within the first four years in operation. Although Rebecca Tyler never asked for anything, her sons made sure she wanted for nothing.
Yet, even knowing that, he couldn’t be too unhappy that Nolan Royal’s hotels were having trouble.
“How can you help him?”
She shrugged and her beautiful bottom wiggled against him. He was beginning to wish Laney Royal were any other woman. A woman he could pursue once they got back to the mainland.
“I’m not sure I can really. Lately, I’ve only contributed to his worries instead of helping him. But what he really wants is for me to play a more active role in the business and relieve him of some of the burden.”
“And you didn’t plan on that?”
Laney shook her head. “No, but I can’t afford to break his heart. He doesn’t want the company to fail or be sold. He’s worked hard all of his life. And now, he wants me by his side, so when the time comes for him to retire, he’ll have peace of mind that his legacy will continue.”
“And what do you want?”
She beamed with the same kind of passion he’d seen when she got all hot and sexy. “All I want to do is take pictures. I’m a photojournalist at heart. I’ve sold some of my work to magazines and I want to continue with it. But Dad thinks of it as a hobby. Anything I do outside the business isn’t important to him. He doesn’t take my work seriously.” She made a little hopeless shrug. “I’m all he’s got.”
She turned around, winding her arms about his neck and resting her pretty eyes on him. “Ty, thanks for listening, but I don’t really want to think about my father right now.”
Hell, how could he resist that kind of temptation? Evan braced her waist and brought her closer, breathing the sunshine in her hair, whispering into her ear, “I can think of a few ways to distract you.”
She ran her fingers along his unshaven beard. “Distract away.”
Evan cupped her sweet bottom bringing her up against him and took her in a long lazy slow kiss.
He’d found out what he needed to know for now. There was truth to the rumor that Nolan Royal’s hotels were in deep trouble. And that also meant he’d be less of an obstacle when Evan made his move to buy him out. Satisfied with the information he’d garnered, he spent the next part of the morning distracting Laney Royal and enjoying every minute of it.
Later that morning, they took a lazy stroll along the beach, flirting with the waves and each other, playing in the water and sunning themselves until their stomachs grumbled in hunger. Then Ty took Laney to his cottage suite at the opposite end of the Wind Breeze. It was clearly the largest the hotel had to offer. They had a catered lunch on the sundeck and then soaked in the private Jacuzzi.
Laney baked in the sun in the afternoon, Ty being diligent in lathering her with sunscreen, his hands roaming over her body in places the sun would never touch. But after two hours, she needed to rinse off and Ty offered her his shower.
Laney entered the suite’s enormous, marble-from-wall-to-floor bathroom, the shower area alone taking up half the room. Jets from all sides and top streamed down and, before she knew it, Ty entered the shower with only one thing on his mind.
“What do you think about the plumbing in here?” he asked, wearing an innocent expression as he approached in the nude. One thing Laney had learned, there was nothing innocent about Ty, the mystery man. He knew all the right moves and Laney was only too glad to be on the receiving end of his vast knowledge.
She gripped him below the waist, filling her hand with his firm length and returned his innocent look as seven jets rained upon both of them. “I think I’ve turned everything on properly in here, don’t you?”
She slid her hand up and down and Ty growled, the sound echoing against the Italian marble. “Babe, uh, yeah. You’ve pressed all the right buttons.”
Laney loved Ty’s sense of humor. It reminded her that she had one of her own. But when he backed her up against the cool marble wall of the shower, all thoughts of humor vanished. Ty had that look in his eyes and Laney knew she was going to be made love to all over again.
In the most delicious way.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in Ty’s suite, napping in his bed, eating room-service pizza and drinking beer. Laney beat Ty five games to three in gin rummy and much to her delight, she found out that Ty didn’t like to lose, which made teasing him all the more fun.
In the evening they took a moonlit stroll along the beach and then a quick swim in the pool. Laney opened up a little bit more to Ty about her dilemma with her father. Though she made sure not to reveal too much about her identity, she found talking to him was easy. He listened well and didn’t ask too many questions or give his opinion. Who’d have thought the gorgeous stranger wouldn’t mind hearing about her love of photojournalism and her lackluster interest in her father’s business?
They retired to bed together in Ty’s suite and made slow thrilling love to each other. Her body sated, her mind clear, Laney felt hopeful that she could move on from past hurts now. She’d never had a fling before and probably wouldn’t have another, but Ty had been exactly what she needed, when she needed it. Besides, how could any fling compare to this one? She’d met the perfect man to help her forget her heartache.
Only a tiny part of her wished for something more with Ty. Or maybe she just wished she’d have more time with him, before having to say goodbye. But, her flight left the island tomorrow evening.
In the morning, Ty woke her early and kissing her quickly, he said, “Get dressed. And bring some layers of clothing with you. Don’t forget your camera.”
Disheveled and sleep hazy, she asked, “Why, where are we going?”
“To the house of the sun.” He patted her butt and tugged at her hair playfully. “Come on, babe. Rise and shine.”
By 9:00 a.m., Laney found herself sixty-five feet above sea level at the top of Haleakala Crater, in complete awe of the vista before her. She snapped picture after picture of the two-million-year-old moonlike crater and the surroundings from the staging area, before the downhill bike ride Ty insisted she shouldn’t miss before leaving the island.
He’d been right. Wearing helmets and outer gear to protect against the frigid weather, they sailed down the volcanic crater area on sturdy bikes, dropping to the three-thousand-foot level in less than ten miles, only stopping their exhilarating ride at key lookout points to take amazing pictures. At one point, all five of the islands were visible from where they stood. “This is awesome, Ty. I’ve never come up here before.”
“I thought you’d like it. The landscape’s amazing.” Then he kissed the tip of her nose. “And the view from where I’m standing isn’t half-bad, either.”
Laney snapped a candid picture of him then, holding his helmet in hand, wearing a crazy orange jumpsuit, but it was the appreciative look in his eyes that she wanted to capture in time. “I’d have to agree,” she said, before putting her helmet back on.
As they biked down closer to sea level, the outer gear came off, Ty giving them up to the driver of the chartered van following them. And once they reached up-country, more level land known for ranches and Hawaiian cowboys, Laney shot more pictures, grateful to Ty for understanding her love of photography
