Page 20 of Pure Temptation

“Everyone hopes that, right?”

Kendall was looking up at him, her big brown eyes pulling him in. He felt the shift between them, the tension, the awareness. Her long dark lashes fluttered, like they had just before she kissed him.

“Are we on the clock right now?” he whispered.

Her eyes sparkled with humor. “I’m afraid so.”

“Just checking.”

Damn, she was tempting. And she looked like she might give in. But he had promised not to make the first move, so he held back.

“It’s a beautiful view from here,” he said softly, keeping his gaze focused on her deep brown eyes. He smoothed her hair off her face. “Come visit me tonight. Please.”

Slowly, her mouth curved up into a smile. “I’ll think about it.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

KENDALLHADTAKENthe safe route for as long as she could remember. She had chosen San Francisco State University, closest to home, instead of the school with the best kinesiology program. She had taken the summer internship at San Francisco General instead of the internship with the WNBA. Even the traveling physical therapy job had been a compromise. She had chosen it instead of a position on the location of a movie set because of the lack of job security. At the time, Kendall had thought of each one of these decisions as logical, as strategic, as better financially, especially considering her dad’s health limited his work possibilities these days. But deep down, she knew why she made all of these decisions: fear.

The evening breeze was warm as she walked down the path through the trees toward Daxon’s cabin. Every decision she made was run through some sort of internal risk-assessment monitor that played in the background of her mind. Boyfriends, travel plans, airplane rides and of course, her move to Hawaii, which she had come so close to backing out of.

That evening, as she stared in the mirror, tracing her mouth with lip gloss, she had tried to calculate the risks and consequences of this evening visit. The risk of liking Daxon a little too much, the consequence. What exactly were the hidden risks of a really hot man who was amazing at...well, just about everything? It was impossible to weigh them when her mind kept wandering back to the kiss in his hallway the day before. Pulling back from the kiss, his thumbs brushing against her skin, rough, calloused, she had looked up into his eyes, and she had seen something she wanted.

So here she was, on this beautiful Hawaiian night, heading to Daxon’s cabin to proposition him. The ticking clock of his stay was why she’d finally decided to come. She knew that no matter what it felt like between them, he was leaving to climb a mountain without ropes, and he had decided that this was worth the consequence of death. Every free solo climb could end his life, and she would never, for one minute, forget that. That was enough to keep this casual. At least that was her thinking as she headed out of her little rental cabin, down the hill and over to the guest lodgings.

The walkway turned off to Daxon’s place, and Kendall approached the front patio, slowing with every step. The Kalani was a truly beautiful resort, every building exuding the kind of exclusive luxury it was known for. Modern, simple, sustainably built with reclaimed mango wood beams.

Kendall stopped in front of Daxon’s door and smoothed the wrinkles of her spaghetti-strap hibiscus-print dress. She had paired it with her cowboy boots in a sort of mainland-meets-Hawaii effort, but now she was having second thoughts. Too cute? Too revealing? Her breasts weren’t really made for a strapless bra, but if things went the way she hoped they would, the bra wouldn’t stay on for long. Her heart was jumping in her throat, fluttering, her breath coming quicker.

She swallowed and tapped on his door. Nothing. She tried again, louder. Still nothing.Damn. She had spent her afternoon debating whether or not she should come, and he wasn’t home? She wasn’t giving up this easily. Maybe she could break in and wait for him. Naked on his bed? No, too cliché. She could do better than that. She turned, leaning against the door, and blew out a breath.

But just as her back touched the wood, the door opened from behind her, hitting the heels of one cowboy boot and pushing her forward. She stumbled across the porch, grabbing the support beam in front of her, clutching it.

“Fuck.” Daxon’s low mutter came from behind her, followed by a rush of footsteps. Then his hands were on her waist—large, warm hands. Slowly, Kendall let go of the beam and turned around. In front of her was a stunned Daxon Miles dressed in a pair of board shorts and nothing else. His washboard abs and his broad, muscular shoulders were on full display, but this time, she was sure he wasn’t just showing off. He blinked, as if she were the last person he ever expected to see at his doorstep.

“Kendall?” he whispered as he searched her face, his forehead lined with concern. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, but he didn’t look convinced. He lifted his hands to her forehead, which was probably bright red at this point, then touched her cheeks. His fingers tested her bare shoulders, then worked their way down her arms, gently probing.

“Where did I hit you?”

“Just my boot,” she said, the corners of her mouth tugging up. “Good thing I came prepared. Most people around here wear sandals.”

He was so close, his body warm, his muscles flexing as he touched her, lines of worry across his forehead. Each brush of his fingers sent a delicious shiver through her. His hair was wet, she noticed for the first time, the water dripping onto his shoulders and sliding down his bronzed skin in trails. It looked like he had come straight from the shower to the door, without bothering to towel off.

He touched one of her palms, then the other, and she flinched. Daxon frowned and lifted her hand, inspecting it. He found a little splinter—she hadn’t noticed it in the rush of his nearness—and pulled it out.

Kendall sighed. “The perils of reclaimed wood. Thanks.”

He smiled a little but continued his inspection. His hands skimmed her body and wrapped around her back, testing, until finally he seemed satisfied.

“I’m sorry.” He stroked her cheek.

“I’m fine, really. You just surprised me, that’s all.”

Slowly he nodded, and then he broke out into a grin. “You’re here.”

His smile was infectious, and the corners of her mouth turned up. “I’m definitely here.”