Hawaiian Winter Heat Read online

  By

  Nanea Knott

  1

  It was a bright, beautiful afternoon in Hawaii. The wind was blowing through the trees and dappled sunlight covered the warm ground. The scent of flowers wafted on the gentle breeze. Anna loved those things, but she was unable to appreciate them at the moment. She had just grabbed her purse and walked out of the house. She was furious with Christopher and needed to leave right now.

  She was walking away from yet another screaming fight. There was no way she was going to be able to hold it together if she stayed there and she would not let him see her cry. She got in her car and started driving. She couldn't help thinking to herself that if this was how it was going to be, Christmas this year was going to suck.

  She and Christopher had been together for three years when he was offered a position to go back to Hawaii to teach. He was ready to pack his bags almost before he told Anna he was taking it. He pushed Anna to apply for a position at the same school. He was more thrilled than she was when it was offered to her, but his excitement was infectious. She couldn’t wait to move. Besides, how often does someone get a chance to live in Paradise? For several weeks, she dreamed of nothing else but palm trees and the scent of the sea.

  They moved to Oahu a year ago. She had been feeling distance between them before the move, but she couldn’t really define it. After they moved, she hoped they might be able to bridge the gap. It only got worse.

  They both loved their jobs, but it seemed they might no longer love each other. He often didn’t come home until late. What he was doing, Anna wasn’t sure. He would never tell her when she asked. She would sit at home most nights, waiting, with dinner getting cold. She would reheat the food, eat by herself, watch some TV, and go to bed alone. She would often wake up alone. He might have been sleeping on the couch, or maybe he hadn’t come home at all, Anna couldn’t say.

  She hardly saw him, and when she did, they fought. She tried whatever she could think of to try to make things right with him over the past few months. It didn’t matter. The harder she tried, the faster he backed away. The distance between them was expanding and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was done trying. If it was going to fall apart, so be it. It made her sad to have spent three great years with him only to have the fourth go sour.

  She felt the tension leave her body as the urge to cry passed. She enjoyed the clear afternoon sky while she drove. She was headed for the Windward side of the island. Anna passed Sandy Beach and decided she would stop and park the car at Makapuu Beach Park. When she got there, she climbed part way down the rocks to sit down. There wasn’t much sand there, only large rocks and then a steep drop off into deep blue water. No one with any sense would swim there. You risked getting pushed up against the jagged rocks by the waves. Surfers came here to ride the waves.

  If she wanted to swim she would have gone further down the road where the land was flatter, less rugged, with gentler surf. She wasn’t planning to swim today anyway. She didn’t like swimming alone if she could help it, and the water would be chilly. During the rest of the year, the water gets warm as soon as the sun is up and stays that way all day, but during the winter, the water takes longer to heat up and cools faster, especially if it’s raining. She was amazed it wasn’t raining now. Usually this close to Christmas it rained a lot more. In January, it would be pouring.

  She sat on a large flat rock made smooth over time by wind and water. She took a deep breath of the warm salty air and watched the waves splash up against the rocky shore. She enjoyed the cool mist on her face. She stared at the crystalline blue water and allowed her thoughts to wander.

  The sun was setting, but the breeze was still warm and the sky was incredibly blue. The clouds were drifting by slowly taking on the orange, pink, and purple shades of dusk. The air was so salt laden, Anna could taste it on her lips, but she felt good. No place was perfect, but she believed everything is what you make of it. Hawaii was home to her. She wouldn't even consider going back to the mainland unless she had to for some reason. While she wouldn't leave Hawaii, if she couldn't figure out what to do about Christopher, she would probably leave him.

  Her mother and sister still held out hope he would ask her to marry him this Christmas. The way they were fighting, there was no way he would be asking her to do anything except to move out. Christmas was in three weeks, and she hadn’t bought him a present. She didn’t want to have to return it if she left him.

  It started to drizzle and even though it was warm, with the wind blowing, she would get cold. It was time to leave. She stood up to make her way back up the slope to the parking lot. She hadn’t made any decisions about Christopher, but she had a little more time before she had to decide and she didn't like making major decisions when she was upset.

  She picked her way back up being careful of the glass from broken beer bottles peppered among the rocks. She was almost to the top when she felt a sharp pain in her foot. She sat down and found a piece of green glass embedded in her heel. She tried to pull it out, but it was covered with blood and too slippery to grab. She stood up to get back to the car. There might be something in her purse she could use to remove it. She put her sandal back on and hobbled to the parking lot without putting her heel down.

  She got all the way to the car only to realize she didn’t have her keys. She must have dropped them somewhere along the way. She rested her head on the roof of the car and sighed. She was in a lot of pain and her foot was still bleeding. She refused to ask someone for help. The locals would think she was just another stupid tourist. She resigned herself to climbing back down the rocks to look for her keys. When she lifted her head, there was a big local guy standing next to her. She leaned back surprised and stumbled. He grabbed her arms to steady her then immediately let go.

  He smiled at her and Anna was captured. He was tan, breathtakingly masculine, with a charming smile. His handsome face sported a strong chin and a wide nose. Dark wavy hair reddened by the sun lay flat against his head quickly drying in the heat. His dark brown eyes were warm, deep, and incredibly sexy. Anna could have spent hours looking into those depths. He was a few inches over six feet tall with thick muscles covered with smooth tan skin. She couldn’t help noticing the blue surf shorts riding low at his hips. She admired the six-pack displayed above the waistband. There was also a tantalizing gap at the waist. It left her hoping the shorts would fall lower and she would get to see what was making the front of his shorts bulge.

  2

  Keoni Makana saw the dark haired haole lady limping and the blood trail she was leaving behind. She wasn’t wet so she hadn’t cut herself on the rocks in the water. He assumed she must have stepped on a sharp rock or a piece of glass. He could see she was heading for her car and thought she would be ok until he saw her search her pockets for something and come up empty. She leaned against her car for a second and put her head down. He walked over to her to see what he could do to help.

  “Are you okay?” She was so pathetic looking, he couldn’t ignore her. The woman lifted her head and glanced at him and nearly fell over. He thought she was going to tell him to go away, but a tear rolled down her cheek and she shook her head.

  “I can see you cut your foot. Let me help you. I’m going to carry you to the bed of the black truck right there.” He pointed to a big shiny black pick-up truck parked a few spaces away. “I’ll drop the tailgate and you can sit there while I get the first aid kit. Then you can tell me what happened. Okay?” The woman smiled gratefully and nodded.

  Keoni scooped her up and turned towards his truck. The woman wrapped her arm around his neck without hesitation. He had never met someone so trusting. His heart was glad to see there still were people who trusted others.
He ached to do so. He walked over to the truck and put her down making sure she could lean against the side of the truck for balance before releasing her. Her bright eyes watched him unlatch the tailgate. He moved toward her slowly as if to not spook her and grasped her waist to put her on the back of the truck.

  “Ok, let me get the first aid kit and I’ll look at your foot. I’m John.” He said telling her the English translation of his name. He thought it would be less stressful for her to hear a common name. He did it often with people from the mainland. Eventually, they learned his name and did their best to pronounce it correctly. The poor woman was obviously in pain, he gave her a nice English name to use. He walked to the passenger side door of his truck and unlocked it. He reached in then walked back over carrying a small plastic white box, a towel, and a bottle of water.

  He felt like a bastard. He was sorry she was hurt, but not sorry he got to help her. She was beautiful. Her bright blue eyes and sweet face had him wishing he could take her somewhere private. Her soft body had killer curves in all the right places. Some people would have considered her overweight because she wasn’t in perfect shape, but Keoni loved the way she felt in his arms. She was a woman a man could hold onto and not be afraid of breaking her. She was subtly sexy which made him all the more hot for her. He felt the side of her breast pressed against his chest when he carried her. He reminded himself his parents raised him to be a gentleman. His dick was working from a different set of values. He was supposed to be showing the Aloha Spirit by helping someone in need. His dick was reminding him he had needs too.

  He sat next to her on the tailgate, spread the towel over his legs, and then brought her foot up to rest on his lap. He pulled off her sandal and tsked at the amount of blood.

  “And your name is?” He asked.

  “Oh right, sorry, I’m Anna. I teach at the Waterfall Academy. My boyfriend Christopher and I both teach there.” She babbled.

  “And where is boyfriend Christopher now?” Keoni looked around to see if anyone was walking over.

  “Not sure, probably still grading papers, but he knows I’m here.” Anna blurted out.

  “Don’t panic, I’m not going to hurt you. I was curious. I didn’t want some guy to come out of nowhere to beat me up for touching you. I’m talking to keep you calm, this is going to hurt.”

  “It already does.”

  “Just you wait.” He chuckled. He opened the water bottle and poured some of it over her foot. She inhaled sharply.

  “Not done yet.” He warned. She watched him open the first aid kit and take out the tweezers. He scrutinized her foot, and then grasped the end of the glass with the tweezers and yanked. Anna jerked, but the glass was out. The cut started bleeding even more. He twisted the top off a small bottle of rubbing alcohol.

  “This is going to sting. Ready?” Anna gritted her teeth and nodded. He poured the alcohol over her foot and she winced. He blew on it and the sting lessened. It reminded Anna of when she was little and her mother did the same thing. It was comforting. The cut was still bleeding and Anna was concerned it might be more serious than she thought. She asked if he was going to try to stop the bleeding.

  “Not yet. We should let it flush and see if it stops on its own before I wrap it. If it doesn’t stop soon, I will put pressure on it and then it’s really going to hurt. You should go to the doctor right after this. You might need stitches.” The wound stopped bleeding on its own, and Keoni wrapped it extra thick. He said it was to prevent blood from getting all over her car. As soon as she put weight on it, he told her, it would probably start to bleed again.

  “Now, tell me what happened.”

  “I cut my foot and lost my keys. I think they’re down by the rocks.” Anna answered. Keoni got her to describe to him where she had been sitting and he went in search of her keys. He found them and helped her hobble back to her car and get inside.

  “All right, well off you go and try not to get hurt anymore today okay?” Keoni said wishing he could spend more time with her.

  “Um hey,” Anna stopped him before he walked off. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, glad to help.”

  “Can I buy you dinner some night, to thank you? You can bring your wife or girlfriend of course.” Anna added.

  “I don’t have one of those.” Keoni said. Anna felt her heart skip.

  “Give me your number and we’ll see when we can get together.” Anna offered. She didn’t want this to be the end. She knew it was stupid, but she wanted any excuse to see him again.

  “Free food? I’m all for it. Make sure you bring your credit card, because I can eat.” Anna looked at his thick, muscular body and was convinced. Men didn’t get as large as he was without eating and he was a big man. Keoni smiled and wrote his number down on a piece of paper she handed him after digging around in her purse. Anna tore off the bottom of it and wrote her number on it.

  “In case something comes up,” She said. Keoni nodded and took it from her. He watched her drive away and glanced at the neat handwriting.

  “In case something comes up,” he muttered to himself. “The only thing coming up right now is my dick.” He rubbed a hand over his face and put up the tailgate on his truck. He gathered the supplies to put them away. He spread another towel on his seat and sat on it. His shorts were still wet and he didn't want to get his seats wet. He needed to get going, but his thoughts strayed back to Anna.

  He was surprised to be so attracted to her. She was pretty, but she wasn’t his type. He usually went for the local surfer girls who would deck you if you said something wrong. Anna was sweet and gentle. She seemed like the kind of woman who would cry if you yelled at her. He thought she was hot.

  He shook his head. The heat was making him crazy. He had no idea what to do with a woman like her. She also had a boyfriend. In the past, it wouldn’t have mattered, but he was older now and he understood commitment was something to be respected. He still wanted her. He should have said goodbye and sent her on her way. It was too late now. He told her she could take him to dinner. Hopefully, she never called him.

  3

  I am definitely going to call him, Anna thought as she tossed her bag on the couch and limped into the bathroom. She shivered pleasantly remembering how he literally swept her off her feet.

  Christopher wasn’t home, again. She sat on the edge of the tub, looked at her foot, and decided John was right. She should go to the doctor. She limped to the phone next to the couch to make an appointment then realized what time it was. Everyone had probably gone home for the day. It needed to be looked at, but tomorrow would be soon enough. She called the school and left a message explaining her situation. Then she remembered she promised to help Dana, the choirmaster, with the songs for the Christmas program. Each grade would be learning a different song to sing for the program and Anna volunteered to play the piano for the rehearsals. She called Dana at home.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t play for you tomorrow. I cut my foot on a piece of glass. I need to go to the doctor.” Anna apologized.

  “Ooh, ouch. What happened?”

  “I was walking between the rocks at the beach. I was lucky a local surfer knew first aid. I would have been in big trouble if not for him. I lost my keys too, he found them for me.”

  “Sounds like you met yourself a nice guy.”

  “Yes, he was nice.”

  “Gotta love the Aloha Spirit. I’m glad you’re ok. Have fun with the doctor.” Anna hung up smiling. Dana was a good friend.

  “Who was nice?” Anna was startled to hear Christopher’s voice.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  With straight short blond hair and dark gray eyes Christopher was ruggedly handsome. He was in amazing shape. He was two inches over six feet tall and was all hard lean muscle. He was also kind of a geek. He wore glasses and had a quirky smile. When she first saw him she thought he was the most perfect looking man she had ever seen. His straight nose and chiseled featur
es made him beautiful. When she met him he was clever, warm, and friendly. He made her laugh. She thought Christopher was a god. He still was, but now he was a god of ice.

  The man Anna met today was Christopher’s equal in every way, but darker. John was smoking hot native sex god. He was the kind of man who demanded everything from a woman and would make her glad to give it.

  Christopher used to be fun and easy-going, but of late, he was moody and unpredictable. At first she thought it might be culture shock moving back to Hawaii, but it should have been worse for her than him. He lived here while attending the University of Hawaii and stayed for a couple years after he graduated. He went back to Oregon to help his mom when his dad got sick.

  He loved Hawaii so much he told Anna he would live here for the rest of his life if he could. He believed he would be happy in Hawaii and convinced her she would be too. He seemed to be when they first arrived, now he always sniping at her, and arguing over the smallest things. It was wearing on her.

  “I asked you who was nice.” As always, he seemed angry.

  “What’s your problem?”

  “Are you cheating on me?” Anna stared at him stunned by his question.

  “Where did that come from?”

  “Tell me who you were talking to and who was nice?” He demanded crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Who I was talking to is none of your business, but since you asked so nicely, I was talking to Dana. I can’t play for her tomorrow. I have to go to the doctor.” She said.

  “Why, are you sick?” Anna took a deep breath and spoke carefully.

  “No, I cut my foot on glass at the beach.” Christopher glanced at her foot, saw it was wrapped, and nodded.

  “Who was nice?” His tone was accusatory.

  “I’m feeling better, thanks for asking.” She sniped.

  “I’m sorry, are you okay? Who was nice?” Anna gave up. He was determined to be a jerk.