Sealed with a Kiss

CHAPTER ELEVEN

AWOMAN SCORNED had nothing on Hunter, Molly decided as she dressed to meet Ty and Lacey. In the two days since he’d discovered Molly had lied about her father meeting with Sonya, Hunter had frozen her out. He acted as if they’d never made love. As if his body had never been buried deep inside hers, filling her completely.

Ignoring a headache that had been building, she pulled on her red cowboy boots for luck, hoping that a visit from his best friends would help improve Hunter’s mood. Ty and Lacey were driving down from Albany to visit and to give them the information on the Atlantic City motel. Hunter had asked Ty to run down the lead after Sonya said she’d never seen or heard of the place on the matchbook before. She also suggested it had been a place where Paul stayed while out of town, not on business but with his mistress of the moment. Molly shuddered, remembering the matter-of-fact way she’d discussed the issue. Clearly she’d known of her husband’s infidelities and it made Molly sad to think of living with someone you couldn’t trust. Which brought her full circle to her major mistake with Hunter.

He was right about one thing-every decision she made was dictated by fear of losing her new family. But he was wrong to think she didn’t trust him or that she’d deliberately chosen her father over him. It wasn’t that clear-cut, she thought, still frustrated and upset.

Enough that she sensed her headache was turning into a massive migraine. The kind she used to get as a child. It had been a while since she’d had one, but she kept her prescription updated and filled just in case. Still, she wasn’t in enough pain to take them, so she popped two over-the-counter painkillers instead and tried to think of positive things that wouldn’t upset her more.

All she could do now was go forward and hope Hunter could move past it, as well. She ran her fingers through the air-dried waves in her hair, brushed on a swipe of peach lip gloss and decided she looked as good as it was going to get.

She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said to Hunter, who paced by the front door.

“He’s been wearing a hole in the carpet,” the commander said. She sat in a chair in the family room, obviously keeping him company. “It’s a male thing. They get ready too fast, then have to pace and wait while a woman makes herself beautiful. Doesn’t she look beautiful, Hunter?”

Molly flushed red. She figured she’d done a lifetime’s worth of blushing since Hunter had come to stay here. “We’re going to a business meeting, Commander.”

“Well, if I could get these legs into skinny jeans and boots like that, I could pick up every man within a ten-mile radius.”

Hunter turned Edna’s way, taking in her now dark brown hair. She’d rinsed out the purple last night, changing it for a mahogany after pronouncing the burgundy too punk for her liking. “You can still pick up any man you want and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” Hunter said with a grin.

His eyes filled with genuine affection and his tone held a deep warmth.

Regret suffused Molly and she silently promised herself she’d somehow win his affection back.

“I think I’m going to head over to the senior center and bag myself a man!” Edna chuckled, but didn’t rise from her seat.

“Just because a handsome man complimented you, don’t fall for the first pretty face.” Molly strode over to her grandmother and kissed her cheek. “You need to find someone active. Jessie’s getting older and you can travel again if you want.”

Edna raised an eyebrow. “Are you volunteering to keep an eye on her?”

Molly grinned. “Soon but not yet. We have to wait until she likes me a little more.”

“But you’ve made progress and that’s all I can ask for.” Leaning into the back of the cushioned chair, Edna picked up her book. “Now go have fun.” She waved her other hand, shooing them out the door.

“It’s business,” Molly reminded her grandmother.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.”

“Have a good night, Commander.” Hunter waved and opened the front door.

He still hadn’t addressed Molly directly. He hadn’t picked up on her grandmother’s compliment about how she looked. And as far as Molly could tell, he hadn’t noticed anything other than her being late.

Which she wasn’t. He was just early, impatient and frustrating her.

“You, too, Hunter. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Edna said, then turned her concentration to her book.

“Now, that leaves too much open.” He laughed, a husky sound that caused Molly’s stomach to churn with a familiar rush of desire.

Molly followed him out the door and into the cooler night air to his bike, where he unstrapped two helmets, handing her one. She gamely accepted the helmet, determined not to let her headache get in the way of the bike ride.

“Thanks. Can you put this somewhere?” She held out her purse.

He secured it in a pack behind the seat and put his helmet on without further discussion. She did the same. Then she climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, deliberately placing her hands beneath his jacket so her palms were flat against his stomach.

He tensed but said nothing, merely started up the engine.

She pressed her hands tighter. There were other ways to break through his reserve without words, and they had a good ten-minute ride for her to work with.

HUNTER PULLED the bike in to a parking spot and turned off the engine. He wanted to kill Molly. During the entire ride to the restaurant, she’d had her hands beneath his jacket, on his chest. Although she’d held on to him securely, she did have a wandering hand. An alternate wandering hand, first one then the other. Her forearms were locked against him but her palms and her fingers had a mind of their own, caressing, rubbing, teasing him until he was thoroughly aroused.

Somehow she’d known his weakness. Her touch, mixed with the roar and vibration of the bike between his legs, had incited his desire and need for her like nothing else. Not even his lingering anger had mattered, not while she held on to him, pressed her cheek against his back and teased him mercilessly with her hands.

She slid off the bike first and he followed, his dick hard, his body tense.

She pulled off the helmet and ran her hands through her tousled hair. Her cheeks were highlighted pink from the wind and her eyes sparkled with both mischief and delight. She’d enjoyed the freedom of the ride as much as he had. Damn her.

He snatched the helmet and hooked them both onto the bike, ignoring her long enough to get his body under control. Sort of. He figured he’d be as hard as wood for the rest of his natural life.

“That was exhilarating,” Molly said, fluffing her hair one last time.

She looked as if she’d been thoroughly ravaged in a man’s bed and those hot red boots only added to her appeal. He narrowed his gaze and scowled at her. “I see Ty’s car, so we’d better get moving.”

“Okay. I hope he has news that will give us a good solid lead.”

“He said he did. Let’s go inside.”

He started for the entrance, walking stiffly but quickly, and hoping nobody noticed he had a hard-on thanks to the witch by his side. “Molly?”

“Hmm?” She came up beside him, her boots clicking on the walk leading to the door.

“Your grandmother was right. You do look great.” The words were out before he could stop them and after he spoke, he could have bitten his tongue in two.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said gruffly, pissed at himself to no end. He stopped for a second and turned to meet her gaze.

Her pleased grin couldn’t be denied. “Well, like I told my grandmother, you’re a handsome guy and you’re looking pretty fine yourself tonight.” She reached out, her hand brushing his jaw as she fixed the collar on his leather jacket.

The electricity shot straight to his groin and he instinctively grabbed her wrist. “Just so you know, this doesn’t change anything.”

She tilted her head to one side. “Hunter?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and enjoy seeing your friends, okay? We have a lot of work ahead of us on this case and it’s going to go smoother if we’re not at each other’s throats. Besides, I apologized more than once, so let it go.” With a shrug, she strode around him and walked inside, leaving him with his mouth open and nothing to say in return.

HUNTER SUFFERED under Ty’s scrutiny as the other man leaned forward and studied him.

“You’ve obviously started shaving again, you look like you’ve been getting sleep, and I’m guessing you stopped drinking, but you’re still a miserable bastard. So what gives? Miss Molly giving you a hard time?” Ty grinned, then burst out laughing.

Molly had excused herself to go to the ladies’ room and in typical female fashion, Lacey had gone along with her. Hunter and Ty had a few minutes alone but Hunter didn’t want to use them to discuss his personal life.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re so full of shit.” Ty had always called him on a lie and he did so now.

“It’s the case that’s making me insane.”

Ty signaled the waitress for another beer. “I doubt it. You’ve never met a case you couldn’t handle. My money’s on Molly. Can I give you a piece of advice?”

“No.”

“When you meet that one woman, and you know what I mean, surrender and give in. Your life will be so much easier if you do.” He laughed at his own advice, pausing only when their second round of drinks were served.

“Your meals will be out soon,” the middle-aged waitress promised before turning to her next customers.

Hunter shook his head. “Man, who’d have thought you’d end up whipped?”

“Who’d have thought you’d be such an ass. Do you not see what a prize you have in front of you?”

Hunter rubbed his hand over his eyes, then leaned forward in his seat. “I’m only going to explain this to you once and that’s so you’ll shut the hell up and leave it alone. She dumped me once. I came back to help her father and move on, found out I wasn’t over her like I thought, gave in to temptation and she screwed me over. Again. Only a fool would go back for a third time.”

A look of confusion and disbelief crossed Ty’s face. “Explain.”

It figured his best friend wouldn’t take him at his word. Hunter explained the situation between himself and Molly, her lack of faith and trust and Hunter’s opinion that Molly was too tied to her need for family to allow herself a real relationship.

Ty listened, and blinked in thought. “And you think she doesn’t care? Doesn’t trust you? I saw how she looks at you. That’s a woman who’s gone, my friend.”

Hunter shook his head. “The proof is in her actions and those say, given the opportunity, she’ll choose her family over me every time.”

Ty glanced over Hunter’s shoulder. “The women are coming back, so listen up. You’ve got your own share of hang-ups and the last eight months without Molly weren’t worth much to you. I suggest you think about it before you throw away probably the best woman who’ll ever want you because you have impossibly high standards she can’t meet.”

Hunter frowned. “That’s a load of crap. Wanting her to put me first and trust me isn’t impossibly-”

Ty kicked Hunter’s shin beneath the table.

“We’re back,” Lacey said at the same time, her voice ringing with too much cheer.

They’d probably overheard the end of the conversation. Shit, Hunter thought. Things just got better and better.

Still, it was good to see his best friends and they looked happy together.

“So tell us what your source found out in Jersey,” Hunter said. He figured he was better off focusing on the case, the one and only place he seemed to have his footing these days.

Molly settled back into her chair beside Hunter, far enough away that no body parts touched, but close enough that when he inhaled, he smelled the fragrant scent of her hair. “And please tell me it’s good news,” she said to Ty.

“It seems like it is. According to Ted Frye, whose family owns the Seaside Inn in Atlantic City and who works there most days, Paul Markham was a fairly steady visitor.” Ty pulled out a notepad from his back pocket and flipped pages. “He ID’d him from the head shot you sent me, because he used a phony name. Called himself Paul Burnes, paid cash and usually met up with a woman for at least one night. A redhead, the guy said.”

“Lydia McCarthy, Paul’s secretary. The one he was having an affair with,” Molly said.

“I don’t understand something. Why didn’t the police look into all this?” Lacey asked.

Hunter stretched the tight muscles in his neck. “That’s easy. They had their collar and didn’t much care what else Paul had been up to. We do. It would be nice if we could figure out what happened to the money. It might lead to someone else with motive and opportunity.”

Molly smiled. “You see why I wanted him on my father’s side?”

Ty shot Hunter an I-told-you-so glance.

“So what does this mean for your case?” Lacey asked.

Molly shrugged and looked to Hunter for answers.

He groaned loudly. “It means,” he said to Molly, “we’re going to Atlantic City.”

Molly took one look at the mixture of pain and reluctant acceptance on Hunter’s face and knew traveling to A.C. with her wasn’t high on his list of things he wanted to do. Apparently he also knew she wouldn’t let him go without her. She just wished he’d look a little more pleased at the prospect. Her head still hurt and fighting their uphill battle with Hunter wasn’t helping. She’d hoped dinner would help but the pain had only gotten worse.

After dinner, Ty and Lacey suggested they have drinks at their hotel bar. Molly couldn’t bring herself to disappoint them, so she smiled and went along.

Hunter and Ty gravitated toward the pool tables while Lacey and Molly sat at a table overlooking the gaming area. The trip to the hotel on Hunter’s bike hadn’t helped Molly’s headache and once seated, she ordered a cola, hoping the caffeine would do the trick.

She and Lacey sipped their drinks while looking over the railing at their perfect view of Ty and Hunter as they made their bets and chose their cues.

“I can’t believe we’re sitting here together after all this time.” Lacey smiled at Molly, then reached for her hand. “Of course, I wish your father hadn’t been arrested, but I know Hunter will get him off.”

Molly glanced heavenward. “I hope you’re right. In fact, I’m banking on it.” She took a long sip of her soda through the straw and watched Hunter, unable to deny the hunger he inspired in her.

She’d gotten nowhere with him earlier despite her attempts to flirt, then bully him into forgiving her and moving on.

Molly needed a friend, a shoulder to lean on, someone to give her advice, and she had nowhere to turn. She couldn’t burden her father with her own problems right now. She hadn’t been around her friend Liza often enough lately to keep her up-to-date on the situation with Hunter, the commander wasn’t in a position to understand the nuances of their relationship, Robin was away at school and Jessie was too young.

She turned to Lacey. Molly had always liked and respected her, even when her fondness for Lacey’s uncle had put them on opposite sides. She’d kept in touch with her after leaving Hawken’s Cove and Hunter last year, and Lacey hadn’t judged or condemned her for her decision despite being one of Hunter’s best friends.

“Can I talk to you?” Molly asked, leaning forward, elbows on the sticky bar table.

Lacey nodded. “You know you can. And I will not go back to Ty or Hunter with anything you tell me. Promise.” She crossed her heart.

Molly nodded. Her gaze strayed toward Hunter. He was racking the balls at the far end of the table, giving Molly a glimpse of his tight behind in worn denim. Without warning, a low sigh of appreciation escaped her lips.

“I don’t have to guess what the subject is,” Lacey said, laughing. Her gaze was also on Hunter and Ty, although it was clear she only had eyes for her dark-haired husband.

Molly shook her head and smiled. “No, you don’t.” She couldn’t tear her eyes from Hunter’s smooth moves. “He’s good,” she murmured.

“He’s the best, Molly. And I have a hunch you already know that, so what’s the problem?”

Molly leaned back against the chair, focusing on Lacey. “Ever hear the expression two steps forward, one step back?”

Lacey nodded.

“That’s us. I break through his reserve, I think we’re moving forward in our relationship and boom! I blow it again. This time I didn’t tell him something crucial about the case. I was protecting my father but he didn’t see it that way.” Thinking about things between her and Hunter caused the ache in her temples to get worse and she massaged her forehead with her fingertips.

Lacey shook her head. “This is how I see things. Hunter is a big-shot lawyer. The best there is, in fact. But deep inside he is still and always will be the wounded, unwanted little boy. When someone crosses him or hurts him, especially someone he loves, the only reason he can think of is that he’s fallen short.”

Lacey glanced over at the two men who played each other, laughing and hurling insults like brothers. “Ty and I are the only two people who can insult him and get away with it because we lived through the hell along with him.”

Molly swallowed hard, the swelling in her throat hurting beyond belief. “I can’t break through that kind of pain. I’m only human. I’m going to make mistakes and if the past is any indication, I’m going to make lots of them.”

“But you love Hunter and he loves you. That’s going to overcome the other stuff if you let it.” Lacey spoke with the certainty of someone who’d been there.

“Nobody said anything about love. ” Molly may have thought it to herself, but she’d never admitted it aloud. And as for Hunter, at this point he was as far from being in love with her as he could get.

Lacey shrugged. “Nobody had to say it. It’s obvious to anyone. You just need to be aware of what he needs, too.”

Molly closed her eyes, wishing it were so easy. When she opened them again, the room was spinning. “Would you mind if we headed home? My head’s killing me.”

Lacey glanced her way with concern. “Sure. Let me get the guys.”

Molly lay her head in her hands and waited for the cavalry to return.

HUNTER INSISTED Molly drive home with Ty and Lacey in their car. He figured her head must have hurt too badly to fight him because she willingly crawled into the backseat and lay down for the trip.

When they reached the house, all lights but the porch ones were out, so he decided not to invite Ty and Lacey inside. They promised to touch base tomorrow before driving home, and after thanking them and saying good-night, Hunter turned his attention to Molly.

He helped her into the house, stopping short of carrying her inside because if he knew Molly, she’d pull herself together long enough to hit him if he even tried. He led her up the stairs and into her bedroom, careful not to make noise and wake anyone. As they made their way down the hall, she curved her body into his, for the first time since he could remember showing her vulnerability.

He sure as hell didn’t need this now, not when his defenses had to be high and on alert. Still, he eased her into her double bed and followed directions, handing her an old T-shirt to change into. He even helped her, gritting his teeth as his hands brushed her bare skin and he caught sight of her dusky nipples beneath her skimpy lace bra.

She collapsed against the pillows and knowing he had no choice, he undid her jeans, slid down the zipper and wiggled the denim off her long legs. A man would have to be a saint to ignore her pale flesh and tempting scent. Hunter was no saint, but Molly was sick and that had him keeping his hands to himself.

“Well I certainly ruined your night out with your friends,” Molly said to Hunter in a pain-filled voice.

“I can see them anytime. I’m guessing this is a migraine?”

“Yeah.” She hadn’t moved her head an inch since lying down. “Can you do me one more favor?”

“Name it,” he said in a gruff voice.

Ever since Lacey had interrupted their game of pool to tell them Molly wasn’t feeling well, his protective instincts had kicked in. Where there had once been hurt and anger, he now felt a deep caring and concern.

And that worried him most of all.

She didn’t reply right away and he could see it hurt her to talk. Finally, she said, “There’s a prescription bottle in the top dresser drawer. Can you get me one of the pills and a cup of water?”

“You got it.” He took care of her request in record time.

Hunter helped her sit up so she could take the painkiller, then gently laid her back against the pillows.

“Shut the light?” she asked, her eyes already closed.

He grinned. “Bossy thing. Can I get you anything else?”

“No, but thanks for everything.”

“Anytime,” he said, his voice gruffer than he was used to, filled with a caring he didn’t recognize. “Time for you to get some sleep.” He started to rise from the bed.

“Stay with me? Please?”

He couldn’t deny her request as much as self-preservation told him he should. “Sure.” He kicked off his shoes and swung his legs onto the mattress, easing himself beside her. “Why don’t you tell me a little about these headaches,” he said.

“Nothing to tell, really. I’ve had them for as long as I can remember but lately they’ve been more manageable. Tonight’s the first bad one in a long, long time.” She picked up the cold cloth, turned it to the other side and placed it back on her forehead.

He caught her wince with any movement. “I’m sure it’s stress related.” And he wasn’t helping.

Molly was dealing with the possibility of losing her father, a man she’d just recently found and Hunter was punishing her for the choices she’d made regarding the man. Shit. Maybe Ty was on to something when he’d mentioned him having impossibly high standards.

Hunter wasn’t a man who liked being wrong. He didn’t like admitting it, either. Thank goodness Molly wasn’t in any position to be having a long conversation. Which didn’t mean he couldn’t make it up to her another way.

Hunter popped the snap on his pants, loosening them for comfort, and eased himself closer to Molly. “C’mere,” he said.

She snuggled into him, rested her head on his shoulder and let out a long, contented sigh. Hunter was anything but content. He inhaled her fragrant scent and he liked how she felt curled into him. He liked taking care of her. Too much.

They lay that way in silence and soon Molly’s breathing evened out. She’d fallen asleep, but for Hunter, it was destined to be a long, sleepless night.