Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Cap knew he should stop, but couldn’t. Emma’s mouth was too warm and inviting. But she was vulnerable. Fresh out of an engagement. The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of her position or, worse, to be the rebound guy.
His chest tightened. He had strong feelings for her.
How in the hell had that happened in the short period he’d been with her?
Especially after their rocky start. During his first impression of her, he pegged her as entitled and distant, but that impression had been wrong in every way.
Emma was down-to-earth and strong in ways that weren’t evident at first glance.
He closed his eyes and indulged in another of her sweet kisses. When her lips parted, he knew she wanted more, as he did. Just a bit more wouldn’t hurt anything, right?
Her tongue tasted sweet. Needing more, he lingered. Her arms tightened around his neck, signaling her desire. Still, he kept it lighter than he wanted. He had to.
With as much as he felt rejuvenated by this ‘sort of’ law enforcement assignment, it wasn’t technically his job anymore, but the instinct to protect Emma was fierce.
Kissing her while she was under his protection felt like crossing a line, even though it was the deputy outside who officially carried that responsibility now.
The devil on his shoulder whispered it was fine to keep kissing Emma.
Reality however, reared its ugly head and reminded him of the danger of their situation. He pulled back and dropped his hands to his sides.
“Let’s sit for a bit and talk…watch some TV,” he suggested.
“Okay.”
Was it wrong of him to take pleasure in the disappointed look she wore when he pulled away? He wanted to kiss her protruding bottom lip.
Taking her by the hand, he led her to the loveseat that faced the television. They sat close to one another, his side touching hers. He snatched the remote off the end table and pressed the power button.
“Do you want to watch anything in particular?” he asked.
“Not really. Maybe something light and funny.”
Cap flipped through the channels until he found one showing an old sitcom from the nineties, then he set the remote down.
Emma shifted to face him, tucking one leg beneath her. She placed her free hand over their entwined ones.
“Thank you for staying with me. You didn’t have to; I know it’s not your job. I’m feeling a little guilty roping you in like this.”
“It’s no problem. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
That was an understatement. Sure, he wanted to keep her safe, but he also just wanted to be with her and learn more about her.
“Please know that I realize this places your brother and sister in some danger too, with taking your charters.”
“They know the risk. Also, Captain Tomie is with them, and there is a police boat on the ready.”
“Still…”
“Hunter and Cici know how to take care of themselves. They’ll be fine.”
His stomach swirled at the thought of the risk his siblings took.
Emma tilted her head to the side. “What’s your real name?”
Cap winced internally. He hated his real name, which is why he shortened it.
Though that caused some confusion when he worked for the police department.
Some folks thought he was the police captain even when he started on patrol.
It got even more confusing when he was promoted to the drug investigator position because he worked in the office.
“Capricornus.”
Emma’s brows knit. “Like the constellation? The sea goat? I thought it was a nickname because you’re a charter captain.”
“Unfortunately, yes, the constellation.”
She smiled, thoughtful rather than amused. “It fits. Strong. Steady.”
The compliment landed deeper than it should have.
“My mother was a bit of a hippie in her younger days. She thought naming us after the constellations was fun, I guess. She thought Capricornus was a strong name.”
He chuckled.
“What?”
“The name made me strong because of how much I got picked on in school for such a dumb name.”
Emma’s facial muscles relaxed, causing her brows to drift back to where they belonged.
“I agree with her. It is a strong name for a strong person. It makes complete sense. She must have known from the moment she held you in her arms that you’d do great things. And, it’s even more fitting now that you’re a charter captain.”
His heart swelled at her continued compliments, and he couldn’t really argue with her last point about being a boat captain.
“I don’t really think my being a former drug investigator should be labeled as doing great things…”
Her hand flew into the air, cutting off his words.
“Really, you risked your life to keep drugs off the street, saving people from living like zombies and overdosing. And after what I’ve seen in the past day and a half, the job is as risky as it gets.
So yes, you’ve done great things. And helping me right now, is above and beyond the call of duty for a charter boat captain. ”
When she defended his work as a drug investigator and put him on a pedestal, something shifted inside him.
He leaned in without thinking and kissed her lovely, bow-shaped mouth.
She kissed him softly as she eased her way onto his lap.
A scary level of energy sparked between them.
Scary in the sense that he wasn’t ready to open his heart as much as it begged him to.
Yeah, it had been five years since Blythe had left him, ripping his heart to shreds.
Still, when he thought about it, white-hot anger coursed through his veins.
His mother’s words ran through his head. “An angry heart has no room for love, but a heart needs love to survive.”
He hated it when his mother said that to him, yet he knew she was right. With his younger brother having just married and seeing how much Hunter and Hannah adored each other, he’d been thinking about letting the anger go, but he couldn’t figure out how to do it.
Emma’s tongue ran across the seam of his lips, and he let her in.
The soft touch of her fingertips heated his skin as she skimmed them over his arms and then dug into his shoulders.
He slid his hands down her sides and under her long t-shirt until he reached the bare flesh of her sides.
Her skin was warm and soft. To take in more of her warmth, he splayed his hands.
His thumbs rested on her stomach, palms on her sides, and fingers wrapped around to her lower back.
This is as far as he’d go for now, though the thought of pressing more of his bare skin to hers appealed to him greatly.
A knock sounded on the front door. He sprang to his feet, adrenaline snapping him back into protector mode. He peeked out the window. Deputy Vanderwood faced the door.
Cap threw open the bolt and let her in.
“I just need the restroom,” she said as she stepped through the doorway.
The woman had horrible timing.
Cap shut the door behind her and then moved toward the window again to keep watch while Donna used the restroom.
“It’s been quiet. Not a lot of traffic at all on Glidden,” Donna said when she returned to the room.
“That’s good,” Cap said.
“I’ll be here until eleven o’clock. Deputy Schneider will relieve me then. The poor kid will be on a twelve-hour shift, working overtime. He’s new. Have you met him?” she asked.
“No. I don’t believe so,” Cap replied.
“He’s fresh out of the academy.”
The fact that Schneider was new didn’t surprise Cap; most third-shift deputies were new.
“No worries, though, the shift sergeant is well aware of this situation and will run middle tonight to be close by.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
Donna exited the cabin and returned to her squad. The poor woman was probably bored to death on this detail.
Emma rose from the loveseat and walked toward him.
“What’s middle?” she asked through puffy, well-kissed lips.
Yep, he did that, and he was proud of it.
“The sheriff’s department runs four on a shift this time of year.
One north, one south, and two in the middle of the county.
Since one deputy will be here, there will only be one deputy running middle, and the sergeant is doing that.
Staffing is tight. They probably couldn’t put anyone else on. It’ll be fine,” he assured.
Emma stepped toward him, wrapped her thin arms around his waist, and leaned into him, placing her cheek on his chest.
“With you here, I have no worries.”
She needed to stop complimenting him, or his heart would explode.
Emma stepped back and looked up at him with those dark eyes of hers. What was she thinking?
Her mouth opened wide with a yawn.
“I’m tired too. It’s been a long day. I think we should turn in.” As she said that, her irises darkened.
His pulse ratcheted up a notch, and as much as he wanted to accept that inferred invitation, he thought better of it. Now was not the time to get too distracted.
He reached back and locked the bolt on the front door, then checked to make sure the windows in the kitchen and living rooms were locked.
“I’ll check the window in your room one more time, then I’ll leave you to get some rest.”
She signed audibly.
Was he a horrible person for liking that reaction from her?
“Okay.”
She followed him to her bedroom. The window was locked. Just as he’d left it earlier.
“I’ll be right across the hall if you need me.”
She nodded.
He spun to leave the room and then turned to face her.
Lifting his hand, he pointed at her.
“No sneaking out, young lady.”
She smiled warmly.
“Yeah, pretty sure I won’t be doing that again. It didn’t work out so well for me last time.”
They shared a laugh, and he exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
He slipped into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. When he opened the door to leave, Emma stood in his path. Dammit. He hadn’t wanted to see her again before he went to bed. It had been hard enough when he left her alone in her room as it was, but having to do it again was painful.
She looked sexy as sin in those powder blue pajamas with puffs of little white clouds. Taut nipples poked at the material. He needed to look away from them before she noticed, and he lost the strength to walk away from her.
“Are you finished? I need to use the bathroom.”
Her question snapped him back into reality.
“Yes, sorry.”
He stepped past her and slipped into his tiny bedroom and checked the window to make sure it was locked.
He then kicked off his boots, stripped off his holster and tactical pants, and pulled the black t-shirt over his head.
He yanked a pair of shorts from his bag and slid into them.
Sleeping in the nude or just in his boxers wasn’t an option, just in case he’d have to get out of bed and react quickly to a break-in situation.
The cool sheets felt refreshing against his tired and aching skin. The pillow was too flat for his liking, so he snagged the other one on the small double bed and stuffed it under the other pillow so his head didn’t feel so cockeyed.
Within a couple of minutes, he heard the bathroom door open and the door to the bedroom across the hall close. That was it. She was tucked in. Sleep would come now.
It didn’t.