“Huh?”
“Remember, the police have broadcast that you are missing. Markie is driving the truck around, so people can report it to see if we can keep the Colombians here to draw them out.”
“Yes, right. I guess I just don’t know how all of this works.”
“That’s what we have the police for.”
“This is so embarrassing.”
“What is?”
“I feel like Jonathan conned me.”
Boy, he understood that feeling. He’d once felt conned by a woman he thought he loved and had been utterly humiliated.
“It makes a person wonder why he deals drugs with the good-paying job he has.”
“Who knows?”
“And to con my dad, too. Dad is sharp and can usually read people well. And, about a month ago, when I mentioned to Dad I was thinking about calling off the wedding, he talked me out of it, telling me what a great guy Jonathan was. He was on Team Jonathan. Convinced me I had cold feet and I should rethink it.”
The thought of Emma considering calling off the wedding sent a refreshing jolt to his heart. Maybe she wasn’t rebounding. Then, that old feeling of dread coiled in the pit of his stomach. The one he’d experienced when he got dumped. What was her reasoning? Was it the same as his ex-fiancée? He wasn’t good enough for her?
“You thought about calling off the wedding?”
She nodded. “Things suddenly didn’t feel right. It was like he stopped enjoying the things I thought we liked to do, making me think we weren’t a good match. You know, how people do things their partner likes that they don’t, just to make them happy?”
“I get that.”
Her face scrunched into a pout.
“I thought long and hard about our time together, and realized I always settled for what he wanted to do and when he wanted to do it. We rarely did things I liked to do. I realized I was selling myself short, and I didn’t want to spend a lifetime catering to someone else. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I realize that there are compromises in relationships and I’m happy to compromise with someone I love, but looking back, it was always all about Jonathan.”
With all she’d just said, Cap wondered why she was so angry when her ex called off the wedding. He needed to know.
“If Jonathan hadn’t officially called off the wedding, would you have?”
Seeing as she lay in his arms right now, and they’d kissed several times, he should know the answer, but he needed her to say it out loud. He needed her to think about how they’d come to be here and know that she wasn’t rebounding.
“Yes. I think I would have. I knew I was wrong to let my dad convince me otherwise. He meant well, but he didn’t really understand how I was feeling. I realize now that I felt trapped. Like I had to go through with the wedding because that is what everyone expected. Does that make sense?”
It did and he could understand that. Now that she’d explained it that way, he no longer felt guilty or felt the need to resist kissing her—loving her.
He rolled slightly to prop himself on his elbow to face her more directly. Desire flashed in her eyes, causing him to lean in and kiss her hard. He dove his tongue into her hot, willing mouth, teasing hers, hoping to not only please her but drive the need for more. Her responsiveness thrilled him and bordered on overwhelming. Their tongues tangled in a needy, primal fashion. His heart raced, and his fingers itched to explore her body, knowing they’d find relief if he just accommodated their request. Still, he had enough sense about him to wait for a cue that she wanted to take this desire-filled kiss further.
When her fingers dug into his shoulder, and she pulled him on top of her, he knew her answer. His mouth stayed on hers, and he kissed her with all he had.
Her tiny hands skimmed down his sides and over his bare back, practically lighting his skin on fire. Under protest from his lips, he pulled away from her and leaned back onto his heels, allowing room to pull her up into a seated position so he could rid her of her pajama top. Beautiful, cream colored, round breasts with raspberry-tinted nipples called out to his hands. They were soft yet firm and felt exhilarating.
Emma covered his hands with hers and squeezed. She closed her eyes and indulged in the enjoyment for a few moments before she pulled his right hand away from her breast and released it. Then, she placed her hand at the back of his head and guided him to her exposed breast. He kissed that taut little nipple, circled his tongue around it, and then took it into his mouth. Her whispered groan enticed him to suck harder. She fell back onto the mattress, taking him along with her. He liked a woman who wasn’t afraid to let him know what she wanted. Her hands roamed over his upper arms, shoulders, and back as he teased her delightful breasts, moving his mouth from one to the other.
Wanting to taste more of her, he trailed kisses from her breasts, over her stomach, to the rim of her pajama bottoms. Her body tensed, and she squirmed slightly, causing him to stop and work his way back up, thinking she wasn’t quite ready for him to go any lower. When he returned to her breasts, he lightly kissed each one and then trailed kisses up the side of her neck and didn’t stop until that lovely earlobe of hers was near his mouth. He gave it a little nibble, then traced kisses along her jaw and returned to her delicious mouth.
The soft kisses that ensued drove him crazy, almost to the brink. He wanted her badly. Another day, he supposed.
He edged away from her and rolled onto his back, tucking her into the crook of his arm.
She rested her cheek on his chest, along with her palm.
