Chapter 2
The morning sun spilled onto the patio, dazzling in the saturated blue of the sky. Stella scooped up another silky spoonful of her satsuma and coconut chia cup, luxuriating in the peace and beauty of her surroundings. For someone who spent hours out of each day dashing around checking items off a never-ending list, breakfast had become her sacred time. Half an hour to herself, with a cup of English Breakfast tea and a soundtrack of birdsong never failed to put her at ease prior to the chaos of her days.
Today’s birdsong was live, courtesy of a variety of the island’s birds that darted through the boxed garden adjacent to the terracotta tiled patio and pool area. Their unfamiliar chorus swirled around her as she leaned back in the deep cushion of her patio chair, closed her eyes and drew in a cleansing breath of tropical air. In twenty minutes she would turn on her phone, connect to the Internet using the wifi code left on her bedside table last night in the bold slashes of Aleki’s handwriting, and her day would officially begin. But for now, peace and quiet.
“Good morning.”
The deep, masculine rumble of a certain royal’s voice pierced the stillness, sending tension thrumming through her body and a tingle through her core.
Shifting slightly in her chair in a futile attempt to alleviate the sudden throb of awareness at the centre of her, Stella cracked one eye open.
Aleki stood above her, clothed in a white shirt and tailored grey pants and holding a steaming mug, looking every inch the urbane royal. The easy contentment of her breakfast gone, Stella felt the crackle of unwanted attraction snapping at her when he sank into the chair opposite. The rich aroma of coffee danced across the table to Stella, the intensity of the scent a perfect metaphor for the man himself, turning her inside out just by the dark look he levelled at her from his seat opposite.
Taken aback by the rush of hormones flitting through her bloodstream like a swarm of Ritalin-deprived butterflies, Stella dropped her eyes to her breakfast.
In and out. In and out.
The mantra echoed in her head as she concentrated on breathing like a proper grown up rather than melting into an inelegant blob of desire at Aleki’s Italian-shod feet.
“I thought you’d be busy. Or eat in the house. Or be anywhere else other than out here with me.”
“Ah, Stella,” Aleki chided gently in his melodic accent, “what kind of host would I be to leave you to your own devices so early in your stay? Besides, I’ve yet to show you the papaya grove. You’ll like it. Plenty of space for games.”
“I don’t need hosting. I need to pick up a thirty metre extension cord and fifty citronella candles. Feel free to go reign - or to play - while I’m here.”
Aleki’s dark eyes roamed over her, his interest no less focused in the wake of her snarky tone. Her skin prickled as the flesh left bare by her cream linen shorts and strappy black tank heated and flushed. The hot depths of his gaze remained on her even while he moved back in his seat to allow an unobtrusive staff member to set a plate piled high with steaming food in front of him. The smell of bacon and French toast teased her nostrils, and she stared down at her own breakfast with a firm mental reminder that early morning fibre was her friend.
“Look at me, Stella.” His deep voice pulled her focus from her fresh fruit platter as she reluctantly raised her gaze to meet his. Dark eyes assessed her thoroughly, skating over her pale skin like a caress.
“You are my guest and my friend. We may not have seen each other in the last ten years, but I have fond memories of all of the time that we spent together in New Zealand, and it is my pleasure to have you here in Avali. You were kind enough to show me around your country when I lived there. It would be my honour if you would allow me to do the same while you are here on the island.”
Some of the tension pinching at Stella’s shoulders eased. He was right. Despite the wash of shame that still flooded her when she thought about that night, she had considered Aleki one of her best friends, and he had been nothing but a gracious host so far even in the face of her hostility. The best thing for everyone, especially Mae and Luke, would be to accept his kind offer and enjoy her time here with him, friends again.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, her eyes met his and a zing of awareness frissoned through her, tightening her nipples and catching her breath at the back of her throat.
Oh yeah, Stella. Just relegate the hottest guy you’ve ever met back into the friend-zone. No worries.
Electricity zipped through her body as a knowing half-smile hitched one side of Aleki’s full mouth, flashing her an endearing dimple.
With a supreme effort usually reserved for declining dessert during business lunches, Stella wrenched her thoughts back from what Aleki’s perfect mouth could do to her and tried to focus on what it - he - had just said.
“Fine. If it isn’t an inconvenience to you, I would love to see the papaya grove. But I do have a meeting with a supplier at eleven in the city so it will need to be shortly.”
Fighting off the vestiges of attraction made her voice brisker than usual, but Aleki didn’t seem to notice her staccato delivery.
“Perfect. We’ll walk down to the grove after breakfast, and I can accompany you to Havalei’i afterwards. I have some business to attend to myself, and it would be wasteful for us to make two trips when we can easily travel together.”
Seemingly satisfied with the matter, he dug into his food while Stella tried to figure out how he’d managed to charm her from civility to companionship without her noticing.
In and out. In and out.
“So fifty citronella candles, huh?” Aleki eyed her, scooping up another forkful of pancakes. “That’s a lot of firepower for a few little bugs.”
“You have no idea,” Stella assured him. “One of my first weddings when I started out working as an assistant for this huge event planning company was in the Marlborough Sounds. The couple were a soap actress and her investment banker fiancé. It cost an obscene amount of money - a Michelin star chef, individual hand-poured candles in the couples’ signature scent for favours, fireworks at midnight - the whole nine yards. But nobody thought about the mosquitos. It was a disaster. Every person present was eaten alive. Embossed menus that cost thirty dollars a pop were being used for swatters, the servers were snapping napkins all over the place, the bride was crying and the groom offered a thousand dollar reward for anyone who could provide her with insect repellent. Since then, every single outdoor event I’ve planned has included a budget for citronella candles.”
“You were part of a disastrous event? I don’t believe it.” Aleki declared.
She lifted her cup of tea to her lips and smirked.
“As a lowly assistant in a chain of experts the buck stopped miles from me. But I took my thousand dollar reward from that night and invested it. That money was the first chunk of savings towards going out on my own.”
A low, deep chuckle full of admiration drifted across the table.
“Insect repellent?”
“A girl can never be too prepared.”
Aleki shook his head slightly.
“You are something else, Stella Warren.”
Warmth settled in her chest at his praise, a soft enveloping glow that pulsed gently outwards.
Desperate to break the cocoon of intimacy that had settled over the patio table, Stella’s gaze settled on Aleki’s breakfast.
“How can you eat all of that?”
Aleki lifted a shoulder.
“Being the heir to the throne of a country is hard work. Carbo-loading is essential,” he joked.
“There’s three normal breakfasts on that plate. That’s not carbo-loading, it’s a fast-track to diabetes.”
“Lani spoils me when I’m home. Besides-” Aleki leaned back in his chair and patted his taut abdomen. “-I run.”
An indelicate snort escaped Stella before she could stop it.
“Chasing tail isn’t exactly on the approved-cardio list.”
“And yet it keeps my heart unquestionably safe,” Aleki smirked, sending her a playful wink.
Stella’s breath caught in her chest at his flirtatious tone. Desire cracked across the air between them as his hot, dark eyes locked on hers, sweeping away her controlled demeanor in a tide of rising heat. A slideshow of memories flashed through her mind as the moment rolled on - the rough burr of his furred chest against her cheek, her fingers locked in the thick, silky strands of his hair, the thrilling graze of his teeth against the tender skin of her neck.
Eyes blazing, Aleki half-stood from the table, one dark hand reaching for her. Cupping her cheek, his gaze bore through her, razing her good intentions to ashes in its wake.
“If you want to achieve anything today, you should leave the table now, fafine aulelei” he rasped. “Otherwise, the only place I’ll be escorting you is my bedroom.”
Lust throbbed deep in Stella’s core, reverberating outwards. Her nipples pebbled beneath her tank top, straining towards Aleki like a magnetic force. The hitch of her breath sawed through the still morning air. Nothing, nobody, had ever affected her like Aleki Esera.
“My Stella.” The soft words hung between them, guiding the path as Aleki moved forward, his eyes fixed on her lips.
That small motion was all it took to break the spell.
No, no, no, no, no!
Passion turned to panic, swirling through Stella like a tropical hurricane. She stumbled backwards, out of Aleki’s reach as her mind whirred.
This is what he does. He makes you feel special, but you’re not.
The blazing certainty cut through her like a knife, hot and hard. She had been burnt before, but not this time. Not again.
Avoiding his gaze, Stella did the only thing she could think of under the circumstances. She ran.
* * *