Scandalous Box Set

by Layla Valentine

  With that as her driving force, Emma took one shaky step forward and then another. Until she was halfway down the marina dock, the creaking wood bobbing lightly underneath her heels. She swallowed tightly, remembering all too clearly the sensation of ocean water dragging her down into the deep. But she stuck to the middle of the line, careful not to go tumbling into the ocean again.

  “You look like a cat on a hot tin roof,” Sean called out, making her abruptly shift her focus from her feet to the man who was standing right in front of her, offering her his arm. “Take it. I couldn’t wait for the guard on duty and I wanted to see you got to my boat safely—I kind of consider it a duty of mine now.”

  Emma licked her lips and took a short breath, winding her arm around Sean’s.

  “So you’re saying I need a babysitter now?”

  “No, merely a gentleman.” Sean grinned and started leading them forward, toward his yacht.

  “How am I supposed to know you’re a gentleman? I don’t know you at all.”

  “Well, that’s what dinner is for, isn’t it? Maybe you decide you hate me, but you still get a free meal out of it.”

  “You really can’t go wrong. You’re right.” Emma grinned and met his eyes. “What if I had said no?”

  “You didn’t.” Sean winked.

  “But what if I did?”

  “Persistent, aren’t you?”

  “You wanted the brat, you got her.”

  “Fair enough.” Sean looked off to the side, at the water below their feet. “If you said no? I wouldn’t have done anything, honestly. I’m not into forcing women to be with me…and a woman like you clearly has a lot of options on the table.”

  Emma nearly burst into laughter, knowing his estimation couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite her full calendar, she was doing dry-cleaning runs and briefing meetings, not champagne and dates. She hadn’t had time for a man in—ugh, she didn’t want to acknowledge how long it had actually been since she’d been on a real date.

  Which is why, when he brought her in front of the ramp that led onto the gigantic boat, she merely stared at in amazement.

  “Does it, uh, always look like this?”

  Emma swallowed past the tightness in her throat and followed Sean as he escorted her onto the sprawling deck hung with tiny, magical twinkling lights, flickering candles in ornate holders, and what seemed to be a dozen vases filled with wildflowers. This couldn’t be real. Emma wanted badly to pinch herself, but didn’t want to risk looking like an idiot.

  “Not so much.” Sean looked down at the pristine deck beneath his feet and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “You did all this…for me?” Emma shifted to face him. “You really didn’t… I mean…”

  “I spent a while transforming it from the typical club fare to something more refined, worthy of a woman who was saved from the ocean by a knight. I figured you would enjoy this way more than a bunch of red solo cups and a DJ. Was I right?”

  Emma nodded, wordless, and spun around, still examining the décor. There were so many little details. There was no way Sean could have pulled all this off without any help and her eyes narrowed at him.

  “All by yourself, huh?”

  “I didn’t say that, exactly,” Sean hedged. “Let me give you a tour.”

  “Is it the grand tour? Anything less and I’ll have to turn you down flat.”

  Sean placed a hand on his chest and doubled over playfully. “You’re breaking my heart, Emma. You would do that to someone who just saved your life?”

  That revelation sobered up the moment real quick, and Emma’s sensed her expression turn to stone. A chill crept up the nape of her neck as she suppressed a shiver and crossed her arms.

  Clearly, Sean knew he had screwed up. His apology was written all over his face and he opened his mouth to say something, but she held up her hand.

  “Don’t worry about it. Show me the boat.”

  Without another word, he proceeded to show her around the yacht to end all yachts. The thing had eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a Jacuzzi on the front deck. She had never seen something so decadent.

  Emma had half a mind to ask Sean how he had gotten so affluent, but she kept her questions to herself, knowing it was rude to ask such questions. Not as if her constant staring wasn’t also rude; half the time he was showing her the boat, she was eyeing his body like a teenager with a schoolgirl crush. How was it even possible for him to look better tonight than he had looked on the beach, soaking wet in a see-through white T-shirt? It wasn’t natural.

  All of that delicious man meat and Sean was clearly intent on impressing her most of the night. Although, if it wasn’t obvious enough, they were from two different worlds.

  “You live like this every single day?” Emma asked as she twirled in front of a fully set table for two under the gorgeous stars. “This is insane.”

  “I live like this when I’m on the boat, yes,” Sean said, leaning up against the railing as he watched her take in the scene.

  “And when you’re not on the boat?” she pushed gently, stroking the silk napkin at her place setting.

  “Then I’m on land,” he evaded with a laugh, coming up behind her as she pivoted to face him. “Dinner will be ready soon. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  “Perfect. I didn’t know what you liked, short of surf and turf, so my cook made a little bit of everything.”

  Emma puzzled over what exactly that could mean before Sean walked around the small table and pulled out her chair.

  “The royal treatment, I see.” She came over and took her seat, looking up at him through the ambient candles and moonlight. “This is utterly beautiful, Sean.”

  “I’m glad you think so. I figured you deserved something special.”

  He tucked in her chair and sat down across from her, unfolding the napkin and setting it over his lap before placing his hands on the table, carefully keeping his elbows off the fine linen. Emma followed suit, putting her napkin in her lap and taking the same stance.

  “When’s grub?” she asked.

  She didn’t have to say much else before Sean coughed into his fist and she heard a little bell ring out somewhere in the far recesses of the cabin. Almost immediately, a man in a white coat pushed out a serving cart laden with food.

  “Where would you like to start, miss?”

  Emma didn’t have the faintest idea—in front of her was lobster, steak, pasta, chicken, rack of lamb, and a salmon dish topped with caviar.

  “One of each, please, if that will fit on my plate.”

  “We’ll make it work.” Sean leaned back in his chair, clearly pleased with himself. “I’ll have the steak, Jeffery. Thank you.”

  The chef nodded, loaded up their plates, and offered them a bottle of wine, which Emma turned down in favor of water. She didn’t need anything harder. Sean was so easy to talk to that she thought that they could easily talk the whole night away without her stumbling or feeling shy. The shyness had left the building the second he had met her on the dock.

  So all that was left to do was enjoy her night with a mysterious, uber-rich man and stuff her face so she could tell her girls all about it. If nothing else, it would be an amazing story for a vacation she hadn’t planned on going on in the first place.

  “What are you studying?”

  Emma halted with a bite of food halfway to her mouth.

  “What?” She blinked, suddenly unsure as Sean’s brows narrowed.

  “You’re here for spring break, I assumed. Did I assume wrong?” Sean cocked his head and wiped his lips with his napkin, his gaze a question.

  “Oh, um.” Emma noticed her cheeks grow hotter as she put her fork down and placed her hands in her lap. “I don’t go to college, I’m just here with my friends. They invited me.”

  “Ah, a woman of mystery. What do you do?”

  “I went straight into the workforce after high school. I’m a secretary a law firm right now.”

  “So
then you aren’t like your brethren who descended on Cancun,” Sean observes. “Smart of you. You’re brave to make your own path, most people wouldn’t have the guts or the drive. I admire it.”

  “Thank you,” Emma didn’t realize how much she needed to hear those words until they were out in the open between them.

  She had been waiting all week for her friends to acknowledge her hard work, her efforts, and say something encouraging to keep her going in the direction she had aimed her life. Every now and then, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Lately, she had more of those thoughts than ever, especially with everyone around her benefitting from a degree or almost graduating like her friends.

  “What do you do?” she asked. “A man with his own personal yacht and this kind of service must do something impressive.”

  Sean made a derisive noise in the back of his throat and took a long sip of wine from the glass in front of him.

  “What? It can’t be that bad. I told you, it’s only fair that you return the favor.”

  When he waved his hand away, as if to push off her encouragement, Emma took another bite of pasta and waited a beat before speaking again.

  “Look, it’s not as though you kill baby pandas or smuggle jewels over the border, right?”

  He was silent and Emma took another bite of food, with a smile meant to help him feel more at ease.

  “It’s worse than all that…”

  “Worse? What could be worse?”

  Now it was Emma’s turn to take a long pull from her glass of water.

  “I’m not doing anything right now, Emma. I graduated from college last year, took a year off saying I wanted to travel the world, when really… Jesus, I can’t believe I’m telling you all this. I don’t know why…”

  One minute her hand was on her fancy water glass and the next she had covered his hand with her own, squeezing gently as their eyes locked over the table. He gave her a small, unsure smile. A man with so much to offer, one who had saved her life, and he was this concerned about how she viewed him?

  “It’s okay. You can talk to me. You clearly need to get something off your chest.”

  Sean shook his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the hazel was dark and unreadable as his lips twitched in an uncertain smile.

  “I don’t know why I feel like I can talk to you, but you’re really open. Easy to get along with, not judgmental or wanting anything from me. There’s no ulterior motive. I’m not used to that kind of interaction with anyone.”

  Emma stayed silent, encouraging him to continue.

  “The real reason I’ve been making excuses is so I don’t have to work for the family business. My parents have a huge reality company. I don’t hate it, it wouldn’t be a horrible life or the worst job, but the issue is that it’s what has been expected of me since I was born.

  “I knew it was on my shoulders, that my future was locked down, but it only resurfaced a week ago when my father confronted me with an ultimatum. Either join the family business within a month or he would cut me off, scrub my name from the family holdings, from the family, period.”

  “That’s awful, Sean. I’m so sorry.” Emma squeezed his hand again and he entwined his fingers with hers, squeezing back with an unreadable expression. “But couldn’t you make it on your own, you must have friends—”

  “So you want me to, what? Couch surf and get a job bagging groceries?”

  “Would it be so bad, if you get to live life on your own terms?”

  Sean grunted and pulled back from her, licking his lips.

  “Anyway, I took the keys to the family yacht and started sailing last week—I just needed to get away from it all. I know I can’t keep running forever, I’m not an idiot, but returning to my Miami to take up the mantle? I can’t think of anything worse.”

  They both sat in silence as they ate the rest of their meal, the cool night air playing in Emma’s hair.

  “I apologize,” Sean said after they’d finished. “I didn’t mean to be such a downer. This wasn’t how—”

  “Shh, don’t worry about it. Do you have dessert?”

  Sean laughed and stretched back into his chair with a grin.

  “Oh the kitchen is going to love you. They haven’t had reason to make anything fancy all week. Name your poison.”

  “Um…” Emma stumbled, unsure what she wanted without options.

  Sean grinned. “Everything. You got it.”

  He made a hand motion and a deckhand came to his right side. Sean whispered something in his ear before he scurried off.

  “You know, you really don’t have to go to so much trouble for me,” Emma said, suddenly self-conscious.

  “With all the prattling I’ve done tonight, you deserve it.” Sean motioned to the nearly empty dinner table. “Are we done here?”

  “Sure.” Emma smoothed her hand over her stomach, straightening the fabric of her dress. “I can’t remember the last time I ate so well. Thanks.”

  “Wait until you try the chef’s tiramisu.” Sean got up from his chair and held out his hand, drawing her up out of her seat and leading her a short distance to a couch in the corner of the boat. “Do you need anything else?”

  “I’m fine, thank you. You’re a wonderful host.”

  “Well, I have to be honest, I’m not used to having good company.”

  “Smooth. Real smooth.” Emma laughed lightly and tipped her head back, gazing up at the gorgeous, clear night sky. “Do you pull this on all the women who you save from drowning?”

  “Damn it, you guessed my secret.” Sean chuckled and when her attention flicked back to him, his attention was only for her, his eyes glittering with mirth. “You’re a lot of fun. Your friends aren’t going to miss you tonight, are they?”

  Emma shook her head sheepishly. “They were digging into sundaes laced with tequila and settling in for a marathon of nineties rom-coms when I left. I don’t think they’ll miss me much.”

  “And here I thought you were abstaining due to the hangover. Way to make me a liar.”

  “I’m abstaining!” Emma pushed him gently in the chest and pointed toward her fancy water glass. “I’m being good.”

  “You’re right, you’re right. I’m not giving you enough credit. Tell me about them.”

  “My friends?” Emma blinked, surprised by his question.

  “Yeah, I don’t have a ton of them. Allow me to live vicariously through you.”

  Emma rolled her eyes and decided to humor him. If he was telling the truth, and he didn’t have everything as she had first assumed, that would make her far more empathetic to his small requests.

  “Fine. Makenzie is the happy-go-lucky one of the group. She was a cheerleader in high school and always boy-crazy. Not a whole lot has changed in college. She parties and gets good grades, but I have no idea how she has the time. As for Allison, she’s more focused on her studies, more aware of the future creeping up on all of us. She got into school for an athletic scholarship, full ride, and she’s been focused ever since she got to college. Sure, she still makes time to party with Makenzie, but she wants to keep her debt down, like me, so she prioritizes her studies.”

  Emma took a deep breath and looked back up at the sky, breathing the sea air deep into her lungs.

  “Allison’s the only one of us I can really see with a family, a house, kids, a husband…the whole cookie-cutter thing.”

  Emma blushed, suddenly realizing she was on this gorgeous man’s yacht on a first date babbling about the possibility of kids. “Ah crap, now it’s my turn to reveal too much.”

  She hid her face in her hand, but when she looked up again, Sean didn’t seem so concerned with the topic. All he was wearing was a curious smile, not an ounce of discomfort or fear evident anywhere on his body. He only seemed to be waiting for her to keep talking about them. Weird, she was pretty used to men bolting at the mention of kids—or any kind of future.

  “I’m sorry, bringing up the kids topic isn’t great on
a first date, I know better.”

  “So you think this is a first date? That’s good information to have.” Sean grinned and Emma blushed harder, waiting for the sea to swallow her back up again.

  “You mean, it’s…not?” She looked around the boat, suddenly desperate for that dessert to show up before she put her foot in it again. “Uh…”

  “Relax, Emma. I’m kidding.” Sean caressed the side of her face so she was forced to look at him and meet his eyes from what seemed like mere inches away. “I was only giving you a hard time.”

  Even though her heart rate had started to calm down, Sean hadn’t moved his hand from her cheek.

  Emma swallowed, trying to ignore the pleasant tingle that was threading throughout her whole body at his touch. A spark lit between them. She licked her lips and his thumb brushed a stray hair away from her cheek.

  Their connection broke as she noticed the sound of a cart coming down the deck. When she broke eye contact to look over toward their table, a stocky man in chef’s whites was wheeling another tray filled with desserts.

  Emma sat speechless, completely undone by the options and the service that seemed to be Sean’s day-to-day reality. She couldn’t imagine trading in her law secretary job for a family realty business and this lavish lifestyle. From where she was standing, it would seem like a no-brainer.

  “Nice, isn’t it?” He slowly pulled his hand away. “Jean, you can leave the cart and a couple forks and spoons. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

  The chef nodded and smiled, murmuring that he hoped they enjoyed themselves.

  Sean grabbed a fork and handed it to Emma. “Dig in,” he said. “I would recommend trying the cake first.”

  “Uh, which one?” Emma’s mouth watered as she looked at what had to be half a dozen different options. “Never mind, I’ll pick one at a random.”

  When the first bite hit her tongue, she knew she had picked correctly. Warm lemon curd burst across her taste buds with sweet cream and a hint of raspberry. Oh wow, it was better than anything she had ever put in her mouth. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head and she groaned, covering her mouth.

  “This is unreal. You eat like this regularly? You’re lucky as hell.”