It took me a good thirty seconds to figure out how to turn off the mixer, and then I stood there, spitting flour out of my mouth and wiping it from my eyes. And when you already have egg on your hands, it’s not a good idea to wipe at flour. I was just wiping my face down with a hand towel when there was a knock at my door.
“Tony,” I said breathlessly as I opened the door. I swiped at the flour on my face and brushed it across my apron, that was fully covered in more flour and eggs. “Uh…what are you doing here?”
“I remembered.”
My eyes widened in shock. This was not the way I had pictured this happening. I was supposed to be dressed in something sexy and my hair would be done just right. He would walk in and swoop me off my feet and kiss me hard and passionately. I glanced down at my clothes and held up a finger. “Hold that thought,” I said quickly, turning and ripping the apron over my head.
“Molly,” he shouted after me. I could hear his footsteps coming for me, but I couldn’t let it happen like this. It was supposed to be different, magical.
I ran back to my bathroom and quickly jumped in the shower, clothes and all, then cursed myself when I realized how difficult it was to take off clothes when they were soaking wet.
“Molly, what are you doing?”
“Go wait in the living room. I’ll be out in a minute,” I yelled over the sound of the pounding water as I tried to yank down my pants.
“I really need to talk to you,” he insisted.
“I know, and I really want to talk to you too,” I struggled to get out. God, these pants were really stuck. I yanked hard and my feet flew out from under me, sending me careening sideways and smashing into the shower wall. “Ow,” I groaned, feeling a burning ache in my hip from where I landed.
The shower curtain flew to the side and my sexy Italian Stallion stood there, staring down at me in confusion. His gorgeous eyes trailed over my body, taking in the weird state of dress, or undress.
“Molly, what the hell are you doing?”
“I was…taking a shower.”
“I can see that, but why are you undressing in the shower?”
I let out a huff of annoyance as he stepped into the shower. I expected him to help me up and out of the shower, but instead, he hoisted me to my feet and shoved me up against the shower wall with his body.
“Why were you running from me, Molly?”
“Running? I wasn’t running,” I laughed nervously.
He ran his nose down my cheek and I felt the rush of air as he inhaled and then licked down my neck. My knees went weak as his scent filled the shower and his hands skimmed up my body. I forced my brain to stay online and achieve my final goal, which was to get cleaned up so I could be glamorous for this conversation. But his lips latched onto my neck and sucked lightly, and all thought and reason flew out the window.
I wrapped my fingers into his hair and pulled him in closer. I struggled to stand on one foot and shove the pant leg down on the other, but it wasn’t working. I switched feet and tried again, but just ended up slipping and nearly taking us both down. With a firm grasp on both of my arms, Tony steadied me and somehow magically removed my pants.
“Is that what you wanted?”
“Yes,” I panted, pulling him in closer again. I needed him, needed to feel him next to me. I needed his body heat and his cock pushing up against me. It drove me insane, and that’s what I liked the most. I loved the buildup of knowing that he was so close and about to shove inside my pussy. I heard the jingle of his pants as he shoved them down, and then he was lifting me, pressing me into the wall as my legs wound around his waist.
“Do you need me, Molly?”
It was so breathless that it was incoherent. I heard a vague chuckle before I felt him shove my soaking panties to the side, and then he was in me, filling me and stretching me just the way I liked it. I didn’t think I would ever get used to the feel of him inside me. Every time felt like the first time. I wanted more, needed him to slap my pussy and get that domineering look in his eyes that he tried to hide from me, but I didn’t have the chance to even let out a squeak before he was fucking me hard into the wall. Gasps and moans were all that left my mouth as he fucked me harder and harder. His mouth licked and sucked, pulling every last ounce of my orgasm from me.
I was barely aware of what was going on when he finally pulled out and set me down on my feet. My legs were shaking so bad that he lifted me and carried me into the bedroom, setting me down on my bed. I watched with a satisfied grin on my face as he patted me dry and pulled out some dry clothes for me. Unfortunately, he pulled out some comfy pajamas, which was not how I saw me dressed for this conversation.
“Not that,” I finally said, blushing furiously.
“Why? Are you planning on going somewhere?”
“No, it’s just…” God, this was embarrassing. I wasn’t supposed to have to explain myself.
“It’s just what?”
“It’s just that I already pictured this happening in my head, and I was most definitely not wearing kitty pajamas!”
His eyebrow quirked up and a smirk tilted his lips. “What were you planning on wearing?”
“I had…” I huffed in irritation and pursed my lips together, not wanting to admit that I had this whole seductive outfit planned out for him. “I had an outfit.”
“For talking to me.”
“Yes, okay? I planned this all out in my head yesterday. I knew that one day you would remember and I wanted to be dressed just the right way so this would go as planned.”
His lips twitched and he nodded. “Can I see this outfit?”
I got up and stalked to my dresser, opening up the top drawer and pulling out the lingerie I had planned to wear for the special occasion. He snatched it out of my hands and held it up. There wasn’t much to it. It was a one piece outfit, but it was very lacy and there wasn’t very much to the middle or the bottoms.
That damn eyebrow quirked again and his lip spread into a full smile. “This is not even close to an outfit.”
“It’s-”
“What were you planning on doing if we had this conversation in my truck? Would you have stripped down right there so that I could see this?”
“If I had to,” I snarled.
“I think I might have liked that,” he grinned. “Now, can we talk or do you want to put this on first?” he asked, holding my lingerie up with his finger. I snatched it from his hand and shoved it back in the drawer.
“Well, it’s ruined now.”
He boxed me in against the dresser and pressed his hand to my stomach, running it down my body, just teasing my clit. “It’s not ruined yet, but we’ll get to that in a minute.”
He took a step back and I instantly felt the loss of his body against mine. This was definitely something different with us. Tony was different. And if he was acting like this and said that he remembered, that meant that he remembered the electric charge between us also.
I cleared my throat and tried my best to compose myself. “So, you remembered.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And I’m pretty sure we didn’t sleep together that first night.”
I blinked, not expecting that to be the first thing out of his mouth. “Uh…no, we didn’t.”
“Which had me thinking about our first time together.” He moved back to the bed and sat down, spreading his legs wide. I licked my lips. It was like it was an invitation for me. But if I went and sat on his lap, I might never find out what was running through his mind, because I would definitely start rubbing my body up against his.
“What…what did you…think about?” I asked, trying to gather my thoughts and not just mount him like a prized stallion. I chuckled at that. Prized stallion. He was my Italian Stallion, so I guess it was fitting.
“Something funny?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
“You were saying?” I asked, wiping off the humor. I had to pull myself together so I could get through this and
get to the fun part.
“I was saying that we didn’t sleep together that first night. So, what was with going to drastic measures of learning about kink?”
“I just…I wanted to make sure that you liked me…in the bedroom.”
“And why wouldn’t I like you?”
“Because…because I’m not like amazingly experienced. I’ve had one long relationship and it was when I was younger. And nobody is good at sex when they’re that young. And everyone in between, well, there was no time to learn anything.”
He growled at me and his eyes darkened. He yanked me to him and ran his hand along my hip where it rested firmly. “First, there will be no discussing previous sexual encounters. I don’t need to know yours and you don’t need to know mine. They don’t matter anyway. Whatever we have, that’s all that matters. And we can figure out each other together. I don’t want you to do what you did with other guys with me.”
I nodded, because the thought of him thinking about what he did with another woman while he was with me wasn’t appealing either.
“Do you like the stuff we’ve been doing?” he asked.
“Sort of,” I blushed. “But I know you don’t like it.”
“Alright, so, what kind of stuff do you like?”
“A negotiation?” He nodded. “Okay, well, I liked to be spanked. Not for pain,” I quickly added. “I just like when you spank my pussy. And I like seeing that domineering look on your face. It’s sexy.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “And I have this fantasy of you tying me up.”
He immediately shook his head. “Not gonna happen. It feels too much like rape, and that is something I could never do and get turned on.”
“Hmmm. What about handcuffs, but we can get the toy ones that pop open?”
He thought about it, his chin raising assentingly. “Alright, I’ll give you the toy cuffs, but what are you going to give me in return?”
“How about for every time that we have sex my way, I’ll give you one time your way?”
“I want two.”
My eyebrows popped up. I hadn’t been expecting that.
“I’m the man in this relationship, and I can’t be the man and have you controlling the sex all the time. Sorry, but I just can’t do it.”
“But you’d be in control during the times that you’re spanking me and cuffing me,” I said in confusion.
“Yes, but only because you like it that way. I want to dominate you and make you mine, but in my own ways. Handcuffs and spankings aren’t my thing.”
“Fine, I’ll give you the two times, but you have to be willing to add new things to the mix once a month.”
“You drive a hard bargain. I agree to adding new things, but we have to discuss it first. I’m not just going to suddenly start using floggers on you.”
“I’m not sure I’d even want that.”
“Then we have a deal.” He held out his hand and I shook it with a smirk on my face. We were making progress. “Now, I have a few stipulations of my own.”
And just like that, my stomach dropped.
“One, you have to stop letting strangers into your apartment. I’m not budging on this one.”
“Hmm. What do you classify as a stranger?”
“Anyone that you haven’t met more than a few times. And I wouldn’t be opposed to having a list of your friends that I can run background checks on.”
“That may be taking it a little far.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap, running his hand to the back of my neck. “Remember what I told you that night?”
I swallowed hard and nodded. If he needed this, I would give it to him. “Alright. I can do that.”
“And you can start with this guy that seems to want to see you all the time?”
“Matt? The guy just lost his girlfriend to cancer. He’s just looking for someone to talk to.”
“Yeah, and I don’t trust him.”
“Well, I don’t know his last name,” I said, but instantly regretted it when his face turned to stone.
“Then don’t go near him again until I can check him out. Understood?”
I nodded, even if I did think it was ridiculous.
“Second, you have to stop showing up at work and bringing me food all the time.”
“You don’t like that?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, but I have to be able to separate work from you. When my team is cleared to go back into the field, I’ll be going on trips and I won’t be around all the time. So, when I’m training, I need to be in the mindset that it’s work, because if I’m not training like that, I’m not going to be able to think of anything but you when I’m in the field.”
“That makes sense.”
“And no more cooking for me,” he added quickly.
“Do you not like my cooking?”
“I do,” he said hurriedly, “but you’re going to make me fat.”
Well, I couldn’t have that happening. “Fine, but I still get to make you dinner at night. By the way, what are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?”
“Well, for now, I’ll have to come here. It’s a pain in the ass to get on the property if you don’t have clearance. Only spouses get clearance, or if you’re already living there.”
“I could-” but he cut me off with a kiss.
“And no more talk about weddings,” he whispered against my lips. “If we get there, we get there, but let’s not rush this.”
I huffed in irritation. Momma was not going to be happy when I told her this little revelation, but I could give some too. And if this was what Tony wanted, I could handle it.
“You drive a hard bargain,” I said, kissing him hard. His tongue tangled with mine and he turned me over to my back.
“I’m about to drive more than a hard bargain.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Tony
“Come on,” Knight shouted. “Push harder!”
I ran faster, pushing myself until I felt like I was about to black out. Knight had been working me hard all day, saying that if I refused to go see a psychologist and get my head cleared, he was going to push me in training until I’d had enough and finally pulled my head out of my ass. I was just about to that point.
I crossed the finish line of his course and slowed to a walk, trying to calm my racing heart. Swear to God, that guy enjoyed torturing us. I had already been training for most of the day and I was fucking exhausted. At this rate, I wasn’t going to have any energy left to fuck Molly tonight. I walked around the track until my breathing was under control and I didn’t feel like I was on the verge of passing out anymore. But when I got to the front, my heart leapt back into overdrive. Molly was chatting up Knight, and with how she talked, she would no doubt piss him off.
“You’re like, super scary, but in a good way. I bet it’s good for the job.”
He glared at her, his arms crossed over his chest. “You have no idea.”
“You could totally be an assassin or one of those men that carries around a broadsword. How many people have you killed?”
“Molly,” I said, running up to her before he answered that and totally freaked her the fuck out. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought you something to eat for dinner. I work the late shift tonight, so I wanted to make sure you had something to eat.”
I grimaced as I took the bag, not really wanting to check and see what she made. “I told you that you couldn’t keep stopping by.”
She smiled up at me innocently and patted me on the cheek. “You didn’t really think I would follow that, did you?”
I tried my best to look pissed at her for breaking one of the first rules, but I was failing miserably. I liked that she showed up here anyway. It was true to her nature, and I would have hated if this side of her just disappeared, no matter how much of a pain in the ass it was.
“You should get out of here,” Knight said, jerking his chin at me. “Go prepare for the trial
tomorrow.”
“The trial?” Molly asked.
I grimaced. I didn’t really want to talk about this, let alone go to the trial. And Molly was going to be pissed when I told her she couldn’t be there.
“For Delaney’s murder.”
“Oh.” Her face softened in understanding. “I could go with you. I’m sure I could get the time off.”
“The trial doesn’t start until Wednesday, but I don’t want you to go.”
Hurt crossed her face, but I knew she would understand.
“Delaney’s parents are going to be there and-”
“I get it. Okay, I won’t go.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I know it’ll be hard enough for you.”
“Thanks.” I turned to say goodbye to Knight, but he was already gone. I shook my head and draped my arm over Molly’s shoulders. It felt nice, right, to have her here beside me, even if I was still a little creeped out by how often she found me. It was weird because I still felt that sense of dread when she walked through the doors, because I remembered what it felt like to wake up and not know who the hell she was. But then I also had this memory of us being together that first night. It was definitely strange, but I was going to have to get past that for Molly.
I walked her to the door, but the closer we got to the elevators, the more I dreaded her leaving. I just wanted to wrap myself up in her tonight. I needed that to get through tomorrow. I had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow, but for tonight, I just wanted the comfort of having her with me.
“Don’t go to work,” I said, pulling her into my arms. “Call Gus and cancel.”
“Why?”
“Because I need you,” I admitted. “With the trial and everything…I just need you.”
She nodded and pulled out her phone. I only heard her side of the conversation, but it didn’t seem like Gus was upset that she was canceling on her shift. That was a little surprising, seeing as how she had been late several times this week. I was going to have to talk with Gus and thank him for being so understanding.
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