Chapter 10: Chapter 10

They sat outside under palm frond umbrellas and the food was pretty good, it helped Jake to sober up enough to not want to haul Emma down the beach and molest her. They had all moved on to drinking cocktails thanks to Leila and her crazy huge knowledge on all things cocktail. The girl had once run a little bar somewhere exotic for fun a few years back and seemed to retain the recipe of every drink known to man. She was always handy in teaching Jake new drinks to impress the ladies and right now his knowledge of Emma’s preferences was helping him keep her in a steady supply of drinks she was happily downing. He liked seeing her relax this way, sitting beside him and fully leaning back in her chair without any hint of defensiveness.

He was more than aware of the way the three of his so-called friends were honing in on Emma with her new hair, warning glares at them had proven futile and Daniel smirking was a hint that he was heating up to start trying to goad Jake. The guy got a kick out of it. Jake shifted uneasily ready to defend her with his life if that’s what it took, he wouldn’t let any of them make even a tiny hint at trying for her.

“What motivated this?” Daniel reached past Jake, scooping a strand of Emma’s hair and Jake batted his hand away aggressively.

“No touching.” The scowl was somewhere between funny and serious and very impulsive. Daniel just raised an eyebrow and grinned at him knowingly, Jake wasn’t amused in the slightest at what Hunter was playing at.

“Sorrryyy, big man. You have to admit though, your girl does look extra hot with this new do.” He winked at Emma and Jake had to push down the urge to kick him in the face from this angle. If he thought he could flirt with her to get at him then he better back off. Jake’s years of mixed martial arts and boxing meant even from a seated position he could take his head off his shoulders. Best mate or not there was a line Daniel shouldn’t cross, for Jake it would always be her.

“Umm, thanks.” Emma cut in blandly, watching the way Jake frowned at Daniel then punched him lightly in the shoulder. He was trying to curb the aggression but still warn Daniel to back off.

“She’s not going to sleep with you, so you can cut out the compliments and the flirty crap.” Jake huffed Hunter’s way with a scowl.

“Oh, I don’t know. I reckon I could charm Miss Ander … OWWW.” Daniel squawked like an injured animal as Jake shoulder punched him a lot harder. Fist connecting with the bone under the muscle and most definitely warning him off. “Calm your pants, Jake. God! You’ll be pissing on me next.” He huffed and swiped his beer from the table.

“Don’t tempt me.” Jake wasn’t kidding, he wanted to send a clear message to all three men that YES, he had zero humor when it came to her and they all better learn that fast. Daniel and Jake threw angry looks at one another before taking what looked like precision planned swigs of their drinks.

“Jeez, testosterone flying much?” Leila laughed, pulling some of the tension away.

“Men!” Emma sighed in exasperation, glancing Jake’s way with amusement before joining Leila in an eyebrow raise. Jake felt his jets cooling at just watching her interact with Leila. He wanted her to have a friend in her, she was his best girl mate and they were well suited. It helped soothe his hot temper a little.

“Needless to say, I was right!” Leila grinned at Emma with some underlying message between the two girls and Jake found himself narrowing eyes on them.

What now?

“About what?” Marissa cut in with a pinched tone that made both women look her way with rather snooty expressions. She was sprawled at the table with full cleavage on show, right in Jake’s eye line and making it obvious it was intentional. He swigged on his beer and looked away. Miracle was picking her nails at the right of her in a similar pose, seemingly a new-found love of Jake all of a sudden and he felt himself eye roll and looked back to Emma.

Women!

“That Jake would be enamored with her new short do … That she would look sexy as hell!” Leila’s triumphant tone made Marissa eye roll and Jake had the urge to pour her cocktail over her head. Even for a girl with pretty features, a nice body and generally attractive, he found her repulsive. That black heart and snooty face just killed any looks she once had.

“Jake’s a man! He appreciates it when women try really hard to get a reaction from him.” Marissa said icily with a flick of her hair, Jake glared at her harshly, not liking her dig at Emma one bit. She glared back challenging him and he had to hold his tongue.

“You would know!” Leila’s scathing comment came with a new tone for her. Disdain. Jake couldn’t agree more though, if anyone needed a crown for trying to get Jake’s attention then it was Marissa. Emma didn’t need to try at all. Jake caught sight of the twins moving uneasily in their chairs and both men lift drinks to focus on that instead. Miracle lifted her head in interest, eyes gleaming with the possibility of drama. He sighed knowing the signs of trouble brewing and he wouldn’t let any of them ruin this for her.

“Emma doesn’t need to vie for my attention. She already has it, and her hair is a knockout. Much like her.” Jake cut in smoothly, his glare fixed on Marissa coldly, that sinister tone in his voice, devoid of emotion yet portraying a lot to the people who knew him, and everyone hushed up. He hoped to God his dangerous tone and angry scowl gave everyone the message to back off. He used to be the Alpha of this little circle and he sure as hell would be taking that title back if they kept this shit up.

“Man, did it just get cold in here?” Daniel jumped up from his perch on the edge of the table and slapped Jake on the back. “We need a new topic and way more booze, man.” Daniel was toeing the line, taking his place in the hierarchy and glances toward the twins saw them shuffling their feet too.

“Couldn’t agree more.” Jake relaxed back, happy with the sudden submissive atmosphere. Marissa and Miracle looking down at their fingernails. Jake feeling better, he leaned in and kissed the oblivious Emma on the cheek spontaneously, giving Marissa that back off signal as much as the rest of them. She maybe wasn’t his woman in the normal sense, but she was his queen while on this boat and they would damn well treat her that way.

* * *

It didn’t take much to get the happy jovial atmosphere back, and Jake relaxed into his usual sociable self. Happy that everyone was having a relatively good time and even Marissa seemed to be backing off and occasionally smiling.

Emma had never seen him surrounded by people he could relax with and even though the group was small he was kicking back as much as she was. He had tried to slow down his alcohol consumption and was not any drunker than he had been, although Emma was definitely getting tipsy. He had never laughed so much at her in the whole time he had known her. She was cute drunk, funny and less guarded. She giggled like a child and lost all the airs and graces she sometimes hid behind. Jake loved Emma like this. As though it was like getting a glimpse of who she could be if she ever really did feel comfortable enough to fully let her guard down around him and he wished she was like this more of the time.

She seemed to get on with Leila effortlessly, and he was glad that out of all the girls here she had chosen her. They gelled, and it was nice to see because he knew Leila was one of the few decent girls who was genuine in this lifestyle. She would stick up for her and defend her with honesty if the catty other two started that shit again.

Jake hauled her up to dance when the band came out and it was pretty obvious Emma had gone beyond tipsy. He had danced with her a million times at events and never had she been this useless. He couldn’t stop laughing and having to grab onto her to support her every two seconds as she kept falling off her shoes. She was all over the place and even when he pulled her against him suggestively she somehow ended up teetering all over the place unable to stop swaying. The temptation to wrap his arms around her fully and put her on top of his shoes so she could stay at peace was killing him. She was so much sexier like this, fully trusting in him to put hands on her wherever he saw fit, but he was trying to be a gentleman. So hard to do when the girl was grabbing his hands and pulling them to her body in a way too sexy dance, the drunker she got. Emma was outright flirting with him now she was drunk, and he wanted nothing more than to just stop caring and go with it.

“Your moves are terrible when you’re plastered, shorty.” He spun her around, catching her from the back and pulling her against him. Hips swaying in time and his arms firmly around her, he knew he had to get them off this dance floor before the gentleman in him fucked off completely.

“Shhhh. I’m doing just fine.” She slurred playfully. Giggling at him and just making him smile all the more.

God, he loved her.

“Sure, you are. The second I let go, you’ll facepalm the deck. I’m all that’s keeping you upright.” He joked with her, her hair was just under his chin and smelled like tropical fruit and her and just made him want to taste her all the more.

“I’m sure I wouldn’t … You’re exaggerating my drunkenness.” She purred demurely, turning in his arms and giving him a gentle chest shove. “Let me go and see.” She challenged him and that inner boy of his lifted his hands with a shrug and a smile and stepped back to leave her to it and prove a point. She attempted a step away sassily and stumbled over her own heels immediately, Jake’s quick reflexes catching her and pulling that delicate curvy body into his with a tug to save her. He had to steel the surge of lust at pulling every one of them damn curves against him so fully.

“You were saying?” He smiled at her and let her loose a little.

“Shut up.” Emma toppled, sliding in his embrace, swaying a finger under his nose in the most adorable fashion and looking every bit the cute drunk student with her short wispy hair. “Not another word, Carrero.” Finding her amusing, he motioned the locking of a key over his lips and pretended to throw it away before casting her a wink and pulling her back in for another slow groove. Another bout of Emma’s terrible balancing act but he didn’t care, it was an excuse to hold her a little closer and enjoy how she felt being against him. An excuse to wrap his arms a little tighter and pull her a little more closely than he ever dared when it was just work.

He finally gave up when it became obvious the only way she was going to manage dancing anymore was in his arms this way and he grinned her way. He could take advantage of it or he could do the decent thing and put her down. Grudgingly he chose the decent thing as she always made him feel like he wanted to be better.

Too freaking cute for words. Too goddamn intoxicating.

He tugged her by the hand, watching her unsteady wobble and the way her big eyes watched him adoringly, he had to give her that much. She knew exactly how to wind him around her little finger with just a look whether she meant it or not and he had no will to ever refuse that face. He slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to support her and possibly take advantage of holding her once more. He couldn’t help but listen to her drunken rambling with a smile, she was making very little sense, but he just liked the sound of her voice. It was something he never tired of hearing.

She wasn’t one of those girls who talked incessantly, in fact, she didn’t talk enough if he was being honest. Emma was reserved most of the time, even in conversation and he liked the version that appeared when drunk. That version of her let any damn thing out of her head as soon as it hit her brain and that was a girl he was crazy for, incredibly sweet, a little too adorable and a lot of sexy.

Back at the table, Jake had practically carried Emma with an arm around her waist to the others who were mid-story about a trip they had taken last summer. Jake could hear Hunter reminiscing over the Ibiza party they had thrown for his birthday, that one time they had ended up drunkenly stealing Jet skis and going on a middle of the night adventure while too drunk to be doing anything of the sort.

Jake guided Emma to the group of standing men this time, instead of the seats where Marissa had switched to one directly beside where he had been, sliding a casual arm around her shoulders and pulling her close so she would stay away from that vicious look Marissa had all over her face. Emma didn’t seem to notice his over-familiar handling of her, so he took that as encouragement that she was fine with being a little manhandled. He handed her a drink and leaned in to catch up with what his friends were talking about. Leila was on her feet too, standing between the twins, and he couldn’t help noticing that Daniel was avoiding looking her way. The boy was completely hopeless when it came to Leila, and he wished he would just sort his act out and tell the girl how he really felt about her.

“Yeah, so Jake’s like, I’m sure we can make it … and he goes speeding off on his fucking jet ski, right in … doesn’t give a fuck.” They all burst into laughter and looked toward Jake as Daniel patted his back. Jake was trying to remember the point in the story and mildly aware Marissa was trying to catch his eye again, he ignored her best he could but she was making him uncomfortable with the efforts she was applying and he cast his mind back to that midnight romp in which they managed to get stuck out at sea with a storm brewing and had ended up using a cave for shelter.

“What choice did I have?” Jake cut in, finishing Daniel’s memory. “Daniel would have had us sleep out there at that rate, not that he would have minded. Daniel’s always trying to get in the sack with me, the boy’s still trying to deny his feelings.” He joked, taking a swig of his beer and relaxing as he felt Emma’s eyes on his profile, looking adoring and kissable as ever. God the urge to just lay claim to her in front of everyone right now was killing him. He wanted her badly and cuddling up together was making things so much worse.

“It’s kind of heart-breaking to watch him suffer … Unrequited love.” Richard broke in, stifling a grimace as Daniel slapped his back a tad too aggressively.

“Fuck you. Both of you,” Daniel spat a little harshly.

“You know when you know … Right?” Vincent threw a wink at Daniel and three of the four men burst out laughing, Daniel rolled his eyes and gave them the finger.

“Tried so damn hard to let him down gently, he’s just too sensitive.” Jake ruffled Daniel’s hair.

“I’ve caught him sobbing into his Haagen-Dazs a few times, when you stood him up, Jakey.” Richard shoved Daniel in the ribs playfully and winked Jake’s way.

“He stole my Endless Love CD when you missed his birthday bash last year. Perfect crying anthems on there for dumped lovers.” Leila quipped in throwing a huge smile at Jake and he smiled back, Leila had been trying for months to be okay around Hunter and this trip was the first time in so long they had not tried to kill each another on sight. They had some serious history between them.

“I swear to God, you guys better stop with this shit. Even if I was that way inclined, I wouldn’t jump Carrero’s bones. I know where he’s been, I have standards.” All three men looked at Jake with eyebrow wiggles and he only sneered at them. By their standards, his whites were a hell of a lot cleaner, he had at least some morals when it came to the women he pursued in the past.

“Umm, I think I’ve way higher standards than any of you three.” He defended himself with a frown. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the topic while Emma was standing so close and almost scrutinizing his profile, he couldn’t look her way when talking about past conquests.

God, she had no clue he wasn’t even doing that anymore.

“Questionable.” Leila threw him a look. He didn’t need to see more to know she meant Marissa and almost grimaced at the memory. Everyone could make mistakes, even hellish ones like that. “But you’ve improved a lot.” She then smiled at him concealing nothing. A big hearty, winky type of smile and he felt that hint of warmth knowing she meant Emma. Leila wasn’t so dumb after all and maybe it was her he should offload to rather than Hunter. Get a female perspective.

“Leave her out of this,” Jake warned, squeezing Emma a little more tightly. He may have liked the way Leila was thinking, but he had to make sure none of them got the wrong idea for her sake. He also wasn’t exactly too enamored with the way Marissa seemed to be honed right in, staring at them both and giving him her best fuck-me-now eyes. He regretted picking a place in her line of sight to stand.

“You know when you know, right?” Vincent smirked Jake’s way knowingly, and in that second, he really wanted to throat punch him. Like a performing fucking circus, the other two men joined him in knowing looks and all three winked his way slyly. He glanced to see if Emma noticed anything untoward, but she was busy resting her head into him innocently.

Assholes.

“Daniel certainly seems to think so.” Jake made kissing noises at Hunter in a bid to cover the moment of complete awkwardness, letting go of Emma to haul Daniel into a headlock and plaster his cheek with wet, noisy kisses. Fucker could take that for initiating all this in the first place.

“Fuck off, you creep.” Daniel fought as everyone laughed. Everyone lightening up from the all too serious turn in conversation much to his relief and he could see even Emma was smiling. Jake came back to put his arm back around her possessively and ignored Marissa once again hitting him with a sexual pout.

Piss off, for the love of God.

“Admit it, you’ve been planning the Hunter-Carrero wedding since you were just a little girl. It’s kind of sweet, really.” Jake prodded Daniel with his beer bottle and received two fingers on one hand and one on the other as a response. It was an attempt to keep his focus off what Marissa was now doing with her tongue in the bottle she was holding, he had never had the urge to push it down her throat this badly before.

“You’re riding dangerously close to a Hunter free existence. Then we’ll see which dude is crying into his Haagen Dazs. We all know that Mr. Smooth Carrero has the biggest man crush on me.” Daniel picked up a beer, mock threw his hair back like a woman, and fluttered his eyelashes.

“In your dreams, pretty boy. I’m hoping for a threesome with the twins.” Jake winked at Vincent and Richard who threw on matching “EWWWW” faces. Everyone laughed, even Marissa this time which meant she had to stop blowing off the bottle and giving him orgasm looks. He felt that draw for a moment of a guy who definitely had not had enough sex of late and watched for a mere second as she bit on her lip suggestively, memory serving him right about what she used to do with that mouth before sense got the better of him. Emma laying her soft head against his heart almost made him feel guilty even pondering it for a second.

Jake adjusted his hold, so he could pull her closer and rest his arm further around her. She was the only girl who belonged near his heart, whether she wanted it or not. He switched his beer bottle to his left hand, so it hung in front of her and gently took her empty cocktail glass and laid it down, glancing at her happy face for a moment and being reassured that bringing her on this trip was the best thing. He had never seen her so chilled or smiley in all the time he’d known her and even being grossly manhandled by him tonight hadn’t brought out one PA telling off. Maybe she was warming to him after all.

Daniel started rehashing another trip last year, another summer vacation a group of them had gone on. There had been sixteen of them that time and of course Marissa, she had tried to get into his bed on more than one occasion, and he had even woken up with her writhing on top of him naked, trying to get him hard. He had considered it for all of ten seconds before shoving her ungracefully to the floor and then proceeded to fuck every girl she’d brought with her over that next couple of days just to piss her off.

Marissa looked his way devilishly, obviously remembering his little backlash, and he felt smug for a moment. He maybe had no feelings for the girl anymore but getting some sick payback for what she had done to him always got a reaction. They seemed to keep doing this; going around in circles year after year until he had met Emma … Now it no longer interested him at all and he had no intentions of trying to beat her at any more games of seduction ever again.

The waitress came with a tray and laid another round of drinks on the canopied table. Jake handed Emma a fresh cocktail with his free hand, his mouth lingering close to her temple a little longer than necessary as he smelled her, weird and probably a tad obsessive but she always smelled edible. Tropical fruits and slightly sexual in a way and he liked to just do it because he was fucking weird when it came to her. He had long ago stopped even questioning the shit he did around her.

Hunter started eyeing him oddly, waving his phone around and talking about some vague memory that Jake could barely remember. He was flicking his phone at Jake enough that he finally took the hint, letting go of Emma and leaning in to see. He was being strangely secretive by only showing it to Jake and then he saw why.

There was no picture only the start of a text which read.

Jake … She seems totally into you tonight … Fucking get in there … Look at her man, she’s all over you.

Jake looked at Daniel with a warning frown but couldn’t help but feel a little torn. Emma had been cuddling up to him as much as he was since standing here, all the flirting on the dance floor with him and now glaring Marissa down; he was starting to wonder if he should make a play for her or not.

He didn’t know if it was the alcohol or what, but Emma was different on this trip, had been since they arrived and maybe he should stop acting like a woman and just go for it. Daniel was obviously seeing something he wasn’t.

He caught Marissa once again giving him the bedroom eyes and sighed internally. Staring at her for a moment to give her the back-off warning, he felt Emma looking his way.

God, she looked beautiful with that hair.

He couldn’t help that same rush of lust whenever he looked at her and being drunk was certainly not helping at all, he pulled her in instinctively for a kiss, part of him saying DO IT and then chickened out and hit her on the cheek platonically instead. She was making him all kinds of nervous now that he was even considering trying to make a move on her tonight. He wasn’t sure whether to listen to Hunter or not, he had zero clues when it came to Emma. Still no way closer to ever reading her but Leila’s encouraging smiles his way and now Hunter giving him a green light had his palms getting clammy and his throat drying up.

Fuck … He was scared shitless.

“You’re very quiet … Want to go back to the boat?” he said to her softly, hoping that maybe if he got her alone he would relax and be able to read her signals a little better. Decide if she wanted this or not. Decide what to do instead of freaking out like an amateur over here.

“Yes, please, I’m so tired, it’s been a long day.” She smiled at him and his crotch most definitely stirred, Emma’s husky tone was a little too inviting for platonic thoughts.

Fuck, maybe Hunter was right, Emma was definitely looking at him in a way he had never seen her look.

“Ooh, party on the boat.” Leila chanted and jumped up, impressively bouncing her boobs, all male eyes immediately followed because that’s what men were designed to do, seek out impressive tits when jiggling. Even Leila’s, even though Jake realized how weird that was and felt a harsh dig to his ribs. Looking down he could see one very unimpressed look from Emma. He knew this look. Her haughty little PA glare which signaled she was not happy with him, a little hint of jealousy from his green-eyed princess. Feeling suddenly euphoric that she had just given him the green light he had been looking for, he gave her an apologetic shrug and wink.

Baby, tonight you’re going to be kissed senseless.