Thread: His Greatest Treasure (Crusade & darkangel76)

They already had a physical connection. Jake saw Emma as a sweet, innocent, quirky, pretty girl who he sort of wanted to corrupt in a sense. And it was clear by the way Emma responded to him so far that she was drawn to him, be it for his looks, his charm or a mixture of the two. What Jake had to work on going forward was an emotional connection. Had Emma been anyone else, the physical would've more than likely have been enough to at least get things to progress from the living room to the bedroom. With Emma, there were more layers to peel back. There was more substance there. And genuinely, Jake wanted to get to know her better. Emma's stammering responses were commonplace and every last one of them endeared him to her. Was it the closeness? Was it the fact that he was touching her or was it simply because he was showing an interest in her? Emma had her fans, but had anyone truly taken the time to get to know her outside of her musings and her actual writing? He doubted it. He would be the one to take an interest in her. He was the guy she bumped into at the park after the sun went down. He was a loyal follower of her blog and he would be the one to sweep her off of her feet. Hell, he probably already was. Jake nodded along as she rehashed the fact that she had a blog and did writing. He knew that and much more already, but telling her he'd been stalking her could have given the poor thing the wrong impression. It was the mention of her family that piqued his interest. Jake took a sip of his tea and then rested his slightly warmer hand on account of the heat from the cup back on Emma's thigh. At that point, it rested there more as a comfort to her than a way to exude his dominance or make a move. He cleared his throat and shifted just slightly to face her more squarely. Jake's eyes locked onto her. He'd seen her travel to the library on many occasions and reasoned she worked there. She looked like the type who would, if such a type existed. He could definitely see her behind the counter of a library or bookstore, all too eager to help someone in need of assistance. He'd brushed that little bit of information aside and decided instead to focus on her family. Jake had known about struggles with family, but he didn't quite understand what she meant when she said she left them behind. He caught the change in tone of her voice and it startled him somewhat. It was the first change in her demeanor he'd seen since he met her. You left them behind? What do you mean by that? He was hooked on every word, wanting to learn more about the woman he was going to take sole possession of. If something bothered her and was a topic of pain or hurt, he wanted to be the first to know. He would be the metaphorical shoulder to cry on. He would be the open ears when she needed someone to talk to. Jake didn't know if she had a friend who already filled that void, but he hoped not. It would be so much easier if that wasn't the case. Maybe she was as reclusive as he was in terms of his personal relationships. The last thing he wanted was someone getting between them. He wouldn't let that happen. He would kill before he did.