Page 104 of Cornered

“Then come home with me.” The look on her face told him she wasn’t going to do that either. “Fine. I’ll sit in my truck and keep an eye out.”

“Briggs, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking and I’m not leaving. I will camp outside your house for as long as it takes to find this guy, but I am not leaving you.”

“Briggs...”

She swallowed, her focus lingering on the darkness outside her home for several seconds, and Briggs prepared himself for her to argue. When she found his eyes again, all he saw was resignation.

“You can stay here.”

FOURTEEN

BRIGGS TURNERwas in her house.On her couch. Lahela paced her room, heart thumping erratically against her rib cage. Was he comfortable? Did he need an extra pillow? Did he know where the cups were in case he got thirsty in the middle of the night?

“I can hear you pacing.”

Lahela froze and dropped her eyes to the old oak floors beneath her feet. “Sorry.”

“Do you need anything?”

She pressed her hand on the wall separating her room from the living room. No, it wasn’t a shared wall with her bed and her couch,butit was a thin wall. Her eyes widened.What if I snore?!

Kekoa had teased her on more than one occasion, saying she snored loud enough to wake up Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire, and even blamed her for why Kilauea was still flowing.“Pele can’t rest with your snoring, Sis.”And now, thanks to her annoying brother, she was going to stay awake all night.

“Lahela, you okay?”

She jumped, spinning to face her closed bedroom door.Briggs was on the other side of her bedroom door. Without thinking, she swung it open and blurted, “I snore!”

She cringed and clamped a hand over her mouth. This was not the way to win Briggs’s affection.What if snoring is where he draws the line? And why isn’t he saying anything?

And why—Her attention was momentarily stalled on the realization that Briggs was standing there shirtless. The cut of his chest muscles moving with the slow steadiness of his breathing that certainly didn’t match the erratic breaths coming from her.

“I was worried when you didn’t answer.” But the amused look he was giving her now didn’t appear to be worried at all. “You okay?”

“I’m good.” Her reply came out breathy. “Thank you for checking on me.”

“I’m always going to be here.”

His voice was low and husky, and Lahela didn’t know who stepped forward first, but his fingers brushed against her neck, sending a trickle of chills dancing over her skin. His chin dipped and she could just barely pick up the scent of his aftershave as his eyes asked permission.

Lahela slid her hand up his arm until her fingers stretched into his hair, and she felt his warm hands at her back, gently pressing her into his body until his lips finally found hers. She closed her eyes, leaning into him and into the kiss. It was soft and tender and—too short.

Briggs pulled away and it delighted her to see the heady way his look confirmed it was too short for him too. “Good night, Lahela.”

“Night, Briggs.”

She closed the door and then tiptoed to the wall and pressed her ear against it. She touched her lips—they were still warm from the kiss.

“Lahela.” His voice echoed through the wall, and shepressed back as if he’d known she was standing there. “If you can snore louder than me, I’ll buy you dinner tomorrow night.”

The smile she was biting back unfurled widely across her face. “Briggs, are you using a bet to ask me out on a date?”

“Maybe, but you haven’t heard me snore yet. The odds are definitely in my favor.”

Lahela laughed and remembered what Briggs said about doing whatever it took to make her smile and laugh. He was a man of his word, and suddenly her desire to be on the other side of this wall, sitting on the couch, tucked into his arms, and feeling his lips back on hers was overwhelming.

“Good night, Briggs.” She vaulted into her bed like a teenage girl. “May the odds be ever in my favor.”

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