The Moon’s Beloved, Purest Rose of Waikiki

Chapter 2

Dark rose is a color that slaps most women in the face if they try to wear it. To pale and it washes you out, to dark and all attention goes to the dress. Skin has to be untanned but not pink for the rose to match. Lucia was one of the lucky few whom dark rose compliments. She didn’t like to sun bathe, she preferred what she called a moon tan.

Indeed, when she stood in a high moon’s light she glowed like a virgin goddess. Lucia also didn’t care for any skirts that fell above the knee. However, she always made an exception for her rose dress. Made of finest sheer silk with a voluminous lining, it hugged her every curve like she was born in it. The dress had sat in a Paris shop for months before Lucia wore it. Dozens of women had tried it on before her but it either made them fat or thin, slutty or shapeless.

It only behaved for Lucia. Even her cropped hair was good to her tonight. When she heard the knock on the door promptly at seven, Lucia sashayed up to it with her dark red sash draped over her arms and a very special Austrian crystal necklace around her neck.

*****

While Lucia prepared for the dinner with confidence, all of McGarrett’s clothes seemed to have developed a vendetta against him in the last two hours. His suits refused to fit right, his flowered shirts threatened to blind him, and there was no way in flaming hell he was wearing denim to this date, no matter how good girls said he looked in it. He finally settled on a black suit that fit fine but made him look like he was on his way to a funeral.

He tried to spice it up with a mother of pearl clip, but that just made him look like a budding drug lord. With only half an hour left before seven he threw the pin away and stomped out the door.

He stopped briefly to pick up a bouquet of dark red roses, arriving at seven on the dot. McGarrett nearly doubled over when he saw Lucia. He never in his entire life, even at thirteen when a greasy faced shy girl with pigtails could be pretty, had he ever thought a woman could be this beautiful.

He said nothing, just smiled; removed one rose form the bouquet and ran it down her cheek. Lucia smiled back took the rose in her hand reaching up and tracing his jaw with it.

McGarrett threw all reservations out the window, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in. He was up to kiss her long and hard but Lucia put the rose in between their lips and stopped him.

“We’re old fashioned,” she whispered. “Behave.”

McGarrett smiled wickedly from behind the rose then pressed a kiss on its petals. He nudged it to hers, pinning the soft crimson bud in between their lips. Lucia returned the kiss and McGarrett opened his eyes. The intense heat roared back to life as he observed how her lips formed to the luscious curve of the rose bud.

At last they pulled away from one another. Lucia took a huge shaky breath and walked around to the passenger side, letting herself in. McGarrett climbed in and gently handed her the bouquet.

He leaned over a bit and gave her smoldering stare that she returned in kind. Finally he leaned away and started the Mercury up.

*****

They arrived at Congo Square at 7:17. They were escorted promptly to their table for two and given menus and a wine list. McGarrett ran over the list, juggling between getting the expensive vintage or the less costly one.

“What would you prefer?” he said.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

“Huh?” He gave her quizzical look.

She pointed on of the names at the top of the list.

“I believe you’ll find this much to your liking. Most of the other vintages are Italian in origin. That happens to be some of the finest Spanish wine you can get without breaking the bank. The Spanish grapes had several successful years a few decades ago, the Italian ones and Californian ones fared much worse. Most were too sour.”

McGarrett took a deep breathe and conceded to her obviously superior knowledge. He bought a bottle of the Spanish vintage that did turn out to be very much to his taste.

They chatted amiably over the wine till the meal arrived. He’d left the ordering to Lucia whom was able to speak fluent Spanish and shared quite a few friendly words with the waiter. She ordered a mouth-watering enchilada like dish for the main course, along with a sweet corn and rice mix, garden salsa and a burning but delicious habenero stew on the sides. It had been a while since McGarrett had actually sat down for a long slow dinner. He and most of team ate in bursts on their feet most days.

He and Lucia chatted a bit more after dinner. As he sipped the wine and drank in her every word and her beauty in the candle light, McGarrett felt his every care, worry and inhibition melt away. Half an hour went by and Lucia turned her head to the dance floor.

She liked this restaurant for its loyalty to Hispanic traditions and its unwillingness to be swept up in the times. Time and space faded, you became enraptured in a little place on the coasts of South America. No country specified and no decade or century made itself prominent, just spice and music in the air, endless views of the coast, and a heavenly person sitting next to you. Lucia glanced pointedly at McGarrett daring her date to dance to the sultry, slow Latin music.

He gladly and wordlessly accepted her challenge. He stood smiling and offered her a hand. She took it and walked out with him. Lucia felt his hand glide over her waist to the small of her back, and gave a tiny shudder as he pressed a bit. He was testing her; he was going to give her some of his best tonight. Lucia saw his dare, his dare to resist him during their dance. She answered by placing her hand on the crook of his neck and shoulder. She let he long tapered fingers brush a spot just behind his ear that experience had taught her was among the most sensitive spots on a man.

It was McGarrett’s turn to shudder as he felt those fingers up against his skin. Who would have thought such tiny touches would ignite such a flame?

They danced slowly and expertly hiding touches and teases in the moves of a dance most would scorn.

Lucia rubbed her thigh against his for a moment and let her lips brush his. McGarrett took a deep breathe and waited a minute before making his move. He wrapped his arm around her, sliding his hand all the way up her spine and back down, pressing his index finger along the middle. He kept her grey eyes locked on his till the song ended.

They walked back to the table and sat down again, still receiving reproachful stares from some other guests. McGarrett was now grappling with another tough decision. His whole body was screaming for sex tonight, but that tiny part of him that was eternally a gentleman knew better. And he knew better than to ignore it when dealing with the fairer sex. He settled on manners tonight, and forced his animal side back down.

Lucia to was fighting her baser instincts after that dance. She concluded that she wanted to wait till she’d had him as a model before she had him as a lover. But she also concluded that she’d better get that over with as soon as possible or her track record would be shattered.

“Steve.”

“Mm?”

“I sure when you were touring the museum of modern art you noticed many of my sculptures are male.”

“Yes I did.”

The great majority are personal acquaintances who became my inspirations.”

Lucia looked away for a moment and smiled to herself.

“What I’m trying to say is that I’d like to make a few works of you. They won’t go on display if you don’t want them to, but would you permit me to attempt to capture you?”

McGarrett threw his head back trying to hide his huge blush. Lucia Cornwallis wanted to paint and/or carve him? What could he say?

He bought his head back down smiling albeit sheepishly and nodded. Lucia grinned and went around the table to kiss both his cheeks. She kept her nose millimeters from his and the grin on her face as she asked him who was getting the bill.

*****

The two of them talked all through the ride back to her house, and as McGarrett walked her to her door. It was then they finally gave in a bit and shared a long, deep, rich kiss. Lucia nearly cried when he pulled away.

“Good night pretty lady,” he said and began to loosen his grip.

Lucia pulled him back and pinned him to the wall in another consuming kiss that made McGarrett forget which way was up.

This time Lucia broke it. McGarrett stood shell shocked, his eyes half lidded and clouded with desire. He moaned and gripped her shapely hips as his hormones started win out against his gentlemen side. Lucia pondered for a moment whether to leave him in wanting or to give them both a treat. She sighed and pinched a small point on his back.

McGarrett yelped, his mind cleared instantly.

“What kind of acupuncture was that?” he asked as he rubbed the sore spot.

“A little trick I picked up in southern India.”

“Oh.” He kissed her forehead and said good night again.

“Goodnight, Steve. I’ll call you when I get back.”

“Please do that.” He kissed her again and trudged back to his car. Two weeks without seeing this woman or even talking to her let alone kissing her. He wasn’t sure he’d make it.

*****

Lucia dragged herself through aching boredom of the first week. She felt quite guilty during the second; she had been greeted with roses, kisses, and even diamonds by her suitor. As they were driven to her hotel, Lucia told him she would not marry him. It broke both their hearts the man was good one that would have undoubtedly made her very happy, but she had her rose. Thankfully upon her departure they had concluded to remain friends, after all she still wanted to have him as a model and he still held out hope that she would eventually come to him.

Back in Hawaii McGarrett was slowly going insane. He had five big cases on his desk along with the abduction turned homicide case of Tony Alika. His body had been found lying in a sleeping position on a park beach a few miles from were he lived.

He had been lying on his side with his hands tucked under his head and his eyes closed. Autopsy concluded that he had been given a huge amount of sleeping medicine intravenously. They weren’t sure if he had been put in the relaxed pose post mortem or if he had fallen into a short sleep and moved into it.

Alika had escaped mortal judgment and it tore the Five-0 team apart. Jenny tried to help by saying that he now faced the greatest justice of all.

“Jen, I don’t care if he’s trapped in hell beyond the end of time, we never GOT him!”

McGarrett pounded his mighty desk and launched himself out to the lanai. Jenny sighed and was thankful a heavy oaken desk had been chosen for McGarrett’s office. Any other desk but this strong behemoth would have been turned to toothpicks with her boss’s abuse.

McGarrett cooled himself in the humid breeze. He didn’t think he would have exploded like that had his old passions not been awakened recently. He’d been having lusty dreams almost nightly, and sometimes found himself sorely hoping that Lucia would ask him to model in the nude when she got back. He allowed his mind to float away for a moment recalling the simmering date they had. From what he could remember of their conversations he could tell that the two were quite an intellectual match, but until these aches were attended to, battles of wit were off the agenda.

The two weeks went by and Lucia was about to fly back to Honolulu from London.

Back to Isabeau Saberhagen's Page

Go to Fan Fiction Page