Free Just Her Type by Reon Laudat Page B

the island fruit for a good five minutes.
    Another agent requested an extra serving of the
strawberry papaya, and then another made a comment about the latest ebook
technology that promised to change the industry. Disastrous dispute
circumvented, Kendra settled back in her chair as the conversation divided into
various less polarizing topics.
    “You’re fashionably late,” Kendra said to Dominic.
    “I love a good story that starts in medias res ,” he said.
    If anybody else had dropped that Latin phrase for
the technique of starting a narrative in the middle or at some crucial plot
point, she would have rolled her eyes. Only Dominic, with that irresistible
grin, could pull it off without sounding too affected.
    “Thanks for running the strawberry papaya
interception for me.” Dominic leaned closer to whisper to Kendra as the server
refilled her plate with fruit. Intense longing settled low in her belly at the
sound of his deep voice. Why was his mere presence having this effect on her in
a crowded room? She needed it badly,
that’s why. It had been what? At least seven months since she’d been with a
man. She’d stopped sleeping with Graham about four weeks before they’d broken
up.   Her solo efforts with
battery-operated devices weren’t cutting it anymore. She wanted to feel the
warm weight of solid muscle above her. Hot velvet steel sliding in and out of
her writhing body. Strong hands caressing and cupping her breasts, a hot
tongue…
    “Kendra?” Dominic said.
    “Huh?” She crossed her legs.
    As he leaned deeper into her personal space,
Kendra fretted about her tablemates assuming they were an item.
    “I said thank you,” he said.
    “For what?”   Kendra replied, in a voice only Dominic could hear. “Zoe rallied to your
defense.”    She glanced at Zoe,
who was busy talking to a tall man who had approached her to inquire about his
manuscript. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
    “Yes, she is,” Dominic said, not sparing Zoe a
glance.
    “Sort of looks like that one actress. You know that
one.” Kendra snapped her fingers as if it would jog her memory. “She won best
supporting actress two years ago.”
    “But back to the subject at hand. You said nothing
in my defense?”
    “Well, maybe a little,” Kendra said. “But it was
Zoe who told them you had great taste in clothes. She thinks you’re hot, very
hot, you know.”
    “And what about you?” Dominic asked.
    “I’m pretty sure I’m not her type.”
    “You know what I mean.” He nudged her. “But thanks
for not piling on.   So maybe you
kinda like me after all, huh?”
    “Or maybe I don’t want to ruin any Maui time
focusing on negativity.” Kendra poked at chunks of apple banana and strawberry
papaya.
    “A plateful of fruit.” He gestured toward her
dish. “Disciplined even in the land of roasted pig and coconut pudding pie.”
    “Yup,” Kendra replied. How had he missed the aroma
of pig on her breath?
    “I like that red streak in your hair.”
    “Of course, it matches your pants.”
    “In sync again. So that means you’re positively
having dinner with me tonight.”
    “I don’t think dinner together is a good idea.”
Kendra gave an empathetic smile.
    “Oh, Dominic!” Zoe trilled after she’d finished
her other conversation.
    Dominic looked over his shoulder. “Just a minute,
Zoe.” He turned back to Kendra. “At lunch that day, I thought we called a
truce.”
    “Oh, but we did.” Kendra struggled to find the
right words. “We’re sharing tropical fruit and pleasant conversation right
now.”
    “Sharing a meal with a tableful of people, the
majority of whom wouldn’t mind choking the Akahai outofme is not what I
envisioned for us.”
    “ Akahai ?”
    “Kindness that must be expressed with actions and
gentle words.”
    Kendra nodded. “Aaaah, someone’s been studying his
tourist brochures. Well,” she dabbed her mouth with a napkin and patted her
middle, “I’m full. Must get a move on.” She