Chapter 14

Aaron burst into laughter Saturday night, watching Emersyn flush from across the table. He'd picked her up from her place earlier, arriving with flowers and all for their first official date. They were currently enjoying appetizers together before their meals arrived at one of his favorite little seafood places. He took a swig of his beer, enjoying the way Emersyn's cheeks had turned a pretty shade of pink at his flirtations. "Come on," he said, his voice husky. "I would've fought off the other guys if they'd tried to give you mouth-to-mouth."

"You would not have," she protested, and Aaron's gaze tracked lower as she licked her pretty pink lips. "You wanted me to live, right? And I can't believe we're still talking about this." She reached out and took a piece of coconut shrimp from the platter, taking a dainty bite, then brushed back a strand of her long, blonde hair. Her fingernails were painted a shade of hot pink, and the row of tiny earrings she wore glimmered in the light. Emersyn was feminine and sexy. He'd tried not to stare inappropriately, but the sexy little sundress she had on tonight was hot as hell. It clung to her pert breasts and showed off her toned body.

Aaron knew exactly how those curves felt pressed up against him, and just the memory of it was enough to make his blood heat. She was so much smaller than him, it would be easy to move her into multiple positions in bed. Not that he'd be pushing his luck tonight.

She met his gaze, looking slightly vulnerable for a beat, and his eyes softened. It was interesting how he wanted to both keep her safe from any harm but also undress her slowly, exploring her body with his hands and mouth. It would be so damn easy to push her dress's slinky straps off her shoulders later as he kissed her, taking her breasts out to play. Aaron wanted to savor her. Listen to her whimpers and moans as he discovered what she liked. Hear her cry out his name.

"The day we met scared the hell out of me," he admitted.

Their eyes locked for a beat. It was crazy that her near-fatal accident had brought Emersyn to him. And she wasn't just a tourist, a girl he'd take to dinner and send on her way. She lived here now, and he was thankful as hell for it.

"When Layton flew back, she made me promise not to kayak unless you were there," Emersyn admitted.

His lips quirked. "I'll take you kayaking sometime if you want to give it another try. Life vests aren't optional," he warned.

"I know. Maybe I'll hold off on kayaking again for a bit," she admitted. "I don't need another head injury when I'm trying to jump right into my new job."

"So your first week went well?" he asked, noticing the spark of interest in her blue eyes.

"It was crazy busy," she said, taking a sip of her white wine. "There's a lot going on, which I was aware of, but being put in charge of a huge assignment first thing was somewhat humbling."

"You're smart," he assessed.

She lifted a slender shoulder. "Yes and no. I've been researching the Sinaloa Cartel for the past year. I'm sure you're familiar with them given their presence in Hawaii."

Aaron tensed slightly, his mind flashing back to their operation. Even if Emersyn was involved in analysis on the cartel's movement and motivations in Hawaii, that didn't mean she'd be part of the investigation into Eric Wilder.

He cleared his throat. "Of course. The drug trade on the islands is a huge problem that's growing bigger."

"So you get it. I was thrown into an ongoing investigation head first, so to speak."

The waitress arrived with their meals, ending further conversation about work. When Emersyn exclaimed that his food looked incredible, he speared a piece of his fish with a fork and leaned across the table, eyes twinkling. "You're letting me try it first?" she asked in excitement.

He chuckled. "Of course. Ladies first." She blushed prettily at the innuendo, and Aaron wanted to roar in approval. He loved how Emersyn always responded to him. She reached out to take the fork from him, but he didn't release it, just smiled as he fed her a bite of his food.

"Good?" he asked, watching her lips close around the fork and then the movement of her throat as she swallowed. Everything about her was delicate and sexy.

"So good," she teased, flashing him a saucy look. "But don't think I'm sharing any of my food."

He smirked, reaching out to snatch one of her hands in his own. "I can be very persuasive," he said, running his thumb over her knuckles. Her hand looked dainty in his own muscled one. Damn. He'd love to have her hands on his body, her silky blonde hair teasing his skin with her every movement. And her lips? Hell. Just imagining those lips moving over his skin and wrapping around his cock made him instantly hard.

"Oh, I believe it," she sassed. "I'll enjoy seeing you try."

He released her hand, appreciating the amusement that danced across her face. Emersyn's entire face lit up when she was happy, and Aaron loved seeing the flush of her cheeks and sparkle in her blue eyes.

She sampled her own entrée and then declared she was in absolute heaven. Aaron was still smiling as he dug into his own plate. Some first dates were awkward, and he felt totally at ease with her. They ate in companionable silence for a moment, and then Aaron took another pull of his beer, studying Emersyn. "So what else do you want to do while you're in Hawaii? I assume some of your plans with Layton got derailed."

"They did. She's already told me she's coming back. We'll have some more sisterly adventures then, I'm sure. For now, I'm dying to go snorkeling. Would you believe I've never been before?" she asked.

"There's not much good snorkeling in DC," he joked. "I mean the Potomac River isn't exactly known for its coral reefs."

"That it's not," she agreed, looking amused. "Gosh. I can't believe you get to live here year-round. It's like you're vacationing every weekend."

"Yes and no," he agreed, his lips quirking. "I have fun exploring on the weekends with my buddies and have hit most of the tourist hotspots, but I still have errands, cooking, and all that other boring stuff."

"You don't like cooking? Nope. Don't answer that," she said as she caught the look on his face. "I'll make dinner for you sometime. Or breakfast," she added, causing Aaron to nearly choke on his food.

"Give a guy a warning when you offer something like that," he protested. "You were about to need to do CPR on me this time."

"I think you mean the Heimlich maneuver," she said lightly.

"Nope. I would definitely want your lips on mine," he said, his voice husky.

Emersyn licked her lips again as she met his gaze, pretending to think it over. "Maybe if you play your cards right, sailor, I'll give you a goodnight kiss."

"I like the sound of that," he encouraged.

Emersyn flashed him another playful smile, taking a sip of her wine. "This wine is fantastic, by the way."

"I'm glad you like it. I'll admit I'm more of a beer guy."

"Oh! Did I tell you Layton and I tried Coconuts when she was in town?"

"You did not," he said, amused at her excitement. "And? What'd you think?"

"The food was amazing, and the fruity coconut drinks were to die for."

"I think some of my teammates' girlfriends would agree with you. Callie and Alexa love those things. I don't get it, but hey, who am I to judge?" he quipped.

"You're missing out. I get that they don't look very manly, but they absolutely taste like a little slice of heaven. So, what's the plan for after dinner? You said it was a surprise."

Aaron couldn't remember when he'd smiled this much on a date. "Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it? You'll just have to be patient like a good girl."

The blush that spread across her cheeks at his words was intriguing. His gaze briefly lowered to her cleavage as her chest rose and fell, wondering if she'd flush all over. For an instant, Aaron imagined giving her quiet commands in bed. Touching and teasing her soft skin, caressing her swollen breasts, and fingering her slick pussy as he told Emersyn not to come yet. Just reading her reactions to him now, he could see she'd try to please him. And he'd love to pleasure the hell out of her, making her come multiple times before finally sheathing up and sliding home.

"Are you always this bossy?" Emersyn finally asked, a faint flush still spread across her face.

"Yep."

She giggled, causing something in his chest to lighten. Aaron knew he'd do whatever it took to make this woman smile. While he might've teased her that she had six months to fall in love with him, he could see himself falling for her. It was far too soon for anything resembling falling in love right now. Yet Emersyn was intelligent, funny, flirtatious, and gorgeous at that. He felt comfortable with her. Aaron had dated a lot over the years, mostly casual, but he'd known from the moment they'd met that she was different.

"Where are you originally from?" she asked as they finished their meals.

"Michigan. My parents and sister still live there. I think Avery—my sister—is jealous as hell that I'm stationed in sunny Honolulu."

"Has she visited?" Emersyn asked. "I mean, my own sister is already planning to come back, and she just left."

Aaron nodded. "She was here for a conference not too long ago. She and Ryan seemed to hit it off, not that I particularly want my buddy dating my sister."

"Why not? He seemed sweet."

Aaron growled from across the table, causing Emersyn to toss her napkin at him. "Not for me!" she protested. "I just mean he's not a total pig or something. Come on. You've met those types of men. The locker room talk type of guy. There are men out there who want nothing more than an easy conquest. They'll sleep with someone and then move on to another unsuspecting woman. I get that you're protective of your sister, but she could do worse."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, handing her napkin back to her.

Emersyn smiled in victory, and he shook his head. "I can see arguing with you in the future will be pointless. This is what I get for dating an analyst," he mock-grumbled.

"It's best to admit defeat now," she joked, before turning more serious. "Will the military ever send you elsewhere?" she asked. "I mean, not counting deployments of course, but would you have to PCS?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "Our team works well together under our commanding officer. I won't be a Navy SEAL forever. I'm thirty-three. Wildcard's thirty-five."

"Wildcard?" she asked in confusion.

"Wyatt. And before you ask, my nickname is Anchor. Not too original for a guy in the Navy," he said with a chuckle. "Way back in basic, during a training exercise, some of the guys were joking that I was like hauling around a dead weight because I'm so big. The nickname stuck."

"That's funny but also kind of terrible at the same time. Most women wouldn't want to be called a dead weight."

He shrugged, not offended in the least. Aaron trained hard and had the muscles and strength to show for it. He hadn't missed Emersyn's eyes on him. They heated in the same way his must as he looked at her. "I'm not sure exactly what'll happen after I get out of the Navy," he told her. "Some veterans end up training the new guys once they leave the service or else they go into contracting."

"Of course." She'd worked with plenty of contractors over the years, some former military.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" he asked quietly when she didn't say anything else.

"Oh. Well, I'm here for six months but was considering more of a permanent move. If they won't let me turn my TDY into a permanent position, I might look into something else here in Honolulu. There are plenty of contracting jobs, but I was hoping to stay with DEA."

"Wow. I had no idea you were thinking of staying longer."

"Well, we did just meet," she pointed out with a smile. "I could hardly share my entire life story, right? I was thinking about it before I even came out here. When you guys helped me move into my new apartment, Sawyer was joking that he was surprised I didn't have more stuff. I actually did bring more than necessary for a six-month assignment."

"Huh. Guess I was too distracted watching you to pay attention to what we hauled in." She brushed back a strand of her hair again. "Did you have enough to eat? We could order dessert if you want, but that sort of involves my surprise for later."

"Let's wait then."

The waitress brought over their bill, and Aaron insisted that he pay for everything. As he took her hand when they left the restaurant, he smiled at how right it felt to have her hand in his. Emersyn had on a pair of strappy wedge sandals, but she was still much smaller than him. His big hands could practically span her waist, and hell, he couldn't wait to pull her close later and kiss her goodnight, teasing her with all the good things yet to come.