Page 14 of Emma's Element

As she watched him come toward her, her heart fluttered.Holy fudgesicle,he was gorgeous.With his muscular frame and flaxen hair, he could turn heads . . . even without taking into account the fact that he was a famous movie star. Beneath the unzipped jacket, he wore a burgundy sweater which was stretched tight across his chest. His hard muscles filled that sweater perfectly. All she wanted was to slip her arms under that jacket, hold him tight to her while resting her cheek against his hard pecs.

“That was quick,” she praised, beaming up at him and ignoring her wayward thoughts.

“I nearly lost you once back at those boulders. But I spotted the strand of hair you left on a branch blowing in the breeze.”

“What? I don’t remember leaving any hair,” she exclaimed in surprise. She didn’t have long hair; if hehadseen a strand, it was remarkable.

He reached up and ran his hand over her hair. Emma froze, staring into his aquamarine eyes, trying to control the slight tremor she felt at his hand in her hair. When he pulled back, his fingers lightly brushing against her cheek, he held a small twig in his fingers. “I assure you, you did.”

She laughed to cover her nervousness and grabbed the twig from him. “I didn’t even notice.”

His lips tilted up in a sweet smile, and he reached out again, this time for her arm. “Not to mention the little white feathers you keep molting.” He pulled a tiny feather out of the sleeve of her down-filled coat.

“Seriously?” she said, stunned. “You can spot those?” They were so tiny she was amazed anyone could see them.

He reached into his pocket and pulled a matching white feather out. “This one floated right to me as if to say, ‘she went that way.’”

“How did you know it came from my jacket?”

“I’ve seen a few of them over the last couple of days working their way out of your coat to freedom.” Emma was speechless. She’d bet even the most highly trained trackers wouldn’t have noticed those tiny feathers. While it was true, they tried to get as much information about the missing person, including what they wore, so that they could look for specific colors or types of fabric that may have been snagged, she never imagined anyone would have thought a minuscule feather floating through the air had come from a down-filled coat. Marcus was teaching her a few things as well.

Emma reached out to take one of the feathers from his hand when a gust of wind pulled it from his fingertips. Together they watched as it floated on the breeze. She didn’t notice that her hand had landed in his after the feather had disappeared until she felt his warm fingers wrap around hers. She looked down at their joined hands, amazed at how good it felt. How right it felt. She hadn’t bothered with gloves, and his warmth permeated her skin. She vaguely wondered if he’d be that warm everywhere. She buried her nose in the collar of her coat to hide the blush she could feel developing.

“We should . . . we should head back,” she stammered, still staring at their clasped hands. “It’s going to be dark soon.”

She watched, mesmerized as he lifted her hand to his lips, kissed the back, then turned it over and kissed her palm. Her eyes shot up to his only to find him staring at her with an intensity she’d never seen.

“Join me for dinner?” he asked.

“What?”

“Come over to my place. I’ll make you dinner.”

“Umm . . .” She was having a hard time thinking while he stared at her like that. He still held her hand, which was now resting against his chest, near his heart. She should pull it away but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She flexed her fingers until they lay flat on his chest, where she felt his hypnotic heartbeat.

“Emma?” he prompted. “Dinner?”

Right. She needed to answer him. “Sure,” she croaked. Then cleared her throat and said, “I’d like that.”

“Great. Let’s go.” He turned, and she lost contact with his chest, but he didn’t let go of her hand.

The spell momentarily broken, she remarked, “I can’t believe you found me so quickly. Are you sure you didn’t peek?”

He chuckled. “No, I didn’t peek. It wasn’t that hard.”

“You have a natural talent for it.”

He beamed at her as though no one had ever complimented him, which was crazy since he was a mega movie star. “Thanks. It was fun.” Emma laughed, and his expression turned uneasy. “I mean,” he rushed to say, “I know it’s not supposed to be fun. It’s a serious matter when someone is missing. I just mean?”

“Marcus,” she interrupted, still laughing. “I know what you mean.” She saw his shoulders relax in relief. “I feel the same way when I have to climb or rappel to rescue someone.” He squeezed her hand, and they made their way back to the ATVs in comfortable silence.

Chapter six

EmmafollowedMarcus’massivevehicle in her own much smaller SUV after dropping the ATVs back at the Nighthawk complex. She was happy to be invited to spend more time with Marcus but also nervous. She had never been a good conversationalist, and she felt woefully inadequate around him, imagining that the kind of people he usually socialized with were much more sophisticated.

She’d never be what society considered pretty or refined, but that was okay. Her dad had never cared what she looked or acted like. He’d never forced her to be anything but who she was. And he’d been incredibly proud.

Jolene had accepted her as well. Jolene was gorgeous, and Emma had sometimes felt the green beast of jealousy strike when guys would look right through her in their quest to get to Jolene, but it was what it was, and she was okay with that. She had a career she loved and the respect of a great group of people. What more could she ask for?

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