Aloha - Laurie Roma
CHAPTER ONE
Kade kapono hooked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans as he stood in the shadows watching Giselle Doyle. It was barely five in the morning and the sky was still dark, yet there was enough moonlight to clearly see her dragging an enormous duffle bag around the side of her brother Griffin’s house. If given a choice, any sane person would have been sleeping at this hour. Added to that, she was far from a morning person, so he knew she was definitely up to some kind of mischief.
Her long, black hair was pulled into a thick braid that fell down her back, but a few of the shorter strands had come loose in front to frame her stunning face. It should have been impossible to look that damn good so early in the morning, yet she managed to pull it off effortlessly. With flawless skin, high cheekbones, and ocean blue eyes, she had a natural beauty that didn’t need to be enhanced with makeup.
A tight pair of black leggings were molded to her long legs and the rest of her lush curves were hidden beneath the long-sleeved flannel shirt she had borrowed from him. It was long enough to be a dress on her, and she’d had to fold the sleeves back to expose her hands. He’d given the shirt to her when she had gotten cold during a cookout they’d been at last weekend, and she hadn’t returned it at the end of the night. It didn’t bother him that she’d kept it. She might have enough clothes in her own closet to fill a department store, but he loved seeing her wearing something that belonged to him.
Even dressed casually, she looked unbelievably gorgeous. Then, he glanced down and had to fight back a chuckle. She might have chosen her clothes for stealth, but her hot pink and silver running shoes were all but glowing in the moonlight.
Curious about what she was up to, he strode forward and folded his arms across his chest. “What are you doing?”
Elle let out a startled gasp as she skidded to a halt on the dew-covered grass. When she turned to face him, she lost her grip on the strap she was holding, and the duffle bag dropped to the ground with an audible thunk. Overbalancing, she started to fall on her delectable ass. He lunged forward and caught her before she hit the ground.
He was immediately surrounded by her intoxicating scent. She smelled like coconuts, vanilla, and sultry summer nights. He fought the need to bury his face against her neck, to breathe in more of her. Since he was already holding her in an iconic lover’s embrace, it would have been so easy to give into temptation. She felt so good in his arms, and he couldn’t help fantasizing about leaning down and covering her mouth with his. Desire shot through his body, making his grip tighten.
He wanted her kiss.
Craved it.
But he couldn’t give into that need, even if it killed him to hold back.
Clearing his throat, he pulled back and looked down at her. “Elle.”
“Hi, Kade.” She smiled up at him, completely unconcerned that he was holding her so intimately. “What in the world are you doing here so early?”
“Breakfast at Griff’s before we start demo.”
“Oh, you’re doing demo on Cooper’s bungalows today? I must have forgotten that was on the schedule.”
She blinked up at him innocently, but he wasn’t fooled. She knew every detail when it came to Brennan’s construction company. She didn’t particularly enjoy the manual labor portion of things and would bitch about it for days if she broke one little fingernail. Still, she was just as involved in the company as all three of her brothers were. Besides helping with the paperwork and managerial details in the main office, she often stopped by the work sites to make sure everything was running smoothly.
The entire crew counted her as one of them, and they often went to her with their questions and complaints instead of going to her brothers. But she wasn’t there to work, and she certainly wasn’t planning on joining them for breakfast.
“What are you up to?”
“What do you mean?” she asked defensively. “I’m not doing anything.”
God, she really was beautiful, and far too alluring for his own good…even when she was lying to him. Not that it was working. While she seemed oblivious to the fact that she was rubbing his chest, he was painfully aware of what her hand