Runaway (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 4)

“Who is it Molly?”

Urgency in Jasper’s voice made her look at him. “My aunt’s boyfriend.”

“I beg your pardon?” Jasper’s brows lifted. “Are you sure?”

“I would know him anywhere. He used to make lewd suggestions to me about what he would do to me if we were alone together.”

Jasper’s gaze narrowed and he squinted at the man he was already starting to dislike. “He propositioned you?”

Molly nodded but that wasn’t what bothered her. “I don’t understand why he is here.” Slowly, she turned a stunned gaze on Jasper. “Do you think he is the reason why Oscar came here?”

Jasper contemplated that. The man was certainly walking through Rigley Row as if he was familiar with the place. More importantly, the youths didn’t challenge him when he passed them, which pointed to the fact that they knew him.

“I think so, don’t you? I mean, look at him. If he is as out of place as we are those lads would be staring at him as well.”

When they both turned to look at the youths it was to find that they hadn’t moved or stopped staring at them.

“Do you think Denzel knows the man who tried to grab me last night?” Molly whispered.

“I think it is inevitable, don’t you? Unless you knew the thug that attacked you, he had to be working for someone, probably Denzel. If that thug was just a random thief, he would have moved on to a more vulnerable target when we turned up,” Jasper said.

“What do we do?” Molly shifted uncomfortably when Denzel drew awfully close.

“Come on, let’s go.” He nodded to Phillip, who was keeping watch a little distance away, and turned Molly around so they were walking away from Denzel. Unfortunately, it led them toward the thicket.

“What are we doing?” Molly gasped, staring into the darkness in horror.

“Leaving,” Jasper snapped grimly.

With one hand pressed firmly into the small of her back, Jasper hurried her through the shadows. Down one path and into another they went through the backstreets of London, in a confusing web of street after street that left Molly completely lost. Jasper suddenly stopped. He glanced behind them. While nobody was visible, they could both hear footsteps approaching.

“In here,” Jasper whispered.

Molly dutifully edged into a small alley tucked between two terraced houses God only knew where. Jasper edged her into the shadows until her shoulders touched the wall of a house. He then pressed against her as if she were his lover. Dipping his face into the hollow of her neck, he tipped her head around until her face was protected completely by his shoulder. It was purely instinct to cover her lips with his. Without asking her, he lifted her skirt and slid a hand up to her thigh. Lifting it, he then leaned his hips forward in an intimate embrace that was so shocking she shifted against him. Jasper deepened the kiss and groaned when she moved and inadvertently brought them closer together. Anybody who looked at them would only see lovers enjoying a secret tryst in the shadows. Jasper was certain the man Molly knew would smirk and move on. He hoped so in any case because he was in no position to use his gun if the man accosted them.

When Molly shifted again, Jasper moaned because his aching body couldn’t find the fulfilment she promised. There wasn’t even a way he could reassure her that what they were doing wasn’t going to put her in any danger. He daren’t lift his head, especially when he looked at the street behind her and watched Denzel walk past. His gaze was glued on them. Jasper hated the thought of the man getting an eyeful of Molly’s leg, but there was nothing he could do about it.

When Denzel had passed, Jasper swiftly realised he didn’t want to move. Rather than step back and put a safer distance between them and Denzel, Jasper remained where he was. He lifted his head, but when he looked down at her and saw the glistening of her moistened lips he couldn’t resist temptation and lowered his head again.

Molly was stunned. Her mind refused to think beyond the shocking way the cold night air brushed against the now chilled flesh of her thigh. She couldn’t feel anything except the shockingly scandalous need to experience more of him. It was difficult to put any distance between them because she wanted this. There was nothing in the world that mattered more than the man before her. It had everything to do with the way he made her feel and what he could bring to her future. To Molly, it felt as though Jasper was as masculine part of her, her soul-mate, if she ever stopped to believe something like that was possible. She had never experienced anything like the emotions Jasper made her feel; the need, the desire to toss aside every social stricture she had ever been required to adhere to and simply be. Even though they were out where anybody could see them, tonight, in this quiet corner of London, there was just him and her.

Whether it was the darkness, or the silence, or the fact she hadn’t got a clue where they were, Molly gave in to the temptation that thrummed through her. She clawed at his shoulders to drag him closer as she copied his movements exactly. His groan encouraged her wandering hands. His lips demanded she savour the deliciousness of what they shared. She wanted to experience as much as she could while he was prepared to allow her to explore and took everything he offered.

Jasper realised he wanted Molly more than anything but had to stop before he did something rash like take her where they stood. He had no choice but to lift his head. When he did he found he couldn’t step back. Instead, he rested his forehead against hers and savoured the moment while he willed the flames of desire to recede. It was then that he realised they were not alone.

Slowly, Jasper turned his head. His gaze landed on a young boy with dark hair exactly like Molly’s. It wasn’t that he was most disturbed by, it was the anger on that youthful face so similar to Molly’s.

“Damn,” Jasper growled, well aware that he had just made another enemy.

Molly, still lost in the fog of desire, stared blankly up at him. To her consternation, Jasper smirked suddenly, as though he found something decidedly amusing. Before she could ask him what it was, his slid a hand into her hair at the back of her head. Jasper slid a look at her that left her in no doubt that he wanted her alone, preferably as soon as possible. Despite this, she was still unprepared when he practically wrapped himself around her until she was so close to him that she could feel every ripple of his muscles as keenly as if they were hers. Molly clung to him as he deepened the kiss with a fervent desire that made Jasper completely forget about the young lad out on the street.

“Ouch.” Jasper winced when something sharp and painful landed against the side of his head. “Damn it.”

Molly flinched and stared at him with wide eyes. “What did I do?” she wailed.

To her disbelief, another object hit Jasper on the side of his head with a painful thwack. She turned to look at the source of the flying object and gasped when she saw Oscar standing only a few feet away, glaring at them both.

“Oscar, just what do you think you are doing?” she demanded loudly, Denzel completely forgotten.