Devoted: Emerson Falls, Book 5 (Emerson Falls Series)

by Harlow James

  “Oh, shit. There she is.” Ethan throws his chin in one direction of the room as my eyes follow.

  God damn. There she is. And fuck, she looks stunning. Her hair is down, fulfilling that desire I had to see it removed from the ponytail she usually sports. It’s so long and silky and all I want to do is run my hands through it. And her lips are painted a siren red, a color I’ve never seen on her since she barely wears make-up at work.

  The curves of her little body are slathered in a black sleeveless dress that dips down low enough to flaunt her cleavage, a full chest that I’ve only gotten a hint of under her scrubs. Her hips still mesmerize me since it was her curves that reminded me she was very much a woman, just in a petite package.

  And even though I can see that she’s wearing heels, I’ll never get over how short she is and how much it turns me on, knowing I could pick her up and throw her over my shoulder in an instant and take her away from everything at the drop of a hat. I’d pin her up against the wall, run my hand up the inside of her thigh, and part her like the red sea before I make her scream out my name.

  Fuck, what is this girl doing to me? Apparently giving me a hard-on in the middle of the comedy club and I haven’t even spoken to her yet. But she looks sexy and gorgeous and I know I’m not the only man in the room that will notice that.

  “Jesus Christ. I don’t know if this was such a brilliant idea anymore, man.” Ethan is the only person I’ve ever felt comfortable expressing my doubts to, seeing as how he’s more of a brother to me than my cousin. I would never say shit like this to one of my buddies in California, but Ethan knows how much my attraction to her has grown and how crucial tonight is. I spent the last few weeks drilling him on any information about Jess and her life here in Emerson Falls. He eventually told me I needed to calm my tits, or he would report me as a stalker.

  “Just remember, if you back out of this tonight, some other man is going to swoop in and try to claim her. You want that?” He challenges me, gritting out the honest reality of what will transpire if I leave right now.

  “Fuck. No.”

  “And wasn’t it you who told me to go after the woman I want?” He says, referring to the nudge I gave him at Tony’s last week with the redhead. Sadly, she shot him down, but at least then he knew where he stood with her.

  I give him a side-eye glance. “Yes,” I grit out, pissed he’s throwing my own words back at me right now.

  “Then suck it up, grow a pair, and do what you came here to do.” He pats me on the shoulder before walking off, moving to the bar to collect a couple of beers for us. And at that moment, Jess turns her attention towards me and I see the recognition the moment it hits her face, her eyes bugging out and her mouth falling open in shock.

  Fuck. There goes my plan of approaching her.

  As she takes in my face, her body twists to face her friend and mine goes into hyper-drive. Do I go over there? Bite the bullet and let her know that I came here for her tonight? Or do I wait for her to seek me out? Would she even do that?

  With what Ethan’s told me about his encounters with her, she can be gritty and recently has had some unfortunate dating experiences. Maybe that’s why she’s been so hesitant around me? Is she just scared to put herself back out there? Or is she only hesitant because we work together?

  But I guess the point of tonight was to let her know I was interested, right? Despite all the obstacles and dating histories we will face, I need to know if she’s as fascinated with me as I am with her—because at least then I can move past this insane attraction if I know she’s not.

  I stand up tall and straighten my tie, preparing to make my way across the room and confront my mission head on, but I’m interrupted just as I lift my foot from the carpet, the voice of a woman whom I’m guessing is in charge silencing the room to explain the process for the evening.

  “Here,” Ethan quietly addresses me when he returns, handing me a beer as we listen to our directions. I’m going to speak to eight different women tonight when there’s really only one I care to speak to. Fuck. Yup, definitely didn’t think this entire plan through. All I know is that Ethan said he invited Jess to come tonight and she agreed. Then when he dangled the carrot ever so deliberately at Tony’s that night, I saw it as an opportunity to see her in a public setting where we could actually explore the chemistry between us. Now I just need to figure out how to get seated with her.

  As I take a seat across from my first date, I stay polite and try to focus on her and what she’s saying, even though the only person in the back of my mind is the woman I came here for in the first place. Janet seems polite. She’s a hairdresser and owns her own salon here in town. We hold a pleasant conversation, but she doesn’t get my blood pumping like Jess does.

  I make it through my first three dates before I take my seat at my fourth, sensing that she’s near. It’s a gut reaction that awakens my body and alerts me to her proximity. I can’t tell if I subconsciously catch her scent or if my nerves are connected to hers somehow—but I know she’s close by. I play nice and entertain my fourth date, a woman who seems sweet enough but not fiery enough for me.

  Of course I couldn’t be interested in a simple woman. No, I have to fall for one that is going to make this mental tug-of-war damn near impossible.

  When the fifteen minutes end, I let out a sigh of relief, but wait to stand, assessing the room to see if I can spot Jess before she spots me. Sure enough, as most people bee-line for the bar, I catch her tiny figure to the side of me as she makes her way down the hallway to the restroom, swaying her hips in that dress and igniting a fire deep in my chest. Watching her walk away convinces me this will be the perfect opportunity to catch her in a position where we can speak far enough away from other people.

  “You need another beer man?” Ethan comes up to me as I stand and button my blazer back together. The sweat is back as I assess that she’s completely around the corner now.

  “Nah. I just saw Jess go to the bathroom. I’m going to try to talk to her.”

  “In the ladies’ room?” His face scrunches in disgust.

  “No, fucker. I’m gonna wait for her to come out.”

  “You sure that’s a good idea?” He reaches into his pocket to check the time on his phone. “We still have another hour here at least. You can’t wait until the end?”

  I shake my head. “Nope. I don’t want to talk to any more women that aren’t her. Plus, she already saw me when you went to the bar before the dates started.” And that piece of information makes his eyes open wide.

  “Oh, fuck. Damn it. And you didn’t think to tell me? She’s gonna kill me!”

  I slap my hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll do my best to convince her this is my fault, okay? If anyone should get the brunt of her wrath—if she’s even angry, that is—it should be me.”

  “Okay. Fuck. Well, now I really need another beer,” Ethan sighs in frustration.

  “Hey. If this doesn’t go well or we end up leaving or something, I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good. Good luck, Brooks. Lord knows you’re gonna need it.” He smacks my stomach with the back of his hand before turning around as a small blonde comes up to him, clearly interested by the enormous smile on her face as she peers up at him beneath dark lashes.

  I truly hope something comes out of tonight for him. The guy is my family and my best friend and I know he just wants to be happy. I used to always think he was such a hopeless romantic, determined to find his forever woman and settle down before he ever left his mom’s place. But he was always the one-woman kind of guy. And now that there’s a woman on my radar that I can’t get out of my head, I can see the allure of having one person to occupy your time. And I want to invest my time in Jess.

  My legs carry me in the same direction Jess just went as I locate the women’s restroom and take up residence perched against the wall opposite the door. I hope to God she didn’t already leave and I missed her, but my mind tells me I would have no
ticed if she walked by. Veering down at my watch, I check the time, acknowledging it’s just past eight as I survey the minute hand tick by for what feels like an hour. But it only takes a few seconds of movement before the sound of the door opening pulls my head up and I lock eyes with my raven-haired crush. Her beauty up close steals the breath from my lungs.

  “Hey, Jess.” I flash her the same panty-melting grin I gave her that first day in the coffee shop and brace myself for her response. But she just stands there, the rise and fall of her chest slightly evident in the dark hallway. Her scent hits me though, that soft citrus that’s mixed with something fruity this time. Berries. I think it’s strawberries I’m smelling and fuck if it doesn’t make me want to close the distance between us, wrap her in my arms, and smell the shit out of her just to feed my need for the high she has recently given me every time she’s near.

  When I catch her scent in the hospital as we work around each other, it distracts me from the focus I should have in times of intense pressure. And other times when the hustle isn’t as dire, all it makes me want is to see if she tastes as sweet as she smells.

  Suddenly her eyes widen and I swear the gray hue of her pupils turns black almost in the dim lighting of the hallway. “What are you doing here?” She asks, standing perfectly still but raising her chin, telling me silently that she refuses to let on if she’s terrified being this close to me, but I can sense her nervousness beneath her feigned concern.

  “Nice to see you too, Jess.” I opt for sarcasm, hoping it will help me get a feel for whether she’s truly pissed that I sort of ambushed her.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” she says, gripping her purse as if it’s holding her up.

  “I came here with Ethan,” I admit a little too arrogantly, which only makes her face soften for a second as her eyes open even wider.

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted to see you.” And I really don’t want you to date someone else.

  She steps back from me now and shakes her head. “What? You knew I’d be here then? He set this up?”

  “Don’t act like you’re not a teensy bit happy to see me.” I smirk at her again, and then immediately regret that decision. What happened to trying to be honest, Brooks? Why the fuck did you go back to being a cocky asshole?

  “Brooks… I’m sorry, I’m just confused. This is awkward…” She pulls her purse closer to her body as I push up off the wall, closing the distance between us. Her feet move backwards before her spine hits the bricks behind her and her neck cranes back so she can see my face.

  “Then let me un-confuse you because I’ve been in limbo too.” I take a deep breath and then reach for her free hand, drawing it up close to my lips before lightly brushing them against her soft skin. Her scent hits my nose instantly, sending a bolt of lightning to my dick. God, I want to taste her. All of her.

  “I came here tonight for you. Yes, Ethan told me you would be here, but don’t be mad at him. It was my decision to come to show you that I’m interested. I want to get to know you.”

  Her jaw drops slightly, revealing the pink of her tongue in her mouth that I want to drag my own across. “You’re—you’re interested in me?”

  I grin at her with just a slight twitch of the corner of my mouth. “Can you not tell? I try not to be so blatant at work because you know how the rumor mill goes. But I want to get to know you. I like you. You’re sarcastic and beautiful, and it’s so fucking hot when you get in your zone and get all serious.” She laughs as her cheeks turn pink. “But I know you feel this attraction too. I saw you checking out my ass last week.”

  Her mouth drops open and then she puts her face in her hands, shaking her head in embarrassment. “I was not.”

  “Yes, you were. It’s okay. I look at yours all the time too.”

  She swats me playfully in the chest as her head pops back up and she bites the corner of her mouth. “Oh, Jesus.”

  I reach for her hand and put it back in mine. “So obviously we’re attracted to one another. And I don’t know about you, but I feel like it’s more than that. I can just be myself around you. And that doesn’t happen for me very often.”

  She pivots her head back and forth again. “I wish I could say the same, Brooks,” she starts, instantly making me fear an impending rejection from her. “But you make me so nervous, I don’t know how to act around you sometimes,” she chuckles.

  “I make you nervous?”

  Her head bobs up and down. “Yes. Extremely. You’re—” She pauses before breathing deeply and staring directly into my eyes, giving me a glimpse of those stormy irises that are so unique and stunning, I couldn’t look away right now if you paid me. “You’re so hot, Brooks. You make me feel stupid when I’m around you.”

  I can’t help it, I laugh—loudly—throwing my head back as she looks away, her cheeks turning bright red now. When I gather myself, I tip her chin up to me so she can’t look away when I tell her what I came here to say.

  “Damn, your honesty is unnerving. You’re hot too, Jess—so damn cute and sassy in this tiny little package that taunts me every time I see you. I can’t fight my attraction to you anymore. So what do you say? Wanna see what’s here between us? We can go back out there and be each other’s fifth date, or we can leave here and go somewhere else, sit down, and get to know each other more. Whatever you want. I’m yours to do with as you wish.”

  She smirks, her lips curling upward before slightly revealing her pearly white teeth, making all of my blood rush south again. “I can do whatever I want with you?” She asks playfully, running her hands up the planes of my chest, dragging her nails along the skin of my neck. I swallow hard as her fingers trail up my jaw and she swipes a few hairs from my forehead before resting her hands on my shoulders.

  “Yeah. What do you want to do?”

  Suddenly, the nervous woman standing in front of me musters enough confidence to put me out of my misery, granting me permission to do what I wanted since I saw her earlier. “I think we should leave, seeing as how the only guy I’m interested in is standing right in front of me.”

  With the speed of a bullet leaving a gun, I don’t waste any time grabbing her hand and pulling her down the hall, back to the check-in table where I tell the lady in charge that the event was a success.

  “You made a match. We both got what we came for, so thank you.” I salute her and the man standing next to her while Jess giggles beside me, struggling to keep up with my lengthy strides as we make our way to the door.

  “Jesus, Brooks. Can you slow down, please? Remember, I don’t have legs as long as yours and I can’t walk very fast in these heels.” Jess is huffing beside me while I pull her to the parking lot as I frantically try to remember where I parked. I’m so damn pumped right now, I feel a rush like when I’d score a touchdown during a game or when I save a patient from dying—because getting Jess to agree to leave with me was exactly the win I was counting on.

  “Sorry, babe. I’m just excited.”

  She peers up at me in the glow from the street lamps illuminating the parking lot when we arrive at my car. Opening the door for her, she speaks softly before sliding into her seat. “I’m excited too.”

  “Good. Now get inside.” Before I press you up against my car and take you right here.

  Once Jess is seated, I close her door and make my way around my car, buckling up and then heading for Tony’s, since that’s the first place that registers in my mind and somewhere I know she’ll be comfortable.

  Upon arrival, we find a booth in the back corner, order a round of drinks, and settle into our seats, soaking each other up from across the table.

  “I can’t believe I’m sitting here with you right now,” she says, looking across the top of her drink as she takes a sip. Jess is a cranberry and vodka girl apparently, a detail I picked up on the night Ethan and I crashed their girls’ night.

  “And why is that?” I lift my beer and drain a good third of it.

  “I guess I’m shocked
, is all. I mean, part of me was hopeful you’d make a move, eventually. But the other part was scared that you would.” She sighs before looking down at her fingers, fiddling them around for a minute, tilting her head back and forth slightly as she thinks. Then suddenly, she’s shaking her head and then slamming her hand on top of the table, startling me and the few people around us.

  “You know what? I’m just going to be honest, okay?”

  I swallow harshly and nod, a little scared for the truth she’s about to speak, but eager to get more of an insight to this bold side of her. “That first morning when I met you at Skye’s, I thought you were an ass.” I can’t help it, I laugh, but she continues. “And the more you spoke, the more infuriated I became with you because all I could think was, how can this guy be such a jerk, but so damn hot!” She chuckles now and takes another sip of her drink. “And then we started working together and all I could think about is how sexy you are in your scrubs and when you speak to patients and use all of your medical jargon.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I grin.

  “Yeah.” She licks her lips, drawing my eyes to the sight, of course. “I never thought you’d be interested in me—and part of me didn’t want you to be.”

  That little detail catches me off-guard. “And why is that?”

  She sighs again, looking out across the room before focusing back on me, her eyes showing me a flash of pain I haven’t seen in them before. “I don’t exactly have the best of luck in dating.”

  So I guess part of my intuition was right. She’s scared because of how other guys have treated her or how her past relationships have ended. That’s okay. I can remedy that—and even though I hate that someone has hurt her, if she hadn’t been unsuccessful in her dating history, then I wouldn’t get a chance with her now.

  My hand finds hers on the wooden surface as I pull her a little closer so that we’re both leaning in over the table, mere inches separating our faces. “I don’t think dating has to do with luck. I think it has more to do with connection and two people who want the same things. I want you, and you want me. So let’s just focus on that and see what happens next—how does that sound?”