Page 43 of Moonlit Kisses

He moans as I push my pelvis up to meet his. I need relief, but he presses his hips firmly against me, stopping my movements without losing an ounce of focus on what he’s doing to me with his mouth.

I’m dizzy with lust.

My overloaded senses are begging for attention. My hands grasp onto his back, feeling the stretch and pull of his muscles. He pulls back, cupping my face in his large, calloused hands, and presses his forehead to mine. “This is wrong.” His eyes drop to my nose ring as he toys with the blue ball.

My breath gushes out of me, replaced with disappointment.Why is he fighting this so hard?

His eyes move back up to mine. “But I don’t want to stop. You need to be the strong one, Mols. Tell me to stop.” He closes his eyes, blocking his forest gaze from me.

“I don’t want you to stop. Don’t ask me to be the strong one.”

He tilts his head to the side and starts all over again. My breath whooshes out of my body in sheer relief. He pillages my mouth with rough strokes as he cups my face with a gentleness that doesn’t match. My breaths are ragged and I don’t care.

The buzz of my alarm steals the moment and we both pull away, panting. “Damn alarm,” I mumble as I throw out my arm to mute the offending noise. Max rolls off me to allow me to twist further. Finally, my hand makes contact and I silence the stupid thing. It’s five o’clock and I don’t want to leave my bed to get my exercise today when I could have a perfectly good workout here.

Our moment gone, Max climbs out of bed and pulls me up. He tugs me forward and places a delicate kiss on my forehead, then spins me toward the bathroom. Smacking my ass, he laughs at my pout. “Go for your run. I’m gonna head home for a shower.” He adjusts the obvious bulge in his jeans. “I’ll see you back here for work.”

“But I don’t wanna run.” I whine. “I wanna keep doing what we were doing.” I’m close to stomping my foot on the ground to punctuate my sentence, but I fear that would remind him of our age difference. I’m certain it’s one of the reasons he’s been keeping himself in check around me.

“No arguments, Dimples. I’ve got a busy day. I had to rearrange my schedule yesterday.” He nudges me toward the door, but I stop and turn.

“I’m sorry, Max.” I rest my hand over his heart. “My mess shouldn’t impact you. I promise it won’t happen again.”

He reverently slides my hair behind my ear, his eyes locked on mine, as his fingers move to glide down along my jaw where he uses his knuckles to tilt my head back a little. “Yesterday was an anomaly, Molly. I would cancel everything all over again to be here with you when you needed me. I’ll be here every step of the way as you navigate your way through this new information. That’s if you want me to be here with you.” His eyes dart back and forth between mine.

Raising my hand, I grasp the back of his neck and pull his face closer to mine. “Of course I want you here,” I whisper against his lips before pressing a sweet kiss against them.

CHAPTER21

–molly–

Bent over at the waist,I work to catch my breath as I walk slowly around the parking lot in front of the workshop. Tires crunch over gravel and I turn to see who’s driving into the lot this early. My heart races as I read the sign on the side of the truck:DeLuca Electrics. He parks and turns off the engine. For long moments, he remains seated inside his truck as we watch each other.

I don’t know if I’m ready for this conversation.

I was hoping the run would help me sort through my scattered thoughts. But I’m still as confused as ever. I suck in a deep breath and take a couple of steps toward the man who may well be my father. He takes that as his cue to exit his truck. We stand a few feet apart, silently studying each other. Mom always said I had my father’s eye color and dimples, but it’s weird to stand across from this man and see eyes that match my own. Something I hadn’t noticed before. Probably because I wasn’t looking. I swallow my nerves and give him a timid smile. “Martin.”

“Hey, Molly.” He tucks his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “I … uh … hope you don’t mind me coming over. Beth said I should give you more time, but I think we’ve already lost enough.”

I gesture over my shoulder with my thumb. “I can’t talk long, because I need to get ready for work, but would you like to come upstairs for a coffee?”

His shoulders drop and a legitimate smile slowly spreads. “Yeah. I’d like that.” He reaches inside his truck, pulling out a box the size of a shoebox. He locks the doors and then follows me upstairs silently. To say I feel awkward would be a gross understatement. I’m not sure where we go from here.

Unlocking the door, I gesture for Martin to follow me inside. “Please, take a seat.” I gesture toward my two-seater dining setting. “How do you like your coffee?”

He pulls out a chair and sits, placing the box he brought on the table. “Cream, no sugar. Thanks.”

Well, that’s easy to remember, since it’s how I havemycoffee. I make our drinks and then carry them to the table. I pull out a chair and sit opposite him, looking at the box positioned in the middle of the table between us as though it contains poisonous spiders. We sit in silent contemplation; me studying the box; him studying me.

“This is awkward.” I chuckle mildly, trying to break the ice.

He chuckles, too. “It is a bit.” We both take a sip of our coffee.

He lets out a long, drawn-out breath, his posture softening. “I’m sorry, Molly.”

Those three little words unlock the flood. Tears stream unbidden down my face, and I hide behind my hands as my body shudders from the onslaught. Martin’s chair scrapes across the floor and then I’m engulfed in his arms. If my body was wracked with sobs before, it’s worse now. He rubs his hand up and down my back.

“Shh, shh, shh. It’s okay. We’ll work through this. I promise it will be okay.” He kisses the top of my head, reminding me of the way Jack would soothe me when I was upset. It’s such a fatherly action. He pulls away, tucking the hair that’s fallen out of my ponytail behind both of my ears at the same time. Gray eyes to gray eyes, he gives me a tentative smile. I return it the best I can, but it’s shaky.

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