Page 72 of Someone to Hold
“It hurts more,” I finish, and we both know I’m not talking about physical pain.
“I’m sorry that you understand what I’m talking about, Molly.” I don’t bother to hide the emotion in my voice. “That the people who should have been kind to you and kept you safe didn’t.”
She dashes a hand over the tears that run down her cheeks. Ittakes every ounce of willpower inside me—and some I didn’t even know I had—not to cross the room and gather her into my arms. But I don’t.
Because I don’t trust myself to be able to let go when she needs me to.
I still feel dirty and dusty, and not just because of the work and the ride. The poison that spewed from my father is still on me, and I don’t want it anywhere near Molly. So I turn away and make my way up the stairs.
I’m almost done showering when the curtain flutters, and the air in the steamy room shifts. It goes hotter and thicker and I hold my breath, waiting for her to join me. Only nothing happens, and I think maybe I imagined it. Maybe it’s just me wishing and hoping for a chance I was never meant to take.
22
CHASE
I turnoff the water and open the curtain to find Molly standing with one hip against the bathroom sink.
Neither of us speaks, but she hands me a towel and her gaze follows my movements as I dry off. I don’t try to hide the fact that my dick is hard as a rock. Her eyes widen slightly when she takes in that part of me, and I swallow back a frustrated groan.
“What are you doing?”
“What if…” she begins quietly. “We could be easy with each other?”
I finish drying my body and wrap the towel around my waist. “Is easy what you want from me?”
“I guess that depends on what part of you we’re talking about, because I definitely want you hard, too.” She bites down on her lower lip, and my heart flings itself against my ribcage. “Mainly, I don’t want to think about the things that happened to us in the past, or the way people made us feel. I want to feel good.”
“I can make you feel so fucking good.” I cup her face in my hands.
“I know,” she whispers just before I kiss her. It isn’t gentle or soft. I ravage her mouth, plunging my tongue into her sweet heatlike I’m going to steal every bit of her light to chase away the shadows lurking in the corners of my mind and heart.
She wraps her arms around my neck and gives as good as she takes. I lift her, her legs circling my hips, and walk the two of us to her bedroom, careful not to smack the boot into the wall or doorframe.
It’s impossible to go slow as I undress her. I reach around and unfasten her bra, then lean in and suck one stiff peak into my mouth while I cup the other breast in my hand.
She grabs onto my shoulders like she needs to balance herself, and I fucking love the thought of making her lose control. Easy, hard—I’ll do it any way she wants it. Her nails dig into my skin, and my dick twitches in response.
The sound that escapes my lips is more growl than groan, and she immediately loosens her grip. I cup her face again and look deep into her eyes.
“Don’t hold back,” I command, my voice rough and hoarse. “Mark me, claim me, whatever you want or need, Molly. I’m here for it.”
There’s a beat of silence when she searches my face like she’s trying to figure out if I really mean it. Then her mouth lifts at one corner.
“I think what I need most of all is the bed.”
“Done,” I say, and lift her onto the mattress.
Once again, I take care removing her boot, and she pushes her pants and panties down over her hips. I peel them off the rest of the way, then pause.
“We have a tiny problem,” I say. “My wallet is back in the trailer so unless you have a condom…”
She flashes a proud grin. “I got them in the grocery order this week.”
I laugh at that. “Granola bars and condoms in the same shopping trip—you are efficient.”
Her gaze skates to the nightstand. “They’re inthe box in the nightstand. The key for it is in the top drawer of the dresser, back right corner.”
“Hell, yeah.” I give a fist pump. “Does this mean I’m going to get a look at your famous toy collection?”
