Hawaiian Holiday: Destination Desire, Book 2 (9 page)

When they were naked, she moved into his embrace, those soft breasts pillowed against him and her tight little nipples stabbed into his chest. Her gaze met his for a long, protracted moment. Then they fell on each other like wild animals. A part of Lukas told him to slow down, to take care not to hurt her, but her hands cupped his cock and her mouth was fused with his. She bit his tongue and he growled in response, his control shredding to nothing.

He pulled back and spun her toward the bed. He needed her
now
. She landed on the mattress on her hands and knees, providing him with an unobstructed view of the luscious curve of her backside and the slick lips of her sex. Before he did something stupid, like plunge himself into her without another thought, he reached for his pants and the protection he had tucked in his wallet.

His hands shook as he sheathed himself in a condom. He knelt on the bed behind her and, grasping his cock, rubbed the head up and down her slit before he eased himself into her tight, wet heat. One long steady push and he was hilted within her. He pressed a hand to the small of her back, groaning at how good she felt.

He reached around her to cup her breasts and roll her nipples between his fingers. A mewling little cry burst from her, and she shoved her hips back against his groin. They both groaned as her movement drove him deeper into her sex. He tried to go slowly, tried to wring every last ounce of pleasure out of the experience, but instead he pounded inside her. Faster, harder. He’d never lost his self-restraint so quickly, but she was right there with him, matching his movements, moaning her encouragement.

She folded her arms to the side and her shoulders and head dropped to the mattress. The angle made her channel clamp tighter on his dick with each thrust, and he gripped her hips hard enough he feared he’d leave bruises. But holy shit, that was amazing. If the sensation were any more intense, his skull might explode.

He thrust deep, withdrew. After slipping one hand around her, he delved into the thatch of hair between her thighs, flicking his thumb over her clit. He smoothed his other palm in circles over her hip and down to her backside. The feel of her silky skin was perfect, and he drew back his hand to smack the round globe of her ass. She squeaked in surprise, jolting forward, but that just pressed her clitoris against his stroking fingers.

Her back bowed, a shiver rippling through her. He watched goose bumps break down her skin. “Faster, Lukas. Harder.
Please
.”

He had no problem complying with that request. He bucked his hips, slamming into her again and again. He continued toying with her wet flesh, loving the sounds of pleasure that broke from her throat. Sweat slid down his skin and his muscles burned from the speed of his movements. “Do you have any idea how it feels to be inside you?”

“Do you have any idea how it feels to have you inside me?” She squeezed her inner muscles around him. “I think I’m getting the better end of this deal, frankly.”

He laughed and plunged into her creamy sex. When was the last time he’d laughed during sex? Her giggle warmed his insides, but he didn’t have the mental capacity left to consider why. All that existed now was the drive to completion. The grip of her sleek pussy told him just how close she was to orgasm. He wanted to send her flying into oblivion. He ground his pelvis into her ass and flicked a finger against her clit. Hard.

She cried out, her hips snapping back to meet his thrusts. “Oh my God,
Lukas!”

The sensation of her channel flexing around his cock was more than enough to spin him over into his own orgasm. “Julie!”

Fluids exploded from him, the rush so incredible he wasn’t sure of his own name when it was done. All he heard was the low, husky sound of her chuckle. “Lukas, my friend, that was hot. You can do that to me any time.”

He patted her butt. “Give me half an hour, and I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Mmm.” She stretched against the mattress, making little sounds of contented satisfaction. “I’d like to spend the rest of the day in bed.”

And that was exactly what they did. Making love, napping in each other’s arms, then waking up to do it all over again. It was passion fueled by fire hot enough to melt. For dinner, rather than leave the room, Lukas ordered a pizza delivery from the parlor in the hotel’s shopping village. He didn’t want to do anything to disturb the mood of the day. This was as close to perfection as he’d ever been.

They sat cross-legged on the mattress, eating slices of pepperoni from paper plates. Her cheeks were still flushed from their last round of sex, her lips swollen from his kisses. She wore nothing but his shirt, and it was a powerful aphrodisiac to watch her—her smooth skin shone in the fading sunlight that spilled through the window, her dark hair tussled. She darted her tongue out to catch a drop of marinara that lingered at the corner of her mouth.

“We missed the sunset on the beach today.” Her lips formed an exaggerated pout.

“That is a shame.” He set aside his plate. “Swimming tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I have to rise and shine early to pick up the rental car. Pearl Harbor, remember? I hear the North Shore is spectacular, so I also wanted to drive around the island.” She waved a vague hand toward the desk, which was cluttered with books, folded maps, and paperwork. “The guidebook says it’s easy to do in a day.”

“It is.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “The Hawaiian Islands aren’t very big.”

Her glance was a little shy. “I had fun today.”

“Me, too.” Probably more fun than it was healthy to have.

She bit her lower lip. “Do you want to come with me? As long as I drive, I don’t think it ups the rental fee to have another person in the car.”

“Yes.” The agreement was out of his mouth before he had a chance to consider it. He wanted to spend all the time he had with her. There wasn’t a thing about her that he didn’t like. The way she made him feel, made him laugh, turned him inside out was starting to become a bit worrying. He
reacted
when he was around her, instead of carefully mulling over his options the way he normally did. Emotional responses weren’t his forte—in fact, that was one of the things he liked about science. It was rational, logical. It had rules that made sense, unlike most women. Feeling instead of thinking wasn’t a response he liked to have, ever, but especially when it came to the female half of the population.

He’d thought Julie was dangerous the day he’d met her, and their time together since had only proven how right he was. Only the fact that this
thing
they had going was deadline-specific kept him from breaking into a cold sweat.

Chapter Six

“This car is ridiculous. It looks like a purple bubble.” Julie patted the wheel as she pulled up to the stop sign outside the rental company. After looking both ways, she turned the corner onto the next street. The morning had dawned breezy and beautiful, and she was more than a little excited about the adventure they were going on. This was the only part of her trip that she’d planned for, and having Lukas along made it even better.

He smirked. “Well, they probably get discounts on buying the ugly cars from dealers. You got the car so ugly only its mother could love it.”

It took a lot of effort for her to keep a straight face. “Aw, it’s not
ugly
…it’s just different.”

“‘It looks like a purple bubble,’” he quoted, doing a remarkably accurate impression of her voice.

She reached over and poked him in the side, which made him break into a spasm of laughter. “Uh oh. Someone’s
ticklish
.”

He fended her off with a hand. “None of that, Julie. You’re driving. Watch the road.”

“Spoilsport,” she shot back, but did as he asked and focused on driving.

It turned out that Lukas was an excellent navigator. He’d pulled up a map on his phone and had directions ready to go, despite the fact that she’d printed out directions and brought them with her. Even when she missed their exit off the freeway, he stayed calm and quickly found an alternate route. His steadiness was reassuring while traversing unfamiliar roads.

She would have been fine on her own, would have figured things out, but it was nice having him along. She was glad she’d asked him. It occurred to her that she might be spending her entire vacation with him, and the idea didn’t bother her in the least. She’d gone with him for his downtown excursion yesterday and now, here he was on her circumnavigation of the island. She hadn’t expected to have company when she came here, but she wasn’t going to complain about it either. Lukas was rock solid and had been a pretty fantastic problem solver when issues cropped up. Not a bad companion to have.

And that was without factoring in his skills in the bedroom. Those alone would be worth keeping him around for the trip, even if he was a drag outside of the sack. Well, maybe she’d be less gung-ho to spend time with him, but he’d have been an excellent booty call every night.

They made it to Pearl Harbor in good time, and the memorial was far more extensive than she’d realized. There were multiple buildings with exhibits on the shore before they even took their turn on the ferry out to the white monument that straddled the sunken remains of the
USS Arizona
.

She stood arm in arm with Lukas as they stared out over the water. They could see the full breadth of the ship, and she shuddered to think of all the people who’d died there. People who were far too young. Julie hated to consider what their families had felt like when they received the news. So many lives, over just like that.

It occurred to her that if they’d been back in 1941, she and Lukas would have been enemies. American and German. Opposite sides of an awful war. Somehow it felt right to commemorate this place with a man like him. He took pictures of the oil, which still leaked from the ship and turned the water into a liquid rainbow, while she went to explore the rest of the monument.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she read the list of names carved in a marble wall at one end of the memorial. All those who’d lost their lives. There was black tape over one name, and it took her a moment to realize that it was someone who had survived the attack, but had recently died and was being added to the list. The man would have been around the same age as Auntie Eloise. Unlike the young men who’d died during the attack, they’d lived to a ripe old age.

That was one thing she didn’t have to lament with Eloise—while her loss had been sudden, Eloise’s death had been a natural one, brought on by old age. This memorial and the enormity of what had happened here put some of Julie’s personal loss into perspective, which was both sad and helpful at the same time. Her great-aunt could have died young, and then Julie would never have had a chance to know her. Or she could have had less time with her. Losing her hurt, but it might have been so much worse. The years they’d had together were precious, and Julie needed to focus on that instead of wishing she could have had more.

The loss was bittersweet and always would be, but for the first time, it was more sweet than bitter. A good change, if a small one. She’d take it.

Several hours later, Lukas walked beside her as they left the gift shop. She had postcards for her friends and a magnet to put on her fridge. Lukas had a book about the attack on Pearl Harbor. He wrapped an arm around her as they walked out to the parking lot. “You’re quiet.”

She nodded. “It’s really peaceful here. Still, it feels…sad.”

He squeezed her closer to his side. “Places that commemorate tragedy often do. There are several war memorials in Europe with the same peaceful sadness. I suppose it encourages reflection.”

 
“About how not to do that again. ‘Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it,’ and all that.” After pulling the rental keys out of her purse, she popped open the car’s doors.

“Exactly.” He opened her door for her, then looped around to settle in the passenger seat. “Let’s hope that bit of history is never repeated.”

They sat for a few minutes in a pool of silence. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking about, but she doubted the monument had affected him as profoundly as it had her. She took a deep breath. “Okay, which way to the North Shore?”

“Right.” He sat up a little straighter and dug his phone out of his pocket. “We’ll continue along the 99, then hop over to the 2, then switch over to the 80 for a shortcut back to the 99, and then—” He paused to look at her when she made a sound of dismay. His gaze went from her to the map. “Um, why don’t I just tell you when to be ready for a turn?”

“Perfect.” She put the key in the ignition and within a few minutes they were back on the road.

Lukas pointed to something on his phone. “How do you feel about stopping for a pineapple float at the Dole Plantation? We’re going to drive right by it.”

She blinked. “I’ve never even heard of a pineapple float.”

“Pineapple juice with pineapple ice cream. You have no idea what you’re missing. It’s amazing.” His face creased in a boyish grin. “They also have a miniature train that goes around the plantation.”

“Well, we can’t miss that.” She signaled to merge onto the 99. “Besides, I bet they have postcards for me to send back to the mainland.”

 
“There’s only one way to find out.”

They climbed back into the car two hours later, and Lukas felt a little queasy from the amount of ice cream and pineapple juice he’d consumed. It had been too good to stop, which seemed to be his excuse for indulging in everything on this trip. He pushed that unwelcome realization aside and shut the passenger side door behind him. The car was almost too compact for someone of his height to find comfortable, but he managed. It meant that every time they went around a corner, he swayed into Julie and their shoulders brushed. The intimacy of it felt strange and comforting at the same time. He wasn’t sure what to make of that feeling, so he ignored it to focus on his companion.