Burn

"Don’t let him hear you say that," Tiffany muttered. She was ignored.

"But he won’t take that kind of advantage. He just won’t," Faith finished. "Tiffany’s right. If you want him, you’ll have to make the first move."

"What makes you think I want – " Both women looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, so she didn’t even finish the question. Okay, they were observant. It was part of their jobs, she supposed. She threw out her arms, so frustrated she wanted to hit something. "Would you even consider getting involved with a man in this kind of situation?" she asked, incredulous.

Calmly Faith asked, "What makes you think I didn’t?"

There was something about the expression in her eyes that told her this was no joke. Something had happened with Ryan, something Jenner never would have suspected, given Ryan’s suaveness. Not the same situation – was any situation ever exactly the same? – but they hadn’t met in the produce section of the supermarket or been introduced by a friend.

She blew out a breath and looked back at Tiffany. "While we’re apparently laying it all on the line, what about you and Cael?"

"What about – ?" Understanding flooded her face. "Oh, no. Never. No way. He’s so not my type."

How could Cael not be any and every woman’s type?

With a smile, Faith clarified. "Tiff prefers a … different type of man."

"I like nerds," Tiffany said defiantly. "So sue me."

Faith gave a ladylike snort, if a snort was ever ladylike. "What Tiffany’s saying is, she prefers men who let her be the boss in all areas – and that so isn’t Cael Traylor."

"I got it," Jenner said. She held the condom out, getting back to the subject at hand. "What am I supposed to do with this? I don’t even have an evening bag with me." There hadn’t seemed to be any point in bringing one, as she didn’t have her cell phone or even a key card for the suite. Her lipstick was in Cael’s pocket.

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders. "Your call. Do what you want with it. Stick it down in your bra, or throw it away."

Another group of three well-dressed women entered, so the conversation ended. "I’m starving," Faith said, leading the way from the bathroom. Jenner glanced briefly at the trash can near the door, hesitated, then tucked the plastic wrapped condom into her strapless bra.

THE SHIP SAILED during the night from Hilo to Honolulu. Ryan, Faith, and Tiffany went ashore that morning, while Cael stayed onboard with Jenner. He’d expected her to rant and rave, to give him grief about staying onboard when they were in freak-in’ Hawaii, but she’d been oddly quiet since going to the ladies’ room with Faith and Tiffany the previous night, which made him wonder what they’d said. Jenner hadn’t even complained about the handcuffs last night. When they’d gone to bed she had simply stuck out her hand, a solemn and begrudging offering. A thoughtful Jenner Redwine scared the shit out of him. What the hell was she up to? He didn’t for a minute think she’d suddenly and meekly accepted the situation, because that wasn’t in her DNA.

She didn’t do anything, which made him even more wary. It was like waiting for a volcano to blow.

They were in Honolulu only that one day, and sailed that night back to the Big Island, to Kona, which was on the opposite side of the island from Hilo. Kona was their turn to go ashore. Their movements couldn’t mirror Larkin’s, or even each other’s. Someone on the team would be aboard at all times, someone would be on Larkin at all times, but it couldn’t always be the same person, or group of people.

His original plan had been to take Jenner to a restaurant or coffee shop with a great view, and kill a few hours there. They could’ve gone along with the Kona group tour, which would’ve been great cover, but also a special kind of torture. Linda Vale and Nyna Phillips had met two other women who were traveling together, and the four of them had hit it off. Penny and Buttons – Buttons, what kind of name was that for a woman? – were staying in one of the smaller staterooms on another deck, but in the past couple of days they’d been spending a lot of time in Linda and Nyna’s suite across from Jenner’s. He knew, because a couple of times he and Jenner had run into the foursome in the hallway, and they’d also heard them out on the balcony, laughing and evidently having a blast.

Yesterday they’d met the four ladies twice: once in the hallway, once on deck. Today’s tour had been mentioned both times, as had meals. How about lunch? Join us for dinner? All the offers were friendly, casual, and genuine. They liked Jenner, and why shouldn’t they? Instead of quickly accepting, though, as he’d expected her to do, Jenner had offered polite, reasonable refusals. Still, the four older ladies were persistent.

All four were on the group tour; hence the torture that he wanted to avoid.

Instead of the tour or the coffee shop, Cael took Jenner to a small cove that a local had recommended for snorkeling. Jenner had mentioned that she liked snorkeling, and, hell, she deserved a little fun.

They separated from the group soon after leaving the ship, and he found the dive shop Sanchez had recommended, where he rented the necessary equipment and got directions to this cove, which, according to the man who rented him the equipment, shouldn’t be as crowded as Kealakekua Bay.

The shallow water was an unexpected shade of blue; the half-circle of trees around the water were lush and thick, cutting them off from the rest of the world even though Kona bustled just beyond those trees.

Jenner stood a few feet away, her cover-up discarded to reveal a black bikini that looked as if it had been painted on her body. Seeing her in a bathing suit had made him realize she wasn’t skinny, at least not as he thought of skinny. She was thin, but her bones were covered by some sleek muscles. Her breasts might be on the small side, but they were firm and high. They were perky. She’d probably take his head off if he ever referred to her, or any of her body parts, as perky.