Rolling in the Deep: Hawaiian Heroes, Book 2 (28 page)

“But you don’t have Aquaman,” she exclaimed. “I would think he’d be your favorite.”

“He was. Haven’t been able to find the figure, though.” He finished his beer and looked down at her as if considering something. “You wanna go for a ride?”

Her heart leapt. “In your boat?”

Amusement quirked up his cheeks, warmed his eyes. “Yeah, in my boat.”

“About time.”

He raised one heavy brow. “I was gonna give you a ride yesterday, but you weren’t at Nawea.”

“Well, I’m here now.”

“Yeah, you are.” He took her empty beer bottle. “Come on, den.”

At Nawea, Claire ran upstairs to get her rash-guard shirt and straw hat and came back downstairs just as quickly. Grace waved casually from the lanai.

Daniel was already in his boat, David standing beside it, both nodding seriously over something on the dash.

Claire sauntered along the dock, trying to look casual. It was a wasted effort, as Daniel didn’t bother to look up until she was standing beside the boat, arms crossed, tapping one foot impatiently.

“Some boat, yeah?” David said, stepping back. He nodded with the appreciation of a male for a piece of machinery built principally for looks and speed.

Claire shrugged. “I’ve seen bigger.”

David choked, and Daniel gave her a look that made her cheeks burn. Because he knew darn well she hadn’t.

“Well, are you going to give me a ride?” she demanded. “Or do I just get to look at it?”

Daniel held out his hand in ironic courtesy. “E hele mai
,
wahine. Come on in.”

“Mahalo,” she said and put her hand in his to leap lightly into the boat.

The interior was as beautiful as the exterior. A turquoise-and-white leather bench seat stretched across the rear; two matching captain’s chairs rode the front, facing a glossy dash full of instruments and gauges. She stroked her hand over the soft leather and peered at the speedometer. Up to one hundred and thirty miles per hour.

“Ka nani,” she said sincerely. “She’s beautiful.”

“Mahalo. Sit.”

Claire slid into the passenger seat and watched as Daniel and David undid the lines. Daniel did something with the throttle, turned the key, and the big engine throbbed to life. The boat quivered under them, all those sea horses ready to run.

Claire grinned with sheer pleasure as David pushed them away from the dock, and Daniel backed the boat into the bay and swung it around to face the open sea. She waved at Grace and Bella and then David as they headed for the channel in the reef. David winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

“You better take that hat off,” Daniel told her. “You’ll lose it.”

She pulled off her straw hat and stuffed it down by her feet. He looked at her hair, already flipping around her face in the breeze, and turned to fish in a compartment on his side of the dash. Pulling out a baseball cap, he handed it to her. It was a white cap with a pink turtle embroidered on the front. She wondered whose it was and decided not to worry about it.

“Thanks.” She pulled the cap down as tight as it would go, pushed her sunglasses more securely onto her nose and looked at him expectantly.

They rumbled through the channel, out into the waves. Since they were pointed into the surf, the rocking was short and shallow. Daniel pushed forward on the throttle, and the big boat sped up, settling down into the water, the engine roaring.

Out before them spread the open sea, a glittering blue expanse. A pair of white fishing boats cruised a little way out, and other boats dotted the water along the coast back toward Kona.

“What’s in that direction?” she yelled over the motor, pointing south at the bare horizon.

“Tahiti.”

She laughed. “Let’s go!”

He grinned, one side of his mouth hooking up. “Little too far, even in this, tita.”

“Well, can we go any faster?”

“You sure?”

“Yes!” she hollered. “I wanna see what she can do!”

Behind his sunglasses, his face was hard, almost wicked. He shook his head once, as if to say he’d warned her, and then he pushed down on the throttle.

It was like flying. The big boat raced along, faster and faster. The water shot by in a series of silver flashes, stealing the air and her breath. The boat bucked under them, carrying them along on a flat roller-coaster ride of water and wind. The noise was incredible, a hissing roar that devoured every thought and emotion except exhilaration and terror in a heady mix.

Daniel looked over at his passenger. In the bright sunlight, he could see her eyes through the lenses of her sunglasses. They were wide with fear and excitement, but she was laughing like a wild woman.

She tipped back her head, and the wind caught the brim of the baseball cap and ripped it off. Her blonde hair whipped out behind her in a bright banner, the wind sucked her clinging shirt against her full, round breasts.

Claire looked over at him and let out a shriek. The wind swallowed it, and he held on to the steering wheel with a death grip to quell the impulse to grab her, haul her over into his arms and kiss her open, laughing mouth. Pele, she was the sexiest woman who’d ever been in this boat.

Sheer lust settled in his groin, heat surging low in his belly, into his cock. He wanted to take her here, now. Lay her down on the bench seat and have her again while the waves rocked them in Kanaloa’s cradle.

Except that Kanaloa would protect his life from those who threatened his seas, but he wouldn’t do a damn thing to protect Daniel’s peace of mind. Or the sharp ache in the center of his chest, as if a dull hook had pierced something deep inside him.

Time to remember they were out here for more than fun. Clenching his hand on the wheel, he pulled back on the throttle to slow the boat and sent her into a wide, sweeping turn to the south.

They cruised south along the coast for a few miles. On his left, he saw a white fishing boat cruising along, a man lounging in the back by the fishing rods. Another man stepped out of the cabin to lift an arm in greeting, and Daniel waved back. Zane and Tony.

“How fast were we going?” Claire asked, raising her voice over the sound of the motor.

“Ninety,” he said, turning back to her. “Ninety-five. Scared?”

She made a face. “Oh, hell, yeah. Almost peed myself. It was great!”

He laughed, surprising himself. “Well, don’t. This is leather upholstery.”

“I know.” She stroked the seat beside her leg with obvious pleasure. Her breasts bounced with the rhythm of the waves.

Which pretty well finished hardening his erection like a chunk of ohia wood. He could almost feel her hands stroking his skin instead of the leather.

“Sorry I lost the hat,” she said.

He shrugged. “No worries.” He couldn’t remember who’d left it—Melia or one of his cousins. He’d buy another if one of them asked about it.

He scanned the water ahead. There, closer to the coast than he’d expected, a large silhouette rocked gently on the waves—the
Hypnautique.
He sped up, heading in a wide arc around the yacht, like a pleasure cruiser having a look at whatever caught his eye.

“Wow,” Claire called over the roar of his engine. “That’s a floating palace.”

Daniel nodded without taking his eyes off the yacht. He was particularly interested in the stern. There was no one on the low platform across the rear of the yacht, but he did see something of extreme interest. A rack of scuba air tanks lashed onto the platform beside the steps up into the boat. There were four empty slots in the rack.

Chapter Sixteen

Tuesday, June 18
^th

The next morning, the remainder of the party was at breakfast when Hilo dug his phone from his pocket and frowned as he looked at it. As soon as he answered it, the tone of his voice hushed all conversation. Claire set down her forkful of Hawaiian-style french toast, and watched him, as did the others.

He said a few terse words and then rose, his face grim. “I gotta get out to Honok
ō
hau. There was a fire near my place. They’ve put it out, but Akai isn’t sure how much damage there is. Damn kids fooling around.”

“I’ll take you.” Frank was already on his feet, heading for the dock. He came back to grab his coffee cup. “Come back down as soon as you’re ready.”

“I’ll go with you,” Daniel said, rising.

Hilo shook his head. “You must stay here, keiki ohana, you know that.”

Daniel nodded, even though he looked ready to chew lava. Claire was surprised. She’d expected him to go with his uncle, as they were obviously close.

“I’ll go with you,” Zane said, rising.

“So will I.” David turned to his wife. “The truck is here if you need to go in.”

“I’ll be fine,” Melia said.

“You boys don’t have to come.” Hilo laid his hand on David’s shoulder. “Akai will be there. But thank you both.”

The boat took off shortly afterward, the two men on board.

“I hope everything will be all right at his shop,” Claire said.

“He’ll phone and let us know,” David said.

“Finish your breakfast,” Melia urged the rest of them. “What do you want to do today?”

No one spoke right away. The three Ho’omalu men were all quiet, their thoughts obviously with Hilo.

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, I was hoping to do some diving today,” Claire said a little hesitantly.

Bella wrinkled her nose. “Count me out, thanks. I love to snorkel, but I’m not sure I want to go any deeper than that.”

Daniel looked at Claire. “Would you mind?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sorry,” he said brusquely. “Can’t. Something I gotta do.”

Well, okay, then. She took a drink of tea, swallowing the lump in her throat.

David looked at him and then Claire. “You girls want to go into Kona, do some shopping?”

“Not me,” she said. “I’m shopped out.”

“We can just hang here,” Melia said. “I have the wedding pictures on my laptop. You can help me choose which to print in the album.”

Daniel left, Zane at his heels. After a few moments, Zane came back alone. He threw himself into a lounger, looking uncharacteristically moody.

“Want to come to Kona with me?” David asked him. “Got some business to take care of. Be there a couple of hours.”

“Nah,” Zane said. He looked over at Claire, a challenge in his dark eyes. “You wanna go scuba diving, I’ll go with you.”

“Okay,” she agreed, her spirits lifting. “When can we go?”

His mouth twitched up on one side, so like Daniel that she nearly laughed. “It’ll take us a little while to get ready. Gotta check the tanks and gear.” He looked at Bella. “You sure you don’t want to come?”

“No, thanks. I want to see the wedding pictures.”

“Can you show them to me when I get back?” Claire asked Melia.

Melia smiled at her. “Of course. I can see you’re dying to dive, so go!”

Claire followed Zane down to the dock. She was absurdly disappointed—she’d really wanted Daniel to take her diving again. Touring the underwater world with him was more exciting, as if he were showing her a treasured place that he knew better than anyone else.

But it was really nice of Zane to take her, so she smiled and helped as he laid out the scuba gear and showed Claire a row of shorty wet suits laid out neatly in one of the cupboards under the thatched roof. She found a blue one, which, to her delight, fit her much better than Daniel’s spare suit. She wriggled into it, zipped it up and watched Zane check the tanks.

“You’re really careful,” she complimented him.

He nodded without looking up. “Check it twice or regret it once.”

She winced. “Okay, that’s pretty grim.”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Here, try on these gloves.”

He handed her a pair of blue-and-white gloves with gripping fingers and palms. They fit well, so she set them on her flippers and took the weight belt he handed her. She nearly dropped it. “It’s so heavy.”

“You need more weight, ’cause you come with natural buoyancy.” He pantomimed with cupped hands before his chest. “Wahines float higher.”

“Oh, I get it,” she said, widening her eyes. “Men are denser than women.”

He winced, and she snickered.

“Hey, you’ll like this,” Zane said. He grinned as he handed her hot-pink snorkel mask to her. A small device was fastened onto the side strap. Claire recognized it, but he looked so pleased with himself, she put the mask on. His voice sounded in her ear. “This is your tour guide. Follow instructions, and we’ll bring you back alive.”

“Cool,” she said, pretending to be surprised. “Walkie-talkies.”

“Yup. We just bought ’em last week. Makes it more fun if you can talk to your dive partner instead of just pantomiming.”

Zane helped her into the air-tank harness. Claire moved her shoulders, settling the air tanks more comfortably, and waded out until the water was deep enough to hold her upright while she tugged her flippers on. Scuba flippers were longer than those worn to snorkel, and stiffer. Fabulous for moving through the water, compensating for the drag of the air tanks, but harder to get on, even over the dive socks.

Zane joined her, and she waved good-bye to Melia and Bella before turning and putting her face in the water. Her heart thumped with excitement as they submerged into the clear turquoise water. She was on a dive, this time with wonderful daylight. The night dive with Daniel had been thrilling—and scary.

Zane led the way out through the reef, and they turned south along the face of the reef as she’d longed to do the first day of snorkeling. The bottom was fairly shallow until they passed Daniel’s cove.

Just beyond, the bottom fell away, the reef dropping into an underwater cliff face. Claire’s stomach dropped as well, and she paused, looking down into the blue depths. She could make out the ebony lava flow continuing on among strips of white sand. A school of large fish drifted just above the bottom, their backs silvery.

“You okay?” Zane asked, his voice muffled around his air-tube mouthpiece.

“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “It’s just so…deep. But I’m fine.”

“Come on, then.” His voice was reassuringly calm in her ears. Of course, he dove a lot.