Jesus Christ.

She always knew he had an oral fixation, but this is-

Jesus Christ.

Tucked away in a corner booth at Granny's, she watches as he casually thumbs through a book two booths in front of her. His hair is mussed from the steady breeze outside, and the black leather motorcycle jacket he bought in an effort to assimilate to her "bloody strange and infuriating realm" is hanging by his head. He scratches at the back of his head, causing his hair to stick up even more, and then his hand goes back to the Candy Cane sticking out between his lips.

Jesus Christ.

She tilts her head to side lazily as she watches him bring it back and forth in his mouth, teeth clicking against the hard candy. His lips close around it and he sucks softly, jaw tensing and releasing. Her hand idly twists a curl of her hair as she follows the strong line of his jaw to his throat, watching his adams apple bob in a strong swallow, before letting her eyes dance along the exposed skin of his chest. While the pirate garb was gone, he still insisted on displaying a distracting amount of skin.

It was ten degrees outside, wasn't he cold?

Her eyes drift back to his lips and she remembers what it feels like to have that mouth working over hers - lips slanting, tongue chasing, teeth nipping-

Jesus Christ.

"You know," Emma jumps, blush heating her cheeks as Ruby stands over her, mug of hot chocolate in hand. Ruby quirks an eyebrow and sets down the mug, leaning close. "This works both ways."

Emma shakes her head in an attempt to clear the fog. "Huh?"

Ruby rolls her eyes and grins, more wolf than waitress. "He's fucking with you, Emma."

Emma's eyes shoot over to Hook where he is seemingly engaged in reading. The Candy Cane swirls between his lips and she has to physically force herself to look back at Ruby.

"I don't know-"

Ruby sighs dramatically and turns on her heel, heading back to the counter, muttering something about idiots and before Emma can get offended by the obvious insult, her eyes are drawn back to Hook.

He's looking at her over his book, blue eyes glinting with restrained mirth. He bites down on the Candy Cane in a grin, tongue peeking out and sweeping along his bottom lip.

And then he winks.

He fucking winks.

Oh, hell no.

She gives him a serene smile in response and averts her gaze, pulling some of the paperwork she brought with her from the station out of her satchel and onto the table. She flips open a file as she pulls her mug of hot chocolate closer to her, dipping her index finger into the whipped cream and sliding it into her mouth slowly. She moans in appreciation- really, Granny makes the best homemade whipped cream she has ever had in her life- and jots something down in the margin of the file.

She hums happily when she notices Ruby put a Candy Cane in her mug of hot chocolate, using it to swirl the rest of the whipped cream into foam. She takes a sip as she flips another page, letting her eyes scan the neat, slanted handwriting of David.

She pulls the Candy Cane out of the mug and slides it into her mouth, smiling slightly as the chocolate and peppermint swirl on her tongue. Her eyes dart up to Hook when he coughs abruptly, but his nose is buried in his book and his hand is scratching furiously at the back of his neck.

She shrugs and turns back to her notes, dipping her Candy Cane into her mug before popping it back in her mouth.

She just really likes peppermint and chocolate.

Really.

She reaches out blindly for her satchel, distracted with trying to decipher something David scribbled under her own handwriting. She knocks it out of the booth and curses as her files go sliding across the floor.

Sliding out of the booth, she falls to her knees and begins to collect her fallen paperwork. She pops her Candy Cane into her mouth, hollowing her cheeks and sucking hard to make sure it doesn't fall out.

And then she makes the mistake of looking up.

She peeks up through her lashes at Hook and freezes.

He's half out of the booth, like he was coming to help her, one leg stretched out lazily, the other still bent and tucked against the seat. His hand is clenched at his side, knuckles turning white under the strain. And his eyes, Jesus, his eyes are fixed on her mouth, hooded and dark.

He looks like a lion, ready to pounce.

Whoops.

Ruby chuckles as she kneels in front of Emma, gathering the files and shuffling them into a neat pile. Emma blushes a deep red and helps her to collect the paperwork, popping the Candy Cane out of her mouth and holding it in her hand.

"Excellent work, Emma, really." Ruby raises both her eyebrows. "Rivals some of my best work."

Emma rolls her eyes and snatches her files from Ruby, standing. She frowns when she sees that Hook has left, leaving nothing but a small stack of gold coins and an empty mug on the table.

"Jesus, he really needs to stop paying in doubloons."

Emma feels something hollow settle in her stomach as she forces a laugh and shoves her files back into her bag. She pulls out her wallet and hands Ruby a couple bills, enough to cover both his and hers. Ruby gives her a grateful smile and a wink as Emma brushes past her and heads out the door.

The cold air hits her like a brick wall and she shivers, pulling her coat tighter. She ducks her head against the wind and hops down the steps, giving a small smile at the white lights that are hung around the fence. They twinkle in the wind and the festive sight brings an odd sense of contentedness, something she hasn't felt in a long time.

She's turning down the side street where her car is parked when she is suddenly grabbed and pulled into the alleyway that lines the back of the diner.

She shouts (squeaks really, but hell if she ever admits that) and attempts to pull away from her captor. But Hook's grip is strong and his blue eyes are impossibly bright in the dark alley and she relents, choosing instead to lean against the brick and cross her arms over her chest. She fixes him with a glare. He stares stoically back, lips twitching.

"A bit much, don't you think, lass?" He braces his arms on either side of her, trapping her in and crowding her personal space (as always). He shuffles closer.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She mutters and he chuckles, low and deep. He leans in close, his nose coming in contact with the skin beneath her ear and she shivers (because its cold, damnit).

"I like Candy Canes." And her voice is absolutely not breathy.

"Aye." He says, just as quiet, breath puffing out warm against the skin of her neck. "I too, enjoy the miniature cane confectionaries."

She snickers. "They're called Candy Canes, moron."

She feels the rough scratch of his beard and then he is biting down, hard, between her neck and shoulder. She yelps and pushes him away, hands shoving at his chest. She stares at him with wide eyes and he looks entirely too pleased with himself.

"What the hell was that?" She shrieks.

He quirks an infuriating eyebrow at her. "That, darling, was fun."

His voice is pure sin, rough and taut and-

He licks his lips.

She is one hundred percent not responsible for what happens next.

Yanking him towards her by the lapels of his coat, her mouth slants across his hungrily. Not missing a beat, he steps forward, hips colliding with hers, pushing her up against the rough brick wall. She moans as he nips at her bottom lip, tongue sliding out and soothing it almost immediately.

This is exactly like their first kiss- a challenge accepted, her mouth opening under his, teeth clashing and tongues battling.

His sighs against her. "You taste like sweetness." He mutters and her stomach clenches at the huskiness of his voice.

"Shut up." She replies and she can just make out the edges of his mouth curling up.

"Make me." He responds.

So she does. She leans up and kisses him again, softer this time, letting her teeth drag against his bottom lip. He makes a sound in the back of his throat- something resembling a growl and a groan- and she slips her hands under his jacket. His hand slides from the back of her head to her neck, resting on the skin there. He slows the kiss, pecking her on the lips once, twice, three times, before resting his forehead against hers.

She keeps her eyes closed, basking in the moment, smelling the sweet peppermint as his breaath washes over her. She clenches her hands in his t-shirt, anchoring herself.

"You know I have a whole box of Candy Canes at my apartment?" She keeps her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look on his face, the potential denial.

But she really should know better with him because she can feel his smile before she sees it and he ducks down, giving her a deep kiss that she feels to her toes. He pulls away and turns, tucking her under his arm and she lets him, because he's warm and its cold, damnit.

"I do like Candy Canes."

And the light in his eyes rivals those twinkling on the fence at Granny's.