legs were around him, leaving her flush against his hard abdomen. His hand on her bottom kept flexing, feeling her, keeping her close.
Molly nodded. “Okay.”
His expression heated. Slowly, he bent to kiss her again, softer this time. Against her cheek, he breathed, “Soon as we’re done eating, we’ll hit the road.”
“Okay.” She tipped her head back.
He put a gentle love bite to her throat. “And tonight …”
Molly’s heart pounded. “Tonight?”
He touched his tongue to her ear, and whispered, “I’m going to be inside you, and I can’t fucking wait.”
In the next instant, he lifted her off the counter and onto a stool. Before she could catch her breath, Chris peered back in. He looked from Dare to Molly, and seeing them separated, walked on in.
“Glad you two worked that out, because I’m hungry again.”
Through a haze, Molly watched Dare. He acted like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t just made that provocative promise to her. He poured a glass of milk and set it before her, then sat down to eat while he and Chris talked.
In more ways than one, she was out of her league.
She picked up her fork with a shaking hand, and as she dipped her crepe in the dollop of whipped cream, she let out a pent-up breath.
Dare had managed to balance her apprehension about going home with an urgency to get there. Even knowing that he couldn’t feel the same as she did, she wanted to cherish every second with him.
She believed that he’d protect her from threats. It was up to Molly to protect her heart.
AT CLOSE TO SIX THAT evening, Dare pulled down the street to Molly’s apartment building.
He could feel her nervousness growing, but there was no help for it. On the drive, he’d told her about meeting her father, leaving out some of what Bishop had said. Not that it mattered. Molly knew her father, and, as Dare had suspected, she filled in the blanks on her own.
Because she didn’t socialize in her father’s circles, she hadn’t met many of his business cronies. She knew nothing of Warwick or Sagan. Dare told her about the connections because she needed to know. If it turned out that her father was responsible in some way, better that she had the facts early on.
“I just thought of something.” Molly kept one hand clamped on the seat, the other on the dash as she stared out the windshield, looking everywhere as if she expected the same goons to show up and make another play for her.
“Relax, Molly. It’s going to be okay.”
“I know.” She remained alert. “But how are we going to get in? I don’t have any keys with me. I left my purse in the apartment and …” With a groan, she turned her wide-eyed gaze on Dare. “I didn’t even have my door locked, because I thought I’d be going right back in. I didn’t remember that until now.”
“Then it’s probably still unlocked.” Either way, Dare wasn’t concerned about it. He could pick a lock in no time at all, and would, if it proved necessary. “Stop worrying.”
“You keep saying that.” She returned her attention to the area.
Through mirrored, aviator sunglasses, Dare glanced at her and saw her unease. He reached over and put a hand on her slim thigh. “Try trusting me a little, will you?”
“This has nothing to do with trust.”
It had everything to do with trust, but he could feel her trembling, so he let that go for now. “Where do you want me to park?”
She swallowed. “Across the street. If no one stole it, my car should still be over there.”
It didn’t surprise him that Molly had thought ahead. If someone wanted her absence to look uneventful, taking her car would have shored up that ruse. Folks would assume she’d left for a trip.
Dare turned where she indicated into a small parking lot. As Molly had claimed, there were floodlights mounted on poles to keep the area lit at night. He’d also noted some older people sitting on their porches, to take advantage of the warmer day. The area was a mix of stately, single-family homes and homes converted into apartments.
Typical of older structures, the buildings had a lot of character and structural details. The area was clean and well maintained and, as she’d said, quiet.
Hard to believe that no one had noticed her being snatched.
With relief, she said, “There it is.” She pointed to a sporty little Mazda Miata in cherry red.
Huh. So her captors weren’t concerned with appearances. “Cute car.”
“Cute?” Pretending offense, she glared at him. “That was my gift to myself from my last contract.”
“Personal reward, huh?” Glad to see her less focused on the danger, Dare said, “I like it.” It was a little small for him to fit comfortably into, but he could see Molly behind the wheel. “It suits you.”
After parking next to her car, he stored the sunglasses above the visor and turned to her. He hadn’t known her long, but already he could pick up on her moods. He wished he could somehow make this easier for her.
And maybe he could. Looking at her mouth, at the way she worried her bottom lip, he reached for her. “Come here.”
Surprise overtook the worry as he tugged her toward him. “Dare?”
Holding her face in his hands, he took her mouth in a kiss that started slow but quickly turned into a deep, soft distraction.
When she relaxed against him, he eased her back into her seat. Soothing her bottom lip with his thumb, he whispered, “Ready?”
Those beautiful, dark eyes of hers refocused and slowly filled with accusation. “You did that on purpose.”
“Yeah.” He bent forward and kissed her again, light and quick. “Just reminding you that you’re not alone. I’m here, and there’s no way in hell I’d let anyone hurt you.”
“You are so cocky.” She smiled when she said it, making it sound like a compliment instead of an insult. “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She turned and opened her door.
As she walked around the hood toward him, Dare took a minute to look over her car. Molly thought he was admiring it, but really he wanted to make sure that it hadn’t been tampered with. He’d have someone give it a more thorough going-over before she drove it again, but for now, it seemed fine.
Constantly scanning the area, Dare retrieved his duffel bag and a small suitcase for Molly’s clothes. His hand at her back, they started across the street to the building where she lived. Her next-door neighbors, sitting on their porches, made obvious note of the bags and Dare’s presence.
“I thought you said no one paid any attention around here.”
“All
