Free Blooming in the Wild by Cathryn Cade Page B

words. The older man’s voice brought him back in a hurry.
    “We think a lot of Bella around here. Her uncles, cousins and I. And her father, of course.”
    Joel stood with him. “I’m glad to hear it. And I would never do anything to hurt or disrespect her.”
    Frank nodded. “I thought so. Pô maika`i, ‘night.”

Chapter Five
    To Do: Leading tour guests in vigorous physical exercise will relax them and create camaraderie .
     
    She dreamed that she walked barefoot through the night forest, clad again in the kapa-cloth skirt, a lei hanging cool and soft over her bare breasts, a crown of flowers on her head. She carried no light, needed none, for around her the forest was alive with a soft iridescence, each shrub limned with silver, blossoms glowing like miniature lanterns. The trees whispered overhead, and vines rustled as they swayed invitingly.
    She stepped into a clearing. Before her lay a pool of clear water, a waterfall rushing down the lava wall at the far side. For her—it was all for her.
    And so was the man who waited, lounging by the pool. He wore only a kapa cloth around his lean hips, his dark red hair combed back sleekly from his square, handsome face. Joel Girand popped a bite of something in his mouth, then smiled lazily at her and held out his hand, palm up. “You wanted a big one.”
    Instead of a fruit, a large, black centipede squirmed in his palm.
    She drew back with a gasp, and he chuckled, amusement rich in his voice. Anger surged through her. How dare he mock her? Did he not realize who she was?
    Reaching out, she commanded a fallen branch to fly into her grasp. Glaring down at him, she drew it back to strike him.
    He smirked up at her. “You won’t do it.”
    “’Ae,” she replied. “Yes, I will.” Her voice filled the quiet glade like soft thunder. She reveled in her authority.
    He put a hand to the ground and levered himself to his feet, loose pebbles rattling under his bare feet. Straightening, he set his jaw and narrowed his eyes at her.
    “You have no power over me, wahine.”
    The power roiled inside her, and suddenly she was not sure of which she was more afraid—that he was right, or that he was wrong.
     
    Bella woke to the snick of pebbles under someone’s foot. She started awake, and gazed blankly at the wall before her, bright red and full of light. Realizing that she was in her tent at Na’alele, she sat up quickly and shoved back the light summer sleeping bag. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she stretched, arching her back, and then sat for a moment, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
    Looking out from under her awning, Bella squinted at the sunlit sea dancing a few yards away. Her mind felt fuzzy, as if it were full of the same flexible foam as the mattress. Good thing she wasn’t the one before the cameras this morning. She was certain she wouldn’t be looking her best after the short, broken night’s sleep she’d had.
    She hated that she’d lain awake thinking of Camille and Li and their twisted sexual relationship. The only way she’d been able to stop had been to focus on Joel Girand. Even on the show in which he starred, he didn’t strut or preen himself. He grinned at the camera as if inviting the viewer to share the mischief and fun of the stunt they were about to try. Yes, and then he leapt off a cliff into thin air, supported only by slender ropes. She shuddered, but there was a wistful tinge to it. He’d done it with utter trust in his equipment and the people who were behind the scenes. And it had looked…fun.
    He was very good at what he did. Too bad he was such a tease. She cringed as she remembered his smirk at Frank’s remark about her whipping them all into shape. They’d both been thinking the same thing, but Joel was the only one who’d found it amusing. And as for his other tease, when she’d been certain he was going to kiss her, that had been simply diabolical. And what had she done? She’d just stood there, waiting for that mouth