At six-fifty-three, he knocked on the door.
"You're early," Emma said as she opened it. Anything else she'd planned to say flew right out of her head at the sight of him in tight jeans and a crimson cable-knit sweater. Damn.
"Apologies, love. Patience has never been my strong suit." His eyes dropped down as he took in her tight, red dress and heels. "Well, now. I've half a mind to step inside and say to hell with dinner."
Emma grabbed her purse, and then stepped through the doorway, pulling the door shut behind her. "A girl's gotta eat. Let's go."
They walked out to the street, and Emma was surprised to see a Town Car waiting for them. Hook got the door for her, and she slid into the back seat as he went around to the other side and slid in next to her. The driver pulled out into traffic, and Emma was acutely conscious of the man sitting next to her.
She moved away an inch. "I could have driven, you know."
He moved in an inch. "I know. And I'm not taking a chance on you escaping."
She arched an eyebrow. "That's not terribly encouraging."
"Relax, love. Trust me. Things will be a lot smoother if you do."
Emma stared at him hard. The deja vu hit her again, and now it was starting to frighten her.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she said. "This is Henry's first sleepover and he might change his mind or something. I should - "
"Emma." He reached over, taking her hand and twining his fingers with hers. "Trust me."
"But Henry - "
"Henry will be fine. He'll call if he needs you and I'll get you to his side if necessary. In the meantime..." He gave her a slow smile that made it hard for her to breathe. "You need to learn to relax, love." He leaned forward, letting the driver know they were at their destination.
Hook opened the door and stepped out, pulling her along with him since he hadn't let go of her hand. She looked out at the rows of ships.
"The marina? What are we doing here?"
He gave her a sideways grin, but didn't answer. He just pulled her along as they walked down the pier, stopping in front of what appeared to be a replica of an old-time schooner. Emma looked up at it, and felt a frisson down her spine.
"I've been here before," she said, in a murmur. "I've been on this ship."
Hook stared at her, and when she turned to look at him, the intensity in his gaze startled her.
"I mean, I must've taken Henry here when he was younger or something. Maybe it was a class trip. The ship looks kind of familiar."
He let out a sigh. "The ship is mine."
"Yours? You came here in this?"
"I did. And I thought you might like to take a short voyage with me."
"Where are we going?" Emma asked, suspiciously.
"Just a few miles out. Far enough to be away from the city lights." Emma eyed him distrustfully, and he brought her hand up to his mouth, rubbing her knuckles across his lips and giving her a look from under his lashes. "Please, love." His voice was so earnest, she caved like a house of cards.
"Just a few miles. I need to be close in case Henry calls or something."
He was about to say something when he was interrupted by a voice from behind them.
"Excuse me, are you Captain Jones? I have a delivery for you." They turned to see a teenager, carrying a pizza and plastic bag. "The instructions said to look for a pirate ship."
"You've found the right ship," Hook assured him. He took the pizza, passing it to Emma, then handed the delivery boy a wad of cash before taking the bag. The boy unwrapped the pile of bills and looked up at Hook with wide eyes.
"Is this all mine?" He asked, incredulously.
"For your trouble." Hook turned back to Emma, effectively dismissing the delivery boy, who was walking away in a daze. "Let's get aboard, love. Dinner is getting cold."
"Pizza?" Emma said.
"Henry said this place was the best, and they deliver. It came with this, as well." He held up the bag, showing her the two liter bottle of Coke inside.
Emma raised her brows. "Okay. Lead the way."
They got on board and pushed off without any incident, and within a half an hour they were out on the open water, and under a sky brilliant with stars.
"Well, then," Hook asked, securing the wheel. "What's it to be? Shall we dine in the Captain's cabin, or would you prefer to be out under the stars?"
Emma pictured herself cozily ensconced in a private room with this man, feeling the motion of the ship gently rocking them as they sat across the table from each other, with the candlelight playing across that face of his.
"We'll eat out here," she said firmly.
"Very well, then." He gave her a smile that said he knew exactly what she was trying to prevent, and then he stepped over to a chest under the stairs leading to the upper deck, pulling it out and digging around inside. He returned with a couple of blankets, two goblets, and a flask.
"Your table awaits, m'lady," he said gallantly, as he spread a blanket on the deck. Emma put the pizza down and sat next to it, pulling off her shoes and curling her feet up next to her. It wasn't easy in that dress. She opened up the pizza box and looked inside.
"Ham and pineapple? How did you guess that I like Hawaiian pizza?"
Hook didn't say anything. He dropped down next to her and busied himself pouring a healthy portion of rum into the goblets and setting them down next to the pizza. Emma rolled her eyes.
"Henry told you."
"He's a good lad."
"He's getting a little too involved in my personal life."
"He loves his mother. Don't fault him for that, love."
Emma reached for her drink. "What is this?"
"Rum. It's that or water, and since I want to kiss you again later, perhaps the rum is a better choice."
And that quickly, every single sensation she felt when his mouth was on hers before slammed into her. He wanted to kiss her again. Oh God. She needed to change the subject, and quick, or she'd never get any answers tonight. She reached behind her for the plastic bag.
"We have Coke. That works with rum." She added the coke to her goblet, giving it a quick stir with her index finger, then stuck her finger in her mouth to lick it off. Her eyes caught his just as she was pulling her finger out of her mouth, and the heat in his gaze made her stomach tighten.
Keep your head, Swan. She mentally berated herself. She reached for a slice of pizza, munching it as she formulated her first question.
"So...you're a ship owner? Is this a tour company or something?"
"Nothing like that. I own the ship for pleasure and transportation." He took a bite of his pizza.
"And you're from the U.K.? I mean, the accent sounds British."
"British. Right." He stuffed another bite of pizza in his mouth.
"Let me guess..." she mused, taking a drink of her rum and Coke. "You're a royal. Not one of the famous ones, maybe somebody with a lesser title. You came into your inheritance and you're hiding out from the paparazzi."
What the hell was a paparazzi? Hook had no idea.
"You're very astute," he said, in a non-committal way. There. That wasn't an outright lie. She was astute, and it was going to cause trouble if he didn't find something else for her to talk about.
"And you're very cryptic," She replied, raising a brow. "Did you besmirch some girl's honor, or something?"
"Many times over, as I recall. But not recently." He leaned back on one elbow. "And what about you? How is it you haven't found love yet?"
"It's complicated." Emma took another drink. "Being alone is easier."
"No it's not," he said. "It's safer, to be sure. But I wouldn't say it's easier, love." His eyes softened and she couldn't seem to look away. She felt warm all over.
"Whew," she exclaimed, setting down her goblet. "I think I've had enough of that. That rum is two-hundred proof or something."
"All part of my master plan," he explained, laying back and folding his arms behind his head.
"Oh yeah?"
"Most definitely. Part two of my diabolical machinations begins when you lay down next to me."
Emma gave him a smirk. "And why would I do that?"
"Because you'll miss the show, otherwise. There's a meteor shower tonight, and now that we're far enough from the bleed of the city light, you'll get an amazing view."
Emma was intrigued. "Really? How do you know that?"
"They had another exhibit at the museum about asteroids and meteors, remember? The attendant was kind enough to remind us that there would be an event this evening, and I knew it would look spectacular from the open water."
She pushed the pizza box off the blanket, and carefully laid down next to Hook.
"Now what?"
"Now we wait." He reached down next to him, shaking out another blanket and pulling it over them. "We don't want to get a chill, do we love?"
They didn't have to wait long. The first few streaks appeared in the sky within minutes, and they were pointing them out to each other with loud exclamations each time. He was right - the view from the open water was amazing. The sky was brilliant and full of stars and streaks of light. And with her head fuzzy from rum and the ship swaying gently beneath her, she didn't even think of pulling away when he pushed himself up on one elbow and pulled her into his arms.
The kiss started out gently, as though he were afraid she'd stop him. Emma wasn't about to. The heat from his body was unbelievable, and she found herself pushing up against him even as he settled himself onto her and deepened the kiss.
His tongue was sliding against hers in a rhythm that was slowly driving her mad. He kissed her like he had all the time in the world, like he planned to kiss her for a good, long while, and his hand was warm on the back of her neck as his thumb traced a pattern along her jaw line. Emma's hands moved across his chest, feeling the planes and muscles even beneath the sweater, then up over his shoulders before she slid her fingers into his hair. He made a sound of approval low in his throat and she found herself moving against the motion of his body as he kissed her over and over again.
His mouth moved to her neck and she arched into him, gripping his hair hard and sliding a leg up against his hip. Suddenly, his hand was there, just above her knee, pushing her dress up and sliding along her thigh. She moaned, surprising herself, and his fingers shifted, tracing patterns across her inner thigh as his mouth played across her neck and collarbone, his tongue laving a trail down to the tops of her breasts where they pushed up over the top of the dress.
"Emma..." He said her name in a low voice just before his mouth closed over hers again, kissing her hungrily and with far less restraint. She responded in kind, her fingers tightening in his hair as she felt his hand moving in and up. Her body took over, pushing up to meet his palm as it rested at the apex of her thighs. His fingers grazed the crease where her leg joined her body and an instant later, he was touching her, underneath her clothing.
Emma felt like she was coming out of her skin - like it was stretched too tightly and burned far to hotly. She made another sound deep in her throat as his thumb slid into her folds and circled the bud of sensation, pressing into it as he continued to kiss her druggingly. She arched her back as she felt first one, then another finger slide inside her, pushing and stroking as his thumb circled and flicked and rubbed. Her hands were all over him, rubbing his back, sliding down to grip his backside and pull him even closer.
She opened her eyes as he moved the burning heat of his mouth back to her neck, escalating the movement of his fingers. Emma cried out as pleasure ripped through her. For one long, intense, endless moment there was only her, and him, and the stars that showered down overhead.
She came back to earth slowly, feeling his fingers stroking her gently as the last of the tremors left her body. He moved his hand back up, sliding it in a soothing motion along the curve of her waist, kissing her softly while she tried to breathe normally again.
"Maybe we should move to the cabin," she said breathlessly.
He smiled down at her. "Perhaps we should." He kissed her again, once, twice, and she could feel the need in his body as he held her against him. "I have to stop kissing you first, and I don't know if I can do that."
"Mmmm." She agreed, kissing him back. "Here is a pretty good place, too."
He laughed softly. "You know, I've always admired your gumption."
He moved his body over hers and she slid her hands underneath his sweater, pulling and tugging to get it off of him when suddenly the deck was awash in blinding light.
"This is the USS Coast Guard Cutter Vanguard." A voice came over a loudspeaker. "You are drifting. Does your vessel need assistance?"
Hook muttered an oath that would have made a sailor blush. He pulled his sweater down and got to his feet, stalking over to the rail.
"All's fine here, mate," he called back. "We were just observing the meteor shower."
"This is an active shipping lane. We're going to need you to move the ship, sir."
"Understood. I apologize if we've caused any trouble." Hook looked over his shoulder at Emma, who was sitting with the blanket wrapped around her, looking anywhere but at him.
"Sorry, love. We're going to have to return to port, I'm afraid."
She scrambled to her knees, pulling her dress down. "It's okay. It's getting late, anyway." She started folding up the blankets and gathering the goblets and pizza box. Hook sighed.
So close.
He moved up to the wheel deck, checked his position and then brought the ship about. Less than half an hour later, they were pulling into the dock. Once the ship was securely tied, he climbed back aboard and found Emma putting her shoes back on. She grabbed his shoulder to lean on as she stepped into one, and then the other.
"I have to go," she said.
"No you don't love. That cabin is still available." He leaned in, grazing her neck just below her ear with his lips. She gave an answering shiver, and forced herself to step back. "I have a car waiting. I called them already."
"Emma." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Stay with me. We have the rest of the night, love."
The thought of spending an entire night in his arms frightened her like nothing else could. He was getting to her. She had been right. He was dangerous, at least to her. She pushed out of his arms.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let that go as far as it did. I think I might have had too much rum." He started to say something and she held up a hand, stopping him. "Please. I really need to go."
He stared at her for a long, awkward moment.
"Emma, look at me."
She raised her eyes from where they'd been staring at the deck, feeling miserable but no less determined for it. He reached out, touching her chin gently with his fingers.
"You don't have to run from this. Or from me."
She looked away again. "I have to go." She moved around him, heading to the stairs that dropped down to the deck. She'd just reached the top of them when an especially bright meteor streaked the sky overhead.
"Wow! Did you see that one?" she exclaimed, looking over her shoulder. "Now's the time, if you're going to wish upon a star." She paused a moment, looking up. Then she stepped down the stairs, onto the dock and across to the waiting car. Hook watched her go, with his fists gripping the side of the ship. He looked up at the star as it was beginning to fade. He wasn't much of a fan of magic, but without it, he'd have never found her.
"This had better work," he said, closing his eyes and wishing.
He stared out across the water a moment longer, then turned to head down to the cabin. He made it exactly three steps before he heard a voice.
"Hook? Are you there?"
He froze. Nobody here knew him by his moniker. Nobody. He whirled about and headed back to the side of the ship.
"Hook! Down here!"
He glanced down into the water and there she was. A mermaid.
"What do you want with me? I haven't finished my quest yet."
"I know that. And I'm here to help." She swam closer. "My name is Ariel, and I'm a friend. Snow sent me with this." She held up a large satchel. "She told me to tell you that she found it in the castle, and she thinks it could be a talisman for Emma."
"Thank you!" Hook lowered the net down over the side, and Ariel put the satchel in it.
"I have to get back before anyone sees me here. Good luck, Hook." She stared at him, and a sad smile played across her lips. "You're very brave."
She dove, and with a flip of her tail she was gone.
Hook pulled the net up, grabbing the satchel. He unfastened the buckle and inside was something large and enveloped in some sort of waterproof material. He carefully unwrapped it, breaking into a wide grin when he realized what he was holding.
His fingers traced the title on the book.
Once Upon A Time
He pulled it in and held it to his chest. "Snow, I could kiss you!" He laughed out loud at himself. "But then your husband would hit me in the bloody face again."
He folded the book under his arm, whistling to himself as he headed down to the cabin. He needed to think, and he did that best with a fresh flask of rum. The book would work. Emma would remember.
And then he would be sure that they took up right where they left off.
