The highway was clear and he made good time to Waikiki. Coming to a screeching halt at the Moana, he climbed from the sports car and tossed the keys to the valet, palming him a hundred dollar bill.

  “I’ll be right back. Leave her here, please.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  In the lobby he looked around, appreciating the graciousness of the old hotel. It was beautiful and airy, hinting at the grandeur of days past. At the desk he greeted the clerk, sliding another bill across the counter.

  “Good evening. Lana Hunter’s room, please.”

  “Good evening, sir, thank you.” The clerk expertly slipped the bill under some papers and inquired, “Are you expected?”

  “No, I’m surprising her.”

  “Ah, very nice. However, I’m sorry, but I can’t provide that information.”

  Even with the encouragement of money, this hotel was rigid. Another thing he appreciated. “Please ring her, then.”

  “Right away.” The clerk picked up the phone. “Who may I say is asking?”

  “Please tell...ask her to come down. If you don’t mind, tell her she has a message to pick up.”

  The clerk smiled and spoke into the phone, then hung it up. “She said she would be down shortly.”

  “Thank you.”

  Grant settled into a chair facing the elevators, resting an ankle on one knee. It wasn’t often he became excited about anything anymore and this unfamiliar feeling was quite welcome.

  Ten minutes later, she stepped off the elevator. Damn if his heart didn’t lurch just a little bit at the sight of her. The white shorts and cherry-colored tank top showed off her flawless skin, warmed from the sun. The sudden urge to lay her down and smooth cream over her body nearly choked him. Her breasts bounced under the top, evidence she was braless. He wanted to cup them in his palms and brush his fingers over her nipples, encouraging them to rise up. He hadn’t given her breasts the attention they deserved earlier and he was anxious to see her fully naked.

  Mesmerized by her, he was floored when her nipples did harden as if she knew he was watching her. Which had his cock sitting up and taking immediate notice. She seemed oblivious to the stir she caused as she strode through the lobby, a splash of vivid color in the grand atrium. The twinge in his groin made Grant bite back a groan. He fisted his hands on the armrests to keep them still and held his breath as she approached.

  Grant rose and stepped toward her. The surprise on her face delighted him.

  “Grant! What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come for you.”

  “Come for me? I don’t understand.”

  “I’d like you to come back to my house with me.” He didn’t say want, that was too strong, almost an order.

  He watched her. She was considering it. Would she hesitate? He stepped forward and took her elbow, about to encourage her a little more strongly to come. Her next words rushed like fire through his blood, straight to his cock.

  “I’d love to. Give me a moment, there’s a message for me.”

  “There’s no message. I had the clerk tell you that to get you to come down.”

  She smiled. “I see. But I should get some—”

  Grant put his arm around her shoulder, liking how she leaned into him, and turned her to head out the door. “We can get anything you need later. Now that I have you, I’m not letting you go again.”

  * * *

  LANA COULDN’T BELIEVE this was happening to her. She was in a Ferrari, red like Magnum PI’s, driving up the coast of Oahu to this hot dude’s beach house. Thankfully she’d grabbed her purse on the way down for her so-called message. Other than what was in there, like lip gloss, a bit of emergency money and her room key, she didn’t really need anything. She ignored the flash of alarm when she remembered she’d left her cell phone behind. She didn’t need it right now, anyway.

  The warm Hawaiian night caressed her skin and the wind blew through her hair. She let out an excited whoop as they ripped around a tight turn. At Grant’s laugh, she looked over at him. He’d pulled his long hair back into a ponytail, which she thought was funny since hers was a wild riot around her head. His big hands gripped the wheel, and she knew deep inside that those hands would be on her tonight. A shiver rippled through her as arousal rose.

  Lana let her thoughts run away, loving where they took her. In his house, in his bed, in his arms. His lips on hers, his hands on her body, her returning the favor. Him inside her, deep, hard, big, demanding. Lana closed her eyes and embraced the heat flaring in her pussy. So much for her sexual dry spell. She laughed out loud, and the wind whipped it away. Hell, after the year she’d had, didn’t she deserve a little fun?

  He seemed to be the right guy to have fun with. He had to be in his early thirties. Accomplished. Financially secure, clearly. Why wasn’t he taken? Was there something wrong with him? He’d said he wasn’t attached. She had to believe him. If he was, then she wouldn’t be here with him. All she would allow this to be was a holiday affair. A wonderful fling with a heart-stopping man.

  Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Lana glanced at Grant again, taking in his profile. His nose had a bit of a bump—broken before?—and his brows furrowed as he concentrated on the road. Her gaze lingered on his perfectly kissable lips, making her heart beat a little faster. Their kisses and touches had been far too frantic on the plane. Yes, this night would be wonderful. No strings, no pleas for a future, just two people enjoying each other.

  Grant took her hand with one of his, brushing his thumb over the tender skin of her wrist. She moaned softly, sure he wouldn’t hear it over the wind rushing around them. She was a ball of excited nerves.

  A few minutes later he released her hand and geared the car down, taking a sharp turn onto a dark laneway. Trees hung over them and the sweet scent of frangipani filled the air.

  “Almost there.”

  “I was beginning to wonder.” Lana peered through the bushes at the lights flickering through the foliage. They rounded an ancient banyan tree and she gasped. “This isn’t a little old grass shack. Holy shit.”

  Grant burst out laughing and pulled up to the front entrance. “Stay there.”

  Lana waited for him to come around and open the car door. She took the hand he offered and was surprised when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  It wasn’t a soft and gentle one. No sir, it picked up right where they left off at the airport. Lana moaned into his mouth, unable to contain her sexual need. Not wanting to. She opened for him when his tongue probed for hers.

  The thin fabric of her top allowed the heat of his body to seep into her, spreading like a lava flow through her veins. Grant slipped his hands under her top, his fingers insistent and urgent on her skin, firing an explosive reaction down every nerve in her body. She lit up like a sparkler.

  Curling her arms around his neck she bowed her back, wanting—needing—to get closer to him. Surface touch wasn’t enough. She wanted him inside her.

  Her lungs cried for air but pulling away from him would break the spell. She didn’t want to breathe, she wanted to die right here in his arms. Under his kiss.

  He pulled his mouth from her, his breathing as ragged as hers. Raising his eyebrows, he tilted his head toward the house. “Shall we go inside?”

  She nodded like a bobble-head doll, unable to form cohesive thought. He’d knocked her world off its axis since the moment they met, what, less than twenty-four hours ago?

  He swept her into his arms and carried her up the wide coral slab steps, beneath the soft, artfully placed lights that gave a cozy glow to the entrance of the house. Lana tucked her face into his neck and breathed him in. His scent was exhilarating and reached right inside to clamp around her heart.

  This was not love. Lana didn’t believe in love at first sight anyway. It was purely lust. She was a big girl and being here with him was her decision. Getting lei’d Hawaiian style was just what she needed. Wanted. Her heart was too damaged to let its barricade down. Keys jangled as he unlocked the grand, beveled-glass front door. Pushing it aside he carried her over the threshold.

  Lana glanced over her shoulder at the room before them. She gasped at the large, wide-open space with high wooden ceilings and shining floors. The furniture was exquisite and thick colorful area rugs were scattered about.

  Floor-to-ceiling windows ran around three exterior walls and she could only guess at the spectacular view beyond. Will I be here in the morning to see it? The moon sparkled a glittering path across the surface of the waves toward them.

  “Oh my God. This is amazing.” Still in his arms, Lana looked up into his eyes. “This is definitely no grass shack.”

  He smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her lips. “It is old, and it was little until we renovated and added a few rooms.”

  “You’re a tease.” She murmured next to his lips, “So, are all the rooms as fabulous as this one?”

  “Any particular one you’re referring to?” His tone made her heart flip over and her belly flutter.

  “Maybe.” Lana pressed her lips to the base of his neck, where the throbbing of his veins matched the pulsing of the blood through hers.

  “Or we could go down to the cabana above the beach.”

  Lana didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I’d like that.”

  He set her down. “You’ll love it there. But first, let’s get some wine. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

  While he was gone she wandered through the wide opening and out on to the deck. The windowless wall spanned the width of the room, floor to ceiling. It was glorious. Lana tilted her face upward and closed her eyes, loving the sultry feel of the breeze over her skin. She inhaled deeply. The night was still very warm and the scent of tropical flowers drifted on the gentle wind. It hadn’t taken her long to fall in love with Hawaii, for more than one reason.

  And she heard the main reason coming back.

  He rested one hand on the curve of her neck, the other on her hip, and squeezed gently. “Shall we? Take your sandals off.”

  Lana nodded, slipped off her shoes and followed him outside, across a wide, magnificent deck and along a stone path beneath foliage and flowers aglow with unseen lights. It was so beautiful it took her breath away. They moved deeper into the tunnel of tropical branches. The sound of waves grew and then her toes sank into warm, powdery sand.

  “Oh, this feels like heaven.” Lana sighed.

  “Do you want to swim?”

  “It sounds rough. Is it safe to swim here?”

  “Just off the beach is one of the few pools built centuries ago by an ancient Hawaiian king to keep his turtles handy for when he fancied a feast.”

  “That’s horrible!”

  “It’s nothing to be alarmed about, it’s how things were. That was long ago and now we use it for swimming.”

  Lana thought about it for a moment before answering, “I would, except I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”

  Grant’s soft chuckle reached her through the dark and she blushed. Bathing suit, indeed. If their antics earlier were any indication, she wouldn’t be needing one.

  A light flared off to the left. Grant had lit a torch, which cast a flickering circle of light on the sand and lapping waves. He walked out of the glow into the dark, and another torch blazed about twenty feet away. She could now see the gazebo perched above them at the edge of the merging torchlight.

  A glorious structure. It stood on an outcrop of rock or coral, overlooking the sea. All kinds of tropical foliage skirted the cabana.

  “How do you get up to there?” Lana asked as she scanned for a way up the slope.

  “I’ll show you.”

  Grant came to her side and tucked her arm through his. Heat flushed through her and her breasts tingled. She felt her nipples against the fabric of her top, reminding her she wasn’t wearing a bra. Good planning, chickie. The feel of his flesh on hers was just as warm and sultry as the breeze blowing around them. She trembled for this man as she followed him to the cabana.

  The gazebo was bigger than she’d expected. Grant unlocked and pushed back the wood shutters, opened gauzy draperies and tied them back with carefully knotted rope. Palms swayed like sentinels beside the lovely peaked roof. She was dying to see into the darkened interior.

  “Come.” He ushered her inside. “I forgot to bring the wine down with us, but I believe we have the fixings for a mai tai in the bar if you prefer.”

  “Perfect.” Lana smiled at him and then looked around. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s so beautiful.”

  “I’m glad you like it. Sit and I’ll turn on some lights.”

  She settled on a wide chaise, wanting to tell him not too many lights. He must have read her mind, for moments later lights the size of rice grains twinkled to life in the beamed ceiling and around the columns supporting the intricately carved wooden roof. A fan rotated lazily, making the lights on the filigreed cord flutter and sparkle. She heard the clink of bottles and lay back on the chair.

  “I’m overwhelmed. I’ve never, ever seen anything so breathtaking.”

  Grant placed the glasses on the rattan table by the chaise. She turned to meet his gaze.

  “Neither have I.” His low, husky voice held the promise of what was to come. Goose bumps rippled along her skin. God, he wasn’t even touching her and he turned her on. Lana breathed steadily, trying hard not to anticipate what would happen when he actually did lay his hands on her.

  His voice. His dangerous appeal. His amazing body. His insistence...his power. All of it so alluring and compelling.

  She sucked in a breath and held it for a minute, hoping to slow her racing heart. She knew it was excitement and arousal all rolled up into churning passion and not a heart attack. Letting her breath out slowly, not wanting to look like a gasping fish, she kept her gaze fixed on his.

  Her belly did a sweet little tumble. Oh Lord, he was a piece of candy she wanted to suck on. She didn’t have to wonder how experienced he was, he oozed it. Had showed her quickly, ecstatically on the plane earlier. Tonight she wanted him slow and sensual.

  Grant sat at the end of the chaise, still and calm, yet everything around him whirled and rushed in crazy chaos. Or was it just her? Everything was out of focus except him. What was he thinking? Why was he with her when he could have anyone he wanted, not just an exhausted businesswoman on the last leg of a grueling trip?

  She didn’t see him move and when his fingers curled around her ankle Lana jumped and gasped at the heat flaring from his touch. It singed all the way up her leg and puddled in her belly before reaching down and stirring her deep inside.

  He gave her a crooked grin, and her mouth went dry.

  He ran his hand up her calf and squeezed. She couldn’t tear her gaze from that hand as he moved it along the back of her leg and she shivered when he tickled the sensitive flesh behind her knee. He furthered his trek up to her thigh, sliding his fingers over her skin until all she was aware of was his touch and the throb of need between her thighs. It made her tremble. Lana fell back and closed her eyes.

  He took her hand, turning it so the palm faced up, and swirled his thumb lightly over her wrist. She sighed.

  “Lana, look at me.” She did as he asked.

  When their eyes met, her world tipped, and thank God he held her because she needed his touch to ground her. His mouth became her object of obsession. She knew how wonderful those lips were and she was desperate to feel them again. Everywhere.

  When his lips moved as he spoke it was as if she were in a dream and his words stilled her heart. “You captivate me.”

  His low voice was deep, the words so unbelievably sweet. She loved this slow seduction and didn’t want him to stop. Liked how cherished it made her feel.

  As Grant took her other hand she told herself to reciprocate, but she couldn’t. It was as if he’d removed her ability to send messages from brain to muscle.

  She gave up trying when his other hand whispered over her bare arm and his fingers curled around the back of her neck. Their gazes locking, he gave a gentle tug, pulling her to him. So close. Oh, so close. The heated tension in air between them seemed to hum with a life of its own, and then it was gone as her breasts pressed against his chest. He cradled the back of her neck while his other hand slipped around her waist and held her captive. Heaven.

  “Lana,” he murmured, “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind all day.”

  A contented smile curved her lips. “Me, too. I kept thinking that this isn’t the kind of place to be alone in. Its beauty needs to be shared.” Was she babbling? Sure felt like it.

  “Yes, I agree. However, I want yours all to myself.”

  “My what?”

  “Your beauty. You.”

  She didn’t know what to say, only that those few simple words were music to her ears.

  She was in the arms of a stunning man, on a gorgeous island, in a beach house to die for. Probably for this one night only and that was just fine.

  3

  HE PULLED HER CLOSER. Lana couldn’t look away from his eyes as they caught the torches’ flickering light. Mesmerized by their twinkle, she held her breath waiting for his lips to touch hers. Slowly, he lowered his face until she felt the warmth of his flesh. It rushed over her like a firestorm.

  “Ohh...my,” she murmured, not trusting what might come out of her mouth. Keeping control of her trembling muscles was becoming increasingly difficult.

  He chuckled, the deep resonance of it rumbling from his chest. The waves crashing on the beach paled in comparison to the power he exuded.

  “Is there anyone waiting for you back home? Because I think I might just keep you here.”

  Lana’s eyes opened wide with a momentary flash of unease, until she saw the teasing glint in those chocolaty-colored depths. He’d been nothing but a gentleman so far and she did trust her instincts. Yet the promise of being kept here was alarming, frightening and, she had to admit, oh, so sexy. Her response to him from the minute they’d crashed into each other during the flight had been nothing but electric. Lana shivered, imagining all the good bad things they could get up to.