Just This Once

by Mira Lyn Kelly

  * * *

  The next week was brutal. It wasn’t that her workload was any worse than normal; it was more that her mind was on other things. Fine, her mind was on Sean and how badly she wanted to see him.

  “Molly, do you want to check the bathroom?” Cecilia asked, setting a caddy of cleaning supplies down beside the granite-topped island where Molly was checking off her list for the Paulaski house.

  “Let’s have a look,” she said, following her newest employee back to the white marble master bath, confident she’d find as thorough a job there as she had everywhere else. Cecilia was a keeper for sure with a stellar work ethic Molly had witnessed up close and personally when they’d met on a catering gig a few summers ago. This was the second house they’d cleaned together, basically working side by side so Molly could make sure Cecelia was as thorough as Molly needed her employees to be. Cecelia would do the next job on her own, with Molly just stopping in for a quick check at the end, and then the week after, she’d be taking the Paulaski and Delfey jobs on herself. And not a second too soon, because while Molly appreciated all the new business she could get, she’d been pushing herself and her crew to the limit.

  Good for the down-payment account, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was living on borrowed time when it came to her relationship with Sean…and she didn’t want to miss out on seeing him.

  As if that quiet, betraying thought had somehow summoned him, her phone pinged with a text.

  Sean: I miss my girlfriend. Let’s get out of town and do the tangled fingers thing the whole weekend.

  Molly stumbled, smacking her hip into the corner of the island. She fumbled the phone, juggling it a few times before she grasped it tightly between her hands and pulled it close to her chest.

  Cecelia popped her head back out of the bathroom with a questioning look. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen a smile that bright out of you…maybe ever. What’s his name?”

  “Sean,” Molly replied without thinking. Popping her head up in horror, she saw Cecelia was ducking back into the bathroom.

  “For a second there, you got my hopes up, but if it’s just Sean, least that explains the grin. What a goof. Tell him I said hi, will you?”

  Heart racing over the close call, Molly nodded and followed Cecelia back to check her work. But her mind was on the weekend and the finger tangling goodness she couldn’t wait to get her hands into.

  * * *

  “Not exactly what I was expecting when you said you wanted to stop and pick up some beer,” Molly remarked, leaning back on her arms and stretching her legs out along the bench.

  Damn, she was gorgeous wearing that contented smile with her face tilted up to the sun.

  “But worth the detour, right?” He snapped a photo and then thumbed through the others he’d taken during the New Glarus brewery tour. The one he’d gotten of Molly examining a huge copper brewing unit, her white hard hat tilted at a jaunty angle, was going on his computer’s screen saver. Or it would once she let him tell her brother about them being together. This one though, this one was going on his phone along with a lock code.

  No way was he going to be able to keep things under wraps much longer.

  Not when having a damned picnic table between them was making him itch.

  Molly drew a deep breath. “Brody’s going to be fuming if he finds out we came up here without him.”

  If. Hmm. “Brody can bring his own date up here any time he likes.”

  Her eyes cut away, but not before another pretty pink warmed her cheeks. “It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” she asked, staring out to the surrounding fields. “I mean, calling this a date.”

  “That’s what it is.”

  She nodded, a pretty curve touching her lips. “But still, being here…alone. It’s never just you and me. I mean, not out of town like this.”

  She was right. They’d been on countless trips together, but always as part of a bigger group. Even after their friendship had begun to set them apart, they’d never taken a weekend just the two of them. Right then, he couldn’t help but wonder why.

  Maybe the answer was in front of him…in the way he couldn’t take his eyes off her, in how even these few feet of distance between them were too much, in how fucking good it felt to have her alone.

  He’d been working his ass off not to think about Molly like that from about when she turned twenty. But now that he’d let himself? There was no going back.

  “Worried we’re going to run out of things to talk about?” he teased. Then he grinned when she shook her head and laughed. Because even in this new territory, that was one thing neither of them would ever have to fear. Since that first day he’d gotten her to smile, conversation between them had always come easily.

  “I wouldn’t say worried.” Pushing a few streaks of pink from her brow, she met his eyes. “I mean, I’m sure we can find something to fill the time…even if we did run out of conversation.”

  Sean swallowed hard. He knew that look she was giving him. He loved that look.

  Pushing up from the bench, he grabbed her hand. “Time to get back on the road, babe.”

  * * *

  “Oh dear,” Molly muttered, frowning deeply as she sorted through her cards early Saturday evening. “This can’t be right.”

  Sean rubbed a hand across his bare chest and scowled at her from where he was leaning against the side of the couch, a sheet the only thing keeping him decent.

  “Again?” He laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  She clucked her tongue. “I keep counting and…yeah, looks like gin. Again.” Letting the bedding she was draped in droop a bit more, Molly laid out one set of cards after another before peering up at Sean from beneath her lashes. “It’s almost like you’re distracted or something.”

  “Or something,” he conceded, his eyes going dark as his focus got lost in the vicinity of her modest cleavage.

  It was crazy. They’d played cards like this probably a hundred times. Kicked back on the floor, a bottle of wine or handful of beers between them, talking the hours away. But it had never been quite like this. She’d never sat nearly naked across from him, her body still singing from the hours of attention he’d paid it, her heart still racing from the way he was looking at her. She’d never known that, no matter when they finished playing, she’d sleep in Sean’s arms and wake in his bed.

  Sean bent one knee and sat a little straighter…which made his sheet fall a little lower. And wow. Even with him sitting on the floor, his stomach was a work of art. Bands of muscles stacked one above the next, bisected by that fine line of golden hair that ended just beneath the hard slabs of his pecs. He’d always had a beautiful body, cut with a natural athlete’s definition…and at last, she could sit and look her fill.

  Touch.

  Taste.

  Gathering the cards, he shot her a knowing look. “Pretty sure I’m not the only one distracted.”

  “Maybe not.” Going to her knees, she crossed the small space between them.

  Sean set the cards aside and pulled her into his lap.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, running the tip of one finger across her collarbone.

  Such a small touch, and yet it set off a chain reaction within her. Made her ache for more.

  “That I could get used to this,” she admitted quietly, knowing deep down that, no matter how right this weekend felt, she shouldn’t.

  Looking out the picture window to the woods and the bay beyond, Sean nodded. “It’s nice up here. The private lane, the house tucked deep enough into the woods so it’s not visible from the road or the water. I can see the appeal.”

  She hadn’t been thinking about the Door County cabin his friend had offered them for the weekend, but it was probably better that Sean was. Sifting her fingers through the golden-blond strands falling in her favorite kind of sexy disa
rray, she asked, “What did you tell the guys about this weekend?”

  His brows furrowed, a frown threatening at the corners of his mouth. “That I had some business to take care of with one of the other hotels.”

  Which explained why when she’d woken that morning, it had been to Sean working on his laptop beside her in bed. She’d told him he didn’t need to stop on her account, but he’d practically tossed the thing aside, assuring her he’d gotten all the work he needed done already. In other words, enough so he hadn’t actually lied to his friends. Not about work anyway.

  Drawing her hands out of his hair, he dropped light kisses across each finger. “What about you?”

  “Weekend up north with a friend,” she whispered, her words breaking when Sean licked between her knuckles.

  “A friend.” He seemed to be weighing the word in his mind. His mouth pulled to the side in that cocky smile. “I am feeling pretty friendly all of the sudden.”

  Lowering his head, he caught her mouth with his kiss. Teasing, taking more and more until he was on top of her, the sheets tugged free. Her knees slid up his thighs, the contact of skin against bare skin driving her as wild as the promises he was making with his mouth.

  “Mmm.” He braced above her, rocking into the cradle of her hips. “You feel pretty friendly too.”

  She laughed and then caught her breath when he rocked into her again, the steely length of him sliding against her most sensitive part. “Very friendly,” she agreed.

  Tipping her hips into the contact, she moaned when on the next slow rock, Sean pushed inside her. “Sean.”

  Braced on one arm, he cupped her hip, drawing her into each slow, sinking thrust, taking her deep and deeper, hard and harder, all the while keeping those dark eyes locked with hers. This was what she’d dreamed of…only the reality was so much more.

  And God, the way he was looking at her.

  What if she could really have this? What if she could keep him?

  What if—

  He sank deep, hitting that spot inside her just right, and her mind blanked of anything beyond what he was doing to her in that moment.

  “Baby, not yet,” he groaned, shafting into her one last time before pulling out. She wanted to grab him by the hair and pull him back, beg him to take her again—but they weren’t protected. And when he backed down her body, burning a path with his mouth as he went, she really couldn’t complain.

  “Your mouth…is…so… Oh yes, Sean!” she gasped after he’d hooked her knees over his shoulders and sank into devouring her like a starving man. And when she’d barely finished, he pulled her from the floor and carried her through the bedroom and into the master bath.

  “Like this, baby,” he growled against her ear as he positioned her hands on the counter in front of the mirror. He rolled on a condom and then, watching their reflection, took her from behind.

  He was slow. Thorough.

  The possessive look in his eyes and rough scrape of his jaw at the back of her neck were as powerfully sexy as watching his fingers playing between her legs and his big hand kneading her breast. She was already there, pressing back into his every stroke, rocking into his touch, begging and moaning and promising everything and anything to the man shaking her world to its very foundation.

  When she tipped over the edge, tumbling into her release, Sean held her in his arms, telling her how perfect she was for him, how beautiful, how sexy. Telling her all the things she could only ever truly believe in that flawless moment.

  Chapter 18

  They’d had a finger-tangly Sunday morning, eating breakfast down by the dock before making love in the boathouse. Making love. The words made Molly want to giggle almost as much as she wanted to wrap herself up in them forever.

  She’d had sex. Done it. Screwed and fucked.

  But not until Sean had laid her out beneath the pale moonlight the night before had she made love. And it was something different. Special. Addictive.

  The afternoon had come way too soon. Sean had driven them back to the city, and despite his attempts to convince her to let him stay at her place or have her come back to his, Molly remained strong. She never knew when she was going to wake up to her brother in her living room—though that didn’t seem to happen much now that he was with Sarah—or Brody riding by after spending the night with his current flame. Besides, she was supposed to meet the girls for breakfast the next morning, and the rest of the week was going to be nuts as she made up for the days she’d taken off from three jobs. She’d need the sleep.

  But more than that, there was the whole not-letting-herself-get-too-comfortable thing. She couldn’t get used to spending every night in Sean’s arms if she didn’t spend every night there, right?

  So, hard as it was, Molly had said goodbye to Sean in her apartment, agreed to another getaway the next weekend, and then watched from her front window as he’d driven off.

  When things ended and Sean realized that as much fun as they’d been having, he really did want a different life than he could have with her, no one would know how deeply that hurt cut. No one would know what a fool she’d been.

  Except, what if she wasn’t a fool? What if Sean wasn’t going to realize he wanted something else? What if this was it?

  It was a hope too terrifying to let herself have. And yet…each time he looked into her eyes, it was getting harder and harder to keep that hope at bay.

  * * *

  The next days passed in a blur of extended shifts and made-up hours. Molly wouldn’t have given up her time with Sean for anything, but there was a price to pay, and by the time Wednesday night at Belfast rolled around, she was feeling the toll.

  “How late you working tonight, Moll?” Max asked, sliding onto his seat at their usual table. Tonight, it was just Max, Brody, and Sean. Jase and Emily had her parents visiting, and Sarah was caught up in some project back at Wyse.

  Setting the last of the drink orders down, Molly tried not to grimace when she answered. “Closing. Few hours left.”

  “Baby sister’s making bank,” Max sang, the pride in his eyes something she could feel.

  Exactly. She was so close to having the down payment for the building. Another few months, if she stayed on track with her budget and maintained her current income.

  Sean shifted in his chair, a furrow digging between his brows. “But, uhh, Molly, weren’t you cleaning houses from eight until two? And working on the web stuff until you started your shift here at four?”

  For a minute, she didn’t know what to do beyond blink at him. Because not only was that a lot of information about her schedule for a just friend to have, but also what the heck was he doing, offering up something to say about it? Someone was going to notice. Someone was going to figure out what was going on with them and—

  Max looked from her to Sean.

  He knew.

  “Sean, you want some nachos? I’m fucking hungry.”

  Molly’s breath leaked out as Sean shrugged his agreement. Okay, so he didn’t know.

  “Great, nachos.” Molly entered the order, stifling a yawn. “Max, you want the peppers this time or not?” Sarah didn’t like them, but since she was working late, it was worth checking.

  “Nah, skip ’em. Sarah said she’d try to stop by.”

  Molly nodded and checked on a few other tables. When she circled back to her order station, Sean was there. Leaning against the bar, resting back on his elbows as he watched her fill her tray with drinks.

  “Moll, you gotta be dead on your feet. The crowd’s pretty light tonight. Let me take you home.”

  Home sounded so good. And Sean taking her there even better. But she’d known what taking the weekend off would mean. “It’s only a couple more hours. I’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, but you’d be better getting some sleep. You know Brody would let you go. Or I could talk to him.”

&
nbsp; She shot him a look, a smile creeping across her lips. “You could talk to him? That wouldn’t be suspicious at all. Going to do that after you have a chat with Max about how creaky my bed is?”

  He pushed a hand back through his hair, looking out over the crowd. “Okay, you could talk to him.”

  She wanted to snuggle into his side. Rest her head on his shoulder and just soak up his sweet intentions. But more than that, she wanted to clock the hours and make the tips that staying until close would get her. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be good. Now go back to your table.”

  The guys stayed for another hour, but then Sarah texted Max to let him know she was wiped and going straight home, so it was time to call it a night. Molly had wanted to steal a moment in the back hall with Sean before he left, but a couple of big groups came in, and all she’d been able to manage was a wave from across the bar as he was leaving.

  No big deal. Not really.

  Three and a half hours later, Molly’s brain and body were completely fried. And apparently, she looked it too, because Brody insisted on giving her a lift. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she thought about what she’d meet at the top.

  An empty apartment.

  A lonely bed.

  Brody had already pulled away. She could get an Uber and go over to Wyse. But as incredibly tempting as the idea of crawling into bed with Sean was, she couldn’t do it without waking him up. Heck, she’d have to have them call up from the front desk—not exactly discreet. And then once she was there, the poor guy wouldn’t even be able to go back to sleep.

  Giving in to a heavy, sulky sigh, she started up the stairs, resigned to a night alone.

  She let herself into the apartment but stalled in her steps before the door closed behind her.

  “Sean?” she asked, stunned to see him sitting on her couch, his laptop open in front of him, papers and files spread on the cushions and table. Closing the laptop with a weary smile, he stood.

  “Hey, beautiful. You made it, huh?”