A Little Harmless Addiction(12)

She walked past one last boat and found Kai’s. It was white with blue trim, and it looked empty at first glance. Then Kai walked to the front of the boat and she lost most rational thought. He was shirtless. God almighty, he was gorgeous. He wasn’t steroid big. No, this was the kind of muscle that came from good, honest, physical work.

He bent over to grab some rope and she sighed. Even at this distance, she could see the ripple of muscle beneath the flesh. Damn. He was golden brown that came from his Hawaiian background and his time spent out in the sun. Tattoos decorated his upper arms, and as he turned she saw one that stretched across his back. All of the designs had a Hawaiian feel to them. She could imagine tracing the design with her fingertip, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin beneath hers. Someone leaned over the railing from up above, one of his crew she presumed, and said something to Kai. He threw his head back and laughed. She could barely hear it, but it sent a shaft of need rushing through her blood. She stopped where she was and drew in a deep breath. It had been very long since she’d been interested, and now, she wanted. It was that same sexual rush she’d lost almost a year before, a year before when Greg had ruined it for her.

The same crewmember said something else and Kai turned around and spotted her. The smile that curved his lips as she approached sank into her skin. Damn, could another man be as pretty as Kai Aiona? Deeply bronzed skin, green eyes and a body of an Adonis. He was going to be very hard to ignore.

She ordered herself to start moving forward and reminded herself that she wasn’t ready for a man. Especially not one like Kai Aiona.



Kai watched Jocelyn walk down the plank. A few days rest had done the woman wonders. She needed a little more meat on those fabulous bones, he thought. She was definitely still attractive, but Kai liked curves on a woman.

“Morning, Jocelyn,” he said, trying to ignore the way his heart was beating against his chest. He hadn’t been this taken with a woman since he was sixteen.

“Good morning. I hope I’m not too early.”

He shook his head and held his hand out to her. “No. I usually make other people wait, but since you’re sort of family, you can come on for a quick tour.”

The moment she placed her hand in his, he felt her shiver. He knew just how she felt. Each time he saw her, the attraction seemed to grow. That was usually a good thing, but this time it wasn’t. He didn’t need a woman with a damaged heart, not when he was trying to fix his. As he helped her down the steps, the heat of her drew him closer. Her rich, delicious scent surrounded him. The aroma of the docks was overpowering, but he didn’t seem to notice the smell of salt and fish. Instead, he could only seem to sense vanilla and sugar.

His mouth dried up. Damn, he wanted one big bite.

He pulled in a deep breath as he turned and found his crew already in front of them, waiting to be introduced. He sighed.

“Jocelyn, this is Tommy,” he said, motioning to his captain. Tommy was about ten years older than Kai and looked at least three years younger. The blond haired, blue-eyed Texan still got carded when they went out. But that never seemed to hurt him, especially with their older customers. A lot of cougars had been booking trips together for sight-seeing tours, and they seemed to have a thing for Tommy.

He motioned to Vince, the oldest and probably meanest of the group. Twenty years in the merchant marines had toughened the old man, and he pretended to hate most women, especially when they were on the boat. But even he was smiling.

“This is Vince, and behind him—” he pointed to the tall, broad-shouldered Jamaican, “—is Paul.”

“Hi,” Jocelyn said.

“Oh, Lord, you didn’t tell us we would have someone from New Orleans on the boat,” Tommy said.

Her eyes widened. “You could tell that just form me saying hi?”

He nodded. “I grew up in Beaufort and spent a lot of time in New Orleans.”

She laughed. “We’ll have to get together and see if we know any of the same people. You know what they say.”

Tommy’s smile widened. “Everyone knows everyone else in New Orleans.”

He stepped forward but came to an abrupt halt when Kai growled. His captain’s eyes widened then he laughed.

Kai glanced at Jocelyn who was looking at him as if he had grown a second head. And why not? He was acting as if she were his territory. She didn’t even know how out of character it was for him to behave that way. He ignored her and turned his attention back to his crew.

“Don’t you men have something to do?”

Vince rolled his eyes, Paul winked at Jocelyn, making her blush, and Tommy smiled at Kai as they went back to work.