Page 19 of Rufus

* * *

Rufus felt as if his heart had stopped. Or as if he was having a heart attack. Which was more likely at his age. Statistics said that men aged over forty-five were more likely?—

Fuck statistics!

Besides, he wasn’t forty-five for another six months.

Which meant his heart had to have stopped because he’d been completely thrown by Molly’s acceptance of him joining her in the shower.

He knew that was because, after kissing Molly again, touching her, his need to make love to this woman completely was now off the charts. Being naked in the shower with her was certainly a good place to start assuaging that desire.

“If you’ve changed your mind?—”

“I will never change my mind about wanting to be with you,” he stated gruffly.

Her lashes lowered. “You might.”

Rufus put his hand beneath her chin and raised her face until she had no choice but to look at him. “I won’t.”

* * *

Molly really hoped that continued to be true. In the meantime, she wanted to be with this man as much as Rufus’s obvious arousal told her he wanted her.

There was one thing she needed to share with him first. She knew from romance books she’d read in the past that men could react badly if they didn’t know beforehand.

She forced herself to continue to meet Rufus’s gaze. “How do you feel about virgins?”

“How do I…?” Rufus’s hand dropped, and he took a step back, his expression stunned. “Are you saying that’s what you are?”

“I’m saying I could be,” she hedged.

His smile was rueful. “Darling, either you are or you aren’t.”

Her jaw clenched at the endearment. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had used one when speaking to her. If they ever had. “I am.”

“At twenty-seven?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re so beautiful. Surely other men must have wanted you in the past?”

“And because everything I know about my mother indicates she didn’t know who my father was, and then being brought up in an orphanage after she left, I never wanted any of those men back.”

“But you do want to be with me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I…like you.”

“And you didn’t…like any of those other men?”

“No.”

“I obviously like you too. But we don’t have to rush this,” he reassured.

“But I want to rush it!” she protested. She really had no idea how long she would be able to continue staying here.

---