Emma huffed and puffed like a frickin’ wolf trying to blow down a concrete house. She avoided eye contact and removed my hand from her knee when I drove my parents to their house. I wanted to believe that she was in her investigative mode and upset over seeing Huntz, but I knew better. Something else was wrong, and this wasn’t the time to ask her about it. And what did Missy have to do with all this? Why was she here?

“Are you sure, Emma?” my mother asked, her voice barely audible. Keeping her cover as my girlfriend, Emma quickly told my parents how she’d seen Huntz’s photograph at the Sheriff’s, who had told her about the story of our kidnapping.

“Yes, I’m sure,” She replied in a stern voice.

“We should call the sheriff,” my father said.

“Huntz won’t be back tonight,” Emma responded. “He wanted to make a point, but it would be better if Missy stayed with you for now, please.”

“How do you know this, Emma? What exactly happened back there?” I asked.

She went over her encounter in full detail. I felt my hands fist into tight balls, wishing I’d seen the fucker so that I could have ripped him apart. And Missy, poor girl, had been living in fear all these years. She was the one who helped us escape. I owed her my and Annabelle’s lives – the least I could do was keep her safe from the bastard right now. God only knew the horrid childhood she had. I turned in my seat and held her gaze. There was something different about her eyes tonight. They reminded me of my own when I’d been held captive, and I couldn’t help but reach back to capture her hand. I’d imagined this moment countless times, meeting the brave little girl who’d helped us, lifting her into my arms and spinning, showing my gratitude in any way I could. But Missy wasn’t a girl anymore. She was a grown woman. How could I have been oblivious as to who she really was all these years?

“I know this isn’t the right time, and it will never be enough, but thank you,” I whispered.

For a split second, the fear disappeared from her face and was replaced by happiness. It was a moment I would never forget, and little did I know, one I wouldn’t see on Missy’s face again for a long time.

“The best thing you can do now is stick together,” Emma informed us in a formal tone. What was going on here? And why did I get the feeling that sticking together didn’t include her? Why was she being so cold?

I pulled up to my parents’ house, and once inside, checked all the locks and bolts. “Have this by your side, Dad.” I passed him his rifle. “We’ll figure it all out. Emma’s family owns a private investigations company, and I’m sure they’ll help, but I trust Emma. If she says he won’t show here for a few days, then he won’t.”

“You take care of that girl, Eric. She seems upset with you.”

You got that too, eh? But I simply said, “I will.”

When I got back to the car, Emma was furiously texting with someone, her brows scrunching and lips tightening with each passing minute.

I turned on the ignition, asking, “Are you okay?”

“I just got a loaded gun pointed at me, Eric. No, I’m not okay.”

She was lying. I doubted a cannon would scare Emma off. Her tone of voice gave me the impression she was more upset with me than with Huntz. She jumped out of the car and, slamming its door, headed for the house.

“What the heck is the matter, Em?”

She whipped her body around and came back toward me. Her petite frame now seemed larger and more powerful than a giant’s.

“Why don’t you ask Hunter? I’m sure he’ll fill you in. Or does it work the other way around? Do you report back to him and my brothers?”

Fuck!

“Emma, I’m sorry. I’m so…”

“Don’t even fucking say it, Eric. I trusted you! I thought what we had was real, and you betray me like that?”

“Emma, I wanted to tell you, but…”

“There shouldn’t be any buts, Eric. All it takes is one lie to destroy a relationship, and you accomplished that the first day we met.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.”

“Really? Do I? Because I’ve been living in a lie for the past three weeks, being made a fool of.” She pushed the front door open as soon as the key clicked in the lock.

“Then every time I touched you and kissed you and had you in my bed…”

I caught Emma’s hand before it reached my cheek to slap me. I squeezed my fingers around her little wrist, feeling my need to pin her to something hard. I wanted to trap her and talk to her. I wanted to rob her of the ability to run away so that I could tell her everything. And this time I would. If she only gave me another chance, I wouldn’t screw this up again. But before I could think, her other hand flew up, stinging the side of my face, leaving a burn I was sure to feel for a long time.

“What the hell was that, Emma? You need to let me finish.”

I grasped both her wrists and pushed my way forward, forcing her back against the wall. I pinned her there with my body and held her hands to the sides. If she really wanted to, she could have gotten away from my grip. I’d learned enough about Emma from her family to know that she held a black belt in kickboxing and jiu jitsu, and my hold on her was merely an inconvenience.

“Look, I am not some little country girl who gets to be pushed around and controlled and told what to do and used. If you want that, go back to Claire.”

Fortunately I was able to block her knee as it neared my crotch. “Emma, I swear to God if you don’t stop this, I will.”

“Go ahead and try.”

And so I crushed my mouth to hers, forcing her lips apart, pinning her so hard she had no way to breathe for a few seconds, giving her exactly what she wanted, finally realizing that what Emma needed was to have that pressure that had been building inside her tonight, released. Her breasts were squished against my chest, and her muscles bunched up and stiffened as she resisted me. Her mouth was so hard yet so needy, it made me want to pry those lips open and suck on her tongue until she gave in, until she realized she was mine and only mine. I didn’t fucking care about Claire or any other woman. I should have told Emma the truth about Hunter and why I ended up at Cross Enterprises, sooner. I needed to right my mistakes and the only way I knew how at this moment was to be inside her. I needed Emma’s silky warmth around me. I only wanted Emma. My Emma, until the end of my days.

Once I heard her moan into my mouth and felt her curves soften, I eased my grip and lifted her into my arms. Since we were already near the kitchen, I sat her on the counter, our lips never pulling apart. I swept across the cold marble, spilling whatever was on it to the floor, including the fruit bowl, which shattered. Neither one of us cared or broke the needy kiss. Whatever happened, I had to remain connected to Emma. I needed her now more than ever, and even if she didn’t admit it, even if she was as mad at me as a raging bull, I wouldn’t let her go. I couldn’t. When she pulled away, I saw tears in her eyes. I touched my lower lip, which was cut from her bite, and held her gaze. Emma’s mascara began running down her cheeks, and she looked so vulnerable and beautiful, I couldn’t take it. I grasped her shirt and tore it open, and then scrunched up her skirt to her waist and cupped her wet pussy with my hand.

“I can’t,” she said quietly.

“Shh, Em. Just be quiet. If there’s nothing else you can give me, please give me tonight. Please give us tonight. No questions, no words. I need to be inside you, even if it’s for the last time.”

She sucked in a quick breath, leaned back willingly on the counter, and spread her legs open for me. I was so ready by that point, I couldn’t take it. Lowering my jeans to my thighs, I pulled her ass to the edge of the counter, moved her panties to the side, and dove into her tight wetness in one swift prod. Holding onto her hips, I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop. She writhed underneath me like a temptress from hell, pinching her nipples, pushing herself onto me, and lifting her feet to my shoulders. God, she looked so beautiful! How did I fuck this up? How could I let her go after this – this beautifully sensual and strong woman who’d been raised with so much passion that anyone who got near her had to feel it? They had to know how special she was. I adored her, admired her, and loved her beyond my sound mind.

Fuck! I loved her. And she needed to know that, but now was not the right time. At this moment, seeing her this way, succumbing to my most carnal need as I crushed our bodies together over and over again, teasing her clit with my thumb, rubbing it just the way I knew would drive her insane was all that mattered. Once we figured this out in the morning and made everything right again, I’d tell her. I leaned my cheek against her calf, smoothing it over the faint lines of beautiful scars that decorated her legs, kissing each beautiful ripple. Telling her in my mind and showing her with my body just how desperately I loved her.

And when she broke into a cry combined with a scream, I pulled out of her, watching my seed spill onto her tummy and breasts, her smoothing it over her body as if she wanted to cover every inch of herself with my essence. I lifted her up into my arms in her torn clothes and carried her into my tub. She curled in a corner without saying a word. I washed her and myself, thoroughly, dried her up, and again carried her to my bed where her body naturally curled into mine. As soon as my dick felt her soft ass, I found her opening again. She spread her legs willingly. We remained locked with me inside her as I whispered into her ear. “I’m so sorry, Emma.” She let out a long exhale, and we fell asleep.

I didn’t exactly expect her to be in a good mood the next morning, or even to talk to me for a few days, but instead of her soft blond curls, I found a note on her pillow that crushed any hope I’d had in my chest.

Dearest Eric,

I’m sorry, but I cannot do this. By the time you read this I’ll be landing in New York. I’m a city girl and New Jersey is my home – it always has been and always will be. Secrets are not a good foundation to build a relationship on – I know this better than anyone. We’re much better off on our own, in our own nooks of the world. I’ll send a replacement to finish your case. Huntz is being tracked and it shouldn’t take long until we get another ping near Ogden.

Love always, Emma

“What the fuck?” I pulled on my hair, searching my house for any remaining evidence of her. Her clothes and toiletries were gone, and I couldn’t find one item to remind me of her, except for the cowboy hat. She’d left it here. Leaning against the mantle, I felt something underneath my foot and lowered to pick up the shining button. A memory of it bouncing on the floor after I ripped her shirt open tumbled through my mind. Was all I’d had left of Emma? Did she really leave? Didn’t last night mean anything to her, or was that just her saying goodbye? Have I lost the only woman I’ve ever loved? Have I lost Emma?