Page 66 of Just My Luck

But that would be the obvious choice, whereas no one would imagine that he would bury something in the sand and walk away from it. Did Tanaka know that Zara was a surfer who buried her valuables in the sand? He knew enough to get her father freed from prison. He knew where she lived. He knew she had worked at the Royal Leilani as a concierge. Maybe he’d looked into her past and knew she’d been a surfer. But to jump from that to burying things in the sand? Who would be crazy enough to do that? Tanaka knew Lincoln well enough to know he’d never be that freewheeling.

“It’s a plan. We just have to make sure no one follows us to the beach.”

“That’s not hard. I know a shortcut.”

“And we have to make sure there are no trackers on us or our clothes.”

She climbed onto the bed and pushed him onto his back. “We should do an immediate inspection. Me first.”

He spread his arms wide as she slid teasing hands across his chest, wondering how he’d gotten so very lucky. “When it’s my turn, I plan to do my inspection with my tongue.”

“Ooh, what a good idea.”

Her mouth closed around his penis, which was just stirring to life. Oh God. Her hair fell across her face and tickled the skin of his hips. Another sensation point to add to the pleasure she was generating with those lush lips of hers.

He lay back and abandoned himself to the experience. It didn’t take long before he was hard as titanium. He positioned her hips over his erection—handy that neither of them had put their clothes back on. “I’d like to keep you naked in bed for the next month,” he growled.

“No looking ahead. We’re right here, right now, just enjoy.”

He could do that. He did that, especially when she lowered herself onto his erection and clenched her inner muscles around him. He just about lost his mind at that point. Bucking into her, he clenched his teeth to keep from coming too soon. He gripped her hips to slow her movements, but it was no use. Zara was a wild thing, and there was no point in trying to control her. She fucked him until he came like a supersonic rocket ship. Then he flipped her over, spread her open and got his revenge by licking her until she screamed with release.

It was only later, when he was cracking open his laptop to check in with his investigators, that he remembered what she’d said about “no looking ahead.” Was that what her father had been talking about? He’d warned Lincoln that Zara never let a relationship go too long.

That ought to be fine for him. His two experiments with marriage hadn’t gone well. When it came to the work of communication and compromise and all of that—he’d been a complete failure. He wanted to think it would be different with Zara, simply because everything was different. He’d never been this entranced by anyone. Also—he liked the man he was with her. The one who took Eddie to the Urgent Care, who put up with her stoner dad, who wanted above all else to make her happy.

Was this that thing they called “love?” If so, he’d never felt it before, so he had no idea how to accurately identify it. Too bad there wasn’t some scientific method to confirm. A scanner, for instance. A love scanner that would start beeping when it encountered the real thing.

He smiled at the thought, earning a curious glance from Zara, who was brushing out her hair, which had developed an ungodly amount of tangles.

“What’s so amusing?” she asked.

“Not amusing, just…miraculous. Think about the many accidents of fate that brought us to this moment. If I hadn’t crashed in the jungle and lost the CHUM, I never would have been working as a gardener at the resort.”

“And if I hadn’t been forced by circumstances and my father’s shaky ethics to not only work at the resort, but bring my brother and sister to whatever random empty hale was available, I never would have busted you and your cute gardener man butt.”

“You thought I was cute?” He’d never been described that way, so far as he knew.

“I thought you were an idiot. Also oddly arrogant and annoyingly attractive.”

“I can work with that.”

A notification popped up on his screen. He read it quickly. “Oh shit. This is bad. We need to go, right away.”

32

“What happened?” Zara was on her feet before she knew it. “Is it one of the kids? Dad? Did he burn the house down?”

“No, it’s Tanaka. His people are on their way to the Nahele jungle camp, looking for Rory. We have to warn him.” He rapidly tapped keys on his laptop.

“Are you calling him? I thought you said there’s no cell service.”

“There isn’t. I’m getting a helicopter sent over to pick us up.”

“Wait…what?” All of a sudden, Lincoln had turned into someone she didn’t quite recognize. That glint in his green eyes made him look almost ruthless.

“It’s the only way to beat Tanaka’s crew. They’re taking a boat around to Waipi’o Beach, then they’ll be on foot through the jungle. Maybe they don’t want to attract attention.” He glanced up at her, the tense lines of his face softening. “You might want to stay here instead. It could be dangerous, and for sure there will be mosquitoes.”

“How dangerous?”