by Lori Foster
“Uhm.” She coughed. “If I don’t answer, calls will be forwarded to another hotline. So I have time to see Paul now.”
“That duck’s a mighty fine specimen, Molly. You bag it yourself?”
Wade frowned, his pleasure at seeing Molly dissipating at his grandfather’s continued hallucinations. “Grandpa—”
“It’s okay, Wade. Paul, this is Gator, my parrot. Do you remember me telling you about him? He—”
“I’ll be back.” Squawk. “I’ll be back.”
She looked relieved, and Wade winked, knowing she was glad Gator hadn’t yelled out, “Bastard.”
“That bird does a mighty fine Arnold impersonation.” He waited a beat. “You told me he quotes action-movie heroes, remember?”
“That’s right, Paul. I did! Would you like to come in the back room with us and keep us company? I’d love to get to know you a bit more. Wade said you haven’t been feeling all that well lately, but that you’ve been a bit…happier since you’ve started duck hunting?”
Grandpa Paul winked at Wade. “So, we’re here to discuss the duck hunting.” His brows furrowed. “My wife didn’t really approve of duck hunting….”
“Your wife? That would be Pearl, right?”
“She’s passed.” Grandpa Paul looked at Wade and, for the first time, worry pinched his face.
“Hasn’t she, Wade? But I could swear I was just talking to her the other day.”
“Grandma’s been gone three years, Grandpa.”
“Well, yes. Of course she has. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her,” he said to Molly.
Molly nodded. “I understand. I recently lost my grandparents and I miss them terribly. Gator does, too. So, would you like to come back into my office, Paul? I’d just like to ask you some questions and then I have a lab tech here who wants to do a few tests. Is that okay?”
She looked at Grandpa Paul first, then at Wade.
Wade nodded. “I trust you, if you think it’s necessary.”
“I think it could help us rule out some things.”
“Okay. Grandpa Paul?”
“If it’ll make you feel better, sure. And I’d love to spend more time with you, little lady.”
Wade watched as the two of them walked back into Molly’s office.
“It’s not serious,” Molly told Wade thirty minutes later. “But he has a UTI.”
Wade frowned. “Excuse me?”
“A urinary tract infection. I know it sounds weird, but on rare occasions UTIs can cause psychological disturbances like the kind he’s been suffering. We believe his hallucinations were coming and going as his body fought off the infection.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. The doctors are prescribing him antibiotics right now. You should note a gradual improvement, and then hopefully his desire to duck hunt will be gone completely.”
“Thank God. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. He’s wonderful. I can see why you care so much about him.”
“Can I see him now?”
“I think he’s just getting dressed, so you might want to wait a couple of minutes.”
“You didn’t leave Gator with—”
“Uhm, no. I put Gator back in his cage. I figured it would be best until your grandfather was completely better.”
“There’s no one waiting for you? On a call, I mean?”
“No. It’s been a pretty slow evening.”
“In that case, can I have another hug?”
Her eyes widened, but she looked far from displeased. “Excuse me?”
“Earlier, you hugged me, and I wasn’t in a state of mind to fully take advantage of it. But now that you’ve told me my grandfather is going to be okay, I’d like to give it another try.”
She looked around, but they were the only ones in the medical office.
He didn’t push her, and perhaps that’s what prompted her to step up and hug him. This time, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.
When he pulled away, they were both gasping for air. From a single hug. Jesus.
“What time do you get off work?”
“I have a twelve-hour shift. Then—then I’m off for the rest of the week. Why?”
“Because after I get my granddad settled in, I want to see you.”
“I want to see you, too.”
“No, I mean I want to see you. After your shift. I know that you were reluctant to make things personal between us. And as I already said, it’s complicated with me being the cop that saw your assault. So if you’re not interested, just say it one more time, Molly. Just know that I am interested. More than interested. I want you. I want to take you out and I want to take you to bed. Not necessarily in that order, but I can take it as slow as you need me to. Just tell me what you want. Because what happens between us now is completely up to you.”
Molly knew if she said yes she’d be agreeing to a heck of a lot more than a polite social call. She could see it in his eyes. In the quiver of his lips. In the way he clenched and unclenched his fists, as if fighting the need to touch her.
“I’m single, Molly. I’m healthy. I’m trustworthy. I know this is crazy, but say yes,” he urged.
“Please. But only because you want to. Because you want me as much as I want you.”
She licked her lips. Watched his gaze follow the movement. Then whispered, “I’m all those things, too, but you’re right, this is crazy.” She held her breath. Then, before disappointment could mar his expression, she said, “I want to see you, too. And I don’t want you to go slow. Not if—not if you really want more. Because I want it, too.”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll be back at the end of your shift to drive you home.”
“You don’t have to do that. I have my car.”
“I want to. Then I want you to rest. Catch up on your sleep. Because once we’re together, I plan on keeping you awake for a long time.”
Chapter Seven
Dear Lord, she thought, as she drove home after her shift, Wade King’s headlights in her rearview mirror. What am I doing? This isn’t me. I don’t have sex with hot men I barely even know, no matter how single, healthy, trustworthy and…well, hot…they are.
But Molly didn’t kid herself.
That’s what she and Wade were going to do. Eventually. But apparently only after she slept enough to be well rested for the upcoming festivities.
True to his word, he’d picked her up after her shift and escorted her to her car.
After arriving at her house, he silently walked her to her front door, where he took the key from her shaking hands and unlocked it.
She turned to him. “Thank you for seeing me home. Are—are you sure you don’t want to come in now?”
He shook his head. “I have to take care of a few things. But I’ll be back.” He smiled and she knew he was thinking of Gator. “Just…think of me while I’m gone, okay?”
He lowered his head and kissed her. It was nothing like a first-kiss type of kiss.
It was deep. And long.
Intimate in a way that shouldn’t be possible.
His tongue skillfully swept inside her mouth, intoxicatingly certain of its welcome. It made her think of how thoroughly he’d take her in other ways.
If there’d been any doubt as to his intentions, his kiss decimated it.
He wouldn’t be coming over later for coffee or conversation. Oh, they’d likely get around to both those things, too, either initially or after they did the deed, but he was going to take her. Make love to her. With Wade, she didn’t doubt the experience was going to be raunchy and divine. Multilayered and intense.
Hot. Sweaty. I’maching-andonly-you-can-fill-the-void sex.
After two years of going without, Molly Peterson was going all-in.
And she’d never looked forward to anything more.
Hours later, with Gator in his covered cage, she answered the door to let Wade inside. To her surprise, even as nervous and excited as she’d been about seein
g Wade again, she’d actually fallen asleep. She was now well rested, showered and dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans. If she’d been more daring, she’d have put on the sexy teddy she’d bought several years ago and never worn, but she hadn’t. She’d have felt silly, for one. And two, she knew Wade didn’t need the visual stimulus.
There was no doubt in her mind that he wanted her just as she was.
Just as she wanted him.
His eyes took in her casual clothes and bare face as if she was a beauty queen.
“Hi,” she said lamely.
“Hi, darlin’,” he said softly.
“I, uh—do you think you can—can kiss me?” she rushed out. “Because that’s all I’ve been thinking or dreaming about since you left.”
His eyes widened and his jaw clenched. He cupped her face with his big hands and lowered his mouth to hers.
They’d only kissed once before, but the feeling of his lips meeting hers was a lot like coming home, though this home was one she’d only ever dreamed of owning. His tongue tangled with hers in a frantic rush of need and heat. In response, she opened her mouth wider, pulled him closer and pressed herself into him in the hope he’d never let her go. And he didn’t. He cradled her against him even as he swept his hands down her body, exploring the soft give of her curves while pressing her against his own hard planes and muscles.
When his hands crept under her T-shirt to touch her bare back, she gasped and pushed her chest into his, trying to ease the throbbing ache in her nipples. He immediately ripped his mouth away from hers and sucked in several breaths. At the same time, he placed his hands at her waist and gently pushed her back despite the way she automatically resisted.
“I have to—I need to—” He kissed his way down her neck and gently cupped her breasts. She hissed in pleasure and arched into his touch. “You feel so good,” he said.
“You make me feel so good,” she corrected.
She felt him smile against her throat. “I’m going to make you feel a whole lot better.”
She laughed, liking how naturally the sound came out of her. “Promise?”
He pulled back to stare at her, and for a brief second she wondered if she’d said the wrong thing. But then he grinned. “I absolutely promise,” he said. “And I think you’d feel a whole lot better if you took off some clothes. As in all of them.”
“Oh, do you now?” she teased. “Is it that I’d feel better, or you could feel me better?”
His eyes darkened and he slipped his hands underneath her shirt to cup her breasts through her bra. He drew maddening circles around her nipples but never quite touched them.
“Both,” he rasped out.
She grabbed his wrists and directed his movements so that he rubbed against the tight points aching for his touch. “Both,” she echoed with a sigh.
He eased her shirt over her head and admired her pink lacy bra for all of three seconds before unhooking the front clasp and pushing the material away. Immediately, he covered her breasts with his big palms and rubbed her nipples again. His touch was electrifying.
When she whimpered, his dazed eyes met hers. He kissed her again, then trailed his lips down her neck until he latched onto one nipple. He sucked gently before increasing the pressure. She relished the sharp sensations for several minutes, but when his hand tried to insert itself between her thighs, she pulled away.
“Don’t you think you’ll feel better without your clothes, too?” she asked.
“So long as I get to touch and taste you, I’m feeling great.”
“But I want my turn,” she said with a mock pout.
Gaze fastened to her lips, he flushed slightly, then backed away to begin ripping off his clothes.
“Fine. But I hope we agree I’m not done with my turn yet.”
“Oh, I’m not about to argue with you there,” she said and reached for her own pants. In seconds, they were naked. Stunned, she ogled his fit, sinewy body. But he didn’t let her look for long. He swept her into the cradle of his arms and cocked a brow. “Bedroom or somewhere else?”
“How about bedroom first, then everywhere else next?”
He laughed. “Remember you said that when you’re ready to cry uncle.”
“Uncle?” she said with dramatically rounded eyes. “That must be another one of those southern terms I’m not familiar with.”
“Gotta love you yanks,” he said before he hightailed it to her bedroom, where he tossed her on the bed. Even before she stopped bouncing, he was braced over her.
“Right now, just concentrate on loving one yank,” she murmured. Her hands clutched his thick biceps, and her eyes trailed down his big, beautiful body. When her gaze returned to his face, she smiled and kissed the underside of his jaw, then leaned down to kiss each of his shoulders.
“Come back up here,” he growled.
She eagerly obeyed and kissed his mouth, then groaned when his hand slipped between her thighs. Almost instantly, her hand found his hard shaft and he groaned, as well.
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah,” he choked out. “You can say that again.”
“So you like…this?”
“Your hand wrapped around me? What’s not to like? Do you like this?”
He ran his fingers through her moist cleft and circled her with his thumb.
“Your fingers on me? I love—love it,” she gasped.
“Good,” he whispered. He slowly penetrated her with a single finger. “How about this?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together, but didn’t respond.
“Molly? Do you like this? Am I hurting you?”
“Yes. I mean, I like it. You’re not hurting me. But I—I don’t think I’ll be able to talk much longer.”
When she tightened her fingers around him and swirled her thumb over his wet tip, he shuddered. “Me either,” he said. “S’okay. This is one case where I definitely prefer action to words.” He added another finger, then curled each of them so he stimulated a pleasure point inside her.
She cried out. “Wade. Oh God, that feels so good! Please—please don’t stop.”
“I’m not going to stop, darlin’. We’re just beginning.”
True to his word, he lavished attention on her entire body, then gave her the same opportunity to learn his. When they were shaking and breathing hard and sweating and unable to hold back any longer, he slid on a condom, settled himself in the cradle of her thighs and slowly pushed himself inside her. He didn’t stop until he was embedded to the hilt, groaning at the way her internal muscles milked him.
He pulled back and pushed in. Back, then in. Over and over again, he used his body to entice and entrance hers, and when she finally fell over the edge, he swallowed her cries of pleasure in another deep kiss. Only then did he let himself go.
And even then she didn’t cry uncle.
Not for a good long time.
Wade couldn’t remember a time when he’d been happier.
Except maybe when he’d actually been in Molly’s arms. Inside her body.
Damn, that was probably going to become his favorite place in the whole entire world.
They’d spent hours in bed together. Learning each other. And everything he’d learned about her had told him she was someone he could love. For a lifetime. He’d hated having to leave her, but he’d needed to check in with his grandfather and finish up some reports at work. Now he had the next two days off with nothing but time to spend with her. First, however, he had one more stop.
He drove to Molly’s medical clinic but parked in front of the adjacent convenience store. Although the security tapes from the clinic’s cameras had been useless, the business adjacent to clinic, a little twenty-four-hour market, had video surveillance that might have captured Molly’s assailant lurking around or cutting through the property on his way to her. When Wade entered the market, the cashier, a middle-aged woman with a smoker’s voice, told him he’d have to come back in the morning when the manager was ther
e.
Wade pulled out his business card and handed it to her. “Would you have your manager call me in the morning as soon as he comes in?”
“Sure,” she said.
Wade turned to leave when his eye caught the racks of candy and gum next to the front counter. He turned back. “You happen to sell licorice here? Or a fancy licorice-flavored liqueur called sambuca?”
“Nope. Nothing like that. Just the gum. And someone already bought me out several days ago.”
Wade froze. “Gum? There’s a licorice-flavored gum?”
“Yeah. It’s hard to get. Called Black Jack. Like the card game, you know.”
“Sure. And you said someone bought you out? Someone you know?”
“I don’t know him. He’s just a regular customer. I tell him when I get in my shipments and he buys up the lot.”
“You know his name?”
“Danny. His name’s Danny. He’s a guard at the medical clinic next door.”
Chapter Eight
When she woke, Molly’s body still thrummed with the excess pleasure Wade had heaped on her, yet she instantly mourned his absence from her bed. There was a rose from her garden and a note next to her on the pillow.
Raising herself on her elbow, she picked up the rose, inhaled its sweet scent and then read the note. “I’ll be back. W.”
She laughed. Instinctively, she knew Wade was teasing her with the famous movie line, once again using his familiarity with Gator as an inside joke. She got out of bed, used the bathroom, then let Gator out of his cage. Next, she retrieved a small vase from the kitchen, filled it with water and placed Wade’s rose inside it. She set the vase next to her bed, then climbed back in and under the covers to wait for Wade.
They had an inside joke, she thought as she stared dreamily at the rose.
Despite their short acquaintance, she actually knew some important stuff about him. That he was a wonderful grandson. A dedicated cop. That he was a generous lover. That he shivered when she kissed a spot on his right shoulder blade and trailed her fingers down his thigh to—
She shivered, then sank deeper into her sheets, thinking about Wade until she started to drift off again.
“Bastard.” Squawk. “Bastard.”