Page 38 of Emma's Element

“Yes . . . well. If you’ll excuse me,” she said, turning away, intending to escape to the vestibule outside the ballroom. Maybe she could flee to the bathroom and spend the rest of the night hiding. But of course, she wouldn’t be that lucky as the man followed her.

“After you,” the man indicated as he pulled the door open for her to pass through. He then placed a hand on Emma’s back to escort her out, which was way too bold of him and made her skin crawl. She quickly moved out of his reach and made her way across the small lobby, searching for the bathrooms. But he followed and grabbed her arm before she could get too far away from him.

“I know who you are,” he hissed, squeezing her arm tightly. “And now that I see you in the flesh, so to speak, I can’t take my eyes off of you,” he intoned seductively. Emma groaned inwardly but didn’t reply with what she really wanted to say.

“Oh really,” she answered, her tone bored. She narrowed her eyes, hoping he’d get the hint and leave. She stared at the fingers digging into her upper arm. She could pry them off of her, but she didn’t want to make a scene and embarrass the Nighthawks.

“You’re the woman they caught with Marcus Rayne.” He leaned in so close his revolting breath overwhelmed her senses. Emma was tempted to wave her free hand in front of her face to fan the repulsive stench away. “I’m afraid he’ll disappoint you.”

That caught her attention. What did this man know of Marcus? “Oh? And what makes you say that?” she wondered, still glaring at the offending hand on her arm.

He sidled up closer to speak to her more confidentially. “Let’s just say I know him. I know the type of man he is. And I know how he likes to treat those who are closest to him. I’m afraid, my dear, that he will chew you up and spit you out.” He gave her a lecherous once-over from head to toe. Why did the way the man looked at her make her feel so dirty? “Seems like he’s already cut you loose, though, hasn’t he? Typical.”

Emma didn’t respond. She scowled at the man, anger seething beneath the surface. This must be one of the so-called “friends” Marcus had told her about.

“I must admit the pictures didn’t do you justice. I didn’t appreciate what he saw in you until I saw you for myself tonight, in person. You are a pretty sumptuous thing. I bet you are even more lovely on your knees,” he murmured, sliding a finger down the side of her cheek. Emma pulled back as far as her imprisoned arm would allow, his touch making her skin crawl. Just another pervert. She’d experienced quite a few of them since that first article came out. Every man wanted a chance with the woman who had snared Marcus Rayne. They figured the small-town girl must be exceptionally good in bed and wanted a try. She’d grown quite adept at fending off the pervs of the world.

“Why don’t you and I go have a little fun. Since you were so willing to spread your legs for the Titan, let me show you what a real man is. I’m sure you’d like that after being with a limp dick like Rayne.”

Emma couldn’t help herself; she laughed in his face. From the corner of her eye, she saw Marcus step out of the ballroom. His whole body tensed when he spotted them, anger rolling off him in waves. The creepy man noticed him as well.

“Marcus! My old friend. How have you been?” he asked, holding his hand out to Marcus, who refused to take it.

Afterextractinghimselffinallyfrom the governor and all the big wigs she wanted to show him off to, Marcus went in search of Emma.

Emma.

He’d spotted her from across the room sitting with her Nighthawks, his eyes greedily drinking her in. She looked amazing. Her hair was longer, falling a little farther over her ears. One side was pulled back with a shiny clip which he found incredibly sexy. And then there was her gown. A shimmering silver, floor-length number with a slit that went up to . . . there. The front plunged to just between her breasts. And the back . . .Fuck.There was no back. His hand itched to touch all that fabulous, exposed skin.

He’d spent the last seven months torturing himself with thoughts of her. Her eyes haunted him in his dreams every night. Her smile. Her touch. And every night, he pondered whether he had made a horrible decision in leaving her. But then he remembered how the press had hounded him after he returned to LA. It had been the right decision at the time.

But now, seeing her again, yearning for her all this time, something needed to change. And he’d spent the last seven months racking his brain for solutions. He wanted a life as close to normal as he could get. Other movie stars managed to balance stardom and a private life quite well. Why couldn’t he?

Things had tapered off a bit since firing Colleen, which had him more convinced than ever that she had been tipping off his location to the paparazzi. But they still managed to find him in the most obscure places.

If he ran into the drug store for a pack of gum, they were there when he came out. If he took his car to be serviced, they were there when he picked it up. Situations like that were implausible, and the stories they made up about his reasonings for being there were truly ridiculous. He was addicted to opioids, that’s why he’d been in the drug store. He’d been driving under the influence and had damaged his car, that’s why it went in for service.

After talking to a few celebrity acquaintances, none of which were subjected to the same level of idiocy, he vowed to fight back. It was perplexing why there was a single-minded aim among the paparazzi to bring him down. Therefore, he’d hired a team of lawyers to get to the bottom of the harassment.

Over the last few months, he’d filmed the third and final Titan movie; he was done. It was set to release soon. He would do the press tour for the release to fulfill his contract; then, he’d step back. Take a much-needed break. Maybe even work on that screenplay that Emma implored him not to give up.

But mostly, he would take the time to woo Emma. She was the key to his happiness. He knew that now. After having been without her, he was anxious to be near her again. And if she only wanted to be his friend? Well then, he’d count his lucky stars that she at least wanted him in her life despite how he’d treated her.

Searching the ballroom took forever since everyone stopped him every second step to chat. Not spotting Emma anywhere, he finally escaped to the hall that led to the bathrooms. There he found her. His relief was short-lived when he noticed the man she was with. The man who had his hands on her. A man he’d hoped never to see again.

He watched the pair for a moment, shock rooting him to the spot. What were the chances that his former best friend would find Emma? Pretty good when it came to Jim, he mused. He’d probably targeted Emma. It was clear he wasn’t done taking from Marcus. Rage flooded his system.

Marcus took a step to confront him when Emma laughed. She actually laughed with that bastard. His steps faltered. What could Jim possibly have told Emma that would make her laugh like that? And . . .Fuck. . . she was gorgeous when she laughed. But there was something behind her humor that caught his attention. Her laughter was canned, and in her eyes was repulsion as she glared down at him.

Jim’s hand was on her arm and he noticed his fingers digging into her flesh. Marcus felt the growl in his throat at the slight wince from Emma when Jim squeezed too tightly. The shock he’d felt at seeing Emma laughing with Jim left and was replaced with anger once again. What was that man playing at?

“Oh, good. You found her,” Jolene said from behind him. Marcus held out a hand to stop her from advancing toward her friend.

“Go get Graham,” he hissed. Jolene looked at him briefly, eyes wide. Having read the situation correctly, she nodded and went back into the ballroom with one last nervous glance over her shoulder at her best friend.

Marcus made his way leisurely to Emma and Jim. Approaching the pair slowly, as he would a feral animal. Knowing that Jim was now an ex-con, there was no telling how he would react to seeing Marcus again.

“Marcus! My old friend. How have you been?” Jim asked, holding his hand out to Marcus. He ignored it, glaring pointedly at the iron grip he had on Emma’s arm. Jim moved behind Emma, still not releasing his grip. He smiled at Marcus as he pressed himself against Emma’s back. Way too close.

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