Rolling in the Deep: Hawaiian Heroes, Book 2 (8 page)

And tomorrow night, she’d watch Daniel Ho’omalu dance. Wow.

Perhaps it was no surprise that she dreamt of him. But the dream itself was like an island fantasy.

She stood on the beach, lit only by the moonlight and the tiki torches flickering in their stands. Daniel Ho’omalu stood in a huge war canoe, floating just offshore, clad in a fancy feather cape and headdress and a breechclout. The dress of a war chief—she’d seen them in the beautiful paintings in the hotel lobby.

He looked her over, his jet eyes insolent. In the manner of dreams, she suddenly realized she was nearly nude, clad only in a brief sarong of some soft cloth. Her breasts, shoulders and belly were bared to his gaze. She could feel his gaze as if he touched her with his big, hard hands.

He lifted one hand and beckoned her imperiously. Equal parts anger and arousal warred inside her. Her breasts tightened, her nipples hardening to tight peaks, and heat twined low in her belly.

Against her will, she found herself walking down the beach to him, water lapping around her ankles. He gestured again, a flick of his hand toward her sarong. It was clear he meant her to take it off for him.

That was too much. She shook her head angrily. He merely smiled, a knowing quirk of his wide, sensual mouth, and Claire found her hands moving to unfasten the sarong, so aroused and so angry she felt as if she might burst into flames.

Her own cry woke her. She opened her eyes with a gasp and found that she was twisted in the sheets and her thin tank top, perspiring. And turned on.

Bella stirred in the other bed and then subsided with a sigh, her breathing once again even and shallow.

Claire rolled onto her back, moving sinuously. She bit back a groan of frustration. Damn him—she ached with arousal, her pussy swollen and needy. Squeezing her thighs together, she slipped her fingers into her bikini panties, touching her wetness. Stroking her arousal up over her clitoris, she circled it delicately. As exquisite pleasure bloomed, she saw Daniel Ho’omalu as he’d been in her dream, watching her touch herself. She came hard and fast, shuddering silently.

She flopped back onto her pillow, her body relaxed but her mind full of turmoil. What was happening to her?

She’d been attracted to other guys, but never like this, and she’d certainly never dreamed about them, especially clothed in such barbaric splendor. He’d looked so…right.

And she wanted him more than ever.

Chapter Five

Thursday, June 13
^th

After their dress fittings the next morning, Grace took Claire and Bella shopping. Claire demurred, but Grace gave her a chiding look. “Honey, you know I can afford it. I want to do something nice for my girls.”

Giving in with a smile, Claire hugged her. As they set off in the soft morning, she was charmed by the little open-air shops along the Kona Town walking mall, their wares hanging in both doors and windows. The tile walkways were uneven, sloping to storm drains set every few feet. Claire nearly tripped more than once as she gawked at sundresses, bikinis and jewelry.

At the first shop, she looked at a one-piece swimsuit. Grace, her reddish brows drawing together in displeasure, reached over and pulled a bikini off the rack beside her.

“This is what the girls wear on the beach here.”

Although she was taken aback by the briefness of the triangles of blue-and-green batik, Claire took the hanger. When she stepped out of the minute changing room a few moments later, her face and chest were hot with embarrassment. The tiny suit did little more than showcase her full breasts and hips, although it made her legs look even longer.

To her shock, Grace nodded. “Now that’s more like it.”

“I can’t wear this in public!” Claire protested.

“Why not?” The slender Asian clerk joined Grace, her head tilted to one side. She was beaming too.

“It—it shows everything,” Claire sputtered. “I’m too big to wear a bikini. I only put it on to make a point—”

“Omigod,” Bella enthused, coming out of her own dressing room in a brief red bikini that highlighted her slender frame. “Claire, look at you.”

When Claire turned a fulminating look on her, Bella widened her eyes innocently. “What? So it’s sexy. This is Hawaii, honey, and you’re single. Go for it.”

“What are you two doing, trying to marry me off like Melia?” Claire tugged at the tiny bottom, which barely covered half her ass. She wasn’t exactly fat, but she wasn’t a little slip of a thing like Bella, either. She had curves, most of which were hanging out right now.

“You look lovely,” Grace repeated. “And you can wear the sarong when you’re out of the water.”

Claire accepted the length of fabric, tied it over her hips and looked in the mirror again. That was less blush-worthy.

“And Daniel will love it,” Bella murmured over her shoulder.

Claire made a face at her, but, she accepted the suit and a bright coral tankini with coordinating hip-hugging swim-shorts.

That seemed enough to her, but at the next shop, Grace held up a white crocheted bikini. She thrust it into Claire’s arms along with a flowered sarong and shooed her into the dressing room.

Trying the suit on, Claire stared at herself in the mirror. She grinned guiltily at her reflection. The crochet had flesh-toned backing, cradling her breasts and derriere while showing hints of skin. The effect was pretty, frivolous and incredibly sexy. She wanted it—desperately. She wanted to see a pair of grim, onyx eyes light up with hopeless lust at the sight of her wearing it.

Then she’d decide whether to let him have her.

After changing back into her street clothes, she handed the suit to the clerk. “I’ll take it.”

Then it was on to Honolua Surf for souvenir sweatshirts, Crazy Shirts for T-shirts and shorts, and a nearby boutique for sundresses and straw hats.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Claire protested laughingly. “I’m not going to be here long enough to wear all this.”

She thanked Grace again with another hug, which Grace returned.

“All right,” Grace said briskly as she put her wallet away. “We’ve just time to get a manicure and pedicure before we meet Melia for lunch.”

Claire followed her and Bella along the cobbled walkway, arms laden with shopping bags. She felt as if she’d been dropped into a strange but pleasant dream. She didn’t do all these girly things, shopping and having her nails done.

Even though she lived in a suburb of Portland, a shopping mecca, she spent nearly every penny on food, rent and tuition. It didn’t bother her. Someday, when she was established in her profession, she’d have extra money for luxuries.

She might never have enough to shop the way Grace did, just handing over her credit card without bothering about the price of things. But that was okay. Claire didn’t really crave expensive clothes and jewelry. Her tastes ran more to state-of-the-art computer equipment and rent money on a house near the beach somewhere. Hawaii would be heaven, but everyone knew it cost a small fortune to live here. She was willing to settle for a mainland beach.

After their hands and feet had been buffed, nails trimmed and polished, the three of them lugged their shopping bags up to their rooms. Claire changed into a pair of blue shorts, a stretchy white halter top and white leather flip-flops, all new. As she brushed her hair into a silky swathe of blonde and then plopped her new hat on her head, Claire grinned at her reflection. Now she looked like a tourist.

Bella did too, in a yellow tank and shorts, her hair in braids under her hat. Big silver earrings dangled nearly to her shoulders.

Melia was waiting in the lobby, lovely and tropical in a red dress and matching sandals. They exchanged hugs.

“Love your outfit, Mel,” Bella approved.

Melia blushed. “David picked it out for me.”

Claire blinked. Wow—the idea of a guy shopping for her, choosing a sexy dress and shoes, boggled her mind. Unbidden, she pictured Daniel Ho’omalu’s glowering face and snorted with laughter.

“What?” Bella and Melia demanded.

“Just trying to picture David’s big brother shopping for a woman,” she said. There was an instant of silence, and then the three of them whooped.

Grace chuckled too. “David does manifest certain social graces that Daniel, er, chooses not to,” she said dryly.

“Well said, Madame Author.” Claire snickered.

They had sandwiches at one of the waterfront cafes on the esplanade. Claire whipped her phone out of her bag and had the waiter take their picture. They smiled politely for the first, and then the three girls mugged for a second photo for Grace, striking dramatic poses with their hats.

“Oh, I’ve missed you two.” Melia hugged first Bella and then Claire. “Friends forever, right?” she asked, grasping both of their hands in hers. “No matter what, no matter where.”

“You’d better believe it.” Claire squeezed her friend’s hand. Emotion swelled in her breast, and she had to hold on to her smile. Because really, their friendship would never be the same now that Melia was getting married. David would always come first. That was the way it should be, but it still hurt a little.

“Always.” Bella reached for Claire’s hand as well. Grace snapped another photo.

Melia let out a funny little sob and held tighter to their hands. “Um—I have something else to tell you,” she said, her green eyes once again brimming with tears.

“What?” Bella looked worried. Claire stared at her friend, mystified. Was it something horrible?

“David and I—we’re going to have a baby. I’m pregnant.”

The two of them gaped at her. Grace slowly lowered the camera. “Oh, my.”

Melia looked from Bella to Claire. Her mouth quivered up into a lopsided grin. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Um…wow.” Claire struggled to wrap her mind around this new concept. Melia, a mother?

“I guess…I’m just so shocked.” Bella brushed back a strand of shiny hair from her face, her eyes round.

Claire nodded. “Are you okay? I mean, this must have been one heck of a surprise to you too, huh?”

“Oh, yeah,” Melia said in heartfelt tones. “I cried for hours. And I was so mad, I punched David.”

“Is
he
okay with it?”

Melia rolled her eyes. “He’s over the moon. The Ho’omalus love keikis. He can’t wait to be a daddy.”

“And you aren’t getting married just because of the baby,” Bella said. “I mean, you’re obviously in love, both of you. We could see that when he came back with you last month.”

Melia blushed. “No, it’s not because of the baby. We would have waited a few more months to be married, but he’s the one for me—the only one.”

“Then I’m happy for you,” Claire said fiercely, squeezing her hand. What it must be like to have such bedrock assurance that she was loved like that.

“Good, because you’re both going to be aunties,” Melia said, smiling through her tears. “And you too, Grace.”

Grace smiled at her and reached over to lay her hand over Melia’s and Bella’s. “I’m very happy for you, my dear.”

“This explains why you cry over everything,” Claire realized. “Hormones.” They all laughed.

The rest of their lunch was calmer, unaccompanied by any more revelations, until Melia looked at the clock on her phone. “Oh, my gosh, the afternoon is flying by. Are you ready to go? David should be picking Mom and Dad up from the airport in an hour. They’re meeting us up at the house. I want to show you David’s—
our
house before they get there, and give my parents time to relax before the luau.”

Back at the hotel, Claire slipped on the new dress and shell jewelry and let Bella, slender and lovely in a cocoa silk shift, curl her hair.

“It won’t last,” she warned, sitting on the toilet while Bella carefully wound a long blonde lock around the hot curling iron.

“Yes, it will,” Bella promised, shaking back her own glossy waves. “I brought styling products.”

Claire made a face at Melia, watching from the bathroom doorway. “Miss Curlylocks. Your hair looks fabulous, even in this humidity.”

“I love your hair,” Melia said loyally. “It’s so silky, and it’s a prettier color than mine.”

“Bet David doesn’t think so.” Claire grinned as her friend blushed.

Bella fussed and finger-tousled and sprayed, and when Claire looked at herself in the full-length mirror, she blinked. She looked…different. Like the chic young women she saw around downtown Portland. The dress emphasized her breasts and the strong, graceful line of her arms and shoulders, then clung to her small waist and full hips, ending well above her knees. Her hair hung in tousled blonde curls, framing her face. She frowned at herself, leaning toward the mirror.

“Do you think I should put on some eye makeup?”

“Yes,” her friends chorused immediately. She turned her frowning gaze on them.

“You have such pretty eyes,” Melia added. “You need to play them up more.”

She directed Claire to carefully line her upper and lower lids with a pencil, then smooth on a hint of taupe shadow. Claire stood back and looked at her reflection. The eye makeup really did emphasize her eyes, made them somehow smoky and even a little mysterious. She smirked at her reflection. She didn’t think of herself as real mysterious. All up front and out in the open, that was her.

Grace gave the final boost to her ego. As the three emerged into the sitting room, her eyes widened. “Claire, is that you?”

Claire set her hands on her hips. “Do I usually look that bad?”

“No,” Grace said. “Now you’re simply making the most of your looks.”

Melia and Bella nodded. Bella opened her mouth, and Melia elbowed her.

Claire rolled her eyes at them. “All right, all right. I get it—I’ll fluff up more often. Thank you all for the makeover. Now let’s go luau.”

She picked up her purse from the bed, and Bella hurried to do the same.

“Bring a light wrap,” Melia called after them. “It’s cooler up on the mountain, especially when the sun goes down.”

Claire stood at the railing of David and Melia’s huge deck and looked out over the mountainside below, the verdant green of pasture and treetops punctuated sharply with the long black stream of a recent lava flow clear down to the sea, which stretched to the horizon, a sheet of majestic silver.