Emma lingered outside town hall, buffeting herself against the turrets of wind and the chill of the ocean spray that bellowed in the harbor air. She was already twenty minutes late, considering that she’d severely overestimated her ability to trek through the snowy Harbordale terrain. She wasn’t going to lie though, she never thought she’d have the mental capacity to casually hike up a snowy, unplowed mountainside road in the middle of the day. So was she a little bit proud that she’d done that in record speed, without dying halfway? Hells yes.
She blew into her palms, and looked at the door, peeking inside the window to see that the townsfolk inside were intently listening to whoever was speaking up front. Ugh. Fucking stars had fated everything for her to be awkward.
Whatever.
Taking off her gloves, she grasped the handle and pushed forward, wincing as it creaked loudly. Flurries of wind rushed inside and she quickly pushed her way inside, closing the door behind herself. Her body eased immediately, embracing the warmth inside. As her skin thawed, she looked up to see that a few heads had turned her way. As a few of the gazes lingered, more heads turned her way until the entire room was staring at her.
The speaker, some middle aged woman who she hadn’t seen before, paused briefly before clearing her throat and continuing. Acting as if it nothing was out of the norm, Emma saw Clayton’s warm smile from the third row from the back and walked towards him.
Her face was burning from the stares but the more she pretended that she couldn’t see them, the faster the heads began to turn away, feigning disinterest. She murmured sorries as she stepped over toes to get to Clayton and finally, ungracefully, sat down beside him.
“What did I miss?” she muttered under breath as she began to unravel her scarf. She continued to ignoring the gazes that had continued to linger, and took a brief sweep of the room. Definitely some unfamiliar faces along with people she’d seen around town before. Men from the workshop she’d seen on the first day, people from the bar, the family that lived down the street, the police station -
Ah, shit.
Her eyes connected with Hunters and she found a charge of heat sink through her body slowly, a sensation that had absolutely nothing to do with the warmth in the room. He was wearing his uniform today, complete with the badge and there was something about the way that he was staring at her… Wait. She blinked. Was he brooding?
She looked away, suddenly discombobulated. Why the hell was Hunter glaring at her? What in the world had she done between this morning and now to piss him off? If anything, he was the one who had left her high and dry in the morning – not the other way around. There was no way he was still annoyed with her for calling him an old dad?
She felt someone squeeze her hand and she glanced down to see Clayton had clasped her fingers with his own. His breath tickled her ear and she blushed as he learned in closer to whisper. “The mayor has just been going on about plumbing requirements for people building cottages near the west end of the bay. Nothing serious.”
Emma nodded slowly, painfully aware of Hunter watching the exchange.
“Hughie’s brother also wants to start a new bar since we’re getting more visitors in the summertime,” Clayton leaned back, and Emma waited for him to detangle his fingers from hers. As the seconds ticked by, she realized he wasn’t going to.
Emma glanced up briefly to see that Hunter was still looking at her but with one last smoldering stare, he looked away and continued to listen to whatever it was that the mayor was saying. Knowing a pissed off glare when she saw one and feeling defensive since she’d done shit all, Emma leaned into Clayton’s arm and relaxed into the handhold.
How cute was that? He was holding her hand. She hadn’t had anyone hold her hand in… Jesus, it must’ve been years at this point. She’d forgotten what simple handholding even felt like. Right now, it sort of felt a little clammy and awkward since they were in a really humid room full of neighbors and people that were thirty and older, but still – he wanted to hold her hand!
In normal circumstances, she would’ve veered far away from Clayton since it’d become clear as day that her life was way too fucked up for a relationship given the current circumstances, but at the moment, she didn’t mind an ally either.
Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, she looked around the room carefully, using the next twenty minutes to carefully imprint the faces and the names of everyone in attendance. She wasn’t going to walk around like a sitting duck for the next few weeks. If someone ambushed her in the dark, she wanted to flash a light in their face and know exactly who the hell to haunt for the rest of her ghostlife if she got murdered despite everything that the police was trying to do to protect her.
“Psst,” Kat hissed, sitting on the other side of Clayton. “Emma.”
“Yeah?” she murmured back, dragging her eyes away from a group of women who were at least in their 90s sitting near the front. She wasn’t counting anybody out.
“That’s Hughie. Town’s fire marshal.”
Emma looked back to the front to see some guy wearing a firefighter’s badge and emblem come back onto the podium and continue talking. “Definitely not bad,” she whispered back.
“He’s only 34.”
“Married?”
“Totally single.”
“How?”
“Right?”
Clayton shifted, “Guys, you know I’m still here right?”
Emma actually snuffed a giggle, but then began to giggle again once she heard Kat dissolve into a snorting fit of muffled laughter beside Clayton.
Clayton punched the two of them to shut up, which only made them laugh harder, and it took a good few minutes for Emma to fully grasp a hold of herself. It felt good to laugh, especially when it felt like she was on the brink of losing her mind at any given moment. Sobering up, she’d just regained her regular composure when she heard Hughie’s next words.
“Now, as I’m sure everyone has heard, from one mouth or the other, that there has been an unfortunate incident as of late. A homicide of a girl in her early twenties occurred earlier this week. Jennifer Woods was the victim and a police investigation is currently underway. What we need to ensure is that everyone in this town cooperates both with the sheriff’s department as well as with the detectives here from Newmarket. We’re all in this together to help find the Woods’ family find some closure.”
He had barely paused to take a breath before the room broke out in chaotic chatter.
“Do we know who did it at all?”
“Do we have suspects?”
“I bet it was the Shepherds who moved in two years ago. They haven’t shown their face to one town event. Who does that?”
“Nobody in this town did it. It was a Newcastle kid.”
“Why’d they even target one of our girls?”
“Where was the patrol?”
“Yeah! Where was -.”
“I swear, the Shepherds don’t leave their house. Their lights aren’t ever on either.”
“- the night watch? They should be out protecting our streets!”
“What if it’s ISIS?”
“Why was Jenny out so late anyway?”
“What the fuck is ISIS doing in Newfoundland?”
“It’s not ISIS for God’s sake.”
A loud banging from the front of the desk immediately hushed everyone and Emma looked to the front to see the Hughie had actually banged the gavel to bring back order in the room.
“My point was, we need to stay calm, and not spread rumors or fear. I think a lot of the young ones are nervous these days, especially the teenagers so I think what’s best is just making sure we carry on how we always have. Susie actually suggested -.”
A woman of around eighty-something, who Emma presumed as Susie, took over, “we should do something nice for the Woods. You know, I raised one of them as my own. They’re heartbroken right now over their little Jenny so if the town came together and did something nice for them… like paint Jenny a mural or something of similar kin? To show that the town will always remember little Jenny.”
A murmur of approval went around the room, and even Emma’s own interest was piqued. “Where would we paint the mural?” someone asked, just as someone else asked, “who here even knows how to paint a mural?”
There was an elongated murmuring before Emma, horrifically, found herself saying, “I do.” It was as if someone had literally tasered the room into silence. Chairs creaked, benches groaned and shoes shuffled as everyone turned around to see if it was their imagination or if Callaway’s kid had actually spoken.
Emma immediately unclasped her hand from Claytons, and cleared her throat, making sure to
straighten her back. “I paint. I studied it university. I’d be happy to volunteer…”
She could almost hear Hunter’s voice in the back of her head asking her if she was insane, and her own wondering why she’d opened her mouth, but she’d done it, and her voice soaked the wooden cabin that she’d taken seat in.
“Emma, that’d be great,” Hughie went on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, adding, “Why don’t you come up with some sort of design and we’ll share it at the next town hall meeting? We’ll get a group together from there on, get supplies, we’ll make it a real community effort.” There weren’t many smiles in the room, and if Emma wasn’t mistaken, there was some downright hostility being directed her way. It was as if they knew, somehow knew, that Jennifer had been targeted because of her.
Emma kept her gaze directed forward, not flinching. Feeling defensive, she still couldn’t figure out why the fuck she’d opened her mouth. What was wrong with her? She could feel Hunter looking at her again, and this time she didn’t turn her head to glance his way. She didn’t need to feel his reprimand. That had been pure word vomit. Sleep deprived, sexually frustrated, word vomit. Why had she done that? She didn’t care if this town got a new mural or not. She was ready to jump on the next ride of this town, the moment she could. Maybe it had been her guilt creeping in, for being associated with Jenny’s murder, or maybe because she liked to paint, or maybe it was just because she’d forgotten where she was for a millisecond. Ah, shit.
“That was really nice of you Emma,” Clayton gave her a boyish, doleful smile, stock full of admiration. Kat winked at her, and she gave a small smile back.
Well, at least someone was impressed.
The meeting didn’t go on for long after that and despite wanting to hear someone talk about potential land developments, the topic was never brought up. Emma tried to hide her disappointment, and after realizing she now had an excuse to be here for the next town hall meeting, tucked it away entirely. It would come up eventually. There was no way that the town would go on long without talking about millions of dollars’ worth of unaccounted land, and a fully functioning lighthouse that nobody was utilising.
She’d just slipped on her gloves and had made a few steps outside when she bumped into him. He’d been saying goodbye to a few folks that had come up to ask some questions and had nearly face planted into his back. “Watch it,” she grumbled, walking around him, in an attempt to catch up to Clayton and Kat who were a few feet ahead.
“You’re the one who bumped into me,” Hunter furrowed his eyebrows, not missing a beat.
“Looks like you’ve made new friends.”
“Why is that so surprising to you?”
“You’re particularly close to one of them.”
She stopped then, turning to face him squarely in the eye, “were you watching me?”
“Hand-holding? Really?” He raised an eyebrow, looking wholly unimpressed. She repressed the urge to just kiss him right then and there. Fuck, he looked so irresistible in that uniform, with the holster by his hip, looking all gruff and annoyed.
“What’s it to you?”
“It’s nothing to me. I’m just amazed you still have the time to date guys what with everything going on with your life.”
“I’ve told you I find Clayton cute. Why shouldn’t I act on it?”
“I’m not telling you to.”
“Then what’s the point of this conversation?” She actually couldn’t fathom why they were
arguing, and it was pissing her off that she was feeling pissed off. “Can I go now?”
“There’s a key to my attic on the dresser of my bedroom. I want some of the books I’ve packed away shelved by the time I’m back today.”
Her mouth dropped open. She’d had a list of things she needed to get done, and was planning
on using the rest of the day to do it. “This is just because I’ve held hands with Clayton?”
His was face stone-cold sober. “No, it’s because you need to stay inside. Have you lost your mind, coming to a town hall meeting?”
“I’m not going to wait for you guys to figure this out. Whoever is after me -.”
“Yeah, is probably coming to these meetings. We know. We’ve got this. You don’t need to -.” “Me being here probably pisses them off more than anything. Shows them that I’m not leaving this place anytime soon. The more I involve myself, the quicker they’ll act again and probably do something stupid too.”
“That’s the most aggravatingly inane plan I’ve heard in a while.”
“What’re you going to do? Arrest me?” She seethed, and without waiting for an answer, snapped around and after Kat and Clayton.
x.x
After explaining to the two of them that she couldn’t join them for a pint, she made her way back to Hunter’s house. Just as he’d described, there was a key on his dresser but she’d barely picked it up before she dropped it back on its place and headed back down.
Nope. She’d had enough. She had emails to write. Shit to paint. She’d gotten his groceries and vacuumed today. She was not going to spend the rest of the evening unboxing books and shelving them.
Hunter’s ego-trip had officially reached her limit, and she wasn’t going to have any more of it. She found herself dressing up for the third time that day and before she’d even allowed herself to think this through, she was out of the house and stomping towards the police station in minutes.
x.x
Hunter picked up the Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee and inhaled the bitter, black water before taking a trepid sip and wincing. Fucking piece of shit coffee maker hadn’t worked the same ever since Robbie forgot to change the filter for a week and fungus had sprouted all over the damn thing. He gulped it down anyway, needing it to warm up his bones. It wasn’t just Emma’s house that felt like it had the postal code of the Arctic Circle.
After picking up all the mail that had been sent to him from the front desk, he closed the door of his office and dropped into his chair. Permanent exhaustion had seeped into him, and regardless of the amount of caffeine that was running through his blood, it was hard to shake it off. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a good night’s rest.
Ever since that sweet little, aggravatingly…
He let his thoughts trail off, wanting to stay focused, and he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. He had a years’ worth of paperwork to get through before shifting through all the evidence they’d collected from the crime scene and he still hadn’t had a chance to grab a bite to eat. A knock sounded at his door, and he was about to tell them to come back in a bit when the door opened anyway. He looked up and felt surprise filter through his body as Emma walked in, looking all determined like.
He was hard in an instant.
Determination was set in that small face of hers, her eyebrows bunched and eyes narrowed cutely. Her mouth was firm, and he couldn’t help but notice how her lips were pinched pink from the cold wind outside, as were her cheeks. She was breathing hard, probably from having walked all the way over here, and he let himself selfishly drop his eyes to her chest before languidly traveling them back to her face.
How was it possible that he wanted to wrap her up in a blanket to warm her up and fuck her at the same time?
She closed the door behind her, and he didn’t miss the fact that she quickly turned the lock by the knob in the process. The phone rang shrilly, and he picked it up immediately, knowing that it was Bertha at reception.
“Yeah,” he said, half-paying attention. “Yeah, I did call her in. Don’t worry. She has a habit of not listening to people. Yeah, it’s fine.” He hung up, and then turned to focus on the papers in front of him. “Just why exactly did I just tell the front desk it was okay that you barged in here without listening to any of the officers telling you to stop?”
“Can you look at me when you talk to me?”
He paused, caught off guard. “It’s the middle of the work day and I’m busy.”
Emma was quiet for a moment and thinking that had been the end of that, he felt the slivers of surprise as Emma leaned over his desk, bringing her hand down onto his desk. The smell of her shampoo teased him as her head draped alongside his neck and he bit back a groan as he felt his dick stiffen even harder as he felt her warm body behind his back. “Yeah, I have stuff to do as well. But you know what? As it stands right now, my entire fucking life revolves around your schedule and I’m not having it anymore.”
He felt the challenge in her voice, and it only turned him on more. “Did something I do piss you off, Emma?”
“I’ve been noticing a little trend.”
He craned his head back so he could look her in the eye, and hid a smirk at the nervous little spitfire standing over him, “a trend?”
“Between us.”
“Explain it.”
“I don’t need to.”
“I could arrest you right now for challenging an officer.”
“Wouldn’t you just love that?” She turned his chair so that her arms rested on either side of him, and he swallowed his surprise. Where the hell had this courage come from? At first, he’d thought that the charge of sexual electricity he’d been breathing in had just been him but it wasn’t. It suffocated the room around him. Her breathing had shallowed, her body was taut, her cheeks flushed, and the tongue that he loved to watch had just dampened her lips.
“There are a ton of things I can think of that I’d love right now,” he murmured, fisting his hands in an effort to control himself. What game was she playing at here? Emma was gutsy, but she wasn’t reckless. She didn’t do anything without a game plan.
“We need to rework this dynamic of ours,” she muttered, and leaned in close. His eyes watched
her closely, and anticipation gripped his throat. “I’m losing my patience with it.”
“The terms of the contract were non-negotiable.”
“I’m not talking about the contract.”
“Enlighten me.”
“You don’t boss me around in public. You don’t boss me around at home. You don’t tell me what I can or can’t do. And you most certainly don’t barge into my bed and make yourself comfortable whenever you feel like it,” her nose grazed his and he felt himself forcibly ground himself to stop himself from kissing her. “Does that make sense?”
He smirked, “I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to.” She’d had a good run of whatever this power play was but it was a time to put an end to it.
“Oh, I know exactly who I’m talking to.”
“You -.” He felt the words dry up on his tongue as her hand firmly grasped his length, stroking it through his pants. “Emma, what’re you doing?”
“I’m teaching you a lesson,” she unbuttoned the clasp with the other hand and within a second, the zipper was pulled down. “Now sit still.”
“Emma...” He felt a heady rush of adrenaline course through him, and his voice was gruff as he saw Emma drop to her knees in front of him. “This is my office.”
“So?” She looked at him with such doe eyes, filled with such a mockery of innocence that he nearly groaned out loud. Leaning forward, she pulled down the waistband of his boxers. Without much resistance from his end, and with a slight pull of her hand, she tugged his dick forward. It was hard, hot, and he could feel it pulsing in her warm, small hand. He could see the slight widening of her eyes, and he leaned his head back, rubbing one hand over his face.
“We can’t do this.”
“I locked your door.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter.”
“Well, you shouldn’t push me around so much then.”
“I’m at work,” he groaned around that last word as her soft mouth tentatively kissed the tip of his length. Her tongue gave a soft lick, before she circled the tip with a bit more confidence. He gritted his teeth, not believing this was fucking happening.
Looking down, his breathing hollow and palms sweating, he nearly moaned out loud at the vision in front of him. Emma, with her hair tied up in a neat little pony tail, with his dick in her mouth. She glanced up at him, and he noticed with a startled intake that she was a little nervous. For all that talk, and all that bravado, the little glimmer in her eyes had given it away.
No-way. She was not going to get any sympathy points from him. She’d started this, wholly by herself. And she was going to finish it. Grasping the base of her head, right under her pony tail, he yanked her head back and made her gasp. With her mouth open, he rubbed his dick against her lips, her tongue moistening the head from in between. It took her a moment, but she regained composure and then pushed herself forward, taking him in fully.
He bit his lip, trying to keep his voice low as she began to suck him. The fucking max machine was going off outside, and he could hear the voices of Robbie and Dania in the room across from him. Her tongue was hot, and wet, and her hand was working the base of his length as her mouth worked the rest.
Somewhere in the part of his brain which was actually still working, he managed to feel smug about the fact that Emma was here, in between his legs, despite acting like she thought the world of Clayton. Holding his hand in public? What was that all about…He groaned quietly, against better judgement as she took him in deeper into her mouth. She’d only done it for a second, but his dick had pulsed hotly and he felt himself clench when she came up, her lips swollen and her face flushed. Grinding his jaw, he grabbed her hair again and forced her head back down, wanting her to take all of it. She held it longer this time, and he let her breathe when she came up before she went down again. Fuck, she was deep throating him. John Callaway’s daughter, who he still remembered as the girl that wore obnoxious pigtails to school, was fucking deep throating him right now in his work office. Never could he have predicted, on the night she’d come knocking, that weeks later, this would be happening.
And fuck, she was a sight to see. Hot, heady, and turned on as hell. Seeing nothing but red, he had the right mind to pick her up and do her on his desk right now. He didn’t even care if the whole office heard them.
It was as if she’d felt him move because her hands came up to his thighs, pushing him down and keeping him place.
He didn’t last much longer after that. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he felt his hips begin to strain under her hold. “I’m going to cum.”
Expecting to her move, he closed his eyes and swore into his mouth when she didn’t, and feeling his dick begin to pulse, he came into her mouth.
x.x
God, she was so wet that she was literally a puddle. Pulling back, barely having a hold on her own breathing, she smugly noticed that he was having a hard time managing his own breaths too. But back to the fact she was a puddle. Her body was still in shock that she’d managed to keep up the bravado, and her heart was pounding a million miles a minute. Her panties were soaked, but one look at the pure shock, surprise and complete speechlessness on his face was worth it. Ha. Hunter didn’t know what to say.
Hiding her smile, she stood up and casually brushed the loose strands of hair away from her face. “I think I’ve made myself clear.”
He looked like he wanted to devour her. “Yep.”
With that, she made sure she had her purse and the keys were still in it, before she turned around and walked out the door.
x.x