Her Hawaiian Homecoming (Mills & Boon Superromance) (22 page)

Allie cracked a reluctant smile. “No. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t you see? You were just a few years older than Po. The crash? Your dad dying? It’s
not
your fault.” Dallas felt he had to make her understand. The fact that she’d been holding on to this lie her whole life just wasn’t right. He could see understanding dawning a little, but he knew she was reluctant to really embrace the truth. He knew what he’d been through after his dad died, and it was clear to him that Allie still hadn’t processed through all her grief. In the close quarters of the truck, it was obvious. “You couldn’t have gotten your dad out of the car. It would be like asking Po to carry Kai to a hospital. Impossible.”

“But I should’ve
tried
. I didn’t even
try.
” Allie sniffed.

The rain continued to pound the windshield. Next to them, cars slushed by on the small, two-lane road, their headlights beaming in the storm.

“A car flipped like that... It’s dangerous. You could’ve drowned. It could’ve caught on fire. Do you think your father would’ve wanted you to die trying to help him out?”

“No, but...” Allie clearly still did not quite want to embrace the parallels of their story. “I survived. He didn’t. It was my fault the car crashed.” She pushed her wet, dripping hair from her eyes with both hands.

“Okay, so even though you weren’t driving, it was still your fault. Fine. You want to take some of the blame? Okay.” Dallas tried a different tact. “But I think that you don’t want to let go of this guilt because then you might have to face some other ugly truths that you might not like too much.”

“What do you mean?” Allie tucked a damp strand of her dark hair behind one ear.

“I mean if it’s not your fault, then you might want to blame your dad.”

“Dad didn’t do anything wrong!” Allie exclaimed.

“Yes, he did.” Dallas moved, reaching out to touch her elbow. She didn’t flinch. “He died, Allie. He died, and he left you, and you were just a little kid, standing on the side of the road, scared and alone. And then he left you alone all the rest of your life, because
he died
. He left you
,
even if he didn’t mean to do it. You’ve got every right to be mad at him for that.”

Tears streamed down Allie’s face as the truth of what Dallas said hit her full force. He knew he was getting through.

“I...” Allie shook her head, more tears glistening on her cheeks. Dallas reached over and opened the glove compartment, offering her a wad of drive-through napkins. She took them, wiping her nose.

“But it was so long ago... Why am I crying?” Angrily, she swiped at her wet cheeks.

Dallas pulled her closer to him, and she came, sagging against his side, with his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, sniffling.

“I’m no psychologist, but if you want my two cents, it’s probably because your fiancé betrayed you and that dredged up all kinds of memories from the first, and worst, betrayal you never really dealt with. Not to mention, you nearly died twice! I’d think that’s enough trauma to bring back some traumatic memories.”

Allie tensed in his embrace. “God, I think you’re right.” The truth of it settled on her as she seemed to try it on for size. “How did you...know all that?”

“I’m a good read of people,” he said. “Plus, my own dad died when I was nineteen. I had a lot of anger for a lot of years. I was just old enough to realize what it was.”

“I’m so exhausted, so tired of all this.” Allie snuggled into Dallas’s shoulder.

“You need some sleep. It’ll all look better after you get some sleep.”

“That’s what my dad used to tell me,” Allie said, brightening. She looked up at Dallas, and he glanced down. Her eyes were big and dark, and her thick eyelashes still glistened with tears. She watched him, very still, and suddenly Dallas remembered the pond—and everything he hadn’t gotten to do to her. He’d loved the feel of her sexy body, loved how eagerly she responded to him. She was just delicious in every single way, and he craved her like some kind of drug. Her breast nudged against his rib cage, and he suddenly remembered the feel of her perfectly taut nipples in his hand. Just the thought made his body stand at attention.

All he wanted to do was kiss away her tears, her sadness.

Yet he knew this wasn’t the right time. Kai was in the hospital. Could he go back on his promise to his friend when he was hurt? And then there was Allie herself, so very vulnerable, clearly dealing with some heavy stuff. He shouldn’t take advantage. He hadn’t even meant to let things get so far in the pond, but something about the taste of her just drove him a little crazy.

Like now, as she gazed up at him, all he could think of was tasting her lips one more time.

“Dallas...” she murmured, moving closer to him—or was he dipping down to her? Either way, their lips met halfway, and again, he felt the luscious taste of her as she opened her mouth to greet him. Allie opened herself up to him as their tongues met in an ancient, primal dance. She held nothing back in that kiss, which electrified every nerve ending in his body. Her wanton submission to him, just in that moment, made him wonder how free she’d be in his bed. Dallas pulled her close, and suddenly she was straddling him, her back to his steering wheel. He could feel her warmth between her legs, as she rocked seductively on him, grinding him slowly but mercilessly. Dallas felt so full, so close to exploding, he gripped her hips, almost begging them to stop. The pressure on him felt almost too much, was nearly enough to make him come right there. Their kiss turned even more savage, and Dallas felt as if he was awake in his own best wet dream.

He should stop this. He knew it, but part of him didn’t want to stop, didn’t know how. That part didn’t care they were right out in public near a busy street. He just wanted to be inside her, deep inside her, feel her warm wetness. He wanted to make her shudder with pleasure again and again; he wanted to see pure ecstasy on her beautiful face.

He slid his hand up her skirt, felt her warm, taut thigh. He squeezed it, and she groaned, pushing herself into him more as the kiss turned even more furious, more desperate. He cupped her perfectly round backside, and she arched into him, pressing farther into his lap. The pressure drove him mad, nearly made him lose it right then. How could he stop this? Why would he?

Allie pulled back, slipping out of his zipped sweatshirt, revealing her low-cut sundress. He glanced at her perfect cleavage and laid a trail of kisses there as she moaned, throwing her head back.

A hard rap on his fogged window caught them both by surprise. Allie jumped, and Dallas put a protective arm around her and pulled her close, blinking up to the rain-soaked window. He saw the flash of a deputy’s badge and uniform before the bright white of a flashlight blinded him.

“Police,” the man said, tapping once more on the window. Dallas recognized the voice of Kona patrol officer Lyle Lawson. Dallas turned the key in the ignition and rolled down the window.

“Hey, Lyle,” Dallas said, blinking against the bright light. “You trying to blind me?”

Lyle’s face lit up in recognition. “Dallas, you old dog! Didn’t know that was you. Computer’s down and can’t run plates. How have you been, man?” All seriousness was gone; the officer grinned. He’d shared more than one round with Dallas at the local tourist bar off duty. He shone the light on Allie, who blinked and shaded her eyes.

“I see the tsunami hasn’t slowed you down any. Doing what you do best, giving the all-star tour to our visitors, I see.” He gave Dallas a playful punch in the shoulder. Dallas could feel Allie flinch. Dallas thought about correcting Lyle, introducing her as a local, but stopped himself.
Was
she a local? She had made it clear she didn’t plan to stay. He thought about getting into the complications of the fact she was Misu’s granddaughter, and just let Lyle think she was a tourist. It was simpler.

Allie squirmed in his lap, uncomfortable and embarrassed. Awkwardly, she slid back over the gearshift to the passenger seat. Cool air hit his lap and he felt sorry for it. If he could tell Lyle to go to hell and get away with it, he would. But Lyle didn’t deserve it, not really.

“You be careful out here,” the officer said. “I got a report of looters.”

“The waves just hit!” Allie exclaimed, talking for the first time.

“I know. But that’s the perfect time for some people.” Lyle shook his head with resignation like a man who’d come to expect the worst from people. “Been up all night trying to sort out this mess. They just sounded the all clear. You could go check on the Kona Coffee Estate. No need for the two of you to be stuck out here in the rain.” He winked at Dallas, and Dallas really wished he hadn’t. Allie crossed her arms over her chest.

“Uh, yeah, I guess we’ll be on our way,” Dallas said, hoping Lyle would take the hint and get. He was a solid stand-up guy underneath, but he had no idea how to talk to women, or around them. Right now he was making Allie feel one inch tall. She stuffed her arms back into Dallas’s sweatshirt, not looking at him.

“Oh, yeah, man, didn’t mean to interrupt the party.” Lyle glanced at Allie’s bare legs appreciatively, which made Dallas want to punch the man in the face. Only the idea of getting hauled in on charges of assaulting an officer kept his hands on the steering wheel.

He thought about calling Lyle out, denying his island reputation, but figured he’d only give the officer an excuse to dig himself in deeper. Lyle had seen Dallas take home one too many drunk girls to believe he’d just dropped them off at their hotel. Which he had done, every single time. He didn’t sleep with girls who were too tipsy to say yes. The tourist he had slept with had had
one
mai tai.

“See you at Lu’s!”

Dallas cringed. Lu’s was where tourists and hard-partying locals hung out. You only went there if you wanted to get drunk fast, which was exactly what Dallas had wanted to do the year after he broke up with Jennifer. Drunken bar fights were a regular weekend occurrence there, but he didn’t want Allie to think that was how he liked to spend his time.

Dallas held up a two fingers. “Bye, Lyle.” He watched the officer retreat to his police car, pulled up behind them. He turned to Allie. “Sorry about that... Lyle...”

“Is an old friend. I get it.” Allie hugged herself a little and then yawned. “I guess we should go to the estate, right?”

“Are you sure?” he asked, hopeful that maybe she had something else in mind. All he wanted to do was get back to that minute before when she’d been kissing the life out of him. “The tree house isn’t far. You could rest there. We’ve been up all night.”

“Why not just stay up? Sun’s out.” The rain was letting up, and the storm seemed to be passing. The sky cleared again, and the sun shone through the clouds above them. She glanced through the window and then added, “We can go back to the plantation. Don’t you want to see if everything’s okay?”

Dallas did want to, but he wanted to resume kissing Allie more. But Lyle had ruined that for him.

“Sure, let’s go.” He turned the ignition in the truck and turned back onto the road. They fell into a silence as disappointment settled in. He’d never thought he’d ever be able to want someone after Jennifer. Allie was so unlike his ex-girlfriend, it was almost comical.

Still, he wondered if he was ready to get involved with someone else. He still remembered that day he’d found Jennifer in bed with the producer. She’d left the door open, almost as if she’d wanted him to find her there, as if she dared him to do something about it. Well, he had. He’d packed a bag and he’d left.

Nothing she’d said then would convince him to stay. She’d threatened to do all kinds of terrible things to him, to spread lies about him, to turn Kayla against him, too, and vowed he’d never see her again. But he’d been done with the emotional blackmail, done with her, done with a relationship he saw could never be fixed, because
she
didn’t want to fix it or herself. She liked how she was, the destruction she caused for other people, and she had no intention of ever changing. He’d spent too long trying to fix her wounds. Part of him knew it wasn’t entirely her fault. She’d had a crappy childhood, and most people she’d known in her life had failed her. But at some point, he thought adults needed to stop blaming other people for their troubles and decide whether they were going to set their own selves on their feet or spend their lives playing the victim. Dallas hated leaving Kayla, but in the end, he felt he couldn’t help her by staying. They’d both be pawns in her mother’s narcissistic game.

The hardest part of that day had been saying goodbye to Kayla. He’d come back to the house to get more of his clothes. Of course, she couldn’t understand why he was leaving. She was a bright girl, with her mom’s piercing green eyes and blond hair. Her dad lived somewhere in California, but that was all Dallas knew about him. He’d been out of the picture since she was born.

He’d had her promise to call him if she ever needed anything, even though he knew her mother would never let her.

“You’re a fine, smart, wonderful kid,” he’d told her, before he’d choked up. “I wish I could stay, but I can’t.”

Kayla had just blinked at him, confused. “Why not?”

“Because...sometimes adults don’t always get along.”

“Say you’re sorry,” she’d advised him, holding Mr. Cuddles close. “And Mommy, too. Mommy can say she’s sorry.”

His heart had broken then. She was too little to understand that there were some things you simply couldn’t apologize for. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, walking out on that little girl with the big green eyes bright with tears.

He’d thrown his suitcases in his truck. He’d driven away from the house they shared, and was grateful to Misu, who’d let him move back into his old place, the guesthouse on her property.

Dallas had thought that was the worst of it. But Jennifer wasn’t done with him. That very same day, she’d gone online, used passwords she’d guessed right and transferred all but one dollar out of his accounts. It was close to fifty thousand dollars, more or less, and everything he had that wasn’t tied up in investments or CDs, which he couldn’t touch for at least two more years. She’d stolen from him, not just Kayla and his trust, but everything in his bank account, too.