Page 48 of Taboo

“I should be there in time to go out for dinner tonight. Or at least a late supper.”

“I could have Marta cook us something,” she offered.

“I wouldn’t mind that, but I thought you wanted to eat local.”

“Oh, I do. I just thought maybe you might not feel like it after working all day and then flying over here.”

Normally, he wouldn’t, just out of frustration. He was accustomed to being more physically active in the military, but the idea of spending time with Julienne definitely had his engine revving.

“I’m ready for a little downtime and what better way than to show you some local color.”

“Sounds fantastic.”

He noticed the pilot signal that it was time to take off.

“I have to hang up now, but I should be there in less than an hour.”

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

Alek knew that she wasn’t familiar with the island and had commented about her issues with driving. It was odd but growing up rich had kept her from having to drive anywhere, and living in London, it was like having a car in New York City. A waste of money. So, throw her in a country that drives on the opposite side of the street, and it’d be kind of a disaster, according to her.

“Naw. Just your address will work. Text it, then I’ll text you when I land.”

“Brilliant. Be safe, Alek.”

“You too, Jules.”

After they hung up, he settled back in his chair. This was definitely his best idea since he decided to stay a few nights in San Francisco. And he couldn’t wait to take her to all his favorite places on Oahu. He would probably never live there. It was too busy and most of his family was on Maui. And he hadn’t had a chance to play tourist in a long time, so he looked forward to their time together.

And somewhere along the way, he needed to convince her to let him back in her bed. To do that, Alek knew he had to be patient. The better she knew him, the more of a chance he would have for a…what?

Jesus, he spent so much time thinking about her, but he didn’t know why he was so damned wrapped up in her. The sex had been the best of his life. He could admit that, even knowing it sounded stupid. They had some kind of connection, something that went beyond the pleasure. He lived to hear her laugh, to see the way her skin flushed when she was embarrassed. He especially liked the way her voice got all prissy when she was embarrassed. She was so damned cute.

That’s when it hit him: he was falling in love with her.

He blinked and waited for the certain panic he knew would set in, but it didn’t. Not at all. In fact, there was a bone deep sureness that lit through his blood. He didn’t know exactly what that meant, and he knew it was too early, in fact, to accept it. There were a lot of reasons that he shouldn’t fall for this woman. She came from royalty—or pretty damned close to it—and she lived halfway around the world from him.

Even as he thought of reasons not to fall in love with her, he knew he was already falling. And right now, it was enough to at least recognize that she had definitely captured a piece of him that no other woman had. If he wasn’t talking to her or texting her, he was thinking about her.

She could destroy him when she left, but at the moment, he was unable to resist her. One thing he’d learned in his time in the military was to grab the happy times by the neck and hold on tight. And he planned on doing just that.

chapter fifteen

The second thatJulienne clicked off her phone, she sent her address to Alek. Excitement and worry threaded through her blood making her a bit of a wreck. She didn’t know if this was a good idea, but she had been missing him since she left Maui. Without David here, she would admit that she had been a little lonely. They could control themselves, maybe. Possibly.

She was her mother’s daughter, however, and there was one thing Lillian Wulf taught her: always be prepared for battle. Especially with men.

She hurried through her shower, threw on a robe afterwards and walked through her closet and tried to decide what she was going to wear. It was nice out, just like Nicola told her it would be. She had said it could be hot and sticky during the day, but every night, the sun would go down and it was cool. Julienne had started working every morning and evening out by the pool. The lure of the watching the sunrise with a spot of tea and then doing the same thing later in the day had become too much. Tropical wasn’t her type of thing, but then Hawaii was different than other places she had frequented. She knew Hawaii could be highly touristy in spots, but since she had stuck to the house for over a week, she hadn’t seen that. Instead, she had enjoyed the atmosphere, the sweet air, and being close to the beach was amazing.

It had cooled off, but it was still warm for her English blood, so she thought that maybe a sundress would work. She was trying to figure out which one to wear when her mobile buzzed on the counter. She hurried back into the bathroom and couldn’t fight the smile that curved her lips when she saw Alek’s name.

Alek: Made it here.

Julienne:

Smiley face?Really, Jules?What was he doing to her? She had never been a woman who went for cutesy things. Now she was acting like a thirteen-year-old girl with her first crush.

Alek: I’m going to rent a car, so it will take me a little bit longer.

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