Daisy Harris Gods of Hawaii 01 Lei'd by the Shark

Gods of Hawaii 1

Lei’d by the Shark

When Stilton Resorts sends Aaron Enomoto to build a megaresort
in the sleepy Hawaiian town of Halana, he finds the region more

complicated than he'd imagined. The roads are bad, the housing
primitive. The only good thing about the area is a sexy local who
becomes his tour guide and then his lover.

The son of a Hawaiian shark god, Jake Kalani wants to protect the
region from those who would destroy the natural landscape and its

close-knit community. He doesn't want to trust Aaron, but his
father insists. The god Ku-Hai-Moana forces them together,

demanding that Jake join forces with the handsome outsider.

Aaron's not sure what's seducing him more—the island's magic or

the sexy Jake. But in finding a paradise worth defending, Aaron
also discovers that love requires jumping in with both feet.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal
Length: 27,090 words

LEI’D BY THE SHARK

Gods of Hawaii 1

Daisy Harris

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

LEI’D BY THE SHARK
Copyright © 2012 by Daisy Harris
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-538-9

First E-book Publication: April 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Lei'd by the Shark by Daisy Harris
from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also,
thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
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The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying
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This is Daisy Harris’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect
Ms. Harris’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

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DEDICATION

Thanks to Danica Avet and Brien Michaels, who fielded all my

e-mails.

And thanks to my loving husband, who always knows the best

places on the planet to go, even if he has to drag me there kicking and
screaming.

LEI’D BY THE SHARK

Gods of Hawaii 1

DAISY HARRIS

Prologue

“Have you heard about the shark god?” six-year-old Aaron

Enomoto asked his father the second his family had been seated for
dinner. “Mr. Kealoha says there was a shark god named Kauhuhu
who helped Kamolo get revenge on his people and killed a whole
village! He led them to the sea and swallowed them whole!”

Torches lit the outdoor dining area at the Waikiki Kailua Lani,

and the evening breeze cooled Aaron’s sunburned shoulders. He
watched his father, bursting with expectation. “Isn’t that cool?”

His father glanced at his mother with a raised eyebrow. It was a

common expression in the Enomoto family. “That’s an interesting
story. So you learned about Hawaiian myths today?” He looked over
Aaron’s head to talk to Aaron’s mother and said, “I thought the camp
counselors were going to help him with his winter break homework.”

Aaron’s mom smiled. She mussed Aaron’s hair and petted his

cheek. “I think it’s an exciting story.” To Aaron’s father, she said,
“Why visit Hawaii if we’re not going to learn a little about the place?”

Aaron’s father buried his attention in his food, though his mother

asked, “What else did you learn?”

Grinning at the chance to say more on the topic, Aaron launched

into what Mr. Kealoha had told the group at the resort day camp.

Lei’d by the Shark

“Another shark god married a lady in the Waipio Valley, and she had
a son who could turn into a shark! He’s a good shark and he helps
people.” Aaron thought about Mr. Kealoha and another big smile
stretched his face. The counselor was smart, and handsome, and
really, really nice.

His father snickered into his food. “At least Japanese myths make

sense.” He said it under his breath, but Aaron still felt the sting. His
dad told Japanese stories sometimes, but Aaron had only been to
Japan once. Other than their annual trip to Hawaii, Aaron had lived
his whole life in their suburb of San Diego.

“They do not!” Aaron’s mother made him feel better by laughing.

Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, his mom was from a place called
Oregon. She talked about Oregon a lot, but Aaron had never been
there. “No myth makes any more sense than another.” She plucked a
sweet roll out of the basket in the middle of the table and buttered it.

“I t’ink da shark god is da best.” Aaron caught himself mimicking

Mr. Kealoha and stumbled to correct himself before his father would
scold him. “I think the shark god is the best,” he said clearly. Then he
lamely added, “The best myff.”

His father sighed. He put down his fork and leveled a stern look at

his mother. “I told you we shouldn’t use that daycare.”

Aaron tried not to be scared. He loved going to the daycare camp.

They did crafts and drew pictures.

“It’s only ten days.” His mom spoke patiently at his father. “What

could happen?”

His dad’s face softened into a smile for his wife, and he

grudgingly shared one with Aaron too. He held up a finger Aaron’s
way, commanding attention. “Just make sure to do your homework.”
He paused, turning back to his food. “And speak English.” He shot
Aaron’s mom a teasing smile. “Or Japanese.”

Aaron nodded, making sure his dad knew he understood. Then

when everyone had gone back to eating, he took a chance and asked,
“Can I tell you more about the sharks, dad?”

10 Daisy

Harris

His father took a sip of his wine. “Maybe on the plane ride home.”

Lei’d by the Shark

Chapter One

Thirty-year-old Aaron Enomoto, newly promoted Project

Manager for Stilton Resorts, studied the surf and categorized all the
players on the beach break. There was always a hierarchy, and on the
North Shore of Maui the unspoken laws seemed more complex than
on the beaches of San Diego where he grew up.

He scanned the guys straddling their boards and looked for the

most intimidating ones, the guys most likely to be locals. As he
expected, they were at the head of the lineup awaiting the first choice
of waves. Aaron watched the leader—broadest of shoulder—drop in.
The guys further down the reef kept their distance.

Aaron strode into the water and bent to float his board on the

foamy water. The ocean swirled around his legs, warm enough he
didn’t need a wetsuit. He lay flat on the gritty deck and started
paddling. When a wave rose up to meet him, Aaron pressed into a
duck dive. The salty coolness washed over his skin like a baptism.
Then he was out where he wanted to be, jockeying for the best
location amidst the surfers.

A group of kids looked him over appraisingly and backed off

enough to give him space. And when a swell rose behind him, Aaron
lay down to paddle into the wave. He dropped into the wall of water,
popping up to stand.

In a rush of exhilaration, Aaron felt like the world belonged to

him. He didn’t need to worry about the stress of his job, or the
douchebag who had come in his mouth and then dissed him the
previous week. Nothing mattered except the ocean flying by and the
curve of his board under his feet.

12 Daisy

Harris

He twisted his body for a cutback, and a shape launched at him

from above. Aaron ducked flat on the board trying for a turtle roll to
protect himself, but the ocean swallowed him in one large gulp. Aaron
tucked into a ball and waited for gravity to make sense again. Bubbles
rolled in wild circles and salt burned his eyes. In a moment of terror,
he saw black volcanic rock floor speeding toward his face. But
something huge and smooth swept against his side, pushing him away
from the reef. Aaron flipped to see what it was, and his heart thumped
hard in his chest.

A fin flashed and a distinctly shaped tail whipped. Aaron kicked

like his life depended on it before the shark could turn around. He
broke through the surface, gasping and searching for his board. By
some magical force, it was right by his head, and he dragged up and
rolled onto it. He lay faceup in the scorching sun, as if he could hide
from the underwater predator.

Holy mother of fuck! Everyone knew Hawaiian waters had sharks,

but he’d never seen one on his trips to in Waikiki. And the damn thing
had touched him! Aaron tried to stay loose. He didn’t want any of the
other guys to think he’d gotten shaken just from being dumped.

“’Eh! You okay?”
Aaron turned in the direction of the voice. A local guy headed

over, his Samoan-sized shoulders bunching as he paddled. All Aaron
had seen of the dude who’d landed on him was a shock of dark hair
and brown skin, but he suspected the man paddling his direction was
the culprit. “I saw a shark, man. You better watch out.”

The guy sat up on his board, spreading his legs wide to straddle.

His thick calves hung over the edges of his ride, and he batted the
water with his feet. He crossed his arms in disbelief. “Nah, you
probably saw wrong.” He seemed more amused than pissed. “There’s
no sharks around here.”

“Whatever.” Aaron frowned. He hated being contradicted. “I

don’t care if your ass gets eaten.” He shifted onto his belly and peered

Lei’d by the Shark

over the edge of his board. Now that he wasn’t flipping around
underwater, it did seem unlikely he’d seen a shark.

“You wan’ eat my ass, yeah?” The guy pumped his eyebrows

once, the barest hint of a smile tugging his full lips.

Aaron blinked, hoping his mouth wasn’t hanging wide open. He

wasn’t sure whether the guy was picking a fight or hitting on him.
“You wish.” He shifted his attention to another part of the break and
started paddling.

A board streamed next to his. Local Guy blew Aaron a kiss that

was equal parts frightening and sexy. There was a laugh in his voice
when he called over, “Maybe I do, City Boy.”

The guy pulled away, letting Aaron find a new spot among the

boards. Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron saw Local Dude talking
with his friends. He couldn’t stop checking the guy out. No doubt
about it, Hawaiian Guy was hot. He may not have been one hundred
percent Hawaiian native, but he sure seemed like he was at least part.

His features were hard and square, and there was a quickness to

the slant of his eyes. Despite his impossibly broad shoulders and
chest, he narrowed sexily at the hips. His legs were like twin tree
trunks.

The more Aaron thought about the exchange, the more he had to

admit it—Beach King was flirting. Aaron smiled, kicking at the water
beneath his board. Somehow, flirting with a stranger was more
exciting when he wasn’t at a club or somewhere gay-centric. Maybe
straight people took chance encounters for granted. But for Aaron,
each time it happened was like finding a pearl in an oyster.

It didn’t take him long to realize he wasn’t going to surf anymore.

Real or imagined, the shark encounter had worn him out. So Aaron let
a wave take him into shore. The sun hovered on the horizon by the
time he lifted his board under his arm to carry it up the beach.

After shoving his feet into sandals, Aaron trudged toward the bed-

and-breakfast where he was staying. Stilton Hotels didn’t have a

14 Daisy

Harris

location on the North Shore, so Aaron had booked his own
accommodations.

He passed a convenience store and stopped inside to grab a sports

drink. The place was stocked with wine, sodas, sandwiches, and
chips—everything a guy could want after a day on the beach. Though
he didn’t want to think about work, Aaron considered whether Stilton
might want to open a similar business nearby.

“Dat all?” The cashier looked up from Aaron’s lone, blue bottle.
“Yeah. Just that.” Aaron resisted the draw of the banana bread,

stacked in moist, plastic-wrapped slices on the counter. Aaron
wouldn’t fit in his size-twenty-eight jeans for long if he indulged his
taste for snack foods. “Thanks.” He smiled at the lady, giving her a
respectful duck of the head. Knowing the older woman would
appreciate it, he added a thank-you in Hawaiian. “Mahalo.”

She smiled and turned to the next customer, but Aaron couldn’t

help a little twinge of pride he felt at making her happy.

A quick shower and an energy bar later, Aaron decided to check

in with work. The B and B had a computer in the open central area.
Like most accommodations of its kind, the place was run by a lady
with too many cats and too little design sense. Faded wallpaper
clashed with the island-style couch. Not a single chair or piece of
furniture matched. The B and B didn’t even have a website. Aaron
thought it was a miracle anyone stayed there at all.

He clicked on the ancient machine. With more than a little

trepidation, he logged on to the remote server. Over two hundred e-
mails strained his inbox. The most recent ones were in all caps,
demanding to know why Aaron hadn’t yet checked his mail.

He sighed and pulled his smartphone out of his pocket. Damn.

He’d thought that since he had cell service, he would also receive his
mail. But his phone was only running the extended network—the one
that didn’t have enough bandwidth to pull things off the web.

Groaning, Aaron worked his way through the messages. The first

few were general, asking about his schedule for building the 359-

Lei’d by the Shark

room and 450-Villa megaresort. Everyone wanted information on
how to reach him once Aaron got to the building site in Halana.

Later e-mails were from his supervisor, Paul. A project this size

required near-constant oversight from the San Diego office. What’s
more, Paul was pissed that Aaron had gotten promoted. He asked a
hundred questions, no doubt waiting for Aaron to fuck something up.
Those replies were easy to field. He’d created detailed itineraries for
every step of the project. All he had to do was copy them to the right
parties.

Then he got to the last flurry of messages, all sent a few hours

earlier. The whole slew of them had the same subject line. It read
“Problem.”

He started at the beginning and read the message forwarded by his

boss. Apparently the winter rains had washed out a section of the
Halana Coast Highway and the road crew fixing the area was running
behind schedule.

Aaron pressed a few fingers into his temple. It was fucking

typical. He forced his frustration to the back of his mind and assured
first his boss, then his assistant, then every other person who’d e-
mailed him that he would talk to the road crew and get things back on
schedule. He was already on Maui, after all, and only a couple hours
from the remote town of Halana. It couldn’t be that hard to pay off
whoever needed paying off. And if that didn’t work, he might be able
to fly in some additional workers.

It was dark by the time Aaron got his mailbox down to a

reasonable number of messages and logged out of his account. He
considered surfing over to World of Warcraft and checking in with his
guild, but it was pointless. Aaron couldn’t trust his Internet
connection while he was in Maui. He frowned, feeling lonely without
his online friends. His guild was just going to have to schedule raids
without him.

16 Daisy

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A line had formed for the computer—or what passed for a line in

that rural part of Hawaii. Two surfer kids sat on the hideous couches
and cast furtive looks Aaron’s way.

When he stood from the desk, one of the kids waved and said

“T’anks,” dropping the H as if he’d never been off the islands, though
his college sweatshirt read Michigan State.

Aaron rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome.”
The kid took a seat and then called over his shoulder to his

girlfriend still on the couch. “You want to go to The Reef tonight?”

“Maybe. It’s Queer Night, if it matters.” She didn’t look up from

her celebrity gossip rag as she said it, nor did she use any inflection
that said she was passing judgment. Both kids wore dreadlocks and
tie-dyed T-shirts. They seemed like the liberal type not to care one
way or another if a person was gay.

“Oh, I thought that was Thursday.” The kid leaned in to the screen

so that the light reflected in his glasses.

Aaron overheard the girl saying, “It is Thursday, you stoner!” as

Aaron took his leave through the unbearably tacky beaded curtain that
served as a door.

When he got to his room, Aaron perched on his bed and peered at

the small TV sitting on a peeling, wood-veneer dresser. With only a
ceiling fan for cooling, humidity seeped into furniture and bedding.
That’s why Stilton hotels always insisted on air-conditioning in every
room, even common areas partially open to the outside. Paradise was
better with a little climate control.

Flicking on the TV, Aaron scrolled through a few channels. The

place didn’t have cable. He snorted and tossed the remote onto the
nightstand. They definitely weren’t going to have any pay-per-view,
and Aaron would have to whack off without so much as a picture of a
hot guy to look at. He stared longingly at his tablet computer, sitting
sad and unused next to the inferior, and yet more functional,
television. He logged on to his company’s server from that machine,
so Aaron was too paranoid to store any porn.

Lei’d by the Shark

He stood from the bed and opened his suitcase looking for clothes

suitable for Queer Night in bumfuck nowhere. It was crazy to think he
could get any action in the hippie backwater, but his chances were
better outside his room. And anyway, he chuckled to himself, it might
be fun to see what passed as Queer Night in a town full of surfers, and
surfing-adjacent businesses.

In fact, Aaron thought as he pulled out a shirt that hugged his

frame, maybe he could expense the foray—call it “research” for a
possible gay-night at the new hotel.

He checked himself in the mirror on his way out. Aaron didn’t

bother with product since his haircut alone shouted City Boy—just
like the local guy said. Hell, he probably spent more at one visit to the
salon than most people in the area spent in a year. In a lifetime if you
counted the folks with dreadlocks.

His phone made a plaintive buzzing sound, signaling that it had

once again lost the tower signal. With a slump of his shoulders, Aaron
added build a new cell tower to the growing list of things Stilton
would have to do in order to get the new resort up and running.

The list only grew as Aaron walked to the bar instead of driving.

The streets were pitch black. A truck’s lights glared in the distance,
and Aaron clambered as far as he could into the tall grass by the side
of the road to avoid getting mowed down.

The big, black truck screamed by, not even slowing. Aaron made

a mental note to ask his boss about installing streetlights. Then he
tentatively stepped back into the road and continued walking.

As he neared the town, a sidewalk lined the street, making Aaron

feel a hell of a lot safer. The town’s lights looked surprisingly bright
against the black of the island, and the deep blue of the ocean. Though
it was only eight, the sidewalks buzzed with life. Paiela’s shops all
had faux-Western storefronts, but were painted pastels or rainbow.
People hung out on the streets, talking and bragging about waves.

The Reef dominated a corner in the center of the five-block

“town.” An outdoor seating area wrapped around the outside, bridging

18 Daisy

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the gap between indoors and out. Patrons with beers in their hands sat
on the log-beam railings, leaning over to talk to friends outside.
Anyone who passed on the sidewalk seemed to know someone inside,
so there was something of a crowd gathered.

Aaron neared with trepidation. His jeans felt too tailored, his shirt

too ostentatious. He couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the guys
hanging over the railing were smoking hot. Yeah, a lot of them were
hairy, and possibly smelly, but Aaron steeled his nerves. He got
plenty of coiffed and groomed tail in back home. After all—he
smiled—there was no point of traveling if he wasn’t going to learn a
little about the place.

Lei’d by the Shark

Chapter Two

Jake lifted his beer to his lips. Behind his glass, he furtively

scanned the bar. He didn’t know why Eli and Kono had felt the need
to tag along to Queer Night. He didn’t know much about either of
their love lives but since he’d screwed pretty much every gay boy on
his side of the island, he figured neither one of them swung his
direction.

“You look for that malihini?”
Jake spared Kono a scowl. His friend called anyone whose

ancestors hadn’t paddled there from Polynesia a newcomer. And City
Boy could perfectly well be from Honolulu.

“I’m not looking for anyone.” Jake wasn’t going to give the guys

a reason to rib him. They’d expected him to give the guy who stole
his wave a stern warning, and maybe a swift backhand. But neither of
them had seen that beautiful body thrashing underwater and heading
into the rocks. They certainly hadn’t seen the malihini blush a dusky
pink at the mention of eating Jake’s ass.

Another sip of beer covered Jake’s eyes long enough for him to

check the door. City Boy stood there—all decked out in fancy, big-
city clothes that made Jake’s mouth water to bite them off. He was
pretty as fuck. Bigger than Jake remembered—having mostly seen
him chest-down in a surfboard—and taller than his Japanese face
would have predicted. He was a couple inches taller than Jake, and
whip-thin. Jake smiled behind his glass.

“There he is,” Eli said, stating what Jake already knew.
“Yeah.” Jake turned back to his drink. “I’m tired.” He moved to

stand, planning to ditch Kono and Eli once they left the parking lot. It

20 Daisy

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was juvenile to fake them out and double back to the bar, but Jake
didn’t need his friends knowing every time he got laid.

Kono patted Jake’s shoulder, pressing him into his seat. “Don’t

wanna cramp your style, brah. Play nice, yeah?” He stood and
gestured toward the door, and Eli followed. Jake’s friends passed City
Boy on their way out, running smirks and glances over his body.
Kono looked over his shoulder at Jake and winked.

Jake turned back to his beer, shaking his head. He glanced at City

Boy for only a second, but then silently urged him to come closer. He
expanded his magical energy until he felt the tickle of the guy’s
excitement caught in his net. Jake tugged, turning toward the guy as
he neared. He made sure not to grin too wide or show too many teeth.

The guy stopped a few stools away. He leaned over the bar to call

out his order, but Jake held up a few fingers, drawing the server’s
attention. Then he asked just loud enough for City Boy to hear. “You
want a drink?”

City Boy huffed out a shrug of assent. He rolled his eyes as if to

say, “I guess there’s no way to avoid it,” and swerved around the
stools to lean against the one Eli had warmed. “You buying?” He
lifted the corner of his mouth into a smirk, his eyes sparkling in
challenge. “Is that to make up for nearly killing me?”

Jake chuckled under his breath. “No.” Truth was, he had meant to

share the ride with City Boy, maybe use it as an excuse for a high five
and a beer after. But Jake had miscalculated, zigged when City Boy
zagged. Ah well—even half gods made mistakes. “Just treating you to
some local hospitality.” He patted the stool right under City Boy’s
butt, telling him to sit.

City Boy leaned over the bar to give his order, sticking out his

very fine ass. “Seven and Seven,” he told the girl who was tending
bar.

She looked at him confused, as if she was trying to remember how

to make the drink, but then she nodded. “Sure.” She turned to Jake,
“Another beer?”

Lei’d by the Shark

He downed the rest of his bottle. “Yeah, thanks.” Jake shot her a

grin. She blushed as she spun around to get their drinks.

“So, is there where I’m supposed to ask if you come here often?”

City Boy cocked an elbow on bar, his eyes sliding to half-lidded.

Jake could tell City Boy had switched into cruising mode, but

Jake didn’t mind. It was cute. “I like the atmosphere.” He winked.
“I’m Jake, by the way. “ He held out his hand.

City Boy studied the hand in front of him for a split second before

shaking it. “Aaron.” His grip was almost too firm, as if he was
pointing out that just because Jake had thirty pounds on him he wasn’t
necessarily planning to play bottom.

“You having a nice vacation, Aaron?” Jake loved getting laid in

Paiela. The tourists tended to stay long enough for a second go-round.
Plus, a lot of people who made it that far off the beaten track were
looking for more than one type of adventure.

The handsome newcomer did that shrug-and-eye-roll thing again,

as if he was letting something wash off his skin. “Yeah. S’been nice.”
He settled onto his stool.

They made small talk while they drank, and when Jake ordered

another round, Aaron’s smirk shifted into a coy smile. “Thanks.”

Jake rotated his stool so that his thigh was in range for Aaron to

get it in between his legs.

As he had with Jake’s hand, Aaron surveyed the leg for an instant

before splaying his own on either side. Then, with a bold grin, he
stood, so that the fly of his jeans skimmed Jake’s denim.

Thin stripes of red rode high on Aaron’s cheekbones. His jawline

was sharp enough to cut glass. And his lips… Jake couldn’t stop
looking at them. His mouth was small, but perfectly formed, and his
lips pink and damp.

The bar swirled around them, lively but mellow enough Jake

wouldn’t make out in public. He tilted his head to hum in Aaron’s ear.
“Wanna go down to the beach?” He couldn’t help the roughness of

22 Daisy

Harris

his voice, or the heavier accent he slipped into when horny. His cock
pulsed to life inside his worn jeans, itching against fabric as it filled.

“Yeah.” Aaron stumbled back, seeming to remember he was in a

bar in a small town, not at a club in the city. “Sure. You got a car?”

“Yeah.” Jake swiped his fingers along Aaron’s spine as they

walked, resting his touch at the small of the other man’s back.

“A black truck? Why am I not surprised?” Aaron surveyed Jake’s

muddy, jacked-up Nissan.

Jake clunked open his door and climbed inside, and then he leaned

across the bench to pop the lock on the passenger side. When Aaron
climbed in, Jake hooked a palm around the back of Aaron’s neck.
Now it was Jake’s turn to pause—to study the clean, smooth planes of
Aaron’s face—before he slanted his mouth for a kiss.

Aaron sighed and went soft as butter, his lips tender and sweet.

Aaron’s kiss was nothing like his edgy urban manner, and the
juxtaposition made Jake’s half-hardness stiffen into a club in his
pants. “You keep kissing like that and we’ll be getting naked right
here, yeah?” He peeked around Aaron’s head at the folks trying not to
look their way on the sidewalk.

Snickering, Aaron pulled back. “Don’t want that. Yet.” He smiled

out the window—watching the moon rise. A river of white danced
from where the orb touched the water.

Jake turned the ignition and shifted the truck in gear. He tossed his

arm along the seat behind Aaron’s shoulders and peered behind him
to back out. Then he eased them the short distance down the road to
the beach where a line of cars and trucks were already parked, their
occupants getting high or making out. He’d barely cut the engine
when Aaron launched from his side onto Jake’s lap.

“’Ey.” Jake bustled the pile of man away from his balls, working

to get Aaron’s hard knees on the outside where they belonged. “Easy,
Aar.” The short name slid easily from his lips, and Jake pretended the
handsome city boy was his guy, and that they’d driven to the beach
for a romantic nut.

Lei’d by the Shark

“C’mon.” Aaron worked the buttons of Jake’s fly, his hands hot

and insistent. He ran his lips over Jake’s neck, down to his collarbone.
He shifted just enough to get Jake’s cock free, and moaned when it
landed in his palm.

Jake pumped up into that hot fist, growling his approval. “Yeah.

Yours, too.” He dragged a finger over the seam of Aaron’s pants,
testing the hard ridge beneath. “Take it out.” Jake loved telling a guy
what to do during sex, and Aaron—with his fancy clothes and hair—
seemed just the type to like putting on a show.

“Too lazy to do it yourself?” There was a hint of attitude in

Aaron’s grin, but that didn’t stop him from shimmying his jeans off
his hips. The dusky head of his cock plumped over the elastic of his
briefs. Then he shoved the burgundy underwear lower, under the
curve of his balls. They were high and tight already. Aaron tugged
them down before taking a firm hold on his shaft and sliding the
foreskin along his length. “You gonna rub us off?” He wrapped his
arms around Jake’s neck. Before Jake could answer, he added, “Fuck,
you have no idea how bad I needed this tonight.”

Something about that whispered admission filled Jake’s belly with

warmth. It was like they were really together, like they knew each
other and fit perfectly. Jake stroked Aaron’s sides to pull off his shirt.
His fingers dipped between Aaron’s ribs, and then skimmed over the
sharp cut of his abs. “Yeah, I’ll get you.” He wrapped both their cocks
in his callused grip.

Aaron arched back. He scrabbled his hands over Jake’s shirt,

dragging it off. When Jake’s torso was bare, Aaron leaned in to press
their chests together. It felt like heaven.

“D’you have any slick?” Aaron fumbled with his jean pockets.
“Yeah, some.” Jake leaned over to the glove compartment,

flipping it open. He grabbed a bottle and poured a drop in his hand.
Then he wrapped it around their twin cocks.

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“I don’t normally fuck strangers.” Aaron twisted his hips as he

said it. The frustrated whine in his voice said he wished he were
comfortable enough to go further.

Jake rubbed a long stroke up their shafts. “S’Okay.” He met

mouths with Aaron again—gentle nips and kisses, then teasing his
tongue into soft, perfect heat. After a long moment, he broke away.
“This’s good.”

“Yeah.” Aaron pumped into Jake’s grip. With one hand, he

pinched his own nipple.

“Oh, hell yeah.” Jake loved a guy who touched himself while he

got done. “Harder.”

Aaron’s eyelids fell to half-mast and his mouth opened. He

twisted on his tit just like Jake asked.

Speeding up his hand, Jake growled more orders. “I want you

come so hard it lands on your chin.” He fed his hand down the
stretchy fabric of Aaron’s briefs to cup his ass. Jake stroked the
crease—all damp from sweat. He teased the cheeks apart.

“Oh yeah, just like that.” Aaron grabbed Jake’s neck, pulled their

mouths together and kissed him like he could suck out Jake’s soul. He
whipped around, bucking into Jake’s hand, and then droplets of his
cum splattered their chests and dribbled over Jake’s fingers.

The hot handful slicked his last few strokes and Jake came,

another fountain of cum in the truck’s cabin.

Aaron pressed their foreheads together, his quick pants fanning

Jake’s lips.

Fuck. Jake wanted to take the guy home, have a proper night

together, maybe a proper screw. He would have invited the guy to
breakfast if his place in Halana wasn’t over two hours away. “So
good,” he crooned into the air between them. The night air smelled
like ocean and barbecue. He could have drifted happily to sleep if he
didn’t have so far to drive. “You need a tissue?” Jake reached for the
package.

Lei’d by the Shark

“Thanks.” Aaron eased off and back into the seat. His hard-edged,

businesslike demeanor fastened into place as he wiped his chest clean.
He pulled on his shirt, his expression not exactly cold, but not the soft
and supple guy Jake had held a moment earlier. “Hey, uh…I’ve got to
work tomorrow…”

Jake might have been hurt by the brush-off except that he had to

work, too. The assholes at Stilton hotels were sending someone by the
work site to give him shit about when the road would be done. “Yeah,
me, too.” He smiled at Aaron, hoping to get a grin in return.

Aaron’s smile flashed in the moonlight streaming through the

windshield. His face and throat were still flushed. He looked
gorgeous—free and happy, like he belonged by the sea.

“Maybe some other night.” Jake started the car. He didn’t ask it

like a question, because he knew their hookup was a one-off thing.
But still, he wanted to leave it open-ended in case their paths ever
crossed again. City Boy might take another surf vacation. Jake
thought about giving him his number in case he wanted to call.

“Sure.” Aaron toyed with the hair on the back of Jake’s neck as

they drove. He alternated little tugs and slow scratches until Jake
wanted to curl up at his feet like a big, shaggy dog.

Aaron pointed up the road. “That’s where I’m staying.”
Jake pulled in to the small dirt lot. “Nice meeting you.” He

stroked a finger over Aaron’s cheekbone, a last touch before Aaron
got out of the car.

“Um…” Aaron wrapped his fingers around the door handle,

readying to get out. His eyes were sad, but then shifted to nervous. He
bit his lip. “D’you have any interest in coming inside?”

Jake wrapped his hand around the back of his neck and pulled him

into a kiss. When they broke apart, he said, “Fuck, I thought you’d
never ask.”

* * * *

26 Daisy

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Aaron snickered, tiptoeing down the hallway. He hid behind a

wall while Jake stepped past the hippies watching TV in the main
room. When Jake caught up with him, it was all Aaron could do not to
break into giggles. They fell over each other getting into Aaron’s
room. And when Jake closed the door, Aaron rushed to get both their
shirts over their heads.

They touched wordlessly in the dark. Aaron worried that the hotel

owner would catch a nonpaying customer in the B and B and burst
through the door, so he rushed to get their jeans off. Then he fell to
his knees and took Jake in his mouth.

He couldn’t believe he was doing this—it had been years since

he’d slept with a stranger. But Jake seemed good, and kind. Anyway,
he’d never see the guy again, so it wasn’t like Jake would judge him
for his sluttiness.

Jake huffed out a sigh and wove his hand in Aaron’s hair. He

tasted like the ocean—a salty tide on Aaron’s tongue.

After a few minutes of bobbing on his thick cock, Aaron couldn’t

wait any longer. He stood up, and stepped to his suitcase to dig out his
lube and a condom.

Finding Jake’s hand in the dark, Aaron pressed the supplies into

his palm. “Use both,” he whispered.

He felt Jake nod, and then Jake’s hands turning him around and

bending him over the bed. It was at once impersonal and sweet,
perfect and deliciously wrong. Jake breathed into Aaron’s ear right as
his slippery fingers found his crease. “This’s not your first time,
right?”

Aaron knew what he was really asking. Jake wanted to know if he

had to go slow. But even if they’d had the time for a leisurely fuck,
Aaron wanted it fast. “Nope.” Aaron twisted his neck for a kiss. He
breathed into Jake’s mouth, “Not even close.”

Jake didn’t answer. Instead, he pressed his lips to Aaron’s as he

fingered him open. Aaron heard ripping foil and then felt the blunt
press of Jake’s cock on his hole. He forced his body to relax, and

Lei’d by the Shark

when Jake pushed forward, he pressed back, until Jake filled him to
bursting.

“S’okay, yeah?” Jake held himself upright with a hand on the bed,

right next to Aaron’s head. He held still, his voice tentative. “Not too
much?”

Aaron’s eyes rolled back in his head it was so good. “Yeah. No…

S’good. C’mon. Do it.” He braced his hands on the mattress, hoping
to God the bed wouldn’t make too much noise. But as Jake started
thrusting, it was as if Jake had ninja skills. He pounded in brutal
succession, but managed to do it at an angle that the bed didn’t shift.

“You are amazing,” Jake said, grabbing Aaron’s hips.
Aaron might have said the same back, except that he was

moments from coming. He scrabbled his hand under him to get at his
cock.

“You gonna come for me, City Boy?”
And that was all it took. Aaron went off like a rocket, knowing he

was making a mess of the B and B’s sheets and not caring one bit. He
thought he felt Jake come too, but it was all a haze. The next thing he
knew, Jake dragged him up the bed and tucked him under the covers.

Jake kissed his head. “I’ll clean up, yeah?” Jake whispered. By the

time Aaron could form words to say good-bye, he knew Jake was
gone.

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Chapter Three

Aaron woke the next morning smiling. He rolled facedown on his

pillow, sniffing the faint lingering scent of Jake on his bedsheets.
Reluctantly, he curled out of bed and headed to the shower in the
hallway.

“You gonna eat before you go?” The old lady who owned the

place called to him from the kitchen nearby. She must have heard
Aaron open the door.

He shook his head, thinking how happy he was that Jake had left

in the night. It would have been awkward trying to slip him out before
the B and B owner woke. “No thanks. I’ll grab a coffee in town.”
Aaron heard disapproval in the innkeeper’s silence. He ignored her
censure and slipped into the tiny but spotless bathroom.

The sparse stubble on his chin was scored through with a rash

from his hookup. Aaron sighed contentedly as he remembered Jake’s
kisses. He started the shower and stepped under the swift waterfall.
The curtain was clear plastic with cloth flowers suspended in little
windows. Through it, he could almost make out his reflection in the
mirror and saw the ghost of last night’s smile on his lips.

He wondered if the bar did Queer Night each week—they

probably did. And if so, he wondered whether Jake would show up
again. Aaron was scheduled to be in Halana for at least three months
working on the new resort. He’d planned to spend every weekend he
could in Honolulu. But if there was action to get nearby, and in the
form of a hunky Hawaiian with smiling eyes, well—Aaron might
make an exception and settle in for a while.

Lei’d by the Shark

By the time he toweled off and crossed the hallway back to his

room, Aaron was already whistling and planning what to wear to their
next encounter. He checked his phone with one hand while he dressed
with the other.

A call from his mom and few text messages marked “alert” filled

his screen. He checked the work texts first. Apparently, the lead guy
on the road crew was named Jacob Kalani.

Aaron tensed, but then swallowed his nerves. Jacob was a very

common name. What were then chances it was the same guy?

Still, an awkward sense of foreboding filled him as he packed his

bags and dodged the innkeeper’s offer of coffee and Danish. He
climbed in his car, wishing in some ways he hadn’t gotten promoted.
Sure, Aaron had worked nights and weekends all through his twenties
to rise to his current position, but it had been easier when he was just
another employee.

He hit reply to his mother’s call and listened for ring tones. The

call went straight to her voice mail, which made sense since it was
right about the time she must have been on her way to work.

Aaron left a message. “Hey, mom. Saw you called. Yes, I’m in

Maui now. I don’t have much cell service around here, but I’ll try to
give you a call in a few days.” He and his mom had always been
close, but they’d been closer since Aaron came out. His mother
seemed to feel like she had to compensate for his father’s distance and
disapproval for Aaron’s “choices.” Aaron checked his signal one
more time, seeing if he could send her an e-mail, but he only had one
bar of 3G, so he started the car.

Paiela was quiet at 7:00 a.m. A few local guys passed through in

trucks like Jake’s—probably going to work on the other, more
developed side of the island. A couple surfers stood in line ahead of
Aaron at the café, ordering Chai tea or coffee before heading out for a
morning’s ride. Aaron smiled at the young, blonde girl and gave his
order. The café smelled like muffins and sunshine. And though Paiela

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Harris

had seemed tiny when Aaron first drove into town, he was starting to
see its charm.

The girl handed Aaron his lidded paper cup full of coffee,

chirping, “Mahalo plenny!”

He hopped back into his rental car. Once he’d backed out of his

parking spot and pulled onto the main road, he fussed with the radio
stations, trying to find something clubby and invigorating. But after
scrolling through a couple of gravely religious stations, Aaron settled
for one that played Hawaiian music. The quiet thrum of ukulele filled
the car and the singer crooned. It was the type of sentimental stuff
Aaron couldn’t stand listening to normally, but the melody fit with the
landscape.

The road stretched high on the cliffs above the ocean. Tall grass

rose to meet the asphalt. After fifteen minutes of driving, the rural,
farming plots of the North Shore gave way to the more jungled area in
the East. Vegetation grew green and lush around the increasingly
narrow road, the smell of flowers thick and heady. Instead of land
lying flat against the water, the cliffs dipped inland and then jutted out
in ragged crags. The road twisted one way, then dizzyingly to the
other, and Aaron watched the speed on his odometer drop to a crawl.

Cars and trucks stacked behind him. Since the road narrowed to

one lane, Aaron had to stop at a pullout to allow drivers from the
other direction to pass. He used the opportunity to scrub his face.
Aaron wished he still had radio reception, or cell reception, or
something to connect him to a world not filled with vines and rain
slicks and twisty roads. He wondered if he was halfway there yet.
Aaron thought about the last mile marker he’d seen. No. He was
barely a third.

“’Ey! Go!” Someone called at him from the pickup behind.
Aaron shook out his shoulders, trying to get loose. He pulled

through the narrowed section and was thrilled to find that the road
widened into more than enough for two lanes. He’d just gotten his
bearings when he noticed the vehicle behind him flashing its brights.

Lei’d by the Shark

He eased to the right and swallowed his pride as he let the other folks
pass.

Alone again on the stretch of highway, Aaron thumbed to a

playlist on his phone. The tinny sound of his favorite dance mix filled
the car, giving him a sense of familiarity. Without the pressure of
people behind him, Aaron started to get the hang of the curves. The
music helped—made him feel less like he was risking his life driving
on the edge of a drop-off and more like he was playing a video game.
Virtual reality, Aaron could handle just fine.

The next half hour passed quickly, with Aaron only having to let

one car pass. He even passed someone himself. It was a sad testament
to his competitive nature that Aaron felt a little ego boost curving
around the minivan full of tourists. He imagined he’d just gained a
level in the game or maybe earned some points or some gear.

Aaron wished he had his GPS, because he was pretty sure he was

nearing the place where the road had been washed out. He craned his
head to see around the next jut of land, but couldn’t make out the
broken asphalt until it was fifteen yards away and flanked by a line of
orange reflectors.

A crew of three guys surveyed the damage, and one more stood at

the area where half of the narrow road had crumbled off and fallen
down the slope into the ocean.

Aaron’s stomach felt like it slid right off that cliff too, and not just

because the guy standing at the edge of the asphalt, in an orange vest
and coaxing nervous drivers, was most definitely the Jake from the
night before. No—the reason Aaron felt like his guts were rolling and
bouncing over trees and bushes to crash on the rocky shore, was that
his legs shook and his throat closed with fear.

What if the rest of the highway breaks off? And I go crashing over

the edge along with the car full of a vacationing family and their tiny
kids? This is insanity. Stilton can’t ask people to drive on this road to
get to the resort. The insurance alone will bankrupt us. Not to
mention what will happen when a van full of guests dies.

32 Daisy

Harris

It wasn’t until someone honked behind him that Aaron realized

he’d stopped driving. His foot hovered over the gas pedal, unwilling
to drop and force the car forward. He saw Jake jogging his direction.
Fuck, Aaron wanted to man up, to wave Jake off and pull a U-turn to
go straight back to Paiela. But there was no possible way to maneuver
a three-point turn on the narrow road. Not unless you were driving a
tricycle.

Aaron’s chest tightened, and he struggled to pull in a deep breath.
“’Ey!” Jake stopped at his window, gesturing for Aaron to roll it

down. “You okay?” His eyes widened in recognition, and then
sparkled when he smiled.

Endorphins bled through Aaron’s body, faster than he’d thought

blood could travel. No way was he going to admit to Jake he was
scared. Aaron shook his head and waved Jake off. They were going to
have to talk soon, but it wouldn’t be while Aaron was fighting to
breathe like a frightened schoolkid.

Ahead of Aaron, a beat-up car impatiently rushed over the

narrowed section. So forcing a calm he didn’t feel, Aaron hit the gas.
He drove a hundred yards before a horrible, pitiful scraping noise rose
from under one of his tires, and he froze.

Breathe, Aaron, just breathe. He closed his eyes and focused on

trying to slow the frantic pounding of his heart. Knocking sounded on
the passenger’s side, and Aaron forced his eyes open. This time when
he saw Jake, Aaron pressed the button to lower the window.

“You didn’t pull far enough right, brah. One of your tires drove

into the mud.” Jake studied the outside of Aaron’s car, apparently
unafraid the whole thing would slide off the road.

Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron saw Jake’s truck parked in the

jungle, its angle so tilted it looked like the vehicle would barrel down
the mountain. Aaron closed his eyes and fought a fresh rush of fear.

“Why’d you rent a car with rear wheel drive?” Jake didn’t wait for

Aaron to answer. Instead he waved his friends over and then walked

Lei’d by the Shark

around to Aaron’s side. “At least it don’t weigh much.” Jake lifted the
handle on Aaron’s door and pulled it open. “Let me drive.”

Aaron scrabbled sideways over to the passenger seat. It wasn’t

manly and it wasn’t graceful, but there was no way in fuck Aaron was
going to climb out on the broken side of the road. “How long’s the
highway been this way?” He couldn’t help but asking. If the road had
been this narrowed for long, Stilton should have known. There were
supplies already ordered and waiting to be shipped for the new resort.
Most would be sent by boat, but Aaron would need to organize food
and other perishables to come from the North side of the island.

“Oh, the whole thing got washed out after the last storm.” Jake

chatted happily as he messed with the controls and put the car in
neutral. “Got the one lane open a few weeks ago.” He shot Aaron a
wide, bright smile. “So, you came looking for me?”

The guys outside shouldered the car forward. The underbelly

screamed like a tortured animal. Then Jake gave whiffs of gas to the
one wheel still getting traction while a few men from the line of
trucks behind joined Jake’s crew.

With a mighty heave, the team of guys shoved the car forward,

and Jake managed to maneuver it onto the unbroken road. He waved
to his guys and kept driving.

“Uh, thanks. If there’s a place to pull out ahead, I can drop you

off.” Aaron cocked his head around, looking for where the road might
widen.

“Nah. I need to head back to Halana anyway. Some guy I was

supposed to meet didn’t show.” Jake patted Aaron’s knee, though he
didn’t take his eyes off the road. “You mind giving me a ride? I drove
out with the crew this morning.”

Aaron couldn’t exactly argue. He knew he’d get to town faster if

Jake drove. Anyway, there was no use putting off the inevitable. “I’m
pretty sure you were supposed to meet me.”

Jake’s jaw hardened, but his hands and shoulders didn’t so much

as flinch. “Ah. So you are that guy.”

34 Daisy

Harris

“Hoping I wouldn’t be, huh?” Aaron slowly unhooked his fingers

from the handhold he’d been gripping. He picked up his cell phone,
which he just realized was still playing a stream of techno completely
incongruous with their wilderness surroundings.

Jake chuckled—that low, deep rumble Aaron had loved feeling

against his chest. “Yeah.” His lip quirked into a faint and sad smile.
“So, you work for Stilton?”

“Project Manager.” Aaron avoided mentioning that this was his

first project. “So, I guess I need to find out more about the roadwork.”
His words faded as a deep, wet gully drew Aaron’s attention. A
waterfall carved a hole in the mountain. Orange flowers flecked the
tops of the trees, looking like colorful birds about to take flight.

They streamed past the spot so fast Aaron barely saw it, but the

image stayed painted in his mind.

“The road’ll be fixed soon, but that’s not what your company

wants.” Jake said it without judgment. “They’ll want to put in a new
one.” Though his eyes fixed on the road, they held a faraway
expression. “The road goes out almost every year. Can’t keep a big
hotel open without access. How many guests are gonna stay at the
new place each day? A couple thousand?”

Aaron shrugged. “Yeah, about that.”
“You know that old hotel only had seventy-five rooms, right?”
Aaron was reluctant to admit he agreed about the transportation

problem. Halana could be reached via the other side of the island, but
that route was longer, and also narrow. “There’s the air strip,” he
offered. A few private homeowners had built one in the scenic town a
few years earlier, but the explanation sounded weak even to Aaron’s
ears. The strip could only handle small private jets, and even then
only during good weather.

Jake sighed. “You know what they’ll do. Stilton will pay the

government to widen the highway.”

“I’d think you’d want that.” Aaron wasn’t exactly sure what the

issue was. Jake and his men would have more work, and the town

Lei’d by the Shark

would have better roads. “It can’t be fun driving this in bad weather,
every time you want to get into town to get laid.” He quirked his lips
into a teasing smile. Aaron wasn’t one to use his sex appeal to muster
favors, but he didn’t like the idea he and Jake had to be enemies.

Jake lowered his eyebrows in a threatening scowl. “You want to

turn this”—he lifted a hand to gesture at the lush, damp forest and the
steep hills ending in a bright blue ocean—“into Waikiki?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. First off, there was nothing wrong with

Waikiki. Some of his best memories came from the giant, busy, man-
made beach. And anyway, the landscape on the Halana coast was
completely different. City engineers couldn’t make the area flat and
paved without doing extreme regrades and blasting. Since the
economic crisis, they’d never be able to afford that kind of project.
“That won’t happen.”

“So you say.” Jake slowed into a small pullout and hopped out of

the car. There was a folding table laid out with some fruit, a couple
avocados, and a column of banana bread. Prices were painted on a
faded, plywood sign. Jake snatched a mango and a few slices of bread
off the table and dug a couple dollars out of his pocket to toss in the
jar. When he flopped back into the driver’s seat, he pitched a slice of
the fatty, succulent cake in Aaron’s lap. “You can owe me the dollar.”

Aaron’s mouth watered. His morning coffee had long since

evaporated from his belly, and the drive had taken way longer than
planned. He eyed the mangoes Jake rested in the center divider, but it
came out of his pay if he got juice all over the upholstery.

Jake frowned. “You wanted Mac Nut instead?”
“No. I love banana bread.” Aaron opened the plastic wrapping,

trying not to sigh as the sweet aroma filled the car. He lifted the piece
to his mouth, knowing once he took a bite it was going to be a
slippery slope. He’d crave pasta and cookies in no time.

“Well, Mali makes the best in Halana. She sells it to all the local

spots.” Jake opened his piece and bit off a corner, smiling around his
mouthful.

36 Daisy

Harris

Aaron mirrored him, his eyes rolling back in his head at the

flavor.

“Good, yeah?” Jake wasn’t smiling anymore. “You think she’d

still have a business if a bigger road came this way?” He gestured
meaningfully with his food.

Shrugging, Aaron took another bite. Stilton tried to resource

things locally…At least that’s what it said on its corporate brochures.
But Aaron knew most people wouldn’t stop to buy food at an
unmanned roadside stand if there was a chain store down the road.

“Where you staying?” Jake asked all of a sudden, the change of

topics so abrupt Aaron didn’t know what to think.

“Oh, I’m staying at the old hotel.” It was shut down mostly, but

the property Stilton had bought still had water and electricity even if
the shop and restaurant were closed.

“You don’t wanna do that.” The road got straighter, so Jake

glanced Aaron’s direction as he drove. “It’s empty. Plus…bedbugs.”
Jake gave a theatrical shiver, which looked hilarious on his giant
body.

Aaron snickered. “You know Stilton’s disposed of all the infected

beds and fumigated the rooms.”

Halana’s former hotel had been shut down by a bedbug

infestation. What had started as a single report turned into multiple
complaints, and the hotel rushed to clean rooms one by one. But the
bedbugs traveled, always one step ahead of the pest control experts.
Media coverage exploded—until an exposé of the “growing bedbug
epidemic” featured the Halana resort. But one hotel’s crisis was a
larger hotel chain’s opportunity. Stilton had swooped in to claim the
wreckage.

“So they say. But ain’t Stilton gonna demolish the place? Why do

that if they’re so sure the bugs are gone?”

The obvious answer was that Stilton wanted to build a brand new,

state-of-the-art resort. But Jake’s dire pronouncements still struck a
nerve. Aaron itched the back of his head, remembering the time in

Lei’d by the Shark

third grade he’d had lice. He tried to sound braver than he felt when
he said, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Jake pulled into Halana Town where houses dotted the sides of the

road. A black sand beach curved around a bay where locals and a few
day-tripping tourists ate lunch. Up on a ridge lay a small grocery
store. Aaron watched out the window as they passed fields full of
cows.

After a mile, Jake drove under the arched entryway of the former

hotel. He drew to a stop in front of a double glass doorway. “You
think they’ll park my car for me?” Jake snickered as he nodded to the
podium where valet parking attendants used to stand.

Aaron looked into the dark lobby with trepidation. It had the

empty, dusty feel of unused space. Even construction would have
been preferable. “Uh, thanks for the ride.” He reached for the door, a
second later realizing that it was his car, not Jake’s. He paused,
wondering how Jake was going to get home, and feeling surprised to
find how much he cared. “Listen, can I drive you home or something?
It’s the least I could do.”

“Nah. I’ll walk, yeah?” Jake hopped out his side of the car and

then tossed Aaron his keys. “I hope…” Jake darted his eyes to the
ocean, past the terraced rows of the old resort’s rooms. “Aw, I dunno
what I hope.” Despite his morose words, Jake gave Aaron a smile
before waving good-bye.

Aaron curved around to the driver’s side. He slipped into the seat,

still warm from Jake’s body. But when he put the key to the ignition,
he didn’t bother turning it. His supervisor wasn’t coming for a couple
days, and there was no reason for Aaron not to leave his rented car
parked right in front of the building. Leaving it alone in the empty
parking lot would feel even more depressing.

He popped the trunk and pulled out his neat, carry-on-sized bag.

Dragging it along behind him, he checked his phone. His two bars
gave him just enough reception to download his long list of e-mails,

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Harris

though he doubted he’d have enough bandwidth to open the browser
on his tablet computer.

Aaron bypassed the reception office and dragged his luggage over

the grassy pathways directly out to his cabin. He wasn’t a
superstitious man, but the office felt full of ghosts.

Midday sun beat down on his back by the time Aaron reached his

room at the edge of the terrace. He assumed Stilton had told him to
use that one because it was one of the few never affected by the
infestation. Though the landscape was beautiful, with its rolling
manicured lawns leading off to cliffs and water, the hotel was creepy.
Aaron couldn’t help but feel like humans had been ejected from the
place by some magical force. It felt like the set of a horror movie, as if
Hawaiian-shirt-wearing zombies might stumble out from behind a
Tiki bar.

He dug in his pockets for the skeleton key and pressed it into the

lock. The old resort had used actual metal keys, and Aaron found that
something of a comfort. He’d hate to lose his key card while being
attacked by zombies.

The door creaked open, revealing a room full of incongruities.

Though expansive and full of windows, the space was filled with dust
and cobwebs. The only piece of furniture was an iron-framed bed
piled with sheets. Aaron guessed that Stilton had sold off all the
furnishings they could, and left only what Aaron needed. He flicked
on the light, which thankfully worked. Unfortunately, the room didn’t
even have a TV.

Looking around, Aaron realized that he needed to get home as

soon as possible—to the hustle and bustle of the city, and away from
empty bedrooms. He especially needed to get away from chuckling,
sexy men who made him question why he ever agreed to take this job.

Lei’d by the Shark

Chapter Four

Jake stomped down the hill and around the bend, nodding toward

neighbors who called out their usual hellos. He was going to kill his
father. Or at least, he would have been ready to kill his father if it was
possible to kill a god. He marched down to the bay and out to the end
of the docks where a few guys from town were fishing.

“You gonna swim?” one of the guys asked, but Jake didn’t

answer. Instead he pulled off his shirt and dropped his shorts to the
ground.

“Oh, you swim shark style, yeah?” The fisherman went back to

his line. Everyone in town knew about Jake, though they tended to
keep the information quiet from outsiders. Amongst themselves, Jake
knew they gossiped—saying he’d never find a mate and that he was
too different to ever fit in. His town loved him and supported him, but
he knew they all thought of him as an outsider almost as much as they
thought it of Aaron.

Jake dove off the dock. The water splashed up around him, and

for a second Jake felt like a normal man. But before he could fully
appreciate the taste of salt in his mouth or the feel of water caressing
his human skin, light surrounded him. The water’s turquoise blue
streaked through with gold and crimson. Jake knew the red was his
blood. His shark senses flooded with the scent. However, the shift to
his shark form never hurt anymore. It was as if his body was paying a
holy sacrifice to the ocean and he was rescued from pain by the gods’
grace.

As a child, he remembered there was sometimes pain. But that

was only during his teenage years when he’d tried to fight the

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Harris

transformations. From infancy, Jake had often turned into a shark
when he got wet. It wasn’t until other parents refused to let their
children swim with him that Jake had learned he was different.

He flicked his tail side to side, the thrum of movement soothing

away the last of his human thoughts. Jake’s sight, smell, and touch
took over, making him feel like a giant, living nerve—able to sense
the smallest tremors in the far ends of the bay. As a shark, Jake’s
thoughts always became simpler. With so much input going to his
mind, all he could do was search, attack, or save.

Instinct drew him out of the channel and to a stretch of rock cliffs

riddled with caves. As he neared the boulders, Jake shifted to human
form. And this time when his blood colored the water, Jake felt every
tear because the waves batted him into the rocks. Rough edges
scraped his skin, and he cursed Pele’s volcanos for creating land so
jagged. With clenched teeth, he grabbed a ledge and heaved himself
out of the surf.

Jake hopped from one stone to another, wind cooling his skin and

stone poking his feet. Soon he stood at the entrance to the cave, and
though he had chosen to come, he hesitated. His father might have
been the most celebrated of the shark gods on the islands, but Jake
thought he caused more problems than he solved. Ku-Hai-Moana had
certainly screwed up Jake’s life when he’d impregnated Jake’s
mother. And though the god claimed to protect Halana, he seemed to
leave all the difficult stuff to Jake.

“What are you waiting for, Jacob?” The god Ku-Hai-Moana’s

voice echoed from inside the cave. “Ask your question.”

Jake stared into the empty abyss. Sometimes he felt insane talking

to a black hole. His father had taken human form to have sex with
Jake’s mother, and one other time to introduce himself when Jake was
seven. But other than that, Jake’s only conversations with his father
had been through the mouth of the cave. Hell. When his father had
showed him the cave, he’d left Jake to swim back to Halana by

Lei’d by the Shark

himself. Sure, Jake had been in shark form, but he’d still been only a
kid.

Jake frowned. “You know how that hotel chain is planning to

build that big resort in Halana town?”

“Yes.” His father didn’t elaborate, but he didn’t have to. He knew

most things that happened on the island, though he never seemed to
understand them without Jake’s help.

Ku-Hai-Moana had been away from humans too long to

understand their reasons. He and the other gods stayed hidden in cliffs
and volcanoes and in wild places still untouched by mortals—and
those placed had gotten smaller and smaller over the years. If Stilton
took over Halana and built it to the size of a city, Ku-Hai-Moana
might cease to exist altogether. Though Jake hated to admit it, he
didn’t want to see the god lost.

“Well…” Jake sighed. “I don’t think the road is going to stop

them.” He wasn’t sure whether to tell his father more, though Jake
knew the god must know about Aaron already. “And they sent a man.
And he seems like a good person—”

“You love him.” His father’s voice echoed.
“No.” Jake looked at the rock under his feet. He wondered if

maybe that black lava stone knew more than he did.

The ground rumbled—not an earthquake, more the vibration of a

mother rocking her baby. “Perhaps not yet.”

Jake shook his head. He and Aaron had only known each other

one day. Sure he liked the guy, but he had no idea if he felt anything
more. “I’m pretty sure nothing is going to happen between us. But, I
wish he understood why the resort can’t go in. Maybe if he saw—”

A wave crashed into the shore, spraying Jake’s back with a light

mist. “Why do you question me, Jacob? None of my other sons did.”

He bit his lip to stifle a retort. None of Ku-Hai-Moana’s other

sons had lived past twenty-five. Wars or frightened villagers had
killed most of them. “Whatever. Okay, I like the guy. And I don’t
want him losing his job over this. But you know I can’t… ” He didn’t

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want to say out loud what he knew the people in town thought—that
he couldn’t love anyone.

“It doesn’t matter if I love him or not. What matters is that he tells

Stilton not to build the hotel.” Jake rolled his eyes. “Or to build it
smaller.” Even as he said it, Jake knew that was impossible.
Companies like Stilton only opened megaresorts. What sucked was
that Halana actually needed someone to take over the old hotel—too
many locals relied on tourism for jobs. But Stilton wasn’t planning to
remodel and rebuild. They wanted to turn the little fishing village into
a theme park. “I thought that after the rockslide you caused near the
road, Stilton would have pulled out of the deal,” Jake said sadly. The
storm cost the town time and money, and hadn’t done a thing to
discourage development.

“Show him what you are,” the air whispered. “Show him what we

are. He will help.”

Suddenly Jake was standing in front of a solid wall of rock. All

signs of the cave disappeared.

He sighed. His father always did that—made some grand cryptic

statement and then vanished. It was like the one time the guy had
bothered to visit him as a kid. A wave had dragged him out to sea and
washed him up on a shore, and some man had showed up and said, “I
am your father…” It was just like Star Wars except Darth Vader was
Hawaiian and wearing a loincloth.

He spun around and dove back into the ocean, tired of his dad’s

theatrical bullshit. Jake shifted into his shark form, ignoring how he’d
jumped too soon and tore a bit of his leg on a jagged boulder. Salt
smarted in the wound, but Jake didn’t mind. Maybe the pain would
remind him not to ask his father for help again.

By the time Jake reached the shore and showered the salt out of

his eyes, he had to admit that his father was, in part, right. He should
at least talk to Aaron. Maybe if he took Aaron around to see the area,
he’d understand why it was so important to keep the hotel small. He

Lei’d by the Shark

didn’t need to show Aaron magic, or gods, or anything about his
ability to shift forms. The land was powerful enough.

So after he pulled on his clothes, Jake marched right back up the

hill to the old hotel. He hiked around the main building and out to the
stand-alone cabins on the enormous, browning lawn. Without anyone
to pay the water bills, the grass was starting to dry.

He wondered how he’d figure out which room Aaron was in, but

to Jake’s surprise, Aaron stood alone where the lawn met the rocky
cliff, holding a cell phone in the air.

“You not getting a signal?” Jake jogged out to meet him.
Aaron’s shoulders slumped. He turned around, narrowing his eyes

as if it was Jake’s fault. “I’ve got enough bars to get my e-mails, but
not enough to download this attachment.” He threw his hands up, and
started back toward the cabins. He didn’t meet Jake’s gaze. “They’ve
got Internet at the public library, right?”

“Yeah, but you can borrow mine.” He wasn’t sure why Aaron was

being so pissy. People came to Halana to get away from crowds and
phones. The old hotel had been set up to discourage folks from
spending all day looking at a screen.

Aaron paused at a woven bamboo door, his fingers on the handle.

“Oh, my God, do you have wireless?”

Jake grinned. Clearly, he’d found the way to Aaron’s heart.

“Fastest service on this side of the island.” He felt a little surge of
pride. It was nice being able to do something for Aaron no one else
could. Well, no one but the public library.

“I’d really appreciate it. Just let me grab my laptop.” Aaron

opened the door and stepped into an almost-empty room. Besides the
bed, the only furniture was a chair, and that was covered in cables and
electronics. His suitcase was on the floor. Aaron looked at it,
despondent. “You would have thought they’d give me at least a
dresser, right? I’m here three months.”

“Wow.” Jake felt a surge of pity. It was easy to see Aaron in his

high-end clothes driving his fancy rental car and think he somehow

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embodied the giant corporation. But seeing how Stilton expected him
to live for the next few months hammered home that Aaron was just a
cog in the machine. “Hey, you should stay out by my place.” The
invitation slipped out. “My neighbor’s got an Ohana apartment she
rents and she don’t got no one booked until Christmas.”

“Oh.” Aaron worried his lower lip between his teeth. His face

screwed up like he was trying to solve a math problem in his head.
“To be honest, I don’t have the budget to cover that.” He frowned,
looking like he really did regret having to stay at the old hotel. With a
sigh he added, “Maybe if I sublet my place in San Diego…”

“Nah. We’ll work something out.” Jake opened the door, not

liking the feel of it shutting behind them. Being so close to Aaron
again had his body pricking up with interest, but the desolate cabin
felt like a tomb.

“Are you sure?” Aaron asked, but he was already packing his

power cords.

Excitement lit in Jake’s belly. Aaron was coming home with him.

Okay, maybe not home exactly, but close enough. He’d be right
outside. “You can’t stay here, yeah?” Jake lifted Aaron’s small
suitcase and started up the hill while Aaron locked the door.

Jake drove them back through town then down the small road to

his house. The jungle was so dense that it folded in a canopy over the
road, but the damp path was straight. Jake pulled into the dirt
driveway that served his house and three others.

“This is really nice.” Aaron stepped out his side of the car, his

eyes wide. He turned to the large, man-made pond that used to house
fish in the old days. “Thanks for bringing me.”

Jake grinned. Seeing Aaron surrounded by chirping birds and the

quiet rush of ocean made Jake desperate to get the other man on his
back. “No problem.” He went around to Aaron’s side of the car and
before Aaron could protest, he gave him a peck on the cheek.

Lei’d by the Shark

“Hey.” Aaron lowered his eyebrows in annoyance, but he blushed.

With a little stammer in his voice he said, “So, uh…who should I talk
to about this Ohana?”

Taking Aaron’s hand, Jake led him toward Rosa’s door. He

knocked once, but when she didn’t answer, he pushed open the screen
door and picked her keys off the hook inside.

“So your neighbor’s pretty trusting?” Aaron followed Jake to the

Ohana cottage.

Jake opened the door. Rosa kept it locked only because it wasn’t

often occupied. Still, she made sure to clean once a week. The small
guest house was only two rooms—a bedroom and a combination
living room, dining room, and kitchen. The bathroom, Jake knew,
only had a toilet and sink. He smiled as he remembered that Aaron
would have to shower under the faucet outside. “Most people leave
their doors unlocked down this way. And by the way, my signal
should reach this house just fine.”

“Great.” Aaron placed his bag on the counter. When he turned to

Jake, he looked nervous. “Thanks for doing this for me.” He bit his
lip. His gaze dropped nervously to Jake’s pants, then up again.

“Just because I set you up here doesn’t mean I expect you to put

out.” Jake set the suitcase down and headed for the door. He thought
about extending an invitation, but he was enjoying Aaron’s
nervousness too much. Jake tossed Aaron the keys. “And anyway.
Who says I’d be up for another round?”

Aaron’s eyebrows shot up so high they disappeared above his

bangs. “You did. Last night.” He leaned back against the counter.

Jake recognized the posture immediately. It was the act Aaron put

on to get the upper hand. Jake had to admit he liked it. But he wasn’t
giving in that easily to Aaron’s flirtation. Having sex would make
both their lives too complicated. Three months was a long time to
avoid an ex-lover. In a town as small as Halana, it would feel like an
eternity. “That was before I knew how much trouble you were.”

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“Trouble, huh?” Aaron sauntered over, a sway in his step. He slid

a fingertip from Jake’s collarbone down to the waistband of his khaki
shorts. “That’s one way to look at it.” He kissed Jake right on the jaw,
as if he’d aimed for his cheek, but veered toward his neck at the last
minute.

“Smart-ass.” Jake opened the door and stepped outside. When the

screen door had closed, he called through, “I’ll give you a tour later.”

Aaron said something in reply, but Jake wasn’t listening. He

jogged to his house and grabbed a dirty magazine out of the
bathroom. Then, chuckling wickedly, he ran over to Aaron’s place
and tossed it inside. As he ran away, Jake shouted, “To tide you over,
yeah?” He heard Aaron’s door open and the other man chasing him
across the muddy ground between the houses, but Jake scrambled
inside and closed his door before Aaron could catch up.

“Dick!” Aaron said through the door, but he was laughing. Then

Aaron knocked and, breathing heavily from his run added, “I’ll make
sure the pages are sticky when I return it!”

Jake wasn’t sure whether Aaron’s words grossed him out or

turned him on. He thought about Aaron bent over the porno, his cock
in hand. Jake called through the door, “You do that!” Jake was glad to
hear the sound of Aaron clomping through the mud as he walked back
to his house. Already, Jake’s mind filled with more stuff to shout
through the door—lewd demands and hot suggestions. He’d never
been one for phone sex, but he thought that with Aaron it might be
fun.

A screen door slammed shut. Jake waited, realizing he didn’t even

have Aaron’s phone number. Not that it mattered, because he could
just walk across the mud to the other house. But if Aaron disappeared,
drove away and flew to the mainland, Jake wouldn’t be able to find
him.

Jake’s muscles knotted at the thought. No—Aaron was his guy,

whether Aaron liked it or not. Jake would get his phone number and
keep him in town for as long as it took to win him over. And not just

Lei’d by the Shark

the sex. Jake was pretty sure that if he walked over to Rosa’s Ohana
right then he could have gotten in Aaron’s pants. No, Jake wanted all
of him—especially that softness he kept so tightly hidden when he
was on the prowl.

He ran both hands through his hair, snarling under his breath. Jake

fucking hated it when his father was right.

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Chapter Five

Aaron slept hard. Bedbugs, sharks, and men built like ancient

statues plagued his dreams. He woke so horny his cock was like a
mallet in his pants, and he would have hauled the thing across the
muddy lawn to ask Jake to suck it, but worried the kind lady who’d
lent him her house might be offended.

He tossed off his covers and wrapped his fingers around his taut

skin and gave an experimental tug. Yeah, he could get off in just a
few pulls, but Jake’s magazine called to him from the kitchen table. It
was sick and twisted, but some inner voice told him he should come
on those pages. Aaron remembered Jake’s voice in the car all low and
calm when he’d told Aaron to pull out his dick.

The thought made him shiver, and the memory of their hookup on

the beach was filed in Aaron’s Most-Jerk-Offable-Moments Hall of
Fame. Erection in hand, Aaron made his way to the living room and
sat on the couch. The window looked out toward Jake’s house. The
gauzy shade was closed, but Aaron imagined that Jake could maybe
see through, just enough to know what Aaron was doing.

He leaned forward and flipped through the book. Aaron found the

pages Jake liked right away since they were worn and the binding fell
open more easily. Most of Jake’s favorites were guys wacking off, or
fingering themselves, or even pinching their nipples. But in every one,
the guy was staring right into the camera, like he was saying, “I’m
doing this all for you.”

Aaron glanced at the window, his hips lifting off the couch as he

involuntarily thrust off the seat. He thrummed through more pages,

Lei’d by the Shark

figuring Jake wanted him to do it on something Aaron liked, marking
his favorite, so to speak.

He searched for a good doggie-style pic, but every shot was taken

at the wrong angle, or one of the guys was posed all weird. His cock
stiffened even as he cursed his fucked-up design sense that made him
want to jizz on the perfect shot, one where the guy’s faces and bodies
were arranged just right.

A page caught his attention. It wasn’t what he was looking for, but

it totally turned his knob. One guy held another’s legs up while he
fucked him, but it wasn’t the guys having sex that turned Aaron on.
There was a third guy, standing fully dressed behind, his arms crossed
and an amused look in his face.

Aaron sped up his rhythm, smoothing his pre-cum back from the

tip. He hadn’t even bothered to lube up, but his foreskin slid so fast
and rough over the turgid skin below that he felt fluid rush into the
thick vein along the bottom. Aaron curled forward. His orgasm bent
his spine, like a lover forcing him down from the neck. His rubbed
until jets of his cum landed across the page. It drew stripes on the two
guys fucking, but he made sure to avoid the one looking on.

Staring at the mess, Aaron chortled out a laugh. He slapped the

magazine closed and tossed it in the trash on his way past the kitchen
and into the bathroom. He’d only just started to wash his face when
he heard the sound of Jake opening his screen door.

“You up?”
Aaron wondered if Jake could smell the cum in the living room,

but then he realized that was insane. Fallen guava and rotting leaves
perfumed the jungle air. Still, Aaron hurried to brush his teeth before
Jake had a chance to notice his glossy in the trash, or God forbid,
open it. “I’ll be out in a sec! Why don’t I meet you at your place?”

“I’ll wait.” Jake’s voice held a ghost of a laugh, as if he knew full

well what Aaron had been doing not five minutes earlier. “I wanted to
take you down to Hamoa beach while there’s still a decent break.”

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Aaron spit out a mouthful of toothpaste. “I thought we were

meeting with the major today.” He wiped off his face, waiting for
Jake’s answer.

“Oh. He had to go into town, yeah? He’ll be back this afternoon.”
“Kahului?” Aaron couldn’t believe that he’d driven all the way to

Halana only to have a meeting get called off because the other guy
drove the opposite direction.

“Yeah, his generator broke. There’s a Home Depot up by the

airport.” Jake sounded almost bored.

Aaron wet and mussed his hair, hurrying before Jake had a chance

to rifle through any of his stuff. “He doesn’t use city power?” Aaron
grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around his hips. He
thought about tying it higher, but that was just dumb. Jake had already
seen the merchandise.

When Aaron walked out to the living room, Jake had his feet up

on the coffee table. He was leaning back with his hands wove behind
his head. “No.” Jake stretched, and Aaron was pretty sure he was just
showing off the wide span of his shoulders and his beefy arms. The
room felt too small to contain the Hawaiian. At least, unless Aaron
was on top of him. Jake smiled. “Mayor Hashimura lives south of
town, near Oprah’s place.”

Aaron snorted. He knew the major wasn’t wealthy or a celebrity,

and Aaron imagined his quiet home tucked between mansions. “But I
thought the places on the south end used power from Halana’s grid.”

Jake stood, and though he wasn’t tall, the movement spoke of a

brutal power. He spared Aaron’s body an appreciative glance for a
second before resuming their conversation. “They do. But the mayor’s
house is all solar. He’s too proud to hook up to city power, but in the
rainy season, he has to use a backup generator.” Jake rolled his eyes.
“Don’t ask me, man. I think he’s just cheap.”

Aaron smiled. Politics were the same everywhere, even if the

players were a little more eccentric in Halana town. He made a point
of going to the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of water before

Lei’d by the Shark

putting on his clothes. He wasn’t sure why, but it irked him that Jake
wasn’t interested in picking up where they left off, sexually. Sure,
Jake didn’t want more development in Halana, and Aaron was in
charge of building the new hotel, but it wasn’t like Aaron had any
control over what happened.

Jake wandered into the kitchen. “Stop prancing around trying to

get me to fuck you and get dressed.” He was wearing a loose, gray T-
shirt and board shorts. Jake plucked at the shirt.

Aaron wondered if he was hiding a hard-on. “Don’t flatter

yourself.” He glanced down the length of Jake’s torso to check out his
package. Aaron couldn’t really see anything from his angle, but he
enjoyed the way Jake twisted like he was embarrassed.

“Just get on your pants.” Jake reached out and smacked Aaron’s

ass lightly. Like they were together or something.

“Fine!” Aaron gave an exasperated sigh and went to the bedroom.

He tossed off the towel and pulled on a pair of swim shorts. He
thought about wearing a polo shirt but opted for a tank top that would
show off his arms. Sure, he wasn’t thick like Jake, but he was hard
and sculpted. Plus, the tank top would look less out of place than his
polos.

When he walked out into the living room, Jake was already gone,

but the door was open. Aaron heard a motor outside and went to find
Jake already in his truck. The jacked-up beast had mud smeared up to
its windows. Even in board shorts and a wife beater, Aaron felt
overdressed.

“C’mon. I wanna go.” Jake leaned across the passenger side and

pushed open the door.

Aaron climbed inside. “Geez, you don’t strike me as the impatient

type.” He thought about Jake when they’d had sex. Jake had been
maddeningly laid back about the whole thing.

“I’m not usually.” Jake gave him another one of those confusing

winks. “Only when there’s something I really want to do.” Jake pulled

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out of the driveway and rolled through the jungle toward the main
road. For someone in a rush, he drove damn slowly.

They stopped for a small flock of chickens pecking at something

in the road. Jake honked until the birds flapped off. He grinned, his
eyes sparkling in amusement. “Traffic jam, yeah?”

Aaron laughed. “Guess so.” His stomach growled. “Is there a

place to get coffee around here?” He’d had some water and an energy
bar earlier, but despite the bright sunlight streaming through the
clouds, Aaron didn’t think he could face the day without caffeine.

“Sure.” Jake drove past the black-sand Halana bay and up to

where the small grocery store rested on the top of a hill. Corrugated
metal lined the walls and it had neither windows nor a proper sign.
The only hint it was a grocery store were a few metal carts in the
parking lot and a newspaper stand fluttering by the door. Jake stopped
the truck and opened his door. “Let’s get some food, too. They make
a good plate lunch down by the bay, but that don’t open ’til eleven.”

Aaron followed Jake into the building and stood behind him while

Jake spoke in rapid-fire Pidgin to the lady working behind the
counter. He only understood a few odd words, but when Jake shot
him a shy grin, Aaron knew the lady had asked if they were together.

Jake grabbed something that looked like enormous sushi out of a

heating tray while Aaron picked up the two Styrofoam cups of black
coffee. Aaron carried their drinks to a table stocked with cream and
sugar and poured a few packets of artificial sweetener in his own.

“What do you want in your coffee?” Aaron felt a twinge of

embarrassment at not knowing what Jake liked. If they were together,
like the lady thought, he should really know something that basic.

“Four creams, no sugar.” Jake placed a few more items to ring up

on the counter. A couple bananas and two bottles of orange juice. It
was really sweet.

Aaron hadn’t had a boyfriend in a long time, and he wasn’t sure

he’d ever had one who would be considerate enough to buy him
breakfast without being asked. Maybe it was just easier small town.

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Jake didn’t have to ask what Aaron wanted, since the tiny store didn’t
have that many options.

“You want a manapua?” Jake nodded at a clear plastic stand filled

with steamed buns.

Aaron cocked his head, studying the unfamiliar food. “Are those

humbow?” They looked just like the pastries filled with sweet
barbecue pork that Aaron had eaten a couple times at a Chinese
grocery store.

“Oh yeah. We call ’em manapua here.” Jake grabbed one off the

shelf. “I’ll give you part of mine.” He set down the rest of the food
and started to pull a wallet out of his back pocket.

“No, let me. I can pay.” Aaron slapped the seat of his shorts,

finding it flat. He’d forgotten his wallet. Just like a tourist on
vacation. Aaron felt his face heat up with embarrassment. “Crap. I
can’t believe I left home without money. That’s what you get for
asking me to hurry.” Aaron realized a second too late that he’d called
their little corner of the jungle “home” and that he was teasing Jake
like a husband.

“Don’t worry, yeah?” Jake patted Aaron’s behind, making the

lady behind the counter grin. “I got you.”

Aaron closed his eyes in frustration. Between his fuck-me tank top

and Jake buying him breakfast, the whole town was going to think
Aaron was some kind of rent boy. No one would take him seriously in
his job as Project Manager. He glared at Jake, but the Hawaiian just
grinned.

“Aw, don’t give Jake a hard time, yeah?” the lady behind the

counter said in a singsong voice. “He’s a good boy.” She nodded
proudly.

Aaron wasn’t sure whether she was proud of her open-mindedness

or of Jake.

“Been too long since I had a man!” Jake threw his arm around

Aaron’s shoulder, hamming it up.

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“Tomcatting’s what I call it!” the lady said. She sat back in her

seat and patted her ample lap. “You getting too old for that, Jacob.”
She held up a finger in a mock scold.

Jake ducked his head. “Yes, Auntie.”
Aaron only barely resisted rolling his eyes. “We surfing or what?”

He wasn’t sure what weird family drama he was being pulled into, but
he didn’t appreciate it before his morning coffee. He pinched Jake’s
side. “So let’s go already.”

Jake caught Aaron’s hand, pinning it behind his back stealthily, so

that the lady at the counter wouldn’t see. “Mahalo.” Jake picked up
the paper bag full of groceries and led Aaron outside.

“What was that about?” Aaron didn’t mind playing house. That

part he sort of enjoyed, especially since he was so far from home. But
he hated feeling trotted around and spoken about like he wasn’t even
there. Glaring at Jake, he climbed into the truck.

“Just being friendly, brah.” Jake started the car. He steered with

one hand while sipping coffee with the other. “You should try it
sometime.”

“I’m plenty friendly, brah.” Aaron dug into the bag of food. His

hand closed over the plastic-wrapped piece of giant sushi. “What the
heck is this?” He pulled it out of bag. The thing had a slice of some
kind of meat on top, rice on the bottom, and a strip of seaweed
wrapped around the middle.

“Spam musubi. It’s ono.” Jake set down his coffee in the cup

holder and reached into the bag. “Delicious.”

Aaron lifted the package, looking at it from a different angle. It

smelled like teriyaki. “Spam?”

Jake snorted, grabbing the musubi out of Aaron’s hand. With

dexterous fingers, opened the wrapper halfway and took a bite.
“Spam. National meat of Hawaii.”

“Really?” Aaron wrinkled his nose. But when Jake shot him a

look that said, shut up and try it, he sighed and took the food from
Jake’s hand. Aaron took a bite and his eyes rolled back in his head at

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the flavor. It was salty-sweet. The chewy white rice complimented the
sausagey goodness. He’d eaten at a lot of four-star restaurants, but
Spam musubi could give most of them a run for their money.

Jake laughed, pulling the other one out of the bag. “Don’t know

why you question me.” He wagged a finger at Aaron, his mouth full
of spam and rice. “I always know what’s best.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aaron downed half the bottle of orange juice,

watching the landscape go by. He had to admit Jake was right about
one thing—Halana was gorgeous. Clouds stretched out over grassy
fields before breaking and floating blissfully to the ocean. Lava rock
crevices dotted the landscape, each one teeming with nesting birds or
trickling waterfalls.

Jake pulled onto a side road and down to a sliver of roadside

beach. Rocks lined the edges of the water, but in the center, Aaron
saw smooth waves. He couldn’t imagine more than a handful of
surfers sharing that perfect little cove, but it was just him and Jake. He
smiled as a breeze wafted through the open windows of the truck.

“Nice, yeah? You learning to trust me yet?”
Aaron rolled his eyes. Inside, he was pretty sure he already did.

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Chapter Six

Jake could get used to that look in Aaron’s eyes—the one that said

Aaron was experiencing something he never had before. He watched
Aaron eat the last crumbs off the manapua wrapper and take another
long sip of his coffee.

Aaron smiled contentedly, his gaze mellow. “We should have

eaten after.” Aaron patted the gentle swell of his abdomen. He was so
thin you could see the effects of one meal. “I’ll probably get a cramp
or something.” The wind blew strands of hair in his eyes. He hadn’t
sculpted it with gel, and the messy locks fell over his face, making
him look all kinds of pretty.

“We don’t have to surf today. I just wanted to show you.” Jake

wrapped an arm around the bench behind Aaron’s head. The position
reminded him enough of their night together that his dick plumped up
and nosed around in his pants.

Aaron turned his head and laid it back, so his hair brushed Jake’s

arm. Framed in sunlight, he looked like an angel. “Nah. That would
be a shame. We should ride.” Aaron opened his door and hopped out.
He called over his shoulder, “Though I’m scheduled to be here for
three months. So we’ll probably have a lot of time to surf.”

Jake’s guts twisted into a knot. He could have Aaron for three

months if Aaron stayed on to build the resort. But if Stilton
abandoned their plans, Aaron would be leaving… Jake stepped out
the driver’s side.

Aaron looked sheepish as he reached into the truck bed for one of

Jake’s boards. “But we should get in what fun we can now, before the

Lei’d by the Shark

my supervisor arrives.” Aaron pursed his lips, like he was trying to
smile, but it came out more a grimace.

“Don’t like him much?” Jake asked.
“Most of the guys I work with are okay.” Aaron lay the surfboard

upright against Jake’s truck and then pulled off his shirt.

Jake had seen the view already, felt even more of Aaron, but this

sight of his skin, all smooth and bare took Jake’s breath away.

“My supervisor is a pain in the ass though.” Aaron licked his lips

when Jake undressed. But he recovered in an instant, picking up the
board and hitching it under his arm.

Jake followed him down the beach, his own longboard balanced

on his head. He watched Aaron bend to place his ride on the surf.
Then he admired the strong pump of Aaron’s arms as he paddled.
Jake could watch him all day, and the weirdest desire overtook him—
to tell Aaron what he was, to share everything. Jake strode out into the
water, laying his own board flat and stretching out on top.

A voice echoed in his head “tell him,” and Jake knew it was his

father speaking. He lifted his lip in a snarl his dad couldn’t see. Jake
realized he shouldn’t have brought Aaron to the water. Ku-Hai-
Moana always saw Jake better when he was on the sea.

“If you can’t tell him, show him.” The voice echoed in Jake’s

mind.

He mumbled under his breath, “Hell no, Dad. And shut up before

he sees me talking to myself.” Jake maneuvered toward the surf and
started to paddle. Aaron had just ducked under a wave and reached
the outside, but Jake saw a swell rising behind him—one much larger
than normal.

“Dad…” Jake spoke in a warning growl. “Please do not drown my

boyfriend.”

The voice in his head sang, “He’s not your boyfriend…yet.” The

wave rose taller, and Aaron turned to notice it. Aaron pushed his
board under, his ass sticking up, but the wave swallowed him up and

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Jake knew even before his surfboard speared out of the water that his
father had seriously fucked Aaron up.

“You are an asshole, dad.” Jake rolled off his board and into the

water. He dove low and opened his eyes, but the current flipped his
human form. With an inward sigh, Jake forced magic through his
body and felt his bones melt into cartilage and his skin pull taut and
smooth. He sped in the direction he’d last seen Aaron.

A body rolled in the wave. Aaron whipped frantically, trying to

right himself in the choppy water. His movements were sickly and
freakish, like a macabre impersonation of how he looked when he
came. A fresh roll of bubbles said that Jake’s father had thrown
another wave just to keep Aaron below the surface.

Jake kicked over to Aaron’s flailing body. He wound his shark

form around the human as best he could, urging him to the surface.

Aaron spun, trying to get away, but Jake kept batting him, pushing

until Aaron’s head reached air. Or at least, Jake thought Aaron could
breathe. It was hard to tell being underwater. So Jake shifted to
human form and wrapped an arm around Aaron’s chest. Jake kicked
hard, pulling Aaron toward the shore in a lifeguard’s position.

“What the fuck?” Aaron wriggled out of Jake’s hold. He kicked,

arms windmilling over his head until he stopped a few dozen yards
away and threaded water. His face screwed up in equal parts fear and
anger. “What the fuck just happened?”

Jake thought about how to answer, but with the boards floating

away and the ocean swirling around them, he needed a moment to
think. “Go back to the beach. Just…Give me a sec and I’ll explain.”
Jake ignored Aaron’s mutinous expression and swam in the direction
of his surfboards. He hoped Aaron would cool down by the time Jake
got back to shore, but when he dragged the surfboards out of the
water, the human was already on the road.

Aaron cocked his thumb to hitch a ride.

Lei’d by the Shark

Jake dropped his armfuls at the truck, and hopped carefully over

the sticks and grass to catch up to where Aaron was standing.
“C’mon, Aar. I said I would explain…” Jake touched Aaron’s arm.

The human flinched away. “Y’know, I don’t really want to hear

it.” Aaron’s jaw clenched in a hard line. His eyes brimmed with
unshed tears. He looked like he was barely holding it together. “I
understand why you don’t want the hotel built here. I really do.”
Aaron kept his eyes on the road, looking hopefully for a car to take
him away. “But I cannot, for one second, imagine why you would pull
a prank like that on me.” He opened his mouth, his lips trembling.
Then Aaron wiped a lone tear from under his eye. “I don’t know how
you pulled off that shit, but it’s not fucking funny.”

Jake stuttered, scrambling for what to say. It never occurred to

him that Aaron would think this was all some elaborate prank. His
belly twisted in a knot. “No. I wasn’t trying…” He saw a truck
approaching, and hurried to explain before Aaron could hitch a ride.
“I change. I’m…Well, my father is a shark god, and I…I’ve always
been able to change into a shark.”

Aaron’s hurt expression shifted into a furious scowl. “Oh, that is

the stupidest thing I’ve ever fucking heard,” he snapped. Then Aaron
lifted his hand up like he was hailing a taxi in one of those movies
about New York.

To Jake’s dismay, the truck stopped and Aaron climbed into the

back. “It’s true,” Jake said right before the truck pulled away.

But Aaron just shook his head and called out, “Don’t be there

when I get back. I’ll be gone as soon as I get my stuff.”

Jake bit at his lip in frustration. Then stomped to this truck and

opened the door. But before he got in, he called to the ocean, “See!
You see what you did? Now he hates me!” When no voice answered,
Jake dropped from his seat and marched out onto the beach. He
picked up a rock and chucked it at the foamy surf, like he could
actually touch his father. “He’s leaving!” Jake rubbed his hands

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through his hair, scanning the road above. Yeah, he could catch up
with Aaron, but the human would probably shout at him again.

The ocean didn’t answer, and neither did his father. But a sharp

wind blew, and as Jake walked back to his truck, he saw clouds
forming inland. By the time he’d started driving, the ominous, black
weather pattern rolled over the beach, and a cold wind kicked up
sand. Jake shouted at the ocean, “It’s not going to do any good!” right
before he heard the first crack of thunder.

Lei’d by the Shark

Chapter Seven

Rain poured in sheets by the time Aaron hopped, soaking wet, off

the back of the truck. He shouted his thanks, but didn’t know if the
driver heard him over the whipping winds and the pounding of water.
Aaron stared down the road to Jake’s house and the Ohana with
trepidation. Streams ran through the muddy road, and he still had
about a quarter mile to walk. It hadn’t seemed like such a long way
when it was dry. But wet, it felt like he’d agreed to cross a river.

He slogged a few yards, his sandals slipping in the mud. Aaron

thought about how much he’d spent on the shoes and inwardly cursed
as a splash of puddle drenched the Italian leather.

A truck pulled up next to him, and Aaron knew before he turned

around it was Jake.

“You sure you don’t want a ride?” Jake shouted out the window

of the truck as he rolled behind Aaron. “You might fall, yeah?”

“Fuck you.” Aaron tugged his foot out of a mud slick, losing his

shoe in the process. He marched on, barefoot on one side and
unwilling to slow down.

“‘Eh! There’s Kiave around here! It’ll bust your foot.” Jake

stopped the truck and ran through the downpour to catch up. “Put on
your slippers.” He bent to pluck Aaron’s sandal out of the muck. A
two-inch platform of dirt stuck to the bottom.

“Slippers?” Aaron shouted, pissed off and confused.
“It’s what we call shoes in Hawaii.” Jake held the filthy sandal

aloft.

Aaron spun around, almost losing his footing in the process. “I’ve

got another pair in my suitcase.” He marched in the direction of the

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houses. Aaron knew he was being a princess but did not give a fuck.
He couldn’t imagine how Jake had conspired to make it look like
Aaron had seen a shark. But there was no doubt in Aaron’s mind that
Jake had somehow engineered the attack. That Jake, who pretended to
like him, would pull a stunt like that made Aaron feel thirteen years
old again, being laughed at by the first guy he told he was gay.

“I know you’ve got other shoes.” Jake bent and picked Aaron up.

“But you’re gonna get hurt.”

“Screw you.” Aaron wrestled himself out of Jake’s hold. He fell

on his feet and took three steps before something sharp speared into
his foot. “Ow!” He lifted his leg, trying to balance on the one side
while he surveyed the damage. A small branch stuck in his sole, a
giant thorn sunk halfway.

“Told you—Kiave.” Jake swooped Aaron up in his arms again.

“Buggers are sharp.”

As much as Aaron wanted to protest, he was too freaked out by

the wood in his foot. “Just pull it out!” He couldn’t bear to look at it
again. It was gonna bleed, he knew it. Aaron had always been scared
of blood.

“I can’t if I’m carrying you, ya baby. I’ll get it out in a sec.” Jake

strode down the driveway to the Ohana and shifted to settle Aaron on
his one good foot. “Here.” He plucked the branch out.

“Fuck, that hurts!” Aaron leaned on Jake so he could clutch his

leg. “I’m gonna need a stitch or something. Is it bleeding? I can’t
see.” Mud covered his feet and the lower part of his legs, though the
rain was washing it off in droplets.

Jake reached over their heads to turn on the shower. Then he set

Aaron back a pace and ducked under the water to wash out his hair. “I
need you to see something, Aar.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. He cared less about whatever game Jake

was playing than that his foot might be infected with tetanus.
“Whatever.” He adopted his most I-don’t-give-a-shit posture, though
it was hard to do on one foot, and waited.

Lei’d by the Shark

“Okay.” Jake’s eyes darted to the side like he was nervous. “But if

you freak out and try to run away, put on your slippers.” He handed
Aaron his mud-covered sandals.

“I don’t think anything could freak me out more than I’ve already

been—what the fuck?” He jumped backward, almost toppling over.

The air shimmered around Jake, and sunlight flickered like the

world had an electric switch. Red and gold streaked the air, and when
it cleared a shark lay on the ground where Jake had been. It wasn’t a
small shark either. No—it was a decent-size tiger shark, though it
didn’t look all that threatening flopping around under the fall of the
shower. In fact, it was gasping like it needed to breathe and couldn’t.

Aaron leaned over the animal. He poked its side. “Jake?” He

couldn’t believe he was having a conversation with a shark. “You in
there?”

The shark wheezed.
“Um, come back, man. You’re not in the ocean.” He was crooning

at a shark. Aaron was losing his fucking mind.

His words must have done the trick because the shimmering,

light-flashing thing happened again, and this time Aaron watched
closer and saw Jake fold up out of the shark. Or maybe the shark was
absorbed into Jake’s body. It went too fast for Aaron to tell.

Fear flashed in Jake’s eyes. For the first time, Aaron noticed how

dark those eyes were and how little whites they had. “So…” Aaron
wasn’t quite sure what he should say. It wasn’t every day that
someone you hooked up with admitted to shape-shifting. “Uh, I guess
that’s your thing then? Being a shark?”

Jake studied Aaron’s expression like he was mapping an

uncharted continent. “You’re not scared?”

Aaron shrugged. “Should I be? You’re not all that scary on land.

Are you all shark-minded in the water? Or do you think normally but
have a shark’s body?”

“You’re taking this really well.” Jake lifted his chin like he was

seeing Aaron in a slightly different light.

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“I watch a lot of science fiction.” Aaron couldn’t help feeling a

little rush of pride at Jake’s admiration. “Us geeks are tougher than
people think.” He nodded sagely. Then Aaron nonchalantly took
Jake’s place under the shower. His most recent boyfriend had mocked
Aaron’s nerdy tendencies, acting like art house movies were the only
type you could like if you had any taste.

“Yeah?” Jake sidled next to Aaron, opening his mouth to the flow

of water.

Aaron’s body strummed to life. After the roller coaster of the

day’s emotions, Aaron needed to blow off steam, or at least blow off
Jake. “Yeah.” Aaron ran his hands up Jake’s sides, under his wet and
filthy T-shirt. He pulled it over Jake’s head.

“You really don’t care?” In a rush of heat, Jake tore off Aaron’s

tank top.

“Not right now, I don’t.” Aaron fused their lips for a kiss.
Jake pulled away long enough to murmur. “We better get inside.”

He unbuttoned his shorts and let them drop.

Aaron cast a nervous glance at Rosa’s house.
“Oh, don’t worry. She doesn’t care if we get naked so long as we

don’t track mud in her place.” Jake worked Aaron’s shorts over his
growing hard-on and let them fall on the concrete pad. Then he
positioned his body to shield Aaron from Rosa’s view. Jake stared
down at Aaron’s cock, which firmed under the attention. He teased
the tip with the pad of his finger—just under the fold of skin at the
head. “Let’s go inside.”

A shiver rolled down the length of Aaron’s body. That dark, calm

voice got him so hot he couldn’t think. “Okay.” He turned around to
hide his cock and hurried up the stairs.

* * * *

It had been a long time since Jake had run into a house naked,

probably not since he was a little boy just hosed off by his mother.

Lei’d by the Shark

The rain let up—coming down in a drizzle instead of a hurricane. Jake
refused to thank his dad for the blessing. Because if his dad knew
enough to stop the rain, that meant he could see what Jake was about
to do—and that was kind of gross.

Jake paused at Aaron’s door, listening to the sound of Aaron

laughing as he ran into the bedroom. He looked at the sky, watching
the sun break through in patches, and he knew that his fucking dad
had been right. He did love Aaron. He loved the tough-guy front he
put up, and the soft, scared guy underneath. Jake loved Aaron’s body
and his odd prissiness. Jake especially loved how when he stepped
into Aaron’s bedroom, Aaron was already spread out on the bed,
naked as the day he was born.

“Took you long enough.” Aaron ran his hands to his groin, but as

his fingers formed a C to grasp his cock, Aaron pulled his hands away
and rubbed fitfully on his thighs.

Jake sat on the bed, watching Aaron writhe. “You jerk off today?”

He hadn’t had a chance to look closely at Aaron’s body that night
he’d gone with him to the B and B, so Jake drank him in with his
eyes. Aaron was hairless except for a small furry patch framing his
cock. He didn’t even have a trail on his belly.

Aaron’s fingers tightened on his thighs, like he could hardly resist

touching himself. He didn’t look the least bit embarrassed when he
said, “Yes.” Then, without waiting for Jake to ask, he added, “Right
on the magazine, like you told me.” Aaron rolled onto his side, as if
he was shy and wanted to look away.

But Jake knew he was just trying to show off his ass. “Really?”

He grabbed Aaron’s butt cheek, his fingers skimming into the crease.

The effect was instantaneous. Aaron twisted in the sheets,

wiggling closer. Then he whipped around to get his head into Jake’s
lap. He peppered Jake’s thighs with kisses while Jake reached around
to keep his fingers in Aaron’s crack.

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“C’mon up here.” Jake tugged Aaron up his body and pressed

their lips together. His heart got all soft and mushy at the first taste.
He growled, urging the kiss deeper.

Aaron let out a tiny sigh, his body melting in Jake’s grasp. After a

long moment, he wriggled out of Jake’s hold as if his joints were
oiled and urged Jake onto his side. Aaron flipped so that his dick
pointed at Jake’s face. Moaning his appreciation, Aaron wrapped his
lips around Jake’s cap. At the same time, he pumped his hips forward
in obvious demand.

Jake smiled. He licked a path up Aaron’s cock, then again from

base to tip. Aaron was salty and smooth. He tasted so good that Jake
wanted to tease him some more, but Aaron wove his fingers into
Jake’s hair and tugged Jake’s head forward.

Oh, hell. Jake growled. He fucking loved pushy guys. Jake

swallowed him down, groaning his enjoyment around Aaron’s cock.
He felt a pulse in his own dick as Aaron picked up his pace, urging
the sixty-nine faster. Jake gripped Aaron’s ass cheeks and pulled them
apart. Aaron was damp with rain and sweat.

Aaron pulled off just long enough to hiss, “You wanna do me?”

Then he worked his lips down Jake’s shaft again, pumping his fist in
time to his suction.

Jake shook his head. “Nah. I’m having too much fun like this.” He

used his tongue to press Aaron’s cock hard against the roof of his
mouth. Then he teased his finger further into Aaron’s crease until he
probed at Aaron’s ass. At the pressure, Aaron started bucking, hips
churning, and his cock spreading Jake’s lips wide.

With a muffled hum, Jake rolled the pair of them over so that

Aaron was below. He licked his way off Aaron’s cock and craned his
neck to tongue Aaron’s ass. He tasted like spice, musk, and ocean.
And he was smooth, like he’d been waxed—fucking hot as hell.

Jake thrust harder into Aaron’s mouth. He knew Aaron was a step

ahead, so he pumped fast, trusting Aaron to push him off if he went
too deep. When he felt his balls tuck up under his body and blood

Lei’d by the Shark

pooling in his cock, Jake pushed two fingers into Aaron’s pucker and
wrapped his mouth around Aaron’s cock.

It felt like their bodies were connected by an electrical circuit.

Jake spurted and a split second later tasted Aaron’s first splash of
cum. Each bitter swallow was answered with an undulation of
Aaron’s throat. The cycle went on, smooth and slow, with enough
time between each spasm for Jake to feel the next one grip his balls.

When the last, dry quivers softened their dicks, Jake smoothed

Aaron onto his side. He gently kissed Aaron’s hips, and then Jake
shifted a lax Aaron around so that he lay nested in Jake’s arms.

Aaron blew a sigh across Jake’s chest. He pressed a kiss into his

pectoral. “If I ask you a question, do you promise not to laugh?”

Jake’s chest bounced as he said, “Yeah. Of course.”
“Can all Native Hawaiians turn into sharks?”
“Um, no.” Jake pressed his lips together to avoid chuckling. He

thought about what to tell Aaron. Rivulets of light rain ran down the
window outside. He knew if he tried to lie, his father would send a
typhoon. “No, it’s just me and six other guys. One for each island.”
He wracked his brain. “No girls, as far as I know.” Maybe shark gods
only had Y-Chromosome DNA.

Aaron hitched an elbow under him, raising his head. “I remember

hearing a story once, about shark gods in Hawaii. I wondered if
maybe there was some kind of inside joke.” When Jake looked at him
quizzically, Aaron added a toss of his hair and a shrug. “You never
know.”

“How’d a mainlander like you hear that story?” Jake ran a finger

down Aaron’s throat to toy with his collarbone.

Aaron blushed, looking away. “The Waikiki Kailua Lani.”
Jake had heard of the hotel. “Spring break?”
“Christmases when I was little. They had a daycare.” Aaron’s

eyes took on a faraway expression. But then his gaze snapped back to
its hard edge. “I know how you feel about Waikiki.” Aaron shifted up
to sitting. “But some of my best memories were there.”

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“I’ve never been,” Jake admitted. “But I heard they have a lot of

nightlife.” All the boys he’d hooked up with in Paiela seemed to know
about the beaches and clubs in Waikiki. But magic bound Jake to the
island of Maui. “And I know all their gods live on the Big Island, in
exile. The shark god’s son lives on island, but it’s too built up for the
gods.”

“Oh.” Aaron shifted to sitting, his face creasing with concern. “So

Waikiki pushed them away?”

Jake chewed his lip. “No, not exactly. More Honolulu and

Waikiki and the rest. The gods live in the trees and the land. And
when that land gets paved over with roads and hotels…”

“Huh.” Aaron scratched at his hair. Then he nibbled his fingernail,

nervously. “Listen, I’m going to take your word for it. But, don’t you
think maybe the gods should find some other way to keep existing?
Like, live in the sky or the ocean or something?”

“What, like your God?” Jake’s temper flared.
Aaron held up his hands. “I don’t believe in God, and neither did

my parents. Don’t put your issues on me!” He stared out the window,
as if a wall had come down between them.

Jake felt like shit for putting Aaron back on the outside of an

imaginary divide. He coaxed closer to Aaron’s side, taking his hand.
Then he crooned, “Hawaii has several shark gods, and they
sometimes take human form and come to land.”

“Like Kauhuhu.” Aaron said it kind of prissy, as if he wasn’t sure

he was done being offended. “I was one of those kids who, once I got
something in my head, I had to know all about it.”

“I can imagine.” Jake pictured a small boy with Aaron’s sharp

eyes, poring through books and driving every adult around him crazy
with questions. “Well, Ku-Hai-Moana is my father, but there are other
shark gods, too. Their children help protect the land.” He watched
while the ramifications of that permeated.

Aaron sat taller. “So, basically—it’s your mission in life to stop

Stilton from building this resort?” Aaron frowned.

Lei’d by the Shark

“Sorta.” Though his father always took a distinctly

antidevelopment stance, Jake knew the economy of the region. “Truth
is, we need someone to take over the hotel.” He wasn’t sure if he
should be admitting this to Aaron. After all, Aaron could use it to fuck
over the area. But Jake had two choices—lie to the man he loved, or
take a chance. “A lotta people had jobs there. And others got business
from the people who came to stay.” He thought about the general
store and how bare the shelves had been without tourists coming in
regularly to keep inventory flowing. “Lot of folks around here rent
out Ohanas, but without that hotel, the staff had to take jobs on the
other side of the island.”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.” His expression was

thoughtful. “Have any other potential buyers approached the
owners?”

“A few, but none of them bid as high as Stilton.” Jake watched

Aaron think. “Do you think we could find another buyer?” A pinprick
of sadness popped Jake’s balloon of hope. If someone else bought the
property, Aaron would leave.

“No.” Aaron bounded off the bed. He grabbed his flat computer

off the table and turned it on with a touch of a button. “Stilton won’t
back off unless there’s a good reason to balk. I’m not even sure they
can at this point.” He started typing directly on the tablet’s screen.
“Let me look more closely at the projections and see if I can dig up
who else the current owners had on the hook in case Stilton fell
through.”

Jake wrapped himself around Aaron’s back and rested his chin on

Aaron’s shoulder. With Aaron in his arms, Jake felt like he could take
on the gods themselves. “So, you think you can get Stilton to lose
interest?” Jake smiled. “Gonna plant some more bedbugs?” Jake was
still mad at his father for not doing something to stop the infestation.
His father had claimed he didn’t have any power to stop forces of
nature, only to encourage them.

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“Ew, no!” Aaron twitched. He cocked his head around and

planted a kiss on Jake’s cheek. “I’m thinking more about a shark
attack.”

Lei’d by the Shark

Chapter Eight

Aaron stood nervously in front of the empty hotel, waiting for his

supervisor to arrive. The sky was clear and open, with only the
faintest wisps of clouds floating out toward the water. A rented
convertible appeared at the top of the hill then pulled into the circular
driveway, blaring rap music. Paul Nickerson drew to a stop and cut
the engine. “Hello, Aaron.” He climbed out of the leather-upholstered
seat. The guy wore a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar and
gray slacks. He looked like a corporate pirate.

“Hi, Paul.” Aaron reached out a hand. “Was your flight okay?”
“Yeah, it was fine.” Paul peered through the hotel’s windows at

the empty office. “Man, this place is a shithole.” He didn’t wait for
Aaron to reply before popping the trunk of his car and pulling out a
suitcase. “Stilton’s gonna make a killing out here.” He pulled his
smartphone out of his pocket and glared at it. “Do you have any idea
how many people visit Maui every year? Now they’ll finally have
somewhere to stay on this side.”

Aaron thought about his cozy Ohana apartment in the jungle.

Even without the very fuckable Jake next door, it was preferable to
staying at a hotel that looked like every other hotel on the planet. But
he didn’t tell Paul that. “I’m staying with a friend.” Aaron tagged
along behind as Paul rolled his suitcase. “So you can have the room
they set aside for me.”

“Wow.” Paul slowed enough to let Aaron, and his key, pass. “You

move fast.” He didn’t say anything more on the topic. Paul was
always trying to tease Aaron’s sexual orientation out of him. And

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though Aaron wasn’t closeted per se, he didn’t like the idea of his
supervisor knowing what he did in bed.

“Here it is.” Aaron unlocked the door and pushed it open. He

resisted the urge to apologize. It wasn’t his fault Stilton hadn’t
prepared better rooms. He’d checked the one destined for Paul, and it
had been even worse.

“You’re kidding.” Paul stared at the bed with disbelief. “We’re

supposed to stay here?”

“It’s the glamorous life.” Aaron threw open the window to tempt

the breeze. Then he turned on the ceiling fan.

“No air-conditioning?” Paul searched the edges of the room as if

he simply could not believe that a room without AC could possibly
exist. “Are you serious?”

Aaron snorted a small laugh. “I know it’s not as comfortable as

you’re used to, but you could come out to the beach with me this
afternoon. No one should be cooped up in here.”

Paul folded to sitting on the bed. “Um, yeah.” He scanned the

room for his suitcase, and then looked down at his clothes. The
hopeless expression on his face was almost pitiable. “Is there
anywhere to eat around here?”

“Sure, but they close early. We could pick up something on the

way.” Aaron patted Paul on the sleeve. His skin itched with the force
of his guilt. He’d always seen Paul as competition, as a shark out to
fight his way to the top. Now he realized Paul and he were part of the
same school of fish, just following one another in what seemed like
the right direction.

“Oh, okay.” Paul looked gratefully at Aaron then pulled his

belongings into the bathroom and shut the door. He called out, “The
plumbing works, right?

“Yeah.” Aaron gave a sympathetic smile, though Paul couldn’t

see it. “Hey, I’ll give you some privacy. See you out front in twenty
minutes?” He didn’t want to rush his boss, but the sooner he scared
the bejeezus out of Paul the faster the poor guy could fly back to

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headquarters and his air-conditioned apartment in San Diego, serviced
by ten different kinds of food delivery.

Aaron hiked around to the front of the building and saw Jake

walking down the hill to the hotel. He tensed. Aaron didn’t have any
reason to believe Paul would connect Jake to the shark sighting,
except…He had a weird feeling that he should keep Jake and Paul
separate.

“Hey, sexy.” Jake jogged as he approached. “The guy show up

yet?” Jake was wearing cutoff jean shorts and a worn tank top. He
looked hot as hell, but Aaron tensed at the thought of Paul and him
interacting.

“Yeah. He’s here.” Aaron peeked over his shoulder nervously. He

spoke in a hiss. “You need to get out of here.”

Jake shifted onto his heels. “You don’t want him seeing me?”
“No! I mean, well…yes. But I don’t want to give him any ideas,

have him make any connections.” Aaron walked toward town, as fast
as he could. He wanted to crest the hill before Paul would have a
chance to see him and Jake together.

“You think he’s gonna guess that I change into a shark?” Jake

stopped in the road, his arms crossed and his jaw hard. “He must be a
really smart guy, yeah?” In Jake’s low, steady voice the sarcasm bit
deep.

Aaron cupped his forehead in his hand. He wiped off sweat from

the afternoon sun. “Of course he wouldn’t guess.” He struggled to
explain his reasoning to Jake when he couldn’t even explain it to
himself. “It’s just…”

Jake raised a severe eyebrow.
“I need to be the same, Jake.” Aaron put his hands on his hips for

a moment, but then realized the posture made him look queen-y, and
he crossed his arms in a mimic of Jake. “Paul needs to think nothing
has changed with me.”

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Pain flashed behind Jake’s eyes, and Aaron wondered what had

caused it. “Why, Aar?” Jake asked it with the pet name, which only
made Aaron feel worse.

Aaron wanted to say it was because it might jeopardize the plan to

get Stilton out of Halana, but that wasn’t the truth. “Because I don’t
want to lose my job.”

Jake studied him, as if some deep truth about Aaron was slowly

settling in. Aaron found himself wishing Jake still believed whatever
lie it was that had made him happy. “You don’t, do you?” Jake said it
like an admission of defeat. He walked past Aaron, and in the
direction of Halana town. “Well, I guess I’ll get down to the bay,
then.”

“I’ll see you later,” Aaron called after him. His heart fell into his

stomach and sat there like a piece of lead. Feeling like shit for
blowing off Jake, he wandered to the entrance of the old hotel just in
time to see Paul stumble uphill from the cabins.

Paul wore board shorts and a collared T-shirt and carried a towel.

His sandals looked just as pristine as Aaron’s had when he’d first
arrived in Maui. “You ready?” Paul called.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Aaron stared at the road that separated

them from the town and bay of Halana, and steeled his nerves. He
forced his thoughts to later, when he’d be able to return to Jake’s
house. They never had gotten around to actual fucking at his Ohana,
having wanted to save something special to do after Stilton pulled out
of Halana. Hopefully, Jake would forgive him by then. Aaron nodded
at Paul. “We might as well do this thing.”

* * * *

“I still don’t see why I have to run around screaming like a girl.”

Eli snatched a beer out of Jake’s cooler and popped the cap. He pulled
off his shirt and stretched in the dappled sunlight.

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Jake followed suit, pulling off his top. Since the dock was

crowded, he decided to wait until he got in the water to strip naked.
“Just put on a good show, yeah?” The old spit stuck off the dock into
the middle of the bay. All along it, older men sat with fishing poles.
He stared in the direction of the restaurant on the waterfront.

“What the hell, you think I studied at Juilliard or something?” Eli

bitched.

Jake watched the tiny figures of Aaron and his coworker eating at

the picnic tables near the bay. The guy, Paul, had hair so blond it
looked almost white. “Now’s as good a time as any.” He walked out
to the end of the dock, nodding to the various guys along the way.
Then he turned to Eli. “Give me five minutes, and then you can
jump.”

Eli gave an exaggerated eye roll. He downed more of his beer.

“Whatever.”

“Fine” Jake dove into the water.
Water splashed up around him, clouding his senses. The pound of

the waves and surf were like a thousand whispering voices as he
shifted form. His nerves sang with their information as Jake’s flesh
smoothed and cooled into that of a shark. His nictitating membrane
snapped into place, making the water instantly look smooth as glass.
But Jake’s ears drew his attention. He heard his father’s voice echo
under the water.

You need to learn trust, Jacob, the ocean sang.
Jake couldn’t speak underwater, and he was pretty sure that’s why

his father so often talked to him while he was submerged. How do you
know what I need? he thought at his father. Jake was doing what his
father had asked—saving Halana town from overpopulation and
environmental destruction. What the fuck else did his father want?

I want you to be happy, Jake. This man will make you happy.
His giant teeth ground between his enormous jaws. If a shark

could laugh, Jake would have. Aaron? He tried to stop the thought
before it could form. He’s going to break my heart.

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Haven’t I taught you anything, Jake? The water echoed with the

chuckles of a god. In the distance, Jake heard the sound of Eli diving
into the water, and he knew it was showtime. But for some reason, he
wanted to hear what father said next.

You can’t build anything without first breaking something else.
Jake didn’t know if the sadness he heard was in his father’s voice

or in his own heart. Whatever, he echoed Eli. Then he swam in the
direction of his friend.

Eli beat a steady breaststroke, and when he was only a hundred

yards from the shore, he stopped and threaded water. Seeing his legs
batting below the surface, Jake’s shark senses sizzled to high alert.
He’d been honest with Aaron—Jake was in charge even in shark
form. Still, the sight of flailing legs underwater tempted him to take a
bite.

Jake resisted the draw. He rose to the surface and circled Eli in

wide passes. Soon, he heard Eli’s voice shouting.

“Fuck! It’s a shark! Oh, fuck!” Eli thrashed around, and Jake

hoped that the folks on the beach were watching. He swept by Eli one
direction, then another. When it got shallow enough that he risked
being seen too clearly, Jake turned around and dove deeper into the
ocean.

He thought he could hear some shouts and calls on land, but Jake

couldn’t be sure. He just hoped that Aaron got whatever it was he’d
wanted.

* * * *

“Oh, my God! Does that happen often in Hawaii?” Paul recorded

the footage on his cell phone. He held the thing aloft the whole time
Jake’s screaming friend swam to shore. Apparently, Paul thought
having a cool video to post online was more important than helping
someone who might have been attacked.

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“That’s the third one I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Aaron lied

“I’m surprised Stilton decided to move forward with the resort here.”
Aaron folded his food box closed and tossed it in the trash along with
his drink cup. “The locals say there’s a school of sharks nearby.”
Aaron shrugged, trying to play up the danger enough to scare off
Stilton, but not so much it would attract public scrutiny.

“Wow.” Paul stared at the bay. His forehead creased in thought.

“Have you mentioned it to the higher-ups?”

“Not yet.” That was a hole in the plan, and Aaron knew it. He

should have told their boss about the sharks before Paul came out, but
Aaron hadn’t wanted to be implicated. He bit his lip. “I assumed he
knew.” It was a flimsy excuse, but Aaron watched Paul’s features,
hoping he’d buy the story.

“Huh.” Paul pulled out his phone and clicked it on, probably to

send an e-mail to the Vice President of Development, but he
grimaced. “How the hell is anyone supposed to send mail around
here?”

Aaron hid a grin behind his hand. “The 3G signal works best up at

the store. If you draft mails on your phone or tablet, you can walk
over there to send them.”

Paul’s jaw dropped. “Really?”
Nodding, Aaron stood. The sun was dropping on the horizon and

once it fell altogether, it would be dangerously dark on the roads. “We
should get you back to your room.”

“Sure.” Paul looked reluctant to leave, but he followed behind,

texting as he walked. They climbed the road, and when they passed
the general store, Paul paused and held his phone aloft. “I’m just
going to send one thing.”

Aaron waited, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. This was it—

Paul was sending an e-mail advising company brass to pull out of the
Halana project. Aaron thumbed his car keys in his pocket, itching to
drive back to Jake’s place and give him a big, happy kiss. “Did it go
through?” Aaron gestured at Paul’s phone.

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“Yup.” Paul tucked the machine in his pocket.
“Well, good.” Aaron picked up his pace, leading Paul back to the

old hotel.

Lei’d by the Shark

Chapter Nine

Jake stared out the window at the dark driveway until he heard

wheels crunch on dirt and leaves outside. Not wanting to seem like he
was waiting, Jake strode back into his living room and settled on the
couch. He listened to the sound of Aaron’s footsteps outside, and a
dull ache setting up residence in his chest. If Stilton pulled out of
Halana, Jake might never see him again.

“Jake?” Aaron shouted.
“Yeah.” Jake bounded off the couch he’d barely warmed. He

opened the door to find Aaron standing on his threshold, smiling to
his ears, body brimming with excitement.

Aaron launched into Jake’s arms, pushing him backward into the

house. “God, I’m sorry about before.” He pulled Jake’s shirt up to his
armpits and ducked his head to kiss Jake’s chest. His hands were
feverish and desperate as he fumbled with Jake’s fly.

Jake couldn’t help but feel like this was good-bye sex. He

responded in kind, dragging Aaron’s clothes off, kissing every inch of
skin he could find. He didn’t even have the heart to tell Aaron to slow
down. Maybe if he fucked Aaron hard enough, made him shout loud
enough, maybe then Aaron would stay.

“Bed. Now.” Aaron breathed in Jake’s ear. And then Jake backed

him through the passageway and into his tiny room.

He fell on top of Aaron, onto the bed. Their cocks, already steely,

crushed between their bodies, bruised by the force of their thrusts.
Jake reached down to rub them off together, but Aaron batted his
hand away.

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“I’ll come too fast.” Aaron squirmed underneath him, rolling onto

his belly. “I want you inside me.” He pushed his ass up until Jake
nestled between Aaron’s cheeks. “C’mon.”

“Okay.” Jake reached into his nightstand for some slick and a

condom. He watched the rise and fall of Aaron’s back as the smaller
man settled onto the bed and started to relax. Jake wanted to see
Aaron’s face, but the whole thing was too fast and desperate. If he
saw sadness or resignation in Aaron’s eyes, Jake didn’t think he’d be
able to perform. His only hope was to pretend Aaron was his, and
they lived together by a crescent bay. They woke up together every
morning and shared coffee while the birds sang.

“You with me?” Aaron twisted, studying Jake over his shoulder.
“Yeah.” Jake smiled, trying to keep up the fantasy when the

reality was written all over Aaron’s face. He could be sad later. “I got
ya.” Jake lubed up a couple fingers and stroked them into Aaron’s
crease. When Aaron sighed and laid his face on the pillows, Jake
pressed kisses into his shoulders and back.

Aaron’s muscles gave way to Jake’s one finger, then the second.

Normally Aaron was so wriggly and squirmy during sex, but with
Jake’s touch inside him, he turned loose and limbless. “Mmmmm.”
Aaron eased back into Jake’s hand.

Jake’s pulse sped up. He lined a third finger up with the other two

and eased it in, stretching Aaron’s tight pucker. When Aaron reached
between his legs and took his cock in hand, Jake rolled on the
condom. “You’ll hold on for me, yeah?”

“Mmm hmmm…” Aaron stayed flat on the bed, not jerking

himself so much as pumping his hips into his hand.

“Good boy.” Jake smiled into Aaron’s shoulder. Aaron’s body felt

perfect under his—long and taut. He thrust his hips in time with
Aaron’s, his cock slicking into Aaron’s furrow.

“Ah.” Aaron gasped when their movements pressed Jake’s

cockhead a small way into his hole.

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Jake nibbled up Aaron’s shoulder and to his ear, unable to pull out

even a short way. He rubbed Aaron’s deltoid, then slid his hand down
Aaron’s arm to clasp their hands. “You okay?”

Aaron nodded, breathing in short pants. But then he pressed back

in tentative pulses until his passage engulfed Jake’s cap.

“Holy Jesus.” Jake curled forward until his forehead rested on

Aaron’s neck. It felt too good, too hot and tight—better and worse
than their first time because Jake’s heart was breaking. “Tell me
when, Aar.” Jake tried to keep his movement shallow, when every
fiber of his body wanted to push deep and make Aaron his.

“Okay.” Aaron rubbed his face into the sheets, but then twisted his

neck around for a kiss. Their mouths met in a messy rub. “Yeah, I’m
good. You can go.”

Oddly, now that Jake had permission, he wanted to take his time.

He rolled his hips in a slow, deep pulse. Aaron’s body accepted him
all the way to the hilt, and Jake thought he’d cry at the tight pressure
of it.

“Oh yeah.” Aaron shifted under him, a sinuous roll of his spine

driving Jake mad. “Yeah, Just like that.” He started squirming, his
natural tendencies rising to the surface.

Jake hitched his body to a higher angle. Then he grabbed a

handful of Aaron’s hair—not being rough, but wanting to position
Aaron with enough of an arch so Jake hit the right spots.

Aaron responded with frantic bucking, rising up partway onto his

knees.

“Rub off for me.” Jake wanted to make Aaron come just from

being fucked, but he didn’t think he could last that long. Aaron was
too sexy, and he smelled too good. Plus, if he waited too long, he
might break down crying before he came. “C’mon, I wanna feel you
coming.”

Aaron made a strangled moan and did as Jake asked. He trembled,

holding more still than before. He vibrated as if the sensation was too
much. Jake could tell from the angle of his arm that Aaron wasn’t

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rubbing his dick so much as holding his fist in an O and letting Jake’s
thrusts push him forward.

Jake reared back. He palmed Aaron’s hips, spearing into him until

cum filled his balls and pleasure coursed through his groin. “I’m
gonna blow, Aar. You ready?” They didn’t have to come together, but
Jake wanted it. He needed that perfect connection he’d felt when he
and Aaron had used their mouths.

“God—fuck.” Aaron growled out his orgasm, collapsing onto the

bed. Jake followed him down, letting Aaron’s body milk the spasms
from his sac. They came in harmony, lying with their bodies flush,
pulses of heat ricocheting between Jake’s cock and Aaron’s ass.

He didn’t want to pull off or pull out. Jake wanted to fall asleep

connected and wake pumping in his own cum.

After a long moment, Aaron murmured, “You probably wanna—”
“Yeah.” Jake took the hint and rolled off. He tugged off the

condom and went to the bathroom to toss it in the garbage. As he was
washing off, Aaron crowded in behind.

Aaron stepped past Jake and into the shower like he owned the

place. As if they were longtime lovers.

And though Jake wanted to keep pretending, he found his eyes

flushing with tears, and he ducked out of the bathroom before Aaron
could see.

* * * *

Aaron woke to the sound of roosters crowing and to the smell of

coffee. He peered at the sky through Jake’s screened window,
stretching like a cat in sheets that smelled like him and Jake, sweat
and sex.

He could certainly visit again. Stilton had enough resorts in

Hawaii that Aaron might be able to maneuver a position at one of the
locations. But that could take months, if not years. And Jake and he’d
only known each other a few days.

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“’Ey, you up?” Jake wandered into the room, holding mugs of

coffee in both hands. “Here.” He handed one down to Aaron then sat
on the bed.

“Thanks.” Aaron took a sip. He wanted to talk about the future, to

brainstorm ideas of how he and Jake could keep seeing each other.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do it before caffeinating.

Jake peered at his coffee cup. “You heard anything from your

boss yet?”

“No. I should check my e-mail though.” Aaron shuffled to the side

of the bed and picked his phone off the nightstand. He turned it on.
Then, taking another fortifying sip of coffee, he thumbed to his
messages. What he saw there made him wish he’d showered first as
well. “Oh, fuck.” Aaron twisted around to sitting. “Shit. They want to
go ahead with the resort, but they’re going to re-brand it a shark-
watching destination.”

“What?” Jake pressed up next to him, trying to read over Aaron’s

shoulder. “They can’t do that. People don’t go out shark watching the
way they do whale watching.”

Aaron stared at his phone in increasing disbelief. “They want to

use cages. Have people go shark diving.”

Jake blinked at the smartphone, his face gone blank. He opened

his mouth, but then shut it again. Then he stood, and not saying a
word, walked away.

Shaking his head, Aaron kept reading. The plan wasn’t set in

stone, but Stilton would be sending a team of divers out in the next
few weeks to try and determine where the sharks lived in order to find
the best locations for viewing. At least Aaron had time. “Jake?”
Aaron put the phone down and went to join Jake in the kitchen. He
roamed his hands over Jake’s bare chest, stroking his muscles.

“Well, that backfired, yeah?” Jake hung his head.
“I guess.” Aaron rolled his eyes at his mug.
Jake spun around and pinned Aaron with a hard look. “They can’t

build this resort, Aaron.” He stomped across his house and opened a

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box under a desk in the living room. Jake pulled out a pile of papers.
“Look at these.” He tossed them on the breakfast bar that stuck out
from the kitchen counter.

Aaron stared at the lists of numbers. “What are these?”
“Projections.” Jake pointed to a line in the rows of data. “That’s

how much traffic flow the current road can handle.” Then he laid
another legal-sized sheet of paper over the first one. “And that’s how
much the road would have to be expanded to accommodate traffic
caused by Stilton’s resort.” He shuffled the papers some more, leafing
through to look for something. “Here.” He shoved a printout under
Aaron’s nose. “Look at how many more houses are going to have to
be built to accommodate the new employees.”

“You had these all along?” Aaron ran his fingers over the notes.

He struggled to catch up with the new information. “Who compiled
this?”

“The Highway and Transportation Board mostly.” Jake pulled out

a large legal pad covered with scrawl. “I did a few calculations
myself.”

“Why didn’t you just show me these in the first place?” It didn’t

make any sense. With this much data, someone could easily make a
case against the resort expanding the size of the current hotel.

“Would you have listened?” Jake scrubbed at his hair, his

expression resigned. “Or would you have brought in your own guys to
come up with different calculations.”

Aaron opened his mouth to argue, but then shut it again. Much as

he hated to admit it, Jake was right. Stilton never would have taken
the Highway and Transportation Board’s data at face value. They
would have swung the numbers to say what they wanted. “Okay, fine.
I see your point.” He wasn’t sure how things had gone so wrong so
quickly. “But don’t you see?” He stepped around the kitchen’s half-
wall to meet Jake’s eyes. “Now all we need to do it find an
environmental group and give them these numbers. They’ll challenge
Stilton, and—”

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“Why not you?” Jake growled.
“What?”
Jake snapped up his head, pinning Aaron with a searching stare.

“Why don’t you just present the numbers?”

Aaron pursed his lips. He tried not to show the shiver of anxiety

brought on by the thought of challenging the giant conglomerate.
Even bringing those reasonable estimates to his superiors made fear
trickle down his spine. “I…”

“You care too much about your job, yeah?” Jake huffed then spun

around to wash out his cup in the sink. He scrubbed it carefully and
set it in the rack to dry. “Well, it doesn’t matter either way. My dad’ll
just send a storm to wash out the road again. Or brew waves to block
the cargo ships.” Jake sighed. “He always gets his fucking way. But I
don’t want him losing more people their jobs. Hell, maybe even their
lives.”

“C’mon, Jake…” Aaron touched Jake’s arm. When Jake only

stiffened he laid his cheek on Jake’s shoulder. “I’ll try, okay?”

Jake shrugged like he didn’t believe it, and Aaron wasn’t sure he

believed it either. But he’d try. For Jake and the town, Aaron would
give it his best shot.

* * * *

When Aaron stepped out of the baggage claim area and into the

taxi stand outside, the San Diego air tasted acrid and dry. As usual, he
checked the messages on his phone, realizing that once again, he’d
missed his mom’s call. Now that they were on the same time zone, he
dialed her number, hoping to end the game of phone tag.

“Aaron?” She sounded surprised and pleased when she answered.
“Yeah. Hi, mom.” He struggled to hear her over the roaring of

traffic. “I’m at the airport. What’s up?”

She paused. “The airport in Maui?”

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He sighed, wishing he was back on the islands, rather than

surrounded by exhaust and honking cars. “No. I’m back in San Diego
now. There was…” He wasn’t sure what to tell her about the hotel.
His mom was cool, and endlessly accepting. She would understand
Aaron’s problems with the hotel. But his father would no doubt blame
any holdups on Aaron, and unfortunately, Aaron’s mom told his dad
everything. He rolled his neck. “There was a problem with the hotel. I
had to come back to meet with the Vice President.”

“Oh. Nothing major, I hope.”
Aaron wasn’t going to get into the story while standing around

waiting for a cab. “It’s a long story. Do you want to have lunch
later?”

“Sure, honey.” His mom’s voice was pure sunshine. “Do you

mind if your dad comes along?”

“No, that’s fine.” Aaron tensed. He didn’t really want to see his

father, but knew it would upset his mom if he said so. “At Jae’s?” He
suggested the Chinese place near his parent’s home.

“That sounds great. And good luck with your meeting.”
“Thanks.” Aaron hung up, and before he could start worrying

about talking to his father on top of everything else, Aaron rushed to
put in his earbuds. After a few clicks of his MP3 player, the
melancholy strum of ukulele filled his ears. If Aaron closed his eyes,
he could imagine he was still in Halana, where everything was quiet
and simple.

A taxi pulled up, Aaron folded into the seat.
“Where to?” the cabbie called back.
“The Stilton Building.” Aaron rattled off the address. He watched

out the window as buildings scrolled past, along with miles and miles
of highway. The skies were clear and blue, but Aaron didn’t find San
Diego as pretty as he used to.

The cab pulled to a stop in front of the imposing edifice of

concrete and glass. Aaron gripped his briefcase in one hand and
dragged his travel bag with the other. The glass doors whirred open

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automatically, as if they were trying to press him toward his
destination. He hated their efficiency.

“Hi, Tad.” Aaron waved to the security guard.
“Back from Hawaii already?” Tad called over. “Have fun?”
Aaron wasn’t sure how to describe what he had. Fun wasn’t the

right word. He flashed Tad a smile and said, “It was amazing.”

With the harsh expediency as the rest of the building, the elevator

dinged a moment after Aaron pressed the button. He boarded, riding
up to the forty-seventh floor. Then he stepped into the main level of
Stilton’s offices. The room simmered with activity, everyone talking
into their phones a mile a minute. Workers passed at full speed and
didn’t even lift their heads to say hi.

He crossed through the room and to the meeting suite where he’d

scheduled time with the Vice President. His phone buzzed right as
Aaron was settling down and organizing his presentation. He checked
the screen, seeing Jake’s text message of good luck.

He texted back thanks. Aaron was going to hit send, but his

thumbs lingered over the keyboard. He had the strongest urge to add I
love you. A wave of vertigo swept over him, like he was being
dragged under by a rough tide. He loved Jake. It was the strangest
thing to feel about someone you hadn’t known long, but Aaron
couldn’t think of anyone he wanted to talk to, or have sex with, or
wake up next to more than his laughing, easygoing lover.

“Mr. Enomoto.” Stilton’s Vice President of Development entered,

followed by his secretary. He shuffled into the best seat in the room,
his expression distracted. Of course, he had hundreds of resorts to
oversee and the Halana project was only a blip on his balance sheet.
“I hope you have good news on the project in…” He shook his head
like an old walrus ruffling his rolls of skin. “The site on Maui. What
was the name of that town again? Holuka? Halalei?”

“Halana.” Aaron grit his teeth. “And to be honest…” He took a

deep breath and steeled himself for the confrontation. “After

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extensive consideration, I don’t think the site is suitable for the resort
we have planned.”

Aaron waited, heart thumping high in his chest for that look—the

narrow-eyed censure he so loathed to see. But the Vice President only
scrubbed his face with a thoughtful expression. “What makes you
think that?”

“Er…” Aaron blinked. “Well, I have some data that shows the

roads in the area won’t support the volume we’d bring. And the
region doesn’t have adequate employee housing. We’d be building
two hotels, basically. One for staff and the other for guests.” He
turned on his laptop and fired up his PowerPoint presentation. But
before he started, Aaron looking inquiringly at his boss. “I have to
ask, sir. Aren’t you…” He’d been going to say angry, but of course a
Vice President of a major corporation wouldn’t admit to being upset.
“Well, you don’t have any concerns?” He waited, confused as to why
his boss wasn’t showing any emotion.

“I hired you as Project Manager for a reason, Enomoto.” The Vice

President was checking his phone as he spoke. “If this project is going
to cost us money instead of making us money, better to find out now
than later, right? Was our contract on the property binding?”

Aaron hastened through his overhead projections to where he

discussed numbers and contracts. Then he loaded up his proposed
solution. “Well, sir, I’ve had some thoughts about that, too.”

* * * *

Aaron waited at the restaurant for his parents to arrive. The

familiar smell of sweet-and-sour chicken wafted through the booths
and the staff barked at each other in Chinese. He was starving and
tired, having taken the red-eye to make it to his meeting on time.

He spotted his dad first, and hoped that is mother wasn’t far

behind.

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Ken’ichi Enomoto was shorter than Aaron, about the same height

as Aaron’s mother. Though he still ran every day and retained the
intensity of a young man, his hair had streaked through with gray.
“Aaron,” Ken called over. He crossed the restaurant in a direct path
and took a seat across the booth. “Your mother had an appointment
run late. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Aaron’s mom was an orthodontist, and though she kept reasonable

hours, she often had to stay late to deal with patients.

“No problem.” Aaron opened his menu. He peeked past it at the

door, hoping his mother would walk through and save him from
talking to his father.

“So, how is the project in Hawaii?” His father’s gaze pierced

Aaron, as if he was asking him to recite his times tables in third grade.

“We’ve had to make some adjustments.” Aaron aimed to be as

vague as possible. He wasn’t fired, and the Vice President was happy
with his work. So it shouldn’t have mattered to him what his father
thought. Except that it did.

“You’re not going to slow things down are you? Or cost the

company extra money?”

Aaron pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, trying to

quell the headache brought on by too much thinking and too little
sleep. “Y’know, dad—it’s not all about making money, okay?” He
thought about Halana town and the people who lived there. None of
them had what his dad would consider a desirable job or a decent life.
Yet they’d all seemed perfectly happy.

Ken made a sound in between a snort and a scoff. “Not

everything, no. But the hotel business is.”

“You don’t work in my field, so as far as I’m concerned, you

don’t have any room to criticize.” Aaron’s eyes went wide as soon as
the words left his mouth. He’d never spoken to his father like that
before, not even when he’d been a rebellious teenager. Mostly, he’d
spent his high school years hiding on his computer in alternate

90 Daisy

Harris

realities, and his college years getting drunk and having sex to blow
off steam. Direct confrontation had never been Aaron’s thing.

His father stared at him for a long time. Eventually, he went back

to reading his menu. Aaron could hardly believe it when his dad
muttered, “I guess you’re right.”

And though the words may have been tinged with sarcasm, it was

enough of a victory that Aaron smiled. He looked out the window
again, catching sight of his mother on the sidewalk outside.

She smiled when she saw him, and as Aaron waved back, he

wondered if she’d planned to be late on purpose.

* * * *

Jake and the guys had left late, so there wasn’t much surfing to be

had by the time they arrived in Paiela. The sunlight filtered sideways
through clouds. And though he and the guys swam out the break, they
only caught a few lackluster waves before agreeing to rinse off in the
beach shower. The water ran rivulets over his skin, and Jake longed
for Aaron’s warm body.

Kono bumped his shoulder. “We should hit The Reef, brah. It’s

your kinda night.”

“You serious?” Jake washed the soap out of his eyes and then

toweled off. In his depression about Aaron leaving, he’d forgotten it
was Queer Night at the bar. He scowled at his friends. “I’m not a
breeding stud you can pair up with just anyone.”

“I would never think that.” Eli exchanged a sly look with Kono.

Then he ducked under the shower to rinse off the salt. “I’m sure
you’ll find someone you like tonight.” He snickered into the water,
and then twisted out of the way when Jake batted his side. Clearly the
guys were up to something.

“I don’t even want to know, yeah?” Jake wrapped his towel

around his waist, and then he reached underneath to untie his board

Lei’d by the Shark

shorts. He dropped them to the ground and, dressed only in the swath
of beach-print terry cloth, jogged back to his truck for his clothes.

When Jake saw Aaron standing there in the parking lot, he

stopped in his tracks. Aaron wore a collared, long-sleeved shirt and
khaki pants as if he’d just gotten off an airplane.

“Aar.” Jake crossed the space between them in long strides. Then

he dragged Aaron into a hug. He wanted to breathe in Aaron’s smell,
but worried he’d pop wood behind his towel. So Jake pulled back just
far enough to look at the love of his life.

“Hey, Jake.” Aaron’s smile brightened. “I couldn’t wait to see

you. Your friends told me to wait until you got to the bar, but I…” He
wrapped his arms around Jake again, his long body stretched. “Fuck, I
missed you.”

“You told Eli and Kono you we’re coming back but not me?” Jake

took Aaron’s hand and led him to his truck. He scowled over his
shoulder at Eli and Kono. The pair of them were chuckling into their
fists.

His friends could hitch back to Halana for all Jake cared.
“I only found out the day before yesterday. I thought it would be

fun to surprise you.” He climbed into the passenger seat of Jake’s
truck. Aaron glared at the setting sun, plucking his too-warm shirt
away from his body. “Do you have a shirt I could borrow? I’m
melting.” Then Aaron did the most wonderful thing imaginable—he
ripped off his dress shirt and tossed it in the sand-covered backseat.
Then he leaned back, lifting his arms to weave his hands behind his
neck.

“Sure.” Jake leaned in past Aaron, taking the opportunity to catch

a whiff of the delicious splay of hair under his arms. “I got you.” He
pressed a kiss onto Aaron’s mouth, and landed a shirt and a pair of
cutoff shorts in his lap. “You gonna be my date to Queer Night?”

Aaron yawned. He pulled Jake’s loose tank top over his head.

Closing the door, he shuffled out of his pants. Jake hurried around to
the driver’s side just in time to catch a glimpse of Aaron’s burgundy

92 Daisy

Harris

briefs before Aaron buttoned up his shorts. “Don’t think I’m up for it
tonight,” Aaron said sadly. “I’m crazy jet-lagged.” Then his eyes
sparkled with mischief when he said, “Let’s just go home.”

Jake’s heart did a little dance in his chest. He didn’t know if

Aaron was playing along with his fantasy or being serious, but he
didn’t care. Aaron was his guy tonight. He started the engine. “Your
wish is my command.” He smiled at his lover again and started to
back out of the parking space, but Aaron stopped him with a hand on
Jake’s arm.

“You know I really like you, right?”
“Yeah.” Jake wasn’t sure what to say. He loved Aaron, loved him

more than anything. “I really like you too, Aar.” He felt like a but was
coming any moment, and Jake didn’t want to be the one to say it. “If
things were different…”

“I’m moving to Halana.” Aaron did a little wriggling movement in

his seat, the type of thing he always did when excited. “I’ve
convinced the brass to build a smaller hotel—Stilton Eco Resort and
Cultural Center.” Aaron grinned to his ears. “It’s being funded by one
of Stilton’s foundations and run as a nonprofit in conjunction with one
of the local conservation groups.” He paused for a breath. “So I guess
what I wanted to ask was if you’re interested in—”

“Yes.” Jake noticed drivers piling behind them, trying to get out

of the parking lot. He shifted the truck into gear and pulled onto the
road.

“You don’t even know what I was gonna ask.” Aaron undulated,

twisting around to kiss Jake’s neck while he drove.

“I fucking love you, Aar. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Aaron stilled, his mouth poised at Jake’s collarbone. The

countryside raced by and Jake wondered if now would be the moment
when cold, hard reality dashed his little pretend world.

Then Aaron let out a sigh that blew across Jake’s chest. “I love

you, too.” He hurried past the words. “And I was just going to ask if I

Lei’d by the Shark

could stay with you. I mean, it doesn’t have to be forever. I can find a
place to rent—”

“Aw hell, Aar.” Jake wrapped an arm around Aaron’s shoulder. “I

can’t imagine anything better. You can stay as long as you want. Hell,
I’d like to see you try to get away from me.” Jake glimpsed at Aaron’s
disbelieving face. With a smirk, he pointed out the water, then out to
the trees all around. “I’ve got family in high places, yeah? I’m not
gonna let you get away.”

“Oh well.” Aaron curled into Jake’s side. He yawned, shifting to

get comfortable. “I wasn’t planning on leaving anyway.” Then he
gave Jake a peck on the cheek. “I took a demotion in order to stay on
as manager of the hotel once it’s open. So you’re pretty much stuck
with me.”

Growling, Jake fused their lips in a kiss. Then he turned his

attention back to the road. The highway dipped to the side, ducking
under a swath of branches. A glimpse of the coastline focused into
view—blue water and black cliffs shone against a purpling sky. In a
rustle of wind through the branches, Jake was pretty sure he heard his
father laughing.

Jake closed his eyes for a second, chuckling internally at his

father’s antics. He spoke in his head, slowly so he’d be sure his father
understood. You might want to stop spying, dad. Jake kissed Aaron’s
head and wondered how fast he could get back to Halana. I’m pretty
sure I’m about to get laid.

THE END

WWW.THEDAISYHARRIS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Retired party girl and science fiction enthusiast, Daisy Harris

spends most of her time writing sexy, m-m romance and plotting the
fall of Western civilization. She lives in Seattle, where she tortures
her husband by making it rain. She enjoys watching bridges cause
traffic, watching football games cause traffic, and blithely wearing
wool socks with sandals.

Daisy loves to hear from her fans! Stop by her website or find her

on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr to connect and join in the fun.

Also by Daisy Harris

Siren Classic: Ocean Shifters 1: Mere Temptation

Siren Classic: Ocean Shifters 2: Mere Passion

Siren Classic: Ocean Shifters 3: Shark Bait

Siren Classic ManLove: Urban Merman 1: Jamie’s Merman

Siren Classic ManLove: Urban Merman 2: Hiro’s Merman

Siren Classic ManLove: Men of Holsum College 1: College Boys

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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