Worth the Challenge by Karen Erickson Page B

voice warming her from the inside out. As was his way, he placed his hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her toward a woman standing a few feet away, a colorful lei clutched in each hand. “Our carriage awaits.”
    She loved it when he touched her, even so casually. His fingers were like a hot brand that burned through the thin layer of her shirt. “You have a car waiting?”
    He met her gaze, a faint smile curling his sensual lips. “Being wealthy has its perks, Miss Durand. I try and take advantage of them as much as possible.” The smile grew. “Besides, this is for business.”
    They stopped just in front of the woman, who beamed brightly at them. “Aloha.” Burnished skin, almond-shaped eyes and with her glossy black hair, the woman was lovely. She held one of the leis out and Rhett automatically bent his head. The woman draped the lei around his neck, then turned to Ella.
    “Aloha, welcome to Maui,” the woman murmured as she slipped the fresh flower lei over Ella’s head. “I trust your stay will be most pleasant.”
    “Aloha. Thank you.” Ella bobbed her head inanely, feeling the fool. Everything her father had taught her, all the things she’d picked up traveling as much as she had, most of her life, and a few minutes in Rhett’s overwhelming presence on a tropical island trashed it all.
    “The car’s just over there.” He waved a hand toward a silver four-door car that was unlike any sedan she’d ever seen before. “They’ll bring our luggage later.”
    “Um…okay.” She glanced back toward the jet, saw that they were indeed unloading their luggage. She may have traveled for years, but she’d never had such luxury treatment in her life.
    They approached the car, Rhett opening the passenger door for her and she slipped inside. The interior was sleek, the black leather seats butter-soft, the dashboard an intricate modern work of art. Leaning forward, she smoothed her hand along the top of the dash. She’d never cared much about cars, had an old beater at home, but she could get used to this.
    Rhett slipped inside, settling his big body into the driver’s seat. He started the car, the engine roaring to life, and he shifted into gear, driving right off the tarmac. “It’ll take about a half hour to get to the resort, so sit back and enjoy the view.”
    She knew he meant the view of the island, but she couldn’t help but steal glances at the man to her left. The innate power that radiated from him in palpable waves, the way he gripped the steering wheel with his large hands, it drew her. Made her want things she had no business wishing for.
    Like him.
    She rolled down the window all the way, allowing the varying island scents to hit her with their full potency. Sweet floral blooms, misty salt air, the heady warmth of the sun, a tantalizing combination of fragrances that made her thrust her face through the open window. Closing her eyes, she inhaled sharply, capturing the breath in her chest for as long as she could stand it before she exhaled long and slow.
    “Are you conducting your own personal analysis over there?”
    His voice, laced with amusement, startled her and she moved away from the window. Pressing her back against the seat, she hit a button and the window rolled up, cutting off the riot of scents assaulting her. “Don’t make fun,” she murmured, immediately wincing the moment the words left her mouth.
    From the time she was young, she’d known she was different. Scents affected her, altered her mood, reached deep within her and never let go. In her early teens, her father had realized her nose was as sensitive as his and so he began a rigorous routine of training. Pulling her into his lab for long, laborious hours, teaching her of molecules and how bringing sometimes-horrible smelling scents together created a perfume people would spend far too much money on to dab on their skin.
    Most people were visual, first and foremost. She noticed scents—couldn’t not