Page 39 of Rufus

He’d thought the muscles in his chest were going to squeeze all the life out of him a few minutes ago when Molly admitted to being the one to care for baby Emily for those three missing months of his daughter’s life.

All those hugs and kisses, the sleepless nights of caring for a very young baby that should have been Rufus and Beth’s, had fallen onto the shoulders of a five-year-old girl who was still only a baby herself.

Serena Jenkins really was the monster Molly had described her as being.

But Rufus was determined, psychopath or not, deal or not, that Serena Jenkins would pay, and pay dearly, for her crimes.

He looked at Molly searchingly. The thought of her leaving caused a pain in his chest not unlike what he believed a sword thrust must feel like. A sharp and excruciating pain as the sword went in, followed by burning, unbearable agony.

If she’d left, he would have found her, damn it.

No matter how long it took, he would have found her.

And when he did, he would have spanked her delectable arse, hard, for even thinking of running away from this situation or him. He would have made love to her afterward, of course, but the spanking would definitely have come first.

In fact…

He glanced at the packed bag before he bit out grimly, “Later tonight, we’re going to discuss my response to you thinking about leaving me.”

She looked at him sharply. “Tonight?”

He nodded. “When I again spend the night in bed with you, either at this apartment or at my house,” he stated. “I’ve just told you I’m falling in love with you. You didn’t really think I was going to let you out of my sight again for the foreseeable future, did you?”

She swallowed. “I honestly thought you wouldn’t want anything more to do with me now that you know the truth.”

“Then you thought wrong. In fact, I am going to stick so close to you in future, it will be difficult for you to know where you end and I begin.”

Molly looked at him with wide eyes. “You’re starting to sound a little scary.”

“Hate to break it to you, love, but to certain people, I can be very scary.” Rufus gave a humorless grin before sobering. “But not to you. Never to you,” he assured softly, knowing Molly had already suffered enough in her short life. “I do, however, have this lingering dread inside me still every time I think of you just disappearing into the night. That’s going to need to be addressed before we share a bed together later.”

Molly looked somewhat bewildered. “Addressed?”

He nodded. “You will be laid out across my thighs or the bottom of the bed while you take your punishment. But once your spanking is over, we can both forget you ever thought about leaving me.”

She swallowed. “You’re going to spank me?”

“Oh yeah,” he confirmed with anticipation. “God knows I have all the empathy in the world for the trauma your mother has caused you, now and in the past, but?—”

“I asked you not to call her my mother!” Molly snapped fiercely, her eyes flashing a deep and dark blue. “She’s a cold and ruthless bitch. I doubt I would ever have seen her again if she hadn’t discovered where I was working.”

His nostrils flared. “I can’t even begin to relate to a woman as emotionally dead as the one you’re describing.” He would deal with the spy in his company accordingly once he had them in his clutches.

Molly huffed out a breath. “How do you think I feel, knowing she’s my mother?”

Rufus bit back his frustration with the things he didn’t yet know and couldn’t talk about until he did. “I’ll ask again: do you actually want to leave?”

She hung her head. “It’s never been a question of what I want.”

Rufus could see the abject misery in Molly’s expression. “Then maybe it’s time that it was? Time for you to stop running and instead make a stand for what you want? Rather than allowing those decisions to be made for you by the actions of a selfish woman who has demonstrated time and time again that she doesn’t deserve a moment of your time or affection.”

“I don’t feel any affection for her.”

“Then fight for who and what you do want, damn it!” he rasped. “As we’re both very aware, I’ve been alive a lot longer than you have,” he derided. “During that time, I’ve learned that if you want something badly enough, then there are times when you have to fight for it.”

She gave a dismissive snort. “And some things, no matter how much you might want them, continue to remain as elusive as that mythical unicorn.”

“This isn’t elusive or mythical.” Rufus’s arms moved firmly about her waist as he deliberately pressed the evidence of his arousal against her. “Where you’re concerned, I’m not going to be either of those things. If you want me, I’m yours.” He lowered his head to take possession of her lips.

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