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Wow, you all helped meet two goals in one day… again! I'm going to have to start putting up more challenging goals! This chapter is for helping me reach 110 reviews (I still can't even believe that I'm over 100). My next two goals are: 125 reviews and 40 favorites.

So, some of you may have noticed that the rating changed from T to M. Let me explain.

Yes, there is a… scene in this chapter. I don't think that I'm super explicit, but when I looked up the guidelines that are provided on the site, I felt like maybe it was a little more suited to M than to T. However, if you think that it could stay at a T rating, please let me know and I'll consider it and change it back, if necessary. I want to reach as broad of an audience as possible, so I would have preferred to keep the T rating… I just thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

Thank you to everyone that has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story and/or me. Also, thanks to those of you that have private messaged me asking questions about my characters, my writing style, or just to tell me how much you've enjoyed the story. I appreciate you all very much and enjoy my conversations with you.

I hope that you enjoy the chapter and, again, let me know if you think I could go back down on the rating.

Happy Reading!

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Chapter Nineteen: A Night to Remember

Steve

I helped Allie guide the boat to its spot and showed her how to properly tie it off. She practiced reluctantly, complaining that she would never need to know how to tie a boat off.

"You live in Hawaii now," I reminded her. "I'd be willing to bet that this won't be your last time on a boat."

"It will be if I have anything to say about it."

Finally, she got the boat all tied off and we went to return Kamekona's boat to its spot. She tied that one off as well and then I followed her to her Camaro.

"What are you doing?" she asked me, pointing to my truck, which was parked a few spaces down. "You're over there."

"I thought I'd ride with you." I just couldn't wipe the grin off of my face, no matter how hard I tried. It felt like, for once, everything was going right in my world. I hadn't felt like that since before my mom had died in that car accident.

"Danny would get jealous," she teased me. "That would make twice that you've ridden shotgun in my car."

"We just won't tell him." When she unlocked the door, I got into the passenger side and buckled up, "Bring on The Beatles."

She laughed as she started up the car and some other, far more recent song started to play. "No Beatles today. I decided to catch up on the recent hits."

The song had a fast, hard beat and probably would have been catchy to anyone else, but I didn't like it. After a full minute of letting it damage my eardrums, I reached out and changed the station to one that played the best hits from the eighties.

"Hey!" Allie protested.

I was surprised. "You liked that shit?"

"No," she said, "but I need to stay current."

"CIA thing?"

"Maybe."

I rolled my eyes but turned it back to the previous station, turning down the volume as I did so. "Fine. I can't believe you can tolerate this."

"Aren't you trained to withstand torture?" Her smile told me that she found the situation humorous.

"Yes. So the fact that this is a little much should tell you something."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Chill out. We'll be at Kamekona's in a couple of minutes. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat."

Once at Kamekona's, we dropped off the keys and got a couple of plates of sweet and sour shrimp, a new recipe that Allie had apparently helped him perfect. He even gave her a plate for free as a thank you for all of her input. I had to pay.

"That hardly seems fair," I told her once we'd gotten our plates and chosen a table. "Me having to pay when you didn't."

She shrugged and opened up her coconut water. "I told him that I'd only help him if he gave me free shrimp plates for a month. A lot of people had been requesting sweet and sour shrimp, so it was worth it to him."

"How did he even know you can cook?"

"Danny has a big mouth," she said. "And Kono backed it up. Kamekona is quite the bargainer, though."

"Yeah, no kidding."

She leaned slightly closer and asked me, "Does this all seem crazy to you? You tricked me onto your boat like an hour ago and now we're in a relationship."

"Too fast?" I asked her, worried that she was going to change her mind about giving me a chance.

"No," she assured me. "It just seems… crazy. I told you I've never been in a relationship before and I feel like I'm going to screw it up."

"You're human. You'll make mistakes. I'll make mistakes. We'll get through them."

Letting out a breath, she nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just asking you to be patient with me."

"Always," I vowed.

"And I don't want the rest of the team to know just yet," she said, almost like we were negotiating. What she didn't know was that I was willing to do almost anything to be with her. "Not until it feels solid."

"Done." I couldn't help the teasing tone of my voice. "Do I need to sign something, or…?"

She rolled her eyes and shoved my shoulder. "Stop. I'm serious."

"I know. I know." I reached for my own coconut water and opened it up. "I promise, I agree."

"Good. So, tell me about your childhood."

"My childhood?"

She shrugged. "Seems like a good place to start."

"Okay." So, I told her about my parents and my sister, and what I'd been like as a child. My interests, my activities… everything that I thought was important. And I wanted to know about her childhood as well, but… it could wait.

We'd finished our shrimp plates and I took them and threw them away before returning to the table. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." She stood and we headed for the car. "Want me to take you back to your truck?"

"Actually…" I moved closer to her – as close as I possibly could without touching her in public. "I was kind of hoping you'd invite me over."

I could feel her shiver and it satisfied me to know that I could elicit such a response from her.

"Why does it have to be my house?" she asked me, likely buying herself time to gain back her clear head.

"We can go to mine if you'd rather," I told her as I circled around to the passenger side. "I just thought you'd want to be near Gideon to feed him and stuff."

"How considerate."

"I try."

She got into the car and started it. "Fine. My house it is. But what about your truck?"

I shrugged and buckled up. "You can drop me off tomorrow morning."

"Okay." She stopped at a light and then looked at me with a smile. "Do you want to come over and spend the night with me?"

"Love to," I said and reached over to take her hand.

Allie

I honestly wasn't sure how things were supposed to go. I'd invited Steve over to my house and that implied certain… things, but would he want to move that fast? I was okay with it because we'd shared a night together before and there'd been chemistry between us for a long time. But maybe he felt like he would spook me if we moved too quickly.

So, did we just let things happen naturally or did we make a plan? I didn't know, so I remained silent.

But Steve mistook my silence for something negative and reached over to grab my hand. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," I lied.

I was a really good liar, but he obviously had his suspicions and wasn't willing to let them go. "Really? Because you haven't said a word in five minutes."

"Just thinking."

"About?" he prompted.

I shrugged, embarrassed that there was yet another thing that I was no good at and had no experience with – relationships. "I don't know… like I said back at Kamekona's, this all just feels so crazy. I mean, we haven't been talking for weeks."

"Yeah," he said. "Because we had a night together and then there was a big misunderstanding and we were both stubborn idiots. As long as we promise not to be stubborn idiots this time, I think everything will be okay."

"That'll be kind of difficult for you."

"Ouch!" he laughed. "That really hurts."

"It was supposed to."

He grew serious once more and kissed the back of my hand, sending electricity through my veins and all the way up to my brain. "Don't worry about anything, okay? This can move as fast or as slow as you want. Once we're in your house, everything moves at your pace."

"Fair enough." I pulled into my garage and then we both got out, heading inside. Gideon greeted us at the door and seemed mildly surprised to see Steve, but I called for him to come eat his dinner and he did so immediately.

"What language do you speak to him?" Steve asked me. "It sounds like German."

I filled Gideon's water bowl. "Dutch. The CIA guy that helped me train him taught it to me because that's what they use for their dogs."

"I think a lot of military dogs respond to Dutch commands," he said.

"They do." I straightened up and looked at him, suddenly unsure. He was tall and masculine, and his presence seemed to fill up my kitchen and dining area.

"So, what now?" he asked me, perhaps sensing the direction of my thoughts.

"I don't know," I admitted. "What do people in relationships typically do when they're alone together?" I felt my face flame as I realized the obvious answer. "I mean besides… that."

He smiled and came closer. "Whatever you want to do. Walk on the beach, watch a movie, practice Pidgin…"

"Not the Pidgin thing," I laughed and allowed him to take my hand. "Maybe a walk on the beach, though. I like it at night. The peace, the seclusion…"

"I'm in." He pulled me to the door and Gideon joined us, eager to go out. I laughed as I let him out ahead of us and Steve asked, "Aren't you going to put him on his leash?"

"He doesn't need a leash," I assured him. "I only put him on one during the day so that no one calls and reports me because of that damn leash law."

He laughed. "The leash law is for dogs quite unlike Gideon. You know, the ones that run off and knock over kids in the park."

We left my backyard and Gideon headed out to splash in the water once he didn't hear a command to stay. Steve began to ask me questions about his training and before long, I felt totally at ease. I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of – either the relationship worked or it didn't. Either way, it wasn't going to be the end of the world.

Here comes the sun…

We walked barefooted in the sand for a while and talked about nothing in particular. As the minutes passed, I grew more and more comfortable, and I knew what I wanted.

"Ready to head back?" I asked him after a while, and he agreed. As we began to walk back, I called for Gideon to come out of the water and he did, shaking off the droplets as he grew closer.

"You need a rinse," I told him.

"You're going to give him a bath?" Steve asked me.

"No. There's a doggie shower. It was one of the things I required from the governor."

"He must have really wanted you on the task force."

"That, or he had a house on the beach that he just really needed to get rid of."

"Yeah, how did you nail a house on the beach?" Steve asked me. "I mean, my dad's house was passed down from my grandfather and my parents did a complete remodel when I was little, but that's the only reason I can afford to live on the beach. So, either the governor wanted you that badly, or you have millions of dollars stashed away on an offshore account somewhere."

I didn't tell him that I did actually have an offshore account. It wasn't relevant. "It was foreclosed on, so the governor snatched it up for me. I didn't request a house on the beach because I obviously don't go surfing or boating, but it was a nice perk. It's good for resistance on my runs in the mornings."

Steve watched me give Gideon a shower and helped me dry him off as much as was possible. Then, we all went inside and I ordered Gideon to stay in the kitchen so that he wouldn't get water all over the carpet.

"Ready for a shower?" I asked Steve casually. "I don't know about you, but wiping off my feet didn't get all of the sand off."

He gave me a suspicious look. "Are you… you mean… together?"

"Unless that's too scandalous for you." I'd thought that maybe seeing each other naked before things got physical would help me calm down a little bit. As it was, my heart was pounding at the thought of where I knew the evening was headed.

He shook his head and moved forward to take my hand. "Let's go."

I led him up the stairs, into my bedroom, and then into the attached bathroom. There, I turned on the water in the shower so that it could start to warm up. When I turned, Steve was already shrugging out of his shirt, so I followed suit.

His eyes were intense as he took me in and though I had thought I'd be embarrassed when he saw me for the first time without any clothes, I was actually pleased that he liked what he saw. I knew that I was very physically fit and what most people would have considered attractive, but something about him thinking so made me want to jump with joy.

Once all of our clothes were on the floor, we stared at each other for a few long moments before I stepped back and moved into the shower. The warm water began to cascade down my body and I closed my eyes for a moment as I tilted my head back, allowing it to soak into my hair.

Mere seconds later he joined me, hands on my hips, fingers splayed. He pulled me in for a deep kiss and the water ran over us as our bodies touched and slid against each other.

I really did need a shower – but thankfully, I had shaved that morning – so I grabbed my shampoo and began to lather my hair.

"It's only mint and rosemary," I said as I handed Steve the bottle. "Nothing too girly."

"No one will be smelling my hair, anyway," he said and used it on his own hair.

We rinsed off and then I applied conditioner. While I rinsed it off, Steve insisted on doing the body wash, and he took his time massaging me as he went. I'd had a few professional massages over my lifetime, but I decided then and there that I would have rather had Steve's hands on me any day of the week.

Once everything was rinsed off, we stepped out and toweled off, "helping" each other as we did.

"I need to dry my hair a little bit," I told him apologetically as I plugged in my blow drier. "Otherwise the sheets will get all wet and it's gross, trust me."

"Hey, fine with me," he said with a teasing grin. "I'm enjoying the view."

But he enjoyed more than just the view, and his hands ran all over my body as I dried my hair just enough that it wouldn't cause any problems. Then, I couldn't take it anymore and I wheeled around and jumped into his arms, catching him off guard.

He kissed me fervently and carried me into the bedroom, dumping me right onto the middle of the bed as I giggled.

Without giving me more than five seconds to recover, he climbed over me and pressed his body against mine, kissing me with the same passion that I had experienced from him that first time that he had kissed me. It was an explosion – wild and hot and primal.

I ran my hands along the muscles of his back and when his lips moved to my neck, I dug my fingers in, praying that I didn't scratch him up too badly. He didn't seem to mind… actually, he moaned and kissed me harder, his teeth scraping against my skin, which only turned me on even more. It was a beautiful push and pull of power and control, and it felt completely right for us.

Steve and I were people that liked to be in control but here, together in this bed, we had a natural instinct to perfectly share it.

I was just getting used to his mouth on my breasts when he began kissing a trail lower and lower… dangerously low.

I shot upright, making him pause. "What are you doing?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You don't know what I'm doing?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "I do. I just… no one has ever…"

He nodded his understanding. "Want me to stop?"

My answer was immediate. "I… no."

He nodded and smiled at me, moving one hand up to gently push me back down onto my back. "Then take a breath and relax."

I did as he'd instructed and only moments later, he was awakening sensations that I'd never known I could experience. Steve McGarrett was talented at many things, and this was definitely one of them.

He stopped while I hovered on the edge, panting as I desperately tried to catch my breath. "Why are you stopping?" I asked between breaths.

He chuckled. "Tell me what you want."

As if there was even a question. "Make me fly," I requested, and he moved his mouth back to where I desired it the most.

I felt it then… the build up in a place that I hadn't even known existed. And then, blissfully, there was a very real explosion inside of me and I truly did begin to fly.

And, ten minutes later, he sent me up into the sky for a second time and this time, he joined me there.

We spent the rest of our awake time kissing and talking about inconsequential things. I wasn't sure when I finally fell asleep, but I woke later to Steve stroking my hair away from my face.

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice huskier than I'd ever heard it.

He smiled at me, barely visible in the dim light from my two digital clocks. "It's a little after four."

"I have to get up soon," I said and for the first time, I wished that I didn't go for runs every morning at five. I wanted to just lie there with him, stay in his arms forever. It was completely irrational, but I didn't care.

"Not yet," he said softly and leaned in to kiss my forehead. "Come here." He somehow managed to pull me even closer and I snuggled into him, nuzzling his chest. He smelled like him… but also like me. The thought made me smile. "Get some more sleep. I'll make sure you wake up at five."

I ran one hand down his chest and his muscles rippled under my fingers. Somehow, he was warm, even though I always kept my house rather cool. "I don't know if I can go back to sleep. How much time do we have until five?"

He glanced at the clock on my side of the bed. "Forty minutes."

That was quite a bit of time. "I can think of some things I'd rather do than sleep."

He chuckled and moved to hover over me, lowering his mouth to my ear. "Are you sure? You didn't get much sleep."

"I should be asking you," I returned and reached up to run my fingers through his soft hair. "You got even less sleep than I did."

He pressed a kiss to my neck. "It's the weekend. We can lounge around and nap as much as we want. I'm game for any of the activities that you had in mind."

"Good." I grinned and wrapped my legs around his waist. "I have lots in mind."

He laughed and then pressed his lips to mine, effectively cutting off any conversation we might have had.