Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes) (5 page)

She liked her Ho’omalu cousins, especially this branch. Although Homu and Tina chose not to move in Honolulu society as her mother did, they numbered many of Hawaii’s elite in their circle of friends, including the current governor and his wife, who had been at David’s wedding and luau the month before.

This gathering was much smaller. She wasn’t sure why Daniel had invited her mother, who alternated between peering about her as if not quite sure how she’d landed in such rustic surroundings, and gushing to Tina about Benton’s place on the Kailua shore of Oahu.

Lalei knew why she had been invited—she and her cousins got along well. She loved selling Daniel’s magnificent sculptures and David’s paintings in the gallery. Unfortunately, she hadn’t exactly bonded with Claire or her two best friends. She often had that problem with women her age. She froze and retreated behind the barrier of pretending she didn’t care. Her mother said other girls were simply envious of her, but Lalei knew deep down that wasn’t it.

They thought she was a snob. Little did they know that she was running as fast as she could from the society lifestyle her mother had chosen and expected her daughter to continue. But Lalei wasn’t willing to do it at the expense of her freedom. She was more than an attractive ornament—or at least, she hoped so.

She wished her uncle Daro and Jason had been able to come, but they were booked for four nights at the Waikiki Hilton. And if there was anyone who didn’t belong here, it was the man next to her.

As far as Jack was concerned, Daniel and Claire’s wedding supper was picture perfect. The long table on the beach lanai was decorated with white linen cloth that fluttered in the soft evening breeze, as did the flames of the tiki torches set in the sand. Soft Hawaiian music played from speakers half hidden behind the palms.

Bella and her fiancé Joel had arrived with luxuriant spills of tropical flowers, which were used to decorate the table and the trellises on the beach. A trio of young Hawaiians in simple flowered shirts and shorts had been hired to wait tables.

The Ho’omalu grandparents were ensconced in comfortable chairs, smiles wreathing their lined faces. Claire’s parents sat next to Homu and Tina Ho’omalu, wearing identical expressions of bemused pleasure.

The simple decorations played off the beautiful setting and the sunset. So many weddings Jack had attended in California seemed like a contest for who could spend the most money flying in exotic flowers, putting up huge tents and that kind of crap.

Here there were leis for everyone, flowers for the women and green leaves for the men. The bride wore flowers in her hair, swept into a French roll. Claire’s wedding dress was a simple halter of creamy, shimmery fabric, and she wore earrings that matched the huge smoky blue sapphire on her left hand. Bride and groom were barefoot.

Jack grinned—that suited this couple. Daniel was a great guy, but he had an untamed air. He wore an embroidered gray silk shirt and gray shorts and a look of fierce possessiveness for his bride. In fact, he hardly took his eyes off her.

“How the mighty are fallen,” Jack murmured to Gabe.

“Just remember, you’re the last man standing,” Gabe returned slyly. “And Hawaii is full of beautiful wahines.”

Jack’s gaze homed in like a beacon on the far end of the table. Lalei Kai sat listening to her uncle Homu, the first genuine smile Jack had seen on her face curving her full lips and lighting her gorgeous eyes. Her long hair was draped over one bare shoulder, tangling with the yellow plumeria in her lei. She was the essence of Hawaiian womanhood.

He shook his head at this piece of sloppy sentimentality, eyeing his mai tai. How strong were they mixing the drinks this evening? Relaxation hummed through his veins, but he wasn’t buzzed by any means.

He’d noticed early on that Lalei and Claire greeted each other with the fake smiles that women reserved for those they had to be polite to in public, but wouldn’t spend a minute with in private.

Melia got along with everyone, but he hadn’t seen her and Lalei exchange two words either. Nor Bella, the third of the triumvirate of best friends, and she and the Ho’omalus had recently discovered they were related, for Chrissake.

Why he’d noticed Lalei’s interaction with the other women her age, he wasn’t sure. There was just something about her that drew his gaze again and again, like a magnet. He snorted to himself. She was fucking gorgeous. He didn’t need another reason to watch her.

Jack liked Melia and Bella, and had even considered taking the voluptuous Claire to bed on his last visit, here for David and Melia’s wedding. But then he’d noted the fire between Claire and Daniel, and he’d backed off in a hurry. No way was he getting between
da Nalu
, the Big Roller as their football teammates had called Daniel at the University of Hawaii, and a woman.

And it was a damn good thing, because the two were clearly meant to be together. Jack hoped it lasted for them, unlike the serial marriage-and-divorce habit of many of his California friends. And his parents, for that matter.

If he ever got married, Jack wanted what the Ho’omalus had. The only one of the family who’d been divorced that he knew of was Hilo, David and Daniel’s genial, silver-haired uncle. And that was because his wife had married him and then decided she really preferred other women. Jack shuddered inwardly, thinking about what that little piece of news would do to a guy’s ego.

“The flowers are lovely,” Sara said to Bella across the table. “Did you arrange them?”

“Mahalo, I did,” Bella agreed.

“She’s growing them too,” Joel said proudly. “On the farm.”

Gabe frowned, intrigued. “What? I thought you were with DelRay Sporting Goods?”

Bella shook her head, smiling at him. “I quit. Wasn’t for me.”

Jack laughed. “Gabe can’t understand how anyone could give up selling sporting goods.”

Gabe joined in the laughter. “Well, yeah. But at least she’s not my competition anymore. Ho’omalus are tough, you know?”

Bella raised her glass to him. “So I’ll be the best organic farmer instead.”

Joel leaned over to kiss her cheek. “And that’s not all she’s good at.”

Bella blushed, and her cousins laughed again. Jack glanced to the far end of the table and saw Lalei watching them with an odd expression. She was smiling, but there was a wistful tinge to her gaze. Then the man beside her said something, and her face closed up.

“All right, folks, drinks on the beach while we let the caterers clear away the table.” Homu pushed back his chair and stood, holding out his hand to his wife. Tina rose as well, and the others at the table followed suit.

“Lalei, come.” The imperious command was followed by a hand on her arm. As she tried to tug her arm away, Benton’s grip tightened. Across the table, Suzy telegraphed her insistence that Lalei go with him, as clearly as if she’d spoken.

Lalei swallowed her anger. If she made a scene, her mother would never forgive her. As she allowed Benton to pull her chair back, her gaze was caught by another at the far end of the table.

Jack Nord was staring at her and Benton, his heavy, blond brows drawn together. She looked away. Tall, broad and strong, he might resemble a romance hero with his blond hair and blue eyes, but he was nearly a stranger. She was surrounded by her family, her cousins. If she needed a guardian, she would turn to them.

But they were all busy, laughing and chatting as they left the table, the men teasing Daniel and the women gathering around Claire. As usual, even in a crowd, Lalei felt alone.

She walked obediently alongside Benton into the deep shadows at the east end of the beach, where a path wandered away under the clustered fig trees. Plumeria nodded from the edge of the lawn, their heavy perfume surrounding her and her captor, who stepped closer. Too close.

Realizing too late that Benton had physical contact in mind, she put a hand on his chest, stopping him from bending to kiss her.

He paused and then straightened. “You don’t find this atmosphere romantic?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement. “Very well, I can wait. Although of course you know I want you.”

Lalei stepped back, stopping short when a branch poked her in the spine, sharp through the thin fabric of her dress. It echoed the sharp panic rising as his words echoed in her mind. Incongruously, the surf surged in a hushed rhythm behind them, and Jason Mamaloa sang a melting song of Hawaiian love from the speakers a few yards away. If only he were here in person.

“What do you mean?”
Oh, very eloquent, Lalei. He knows you’re not that stupid.

Benton grasped her bare upper arms, massaging her as if she was a fruit he was testing for possible purchase. “Don’t be coy. You know I want to marry you. You’ll be a good wife for me. Your family is well thought of all over Hawaii, and I can use their business connections. The fact that I want you in my bed only adds spice to our bargain.”

Lalei stared at him in revulsion. Against the sunset sky behind him, he was an adamant silhouette, like a commander surveying a conquered subject. “I’m sorry, Benton. I-I’m not ready to be any man’s ‘spice’.”

Damn it, she’d been right about him pursuing her because of her family connections, not just because her mother was always shoving her at him. Well, the last man who’d tried that had been disappointed, and Benton would be too. But how was she going to get away from him
now
? He had her trapped between these damn trees.

A sudden breeze kicked down through the branches overhead. Benton ducked as a flurry of leaves sailed down on him, a few plastering themselves on his hair and face.

“Why don’t we discuss this later?” Lalei suggested, keeping her voice sweet as cane sugar. ‘Aue, she sounded just like her mother. “The wedding is about to start. See, they’re gathering on the beach. Mustn’t be late.”

Benton didn’t move, his hands tightening. “I had hoped we might use this occasion to announce our own engagement to your family.”

And get the Ho’omalus to back some business deal? Not if she could help it. She wriggled, trying to break free of his hands. The wind blew again, and she heard sharp cries of alarm from the beach. Over his shoulder she saw flowers fluttering on the beach arbor.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Benton. I’ll just—
m-mph
.”

He swooped and kissed her, his hot mouth opening over hers, his tongue prying at her lips. For an instant, he thrust it right inside her mouth, and she reared back in disgust. The branches of the tree pulled at her hair, rough bark scraping her shoulder. She shoved at his chest as he bent to kiss her throat, his breath hot.

“
No
. Benton, stop this,” she sputtered, leaning back as far away as she could.

“Sorry to interrupt you two. But the wedding’s about to start.”

It was Jack, materializing out of the trees nearby, tall and broad. His deep voice was laced with amusement. In the sunset, he was grinning. Rage nearly choked her as she shoved again at Benton, who stepped back enough this time so she could wriggle past him.

“Thank you for letting us know.” Lalei swiped the back of her hand over her lips and glared at Jack as she slid past Benton. Oh, Pele, why did it have to be
him
who rescued her? She took a deep breath, struggling to calm herself. Smoothing her hair with her hands, she straightened her dress as she hurried toward the group assembling on the beach, the women tucking flowers back into the trellises.

How dare Jack Nord laugh at her? He was just as bad as Benton, treating her like some kind of frivolous feminine ornament. She’d like to punch him right in the mouth. After she kicked Benton in the balls. She wiped her lips again, wincing at Benton’s taste on her mouth. Ack, good thing she had lip gloss in the hidden pocket of her dress.

As she paused to smooth it on her lips, a flurry of rain pattered down behind her, following in her wake. Good, let the two fools get wet. She tucked the tiny tube of gloss back in her pocket and peered over her shoulder as the two men came out of the trees. Benton had a hand up against the sudden pelting of rain.

Jack stopped and tipped his head back, letting the heavy drops fall on his face and shoulders. Transfixed, Lalei stared. He looked like a man accepting a benediction. The low cloud swung out to sea, the rain gone as suddenly as it had come. Golden rays of the setting sun shone across the beach, gleaming on the wet fig leaves and Jack’s damp hair, gilding him, a golden haole blessed with Hawaiian waters.

He opened his eyes, and her insides twisted again, this time almost pleasurably as he gazed straight at her, his mouth curving up in a slow, wicked smile. He wanted her too, she realized, with a shock that trailed heat down inside her. At least she knew why
he
wanted her—and it wasn’t for her connections.

Benton stepped between them, his face like thunder. She turned sharply away, her heart pounding. What little dinner she had eaten threatened to surge back up her throat, and despite the warm evening, she wanted to hug her arms about herself against the chill deep inside her. What was she going to do? If she refused Benton outright, her mother would make her life miserable for months with tears and recriminations. And they might indeed lose more than their home. It was a given Suzy wasn’t going to give up her club memberships, her masseuse or her shopping. But if Lalei didn’t refuse him…she’d be caught even deeper in living a lie.