“Don’t worry. I won’t.” He picked up the pace and worked himself over the edge, moaning loudly in my ear as I joined him and wet his fingers. The moment was almost too much, and where I knew it was wrong, I had to own it.
I’d shown him a side of me that no one in the last eight years had seen. Certainly not Harry.
“That was so incredible.” He rested against my back, caressing my breasts and kissing at the side of my neck. “You’re going to get me addicted to you.”
“As if you aren’t already?” I smiled and closed my eyes, feeling secure and comforted with him pressed tightly behind me.
“Right?” He moved back, and we groaned together as he pulled out. I missed the contact the minute I lost it.
I got to my knees and went in search of my robe, finding it in the kitchen.
Alfie walked toward me and stood naked and proud at the edge of the living room. “Come to bed with me. I need a nap, and I’m not taking one alone.”
“Alfie. I don’t—”
He lifted his hand, palm out toward me. “Not another word. You’re staying here for the next few weeks until this shit blows over. And if we’re going to keep making love, then you’re sleeping in my bed with me. I haven’t been a one-night stand kind of guy for many, many years. Don’t force me into being that guy now.” He turned his palm over and offered me his hand, stealing my heart.
“Well, when you put it like that.” I pulled my robe over my shoulders and tied it tight. I took his bandaged hand carefully, and we walked up the stairs together like lovers might. “Thank you again. For what you did today.”
He walked into his bedroom as the afternoon sun started to set. “The sex or beating Harry’s ass?” He crawled into the bed and laid on his back, looking like a god. My body ached for more of him, and yet the warmth of his last attack still resonated with me.
“Both?” I laughed and crawled in the bed with him. I curled up against his side and glanced up at him as my heart fluttered in my chest. “Beating up Harry. It means a lot to me.”
“I’d do it again, and again, and again.” He turned on his side to face me and encircled me in his strong arms. “Now, rest, and we’ll figure things out later. You think too much.”
“Yeah? Maybe so.” I lifted up a little and kissed him softly. He deepened it and growled against my lips before pulling back.
“Maybe thinking is good. We start acting instead, and I’m going to spend the afternoon teasing and tasting every crevice of your body.”
“And I would refuse that why?”
We laughed, and I tucked myself against him and closed my eyes. Life would never be the same again, but maybe that was a good thing.
Chapter Fifteen
Alfie
It was the warm breath puffing against the back of my neck that stirred me awake from a series of strange and violent dreams. A warm and naked body was pressed up against the back of me with a small arm resting on my side. Molly. I could feel her bare breasts pressed up against my back with each breath she took followed by warm breath against my neck. Our legs were tangled together underneath the large blanket I had brought up because of the chill of the night air.
I stared blearily across the bedroom at the fireplace. A few logs were still smoldering behind the glass. I needed to put a few on to keep the room warm, but I couldn’t find it in me to leave the safe circle of Molly’s arms.
I had seen that look in her eyes—the same type of look that all women got when they felt that they had found their savior. Guilt twisted sharply in my gut. It was sheer anger that had driven my fists into Harry’s face, but it was deep desire that had me bending Molly over the couch.
I’d wanted her to bend down before me and let me show her what passion really looked like. It was dangerous. It was the old me. Fuck. There was no hope in fully quelling that part of my personality that loved to fight and fuck, no matter how much I promised myself that I would try. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had ever felt so angry in my life at one person in particular. The thought was insanely unsettling.
I wasn’t a University chap anymore. I was a grown man with a large corporation resting on my shoulders. I had lots of staff, and people who counted on me. My actions would mess up not only my life but the lives of others.
All thoughts dissipated as Molly shifted behind me with a soft sigh, still lost in her dreams. I debated wearily about falling back asleep. Every little noise had set me on edge the night before. Not only the sound of cars passing on the road a few miles away, but even as something as peaceful as Molly letting out a contented huff in her sleep.
I half-expected Harry to call the police to file charges for assault, but no one ever came. No knocks on the front door. No phone calls. The silence was what unsettled me the most.
A warm, delicate hand clasped my shoulder briefly before smoothing down my side. Goose bumps raced across my skin at the pleasant, warm touch. It instantly calmed the tension brewing inside of me as I rolled over to look at Molly with a small smile. The strands of her dark and long hair were spread out over the pillows behind her.
“I didn’t think you were awake,” I murmured.
“I could feel the tension rolling off of you in waves,” she said, softly. Her eyes were warm as propped herself up on an elbow to gaze down at me. “You were tossing and turning in your sleep all night long too. Bad dreams or something else?”
“I wouldn’t even call it dreams. More like regret.”