When she relaxed with Blake and slid into the driver’s seat herself she was happy to flirt, to be playful and touch him in the way she wanted to. But when he responded, or tried to take control of the seduction, she panicked and pulled back, worried about her own ability to judge character and fearful that she could find herself in another Harry situation all over again.
Despite his macho exterior and devilish looks, Blake had proved to be anything but evil. His heart and his sensitive nature had surprised her, and so now it was time to repay that in kind. Wriggling out of her dress and then her underwear, Molly flipped her hair forward and ruffled it with her hands. On righting herself, she wrapped the towel around her body and held it at her cleavage. Without taking a risk she’d receive no reward, and she had to prove to herself that she could do this, that she could be open with another human being physically and emotionally. She chose to start with the former.
She had given her word, so with a long, calming breath, she exited the bathroom to seek him out again. When she got back to the living room, Blake was at the stereo holding a CD as he pressed play. A Norah Jones track filtered through the air and Blake turned the CD to scrutinise it as though he’d never seen it before.
‘Am I interrupting?’
Her question caused him to glance over his shoulder and observe her wrapped in the towel. Discarding the CD, he brought himself around to face in her direction.
‘If your dress isn’t under there then you’re about to make me th—‘
Molly didn’t let him finish his sentence. Parting the towel, she kept it in her tight grip, made all the stronger as she tried to prevent the vibration wracking through her hands to her body. Trying to appear sultry while so anxious was tough, and her pounding heart deafened her ears. She knew that her nerves had to be apparent to him, but he remained in frozen silence. Well not entirely frozen, she realised when she noticed the shift in his jeans, and satisfaction crept onto her lips.
‘Are you going to say something?’ Molly asked.
His throat moved in a swallow, his fingers twitched at his sides, and his lips began to move before any words were formed.
‘Anything else you need me to open?’ he croaked.
Molly laughed and closed the towel over to tuck it in at her chest. The action produced a groan from him that came from his gut.
‘No, wait,’ he said, dashing across the room to her. ‘I wasn’t done yet… Can I take a picture?’ The smile in his eyes was accompanied by a wink, and she knew that he wasn’t serious.
‘That wasn’t part of the agreement.’
Having paid her debt, Molly tried to back away, ready to put her clothes back on, but he got hold of her arms. ‘There are no words,’ he said, pulling her to him.
‘Your actions spoke for you,’ she said, lowering her attention.
‘I’m used to having that reaction to you when you’re clothed. I’m surprised I didn’t explode.’ He swooped toward her, set upon action, so she tipped her head to avert their mouths from uniting.
‘Don’t get any ideas. I was just fulfilling a promise.’
‘Let’s make more promises,’ he grumbled, and released her.
In a flash, he had his tee-shirt over his head and off across the room, then his hands went to his belt, so she shrieked.
‘No!’ she howled through her laughter. ‘What the hell kind of date is this?’
‘The kind I hope to repeat time and time again for a long time.’ He unbuckled his belt and tugged the buttons of his jeans loose.
‘I’m not that kind of girl!’ she gasped. Tears of hilarity were running down her cheeks as he struggled to kick his boots from his feet.
‘You’re naked, Sugar.’
‘I’m wearing a towel!’
Again, he seized her hand and yanked her body to his. ‘Not for long, if I get my way,’ he grumbled into her hair.
Molly pushed her palms against his solid chest and relished in the feel of his naked skin beneath her hands. This kind of behaviour was reckless. She didn’t know what had possessed her to flash him like that, except she never reneged on a promise, even one made while intoxicated. For some reason she enjoyed knowing the effect she had on him. It excited her to excite him. Being intimate with him didn’t scare her, but she wasn’t sure that she was ready to give up the thrill of him.
Their relationship had progressed so quickly, no doubt because of the intense circumstances of the robbery last night, and because of their scorching attraction. Everything between them was new and wild, and a part of her wanted to hold onto that. If she gave in and slept with him, the sheen would dull, and the lust would fizzle. Right now, she liked the desire he displayed in his wild nature. When he was overwhelmed like this, he made her feel like the most beautiful and sexy woman on the planet.
The screech of her cell phone halted his advance on her lips, and they both glared in the direction of her purse, which lay on the couch.
‘Ignore it,’ Blake begged, and tasted her neck.
The warmth of his mouth on her neck made her sigh. It sent tremors down through every inch of her, and the thumping emanating from between her legs told her that without this distraction, she would be filled with him in the next few minutes. This maelstrom of hormones and emotions would leave her powerless to refuse him.
While clinging onto her towel, Molly tried to wriggle from his arms, but he groaned and tried to grab for her. She managed to avoid his grasp and made her way to the couch, casting a smile over her shoulder as she picked up her purse and retrieved her phone.
‘Hello?’
‘Are you ok? You sound a bit breathy.’
‘Vanessa?’ Molly asked, and sat on the couch.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt, but uh… you have to come back.’
‘Why?’ Molly asked. ‘Is everything alright?’
‘I don’t know, but uh…’
‘Spit it out, Nessa.’
‘The cops are here.’
‘What?’ Molly yelled, startled by the last thing she’d expected her employee to say. ‘Why?’
‘Something about an incident last night?’ Vanessa said. ‘What happened?’
Molly’s focus rose to Blake, who was leaning against the wall between the kitchen and the hall with his thumbs hooked into his jeans. He scanned her body and she knew that he was replaying the image she’d given him of what was beneath the rectangle of terrycloth presently around her, but that was the last thing on her mind.
‘What did they say?’ Molly asked.
‘They have to talk to you. They need a statement.’
‘A statement? Why?’
‘I don’t know. Look, just get back here. They are creeping around like they own the place, and they want to go upstairs. Mason is here. He and Joel tried to get rid of them, but… they really want to talk to you.’
‘Shit,’ Molly breathed. ‘Fine, I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ She hung up the phone and tossed it back into her purse.
‘Everything ok?’ Blake asked.
‘No!’ she screamed, and grabbed her hair in her fists.
‘What?’ He straightened up and frowned at her, becoming aware of her agitation.
‘I have to go home.’
‘Now?’
‘Yes, now!’ she said, and marched into the bathroom. Throwing the door closed, she began to dress.
‘What happened?’ Blake shouted through the door.
‘Exactly what I didn’t want to happen,’ she said while pulling on her dress. ‘Can you call me a taxi?’
‘I’ll drive you. Are you going to tell me what happened?’
Now decent again, she threw aside the bathroom door and stormed past him. Grabbing up his tee-shirt from the floor, she threw it at him. ‘The cops.’
Blake faltered while putting on his tee-shirt when she uttered the dreaded words. She wasn’t any happier than he was about this development, and she began to pace out her frustration.
‘What about them?’ he asked.
‘
They’re at the bar.’
‘Why?’
‘Something about last night. I have no idea how they could possibly know what happened. Those scumbags don’t strike me as the type to have a crisis of conscience and turn themselves in.’
‘What do the cops want?’ Blake asked, refastening his jeans.
‘A statement! Of all things! Why would I give them a statement? I didn’t even report it.’
‘Sure.’
‘Let’s go,’ Molly said, and marched to the door without waiting for him. The cops were in her bar, questioning her employees, snooping around. How typical it was that this should happen on the one night she chose to throw caution to the wind and take a risk.
‘You don’t have to come in,’ Molly said, when Blake pulled up at the kerb outside Ashton’s. ‘I know you didn’t want to see them last night.’
‘I don’t want to send you in alone,’ Blake said.
‘Mason is in there, as are Joel and Vanessa. And I’m not telling the cops anything.’
‘Maybe you should just tell them what happened. Give them a statement.’
‘If I do that then they will want to talk to you too,’ she said.
‘I can talk to them,’ Blake said.
Talking to them would be easy enough, but he’d have to do it on his own time, because there was no way that he could walk into that bar with her right now. The chances were that he would be faced with at least two uniformed officers, both of whom would probably know him. They obviously would have no knowledge about his assignment here, and so they would blow his cover in seconds.
A possibility existed that his name had already come up. The uniforms shouldn’t be giving any case details to Ashton’s staff or patrons, but it wasn’t like they always dutifully adhered to protocol.
‘No,’ Molly said, drawing in a breath, and gazing at the front door of her building. ‘I’ll just go in there and get rid of them.’
‘Ok,’ he said. If this was any other situation, then he would be putting up more of a fight to be with her, and it tortured him that tonight he had to abandon her when this caused her such grief. Sliding his hand under her hair to the back of her neck, Blake guided her toward him and kissed her temple. ‘Will you call me when you’re done?’
‘I don’t have your number,’ she said.
He grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen from the door well to scribble down his numbers, then he squashed it into her hand and offered her a smile. She tried to force one to her mouth, but he saw the battle of anxiety within her.
Facing the cops would bring back old memories. It pained him that this was so difficult for her. The fact that this was an unpleasant experience was bad enough, but witnessing her apprehension reminded him of his own deception. He was one of these people who caused her anguish too. It made him speculate about how she would react when she found out the truth, because it would have to come out eventually.
Her hand moved up his chest, where she gripped his tee-shirt and pulled his mouth to hers, using his strength to bolster her own. The kiss was brief, but it was enough to make his chest constrict.
‘I’ll talk to you soon,’ he said. She nodded and left the car.
He followed her progress across the street until she reached her door, where she paused and pushed her shoulders back to shake her hair down her back before she ventured in. The moment the door closed at her back, Blake leapt for his cell phone and used speed dial. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
‘Keane.’
‘What the fuck happened?’
‘Carson—‘
‘Don’t give me that bullshit, Keane!’ Blake said. ‘There are two uniforms in Ashton’s right now! They’re going to blow this!’
‘No!’ Jason said. ‘We didn’t send them in. They don’t know about the assignment. They thought it was routine.’
‘Get them out of there! Now! If one of them so much as mentions my name… on either side—‘
‘I’m the arresting officer,’ Jason said. ‘Your name is not in the report… shouldn’t be in the report.’
‘Shouldn’t? You’re basing the outcome of a murder investigation on a maybe?’
‘I’ll get them out of there,’ Jason mumbled.
‘Damn right! And get the hell out of my house! Your place is a sty; I’m not staying there tonight! I was worried that Mol and I would catch something.’
‘Right!’ Jason said. ‘On it.’
Blake disconnected and threw the phone to the passenger seat. He’d kept a lid on his own frustration while he’d been with Molly, and he let it out now in a long growl. Throwing the car into gear he did the last thing that he wanted to do right now, and drove away from Ashton’s bar.
Molly tapped her foot on the kitchen floor and glared at the officer in front of her. Bringing them back here made her nauseous, but she didn’t want them anywhere near her customers, so this was the lesser of two evils.
‘If we could just—‘Officer Banks started.
‘No,’ Molly said. ‘I told you that I am not making a statement. You can put your little notepads away and get the hell out of my bar!’
‘You are required to make a statement if—‘
She cut off Officer Lee too. ‘No! How many different ways do I have to say it?’
Officer Banks opened his mouth, but his radio crackled into the tense air causing his words to remain lodged. He pressed a button to talk and then listen, so Molly turned her back on him, trying to block this experience from her mind. The words “code” and “out” drifted to her, and she heard vague reference to “Carson”. But the officers had retreated from her position, so she wasn’t sure what was going on. When she turned back to them, she glared harder. More static carried from the radio, but the previously cocky officers were now transparent, and they stared at her with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
‘We have to go now, Miss Ashton,’ Officer Lee said.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’m glad someone got through to you.’
‘Sorry to take up your time,’ Officer Banks said.
‘Ok then, go!’
She stayed on their heels all the way into the hall, but when they reached for the door to the bar, she halted them with a hand on the wood.
‘You’re not parading through my bar again,’ she said, and nodded to the residential exit. ‘Goodbye!’
Neither officer objected to her order. They went to the indicated door, and Banks opened it. ‘He’s going to have our balls, isn’t he?’ Lee mumbled to Banks. ‘That guy terrifies me.’
Molly only caught a whisper of his words, but they made her frown. There was no time to wonder at what had transpired. A growl vibrated her throat and her hands rose to squeeze her hair in her fists. She was tired, frustrated, and angry. Just ripe for going off the deep end at someone.
Contact with the police always did this to her. She hated the sight of them and everything they represented. The whole system was a sham; her experience with them had taught her that. Whoever it was set up to protect, it wasn’t the public. All the police wanted to do was keep tabs on everyone for the government, as far as she was concerned at least.
Turning her attention to the bar, she marched straight into the centre of the space and scowled at all the nosey faces surrounding her.
‘Out,’ she said.
‘What?’ Vanessa asked from behind the bar. ‘What happened with the police?’
‘Out!’ Molly screamed. ‘I want everyone out of here now!’
Customers began a rabble of mumbling. ‘Molly.’ Mason came toward her, but she held out her hands.
‘Everyone! Everyone out now!’ It was early, but she didn’t want these people in her home anymore. It felt like an intrusion on top of her violation of last night, leaving her wholly unsettled. ‘I won’t say it again! Go!’
The customers grumbled, but they exited or came to the bar where Vanessa rushed to close out the couple of open tabs. When all of the customers were out the door, Vanessa grabbed her purse. Mason
held the door open until everyone except he and Vanessa had vacated.
‘Are you sure you don’t want company?’ Vanessa asked.
‘Get out of here, Nessa, please,’ Molly said.
Vanessa kissed her cheek and then skipped to the door. Molly caught Mason’s eye, but she couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t look at anyone. His tortured eyes slid from hers, and the door closed with a bang. Molly ran across the room, turned off all the lights, and flipped the bolts across the door.
With a cleansing exhale, she fell back against the wall and slid down to the floor to cover her face with her hands. Seeing the police always upset her, because it brought back horrible memories of how they lost Cal and how horribly the cops treated them.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of what she had said to Blake that night. A curse lay across her shoulders, of that she was sure. Hurting people, and losing them, had become a common occurrence for her. Losing hold of her posture, she slumped onto her side on the floor. Then letting the tears come, she curled into a ball and wished that just for once, the tension would leave her alone for a night.
He never got the chance to get home, on his way there his cell phone had rung. Finally Brandon had returned his call. So instead of chatting it up on the phone Blake went straight over to his brother’s place, which was only a couple of miles from his. He sat at Brandon’s breakfast bar with Lucy and his brother, but he kept tapping his finger beside his phone, then checking the battery level.
‘Your work is your life,’ Brandon said. ‘You know it wouldn’t hurt you to take a night off. How about this weekend?’
‘No,’ Blake said.
Brandon and Lucy sat together opposite him. They’d been together for ten years, and yet still sat next to each other, with linked hands, exchanging the odd sappy look like they were new lovers.
Lucy lunged over the bar and snatched hold of his phone, causing Blake to get up and reach over to try and snatch it back. ‘Whose call are you waiting for?’ Lucy asked, trying to access his handset. ‘Is it a pretty girl?’
‘Yeah, your mom, she says hi by the way,’ Blake said, cursing his brother when Brandon batted his hand away from Lucy.
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