt to hide her blatant lie and I wasn’t quite sure if it was because she was drunk or if she was playing a game. I knew she was trying to subtly remind me of our earlier conversation at dinner, encouraging me to have a nameless, unattached fling. Of course, Sienna might have been trying to be subtle, but her lack of experience at subtlety made her words and actions come across as glaringly direct.

“Jill, huh?” Jack looked at me suspiciously.

I smiled. “I guess so, Jack.”

“What brings you to Honolulu, Jill?” he asked with an emphasis on Jill, knowing full well it wasn’t really my name.

“Well, I’m on my honeymoon, Jack!” I thought my answer was hysterical in my drunken state. Sienna must have too, considering she spit her drink out and almost choked on it, as she joined me in laughing at my statement.

For a split second, I thought Jack might have looked angry, but then he must have realized that we were teasing. Even though Sienna and I laughed our asses off, Jack didn’t seem to find our joke as funny as we did. When we finally regained control of our giggling, Sienna looked up at Jack, who was clearly waiting for an explanation, smiled, then turned and went back to Jack’s friends.

I looked up at Jack and he was watching me; his face showed signs of his patience slipping. “It was supposed to be my honeymoon, but we broke up two months ago. The honeymoon was already paid for, so I decided to take Sienna and make it a vacation instead.”

Jack smiled, apparently content with my answer. He reached forward to the bar to grab two bottles of water. His fingers brushed mine as he handed me one, sending an electric jolt that made me pull my hand back. I looked up at him, confused.

He leaned down to my eye level and looked me straight in the eyes, briefly searching for something. “I felt it too.”

A few hours later we were in the resort’s bar partying with the bachelor party and had made some new friends. The bachelor, Robert, turned out to be a nice guy, who apparently was totally whipped by his fiancé. He spent most of the night getting teased and harassed by his friends, most of whom were all still single. Jack played host to the rowdy crowd and most of the staff seemed to know him by name already.

Sienna was getting cozy with Tyler as the last of the bachelor party said goodnight, leaving just the four of us. The bartender told us he was getting ready to leave and asked Jack if he wanted the keys to lock up later. “Do you work here or something?” I asked, confused, as he accepted the keys.

“Or something.” Jack smiled, but offered no more information. He walked around to the other side of the bar and reached down, pulling out a bottle of water. “Drink,” was all he said as he handed it to me.

“You’re pretty bossy, aren’t you?” I knew he was right. I needed to drink water or I would regret it the next day, but he hadn’t offered it to me, he’d instructed me to drink it.

“Yes.” He looked me directly in the eyes unapologetically and didn’t waver the entire time he opened his own bottle and drank from it.

His stare made me dizzy, but I wasn’t going to back down. The arrogant ass was starting to affect me, and it was an odd combination of being pissed off and turned on at the same time. I held his stare as I opened my water bottle and drank from it. Jack finally broke our heated gaze, and for a split second I thought I had won our unspoken challenge. Then I watched him as he slowly looked me up and down, his eyes taking their time as they wandered over my breasts and down my flat stomach. When he was done and had taken himself a good long look, his eyes returned to mine again. He didn’t try to hide his visual assault; instead, he enjoyed me watching him do it. I felt a throb between my thighs and shifted my legs in response to it. He caught my body respond to him and gave me a sexy wicked smile with one eyebrow arched.