Matchmaker (DS Fight Club Book 7)

by Josie Kerr

  Buddy knew there was something off about that guy. He’d met him at the PTO meeting and instantly disliked him, but Buddy had thought it was just his own insecurities coming into play. However, Molly’s body language when she talked about him set off every domestic-abuse alarm in Buddy’s head. He knew the signs. Hell, he’d lived with a vicious abuser for the first eighteen years of his life. He couldn’t see Boone being the type that would knock a woman’s teeth out, but he could imagine that he’d be a grabber, a pincher, or one of the more insidious types of abusers. Yeah, he could see why she was gun-shy.

  But then Molly had completely won him over by talking about how she didn’t want to jeopardize her relationship with Lucy or endanger Lucy’s relationship with either of her parents by getting involved with him. Buddy could have kissed her right then. He didn’t, but, man, he wanted to, especially when she darted her tongue out to lick a tiny bit of lemon crème off her lip. His cock had sprung to attention, attention, and he’d had to stall for a few long moments—until he’d gotten things back under control—before they got up to leave. He’d still been sporting a semi when they’d left, but he didn’t think it was that noticeable.

  “Okay, Peter, you need to just simmer down. Good grief.” Buddy was tempted to jack off, just to get a little bit of relief, but he didn’t think it would make much of a difference. He was probably going to be a little bit miserable the whole time. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing; it’d sure keep him alert.

  Buddy dressed, making sure he’d put on the tightest pair of underpants he owned, and with a final look in the mirror, he gave himself a thumbs-up, grabbed his keys, and headed to the restaurant.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Molly sat on the patio at an umbrella-bedecked table, facing the entranceway so she could see Buddy. They’d had a good discussion that morning, even though she had a sneaking suspicion that Buddy knew she wasn’t being completely honest about her relationship with Boone. She planned on rectifying that little lie of omission during dinner; after all, it was only fair for Buddy to be prepared for whatever ridiculousness Boone was going to throw in his way, since Boone Cash was exactly the sort of person to take his frustrations out on someone who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation.

  Simmer down, Molly. Otherwise, you’re going to be a big, sweaty, spazzy mess by the time he gets here, she told herself. Hell, she was already sweaty. The fall afternoon had warmed up considerably from when they sat on the sidewalk outside the doughnut shop. She plucked her shirt away from her chest and fanned herself with the menu until she caught a glimpse of Buddy as he came from the parking lot. She waved to him, hoping desperately that she merely glistened, as opposed to resembling a drowned rat. He grinned at her and disappeared around the corner to come into the restaurant.

  Molly choked on her sip of water as Buddy strode through the door, all self-confidence and alertness. If she didn’t know better, Molly would swear that Buddy was ex-military. He possessed that watchfulness she’d come to associate with that kind. And he moved like a military man, but she supposed that was the fighter in him: light on his feet and lightning quick. He’d taken her breath away during a few demonstrations in her self-defense class with his speed. He was so fast. She remembered one particular day when Colin had been explaining how fast someone could overpower you if you weren’t paying attention. Molly had been in the first row, watching the big former champion pace back and forth across the front of the classroom, and Buddy had come up behind her, put a hand on her waist, and whispered, “Boo!” in her ear as he wrapped a big hand around her throat. She’d screamed and almost wet herself with fear. She’d also forgotten every technique she’d learned during the previous weeks until she finally recovered and stomped on his foot. He’d grunted and then murmured, “Good girl,” in her ear.

  Those two words made her panties wet for a totally different reason, and Molly began to fan herself again, remembering the hard heat of his chest against her back and his warm breath on her neck. She shifted in her chair as he moved toward her. He was a very handsome man. Who knew olive drab could look so good? That T-shirt pulled across his broad chest just right, and those jeans? They molded to his muscular thighs. His muscles rippling underneath the dark blue denim completely mesmerized her. It was a wonder she wasn’t drooling.

  “Hey.” She swallowed hard. Actually, she might be drooling, because he arched an eyebrow at her when she locked eyes with him as he lowered himself into the seat next to her.

  A rumbly chuckle escaped him. “Hey yourself, Molly.” He leaned back in the chair and crossed one arm over his chest, which made that T-shirt stretch even tighter over his pecs.

  Oh, sweet Jesus. You have got to get a grip, Molly.

  She pulled herself together while Buddy got a waiter’s attention, and had regained some semblance of proper deportment by the time he’d ordered a drink and an appetizer. They sat in silence until the waiter put a glass of iced tea in front of Buddy.

  “So, I didn’t tell you the whole story this morning,” Molly began.

  “I know.”

  “What? You do?”

  Buddy chuckled again. “Darlin’, you don’t make your living pairing up people if you can’t read them, and every little thing about your body language this morning told me that while you weren’t lying, you sure as hell weren’t telling me the truth.” He took a sip of tea. “Mmm. That’s good iced tea. Now, you gonna tell me the whole story about that jackass Boone Cash?”

  Molly sighed, but then Buddy took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. “Tell me, Molly.”

  So she told him, not leaving anything out—not one ugly, humiliating detail, including their confrontation after the Fall Funfest. She watched Buddy as she recounted all the craziness that resulted from her relationship with Boone, and the more she told him, the more furious the man sitting next to her became.

  When she stopped talking, he didn’t say anything for a moment, but then, in a quiet, deadly voice, he said, “Let me see your legs.”

  Molly hiked up the legs of her jeans, showing him the cuts and scrapes. Buddy grasped one calf and gently lifted it up, closely examining her injuries before moving to the other leg and doing the same.

  “It’s not too bad. I mean, I don’t need stitches or anything.”

  “Has he done anything to make you need stitches?”

  She shook her head, her face flaming. God, this is so humiliating. “No.”

  “Good.” He inhaled deeply and blew out a big breath before cupping her face in his hands. “You didn’t cause any of this. You know that, right? This is all on that asshole, one hundred percent.”

  “Come to my house,” Molly blurted before she lost her nerve. “I want you to come to my house. Right now.”

  By the look on his handsome face, she thought he was going to say no, but then he grinned. Buddy stood up and took a few bills out of his wallet and threw them onto the table. Then he held out his hand and motioned for her to take it.

  “Sure thing, darlin’.”

  They walked to the parking lot, and Molly was very conscious of Buddy’s hand on her lower back, and even more so about the finger that stroked the strip of bared skin right above her waistband. She shivered, and Buddy stopped.

  “You good?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’m good.”

  “Excellent.” He nodded at a beat-up pickup truck. “This is me. The fact that there was a parking spot right next to you is a sign, I think.”

  With that statement, all Molly’s misgivings melted away, and she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Buddy touched the spot where she kissed him. “What was that for?”

  “Because.” He arched an eyebrow at her, questioning, and she just shrugged a shoulder. “Just because. I’ll see you at my place, okay?”

  “Oh yeah, sure thing.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Buddy sat in his truck in Molly’s driveway and watched her get out of her car. Damn, she was gorgeo
us, and he didn’t have a clue as to what she saw in a baggage-laden chump like him. She stopped halfway up the sidewalk, turned, and gave him a look that had his cock hardening.

  Fuck.

  Was that what she wanted? Was this a good idea? He had absolutely no friggin’ clue, but he was damn sure that he was going to investigate it fully. Molly crooked a finger at him before turning and continuing to the door, hips swinging. Those jeans fit her perfectly, highlighting her full ass. Damn. She turned around again and cocked a hip out.

  “Well, come on!” she called across the yard, and Buddy was out of the car like a shot. He could hear her laughing as he jogged up to meet her. Her giggling faded when Buddy got in her space, so close that she had to crane her neck up to look at him. “Um, remember, Lou’s a little exuberant, especially with someone she doesn’t really know.”

  “Yep, Lou’s kind of hard to forget.” Buddy bent down and ghosted a kiss across her mouth and jaw. “Oh yeah, I want some more of this.” He sealed his mouth over hers and pulled her closer to him. She tightened her arms around his back as he continued to explore her mouth with his tongue, finally letting out a little moan as he moved his attention to her neck.

  “We need to go inside. I have really nosy neighbors,” she murmured against his mouth. She stepped back, turned, and put her key in the lock, and Buddy couldn’t resist stepping up behind her and sliding his hands over her hips to rest on her belly.

  Damn, shouldn’t have done that. He officially had a hard-on, and it was going to be really difficult for him not to be obnoxious once they got inside the house.

  “Ready?”

  Hell, am I ever. “Yeah.”

  Molly opened the door, and they went inside. Lou was sitting on her futon, head up and alert, but when she spied Molly, the giant mastiff scrambled off her perch and ran toward the couple, slowing down just in time to not knock Molly over. Molly spent the next minutes paying attention to Lou and getting her food and water, so Buddy began to examine to the bookshelves that lined one wall. Books and knickknacks, along with a cluster of framed photos, filled the shelves. Buddy stepped up to take a closer look at the photos. They were all of Molly, her parents, and Lou except for one empty frame.

  “This year’s class photo goes in that frame. Normally I leave the previous year’s photo in until I get a new one, but I just couldn’t this time.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I know I shouldn’t have let this Boone situation ruin everything, but somehow it just got away from me, and now I can’t seem to get away from him. Boone told me that he got me this job, that he was responsible for me even having a job, period.”

  “The fuck? Molly, look at me.” He nudged her chin with his thumb until she met his gaze. “Don’t forget he’s the reason you lost your job in the first place. This school system is really competitive; the teachers are the best in the state, and Hembree Springs is one of the best schools in the district. You know that principal wouldn’t have hired you if she didn’t think you were top-notch, no matter who recommended you. So forget about that jackass. It’s obvious you love kids and teaching. Don’t let him take that from you.”

  Buddy gathered her in his arms and held her tight until she stepped back.

  “I seem to have spent the majority of our date talking about other men,” Molly said with a semi-hysterical laugh. “That’s . . . obnoxious.”

  Buddy shook his head. He didn’t know what to say, what to do, or what she wanted from him. So he just continued to hold her hands clasped in his until she stepped close to him again and slid her arms around his neck. Buddy lowered his face to hers and then paused, sensing her hesitation. But she surprised him by kissing him aggressively, and he gave in, lifting her off the ground and holding her tightly to him while she wrapped her legs around his waist. Buddy made it over to her couch and collapsed backward when his knees hit the edge.

  Molly pulled back, her breathing heavy. Buddy stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.

  “You’re beautiful, you know?” he said, trailing his fingers over her cheek and down her neck to rest on her pulse that thrummed at the base of her throat. “So beautiful.”

  Buddy nuzzled the side of her neck, inhaling her scent. What was that? It reminded him of something, but he didn’t quite know what. He was getting ready to ask her when he heard a low moan and a big splat of drool hit him in the face.

  “Lou!” Molly scrambled to sit up, and Buddy turned his head to find himself nose to nose with Molly’s giant mastiff. “I think she’s jealous. I . . . don’t have people over very much.”

  Lou moaned again and laid her head on Buddy’s chest. “Oh, girl, I’m not going to take Molly away, okay?” He rubbed the massive dog’s ears. “But I would like to share her with you. Is that all right?”

  Buddy thought he saw the dog roll her eyes. She snorted and gave him a big lick before getting up and going to her futon. Buddy looked around Molly and met Lou’s eyes. “Oh, now you’re going to pout, huh?”

  Molly laughed and collapsed against Buddy’s chest. “Oh God. Totally clam-jammed by a dog.”

  “ ‘Clam-jammed’?”

  “The female version of a cockblock.” She giggled and shrugged a shoulder.

  Molly ran her fingers over Buddy’s beard, and he lay completely still, with his eyes closed, reveling in her touch. Her soft curves pressed against his chest as she stretched back out on top of him. He felt the tight tips of her nipples through her thin T-shirt, and Buddy ran his hands over her rump and up to the small of her waist, his fingers touching her warm, bare skin. He could smell her shampoo and that other scent, the one he couldn’t quite place, but Molly’s lips and teeth on his jaw distracted him from trying to identify that mystery.

  She rocked her hips against him, not grinding, but almost, and Buddy let out a groan of his own. She froze, but Buddy, realizing that she misinterpreted what he wanted, what he needed, rocked up into her with his hips as he wound his fingers in her dark hair and kissed her hard.

  “Molly,” he whispered between kisses, and she answered him by nibbling on his earlobe. Fuck. “Girl, you’re making me nuts.”

  “Same,” she whispered and returned her mouth to his.

  Buddy slid a hand beneath the waistband of her jeans and dipped his fingers under the elastic of her panties. Her breathing changed, but she didn’t tell him to stop. His fingers dug into the plump flesh of her ass, and he ground up into her. Her breath caught, and Buddy moved his attention to her jaw, peppering it with baby kisses as he slid his hand from her rump around the soft curve of her hip.

  “Sit up, baby,” he whispered, and she obeyed. Buddy opened his eyes then and found Molly with hers shut and her mouth slightly agape, her lips flushed and swollen from his kisses. Buddy popped the button of her jeans and began to slide the zipper down, watching her carefully. She still didn’t open her eyes, and she seemed to be holding her breath. He ran his hands over her shoulders, down to caress her breasts, and then back to her hips. He could see the very top of her panties peeking out from where he had unzipped her jeans—plain cotton, light pink, and completely, utterly sexy. He dragged his finger along the elastic and then unzipped her jeans the rest of the way. Sucking in a ragged breath, because he was about to explode with need, Buddy slid his thumb beneath the soft cotton and over her mound to find the small bundle of nerves that he knew could send her to the moon.

  “Is this okay?” He watched her closely as he brushed his thumb over the nub. Molly’s breath caught, and she ground up against his hand, which was enough of an answer for him. He increased the pressure and the speed of his ministrations, delighting in her obvious pleasure. She rocked her hips faster, and Buddy thrust his own hips up into her, the hand that wasn’t working her clit, digging into the flesh of her hip. He worked faster and faster, and then Molly almost made him nut by pulling up her shirt and beginning to circle and pluck her nipples in time with his strokes.

  Then her eyes flew open, and she leaned down and kissed him, hard, wiggling and squirming
against him. Buddy gripped her ass and ground into her, and as her breath caught with the beginnings of her climax, Molly dragged her nail across one of his nipples and gave it a twist. That was all it took to send him over. Buddy pulled her head down to his and sealed her mouth with a hot kiss as the final waves of their bliss subsided. He slowly relaxed his grip on her, and their kisses moved from frantic to languid.

  “Thank you,” she whispered and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

  “My pleasure,” he answered and then chuckled. “Believe me. Whew.”

  He heard her snicker, and then her body began to quake with laughter. Soon they were both laughing so hard they were almost crying, so close that Lou barked from her futon.

  “Oh God, sorry for the show, Lou.” Molly guffawed and buried her face in the crook of Buddy’s neck. He squeezed her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “That was really nice, Buddy.”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  Molly’s face hovered over his as she propped herself on her elbows. “Are you going to be weird now? Is this going to be weird? Because I don’t want this to be weird.”

  Buddy snorted. “It’s not going to be weird.” He smoothed her hair down where it was sticking up. “Not weird at all. Just making out with my daughter’s teacher while a hundred-fifty-pound dog watches. Not weird at all.”

  Molly groaned as she fell back on the couch, away from Buddy. He chuckled and sat up, and damn if he wasn’t getting hard again, looking at her all sprawled out with her clothes halfway off. Damn.

  “What are you thinking?” She had a little, satisfied smile on her face, and Buddy wished they had more time, time for him to really pleasure her, make her sweat and scream.