Free Burning up the Rain (Hawaiian Heroes) by Cathryn Cade Page B

right there.”
    “Holy aloha. Then what happened?” Claire breathed.
    “I don’t know,” Bella said, a pout in her voice. “Joel made me leave.”
    The heat of sheer embarrassment crawled up Jack’s face, and he groaned silently.
    O-kay. Not only had he fucked the last woman on the island he would have chosen had he been thinking rationally, but apparently most of the people here at Nawea had heard them going at it. Now he got to face them all, knowing that everyone knew exactly what he and Lalei had done, and apparently the exact duration of the act too. Holy fucking hell.
    Jack chose a cold, sweating bottle from the array packed in ice and then set the lid down quietly. Turning away from the cooler, he gave the label a cursory glance before twisting the cap off and taking a long pull of the cold, prickly brew. A Volcano Man Red from Mehana Brewing in Hilo. Tasted great, although in his present mood it could’ve been paint thinner and he’d still drink it. He’d have another in a few minutes—or maybe he should just grab his next one now. He took a deep breath and walked around onto the lanai, the sun hot on his head and back. Hopefully his red face would be attributed to that.
    “Hey, Blondie, ’bout time you showed up,” said Malu, catching sight of him. “Catching up on your beauty sleep?”
    As one, the women turned to look at him. Jack ignored them. He shook his head at David, who stood by the end of his wife’s lounger, both of them wet from a swim. “I’m on vacation, Malu. I can sleep in as long as I want.” He took another long pull of beer.
    “That’s right,” said Melia Ho’omalu, peeking around her husband’s massive shoulder, her pretty freckled face lit with a smile. “Don’t give Jack a hard time. He needs to relax. He looks like he’s been working too hard.”
    Jack smiled at her. She was a sweetheart and had tried to hush her friends.
    “Couldn’t have been a beauty nap.” Daniel Ho’omalu strode out of the water, dripping. “You’re still as ugly as you were yesterday.”
    “You’re just jealous of my Caucasian good looks.” Jack eyed Claire. “I thought you’d have him halfway civilized by now, Mrs. Ho’omalu.”
    The statuesque blonde had the grace to flush. “Gonna take longer than a few weeks, I’m afraid.”
    Daniel grunted, dropping onto the end of her lounger. “Gonna take a wahine who’s more than half-civilized herself to do it.”
    Jack, Melia and David laughed as Claire yanked one of the long, wet plaits bound at the back of her groom’s neck. Daniel merely chuckled, a deep huh-huh in his broad chest, and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.
    “And furthermore,” Jack asked quizzically, “why aren’t you two off on your honeymoon?”
    “We’ll be leaving pretty soon,” Daniel said. “Private yacht cruise around the islands, do some diving.”
    “But only for two days,” Claire added, frowning.
    “That’s too bad.” Jack was surprised.
    Daniel shook his head. “Can’t be gone too long, with the developers trying to move in. We need to be in contact with the lawyers.”
    “You’ll be in cell phone range the entire time,” Malu reminded him. “We can reel you in like a big ono when we need you.”
    Melia looked past her husband and smiled. “Lalei, have a nice swim?”
    “Great, thanks.” Lalei’s voice rubbed over Jack’s skin like a velvet caress, leaving the tiny hairs on his skin standing up.
    He drained his beer and turned away to grab another from the cooler, hoping she’d be disposed on one of the loungers by the time he was done and that she wouldn’t figure out that she and he were the object of intense interest.
    “Here, take this lounger, Lalei,” said Bella politely. “I’ve got to go and change.”
    “Mahalo.” Lalei made no move to sit down. Instead she followed Jack, peering past his bare arm into the cooler at the drinks. He could smell her seductive scent and feel her warmth, which was