He didn’t argue, turning the light off and letting her pull him aft. They jumped in the water together, fully clothed. This mooringwas farther out than the other and it suddenly seemed a long way to shore. Minnow put her head down and went for it, oblivious to what might be beneath, hunting in the dark waters. Luke stayed next to her the whole way in. When her hand hit the sand and pebbles, she stood up.
“Follow me,” she said, out of breath.
The first raindrop hit her shoulders then, and by the time they made it to the house, it was pouring down in sheets. She ducked under the eave and felt around the sliding door for the handle. Luke bumped up against her, one hand settling on her hip. His closeness gave her goose bumps, and she expected him to move his hand away, but he didn’t. He just stood there, a few inches away, smelling like rain and thunder.
She found the indentation and slid the door open, moving through the dark to distance herself from him.
“There’s a generator, but it’s out by the pond in the back,” she said, lighting the glass lantern in the center of the table.
“What do we need a generator for?”
“So we can see.”
“I can see just fine.”
Without Luke standing right there, she would have peeled off her wet clothes, but she ducked into the bathroom and stripped naked, then wrapped herself in one of the many bright pareos that the Kaupikos kept on a shelf. She took one for Luke too.
“Here,” she said, handing it to him.
He was no longer wearing a shirt, and her gaze slid down over his sleek, wet body. In the hurricane-lamp light, he was the color of burnt ochre.
“What is this?” he asked.
Rain on the metal roof made it hard to hear him.
“A pareo, Woody calls it. He wears it around his waist in the mornings,” she said, raising her voice.
At first she thought he would refuse it, but he went into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later. “I’m not big on wearing skirts, but when in Hawai?i...”
Minnow laughed. “I like the look on you.”
He stepped toward her. “Do you?”
She swayed a little, and not just from having been on a boat. More like Luke was drawing her into his gravitational field. “Definitely.”
Another step. Minnow remained planted and swallowed hard. This was happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Nor did she want to. Luke came toward her until he was close enough to kiss if she just leaned in. Her heart pounded wildly.
“I like the look on you too. Maybe a little too much,” he said, setting both hands lightly on her shoulders and dropping down to press his forehead against hers.
Minnow inhaled his breath as one of his hands ran up the back of her neck and into her hair, getting stuck in her wet curls. He pulled back and smiled, and the way he looked so searchingly into her eyes made her feel raw and exposed.
His mouth moved to her ear. “Tell me I can kiss you.”
Their lips came together, feather soft. She wasn’t really sure who kissed whom, all she knew was he tasted salty and a little like mint. Her fingers gripped his back and she held on, trying to pull him closer until every inch of her was touching every inch of him, if that were possible. His tongue worked slowly around her mouth, exploring, teasing, then moving on to kiss her jawline and trace down her throat and collarbone, leaving a trail of heat in his wake.
Luke spoke into her skin and it sounded something like, “You taste like ocean.”
Around them, lightning flashed through the house, followed closely by a thunderclap that rattled her teeth. Luke jumped higher than she did.
“There’s a metal windmill behind the pond, where the well is. It’staller than the roof, so let’s hope if lightning hits, it’ll hit that,” she said.
“I’m not worried.”
Before she knew it, he was kissing her again and pressing her hard against the counter. She felt ragged with want and barely noticed the wood in her back. They were both still damp, and Minnow could have sworn that steam lifted off him, he was that hot. A small voice of reason tried to question if being with Luke was the best course of action, but the sound of driving rain and his heartbeat drowned it out.
His palm slid inside her pareo and he traced circles on her bare belly. She had nothing on besides the piece of material. Neither did he. This knowledge felt both dangerous and thrilling at the same time. She melted into him even further and gasped when his hand brushed the bottom of one breast, and then the next.
There was something about his closeness that caused a dent in her field, an opening and a flooding of feelings. Suddenly her whole body started trembling.
