Captivated: Emerson Falls, Book 3 (Emerson Falls Series)

by Harlow James

  “Well, okay. Say, would you excuse me please? I need to use the restroom,” I smile politely as I stand.

  “Of course. Don’t be too long though, Deputy,” she mewls and then drags her finger from her neck, down her collarbone to the crack in her cleavage, dipping it inside before bringing it to her mouth and sucking it off, extracting it from her lips with a pop.

  “Fucking hell,” I mutter as I turn on my heels and head for the hallway that leads to the bathrooms. I step inside and brace my hands on the sink, questioning how the hell I get myself into situations like these. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a woman come on to me this strongly, not by a long shot. But Misty isn’t a woman I’m interested in in the slightest.

  In fact, the only woman of interest to me lately is the hot-as-hell nurse that put me in my place when I acted out of line after hitting my head. But fuck me, Piper Davis has weaseled her way into my mind and no matter what I do, I can’t kick her out. She made it clear that my forwardness was a turn-off, and now I can’t help but see the irony in the situation I find myself in.

  “Fuck. How much longer?” I say out loud as I pull my phone from my pocket and check the time. “It’s only been fifteen fucking minutes!” I shout in disbelief and run my hand through my hair, wondering how the hell I’m going to survive another forty-five minutes with this woman without her discarding her clothes at some point and mounting me.

  “Man up, Cash.” Cooper’s voice draws my attention to the door as he steps inside the bathroom to join me.

  “Fuck you, Cooper. You have no idea what’s going on at that table, man.”

  “Ha, I can only imagine.”

  “I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep her from touching me for the next forty-five minutes. And every time she licks her lips…” I fucking shudder again. “What the hell were we thinking making a bet like this?”

  “Just try to sit all the way back in the booth and keep the conversation to neutral topics. But I’m not gonna lie, Cash… watching you squirm like this and fulfill your terms of the bet is worth every penny Clara spent,” he laughs and I fight the urge to slug him. “I hear you, though. I think after this, all bets should cease. I’m engaged now, man. I need to knock this shit off.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it though, Williams? You generally think of women as nothing more than a warm body to fuck, but here you are being treated the same way, and you’re not liking it very much, are you?”

  I throw daggered eyes at him while I stew on his words. Again, I’m never disrespectful to women, although Birdie would argue that I am disrespecting Misty right now—but yes, the sole basis for keeping their company is generally so it will lead to sex. But let’s be real here. Misty isn’t company that I would ever entertain the idea of willingly.

  “Fuck, I need to get back out there. You better be ready to dial my number the minute that clock strikes eight, Walsh,” I say while pointing a strong finger into his chest.

  Cooper pats my back before he retreats from the bathroom. “I’ve got you. But I’m going to relish in watching you fidget until then,” he winks and then leaves.

  I take a piss and then wash my hands, preparing to return to the excruciatingly uncomfortable situation when a voice behind me in the hall makes me turn on a dime.

  “Your date seems like a lot of fun.” The pleasant gleam in her eye tells me she’s been watching and is enjoying my misery as much as Cooper has been.

  “Oh yeah, she’s a hoot. But, hey, why do you care? Have you been watching us this whole time? Are you jealous, Piper?” No matter how many times I see this woman, her beauty still knocks the wind out of me.

  A slight tilt of her head and a squint of her magnetic blue eyes tells me I’m holding her interest too. “When are you gonna understand that I don’t get jealous? Especially from a woman throwing herself at a man whore…”

  “Whoa, hold the phone! You don’t even know me,” I throw my hands in the air and then wonder why the hell I care about her opinion of me in the first place. I’ve done casual for so long, it’s part of who I am now. But Piper makes me feel something the opposite of casual—a foreign feeling for me, that’s for sure. I know I want to fuck her. That idea is obvious. But ever since that first day when I pulled her over, something else about her has drawn my thoughts and attention to her, and I don’t know how to handle it.

  “Really? I don’t know you? Weren’t you offering to show me your dick and balls while you were in a hospital bed from a concussion? Or how about the fact that your phone was blowing up non-stop with texts from women wanting to take you for a ride? I may not know you personally, but I know who you are.”

  “Don’t act like you weren’t interested,” I smirk as I watch Piper fight her reaction to smile back at me.

  “Believe me, I’m not,” she skirts around me, but I grab her arm before she can fully get away.

  “Hey,” I start and then blow out a breath, releasing her arm slowly while I savor the silkiness of her skin against my palm. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? We’ve obviously gotten off on the wrong foot… but can you blame me? It’s hard not to flirt when I see a beautiful woman, especially as memorable as you.” The slight drop in her shoulders tells me I may have chiseled away at her armor a bit just now. “You’re breathtaking, Piper. And maybe I didn’t show that in the most eloquent of ways, but it’s true.”

  She glances back to the main room in the bar where I notice a group of women sitting around a high-top table in the corner, one of them being the raven-haired nurse that pulled Piper from my room in the hospital that night.

  “Is it ladies’ night?”

  Turning to face me head on, I take a moment to appreciate the entirety of her standing before me now. Piper is tall and slender, but not without curves, the kind you want to hang on to while fucking. Great, now my dick is getting hard. A dark grey tank hugs her torso, showing off just the right amount of cleavage to keep you interested, but not give anything away. Misty should take pointers from her. Black jeans stretch across her thick thighs and lead down to her dainty feet perched in black wedges. Delicate gold bracelets and matching hoop earrings adorn her porcelain skin and ears, barely peeking out from beneath her golden waves framing her face.

  This is sexy—when a woman can highlight her body in a tasteful way, showing off the slopes of her voluptuous figure without baring it for everyone to see. A man like myself loves the idea of the surprise I’ll find when I strip a woman naked, like opening a present that’s been taunting you under the Christmas tree for weeks. The smooth skin and every hidden freckle I would discover would be for my eyes only. And I can’t help but wonder what freckles or birthmarks Piper has on that perfect body.

  “Yes. It’s been a long week and we all need to blow off steam every once in a while.”

  “I can think of a better way to blow off steam than drinking.”

  She shakes her head. “See? There you go again… are you capable of talking about anything besides sex? Or are you afraid that actually having a real conversation would be too much work?”

  I stand tall and stare her down as she matches my confidence with her own. The sexual tension is sizzling between us, the hard swallow I see in her neck indicating that she’s fighting the natural instinct to crash into me the way I am with her.

  “Why don’t you give me the opportunity to show you then? You know, since you think you know me so well,” I challenge, hoping she’ll give me the opportunity to prove her wrong. For the first time in my life, I’m genuinely concerned with how someone else besides Birdie views me as a person. She’s the only person I’ve ever answered to, but Piper makes me want to shove her cliché’ opinion of me down her throat, along with my tongue.

  “No thanks. I have my friends to get back to. But good luck with your date. Remember, always use protection,” she winks and then turns on her heels, giving me the perfect view of her ass as she marches away from me. Now I’m supposed to go back to the woman who mak
es my dick want to crawl up inside of my body while the one he wants saunters away? My poor dick—he’s so confused right now.

  Walking back to the booth where Misty sits scrolling on her phone, I notice the eyes of other customers drawn to the corner where Piper sits with her friends. They are all beautiful in their own way, and a few of them I’ve seen around town or in the hospital when I need to question a patient about an accident or case.

  But none of them hold a candle to Piper. Her smile is electric, her confidence is sexy, but not over the top. She seems genuine and real, which is such a contrast to the type of women I’m used to meeting. And I definitely know she’s not afraid to stand up for herself or speak her mind—so fucking sexy. Normally, I don’t care so much about what’s in a woman’s mind, just what’s between her legs. But Piper strikes this match for me that lights up a need to know everything about her—a need I’ve never felt before.

  “You’re back.” Misty throws her phone in her purse as I take my seat again, leaning over the table and reaching out for my hands.

  “Yeah, sorry. I ran into someone I know and got caught up in a conversation,” I shrug as I reach for my beer. Taking a sip, I wonder if Misty would be the type to slip me a roofie. On second thought, maybe I’m done drinking for the night.

  “No worries,” she shrugs and then her face lights up again. “So, where were we? Ah, yes… whose place are we going to tonight, yours or mine?”

  I choke on my saliva. Uh, was there some conversation we had about hooking up that I missed while I was in the restroom?

  “Wow, okay. Uh, Misty, we should talk…” I start, but before I can get another word out, a woman strides up to the table and my eyes narrow on her like tunnel vision. Piper is walking over here just moments after our interaction in the hall. What the heck could she want after our little conversation? But let’s be honest, I’m dying to find out.

  Piper

  Tonight was supposed to be about having fun, conversing with the other nurses outside of the hospital, and trying to drown some of the emotions that I’ve been fighting for the past few weeks.

  I was sitting at our table, Long Island Iced Tea in my hand and having a really nice time, adding to the conversation where I could, when I saw Cash Williams sitting in a booth with a curly-haired brunette across the table. The lamp hanging above them highlighted the hard lines in his face, making him appear even more dangerous than I already know him to be to my mind.

  “Who’s his victim tonight?” Jess leans over and whispers in my ear.

  “What? Who?” I ask, not sure if she caught me staring or not.

  “Cash. Your eyes have been fixated on him for the last five minutes.”

  “Have not,” I whine, fighting with her like a two-year-old. Shit. I think the alcohol is getting to me.

  “Okay,” she rolls her eyes at me and then takes a sip of her drink. “That’s Misty Chambers, by the way.”

  “Oh, really? Huh.” I’m trying to act nonchalant, but the increase in my pulse is baffling me right now. Am I jealous? No, I can’t be. I don’t even know him. But I do know he’s a flirt and a player, and he’s staying true to his reputation based on his actions this evening. After Cash offered to show me his dick in the hospital, I relayed the story to Jess and she gave me her signature warning again. But by the way she’s studying me studying him, I bet she sees that my confidence in avoiding Cash is slowly crumbling.

  Suddenly, Cash is standing from the booth and making his way to the restroom. My eyes track his movement as I sip my straw and the warm buzz of the alcohol makes me feel bolder than I have in a while.

  “I need to pee. Be right back,” I whisper in Jess’s ear before clicking my wedges against the hardwood floor and making my way down the hall to the ladies’ room.

  “I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep her from touching me for the next forty-five minutes. And every time she licks her lips… What the hell were we thinking making a bet like this?” Cash’s voice filters through the crack in the door to the men’s room as I walk past, making me falter in my steps immediately.

  “Just try to sit all the way back in the booth and keep the conversation to neutral topics. But I’m not gonna lie, Cash… watching you squirm like this and fulfill your terms of the bet is worth every penny Clara spent,” another man laughs as I press my ear to the door to hear better. “I hear you, though. I think after this, all bets should cease. I’m engaged now, man. I need to knock this shit off.”

  A bet? He’s out on this date as a bet?

  Fury I didn’t know could rage in my body builds like the lava in a volcano, and suddenly, I feel like I’m about to shoot flames out of the top of my head and erupt. The alcohol flowing through my veins isn’t helping the situation either, making me feel even more courageous than normal.

  Shuffling of footsteps drawing closer makes me race down the hall with my back turned to the door as I hear it open and close, a man I don’t recognize leaving the room first. A few minutes later, as I turn to watch him exit, Cash glides through the door and I can’t help the words that escape my mouth.

  “Your date seems like a lot of fun.”

  After a few minutes of back-and-forth banter—the same kind we’ve had since he hit on me in the hospital, full of sexual suggestion and blatant flirtation, I make my way back over to the table where Jess is shaking her head at me as I arrive.

  “He’s gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

  I shrug and then sit up tall, reaching for the new drink that Jess ordered for me when I left. “He’s so full of himself. Did you know he’s on that date with Misty as part of a bet?”

  Jess’s jaw drops as she widens her eyes at me. “What? That’s fucked up.”

  “Agreed. What is it with men, thinking they can treat women like property? Like, we don’t have feelings or desires like normal people? What if Misty genuinely likes Cash and hopes that this could be the start of something between them and then finds out, she was nothing more than a bet?”

  Jess grimaces. “Well, based on what I know about Misty, I would say that’s probably not the case. But, I get what you’re saying. No one deserves that. But Piper, your attention on him is alarming. I know I warned you what he’s like, but I can’t help but feel like you’re playing with fire here. Just… just be careful.”

  Popping up from my stool, I turn to face Jess, full of the resolve I feel to stand up for Misty—because no woman deserves to be treated that way. “Heaven knows why I care at all about him and his questionable choices, but he deserves to be put in his place. I’ll be right back,” I declare before taking a long sip of my drink, fluffing my hair, and then marching right over to where Cash Williams is watching me stride up to him.

  This is for women everywhere, and maybe a way for me to feel in control for once. Cash may make my hormones go wild, but at least I know I can channel some of that restless energy into something good for a change.

  Here goes nothing.

  Cash

  As I open my mouth to speak, the smack of Piper’s palm against my cheek rings in my ears and draws the attention from the patrons in the bar. Now my train wreck of a date with Misty has become the sole focus of attention of the entire room, along with Piper’s display of anger that I am shocked about and not sure how to comprehend. The sting of the connection burns as I turn to face the woman I anticipate to look furious because of her actions. But much to my surprise, she’s smiling from ear to ear.

  I’m not gonna lie, I’m extremely curious and terrified to hear her reasons for that hit as I wait for her to speak.

  “He tested positive for Chlamydia, so I’d walk away if I were you,” she says as she takes a seat next to Misty, glaring back at me from across the table.

  “Ex… excuse me?” Misty stammers, clearly just as perplexed by Piper’s actions and now her words as I am. Misty’s curly brown hair swings back and forth as her head does the same between the two of us.

  “You see, woman to woman, I felt obligated to warn you. Whe
n I gave him those test results in the hospital, his dick was about two days away from rotting off,” she winces as Misty’s eyes go wide.

  “Misty, that’s not...”

  “Oh, stop, Cash. It’s okay,” Piper says, reaching for my hand to stroke in comfort. “The antibiotics should have kicked in by now, right?”

  “Fuckin-A, Piper.”

  “Do you two know each other?” Misty asks, still extremely perplexed.

  “Just as a nurse and patient. Believe me, I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole,” Piper smirks and then winks at me, fucking winks! Does that mean she’s joking, or is she clearly having too much fun with this?

  “Wow. Okay then. Well, Cash, sorry to cut this short, but uh, I don’t need any diseases anytime soon, so I think I’m just gonna leave,” Misty murmurs as she slides out of the other side of her bench seat and scurries away, her jean skirt riding up as she runs.

  “What the fuck was that about, Piper? Now she’s going to tell everyone I have Chlamydia!” I’m fucking furious, but also turned the fuck on. This woman keeps showing me different sides to her, and this no-bullshit attitude keeps getting hotter and hotter.

  “Better her thinking that than realizing she was only on a date with you because of a bet.” Piper moves to stand, but I grab her arm before she can get away.

  “Who told you that?” Great. I keep striking out with this girl, adding yet another reason for her to not like me.

  “Word travels fast in a small town, Cash. Plus, you and your friend weren’t so quiet in the bathroom earlier.” She glares at me now and tries to remove her arm, but I’m not ready to release her.

  “Piper… fuck, I’m not… this wasn’t…” I’m at a loss for words. How do I explain this without looking like a complete ass? How can I get this girl to see that dating and having casual relationships with women is only one part of me?