Wet For Her Warriors (Book 5 of the WILD -- Warriors Intense in Love & Domination -- Boys of Special Forces) (10 page)

He didn’t waste
time on challenging the kid’s assumption. Even if the literal translation of
the statement wasn’t accurate, real fear underlined Leo’s words. After a few minutes
with Gunter Benson last night, Tait couldn’t blame the kid. The man carried a
“concern” for the land only as far as it served him. If Isis wasn’t pulling her
weight—or slogging it up and down the beach in use to the resort—she
would
be
sold, perhaps to a fate worse than a glue factory.

“You hang onto
that,” he said, indicating the pole. “You’re going to be just as much a part of
this, if you want the lesson to stick.”

Leo nodded
eagerly. “Good plan. So maybe you’ll distract her while I sneak up and—”

He smacked the
kid on the side of his well-groomed head. “Did you look up how to do this on
YouTube or something?” He chuffed when the deep blush on Leo’s face supplied
that answer. “Did you research how to date girls on there, too?”

“Fuck no!”

“Then what made
you think you could learn to win
this
girl like that?”

He let Leo stew
about that while he walked around so Isis could see him. He took gentle, slow
steps. The horse snorted, stamped a hoof, and backed away. He followed her with
his head bent low, hands at his sides. When Isis stopped, he dropped to a knee,
letting her sniff the air to get used to his presence.

“What the hell
are you doing?” Leo charged.

Tait turned his
head up, letting the filly watch his soft movements. He picked his reply to the
boy with care. He had no idea what Franz had disclosed about him, though he
doubted that his captain, who was a fellow and regular Dominant at their
favorite BDSM dungeon back home, would’ve disclosed that morsel about Tait’s personality.
Nevertheless, many of the tenets of this situation could be culled directly
from the beginning stages of a loving and honest D/s relationship. Not that
he’d possessed any desire to exercise those principles lately.

“Tell me
something,” he began. “When you’re going in for the major impression on a girl,
like wanting her to beg you for the good night kiss in a few hours, what are
the most important steps to consider?”

“Well, you gotta
have swagger,” the boy asserted. “Impress her with your moves, your mojo.”

Tait exercised
his turn for the eye roll now. He leaned over and let the idiot have the full,
dismayed impact of it. “Seriously?”

“Uh…yeah. What
the hell’s wrong with—”

“Dude, if
you
were a girl and saw Leo Kail sauntering into the room with that ‘tude, would
you
be dreaming of some lip action?” He let the teen mull that over as he
swiveled to face Isis again. Gently, he reached up to stroke the animal’s
muzzle with the backs of his knuckles. “Before a guy locks you in a harness,
you just want to know you can trust him, don’t you, girl?” He kept his voice
low, his touch respectful. “You want to be sure he’s going to treat you right.
That your obedience gets you a nice reward.”

He pulled his
hand away. Stretched into half a crouch, and stepped back a little.

Isis trailed him
by a slow step, dipping her head and pushing at him for more.

“Fuck,” Leo
uttered. “That’s…amazing.”

Tait chuckled
and shook his head. “That’s just showing our girl how valuable her compliance
is.” He turned his hand over, rubbing her with the flat of his palm. “You
want
to be good, don’t you, baby? You simply need to feel safe when you are.”

Just as quietly,
Leo walked back over. An amazed smile curved the kid’s lips, and he ran a
reverent hand down the horse’s neck. “Wow. You did that in, like, five minutes.”

Tait gave the
kid a friendly shoulder clap. “Couldn’t have without the foundation you clearly
built. You just needed a few pointers on closing the deal.” As Isis emitted a
fluttering sigh, he instructed, “I’m going to step back again. Try the lead
line now.”

He made good on
his word. Though Isis gave a little protesting nicker, she only jerked at the
lead line a few times. Leo soothed her with soft tongue clicks and praising
murmurs. “Good girl. That’s my beauty.”

“Nice,” Tait
complimented. “You’re doing great, man.”

His chest warmed
with a duality of sensation when Leo sent a grin of thanks. It was incredible
to connect with the boy, to watch him accomplish an important goal because he
got smart and listened. But “torture session” got a cruel new meaning with
every glance at Leo’s smile, and noticing every stunning similarity it shared
with his sister. The deep dimples. The slight lift higher on the left side of
his mouth, lending a mischievous air. The compassion in those silvery-bright
eyes that spoke volumes about what the kid had already been through in life. Yeah,
that
one, especially. He and Shay shared a similar glint in their gazes.

Damn.
Damn
.

Had he been sent
to this island and plopped next door to the woman as a blessing or a curse? Was
Hokulani a sign to him or a punishment for him? And what good did it do to
agonize over the answers? He wouldn’t be seeing the woman anymore. He couldn’t
stand by and watch Slash slick her up with his Romeo act when the guy planned
on carrying the whole plot through to its crap-fest of an end, figurative as it
would be, in two weeks.
Here’s to my love! O, true apothecary; thy drugs are
quick! Thus with a kiss I die…

Gag.

“Bommer!”

Leo’s eager
whisper drew him back. He was glad to do so. They both held their breaths as
Isis, remaining remarkably still, allowed the kid to fit the simple rope head
collar on. “Fucking awesome,” he stated. “Good job, Leo.”

“Aha.” The kid
chuckled as he rewarded the filly with ample caresses. “I knew you had at least
one decent
f
bomb in there somewhere.”

Tait huffed.
“I’ve been known to indulge from time to time.”

“So…uhhh…speaking
of indulging…”

“Yeah?” He didn’t
hide his suspicious tone though allowed Leo to see the teasing smirk he
attached.

“Does this
psychobabble shit really work on girls, too?”

This wasn’t
right.

Lani was as sure
of that truth as she was of the air in her lungs, the beat of her heart—and the
tension that hadn’t left Kellan’s eyes in the last three days. Seventy-two
hours in which he’d chosen to remain at Hale Anelas instead of going back to
Franz’s place to smooth things out with Tait. The brief trip he’d taken
yesterday for some fresh clothes hadn’t counted, especially because he
deliberately took it after Leo announced he was meeting Tait for a horse ride
up the coast, ensuring an “all clear” status for Kellan’s trip.

The whole
situation troubled her. Even more upsetting was when logic stepped in, telling
her it shouldn’t. The guys had only a little over a week left here, and then it
would be a miracle if either of them returned to the island. Why should it
matter to her if their friendship was bashed beyond repair, and they chose to
torpedo it
and
their careers in the names of pride and pigheadedness?

But even after
her brief time with the men together, she knew the answer to that, too.

They were better
than this.

They were
worth
more than this.

Franzen had
known it when he’d moved the Army’s version of heaven and earth, then tossed in
the keys to his family home, to give them this opportunity at repair. If their
captain knew what was really happening instead, what would he do?

She’d tried
posing that question to Kellan last night at dinner but received his version of
a shutdown—which was to drop beneath the table, spread her legs, tear her
panties free, and declare he was in the mood for a different kind of “tasty
meal.” After his tongue had taken her body apart in a million orgasmic pieces, he’d
dragged her to the floor, growling how he intended to make her scream for
dessert. She’d done just that—three more times.
Shit, shit, shit
. If the
man insisted on having the maturity of a fourteen year-old, was it necessary
that he possess the sex drive of one, too?

Because the mind-blowing
sex didn’t confuse things enough, their physical chemistry wasn’t the only perk
of having the man around all the time. Crazy, what happened when a girl owned a
house with fifteen rooms and had the Energizer bunny hanging around, ready to
screw her in all of them. With every new space they visited in his sexy version
of a property tour, Kellan was also swift to notice everything that needed repairing
there. Within the next hour, she’d hear him hammering, power drilling,
tinkering, or even cursing his way through the fix. If she came in to see what
was happening, he’d simply flash that stomach-flipping grin and give her a
cocky wink before throwing his focus back into the work

She’d left him
doing exactly that to a ceiling fan in one of the upstairs guest rooms,
tripling her guilt about lying to him when she left. It hadn’t been a total
fib; she really did run to the bank and the grocery store. Could she help it if
Franz’s place was on the way home, and she had an extra bag of groceries thanks
to some good sales? Could she also help it if Kellan hadn’t been here since his
ride over a day ago, nudging her a tad over the “reasonably worried” line about
Tait? The guy
had
been riding with Leo a few times, but they had to skip
the outing today due to Leo’s fencing match. That left a lot of hours open for
Tait to drink himself into another stupor—a potentially dangerous one, judging
from Kell’s assessment of how frequently the guy had been hitting the juice
lately.

She rang the
doorbell and knocked.

Three times each.

Damn. Either
Tait wasn’t here or really was shitfaced again. Both theories compelled her to
fish out her own key to the place. Since she and Leo came over often to check on
things for Franz, she could let herself in with one easy turn.

As she crossed
the living room, she peered around in wonder. Though Tait had been the only guy
actually living here, she expected the place to resemble the wake of a
hurricane. Every day, Leo demonstrated the housekeeping nightmare even one male
could create.

A deeper frown took
over. While the minimal mess was a pleasant change, her perusal didn’t include a
Sergeant Bommer sighting, either. The three bedrooms and den, all reflecting
the Franzen family’s taste in comfortable island décor, were also empty.

She moved into
the kitchen to put away the groceries. Still no sign of the man.

Checking her
phone confirmed the time, four o’clock, which meant she’d been gone nearly an
hour. She estimated she had another fifteen to twenty minutes before Kellan
started his protective freak-out, so that was how long she’d wait, too.

Or…maybe not.
What were her intentions if Tait showed up? She couldn’t shoot the breeze about
the weather, which had been eighty and unchanged since the storm three nights
ago. If she started to meddle, would the men appreciate it or resent it? Was
she plowing her nose somewhere it didn’t belong?

Just when she’d
decided on a
yes
in answer to that question, car tires crunched on
gravel outside. As the engine cut, Lani pulled in a breath with the intent of
calming herself, but her choppy exhalation accomplished the opposite.

She stood in the
middle of the living room, attention on the front door. And waited for what
felt like an eternity.

“Hokulani?”

“Ahhh!”

Her yelp filled
the room. Though his inquiry was quiet, its issuance from three feet
behind
her was as startling as a scorpion.

“Are you okay?”

“I will be after
my heart climbs out of my throat.” She stepped back before she could help
herself. The shock of his ninja-style entrance from the lanai was only half the
cause. His utter resplendence formed the other half. Even in board shorts that
fit him way too well and a blue V-neck tee that hugged his body even better,
the man seemed like a half-god sent from another realm. His gaze matched the
late afternoon sun for depth. His hair, a little better combed today, still made
her fingers tingle to touch it. And his mouth, luscious and smiling…
ohhhh
no; too dangerous; don’t go there.
No use studying the strong column of his
neck, either. Or how the masses of his biceps pushed from the short sleeves of
his shirt. Or how those shorts defined things so perfectly from his waist down…

Thank God
he
wasn’t at a sudden loss for words.

“Sorry.” He gave
up an awkward laugh, betraying how much he meant it. “When I saw the unfamiliar
car outside, I had no idea who was here.”

“So you decided
to get the bad-ass warrior jump on them.” Teasing him brought back a welcome
wave of control.

He grinned. “Something
like that.”

A
longer-than-comfortable silence descended. She glanced up, only to see that his
stare was just as fixed on her as before. So much for regaining composure. “So.”
She twisted her lips. “Are you okay?”

“You’re stealing
my lines, dreamgirl.”

Oh God. He
hadn’t forgotten his drunken nickname for her. And just her luck, it sounded much
better when he was sober. Dangerously better. Low and silken and…intimate.

How the hell
could the man be amazed that his partner had gotten horizontal with her inside
a couple of hours? Kellan probably learned the technique from
him
. It
was all she could do not to fantasize about letting him croon that word again,
down the length of her neck. In her ear. Against her lips…her breasts…her
abdomen…and lower…

You are going to
Hell, Hokulani. And your panties are going to be soaked when you get there,
thanks to your wicked yearnings for two men at the same time.

She needed to
refocus. Fast. Needed to think of boring things like…paying the bills. Cleaning
out the storm gutters. Picking snails off the rose bushes. Going to the bank
and fending off Dexter Greene’s skeevy invitations for dinner. Grocery
shopping.

“Groceries!” she
blurted.

“Excuse me?”
Tait exposed his crooked canine in a curious half-smile.

“That’s—errrm—why
I—” While nodding toward the kitchen, she nervously twisted the ends of her
summer scarf. “I just had some extra groceries and stopped by to share.”

“You had ‘extra groceries’?
With a kid like Leo in the house?”

She winced. “All
right, you got me. Maybe I was checking in on you. Just a little.”

Only when he
chuckled again did she realize she was tensing for a different reaction. Based
on what she knew of Franz, these Special Forces men were stubborn, prideful,
and secretive. The traits weren’t character flaws; they were job essentials. By
coming here, she’d pushed at the first two and shattered the third with Tait.
But the man actually smiled wider before replying to her.

“Guess I can’t
blame you, after the sloppy first impression I gave.”

“Or the fight
you had with your best friend the morning after?” she countered. “Because of
me?”

His smile
dissolved. “You think
you
caused this?” He shook his head. “Stop it.
Right now. This is a bigger mess than what you see, Hokulani. It started before
we got here.
Way
before.”

She let a
meaningful pause go by. “It started with Luna?”

His jaw went
granite hard. “He told you about her?”

“Only because I
asked.” She caught him by the forearm as he wheeled toward the lanai. “You
called me by her name,” she blurted, “when you were still blotto on my couch.
But you sounded so tormented, so I had to know.”

“Now you do.” He
grabbed her fingers with his free hand and pushed them away. “Happy?”

She let him
escape to the porch. After he’d stood out there a long minute, his posture so
proud but his profile tautening by the second, she walked out to join him. “What
is it about me,” she finally asked with soft care, “that brings her back for
you?”

He snapped his
head at her. Grief, desperation, and confusion flashed out from his gaze. “Nice
follow-up, lady. Was Slash not so inclined to answer it, or did you want to save
it for this special occasion?”

She let his
words fall into another long silence. At last she asserted, “You’re off the
clock here, Sergeant. There’s no answer required. I never asked Kellan to
answer that, nor are you required to.”

He pulled in an
unsteady breath. “So…how’d you even know to ask it? Is there some cool mind-reading
algorithm out there these days? Maybe a magical quiz in Cosmo, ‘Just How
Fucked-Up
is
the Guy-Next-Door’?”

She attempted an
empathic smile while moving out to the railing. It faded as she neared him. His
bitterness was a thin front for the loneliness that palpably rolled off of him,
jerking hard at the center of her chest. Too bad he wouldn’t be on the island
long enough to know that “magic” wasn’t a word one tossed around so casually on
Kauaˋi—in the good
and
bad ways. She’d experienced enough of both
to know.

“When my parents
were still alive and the B and B was running, we’d sometimes have movie stars
who came to stay.” She relayed it while gazing over the Franzens’ little
garden, with the gate to the beach path decorated with hand-painted pictures from
the kids through the years. The flagstone trail led between two dunes to the ocean,
full of azure tranquility today. “You look at me like Leo used to gawk at the
celebrities. Like I’m not real. It gets worse when I stand a certain way. It
gets
really
bad when I yell at you.”

He stunned her
by setting a laugh free. “Yeah. That makes sense.” The next moment, he grimaced
again. The look hardened before he stalked away a couple of steps. “My beauty
always loved yelling at me.”

Lani chose
respectful silence once more, though the restraint was agonizing. The sight of
his spine, so stiff in his inner struggle, made her long to run and press
herself there, wrapping as much of her comfort around him as she could. She
yearned to pull his grief out of him if only for a little while…

When she teetered
on giving into the impulse, he turned around. He’d pulled out his phone, and
swiped the screen as he walked back over. Without a word, he set it down on the
table, exposing the home picture.

Lani gasped.

With the
exception of the dyed streaks in her hair and the enviable figure with the
lithe legs, the woman could be her sister. The photo’s smiling subject even had
luminous, near-silver eyes.

“Sorry,” he murmured.
“Guess I haven’t been subtle with the oh-god-a-ghost gawks, though maybe you
understand now.”

 “Just a
little.” She didn’t pull back on the sarcasm. “This is…a little weird.”

“You think?” His
matching irony brought a surprising dose of comfort. “I hope this also explains
why I went all John McClane on Kell the other morning.”

She slanted him
a wry smirk. “While Kellan
is
as hot as Alan Rickman, it’s
understandable.”

He blinked at
her. “You know I have to officially fall down and worship you now. You actually
got the
Die Hard
reference.”