Molly looked down at the pushed up breasts. “I have to warn you, it’s the corset. Not all me. Just so you know.”
“I’ve evolved since then and find substance a hell of a lot more sexy,” he tossed back with a laugh. “And from a guy familiar with the curves, you’re put together quite nicely, Molly. I would have thought you knew that after a few of our kisses.”
“I could be tacky and comment about males and their bodies, but I’ll reserve that,” she answered, coyly looking toward the ground as she scooped another batch of orange ice cream from her cup.
“I’d lie and tell you I can control it…but somehow, around you, I seem to have lost that ability.”
“How long were you married?”
“We struggled through two years before she went crying to her family. I was working, going to school and in the ROTC preparing for officer training with the Marines,” he shook his head at the memories. “You convince yourself that there are more than twenty-four hours in a day, but there’s never enough time for it all. And something has to suffer. She didn’t like being less than important and I didn’t know how to make it work and keep all the rest of it, too.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible. I wanted to believe it got better when you were established and older. But something always got in the way and…you’re always the one expected to give up ground. It’s probably the biggest reason I avoided relationships after a while. If you date someone involved in medicine, it can be competitive as well as the time constraints. There’s so much to learn and you get so very tired,” Molly sighed. “It was just easier to be alone. What did you do in the military?”
“I was in the military police.”
“Were you overseas?”
“The Balkans,” he answered, trying to remember the last time he talked about himself so much.
“You have a funny look on your face, Jonathon. What’s wrong?”
He filled the spoon with slowly melting milkshake and put it in his mouth before answering. “I was trying to remember the last time I was on a date where I was the topic and it wasn’t about how much money I made.”
“Ewww…not a fun date. I’ve been on a few like that. How much can you make if you specialize,” she deepened her voice with the question and shook her head. “Needless to say, that was a one-time date. Did you like being an MP?”
“For a while it was where I thought I wanted to be. That was another part of why Pamela and I didn’t mesh. She didn’t want to be married to a civil servant,” he switched to the straw. “Thinking back, I didn’t take it as well as I believed. I spent my free time getting a degree in business and discovered I was good at it.”
“That’s what you do now?” Molly slurped the last of her orange milkshake and sighed. “That was perfectly yummy. Thank you.”
“I don’t guess I ever said what company I worked for,” Jonathon took her cup and his and tossed them into a handy large trash bin.
“You said it was associated in some way with the resort reclamation.” She said after a minute, standing up and taking his hand. She went to his side and kissed his cheek. “It’s a good first date, Jonathon. Thank you. Now I don’t feel so bad about hitting you with my wing.”
“I will be grateful to the wing,” he returned with a wink, leading her to the waiting motorcycle. “I work for Vincent Technologies.”
“Erika’s company? Cool,” Molly nodded in approval. “Then it’s in good hands. She was worried about the employees after…well…there was a big mess with her parents. Not a pretty time for her.”
“Kids don’t really have much choice in that draw, do they?” Jonathon mounted the bike and steadied it, waiting while she got the helmet out of the case and took his hand to mount behind him.
“No…no, they don’t,” she said in a low voice after sliding the helmet over her head.
“You made the comment they were hippies,” he said after he’d started the bike and waited for traffic to clear. “Your parents.”
“Hippies with mercenary tendencies bordering on con-men,” she answered after a quiet minute of thought. “Everything is for sale, even their child. Especially if she came equipped with a brain.”
“You know that sends my mind wandering, Molly.” Jonathon felt a long line of cold go straight down his spine as her words echoed in his mind. “You’re an only child?”
“Thank god, yes. You? This is really neat hearing your voice all around my head.”
Jonathon laughed. “I have a younger brother and sister who live near our parents. I guess mine were fairly typical and maybe even a little boring. Dad loves sports and mom works at the library. We had library cards as soon as we could spell our names. And reading became addictive.”
“Books are a wonderful way to lose yourself,” she agreed softly, laying her head against his shoulder and hugging him. “How long did it take before you married again?”
“Almost ten years,” he answered after some quick math. “Angela had some things in common with Pamela in appearance and mannerisms, but…I don’t know. For some reason, I thought I was older and wiser and brighter and I’d see the issues before I thought we were a good match. I was running large companies. I sure as hell should be able to manage a relationship. I spent a lot of time second guessing myself and even considered calling it off. Fortunately, we didn’t have kids. She didn’t want to disturb her figure or her career. She’s an investment specialist and stock broker.”
“You sound angry.”
“We went to Vegas, another good thing, since we didn’t have much money or time invested in it when it ended. Her idea of our careers and where they should go didn’t match the arguments I was having with myself at the time. And talking about anything but Angela never seemed to happen. I think it’s what had me balking at the time. I should have listened to the voices. I have a friend who’s an attorney and he convinced me to get a prenup so I didn’t lose my shirt a year later.”
“Why were you arguing with yourself about your career? About what?”
“About business and how it treated the employees and where the lines were drawn as far as values and ethics were concerned. Somewhere along the line, according to Angela, I lost sight about the fact that it was only supposed to be about the money and keeping myself upwardly mobile. I should have been bouncing from company to company to make that happen.”
“Erika’s been much more relaxed since they hired you,” Molly said quietly, hugging him a little tighter. “Thank you for that. She was afraid they wouldn’t find someone who understood what direction she wanted the company to go. And someone she could trust.”
“The entire concept of the reclamation has thrown more than a few capitalistic theories for a loop,” Jonathon chuckled at the arguments bouncing through the business world. “The philosophy isn’t one taught in our society but when it’s examined and you apply logic instead of greed, what was begun isn’t sustainable without gross imbalance between the workers and owners.”
“Unless greed is taken out of the equation. The interesting thing is, they really haven’t had a difficult time finding people who are willing to adopt the rigid rules regarding joining in the community,” he turned the bike carefully into the parking lot of the resort, amazed at how quickly the ride had been. He wasn’t ready for it to end. “I did a lot of research and they did a very in-depth background and history check on me.”
“I know they’ve had a few try and slip through who weren’t really interested in what the founders are wanting to establish and build,” Molly commented, swallowing the yawn as he turned the engine off. “I truly had a wonderful night, Jonathon. Thank you.”
“I can take you around to the employee area,” he offered when she dismounted and locked the helmet into the case.
“I’ll walk in with you and go through the underground,” she waited at the front of the bike for him to join her, helmet and gloves in one hand. She reached for his free hand and smiled up at him.
“That means you’ll slip me yo
ur phone number,” Jonathon hinted without a trace of hesitation. The bright lights of the resort illuminated the parking lot around them, people chatting and coming and going at a mixed pace. He watched her other hand rise, fingers dipping into the side of the black leather corset. He reminded himself he was mature and in control of the throbbing and images locked in his mind as they entered the large foyer of the resort. He released her hand to take the card she held up for him.
Dr. Molly Fielding, WindSwept Narrows Health Care Center, Family Practice.
On the back of the rose colored card was a handwritten, private phone number.
“I was hoping you’d ask,” Molly told him with a grin, stopping at the door marked for employees only, one hand on the handle. She leaned in, kissing him softly. “Good night, Jonathon.”
Chapter Ten
He knew he repeated the phrase, watching her vanish behind the thick, solid metal door. He was still trying to figure out why he hadn’t worked harder at getting her to come to his room. He rode the elevator to his suite, tossed the helmet, gloves and jacket to the chair in the small living area and continued on into the bedroom.
He could have. Neither of them had denied the attraction. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent so much time talking to a date and not noticing the hands moving on his wrist watch. He tossed his boots to the base of the dresser holding his suitcase and striped his socks off, aiming at the laundry basket he’d set up.
He went through motions in the bathroom and stood leaning against the sink and staring at his reflection in the mirror.
“So how come you’re going to bed alone?”
The answer came with several sharp raps against the outer door. Barefoot, his gaze locked on the numbers of the clock glowing red beside the empty bed. One-twenty in the morning. So why would he have a visitor now?
He was about to demand an explanation at the same time he pulled the door wide. But when his gaze landed on the person standing patiently on the other side, his jaw fell open and his brain shut down.
Molly tipped her head to the side and smiled up at him. She’d changed clothes and wore a pair of simple cloth flats on her feet, which made her a few inches shorter than him, even when he was barefoot. She’d removed the jeans and corset, settling on a simple peasant style dress in a soft rose color that was held together by a series of tiny ribbons down the front. Small puffy sleeves, a little lace at her ankles and a scooped neckline. She carried her overnight bag on one shoulder, her fingers wrapped around the large leather strap. She raised her empty hand and waved it in front of his face.
“Jonathon?”
“I haven’t laid down on the bed yet, so I can’t be dreaming.”
She’d released her hair from the ponytail, her fingers up and sweeping aside the bangs that drifted to her eyes now and then.
“Well, you could be dreaming…” she pouted a little and reached into the outer pocket of her tote. She held up a handful of foil packets before dropping them back to the bag. “But then I’d guess in a dream, we wouldn’t need these.”
“We definitely need those,” he answered quickly and gruffly, his hand out and fingers wrapped around the nape of her neck, gently pulling her forward until she was inside the suite, the firm sound of the door closing behind them both.
“You don’t consider me forward, do you?” Molly let the soft leather tote slide from her shoulder, down her arm and into waiting fingers before she dropped it forgotten to the floor.
“I was just asking myself why I was going to bed alone,” Jonathon noticed she’d removed her makeup, released the beautiful silver hair and stood looking at him, waiting. “Have I mentioned I think you’re beautiful?”
“No,” she whispered, the first hint of heat racing through her as she stared up into his eyes. “Your eyes seem darker…a rich shade of grey.”
“I don’t think you’re forward. I was arguing with myself about not rushing you,” he closed the space between them, his hands on her shoulders and brushing the elastic neckline to the tops of her arms.
“I was afraid I was rushing you,” she teased back, stepping into his body and pressing against him. “But I don’t think I am…because if I were, you would be honest with me and tell me so.” Molly flattened her palms against his chest, purring softly as she stroked over the firm, hard muscles, first up to his shoulders and then down to where his jeans were snapped. “You don’t mind if I help you out of your shirt? It’s hindering my examination…and I am a professional.”
“What you are, is a vixen designed specifically for me…” Jonathon groaned when her hands tugged on his shirt seconds before they slid beneath the fabric and onto his skin. Compared to his body, her fingers were slim and cool. He finished the job, pulling the shirt off and tossing it aside. He’d deal with lost clothing in the morning.
The soft laugh she offered was as potent as the kisses they’d shared and that he desperately wanted to taste again. He quickly turned the deadbolt on the door before framing her face at the same time he took slow steps forward, backing her towards the bedroom and the only other source of light.
“Wait…” Molly laughed and ducked beneath his arm when he growled. She rummaged in the bag and brought out the handful of foil packets. Then she took his hand and led him towards the bedroom. “I wasn’t sure if you’d have these or not.”
“I don’t…”
“They sell them in the restrooms here,” she confided in a low whisper. “They’re very conscientious about personal safety and responsibility.”
“You bought those…” Jonathon tried envisioning Molly standing before the vending machine and laughed.
“I don’t have any…I mean…well, to be honest, it’s been a very long time since med school and my last attempt at a relationship. I was glad to recall something I’d seen there on the casino floor restrooms,” she dropped them to the nightstand and turned to find him staring at her. “I’ve shocked you.”
“You’ve delighted me…amazed me…and aroused me…among other things, Molly Fielding,” Jonathon framed her face, finally giving into the urge and need to taste her kiss again. His tongue swiped at the bow of her lower lip before sweeping inside when she released a soft breath of excitement. She tasted like fresh mint and smelled like a warm beach filled with bodies coated with cocoa butter. He made a note to figure that one out.
Another time.
Right now, he could think of nothing but the hunger in her response.
Molly felt like she could easily drown in his kiss. His mouth was warm and tasted of the vanilla ice cream he’d had earlier. For the first time in a long time, she felt part of the kiss, not merely being taken along with one purpose in mind. His pleasure.
When Jonathon parted her lips and teased her tongue, she wanted to play back. She wanted to hear more of the low groans coming from his throat and vibrating straight to the vee between her thighs. She had never been with a man who enjoyed speaking about what they felt. And she had never realized how very erotic it was and how wet she grew because of his words.
Then his hands began to wander, moving from the sides of her face to spear his long fingers into her loose hair. A new wave of lust shot through her when both hands tightened, fisting her hair and tipping her head back, slanting her mouth slightly to make the ravishing kiss deeper and hotter. So much hotter, she thought, groaning and pressing her body against him. She rotated her hips, vaguely aware of the tiny whimper when she felt her clit scrape against fabric and hard cock.
Her nails scraped down his chest, through the light coating of dark hair and onto his sides where she gripped the edges of his jeans. One hand moved from her hair, the top ribbon that tied up the front of her dress in his fingers to pull it open.
“What happens if I pull this, Molly?” Jonathon stepped back, breathless and hungry as he gazed down at the sweetly flushed cheeks and shining dark eyes.
“You wouldn’t want me to spoil the fun for you…” She whispered boldly, daring him with her gaze.
“Hmm…must be why you get the big office to play in,” she teased with a soft, husky chuckle.
He continued untying the slim strips of ribbon until he was at her waist. She hadn’t moved, but stood still watching his fingers. He could feel her breathing; he could hear the tiny catch every now and then when his fingers brushed bare skin. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like he’d explode the instant a woman touched him. But he was fast coming to the conclusion that this woman wasn’t like any other who had walked into his life.
He stopped at the first ribbon past her waist, his fingers going to the edge of soft fabric resting on the caps of her shoulders. It took the slightest of urges and the dress slid down her arms and pooled at her feet, revealing the last slice of confection she wore. A matching pair of gold and white bra and lace panties that hugged her hips with tiny bows at either side.
“Were you considering storming my apartment, Jonathon?” Molly stepped closer, leaving the flat shoes behind with the dress.
WindSwept Narrows: #23 Molly & Natasha Page 7