Blooming in the Wild Page 0,31

groin. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be sporting a woody.

Especially if he thought about that kiss. When she surged up onto the rocks with him, her lithe body clothed in nothing but a thin scrap of red swimsuit, she’d looked very fine, ono, as they said here. And that red flower emphasizing her wet hair sleeked back from that lovely face, those dark eyes drenched, her lashes spangled with water and rivulets running down into the shadow between her breasts, and down her rounded, toned legs, oh man.

When she gave him that siren look, the hair on the back of his neck had stood up. He’d known he was in for it.

And holy aloha, when she’d stood on tiptoe and cocked her head and kissed him, her soft, wet lips brushing his, his brain had gone up in smoke like a Hawaiian imu, underground oven. She tasted of the sea and wild Hawaiian honey, and all he could think was more and now.

When she stepped away, he’d reached for her instinctively. He grinned to himself at the surprise on her face when she’d fallen in. Probably a good thing, or he would’ve ended up trying to fuck her right there on the rocks.

Which would’ve been fantastic, if not for the fact that a) he hadn’t been carrying a condom, b) he wasn’t even sure how he felt about her and c) anyone from the group could swim out of the bay and find them.

Okay, all three of those thoughts were arousing as hell, which was just crazy.

Time to get his mind out of his shorts and back on business.

He let Tanah comb his hair and put a little waxy stuff into it with her fingertips to train his natural wave just where she wanted it. He had nothing against a woman’s fingers in his hair, but right now he wished she’d hurry up and finish. The makeup itched, especially with the hot sun shining on his face, and he wanted nothing more than to dive into the ocean sparkling so invitingly a few feet away and wash off the gunk and the sweat.

He walked over and pulled another bottle of water from the small cooler Frank had placed near the photo area. After unscrewing the lid, Joel tipped back his head and drained the bottle in one long thirsty drink. It was amazing how the tropical heat dried a person out, no matter how moist Hawaiian air felt on the skin.

Camille spent a lot of time setting up the photos. She positioned Joel first in each shot and then moved the rest of them into position before she began clicking away with her camera. Bella hovered, of course.

Joel put up with it all because this was work, and it was one hell of a kick to have a sporting goods company like DelRay choose him as their “celebrity” spokesman. But every time Camille asked him to smile, damn if he didn’t look up and see Ms. Hawaii watching him across that little computer of hers, as if suspicious that he would screw up her precious shoot somehow.

He entertained himself by imagining her wearing something more traditional to suit her Hawaiian looks, like a little sarong and a lei—and not a damn thing else. Well, maybe that sultry look again, instead of the tight frown on her face now.

When that notion sent blood surging to his ever-hopeful cock, Joel forced himself to focus on the other two women.

Tanah was a luscious armful, with her curves and hair that looked like it would slither down if a man ran his fingers into it. But oddly, while Joel could appreciate her from the male point of view, he didn’t really want to do those things.

Cassie was fun to tease. He didn’t know how old she was, but she reminded him of the girls he’d gone to high school with, giggling and flirtatious, testing their feminine powers on the male of the species.

She was as pretty a blonde as he’d seen, with her fine skin and silky blonde locks. She made him smile, but again, she didn’t really do much for his libido. Odd, but he didn’t have time to consider the ramifications of being physically attracted to the most tightly wound of all the women present.

Camille was a bit odd too, when he thought about her. She actually made him uncomfortable, with the intense way she looked at him while she was setting up his poses. But he reminded himself she was an