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He smoothed a hand over her face, over her hair and, to her regret, eased away.
Molly got her eyes open, only to find that the blue of his looked incendiary. He glanced down at her mouth, eased his thumb slowly over her bottom lip and, with a frown, settled back into his seat.
She, on the other hand, perched as far forward as her seat belt would allow, still straining toward Dare. With a gasp, she realized how that looked and flopped back. Again, she clamped her hands over the ends of the armrests.
Her heart continued to thunder, and her body burned in select places. She could feel Dare looking at her, and it made her both uncomfortable and more excited. Was he waiting for her to react?
Well, this was not something she could ignore. The first kiss, maybe. But that kiss? No way. “Dare?”
He watched her like a hawk watched a mouse, his gaze unflinching, ready and alert, almost as if he expected her to bolt. “Hmm?”
“That’s, uh, the second time you’ve kissed me.”
His gaze went back to her mouth, his voice deepened. “I can count.”
She chewed her lips, saw his eyes narrow and quickly relaxed her mouth again. Rather than ask a direct question about Chris, she said, “You were distracting me, because the flight—”
“No.”
No? But of course he was. Wasn’t he? She shook her head. There was so much she didn’t know about him, but she didn’t want to cross the line and become intrusive into his private life. “I don’t understand what it means.”
His gaze lifted back to hers. “Yes, you do.” He looked over her entire body, oh-so-slowly, before coming back to her face. “It bothers you?”
Bother her? She considered his interest, his attention, and … no. It didn’t bother her, at least not the way he meant. If anything, she felt wonderfully flattered—if he wasn’t already involved with someone else. “I just don’t understand.”
“Hell if I do either.” With a wince, he stretched out his long legs as if uncomfortable. “Not once, before you, have I ever come on to a woman I rescued. In every other case it would have been unethical.” When he turned his head toward her again, she saw his frustration and knew it was more with himself than with her. “In your case, no one hired me, so that restriction isn’t there.”
“No, it isn’t.” He wouldn’t be betraying anyone’s trust to deliver her home safely, because she was the one hiring him. And she knew without a doubt that if she said no, Dare would respect that.
“But what happened, the hell those bastards put you through …” His gaze searched hers. “What happened just today should be enough to shut me down.”
“Why?” Molly really didn’t think she wanted him shut down.
His expression turned grim. “You haven’t exactly been around sterling examples of manhood, Molly.”
She’d been held captive by total cretins—who had nothing in common with this remarkable man. Unable to help herself, she put a hand on his muscular forearm. “But don’t you see, Dare? That’s why you stand out even more. You’re very, very different from them.”
“I know that.” He worked his jaw. “Do you?”
“Yes.” She hadn’t known him long, but the threatening situation had given him room to prove himself beyond all measure.
“No residual effects, then?” When she just looked at him, not really comprehending, he shook his head. Measuring each word with care, he said, “Sometimes, after a trauma like yours, anything remotely similar can trigger the bad memories, the panic, even hysteria. In your case, a guy getting too close—”
“But you’re not just any guy.” Molly hoped her smile might reassure him. “You are the guy who got me out of that nightmare. I could never feel about you how I feel about them.”
Unconvinced, Dare turned his hand over and waited for her to lace her fingers with his. She did so hesitantly. This was the fastest any relationship had ever moved for her, and the unusual circumstances were such that she didn’t entirely trust her own judgment. Not that she questioned Dare or his motives.
But her own?
She didn’t want to smother him with her neediness, an emotion normally foreign to her but plenty prevalent right now, no matter how she tried to hide it.
He lifted her hand, stroked her knuckles with his thumb, and while it was the gentlest of gestures, he quickly turned very businesslike.
“We have a lot to get through, Molly. More than you probably realize. Getting the goons off your ass will be the easiest part. Finding out who arranged your abduction—that’s going to take some doing. And trust me on this, the truth isn’t going to be satisfying. It’s a necessity, but it won’t make you feel better, and it won’t soften the memory.”
“How do you know?” More than anything, she looked forward to nailing the ones responsible. She needed some closure on this living nightmare.
“For one thing, it’s almost always someone you know, and someone you’d never suspect.” He held her hand tighter. “Because it’s usually someone you have a relationship with.”
Her heart squeezed tight. “But I still have to know.”
“Of course you do. And for that reason, I have a million questions I have to ask, and I can guarantee it’s not going to be easy for you. Inquisitions seldom are. But it’s information I need—”
“It’s okay.” Molly licked her lips. “If … if this is going to be as hard as you say, then what do you suggest I do?”
His eyes narrowed. “For starters, be one hundred percent honest with me, always.”
“All right.” She’d never been a deceptive person anyway, and now, more than ever, she knew that honesty over every little detail really mattered.
He unbuckled her seat belt. “I specifically requested no stewardess on the plane to ensure that we were alone.”
“You did?” Before she could ask why, he lifted her over to sit in his lap.
He leaned the seat back and arranged her so that they were both comfortable. “You still need to catch up on your sleep. This might be a good time.”
With her face against his chest, his scent surrounding her, Molly allowed the lethargy to seep in. She was exhausted, and somehow Dare had known that once she got settled so close to him, giving in to the need for rest would be easier.
After a lusty yawn, she gathered her thoughts. “You said you have questions.”
“I do.”
His left hand rested loosely at her hip, and his right hand was behind her, keeping her close. Molly felt secure and safe. “So?”
“They’ll wait until we’re at my place—after we’ve both slept and eaten.”
That worked for her, but …”Well, I have some questions, then.”
He tucked in his chin to look down at her, saw that she was serious and relaxed back again. “Shoot.”
It was easier like this, without him looking right at her. “You’re … attracted to me?”
His short laugh rumbled from his chest beneath her ear. “Definitely.” He looked down at her once more. “You had doubts about that?”
“I don’t know.” She had doubts about Chris, but for the moment, at least, it was easy to push those concerns from her mind. “You’re different from other men I’ve known.”
“Not so different. I had to fight off a boner so I could hold you like this without maybe scaring you off.”
His plain speaking fascinated her, but she didn’t dwell on that. “I’m not scared of you, Dare.”
“No,” he said slowly, “you aren’t, are you? But neither of us yet knows how ready you really are. You’re holding it together, so let’s don’t test the waters too much, okay?”
Honestly, she was so wiped out, and still felt so … raw, she didn’t mind that suggestion at all. “The thing is, I don’t get it.”
“What’s not to get?”
“I’m hardly at my best right now. Physically, I mean. I look like—”
“You’ve been abused for nine days. Yeah, I know.” He gave her a little squeeze. “Bruises and fatigue can’t camouflage what’s there, Molly. You’re still an attractive woman. But looks aren’t the only draw.”
“What else?” He didn’t know her well enough to like her personality. Or did he?
“Bravery is something I admire a lot. Intelligence, ingenuity, control, logic. You’ve got it all in spades, lady, and I think it’s sexy as hell.”
Even before she’d been taken, her breakup with Adrian and her father’s censure had left her struggling for her self-confidence. So many accolades now put her on the verge of being weepy. She didn’t feel brave or ingenious. She felt used, duped, angry and, deep down, very scared.
Twisting around a little, she half sat up and looked at Dare. “Those men didn’t kiss me.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about me overreacting to that.”
For only an instant, he flashed that crooked grin again. Then something much hotter replaced the humor. “You want another kiss, do you?”
“I really do.”
Dare looked at her bruised cheekbone, at another fading mark beneath her eye. “They hit you.” His voice roughened; his hands on her tightened in a sign of protectiveness. “And bit you.”
Molly drew in a thin breath. She couldn’t deny it, but right now the reality of that seemed further away. “You’re not trying to do either.”
For the longest time he watched her, trying to gauge her mood, she knew. Molly just waited, anticipation heightened, tension coiling.
He said very softly, with suggestion, “Well, maybe the bite, yeah?”
She blinked, her body clenching with interest as he leaned in, ever so slowly, toward her neck. She felt his hot breath first, then the feather-light press of his mouth, the sensual touch of his damp tongue and, lastly, the light grazing of his sharp teeth along her skin.
Her breath caught loud enough that he paused, but when she didn’t pull away, he resumed teasing her, making her toes curl, her stomach flutter. He opened his mouth and treated her to a tantalizing love bite that sent liquid sensation throughout her whole body.
Near her ear, he whispered, “Now, when you think of biting, think of me, okay?”
Caught up in building need, Molly wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and sought his mouth. She actually needed his kiss as much if not more than she needed sleep.
“Easy,” he whispered, and then his mouth was on hers, taking and giving, consuming her awareness of everything but him.
Even as his kiss overshadowed her worries, she wondered: How was this so different? Before now, she’d thought a kiss was a kiss was a kiss. Some were exciting, some were so-so, but kissing Dare caused a singular effect in her.
In a nanosecond, a kiss from him ratcheted up her need. She wasn’t an overly sexual woman at the best of times, and this, most definitely, was not the best of times. She should have been sleeping as he’d suggested, and instead …
He gave her his tongue, and everything in her tightened with desire.
Molly tried to scoot closer to him, into him. She let her hands wander over his broad, hard shoulders, down over bulging pecs and lower still to his flat abdomen. All over he was solid, hot and powerful.
She got one hand in under his T-shirt, made contact with his sleek skin, up his side to his muscular back … and then she felt it—the telltale rise of an erection beneath her hip.
He pulled his mouth away with a low curse.
“Dare?” She was breathing too hard and fast. “You—”
“I know. Trust me, it’s not something I’d miss.”
Incredibly, Molly rolled in her lips and tried to figure out the possibilities of the scenario. She glanced over her shoulder toward the cockpit that housed the two pilots. As long as they stayed there, she and Dare had moderate privacy….
Dare gave a gruff laugh. “Forget it. Not happening.”
That he’d so easily read her thoughts left her blushing.
He shook his head. “You’re something else, you know that?” He kissed her hard and quick before urging her head to his shoulder. “I want you to try and sleep. I need some time to think.”
Toes curled and body throbbing, Molly forced herself to relax against him. She hoped he wasn’t thinking of how to handle her. She didn’t want to be handled. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, really. Except maybe more—
Before she could finish that thought, Dare kissed her on the top of the head. “You’re more fragile than you realize, Molly Alexander.” He caught her chin, turning her face toward him. “Don’t push yourself. I want you—that’s not going to change. I can’t say I won’t kiss you, but how far and how fast we go is up to you.”
Dear God, did he mean she’d have to … ask?
His mouth tipped in a crooked smile. “You’re a big girl, Molly, and you have a lot of backbone. When you’re ready, you can tell me.”
“But …”
“For my sake, let’s give you some time to come to grips with everything. Okay?”
She didn’t know herself right now, so maybe he was right. Besides, she didn’t have the sexual savvy to insist. “Okay.”
She closed her eyes and, with Dare’s hand stroking over her back, gradually faded into a deep, untroubled sleep.
EVEN WHEN THE PILOT’S voice broke over the speaker system announcing the weather forecast for their landing, which was thankfully clear and dry, Molly slept.
Hours ago, they had landed to refuel, and she’d slept through it. Dare glanced at his watch. He would have eaten on the plane if he could have without waking her. Now it was well past dinnertime and they still had an hour to drive after they left the airport. A drive-through burger would have to do, because he wasn’t stopping, wasn’t taking any chances with her at all. He’d feel better about things once he had her secured on his grounds.
While she’d been utterly lax in his arms, he’d studied every inch of her, all the while sorting through what he knew of her, and what he didn’t. That she’d survived amazed him. How she’d survived was the kicker. She had plenty of backbone, and so much bravado that he couldn’t help but admire her.
Seemed he couldn’t help wanting her, either.
Though she obviously didn’t know it, Molly was a sexy mix of innocence, courage, independence and honesty. The combo hit him on a gut level. It had been a hell of a long time since a woman had really gotten to him. He’d made a point of not letting them.
But with Molly, she got under his skin without even trying.
Maybe that was it—that she wasn’t trying. She was just herself, an appealing, wounded woman determined to confront her own personal reality head-on.
Whatever the cause, he had to remember all that she’d suffered so that he didn’t rush her into anything.
