Page 5 of His Hawaiian Heart
“Oh.” Okay, I might not know my fruits, but I didn’t let that stop me. I replaced the water and grabbed one that looked the same but didn’t have the word “sparkling” in cursive script on the label. “Here you go.”
He grinned and took the bottle. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Umm, so no papaya?”
He laughed as he uncapped the water. “No thanks, I’m good with this. Would you like some music?”
“Sure if you’ll decide which station goes best with watching the scenery go by.”
“First time on the island?”
“On this one yes,” I said. I’d been on too many islands to count, but Kauai was new to me.
“In that case, sit back and soak it in.” As he turned on the car, he also activated a switch that caused the entire top of the roof to slide back and disappear, allowing the sky to appear. A breeze flew across the gap, dropping in as if to give me another welcoming hug before drifting out on an updraft as the car picked up speed.
Sighing, I did as he’d suggested and sat back against the incredibly soft cushions of the seat. If I had no manners at all, I would have toed off my hiking boots, but managed to curtail the impulse. I figured I could wiggle my toes in the sand soon enough. For now, I sipped the ice-cold soda and nibbled on a slice of cheese. I had no clue what kind it was and didn’t particularly care. It was as delicious as the strains of music that seemed to envelop me. The sound of an alto voice singing lyrics along with the accompaniment of what I thought must be a ukulele soothed the remaining tension from my body and for the first time since I’d awakened yesterday morning, it didn’t matter that I was here to work and not play. Maybe if I was lucky enough to get a night off, I’d be able to check out some local hangout. Perhaps even find someone who’d like to share some island bliss with. How nice would it be if my driver just happened to be available?
If not, there’s always Bob, though you might want to pick up some new batteries.
I had to grin at the suggestion. Trust my inner sex goddess to be frank. Regardless of what or who I’d be doing, I made a vow that I’d do what Harriett had suggested and enjoy the rest of my time in the Hawaiian Islands.
Chapter Two
Samuel
I don’t believe my passenger made it through the first song before her soft purrs joined the lyrics Iam Tongi sang as he strummed his ukulele. Despite the faint smudges of black beneath eyes that seemed to change from blue-violet to indigo depending on the light and the strands of curly auburn hair that stuck to her chin where she’d dribbled a drop of her soda, it was easy to see she was beautiful. Taking advantage of the stoplight, I put the limo in park and leaned over the dividing wall to gently slip the bottle from her hand. I ignored the cheese as it wasn’t going to spill and wake her. Grateful my move didn’t cause her to stir, I set the soda into a cup holder up front just in time to shift the car into gear as the light turned green. It wasn’t that far from the airport to the canyon, and even though my passenger was sound asleep, I decided to take the scenic route. For anyone to be able to fall asleep that fast they had to be exhausted. Besides, my schedule had been cleared for the remainder of the day the moment Harriett decided to step in and play knight in shining armor to the poor damsel in distress.
It had been a while since I’d last driven these roads and I took advantage of the opportunity by rolling my window down. Inhaling deeply, I allowed the scent of the ocean and the lyrics of the song to flow through me as I drummed my fingers along to the beat of the music. I hadn’t been lying when I’d said I was familiar with the island. I’d grown up here and knew the roads like the back of my hand. I turned off the main highway and away from the coast to drive up into the mountains. Traffic thinned as I wove along roads, some known only to the locals. The limo might raise a few eyebrows as horses were quite often the favored mode of transportation on this part of the island, but I didn’t care. From horseback or the interior of a car, the view was spectacular, and I wasn’t just thinking of the scenery outside the windows. A glance in the rearview mirror reminded me that while I could enjoy the interior view as well, all my passenger was seeing was the inside of her eyelids.
I imagined myself offering her another ride. Make that many other rides.
Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you? You don’t even know the girl.
I grinned. I seldom discounted the wisdom of my inner voice, but this was one time I was going to ignore him. Sam had impressed Harriett, a woman I highly admired, and that told me all I needed to know about the younger woman’s character. Besides, until I learned more than Sam’s first name, it was pretty much all I had to go on.
Well, that and witnessing her interaction with a trio of men stuck somewhere in their adolescence. She’d handled herself like a pro even if I’d seen a flicker of fear in her eyes when the asshole had grabbed her. Granted, I wasn’t averse to a bit of restraint to spice up a scene, but only a first-class asshole thought it was okay to grab a woman who hadn’t given any sign of consent.
A snort of agreement had my eyes going to the mirror again. If she’d heard my thoughts, she had to have done so while in her dreams as she was still asleep. Pushing the memory of the men where it belonged, which was out the open window, I turned my thoughts to what our Sam might be doing on the island. She’d said she was joining a research team but hadn’t offered any information on what her role was. I was finding it far harder to imagine her in a starched white lab coat perusing the contents of beakers than I was in a string bikini contemplating the waves. Or better yet, in her birthday suit, studying me in mine. But I also remembered Harriett mentioning a magnifying glass and something about it reminding Sam of her studies and home. Seeing the woman shift to draw her legs up to curl into a small ball on the leather seat, I pushed the button to close the roof. I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know she was cold. All I needed was to be able to read her body language, and I already considered myself somewhat of an expert in that department. The sight of her nipples poking against the fabric of her t-shirt was far more honest than any spoken words could be.
I raised my window as well, noticing the sun had begun to dip behind the mountain. It was time to get my passenger to her destination unless I wanted her to arrive in the pitch black. The canyon wasn’t cluttered with streetlights, or even paved roads for that matter. I hoped that whatever position Sam held was elevated enough to earn her an actual tent and a cot. Sleeping under the stars could be an incredible experience, but trying to sleep on the ground while being pelted by rain was something few people actually enjoyed.
A quarter of an hour later, Sam uttered a surprised “umph” as the car dropped over a bump in the road.
“Sorry about that,” I said when she pushed up and looked around. Her eyes turned a darker violet as her nose crinkled in confusion. “We’ve reached the jungle but I’m not sure exactlywhat spot you were talking about. At least I haven’t seen any white lab coats walking around.”
Sam sat up and swiped her hair away from her face. “We don’t wear them. We’d be washing them daily and that sort of goes against our whole code of ethics.”
“What code would that be?” I asked before snapping my eyes forward again in time to barely miss a low-hanging branch.
“You know, keeping everything as green as possible. Taking nothing but data from the places we study and leaving nothing behind except for our footprints when we’re finished,” she said, bending forward as if searching for something.
“Looking for this?” I asked, holding up the soda.
“How did that get up there?”
I chuckled. “I figured it was safer up front than on the floor or spilling on your lap when you fell asleep.”
“Oh, right. Sorry about that,” she said, scooching forward on the seat and reaching for the bottle.
