Page 29 of Emma's Element

“Gave me a run for my money,” Marcus wasn’t too big a man to admit it. He was incredibly proud of her for besting him.

“After her first few moves, I half expected her to execute one of those Jedi flips in the air,” he mused. “I’ve never seen anyone do anything like that before.”

Marcus laughed. “Are you kidding? I’ve never seen anyone do that before outside of a movie set. And then it was stuntmen who were using wires. She could make a killing off moves like that in Hollywood.”

“Or Disneyworld,” Graham joshed.

“I heard that,” Emma said, joining them and linking her arm through Marcus’s. “You guys trying to get rid of me?”

“Hell, no!” exclaimed Graham. “I don’t know how we can use your Jedi tricks during a SAR mission, but I look forward to finding out.”

“Very funny,” she groaned.

“Impressive work, Kiddo,” Graham stated.

“You call me Kiddo, but you do realize I’m older than you, don’t you?” she asked.

“Whatever,Kiddo.”

“Whatever,Old Man,” she mocked.

He winked at her, then raised his voice to be heard by everybody. “Who’s up for Jolene’s?” Of course, everybody answered in the affirmative. “You two get cleaned up and meet us there.”

“I don’t know, Graham. Marcus doesn’t usually want the attention from the other patrons.”

It was nice that she would consider his feelings, but he wanted to hang with the group tonight. “No. It’s okay, Emma. It’ll be fun.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking up at him with her gorgeous doe eyes.

“Absolutely.”

“Don’t worry, Titan boy. We’ll protect you from the big bad townsfolk,” Finch teased. Marcus flipped him the bird again. Finch laughed as he walked out of the gym with the others.

Then he was alone with Emma. She threw her arms around him and gave him a huge hug. “Holy hangnail, Marcus. That was so much fun! Thank you.” She went up on her toes again and kissed his cheek, then lowered her eyes shyly as she stepped away from him.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I did too.”

She knelt next to the case where the épée lay and ran a finger over the guard. “This is really beautiful. I’ve never seen the like.”

“It’s yours,” he offered.

“Oh, Marcus, no. I can’t accept this,” Emma insisted, rising from her crouched position. “I don’t need you to get me things. Especially something that probably cost more than my paycheck.”

Marcus placed a hand against her cheek. “I know you don’t expect anything from me, which is why I wanted you to have it.” The rich chocolate pools of her eyes enthralled him, beckoning him to dive deep. Unable to help himself, he leaned down and captured her lips with his. She lit up for him, opening instantly as she placed her palms on his chest, curling her fingers into his shirt. He slid his hand to the back of her neck, holding her in place as his other arm wrapped around the small of her back. She melted into him, her hands shifting up to wrap around his neck.

He moaned as he plundered her mouth, her sweet taste overloading his senses, drowning him. She tasted like manna from the heavens. Her amazing body pressed against his felt . . . he had no words. Phenomenal. Extraordinary. Wonderful. Those words all seemed inadequate.

“Emma, do you need . . . oops!”

Chapter ten

Jolene’sinterruptionmadethetwo of them jump apart. Emma’s beautifully flushed features deepened as a blush spread across her cheeks. “I knew it!” She ran over and hugged Emma. Then Marcus. Then she grabbed Marcus’s face in both hands and gave him big smacking kisses on each cheek. “Sorry. I’ll leave that to Emma,” she teased. With a hand covering her heart, she gazed at them, hearts in her eyes and a big goofy grin on her face. Before either of them could say anything, she spun and ran out the door. Emma turned to him and burst out laughing.

“You should see your face,” she laughed. “You look so shocked. That’s just trademark Jolene. She’s a romantic.”

He nodded, staring after the redhead. Still lost in the sensations of his kiss with Emma, it took a moment before reality crashed down on him. What had he just done? If word about this got out, Emma would be hounded day and night by the paparazzi. She’d never have a moment of peace with them following her everywhere. They’d mercilessly invade her privacy, all while vying for that money shot.

So lost in his worries for her, he didn’t hear her until she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “Marcus, she won’t tell anyone. She knows you value your privacy.” He nodded, not entirely convinced. He knew Jolene was a good person and would never do anything to hurt Emma. It was everybody else he was worried about. Maybe meeting everybody at Jolene’s wasn’t a good idea after all.

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