Page 5 of Taboo

Unknown 808 number: I ran into Julie today and she told me you were moving back to Hawaii.

Other people would probably worry about something like that happening, but Hawaii is one big town. Families that have been there for centuries all know each other. Maui is even worse. So, there was a good chance his family gave someone his number if asked. Julie was his sister-in-law, his brother’s high school sweetheart, and a sweet girl. Or that’s the way he remembered her.

Unknown 808 number: And this is Shelley, just in case you were wondering.

Fuck. That’s one person he wanted to avoid…forever.

He blocked the number, then went into the bathroom. Stripping out of his clothes, he took a quick shower to clean off the hours he’d spent in the car today. He could have flown out of SeaTac, but this was the easiest place for him to meet up with some more of his Army buddies. Plus, it was a pretty drive to one of his favorite cities on the west coast.

After his shower, he ordered some room service, eating it while he looked over the latest emails from his brother and various other people in their company’s hierarchy. He didn’t know if he was truly needed to take over the company. His brother was more than qualified, but their grandfather had always thought the oldest should run things. Not that he wasn’t exactly qualified. He might have spent more than a decade in the worst parts of the world, but somehow, Alek had earned an MBA. When you had nothing but the job, you had a lot of time on your hands during the downtime, and Alek had put it to use.

Still, he knew that his brother was probably pissed. So, he would have to deal with that crap. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He chose to worry about that later. After glancing at the time, he decided on a drink or something. He couldn’t just sit around for hours watching TV. And he didn’t want to be stuck in his room.

He knew the hotel bar had a dress code, which he always found stupid. Maybe it was his Hawaiian roots. Going barefoot had been his way until he went into the military. Paying so much money for an exclusive hotel should afford the occupants the right to wear a pair of jeans to have a drink.

After slipping into a pair of dress pants, a button-down shirt and a jacket, he headed down to the first floor. The hotel had built a reputation over the last few years. A celebrity could come here with no worries about paps hanging out and bothering them. There was never a tabloid reporter in sight. Alek thought it was stupid, but then, he wasn’t someone who had to worry about those things. Hell, most of the people he went to school with wouldn’t recognize him these days. He’d put on a good fifty pounds of muscle since graduation.

When he reached the first floor, he stepped off the elevator and walked down the long hallway. The thick carpet muffled his steps. As he turned the corner, he stopped in his tracks at the vision in front of him.

A blonde woman stood at the entrance of the bar. Even though Alek couldn’t see her face, he felt the stirring of interest. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, causing the fabric of that little black dress to pull tight against her ass.

Jesus, she was perfect. He hated little women. As a teenager, he had been stupid and thought that the thin model type was what he liked, and he had. But now…now he liked a woman with a little meat on her bones. He’d packed on the muscle thanks to his career, and he found he felt like a fumbling giant around thin, small women like that. And this woman, he rolled his eyes as she bent over to pick up something she’d dropped on the floor. She was lethal to his ability to think straight. Almost the entirety of the blood in his head shot straight down to his dick.

He knew she wasn’t a celebrity. The majority of that sort were all skin and bones. He walked up behind her and heard her mumble something under her breath and he smiled. The night was definitely looking up.

chapter three

The moment Juliennestepped into the bar, she thought she might have made a mistake. Granted, it was a hotel bar and it wasn’t dodgy, but she never went drinking by herself. She was the kind of woman who always traveled in a pack of other women, or with Gregor.

Just thinking her ex-fiancé’s name had her squaring her shoulders. She could do this. She was certain of it. Stiff upper lip and all that rubbish. She was an adult. Kind of. No, she really was an adult who had an amazing reputation in hotel design. Not the buildings. No, she handled all the pretty things people tended to take for granted.

She realized she was standing there holding her keycard like an idiot. Fumbling, she tried to open her purse but dropped the key. Rolling her eyes, she bent over and picked it up, stuffing it in her purse. Then, she straightened her shoulders again and surveyed the occupants of the bar. No one had seemingly noticed her, for which she was thankful. This was one of the reasons she was on her way to Hawaii. The stopover in San Francisco was more for David, who had a few friends in the city. And yes, she was a woman who made unnecessary stops because her PA had always wanted to come to San Francisco.

With a shake of her head, she decided that maybe a dinner in her room was best. Going to a hotel bar in a strange city by herself was not her thing—even if her family owned the hotel.

“It won’t bite,” a deep male voice said from behind her.

She turned in the direction of the voice, and her eyes widened as she leaned her head back to look at the man. He was massive, well over six-four, and all muscle. How had she not heard him approach?

“Pardon me?”

Inwardly, Julienne cringed. Whenever embarrassed, she tended to sound condescending.

He took no offense. Instead, one side of his mouth curved up into a lopsided smile. His dark brown eyes sparkled.God, he’s pretty.

“The bar. It won’t bite.”

Julienne glanced around the dark interior. It wasn’t a scary kind of dark. Instead, it was more of an intimate setting, one that allowed for privacy. But that’s what the hotel was known for. The security was so tight, she actually got a free night without her security guys Brent or Jack hovering around.

“Unless you’re meeting someone?”

She turned back to him. She knew that no one could even get into the hotel without a security check, so he didn’t worry her. At least, she wasn’t concerned he was a tabloid reporter. Now, just looking at him, well, there was a good chance he would star in her fantasies for a while.

As she had thought, he was tall. He had light golden skin that looked like he had spent years in the sun. The suit he wore would look plain on any other man, but on him…well, anything would probably look good on him. The black trousers, jacket, and button-down was definitely designer quality, although something told her he would rather be in a pair of jeans. Or was that her? The idea of seeing faded denim stretching across his thick thighs…

She cleared her throat. “No. No, just me, myself, and I.”

He nodded. “I’m going to get a drink if you would like to join me.”

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