Blooming in the Wild Read Online Free

of viewer statistics until he’d been ready to jump out of his skin.
    She rolled her head as if to ease tension. Yeah, she was an uptight little executive, all right. The opposite of his kind of woman.
    “I meant Kau Forest Preserve,” she said. “Na’alele.”
    He shook his head, something in her tone catching his interest. “You?” “I’ve spent some time in Kau Forest. I haven’t been down to Na’alele.” The photographer leaned forward. “What is this Na’alele?”
    “An old lava flow, really.” Ms. Hawaii’s tone warmed as she answered the other woman. “The ocean has hollowed it out over the centuries, so there are some fascinating formations. The waters have carved streambeds down through the forest, and there are pools, lovely grottos, farther up. Even some caves near the shore. Perfect for our photographs.”
    “I hear there are underwater caves offshore, as well,” Joel put in. “Might do some skin diving while we’re out here.”
    Bella Moran shook her head vehemently, her long hair slipping forward to spill across her breasts. “The Na’alele sea caves are extremely dangerous. Recently—well, a group of divers perished trying to explore the caves.”
    “I heard about that.” Camille Barrett looked out to sea. “Those poor, poor men.”
    “Tough,” Joel agreed, looking out at the deceptively smooth, lovely surface of the sea around them. “Hell of a way to go.”
    “I heard sharks got ’em,” Li said idly. He popped his gum and sucked it back in, his jaws flexing as he chewed.
    Camille moved sharply, and Joel watched as she eyed her assistant, her face tight. No doubt upset by the mention of Hawaii’s top predators, like many visitors, which was why Joel hadn’t bothered to correct Bella.
    From what he’d heard, the divers had been wealthy Californians, from a fairly notorious family—Hellbent, or some name like that. Reputed to have their hands in some bad business. No loss to society, and anyway, the divers had probably ignored warnings from the local dive guides not to spearfish there. Hawaii tourism officials hated it when haole visitors died—made Hawaii look bad. But the local government couldn’t babysit every fool who visited.
    Anyway, he’d only been needling Ms. Hawaii with his mention of cave diving. He’d taken more than his share of risks, but he wasn’t stupid. He always made it really clear on his show that his adventures were not to be replicated by the inexperienced.
    The island was a cloud-capped green bulk off the port side as they headed south, past the ragged string of South Kona condos. The surf was a gentle surge of white against the rocky shore, the palm trees leaning over the shore like quiet sentinels, their fronds stirring gently in the evening breeze.
    “So just to make sure we all understand,” his nemesis went on. “There will be no swimming or diving anywhere around those sea caves, is that understood?”
    “Worried about your company’s indemnity clause, Ms. Moroney?”
    Twin patches of color stained her golden cheeks. “It’s Mo ran . And yes, I am. Given your career, I understand caution may not be in your personal vocabulary, but it’s my job to see that you don’t take chances while you’re on DelRay time.”
    Her sharp words hung between them. The others listened avidly, watching Joel to see how he’d handle her warning.
    “Maybe you can make a list and send it to my phone,” he offered. “So I know exactly what I’m allowed to do and not do on DelRay time.”
    Her brows scrunched together over her shades. Joel swore he heard a drum playing, as when two gunfighters stepped into the street in one of those old Westerns. But of course that was only the throb of the big boat engine as their captain sped up through the waves.
    The male model grinned, his teeth impossibly white against his golden skin. “Good times can still be had, though. Right, ladies?”
    The lovelies seated on either side of him nodded, but the blonde