The Ocean Between Us (A Southern Heroes Novel Book 1) Read online

  “I’m so sorry.” I don’t know how to apologize for my behavior. “Just give me an hour, and I’ll be gone.”

  “What? Why?” He moves fast around the bed. It’s quicker than I can move with the left-over grogginess from the alcohol.

  He shouldn’t have gotten up. With no drunken stupor to obscure my vision, I see every rippling muscle, every piece of ink-covered skin, each one of his perfectly sculpted abs.

  Holly freaking moly!

  My. Hands. Touched. All. Of. That.

  I want to touch it all again. The angels were in a hell of a good mood when they made him.

  “Why would you want to leave?” he repeats when I take too long to answer.

  “I can’t even face myself right now, so I can only imagine how you must feel.” I stand frozen holding my wet underwear to my chest, and I know I must look awful. Still, he keeps coming, until there’s only an inch separating us and the air thins out, making it difficult to breathe.

  “You’re not leavin’. If I’m not mistaken, you paid for six months in advance. You have classes startin’ on Monday. Besides, Miss Jessie will have my ass if you leave.” He takes a breath and tucks some of my wild bed hair behind my ear.

  His bare chest and Southern accent melt me on the spot.

  Crap. That’s not good. How will I share a flat with Aiden when I’m crushing on him? That will only make things awkward.

  “Things happened. We’re adults. We’ll deal. You, Emma Bowen, are stayin’,” he says.

  I can only nod like an idiot. Oh, and drool.

  Ha! So much for leaving.

  He reaches in and hugs me as if we’ve known each other for ages. My body responds by doing some more melting, wanting desperately to become one with his.

  “By the way, welcome. As you know by now, I’m your roommate, Aiden Holden. Please make yourself at home. Unpack.”

  I watch as Aiden leaves, pulling the door closed behind him – my roommate for the next six months.

  Things happened. He has that part right.

  I stand, staring at myself in the mirror, horrified by my appearance. I look like a bloody panda with mascara streaked under my eyes.

  Needing to talk to Chloe, I quickly dial her number.

  Not waiting for her to say hello, I launch right into my problem. “I have to move. I can’t stay here with him,” I give voice to my panic.

  “Hold on, Sunshine. Who? Why? What are you on about?” she asks, clearly confused.

  “My roommate. I went to a bar last night. Out of all the bloody guys there, I asked my roommate to have a one-night stand with me. Then I got drunk. Then I got sick.” I feel a little faint just thinking about how bad the night before was. “Ugh, I puked in front of him. It doesn’t help that he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. Oh, you should hear his accent. I could listen to him reciting the damn alphabet all day long,” I try to explain everything that happened in one breath.

  “So what’s the problem, then?” she says, clearly not understanding my predicament.

  “Huh?”

  “Sunshine, it sounds like you had a normal night out.”

  “What’s normal about what I just told you? The guy saw me puking my guts out. I freaking got undressed in front of him,” I snap.

  I hear her take a sharp breath. “What was his reaction?”

  “He helped me get in bed.”

  “Oooh… what happened then?

  “Nothing. I fell asleep,” I say, feeling disappointed that I missed my one chance at having sex with Aiden because of bloody alcohol. I’m never touching that poison again.

  “Could’ve been worse. You said he’s hot?” Trust Chloe to latch onto that part. “Send me a photo. I want to see what he looks like,” she teases.

  “I’ll just go and ask him to strike a pose for me quickly,” I tease her back, then blurt out, “I like him. I already like him too much.”

  “That’s a bonus. Just don’t carry your heart on your sleeve. Be yourself, Sunshine. You’re a stunning person.”

  “You know you’re the best, right?”

  “No, you’re the best. I want all the details. Email me.”

  “I will,” I say before cutting the call.

  I’m worth it. I’m a stunning person.

  Then I catch sight of myself in the mirror, and I cringe. Yeah, let’s shower first before we try that speech again.

  CHAPTER 6

  AIDEN

  I didn’t mean to fall asleep. It’s just… Emma felt so damn good.

  First, she half-stripped in the shower. That sight took just about every ounce of gentleman I had in my body, not to shove her up against the wall and finish what we started in the car.

  And then in the room. Fuck, I had to go take a cold shower, and that was just because Emma reached for the clasp of her bra.

  I’m thankful she passed out. She was drunk, and that’s a line I’ll never cross.

  Like I said, I didn’t mean to fall asleep there, but she took the aspirin and slumped right down against me. It felt good holding her.

  The second she grabbed me, I woke up. Now, I’ve had nightmares, and I’ve seen Zac have them after Laurie, my sister died, but this was something else.

  She whimpered. I’ve never heard a person make a sound like that. She groaned the same thing over and over.

  “I’m nothing without, Mom. I won’t make it without, Mom. Ever.”

  Along with the whimpering, trembling, and the look in her eyes I’ve been trying to place the whole damn night, I’m not so sure she meant those words in the way most people would take them.

  And the scars on her back? I was shocked when I saw them. My gut is telling me this girl is running from something.

  I’ve only heard of the ‘boy meets girl’ and then BANG, scenario. I never believed in insta-love until Zac and Laurie happened. They got married three weeks after they met; they damn near gave Mama a heart attack, eloping like they did. But they stayed in love until Laurie died four years later.

  I was dating Megan at the time but broke it off because I knew she wasn’t the one, and there was just no point in wasting her time or mine.

  But now this?

  Emma Bowen.

  I’ve never had such a strong reaction to a woman before. The second I laid eyes on her I knew my life was about to change.

  My phone starts vibrating on the kitchen counter, and I leap for it.

  “Please let it be Zac,” I whisper as I quickly look at the screen. “Fuck yes!”

  I need my brother-in-law’s advice.

  “You’re a godsend,” I answer the call.

  I sink down onto one of the couches in the living room.

  “I am? You haven’t sounded this happy to report back in some time. Did you find out when the main event is?”

  He sounds tired. Not that I blame him. We’ve been on this case for far too long, and I’m sure he’s in a hurry to head back home. I know I am. I miss my own bed and house.

  “Actually, I need your advice with women,” I start, but then I hear something fall in the background.

  “Hold on. I just dropped my coffee,” Zac mumbles. I hear him shuffle some things around. “Say that again. You, Aiden Holden, need advice? From me? On women? You do realize I’m the one stuck between four walls the whole day? You’re the one out there, livin’ with them.” I can hear the laughter in his voice. The fucker is never going to let me forget this.

  “Being surrounded by them and takin’ an interest in one are two different things,” I say, a little too sharp as I glance at Emma’s closed door. “We’re workin’ a case. I’m not even a real damn student. But… she’s…”

  I stop to think how I’m going to word this.

  “She makes me want to fall. Did you feel that way about Laurie?”

  There’s silence on the other end, and I worry that it’s too soon for Zac to talk about Laurie.

  “Yeah, she made me fall so hard that I’m still fallin’.”

  I take a breath, regret
ting that I brought it up.

  “Sorry, Zac. I shouldn’t have –”

  “No, if you can’t talk to me, who you gonna talk to? Besides, I’ll be fallin’ until the day I see her again. She’s the love of my life. The day I saw Laurie come up those stairs and I stopped her, tellin’ her I was gonna marry her before I even knew her name, I meant it. I meant it because the second I saw her, everyone else faded away. That’s when you know, Aiden – when everyone else fades away. Your soulmate wakes you up, rattles your cage and makes you fall all at once.”

  Zac sounds lost in his own words, but I know what he means.

  “I have a fight tonight.” I change the subject back to our case. “It’s gettin’ close to the end of the year, so things should start heatin’ up. I’ve gotten closer to Katia and Colton as well. They’ve let me into the inner circle.”

  “Good, we need to bust this open and wrap it up. Your roommate is comin’ tomorrow, right?”

  I glance at Emma’s closed door again, thinking what a surprise it was when I learned that she’s my new roommate.

  “She arrived yesterday,” I say, keeping my voice neutral.

  “She? What happened to the guy? I remember you clearly sayin’ a guy was movin’ in with you.”

  “He turned out to be a smokin’ hot woman.” I take a deep breath and lean back against the couch.

  “Is this where all the questions are comin’ from?” he asks, and I nod.

  He can’t see me nodding like a dumbass, so I answer quickly, “Afraid so. Things also got more complicated, Zac. Katia saw me leavin’ the bar with Emma last night. I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep Emma away from Katia’s claws.”

  “Could Emma help the case? If you played this right, she could make your cover more solid.”

  “Katia already showed an interest in Emma. We’ll be riskin’ her life.”

  There’s a moments silence before Zac says, “Katia is responsible for fourteen missin’ girls. She’s dealin’ in sex traffickin’. We’ve come too far to let her slip through our fingers now.”

  “I can’t just ask Emma to play along. Hell no, I’m not draggin’ her in deeper.”

  As I say the words, I close my eyes, because I know Katia, and what Katia wants, she goes after, unless…

  “Then my advice to you is simple. Get a new roommate,” he states.

  As if it will solve the problem.

  “Don’t be a dumbass,” I snap. “I can protect her better if she’s here. Let’s see what Katia and Colton do. If they go for her, I’ll consider it. Let’s just wait and see what happens first. Maybe I’ll strike it lucky, and Katia moves onto a new target.”

  “It’s your call. Let me know how tonight goes down. I’ve been in touch with Wyatt. He says everythin’ is still on track with Cole and Troy. Their covers are solid with the other fightin’ ring back home. It’s time to bust this case wide open and put Katia where she belongs, behind bars.”

  “Thanks, bro. I’ll catch you later.”

  “Good luck.”

  Ending the call, I get up from the couch to make coffee. My thoughts turn to my cousin who’s helping us back in Lyman. I’m fucking worried about Cole and Troy. They might be trained Marines, but one wrong move from either one of us and this thing can go sour.

  Zac and my brother Wyatt are working behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. I know I can fight, but I’ve never seen Cole and Troy fight before. At least, not since school. Wyatt’s the one who brought them in.

  I take a deep breath to clear my head and glance at Emma’s closed door. Why did she have to come here now? Too many girls have gone missing.

  I’ll have to make sure Katia doesn’t get her hands on Emma.

  Wanting to offer Emma some coffee, I knock on her door.

  “Come in,” she calls.

  Easing the door open, I step inside. Emma’s sitting on the bed with a laptop open in front of her.

  “Give me a sec. I’m just finishing this email,” she says, not looking up.

  “Sure,” I reply as I glance at the phone that’s buzzing on the bed. I watch as it goes to voicemail. My eyebrows pop up when I see that she already has eight missed calls. A little envelope pops up showing that she has nineteen messages.

  Damn, someone really wants to talk to her.

  The phone starts to buzz again, flashing Mom.

  “Aiden?”

  My head snaps up, and I smile as I ask, “Would you like some coffee?”

  The phone starts buzzing again, and I glance down. It’s her mother again.

  “You should take that call. It might be urgent.”

  “I’ll check it later. Coffee will be nice.” She sounds tense, and I hope I didn’t overstep by telling her to answer the call.

  Deciding to let it go, for now, I ask, “How do you take it?”

  “One sugar, and milk, or none... depending on what you have here. I’ll run to the shop later… uhm, the store.” She looks uncomfortable, and I’m not sure why.

  “Great, come have it in the kitchen with me,” I say as I turn to leave.

  Emma follows me out and watches while I get our coffee ready. As I turn to hand her a mug, my eyes sweep over the t-shirt and shorts she’s wearing.

  Da-yumn, the girl has legs that go on for miles.

  “Here you go.” I place a mug a few inches from me, so she has to come closer to get it.

  “I’ll take you shoppin’,” I offer as she takes a sip. “It will save you from tryin’ to figure out where to go.”

  “Thanks.” She smiles, looking relieved. “I’m sure I’ll get to know the town and where everything is once school starts. It’s actually funny. I Googled Chapel Hill and the way people talk so I can just blend in, but now that I’m here I can’t remember any of it.”

  “It’s not like you’re speakin’ another language,” I chuckle. “If you get stuck just let me know, and I’ll help out.”

  A soft smile forms around her lips as she glances up at me. “I didn’t expect people to be so friendly here.”

  Damn, she’s breathtakingly beautiful when she smiles.

  Realizing that she said something, I clear my throat before I say, “Aren’t people friendly in South Africa?”

  “To be honest, I’m not sure.” She draws her bottom lip between her teeth, looking a little nervous. “It’s not like I got out much.”

  The second the words leave her mouth her eyes widen slightly. She turns her body half away from me, taking big gulps of her coffee.

  “Now you have to explain because you’re makin’ it sound like you’re from a convent.”

  The night before she was intoxicated, but now, it’s a different story. If last night is anything to go by, then she’s definitely feeling the attraction between us. It is something I’d like to explore, but I need to know just how inexperienced she is. The last thing I want to do is ruin my chances by coming on too strong.

  I lean back against the counter, so I’m facing her, and it places me inches away from her body.

  Shaking her head, she says, “I just didn’t get out much. I had my studies which kept me busy.”

  “What did you study?”

  “Nursing.” She doesn’t offer anything more on the subject. I can see it’s not going to be easy getting to know her.

  “You mentioned school. What are you going to study while you’re here?”

  “Creative writing.”

  For a moment I watch as she swallows the rest of her coffee down. She’s so different from last night, and I have to admit it’s a little frustrating.

  “Relax, Emma,” I say, hating that she’s so on edge around me. “Hell, we almost had sex last night. We slept in the same bed. If I were goin’ to hurt you, I would’ve done it by now.”

  “I’m sorry,” the words rush from her. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward. Last night I practically threw myself at you… twice. I’m just a little embarrassed right now.”

  Finally, she seems to relax a
little.

  “I wouldn’t say you threw yourself at me. Judgin’ by the kiss we shared in the car, it’s safe to say the attraction is mutual.”

  I lean even closer to her until my shirt brushes against her knuckles. Emma’s eyes dart to my chest before coming back to my face.

  “Mutual?” she whispers, looking torn between embarrassment and desire.

  Thank fuck, we’re back on track. I was worried there for a moment.

  “Yeah,” I say, as a smile pulls at the corner of my mouth. My eyes jump between her mouth and darkened green eyes.

  Fuck, I want to kiss her again.

  She’s without a doubt on the same page as me. But I want to make the sexual tension between us last, so I ask, “You said you wanted to experience things? What kind of things?”

  “Normal stuff,” she says as she places her empty mug on the counter. “See new places. Meet people. Just normal fun stuff.”

  “Was last night fun for you?” I ask, not able to resist teasing her.

  She quickly looks down but not before I see her smile. As she starts to turn away from me, I reach for her, preventing her from escaping.

  Her tongue darts out and as she licks her lips, I struggle to suppress the groan building in my chest.

  I pull her toward me, bringing her body right up against mine until I can feel her heart racing against my chest.

  This barefoot, wet hair, green-eyed girl might just be my undoing.

  She’s not as relaxed as last night. “Don’t go all tight on me now, Emma. We kissed. It was good. We might even do it again when I get you drunk enough,” I tease her again, hoping to lighten the air.

  She glares up at me, but there’s no potency in her eyes. Not with the shy smile playing around her lips. All her drunken bravery is gone, and now it’s just Emma, the one she said I’d really like.

  I brush my fingers down the side of her face, taking in the feel of her soft skin.

  “I’m never touching that poison again,” she says with a laugh.

  She’s so fucking beautiful, I could stare at her all day long and not get tired.

  Her breaths begin to come faster, and I’d be lying if I said it’s not a turn-on.

  “You’re not denyin’ we’ll kiss again,” I whisper as I tighten my hold on her.