Pure Temptation, page 6
But she seemed to know the reason behind the change in the course of this conversation without him saying it. “Did you think being your PT meant my week was dedicated to you and only you?” She had the nerve to smile. “Sorry, Dax. I do have some regular clients I had scheduled before I got this assignment.”
Regular clients? Every single week? This really wasn’t what he wanted to think about right now. He just grunted in response, trying to cut off the discussion before he said something stupid.
She crossed her arms, and the skeptical look on her face suggested he hadn’t quite convinced her yet.
“Fine,” he said. “It’s not my favorite thought that you would be touching some other guy today. But I know that’s stupid and childish and maybe even probably crossing the line. But there it is.”
Kendall tilted her head, like she was thinking about what he said...and all of the things he didn’t say but that might have slipped through in that confession. Well, fuck it all. He had said it, and she could do with it what she wanted.
But she smiled. It was a beautiful smile, so full of laughter and warmth. “Do you have a crush on me?”
Did he? Daxon sighed. This wasn’t just about sex so... “Maybe.” The corners of his mouth tugged up. “Yes.”
“Just checking.”
A crush. His smile grew. The great thing about a crush was that it was fleeting. Which meant it would fizzle by the time he left the Kalani.
“So help me out here.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Spend more off-hours time with me, tomorrow if you can’t today. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Kendall hesitated. “Um, I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll think about it?” Christ, this woman was killing him.
“I’m your PT, not your babysitter,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I’m not into the babysitter thing,” he said with a straight face. “But I could get into naughty schoolgirl.”
Kendall buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with laughter. “Didn’t you promise me you weren’t going to flirt with me on the clock?”
Oh, right. “Shit. Sorry. Let’s get back to the real issue,” he said. “Are you going to let me take you on an outing tomorrow? Or the next day?”
“Maybe,” she said, her sexy mouth curving up again. He was getting closer.
“You’re free to stop by this evening, off duty, and let me know your decision.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Generous offer.”
He had toyed with her, and now she was enjoying toying with him. Time to take it a step further.
“Just think what I’ll do to entertain myself while you’re off with another man.”
Kendall snorted. “The internet is full of wonders, isn’t it?”
Daxon let his gaze wander down her body. “I have many ideas,” he said softly.
Her cheeks flushed, and pleasure danced on her face. “As long as it doesn’t involve any strain on your calf I’m all for it.”
“I hope you don’t regret saying that later,” he said with a lusty laugh. “I’ve got a dirty mind and too much time on my hands.”
“Now I’m curious.”
“That’s definitely off-duty material,” he said, smirking. “Looks like you’ll have to come back.”
She laughed and then turned for the door. “Bye, Dax. See you later.”
And she walked right out without telling him when off-the-clock later would be.
CHAPTER SIX
THE LATE-AFTERNOON sun glittered on everything, reflecting off the blue-green water and the white sand beach. It was a beautiful day, the kind Kendall had imagined when she left everything behind in Northern California. The warmth surrounding her as she walked barefoot through the shallow waves, on her afternoon walk with Alana.
“So he asked you on a mystery date.” Alana lifted her sunglasses and gave Kendall a look, the kind that said right on. “Not really following why you’d say no to this.”
“It’s not a date. And it’s complicated,” said Kendall, shading her eyes from the sun. “Though I’m not on the clock, which was my first concern. I’m not that kind of professional.”
Alana grinned. “But the paid escort game sounds rather fun.”
Kendall gave her friend a little shove, and Alana kicked a splash of water her way in return. She opened her mouth to respond when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the screen. Home. Her heart jumped, and an ominous shiver ran through her. Her mother was calling in the middle of the day. Something must be wrong. Kendall frowned and blew out her breath. Chill out. Not every unexpected call had to be a tragedy. She’d thought moving across the ocean would make her less jumpy about her father’s health, but apparently that part of her psyche was immune to the mellow Hawaiian vibe.
“Sorry. I have to take this,” she said to Alana.
Alana waved her off as Kendall waded deeper into the water and accepted the call.
“Mom? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, honey.” The lightness in her mother’s voice sent a rush of relief through her. After years of anxiety that wore on her family, fire season after fire season, Kendall had learned to read her mother’s voice well. “Am I catching you at a bad time?”
“No. This is fine.” She tried to shake the last of her worry.
“I thought quitting the traveling PT job and moving to Hawaii was supposed to be relaxing.”
“I’m relaxed...most of the time.” Or as relaxed as she’d probably ever be. Her father was sure she’d outgrow her goal of becoming a physical therapist after the fear of his career-ending injury had faded, but her mother understood all too well that the mark that night had made was permanent. Who wouldn’t err on the cautious side after almost losing her father? Okay, maybe Kendall had leaned just a little too far in that direction, but now she was spreading her wings...safely. “It’s just that you usually call in the morning, and I wondered if...” Her voice trailed off. “Never mind.”
“You wondered if something had happened to your father?” Her mother’s voice was more serious. “He’s fine. No emergency.”
Kendall hung her head. “Sorry,” she mumbled. She let out another breath, then injected a little more cheer into her voice. “How are you?”
“We both took the day off, so your dad’s out surfing, and I’m about to sit down on the deck with a book.”
“Sounds great,” said Kendall, keeping her tone light, but the unease came back. Why did her parents take the day off? Her mother had to be calling for some reason.
“You’re still worried, aren’t you?” said her mother gently. “Honestly, nothing’s wrong. We just got back from your dad’s appointment, and I promised I’d call right after.”
Her father had begun to feel the long-term effects of smoke inhalation—yet another occupational hazard.
“How’s his breathing?”
“No worse than it was on his last visit.”
The words settled in, relief spreading through her muscles. Thank God. She didn’t spend all her days worrying about her father’s health, but these unexpected calls still triggered the same feelings they did when she was a kid, when she and her mother would jump every time the phone rang during fire season. It was the kind of thing she thought would dull after a while, but it didn’t. Even years after her father retired from hotshot duty.
“That’s great news,” she said. “Can I call you tonight, talk to both of you?”
“Of course.” Her mother sighed. “You don’t have to worry so much about us.”
“Old habits die hard, Mom. You know that.”
Her mother laughed. “I guess I do. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Kendall shoved her phone back into her pocket and wandered back over to Alana, who was currently inspecting a shell on the beach. Her friend looked up at her.
“Isn’t it the parents that are supposed to worry about their kids? How did you get it backward?”
“I’ve been practicing since I was a kid.” Kendall’s smile faded. “I don’t know how my mom survived all those years of forest fire seasons. She said it’s harder to be a hotshot’s wife than it is to be a hotshot.”
“Your dad must have been worth it.”
“She’d say so, but there were some hellish times, too.” When the tree limb that crushed his arm fell, her father had been knocked unconscious. For one terrible day, they hadn’t known if he would ever wake up. That day had almost broken her mother, and it was the last thing Kendall wanted to think about right now.
“Don’t most relationships have a few hellish times?” Alana gave her a pointed look.
“Maybe, but marrying a hotshot set her up for more than her share.”
But Alana waved off her comment. “Makes the fun times all the better. You don’t want to miss a single one of those.”
Kendall chuckled. “You’re bringing this back to Daxon, aren’t you? You think I should get naked with him.”
“I certainly do. As soon as possible.”
* * *
Daxon clung to the hangboard, mounted on the wall of the lanai, holding up the weight of his body with only his first three fingers. The timer beeped, so he shook out his hand, then started another set of pull-ups. Ten...then twenty. This was his last interval. Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven...just a few more.
Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four... His hands were aching, and each pull-up was slower, but he couldn’t stop now. If he was going to make it up Moonlight Buttress, his shoulders, his arms, his hands, his fingers—everything needed to be in top shape. It was his fifth set of pull-ups today, and he was almost done. Three more. Two. One. He let go and his arms fell to his side as his feet found the ground. Daxon leaned back against the wall and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The warm breeze blew off the ocean as he flexed his hands, in and out, stretching out the soreness.
Done. Now it was time for his reward. The lanai formed a U shape, and inside the U, his private swimming pool was glassy-smooth and ocean blue. It wasn’t made for laps, just big enough and the right temperature for a quick dip, which would be followed by the oldest relaxation technique known to man.
Daxon set his phone on the side of the pool, stripped and dived in. He stayed under for a few strokes, the rush of the water cooling him off. He emerged for a breath and swam over to the side, where there was a ledge so he could sit chest-deep in the water. The sun shone down on him, reflecting everywhere. Beautiful, but it would be so much better if Kendall were here.
He imagined her swimming up to him. She’d sit next to him on the ledge, work her hands up his leg, much like she did in PT, with that crease between her eyebrows when she was concentrating. But instead of stopping mid-thigh, she’d keep moving higher. Then, just before her hands reached his cock, she’d look at him, her lips parted with just a hint of a smile.
“You want the deluxe treatment today?” she’d ask with a little laugh.
“Hell, yes,” he’d say.
And now he was hard. He’d need to climb out of the pool...soon. He wrapped his hand around his cock and squeezed.
Kendall’s words from the bedroom came back. Your turn now. Her voice had been husky with pleasure, pleasure he had given her. Daxon gritted his teeth and moved his hand up and down. Next she’d run her hand up his cock, exploring his length before she reached for the strings of her bikini. Then, slowly, she’d—
His phone dinged, jolting him out of his fantasies. He glanced at his phone, lying on the pool deck. Another ding. Who the hell was calling him? Kendall had his number, and that call would be worth answering. Daxon reached for his phone.
The Kalani concierge.
Daxon sighed and answered it.
“Mr. Miles, I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time,” said the woman. “You told me to call when I had an update about your requests.”
“Perfect timing,” he deadpanned.
“Great. Just wanted to let you know that I located the exact convertible model you requested in red. Would you like me to have it delivered to the Kalani tomorrow morning?”
Kendall hadn’t given him an answer about the outing. Should he plan it anyway? Better than the opposite—she agreed to go and he wasn’t ready.
“Yes, please reserve the car for a few days,” said Daxon. “And I’ll send you the other items I’d like to have picked up.”
“Very good, sir.”
Daxon hung up and set down his phone. His dick had mellowed out a bit, and a little more of his reason flooded in. As far as distractions went, Kendall was a very effective one. Daxon frowned. He sounded like an asshole when he called her a distraction, even in his own head. She was funny and sexy, and being with her was so much more than just passing the time.
There was this niggling thought in the back of his mind that it might not be very easy to just shut off these days with Kendall when he left the island. But he had to, and he would. Climbing demanded every ounce of his concentration, which meant shutting everything else—and everyone else—off. He had never had a problem blocking out everything once he got on the mountain. Whatever happened this week wouldn’t change that.
* * *
“You’re not getting dressed for this?” Kendall’s gaze raked down Daxon’s bare torso, then snapped back up to his face.
Daxon bit back a grin and flashed an innocent smile. “What? This?” He gestured to his chest and his abs.
Kendall rolled her eyes. “Put a shirt on, Dax.”
“Whatever you want, sweets.”
He hadn’t really planned to take his private Kalani tour shirtless, but he was loving this habit of answering the door in various stages of undress. Did it count as a come-on? Naaah.
Daxon grabbed the shirt he’d left on the table by the door and pulled it over his head. Then he tugged on a baseball cap and picked up his sunglasses. “Better?”
“Come on, champ. Let’s do the tour.”
The path to Daxon’s cabin opened onto a private road, lined with tall palm trees and flowering bushes. From his glance at the map of the resort when he first arrived, he knew the resort spread out for miles along the northeast shore of the island. Much of the property was untouched coast. The buildings were clustered on a narrow peninsula, lined with white sand beaches, and the guest cabins of various sizes were tucked away just inside the trees, dotting both shores. On the stretch of land between these strings of cabins were the bar, the tennis courts and other resort offerings for guests who were feeling social. The head of the peninsula was mostly undeveloped, with a few trails, an ocean-side restaurant and an unmarked building that looked like a private residence.
“I assume you got a glimpse of some of the facilities when you came in,” said Kendall as they walked past the trail to the large pool. “As you’ve seen, guest cabins have pools that overlook the ocean, and the main pool is for guests looking for something larger.”
The stone-lined path led to an area built up an incline, with different levels of pools, connected by waterfalls, one leading to the next. At the base was the largest. One side was rectangular and well-suited for lap swimming, while the other seemed to be shallower, curved with seating along the edges. More splashes of waterfalls fell along the rocky incline, and the pool was surrounded by leafy plants and palms. Nicely done for people who liked to sit around. Daxon didn’t.
They wandered on, past the tennis courts and the spa, as Kendall continued to list the luxury services the Kalani offered and how to access them. Daxon wasn’t paying close attention to what she said. In fact, he was almost sure he wasn’t going to use any of this during his stay. He was more at home out in the wilderness, and what the resort had to offer him—discretion while his calf healed—had nothing to do with the facilities. He supposed it would’ve been the nicest thing to decline Kendall’s tour, but the truth was that he wanted to spend a little more time with her. Climbing was a social activity, despite the list of very individual skills it required, and he was used to being around other people, doing what he loved. Now he was alone and practically on house arrest, granted it was pretty much the best location for it. But he wanted to talk to someone. No, not just someone. He wanted to talk to Kendall.
“Inside that building is the gym, in case you want to do...whatever it is you do that doesn’t involve your calf.”
He cracked a little smile. “Is that a hint that I should work out a little more?”
Kendall smirked. “Are you fishing for a compliment?”
“From you? Always.”
“You look just fine the way you are,” she said evenly. The word fine came out the same way it had when she had called his performance fine in his cabin yesterday. But this time she said it with a little grin.
He laughed. “Thanks for that lukewarm praise. But I won’t be using the gym this week. I brought everything I need to keep up my strength.”
The truth was that he didn’t need much in the way of equipment. Climbing favored lean muscle strength, not bulk, which made pull-ups on his fingerboard his top activity, not lifting weights.
They passed the last of the cabins, but the road continued a ways, up a slope and into a lush tangle of green, and then forked. Kendall chose the road to the left.
“What’s up that way?” he asked, nodding to the right.
“There’s a waterfront restaurant up there, the fine dining option, if you’re interested in that.”
Daxon shook his head. Growing up without money, he and his mother never once ate anything fancier than In-N-Out Burger. Though he had more than enough money now, he still avoided any place that might require a button-down shirt. Did he even own a tie? Not likely. If he did, it was long forgotten at the back of his closet at home.
“The rest is hiking trails and lookouts except for that area.” Kendall pointed up to the hillside, where a gate peeked out over the foliage. Probably leading to the unmarked building from the map. “That’s where Byron Keahi lives.”
