by Wendi Zwaduk
Willing to go the distance… He sure knew how to come up with the smooth lines. Not like he hadn’t had practice. She scooted out of bed and gathered up his clothes.
“I need to hang these up,” she said and made her way to the bathroom.
Truth be told, she needed space to think and took the reason to get some air. Part of her wanted to go along with his grand idea. He’d never said any of those sweet things before and never to the girls she knew he’d dated. She doubted he’d mentioned love in order to get her into his bed—he’d already fucked her a couple of times. Part of her refused to believe love was possible with Austin. She draped his clothes over the railing and breathed in the scent of him. She could lose herself in that smell—woodsy and spicy.
He’d used the word ‘love’. She’d only ever heard him use that word when he spoke to his mother. Never to a date or lover—at least that she knew. His ex-wife Carole had claimed he’d never told her outright that he loved her. So what made Molly so special?
She sighed and faced the mirror. She appraised her reflection and groaned. The liner around her eyes had smudged, reminding her of a raccoon. Still, the blush on her cheeks hadn’t gone away and the smile returned to her lips. She looked mussed but happy and she hadn’t been the poster girl for happy in a long time. For the first time in forever, she didn’t see the cellulite or wrinkles. She saw herself and felt pretty.
“I’d ask you if you got lost, but this apartment isn’t big enough for that to happen.” Austin strolled nude into the bathroom. “There’s that smile I love.” He wrapped his arms around her waist.
“You’ve used that word a lot lately.” She leaned against him and snuggled in his embrace. She drank in the image of their reflection in the glass and bit back a gasp. They did make a striking couple—well, he was handsome and the blush of love helped her appearance. She wasn’t bad on her own, but having him beside her gave her strength.
“Because that’s how I feel.” He kissed the top of her head and grinned. “Do you think I’m worthy of a…what…fourth try?”
She paused. He’d won her over, but she wanted to keep him guessing. Maybe she’d lost her mind but she’d fallen head over heels for him all over again. “I suppose.”
“You just suppose?”
“I’m willing.” She turned around in his arms and smoothed her palms over his chest. If he wanted to make this work then she’d go along with his choice. But if they were going to do this, she wasn’t letting him get off easy. He’d have to work for her affection. “I’m willing to give you that chance, but there are rules. We’re honest with each other—if this turns into something you can’t handle then say so. We don’t hide it at work, either. We act normal. We’re pretty close as it is and people already think we’ve been fucking for years.”
“We should’ve been.” He wriggled his eyebrows. “If I’d have gotten my head out of my ass then this conversation wouldn’t be necessary.”
God, he knew the right words and how to smile at the right times. Her nerve endings tingled. With every touch and kiss, her resolve melted. No, she had to keep talking. If she didn’t finish, she’d never get the words out. “Promise me that when you decide to move on, you’ll let me down gently, okay?”
“And If I don’t plan on moving on?”
“We’ll take things one day at a time.” The hope blossomed in her soul and grew. For a split second, she allowed herself to imagine a future with him. A little wedding—maybe on a beach and barefoot—their own place and children. She could see them growing old together. Things could be so bright, but he had to prove himself first.
“One day at a time?” Austin kissed her again. “Deal, but tomorrow we go to my place. I’ve got more room and a bigger tub…oh, and more rubbers. We’ll have to buy stock in a condom company. I don’t want to not be with you.”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself.” She’d fallen for him but she wasn’t above challenging him. “What if I decide this is enough?”
“I know you.” He eased her shirt over her head then unhooked her bra. “You want to be taken care of but you don’t say that because you don’t want to appear soft. I love you strong and soft.” He reached into the shower and turned on the spray. “Let me take care of you.”
Like she could resist him? She allowed him to tug her into the stall. The hot water stung her body. She leaned into him and groaned. Bone-deep weariness settled within her as he pressed his soft dick into the cleft of her ass.
Austin nuzzled her neck and grabbed the washcloth. He lathered it. “You’ve been so strong for me.” He caressed the suds over her breasts and down her belly. “Strong when you should’ve given up on me.”
“You’re worth fighting for.” She moaned as he smoothed his fingers between her legs and over her clit. She’d come twice already, but when he touched her he set her nerve endings ablaze.
“So are you.” He nudged her under the spray to rinse her and squirted shampoo onto his hand. Without speaking, he worked the lather into her hair and massaged her scalp. He rubbed his burgeoning erection against her butt.
“Feels good,” she whimpered. “I can’t remember the last time someone washed my hair for me.”
He turned her around to rinse the shampoo out of her hair and feathered a kiss on her lips. “Did I ever tell you every time I smell whatever scent your shampoo is, I think of you? It must be in a perfume or something, too. My brain goes right to you.”
With each word, he broke her down a little more. She believed him, even if she still wanted to guard her heart. She cuddled with him as he conditioned her hair then rinsed. The hot water on her back woke her up from her relaxed state. She grabbed the washcloth, but he took it from her hands.
“You’ve taken care of me plenty. I can do this myself.” He scrubbed his body clean, leaving suds on strategic parts of his anatomy.
Molly couldn’t help but watch. The soap accentuated the already strong parts of him. He stepped under the spray to rinse then turned the water off. He grabbed one of the towels. Instead of drying himself, he wrapped her up.
“You’ll spoil me.” She wobbled in his arms as he dried her. Each kiss he pressed to her skin, to her neck, shoulders, breasts, belly and inner thigh, pushed her closer to breaking.
“I like spoiling you.” He nuzzled her breasts again. “Love it.”
Her synapses misfired and she sizzled from within. When he scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, she clung to him. She never wanted the night to end.
Austin placed her on the bed. Still damp and skin glistening from the shower, he picked her brush up off the dresser then joined her on the bed. He ran the brush through her hair. “I read once that brushing your woman’s hair was right up there with oral sex. It’s the same kind of relaxing pleasure.”
She swayed into him. “I don’t know about being equal to oral sex but I like having the knots brushed out and the bristles on my scalp are relaxing.”
Austin kissed her shoulder. “If you’re happy, then I’ve done my job.”
Molly turned around as best she could to face him. “You have.”
He tossed the brush onto the nightstand and removed the towel from around her body. He rummaged through the drawer for a condom.
Molly rolled onto her belly to warm the front of her body. Her nipples ached from the temperature change. She pressed her face into the pillows and breathed in his scent on her sheets.
“Hiding from me?” He kissed along her spine and Molly softened beneath his touch.
She turned her head. “No. Just cold.”
He patted her ass. “You’ve got one sexy butt.” He eased his fingers between her ass cheeks. “So wet for me, too.”
“I want you.” She whimpered. “I’m still reeling from the first two orgasms.”
“Good. Then the third will be the charm.” The bed jiggled as he left her side.
She didn’t have to look at him to know what he was doing. The snap of the condom wrapper told her plenty.
He eased up behind her and lifted her hips. Austin straddled her legs. He slid into her with slow thrusts. He kissed her back and nipped her shoulder blades.
Molly moaned and arched her back to send him deeper into her pussy. She felt him not only in her cunt, but in her soul. He surrounded her. She’d never felt anything so exotic in her life. She balled her hands in the sheets. Whimpers and groans bubbled from her throat.
“Yes, babe. Let me know you like it.” He increased the speed of his thrusts but not much. If he wanted to draw things out and bring her the most pleasure, he was doing the right things.
“Austin.” She arched her back even more. His balls slapped against her pussy lips, sending shivers through her body. “Austin. I’m close.” She tensed around his dick. He knew how to play her in order to get her to climax—or he’d figured out how to amplify the last orgasm. She wasn’t sure and didn’t care. She loved the gooey, weightless feeling in her limbs.
Austin bit her shoulder once more then pulled out. “Roll onto your side, babe. I want to look into your eyes.”
She allowed him to move her. He pinned one of her legs between his and hooked her other leg around his waist. Hunger shimmered in his eyes. He parted his lips and sank back into her. Once again, he fucked her with slow thrusts and overwhelmed her. He palmed her breast.
“Fuck yeah.” He smiled and met her gaze from under heavy-lidded eyes. “You’re blowing my mind.”
He’d blown hers, too. She wasn’t sure how she managed any coherent thoughts when all she wanted to do was experience him.
Austin smacked her ass and surged into her. The combination of pain and pleasure pushed her closer to orgasm. She tensed again. Austin punctuated each thrust into her pussy with a spanking. Her ass burned. She grabbed his wrist. She didn’t want to stop him, but rather she needed to hold on to him. She teetered right on the edge of climax. She opened her mouth to tell him she was coming, but the sound lodged in her throat.
“So beautiful.” He pistoned into her. Harder and faster. He stopped spanking her and focused on making love to her. He grunted as he slammed into her channel.
Molly couldn’t think. The world evaporated around her and only Austin existed.
“Jesus.” Austin’s thrusts turned feral and he groaned. “Goddamn it.” He shoved himself deep into her and curled over her. His hot breath feathered over her shoulders and the back of her neck. “You know how to blow my mind.”
“Uh-huh,” she managed.
Austin eased out of her pussy and collapsed on his back beside her on the bed. “I need to get rid of the condom but I don’t want to move.”
She rolled onto her side to face him as he sat up. He scrubbed both hands over his face and stood. He removed the rubber and tossed it into the waste basket then settled beside her again. “I’m never going to stop loving you, Molly.” He kissed her temple and held her tight to his chest. “Like I said, I’m a better man when I’m with you.”
She sighed. For their sexual relationship starting out as a mistake, he’d become her closest friend and lover. Now she had to hope he wouldn’t end up smashing her heart to bits.
She wouldn’t worry about the future—even the one he kept promising. The present was good and what she wanted from her life. Austin wasn’t perfect, but for the moment, he was hers.
Chapter Twelve
Austin scratched his forehead and stared at the laptop screen. In the last two weeks, his life had changed in so many ways and he didn’t regret a minute. He liked the way Molly had made his gigantic apartment feel cozy. She seemed right in his space and at home with him—just like their college days but with more maturity and sex. She smiled more and seemed happier, too. He liked her scent on his sheets and his clothes. Molly tended to wear his T-shirts to bed and around the apartment. He bit back a groan. She made his clothes look so much better than he ever could. Sure, she’d agreed to keep their relationship on the down-low, but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep his mouth shut. Maybe he’d have to take a trip down to Mr. Lee’s office and see if he could get the rules changed.
He snorted. He’d never thought he’d be able to live with someone—not after the Carole debacle—but from the moment Molly had walked into his place, she’d settled him.
He looked at the other desk in his new office. She should be with him. He worked better with her to bounce ideas off of and to shut him down when his ideas went too far out into left field. But no. She was down the hallway with a new partner—Tyson.
A twinge of jealousy hit. He and Molly were a good combination. He had no idea how well she got on with Tyson. She never talked about him. Hell, the only person he knew she’d collaborated with besides him was Ben Reynolds. The jealousy subsided. He trusted her. If she wanted a change, she’d let him know.
He could go down and check on her but decided against it. He stood and stretched then headed down to the break room. He poured a fresh cup of coffee and dumped two packets of creamer into the tart brew. He glanced over his shoulder and his irritation increased. Speaking of the devil, Ben…
“There’s the man.” Ben stood beside him and rinsed his navy-blue coffee mug. “So the great team of Dean and Neff has split up. I thought her office looked a little less full of you.” He laughed. “She’s not your other half any longer.”
“I don’t know about that. We still bounce ideas off each other.” And spent most of their time together outside of work. Making love to her was better than the best.
“Yeah, but since she’s not working with you, she’s happier. Looks to me like you’ve held her back.” Ben sipped his coffee. “Am I right?”
“Nah.” Realizing he loved her had been the best tonic for what had ailed them both.
“I see why you kept her to yourself, though. She’s awesome. Ask Ty. They get along great and their work has been off the charts. Did you hear the jingle for the Crescent Bikes campaign? It’s awesome.” Ben leaned against the counter. He crossed his ankles and sipped his coffee. “I’d like to have her on my team.”
I bet. Austin blew out a long breath. He refused to let Ben see him upset. Molly could do what she wanted, but he doubted she liked Tyson nearly as much as Ben claimed. Austin stirred his coffee once more.
As if on cue, Tyson ambled down the hallway. He passed the break room then doubled back. “What? I’m getting a death glare.”
“Molly.” Ben chuckled. “Old Austin, here, is jealous.”
“Hey,” Tyson said. “She’s sweet and cute. I’m debating asking her out. She’s not a knockout but she’s loyal—and Austin would know.”
Austin tamped down his anger. He didn’t like listening to his co-workers talk about his girlfriend like she was a piece of meat.
“Sometimes you’ve got to lower your standards to find a great one.” Tyson clinked coffee cups with Ben then shrugged. “I’d rather get with Iris but I know my limits.”
“If you don’t ask her out, I will.” Ben held up his coffee mug. “I’d tag her.” He slid his gaze over to Austin. “What about you? Or is that why she left you? You had her and moved on?” He laughed. “Probably, and good for us. We’ll take your leftovers.”
Austin gritted his teeth. He could’ve sworn smoke billowed from his ears or at least clouded his vision. Of all the times to keep his relationship with Molly quiet, he had to choose now. But he had to keep a lid on his anger. If he blew his lid, he’d never hear the end of it and would probably get fired again. Fuck it. He knew of at least two other advertising firms that would take him in a heartbeat. He crossed the room and closed the door.
“Whoa. Gonna get all private,” Tyson said. He plopped onto the plastic chair. “What crawled up your ass?”
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Austin gripped his coffee cup. “Molly is your—our—co-worker. She’s our equal. Don’t talk about her like she’s anything less than that.”
Ben snorted. “Territorial much?”
Ty stared at Austin. “He can’t design shit without her. Boy Wonder here is a blunder.�
� He laughed again. “Is that your problem? No Molly makes Austin a dull little boy?”
“Sounds about right,” Ben snapped. “Molly makes us all look better on paper and we make her look better in person.”
“For fuck’s sake, shut up.” He hadn’t planned on blowing his secret with Molly, but the two assholes deserved to be put in their collective place. “You said she was second best, right? Not a knockout, but loyal, correct? You’ve got a lot to learn. She’s a wonderful woman. She’s smart, dignified and if I ever hear you or anyone talking shit about her, you’ll answer to me. You mess with her then you’re messing with me.”
Ben and Tyson shared a glance. The color drained from Tyson’s face. Ben appeared less ruffled. “Messing with you? Are you two together? You’re not working together.” Ben drummed his fingers on his cup. “That’s got to be it. She moved on and you’re not ready to let go.”
“Moron,” Austin murmured. Some people would never learn. “Enough.”
Tyson’s lips parted and after a moment, he finally spoke. “You could have Iris Sommerville and you took Molly instead? Are you crazy? I’d totally fuck Iris over Molly. But then we all thought you were already with Iris. Crazy bastard.”
“Crazy?” Austin growled. “Molly’s my best friend and my creative partner. No, I’m not crazy. I took what I wanted and not Iris.”
“Because you’ve got Iris on the side. It’s on the quiet.” Ben winked. “Smart. Have every woman, not just one or two. I like it.”
“Asshole.” Austin dumped his cooling coffee down the sink. “Hands off Molly.”
“’Cause she’s yours?” Tyson asked. He snorted and shook his head. “You’re so fucked-up.”
“Yes, I’m dating Molly. That’s why you need to leave her alone. That and because she deserves better than you.” She deserved more than Austin, too, but he wasn’t giving up.
“Dude, at least it’s legal for you to be with her.” Tyson shrugged. “She’s old news.”
“What?” Austin paused at the door. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
