Sealed with a Kiss

CHAPTER FOUR

CONSIDERING HUNTER WASN’T in his own home and had spent the night on a pullout under the same roof as Molly, he had to admit he’d slept pretty well. His first order of business today would be to get his new client out of jail. He’d had no idea Molly’s father was still behind bars, but he knew that was unacceptable. He’d risen early and made a list of questions to discuss with the general when they met, and he’d left a message with his office to call the public defender who’d been assigned to the case to have copies of all paperwork faxed or sent over as soon as possible. His first stop this morning would be the county jail.

Noise that sounded like ruffling feathers caught his attention and he walked over to the covered birdcage. Edna had instructed him not to disturb the bird during the night because macaws needed twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep. But since the sun was up and Hunter was curious about his roommate, he lifted the cage cover and the bird popped one eye open. It still didn’t talk.

“Keep this up and we’ll get along just fine,” Hunter told the macaw.

Without warning, the bird flapped his blue feathers, startling Hunter with the noise and the size of its wingspan. “Rock and roll,” he said.

“Not a bad first line.” Hunter laughed and then pulled his cell from his pocket. He hadn’t told Ty his plans and it was time he faced his friend’s reaction.

He dialed Ty’s number and he answered on the first ring.

Hunter spoke quickly. “I’m in Connecticut. I’m taking the case and do not say I told you so.”

The other man’s low chuckle rumbled through the phone line. “Okay, I won’t. How’s Molly holding up?” Ty asked.

Hunter closed his eyes. “She’s Molly.”

“And you’re still hooked.”

“I’m working on getting over it,” Hunter muttered.

“Can I ask what made you change your mind?”

Hunter paced the study where he’d slept. The sun shone through the pleated shade, bathing the room in warm light. “On top of the things you and Lacey said the other night? Lacey was right. I owe Molly.” The words tasted sour in his mouth.

“Whoa. I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Well, I hate saying I’m wrong and it wasn’t easy for me to admit Lacey had a point.” Especially since for the last year Hunter had felt like the wounded party. But there was more to the situation than he chose to selectively remember. “The whole time Molly claimed Dumont was innocent of trying to kill Lacey, I refused to consider her side. I didn’t trust her judgment. I sided with you and Lacey against her.”

“So by taking her father’s case, you think you can make it up to her?”

“In part. And helping her now will make it easier on me when I walk away. And I will walk away when this is over.”

Ty burst out laughing. “Man, you are one screwed-up puppy. One minute you’re blaming her for dumping you, and the next you’re blaming yourself for not siding with her. You think that’s why she turned you down last year?”

“I don’t care about why, only that she did. I want things between us to end clean this time.” So when he returned to his life, he’d stop abusing himself and be able to move on.

“Good luck, man. Something tells me you’re going to need it.” Ty hung up quickly before Hunter could have the last word.

“Typical.” Hunter shook his head. But he sure as hell needed all the luck he could get, because he’d had another realization in the last few days.

Hunter was finished letting any woman turn his life to shit. Unfortunately he’d also discovered that he wasn’t over Molly, the woman he’d allowed to mess with his head.

This past year had been a regression he wasn’t proud of. As a kid he’d been defensive and self-protective, in need of guidance and getting none. After a series of sometimes dangerous, oftentimes neglectful, foster-care homes, at sixteen he’d landed at Ty’s mother’s house where his life had changed for the better. Ty and Lacey had befriended him, teaching him so much about self-respect during their short year as a family.

Then Lacey’s uncle, Marc Dumont, had unexpectedly decided he wanted her to come home-to his abuse. The three friends had faked Lacey’s death, sending her to New York to avoid returning to the nightmare her life had been. Her “death” had denied Lacey’s uncle the chance to claim her trust fund and he’d been furious. Dumont couldn’t prove Ty and Hunter had had anything to do with his niece’s “death” but he’d set out to punish them anyway.

A few pulled strings and an angry Hunter had been placed in a juvenile facility where he’d caused enough trouble to get himself put in a scared-straight program. He’d walked into the jail a cocky, brash kid, but the minute he’d heard the doors clang shut behind him, he’d nearly pissed his pants. Thank God he hadn’t been stupid. He’d listened to every word the convicts had said and taken them to heart. He’d decided right then, no way was he about to end up like the men telling their life stories.

He’d focused on their words and the dual voices in his head. Lacey and Ty, the two people who’d believed in him. He’d looked at what he had become. He’d visualized their disappointment in his mind and he’d heard Lacey’s concerned voice in his head. Somehow they’d been with him as he’d pushed himself through the program, as he’d cleaned up his act, as he’d made sure his record was expunged on his eighteenth birthday as promised by the courts, and as he’d taken out student loans to start college. They were his family.

So last year when Molly, who’d been in the dark about his past, had told him Lacey’s uncle was about to have her declared legally dead and claim her trust fund, Hunter had sent Ty to New York to find her. And when someone repeatedly tried to have her killed after her surprising resurrection, they had naturally blamed Lacey’s uncle, Molly’s soon-to-be stepfather. Hunter had felt certain Marc Dumont was guilty despite Molly’s fondness for him.

Yet he’d never once turned his back on Molly and he’d tried to be there for her. He’d offered her his life, his soul, his love, something he’d never given to another woman-and she’d rejected him. His entire post foster-care world had been about making something of himself, yet by dumping him, she’d proven his greatest fear to be correct. Nice clothes and the right choices in drinks and silverware couldn’t change who he was deep inside. She’d enforced his belief that no woman could love the real Daniel Hunter, and he’d spent the last year drinking and partying and working like a demon in order to forget.

So now he knew the truth about how little he was worth to the female species as anything other than a short-term guy. But Hunter had worked too damn hard to make something of himself to let his self-destructive tendencies take over for good.

Which brought him back to his game plan for getting over Molly. They needed closure. At least he did, even if that meant allowing himself to soften toward her while working on her father’s case.

He’d just let nature take over, he thought wryly, glancing at the bird in the cage. He’d wanted Molly for too long to deny his desire, especially since it looked as if he’d be in town for a good amount of time. These types of cases never ended quickly. Giving himself permission to cozy up to Molly and see where things went felt good.

Damn good.

The thought lifted the sour mood that had plagued him. He could smile a bit more, enjoy his time here while working on what promised to be a challenging case-and on Molly. As long as in the end, this time he was the one to walk away.

Game on.

MOLLY RETURNED from her morning run with her friend Liza, someone she’d met during one of her many Starbucks trips. Thanks to Liza, Molly had begun her volunteer work at the senior center in town. Liza was the one person she’d met apart from family, someone she could confide in and talk to, and Molly appreciated the shoulder to lean on. Especially now that Hunter was back in her life.

As soon as she returned home, Molly immediately hit the shower. She’d learned to move quickly before Jessie woke and monopolized the bathroom in the hall for a solid hour, as she did every day. After years of living alone, Molly found the adjustments to family life-like sharing a bathroom-amusing, and she rarely minded the inconvenience because it meant she was a part of something bigger than herself. Today Molly didn’t mind because she had more than her sister to worry about.

She had Hunter, and she wanted to be functioning and ready for the day before he woke and she had to deal with his guarded attitude and simmering resentment. Not to mention her own longing for the way things used to be, as well as the physical awareness she couldn’t deny.

He was so sexy, just looking at him left her hot and bothered. He was so intense, his mood became her mood, and the need to penetrate his walls and defenses became her mission. A useless mission since he obviously didn’t plan to forgive her and she knew better than to beat her head against a brick wall.

Freshly showered, Molly retreated to her room and after drying her hair, dressing and putting on makeup, she stepped into the hall-directly into Hunter, who’d obviously just finished a shower of his own. Wearing jeans and a mint-green collared polo T-shirt, he whistled, drying his hair with a bath towel as he walked.

He stopped just short of bumping into her. “Hey there!” He sounded surprisingly pleased to see her.

“Good morning,” she said warily. “Did you sleep okay on the pullout?”

“Not bad at all.” He propped one shoulder against the wall, obviously settling in for a conversation. “I slept well enough to start working on your dad’s case with a clear head this morning.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“How about you? How did you sleep?”

Not bad considering the man of my dreams was under the same roof, she thought. “I had a great night’s sleep,” she lied.

As if he could read her mind, a sudden, sexy smile pulled at Hunter’s lips and his gaze settled on hers.

Unwilling to squirm, she folded her arms across her chest, squared her shoulders and stared right back. She raked her gaze over him, slowly, deliberately letting herself see what she was up against.

No doubt about it, Molly thought, she was dealing with one gorgeous man. Although he was fully dressed, as far as her senses were concerned, he might as well have been naked. His damp hair reminded her he’d just showered, and in case she tried not to think about him naked beneath a hot stream of water, the moist air trailing from the open bathroom put the image vividly in her mind.

The scent of soap and shampoo, of clean, musky male enveloped her in a humid fog. She was completely aware of him and her body’s response. Her nipples tightened beneath her T-shirt and she was grateful for the hooded sweatshirt she wore that covered the evidence.

She cleared her throat and shifted positions to alleviate the sudden throbbing in unmentionable places. “So what’s your plan for the day?”

“I’d like to meet with your father at the jail and get a bail hearing set up as soon as possible.”

Molly opened her eyes wider in surprise. “You make it sound so easy,” she said, her hopes rising already.

“It shouldn’t be difficult. I have my office working on filing notice with the court that I’m now the attorney of record and getting copies of everything in the public defender’s hands. They’ll send it on to me. Thank God for fax and e-mail,” he said, laughing.

Laughing? She narrowed her gaze. Where was the man who’d arrived yesterday full of attitude and anger?

“So what are your plans for the day?” he asked, throwing the question back at her.

She shrugged. “My usual routine.”

“Which is?” He leaned in closer. “Come on, share your daily habits with me,” he urged in a playful tone.

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious.”

She shook her head. “Wasn’t it just yesterday you said you were here for my father only? You didn’t want to touch on anything remotely personal.”

A cloud passed over his eyes and lifted just as quickly. “I changed my mind.”

“Obviously. The question is why and don’t tell me that a good night’s sleep did wonders for your disposition.”

The bastard grinned, a sexy, heart-stopping grin.

She ran an unsteady hand through her hair and leveled him with her best glare. “I don’t like playing games. Maybe you forgot that about me but it’s fact. Yesterday I apologized and you shut me down and this morning you’re happy and flirting-”

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“You know darn well you are.”

He reached out and touched her cheek, his caress hot and steady against her face. “Now I’m flirting,” he said, his grin wider.

She lifted her hand to swat him away but found herself curling her fingers around his wrist instead. “Don’t play with me.” She tried to issue a strong warning, but her husky, trembling voice betrayed her.

Hunter was stepped closer, his face inches from hers. “Despite what I said when I arrived yesterday, I realized you were right. We do have unfinished business, starting with me accepting your apology.”

Her pulse beat out a rapid rhythm that increased with his sincere words. “Well, I’m glad you’ve come around.” She licked her dry lips and reminded herself that she was smart enough not to read more than face value into his words. Still, she couldn’t deny how happy she was that his attitude had changed, if only because working to free her father would be easier on her now.

Or would it? As he held her gaze, his hazel eyes glittered, golden flecks dancing with a desire she recognized, not only because he’d looked at her that way before, but because the same yearning was building inside her, too.

Molly saw his intent even before he moved and knew she should back away from him fast. She still didn’t know why he’d had a sudden change of attitude toward her. Didn’t know if she could trust the good mood he’d developed overnight. So if she were careful, she’d retreat before the dynamic between them changed yet again.

She didn’t.

Slowly, deliberately, never breaking eye contact, Hunter lowered his head until his mouth met hers. His lips were velvety soft but his movements were hungry. He sank his tongue into the deep recesses of her mouth, swirling around and around, possessive and sure of what he wanted. Somehow he knew what she wanted, too, and delicious flutters nestled in the pit of her belly, urging her to meet him thrust for thrust, to kiss him back.

Devouring.

Apologizing.

Making up for lost time.

Nothing else mattered. His hands came down on her shoulders and he pulled her closer, while his lips turned harder and more demanding against hers. Her breasts brushed against his chest, making her nipples peak and grow increasingly sensitive. Heavy heat along with dewy moisture settled between her thighs in a delicious, throbbing pressure and a pulsing need that made her question her actions a year ago and her sanity now.

She grabbed his shirt and curled her fingers into the rough cotton, desire and yearning rushing through her body at a rapid pace, one that matched the demanding thrusts of his tongue inside her mouth and his lower body moving against hers. He tasted so good. His desire for her was so intense, an answering moan reverberated from the back of her throat.

She couldn’t get enough of him and she needed so much more, but suddenly and without warning he stepped back, leaving her body shaking, with only the wall behind her for support.

“You see?” he asked, staring at her through heavy-lidded eyes. “Unfinished business.”

She swallowed hard, everything within her still trembling uncontrollably.

As if he knew even the wall wouldn’t offer enough support, Hunter rested his hands on her shoulders.

Unwilling to lean on him until she understood why he’d kissed her and, more importantly, why he’d backed away, Molly stepped closer to the wall.

“Is this a game to you?” she asked. “Am I a game?” The same kind of game she’d warned him she wouldn’t play. Not even she deserved that kind of punishment.

He shook his head, running his thumb over his damp lips as he studied her with those gorgeous eyes. “No games.”

“Then why-”

“I stopped because I didn’t want your family to find us going at it in the hall like kids in high school,” he said in a gruff voice.

She drew in a deep breath. “And you kissed me because-”

His grin returned. “Like we both said, unfinished business.”

Molly didn’t know if he meant physical or emotional business, but she felt certain that over the next few weeks she would definitely find out.

She ran her tongue over her lips and tasted him there, salty, masculine and overpowering. “When I said unfinished business, I meant we had things to discuss, not that we had to…you know.”

He laughed. “Are you saying that the kiss wasn’t on your agenda?”

An unexpected smile tugged at her lips. “I don’t have an agenda except clearing my father, and as far as that goes, we have work to do.” She held her breath, hoping he’d take the hint and change the subject away from them. She needed time to think clearly and couldn’t do that as long as he was around and close, and ready to kiss her at any given moment.

“Okay, but first I want to say something about what went down last year.”

Obviously he’d do things his way, not hers, Molly thought. “Okay, what’s that?”

Hunter was still shaken from the depth of their kiss, but some things couldn’t remain unsaid. “About Dumont.”

Molly blinked, obviously surprised he’d choose to talk about her almost stepfather. “What about him?”

“I’m sorry that you got hurt when Lacey decided to return from the dead. I know how much having Dumont as your stepfather meant to you. And in the end, you were right to have faith in him. He had changed.”

She stared at him through widened eyes. “Thank you,” she said softly. Obviously she recognized how hard it was for him to say anything nice about the man, given their past.

He treated her to a curt nod. Reining in his rampaging emotions wasn’t easy. He’d promised himself he’d see where things between he and Molly could go. Thanks to that kiss, now he knew. And he was scared to death because this woman still had the power to stomp on his heart.

But only if he let her, Hunter reminded himself. He was in control this time and no way would he let her emotionally close enough to hurt him. Still, he wasn’t looking for retaliation.

He wanted peace, Hunter realized, and that meant being honest with her. “Molly?”

“Yes?”

He heard the note of hope in her voice. “I’m not the same man you knew last year,” he warned.

Not that he thought she’d fall head over heels and want to end up with him. She’d already turned him and everything about him down flat.

She inhaled deeply. Her mouth was red from the pressure of his lips.

“I saw your apartment. I caught a glimpse of the changes,” she said bluntly. “They weren’t you.”

“You really don’t know me. I’m not saying that to hurt you. It’s just a fact. That part of me was alive before I met you and it’s resurfaced since.”

“Okay, but why-”

“Forget it.” Hunter had no desire to explain his reasons to her. That would give her power over him and he refused to hand her that kind of weapon. “I didn’t mean to bring it up.” He felt stupid for even considering warning her against falling for him.

As if.

“Can I drive you anywhere this morning?”

“As a matter of fact, you can. Starbucks and then I do volunteer work. You can drop me off there.”

He inclined his head. “Caffeine sounds good to me. I don’t want to go over to the jail until I’ve heard from my office and it’s too early for them to have been in touch with the court.”

“Sounds good. Bring a pad and pen or a laptop. However you like to work. I’ll fill you in on some details about my father and the case, and we’re going to brainstorm our next step.”

Hunter narrowed his gaze. “Our next step? I didn’t know you were going to play assistant.” He liked to work alone.

“I’m not.” She straightened her shoulders, once again the cocky Molly he knew. “I’m going to play partner,” she said with an unexpected grin.

He was definitely in over his head with this woman. And it was too late to bail now.