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Verdict Day
“Not guilty!!”
The verdict hit the room like a spark in a chamber full of gasoline. A roar exploded from the gallery—cheers, claps, relieved sobs. Zaedrick Walker, Esq. didn’t flinch. He simply exhaled. He smoothed the front of his tailored charcoal suit. It was as if the trial hadn’t been the high-profile circus the city had followed for weeks.
Flashbulbs snapped the moment he pushed open the courtroom doors.
“Mr. Walker. Statement?” One reporter asked.
“Attorney Zaedrick, how did you pull this off?” Another reporter questioned.
He offered the reporters nothing more than his signature half-smile. It was calm and unreadable. Then he walked straight through the chaos as if it were parting for him.
He needed silence.
He needed heat.
He needed the ocean.
The Silhouette
Two days later, Fiji welcomed him with warm air that tasted like salt and sunlight. By his second morning there, his shoulders had finally dropped from the tension of the courtroom. Barefoot, he walked along the shoreline, letting the tide kiss the tops of his feet.
That’s when he saw her.
A woman’s silhouette drifted toward him, soft curves outlined by the rising sun. Her hips swayed with an effortless rhythm, her shadow gliding over the sand like poetry. As she approached, her features sharpened in the light: full lips, honey-brown skin, a gaze like quiet fire.
His pulse jumped.
“Good morning, ma’am,” he said, unable to look away. “I don’t mean to offend you, but… are you really this attractive?”
She smiled but didn’t slow down. Didn’t answer. She just kept walking, the hint of laughter tugging at her lips.
Zaddy ran a hand over his jaw, chuckling under his breath.
Not used to being ignored, he followed.
“Okay,” he called out, “maybe that wasn’t the right line.”
His voice softened as he caught up to her. “Let’s try this again.”
She slowed, studying him with the cautious interest of someone deciding if he was trouble or worth the trouble.
He extended his hand.
“Hi. I’m Zaddy. From Houston. Can I walk with you?”
Her smile widened this time, warm and feminine. She placed her hand in his, her touch cool against his palm. “That’s better,” she said. “And yes. You can walk with me. For a moment.”
“What’s your name?” he probed.
“Chyna,” she quickly responded.
Her voice sounded like tropical dusk: smooth, low, and mysterious.
“What brings you all the way out here?” Zaddy asked as they walked, the sand warm beneath their feet.
Chyna glanced toward the water. “Peace. I needed a break from everything back home.”
“What’s ‘everything?’” he asked, genuinely curious.
She smirked. “Life. Work. People. Expectations. Pick one.”
Zaddy laughed softly. “I get that. Courtrooms get loud. Clients get needy. Reporters get on my damn nerves.”
Chyna narrowed her eyes playfully. “Courtrooms and reporters? What exactly do you do?”
He shrugged with a small, almost reluctant smile. “I’m an attorney. Criminal defense.”
“A defense attorney?” Her brows rose. “So you’re the man people call to clean up their mess?”
“Pretty much,” he admitted.
“So you ran to an island?” she teased.
“Absolutely. Sun. Silence. No one asking me to save their career before breakfast.”
Chyna nodded slowly. “I’m here alone too. Needed to remind myself I’m still a person, even when work tries to swallow me whole.”
“I know that feeling,” he said. “Being important to everyone except yourself.”
“That part.” She paused, watching a wave roll over her toes. “Do you come out here often?”
“Whenever I’m close to losing my mind,” he admitted. “Or when I need to disappear.”
She tilted her head. “So which one is this?”
“A little of both,” he said honestly. “But I’m glad I came… otherwise I wouldn’t have met you.”
Her eyes softened, and she looked away quickly, but not before he caught the small smile she tried to hide.
“You always this forward?” she asked.
“Only when it counts.”
She let that sit between them for several steps, then asked quietly, “You here alone?”
“Yeah. Needed space. Time. Just me and the ocean.”
“Me too,” she said. “Guess we’re both running from something.”
“Running?” He shrugged. “More like… taking a damn break.”
Chyna laughed, the sound soft and bright. “I’ll take that.”
They walked for a moment before he slowed.
“So… can I take you to dinner tonight?”
She pretended to think, lips pursed. “Hmm. I don’t usually say yes to strangers.”
“But you did say I could walk with you,” he said, eyebrow raised.
She nudged him gently. “Fine. Dinner it is.”
He grinned. “Meet me at The Coral Flame; it’s the restaurant inside the resort. Saves you a trip across the island.”
Chyna raised a brow. “Convenient and considerate. I like that.”
They continued strolling along the shoreline, the sky fading from gold to a soft lavender as the sun dipped lower. Their hands brushed a few times, accidental, but warm enough to make Chyna’s stomach flutter.
As they turned up the sandy path toward the resort villas, the lights along the walkway glowed like fireflies. When they reached her door, she paused, resting a hand on the railing.
“Well,” she said softly, “this is me.”
Zaddy took a half step closer, lowering his voice. “Good. You’ve got enough time to get extra beautiful before dinner.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Extra beautiful? That sounds like pressure.”
“You don’t need pressure,” he replied. He leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath warm against her lips. They were so close that a kiss would’ve taken less than a second. “You already had me mesmerized at ‘hello.’”
The words slid over her skin like heat.
Chyna felt it instantly, low in her stomach, sharp and undeniable. Her body responded before her mind could catch up. A slow pulse of awareness traveled through her thighs, her chest,… her breath. She forced herself to stay still. She maintained her composure. Every instinct in her whispered right here… right now.
She didn’t want him to know how badly she wanted him yet.
Didn’t want to give her heart away this fast.
But her body?
Her body was telling a different story.
She inhaled and steadied herself. With that breath came him… the clean, masculine scent of his skin. It was warm and grounded. The scent was laced with something unmistakably confident. It wrapped around her senses, making it harder to think and easier to imagine.
Zaddy felt it too.
That subtle shift.
That invisible current pulling them closer.
For a split second, he considered closing the distance completely, taking what the moment offered, but he didn’t. He held himself back, letting the tension stretch instead of snapping.
Electricity hummed between them, thick and alive.
She tried to hide her smile.
She failed.
“So… The Coral Flame?” she confirmed.
“I’ll be waiting,” he said, eyes lingering on her a second longer than necessary.
Chyna placed her hand on the villa door handle but looked back at him over her shoulder. “See you at 7:00. Don’t be late.”
“Wouldn’t dare,” he said, giving her one last slow, appreciative gaze before turning away.
They parted there. She stepped into the soft light of her villa. He walked back down the path with a grin he couldn’t wipe off if he tried.
*****
Coral Flame
Chyna moved through her villa like a slow-burning flame.
The ocean breeze billowed the curtains. She slipped into a deep blue dress. The fabric hugged her curves like it had been stitched onto her skin. She added earrings, glossed her lips, and paused in the mirror.
Not too much. Not too little.
Just enough to make a confident man forget every woman he’d ever met before.
When she walked into the restaurant, Zaddy rose instantly. His eyes traveled from her lips to her heels. Then they returned to her lips. She felt the heat of it like a hand sliding down her spine.
She let the silence linger before easing into her chair.
“You clean up nice,” she said, settling into her seat.
Zaddy smoothed a hand over his shirt. “I had to step it up. You set the bar high.”
“You did okay,” she teased.
A server placed menus in front of them, but Zaddy was barely looking at his.
“What do you like to eat?” he asked.
“Seafood,” she said. “Something fresh. Something I can taste the ocean in.”
“That sounds dangerous the way you said it,” he replied.
She laughed. “You asked.”
He leaned forward. “Tell me more. About you. What do you do when you’re not making strangers rethink their entire lives on a beach?”
“Work keeps me busy,” she said. “Very busy. Too busy. So when I finally get a chance to breathe, I take it.”
“I respect that. I’m learning how to breathe again myself.”
“Do powerful attorneys forget how to do that?” she teased.
“Often,” he said. “Someone’s always calling. Needing. Demanding.” He shook his head. “But tonight… nobody needs anything from me. I’m just a man eating dinner with a beautiful woman.”
Chyna picked up her fork and tasted the grilled mahi placed in front of her.
“Mmm.” Her eyes closed, lashes fluttering softly. “This is good.”
Zaddy cut into his own plate. A seared tuna steak glistened in citrus glaze. He lifted a bite to his mouth.
The moment it hit his tongue, he nodded slowly. “Damn… okay, this is fye.”
Chyna smiled. “What’re you tasting over there?”
“A masterpiece,” he said, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “You ever eat something so good it makes you rethink your whole life?”
“Every time I travel,” she said, laughing softly.
They ate a few bites in silence. It was a comfortable, warm silence. The soft clink of silverware punctuated the air. The distant murmur of the ocean sounded outside the restaurant’s open-air terrace.
He cut another piece and held it out across the table.
“Try mine,” he offered.
Chyna leaned forward. Her lips closed around the bite from his fork. Her tongue brushed the back of it just enough to make his chest tighten.
“Mmm,” she said slowly. “Okay, that’s good.”
His jaw flexed.
Lord… why she eat like that? She gon’ make me lose it in front of strangers.
“You’re dangerous,” he muttered.
She tilted her head. “For liking your food?”
“For liking it with your whole mouth,” he said before catching himself.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh? So you were staring.”
He cleared his throat. “I was appreciating. There’s a difference.”
“Uh-huh.” She swirled her wine. “And what exactly were you appreciating?”
“I plead the fifth.”
She laughed, softly and sensually, then reached across the table, placing her hand on top of his. His pulse jumped instantly. Her fingers were warm, soft, and deliberate.
“You’re easy to read,” she whispered.
“You think so?” he asked, flipping his hand so their palms pressed together.
“I know so,” she replied.
He squeezed her hand lightly. “Then tell me what you see.”
Chyna didn’t look away. “A man who hides behind control… but loses it around the right woman.”
Heat slid down his spine.
She’s reading me like she’s known me for years.
He lifted their joined hands and brushed her knuckles with his thumb. “And what do you want from that man?”
She smirked. “Dinner. Drinks. And maybe… to see what else he can’t control.”
Her voice dipped into something thick and honeyed that went straight to his bloodstream.
A server passed by with dessert menus, and Chyna pulled her hand back slowly, her touch drifting away like silk.
She took another bite of her food, lips closing around the fork with infuriating softness.
“You okay?” she asked, finally meeting his eyes again.
“Uh… yeah.” His voice was unsteady. “Just… appreciating the food.”
“Is that what you were appreciating?” she whispered, leaning in with that knowing smile.
His throat tightened. “Don’t start.”
“Start what?” she asked sweetly.
The air shifted, thicker, hotter.
He blinked slowly, heat crawling up his neck.
“Dinner was good,” he murmured.
“Dinner was good,” she echoed, her voice warm… layered with unspoken promise.
Their eyes held.
The air thinned.
And the restaurant seemed to blur into nothing but candlelight and each other.
Zaddy’s attention was intense and locked in, like she’d become his favorite study.
A live band began to play, saxophone notes melting into the glow of the lanterns.
Zaddy’s gaze dipped to her mouth, then to her dress… and then he stood, offering his hand.
“Dance with me.”
The moment she rose, his breath caught.
His body reacted before he could stop it. Heat surged through him. The zipper of his pants pushed out quickly… urgently… and unmistakably.
For once, the unflappable Zaedrick Walker felt out of control.
And Chyna noticed as her eyes followed from his growing pants’ zipper to his brown eyes. Her smile said she liked it.
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