Chapter Four

The time had come to fess up. Tom couldn’t put it off any longer, not if he wanted this evening to go well. His only opportunity to prepare Makenna for who he really was, in addition to the laid-back surfer she thought she knew, would be during the short drive to his house. He’d stuck with the truck tonight because the Maserati would not have fit the man she expected to meet for dinner. And it would have raised too many questions he didn’t want to answer until he had to. The time with her as surfer-dude Tom had been the only relationship in his life when he hadn’t been the famous surfer or the rich developer. As sweet as the deception had been, he now knew Makenna was not like Monique. She’d worked too hard to make a new life for herself and a success out of her business. If he wanted a chance at a real future with her, he had to take the chance and include her in the rest of his life.

“There’s something I have to tell you,” he began, gripping the steering wheel tighter as he debated how to confess the extent of what he’d hidden from her. He had no idea what her reaction would be. He hoped he wouldn’t be taking her back to the restaurant to pick up her car until the wee hours, or even better, after breakfast—making her late for work. But if he didn’t do this just right, the return trip might take place in minutes. He would respect her decision, no matter how she reacted to his revelation.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. At least I hope not.” In for a penny, he reasoned. Just tell her. She should know him well enough by now to accept…oh, who was he trying to kid? “I haven’t told you everything about myself.”

“R-r-r-r-really…”

He didn’t know anyone could stretch out a drawl like that. She must’ve rolled her “r” a full three seconds, milking it for as much irony as she could. He took a breath, kicking himself for not being straight with her from the beginning. He’d been so wrapped up in his fantasy existence, he’d let everything slide while he got to know her. She’d earned the truth. He glanced at her, but she didn’t meet his gaze. She wasn’t making this any easier.

“I’m rich,” he finally bit out, then paused, waiting for a reaction that never came. “Not just from surfing,” he plowed on. “Real estate. My house…well, you’ll see in a few minutes.”

Makenna’s silence gave him an unnerving hollowness in his chest, a sensation he rarely experienced. He hoped the rest of this night would make that and the whirling in his gut worth it.

“Ye have been driving into Kona every morning from all the way down here just to have coffee with me?”

Her quiet question startled him after her long silence. He couldn’t deny it. “Yes. Since the first time I saw you, I knew I had to get to know you.”

“I’m flattered. When did ye first see me?”

Her tone didn’t tell him if he’d really flattered her, or if she meant it to sound sarcastic. Either way, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t ready to tell her he’d glimpsed her in the leasing company’s office. They were home and he could dodge her question for a few minutes, at least. Tom turned into his drive and hit the button to open the gate. It wouldn’t be long before he got the comeuppance he figured she was justified in handing him. A quarter of a mile through the palms, bougainvillea and plumeria trees later, they reached the lawn. And the house.

“Oh my God.” Makenna breathed.

Keoki had left the outside lights on. Strategically placed to highlight architectural features and landscaping, they made it clear the house was an island-style mansion. Tom always enjoyed seeing it, since he’d bought it with the first serious money he’d made as a professional surfer. But tonight, Makenna’s wide-eyed reaction interested him more. He bypassed the driveway to the five-car garage, pulled under the covered porte cochere, and killed the engine. “Honey, we’re home,” he quipped, trying to lighten the moment.

He jumped out before Makenna could respond and went around to her door, intending to hand her out of the truck. She sat, unmoving, looking stunned. “Hello? Hi, I’m Tom. Same Tom I was two hours ago. A week ago. Surfer dude? And a little more…”

She tore her gaze from the house and met his. “I’m a bit overwhelmed. It’s beautiful.” Then she frowned at the garage. “Is that where you keep the Maserati?”

“You know about it?” That was bad. Or maybe good? Seeing his place might not be the shock he’d anticipated.

“I thought I saw you arrive a few days ago at Sunsetter’s. Red Maserati? Business suit? Ring a bell?”

“Yeah, I met my appraiser for dinner.”

“Why haven’t you told me before now?”

“I…I have reasons. Can we talk about those later?” Much later?

“Only until after ye show me the house.”

It wasn’t much of a reprieve, but he’d take it. He handed Makenna from the truck, then led her up the steps into the open-air living area. “It’s too big for just me and my housekeeper,” he began, looking around the room. “But I got a great deal when I bought it, and I thought it would be fun to live here for a while. I’m looking for something on the water—a house, or land I can build on.” God, did he sound nervous? Million dollar deals didn’t put him on edge nearly this much.

“I’m gobsmacked.”

He hoped that word translated into something good.

“Housekeeper?”

“Keoki lives in the cottage toward the back of the property. You’ll meet him tomor…uh, later. Would you like something to drink?”

She shook her head, her gaze still taking everything in.

Maybe she’d missed his verbal slip. He wanted to entice her to stay, not put on the pressure the minute she arrived. “Living area here, guest rooms in this wing. Master suite over there. Come on. I’ll give you the nickel tour.”

As he showed her around, Tom began to relax and enjoy Makenna’s reaction to his home. She hadn’t ordered him to take her back to her car the moment she saw the outside of the house. Nor had she run screaming into the night when he escorted her in, though her impression of him as Tom, the surfer-dude, had to be wobbling…wildly. His tension mounted as he led her to the master bedroom. He wanted the rest of this evening to be as enjoyable as dinner and the sunset had been. More, actually. Much more.

Her eyes widened at his heavy four-poster bed with its hand-made blue and white pineapple pattern Hawaiian quilt. “Incredible,” she said, stepping forward to run her hands over the stacked pineapple carvings making up the top half of each post. “The color and the grain…what kind of wood is this?”

Watching her caress the bedpost, Tom began to think the rest of the evening might go his way after all. He had to force his focus off her fingers long enough to answer her question. “Koa wood. It’s native to Hawaii, and becoming rare.” The sight of her next to his bed, her milky skin tracing the warm rich color of the wood, held him in thrall.

“The wood and the carvings are so beautiful it must be worth a fortune.”

“That doesn’t matter. I got this bed in an estate sale years ago. It’s heavy and a bitch to move, but I treasure it. It’s gone with me everywhere I’ve lived. I plan to keep it.”

She finally tore her gaze from the carvings and faced him. “Judging by the contents of your house, you have an artist’s eye. And you have kept many fine things.”

Tom stepped forward and ran his fingertips down Makenna’s cheek to her throat. “I’m attracted to rare and beautiful things…and people.”

She colored where he touched her. “Is that why you hid this? So I’d fall for you instead of your money? Do you think so little of me? Of women?”

His reaction clearly wasn’t what she expected. Instead of an emphatic shake of his head, he pursed his lips and shrugged. “I’ve had some bad experiences. I needed to be sure I wouldn’t make the same mistake with you.”

Makenna stepped away. “I can’t fault your caution. I’ve had my share of bad experiences, too.” She waved a hand, encompassing the room. “I can’t believe…look at you. Look at this place. Why are you no’ married?” Her hand flew to her throat. “Oh my God, ye are no’…are ye?”

Tom ran a hand through his hair, disappointment lowering the set of his shoulders. “Do you think so little of me? No.” He shook his head. “I’m not, though I came close once. Turns out, I’ve never had the chance to meet the right someone.”

“So you pretended to be someone ye are not.”

“Not someone I’m not.” Could he make her understand? “Only part of who I am.”

“And you thought that was wise?”

He stepped closer to her. “I hoped so. Just like I hoped you’d understand my telling you now.”

She clearly understood the approval in his implication. Her lips parted, but Tom silenced her with a kiss, then another and another until her hands clutched his shoulders and her delectable body molded to his. He reached down and slid the hem of her skirt aside, baring the silky skin of her thigh to his touch. Makenna’s moan spurred his hand upward to her lace-covered hip and around to cup her bottom. He pulled her firmly against him.

“Will you stay?”

The evidence of his desire throbbed against her belly as she nodded her assent. Thank God. He’d been waiting for this moment for weeks. Pulse pounding, he reached around and unzipped her dress. She lowered her arms and allowed him to slide the strap off her shoulder with his chin. He followed its fall with his lips and teeth, kissing, sucking, and nipping his way to the tip of her breast. As he took her peaked nipple into his mouth, she arched against him.

“Tom!”

He silenced her cry with a kiss, then slipped the dress from her body, leaving her in lacy undies and the strappy sandals that made her nearly as tall as he. He paused to study her—the raven’s wing shimmer of her dark hair framing the small of her back, to the rosy peaks of her nipples, to the opalescent creaminess of her skin. Of all the things he treasured, he’d never seen one so beautiful. He stood for a moment, just looking his fill.

In answer, she tugged his shirt from his jeans and over his head, then went for his belt. He kicked out of his shoes and let her have her way. Without hesitation, she pulled down his zipper and pushed aside his jeans and briefs, then paused to look him over. Her smile promised the evening would go everywhere he’d hoped. In a moment, she acted on that promise and ran her hands down his chest, tangling her fingers in the hair trailing down his belly, then took his erection in her hands. The sensations of heat, pressure, and desire flooding through him nearly brought him to his knees. He sucked in air, picked her up, and laid her on the bed. Kicking his pants the rest of the way off, he joined her, leaning over her and suckling her breasts.

When her legs wrapped around him, he moved lower, kissing his way down her belly to the juncture of her thighs. He tugged down her panties and gave her a look that promised the evening would go where she hoped, too. She unwrapped her legs from his body and let him remove her sandals and toss the scrap of lace aside. She tasted like the sea, salty and something uniquely Makenna. As she writhed under his mouth, she moaned his name. Satisfaction and a sense of power he hadn’t known since his career-ending wipe-out on the North Shore filled him. He’d waited his whole life to feel this way about a woman, and now he’d found her. He had to find a way to keep her.

He kissed her belly as she reached for him, then leaned away long enough to grab a foil packet from the bedside table. He ripped it open and suited up faster than he ever had in his life. Then he leaned over her again and, when her smile welcomed him, kissed her as he slid into her tight heat, where he belonged.

****

Makenna ran a hand down Tom’s naked back and sighed with contentment. As he’d led her through the house, she hadn’t been able to believe her eyes. What a fairy tale prince he had turned out to be. Complete with an incredible island-style castle—not that she cared about the house or its contents. Instead, she liked that he held onto things that mattered to him. The trait said something about him. Once he committed to a relationship, he would stick with it. Not at all like the chef.

She also liked that he’d taken weeks to get to know her before bringing her home, though why he’d hidden this side of him escaped her. Had other lasses been interested in him only for his money? Nay, she purred to herself, Tom was great in bed, too, at least with her. She’d thought she’d been contented at sunset. She’d had no idea.

And she wanted more.

She let her fingernails trail across the small of his back and smiled at his groan, then let her hand wander lower, to cup one firm cheek.

“What do you think you’re doing to me…?”

“What I want to do.”

With a growl, Tom rolled over, pulling Makenna on top of him. “You asked for it, lassie.”

Makenna laughed at his attempted accent and let her head drop back, knowing the ends of her hair would brush across Tom’s thighs and groin.

“God, that feels incredible,” he murmured, reaching up to cup her breasts, then slide his hands down her ribs to the splay of her hips. “For weeks, I’ve imagined you doing that with your hair.”

Makenna tossed her head, making her hair drag across his erection.

“God, yes, just like that,” he groaned, straining up. “I’ve got you right where I want you.”

He trailed one hand down her belly, tracing a line of fire across her skin, then stroked her, the other hand gripping her hip tightly, holding her in place. Makenna arced even further, exposing herself to his questing fingers. His touch electrified her, tightening her muscles until she shuddered on the edge of release. Eyes closed, she felt his hands leave her body, then she heard him rip open a foil packet. He reached around her to sheath himself then returned to stroking her. Anticipation of riding him like this sent her flying, and when she finally came back down to earth, Tom lifted her hips and poised her over his straining erection. In one smooth glide, she seated him deep within her, clenching around him and making him gasp.

“Makenna…”

With a wicked smile, she lifted and lowered herself.

His eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched. With only a few more strokes, his head arched back, and his hands, which had been guiding her up and down, slid up to squeeze her breasts and thumb her nipples.

Makenna reached behind her to fondle his sac. With a groan that vibrated through her, Tom came, and she rode him until his muscles unclenched and his eyes opened.

“I could get used to this,” she murmured, leaning forward to drop a kiss in the center of his chest. She felt his chuckle in her core before she lifted off him.

“I hope so. I already have,” he answered as he removed and disposed of the condom.

“So ye’re already taking me for granted, are ye?” She let her grin soften the snark, and stretched out on his body, reveling in his sheer masculine hardness and heat.

He smiled and lowered his lids, his gaze following his hand over her shoulder to the swell of her bottom, his hand smoothing over her curves. “Never.”

She settled her head on his shoulder, inhaling his salty, male musk. On impulse, she licked up his throat. Definitely salty, but the taste made her body start to thrum all over again. What was it about this man? She’d never been so aroused in her life. She licked again, then shifted over to lick and nibble at his earlobe. She felt him harden underneath her.

“Makenna…it’s too soon.”

“Wheesht. Let me taste.” He relented as she licked her way down his chest, pausing to pay special attention to his flat nipples. She took her time, moving lower still, tracing each ridge of muscle over his ribs and belly, listening to his breath catch and speed up as she touched him. His eyes widened when she let her hair drape his thighs, her movements making it slip across his skin. Then she bent to him. Semi-rigid until her tongue swirled around his length, he went hard, lightning fast. With a moan, she took him into her mouth and swirled her tongue around him again, enjoying the salty tang, the length and thickness. He bucked and thrust, muscles clenching under her hands as she teased, stroked and fondled. She continued to torment him, playing with fire, until he went rigid all over.

“Keep doing that,” he ground out, “and I won’t be able to stop…”

She gently squeezed his balls while she ran her tongue along his length. “Did I say I wanted ye to?” She traced the edge of her teeth lightly along his length.

With a hoarse oath, he came. It took a while, but when his breathing steadied, his eyes finally opened, and he gave her a lazy smile. “Amazing. You’re amazing.”

“And don’t ye forget it.”

“How could I? Come here.” He tugged her up and tucked her against his side, pulling the covers up with her.

Makenna snuggled against him. It had been too long since she’d enjoyed the simple pleasure of being held by a lover. Of course, none had done for her what Tom did. She took a deep breath of his scent, trying to memorize every nuance.

“Are you okay?”

“I couldn’t be better,” she sighed and realized the truth in her words. She had fallen in love with this man. Not the fairy tale prince. The Tom who’d taken the time to get to know her, who’d come to her shop to chat with her every morning, miles from home, then taken her all over this side of the island. The man who’d shared his joy in spending time on the water, and taught her to surf. The man who treasured beautiful things…and people.

Only one thing bothered her. He’d hidden all this from her—his wealth, the house, the car, even his taste in beautiful art and artifacts—behind his board-shorts and T-shirt persona.

Was he hiding anything else?

****

A week later, Tom sat at his office desk, attempting to work. His mind kept wandering to Makenna. The past week with her had been even more satisfying than he’d expected. She played as hard as she worked, and matched him, passion for passion, no matter where he took her or what they did together. He’d never been so impressed with or entranced by any woman. As his attachment to her grew, so did his worry things were moving too fast. And somehow not fast enough. The mere thought of her hair brushing his thighs made him rock hard. The memory of her mouth on him, of plunging into her while she moaned his name, nearly made him come. He was hooked on Makenna Stewart more thoroughly than he’d ever imagined he could be with any woman.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone buzzed and his secretary announced, “James Barton’s on line one for you.”

He crashed back to reality and picked up the phone on his desk. “Jim. What can I do for you?”

“Sell me those three buildings you own on the north end of Ali’i Drive. I’ve got a project in mind they’d fit into nicely.”

Tom struggled to focus. “This is sudden. I haven’t considered putting them on the market.”

“I don’t want you to put them on the market. I want you to sell them to me. I’ll give you a fair price and then some.”

Tom leaned back in his chair, his mind a blur. Sweetie Pie occupied the ground floor in one of those buildings. “What are you planning to do with them?”

“Oh, don’t worry about buyer’s remorse. I plan to tear them down and start over. It’s a great location for condos and I can get the zoning for the whole parcel.”

Tom grimaced. If he needed ready capital, here it was—all he could want and more. He’d known Jim Barton for years. The man played fair and paid well. But if Tom sold to him, Sweetie Pie wouldn’t last another month, much less a year.

Could he do that to Makenna? She’d gotten the bakery off to a great start, and justifiably took pride in what she’d accomplished. Hell, he was proud of her, too. She wasn’t afraid of hard work. But he was proud of Josie, too, and wanted to create a permanent after-school facility for her and the keiki who depended on her to keep them off the streets. He needed to think about this. Jim might want a snap answer, but in this case, he wasn’t going to get one.

“Let me run some numbers and get back to you,” Tom finally said.

“I’ll send you the paperwork with an offer. Let me know what you think.” Barton clicked off.

Damn. Tom punched in Jason’s number. Before he decided to destroy Makenna’s dream, he’d better find out exactly what those three buildings were worth.