Just This Once

by Mira Lyn Kelly

  He wet his lips and leaned down close enough to her breast that she could feel his breath, then looking back up into her eyes, he said, “Did you want something, Molly?”

  Oh God, he was playing with her. Teasing her when he knew they might be caught at any second. She should be pissed. Railing at him.

  Instead, she gave another half-hearted tug at her wrist, bit her lip, and nearly moaned when all it earned her was Sean’s raised brow and tightening hold.

  Her hips moved forward in a restless shift, a fact that did not escape Sean. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared. “Eh, eh, Molly. We can play more of this game later, baby, but for now…just say it.”

  She shuddered at the sound of his voice and the pushy directive that shouldn’t be making her ache the way it was. “In your mouth, Sean. Please.”

  “Fuck, that’s hot,” he growled a second before covering her breast and swirling the warm, wet tip of his tongue over her nipple. After a deep suck that had her breath fracturing above his head, he switched to her other breast and did the same.

  So good. And over way too soon. Because then Sean was releasing her wrists with a gentle kiss on each one before carefully straightening her bra and fixing her shirt for her.

  Ever the gentleman…just when he’d shown her how much she liked his darker side.

  Sean stepped back, and she caught him by the belt.

  “Not so fast, Wyse.”

  Again with that arched golden brow, only this time, the look on his face was surprised rather than smug. She liked it almost as much.

  “My turn.” Rather than even try to hold his wrists, she pointed to his chest and leveled him with a look. “Stay.”

  The corner of Sean’s mouth twitched, his eyes burning hot as she let her fingers drift down the center of his chest to his fly.

  She tugged at his belt, earning her a look of pure alarm.

  The brat in her couldn’t resist. “Just for a second,” she promised, easing his zipper down as she dropped into a low crouch.

  “Molly,” he warned, his voice gone satisfyingly hoarse.

  But she already had her hands on him, pulling his rapidly growing shaft from the confines of his boxer briefs.

  A shudder ran through him as she waited, his cock a bare inch from her lips. Looking up from beneath her lashes, she definitely understood the appeal of this game.

  “Say it.”

  He groaned, sliding his fingers into her hair, sifting through and then gently gripping again. “Your mouth. Please.”

  Heat surged though her center. Parting her lips, she took him in, sliding down his shaft as far as she could go. A string of hoarse expletives sounded over her head, and she smiled, easing back until she left him with one final lick of the tip.

  Standing up, she dusted her hands on her thighs and grinned as though she weren’t every bit as affected as he was. More so.

  “You ready to get back?” she asked cheekily.

  Before she could react, Sean reached out and, catching her by the back of the neck, dragged her into a kiss that turned her knees to jelly and her brain to mush. When he let her go, he shook his head.

  “Not really, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to exact the kind of revenge that deserves here in the state park.”

  * * *

  They’d taken the tents down and packed up most of their supplies before the hike, so things moved quickly once they got back to the campground. The cars were loaded, Brody’s grill and umpteen coolers secured in the truck. Molly started walking over to Emily and Sarah’s car for the ride home.

  “We’re stopping at the outlets on the way back. You game?” Sarah asked.

  Molly stopped where she was, dread cementing her feet in place. “The outlets.” She hated shopping, but Emily and Sarah loved it almost as much as they loved their husbands. “For how long?”

  Then Sean was there, one hand on her shoulder as he pulled her back into his side. “Molly can ride with us. You girls have fun.”

  She turned in to him, finding it harder and harder not to just lean in to his chest and rest her head there. “My hero.”

  “You know it, baby.”

  * * *

  The ride home after camping was always quieter than the ride up. Jase and Sean sat up front, listening to a game on the satellite radio, while Molly sat in the back, surrounded by the coolers and extra camping gear cleared out of the girls’ car to leave trunk space for shopping.

  Jase dropped Molly first. The gear was mostly Sean’s, so she didn’t need anyone to help her get up to her place, which meant she wouldn’t get a chance to see Sean alone. No kiss goodbye. No plans. Just an all-too-convincing wave from the far side of the passenger seat. Nothing to tip Jase off. Nothing to reassure her about what came next.

  Upstairs, she dumped her dirty clothes into her laundry bag and checked her phone. Nothing, but why would there be? They’d said goodbye less than ten minutes before. He and Max probably hadn’t even gotten to the storage place.

  This was ridiculous. She’d see Sean at work tomorrow night or the next day. He’d call or text like he always did. Because them being together together didn’t change anything except that in addition to hanging out in their spare time the way they already did, they’d be having sex on the regular too.

  Only somehow, she didn’t believe that.

  From where she was sitting, everything felt different.

  Maybe she should just text him. Or call. See if hearing his voice would reassure her some.

  This was pathetic. She plugged in her phone to charge beside the bed and left it there while she went to shower. When the last of the dirt and sand had been scrubbed clean, she pulled on a pair of clean, soft sweats, rolled at the cuffs, and a Wyse Hotels T-shirt.

  One glance at her phone was all she gave herself. No missed calls or texts. She rubbed a hand over her anxious belly, feeling stupid for not just calling. For being this undone over a guy.

  Except this wasn’t just any guy. This was Sean. The guy she’d loved for more years than she wanted to admit. The guy she’d finally gotten over. The guy who in one weekend had managed to undo all her hard work and break down the walls around her heart, turning her into a giant, steaming pile of squish.

  Three days, and she was back where she’d been at sixteen, at twenty. She was in love with him, staring at the phone, willing it to ring. Praying he would feel the same way she did.

  Only this time, it was worse. Because this time, Sean was telling her he wanted her too. This time, he was letting her believe there was a chance. This time, he’d given her just enough to tear down the walls around her heart and leave her vulnerable and exposed. Breakable.

  The worst thing about it was that she knew better.

  Sean wanted her, for now. There was no questioning that fact. Yet a part of her couldn’t help feeling as though, despite his assurances that it wasn’t the case, maybe what was happening between them had more to do with his family than it did with her.

  What if he was reacting to his parents’ betrayal? What if it really was some not-quite-midlife rebellion…because, yeah, she could understand how learning that his perfect family had been a farce might make a guy feel like he wanted to run as far and fast from the footsteps he’d been following as he could get. But eventually, Sean was going to slow down and catch his breath. Eventually, he was going to stop running altogether and take a hard look at what he wanted his future to look like. And Molly just couldn’t believe it was her.

  The front door to her apartment swung open, and she dropped her phone on the couch as she jerked to her feet. Sean stalked in, throwing the door closed behind him as he crossed to her and, in one swift motion, caught her in his arms to deliver a crushing kiss. Her arms flew around his neck, her fingers finding their way into his hair as she melted into him.

  “Molly, this has to end,” he growl
ed against her neck, tightening his hold and lifting so her feet dangled as he carried her back to the bedroom.

  End? Her heart stopped. “What?”

  “You’ve gotta let me tell them.” He tossed her back on the bed, following her down and covering her with his body. “Do you have any idea how fucking hard it was not to touch you? Not to just tell Jase to drop us together at my place?”

  Her breath rushed out, and her heart started to beat again.

  He caught her face in his hands, those gorgeous eyes of his searching hers. “Tell me you’re okay with them knowing. Tell me—”

  “I missed you,” she gasped, arching up for his kiss, a desperation she’d never felt before rising within her, making her hands shake and her breath fracture. She pulled at his clothes, rolling over so she was on top, begging him to touch her, groaning when he did and his urgency surpassed even her own. And then he was inside her, filling her with one powerful thrust after another, telling her how beautiful she was, how much he wanted her, how fucking good she felt around him, and how he was never going to let her go.

  It was too much. Everything she needed to hear. And for that moment, she even let herself believe.

  After, when they were lying together, the sweat drying on their bodies, she lifted her head from Sean’s chest and met his eyes. “I really missed you,” she whispered, hating how true it was almost as much as she needed to say it. “I was standing in here, aching because I didn’t know when I’d get to see you again. Wishing I’d been able to kiss you goodbye.” She swallowed. “But I’m not ready to tell anyone about us.”

  Sean nodded, the corner of his mouth that always seemed to be hauling the rest of his face around angled down. “I get it. You need time.”

  “I need some time with you. Alone.”

  Brushing a bit of her hair back from her face, he added, “So you have a chance to see how we are separate from everyone else.”

  She nodded, praying he could understand.

  Snaking his arms around her, he dragged her up and over him. “I’ve been waiting a long time to feel like this about a woman. And the fact that it’s you, Molly… I can’t even tell you how amazing that is. Sure, I want to be able to touch you or kiss you without having to check whether there’s anyone watching, but you better believe I want time for us alone too.” He rested his hands on her hips. “It’s not just about the sex though. Don’t get me wrong, being inside you is off the charts. But I want us to be alone, because I’ve always liked it being just the two of us maybe a little more than I should have. And most of all, I want you to feel as right about us as I do.”

  “Does it feel different to you?” she asked, not sure what she wanted the answer to be. “I mean, hanging out now. Does it feel as comfortable…as natural, as it did before?”

  His brows furrowed as he considered. But then he shrugged. “It’s different, I guess. But in a good way. Moll, I know you’re nervous, but we’re not losing us, okay?”

  When they were together like this, she wanted so much to believe.

  He brushed a thumb over her bottom lip. “Just give it a chance. That’s all I’m asking.”

  She looked down at this man she loved and nodded. She’d give him anything he asked for.

  Chapter 17

  Sean’s dart sailed through the air, neatly closing out 20s when it hit.

  Brody jumped off his chair, pumping his fist in the air a few times. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about, Wyse. This is why I love your ass.”

  Sean grinned, bumping knuckles with his teammate and taking the grudging congrats from Emily and Jase for the victories they were. Sarah and Max hadn’t bothered looking up from the paint samples they’d been discussing since they arrived, which meant the timing was perfect. Sean signaled their waitress for another round and then headed up to the front of the bar where Molly was just finishing helping one of the girls.

  Her head came up and, damn, that smile. Had she always looked at him that way and he’d just been too blind to see it, or was the smile that caught him right in the center of his chest something new? Something the guys—or more likely the girls—might notice?

  “Nice toss. Way to close out the game.”

  “Saw that, did you?” he asked, leaning against the bar instead of wrapping his hand around her waist and pulling her into his arms like he wanted.

  “I did. Emily looked like someone shot her puppy.”

  Sean leaned a little closer, pitching his words for her ears only. “You look like someone who needs to be kissed.”

  He’d been careful, checking first to make sure Jill or one of the other Belfast staff weren’t within earshot. He wanted their relationship to be out in the open, but more than that, he wanted Molly to be good with it first. He wanted her to be confident and feel secure.

  Much as he’d like to pretend he didn’t, he knew exactly what was holding her back. It was him. Everything he’d been saying, planning, working toward for the past ten years. She didn’t completely trust that his change of heart was going to stick. That he’d realized what a fool he’d been, trying to emulate the behavior and choices of a man who had betrayed everything he’d claimed to have valued. And Sean couldn’t blame her.

  Molly blushed, ducking her head so that fall of silky blond and hot pink shielded her face.

  “You need some help bringing up another case of longnecks or anything?” Sean asked.

  Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she nodded once.

  “Cool, I’ll meet you in back.”

  Cutting through the crowd, he headed around the corner to the back hall that led to the bathrooms, offices, and storeroom. None of them visible from the main seating area.

  The seconds ticked past, and he propped a shoulder against the wall. Totally casual. Sure, his heart rate might have kicked up a notch or two once she’d agreed to meet him. But he was chill.

  He checked his watch, as if it was going to tell him how long he’d been waiting, even though he hadn’t checked it before he set up shop like some junior high chump trying to play it cool waiting for the chick he liked at her locker.

  Just then, Molly rounded the corner, that sweet blush still hot on her cheeks as she cast a furtive glance behind her.

  Sean caught her arm and pulled her in to him, turning them around so she was against the wall and he was standing over her, one arm braced above her head.

  “You’re killing me, Molly,” he ground out before taking the kiss he’d been thinking about since he woke up hard as a spike, fucking alone in his bed that morning. She was so sweet that the single taste he’d been promising himself suddenly wasn’t even close to enough. “Making me blow every bit of game I ever had straight to hell.”

  She bit the tender pad of her bottom lip and peered up at him, one brow raised like she thought this was funny or something. “Me? Really? And this loss of game—alleged loss of game—is my fault?”

  Damn, when she looked at him like that, he couldn’t think. Rocking into the space between them, he nodded. “Hell yes, it is. You keep walking past our table, stopping next to me and asking if there’s anything I want, lingering just long enough for me to get a hit of that coconut, and then leaving me stuck at a table across from your brother, ready to bust through my fly.”

  Her brows pulled together, and she bit her lip again, looking significantly more amused than he felt. “Did I really make you hard?”

  The whole breathless thing when she said hard—damn, that worked for him.

  “When do you get out of here?” he asked, forcing himself to take a step back and check around the corner. No one was coming, so he took her hand in his and pulled it against his chest.

  “Past your bedtime, I’m afraid.” Then, snaking her hand into his jeans pocket, she pulled out his phone and checked the time. “But I’ve got a break coming up in about twenty minutes.”

  “Is
that so?” He did the math. “Shit, not enough time for me to get my car.”

  “Your car?”

  “You know, the one with the tinted windows and spacious second-row seating. I was thinking I could park in the alley—”

  “Another alley?” She shoved off his chest with a teasing laugh. “Wow, Sean, you take me to the nicest places.”

  Uh-oh. Grabbing her wrist, he reeled her back in. She’d been joking…but he didn’t like the idea that there might be any hint of truth there. Looking down into her eyes so there was no way she could miss his meaning, he spelled out just exactly what he thought.

  “Baby, just say the word, and I’ll take you any place you can imagine. There is nothing I want more in this world than to show you off to everyone as my girl. But since you won’t even let me hold your hand on the street because someone we know might see it, yeah, I’m looking for any way, any place that I’ll be able to get you alone for a few minutes. I want to be able to put my arms around you. I want to feel your head on my shoulder and your smile against my chest.

  “I want to do that thing where our fingers are all tangled up when we talk like they were Monday night. I want a few minutes where you can be my girlfriend and not just my buddy.” And because this was Molly and she knew him better than anyone, he added, “Plus, there are about a million dirty things I want to do to you too, and FYI, you really would have liked where my head was at tonight—feel free to read into the wording as much as you like on that.”

  Molly smiled up at him, her eyes suspiciously shiny. “I liked that finger-tangly thing too.”

  His heart turned over, thudding hard enough that it would have hurt if it didn’t feel so good. He pressed his brow to hers. “All we have to do is tell them, and we can hold hands like that any time we want.”

  The silence stretched, and for a minute, Sean thought she might be considering it. Hell, maybe she had been. Then she cleared her throat and, smoothing her hand over his chest, sidestepped his hold. Heading back toward the bar, she cast him a quick glance over her shoulder. “I’m pushing my break back to start in thirty. Get your car.”