Page 62 of Fighting the Forbidden

He scowls, but I ignore it and wait until he walks away to turn to Molly again. I asked Dex to come find me so we could talk about a few things. I can’t leave him hanging for long.

“Who was it?” Molly whispers.

“Dex. I gotta talk to him.” I cup her cheek and press my lips to hers again—once, twice. Fuck, I can’t stop.

But finally, I pull away and help her off the counter.

Her nervous gaze darts to the open door. “Is he going to tell Remy?”

Dex is a complicated but serious guy who doesn’t seem to indulge in gossip. Involving himself in our personal lives seems beneath him. “I doubt it. But I’ll ask him not to.”

“Okay.” She lifts her gaze to mine. “Because when Remy finds out—it’ll be better coming from you than someone else.”

“Yeah, Muffin. I’m aware.”

She leans up and brushes a quick kiss on my cheek.

“Come on.” I rest my hand on her hip and steer her toward the door.

Outside, she flips her hood over her head, as if that’ll stop Dex from recognizing her.

Dex isn’t fooled. He smirks as she scurries past.

“Hey, Dex,” she says quickly, as if to say, nothing to see here! As much as she wants me to tell Remy about us, she wants to protect me and let me do it on my terms.

“I’ll catch up with you in a few,” I promise.

“I’ll hang with Ella.”

I nod and watch her until she reaches the girls over by the bleachers.

“Have you lost your mind?” Dex says, snapping me into the moment.

Yeah, a little.

Molly

My cheeks and ears still sizzle with embarrassment. I can’t believe Dex caught us. Will he tell my brother? Griff said he won’t. But what if he uses the information as some twisted loyalty test? Or he thinks it’s a joke? Dex could think he’s messing with Griff, not realizing the fuse he’ll light if he says something about us in front of my brother.

Sweat trickles down the sides of my face. It’s too damn hot for this sweatshirt. I flick the hood off the top of my head. The cool breeze swirling around my cheeks an instant relief.

“There you are!” Ella runs up and hugs me. “I was looking all over for you.” She holds me at arm’s length. “What’s wrong? Are you sick? Your face is all red.”

That only makes my cheeks burn hotter. I unzip my hoodie and take it off, leaving me in my bright red T-shirt. I tie the sweatshirt around my waist for now.

“No. I’m fine.” I jam my hand in my pocket, searching for an elastic, and pull my hair into a high ponytail while glancing around the racetrack. More Lost Kings have started arriving. Bikers in black leather vests and jeans dot the area. Greeting the guests and bullshitting about motorcycles will keep my brother occupied for a few minutes.

“If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell Eraser?” I ask.

Ella stares at me for a few beats, concern wrinkling her forehead.

I wrap my hand around Ella’s arm and drag her over to the bleachers. “It’s nothing bad.”

“Eraser and I don’t keep secrets from each other,” she says in a more solemn tone than I expected.

I blow out a frustrated breath. I should’ve known that would be her answer. But I need to talk to someone about this and things aren’t quite back to normal with Hayden, yet. “Just this once? For now? For me? Please,” I beg.

She chuckles softly and seems to relent. “Okay. I promise.”

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