by Katie Ruggle
Molly’s mouth set in a grim line. That was the problem. Her family was worth it. And tonight, they were finally going to bring Sonny in.
Chapter 19
“I don’t know if it was a good idea to send Cara to check out the warehouse.” Molly tugged off her boots just inside John’s door. “There’s no chance she’ll just do a drive-by like I asked. This is Cara we’re talking about. The perfectionist who can’t half-ass anything. She’ll probably end up presenting us with a full video tour of the interior, including a bunch of security guards with guns.”
John patted Molly’s shoulder. “She’s smart. She won’t get herself into anything she can’t get out of safely. Besides, if she did do the video, at least we’d know what kind of security is in place.”
Molly was too worried to laugh, although she did relax slightly at his reassuring words. He was right. Cara was smart, and they could definitely use any information about the potential meeting place before walking into it blindly that night. She just wished they hadn’t been stuck giving statements rather than staking out the Langston warehouse themselves.
“So what’s the plan? Are we still each taking a location?” Her frown deepened. There were too many variables—they didn’t know where, when, or the majority of who. So much could go wrong, but this could very likely be their last chance. The person on the phone had mentioned that Sonny was getting new identification. If he disappeared, then so did Molly’s opportunity to bring him in.
She plopped down onto John’s couch. All of her frustration was shoved to the back burner as she fell instantly in love. Pulling up her socked feet, she wriggled around to get even more comfortable. “Oh, John…”
He’d been headed to the kitchen, but at those two words he whipped around.
Molly didn’t even care that she’d basically purred at him—and used his first name at that. She was in too much bliss to worry about anything. “Your couch is incredible. Can I have it?”
“Can I have a time-share on your room?”
“Are you trading your couch for occasional access to my bedroom?” Despite her preoccupation with wallowing in her newfound squishy paradise, she was still amused.
“You’re right. Put it that way, and you’re getting a much better deal.” He prowled back over, sinking down next to her. “My couch for full bedroom privileges.”
Somehow, the conversation had taken an unexpected right-hand turn, but Molly didn’t think she had the willpower to bring things to a halt. Instead, she tilted her head to study him, rubbing her cheek along the silky-soft fabric of his magic sofa as she did so. “Full bedroom privileges? What does that entail?”
He leaned closer, stretching his arm across the back of the couch until she felt surrounded—cushions of heaven on one side and John Carmondy on the other. Her heart rate, which had already accelerated, now beat so fast it felt like a hummingbird was hovering inside her rib cage. “Whatever you’d like it to…entail.”
Suddenly, she wanted it to entail all sorts of things, but a small part of her brain was still squawking indignantly that this was John Carmondy she was ever so slowly leaning toward, and he was her nemesis—or at least he used to be. Now, he felt an awful lot like a partner…a very hot partner with a great body and adorable dimples and a habit of watching her back and trying to keep her safe.
She realized that she’d forgotten to breathe, too caught up in his closeness to do anything but feel. As she sucked in a breath, her lips fell open just a little, and John’s gaze instantly locked onto her mouth.
His pupils were dilated wide with desire, turning his eyes almost black. She couldn’t look away. It felt like they were locked in position, turned toward each other on the couch, so close but not yet touching. This was the moment they had to decide: leap over the cliff or back away.
John exhaled, and the stream of warm air brushed her lips, making her viscerally aware of how close they were, that the slightest shift of weight by either of them would bring them together. She wanted that, to touch him, to be touched by him, even more than she’d wanted his couch just seconds ago.
She just wasn’t brave enough to take that final step, and she wanted to smack herself for her cowardice. Chasing criminals over fences and tackling them to the ground? Sure, no problem. Kiss a guy who clearly—unless she was reading all the signals very wrong—wanted her? Run away! Girl, you’re messed up, her brain scolded, and she could only agree.
“John?” she managed to say, needing to do something to break the tension that had wrapped around them like a whole roll of barbed wire.
“Yeah?” The problem was that it hadn’t worked—the tension was still there, the wire pulling even tauter, dragging them closer together through sheer desire and, she had to admit, a huge, heaping load of affection that had sprung up completely unexpectedly over the past harrowing days.
Now she’d started a conversation, though, so she had to finish it. “What are we doing?”
“What do you want to do?”
Very dirty things to you. “So it’s all on me?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
His lips twitched up just the slightest bit, although it didn’t dim the heat in his gaze. “You know what I want—what I’ve wanted since we met. The question is if you want the same thing.”
“But I don’t know!” The words burst from her in a panic. “I know you want me to work for you, but I told you that one of us would end up killing the other one if we tried that.”
The crease of his dimples dented his cheeks. “I don’t think we’d kill each other.” His gaze darted down to her mouth again before meeting her eyes. The dark, smoldering depths sucked her in, and she instantly lost track of the conversation. “It’d be…explosive, but not how you’re thinking. And I would love for you to come work for me, but that wasn’t why I kept seeking you out.”
“It wasn’t?” Her blood felt like it was on fire as it coursed through her, heating her skin and turning her insides molten.
“No.” As if he couldn’t help himself, his fingers brushed across her cheek, tracing her jaw to the point of her chin before dropping away. She immediately missed that featherlight touch. “I like being around you. You wake me up, make me laugh, make me swear.” She huffed a laugh at that last one, and he closed his eyes for a moment as if he was in pain. When he opened them again, they were hotter than ever. “You make me hungry.”
The words burned across her skin, making her gasp. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone. It had been building beneath their banter and arguments and one-upmanship until just having him in front of her without being able to touch was intensely painful.
“John?”
“Yeah, Molly?”
“Would it be okay if I kissed you now?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t like his smirks or his teases or even his jolly grins. This was so sweet that it squeezed her heart, wringing it so tightly that she was pretty sure she’d never be the same again. “It would be very okay.”
As soon as the words were out, she tipped her head that tiny distance she needed in order for their lips to meet. She jumped off the cliff without looking down, and even the squawking voice in her head had gone quiet. Pressing her lips against his ever so tentatively, she knew this was right. Even if things crashed and burned disastrously later, it would be worth it. After all, she’d never experienced anything so incredibly perfect as the feel of his sweet smile against hers.
Then his hands were cupping her face, and the kiss deepened, going from gentle to smoking hot in a split second. Grabbing his shirt in both hands, she hauled him closer before wrapping her arms around his neck, needing to feel the full press of her chest against his. She always had known he was big—tall and broad and solid as a rock—but it was so much more evident when he was wrapped around her, making her feel like a giant had her tucked securely in his fist.
He burrowed his fingers i
nto her hair and kissed her even more deeply, bearing her back into the couch cushions. His kiss really was hungry, just like he’d said, as if he were a starving man and she was the only sustenance around. She was just as desperate to taste him, and they kissed until there was nothing else in her brain except John.
When he pulled his mouth from hers, she groaned in disappointment, but he simply chuckled hoarsely as his lips found their way to her jaw and then her throat. This time, her moan was from her own hunger, and she could feel him smile against her skin. Her fingers worked on the back of his head, her short nails scoring lightly against his scalp.
She felt it as he sucked in a breath, air drawn against her overheated skin, and she shivered, needing more even while she didn’t want anything to change, wanting to keep feeling John’s lips against her neck forever. While he was kissing her, everything else disappeared. There were no felonious mothers or dangerous bail jumpers or greedy bondsmen right now. There were only John’s mouth and hands and the feeling of his muscles twitching beneath her touch.
Even as incredible as his kisses were, Molly shifted impatiently, needing more bare skin to explore. The barrier of his T-shirt, as thin as it was, was unbearably frustrating. Grabbing a handful of fabric, she tugged it upward.
He understood right away what she needed, pulling back for just a second as he hauled the shirt over his head and tossed it away. She reached for him, wanting to touch, but he held back. As soon as she realized he was tugging at her shirt, she immediately helped wrench her top over her head, making him laugh with delighted surprise.
“This is okay, then?” he rasped, looking equal parts wild and concerned. “It’s not too far?”
“We’ve jumped off the cliff, Carmondy,” she said, and her voice sounded just as raw and rough as his. “Nothing’s too far.”
His eyes blazed as if her words were gasoline on the fire, and her desire rose to meet his. All their inhibitions were burned away, and they tugged and pulled until all their clothes were tossed aside and there was nothing between them. Their kisses grew frantic as Molly tried to feel all of him at once. Even though she hadn’t realized how much she wanted him until recently, it still felt as if she’d been waiting an eternity to be able to stroke her fingers across his broad, smooth chest or feel the jump of his ab muscles beneath her lips.
“There’s just so much of you,” she murmured against the skin of his shoulder. “It’s going to take me forever to explore all of this.” Without taking her mouth off him, she waved a hand to indicate the full expanse of his naked body—his beautiful naked body.
“Sorry?” His laugh was rough and even a little shaky, making her raise her head to meet his gaze. The tenderness there snatched her breath away, and it was several moments before she could respond.
“Don’t be sorry for this. It—all of you—is amazing.” Unable to stop touching him, she followed the line of his thigh down to the indent of his hip, making him hiss through his teeth as his eyes went dark.
“You’re so beautiful.” He didn’t glance down at her body as he said it. Instead, he held her gaze, making her want to kiss him and squirm and duck her head to hide from the compliment all at the same time. The urge to kiss him won out, though, and it was a long time before they came back up for air. “You’re even more gorgeous naked than I’d imagined, and you were pretty incredible in my head.”
Her laugh surprised her, bubbling out in an honestly happy stream. “Have you really wanted me for that long?”
“Yeah.” He pressed his lips to hers, hard and quick and intense enough to leave her panting when he pulled away. “Forever.”
“Why were you so annoying, then?” She nipped at his bottom lip in retaliation for all the times he’d driven her up a wall. By the way he sucked in a breath and then kissed her hard, the punishment had backfired.
“It got you to talk to me, didn’t it?” he asked when he pulled back. He dropped a line of kisses across her cheekbone to her ear. He scored the rim with his teeth before nibbling on her earlobe and stealing all her breath away so she couldn’t scold him.
She wanted—needed—to explore more of him, so she pushed at his shoulder and wrapped a leg around his hip, turning them so they flipped over. John went along with her silent request, even when they rolled right off the couch onto the area rug. He gave a grunt when his back hit the floor, but he grinned as well, as if every part of the experience, even falling off a couch, was fun and wonderful, just because he got to be with her. That thought touched her at the same time it drove her wild, so she kissed him…hard.
Now that she had her way and could be on top, she took full advantage of her position, exploring every inch of his huge, muscled form, driving him crazy with touches and kisses, until his patience snapped and he took over. He did the same thing to her, discovering every sensitive spot and freckle, learning her bit by bit until she felt as if he knew her body better than anyone. She was frantic and squirming with need long before he donned a condom and slid inside her.
As he moved in her, learning her reactions and how to get her to tighten around him with building pleasure, he watched her face, kissing her and touching her and making her feel so connected to him that she could barely stand it even as she craved it at the same time. Tension built inside her as he watched, quickly finding exactly the best way to move and the best places to stroke and touch until the pleasure peaked and she shattered, her body clutching him as she cried out and dragged him over the edge with her.
He finally closed his eyes as he came, ecstasy contorting his features. It was Molly’s turn to watch him, and she hungrily took in his expressions as pleasure washed over him—pleasure that she’d caused. The idea that she’d given this to him, just as he’d done for her, gave her a warm, satisfied feeling that merged with her afterglow into a deep contentment.
As they lay there immediately afterward, their bodies still linked, Molly thought about what had just happened. Making love with John hadn’t been like what she’d expected…not that she’d allowed herself to think about it—at least not for long—before now. It had been crazy intense, and completely different from their usual light and teasing interactions.
She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised by that, since it made sense. That was how they were together in everything else, after all. They argued and teased and laughed and stole each other’s skips, but they also watched each other’s backs and took care of each other. No wonder sex had been wild and passionate. They could be fun and silly, but together, they could be more than that, too.
John slid out of her, and she felt a pang, missing that physical connection. He kissed her once—thoroughly—before reluctantly pushing to his feet. As he crossed the room to toss the condom in a small garbage can, Molly moved to a sitting position, feeling awkward now that she was lying by herself on the rug.
“What time is it?” she asked, not really wanting to know. She wasn’t ready for reality to roll over them quite yet.
He patted his bare hip, as if his cell phone was somehow attached to him, and she laughed. His dimples appeared as he pretended to frown at her and stalked closer, his eyes narrowing in a way that, along with his suppressed smile, Molly knew meant trouble. With a laughing shriek, she tried to scramble out of his path, but he grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Careful!” She was almost laughing too hard to speak, even as she pinched his tight butt in retaliation. “You’re like eight feet tall. If you drop me on my head, there’s going to be some major damage, and you’re going to have to bring Sonny in yourself.”
“I’ve got you.” His voice was confident, and she believed him completely. He wouldn’t let her get hurt. “And it’s just after seven. Plenty of time for a shower…if we share. That would be the most efficient plan, and I know how much you like a good plan.”
Although she rolled her eyes at his transparent plot to get his hands on her again, she was still
smiling. She wasn’t sure if she was going to stop anytime soon. “How can I say no to an efficient plan?”
“You can’t.” As he climbed the stairs, he gave a dramatic, evil-villain laugh, making her snort. “I know your weakness.”
Even as she pinched his bare backside again—or tried to, since there wasn’t any give to his buns of steel—she silently acknowledged that he was right. He did know her weaknesses, but she trusted him, both to have her back and with her tender, tentative heart.
* * *
After a shared shower that stretched so long the water ran cold, Molly got dressed in his bedroom. Sitting on the neatly made bed, she pulled on her socks. Now that she was clothed and didn’t have anything to do except look around the room and try to wrap her head around the fact that she’d just had sex with John Carmondy, she felt anxious and twitchy. Unable to sit still, she started toward the door as John emerged from the bathroom.
The sight of him, all huge and buff, his upper half bare, made her freeze in her tracks. She felt both justified in the decision to tumble into bed with him—well, onto the couch—and also even more nervous, because seeing him made what they’d just done all the more real. He gave her a slow, curling smile that instantly lit the smoldering fire in her belly, but she firmly stomped it down. That was what had gotten her into this situation in the first place.
He grew serious as he studied her. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” The denial was automatic, but it felt wrong. This was John, the guy who’d had her back over the past few nightmarish days, who’d protected her too many times to count, and whom she’d just slept with. She could tell him. “Just…this was fast.”
He looked stricken for a fraction of a second before his expression blanked. “You regret what we did?” Molly was careful not to look at him, knowing that she couldn’t think of how wonderful he was without losing the last of her composure.