Chapter 20

Aaron slung his duffle bag into the passenger seat of his pickup truck Friday evening, a huge grin on his face. The week had felt too damn long, but he was heading over to Emersyn's tonight. He'd been training with his teammates all afternoon, and Aaron had gone home to shower and change before going to see his girl.

Em had been stressed about work this week, and news had spread across the island about the arrest of Antonio Lopez last weekend. The Sinaloa Cartel was said to be unhappy about the arrests of their members, claiming they'd seek revenge. He assumed Emersyn had played some part in the bust given her role as an analyst here in Oahu, but the DEA Special Agents were the men and women who'd actually brought the criminals in. While he worried about her safety, the cartel members would have no way to ID her specifically.

Ten minutes later, he was knocking on her door, a bag of carryout in his hand.

"Oh, you already got food!" she said excitedly as she opened the door.

"Yep. I'm starving, and I know you're exhausted," he said, ducking down for a slow kiss as the door closed behind him. "Since you said you were okay to stay in tonight, I brought it with me."

"A man with a plan. I like it."

"I know you do," he said, his voice husky.

Emersyn blushed, and Aaron gave her another searing kiss, breathing in her floral scent. He knew it was her shampoo, having lathered it in her hair before running his hands all over her wet body as he washed her. Emersyn writhing in his arms, naked and pressed up against the shower glass, would forever be one of his hottest memories.

Tonight, she'd changed from one of the suits she wore to the office and had on another strappy sundress. Aaron's blood heated as he let his gaze rake over her. She was barefoot, which somehow gave her a certain innocence, but the dress was low-cut, revealing her creamy cleavage. While he loved her in anything and everything, he hoped she had on some pretty lingerie beneath that dress. When he'd come by one evening this week, he slowly unbuttoned her blouse as they kissed on the sofa, revealing a lacy bra. He'd sucked on her nipples through the material, letting his hand glide between her legs to that sweet spot he knew drove her wild.

Emersyn was flushed as he finally pulled back, and he smirked, taking her hand in his own. He absolutely loved how she reacted to him and would never tire of kissing her until she was breathless and then making her cry out his name.

She took the bag of carryout, and he dropped his duffle bag to the floor, leading her into the kitchen. "It's been a crazy week, huh?" Aaron asked as she got out plates and silverware for them.

"The craziest. I assume you saw on the news about the arrest of several Sinaloa Cartel members, including Antonio Lopez?"

He frowned. "Yep. It's good that he's off the streets, but I'm sure there are new guys just itching to take over."

"No doubt. It's practically a family business for him," she commented.

"Yeah. His cousin is one of the cartel leaders in Mexico."

She flashed him a surprised look but didn't say anything else. Aaron couldn't tell her he'd been down there weeks ago. With all the recent news about the Oahu drug bust, she couldn't be too surprised he was at least familiar with the crime family.

Her phone buzzed on the counter, and Aaron watched as Emersyn went to grab it. "Oh, it's my sister." She answered as he moved to the refrigerator to grab some drinks. Aaron smiled as he saw she'd stocked her fridge with the brand of beer he liked. He popped the cap off the long neck, taking a long pull, then grabbed the white wine he knew Em enjoyed. Aaron poured her a glass, frowning as Emersyn stood there on the phone, looking worried.

"No, it's fine," she assured her sister. "You know you can call me anytime. Are you sure you're okay? You sound a little stressed."

Aaron couldn't hear Layton's reply but saw the worry on Emersyn's face. She eventually said goodbye, her blue eyes landing on Aaron. "She's worried about something but didn't want to go into details right now."

"But she's okay?"

"I guess so. She said we'll talk another time when I don't have my man over," Emersyn joked. "Oh, and she said to tell you hi."

Aaron's lips quirked. "Tell her I said hello. Has she made any plans to fly out here again?"

"Not yet, but she probably will," Emersyn said, moving over to plate their food. Aaron had ordered a variety of Chinese dishes, not knowing what she liked. He took note that she gave herself a bigger serving of pork fried rice than the other dishes. "That your favorite?"

"Absolutely. Fried rice is heavenly, but carbs in general work."

He chuckled. "Can't go wrong with that. So, are we eating in here or on your balcony?"

"Balcony. It's a perfect Hawaiian night. I've already been cooped up inside all day and want to enjoy the gorgeous weather. My apartment might not be oceanfront or anything, but I swear I can still smell the salty air."

"Ain't that the truth," he joked. "I've gotten spoiled living here."

"You said you're from Michigan, right?" she asked as he closed the balcony door behind them. They set their food and drinks on the table, each taking a seat. Emersyn's blonde hair blew in the breeze, and Aaron briefly stilled, taking in her delicate features. She set her wineglass beside her food, and he quickly jumped into action, setting his own food down on the table to pull out her chair. Aaron got an eyeful of cleavage as he helped to push her chair in and felt his dick twitch. This was the first time they'd planned for him to spend the night. While he'd wanted to have her in every way, they still hadn't made love. Tonight, Aaron planned to undress her slowly in her bedroom and finally take her as he wanted, spreading her slender legs after he'd laid her down and then filling her completely with his throbbing cock, making her his.

"I am from Michigan," he said as he sat down, his mind snapping back to the present. "Sometimes I miss the cold. I used to snowboard when I was younger—can't do much of that around here though," he said with a wry smile. "My sister was more into skiing and ice skating. How about you? Do you ski?"

"Gosh no. Have I been skiing? Yes. Will I ever ski again? That'd be a no."

His lips quirked, seeing the amusement on her face. "That bad, huh? Maybe you just needed a qualified instructor."

"The hands-on type?" she joked.

Aaron's hearty chuckle filled the balcony. "Exactly that type. But only if it's me," he teased.

"Yeah, I figured that's what you were getting at," she said, taking a bite of her Chinese food. His eyes briefly dropped to her lips, noting she'd swiped on some shiny gloss. He was used to girly stuff being around from growing up with a sister, but somehow everything Emersyn had seemed intriguing. He'd love her lipstick marks all over his body, trailing down his stomach right toward the promised land.

"I guess if you really loved cold weather, you wouldn't be TDY here."

"You'd be guessing right. Don't get me wrong—DC gets snow. It's mostly ice and slush though. You'd probably be disappointed being from Michigan. The schools close for everything though. Even the Federal government gets snow days. Guess that won't be happening for me so much here."

"Negative," he said, amused.

She took a sip of her wine, watching as he dug in to his food. Everything tasted incredible, and he had a hearty appetite after the training drills he and his teammates had run through today.

"Which Chinese place is this from?" she asked. "Please tell me you got a menu."

"That I did. I realize you're still new in town. I've barely taken you to Oahu's best spots yet. Speaking of being new, I noticed that big mirror is still in your foyer. Do you want me to hang it up for you?"

"That'd be great, actually. I started to measure and mark on the wall, but it's heavy."

"You should've asked me for help."

She shrugged, and Aaron's gaze was drawn to the movement of her breasts. Her sundress hugged them perfectly, and as ungentlemanly as it was, he couldn't wait to strip it off her later. "I could've asked you for help, but we've been otherwise occupied much of the time that you've been over here."

"That we have," he agreed with a chuckle. She smiled, clearly noting the heat in his eyes. He and Emersyn couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other, and he didn't have a problem with that at all.

Aaron helped her to carry the plates inside, setting them on the counter then patting his pockets. "I left my cell in my truck. Guess I was eager to get up here and see you."

"Maybe you were just hungry," she teased.

"Oh, I'm hungry," he said, eyeing her up and down. Emersyn pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. "I'm going to quick run down to my truck and grab my cell. I'm not expecting anything to come up, but I always have it on me in case the CO needs to reach us."

"Okay. I'll finish cleaning up. See you in few minutes."

Aaron gave her a brief kiss then was heading to her front door, making sure it locked behind him. It was unlike him to be forgetful, but this girl had him by the balls and didn't even know it. Aaron was smitten with her. Lovestruck. And tonight, he was going to finally make her his.