Jaxson (5 page)

*****

Kehau was barely cognizant of even her own name
.
All that mattered was the man she was attached to
.
Her hands were stuck in his curly black hair, even as
her
t
ongue
dueled fiercely with his
.
Her cheeks hurt where Sione had struck her, but the feeling
from
kissing Jax made it a sweet pain that left her utterly intoxicated
.
Better than any champagne she’d ever drank
.

She wasn’t a virgin, hadn’t been for a long time. By now she knew the difference between lust and love. With Sione, it had been straight lust. Jax brought this crazy mix of lust and something else, something stronger. More tangible.
Passion
.
Yes that was the word, passion.
She shuddered all over as he ran his lips across her cheeks, her eyes, her ear lobes
.
This
was what she wanted
.
A man with passion to take her and make her his.

Thunder cracked directly overhead and Kehau jumped out of the seat. Jax looked at her curiously.

“Don't like thunder?” he asked, a look of concern flashing across his face.

“I’m scared to death of it,” Kehau admitted.

Standing, he took her by the hand. “How about we get you inside and dried off?” he suggested gently.

“But what about you?” she asked him.

“What about me?”

“You're all wet and you can't drive home in this weather!”

“I'll be fine,” Jax started to say when Kehau cut him off.

“No, please stay here for the night!”

Damn,
I like where this is headed
.

“Sure,” he conceded.

Within, all the lights were on, and the remnants of a couple dozen Heineken bottles and a large container of ice cream strewn across the coffee table.

“Oh no,” Kehau murmured. Worried, she made a beeline for the kitchen. Jax followed her out of curiosity.

Slumped on the floor and around the bar, three women were passed out, an open bottle of Srichacha Vodka at hand. Kehau’s hand flew to her mouth.

“Well,” Jax said from where he stood beside her, “how about we clean up this first?”

Walking over to the first woman closest to him, he picked her up in his arms. “Point me to a room,” he said nonchalantly.
As if picking up stupid drunk girls is easy
!
she chided herself.
At least I’m not having to try
to
carry them.

One by one, each of the girls was put in the same king-sized bed in Pua’s room. None of them had so much as stirred at all. Kehau gave them one last look before she closed the door softly.

“Thank you for the help.”

“Not a problem, where’s the laundry room at? I’d like to dry my stuff please.”

“It’s right through that door, and here’s a towel to dry off with,” Kehau explained as she guided him through the house. “I’m gonna go change and dry off in my room. See you when I get out.” She kissed him again, a quick kiss that hinted at things to come, then disappeared up the stairs.

After throwing his wet clothes in the dryer, Jax sat down on the couch, a towel around his waist
.
Thirty-four hours awake.
Damned insomnia
.
He closed his eyes, grateful for the momentary reprieve
.
Just gonna lay here with my eyes shut and relax...

Kehau heard a low rumbling when she stepped into the hallway
.
"What is that noise?"
The closer she got to the living room, the louder it grew
.
Turning the corner, she saw Jax, clad in only a towel, snoring in his sleep
. His right hand lay on the vest
bundled up beside him
.

She crossed her arms
.
"No way."

This close though, Kehau realized something that she hadn't earlier in the hot tub
.
The tattoos covered a crazy network of scars all over his torso, hands
,
and wrist
.
He's been a busy man collecting all those
.
Are you sure you want to take him to your bed
?

She stepped up to him, internally debating what to do
.
He still smelled good, and she doubted he'd mind if she cuddled with him
.
Grabbing a light sheet, she draped it over him, and curled up next to him
.
Jax barely stirred, and she leaned in closer
.
Darkness enveloped them, and soon sleep
did
as well
.
Though now her dreams were occupied
.
Not by the nightmares she'd lived with across previous weeks, but a man who stood between her and the nightmares, laughing as they approached
.

*****

Four hours later they woke on the couch, Jax still wearing a towel around his waist.
"So
we didn't even make it to her bed,
"
speaking out loud as he looked around the room, noticing that one
of Kehau's roommates
must have woke and found them because someone
had thoughtfully left his clothes neatly folded on the couch beside them
.
Moving quietly, Jax had extricated himself from Kehau, then dressed, hoping all the while he didn't wake her.

Even in her sleep she smiles
.
And I can't get enough of it
.
Is this love
?
Am I seriously falling in love after one date
?

He walked out, closing the door quietly behind him. Then s
tanding curbside in front of her house, he thought maybe it was possible
.
And winged-monkeys are gonna fly out of my asshole.

She had looked so pretty it hurt to even think about leaving
.
He just wanted to stay right there like that
. He heard the door open and close, looking up he watched as she walked toward him. When she stepped in front of him, he blurted,
"I like you
.
A lot."

Now she blushed
.
"So that's what last night was all about?"

"That and
then some,
" he admitted.

"What are you doing today?" Kehau asked suddenly
.

"Nothing yet."
She took his phone, tapped something out on the screen, then handed it back
.

"What's this?"

"Where I'll be at noon
.
Dress nicely."

"I'll see you then."
He kissed her gently
, stepping away, getting on the quad, and pulling away.

Kehau watched until Jax was no longer in sight before turning back to the house, and already looking forward to seeing him again.

You were hanging in the corner

With your five best friends

You heard that I was trouble but you couldn't resist

I make them good girls go bad

Cobra Starship

Jax realized as he paced around the sidewalk near the door that he should've known better
.

"Of course she's
C
atholic
.
Why wouldn't she be exactly that?"

The address Kehau had given him led straight to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on Bishop Avenue
.

Well done
,
asshole, corrupting a good girl
.
You douche canoe
,
kicking
himself mentally
.
At least you dressed nicely
.
He snorted
.
Dressing nicely works easier when you’ve got the money for it
.

Since he was little, Jax had
been a casual dresser. Blue jeans with a dress shirt was as far as he got. Then he met Joachim Drake, one of the few real friends he’d made during his time in the service. Joachim was the epitome of a clothes' horse, a real life dandy man as it were. Joachim gave him a first class education on how to dress and present himself
, and now that he had real money behind his name,
Jax’s
wardrobe was a thing to behold
.
The blue Armani suit jacket he wore was tailor-made to accommodate his massive torso, just like the skintight
yellow
dress shirt and matching
blue
tie
.
The only concession he made was to wear blue jeans and polished leather harness boots.

The doors opened, and he watched a steady stream of parishioners come out
.
Then he saw Kehau, laughing as she walked along, talking with an elderly woman leaning on a cane
.

Her eyes alighted on him, and she smiled even more broadly
.
He approached her and she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek
.

"Well
,
Kehaulani, who is this handsome young man?"

"Aunty Ipo, this is Jaxson Kuznia."

"Come closer, my old eyes aren't what they used to be."

"Aunty, how can you say you're old
?
You can't be more than
twenty
?"
Jax said, smiling down at the diminutive woman.

"
Twenty?
Ha
!
I'm old enough to have changed your grandfather's diapers boy."
She looked up at Kehau and mock-whispered
,
"If I were just
ten
years younger, I'd charm him right out from underneath you."

Kehau patted her hand
.
"You can try
,
Aunty, but I wouldn't play fair
.
Not for this one."

Ipo cackled hysterically
.
"Good for you
,
Kehaulani."
The elderly woman spared Jax a glance
.
"They don't make many men like this anymore."

A car pulled up to the curb behind them.

"Ah
,
here's my ride
.
You two
keikis
behave today
.
And Kehau?"

"Yes
,
Aunty?"

"If he makes you cry, I'll give him lickings myself
.
Wit da big spoon."

"I
'll
try to ruin her lipstick
,
Aunty, not her mascara
,
"
Jax answered with a smirk.

Ipo c
ackled with glee as she climbed inside the car
.
Even as it pulled away, they could hear her.

Jax turned to see Kehau standing there, hands on her hips.

"If she dies laughing, it'll be your fault."

"I can live with that."

"You!"
She poked him in the chest
.
"Are you always so impertinent?"

"Are you always gorgeous?"

She surprised him with a sudden hug and a kiss on the cheek
.
"I like hearing you say that."

He pulled her in a little closer
.
"And I like seeing you
.
Especially when you're smiling."

Kehau looked him in the eye
s.
"Take me for a walk
.
Please."

Holding out his arm, Jax gave her a smile
.
"Lead on."

The breeze blowing in off the ocean kept the temperature down as he walked her around the church property
.
Jax needed it because being around this woman made him hotter than an Afghan summer
.
And frankly, he wouldn't mind being back there right now, if only because he understood it better
.
Taking a patrol outside the wire didn't carry the emotional baggage and bullcrap that dealing with a possible relationship did
.
Still, for a woman like this, he'd try
.
And maybe because deep down I'm hopeful she's a very naughty girl
.
He looked around
.
No lightning strike
.
So far.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

Kehau sighed. “I’m very confused right now.”

Oh boy
.
“Please, do share.”

“I just got out of a relationship with Sione four months ago. Now you come along. You’re the first man I’ve been on a date with or kissed since him.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. And I’m scared.”

“That you might be jumping right into the same thing all over again?” he said, giving voice to her fears.

“Or worse,” Kehau replied.

He stopped walking to examine a bird-of-paradise flower on one side.

“I told you I liked you,” he said without preamble. “Truth is, I like everything about you. And the more I get to know you, the more I want you in my life. I want you to be my girl, but I also want to take my time with this. We just met, however, I feel the pull to you, but I want to take it slow, be sure for both our sakes.”

“Bad experiences with women before?”

His eyes grew cloudy. “You could say that.” He gazed at her seriously. “The real question is, do you want it?”

Her heart started to flutter.
Boy, you have no idea just how much I want
.
Being around him like this made her whole body tingle. He was sexy in every way, perfectly carved, like a piece of statuary in the cathedral garden.

“Yes.” She nodded her head.

H
e kissed her then. A slow, lingering kiss that consumed her mind inch by inch. Rough bark scraped against her leg as he backed her up against a tree. Her wrists were in his hands, pinned against the trunk over her head as he rained kisses all across her eyes, her ears, her chin, up and down her neck. Light kisses, the kind that barely touched skin. But every time his lips made contact with her skin, it seemed to reach a nerve ending, making her grow hotter by the second. His rough, chapped lips felt as if they were made of napalm. Her whole life, she'd wanted a man to kiss her like this, in the cathedral garden.
Is this how Eve felt in Eden
?
she wondered.

Now all she could do was moan for a long glorious moment as he made every inch of her come alive. Her eyes closed, she surrendered to her desires and muttered his name…

“Ahem.”

Her eyes opened in an instant. Standing just behind them, a few yards away, was Sister Sarah Marquez da Almeida, the tiny ancient Portuguese nun who worked in the cathedral. And she looked pissed.

“It is still the Sabbath, and this is still the house of God, children,” Sister Marquez da Almeida declared, as if explaining to an illiterate barbarian proper decorum.

“Yes, sister,” they both intoned at once.

She harrumphed and slowly continued on her way around the property, rosary clutched between her hands.

“She’s quiet for a nun,” Jax said.

“There’s a reason my Sunday school class calls her ‘The Nun-ja’. You never hear the Ruler of Doom until it hits your knuckles.”

“Beats what they said in Blues Brothers.”

“Oh?” she asked.

“The Penguin.”

Kehau's hand flew to her mouth as she tried to contain her laughter. Jax pulled her into his arms and held her close. “How does lunch sound right now?”

“Burgers?”

“Burgers it is.”

At a tiny little burger joint on Kapahulu Avenue, Jax introduced her to sweet potato fries on her burger. Kehau thought it was another difference between he and Sione that she liked. He wasn’t afraid to eat, or let her eat. She’d tried going cheap, only to have Jax pull her up short.

“Kehau, I promise, eat whatever you want, I can afford it.”

“I shouldn't, I'll regret it tomorrow teaching class,” she’d replied hesitantly.

“Promise, a real burger won't kill you once in awhile.”

In the end, she’d gotten a cheeseburger made with Kobe beef, garlic aioli, bacon, onion, lettuce, tomato with a thick slice of mozzarella, and a large side of sweet potato fries.

“You were right, these are incredible,” she mumbled around a mouthful dipped in the maple-bacon fry sauce.

“Only place to get them done right on the island.” He eyed her near-empty plate. “Care for another order of those?”

Kehau looked up from the thick chocolate milkshake she'd started. “Please?”

Jax chuckled and smiled, “Your wish is my command.”

Kehau looked at her watch, checking the time. “Actually, can we make that a to-go order? I feel the need for an afternoon nap.”

Jax laughed. “Certainly.”

*****

An hour later, tucked into his left side, Kehau relaxed as she and Jax curled up together for an afternoon nap, on a lounge chair, in the warm Hawaii sun at Kehau's place. Jax’s jacket and tie lay on the dining room table beside Kehau’s purse.

She was still munching on the sweet potato fries, though she’d slowed down considerably. Finally, she closed the Styrofoam box.

“Full?” Jax asked.

“Stuffed. But those were so good!” she moaned. Pulling closer into him, Kehau marveled at how relaxed he seemed.
And damn he smells good
.
It’s the same cologne as last night
.
Wonder what it is
?
I swear it’s familiar but I don’t know why.

“I have to ask, what cologne do you wear?” she said.

“That’s a secret and you can't tell.”

“I promise I won’t tell,” Kehau swore.

“Nope. Not gonna say it. But I will let you try to figure it out on your own,” Jax smirked.

“You should probably know that you smell utterly delicious.”

“So you like it?”

She snuggled up closer and took an appreciative sniff. “Very much so.”

“Then I’ll make sure to wear it when I’m around you.”

Kehau looked up into his dark eyes. “You’re a very strange man.”

“Strange how?”

“You don’t act or behave like any man I know.”

“That’s the joy of being me. I am what God made me, and I don’t ever claim to be different.”

“You're very set in your ways, aren't you?”

“A little.” She scowled at him and he relented. “Okay, a lot.”

“Hmmm…maybe it’s time for some questions,” she mused aloud.

“This sounds dangerous,” Jax remarked.

“Depends on the answers you give.”

“Okay. Hit me with your best shot.” He challenged her.

“Number of girlfriends you’ve had.”

His eyes rolled upwards, as if stopping to count. “Eight. You?”

“Sione was my third boyfriend. When was your last relationship?”

“Three years ago.”

Kehau looked at him curiously. “Why so long?”

“Got out of the military and started a new job. Just been busy working ever since.”

There was more to that story, but Kehau didn’t feel like pressing him. Not right now.

“Mango or papaya,” she asked.

“Yes.”

Kehau rolled her eyes. “C’mon! How is that an answer?”

“It’s like picking between my truck and my motorcycle. I love them both.”

“Okay, fair enough. What do you for a living?”

Jax paused. “I’m a consultant. Who and what I can’t say because I maintain very strict client confidentiality.” He looked at her seriously. “But I promise it’s nothing illegal. Speaking of work, I have to leave Monday for some negotiations. I’ll be back later in the week, probably Thursday night.”

Kehau frowned. “That’s no fun!” she protested.

“I know, but think of it this way, you can spend all week thinking of what you’d like to do when I get back. And anytime I’m inside Wi-Fi I’ll be able to get text messages from you.” His fingers feathered their way through her soft hair. “I really will miss you while I’m gone.”

This was enough to make Kehau happy. Ignoring his comment, she stretched across him and before long Jax felt her breathing level out, she'd fallen asleep.

Jax had no complaints about the matter. He hadn't slept right in years. But there was something about Kehau, something about her personality that caused his body to relax enough he could get real sleep.
Almost be worth it to move in together
.
I've almost forgotten what it's like to get more than three hours at time
. God, I've known her all of two days and talking of moving in together. Yeah, I'm sleep deprived but I'm not stupid to believe that is the only reason.

He looked at the beautiful dark
-
haired woman lying beside him
.
How do you do it
,
Kehau
?
And why didn't I meet you sooner
?
Gently, he kissed her forehead, then closed his eyes and drifted away.