by Haley Travis
He actually made my father laugh loudly. “So what do you do now?”
“I signed up for the service to work on the most interesting technology. Now instead of getting dust in my eyes while I fix machines on the ground, I sit in my comfortable house and design new machines on a computer.”
“Is there much money in engineering these days?” Aunt Madison asked immediately.
“Yes, ma’am. You would be amazed at how much an engineer can make if they’ve got some real-world experience to back up their ideas. Let’s just say I’m doing quite well.”
My aunt leaned toward my father to whisper something that I think was about the year and model of the car we pulled up in, while James gently caressed my fingers to relax me.
“What are you drinking?” my father asked.
“Glenmorangie,” James replied. “I like something medium-bodied before dinner. What’s in your glass?”
My dad smiled proudly. “Tonight my brothers and I opened the ‘79 Brechin North Port.”
James nodded appreciatively. “Very nice.”
“When you’re finished yours, come over to our table for a taste,” my father said.
He nodded a goodbye and made his way to where my mother was waving him over for a photo, leaving Madison to pepper the two of us with questions.
She went from nosy to impressed in just a few minutes as James casually mentioned what neighborhood he lived in, and how he had recently purchased a three-bedroom house that backed onto a golf course. She even inspected his watch, somehow knowing that it was a limited edition with special features that was only available in titanium for one week last year.
As soon as she finally left, I turned to him. “You’re so good at saying everything people want to hear.”
He shrugged. “It’s just the truth. It’s a lot easier that way.”
“Really? I mean, it’s just…”
“What?” He smirked. “Let me guess – you’re surprised that such a big guy is a computer nerd? I’ve heard that before.” He laughed as he set our empty glasses aside then wrapped an arm around my waist.
“No, I mean…”
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “You didn’t know I had money. I wear those stupid shorts to the clinic because I don’t want them to ask me to change into a flimsy gown. I drive that older pickup truck because it still runs great, and I want to do some renovations on my house next year.”
“Just because my aunt cares about money doesn’t mean I do,” I said quickly.
“I know,” he said, turning so that he could wrap both arms around me. Even though there was only a slight hint of light jazz, it was almost like we were dancing. “But a woman definitely needs a man who has a decent home, a steady job, and can take care of her.”
“I’ve always taken care of myself,” I said, wrapping my hands around his neck. I heard his sharp inhale as my fingers trailed up slightly into the back of his hair.
“I’ve always thought it would be nice to be part of a couple where we would take care of each other,” he said softly.
“How’s your leg?” I said, instantly wishing I hadn’t brought it up. “Sorry, it’s just...you know. Caring for you.” I could hear how awkward I sounded.
“It’s fine,” he murmured, swaying us back and forth a little. “Molly, is anyone watching us right now?”
I took a tiny peek around the room, but most people were either farther away, or completely engaged in their own conversations. “No. Why?”
“I really need to kiss you, and I’d rather pretend we’re alone.”
I was already stretching up to him, his hands pressing against my lower back as our lips, then our entire bodies melted together.
At first his kiss was gentle, almost soothing. But within seconds I could feel the heat building inside both of us. Sparks were tingling through every part of me as our mouths opened slightly, deepening the kiss.
It was perfect. Heavenly. The way his body wrapped around mine made me feel like I was flying and sinking at the same time.
He wasn’t doing this to make a point. James wanted me badly. Just as intensely as I wanted him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
* James *
Going into the evening, I had resolved to keep my hands off Molly. But that plan went out the window the second I saw her in that gorgeous dress that showed off every sexy curve.
I tried to study her reactions carefully when I touched her, and it seemed like she didn’t just enjoy the contact, she craved it. Every time I placed my hands on her, she leaned in, obviously wanting more.
I hadn’t wanted to get my hopes up, and assumed that this might be a platonic situation. But Molly was definitely interested. This wasn’t a fake date, this was our relationship fast-forwarding until it really did feel like we’d been together for a month.
It was nice to see that she came from such a lovely family. Other than her nosy aunt, everyone else was truly wonderful.
Molly sat close beside me as we shared a glass of her father’s special Scotch, snuggling right into my shoulder as if she didn’t care about the public display of affection. She felt so perfect leaning into me that I never wanted to be anywhere without her again.
By the time we got to the dance floor, we had been cuddling and stealing little kisses all through dinner.
“Just one dance,” she said softly toward my ear. “I know you don’t want me to mention it, but your leg is probably getting tired.”
“A tiny bit,” I said with a smile, refusing to tell her that it had been seriously aching for the past hour. “One dance with my beautiful girl, then we can sit quietly and let your family come to us until you’d like to leave. All right?”
“Perfect.”
“You’re perfect,” I murmured, taking her hand.
We walked to the far corner of the dance floor where it was a bit darker, so we were mostly hidden from everyone except for the closest dancers.
The feeling of her fingertips of the back of my neck caused a prickle to run straight down my spine. She felt incredible in my arms, warm and soft and girlish as she giggled up at me.
“I’m not a very good dancer,” she said.
“Neither am I.”
We swayed slightly with the music, lost in each other’s eyes. My hands parted slowly, one traveling up her middle back as the other sunk lower, teasing as if I were about to grab her sweet little butt.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she giggled.
“I might. You never know. You could always distract me with a kiss.”
She looked relieved, as if she’d been waiting for any excuse. As I leaned down, she stretched up, our mouths gliding together, the heat between us enough to cause sparks. My fingers tightened on her back, holding her closer, her soft moan nearly undoing me.
It had been so long since I dated a girl that I didn’t know what the rules even were anymore, but I knew for certain that there was a hell of a good night kiss on the horizon later.
Forcing myself to pull back, I said, “If we weren’t surrounded by your relatives, I would be tempted to do something very inappropriate.”
Molly’s eyes glazed. “Like what?”
“It’s not the sort of thing that one should be telling a proper young lady.”
She pulled my ear down to her lips. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but James…this moment right now is the most aroused I’ve ever been in my life. Please, tell me something naughty enough that I’ll remember it forever.”
Her eyes were sparkling with something I’d never seen before. Passion, or lust, mixed with a strange mischievousness that was pure Molly.
Turning her away from the crowd, my hand slipped down to cup her hot, round ass, squeezing firmly. “I’d love to take you back behind this building,” I murmured into her ear. “I’d lift you up, pin you against the wall, and make you squeal as I slid my hand under your skirt. I’d make you come so hard and fast you’d scream.”
I’d never said anything like that to a woman in my life
and wasn’t sure where those words even came from. Her choked little moan caught me by surprise. She obviously loved it.
“Is that what you need, Molly? A big man who will take hold of you, and make you feel good?”
“Yes,” she barely breathed.
“You need a man who is so crazy for you that he can’t control himself?”
“Yes.”
I pulled my hand around to the front, her body blocked by mine as I slid my hand under her breast, gliding over the silk as she whimpered against me.
“I need to hear you squeal, Molly. You take such good care of everyone but I think someone should take care of you. I want to be the one to make you shiver and moan. I want to make you explode, baby. Is that what you want?”
“Ye–” I cut off her little gasp with a kiss so deep and wet that I prayed nobody saw us. For one blissful minute, we were the only people in the room, my tongue dancing in her mouth, my hands all over her body, as all anyone else saw was the back of my suit as I held her.
Slowly releasing her, I kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re a bad little girl, aren’t you?”
Molly nodded. “I didn’t even know.”
Smoothing her dress into place, we realized that the song had changed. She gave me another kiss, then smiled, taking my hand. “My feet are getting a bit tired in these heels, so let’s go be lazy for half an hour, then we should probably go.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We lounged at our table for a while longer. Once Molly’s parents had left, we said a quick round of goodbyes. By the time we were walking out of the hall, my back teeth were grinding together from trying to walk on my bad leg.
Molly squeezed my hand. “You’ve overdone it today,” she said sadly. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said quickly. “It’s my stupid pride for not wanting to meet your family while leaning on a cane.”
There was no way I could tell her that most of the pain was centered in that little sore spot she found during the massage.
As I drove her home, we chatted about the best points of the wedding. The short, entertaining ceremony was definitely a plus. The food was incredible, and we enjoyed some great conversations with some of her old family friends.
“I really enjoyed the dancing,” she said softly, giving me a sideways glance as I found a parking spot in front of her building.
“So did I.” I turned off the engine then shifted to face her. “May I walk you to your door to make sure you’re not eaten by wolves?”
She paused, then raised an eyebrow. “Yes, on two conditions.”
“I’ll use my cane,” I said.
“Good. The other one is…” Her fingers were twisting around the handle of her purse again. “Maybe you’d like to come in for a drink?”
I was opening her car door in seconds, grabbing my stupid cane from the back seat. We walked into an old fashioned house that had been painted a strange acidic blue, with light gray shutters and a bright purple front door.
“My apartment is on the second floor. I think a lot of students have lived here over the years, so it’s a bit weird,” she laughed as she saw me staring. I let her go ahead of me up the stairs, partly so that she could unlock the door first, and also so that I could watch her curvy behind swaying in front of me.
As soon as we were inside, we slid off our shoes, both sighing in relief. It was so nice to have someone to laugh with again. That was one of the biggest things that I missed about…I shook my head, forcing the thought out of my mind.
Molly led me to her couch, and I sat down, laughing again as she stretched my left leg out across the cushions, tucking a small pillow under my knee.
“I know I’m being pushy,” she said, holding up her hands, “But you’ve been so sweet to me, and I just have to feel like I’m taking care of you as well.”
“I’ll let you get away with it this time,” I said, pretending to be stern, “but only because you’re so beautiful that you’re distracting me.”
She giggled as she went to the kitchen, pouring us each a shot of honey whiskey over a single ice cube while I slipped off my jacket and tie.
“The perfect nightcap,” I said approvingly. She sat down on the couch beside my knee, handing me a glass.
As we sipped our drinks, I looked around her living room. There were many books, family photos, nature photos, and some guide books on local hiking trails. There were plants on nearly every surface, and a leafy vine that started from a hanging pot near the window and stretched along the top of the wall in two directions.
Looking down, she was wiggling her toes into the fluffy purple rug. Over the back of the couch was an unbelievably soft blue-gray blanket. The pillows were all different textures.
Reaching out, I placed my hand at the small of her back, stroking upward very slowly. “Everything around us is very cozy,” I observed.
“I like to bundle up when I’m watching movies,” she said.
We set our glasses on the coffee table, and I pulled her against me so that she was lying across my chest. Now I could stroke her back and hips easily.
“Molly, I know I’m a bit of a jerk about personal boundaries, so please feel free to let me know if this crosses any line. I have a feeling that you need to be touched a lot more than you have been.”
Her arms slid around my shoulders as she nodded against my sternum. “I guess you’re right. In university, I was relieved that my group of friends were all very huggy people.”
Rocking her gently, my lips moved to her forehead. “You can touch me as much as you want, baby. Anytime you need to be held, you let me know. All right?”
She looked up at me, her pretty eyes wide. “Really?”
“Absolutely.”
She seemed to sink into me even further, making a strange little purring noise. Then she looked up at me with a saucy smile. “Would it be better for your leg if you didn’t have to drive any more tonight?”
My hand slid down to give her a feather-light spank. “What I just heard was, you want me to stay over so that you can sleep wrapped in my arms.”
Molly nodded, her chin bumping on the buttons of my shirt. To my absolute delight, she reached up to unfasten the top three buttons, opening the fabric and tucking her cheek flat against my skin.
“You smell so good,” she murmured.
Holding her this way was putting pressure on an area that had been completely ignored for the past several months, and I hoped that she wouldn’t notice the resulting swelling. But from the way she casually leaned in a bit, she definitely did, forcing me to choke back a moan.
Although she seemed a bit shy sometimes, Molly seemed to appreciate directness when it came to physicality.
“Just ignore that,” I said, shifting her slightly to the side, but she leaned right back, sliding her hand down to stroke my erection lightly.
“Is this okay?” she whispered.
There was no way to explain that I hadn’t been touched by a woman in several years, and that area had been pretty much ignored since I was injured.
“Sure, if you like.”
My intention had been simply to cuddle her, then perhaps move to her bed and hold her all night. But Molly swiveled so that her lips met mine, her quick hands unbuckled my belt and unfastened my pants, and I could tell that my plans were suddenly about to change.
I absolutely loved that she was being so bold. Her sweet little tongue entered my mouth just as her hand reached into my boxer briefs.
Her delicate fingers wrapped around my shaft, stroking all the way from the head to the base in a slow, sensual rhythm. There was no way I could stifle my groan and the deep shudder that ran through me.
“Is this all right?” she asked nervously.
Squeezing her in my arms, I smiled. “Baby, you can touch me however you like. That feels incredible. But I should warn you, it’s been a very long time since—”
I inhaled sharply, giving my head a shake. I didn’t deserve this sort of pleas
ure. Any pleasure.
“Hey,” she said softly, likely noticing the distress in my eyes. “I’ve never done this before, so I’m going to need you to tell me what to do.”
Something crackled and shifted deep within me. Love wasn’t something that I’d ever truly been searching for, and would never have thought that I deserved. Although it was too early to tell Molly’s true feelings, the emotions I had long suppressed were surging to the surface like a volcano erupting.
