Hawaiian Heartbreak (8 page)

His
hands were insistent and demanding, leaving her body a whirl of hormones. Arrows
of pleasure shot through her from wherever he touched, and he was touching her
everywhere. Kayla steadied herself against the wall as he kissed and sucked
lightly on her neck.

“If you
leave me with hickeys like some sort of love-struck teenager, I'll kill you.”

“Will
you now,” he growled. “I think I know how I'd make it up to you.”

His
fingers slipped between her thighs, and they parted automatically at his touch.
Her breath rasped in her throat, desire burning through her.

“Out.
Now.” Jay snapped the water off and stepped out of the shower, reaching for a
pile of soft, fluffy towels. Kayla obediently stepped out, and was wrapped in
the thick cotton, before being quickly scooped off her feet. The sudden move
made her squeal in surprise, but the towel wrapped around her stopped any
further protest. Jay stepped into the bedroom and threw her onto the bed, his
eyes hungry.

Kayla reached
for him and he was with her in an instant, pushing her back into the soft
mattress. Their mouths met again, both panting for breath, every inch of skin
pressed against each other. She ran her hand down his back, feeling the muscles
shiver at her touch. She loved knowing she had the same effect on him as he had
on her. Every atom of their bodies seemed to be yearning to touch each other at
all times.

Jay
pulled her hips up to his and entered her, making her cry out. He was rock
hard, barely able to contain his need, his body fast and urgent against hers.
Kayla hooked a leg around his waist, pulling him even deeper into her.

“God
you feel good, you're so wet,” he gasped into her neck. Kayla's heart leapt in
her chest, and she could feel her orgasm building already. His hands stroked across
her breasts, teasing her nipples, before moved downwards, between her thighs.
He flicked his thumb across her clit repeatedly as he buried his face into her
neck, biting and kissing her.

The
sensory overload was too much after the slow build up in the shower, and ripples
of heat started to course through her body. Breathing raggedly, her body jerked
with the intensity of her release, her senses singing with the relief of it
after being repeatedly teased.

Seeing
her orgasm brought Jay to shuddering climax as well, his hands clenching in her
wet hair. Their breathing started to slow to the same rhythm, until they lay
together on the bed, still and damp. He pushed himself up on one elbow to look
down at her, smiling gently.

“Well,
that escalated quickly,” he laughed quietly. “Turns out I can't even leave you
alone to get clean.”

Kayla
smiled, but was too spent to return his banter. She pushed him back on to the
bed instead, snuggling her head against his chest. The room started to turn
orange, and she lifted her head slightly to see the sun setting over the trees.
Their limbs stayed intertwined as they watched the sun slowly fall over the
horizon.

“Do you
know what I've noticed?” Kayla said suddenly. “Nobody in Hawaii seems to ask
you about your day job. Everywhere else, one of the first things you do when
introducing yourself is say what you do for a living. It's like an unwritten
rule not to do that here.”

Jay
laughed softly against her ear. “Well, for one thing, it's not a totally
unwritten rule. Nobody in a tourism job will mention anything about work, not
even their own. This place is built on tourism, and relaxing, and that's all we
want you thinking about. You could say some of us take that duty to help
tourists relax very seriously.” He nuzzled his face into her neck and Kayla
giggled.

“Part
of it is totally real, though,” he continued. “We're on island time here. Sure,
some people are still in the rat race, but for the most part people do the bare
minimum to survive. The rest of the time, they're actually living their lives.”

Kayla
nodded quietly. Now that she thought about it, she realised she hadn't gone for
so long without talking about work in a long time. It felt weird, but in a good
way.

“I just
do crappy office admin back in New Zealand,” she murmured to him. “I saw it as
a foot in the door with a good marketing company when I started. I'm pretty
creative, good with people; I thought I'd be made for it.”

She
sighed heavily. “But everyone works really long hours. We're all so stressed,
and there's no light at the end of the tunnel. When one project finishes, the
same frantic pace continues with the next one.

“I
don't want to seem ungrateful. There are people there who act like it's a prison,
and they're trapped there. That's not it. I'm ambitious, and I want to achieve
things. I just don't know if I want to achieve the things I thought I did. But
if not marketing, then what? It's the goal I've been focused on for so long. I
think I still want to be successful, and have a good career. I just didn't
think it would be like this.”

Jay
sighed and stroked his hand down her leg.

“You
sound like me when I was temping. I still don't have the answer on what’s next.
But at least I'm not stuck on that hamster wheel anymore. It's the first step.
I don't know what it's a step towards. Maybe some of us just never figure it
out. But I’m hopeful that’s not what I’m destined for.”

They
were quiet for a while, Jay continuing to run his hand up and down her body.

“It's
weird isn't it, how the people you share the most time with are usually ones
you don't choose,” Kayla mused. “Eight hours a day with people in an office.”
She paused, then snickered out loud.

“Do you
know, there's one guy. He only just came out of college a few months ago, and
all I've ever seen him eat is white bread. Nothing on it, just plain bread. He
has this stash of loaves in his bottom drawer.”

“But
food is sometimes the best part of the work day!” Jay exclaimed. “You know
what? I'd say he's a bit...
crusty
.”

Kayla
groaned and elbowed him. “Don't start, I'm all out of bread puns. Some of us
don't just get to loaf around on a boat thinking these things up.”

“Don't
try and sneak that one by me! Playing all high and mighty, while secretly
punning it up.” Jay yawned theatrically and pulled Kayla closer. “So, tomorrow
we head up to the crater? See some lava?”

“Can
you really see lava?” Kayla said doubtfully. “I feel like that would probably
be a bit unsafe.”

“Yes
you can, and it’s mostly safe. I’ll take you right into the volcano crater, if
you want.”

“OK,
but you're going first. If something happens to you, I'm not going to be a
hero. I'll tell you right now, I'm running. I'll miss you very much, and that's
as much heroism as you're getting out of me.”

“If the
last thing I saw was your fine ass, I feel like that wouldn't be too much to
complain about. Now stop wriggling. You've exhausted me by being totally
irresistible, and I'll be a bad guide if I'm sleepy and grouchy.”

Kayla
grinned and wiggled backwards until her body was hard against Jay's front. He
wrapped his arm around her, making her smile again. She drifted off to sleep
with the smile still on her face.

Kayla
woke up before Jay, fizzing with excitement about seeing the volcano. She
peeked over at her lover. His face was relaxed in sleep, one muscular arm
tucked under his pillow. All hers, for now at least. She intended to make the
most of it.

Slipping
out of bed, she tiptoed over to the bathroom. Birds were singing at the bottom
of the garden, welcoming the new day. Kayla tied her hair up and washed her
face, before dabbing on some lip gloss and mascara. She smiled into the mirror.
The last few days had left her feeling content and smug. She hadn't even spared
a thought for Danny.

Well.
Until right now, anyway. Her face twisted. The pain was fading, but still stung
unexpectedly every now and then. It was strange how you could know deep in your
bones that you had no future with a person, but still be hurt by their
betrayal.

Was she
getting in too deep with Jay? She knew the answer was yes. He was supposed to
be a fun fling on her holiday, a balm on her wound, and now he was becoming the
centre of everything. Her heart wanted him to take that role, but her head knew
she should be distancing herself more. She was setting herself up for a world
of pain when she went home.

Frustrated,
she spun on her heel, shrugging on a bathrobe and grabbing an apple, before stepping
out of the back door to the garden. She settled back on the grass and bit into
the fruit's ripe flesh.

She
liked talking to him about her life. He gave her the courage to voice the fears
she usually kept buried deep below the surface. Her perspective on what was
important started to shift while she was around him, and the change was
refreshing.

Kayla
squared her shoulders determinedly. She could do this. She could have a fun
holiday fling, enjoy the moment, and then leave it to fade into a happy memory.
Return to her friends and family with tales of the delicious man who'd swept
her off her feet, and given her the insider’s tour of Hawaii.  Yes, she could
do that.

“Well,
don't you look deep in thought. Penny for them? Or maybe, a few cents. We don't
need the monetary system of our colonial overlords.” Jay settled on the grass
next to her, his smile making her insides melt.

“Just
enjoying the morning,” she lied. No need to bore him with her emotions and run
the risk of scaring him off. She was just working herself up needlessly. They
both knew this was fun and impermanent.

Jay
gave her a relaxed smile, and draped an arm over her shoulders. “I'm sure the
morning looks even better from the rim of a volcano. How about we get you a
more substantial breakfast and head off?”

Kayla
returned his smile, and followed him back into the cottage.

* * * * *

The top
of the volcano was eerie, with shattered roads and steam drifting out of the
trees. It gave the landscape a post-apocalyptic feel. It left Kayla feeling
slightly unnerved, but still excited, the combination twisting her stomach into
knots.

“Just a
reality of the geothermal activity,” Jay explained. “One of the guys who does
tours with me back in Honolulu used to do tours here. He told me all about it.”

Jay
stopped, pointing out the cracks in the road. “This road we're on now used to
be like any other road, and you could drive all the way to the crater, look
down at the lava glow. Then there was a particularly big explosion, and the
whole thing twisted and cracked.

“You
can even see those bits up ahead where the ground under the road fell away.
There was no point trying to fix it, so they just roped off the unstable parts
and told people to walk this last bit up to the crater. Turns out tourists
liked the little reminder of danger.”

“As
long as it doesn't erupt again while we're here,” Kayla muttered, suddenly nervous.
Jay rubbed her arm reassuringly.

“Nah,
you get little warning quakes if it's about to explode. Plenty of time to clear
people out. As long as you stay on the path, you're fine.”

He
started walking along the road again. “Although apparently, you do get quite a
few of people who just wander off. Some of them fall into steam vents and get
burned, some of them even fall into a lava tube. So pay attention to the
warning signs, OK beautiful? I prefer you with all your skin and limbs intact.”
He grabbed her hand and grinned at her wolfishly, earning himself another eye
roll.

Despite
all of Jay's dire safety warnings, the volcano was surprisingly peaceful. Birds
chattered in the trees, and the air was cooler than anywhere else she'd been in
Hawaii. She supposed it was because of the altitude.

“OK,
here's your first peek at it,” Jay announced, as they rounded a corner.

Kayla
gasped. The crater was vast and desolate, spread out below them and stretching
into the distance. It was burned a deep, dark brown, with rockfalls lining the
steep edges. At its centre, far from them, she could see a faint orange glow.
Smoke spiralled out of it, disappearing into the expanse of blue sky above
them.

“That
glow in the middle? A lava lake. Hasn't exploded for a while. It just bubbles
away at the surface.”

“Can we
get any closer?” Kayla was enthralled.

“Probably.
My friend told me it releases some pretty toxic gases, but it depends on which
way the wind is blowing. There are a couple of paths you can take right into
the crater itself. The rangers open or close them depending on the conditions.
You game to check it out?”

“Of
course!” Kayla exclaimed, enchanted by the otherworldly scene. “How could we
come so close and then not go the last few metres? Frankly, if it's going to explode,
it's probably going to get us anywhere up here anyway.”

Jay let
out a burst of laughter. “How optimistic of you. OK then bold explorer, lets
see if the path's open.”

They
strolled back down the cracked road, Jay not hesitating to turn left when they
came to a fork. Kayla shot him a quizzical look.

“I
thought you said you hadn't been here before, and we'd both be tourists
together?”

“Well,”
he admitted sheepishly. “It's true, I haven't been to Big Island before. But I
grilled my friend pretty hard before we came out here.” He snaked an arm around
her waist, pulling her close.

“I just
want to make sure you have a good time. Besides, you seemed to enjoy my other
tours. You were pretty vocal during certain parts of them.”

Kayla
blushed furiously and swatted at him.

“It's
not my fault you take advantage of the romantic surroundings! I'm not usually
such an, I don't know, such an exhibitionist. But you're quite persuasive.”

Jay
pulled her back towards him, linking his arm through hers. “Long may that
continue. I like being an exhibitionist with you. Besides, you can't say we
don't have the climate for it.”

“I
don't know, I'd say there's the potential for sunburn in truly terrible
places.”

“This
is true,” Jay said gravely. “In all cases of uncontrollable lust, safety first.
Seek shade, apply sunscreen, and only then can you fornicate wildly.”

Kayla
snorted, then pointed ahead.

“That
sign says to the crater! Ha, for once I found where we're going before you
did!”

“Yes
well, you cheated by making me think about your sexy body. If that's not
distracting then I don't know what is. So? Are you going to continue leading
the way?”

“Nope,”
Kayla shook her head quickly. “I meant what I said. If something goes wrong, I
want you to be first in the firing line. I'm going to abandon you, run for
safety, and then miss you very much.”

“Oh,
baby,” Jay reached out to cradle her face with both of his hands. “True romance
is such a rare thing these days. You make my knees weak.” He dropped his hands,
grinning at her, and she couldn't help but grin back.

They
started down the narrow path, the trees around them becoming sparser as they
descended. She wondered if it was an effect of the toxic fumes Jay had
mentioned earlier. An enormous rockfall, with some boulders as big as cars, was
visible through the trees to their left. It was still and quiet now, but the
reminders were everywhere that they were at the mercy of nature's power.

It only
took minutes to make the descent. When they reached the crated floor the trees
petered out entirely. Bare, cracked rock stretched for as far as she could see
ahead, with only a worn path showing them the safe route along the edge of the
crater. A faded orange sign warned them not to stray from the path, or they’d risk
being overpowered by toxic fumes, maybe even falling through a weak patch in
the rock to the bubbling lava below.

“Apparently
they replace those signs pretty regularly,” Jay said. “It's so harsh here, with
all the fumes. It’s called vog, you know, like volcanic fog. It eats into metal
and plastic.”

“Wow,”
Kayla whispered, feeling awed by her surroundings. It was like standing on the
surface of a hostile planet. No wonder ancient cultures worshipped the forces
of nature. She was having something of a religious moment herself.

They
stepped across the cracked surface together, loose pebbles skittering
underfoot. Every now and then a small, scrubby plant had wedged itself into the
hard surface, fighting the odds to find a space to take root. Kayla wondered
how long it would be before the hardy vegetation with its pretty red flowers
was obliterated.

“Ohia,”
Jay said, seeing her eyeing the plant. “You get them around volcanoes all the
time. It’s one of the first plants to grow on cooled lava.”

They
kept crunching across the crater trail together, their hands intertwined. The
sound of their feet was the only thing to break the silence. No other people
were around, and no animals seemed willing to come into the heart of the
volcano.

“Check
it out,” Jay pointed into the centre of the crater, and Kayla turned to see the
column of smoke, now so much closer. Lava glowed at its base, the orange tint
fading as the smoke reached towards the sky. Jay circled his arms around her
from behind, resting the side of his head against hers.

“No one
I'd rather share this memory with,” he whispered into her ear, sending tingles
shooting down her body. She turned and pressed herself against him, tilting her
face up to kiss him.

Immediately
she felt a change in him. His body tensed, and his arms tightened around her.
She could feel his breath quicken, and it exhilarated her. She wound her arms
around his neck, deepening the kiss, like he'd done to her so many times. Her
tongue plunged into his mouth, and his arms tightened even further around her.

“That's
enough of that,” Kayla pulled back, slightly breathless. “I can't have you
taking advantage of me in a crater.”

“I'm
not sure who's taking advantage of who, actually. Besides, a crater could be a
fun new experience.”

Kayla
glanced around dubiously. “Yes, all this exposed, hard rock. It really gets a
girl in the mood.”

“It was
working for you a second ago,” Jay's eyes glinted roguishly. She feigned
nonchalance, despite the immediate effect he had on her pulse.

“Hmm,
well I feel differently now. Come on, you.” Kayla grabbed his hand and tugged
him along the path. He groaned, but complied. They crunched along the path
together, sexual tension still sparking between them.

“Have
you been anywhere like this before?” Kayla asked.

“No,
actually. I've always been more focused on the weird and wonderful sea
experiences. Now I'm wondering why an active volcano wasn't higher up my list.”

“I
think I can actually feel heat from the ground coming through my sandals.”

“That's
not lava, baby, that's just the effect I have on you,” he said, grabbing for
her, but she danced out of reach.

“Yes,
you set my soul on fire. The soles of my feet, anyway,” Kayla grinned at him.
“Aww, the crater path is almost done. It only let us skirt around the edges. I
want to go all the way in!”

“Well
they can't have idiots killing themselves trying to get to the lava lake can
they, it would be terrible for business.”

“I
suppose so.” Kayla pulled a face, slightly disappointed it was over so quickly.

They
stepped back into the shade of the trees at the edge of the crater. Jay quickly
grabbed her from behind, lifting Kayla off her feet, and making her squeal with
fright.

“I do
believe the previous problem was barren rock, yes? I've solved that, now hold
still and let me make you feel good.”

Kayla
giggled and tried to prise herself free. “Someone could walk along here at any
time! No way.”

Jay let
her go momentarily, quickly scanning the area. Apparently satisfied, he scooped
Kayla up again like she was nothing, earning himself another squeal.

“If we
stay close to the path we're not breaking the safety rules too badly, but you
will need to be quiet... With your track record, I imagine I'll need to remind
you of that part.”