Then the figure stepped out of the shadows, and her body slumped in relief.
Jake. It was Jake.
Dumbass. Of course, it’s Jake. No self-respecting intruder would take a call in the middle of his intruding. She rubbed her head tiredly. She was feeling really muddled up. What time had they gotten to bed? She wasn’t sure, she only knew it had been late. Now it was early, and she hadn’t had enough sleep.
She frowned up at Jake, who was trying to pull his pants on while listening to whomever was on the other end. He had his phone caught between his shoulder and his ear.
He gave her an apologetic look. Pushing her thick hair back over her shoulder she laid down on her side. Her butt felt a bit tender this morning. Not sore, but she could definitely feel those spankings from the night before. Not that she regretted any of it. When they’d gotten home, he’d ordered her onto her hands and knees and taken her hard and fast . . . yeah, that had been delicious.
But if she’d known he was going to wake her up so goddamn early after just a few hours’ sleep she might have had second thoughts about letting him stay the night.
Like you had much of a choice? He didn’t exactly ask.
“Okay, no, I’m at Molly’s. Can you pick me up?”
He put the phone down and did his pants up. Now that was a damn shame.
“You know if you’re going to wake me up before the crack of dawn the least you could do is offer me a good view.”
He raised one eyebrow as he reached for his shirt. “Crack of dawn? Baby, it’s after seven.”
“It’s barely light. And we didn’t get to sleep until late.”
He smiled. A very masculine, self-satisfied grin. “No, we didn’t.”
“So where are you going?” A tight feeling developed in her stomach.
He sighed. “Out to the Lonely Horse Ranch. One of the Malone boys shot his brother.”
She sat straight up. “What? Really? And you’re going out there? You’re taking reinforcements, right? What if he tries to shoot you?”
“If he tries to shoot me, I’ll beat his ass,” Jake said darkly as he finished buttoning up his shirt. He was remarkably calm for someone who was about to go deal with some armed and dangerous idiot.
“Gonna be hard to do that if you’re dead.”
He snorted. “Baby, he’s not going to shoot me.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he knows I’ll make his life a living hell. Besides, he already shot his brother; it’ll be out of his system now.”
“What? He needed to shoot someone to get something out of his system?” What was wrong with these people?
He sighed. “You haven’t heard about the Malone brothers?”
“No. Should I have?”
“I’d have thought you’d have been warned to stay away from them. The oldest, Alec, was at the club last night.”
“He was?”
“Yeah, the big dark-haired guy with the beard.”
Her eyes widened. “The mean looking one with no shirt on?” He’d watched her intently. It had scared her a little, although he’d never made any move towards her.
“That’s him. Well, Tanner and Butch are two of his brothers.”
“Butch? That’s a nickname, right?”
He shot her a grin. “Nope.”
“How many brothers are there?”
He frowned, tilting his head to the side, and she realized he was counting. “Six, I think. Unless I’m forgetting one. About once a month, one of them gets his panties in a twist over something one of his brothers has done and has a go at him.”
“With guns?” These people were nuts. And as a therapist she really wasn’t supposed to say that. They needed help. But not from her. She was out of the game.
“Not always. Last month Beauden decided to hog tie one of his brothers and left him out in one of the paddocks. Took Alec a day to realize Jaret was missing and send out a search party.”
“Jesus. Why?”
“Why’d he leave him out there? Apparently, Jaret left without paying the bar tab the night before.”
“You’re making this up, right?”
“Baby, I wish I could tell you I was. They’re the bane of the damn county, and Alec lets them run damn near wild.”
There was the sound of a horn beeping, and he leaned over to kiss her. “Duncan’s here to pick me up. Go back to sleep, and I’ll be back soon, all right? Stay out of trouble.”
He was gone before she could even reply.
After trying and failing to go back to sleep, Molly got up and took a good, long shower. It was Sunday so most of the shops in Haven were closed, including Laken’s store. Most people in the town spent the day with their family, she’d come to kind of dread Sundays. They just made it more obvious she didn’t have a family. And with Jake bugging out early to deal with that emergency, she found herself with way too much time on her hands. Being alone after the night she’d experienced just seemed like a recipe for disaster. She didn’t want to think too much about everything she’d done last night, she knew the embarrassment would overwhelm her.
Wasn’t every night a girl got spanked, fucked, and found herself in a relationship with a Dom.
Nope, this definitely called for some distraction. What, though?
8
He was getting too old for this shit. It had taken three hours to deal with the Malone brothers, and he’d come close to losing his cool several times. He didn’t know if it was the lack of sleep, their complete disregard of the law and just plain common decency, or the fact he’d been pulled out of Molly’s warm embrace to go deal with those little fuckers.
He was still dressed in last night’s clothes, he hadn’t had a shower, or enough sleep and his mood was quickly deteriorating. But if he was lucky, Molly might still be in bed by the time he arrived back at her place. They’d been out late, she might have gone back to sleep. If she had, he could crawl in with her, perhaps spread her legs and eat that delectable pussy until she woke up in a rush of pleasure. Yeah, that sounded like the best idea he’d heard in a long while. And it might just be the cure he needed to get him out of this dark mood.
Hmm, now that was an interesting thought. Could playing with Molly be a cure for a bad temper? He rubbed his hand over his face and stifled a yawn. The report he had to write could wait until Monday. Today was his day off, if they weren’t currently short staffed, he wouldn’t even have been pulled out to deal with this shit. Duncan could probably have handled it on his own, but since it was his rule that nobody went out to an incident at the Lonely Horse Ranch on their own, it would have been a bit hypocritical of him to say he wasn’t going simply because he had a handful of lush, sexy woman.
“Late night, huh?” Duncan asked with some amusement.
Jake shot him a look. “You had no right taking Molly to Saxons.”
Duncan raised his eyebrows. “Molly’s a grown woman, and she wanted to go. I figured it was better she went to Saxons than go to some other club where there’s no one to watch out for her.”
He didn’t like the idea of that—at all. Just the thought of her going to a club with another Dom made his guts tighten.
“She wasn’t properly prepared.”
Duncan frowned slightly. “I tried to go through her limits with her. I didn’t think she was taking things seriously enough, so I had a chat with Saxon. Told him it was best she just watched for tonight. He told me he’d take care of it.”
“Oh, I bet he did,” Jake said darkly.
“Have the two of you had a falling out?”
“No. But we’re about to.”
“Just make sure Molly doesn’t get caught in the middle. I won’t have her used as a pawn in whatever game the two of you have going on.”
His temper stirred but he forced it back. Duncan was just looking out for her. He didn’t realize there was no need; she was his to protect now. “There is no game, and I would never allow Molly to be used as a pawn. I’m going to ignore the insult t
o me this once, because you’re my friend and I know you have Molly’s best interests at heart. But I would never use her or allow her to be used.”
“She’s Laken’s friend. She was there for her and Savannah when they needed someone. She helped heal them. While she’s here Max, Logan, and I agreed to watch out for her. I’m not trying to insult you. I know you’re a good guy. But even you have to admit you can be pretty intense. I just don’t want her to get hurt.”
Intense, yes. But to suggest he might hurt Molly or use her as a pawn . . .
“Well, thank you to the three of you for watching over her but you’ve been relieved of that duty. Molly’s mine.”
“After one night?”
“Yes. I claimed her last night.”
“You never even play at the club, you barely know her, and you’ve claimed her, just like that?” There was disbelief in Duncan’s voice.
“Just like that.” Jake’s voice dared him to take it further.
Instead, a smile crossed Duncan’s face. “She got to you, didn’t she?”
Oh, she’d gotten to him all right.
“She’s a firecracker, she’ll turn your life upside down.” It didn’t sound like Duncan was warning him. He sounded pleased.
“Molly understands the rules. She’ll obey me.” Or her ass would be constantly red. Hmm, not a bad thought, really. His cock hardened.
Something in the distance caught his attention. Dust clouds. Someone was coming toward them—and fast. He looked on in shock as a bright orange and black motorcycle sped past them.
Duncan immediately turned, switching on his siren. “Jesus, how fast was that bike going?”
“Fucking fast. If it’s one of those damn Malone brothers, I’m going to kill him.”
“I thought they were all at the ranch. There’s seven of them, right?”
“Pretty sure there’s six counting Alec.”
“Shit. There seems to be more of them every year. Who else would be stupid enough to drive at that speed up this road?” Duncan asked as he gave chase. They probably wouldn’t have caught up if the driver of the bike hadn’t slowed for a couple of tight turns. Which made him think it wasn’t a Malone. Those idiots didn’t have enough brains to be cautious.
And there was something about how the biker held themselves. The pants and jacket were shapeless, giving no indication of the body beneath, but still . . .
“Is that a woman?” Duncan asked, sounding as shocked as Jake felt as the bike pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. The driver struggled to hold it up. Finally, they managed to get the kickstand out and leaned the bike to the side then gingerly climbed off. Duncan had the squad car parked by now, and Jake climbed out.
“Take the helmet off and move away from the bike. I want to see your license and registration. Do you know how fast you were going on that thing?”
Didn’t they know how dangerous it was to drive that fast? Especially on these roads where it was only wide enough for one vehicle in many places. Who the hell was this woman? Who did she belong to? When he took her home, because there was no way she was going to be allowed back on that bike, he hoped her man turned her ass so red she couldn’t sit for a week.
And then all his thoughts dried up as she reached up and pulled her helmet off. Revealing a full head of gorgeous, red hair.
Molly grimaced then offered him a smile. “Hello, Jake. Duncan. I’m sorry, was I going a bit fast?”
“Knows the rules, does she?” Duncan murmured to him.
Jake felt his blood pressure spike.
“Molly, what the hell are you doing?”
She forced herself to hold her ground. Although it was pretty damn hard not to get back on the bike and ride off to hide for a while. At least until Jake had calmed down. She wondered how long that would take. From the tic she saw developing above his right eye, along with the shockingly purple shade of his face, she was judging it wouldn’t take longer than a year or two.
Unfortunately, she’d probably be dead by then.
“Molly, you okay, darlin’?” Duncan asked gently. “You’ve gone all pale.”
She smiled at the deputy sheriff who’d been nothing but kind to her since she’d arrived in Haven. “I’m okay. Just trying to figure out how long Jake’s going to stay mad at me.”
Duncan looked over at the other man. “Oh, I’d be betting on quite a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Any advice on how to ease his temper?”
“Well, I bet spanking your ass will go a long way to making him feel better. And you could try sucking his cock. Ain’t a man on this planet that can stay mad while having his dick sucked.”
Jake gave him a look. “Shut. Up.”
Right. Note to self, don’t ask Duncan for advice again. As far as she could tell, the last thing Jake seemed to want was a blow job. She was pretty certain he had murder, not sex, on his mind.
“Duncan, do you know how to ride a bike?” Jake asked.
Duncan smiled and glanced over at the bike. “Sure do. Never had a chance to ride something as sweet as this Ducati. Where’d you get it, Molly?”
“From a dealership in Freestown. They’re letting me test drive it to see if I want to buy it. My car is there.”
“You are not buying this death trap.” Jake’s voice was low, cold, powerful. A shiver raced up her spine. She watched him the way one might watch a poisonous snake. If she made no other moves he might just leave her alone.
Hmm, yeah, fat chance of that.
“I kind of like it. I’ve always wanted one.”
“Do you know how many deaths there are from motorcycle accidents?” Jake asked her. That tic seemed to be getting worse. She started to worry he was going to have a stroke.
“Jake, I’m careful.”
“Careful! Careful? Do you know how fast you were going?”
“I was just giving it a bit of a push. That’s what you do when you test drive something, right? Check out how fast it can go? How it handles?”
“Have you ridden many motorcycles?” Duncan asked her.
“One of my aunt’s boyfriends was a motorcycle fan. He taught me to ride.”
“How old were you?” Duncan asked.
She didn’t know what was with all the questions but answering them was better than worrying Jake was about to explode.
“Oh, about sixteen.”
“How much have you ridden since then?” Duncan was frowning slightly.
“Umm, not much.” At all.
Jake let out a low sound. Half-growl, half-sigh.
She watched him worriedly. “Is he okay?”
“Nope. Nope, he’s not okay at all. He’s just realizing he doesn’t have as much control as he thought he did, and it’s killing him.”
“What do you mean? Jake has more control than anyone I know.”
“Under normal circumstances I’d agree. Give me your helmet. I’ll take it back to the dealership and get your car.”
“I don’t know if they’ll like that you’re taking it back instead of me.” But she handed over the helmet and started to pull off the jacket. “They gave me this as well. The guy at the dealership was worried I’d get cold. He was really sweet.”
Another of those noises escaped Jake.
“Are you sure I shouldn’t go with you?” She snuck more glances at Jake. He hadn’t moved in the last five minutes. Part of her was worried he wasn’t even breathing.
“Oh, I’m sure. Don’t worry they won’t blink twice at me returning the bike once I tell them who you belong to.”
“Who I belong to?”
“Duncan, go,” Jake growled.
Duncan lightly patted her arm.
“Oh darlin’ for the sake of your ass, I would stop pushing him.”
He put the jacket and helmet on, then with a wave took off the way they’d come. Molly’s stomach danced with nerves as she looked over at Jake.
“So of all the gravel roads in the county we just had to meet on this one, huh?
” That was some rotten luck. Why hadn’t she asked him where exactly the Malone ranch was? She’d chosen this road because Savannah and her men lived close by and she figured if she got into trouble she’d be able to call one of them.
Only she hadn’t figured on landing herself in this sort of trouble, had she?
“This isn’t a joke, Molly,” Jake told her. He wasn’t looking at her, and it made her even more nervous. Was he so angry he couldn’t even stand the sight of her?
“Jake, it was just one ride. I know what I’m doing.”
Nothing. Just that tic beating its own little tempo above his eye.
“I didn’t know you had such an objection to motorcycles.”
Okay, this was getting ridiculous. He wasn’t even talking to her at all now. The thought made her temper stir. Richard had loved giving her the silent treatment as a form of punishment when she did something he didn’t approve of.
“It wasn’t covered in our contract.”
A contract she was now wondering if she should have signed. She wasn’t putting up with this shit anymore. Life was too short to engage in petty games. She’d thought Jake was better than that, but obviously he wasn’t. She’d gone for a ride on a motorcycle, so what? It was her body, her choice, her life.
And right now, it was her choice not to be in the same place as the arrogant, always-does-the-right-thing sheriff. She started heading back the way Duncan had gone, towards town. She marched down the road, muttering to herself. She didn’t have a chance in hell of making it back to town but she had her phone and when she got her temper under control she’d call Savannah.
It was nice to have friends to call on when the man in your life was being a dick.
“Molly! Molly, where do you think you’re going?”
Molly's Man (Haven, Texas Book 4) Page 11
