the morning.”
Frank nodded. “We’ll leave as soon as it’s light. Our luck is going to hell in a hurry, and I don’t like it.”
Joel nodded, looking around him. The forest was so beautiful, but now that Bella had found the weapon, he realized that the thick brush could hide a battalion of armed men.
“You think she really found an automatic weapon or just someone’s old hunting rifle? Can’t you hunt wild pigs here?”
Frank gave him a quizzical look. “Yeah, the feral ones are a real nuisance, killing the vegetation. But if Nani says it was an automatic, I believe her. She’s a smart girl.”
“Yeah, but she’s a city girl.”
Frank’s weathered face creased in a grin. “Not on da island, she’s not. She and her cousin Zane were up at Nawea just weeks ago for a wedding, and those two spent most of the time up in da forest, tearing up and down da trails like Pele’s wild creatures.”
“I think we should all stay close to the caves this evening,” Joel said stubbornly. He felt an unwelcome shaft of jealousy for this Zane, whoever he was. Did Bella smile at him?
Frank nodded. “We’ve just got to get the others to do that without telling them too much. I don’t want dese wahines upset.”
“No, because we’d have to listen to two of them bitch,” Joel muttered. “Bella doesn’t seem to rattle too easily.”
“Nah. She’s a real tita, tough girl,” Frank said affectionately. “But, I’d feel better if we had that weapon. After everyone’s asleep, I’ll climb up and get it, put it where we can reach it if we need it.”
“I’ll do it,” Joel offered. “No offense, but I can give you a few years.”
Frank shrugged. “Whatever. Long as we get it.”
The two men headed back into the cave, pausing at the entrance to hang their wet jackets over camp chairs.
Bella was waiting as they turned. “Frank, can I use your phone?”
Frank shook his head. “Sorry, Nani. Joel’s and mine won’t work either. Maybe in the morning, when the weather clears up.”
She nodded, but her ebony eyes held worry. “We’re okay,” Joel said quietly. “We’ve got food, water and the boat. We can head back in the morning.”
She tried to smile. “You’re right. I’m just a little nervous.”
“’Cause you’ve got a responsibility bump that’s as big as this camp.”
“Oh, I thought it was called being an adult.”
He grinned. She was back in form, a lot more fun than her brief stint as a polite person. And they’d gotten what they came for, so this storm was just a bump, not a crash on his career road. As he’d told Matt, there were worse things than being marooned in paradise with beautiful women.
They ate cold chicken, homemade bread and salads, and drank hot cocoa and coffee brewed on the little stove, and then Joel built a campfire in the mouth of the cave, and Frank pulled out his ukulele. Everyone settled down around the fire to listen, bundled in sweatshirts or jackets. The rain had indeed cooled the air several degrees, into the low seventies by Joel’s keychain thermometer.
Spotting Tanah waiting for him, he cast a hunted glance around. Bella sat on the big log, listening to Frank play a soft, slow tune. Making a lightning-swift decision, Joel swung his leg over the back of the log beside Bella. Wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled her sideways into the vee of his legs.
He groaned silently as he gathered her close. She was slender and lissome in his grasp, and her scent, warm woman laced with that faint, tantalizing hint of flowers and sex, wrapped around him. Her firm, soft ass snuggled right against his balls, cradling his cock in feminine temptation.
Bella didn’t protest, clearly caught off guard. She tilted her head back and to the side to look up into his face. Joel smiled into her startled dark eyes.
“Follow my lead,” he murmured.
Her gaze, still bemused, dropped to his mouth, and for one wild moment, he wanted to kiss her again, right here, just plant one on those soft, curving lips. They’d be warm, and she’d taste like wild honey.
Then she blinked, and her brows started to slide together in a frown.
“Bella, do not scowl at me.” He reached up with his free hand to push her hair away from her face, brushing his fingers over her cheek. Her skin was as warm and satiny as he’d remembered. “You can ream me out later to your controlling little heart’s content, but