“Why would I be on birth control?” Molly asked. “I haven’t had sex in two years!”
She was yelling. Loudly. In his ear.
Wincing, Devil rolled on his back.
“You couldn’t have thought about the fact that you weren’t prepared for this before stripping me naked and putting me in your bed?” she complained, pulling the pillow from beneath his head and shielding her body with it. How had her earlier romantic, passionate thoughts suddenly been shattered....for the lack of a freaking rubber?
His head thumped against the mattress as she jerked his custom-made pillow from underneath him. Rubbing a hand across his eyes, he groaned. “I forgot,” he mumbled.
“You forgot?” she asked incredulously, thumping him angrily with the feather pillow. “He forgot,” she muttered, lifting her eyes to the ceiling and shaking her head, her long hair sliding against her shoulders. “Did you hear that God? HE FORGOT!”
“Sweetheart, I wasn’t exactly planning on having you seduce me,” he groaned, lifting his head to stare at her. “Pardon me for not being prepared. Would you rather I have had a half empty box of condoms in the nightstand?”
“First, I did not seduce you, you ass,” Molly retorted, huffing out an agitated breath as she made herself comfortable in the middle of the bed. “I came here to negotiate the terms of our stupid bridal bargain. You are the one that couldn’t keep his lips, hands and assorted manly parts to himself. And yeah, for the freaking record, half a box of condoms would have been handy,” she added tartly, blowing a strand of red hair out of her face.
“Condoms would have meant I’d been having sex which I haven’t had in over a year myself!” he countered, his own voice lifting to match hers. “Having condoms would have only given you something to hold against me. I am not sorry for my condom-less state.” Glancing down at his still hard penis, he grimaced. “Well, maybe I’m a little sorry,” he amended with an unsatisfied sigh. “Having a raging hard-on isn’t exactly a comfortable experience, Molly, especially since it’s the second evening in a row that I’ve led the General into battle and disappointed him.”
“Last night was not my fault,” Molly argued pertly, pulling his pillow against her breasts and glaring at him as he tried to turn the tables on her.
“Yeah? Did you have condoms at your place last night?” Devil asked her, his dark eyes narrowing on her face.
“No,” Molly mumbled into the pillowcase. Why would a born-again virgin need a supply of rubbers? She wasn’t even sure she remembered how to put one on a guy. Eyeing Devil’s still erect penis out of the corner of her eye, she also wasn’t sure she’d ever find one to fit that monster between his legs.
“Obviously you weren’t a girl scout either, then,” he declared with a smirk. “Neither one of us was prepared for this.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Well, she definitely agreed with that statement, Molly thought grimly. She wasn’t prepared for anything she was feeling at the moment.
The horniness, the excitement, the white-hot passion. Certainly not her overwhelming feelings for the man lying on his back and staring at the ceiling beside her.
All of it had taken her by surprise.
“Put that python back in your pants, Devil. I won’t be tryin’ to wrangle your snake anymore tonight,” she informed him primly as she tugged the oversized pillow more tightly against her naked breasts. Watching it bob fruitlessly in the air was distracting, and she had things to say.
“A condom! A condom! My kingdom for a fucking condom,” Devil growled under his breath as he rolled on his side and sat up on the bed. “I’m a frickin’ millionaire. I could buy a condom factory.”
Molly’s lips twitched as she listened to him grumble. Biting her lip as she watched him rise and cross the room to the dresser, she eyed his firm butt lustfully. Good heavens but the Lord had been exceedingly kind to Devil Delancy when He’d constructed the man’s gorgeous body. Too bad He hadn’t worked a little harder at everything else that made the man who he was.
“I can feel you staring,” Devil said without turning around, stepping into the silk boxers he pulled from a drawer.
“No, I’m not,” she said quickly. Too quickly.
“Sure, you’re not,” he chuckled, turning to watch a guilty flush climb up her embarrassed face. Damn, she was gorgeous. “Like what you see?” he asked, ambling toward the master bath and pulling his thick robe off the hook.
“At the moment? Not really. The moment has passed,” she retorted, snatching the robe from his hand when he returned from the bathroom and extended it to her. Lying was the only missile she had in her arsenal at that moment, and she was not afraid to use it.
“Pity,” Devil murmured, watching her breasts lift enticingly as she slid her arms into the robe. “I love what I see.”
Molly quickly cinched the belt of the robe tightly around her waist, cutting off his view. “Too bad. This public viewing is now closed.” Shivering as he smirked, she shook her head. She needed to get control of the situation. Jabbing a finger at him as she stood, Molly lifted her chin. “This never happened, Devil.”
“Considering that I’m still hard as a rock for you, I’d say either you’re delusional or naïve, Molly.” Devil settled his hand over his hips as he faced her, blocking the door. “Based on the way you handled my cock, I’m gonna assume you’re the former rather than the latter.”
“Hey!” Molly yelped indignantly, her eyebrows drawing together. He made it sound like she was some kind of pro at seduction, and the truth was that she was anything BUT. She just happened to be an enthusiastic student, eager to learn new things. That wasn’t a crime, was it?
“Sweetheart, there was nothing innocent about the way you handled me,” Devil stated patiently, enjoying the deepening blush staining her cheeks. “That’s just a fact that can’t be denied. But to address your earlier statement, this happened, Molly. It’s going to happen again,” he warned deeply, taking a step toward her. “Only next time, I’m going to have an economy-sized box of condoms on hand, and we’re going to use them all.”
Molly’s breathing got shallower the nearer he drew to where she stood. “You’re awfully confident for a guy that got shot down. Twice.” She wriggled two fingers under his nose.
“Yeah,” he agreed, “I am confident. Mainly because you didn’t shoot me down, angel. Fate did. You wanted me as badly as I wanted you. We just had a few technical difficulties.”
“Maybe that should tell you something,” Molly replied hastily, taking a step back as he began to crowd her. “Maybe it should tell us both something. This isn’t supposed to happen between us, Dev. Tonight was just another sign from above.”
“The only thing this little interlude told me is that I need to buy stock in Trojan condoms,” Devil returned with a chuckle. “And the only sign I’m seeing is that perhaps the Almighty wants my ring on your finger before I take you to bed with me. Because make no mistake here, Molly, you will be going to bed with me. Soon,” he stressed, dropping his hands to her hips and pulling her against him.
“Are you deliberately trying to frustrate me?” Molly protested, staring up into his deep blue eyes. How was she ever going to survive this situation...this freaking marriage? “We are not a good idea, Devil. You antagonize me and I infuriate you. One of us will end up killing the other if you insist on marriage. And I plan on living a long time, so, what’s that tell you?”
“Mols, are you going to stand there and deny that there are sparks between us?” Devil questioned, growing annoyed by her obstinacy.
“Oh, there are sparks alright!” Molly nodded furiously. “You know what happens when there are sparks, Devil? Usually, it leads to fire. Ours is gonna be a deadly inferno that’s going to blaze a path through Atlanta. General Sherman has been there and done that. I already saw this movie! I know how it ends. I hate reruns.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”
“Nope, I think it’s a little accurate,” Molly replied sweetly, p
ushing his hands off her and sweeping past him. She had to get out of his bedroom. She needed to get out of his house. She might need to evacuate his city at this point, she thought a little desperately as she looked around the room for her clothes, kneeling on the floor to peer under the bed.
“I stripped you in the living room,” she heard him remind her dryly from somewhere near the foot of the bed.
Grumbling under her breath, she climbed back to her feet and headed toward the door, nearly screaming when Devil thwarted her plan again by stepping in front of her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked calmly, blocking her exit.
“Home,” she retorted succinctly. “I can’t reason with a brick wall. Get out of the way,” she ordered sternly.
Crossing his arms over his broad, naked chest, he shook his head. “No. You’re not running away. We have details to hash out between us, Molly. Hiding from me isn’t going to accomplish anything.”
“I’m not hiding,” she ground out. “I’m leaving. There’s a difference.” One that she’d be happy to demonstrate if he’d just get the hell out of her way. Her heartbeat escalated as he merely stared at her, his dark blue eyes glinting with determination.
Molly could feel herself growing hysterical. Confusion and fear mixed with a healthy dose of animal attraction to form a bubble of pure panic in the region of her heart. For years, she’d fantasized about this man… what it would be like to be with him… sleep with him… hell, even marry him.
And now, through some cosmic joke in the universe, it was all happening to her.
Fantasies were supposed to remain in a girl’s imagination where they could create no real havoc. They were not supposed to be staring her in the face, in living color. Things like this did not happen to normal women like her.
“Devil, please get out of my way,” she begged, her eyes filling with unexpected tears as she looked up at him. “Please?” she pleaded weakly.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he offered gently. “You go downstairs and get dressed while I grab some clothes to put on myself. We’ll make a pot of coffee and work things out between us. We’ll talk, Molly.”
“Just talk?” Molly queried suspiciously, not quite trusting him.
“Only talk. As you learned the hard way, I’m not prepared for anything else. At least not for tonight, I’m not.”
“Okay,” she agreed softly. It was the best offer she was going to get from him, and she knew it.
“Don’t make me chase you, Molly,” he warned ominously. “I can’t stop you from bolting if you decide to make a run for it, but I can promise that you won’t like the consequences when I catch up with you. Which I will.”
Meeting his serious gaze, she nodded. She’d seen the lengths Devil would go to for companies he wanted, she didn’t want to think about what he’d be like with the people he wanted to possess. “I won’t run. At least, not yet,” she amended truthfully, ever mindful of her mother’s valuable advice of never making a promise that you’re not willing to keep.
What she felt for Devil scared the hell out of her. Even when she’d been in a committed relationship that she’d thought would end in marriage, she’d never felt like this. She couldn’t promise that her fears wouldn’t cause her to dart at some point. She could only promise she wouldn’t make her grand escape right now. A shaky breath released from her chest when Devil stepped aside and allowed her out of the bedroom, evidently satisfied with her vow.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Devil took his time coming downstairs, purposefully giving Molly the time she needed to compose herself again.
Hell, he couldn’t blame her. He’d needed a moment to himself, too. Shoving his unhappy libido back in the box and coming to grips with the fact that he needed the stubborn woman as much as he needed to breathe had taken a few minutes. Clad now in faded jeans and a soft cotton tee shirt, he leaned against the doorway to his kitchen and watched her head bend over the cup of hot chocolate she held cradled in her hands, blowing gently on the steaming mug.
“Feeling better?” he asked softly from the doorway. Wincing, he realized he’d startled her when she jerked in the chair and sloshed the hot beverage all over her hand.
“Ow!” Molly hissed, grabbing a napkin from the center of the table and wiping the scorching chocolate off her burning hand. “Jeez! Wear a bell around your neck or something, Devil!”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, crossing the room to take her hand and peer down at it. “You want me to grab some ice?” he asked, eyeing the angry, reddened skin.
“No,” Molly muttered, jerking her hand from his grasp. His touch still produced an uncomfortable effect on her body that she wasn’t ready to examine yet. “I put your coffee on to brew. I decided that I’d rather have chocolate,” she mumbled around the cup as she brought it her lips.
“Thanks.” Pouring himself a cup, he watched Molly out of the corner of his eye. Still pale and nervous, she fidgeted with her mug. “Molly, relax, honey,” he chided as he carried his own mug back across the room to sit in the chair opposite hers. “We’re still the same people we were an hour ago.”
“Yeah, except now you’ve seen me naked,” Molly grumbled under her breath, shifting anxiously in her seat as she felt his eyes smiling at her.
“I saw you naked last night, too,” he reminded her lightly. “You hit me then. At least this is an improvement.”
“The night is young,” Molly countered threateningly. “I’ve still got plenty of time to maim you yet.”
“Maybe we should spend some time focusing on things that I’ll actually let you get away with doing… like setting the terms of our marriage,” Devil suggested evenly. “I believe we had a tentative arrangement regarding its length, and we’d moved onto compensation.”
How could she have just been sprawled naked in his bed mere minutes ago and now be talking about the monetary value he was going to place on their relationship? Molly looked across the table at him with wounded eyes. “Do you really think I’d use this as an opportunity to get paid, Devil?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t think you have a mercenary bone in your body, sweetheart. That just makes me more determined to insure you get what you deserve. I don’t take advantage of people, Molly. Not intentionally.”
“I don’t want your money,” Molly growled into her hot chocolate.
“Tough. You’re getting it,” Devil declared firmly. “I’ve already taken the liberty of pulling your credit report and paying all outstanding debts. As of two p.m. today, you are completely free of any monetary obligations to any creditor.”
Molly’s eyes widened. Had she honestly just heard what she thought she’d heard? “You did what?” she virtually screamed, slamming down her cup. “Who the hell gave you that kind of authority? How in the world did you even get my personal information? Do you even know what a huge invasion of my privacy that is? Are you insane?”
Devil offered her a content smile. “Which question should I answer first?” he mused aloud, tilting his head as he met her enraged eyes. Like twin glittering emeralds, they bore into him. Unconcerned, he stretched his legs out in front of him and rested his coffee cup on his flat stomach. “I think I’ll just go in order.”
“Devil, I own a gun, a shovel, a tarp and duct tape. I am one good alibi away from the perfect murder. Do. NOT. Test. Me.” Molly gripped the edge of the table to keep from wrapping her hands around his neck.
Staring at her, he couldn’t help his involuntary grin. It was little wonder he’d fallen in love with this incredible woman. She was more than a match for him in every conceivable way, unafraid to take him on despite his wealth and power. He couldn’t imagine a time when he wouldn’t have to hustle to stay one step ahead of his ideal match.
“Go ahead, keep smiling,” Molly invited darkly. “We don’t want your final expression to be one of fear when we lay you to rest.”
“I apologize, but if you’ll stop being adorable then I’ll stop smiling.”
“Adorable? Really? Puppies are adorable. Babies are adorable. A little old man holding a little old woman’s hand on the front porch is adorable. I am not adorable. Homicidal, on the other hand, is a definite possibility. What did you do, Devil?” she asked, narrowing her green eyes on him as she fought the rising desire to lunge across the table at him.
“I simply took care of a few outstanding debts, Molly. It wasn’t a big deal,” Devil informed her in a bored tone.
“My college loans?” she balked, her eyes widening.
“Paid in full.”
“My condo?” she asked, breathlessly.
“It’s yours, free and clear. The deed should be in your mailbox on Monday.”
“My credit cards?” she questioned weakly.
“Cleared.”
“Devil!” Molly yelled, slapping her hands against the table, “Those were my personal debts! Mine! Not yours. MINE!”
“Only temporarily. In a short time, they would have become our debts. I hate debt. Therefore, I paid them off. Problem solved, bills paid,” he stated simply, lifting his broad shoulders in a shrug. Damn, he had always loved how those milky-white cheeks of her suddenly flushed to a stunning rosy hue when she was furious at him.
“No!” Molly surged to her feet, fury invading every ounce of her being. Her independence was hers! She had fought tooth and nail to get where she was, damn it, and she wasn’t about to let him swoop in like the Lone Ranger and save the day! She didn’t need to be saved, thank you very much! “The problem is not solved, Devil. You invaded my privacy. You paid debts that didn’t belong to you. I do not need a Sugar Daddy!”
“First off, I did not invade your privacy. The only information I needed to complete the transactions necessary was the information that you provided freely in your employee file. Since I’m the boss, I had all the access I needed.”
“That’s….that’s…”
“Ingenious?” Devil supplied with a lazy grin.
“CHEATING!” Molly yelled. “You can’t use my file to nose into my life. It’s… it’s….it’s got to be illegal,” she argued, stomping her foot against the tiled floor.
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