Claiming Her (Keeping Her Series) (13 page)

“Why aren’t you guys
dressed yet?  The luau is starting in like ten minutes.”

Eli, he noticed, was
looking her over just as thoroughly as he was, and from the appreciation in his
eyes, he was enjoying it just as much.

“Please tell me you
have a bikini on under that very thin piece of fabric.”

“You want to give us a
few minutes here, Eli?”

“With your woman
looking like that?”  He didn’t look away from Miley when he spoke with
feeling.  “You’ll need more than one.”

“Then we’ll see you at
the luau.”

Eli chuckled but stood
and left the room, winking at Miley as he did.

She rolled her eyes,
but laughed at the same time.  “Enjoy the party, Eli.  Try not to do anything
that will get you evicted from the island.”

“They’ll have to catch
me first.”

Lucas was still watching
her when the door shut behind Eli.  She turned back to him with a smile on her
face.  “He is so going to be trouble tonight.”  Then she moved to his side and
smiled down at him.  “What did you want to talk about?”

As an answer, he pulled
her into his lap by her hips.  She gasped in surprise. “Lucas, what?”

“
Are
you wearing
a bikini?”

She wrapped her arms
around his neck and smiled.  “Come to the beach and find out.”

He pulled her closer
until he could wrap his arms around her and her breasts were pressing into his
chest.  “Or I can find out right now.”

She tried to catch his
hands to stop their roaming, even as she bit back a smile.  “We’ll be late for
the party.”

He just grunted, his
mind already captured by the feel of her skin beneath his hands, skin he was
exposing by pushing the sarong away from her thighs, his hands moving to cup
her ass.  “Gonna see for myself first.”

Isabella smiled again,
this time with a touch of devilry that should have warned him; then she leaned
down and nipped his lip with her teeth, trailed her lips up his cheek to his
ear and bit it teasingly.  Then she whispered directly into his ear making him
growl, “You could do that, but then your daughter got ready with me at my
cabin, so I happen to know she
is
wearing a bikini under her sarong,
with a flower in her hair . . . on her way to a drunken luau to celebrate her twenty-first
birthday . . . where there are hot Calypso musicians, an open bar, and barely
dressed wolf-shifters . . . frolicking.”

He froze abruptly, and with
a growled “Fuck,” hauled her to her feet and stood.  “Let’s go.”

“Don’t you want to
change?”

“No time.”  He hustled
her to the door and through it. 
Fuckin’ drunken luau. 
He completely
ignored Miley’s laugh at his expense, but he did gnash his teeth.  “If I have
to kill someone tonight, I’m blaming you.”

“Or you could just let
your daughter handle her own self, since she is so very good at it.”

He ignored that, too, leading
her out at a march and slamming the door behind them. They made it to the
elevator.  He was practically dragging Miley, but since she was fighting the
need to laugh at him, he didn’t worry if he was hurting her.  He did growl and
snap his teeth when the doors opened and a young wolf’s eyes fell on Miley
first and lit up.  Lucas growled and snapped his teeth at the jumpy wolf, who quickly
darted past them out of the elevator.  He dragged her inside and hit the button
for the lobby.  

“When I get you alone
again, I’m taking this whole night out on your ass.”  He yanked her into his
arms while they waited for the elevator to descend.  “Repeatedly.”  His lips
took hers with punishing force, her mouth opening under his marauding tongue. 
He let go of all his frustration in that kiss, and when he pulled back, Miley
stood flushed and blinking, looking at him in a daze.  What she was not doing
was laughing at his sorry ass. 
Fuckin’ fantastic.
 

The door beeped and
opened.  He dragged Miley out with him and went in search of his impressionable
y
oung
daughter.

***

Cleo was doing her best
to have fun at the luau.  She had loved spending time with Miley, especially
when Becca joined them for a while, too.  Getting ready like normal girls was
cool, even if she couldn’t get more than a few weapons under the thin sarong. 
She had her knives and one sweet glock so she was covered.  The music was
kickass, the dance floor hopping, and the sunset that was just beginning over
the water was incredible, but the wolves . . .

She had only been
standing there for ten minutes and already she’d been hit on three times.  And
she could see another smarmy, good-looking player making his way through the
crowd, his sights set on her.  His smile arrogant and showing a lot of teeth. 
His predatory eyes not hiding his lascivious leanings.  Rich wolf males were
the absolute worst.  And set loose on an island where it was rumored anything
goes . . .

“I saw you watching me
across the dance floor and thought I’d come over and give you what you want.” 
His voice grated.  He moved in too close and his scent was overpowering her
sensitive nose.

“That was considerate
of you,” Cleo said with fake enthusiasm.  “Should I knock the shit out of you
here, or should we go down the beach a bit?”

He looked vaguely
confused.  “Excuse me?”

“You said you came to
give me what I want.  I saw you looking at me and wanted to break your nose,” she
shrugged, her head tipped in thought, “and maybe all your fingers.  So, should
I just start fucking you up here, or do you want privacy for your beat down?”

He looked her up and
down again, and Cleo knew what he saw.  A young, slender golden girl. 
Deceptively fragile.  He finally laughed a touch uncertain.  “You are joking.”

“Nope,” she said, her p’s
popping at the end.  “I am 100% not joking with you.  I really want to bash the
ever-loving piss out of you.”

He smiled, stuttered a
bit and backed up a step, but he was not ready to give up the field.  “I could
buy you a drink and we could spend some time together.  You might decide you
like me a little better.”

“Are you planning on
slipping a Rohypnol in my drink?”

“What?”  This time he
backed up a full two steps.  “Of course not.”

“Then I won’t be liking
you a little better.”  He was still there.  His brow dropped in confusion.  She
flipped her wrist out, motioning him away.  “The answer’s ‘no,’ do us both a
favor and move the fuck on.”

He blinked in apparent
shock; then his back snapped straight up in affront.  “Do you have any idea who
I am?”

Cleo opened her eyes
wide and shook her head.  “Really?  People actually use that line?”

Before the prissy wolf
could say anything else, or even bluster, he was shoved none too gently to the
side and into the gyrating dancers.  She looked up into the smirking face of
her brother, Ian, who apparently did not realize he had been unforgivably rude
to some rich resort guest.

“Heard you managed to
get yourself kidnapped.”

Cleo narrowed her
eyes.  “I was darted and carried off unconscious.  I escaped as soon as I woke
up,
and
saved Rebecca.”

“Yeah, still. 
Careless.”

“I’d like to know how
you would have done one thing differently.”  She really wanted to add a few
descriptive words on the end of that statement, but she was really trying to
prove herself the grown-up where her interactions with her family were
concerned.  Dealing with Ian was always a struggle.

“Would have dodged the
dart.”

She huffed.  “You would
have dodged the dart that came at you silently in the dark?”

He shrugged as if it
was obvious. “Sure.”

Her jaw tight, she
spoke through her teeth.  “Don’t you have some native girls to debauch?”

Ian smiled a half smile,
“I do indeed.”  He knocked his big shoulder into hers, making her teeter a
moment under his affection.  “Try not to get into any more trouble.”

Then he was gone. 
Another wolf took his place almost immediately.  This one wore the uniform of
the island staff, blue t-shirt and khaki shorts.  He was cute, lean and well-muscled,
as wolf-shifters tended to be.  He was also super tan, with dreamy brown eyes
and short hair that curled a little at his nape.    His smile was a touch
wicked, but in a playful way.  He had flirt written all over him.  “Can I get
you a drink?”

Cleo tilted her head in
thought.  “Depends.  Are you asking as a member of the wait staff or because
you want to see me naked?”

“Can’t it be both?”

She laughed, shaking
her head.  “Sure.  I would love a drink.  What do you have that screams drunken
luau?”

“Wait here.”  He smiled
bigger.  “I have just the thing guaranteed to strip all inhibitions in under an
hour.”

She laughed again, but
he was already on his way to the bar.  At least the wolf was honest in his
pursuits.

“Having fun?”  The
smooth voice was right behind her, but then she had known he was here
somewhere, watching her.  She could feel it.

“Did you come to wish
me happy birthday, Shawn?” she asked turning to face him.  She had long since
figured out how to hide her reaction when they came face-to-face.  It would not
be good if he realized how just looking at him sucked the breath from her
lungs.  Every freaking time.

“Among other things.” 
He looked her over in her sarong with the bright birds of paradise, her hair
down and adorned with a purple orchid.  He looked a long time, and Cleo
wondered what he was thinking when he looked at her.  Could it possibly be
anything like what she felt when she looked at him?  Every freaking time. “Your
dad know you’re wearing that?”

Apparently not. 
There
went her breath again, only this time it was pure temper.  “It’s a luau.  I’m
wearing a bathing suit and a sarong, just like every other woman here, at least
the ones who bothered with the sarong.  Why would he have an issue with it, and
more to the point, why would I care what my dad thinks about what I’m wearing? 
Or you for that matter?”

Before Shawn could answer,
the wolf returned with her drink.  “Here it is.”  He handed her the large drink
that seemed to glow red in the tall glass, an umbrella sticking out the top. 
She had to blink in wonder at the sheer size of it.  “Our best bartender
created this drink.  We call it ‘anything goes’.”  He clicked his glass against
hers and gave her a wicked half smile.  “After you drink it,
everything
goes.” 
He smirked and chugged a drink of his own less elaborate long neck.  Before she
could do more than stare stupidly at the drink, it was whisked from her hand.

“You’re not drinking
that,” Shawn said, his voice its usual mellow.

She narrowed her eyes
at the hawk-shifter with her drink.  “Give it back.”

“No.  You want to tie
one on, go for something that won’t cause blindness.”

“I’ll drink what I want
to drink.”  She kept her tone even with an effort.  “Now give it back.”

She was watching his
face and still had no idea if he was angry, trying to protect her in a big
brother kind of way, or if he was just being a dick.  Any of those reasons were
unacceptable to her anyway.

“Pick something else.”

“Fine.  I’ll go to the
bar and order another one.”

“You’ll order something
else, or end up with this same situation the second I take your drink away,
again.”

“What would be an
acceptable drink?  Sex on the beach, a screaming orgasm, or maybe a sloe
comfortable screw?”  She placed her hand on her hips and gave him a provocative
pose.  “Or are you going to try to take those away, too?”  Shawn didn’t speak
but she could feel the heat crawling off him in waves.  “What exactly are you
afraid I’m going to do under the influence, Shawn, because I guarantee I can do
the same thing stone cold sober.”

His eyes narrowed on
her, heated, and flashed to raptor gold.  Finally, she could swear he was
looking at her as a woman, and for a moment, she thought he was going to do
something. 
React in some way.  Show her it was not just her feeling this heat between
them.  But then he was looking at something over her head.  He handed her the
drink back. 

“My mistake,” he said. 
Then he backed into the shadows and disappeared.

“That was intense,” the
wolf said with feeling.  She had forgotten he was there.  “Who was that guy?”

She blew out a breath
she had no idea she was holding.  “No one.  Just someone I work with.”

Isabella saw Cleo at
the same time Lucas started forward into the crowd.  She was talking with Shawn
and Jax.  Nobody looked even remotely happy. 
Uh-oh. 
They were a few
feet away when Shawn looked up and saw Lucas bearing down.  Lucas jerked his
chin, acknowledging that he had this, and Shawn handed Cleo what looked to be
an ‘anything goes’ and melted.