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CHAPTER ONE
RAVEN
The flight drops into the airport on the island and I stare out the window beside me. I’m torn between excitement and exhaustion. I’ve been on an absolute bender with articles for the last six months and I haven’t had a break in at least a year. This little jaunt to Pa?ina Island in the Hawaiian chain of islands is supposed to serve a dual purpose. I’m going to review the Pa?ina Island resort and then I’m going to have a few days off to just veg out and keep my feet on the ground for a short time. Drink some fruity tropical drinks that knock me on my ass and work on my tan while hopefully looking for a little company of the sexual kind.
It’s been a long dry spell and my B.O.B. has had to be retired from overwork. I need some loving that doesn’t involve batteries or charging.
And since I don’t want a man for anything but short term this seems like the perfect time to ‘get me some’ as they say.
I disembark from the plane after listening to the customers in front of me chatting about how they weren’t sure they were gonna make it to the island this year since the affair one of them was having with her boss came out and she got fired.
But she’s bounced back and she grins at her friend when they start talking about getting some man to show them around.
I snort under my breath.Who the hell needs a man?Well, except for the obvious reasons.
I stride into the airport and take a look around me, surprised at how airy and modern it is. Obviously, this little island spends a little bit on upkeep around here. It’s refreshing.
Small palms in buckets and other tropical plants float around the edges of the space and liven it up so that it actually looks like a getaway instead of a digital control center.
I stroll through the building, enjoying my favorite past-time wherever I’m at. People watching. I love to take a look at all the people wandering through the places I visit. I’m always curious about what kinds of life they lead. Are they visitors or are they coming home? Or leaving on a fantastic vacation to meet their husband or boyfriend on the other side of the world.
Not that any woman needs a man to make her happy. But it’s a common dream so even I can’t help but think about it. Not that I want anything like that. I’ve seen what happens to a woman when she subjugates herself like that. I know there’s a tiny little part of me that wants that fantasy but I ruthlessly keep her under lock and key. There’s no way that I want to live like my mother did. Bouncing from place to place whenever the military or my dad said jump.
I like my life. I sigh and push the errant thought out of my head that I’m actually kind of lonely. I get to meet a lot of different people. How can you be lonely when you meet so many people?
Tell yourself that so many times and maybe you’ll believe it.
I grab my bags off the conveyor and head over to the taxi stand outside. I stand there for what feels like an hour and nobody shows up. My jaw aches from gritting my teeth in annoyance.
“Surely there’s someone around here that can drive me to this resort?” I ask. As soon as I do, the man standing next to me grimaces.
“Do you mind?”
I turn and lock eyes with him, a little golden brown eyes lock on me and he smirks like he’s seen something hilarious.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I huff out a startled breath when he grins at me. I’ve never seen so many teeth when someone smiles. And yet it feels more like an annoyed grimace.
He sidles up to me and I can feel the warmth from his body even through the clothes we’re wearing.
His dark eyes lock on me and the smirk on his lean, hungry face makes me want to slap the hell out of him. I just know he’s about to say something that deserves it too. It’s written all over him.
“I’d be happy to drive you if I had my car, princess.” He leans closer and whispers in my ear. “I wouldn’t mind riding with you if you don’t mind plastering yourself to me in the back seat.” He shrugs towards a waiting car that he appears to have called. “That’s the car that I ordered to pick me up from the airport. I’d be happy to share but it’s a little bit small. And I’m a big guy.”
My eyes bounce back and forth between the car and him and I mentally try and size up just how close I’d have to sit to him and whether it’s worth it.
He grunts. “Shuttle’s leaving, princess. Make a decision. I don’t have all day.” He stalks away to his car and I grab my things, too shocked at how abruptly he left to really stop and think about what the hell I’m doing.
He grabs his things and throws them in the trunk and then goes to grab mine but I refuse to let go. My nose scrunches as I run through my options.
He groans. “Jesus, can’t you make a decision on your own? You gotta have somebody do it for you?”
Glaring at him, I pick up my bags and chuck them in the little trunk and then stalk off towards the door. He gets there before me and grins, holding it open for me. Once again, I take a quick look at him and my thoughts are completely inappropriate. He’s got a lean, hungry look to him but his amber eyes blaze with a lustful look that I can’t ignore. “Ummm. Maybe I should take…”.
Before I can step away from the door, he puts his large hand up and pushes me lightly in the chest, which makes me drop to the back seat and then he slides in, pushing my legs and body out of the way with his hands and that big body. He’s got to be at least six foot four and towers over my own five foot six. He’s a deliciously tall man with broad shoulders and narrow hips, muscular thighs that flex in his jeans so that I can see their mouth-watering movement. There’s got to be at least a week of scruff on his face and his hair is trimmed closer in the back but his deep chocolate hair is cut longer in the front so that it keeps falling into his blue eyes. Eyes which have long, dark lashes that most women would weep with envy over.
“You keep looking at me like that and we might have a problem, princess.” The smirk on his firm mouth makes me ache to slap the hell out of him again.
“I don’t even know your name. I sure as hell don’t want to jump in bed with a perfect stranger,” I huff angrily. Mainly because my lady parts are actively begging me to jump into bed with him. The currently unused parts are pretty damn sure he could give them a damn good time.
