Live-In Lover

Damien bit his lips together and nodded, totally at a loss as to what he should say. He wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t exactly funny. Not now, anyway. Molly certainly wasn’t amused.

Brenda linked her arm through his and sighed as they followed Molly through the dining room to the kitchen. “You can bypass the red-faced apology, sweetie. It’s not like I’m gonna drag out my shotgun and demand that you marry her just because of a little kiss.”

Little kiss? He didn’t know what to say to that, either. If she’d been a scant two minutes later, she might have seen a more justifiable reason than a kiss to make her demand. And Brenda knew it, too.

What was the big deal here? Molly was nearly thirty years old, not some witless little innocent he’d been about to deflower. They were free to do whatever they pleased, wherever they wanted to do it, two consenting adults.

His conscience reared up even as he had the defensive thoughts. Molly was not one to take lovemaking as lightly as all that. To tell the truth, he didn’t think he could, either. Not with her.

And had she really consented? Or had he sort of forced the issue a little. She was depending on him to protect her. Had he given her the idea that a little payment was necessary in lieu of the money she’d offered him at first?

Well, he certainly wasn’t about to bring that up for discussion. They hadn’t made love and it was highly unlikely that he would find himself in this predicament again with Molly. She had made it quite clear that she did not want a relationship with him other than his extending her protection.

Brenda nudged him with her elbow. “I like you, Damien.” She whispered low enough so that Molly couldn’t hear. “But if you’re just playing, it would be wise to back off.”

Damien kept his mouth firmly shut and nodded once. He had not been playing at all.

Brenda was right about one thing, however. Backing off definitely should be his next step, the wisest move all the way around.

Chapter 5

Molly cursed her impulsive nature all the way back to Nashville. She had let him kiss her, for goodness’ sake. Not only that, she had encouraged him to, and very nearly got more than she bargained for. What was she thinking?

She hadn’t been thinking at all, if she was honest about it. Never mind how many of her fantasies he’d fulfilled with that kiss. Even now, this long after, she could still feel the texture of his lips, still taste him, and shiver with the need for more.

The man had always turned her on like the White House Christmas tree. All he had to do was look at her and it was like plugging her in. Worse yet, she was glowing right now, just thinking about it. About him. Damn!

And hadn’t Mama embarrassed the daylights out of both of them, walking in on them that way. Sometimes the woman could still make her feel as though she were thirteen, nothing but knees and elbows and ugly red hair.

Try as she might, however, Molly couldn’t lay all the blame on her mother for tonight’s little humiliation. No, she had brought it on herself. And Damien.

She threw him a surreptitious glance. Mr. Cool hadn’t even blushed once. Only now she knew what he hid behind that mask of his. The man was dynamite disguised as a prayer candle.

“I told you so,” she mumbled, half hoping he wouldn’t hear her.

“What’s that?” he asked, calmly steering the car along as if they were on a Sunday outing. She resented his composure. What did it take to rattle him, anyway?

“I warned you we couldn’t act on it,” Molly answered.

“Apparently we could and did. You want an apology?”

Thank heaven he hadn’t smiled. If he had, Molly thought she might have to smack him. “Not necessary. Just see that it doesn’t happen again.” She knew she sounded grumpy and mean, but she was trying to make a point here. She was not going to have an affair with him.

He shrugged one shoulder. “Your mother told me that I should back off.”

“She did what?”

He nodded. “Brenda worries about you. Thinks I might be…‘playing’ was the word I believe she used.”

Molly rolled her eyes and pounded her fists on her legs. What was she supposed to do now? If she railed about her mother’s ridiculous warning, it might make him think she disagreed with her, that she thought he shouldn’t back off and that he wasn’t playing at all.

“Are you playing?” she asked before thinking.

Damien looked at her then, raised one brow and then fastened his gaze back on the road. “No.”

Well, what did he mean by that? He was serious about her, or serious about sex? She did think this time and kept her mouth shut. For miles they rode in silence so thick she could hardly breathe in it.

Molly couldn’t stand it. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want.” She was, but her life was too messed up at the moment to add any more tangles. “I just can’t.”

“You are that certain you know what I want?” he asked. “To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure myself.”

Oh, she knew all right. A chuckle escaped before she could contain it.

“No, it’s true,” he argued. “It’s probably not you at all, just what you represent.”

“Oh, well, great! That does wonders for my ego. And it was none too healthy to begin with, thank you very much.” She ran a hand through her unruly hair and tugged on it. He was enough to make her pull it out by the roots.

The expression on his face was a mixture of embarrassment and contrition, new for him.

He pulled the car over, put it in Park and turned to her. “Look, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just that you are a part of something I’ve never experienced, a way of life I’m not familiar with. You and the child and your mother have something…”

“A dysfunctional family? And that appeals to you?”

“Don’t,” he ordered. “Do not make fun of what you have together. You can’t know—”

“Oh, yes, I do know! My father left us when I was too young to remember him. Mama had to work and found so little time to spend with us, Ford and I were absolutely wild, the scourges of the neighborhood. And it wasn’t a very nice neighborhood, I can tell you! We fought the world and fought each other.”

“Sounds wonderful,” he said.

Molly shrugged. “Then I up and married the scum of the earth who got me pregnant and beat me silly. They thought that was my fault, and maybe it was. It’s a flaming wonder any of us even speak to each other.”

The sadness in his eyes stopped her ranting. “But you love one another,” he said quietly. “Don’t you?”

She scoffed at the question. “Well, yeah, but what’s so unusual about that? Your family has to love you. It’s not like they have a choice.”

Damien slowly shook his head. He remained silent as he turned away from her and started the car again.