Page 75 of Try Me

A Little Longer

Declan

Declan wokeup just before dawn and crept out of the bed.

He was worried about the flood. He had promised to get Pearl back for the exhibition, and he was determined to keep his word.

The only problem was that he knew how slowly things sometimes moved in Kauai.

He lit a candle by the bed and found his way into the kitchen. The radio was shoved to the side of the counter near the sink. Declan couldn’t look at the counter without picturing Pearl’s naked body sprawled over the side, her hands clutching the edge as he drove into her.

Grabbing the radio, he went outside onto the porch and closed the door behind him. The rain hadn’t let up for two straight days. The ground was like a soaked sponge, and the air smelled of rotting mud. The rain drove down in cold pellets, leaving a chill in its wake.

The generator was out, and the only noises were those found in nature.

Cold fear crept through Declan as he realized the gushing sound he heard was the river. They could be trapped here for days.

He was plotting out strategies on how to get them back to Oahu before the contest when the front door creaked open and Pearl padded out. She had his T-shirt on, and it swallowed her, falling halfway between her hips and knees. The outline of her slim curves was visible under the thin cotton.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” she said, stepping out onto the porch. “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Everything okay?” Her brows furrowed, and she peered down at him in the darkness.

Declan got up from the chair, crossed the porch, and grabbed Pearl. He lifted her from her feet so fast that she squealed.

Pearl giggled as he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her back into the cabin. They fell onto the bed, kissing and pulling at each other’s clothes.

“I don’t know why you keep bothering to get dressed,” Pearl said, pushing his shorts down over his hips.

He wiggled out of them and tossed them to the floor, then lifted the hem of her shirt (his shirt) and kissed a path up her belly.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Pearl asked. “You think we’ll get stuck here.”

Declan’s eyes narrowed, and he propped himself up on his elbows. He smoothed her hair off her face.

“I’m not worried,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”

“You’re crap at lying,” she said, pulling his mouth down for a kiss.

“What?” Declan thought he was a fantastic liar. His life for the last year and half had been a lie.

“I can tell when you’re lying.”

He pulled back to look at her. “So you say, but how?”

Her eyes smiled. “You do this thing when you lie,” she said.

“What thing?”

“I’m not telling you,” Pearl said. “Then you’ll stop doing it.”

“Tell me,” he said. “You have to.”

“Or what?”

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