Hearts Under Siege (26 page)

She hadn’t said a word about Shae, or about Molly and Brady’s role in getting Christopher to safety. Maybe she was just too focused on her husband, but Molly briefly wished Brady had been able to see her self-centeredness so vividly. Just as reinforcement.

After Molly woke, she lay in bed for a long time, thinking. Brady still slept deeply, his possessive arm flung across her. She was right where she’d longed to be for so many years.

She’d watched Jessica kiss Brady, and his reaction had been contemplative, not devastated. It hadn’t sparked memories or his old feelings, she was sure of it. So she could be sure of him, couldn’t she? As they dozed off last night, he’d whispered that he loved her. The words had sunk into her and taken root, a more solid binding than even a lifetime friendship.

If she and Brady were together now, she’d have to banish any concern that he could backslide, or that he was lying to himself about his feelings for Jessica being gone. Molly wouldn’t jeopardize their relationship because of jealousy or fear.

But that wasn’t the only element in the equation. Brady’s feelings had changed during the most painful and high-tension period of his life. A very
short
period, too. Maybe he didn’t really love her, but only
thought
he did because of what they’d been through. Hell, maybe it had affected
her
, too. How could either of them know what they wanted when their entire lives had been flipped upside down?

She turned her head to look at him. His face was half-buried in the pillow, so she could only see one side of it. One thick-lashed eye. The sweep of one cheekbone and jaw line. Half of a full, firm mouth. But his gorgeousness tore at her. The urge hit her to roll over and dip her tongue into the corner of his mouth. Heat erupted all over her body, driven by desire. She had to smile at herself. Her life might have changed, but her feelings were as constant as they’d ever been.

Brady’s eye blinked open, then sank closed again. He sighed and pulled her closer, a whimper of pain escaping him. “Holy fuck, that hurts,” he muttered into the pillow, but didn’t let go.

“What does, your shoulder?”

“Everything.” He gave up and rolled onto his back, letting out his breath in a long groan. “Please tell me I can take a shower.”

“You can take a bath. We’ll have to cover your shoulder, though.” She pulled herself up and flung back the covers. “I’ll go get a trash bag and tape.” She stopped when Brady grabbed her wrist. “What?”

Sleepiness was gone. He gave her a very intent look like he was trying to pin her to something. “I want to kiss you, but I’ve got sick morning mouth.”

Molly smiled. “Me, too. It can wait.”

“Toothbrushing, showers, and then I want you back here in this bed with me. We’ll pretend to be waking up again.”

She laughed and agreed. When she’d retrieved the supplies from downstairs and met him in the bathroom, he’d already started the water and was ready to get in. She steeled herself and made efficient work of covering his bandage, able to remain clinical until he wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her up against his naked body.

“Come in with me? Make sure I keep it dry?” He waggled his eyebrows.

She laughed again but shook her head. “I need to brush and stuff, too. You can handle it.”

“Fine.” He pouted, but climbed into the tub and let out a long, ecstatic moan that set her pulse racing.

“Fuck, that feels good.” After a pause, he said, “You still there?”

“Yeah.” She moved to the sink and wet her toothbrush. Brady yelped as his water briefly went cold.

“Any word from my folks?” Water splashed, and she heard the click of the shampoo bottle being opened.

“Not that I saw. They got a quick flight and were leaving immediately.” She checked the little clock on the shelf above the toilet. It had been several hours. “They’ve probably been to see him and gotten a hotel room already.”

“They won’t be back until he’s ready to come home.”

“That could be a while. They might be willing to let him out of the hospital, but not necessarily to travel that distance.” She scrubbed the fuzz off her teeth and brushed her tongue for good measure.

“That gives us an empty house for a few days.”

She winced at the teasing in his voice. “Brady, I have to get back to my shop. Even without my SIEGE responsibilities, I can’t afford to leave it closed or under someone else’s management.”

His response came slowly. “Yeah, okay.” Water splashed, less vigorously than before.

She said, “I’m going to go use the other shower. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I’ll be in bed waiting for you.”

Her heart thumped hard for a couple of beats. She grabbed towels and went downstairs to use the tiny shower off Jessica’s room. Her shower was quick and far less satisfying than Brady’s bath. Partly because he’d used most of the hot water, partly because her mind was in his bedroom, already engaged in whatever he had in mind. She didn’t want to assume the obvious but…

A few minutes later she walked into the bedroom wrapped in her towel, her hair still damp. She hadn’t had the patience to do anything with it, so the curls rioted around her head. Brady grinned when he saw her and held up the covers.

“Come here.”

He was naked.

She could barely breathe as she dropped the towel and slid in next to him. He lay on his good side and raised his bad arm just enough for her to slip under it. Their knees alternated, and she tucked herself close to his chest. He smelled incredible. Clean, but hot, too. She licked her lips. His eyes tracked the movement but lifted again to meet hers.

“We have to talk,” he said.

Her heart sank. “I always have to be naked in a bed to do that,” she snarked.

His hand stroked soothingly between her shoulder blades. “We have to talk
first
,” he clarified. “Last time—”

“I don’t want to talk about last time,” she said. The pain of that day flared before she could squash it. “I don’t think we should ever talk about last time.”

He frowned. “I used you. I just—”

She sighed hard. “Brady, I
offered
myself to you. I would have done anything to help you. And you feeling guilty about it is just as painful.” She blinked against the prickle of tears. Dammit! This was exactly what she wanted to avoid. “Can we let the past stay there and move forward, please?”

“Yeah.” He pulled her closer, but not so close they couldn’t see each other’s faces. “I just want to know we’re on the same page. That we understand each other and want the same thing.”

She stayed silent. He could go first. But she realized the way her fingertips were tracing over his pecs and smoothing the line of hair down his abdomen probably gave a hint of what she wanted. She smiled a little when his muscles jumped.

He caught her hand before it went lower. “Stop that.” Pulling her fingers up to his mouth, he kissed the pads. “I love you, Molly. I think it’s been obvious to everyone but me, both before I first saw Jessica and now.” His brow furrowed, as if he wasn’t sure how to say what he wanted to say. “It seems so obvious now that we belong together, I feel stupid for not seeing it.”

She sighed and rolled onto her back. “Brady, I don’t want you doing this because of logic or anyone else’s opinions.”

He yanked her back around and trapped her, not even wincing this time despite how it must hurt his shoulder. “That’s
not
what’s happening here. Can you feel this?” He flattened her hand on his chest. His heart thudded rapidly against her palm. “It always does this when you’re near me. When you’re not, I’m looking for you, feeling something missing. I’m not
whole
when you’re not around. It took being with you again to discover how empty my life was without you in it.”

God, that sounded good, but she wasn’t sure he was reading himself right. “You felt empty because you weren’t with
Jessica
.”

“No. I
thought
that was why I felt empty. But if it was, why didn’t being with her fill that void? Even affected by Chris being dead.” He chuckled. “God. So much easier to say that now that he’s not.”

She managed a smile. “What if some of the emptiness was just because we didn’t see each other? We were close friends for a really long time.”

He scowled at her. “This is not—” He shook his head against the pillow. “I’ll have to convince you a different way.” And before she could react, he rolled forward and kissed her. Not the slightly stunned, exploratory kisses from before, and nothing like the raw, pain-driven need of their first time.

This time, his mouth landed on hers with a core-deep confidence. Perfect pressure, perfect fit. His lips glided across hers as he adjusted the angle, clung as though they were magnetized just for each other. His arms wrapped around her, under her, and lifted her body against his. And again, they fit. Despite the damp-at-the-edges bandage on his shoulder, despite their height difference, they met in all the right places. Chest, belly…pelvis.

She went soft and began to ache. He parted her lips by opening his mouth, then touched his tongue to hers. Not tentative, but an invitation. A promise. She whimpered. Her hand plunged into his hair and pulled his head down to her, raising her own to suck his tongue into her mouth. Desire drenched her. She shuddered, the move making him groan deep in the back of his throat.

His hands started to move. They stroked her back, down to her ass, where they dug in enough to tilt her up to him. His rock-hard cock fell into place as her legs parted slightly. She bowed up, wanting him
there
, but he held back. His lower body settled between her knees and he supported himself on one elbow while the other hand swept up to cup her breast. The caress contrasted with the sharp pinch to her nipple. She gasped and arched into his hand, breaking the kiss. He buried his face against her neck. His mouth suckled and nibbled the sensitive skin. She cried out and writhed under him. God, she needed him. Inside her. Engulfing her. She bit at his good shoulder and demanded with her hands, tugging, squeezing, until they were low enough to wrap and stroke. Brady gave a long, low moan and pumped into her grip, once, twice, before pulling back.

“I love you, Molly,” he gasped, raising his head until his mouth brushed hers again. “I want to marry you and make babies with you and, God help me, I want to start now.” He teased her with the tip of his cock. “Tell me no, and I won’t.”

But she tilted her head back to look into his eyes. They burned, not simply with lust but with fervent intensity. She knew he meant what he said, and she had to close her eyes against the longing that overtook her. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and held him, keeping her body still, until the desperation faded and they relaxed into each other. He whispered her name, so softly she might not have heard it if it hadn’t fluttered her hair.

And she knew. The longing hadn’t faded with the slow relaxation of their desire. She wanted everything he’d just said. Her birth control prevented the “now” part, but she didn’t bother to explain. She nodded against his good shoulder, and seconds later he slid into her with a long, relieved sigh.

“I love you, Brady.” She couldn’t let him be the only vulnerable one. “I’ve loved you my entire life.”

The next stroke was harder, his body no longer languid but tense and straining again. He grunted. “This isn’t going to go the way I wanted.” He leaned back, and the motion pressed him upward against her clit. Pleasure flared, making her gasp.

“It’s— Oh.” She couldn’t turn thought into coherent words. “Brady, I—
OhmyGod
.” The faster he thrust, the higher she climbed, the pleasure taunting, tantalizing, so close.

“Yes, sweetheart.” He slowed again, his hips quivering with the effort. “I love you.” He kissed her and moved slowly, but pushing himself deep and hard into her, his tongue matching the movement, as if trying to bury himself so deep in her he could never be removed. He’d stopped trying to support himself and crushed her into the soft mattress, but she didn’t care. It just meant more of them touched. She laid one hand against his face and held him to her with the other, lifting her hips to meet him as they rocked. Fused like that, they climbed together, their breathing in sync, hearts pounding against each other’s chests, and then exploded. Golden glass shattered behind Molly’s eyelids, the rest of her body echoing the sensation. Brady kept moving, and the ecstasy went on and on until she’d been completely depleted.

With a moan, Brady rolled onto his back. He tried to take Molly with him, but she resisted. “That must hurt.” She settled on her side and placed her palm gently on his bad shoulder.

“You have no idea.”

She started to get up. “I’ll get you some pain pills.”

“Not yet.” He sighed and the tautness in his face slipped away. He ran his good hand down her back and tucked her against him. “I’m okay. I don’t want you to leave.”

She kept her head on his biceps, trying not to put too much pressure on his shoulders, but she couldn’t stop tracing his torso. Her fingertips outlined each rib, floated over his nipples, tugged at the little bit of hair on his chest. “I’m not going anywhere, Brady. I never have.”

…

Brady couldn’t believe this much happiness could fit inside him. It was almost as effective a pain reliever as Demerol. They lay quietly, touching, feeling. Being. He’d lived so long with his immature yearning that he hadn’t realized how dark and lonely his life was.

“I can’t believe you waited for me,” he said after a while. “All this time.”

She shifted closer and draped her arm across his torso. “I didn’t, really.”

He scowled, “What do you mean?”

Her laugh put an immediate damper on his jealousy. “I mean, I had boyfriends. I was even proposed to once.”

“Seriously?” He couldn’t turn his body, so he twisted his head to look at her. She seemed to realize it wasn’t comfortable and rose to rest her chin on her hand on his chest. “You never told me.”

“It was when I was in Europe. He was French. Sweet, talented, passionate. But…” Her eyelashes fluttered down to hide her eyes. “He wasn’t you.”