But the case took a backseat tonight to the fact that Molly had been through a minor trauma, and no decent man would take advantage of that. So Blake excused himself from the bathroom and stopped in the hall.
Growling as he ran his hands through his hair, he had to pause and wonder just when he’d started thinking of himself as decent, because he never had before.
Chapter Seven
Molly wiped the fog from the bathroom mirror and ran a hairbrush through her damp hair. She then wrapped herself in a towel and tiptoed from the room. What she needed was a change of clothes, all of which were in her bedroom. Creeping towards her bedroom, she peeked through the crack left by the door to locate Blake, and there he sat, on her bed, with a drink on the nightstand.
A grin burst to her face when she heard the hearty laugh that came from his socks and echoed through the room. Whatever he was watching on the television, he was enjoying it. After recovering from his laughter, he retrieved his drink and took a sip. On its decent from his mouth, the glass paused.
‘Are you going to come in?’ he asked.
Molly leapt back. The gap between the door and frame was only an inch or two, and he hadn’t even glanced her way, so she had no idea how he’d known that she was spying on him. Now that she’d been caught, she had no choice but to push open the door.
‘How did you know I was here?’
‘I felt your eyes on me,’ he said.
She came into the room, and Blake drew his gaze from the TV. The peanut that was on its way to his mouth never made it there because he remained agog. ‘What are you watching?’ she asked.
‘You’re naked.’
Molly smoothed the soft towel under her palm. ‘I have my towel on,’ she said. ‘I needed clothes. I couldn’t put that shirt back on.’
‘I’ll get out your way,’ he said, sitting upright up in the bed.
‘No,’ she said, thrusting her hands toward him. ‘Stay where you are. I can change in the other room.’
Retrieving a black chemise and underwear from the drawer, Molly absorbed the features of her bedroom. The curtains were closed, and a lamp by the bed illuminated the space. Blake occupied her side of the bed, but she didn’t want to point that out to him. It was nice to have him here, strange, very strange, but oddly familiar.
‘What?’ he asked, and threw a peanut into the air, which he then caught in his mouth.
She held her clothes to her chest. ‘I can’t remember the last time I had a man in my bed.’
‘I’m not really in the bed,’ he said, examining his position. ‘I’m on the bed. I’m sitting up and above the covers.’
Molly had to laugh again. ‘It’s ok. I appreciate you hanging around. I know you probably had plans.’
‘Nope,’ he said, and tossed another peanut into the air.
‘You better not be getting them everywhere,’ she said with a laugh in her voice, and headed to the door.
‘I always catch them,’ he called after her as she excused herself.
Back in the bathroom, she put on her underwear and pulled on her chemise. Tugging it down, Molly hadn’t remembered it being so short. She couldn’t really change it now, or Blake would wonder why she did. Her hair was starting to dry in dark, smooth curls, and she ran her hands through its residual dampness.
Inviting Blake into her bedroom hadn’t been Molly’s plan, and at the time she said the words they seemed innocent enough. He had done her a huge favour in saving her from a horrible, and what could have been very vicious, attack. Tending his wounds had seemed like the least she could do. Then when he said he was going to leave, she had panicked because she didn’t want to be alone.
This building had been her whole life, and she had her share of scrapes here, but never like tonight. Never had she been made to feel so vulnerable and alone as she had tonight. If Blake hadn’t appeared, she had no idea what would have become of her.
Expressing the depth of her gratitude would be impossible. Blake could have turned and walked away, but he didn’t. As Joel had predicted, she had hired a knight in shining armour, but she had underestimated Blake and the guilt of that stung her.
Just because he was attractive, she had made assumptions about him. When he had made advances toward her, she had shaken them off as an overconfident player trying to degrade her honour. She had believed that he wanted to have his wicked way with her and then disappear into the sunset. Maybe that was the case. But he was decent, much more decent than she had given him credit for. When she had removed her shirt in the bathroom, he had automatically turned his back and he’d waited for permission before he looked at her. Molly had never known a man with that kind of honour.
Tugging the cord to turn off the bathroom light, Molly sloped back to the bedroom with a new respect for her newest employee. Taking another chance to peek at him through the gap between door and frame, she saw that Blake was leaning back against the headboard still eating peanuts, and a chuckle bubbled in her throat. He threw one up and missed it, so he dove around to search under the pillows, but he didn’t seem to find it.
‘Having fun?’ she asked, choosing this moment to enter the room.
‘Uh, yeah,’ he said, stuffing the pillows back to their place before he leaned on them again. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Pissed off,’ she exhaled, and sat on the vacant side of the bed. ‘Grateful, vulnerable, stupid.’
‘That’s a lot of feelings,’ he said, stretching to the reach the remote which lay on the nightstand, which he then used to mute the TV.
Molly had never known a man to do this either. He shifted position to look at her, betraying that he wanted to talk. No. He wanted to listen. ‘Are you from Mars?’
He frowned. ‘Excuse me?’
She laughed. ‘You just muted the TV.’
‘I figured that you might want to talk about it.’
‘It’s the middle of the night. Do you think that now is the time to get into an in-depth conversation?’
Blake exhaled and settled himself on his side against the headboard, closer to her. ‘You asked me upstairs even though you never have anyone up here. You’re so strict about it that you don’t even allow others up here when the bar is closed. I told you I was leaving and you asked for my help. I tried to leave again, and you asked me to stay while you had your shower. I’m not an idiot, Mol.’
Molly tensed. ‘You think I want to have sex with you?’
‘No,’ he laughed, and sat up. ‘Jesus Christ, no.’ Curling his fingers around hers, he laid their joined hands in the middle of the bed. ‘I think you’re gorgeous, you know that. But only real scum would try and hit on you after tonight.’
‘What do you think is going on?’
‘You’re scared,’ he said. ‘You said it yourself that you feel vulnerable. It’s completely understandable, babe... You don’t want to be alone tonight, do you?’
She shook her head as wet heat found her lashes, and he brought her hand to his lips in a consoling gesture. ‘All you had to do was say that. Next time just tell me.’
‘Next time?’ Molly said.
‘You’re out here, on the edge of the city. You have no family to speak of, and most of your friends are alcoholic patrons. We all need someone at some time, Sugar. If you want to talk, we’ll talk. If you want to sleep, I’ll stand guard at your door.’
‘I’m not that insecure,’ she said, but his words warmed her. He was willing to talk to her and to protect her. He didn’t laugh at her. He didn’t make things difficult or awkward. He was just there for her.
‘I’m just saying, whatever you need.’
‘Do you want to get a bottle of wine from downstairs?’ she asked.
‘If you want,’ he said. ‘But if you are in shock—‘
‘We’ve had things like this happen here before. The bar has been robbed in the past.’
‘Not while you’ve been here though,’ he said as he swung his legs off the bed.
‘How do you know that?’
‘Rosé,’ she said, and frowned as he left the room.
Folding the comforter down to the bottom of the bed, out of their way, she tucked her feet under it and she retrieved the remote control. Flicking through the channels to pass the time, she didn’t bother to turn up the volume. A minute or so later, Blake came back in with wine and glass in hand.
‘I brought you one of the big glasses,’ he said, holding up the glass before he put it down at her side and poured out her drink. ‘Shift sides.’
‘You were sitting there,’ Molly said, and saw that his hair stick to the wound on his forehead.
‘This is the door side,’ he said. ‘If you’re worried about someone getting in here, then you’re on the wrong side.’
Molly grinned to herself as she crawled across the bed. When she was settled, he handed her the wine, and then flopped onto the bed beside her. ‘How can such a sweet guy look like such a bastard?’
‘Oh, thanks,’ he said with his attention on the silent TV. He slid lower onto his back and yawned at the same time that his hands linked behind his head.
‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ she said, propping herself on her elbow to lie on her side and watch him. ‘You look like such a bad boy. You have that, “don’t mess with me” aura. And I’ve seen you, you can pummel a guy in seconds.’
‘I’m not sure whether to be insulted or charmed.’
‘You walk around like you own the world and you’re scared of nothing,’ she said, taking the liberty of extracting the strand of hair from his injury to smooth it back. After that, her hand combed through his hair of its own accord and it didn’t stop, but he didn’t object. ‘Are you scared of anything?’
His eyes moved from the TV up to hers. ‘Yeah.’
‘What are you scared of, Blake?’
‘Bugs,’ he said. ‘Little creepy crawly things.’
‘No, you’re not,’ Molly laughed, and nudged his shoulder.
‘No, you’re right, I’m not. But it would be great if I was, right?’
‘What? If you screamed like a girl and ran every time you found a spider?’ she said, and pondered the idea for a moment. ‘Yeah.’ She nodded. ‘That would be pretty funny to see.’
‘As it is, I just stomp on them,’ he said.
‘Aww, that’s not nice.’
‘I don’t even notice them if I’m honest,’ he said, and his eyes went back to the TV.
‘You’ve probably had girlfriends who asked you to dispose of them.’
‘Not really,’ he said. ‘If she can’t deal with a little spider, then she’s not really for me… You’re not scared of bugs are you?’
She shook her head while gazing down at him. ‘I wouldn’t put them in my hair or anything, but if it’s not in my way I just leave it alone.’
‘See,’ he said. ‘Great attitude.’
‘So what does scare you?’
‘What scares you?’ he asked.
‘You don’t like answering questions, do you?’
‘This from the woman who told me the night we met that answering questions was pointless.’
‘Answering the police’s questions is pointless,’ she said.
‘When have you ever answered police questions?’
‘When my brother died,’ she said.
Molly didn’t like to talk about her brother, in fact she never did. But after everything that had happened tonight she didn’t think there was much point in being coy with Blake.
‘I’m sorry. When did he die?’
‘He was eighteen,’ Molly said. ‘I had just turned sixteen.’
‘That’s harsh. I am so sorry.’
‘It was a long time ago,’ she said, and rolled onto her back.
‘What happened?’
‘Car accident,’ she said. ‘I was in the car with him, as were a couple of his friends.’
‘Hence why you got so upset the other night. I am so sorry, Mol. If I’d known—‘
‘But you didn’t,’ she said, and rolled onto her side to tuck her pillow under her cheek. ‘I wish we had never been in the car that night. I wonder why we had to be on the road at that exact place at the exact moment that other car swung out of its lane. I wish he hadn’t died.’
‘The police investigated?’ Blake asked.
Molly nodded. ‘They questioned us about drinking or drug use. They basically accused us all of being junkies. My father went crazy. My brother was dying in the hospital and all the police were interested in was their questions.’
‘I suppose it’s important to find out the cause early on.’
‘The cause?’ Molly snapped. ‘The cause was the idiot on the other side of the road! We were both going too fast, but he was in our lane! If he hadn’t come around that corner at that moment—‘
‘Ok, ok, shh,’ Blake said, and sat up to pull her into his arms.
Sniffing back her frustration and pain, she pushed her hands to his chest to force his body a few inches away from hers. ‘I’m sorry, you’re really getting the works tonight.’
‘I’m happy to do whatever you need. I said that already.’
‘Why are you not married?’ Molly said through another smile.
Blake released her and lay back down. ‘Never been with anyone I wanted to ask.’
‘Really?’
‘Why are you not married?’ Blake asked. ‘Have you seen you? How can you be single?’
‘I would ask you the same question, but I imagine most women fear you.’
‘You don’t fear me,’ Blake said. ‘What makes you any different?’
‘I’m betting you haven’t done for many other women what you did for me tonight. You saved my life.’
‘I didn’t save your life, Mol. I just prevented you pain.’
‘Isn’t that the same thing?’ she asked.
‘No,’ Blake said. ‘Believe me, when someone saves you from death… that’s a perspective changer… not to belittle what you went through tonight. I could have ripped that guy’s balls off for just thinking of you like that, but—‘
‘You think of me like that,’ Molly murmured.
His eyes found hers again. ‘Not like that, Mol,’ he said, and she noted how the line between his brows deepened. ‘Don’t ever think that I think of you like that. I would never want to see you… fear me.’
Molly sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and scrutinized his face. ‘How do you think of me?’
‘Oh,’ Blake said with a smirk on his face. ‘Don’t ask a man that question, Sugar.’
‘I want to know,’ she said, and slid closer until her knee nestled beneath his arm.
‘No, you don’t,’ Blake said. ‘And you certainly don’t want to know after a night like tonight.’
‘Do you want to see me naked?’
‘Ok, that sounded too much like an invitation for me to be lying in your bed like this.’ But when he tried to sit up, Molly put her hands to his chest and urged him back down.
‘It wasn’t an invitation. I promise I won’t get naked. I just want to know if you’ve thought about it.’
He surveyed her figure. ‘Oh, yeah.’
She exhaled a laugh. ‘I knew you wanted sex, I knew it!’
‘What was this? A test?’ he smirked.
‘No,’ Molly exhaled, and scooted down to lie on her side next to him. ‘I knew it was only sex you wanted.’
Blake rolled to face her. ‘Who said it was only sex?’
‘It’s not like you care about me,’ she said. ‘You’ve known me for two days.’
‘I’m not a jealous man. I never have been,’ he said. ‘But—‘
‘But?’
‘When I walked through the bar last night and saw you with Mason…’
‘What?’ she asked.
‘Let’s just say people think I’m a bad boy because I
am.’
‘I don’t think so,’ she said, sliding closer. ‘I think you play the part well. If you had really wanted to hurt Mason, or have me, you could have done both tonight. You’ve done neither. I think that tells me everything I need to know about you.’
‘It does?’
‘Mm hmm,’ she said, edging closer until her chest met his. Tipping her head toward his, Blake didn’t hesitate to part his lips in anticipation of her. The rush of his warm breath made her chest ache, and her head fell back. ‘Damn you.’
‘What?’ Blake asked, propping his head onto his hand when he dug his elbow into the pillow.
Propping her head against his upper arm, she grinned up at him. ‘I think I want sex.’
‘And guys hate to hear that from beautiful women.’
A ragged breath seeped from her lips when his hot palm rested on her abdomen. The heat from him swam through her until her head began to spin again.
‘It would be such a bad idea.’
‘Sometimes they’re the best kind of ideas.’
Exhaling a laugh, she pushed him onto his back and relaxed her head onto his shoulder. She welcomed his arm when it came around her to hold her to him.
‘Thank you for tonight,’ she said. ‘Really, Blake. I really appreciate everything you’ve done. Not just staying with me or dealing with the guys, but doing all those little jobs and cleaning up and everything.’
‘Yeah this is a tougher job than I realised,’ he said, and his mouth found her hair.
‘I’ve never had such a dedicated employee.’
‘I don’t do things by halves,’ he said.
Elevating her head, she let her eyes swim in his. ‘No, you don’t.’
Scrutinising his features, the intensity in his expression made her moan. When he narrowed his stare, she was reminded of the man who had walked through her door only two nights ago. Kissing him, initiating the intimacy, was a terrible idea. But she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this way about a man. The strength of consuming desire shook her bones to flesh.
Reluctant Suspicion Page 9
