Two incredibly long, supremely unsatisfying years.
At first, the dry spell had been intentional. After a bad breakup with her college boyfriend, the whole idea of intimacy had left a sour taste in her mouth. In the intervening months, the taste had faded and her heart had healed.
Her long walk through the sexual desert, however, had continued with nary an orgasm in sight.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t had opportunities. She wasn’t an ogre; she’d had some chances to get her groove on. Her gal pals had thrown more than a few unsuspecting men in her path – and some of them had actually been quite gorgeous. Sadly, she hadn’t felt one iota of lust for any of them…not a single speck of desire had flared. She refused to think about the fact that butterflies fluttered whenever Devil happened to turn those incredible blue eyes of his toward her. That meant nothing besides the fact that he’d probably given her an ulcer.
All in all, she didn’t understand it. She was a healthy, not unattractive chick. So, why was it that she couldn’t get worked up over any of the hot, young men her friends introduced her to? Why did it have to be the irascible, irritating, and very, very forbidden William Delancy that got her heart pounding and juices flowing?
There were two plausible explanations as far as she was concerned.
Either God hated her, which she doubted since she regularly attended church and worshiped devoutly, or – and this was much more likely to her way of thinking – she was mentally unstable.
Yep, that had to be it. Devil had finally driven her around the bend during the year she’d worked with him and somehow seduced her psyche into dreaming about him every time she closed her eyes.
There had to be a twelve-step program for that. Perhaps she should contact some of his throng of tramps and find out if they’d formed some kind of self-help club that might help her recover her sanity.
She was sure about one thing, though. She absolutely could not continue her descent down this rabbit hole. No, indeed! What this Alice needed was to get the dickens out of this wicked Wonderland before she threw herself at the Mad Hatter’s mattress.
Getting horizontal with her brother’s best buddy was not in anybody’s best interest. Blowing the tumbleweeds off her woo woo with Devil just wasn’t a viable solution - even if the man was a walking, talking sinful temptation.
Nope, she’d just continue her tour through the sexual Sahara badlands all alone.
Growling under her breath, Molly ran a fidgety hand through her loose red hair, gathering it at the base of her neck. “Get a freaking grip here, Mols. This isn’t the end of the world,” she muttered to herself. If the worst thing she had to complain about was her lack of a good lay, then life could definitely be worse.
Turning as the phone on her desk began to jingle, she returned to her desk.
“Delancy and Associates,” she answered automatically. “William Delancy’s office. May I help you?”
“Yes, I hope so. This is Jasmine Waters. I’m a registered nurse in the emergency room over at Emory Hospital. We’ve admitted a Kathleen Delancy for treatment, and she’s indicated that a Mr. William Delancy is her next of kin. May I please be connected with him?”
“Nana?” Molly replied weakly as she caught herself against her desk and a wave of panic rolled through her. In the blink of an eye, all her earlier worries seemed insubstantial in the face of a real emergency. She’d known Devil’s grandmother since she’d been born. Hearing that the elderly woman had landed herself in the ER sent raw fear pulsing through her veins.
“Yes, I do believe she mentioned that Mr. Delancy was her grandson. Is he there?” the nurse questioned a tad impatiently. “It’s of the utmost importance that we locate him as soon as possible.”
Blinking quickly, Molly swallowed. “Yes, absolutely, ma’am. I’ll connect you immediately. Please hold,” she ordered, jabbing the red hold button on her phone before spinning toward Devil’s office and running toward his closed door.
Not bothering to knock, she barged into his inner sanctum for the second time of the afternoon. Unfazed by the hard look he shot her as his finger rose in the air to silence her while he spoke to someone on his phone, Molly shook her head frantically. “Devil! Get off the phone now! It’s an emergency!”
She nearly shrieked when he rolled his eyes and continued speaking. Running across the room, she snatched the cell out of his hand and pulled it to her ear. “Devil has to go. He’ll call you back,” she informed the caller breathlessly before jabbing the end call button and throwing the cell on his desk.
“Molly, that was the President of Harper Industries, damn it! You know, the company I’m currently trying to acquire. It took four fucking hours and seventeen emails to get that call in place! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he barked, his eyes flashing angrily as he turned his attention toward her.
“Devil, shut UP! I don’t care about Harper or his industry and right now, neither do you! Screw the goddamned deal!” Molly yelled, her heart in her throat.
Catching the desperation in her voice, Devil stilled, looking up into her flushed face. “What’s happening?” he asked quietly, his big body already bracing for whatever blow she was about to land.
“Emory Hospital is on line one. It’s about Nana!” Snatching the receiver off his desk, she shoved it against his chest and pressed the flashing button on his phone.
Sizzle: Chapter Four
As Devil spoke sharply to the nurse on the phone, Molly quickly collected her purse and keys from her desk in the outer office and shut down her computer before returning to his desk and meeting his startled eyes. “Devil?” she prodded when he ended the phone call, keeping one eye on her boss as she grabbed his suit jacket from the coat tree by the door. “What did the hospital say?”
Staring at her as she approached him, Devil shook his head dumbly, trying to process all the information he’d just been told.
“Devil!” Molly repeated, shaking his suit coat in front of his nose. “The hospital. What did they tell you?”
Taking his coat automatically, he shrugged it on before grabbing his own keys. “They’re taking Nana to the heart catheter lab now. The nurse said that the doctor says it was definitely a heart attack. Now, they wanna see if there are any blockages. They need me there to authorize everything,” he informed her numbly.
Molly was already striding toward the door, her hand latched around the sleeve of his jacket as she pulled him along with her. “Well, okay then. Let’s go! We need to move. Do you want me to call Grant on the way?” she asked, privately thinking he could probably use her brother’s support right now as she led the way toward their elevator. “He might be able to cut through some of the red tape at the hospital,” she suggested as she jabbed the button for the parking garage. Grant had medical privileges at Emory. As one of the state’s leading high-risk obstetricians, he had privileges all over Atlanta.
Following her inside the elevator, Devil blinked. “You’re coming with me?”
“Of course I’m going with you. It’s Nana!” Molly retorted impatiently as she tried to understand the surprised look on his face. “Besides, I don’t trust you to drive yourself,” she added with a pointed look at his trembling hands as she slapped her own palm against the down button. “If you wrap your car around a tree, I’m out of a job. My student loans won’t pay themselves. And did I mention this is Nana that we’re talking about? She’s been as much my grandmother for my whole life as she’s been yours. Grant’s, too, for that matter!” she rambled nervously, tapping her foot as she waited for the elevator to land in the basement parking garage of their office complex.
“You’re right,” Devil replied, leaning against the wall as he ran a hand over his face. “Text him and tell him to meet us there.”
Molly’s didn’t bother to respond. Instead, her fingers flew over her phone as she messaged her brother. “What about Momma and Daddy?” she asked, glancing at him with a frown. Devil looked pale. And scared. Two things she’d neve
r seen from him before today.
“They’re still in Bermuda, aren’t they? They aren’t supposed to be back until Saturday, right?”
“Yes, but you know they’ll come home in a second if Nana needs them,” she replied truthfully, knowing her parents would immediately book a flight on the next plane out if she called them. The Ramsey clan and the Delancy crew were more family than friends.
“I know, but let’s not alarm them until we know what’s going on for sure,” Devil replied, eyeing the descending numbers above the metal doors anxiously. The elevator always moved at a snail’s pace when you had somewhere you needed to be.
Nodding, Molly glanced at her phone as it vibrated in her hand, her eyes quickly scanning the message. “Grant says he’ll be there in an hour. He’s in the middle of a delivery.”
“Okay,” Devil mumbled, relieved when the door opened and they stepped into the cement garage. “This way,” he said, gesturing toward the right. “We’ll take my car. It’s faster.”
“The Mercedes?” Molly grimaced. It was a pretty car, but was worth more than her condo, for which, by the way, she still owed a small fortune. “Give me your keys?” she ordered, holding out her hand.
Devil did a double take, glancing from her to his car keys and back again. “You wanna drive my car?” he asked, slightly horrified by the thought.
“Lord have mercy, Devil, I’m not asking to have your child. Just hand me your keys,” she insisted, wriggling her fingers at him as they reached the sleek black sedan. “You aren’t in any state to drive, are you?” she remarked pointedly.
Swallowing, Devil thought it might be easier to ask her to have his kid. Molly was hell on wheels, no pun intended. “No, I guess I’m not, but I’d still like to arrive alive,” he retorted, tightening his fingers around the metal keys. “Remember, I was there when your dad and brother attempted – and I use that word loosely – to teach you how to drive. Although, I wouldn’t call what you did back then driving. It was more like riding on a wing and a prayer.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Maybe I just needed better teachers than the three of you,” she snapped. “All three of you spent a fair amount of time screaming like little girls. Besides, a lot has changed in eight years and I happen to be a very competent driver with the low insurance premiums to prove it. Now, do you wanna stand here arguing, or do you want to get to the hospital and find out how Nana is?” she asked impatiently, snatching the key ring from his hand.
“Fine. Just remember that this vehicle has a lot of horsepower behind it,” Devil grumbled, jerking open the passenger door and climbing inside. “It’s a lot different from that tin can on wheels that you zip around in, Molly.”
“That tin can is a perfectly good car for me,” Molly replied, rolling her eyes as she slid into the deep bucket seat and adjusted it to fit her much smaller frame. “Just because it’s got a few miles on it…”
“A few hundred thousand, you mean,” Devil muttered, fastening his seatbelt as Molly copied his actions. “That vehicle of yours is a menace that should have been sent to the great car graveyard in the sky a long time ago, Mols.” Glaring at the VW Bug parked a few slots down from his Mercedes, he shook his head. “Better yet, it should be melted down into a nice desk ornament.”
“Touch my car and find out just how violent I can become, Devil,” Molly threatened, leaning forward and twisting the key in the ignition and shifting with ease. “I love The Trailblazer,” she added with a fond look at her lime green Bug.
“The Trailblazer,” Devil echoed with a snort, rubbing his hand over his worried brow. “The only trail that thing could blaze is with the exhaust from the leaky tailpipe it has.”
It was an old argument. One she’d had with every male in her family. Her dad, her brother, and Devil all agreed. They thought The Trailblazer needed to be put out of their misery. She, however, liked antiques. The twenty-year-old car had served her well and more importantly, was completely hers. It had been bought and paid for by a summer spent babysitting her niece and nephew during her senior year of high school. She’d part with her brother before her car, she thought darkly as she stepped on the accelerator and sped out of the parking garage.
She ignored Devil’s gasp as she hit a particularly high speed bump on the way out of the structure and bit her lip as she caught him pumping invisible brakes on his side of the car out of the corner of her eye. “So, what exactly did the nurse say about Nana’s condition?” she asked as much to distract him as to learn anything new.
Hanging on tightly to his seatbelt as Molly swung his car into traffic, he swallowed. “She said Nana was stable for the moment and being taken to the cath lab. The good news was that she was conscious and asking for me,” he answered, eyes widening as Molly ran a red light. Looking over his shoulder as a car honked behind them, he gulped. “Did you see that red light?” he asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.
“It was yellow,” Molly replied lightly. “Yellow doesn’t mean stop. It’s just a suggestion to slow down.”
“A suggestion?” Devil yelped.
“Uh huh.” Molly nodded. “Green means go. Red means stop. Yellow means stop if you can, but don’t feel obligated. I couldn’t, so I didn’t. We’ve got places we need to be, Devil,” she reminded him ever so patiently as she passed a slow-moving Buick and ignored the driver beside her flipping her the bird. Shrugging her shoulders, she focused on the road ahead. After all, it wasn’t a double yellow line, and she had plenty of time.
“Yeah, and I’d like to arrive alive, Molly!” Jumping in his seat as the driver of the car beside them laid on his horn, Devil caught the man’s rude hand gesture to them out of the corner of his eye. “Christ, Mols, slow down!” he ordered, bracing one hand against the dashboard as Molly veered back into the correct lane of traffic.
“Would you please stop side seat driving? For heaven’s sake, you’re worse than Grant. Close your eyes and think of England or something,” she advised as she took the ramp onto I-85. “Do you remember what exit we need?” she asked, turning her head to stare at the wan man beside her.
“Keep your eyes on the road!” Devil roared, pointing out the windshield with an imperious finger. “You’re a hazard to drivers everywhere when you are watching where you’re going! God knows what will happen if you look away from the road!”
“You have got to be the most critical man on the planet and an alarmist to boot,” she mumbled, pressing down on the accelerator as she shifted the Mercedes into the passing lane and whizzed past two cars. She would admit to herself, however, that he was endearing when he was flustered. And the way his eyes darted frantically around the road and his fingers gripped the seatbelt in a white-knuckled hold while sweat shined on his forehead…that was just too cute.
“Stop looking at me and watch the damn road,” Devil growled. “And you want Exit 91 onto Clairmont Road,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck as she changed lanes again, jerking the wheel into the far right lane and cutting off a driver behind them. He stiffened as another angry honk reverberated inside their car. “For God’s sake, use your turn signal, Molly! And while the yellow light might be a suggestion to stop, the posted speed limits are set in stone. You’re speeding!”
“We’re in a hurry,” Molly reasoned aloud, her little hands tightening on the wheel. You’d think the man would be appreciative for her speedy skills behind the wheel. You’d think he’d be shouting at her to step on it. But nope, not the ever cautious William Delancy. Evidently the only thing he liked fast were his women. He’d been complaining since he strapped his seatbelt and hadn’t shut up yet. Maybe she could teach him to parlay some of this caution into his love life.
“It’s the next exit, Molly,” Devil warned a few minutes later as the traffic seemed to slow.
“I know,” Molly muttered, groaning as the SUV ahead of them suddenly stepped on its brakes. “Crap, there’s construction ahead. I swear, if they ever get done improving this city, it’s gonna be great,” she said un
der her breath. “Hang on, Devil!” she warned, jerking the wheel again.
“What?” Devil questioned quickly as Molly abruptly shifted his new car onto the shoulder of the road without losing speed. “What the hell are you doing?” his normally level voice squealed.
Molly would have giggled at his high-pitched scream if she weren’t trying to navigate through construction and Atlanta rush hour traffic. “I’m getting you to the hospital. The exit is just a few hundred feet ahead.” She lifted her chin toward the exit sign in the distance.
Staring out the window as they passed incredulous travelers watching as they burned rubber down the shoulder of I-85, he was pretty sure he was coming perilously close to wetting his pants. “Molly!” he shouted as she suddenly jerked the wheel again, shifting them back onto pavement as she steered them onto the exit ramp. “Pull over!”
Sparing him a quick look, Molly noted that he was no longer looking like a ghost. Instead, he was a remarkable shade of green. “Suck it up, Devil. We’re almost there. Just take a few deep breaths,” she ordered as she merged with traffic.
“You’re a menace,” he mumbled. “Oh, you come wrapped up in a pretty package and you seem relatively harmless, but it’s a disguise. You’re actually a demon. A fucking speed demon sent from Hell itself to torture me.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll tell your dad that you said ‘hi’ when I get back!” she snapped, sparing a moment to glare at him. “I’d like to point out that you’re the one in this car known for being the spawn of Satan.”
“Those people just don’t know you!” he countered, gripping his car door as she made the right turn onto North Decatur Road on two wheels and a prayer.
Wincing as the car’s tires squealed, she murmured absently, “Sorry ‘bout that.”
“She’s sorry. Hear that, God, she’s sorry!” He could barely hear her soft curse of response over the blasting horns around them. “You know, I’d really, really like to live long enough to see Nana,” he informed her through gritted teeth. “At this rate, I’m going to beat her into the Great Beyond!” he roared as the woman beside him swerved around another vehicle.
The Sizzle Saga Page 3
