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Holt called his uncle when Joely went into the changing room to put her maid uniform back on. None of the restaurants he wanted to take her to would allow her inside wearing the two scraps of fabric she called a bikini. It was all he could do not to swim her out of lifeguard’s view and see how strong those string ties really were.
“Aloha nephew,” Tetsuo Hojo said. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. Is Michael all right?”
Holt frowned. He hadn’t heard from his brother in a few weeks. “I guess so. I haven’t talked to him.”
“Your mother wanted you to keep an eye on him.”
Holt bristled at his uncle’s chiding tone. “He’s an adult. He can live his own life.” After the long silence that followed, Holt sighed. “I will check up on him.”
“Mahalo. Now what can I do for you?”
“I need to go Upcountry for two weeks. Is there room at the ranch for me and a friend?”
“Of course.”
Holt had a feeling that he shocked his uncle, but before he could end the call, Tetsuo rallied.
“What about your job at the resort? Did they fire you?”
He didn’t have to sound so giddy about it.
“No. I’m taking vacation.”
“With a friend?” Tetsuo asked. “Is this a female friend?”
Holt groaned inwardly. He couldn’t lie, yet if this got back to his mother she would get the wrong idea and start knitting booties for her expected grandchildren. “Yes,” he said shortly, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.
He should have known better.
“Do I know her?”
“No, she works at the resort.”
“Is it the red headed maid?” his uncle asked.
“How did you ...?”
“I have eyes and ears everywhere, Holt. Yes, you two can stay at the ranch. But I will need you to help out while you're there. It will have to be a working vacation for you both.”
His uncle could hire anyone he wanted for the ranch, so Holt doubted that was the case. He knew Tetsuo was just trying to get him back into the paniolo life in hopes that he’d quit Palekaiko and come back and work for him.
Still, it was worth it. Makawao was far away from the Palekaiko Beach Resort, and the ranch was secluded enough that a tourist would never find it.
“Of course,” Holt agreed. “Whatever you need.”
“When are you planning to take your vacation?”
“I’m driving up there after lunch today.”
“That was a quick decision. What if I had said no?” Tetsuo asked, thoughtfully.
“I would have gone to the big island,” Holt said. It was even true. He and Joely could easily hide in the city in places no tourist would ever go. But the ranch was nicer, and a part of him wanted her to see his boyhood home.
Tetsuo grunted, and Holt knew he had aroused his suspicions, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He just had to hope that he wasn’t curious enough to come out to the ranch and investigate.
The next call was to his other boss, Dude’s brother, Marcus in California where he gave him the whole story. Marcus said he’d get in contact with Amelia and see if they could dig up anything to leverage against the senator, if things got ugly. And he gave both Holt and Joely the two weeks off with pay.
There was something missing from Joely’s story, though. The same niggling feeling that Holt had always had around her. She was hiding something else. He would bet money on it. He almost asked Marcus to do a background check on Annie Andrews, but he didn't want to break Joely's trust. Not yet. Holt had plenty of time to find out all her secrets once they were on the ranch.
Joely walked out of the changing room in her maid’s uniform, but she was back to looking frightened.
“It’s all right,” he said as he secured the surf boards back to the roof of his car. “I’ve got the perfect solution.”
“I’m listening.” Joely crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Her body language told him she was protecting herself from something.
“I’ll tell you over lunch.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You can be such a drama queen.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of that.”
“That’s because they’re afraid of you,” she said, climbing into the car.
“Do you want to swing by Palekaiko and pack some things?” he asked.
“Can we confirm he’s at Molokini?”
Holt called Amelia. “Is our Senator friend on the boat?”
“Yup. He’ll be back around four. I’ve told everyone that Joely does not want this guy to know where she is. She doesn’t, right?”
“Affirmative.” He smiled encouragingly at Joely.
“Okay, then we’ll keep the faith.”
“Thanks.” Holt hung up. Then realized he should have asked Joely if she wanted to talk with Amelia. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t think. Do you want to call her back?”
Joely shook her head. “I’ll do it later. Why am I packing a bag?”
“I’ve got a place for you to stay for two weeks or until your ex leaves.”
“How much?”
“Free.”
Cocking her head at him, she looked at him suspiciously. “Where?”
“You’re not going to wait for lunch, are you?”
“Hell no.”
“My family has a ranch up country in Makawao. We can stay there for two weeks and once your ex leaves, you can go back to your life.”
“We?”
It figured that she would focus in on that. “It’s a working ranch. There will be paniolos and ranch hands. You're going to have to pitch in.”
"I don't know the first thing about cows or horses."
"Don't worry. I'll teach you."
“And your family is okay with me hiding out there?”
“I told them it was just a vacation, to get away from the tourists. I figured the less they know the better.”
Joely nodded. “Yes. Definitely.” She sighed and wrung her hands. “I think that could work, if he actually does leave at the end of the two weeks."
“Great.” Holt was satisfied. Problem presented. Problem solved. It only proved that order can be brought out of chaos with careful thought and planning.
He could see Joely’s mood brightening and relaxing as they got closer to the resort.
“And the cherry on the cake is, Marcus is going to give you these two weeks with pay.”
Her smile was beautiful and lit something inside him. He had to force his eyes back to the road.
“Holt, I don’t know what to say. Thank you. This has been hanging over me for a long time. If he stops looking for me here, then I can be safe.” She put her hand on his arm and squeezed.
The innocent touch shouldn’t have affected him as it did. The other part of being a white knight in shining armor was it was bad form to seduce the princess. After the rescue, however...
It had been five years, Holt could wait another two weeks.
She was laughing at the chickens running away from his car when he parked in the Palekaiko garage. “Better run chickies otherwise you’re going to be lunch.”
When they got out of the car, she launched herself at him, hugging him tight. It was only natural that he returned the hug.
“Thank you, Holt.” Her voice was muffled against his shirt and he realized that he didn’t want her gratitude. For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to be the white knight. He wanted to be the dragon, because the dragon got to ravage the princess.
She fit into his arms like she belonged there. Her silky hair was curling out of her ponytail and smelled like the ocean, crisp and pure. It was second nature to brush his lips against her temple. She was warm and sweet, her soft curves resting against him trustingly. Would she run away if she knew that he’d like nothing more than to lay her back on the hood of his car and kiss her senseless?
Cupping her cheek, he tilted her face up to his. Her green eyes were dazed and slightly unfocused. Holt dragged his thumb over her lower lip. When she parted them, he swooped in with a groan and covered her mouth with his.
Holt meant it to be an innocent kiss, a quick brush that promised more later, when it would be more ethical to pursue something deeper. The moment Joely went up on her tip toes to deepen the kiss, all his good intentions went south—along with all his blood to his cock.
Her fingers clutched on his bicep as he slanted his mouth across hers. Holt cupped her ass and brought her hard against him. Joely wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed her entire body to rest against his.
Holt bit back a groan at the roar of desire that flooded through him when she tried to wiggle closer. The sound of car doors slamming broke them apart, and Holt didn’t know if he should apologize or throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to his apartment.
Her naughty grin almost made his mind up, but then she turned around and walked toward the lobby and he was distracted by the sweet sway of her ass. Clicking the lock on his car, he pocketed the keys and followed her.
It was because he had his eyes on her ass that he didn’t see Timothy until Joely froze dead in her tracks. Time slowed down when Timothy turned and recognized her.
“Annie!”
Joely turned and sprinted past Holt. He had recovered enough wits to step in front of the senator.
“Get out of my way,” Timothy snarled, trying to physically move Holt. Good luck with that.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” Holt said.
“You lied to me before. Why should I believe you now?” He tried to sidestep past Holt, but Holt was too quick for him.
“You lied as well. About a lot of things. Consider me her new restraining order.”
“You don’t understand. She’s not who you think she is.”
A large roar echoed across the parking lot behind them as a big motorcycle engine started up. Holt was hoping the senator would push by him or put his hands on him. Anything to justify Holt decking him. But after sidestep dancing for a few more seconds, the motorcycle ripped by them both.
“She’s getting away,” Timothy said, outraged.
Sure enough, Joely was tearing out of the parking lot on Dude’s Harley going way too fast for the curves. Her uniform skirt was hiked up high and her bare thigh nearly kissed the ground as she took the first curve low and fast.
Makoa shook his head. “So much for the wilwil.”
“Did she just steal a motorcycle?” Timothy said. “Call the cops.”
“It’s borrowed,” Amelia said, quickly.
“I need a taxi.” Timothy stepped into the street and started waving his hands around.
Hani and Kai joined them looking out at the disappearing dot that was Joely on Dude’s bike.
“She’s gone,” Hani said.
Kai nodded. “Gonna take something faster than a taxi to catch her.”
“We’ll just see about that.” Timothy stormed back into the resort.