than the physical changes in him, were the changes in attitude. From the first moment she’d met him that fateful summer, she remembered him as having been rather cocky and self-assured for someone who was just twenty-nine years old. But she’d taken no offense at that attitude; actually that was one of the reasons she’d been attracted to him.
While both cocky and self-assured still applied, other adjectives now fit his personality. He appeared bitter, cynical and completely unbending. Though she didn’t know the reason for such a radical change, she didn’t like it, especially since it was directed at her.
After all, he’d been the one who had betrayed her. If anyone had an ax to grind, it was she. Admittedly she did, but she wasn’t about to show her bitterness to the entire world.
Maybe she was just the one who continually brought out the worst in him. Around others maybe he was a kinder and gentler soul. That thought almost brought a smile to Molly’s face. Worth Cavanaugh was a man unto himself, having carved an empire for himself in his early thirties. Kinder and gentler didn’t make that happen. Hard and tough-skinned did.
Suddenly a sliver of panic ran down Molly’s spine. What was she doing here? It wasn’t going to work. She hadn’t even been here one whole day, and thoughts of Worth had her by the jugular and wouldn’t let go.
Molly swallowed convulsively as she eased back onto the chaise, vivid memories of the last time they were together rising to haunt her. If her recall served her correctly, she’d been in the barn that day, looking for Worth most likely.
The why actually hadn’t been important. Once there, she’d climbed into the loft and plopped down in the middle of the hay. She remembered closing her eyes, taking a catnap during which she dreamed about Worth. When she finally opened her eyes, she was taken aback to find him leaning against a post, watching her with unsuppressed desire further darkening his eyes.
Since it had been summer and the temperature sizzling, she’d had on only the barest of clothing—a pair of blue jean shorts, a tank top without a bra and flip-flops. The way he’d stared at her, she might as well have been naked.
Heat pooled between her thighs as their eyes remained locked.
She saw him swallow with effort, causing his Adam’s apple to bob up and down as he slowly, but surely pushed away from the post and made his way toward her, his fingers busily unzipping his jeans.
All of that seemed to take place in slow motion as she lay unmoving, her heart pumping so loudly she could hear it in her ears. By the time he reached her, Molly’s eyes were no longer on his face but rather on the juncture at his thighs where his erection was thick and hard.
She couldn’t speak; her mouth was too dry. She could only watch him lift his arms and pull off his T-shirt, then toss it aside. A gasp slipped past her lips as her eyes covered every inch of his big, beautiful body, settling on his erection that seemed to be increasing by the moment.
Blood pounded from her heart into her head at such a rapid rate that it made her dizzy. Yet she couldn’t have removed her eyes from him if someone had threatened her life with a gun. It wasn’t as if that had been the first time she’d seen him in the buff, either.
It hadn’t. Far from it, actually.
Since her arrival that summer at his ranch, she and Worth had become an instant item. It had been lust at first sight.
When that lust had turned to love, Molly couldn’t say. Maybe it had been after he’d taken her that first time. From then on, he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her and vice versa. With summer coming to an end, nothing had changed. Every time Worth looked at her, or came near her, her bones melted.
That day was no exception.
“You’re a beautiful man,” she said in her sultry voice that now had a crack in it.
He merely grinned, then knelt beside her and promptly removed her clothing.
“Not nearly as beautiful as you,” he rasped, his gaze now covering every inch of her flesh.
He bent over and latched onto an already burgeoning nipple and sucked it until she couldn’t keep still. Finally releasing it, he moved to the other one and did likewise. Only after he left her breasts and began to lick his way down her stomach did she take action, latching onto his erection, rubbing her thumb in and around the opening.
Worth let out a loud groan as he nudged her legs apart and gently inserted two fingers inside her.
“Oh, yes,” she whimpered, her hips going crazy.
“Baby, baby, you’re so wet, so ready.”
“Please, now. Don’t make me wait.”
Propping himself on his hands, Worth leaned further over her, then entered her with unerring accuracy. For a moment he didn’t move, seemingly to enjoy the way she formed a tight sheath around him, his eyes burning deeply into hers.
Then he pumped up and down until the fiery explosion hit them at the same time. Moments later he lay limp on her with her arms clasped tightly around him.
“Am I too heavy?” he whispered at last, his breath caressing her ear.
“No.”
“Oh, but I am.” He chuckled, then rolled over so that she was now on top of him.
She leaned down, kissed him, and said in an awed voice, “I can’t believe you’re still inside me.”
“Me, either, especially since all the lead’s gone out of my pencil.”
She giggled and kissed him again.
Suddenly his gaze darkened on her. “Know what?”
“I know lots of whats,” she said in a teasing voice. “One of them is that I love you.”
“I love you, too, so much that I got carried away and didn’t use a condom.”
For several seconds, silence fell between them.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked.
“No,” Molly responded, feeling her brows gather in a frown. “It takes two to tango, as the saying goes.”
“Right, but I should’ve been more responsible.”
“Shh. It’s okay. It’s not the right time of the month for me.” Molly paused. “At least I don’t think so.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare say that. I loved every minute of it. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
It was the thought of those words that jerked Molly out of the past back into the present. Back to reality. To the pain and hurt that had resulted from that passionate afternoon of lovemaking.
Knowing her face was drenched with tears, Molly went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. Though the cloth felt like ice against her skin, it did what she’d hoped it would and that was clear her fogged mind.
She couldn’t change what had happened between her and Worth. All
