Aloha Honeybun

CHAPTER ONE-1

CHAPTER ONE

IF THEY STOOD VERY still, the sounds of the rainforest were like a soundtrack. Nature’s music swelled and faded around them, filled with the chorus of life that throbbed just beneath the surface everywhere they walked. It would have been easy to lose the song in the chaos of astounding visuals, but Alf Honeybun was determined to not only hear its magical tune, but to infuse it into his cells. Never to be forgotten.

“This probably isn’t the first jungle-type place you’ve been in,” Pleasance said with a grin.

“No. But it feels like the first. I never really experienced the last one, what with all the shooting and blood curdling screams of agony.”

They stood at the top of a rocky bluff, looking out over the dense green of an O’ahu rainforest. Behind them, the narrow path they’d hiked to gain the top wound back down, an unwelcome reminder that they couldn’t stay there forever.

“It’s so impossibly beautiful up here.” Pleasance frowned. “I should have brought my sketch book.”

Alf wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, nuzzling her thick fall of black hair. She smelled like the fresh flowers in her lei. Since they’d arrived on the island, he’d bought her a new one every morning. Once they were married and went back home, Alf was determined to have a lei made up for every anniversary. To bring back a taste of the pre-wedding honeymoon they’d been enjoying. “We’ll come back tomorrow. You can draw for as long as you want.”

She turned as he kissed her cheek. “What will you do while I sketch?”

“Navel gaze. I suspect there are many mysteries and conundrums in my navel. I’ve never had time to consider them all. It’ll be cathartic.”

She laughed, a throaty sound that made Alf’s body tighten with need. “So much drama in something so small.”

He winced. “Ouch! Be careful what you’re callin’ small, woman.”

She leaned into him, sliding her long fingers through his auburn hair. He’d let it grow over the last weeks and found himself enjoying the change. For one thing, Pleasance ran her fingers through it more often, and, coupled with the sand, sun and beauty of Hawaii, it made him free and happy in a way he hadn’t been since he was a kid.

The thoughts flitted through Alf’s mind in a flash. But all reflection disappeared as Pleasance’s soft lips found his. Heat flared from the spot where they touched and spiraled through him, swamping him with instant need.

Pleasance’s soft body molded to his. Her delectable scent encompassed him, driving desire a notch higher. When she made a soft sound of pleasure, need flashed hotter, turning to flame. His senses filled with her, his mind went hazy and the world melted away.

But not for long.

In the distance, a blood curdling scream disturbed the natural peace, ripping them brutally from the moment.

Alf started running, instinct sending him toward the sound before he had time to consider. “Stay here,” he yelled over his shoulder. Even as he said the words, he knew she wouldn’t listen. He wasn’t even surprised when he heard her pounding through the vegetation behind him.

A quarter mile down the path, Alf stopped, throwing out an arm to halt Pleasance. She pressed against his back, her hands on his shoulders and a soft panting sound disturbing the silence he’d hoped to probe.

No more screams rode the breeze to them. No other sounds filtered through the trees. He opened his mouth to tell her they needed to gather up their stuff when the distant growl of an engine stopped him. It sounded like a dirt bike, popular with locals and tourists alike to explore the maze of rainforest trails.

Alf took off running, not down the path as before, but toward the edge of the bluff. He stood on the precipice and looked out over the rainforest below. At first he saw nothing. Then a cloud of dust filtering through the trees drew his attention. The bike shot out from under a canopy of massive ferns, fishtailed for a beat, and then disappeared again. Alf scanned the landscape in the direction the dirt bike was traveling, realizing it was moving deeper into the rainforest.

He had a decision to make. He either followed the bike into the rainforest or they headed back to the hotel. Alf looked up at the sky and judged they had only a couple of hours before darkness started to fall. With nothing but a random scream to go on, Alf decided it made no sense to follow the recreational vehicle. “We should head back. The family will be arriving soon and they’ll wonder where we are.”

Pleasance nodded. “Good.” She eyed the uphill climb back to their stuff. “Tell me why we ran all this way downhill again?”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. “I was sure somebody was being terrorized. But I guess that scream could just as easily have been someone playing around.”

“Like you screaming girlishly when I jumped out at you last night?” Pleasance’s smile was smug. She’d enjoyed sneaking up on him way too much.

“It was barely a scream. Besides, when I told you I wanted to play, that was so not what I had in mind. I was in a different place.”

“Mm-hmm. You shrieked like a girl in a room full of snakes.”

“I did not.” He tugged her close with an arm around her neck and rubbed his knuckles over her head.

She laughed, trying to get loose. “Stop that. Juvenile.”

Alf tugged her down the path. “We’ll get our stuff tomorrow when we come back up. I bet Clovis and Emma will want to come too.”

Pleasance blew a raspberry, letting herself be drawn down the mountain. “Clovis maybe. But I’m guessing Emma will be doing some pool time along with Angie and Fabulous. Single mothers do not look for new ways to expend energy when they find themselves in paradise.”

“Point taken.”

They were half a mile down the path when Alf noticed a wide area of smashed greenery alongside the path. He crouched down to examine a glossy spot in the center of a wide leaf. His pulse picked up and dread bloomed. Praying his suspicions were wrong, Alf touched the wet spot and lifted his fingers to examine them. Dark red blood coated the tips.

“Alf?”

He did a visual scan and found a rock nearby, its sharp edge covered in blood and a few strands of dark hair.

“Alf?”

He stood, dreading what he was going to have to tell her. “I’m afraid I’m not going back to the hotel just yet.” When he finally looked at Pleasance he saw that she was holding up a small backpack. It had blood spatters across the front. “Someone was attacked here,” she told him. Her dark blue eyes were hard with rage. “Some bastard attacked a woman.”

He took the backpack and opened it, finding proof that her suspicion was dead on. Along with a lace-trimmed tank top and a very short pair of cut-off jeans, Alf found a bottle of water and some power bars, a utility knife and a cell phone. He tried the phone and found it dead. “Looks like a serious hiker.”

“Too bad she didn’t have that knife handy.”

He nodded. “I need to go after her. I want you to go back to the hotel and get my brothers.”

She c****d a hip, crossing her arms over her chest. Oh, oh. Alf knew that look. “I’m not doing any such thing. You’re not going to face this asshat alone.”

“Honey, I’m trained for this and you’re not.”

Her jaw tightened and her spectacular blue gaze narrowed. They stared at each other for a long moment. He had only one more card to play. But he wasn’t hopeful it would work. “My family will be worried. I need you to tell them where I am.”

“Yeah, you see, that’s the problem. By the time I get there, talk to them, they pull together supplies and set back out it will, A, be dark and B, be impossible to find you again.” She shook her head. “I’m sticking with you, Honeybun. Deal with it.”

Sighing, he nodded. “Okay, but we need to hurry. He’s making good time on that bike and we still need to climb up and get our stuff.”

She frowned.

“If we’re going after this guy we’re going to need supplies.”

“You’re right. Okay, let’s go. I guess I’m going to find out how much good all that running with you has done me.”

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