Stupid, but the idea that she wasn’t getting what she wanted from the other guy made Brady perversely happy.
Almost as happy as he’d felt when he learned Josh ditched Molly for good.
But the flip side of that was that all along Molly had felt inadequate. Undesirable.
His desire to hop a plane to Texas and hunt down Josh Patton and punch him in the neck for making Molly feel even a lick of insecurity was only outweighed by his need to show Molly how wrong that asshole was.
“I want to talk about you fucking me,” he said gruffly and ground his hips against the softness of her thigh. Felt a jolt of heat at the way her eyes widened and her breath caught.
“You’re already—”
“That’s right, I’m already hard again,” he said. He grabbed her hand and pulled it between them. His breath hissed between his lips at the feel of her slim fingers wrapping tightly around him. “You make me so hot I’m like a goddamn teenager.” Rock hard and ready to go as if he hadn’t just had the best orgasm of his life mere minutes ago.
She stroked him, slowly at first, like she was getting used to the feel of him. He held himself still, resisting the need to wrap his fist around hers and urge her to pump him faster, harder. Letting her explore.
He did some exploring of his own, his hands cupping her glorious tits, his fingers pinching and plucking at her nipples. He couldn’t decide what was hotter: the sight of her pale, feminine hand wrapped around his cock or the sight of his big, tan hands against her smooth, pale skin.
All he knew was he was about to come from a hand job for the first time since he was a teenager, before the novelty of having a real live girl jerk him off had faded.
Her thumb circled around the head, slicking him with the bead of pre-come that had formed. He said her name on a shaky groan as every muscle in his body tightened with need. He reached down and gently tugged her hand away. “You need to stop that now or I’m going to come again.”
He rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him with her knees spread on either side of him. Her breasts hung in his face and he licked a nipple into his mouth and sucked her hard, groaning at the way she shifted and moaned, her thighs tightening around his flanks.
He gripped her hips and shifted her so his cock nestled against her cleft. He groaned as she rocked her hips, surrounding him in her slick heat until he felt like the top of his head was going to blow off.
“So fucking hot,” he murmured against the curve of her breast, knowing he should stop before it was too late, but unable to resist the feel of her with no barrier in between them.
He felt a familiar tingle at the base of his spine, the muscles of his thighs pulling tight. He reached one fumbling hand out toward the bedside table, pawing around until his hand closed over the condom he’d placed there.
His other hand reached down and wrapped tight around the base of his cock, fending off his orgasm as he ripped open the foil packet with his teeth.
He relied on muscle memory to get the condom in place. He took Molly’s hand and guided it between them. “Put me in.”
She rose on her knees to obey. Sweat beaded on his forehead at the feel of her, so hot and tight. And then, Christ, the sight of his cock sliding into her as she sank down, taking all of him.
She started to raise her hips but he stilled her. “Don’t. Don’t move yet.” He wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her mouth down to his.
The feel of her tongue against his, her tight sex pulsing and squeezing around him…the orgasm he’d managed to hold off was roaring back to life.
And then, when she began to rock her hips, her muscles rippling around him as though trying to pull him deeper…
He reached his hand between them and found her clit with his thumb. Circling, rubbing, he felt a surge of satisfaction as she moaned against his mouth, her movements becoming more frantic.
He wasn’t going to last much longer, and no way in hell he wasn’t taking her with him.
“Oh, God, Brady,” she panted, spreading her legs wide to take him even deeper. Then she let out a choked cry and stiffened against at the precise moment his own orgasm hit him in a flash of blinding white heat.
His hips rocked up off the bed, his fingers digging into the soft curves of her ass as he ground himself against her.
Her muscles tightened around him, milking him until he was wrung out and limp as a wet rag.
Minutes or possibly hours later, she stirred against him and mumbled something against his chest.
“What’s that?” he said as his hand stroked lazily down her back.
She braced her elbows and lifted her head. “I asked if that was another heart attack,” she said with an impish smile.
He chuckled and raised his head so he could reach her mouth. “I think that one was more like a stroke.”
He rolled to the side to relieve her of his weight. Her blond curls tickled his skin and he couldn’t resist the urge to bury his nose and take a deep inhale.
Damn she smelled good. All flowery and citrusy, mixed with the deeper musk of sex. His hand trailed up and down the silky skin of her back, savoring the curves and hollows as she rested her soft weight against him.
Satisfaction permeated every cell, making his limbs heavy and boneless. Satisfaction and something else. Contentment?
He wasn’t familiar enough with the emotion to be sure. All he knew was that for the first time in as long as he could remember, he didn’t feel that sense of restlessness, the need to be on the move, on the go, constantly proving himself.
He let out a contented sigh and settled his hand on the sweet curve just above her ass. His eyes drifted closed, his breath deepened as sleep tugged at him.
“Brady,” Molly’s whisper tickled his ear.
He gave a sleepy grunt of acknowledgement,
“Brady, you should probably go now.”
Chapter 4
Molly was up with the sun at 6:30 sharp the next morning. The late night and fitful sleep after Brady left were no match for her internal alarm clock, which had been hardwired over the years of getting up to cover the breakfast shift at Adele’s.
Ugh. The post wedding brunch wouldn’t be served until 8:30. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use.
Which left her with two hours to toss and turn and churn over what had happened the night before.
She had done it. She’d slept with Brady. She almost wouldn’t have believed it herself, almost would have chalked it up to a very hot, very vivid dream.
But, as she’d discovered in the shower, it was all there in black in white, or, more accurately, in black, blue, and red in some places.
Her breasts and belly were faintly red from the rasp of his beard, and they stung a little when they were hit by the hot spray of the shower. There were light, finger size bruises on her hips, which brought immediately to mind the way Brady had held her in his firm grip, grinding himself inside her as he came.
The memory made her nipples tighten as heat rushed through her, making her wish she hadn’t asked him to leave so quickly after round two.
She shook her head and turned the water to cold, trying to blast away the heat of arousal as much as the memories of the night before.
It had been the hardest thing in the world, asking him to leave. It had felt so good to be snuggled up against him, his big, muscular form radiating heat as his hands stroked over her skin. It made her feel warm and safe and oddly cherished.
Which was ridiculous, she reminded herself. Brady didn’t cherish her any more than the legions of others that had passed through his sheets.
Molly was just getting carried away because it was so different from having someone immediately get out of bed and head to the kitchen for a beer.
So she nudged him out the door before she got too carried away and started letting herself think that this was anything more than it was.
Besides, given what it was, it wouldn’t do to let anyone see him leaving her cabin in the morning. She wanted to keep this simple. Giving people something to gossip about was a surefire way to complicate things.
She got out of the shower and dressed in jeans and a sweater, bracing herself to see him again at breakfast. She briefly contemplated skipping the whole thing all together and avoiding any post hookup awkwardness.
Not an option because as maid of honor she was still on deck this morning to make sure everything went smoothly and to settle up with JT.
And, she admitted as the time finally came to gather at the dining hall, as anxious as she was, she couldn’t deny that her skin prickled with the anticipation of seeing him again. Of looking across the table, knowing the secrets they now shared.
Ellie, Damon, and Anthony were already seated at a big round table in the center of the room. Damon sipped coffee while Ellie attacked a plate of French toast with a gusto only matched by the way Anthony was taking down his pancakes.
Molly gave them a little wave and stopped at the coffee station to pour herself a cup before joining them. “So how are you this morning, Decker family?”Ellie swallowed a bite. “Couldn’t be better.” She took another bite, chased it with a sip of juice, and fixed Molly with a somewhat solemn look. “How about you?”
Molly forced herself not to roll her eyes, feeling the full weight of all that was loaded into that simple question. “You know, I’m great. Last night was surprisingly—” awesome. Nope, if she went there Ellie would immediately know something was up. “Not awful.” She smiled and nodded at some of the other guests starting to trickle in.
“You sure? I feel really bad about the whole bouquet thing—”
Molly waved her hand as she took a sip of coffee. “Don’t worry about it—I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it. In the end, it kind of sort of made my night work out a whole lot better. I was so happy for you guys, I didn’t even have time to think about my stupid bullshit.”
Within a few minutes the table had filled up with Damon’s family, including Sadie and Dylan, Deck and Jane, along with Vivian and Frank Decker. Everyone looked a little bleary eyed and worse for the wear— clearly the party in the bar had gone on after Molly and Brady had made their getaway.
A server she recognized from the night before, a cute brunette in her early twenties, approached the table with a stack of menus. There was a collective rumble of appreciation as several people made pleas for something extra greasy to soak up the sins of the night before.
When she put the card describing the breakfast selections in front of Molly, Molly started to refuse it. It had been so long since she’d been able to choke down more than an energy bar in the morning, why should she bother?
Then she caught sight of—not to mention a whiff of—a plate of amazing looking huevos rancheros topped with fresh avocado and tomato salsa being placed in front of Ellie.
“Thank you,” Ellie said enthusiastically as her empty waffle plate was whisked away. She forked a bite into her mouth and closed her eyes in bliss.
Molly’s stomach rumbled with a serious case of food envy and she took the menu from the waitress.
“You got the eggs too?” Damon asked.
Ellie’s empty fork froze halfway back to her plate, pointing at Damon in a way that had menace written all over it. “Is there a problem with that?”
“Well those were some big waffles.”
His mother made a scolding sound and shot him a “have I taught you nothing” look from across the table.
“I’m pregnant. I’m hungry,” Ellie said through clenched teeth and forked another huge bite into her mouth.
“I know, but you don’t want to go too crazy—”
Her fork hit the plate with a metallic clang. “Are you saying I’m getting fat?”
All conversation stopped as everyone watched, waiting to see how big of a hole Damon was going to dig for himself.
“No, honey, of course not,” he said, wisely backpedaling.
“Because if I’m getting fat, it’s because of you, and you’re also the reason I barfed for six weeks straight and now have to make up for all the food I couldn’t eat because of this little alien taking over my body!”
Damon wrapped his arm around Ellie’s shoulder, pulling her close even as she tried to shrink away. “Of course you’re not fat. You’re beautiful.” He kissed her nose. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Ellie smiled a little at that and he tipped her chin up to kiss her on the lips.
“Mommy, do you really have an alien inside of you?” Anthony asked, excited. The tension broke as laughter rippled across the table.
“No, honey,” Ellie chuckled, “but sometimes it kind of feels that way.”
Anthony’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“Man, don’t you know any better than to get between a pregnant lady and her food?”
Her skin prickled with awareness at the sound of the familiar, gruff voice. Brady moved around the table to the only open seat, across from Molly. He nodded in greeting to everyone and slid into his seat, sparing her no more than a casual greeting, which she returned.
No big deal. Just like nothing happened. Just the way she wanted it.
The cute brunette hurried over and handed Brady a menu. He said something Molly couldn’t hear but whatever it was it made the woman’s cheeks glow pink.
Ignoring the pinch in her gut, she turned to Sadie, who was cradling her coffee cup like it held the secrets to her salvation. “You look a little rough this morning.”
Sadie shot her a look through narrowed, red-rimmed eyes. “Someone thought it would be fun to do body shots in the bar.”
Dylan jumped as Sadie’s elbow landed squarely in his ribs. “Hey, it’s not my fault you can’t resist licking tequila off my abs.”
“From that Kermit the frog color you’re sporting,” Brady said to Dylan, “looks like Sadie wasn’t the only one doing the licking.”
Dylan, whose complexion had a decidedly greenish hue, nodded. “Speaking of licking, you’re looking awful chipper for a guy who was doing the walk of shame in the wee hours of the night.”
“Oh really,” Sadie said, perking up considerably as she zeroed in on Brady.
Brady shrugged. “You know me. I never kiss and tell,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.