Author Mary Ting

Something Amazing (Spin-off of Something Great Series)

January 11, 2015

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Something Amazing (Spin-off of Something Great Series)

Coming January 12, 2015

Chapter 2

Rachel

            “So, he just ignored you?” I asked, feeling stunned. In my opinion, Stacey was gorgeous. She had full, pouty lips with beautiful green eyes, not to mention a great body. Hers boobs alone could turn heads. As for me, I had a nice set, but they weren’t like Stacey’s.

            “No, he spoke to me. But he excused himself to do laps because he had to be somewhere soon. Then he ignored me to swim.”

            “Forget him. If he’d rather swim than hang out with you, then he’s not worth your time.” I paused. “Maybe he’s gay.”

            Stacey practically blew bubbles into her straw and pulled out to laugh. “Oh my God! Maybe…right? ‘Cause who could resist my red hair and these breasts?” She jiggled them slightly.

            She was right, though. Wearing a low-cut sundress, you could see she sure knew how to flaunt them. Since we were waiting at the bar to be seated for dinner, we had decided to order drinks. There was a long waiting list at Ocean Front restaurant-bar, and I could easily understand why. Topped with straw like roofing, it gave a casual feel to the atmosphere, not to mention the picture perfect view of the beach. Settled on the upper deck, it felt like we were drifting on the water since there were no walls, and soft Hawaiian instrumental music filled the air, making me relax with euphoria.
            “Ladies, your table is almost ready.” The hostess smiled. One thing about Kauai, everyone seemed so relaxed.    

“Thanks,” I replied.

She turned to wave at someone. “Hendrix, you taking the night shift?”

            The name caught my attention. I whipped around to see a tall man, perhaps in his late twenties. He had dark, curly hair, and was wearing a T-shirt and shorts just like the other waiters. He looked tired, but he seemed happy and in good spirits.

            “Yup. Dan got sick so I’m covering for him. That’s what happens when you own your own place. Work never ends.” He waved to the other customers, entered after opening the swinging door, and came straight for us. “Hello, beautiful ladies. What can I get for you?”

            “We’re fine, thank you.” I was excited to sort of know someone on this island. “Hendrix, do you know Matthew Knight?”

            Hendrix paused to examine me. “You must be the off limits future sister-in-law, Rachel Miller.” He offered his hand to shake, and after briefly gripping it, I let go.

            Huh? Off limits? “I’m Rachel, but I’m not off limits. Did Matthew say something to you?” I narrowed my eyes at him in disapproval, even though it was directed at Matthew. Poor Hendrix. That’s what he got for being in the middle.

            “I’m afraid so. It’s too bad.” He winked and picked up a towel to dry the glasses with. “He described you to a ‘T’ though. Pretty, brown hair just past shoulder-length, about five-foot-five, beautiful hazel eyes.”

            I was pretty sure Matthew didn’t use the words pretty and beautiful. “Anyway. This is my friend, Stacey.” I needed to divert the attention away from my blushing face.

            “Stacey.” His eyes grew hungry, taking in her beauty and her body. He shook her hand and kissed it slowly…tenderly, as if almost making love to it. I think I saw Stacey shudder and heard her exhale a soft whimper.

            “Hi.” She lacked words, watching as he placed her hand down.

            “You’re not off limits, are you?” Hendrix asked with a flirtatious tone, leaning closer with his arms crossed on the counter.

            “No. Not at all.”

            “Good.”

            “So,” I broke in. It was getting awkward watching them stare at each other like they were secretly making out in their minds. “What else did Matthew say?”

            “I have to make sure you don’t date guys like me. I can be very naughty, but with the right woman, I can be very…damn…wicked.” His tone was smooth and seductive, but those words were not for me. His eyes were still pierced on Stacey’s. Hearing Stacey release a lustful sigh, I knew he had her hooked, reeling her in with his good looks and charm.

            “It’s raining,” Stacey said out loud all of sudden.     

Rain splashed on us, only it wasn’t rain.

“Did you see me, Hendrix?” a deep, manly voice asked, causing all sorts of tingles in me just from the sound of his voice.

            “Ugh.” Hendrix wiped his face and gave each of us a towel. “Must you flip your hair and shake like a dog? No, I didn’t see you.” He sounded annoyed, then softened his tone when he turned to us. “I was too busy staring at these two beautiful ladies in front of me. One that is off limits and the other one that needs a lot of hands on.”

            Stacey blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl. Since my back was to this stranger, my face didn’t get as wet as theirs, but when I peered up after I wiped myself off…holy shit! It was the guy from the swimming pool.

            Our eyes locked for the first time, but neither of us looked away. In fact, his dark chocolate eyes grew, and small dimples appeared on both of his cheeks when his lips curled wider. His stare was so strong and intense that he might as well have fucked me with it. All sorts of butterflies fluttered in my stomach and spread to every nerve in my body, sending electrifying tingles everywhere. And seeing stubble along his strong jawline produced another shudder within me.

            “Hi there.” His grin got wider and hotter. “Sorry about that.” He sounded sincere. When he leaned closer to my ear, my heart drummed faster, and I lost my breath. Heat infused through me, and I was trying really hard to compose myself. Before I could move away, he whispered slowly and sensually, “Did I make you wet? I can fix that for you.” His words came out hot and playful, intended only for me to hear, each word accentuated with warm puffs in my ear.

I wanted to say yes as my body gravitated toward him when he backed away. His words traveled down to my sex, where he had already made me wet from the first sight of him. I wanted more of this feeling, but quickly snapped out of the trance when a warm breeze took the place where he had stood.

            What the hell just happened? He did not ask me that question. Cocky! Knowing there was a double entendre behind those words, I shot my eyes down without answering only to see him shirtless. That was a huge mistake. Droplets of water streamed down from his hair, falling to his tanned broad shoulders, to his ripped chest, down to his six-pack abs, and stopping at the low waistband of his black swim trunks. If his body looked like this, I wondered how hard and long he would be under the swim trunks. Continuous naughty thoughts filled my mind. Seeing such a sight was like peaking for an orgasm, but unable to reach it…mind boggling torture.

My insides twitched and my nipples hardened instantly. While my body gravitated toward him, my mind engaged in thoughts of how he could take me on the bar. My body wanted him, but I wasn’t going to be swooned by this arrogant stranger who was bold enough to ask me that question at our first meeting.

Holding a long surfboard with his left hand, the other extended for me to shake. That arm was tattooed with what appeared to be waves of the ocean. Thick black lines weaved up and down, coinciding with the second and third line. In fact, it was not the only tattoo. I was sure of that when I saw a glimpse of something near his waistband…the waistband my dirty mind imagined pulling down.

I had never dated a guy with a tattoo, but I had always been fascinated by guys that had them. When I had asked a few, there was always a special story to tell, so I wondered what his was.

“My name is Jackson, but some people call me Jax.”

I hated that even his name added another tremor to the depth of my core. “Rachel,” I murmured. However, I wasn’t sure he’d heard it. When I didn’t shake his hand, Stacey poked my thigh. What the hell? I finally offered him my hand.

Seizing it, his grip was strong and warm. It was a nice shake, but I snapped out of it when I realized he was holding it longer than a normal handshake. Darn it! I let him, and I enjoyed it.

            His eyes shifted to my friend. “Stacey, right?”

            “Yes. We ran into each other at the pool. Are you staying there?”

            “I spent the night there, but no, I’m not.” He said it casually, as if it was no big deal…maybe it wasn’t. A one-night stand? I wouldn’t mind a one-night stand with him, but I didn’t know how I would feel afterward since I was not the one-night stand type of girl.

            Hendrix came back after attending to a few customers. “Did you come here for something?” His question was directed toward Jax.

            Jax didn’t look at Hendrix when he replied; instead, his eyes were bored on mine. “I didn’t, but I found something I like.”

            “Then help your big bro out and work at the bar. We’re shorthanded today.”

            They were brothers? Now that I knew, I could see the resemblance.

            “Sure, why not? I think I’ll stick around.”

            “I have a T-shirt in the back room. Put it on.”

            “Yes, boss. But no T-shirt could get you more business…just saying.” Jax raised a brow.

            “I don’t need more business. Hurry up and dry off.” Hendrix’s tone was stern but you could feel the love between the brothers.

            “Jax, you’re working today?” The hostess smiled, the kind of smile where only a woman could tell she wanted to fuck him.

            “Hey, Liz. Yes I am. I found a reason to stay.” Jax’s eyes flashed to mine when he said the last sentence. Instead of smiling and gushing from his compliment, I looked away. I didn’t want to be that kind of girl, all fake and incoherent in front of a hot guy.

            Liz giggled, twirling her hair around her index finger, then snapped out of it when Hendrix cleared his throat.

            “Maybe you shouldn’t work here. You cause too much distraction.” Hendrix smacked Jax on his back to get him going, then looked over his shoulder to Stacey. “I’ll be right back.”

            “Oh.” Liz jerked, snapping out from a stupor. “Ladies, your table is ready.” She led the way.

            After a couple of steps, I was forced to turn to see who had tugged my elbow. Jax’s body was way too close to mine. It didn’t help that his chest was inches away from my hand. It took every ounce of my willpower not to wipe away the water droplets that were still streaming down his chest, but I was doing it in my mind. When I peered up to ask him why he’d stopped me, I couldn’t because my eyes had stopped at his lickable lips. “Yes?” I managed to finally breathe the one word out of my mouth.

            “Next time, don’t run away. You didn’t give me a chance to introduce myself at the pool.”

            He noticed me then? How could he have? We never once even met eye-to-eye. He was making it up, I was sure of it, so I decided to test him. “I wasn’t running away. You didn’t even see me.”

            “Yes I did. That black bikini suited you well. You were afraid of me so you left.”

            I let out a big, fake laugh and blushed at the same time. I was certain my cheeks turned red. “You’re full of yourself, aren’t you? Mister…Mister ….” Had he said his last name? Why couldn’t I remember? What could I call him? Then I said the first thing that popped in my mind, recalling his board. “Mr. Surfer.”

            “Mr. Surfer?” He laughed. Those cute dimples appeared again, taming my anger toward him just for a second. “Now, that’s a first.”

            “Maybe there will be a lot of firsts with me,” I challenged. Oh crap! I wanted to take back what I’d said.

            “Maybe, or maybe there will be a lot of firsts with me.”

            I raised a brow. “I doubt that.”

            “We can test that theory over dinner.”

            “No, thanks.”

            “Afraid again?”

            I wanted to be nice to him since he was Hendrix’s younger brother, but it wasn’t working. I didn’t care who he was. “No, not afraid. I just don’t like what I see.” I made it obvious that I was checking him out, and I was pretty sure I burst his ego when he arched his brows in surprise. As his grip on me loosened, I slid my arm down and walked away.

            When I heard a soft chuckle behind me, I knew he’d enjoyed my comment. That laugh told me not only did he find my words amusing, he might have seen it as a challenge. This was not over.