Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) (16 page)

Dallas poured himself another glass of tequila. Allie instantly offered up her glass, as well. “I think we’ve also got some snacks. Look! They left a whole bag of chips and some salsa. Guess they didn’t eat much while they were here.”

Allie dug into the chips and took another swig of tequila. She chuckled, amused, and he could almost see her relaxing a little, the warmth of the tequila taking effect. He started to like this new Allie, her hair drying wavy and wild from the surf, her newly tanned shoulders emerging from her pink sunburn. “How did you find this place?” Allie gestured with her cup of tequila.

“I built it, actually,” he said. It had taken him nearly a year to construct the tree house, and he’d shaped and honed every piece by hand. “It’s made of one hundred percent koa wood.” He tapped his foot against the smooth and richly colored wooden floorboards.

“You built this? Seriously?” Allie glanced around the small but sturdy house in awe. “I’m impressed.”

“You should be,” Dallas deadpanned, which made Allie laugh again. “At first, I was going to live here, but the commute was too far to the plantation. So when I was done, I just started renting it to visitors, and you’d be surprised how many come.”

Another distant siren blast reached them.

Allie sobered. “Do you think it’s bad down there?”

“One way to find out.” Dallas dug around in a cabinet near the sink and found a radio. He clicked it on and turned it to an AM station. They were met with hefty static, until he found one weak station bleeding through the interference.

“Once again, if you’re just joining us, an earthquake struck just off the coast of Kona, registering as a 5.1 on the Richter scale, nearly unprecedented for that area. The first tsunami came ashore just minutes ago, wiping out many of the tourist spots and hotels along the coast, which are now underwater. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people are still unaccounted for at this time. Residents had less than fifteen minutes to get to higher ground before the first wave struck, and many did not make it...”

Allie grew pale. “If we hadn’t left when we did...”

“No use in getting yourself turned around with what-ifs. We made it. And so did Teri and Jesse and the others.”

“But if you hadn’t been there... I would’ve...” Allie drifted off. Her brown eyes, big and luminous, studied him. “You saved me.
Twice.
”

“Anybody would’ve done it.”

“No, they wouldn’t. Thank you, Dallas.” Allie put her hand over his on the table. He felt electric sparks from where she touched him, sparks that pinged all the way up his spinal cord and straight to his brain.

“I’m lucky you were even
there.
” A small line appeared in Allie’s forehead as she thought this through. “And after I turned away the coffee roaster, after I accused you of...”

“Stealing from your grandmother?”

“Right—that.” Allie’s face turned a deep shade of pink. “I’m sorry. After what you’ve done for her and Kai and Jesse...”

Dallas rubbed his neck, feeling uncomfortable. “They told you about that, did they?”

“Jesse won’t let anybody insult you in her presence,” Allie said. “She defends you like her brother.”

“They are good people. All they needed was seed money. They’ve worked hard to make that coffee shop a success. Twelve-hour days nearly every day.”

“Still, a lot of people wouldn’t have been so generous.” Allie’s eyes warmed to him, and he felt something shift there. He felt suddenly on the spot.

“It was no big deal. When my dad died, he left me some family land. I had no intention of taking up the family business of ranching. It was a hard living and almost impossible to do with the big cattle companies around. Besides, I never felt as though that was home. I sold it and left and came here.” Dallas frowned as he looked at his hands. “I never really felt like it was my money anyway.”

“Why not?” Allie leaned forward, curiosity in her voice.

“I had a stepbrother,” Dallas said. “He was my father’s wife’s son, but he lived with us. My mom passed when I was little, and Dad remarried when I was about ten. She already had Cal from a previous marriage. Cal grew to be like a son to my father, but there was always the issue of him not being blood. My father, he was traditional, and even though Cal was a hundred times the rancher I was, my dad didn’t leave him any of the ranch.”

“What did Cal do?”

“He was upset. I tried to split it with him, but he was too angry. Too hurt. He wouldn’t have any of it. He took off without another word. I waited a little while, but then I sold the place and moved here.”

Allie covered Dallas’s hand with hers. “It’s not your fault. Your father made that choice.”

Dallas shrugged. “But I had to live with it.”

“You’re a good man.” The way she looked at him made Dallas wonder if she was flirting. She parted her lips, showing her straight white teeth and a mouth he suddenly wanted to taste.
Get it together
, he told himself sternly. No time to get distracted by a pair of pretty eyes.

She offered her empty glass up for another refill.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked. “Your head feel okay?”

“Just one more.”

Dallas poured her a small shot and one for himself.

“As long as we’re playing truth or dare, why didn’t you come to Misu’s funeral? I know it bothered you that you didn’t. I could tell that day...I said something.”

Allie, cup at her lips, nearly spit out her tequila as she spun out in a coughing fit.

“I’m sorry. People tell me all the time I’m too direct. It’s a character flaw.” Dallas gave her a hard pat on the back when the coughing kept going. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Allie wheezed and wiped her watery eyes. “I tried to come to Grandma Misu’s funeral. I should’ve been there.”

Dallas waited for more, watching her closely.

“I wanted to come. I tried to come...I...” Allie rubbed her eyes furiously and frowned.

“Hey, it’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have said anything before.”

“No, you were right. I should’ve been there.” Allie stared morosely downward, not meeting Dallas’s gaze.

“So why weren’t you?”

“The day she died, I found out my fiancé had been cheating. I thought he was the love of my life, and it turns out it was all a lie. I spent a month in bed. I lost my job. Everything. I...I was just in no shape to think about anything else. But that was selfish of me. I should’ve gotten it together for Grandma Misu. I realize that now.” Tears glistened in Allie’s eyes, threatening to spill. “If I was in any shape to fly... I mean, I would have. And then there was... I mean, well... It was just too hard.”

Dallas suspected Allie wasn’t telling hin everything, but he wasn’t going to push for more details. He recognized the clear shape of heartbreak in her newly scabbed scars. He carried some of his own.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know about the...fiancé.”

“Not something I want to broadcast.” Allie shrugged. “Come pity the girl who was dumped by a secret sex freak!”

“Sex freak?” Dallas arched a curious eyebrow.

Allie covered her mouth and laughed. “I’ve said too much.”

The corner of Dallas’s mouth quirked up in a teasing smile. “You’ve got to tell me now. You can’t just let that tidbit hang there. What was he into? Wearing diapers?”

“Diapers!” Allie shrieked, laughter bubbling up her throat as she grabbed her bare knees in surprise. “Who does that...?”

“They had a whole reality show about it, or so I heard.” Dallas grinned, enjoying her shock. “So?” He nudged her with his elbow. “Fess up. It can’t be as bad as diapers.”

Allie let out a long sigh. “I caught Jason—my ex—cheating. Well, his mistress sent him a love letter. And a whip. And a dog collar.”

Dallas was shocked into silence as a million images rolled through his mind, none of them good. He couldn’t help it then; he burst out laughing. It was the last thing he expected her to say.

Allie laughed, too.

“That
is
a sex freak,” Dallas agreed. He grew serious, as the ramifications of someone into S and M dawned on him. Anger bubbled up in him as he thought of Allie’s fiancé and what he might have done to her. “He didn’t hit...you, did he?”

“Me? No! God, no.” Allie put her hand across her chest as if the thought made her want to choke. “I don’t like that. I don’t think sex should be painful.” Allie grew thoughtful a moment. “But maybe that just makes me boring.”

“Maybe it just makes you
normal
.” Dallas hit the table with the palm of his hand for emphasis. Clearly, her ex had done a number on Allie’s head, and a flare of protectiveness made him want to go find Jason and have a sternly worded conversation, featuring his right fist. “I’m glad you didn’t marry that prick. He doesn’t deserve you. He had a wonderful girl right there, ready to marry him, and he goes and blows it. He’s a fool for letting you go.”

“Aw, that’s nice of you to say.”

“It’s not nice, it’s just the truth. Easy to give compliments when you just tell the truth.” Dallas put his hand gently on Allie’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Allie paused, her warm brown eyes studying him for a moment, as a loaded silence fell between them. The warm buzz from the tequila seeped into his brain, and he suddenly felt the urge to pull Allie into his arms and get right back to that moment that was interrupted on the beach. He eyed her bare knee and the thigh above, itching to touch her soft skin.

Kai said she was off-limits
, a warning thought popped in his head.
You promised him
.

The thought of Kai made him want to reel himself in. He’d been more than clear about him not getting involved with Allie.

“Teri warned me to stay away from you,” Allie said abruptly, as if she read his mind somehow.

“Teri? What does Teri say?”
And did Kai mention me, too?
he wondered, but didn’t ask.

Dallas snapped back to attention as he tried not to be distracted once again by Allie’s pretty heart-shaped face, where her dark brown eyes studied him intently. There was no safe place to look: her eyes pulled him in, her slim thighs taunted him and her full, pouty bottom lip begged to be kissed.

“She and Minnie said you were a notorious heartbreaker on the island. Is that true?”

Dallas shrugged, running an uncomfortable hand through his thick blond hair. “My reputation is greatly exaggerated.”

“Is that so? Is rescuing girls from near-death experiences your seduction technique?”

Dallas shook his head sternly. “No, it’s not.”

“Uh-huh.” Allie’s eyes sparkled. She might be flirting with him. How was he going to resist her if she came on to him? It was one thing not to make the first move, but if she did... Kai still wouldn’t understand, he thought.

“I bet that’s not all Teri told you.” Dallas was pretty sure Teri didn’t stop at him being a womanizer. She’d been Jennifer’s friend for longer than his. If anyone was going to take Jennifer’s side, it was her.

Allie shifted in her seat, obviously not wanting to reveal what she knew.

“Go on,” Dallas said. “We may call it the Big Island, but it’s anything but. I’ve heard the worst things people have said about me. You don’t have to spare my feelings.”

“She said you cheated on your fiancée.”

“Uh-huh. And...anything else?”

“That I should stay away from you. That you can’t survive without a new woman’s attention every ten minutes.” Allie physically flinched, bracing herself for fallout, but Dallas just laughed out loud.

“That’s Teri. Calling ’em like she sees ’em. Well, neither one of those things is true.”

Allie blinked fast. “Why did she say them, then?”

“She’s friends with my ex, Jennifer, whom you met. And Jennifer can be very persuasive.” Dallas finished the last dregs of his tequila. He felt a buzz in his brain, and the sudden urge to tell Allie everything, to confess all the terrible things she’d done, the irony of the fact that she had let everyone on the island believe he was the one who cheated and lied when she’d been the one who’d betrayed him in the worst possible way. He wished cheating had even
been
the worst of it.

He wanted to tell Allie, but once again he hesitated. For Kayla’s sake.

“Why would Jennifer lie?”

“Jennifer had her reasons,” Dallas said. “She always does.”

Allie gazed at him, steady and true. She looked as if she wanted to ask more, but restrained herself. Thank God she did. If she’d even pressed a little, he would’ve unburdened himself completely and told her everything. Instead, she just reached out and squeezed his hand. The comforting touch sent sparks straight up his arm. The tequila was in full force, as he felt the warmth of alcohol spread across his body.

Dallas said nothing, just moved in closer. Allie froze, sensing the change in mood. She waited, lips slightly parted. He was struck suddenly by how perfect she seemed right then, face smooth and unlined, her jet-black hair thick and silky down her shoulder. The magnetic pull he felt between them couldn’t just be one-sided. He refused to believe that.

“You’re really beautiful,” he said before he could stop himself. He knew it sounded like some cheesy pickup line, but the fact was it was the truth. Right then, at that moment, she was the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. He’d been half-smitten that day she’d stepped out of her rental car. But now, after saving her in the surf, he felt
responsible
. He cared what happened to her, not just today, but tomorrow, and a long time after that.

“Come on.” Allie wiggled on her stool, made uncomfortable by the attention. “You don’t have to feed me lines just because we’re stuck here.”

“What lines?” Dallas stood and moved around the table so he was standing right in front of her. Allie craned her neck up to meet his eyes. “I told you, I only tell the truth.”

He moved in closer, and she tilted her chin up to meet his. She didn’t inch away but sat very still. Something in her face told him that if he made a move, she wouldn’t reject him. The tequila had long since dulled any of the warning bells about Kai being mad. His lips brushed hers ever so gently. She didn’t push him away or cry out. Instead, she wrapped her hand around the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer. She spread her knees, and instantly he was between them, her arms around his neck, nothing separating them but thin fabric. She tasted like tequila and something even more delicious, and though he tried, he couldn’t get enough of her mouth. Her tongue met his in a little dance, and he felt as if, despite all the many women he’d kissed before in his life, she might as well have been the only one who mattered.