Blooming in the Wild Page 0,23

her hair brushing his bare shoulder. “That one’s just dumb.”

He shrugged, encouraged by the smile in her voice. “How about, you’re really pretty when you smile?”

She stopped in her tracks, and looked up at him, wary as a doe. “Mahalo. If you behave yourself, I might do it more often.”

“Aw, now what fun would that be?” He shook his head in mock regret. “Guess I’ll have to do without the smile.”

They were standing very close. He tugged slightly on her hand, and she moved one foot to keep her balance, stepping even closer. Her arm brushed his, her skin like satin. He could feel the heat of her body, and she smelled like temptation.

Something about witnessing the raw sexuality of Camille and Li’s encounter had him feeling reckless. And, what the hell, he’d wanted this wahine since the first moment he saw her. Had that only been a few hours before?

Even more since she’d brought him that guava. She’d watched him eat with a covert intensity that had been as arousing as it was surprising. She was a study in contrasts, from prim executive director to alluring, feisty Hawaiian wahine.

He bent his head very slowly, watching to see what she’d do. She stood very still, but her arm trembled a little against his, her fingers tightening on his.

“A night like this sort of calls for a kiss, don’t you think?” he asked.

“Maybe.” Her whisper was a breathy tease. In the moonlight, her lips parted, soft and luscious.

Damn. So luscious he’d never be content with just a kiss. He already wanted to haul her against him, feel those little breasts pressed against his bare chest and grind his erection into the vee of her thighs, get his hands on that ass of hers. If he kissed her, he wouldn’t be able to resist doing the rest. And then she’d probably raise all kinds of hell, slap him with her capable little hand and a lawsuit.

He let her wait, drawing the moment out while the surf shushed against the shore and a night bird called softly from the trees overhead. “Nah, better not.”

Straightening, acting as if he’d never intended to kiss her, was one of the hardest things he’d done in…a long time. Taking a fortifying breath of the warm night air, Joel pulled her after him, toward the camp.

“Too bad,” she murmured. “I was gonna use my trademark move.”

His pulse leapt, his hand tightening on hers. “Is that a twisted, kinky move like we just saw, or a friendly kind of move?” he asked, as if he could’ve cared less.

She wriggled her hand from his grip. “Guess you’ll never know.”

Joel adjusted himself surreptitiously in his shorts, groaning silently. He’d known she was trouble from those first few moments. Now, instead of going peacefully to sleep, he was going to lie in his sleeping bag and imagine her offering him not guava but passion fruit.

As they reached the camp, another shadow moved out to meet them. It was Frank.

“What’s up?” he asked. He might be a lot smaller than Joel, but there was an edge in his voice. The older man had obviously caught on that he was attracted to Bella and was feeling protective.

“Bella heard something and wanted to make sure everyone’s all right,” Joel said quietly. “I heard her and followed.”

“It was, um, just Camille and Li,” Bella muttered. “Being…private.”

Frank grunted in acknowledgement, obviously uninterested in the photographers’ midnight wanderings. “Well, I can’t sleep. Want to sit?”

“Sure,” Joel agreed. He was wide awake now, and conversation was a lot better idea than trying to get in Bella’s pants.

The three of them settled into camp chairs by the dark fire pit.

“Look at those stars,” Joel said, tipping back his head to admire the brilliant panoply above. “There’s Orion, with his bow and arrow.” He smiled at the familiar group of stars. The Hunter had always been his favorite constellation, a beacon calling him to adventure since he’d been a boy in the forests of northern Idaho. He’d posed with his first bow and arrow, imagining he was the legendary hunter.

“Our people have been navigating by those stars for a thousand years,” Frank mused. “Imagine being out there a moana, on da sea on a night like this, riding the huge waves in an outrigger, food and water dwindling, wondering if you’re gonna make it to a place you can make a good life, or if Kanaloa will take you down to your death in his kingdom below.”

“It must have been something,”