Chapter 6
chapter six
Julienne fell asleep just after takeoff and missed most of the trip. Nothing new for her. She tended to sleep during a flight or if she wasn’t driving. Truth was, though, she needed the sleep. She hadn’t had enough the night before, and she was still groggy when she finally stepped out of the Wulf family jet. The balmy Hawaiian air wrapped around her, making her want to go back to sleep. One of the things about Hawaii was that her type A traits did seem to disappear. When the air was so warm and sweet, why would she want to do anything but sit on the sand and enjoy it?
“Bloody hell, I love it here,” David said as he walked beside her. He had been chomping at the bit to find out what happened, but he knew Julienne wouldn’t talk in front of their flight staff. That just wasn’t done and, for a woman who was suffering in the rags back in England, Julienne wanted to make sure not to give any of them any more information.
Besides, she wasn’t sure how to explain what happened.
“Welcome back to the island, Ms. Wulf,” John their family driver said. She smiled at him, as staff ran around them bringing her luggage to the back of the town car.
“Mahalo, John, and I’ve told you to call me Julienne.”
He just smiled and held the door open for her. She slid inside as David made sure their luggage was stowed properly.
Julienne to the family: We made it to Oahu.
Nic: Oh, good, and you’re a couple of days early. Sit by the pool and get a tan.
Mother: Good to know, dear.
Jensen: She has work to do, Nic.
Nic: She flew halfway around the world. She gets a few days off.
Jensen: Excuse me. I thought I was the CEO of the company.
Julienne rolled her eyes. Her brother and sister-in-law were always bickering. She assumed it was their personal foreplay. Knowing them, they would end up having sex just because of this conversation. And thinking that made her feel icky.
Jakob: Who is this and why are you telling me you’re in Hawaii?
And, then there was Jakob, the brother who could charm anyone, especially all the women who flocked to his movies, except the women he was related to. He irritated everyone in their family line. Well, except Mother. Her mother didn’t put up with any of his antics, so he knew not to even try.
David slipped into the town car beside her. “I take it that everyone knows we’re here?”
“Yep.”
“Good,” he said. “I could sleep for a thousand days.”
“The ride back the other way will be much worse. Remember the wedding?”
“That’s because you insisted on getting right back to work.”
She had. Maybe she should have spent more time on the island last time, but at least she should have at least a month here to explore everything. And the Johnson Hotel was on Maui, so she would get to spend some time over there too.
They talked about nothing important as they made their way through the mid-afternoon traffic. Oahu had always intrigued her. She had traveled all over the world, but she didn’t think she had ever been any place that had so many different climate zones as the most populist island in the chain. Growing up on an island had a very different feel in England than it did here, she thought with a smile.
Before long, they were pulling into the house her brother had purchased for the family to use. Marta met them at the door.
“Aloha, Marta,” Julienne said with a smile. “How are you doing today?’
“Fine, Ms. Jules.”
At least she wasn’t Ms. Wulf to Marta. It took them about thirty minutes to get their luggage into the house and get settled in their rooms. By the time she was walking down the open staircase that led to the main living area, she was ready for a nap again.
David was waiting for her. He’d already thrown on his swim trunks and was sipping a martini. Marta appeared with a glass of whiskey for her.
“Thank you, Marta.”
“Are you sure you don’t want any dinner?”
She shook her head. “You’ve put together the snacks. We’re fine with that.”
“And you don’t want me to stay?”
“We’re sure. We’re going to sit here and watch the sun set and then pass out I’m sure.”
The older woman smiled. “Well, then, I’m off. I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Have a nice night, Marta.”
She joined David on the lanai.
“You should be drinking something fruity,” David said, shaking his head.
“You’re drinking a martini. That’s hardly fruity.”
He scoffed at her as she took the seat next to his. As she had told Marta, he had situated them so that they could watch the sunset.
“So, please tell me about last night because I’m definitely dying to know about whatever went on.”
David had become her best friend over the last year. He was a couple years younger than her, and as her friends seemed to fade away under the scandal that Gregor fabricated, she found herself more and more dependent on David. He had stood by her side when the worst of the rumors hit.
“Well, I did what you told me to do.”
“I have told you so many things, including that you should wear your hair natural.”
This was a familiar argument between the two of them. The natural curls were too wild for her image, or so one of their handlers had told her when she was in her teens. Proper misses didn’t have out of control hair.
“About getting, you know.”
He chuckled. “I can’t believe you can’t use the word shag in reference to yourself.”
Even though she should be used to his outrageous comments, her face still flushed. “It’s just not something I usually share with people.”
“Well, with Gregor I understand.”
She said nothing since David was right. Gregor had been boring. She’d had no experience when they went to bed, but even an untried virgin that she was, she had known there was no spark. He was beyond tedious. As Alek had proven to her, Gregor had been a selfish bastard.
“Soooooo?”
She chuckled. “I met a guy.”
“Oh my God, just tell me. You are worse than Nic.”
David and Nic had become thick as thieves in the last year. He was still in awe of her ability to handle all things from the Wulf family, and she could be mean, especially if you threatened anyone in the family.
“Okay, so, he walked up to me when I was standing at the entrance of the bar.”
“And you were wearing that vintage black dress.”
She nodded.
“And? I swear to god, if you don’t tell me, I will call your mother and tell her you came out to me.”
Julienne rolled her eyes. Her mother wouldn’t be upset. She’d just start throwing women at Julienne.
“Okay, he was...” She closed her eyes and sighed. How did she describe a man who did the things he did to her? He didn’t even know her last name or who she was. But somehow, they’d been in tune with each other.
“That good?”
She opened her eyes. “I think he might have ruined me for all other men.”
David shook his head. “Did you get his number?”
She snorted. “I don’t even know his last name. But he was in one of the massive suites. I could find out.”
Her family owned the hotel and there was a good chance that she could dig and find out his name. But this was perfect. She had wanted a one-night stand, and she’d gotten one.
She frowned down at her drink, not really enjoying it. Would she ever enjoy whiskey again? Would she always associate it with Alek?
“What’s that look for?”
She glanced over at David and shook her head. “Nothing. I just didn’t expect to get so attached to a one-night stand. I mean, that’s what it’s supposed to be about, right? Just one night. A few orgasms, and then goodbye.”
He stared at her. “Come on. Out with it.”
“Out with what?”
“How many orgasms?’
She sighed. “I lost count.”
He chuckled. “I would definitely at least consider finding him. He sounds like King of the Orgasms, and you need to make sure to keep that on hand.”
“I told you, I don’t even know his last name.”
He slipped his glasses down on his nose, then stared at her over the top of them. “You could find out. Your family owns the hotel.”
That was true, but she worried that maybe he’d freak out if she tracked him down. It was for one night. And one morning. Even thinking about him sent a rush of tingles racing over her nerve endings leaving her hot and her nipples hard. It was embarrassing that even now she wanted him. It had been just a few hours since she had touched him, and she knew if he were here, there was a good chance she would jump at the chance to shag him again.
She closed her eyes and fought a shiver. The man had been so commanding in bed, so overwhelming in the best ways. Since she was such a Type A, many men were intimidated by her, but Alek hadn’t been. In fact, he seemed to enjoy breaking down all of her defenses. And for once, she trusted a man to do just that.
That was the embarrassing part of this whole thing. She didn’t know him at all, but there had been this need to just let loose. Was it because she would never see him again? Maybe that was it. The anonymity of the experience was part of the reason she could let go. As a woman who had lived most of her life in front of the very nasty camera, it was difficult to trust, especially when your best mates were whispering to the paps. He didn’t know her last name. She didn’t know his. That’s why it worked.
And no matter how much she wanted it to be otherwise, that was the way it had to stay.
Two days later, Julienne was ready to start working with the Johnson family. Right now, she was standing around waiting for the rest of her meeting partners to arrive. Nerves danced over her skin as she tried to keep herself calm about it all. She had done things like this before, but it had been a long time since she had to have face-to-face meetings. Too many assholes thought she was open for a good time with just anyone. She wasn’t usually needed on site, so she had stayed close to home. But now, she was in Hawaii and getting ready to help this family redo their resort.
She walked to the large floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the beach. God, how did anyone work here? Since arriving a couple of days ago, she found herself mesmerized by the ocean waves rolling into shore. The Johnsons owned the resort her family had invested in and planned on completely refurbishing. It had been her hope that her mother would pick her to do the design, but it wasn’t always a given. One thing, the family had to agree. And then her mother didn’t always pick Julienne. As much privilege as they had, Lillian Wulf made her children work for everything. She hadn’t been born with money and even though their father had been, Julienne knew he had agreed with her mother.
Just thinking about her father brought a frown to her lips, along with a sigh.
“Is everything okay, Ms. Wulf?” Robert Johnson asked. She glanced at the patriarch of the family and shook her head.
“Please, call me Julienne. And there’s nothing wrong at all. Just thinking about my father.”
“He was a good man?”
She nodded and smiled. “I think so, but don’t all little girls?”
His responding smile made her blink. Two very cute dimples and a ton of straight, white teeth seemed familiar, but she pushed aside the déjà vu. She hadn’t met him at the wedding. She’d been too busy running around dealing with the ceremony and reception and making sure Nic didn’t throw up on anyone. But there was something there she recognized.
“True. Ohana is very important.”
She nodded as more people filed into the conference room. Most of them were family members, but she knew from the information David had compiled, many of their employees had been with them for a long period of time.
“We’re waiting for my grandson. He’s going to be taking over in a few months.”
“Oh?”
She vaguely remembered something about him, but he hadn’t been working with the family for long. Something about being in the military.
“Ah, here he is,” Robert said, his voice filled with pride. She turned and her brain started bleeding. Just melting into nothing.
Oh, no. For a second, the room shifted beneath her feet and her knees turned to jelly. It had to be an illusion.
“About time you got here,” Robert said embracing a younger man, one with short hair, the same dimples, and she knew just how he sounded when he groaned in pleasure.
“Julienne, meet Aleka, my grandson. Aleka this is?—”
His eyes widened, telling her he had no idea of the connection either. “Jules?”
Bugger me.