Page 47 of Try Easy

Heroes Die Hard

Keoni

Raw lust pulsedthrough Keoni as his mouth closed over Lou’s. He had been holding back for days, and now that they were kissing, he didn’t want to stop. He shifted his mouth, slanting his lips across hers.

Lou’s hands slid into Keoni’s hair, and she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. It was the signal Keoni had been waiting for. The tenuous control Keoni had on his desire snapped, and he took over the kiss.

In less time than it took to drop in on a wave, the kiss went from exploratory to explosive.

Lou gasped, and her lips parted. Keoni licked the inside of her bottom lip, and she licked him back. He rolled onto the sand, taking Lou with him.

The sudden movement made a riot of pain shoot through his ribs, but Keoni didn’t care. He finally had Lou’s mouth pressed to his. He’d been wanting to do this since that brief kiss they’d shared at the graveyard.

Her lips were soft and firm, and her tongue slid against his in an inviting dance. Their mouths fit together as if they’d been made to kiss.

Keoni felt a satisfaction deep inside his soul, and he knew they had been born to find each other. He hadn’t thought he believed in soul mates, but kissing Lou convinced him otherwise.

Keoni tasted the metallic tang of blood and realized his mouth was bleeding. He pulled back, pressing his hand to his mouth.

He rolled onto his back. The moment was ruined.

“Sorry,” he said.

Lou was silent, and he could hear her gasping for air. He was such a jerk. She’d nearly died, and he’d taken advantage of her vulnerability. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb, sighing deeply.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Keoni dropped his hand from his face and looked up at Lou. She was bent over him, staring at the blood on his mouth.

“I’m awrite,” he said, touched that she was concerned for him when she’d almost drowned. “Are you okay?”

Lou nodded, her eyes hazy and heavy-lidded with desire. A blast of lust shot through Keoni. Their eyes met and held.

“You saved my life,” she said, pulling in a deep breath. “I owe you my life.”

Keoni was startled and then disappointed. Is that why she’d let him kiss her like that? She thought she owed it to him? He felt the hot rush of lust turn to ice in his veins. He sat up so quickly that he felt lightheaded.

“Keoni?” Lou sat up beside him and put her hand on his back. “What’s wrong? I was just trying to thank you,” she said. “You’re a hero.”

Keoni squeezed his eyes shut. He pinched the bridge of his nose so hard he saw stars. “Don’t call me that,” he said.

“Why not?” Lou asked. “It’s true. Bones told me you’ve saved dozens of people. You’re famous for your dramatic rescues.”

Keoni tried to block the memory of Eddie’s body, floating in the ocean facedown, but it crept past his defenses and played out in his mind. He flinched when Lou’s hand slid over his shoulder.

“Keoni? What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“You have that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“The one you get before you go away for a little while,” she said.

The care in her voice made his heart ache. He softened and turned to her. “It’s nothing,” he said.

Keoni wouldn’t talk about Eddie’s death. The events of the day were burned on his brain for himself only. It was his punishment to remember them in silence. If he shared them with someone else, even someone like Lou, then the pain might lessen. Keoni didn’t want the pain of losing Eddie to lessen. He needed the grief. He needed to remember his failure.

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