by Lynn LaFleur
“Thank you. Did you save room for dessert? I made a chocolate ricotta pie.”
Molly groaned. Her full stomach battled with her taste buds over the word chocolate. “You’ve got to be kidding. There’s no way I can eat something else now.”
“So we’ll have coffee now and dessert in a bit.” He stood and picked up their plates. “I’ll set these in the sink and start the coffee.”
Molly watched him walk into the kitchen. He wore what looked like brand-new jeans and a black long-sleeved pullover. The three buttons at the neckline were unfastened, giving her a glimpse of dark chest hair. She’d stared at that hair over and over during dinner and imagined sliding her fingers through it, following it down his body until she could unfasten his jeans…
The ring of her cell phone drew her from her fantasies. Julian looked at her while placing the plates in the sink. “Go ahead and answer if you want to.”
An unanswered phone drove Molly crazy, so she accepted Julian’s suggestion. She found her phone in the bottom of her tote. One look at the display and she tensed. Lips pressed together so they wouldn’t tremble, she dropped the phone back in her purse.
“Someone you don’t like?” Julian asked.
“Someone I don’t want to talk to.” Needing something to do to get her mind off the phone call, she stepped up to the sink, pushed up the sleeves of her sweater and rinsed their plates.
“Hey, you don’t have to do that.” Julian pressed the button on the coffeemaker to start it brewing. “I have a dishwasher.”
“It won’t take but a few minutes to rinse these and put them in the dishwasher. Then you don’t have to worry about them.”
“I’ll take care of this in the morning.”
“Nuh-uh. I can’t let dirty dishes sit in the sink until morning. One of my quirks.”
He leaned back against the cabinet next to her. “Do you always get your way?”
Molly grinned. “Pretty much.”
He answered her grin with one of his. “We haven’t had dessert yet. That’ll be more dirty dishes.”
“Not a problem.” She nudged his side with her elbow. “You can finish clearing off the table.”
“Geez, you’re bossy.” He pushed away from the cabinet and walked back into the dining room. “There are already dirty dishes in the dishwasher. These will probably make a load.”
“See? We can run it now and you won’t have to mess with any dishes in the morning.”
He set their wineglasses on the counter. “I’d rather spend time with you. Dishes can always wait.”
His sweet words sent warmth rushing through her. “I’m not going anywhere. We still have lots of time.”
He ran one fingertip down her cheek. “No hurry to rush home?”
“No,” she said, her voice turning husky.
Heat flared in his eyes. He touched her cheek again, then went back to the dining room for the rest of the dishes.
Molly’s knees turned weak. She’d thought all day about how the evening would end, if she’d spend the night with Julian. The look in his eyes proved she wouldn’t be going home until morning.
Five minutes later, Molly sat on the couch next to Julian, mugs of hot coffee in both their hands. She sat with one bent knee on the cushion with her body turned so she could see him. She sipped her coffee slowly while he told her stories about his sister and growing up in Bremerton. She was content to be quiet and listen to him talk, which was unusual for her. No one could say she didn’t take up more than her share of the conversation.
Julian must have realized how much he was talking because he suddenly stopped the story about how he’d tormented his sister before her first date. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m running off my mouth without letting you say anything.”
“I don’t mind. I like hearing about your sister. You must love her a lot.”
“She can be a pain in the ass, but she’s also very special.” He laid his hand on her knee. Molly could feel the warmth of his palm through her leggings. It traveled up her leg and settled between her thighs. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“One sister, Shawna. She’s a year younger than I am.”
“Are you close?”
“Very. We live together and get along great. The only time we argue is when she turns up her music too loud.”
Julian chuckled. “What kind of music does she listen to?”
“Hard rock and metal.” Molly shivered. “I can stand only so much before I feel as if my brains are leaking out of my ears.”
“I guess that means you don’t want to listen to my Metallica CDs.”
She covered her eyes and groaned. “Oh no, not you too.”
“Guilty. But I like other music too. Does that count?”
She peeked at him through her fingers. “Just don’t play anything too hard while I’m here, okay?”
“Deal.” He drained his mug and set it on the end table. “Do your parents live in Seattle?”
Molly looked down into her mug. She never talked about her parents, not to anyone. It hurt too much, especially when she talked about her mother. “I need a refill. How about you?”
She didn’t give him the chance to answer her question before she rose and went back into the kitchen. She didn’t want more coffee, but the few moments away from Julian would hopefully make him forget he’d asked about her parents.
“What’s with the change of subject?” he asked from right behind her.
She replaced the carafe on the warming plate and faced Julian. “Your apartment is nice. I really like the open concept design. Your living room flows into the dining room and that flows into the kitchen. It’s nice and…airy.”
She stopped rattling when Julian touched her wrist. “Molly, if you don’t want to talk about your parents, that’s cool. Just tell me. I have great parents. Sometimes I forget other people don’t.”
The understanding in his eyes made it easier for her to talk. It would be nice to share something with Julian she’d never shared with another guy. She started to tell him about her parents when her cell phone rang again. Molly sighed.
“Believe it or not, days will pass without my phone ringing.”
Julian chuckled. “Go ahead and answer it. I’ll get our dessert.”
“I’ll turn it off after this call, I promise.”
Molly set her mug on the end table by the recliner and dug her phone out of her purse again. A glance at the display revealed Shawna’s cell number. Molly flipped open her phone. “Hey, sis.”
“Why didn’t you talk to Mom?”
Molly’s gaze quickly shot to Julian. He stood at the kitchen island, watching her. “Just a sec,” she said to Shawna. “It’s my sister,” she told Julian. “I’ll just, uh, I’ll be right back.”
She stepped through the first open door she found, which happened to be the bathroom. “How do you know I didn’t talk to Mom?”
“She told me. She said she called your cell and you didn’t answer it.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to talk to her. I’ve made that clear to her. I don’t know why she keeps calling me.”
“She’s our mother.”
“She’s a drunk!”
“She’s an alcoholic. That’s a sickness, Molly.”
Molly would never understand why Shawna always defended their mother. “She’s an alcoholic who refuses to get help because there’s nothing wrong with her.” Molly slurred the last few words the way her mother said them when she’d been drinking. No matter how many times she and Shawna begged their mother to get help with her drinking problem, she always insisted she didn’t have any problem.
Shawna remained silent for several seconds. “She asked us to come up for Thanksgiving.”
“No,” Molly said without hesitation. “You go if you want to, but I’m not.”
“Please, Molly. Maybe it’ll be different this time. Maybe we can convince her to get help.”
Molly laughed without the least bit of humor. Her sister was only
one year younger, yet sometimes she seemed to be much younger and so naïve. “You keep right on dreaming, Shawna.”
“Molly—”
“I have to go. Julian is waiting for me.”
She shut her phone, ending the conversation. Molly took several deep breaths to loosen the knot in her stomach and lump in her throat. Shawna could keep on believing their mother would change. Molly had given up on that a long time ago.
She waited a few more moments to be sure she wouldn’t cry before opening the door. She found Julian still in the kitchen. He’d sliced two pieces of pie and set them before the chairs at the island. Concern filled his eyes when he looked at her, but it disappeared when he smiled.
“I thought we’d have our dessert in here. That okay with you?”
“Sure.” She slid onto the chair where she’d sat earlier. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat very much with her stomach churning. Luckily Julian had cut her a small slice of pie. It was thick and creamy with chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. “It looks great.”
“My mom’s recipe. She throws together some weird concoctions, but they always turn out delicious.”
Molly picked up her fork. She clenched it to stop the trembling in her fingers. Everything became wavy before her eyes. Her throat burned. She swallowed several times to ease it, but it didn’t help. A tear slipped from her eye to flow down her cheek.
Julian’s warm palm squeezed her shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
His tender voice touched her heart. Another tear slid down her cheek. Julian wiped it off with his thumb.
“Talk to me, Molly. Maybe I can help.”
“You can’t. No one can.” Her voice came out raspy because of the tears clogging her throat. “Damn it,” she muttered as she swiped off another tear. “I’m sorry to ruin your evening, Julian.”
“You haven’t ruined anything.”
She pushed her saucer away from her. “I have to go.”
Molly made it one step before Julian took her arm and stopped her. “You aren’t going anywhere, not while you’re so upset.”
She kept her gaze lowered, afraid she’d really cry if she looked into Julian’s eyes.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong if you’d rather not, but you can’t drive now.” He leaned down and looked at her face. “I have a lot of DVDs. How about if I pour us another glass of wine and we watch a movie?”
“No more wine.” It didn’t seem right to have alcohol now when she’d just complained to Shawna about their mother’s drinking.
“Coke? 7-Up?”
“Coke will work.”
He smiled. “Coke it is. DVDs are in the shelves next to the TV. Pick out whatever you want to watch.”
Molly studied Julian’s extensive number of DVDs. Keefe had more titles than Molly had ever seen in a person’s house. Julian wasn’t far behind.
The selection of Star Trek movies grabbed her attention. She picked out the fourth one in the series and held it up for Julian to see. “Is this okay with you?”
“Sure.”
She inserted the disc into the player, then sat on the couch at the same time Julian did. He handed her a glass of cola with ice and picked up the DVD player remote from the coffee table. “I always like watching Kirk save the universe.” He pointed the remote at the player. “Let me know when you’re ready for popcorn.”
Molly studied his profile as he surfed through the menu. She’d almost fallen apart on him. A lot of guys would have shooed her out the door at the first sign of tears, yet he’d been kind and understanding.
She’d had lovers, but few of them had been gentlemen. Julian made her feel as if she mattered, that her feelings were truly important.
She could easily lose her heart to him.
Julian looked at her and grinned. “Ready to watch Kirk kick some butt?”
Molly returned his grin. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Five
By the time Kirk had figured out how to find the whales and save Earth, Julian lay slouched in the corner of the couch with his arm around Molly. She leaned against his side, her hand resting on his chest. He slowly stroked her back while he breathed in the flowery scent of her hair.
He’d thought she would be too short for him. Holding her close proved how perfectly they fit together.
She’d slipped off her shoes and pulled up her feet to the couch shortly after the movie started. Her toenails were painted a rusty orange color. He imagined nipping the tip of every one of her toes before he worked his way up her body…
Molly laughed, drawing his attention away from her toes and back to her face. She tilted her head on his shoulder and looked at him. “I love that line.”
He had no idea which line had been spoken. “What line?”
“Where Scotty says, ‘Let’s go find George and Gracie.’”
“Oh. Yeah.”
She moved her head farther back and her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You said it was okay to watch this movie.”
“It was. It is. I like it. I was just…preoccupied.”
“With what?”
“Your toenails.”
Her mouth opened and closed again before she spoke. “My toenails?”
“I was looking at them.”
She straightened one leg and arched her foot. That simple act sent blood rushing to his cock. “Why were you looking at my toenails?”
Even though they’d cuddled for the last ninety minutes, Julian didn’t know what would happen for the rest of the night. He wanted Molly. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about that. From the heated looks she’d given him all evening, and the way she’d curled up against him without hesitation, she must feel the same about him. But he wondered if she was ready for him to be completely honest.
He touched her hair, wrapped a thick curl around his finger. “I was thinking about nibbling on your toes.”
Her eyes widened a moment, then narrowed as she traced his lips with one fingertip. “You have a thing about nibbling on toes?”
“I have a thing about nibbling on you.”
“Do you?” The sultry look in her eyes sent a surge of desire to his cock. “You haven’t even kissed me.”
“Damn. What is wrong with me?”
“Maybe you could remedy your oversight?”
Cradling her jaw in his palm, he tilted up her face another inch. “Yeah. I think I can do that.”
Julian covered her lips with his. Satiny soft, with a hint of salt and butter from the popcorn they’d eaten a short while ago. He slid his lips across hers, first one way, then the other. He heard her breath catch, felt her clutch the front of his shirt. He deepened the kiss, using his tongue to trace the seam before venturing inside. He brushed his tongue across hers, a fleeting caress, then kissed each corner of her lips before lifting his mouth from hers.
Her eyes slowly opened. Julian saw heat and longing in the green depths.
“Wow,” she whispered. “It was worth the wait.”
“I’m glad you think so.” He ran his thumb back and forth across her chin. “Maybe we should do it some more.”
She nodded. Julian wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer to his body. Her soft breasts flattened against his chest. He longed to touch them, caress her nipples until they grew hard, suck them. He wanted to drop kisses down her stomach until he reached her mound. He wondered if he’d find red curls there or bare skin.
All the blood in his body flowed to his cock at that thought.
A whimpering moan came from Molly’s throat. Still kissing her, Julian rose to one knee and gently pushed her back on the couch. He followed her down, stretching out on top of her between her legs. She wrapped her legs around his hips, which lifted her pussy to touch his rod. Julian arched his hips and pressed harder against her warmth as he drove his tongue into her mouth. She nipped the tip of his tongue, sucked it into her mouth the way she would a cock.
; He expected kisses with Molly to be hot. He hadn’t expected them to be explosive.
Molly’s breathing became more choppy, her kisses more urgent. She tightened her knees at his hips and lifted her pelvis every time Julian pressed his cock between her thighs. His shaft grew thicker, harder, with each moan from Molly’s throat.
In danger of coming inside his jeans, Julian ended the kiss. He looked into Molly’s eyes, at her flushed cheeks, her pink lips. Her eyes glowed with desire.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered.
“I won’t.”
He had to kiss her once more before he rose to his knees. Molly’s sweater had crept up while they’d kissed. He could see a three-inch strip of her creamy stomach. Tunneling his hands beneath her sweater, he cradled lace-covered breasts while he dropped kisses on the bare skin.
Her small breasts filled his palms perfectly. He kneaded and squeezed, tickled the hard tips with his fingers.
“Julian,” she whispered, her voice ragged.
He lifted his head. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just…that. Touch me. Kiss me.”
He released her breasts and tugged her leggings down far enough to expose her navel. “Where do you want to be kissed? Here?” His lips brushed her tummy again. “Here?” He swiped his tongue across her navel. “Here?” Another tug exposed the top of her lacy panties. He kissed the spot where her panties met her skin.
Julian raised his head again to see Molly with her eyes closed, her lips parted. Her breasts rose and fell with her short, rapid breaths. He caught a whiff of her arousal when she shifted her hips. If he told her he wanted to fuck her right now, he didn’t doubt that she’d say yes.
He did, desperately. His cock was yelling at him to take her. Yet he didn’t want to rush this first time with Molly. Her climb to the heavens should be slow, gentle, until she couldn’t hold back her climax any longer and flew apart.
Julian rose to his knees once more. “Lift up.” Grasping the waistband of her leggings, he pulled them past her hips. He froze for a moment when he saw her sexy panties. They were cut high up on her hips and low in the front, forming a deep V beneath her navel. The sheer fabric let him clearly see through it. There weren’t any red curls.