Page 10 of To Win a Rebel

She’d broken their kiss, and as he’d been trailing his lips down her neck, intent on getting to her pulse so he could learn every single inch of her body, she’d blurted it out, and he’d not expected it. Not even a little bit.

“Because … you’d offered what you did, and I don’t think it was right me … you know, not telling you.” She pressed her lips together. “I didn’t mean for it to be so … painful for either of us.”

He blew out a breath.

Nate hadn’t slept a whole lot. All of his thoughts had been dominated by Molly. Her virginity had taken him back a little. He’d never been with a virgin, but the truth was, he still wanted her, and he didn’t want any other man to have her.

Time was running out, and he knew if he didn’t act soon enough, she would be gone to him and that was not something he wanted to live with. It was hard enough seeing her on dates with other men. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to stand the thought of her with anyone else.

It wasn’t going to happen. Molly belonged to him, and yes, even that terrified him a little. He’d never wanted to possess any other woman, but Molly was different.

“This is not painful. This is not even a problem, Molly.” He stroked her thigh and watched as she swiped off a crumb of her cinnamon swirl, and all he wanted to do was kiss her lips.

“I’m not going to tell anyone what you’ve told me. This is between you and me, but I want you, Molly. I know this is going to take time, and I’m willing to work on it, the question is, what about you?”

Molly handed him back the package and he opened it, taking out his cinnamon swirl, and having a large bite. It reallywas a good pastry. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” she said.

“I want you to be honest with me.”

Molly sighed. “You know this is like something out of a book, right?” She laughed. “Is that what you’re doing?”

Nate smiled. “The men in your books get what they want, and they’re blunt about it. They don’t back away and they’re not cowards.”

He reached up and cupped her face. She didn’t pull away and Molly stared at him. “I cannot believe you’re using my own books against me.” She wrinkled her nose. “Do you even enjoy them?”

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I’ve come to find, Molly Embers, that if you’re attached to it, or have anything to do with it, then I can’tnotwant it.”

She smiled. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, it is.”

She took a deep breath.

“So, what are you … offering?” She frowned. “I know I’m supposed to be an author, but words can be so hard at times.”

He smiled. This morning had been much more successful than he thought was possible.

First, she hadn’t run away screaming, nor had she called the cops, and he was still here, talking with her. Progress.

“Simple, you and me, we figure this out together. But to be clear, I want you, Molly. I want to fuck you and play with you, and now I want to show you what a real hero can do to his woman. Not something you’ve potentially watched on a porn channel, or made up.” He grabbed her hand and placed it against his chest. “You’ll get me, and I am all man.”

Chapter Five

Molly knew she should have told him to give her time to think about it. The logical side of her brain was screaming at her to do that. But there was no logic, no real thought in her mind. She didn’t know what the hell she was doing. All she knew was what she felt.

Like now, what she felt as Nate took the coffee from her hand and placed it on the coffee table. He moved in so close, her heart was racing, and she couldn’t deny there was also a pulse between her thighs. She wanted him so badly.

Instinct kicked in, and she quickly covered her mouth. Not to be difficult but so that he couldn’t smell her in case she had morning breath.

“I haven’t brushed my teeth,” she said.

“I don’t care.”

“My mouth might taste awful.”

Nate chuckled. “You know, when you’re writing about your book heroes about to make their woman’s heart sing, none of them are interrupted.”

“But this is real life, and you might not like the smell or taste of my breath, and then you will not be able—” In the back of her mind, she was pretty sure there was an angel and devil at work, and one of them was begging to be slapped or told to shut up. The moment she got started, it was like she couldn’t stop, and the never-ending pile of words just kept falling out.

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