by Gina Wilkins
Several long seconds passed before he made his decision. She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding when he closed the door.
“Get out the cards,” he said.
She reached for her bag.
With the steadily falling rain as a backdrop, they played gin rummy all morning. Perhaps they were rather stilted at first, but Kyle seemed to find Molly’s cut throat competitiveness amusing. He even laughed a couple of times.
And Molly learned all over again that Kyle’s laughs were definitely lethal where she was concerned. It was all she could to do to speak coherently after he laughed, much less think clearly enough to play cards.
The rain was still falling, though more lightly now, when they grew tired of the game at just after noon. After calling the garage to learn that it would still be another couple of hours before the car would be ready, Kyle left to pick up some lunch. Molly could tell that he was much more relaxed about returning this time; their platonic morning of casual games had put him at ease that they could be together without losing control.
She put the cards away and stretched out on the bed to put her foot up for a few minutes while he was gone. It didn’t really hurt since she’d been sitting all morning, but she had been instructed to keep it elevated as much as possible for the first forty-eight hours. Nestling her head on the pillow, she thought about how much she had enjoyed spending time with Kyle.
He wasn’t the most loquacious of companions. He certainly wasn’t one for flattery or flirtation. He didn’t keep her in stitches, as some of her funnier friends did, nor did he engage her in clever repartee that kept her on her toes verbally. He wasn’t the best-looking man she’d ever met, though his eyes could make her melt. He certainly wasn’t the sunniest natured.
So what was it about him that fascinated her so much? What made her think he was the one who could make her fall head over heels in love for the first—and maybe the last—time in her life?
Listening for his footsteps outside the door, she allowed herself to drift into daydreams.
Her recent restless nights caught up with her as she lay there, and she fell into a light nap. She didn’t hear Kyle’s arrival until after he had entered and closed the door behind him. Her eyelids flew open when she realized she was no longer alone.
Kyle stood beside the table, studying her with a brooding expression. He had already set the bags of food on the table. She could smell the aromas wafting toward her.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes, trying to quickly clear her sleep-muddled mind. “I guess I dozed off.”
“Yeah. Sorry I woke you.”
She pushed herself up to one elbow. “That’s okay. I didn’t mean to go to sleep. The food smells really good.”
He moved toward her and held out a hand, obviously intending to help her to her feet. She reached out to lay her hand in his.
She had been moving to stand, but the moment his fingers closed around hers, she froze. His legs were already braced to boost her upward, but he went very still as their gazes locked over their joined hands.
Maybe she tugged. Maybe he leaned forward. And maybe neither of them would ever know who initiated the kiss this time. Almost before Molly knew what had happened, Kyle was on the bed with her, and she was in his arms.
Chapter Nine
Molly speared her hands into Kyle’s hair, loving the texture of it. It was still slightly damp, and the faintest scent of rain clung to him—more appealing, in her opinion, than the most expensive cologne. Their bodies were pressed closely together, and she reveled in the differences between them.
“Damn it,” Kyle muttered against her lips.
She was startled into a giggle. She hadn’t really expected Kyle to murmur sweet nothings, but this was ridiculous.
“I wasn’t going to let this happen again,” he said glumly, though he didn’t release her.
She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his chin. “I know.”
He gave her an accusatory look. “You aren’t helping me prevent this.”
Snuggling closer, she smiled unrepentantly. “What makes you think I want to prevent it?”
He started to disentangle himself from her. “Our food’s getting cold.”
“I don’t care.”
“Molly…” Propping himself on his right elbow, he gazed somberly down at her. “I’m not going to try to convince you that I’m not attracted to you.”
Pleased that he had admitted even that much, she smiled. “You know I—”
“But—” he broke in before she could reveal too much “—this isn’t going to happen.”
She was tempted to point out that they were already lying on her bed with his arms around her and his left hand entwined in her hair, so something had already happened. It seemed like a good idea to keep quiet until she heard what else he had to say.
“I’m taking you to the ranch and then I’m going back to Tennessee.”
She nodded, feeling the slight tug of her hair in his grasp. “I know. I wish you would consider staying until after the party Saturday, but of course I know you’re going back home soon.”
“Right. So, uh…” He seemed to have lost the point he was trying to make.
Still smiling slightly, she reached up to touch his face, her fingertips lingering on the scar that outlined his jaw. “Did you expect me to try to talk you out of going back at all?”
He made a face. “To be honest, I never know what to expect from you. Or what you expect from me.”
“I don’t expect anything from you, Kyle. I like you very much. I enjoy being with you. I also happen to be extremely attracted to you, which shouldn’t be surprising since you’re such a good-looking, sexy man. But that doesn’t mean I’m expecting anything more than you’re interested in offering.”
It amused her that her almost offhanded compliments had made him flush in embarrassment. He pulled his hand from her hair and touched his own scarred jaw in a gesture that seemed almost subconscious. “Still, er—”
“Still, you’re worried that I’m going to end up with a broken heart over you,” she said with a sigh.
His color deepened, as did his sudden scowl. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to say it. I could tell what you were thinking.”
“You’re making me sound like a conceited jerk.”
“No. Just another man with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility that makes you think you have to decide what’s best on my behalf.”
“You’re comparing me to your brother again?” he asked in disbelief. “Now?”
“My brother. My father. My uncles, cousins and friends. Everyone seems to think I need to be protected from myself.”
It always annoyed him when she compared him to anyone else, especially her brother. He leaned closer, his face very near to hers when he growled, “I am not trying to be your brother.”
She ran her hands up his chest to encircle his neck. “I’m delighted to hear that.”
“Behave yourself.”
“Why?”
“Well…because.”
She toyed with the hair at his nape. “We’ve already established that I’m not expecting anything long-term, and that I’m fully capable of protecting myself from the emotional consequences of being with you. We’ve admitted that we’re attracted to each other. So why should we have to pretend otherwise?”
He looked at her with a skepticism that might have annoyed her had she not known he was fighting his own desires in a misguided attempt to look after her. “But—”
Taking matters into her own hands, she tugged at his head, pulling his mouth closer to hers. She spoke against his lips when she said, “Sometimes you talk too much.”
It was such an incongruous accusation for him, a man notorious for his terseness, that he was startled into a laugh. Enchanted as always by the rare sound, she muffled it with a kiss. And then he took over, in his usual manner.
Just this once, she thought as she closed her eyes and crow
ded more closely against him, she would let him get away with it.
Maybe if it hadn’t been so long since he had been with a woman. Or maybe if he hadn’t been alone with Molly so much in the past few days, allowing him to fall so completely under her spell. Or maybe if she weren’t so sweetly, enthusiastically responsive to his every touch…
No. Kyle couldn’t find any excuse for his lack of willpower when it came to Molly Walker. There was just something about her that was special. Something he couldn’t resist, no matter how hard he had tried.
It might have been a bit easier if Molly had tried, too. Instead, she had smiled at him and laughed with him and kissed him as if he were the most exciting man she had ever met—a heady experience for him. And then, when he had tried one final time to be noble and self-disciplined, she had convinced him that there was no need for him to deny himself on her behalf.
She had made him feel almost embarrassed about thinking he had needed to protect her from doing something foolish—like falling in love with him. She had assured him that she neither expected—nor even seemed to want—more from him than a pleasant, fleeting encounter.
He didn’t know why that bugged him, he thought as he kissed her yet again. He should be relieved that she was open to some no-strings fun. She was, as he had repeatedly pointed out to her, a competent adult, old enough to know what she wanted. And she was giving him every indication that she wanted him—at least for now.
So what was holding him back? With a muffled groan, he lifted his mouth from hers. Without the kiss to distract him, he was able to focus on other things—like the way her body was plastered against his. How soft her smallish, but perfectly formed, breasts felt against his chest. The way her thighs cradled him so intimately.
The bulky brace on her right ankle didn’t stop her from twining her long legs around him in a way that incited all sorts of heated fantasies. Her hand was inside his sweatshirt, her palm pressed against his back. He was aware that he still needed to gain some weight, and he imagined she could feel the scars that marred his skin, but she didn’t seem to notice any imperfections. She looked at him as though she’d like to dip him in chocolate and swallow him in one gulp….
He groaned again. “Let’s eat lunch.”
She looked down at their bodies, her attention lingering pointedly on his hand, which was cupped rather intimately around her hip. “Now?”
He hastily moved his hand to a more innocuous position. “Yeah. The food’s getting cold. If we don’t eat soon, it’ll be ruined.”
She sighed. “Are you getting all noble again?”
“I’m not trying to protect you from yourself, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve learned my lesson about that.”
“So why are we stopping just when things were get ting…particularly interesting?”
He wasn’t prepared to examine the reasons too closely, himself. He said simply, “I’m hungry.”
It was obvious that she sensed there was more to his sudden withdrawal than hunger pangs, but maybe she was having a belated attack of common sense, herself. She didn’t try to stop him this time when he slid off the bed and walked rather gingerly toward the table.
With a sense of regret, Molly watched Kyle put distance between them. It wasn’t a sudden return to sanity that gave her the strength to let him go, but the memory of what she had seen in his pretty brown eyes just before he’d drawn away. It had looked suspiciously like fear.
Who was he really protecting from the emotions that flared between them whenever they kissed—her or himself?
He had picked up a container of fried chicken, so the food tasted fine even though it had cooled during the twenty minutes that had passed since he’d returned. Coleslaw and biscuits were the side dishes, both of which Molly consumed with a surprisingly healthy appetite, considering the emotional roller coaster she had been on that day.
Kyle, she noticed, ate sparingly, his expression distant and distracted. “Have another piece of chicken,” she urged, nudging the container toward him. “If we’re able to get on the road this afternoon, you’ll need your strength for the long drive.”
He reached almost automatically for another piece. Watching him bite into it, Molly decided he had no idea what it tasted like. For all he knew, he could be eating a carrot. “You seem very far away.”
He shrugged. “Just wondering if the car’s ready.”
“Bill said he’d call, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.” He glanced at his watch, causing Molly to check the time, herself. It was almost 2:00 p.m. If they left the garage any time before five, they’d still make it to the ranch before too very late.
She had mixed emotions about reaching their destination. While it would be nice to be home, comfortable again in her own surroundings and with her own things around her, it would mean the end of this time with Kyle. They wouldn’t have the chance to be completely alone like this again once they were among her family and the other ranch residents.
And then he would leave. She would be surprised if she could even convince him to stay for the party.
But she wouldn’t worry about that now. There would be time enough for what-might-have-beens after it was over.
After wiping his hands on a paper napkin, Kyle made a call to the garage. She could tell by his expression that he wasn’t completely satisfied with the results. “It’s going to be another hour—maybe an hour and a half before the car’s ready to go.”
She glanced toward the window. They’d drawn the curtains, but she could still hear the rain falling lightly outside. “Whatever will we do to pass the time?”
Her tone made him look at her warily. “I suppose we could play cards again.”
She stood and moved toward him, keeping as much weight as possible off her injured ankle, and ignoring the twinges of discomfort as she walked. “We could do that,” she agreed equably.
“There could be something good on TV. An old movie, maybe…”
“That’s a definite possibility.” She walked her fingers up the front of his shirt. “Or…?”
He cleared his throat. “Charades?”
She giggled and leaned against him. “Okay. See if you can guess what I’m trying to say.”
She tugged his head down to hers and pressed her lips to his.
His hands gripped her hips, as if he’d intended to set her aside. Instead, he returned the kiss almost angrily.
They took their time, one kiss leading into another, each one longer, slower, deeper. Kyle frowned down at her when he finally lifted his head. “You are…”
“Spoiled rotten,” she supplied when he fumbled for a word. “Remember? I tend to get what I want.”
“And what you want right now is…?”
She smiled. “Do I really need to spell it out for you?
I want you, Kyle Reeves.”
Something flared in his eyes, but he still looked nervous. “For, uh—for how long?”
“For as long as I can have you,” she replied simply. “If that’s only an hour and a half—well, I can live with that.”
“You scare me, Molly Walker,” he muttered, but he didn’t release her.
She probably shouldn’t have been so pleased by the admission. Rather than commenting, she lifted her face to his.
They sank to the bed together. Molly had her hands beneath Kyle’s shirt again, stroking his warm back. Her fingertips lingered on the ridges of scars along his left side. They broke her heart, but they didn’t make her want him any less.
His hands slid beneath the hem of her pullover, tracing her rib cage, resting his palm against her stomach. Moving slowly higher. Looming over her, he hesitated with his lips only a breath away from hers, his hand hovering just below her aching right breast. “Be sure, Molly.”
She nestled closer. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
He bit off a groan and crushed her mouth beneath his again, his hand closing over her.
She needed this, she thought with a last moment
of coherence. And even more importantly, she believed with all her heart that Kyle needed her—at least for now.
There seemed to be no anger left in him now. No resistance. Only a tenderness she hadn’t seen from him before. A hunger he had been trying to hide from her.
With a patience she wouldn’t have expected, he removed her clothing and his own. He wouldn’t let her take off the brace, which made her feel uncomfortable and clumsy at first, but it wasn’t long before she forgot she was even wearing it. Any soreness she might have felt before swiftly evaporated in the heat of his caresses.
Amazingly enough, considering her lack of experience at this sort of thing, there was no awkwardness, no embarrassment. Nothing had ever felt more natural to her, no one more right for her than Kyle.
Somehow, at some time during the past few days, she had fallen in love with him, as surely as she had fallen through his porch. It had nothing to do with their shared past, which had been such a long time ago and at such different stages of their lives. She had fallen for the man she’d found brooding in a mountain cabin.
Whether it had been fate or coincidence or just a series of circumstances that had kept them together for several days after she’d tried to leave him, the result had been that she’d had enough time to get to know him. To tumble head over heels for him.
Yes, it had happened quickly, but she had always known it would be that way for her. Judging by family history, it was in her genetic makeup to fall hard and fast. It had been that way for her parents, who’d been happily married for twenty-five years.
Molly wasn’t expecting a happy ending for her and Kyle. Not really. But if pain was inevitable, then pleasure should be savored while it lasted, she decided, arching into his searching hands.
Kyle lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, but he wasn’t seeing the white acoustic tiles. Molly snuggled into his shoulder, soft and warm and nude against him, her long, thick hair tumbled around them. Her breathing was still a bit ragged, as was his own, but her heart was slowing to a steady thumping against his, rather than the frantic hammering of only a few minutes earlier.
