Bring the Heat

by Margot Radcliffe

  Oh, brother, Oliver thought, his lips thinning.

  Molly laughed when she saw his expression, her eyes dancing. “He’s fun.”

  “A real riot,” Oliver drawled.

  He ate a piece of buttered toast and watched as she did the same. “In all seriousness, Molly, have you given any thought at all to being together when we leave this boat?”

  Molly met his eyes, her smile kind. “Of course I’ve thought about it,” she laughed. “But I don’t know that I fit in your life, Oliver. And I think you don’t realize the implications of that.”

  He nearly snorted. “I’ve had nothing but time to think about the implications, Molly. That’s why I’m here, because I’ve thought about all of them and I don’t give a shit. You mean more to me than any of that stuff. I just want to be with you. It’s as simple as that.”

  She drew her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth. “I think maybe I need a little longer to believe that.”

  A trickle of unease slithered through him because he’d made the big romantic gesture, had left his old life behind, and had been completely honest with her about how he felt, pulled back the curtain on his parents, so he didn’t know what else could convince her to believe that he was serious.

  But when she climbed into his lap to deliver a kiss so sweet it turned his knees to jelly, he let it go. Waiting for her to come around was no damned hardship at all.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  NASSAU WAS STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL. Molly had forgotten just how lovely it really was. She stood at the yacht’s bow facing west toward the Gulf of Mexico, thinking back to all those times during grade school when she’d looked at places on a map and wondered what they were like. Being on this boat was a “pinch me” moment and yet it paled in comparison to Oliver telling her he wanted to build a life with her and her actually believing it this time.

  But she still didn’t understand how their lives could ever work together.

  She could see herself building awesome boats, better ones than existed now, but the idea of working for Oliver gave her literal chills. It didn’t matter that she wouldn’t see him or he might not be her immediate boss, he would essentially own her because he owned the business. Nope—she shook her head—it couldn’t happen.

  Which meant the other option was that he come back with her to Colorado. And that seemed lovely, but just as unlikely. She tried to imagine Oliver in his two-hundred-dollar pair of socks (she’d done an internet search for them and had nearly choked on Liam’s scone in the process) in the little bungalow she’d shared with Max. Not that she’d be moving back there, but even though she made a good living and loved her life it was not the same as Oliver’s. Hers was not an “owning a yacht and buying companies for sport” kind of existence. And frankly, she didn’t want that kind of life, either. She wanted a regular one with a guy who loved her, who liked to hike on the weekends and watch movies at night, and that was about as complicated as it got.

  Except that she’d had that with a safe, reliable guy and he’d still fucked it up.

  So maybe that was an argument for Oliver. She’d had more fun in the past couple weeks with him than she’d had in the entirety of her relationship with Max, but she kept going back to the fact that she was on vacation right now. This was not how she operated in her everyday life. When she was deep into a project, she rarely made it home before nine or ten o’clock at night. She worked until she couldn’t work anymore; that was her work ethic and the one that had gotten her where she was in her career. She just couldn’t believe that Oliver had truly considered what a life together would look like for them in Colorado.

  What the hell would he even do there? Make conference calls from a home office? Fly back and forth to the company he was buying on the coast? Sun himself on the mountains? None of it made any sense to her.

  Stopping by the engine room, she took a quick look to make sure everything was functioning properly. She’d had to fix another wayward kitchen appliance for Liam this morning, a food processor with a twisted wire, but other than that life was pretty chill on the boat. The rest of the day would include lying out and reading with Oliver as usual, their casual touches and teasing revving them up for the night, when they’d let loose in the bedroom.

  Smiling about what they’d done this morning with those hooks, she didn’t see the woman standing with Oliver on the main deck near the stern. She stopped mid-step when she noticed the strain on Oliver’s face.

  “Is this her?” the girl asked, and Molly’s stomach tightened. Had his parents sent down their choice for him to marry? She’d had no idea how awful this would feel, but her insides were burning with embarrassment and rage. Plus, Molly didn’t exactly look like the girlfriend of a billionaire in a white T-shirt and khaki shorts, both of which, as well as her fingers, were streaked with engine grease.

  Oliver sighed. “Daphne, this is Molly,” he said, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. “Molly, this is my sister, Daphne, who has arrived here unannounced and unwelcome.”

  Daphne swatted at her brother before holding out her hand, an emerald-cut sapphire glittering on her ring finger as she did so. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Molly,” she said, her voice a subdued and cultured alto.

  Molly started to hold out her hand, but then swiped it back at the last second. “I’m sorry, my hands have grease on them,” she said, holding them up so they could see. “I wouldn’t want to get you dirty.”

  Daphne’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, that’s okay,” she laughed, leaving her own hand held out. “I’m already so dirty from the trip.”

  Molly shook her hand and right away she wondered how she could have missed the resemblance between the two of them. They both had light hair and eyes, though Daphne’s eyes were a shade or two lighter than Oliver’s.

  She was also lovely.

  After Daphne freshened up in the room she’d be staying in, disregarding that Oliver had told her she had to stay in a hotel on the island, the three of them settled on the main deck for lunch. Liam had cooked a huge spread—mini sandwiches, sushi, salad, the works. Molly ate while she listened to Daphne chastise Oliver for leaving her in New York to deal with their parents on her own.

  “Molly, would you do that to your own sister?”

  “I don’t have one, but I doubt it,” she admitted, siding with Daphne and receiving a grateful smile for it.

  Oliver rolled his eyes. “They’re not going to make you take my place in the firm, Daph. You have made it quite clear that you’re not interested, starting with the fact that you’ve never set foot inside the building.”

  Daphne shrugged. “Stranger things and all.”

  “They’ll get over it,” Oliver said, unconcerned.

  Daphne leaned back in the chair, setting her hands on the armrests. “They’ll get over being mad about it, Oliver, but they’re not going to stop taking you down. If you think for one minute they’re going to let you walk away easily, you’re kidding yourself.”

  “They have no clue what I’m doing instead,” he told her, confident. “I’m doing everything under multiple layers.”

  “It won’t be enough,” Daphne said, unconvinced. “Dad will use every avenue available to thwart you until you come back to the company. He knows who Molly is.”

  Molly’s eyes flew to Oliver’s and his face was mottled in rage, eyes dark and the flush high on his wide cheekbones. “Yeah, they called a few nights ago asking about her, Daphne,” Oliver bit off. “And you were the only one who knew where I was.”

  “I didn’t tell him, Ollie,” Daphne insisted, and Molly believed her. “But I talked to you on the phone and anyone could have been listening. That’s why I got a new phone after we came because I felt sure he’d track me.”

  Oliver shook his head. “I can’t believe you brought him right to me.”

  “I didn’t, Oliver,” Daphne promised.

  �
��It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You flew under your name and he’ll find out from the airline where you went.”

  “I really don’t think so,” Daphne said. “I left in the middle of the night, I purposely chartered a flight under a different name and the only person who knew where I was going was the pilot.”

  Molly laughed. “That’s a lot of subterfuge to cover what could be said on a phone call.”

  “And yet it still wasn’t enough.” Oliver grimaced, his jaw tensing.

  Daphne exhaled. “I still don’t know why you’re even doing this anyway, Oliver,” Daphne said. “It’s not as if you actually have to do work at the firm. Dad has been a figurehead since Grandpa passed. Once you’re at his level, you just do whatever you want to do anyway.”

  Oliver shook his head. “That’s how you think I want to spend my life, Daph? Just half-assing a job I don’t want? Do you understand how empty that sounds? Christ, I just want to do something that makes a difference.”

  “With all due respect, brother,” Daphne said, “I don’t know how much yacht building really contributes to society, but I mean, I get what you’re saying.”

  “I’d create a lot of jobs for people,” he told her. “And I’m trying to create eco-friendly luxury. I want to build my own legacy, not live off someone else’s. At least give me some credit, Daph.”

  “I give you a lot of credit,” she insisted.

  Molly watched them go back and forth, stuck on every word because it sounded as if Oliver was in the fight of his life while up until this point he’d just made it sound like he and his family played at business together. But tapping and tracing phones, trying to sabotage Oliver before he began, Daphne having to sneak out of their house during the night, seemed intense and very real. It all just sounded incredibly awful, and while she felt for Oliver to have had to deal with it for so long, she also didn’t want to be a part of such a toxic world.

  “They’re going to use her,” Daphne said, giving Molly a wan smile. “They already know where she works.”

  At the words, Molly got a little light-headed because her boss hadn’t been thrilled when she’d asked for that much time off at once even though there were only a handful of people in the world who could do her job.

  Oliver rose from his seat, the sound of the metal chair scratching loudly over the teak, tearing at her nerves. He leaned over the table to get into his sister’s face. “What are they planning, Daphne?”

  Daphne shook her head, giving Molly a sad look, reaching out to take her hand. “I don’t know exactly, Ollie, but she’s not safe.”

  Molly spoke then. “You mean my life is in danger?” she squeaked.

  Daphne recoiled immediately. “God, no,” she choked. “They would never.”

  Oliver pulled Molly’s chair closer to his and put an arm around her, drawing her close. “They’re deviants, not murderers, Molly, I promise. You’re going to be just fine,” he assured her, his hand warm on hers.

  “Um, it doesn’t actually sound that way,” Molly pointed out, icy blood running through her veins. She’d known she didn’t belong in Oliver’s life, but damned if she was going to die for it. Good God, who in the world were these people?

  Daphne was shaking her head, too. “You haven’t explained the family to her, apparently?”

  Oliver shrugged. “I did, but it’s hard to believe unless you witness it.”

  Placing her chin in her hand, Daphne sighed wistfully. “That must be nice.”

  Molly’s gaze shot to hers. “Yeah, having parents who don’t want to murder your friends is a pretty big mark on the plus side as far as family goes.”

  “No one is going to murder you,” Oliver growled. Then he made her look at him, his expression purposeful. “But they will try to figure out your vulnerabilities. So is your father solvent?”

  “You mean does he have debt?”

  “Yes, or any unwise investments? Does he secretly gamble? Did he ever cheat on your mom? What are his weaknesses?”

  “And you, too,” Daphne continued. “Do you have any arrests, any former bosses with a grudge, bad employee reviews?”

  Molly looked between both of them as they spoke. The outlandish possibilities made her head spin. The most her father ever gambled was scratch-offs he’d gotten at an office holiday gift exchange.

  She shook her head, not truly comprehending what was happening or what it possibly meant for her family or career. “None of those things applies. I don’t know what our weaknesses would be. We’re just normal people.”

  “That’s good,” Daphne chirped brightly. “The less they have on you means the less leverage they’ll have on Oliver, which is what we want.”

  “But we’re not even together. Why would they use me as leverage?”

  “Well, for example,” Daphne explained, “they’ll find out that Oliver wants to build yachts. And now they know he’s also acquired a genius rocket scientist.”

  “The preferred term is actually aerospace—”

  But Daphne ignored her to continue. “So what they’ll probably do is try to pay you off first. Offer you double the amount Oliver is paying you.”

  “Oliver isn’t paying me anything—I’m not working for him,” Molly said, barely keeping up.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Daphne shrugged. “Oliver doesn’t have friends, so either way they’ll know you’re a significant piece of whatever he’s doing next.”

  “Oliver had tons of friends when we were yachting together.”

  Daphne shook her head. “Oliver has acquaintances, not friends he travels extensively with.”

  Oliver had been silent but squeezed Molly’s hand. “I’m sorry, Molly, but she’s right. I’d hoped we have more time before this started, but I guess not.”

  “I thought you said they’d be fine with you leaving eventually.”

  “Yeah, emotionally, like I could go back and we could do the whole family thing. But like I said, this business stuff, they’ll keep coming until they get what they want.”

  Molly let all of this sink in, mulling over what could be done to thwart his parents and give Oliver the life he wanted. It didn’t take her long; she was a problem-solver by trade, after all.

  “Well, the easy solution is for me to go back to Colorado.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  OLIVER STALKED ACROSS his bedroom toward Molly, who was standing in front of an open suitcase placing neatly folded clothes inside, looking extremely normal as if she had no inkling whatsoever that she was ripping out his heart.

  Fucking Daphne, he cursed. As if he needed her to travel to Nassau to tell him what his parents would be planning? He knew the rules of the game, had contingency plans, and then plans for those, too, if they went to shit. Her curiosity over Molly disguised as her trying to help him was so classic her, always stirring things up. She’d been on the boat for all of an hour and completely ruined his life.

  “I can’t believe you were serious,” he said, eyes riveted on her bag.

  Molly’s head raised, her expression carefully easy. “Yes, this will solve the problem. If I remove myself from the equation, your parents can’t do anything to me and they won’t have any leverage. You get to keep moving forward with your plans and build the company of your dreams. Problem solved.”

  Oliver’s eyes closed and his fists clenched. He needed to get himself together and focus if he was going to keep Molly with him. He’d known she was skittish, known she had her doubts about them moving forward, and now his interfering sister had made it all worse, tipped the scales in the exact opposite direction he wanted them when he’d still had so much time left with her.

  He’d been so damned good the past weeks, tiptoeing around what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t let her leave now. He couldn’t bear it, not when they’d gotten so close and not when he couldn’t imagine waking up without her in his arms tomor
row or the next day or any day in the future.

  “Molly,” he said softly, reaching out a hand. “Can you please stop packing so we can discuss this?”

  She shook her head. “You’re just going to try to make me believe that your dream isn’t in danger when I know it is, Oliver. I can’t let myself be part of your downfall. So let’s just take this time to be apart a little longer, and when you’ve got your company up and running I’ll be waiting for you and we can continue this.”

  This calmed him a little, to know that she did want to be together, but he still didn’t want her to go.

  She turned to him then, taking his hand. “It’s probably not smart to get into another serious relationship right now anyway, Oliver. This is for the best.” Giving him a sad smile, she continued, “And for once I’ll be able to give you what you need instead of the other way around. It means a lot for me to be able to do that for you.”

  “You always—” he started, but she cut him off with a kiss.

  “Nope, it’s my turn to show you how much you mean to me,” she told him. Then pointed a finger at the bed. “It’s my turn now. Get up there.”

  He pulled her in for a kiss that went from hot to volcanic in three seconds as their tongues tangled and fought for dominance. She’d been talking about tying him up since he’d done it to her, but they’d always been in too much of a hurry. But apparently it was his turn. The thought of Molly over him shot bullets of heat to his cock as it stiffened underneath his jeans.

  “Clothes off,” she ordered as she moved to the closet and unearthed the duffel bag of toys. She dropped it on the bed as he had and he removed his clothes as she rummaged through the dark depths, pulling out the ropes with a satisfied smile.

  He lay on the bed, propped up against the headboard, watching intently as she slid the smooth vinyl rope through her fingers, teasing him. “Did you buy this just for me?” she asked. “Or do you do this stuff with all the women you sleep with?”