Page 43 of Emma's Element

“Not me. Chocolate, yes. Peanut butter, no!”

He chuckled as he let them into his room. Her eyes widened as she entered. “Holy Benjamins!”

“Sorry. Guess I should have warned you the room was a large suite.” Suite was an understatement; it was bigger than her entire apartment. They stood in the living room, complete with couch, chairs, and a big screen tv on the wall. Off to one side was a dining table that could seat ten. On either side of the large living room were doors that led to separate bedrooms, each with a king bed and an en suite bath.

She wandered around the room, ending up at the wall of windows that overlooked the city. “It’s good to be the king,” she muttered the line from a Mel Brooks movie. He laughed.

“There are a few perks I enjoy from my celebrity,” he admitted.

“I bet.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you. I’m very tired. I just want to sleep.”

“Okay, goodnight then.” He backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. Well, that was easier than she thought it would be. She was grateful he seemed to sense she didn’t want to talk. Exhaustion pulled at her. She sat on the edge of the bed and took her heels off, sighing as she dropped each torturous device to the floor. But that was about all she could manage. She hugged a pillow to her and lay down on her side, fully gowned. Within moments, she was sound asleep.

Marcuswasawake,asusual. He never did sleep much, and he’d spent the last few hours pacing the suite or staring out the window at the city below. Now he sat with a book in his lap, unable to concentrate on the words. His entire focus was on the woman asleep in the other room. It had been near torture to leave her alone in that bedroom. The sadness in her features tore at his insides. He’d wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight, an action that probably wouldn’t be received well.

Giving up on the book, Marcus got up to pace again. He’d long ago abandoned his bowtie and opened a few buttons on his shirt. But as he traversed the room, he removed his cufflinks, shoved them into his pocket, and rolled up his sleeves. His thoughts turned to the dance they’d shared. She’d been perfection in his arms. Their bodies moved effortlessly together. What he wouldn’t give to share dances with her for the rest of his life. If he could only convince her to give him another shot.

He’d just passed her door when he heard a noise coming from inside. Emma was muttering something. He smiled, enamored that she talked in her sleep. But then the tone changed. She sounded scared, desperate. Then she cried out.

“No! Oh, God! No!” Marcus was by her side by the time she screamed that last no. He knelt next to the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder to gently shake her awake. She’d fallen asleep in her gown. He hadn’t realized she’d been that exhausted.

“Emma,” he said softly, shaking her to wake her, not wanting to startle her.

“No! Paul,” she yelled before her eyes popped open, pure terror and grief in them.

“Emma,” he repeated her name, trying to get her to focus on him. Her eyes were darting everywhere, her breathing ragged. “Emma, look at me. You’re safe. You’re okay,” he said calmly, trying to comfort her.

“M . . . Marcus?” she whispered.

“Yeah, Sweetheart. It’s me.” Her eyes finally focused on him, and the pain he saw deep inside them broke his heart.

“Oh God, Marcus,” she cried, throwing herself into his arms. He held her quietly as she cried into his chest, wondering what could have affected her so completely. What memories haunted her dreams?

Eventually, her tears slowed. She drew back a little. “Oh, Marcus. I’m sorry. Your shirt.” He looked down to see her tear-filled makeup had stained his tux shirt.

“I don’t care about that.” He reached up with both hands and cupped her cheeks, his thumbs wiping the tears and makeup away from under her eyes. “Are you okay?” She nodded, but he didn’t believe that for one instant. “Want to talk about it?” She shook her head no. “Want me to shut up and just hold you?” Her lips twitched in a small smile. She hesitated before she nodded. He stood then sat on the bed beside her, his back against the headboard. He pulled her close to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Her hand lay on his chest, absently playing with one of the studs in his tux shirt as he stroked her back. Her bare back. He swallowed hard.

He kissed her head which rested just below his chin, pulling her strawberry vanilla scent into his lungs. Everything about this woman turned him on.

After holding her quietly, curiosity got the better of him. “Emma? Who’s Paul?” He felt her stiffen in his arms. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me. It seems like he was very important to you.”

She was quiet for so long he thought she wasn’t going to tell him. “Paul Rothman. He was my partner in the Coast Guard. My best friend. We were as close as siblings.”

“Let me guess, Paul was your Jedi sparring partner.”

“Yeah. He was a lot of fun that way. Like you,” she admitted, pausing. “I never realized how similar the two of you are.”

“We both have great taste in friends, is that it?” he teased, squeezing her a little tighter.

She laughed softly. “Yeah, something like that.”

She became quiet again, lost in her memories, he was sure. “What happened to him?” he asked quietly.

Emma drew in a big breath before launching into the tale. “We were responding to a yacht that was in trouble during a storm in the middle of the night. They’d lost power and were drifting towards the rocky shore. It was an awful storm, and the waves threatened to submerge them. Four of us set out in a rescue boat, but something went wrong. We got turned around and lined up incorrectly. The waves swamped us, and we capsized, tossing out two of my teammates. The boat righted itself, but the waves were relentless. Paul was at the helm and fought frantically to right the boat. We flipped again. Paul and I held on. I tried to make my way to the helm to help, but we flipped a third time. This time when we were upright, Paul was gone. I couldn’t see any of my teammates through the swells and sheets of rain. I wanted to get to the helm to search for them, but I capsized again. I lost my grip, ending up in the water with the boat drifting out of reach. I fought the waves to get to the boat, but they kept pushing me back. Eventually, I was close enough to shore that I could stand up. I raced up and down the shoreline in search of my teammates, but they were gone.” She broke off, her body trembled, and he tightened his hold.

---