Free The Soul Stealer by Maureen Willett

said. He sat down on the bed and leaned over her. “You still look a bit ill.”
    “I feel even worse. I’m really not used to drinking anything, let alone pounding beers.”
    Hunter chuckled.
    “I’m glad you weren’t drunk, too. At least one of us was sober enough to call a cab.” Malia picked up the mug of coffee, very aware of his nearness.
    “That’s why I don’t drink. It distorts reality too much.”
    “Ever? You don’t drink ever?”
    Hunter shook his head but didn’t take his eyes off her.
    “I’m so sorry. You must think I’m a lush, or something.”
    “No, you were okay,” he said as he brushed the hair out of her eyes with a quick sweep of his long fingers.
    The contact made her lungs feel constricted, and she remembered the comfort of going to sleep in his arms. It couldn’t happen again. She pulled the blanket up higher to her shoulders, knowing she was almost naked.
    “Besides, I enjoyed being with you,” he added in a soft voice while leaving his hand entwined in her hair.
    Malia swallowed the coffee with a gulp and put down the mug on the nightstand as an excuse to move away from him. “I was surprised to see you at the shop yesterday. How’d you know where to find me?”
    “You’re full of questions, aren’t you?”
    “About you, yes.”
    “You shouldn’t worry so much,” Hunter said as his hand moved from her hair to brush across her face, and then his finger outlined the curve of her lower lip—an intimate and possessive gesture. Hunter’s eyes became hooded and his breathing ragged as he leaned in closer. His fingers traced along her jaw line and then down around her neck and rested on the pulse in her jugular vein.
    She closed her eyes. “What do you want from me?” Malia asked in a barely audible whisper.
    “Everything, my love. Everything, forever.”
    His sweet breath filled her senses, and his lips followed the path of his fingers to her neck. For a moment, she was lost in the pleasure, but then her eyes flew open. She almost felt intoxicated again. “I, uhh, have to go. . . I need to get my car,” she managed to get out.
    Hunter straightened up and backed away with a confused look on his face.
    “I have to figure out a way to get my car.” Malia felt panic course through her veins, and it wasn’t caused by her car still being in Waikiki. Hunter was too close, which made logical thought and normal breathing impossible.
    “How about if I ride the bus with you to Waikiki, we pick up your car, and then you show me the island the way it should be seen? I’ll take you to an early dinner somewhere on the way home,” Hunter said.
    Malia hesitated. “You know, I think I’ll just call Lani and ask her to take me there. I need to get back by this afternoon. I have plans for dinner.”
    Hunter backed off the bed and stood. “Oh. You have a date?” The surprise in his voice was apparent.
    “No, no, I. . . .” Malia didn’t know what to say. “It’s just a. . . well, sort of a date.” She didn’t need to explain anything to him, so why did she feel so guilty? The hurt and disappointment in his eyes made her feel awful. It was clear he had expected her to want to be with him. Malia wondered if he had ever been turned down by a woman in any way before. He was so beautiful and seductive, so probably not. “Listen, I appreciate you getting me home last night, and going to sleep in your arms was great, but that doesn’t mean it will happen again.”
    The surprise in his eyes deepened. He looked stunned. “But you enjoy being with me. I can tell. You want to be with me, not anyone else, right? Cancel your date and spend time with me.” His tone was a mixture of pleading and demanding. “I know you want to.”
    Anger at his arrogance surged through Malia as she threw off the covers and got to her feet, not caring now that she was almost naked. He watched her closely as she dug one of Alex’s old T-shirts out of the dresser and put it on, knowing it would fall