Chapter 2

Aaron leaned against his pickup truck, watching as Wyatt loaded the rental kayaks onto the top of his SUV. The ambulance had rolled out moments ago, and Aaron's thoughts were churning. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to literally carry Emersyn to the arriving rescue squad, but he hadn't wanted to let her go. And he hadn't been joking. When he'd put his mouth on hers earlier, he'd been shocked at the rightness of it. Sure, he'd been bringing her back to life at that precise moment, but damn. Her body beneath his had made all of his protective instincts rise. He wanted to lay her down in the sand on a normal day and kiss the hell out of her, enjoying the feel of her much smaller body beneath his own.

Emersyn was a knockout, vulnerable at the time he'd saved her, but clearly adventurous. Stubborn. Her sister had apparently warned her to wear a life vest.

He rubbed a hand over his mouth, remembering the feel of her lips beneath his own. She was no doubt just another tourist here for a week or two, but Aaron felt like a fucking goner. She'd been out of his sights for mere minutes, and he already had the urge to go to her, to make sure she was warm and safe.

Maybe the women were here on vacation with their boyfriends or husbands, and this had been a sisters' kayaking adventure. But Emersyn hadn't been wearing a ring and hadn't mentioned needing to call anyone about her accident. Then she'd literally mumbled something about his lips on hers, Aaron recalled with a smile.

"She was a looker, huh?" Sawyer said with a smirk as he came over, leaning against the truck beside him. The others were moving around, talking in the parking lot. The entire team had been planning to kayak together this morning, but Aaron wasn't sure he felt up to it now. Not when his mind was on the woman who'd just left in an ambulance. His entire body was tense and on edge. It felt all sorts of wrong to stand around with his friends as she was taken to the hospital.

And wasn't that fucking poetic? The first woman who'd intrigued him in ages didn't even live here. Not that Aaron typically got that up close and personal with a woman he didn't know. Maybe if he saved another woman and put his mouth on hers, held her trembling body in his arms, he'd feel the same thundering in his heart.

And maybe not.

Because Aaron had been stationed on Oahu for years, kissed plenty of women in his lifetime, and never been drawn to someone instantly like the way he was with Emersyn.

"She was gorgeous," Aaron agreed. "Also rather reckless for not wearing a life vest. She managed to get a large bump on her head when the kayak flipped."

Sawyer nodded in the direction the ambulance had gone. "Go check up on her. She wasn't exactly pushing you away."

"She was scared," Aaron countered. "The woman nearly drowned out there."

"Someone's gotta tend to her wounds," Sawyer joked, waggling his eyebrows. "Might as well be you."

"I got the sister's cell number," Wyatt told them from across the row, adjusting the kayaks before tightening the straps. "I'm going to drop these off. I told Layton that we'd handle returning them so she could go to the hospital with Emersyn. I'll let them know when everything's taken care of."

"They'll need a ride back to their vehicle," Sawyer pointed out, eyeing Aaron once more. "Time for you to swoop in and save the day again."

"Can it." But he grabbed a tee shirt from inside his truck, tugging it over his head. His board shorts were nearly dry, not that wet shorts would've stopped him from heading toward the ER. He slid on his flip flops. Looked like he was swinging by the hospital after all.

Sawyer's low chuckle filled the air. "Ask her out when you're there," he said with a smirk. "Women love to be wined and dined—not that I prefer my dates to involve all that."

Aaron eyed his teammate. Sawyer talked a lot of shit, but Aaron doubted he was actually with a new woman each weekend. The team hung out at bars together but left alone more often than not. They weren't exactly fresh-faced new recruits anymore looking for an easy score. "She's probably only here for a week."

"What's the problem with that? Give her a few wild nights and send her on her way," Sawyer joked.

"Nice, asshole," Aaron muttered.

"She's got a tight little body and—"

"Enough!" Aaron glared at his teammate. "Don't talk about her like that."

"Well then ask her out, pretty boy. Otherwise, some other sailor will."

Aaron stilled. His friend wasn't wrong. The island was packed with young, single military men. Emersyn was a beautiful woman. The last thing she needed was some jackass taking advantage of her, especially after she'd nearly been killed. "I need to go talk to Ryan before I head over there. Catch you later." Aaron crossed the parking lot toward his friend, listening to Sawyer's laughter continue behind him. Normally he didn't mind when he and his friends gave each other shit, but he felt surprisingly protective of Emersyn. And didn't that tell Aaron all he needed to know.

"Hey man. Quite the eventful morning," Ryan said as Aaron approached. "They were lucky we were here. I don't think the sister would've been able to save her alone."

Aaron frowned. The thought had crossed his mind as well. Emersyn kayaking without a life vest had nearly cost the woman her life. It had scared the hell out of him seeing her so pale and lifeless in the water. Even if Layton had gotten to her in time, she didn't have Aaron's size or strength. It might've been a struggle for her just to get Emersyn back to shore.

Aaron didn't even want to think about the alternative.

"You heading to the hospital?" Ryan asked.

"Yep. Sawyer just asked me the same thing. What can I say?" Aaron asked as his lips quirked. "Guess I'm a sucker for a pretty face."

Ryan chuckled. "It seemed like you were into her, so why not? They're probably here on vacation and don't know anyone else. Make sure she's okay, then get her digits."

Aaron muttered a curse. He'd ask Emersyn out, but not much could come of it. They might enjoy dinner and drinks later in the week if she was up for it after her near-drowning, which was a big if, but then she'd be on a plane out of here. And he'd still be stationed in Oahu, deploying on ops all over the world.

And speaking of airplanes…. He cleared his throat. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd talked to my sister recently?" Aaron asked. "I tried calling her a few days ago, but she never called or texted me back. That's not like her."

"Avery? We exchanged contact info when she was here in Hawaii. We text sometimes."

"I know," Aaron said, giving him a hard look.

Ryan lifted his hands up in mock surrender, chuffing out a laugh. "We're just friends, man. Sure, she's beautiful, but in case you didn't notice, we live in Oahu. She flew home."

"Yep. I dropped her off at the airport," Aaron pointed out.

"Look, I get the protective big brother vibe, but she's an adult. Even if I'm not dating her, Avery will eventually meet some other man. Date him. Maybe even marry the guy. I doubt you'll be happy about that either."

"Yeah, yeah." Ryan wasn't wrong. Aaron wouldn't feel like anyone was good enough for Avery. That didn't mean he liked her texting his buddy though, especially if she was purposefully ignoring him. "I'm worried about her," he finally said. "She's smart as hell but can be impulsive and somewhat na?ve about the dangers of the world. I'm concerned that she's going to quit her job and move overseas with Doctors Without Borders."

"She'd sounded really excited about the potential opportunity," Ryan countered. "I'll mention the risks, but I'm pretty sure she already realizes that given the amount of volunteer hours she's already put in with the organization. Are you sure she's not avoiding your call on purpose?"

"She might be."

Ryan's chuckle filled the air. "I'll text her today. It's not like she'd move out of the country without telling you, right?"

Aaron's fists clenched. He wasn't so sure about that. "You never know," he finally said. "I don't think my sister likes following any brotherly advice I might have. I gotta get to the hospital though. Let me know what Avery says," he added, stalking toward his truck.

"Will do, man," Ryan called out behind him.

Aaron huffed out a breath as he climbed into his vehicle, the blue sky and warm sunshine a contrast to his now cloudy mood. It had been a hell of a morning. Ryan probably could talk some sense into his sister. Aaron hadn't missed the amount of time they'd spent together when she was in town. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Right now, his priority was the woman he'd just rescued. Aaron would check on Emersyn and make sure she was okay. Ask her out while she was visiting Honolulu. And after that? He'd go on with his life, and that would be that.