AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But just as suddenly as the kiss started, Kai pulled away and cool air hit her lips. She opened her eyes, confused, and she saw Kai, flushed and panting.
“Just so we’re clear, no more of that,” he said, and wiped his mouth before taking another step back. He shook his head slowly. “You know what you should be asking yourself? Do you really think I need those rules? Or do you?”
He turned and left her, out of breath and dazed, staring after his stiff retreat, her body aching and unsatisfied.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TRAINING WAS SHOT for the day. Kai couldn’t even look at Jun, much less concentrate on exercising. He’d stalked straight out of the house, without even thinking about what she’d do there. Sit and have a cup of tea? Scribble some more ridiculous rules on her whiteboard? He didn’t care. He couldn’t believe that woman. She was so...stubborn. Pigheadedly independent.
He took a deep breath as his feet sank into the pristine dry sand, already dotted with the umbrellas of tourists out to get their daily dose of tropical sun. The air was thick with the smell of coconut sunscreen as he maneuvered around the bikini-clad bodies. He could see a high-rise hotel in the distance, and he already planned to stop in the bar.
No alcohol, he could hear Jun say to him. Well, so what? She’d said no sex, too, and then she’d all but jumped him the second he’d gotten close enough to touch.
Not that he minded the sex. The sex had been...amazing. Absolutely amazing. He’d never been with a woman so...voracious before. It was exactly as he’d thought: once she’d loosened her tight coil of control, she’d been nearly insatiable.
But apparently, all she wanted was a quickie, nothing more. He’d recognized that look when she’d sputtered on about him being a mistake. It was the same one he probably used when he tried to gently push a tourist out of his house the morning after, when the mai tais had worn off.
If Jesse were here, she’d laugh her ass off and tell him it was what he deserved. But he’d never been anything but honest with the women he’d slept with. He’d always said it was just for fun, that he wasn’t looking for commitment, and so far, that had been great for everyone. No tourist fell into his bed looking for forever. Everyone wanted the same thing; it was simple, just the way he liked it.
Since when did he ever like complicated?
Since...Po. He wasn’t ready to walk away from that boy. He didn’t want him to be afraid of water for the rest of his life, and he knew in his gut he could help him. That maybe, even, they could help each other. He remembered how well he’d surfed when he knew Po was watching. Yes, he thought he could help the boy, but perhaps at the heart of it, he thought Po could save him right back. Even now he felt as if he was so close to really recovering, to getting his surfing legs back. He’d never considered himself a family man, hadn’t even given much thought to having kids, and yet now that Po was in his life, he felt different. He realized that ever since they’d survived the floodwaters, Kai had felt responsible for the boy. He’d fought it for a year, but with Jun and Po in his life, he couldn’t deny it any longer. And he wasn’t like his own father. He took his responsibilities seriously.
He’d reached the hotel high-rise, and the aquamarine pool glistened in the sunlight. Tanned bodies lay on reclining chairs, soaking up sun, as soft ukulele music tinkled out across the open patio. The bar, open-air and near the pool, beckoned him with empty stools at the ready. A brunette in a white gauzy cover-up, mostly transparent and unbuttoned to her navel, showing off a flattering string bikini, sat sipping a piña colada. She reminded him of Jun, which was dangerous. She removed a big chunk of fresh pineapple from the rim of the glass and proceeded to nibble at it as she scrolled through her smartphone.
His own phone rang, and he saw it was his manager, Kirk, calling. He’d been bugging him about the ad video for the new surfboard. He couldn’t put him off forever.
“Hey, Kirk,” Kai said, answering the call as he moved away from the woman with the piña colada.
“Kai! You’re a hard man to reach. We’ve been putting together that charity you asked for—Big Island Kids—and the site goes live tomorrow. People can ‘sponsor’ you for the surf competition and then every point you earn, the kids get some dough.”
