Jaxson Read Free Page A

out.
    Up close he seemed even bigger . Truthfully, he wasn't any taller than her five eleven , but his broad chest and shoulders gave an appearance that suggested otherwise . His coal-black mustache ran down past his chin in a Fu Manchu and his goatee was trimmed into a thick triangle , and he had i ntense black eyes that seemed to observe everything, giving away little in return . Not like a predator, but whatever hunted predators.
    "Can I help you ? " he asked, snapping her out of the reverie.
    "I … u h, my friends and I, we were wondering if you'd like to join us for breakfast back at our place?" God, why do I sound like a kindergartner ?
    He smiled, politely this time . "Sure."
    "The cop told me your name is Jaxson, what do you prefer to go by?"
    "Jax is fine , ” h e assured her as he smiled, with an unusual warmth, and Kehau felt her skin flush . Why was this happening ? After what had just happened, and her promise to avoid men in the near future, what the hell was wrong with her?
    “I mean if you don’t want to join us , that's okay too .”
    “No but —"
    “It’s totally okay , ” Kehau blurted out . “I mean I got you stabbed!”
    Jax cocked an eyebrow . “I was about to say that if you let me grab my bag, I’ll follow you over in my truck.”
    “Oh . Okay.”
    He looked at her, a rueful smile on his lips . Then he reached out with one hand, pushing a tendril of her hair back behind her ear . The rough callous on the pad of his finger brushed her cheek . She shivered slightly, hoping he didn’t notice . “You’re starting to come down from the adrenaline and everything else.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “It’s a bodily response to situations where fight or flight is required . Your body puts out a bunch of different chemicals all at once . The result is that you feel hyper, your skin gets super sensitive . Stuff like that.”
    A light bulb clicked on in her head . “So that’s what it is ?"
    Because it sure feels like I want to have sex, and I have no clue why!
    “Yeah, no worries, but you’re gonna have a crash when it all ends . Everybody responds differently . I get the munchies real bad.”
    Whatever you say, Kehau thought as she looked him over . The way you went through Sione was absolutely brutal.
    He grabbed his duffle bag from the wall, taking a long sip from his water bottle as he walked back toward her .
    What an odd man , she decided right then . Very odd .
    “I’m ready , ” he announced.
    Kehau barely took note of all this though, as she made her way to the car . A new thought had occurred to her . Why had he stood up for her ? What did he expect because of it?

Chapter Two
     
    Girls, Girls, Girls
    Long legs and burgundy lips
    Girls
    Dancin’ down on the Sunset Strip
    Girls
    Red Lips, fingertips.
     
    M ö tley Cr ü e
     
    For as long as Kehau had known her, Pua was a penny-pincher, the kind Scrooge could take lessons from . At twenty-four and freshly graduated from college with an MBA, she’d opened her own high-end salon spa, much to her wealthy parents’ disdain. Such plebeian things were beneath their daughter. Pua wanted it for herself though, bad enough that she sold her car and took to living out of a broom closet in the back of the salon to pay her bills. When her mother came by one morning and found her living like this, they chose to break the impasse, deciding it was long past time for Pua to have a place of her own . Not a rental either . A real house.
    For once, Pua had the good sense not to refuse their generosity, mainly because they were filthy rich and it was only a ten minute easy walk from her Kailua salon. A t wo - story house , with five bedroom s , and a massive kitchen that opened onto a l â nai with a sunken hot tub built into it facing the Ka’elepulu pond . Concrete steps led down into the water whenever she wanted to go kayaking. Even if it wasn't a mansion, it was the next best thing to it. The friends always ended their Saturday morning