She tilted her chin to look up at him. His cock was hot through the material of his jeans. She swore she felt his heart beating into her palm. Her gaze drifted over his eyes. His mouth. For just that moment, she was going to let him be hers, just as she had those seven nights.
She tossed her notebook over her shoulder into the car and then wrapped her hand around his neck. He didn't wait. He leaned down and took her mouth. Under her palm, his cock jerked hard and then that heartbeat pounded like a drum, so strongly she felt movement in her hand. His tongue was wicked. Commanding. He tasted like dark, carnal sin. He tasted like heaven itself.
Sonia didn't know how long she spent with her back pressed to the seat of her pickup and his hard body pressed into hers, but by the time she was back behind the wheel, her lips were swollen, her body on fire and her brain entirely gone.
4
"YOU know that song by Taylor Swift, 'Wildest Dreams'?" Sonia asked. She bit off the end of her fried zucchini. "That's Joshua. Tall. Handsome as hell. Okay, gorgeous. But he has the bad-boy thing down. Maybe more like badass. Either way, it isn't going to end well for me."
Molly frowned as she continued to eat. "You don't know that."
"Of course I do. Men like him don't really ever stay. They only say they're going to. And even if he did, he'd be hell to live with. He's a dictator." Sonia waved the zucchini in the air for emphasis. "Everything coming out of his mouth sounds like an order."
"Do you mind?"
"In bed, no. Out of it, yes. And he wouldn't confine his dictatorship to the bedroom. Trust me, he hasn't already."
"Hmm." Molly pushed her plate away even though there was still food on it. "I'm so stuffed if I eat one more thing I'm going to explode. I need to get this straight. You didn't know him, didn't even know his name at first, and you had wild, crazy, out-of-control sex all night the very first time you ran into him."
Sonia groaned. "Just hearing you say it out loud embarrasses me. I've never done anything like that in my life. I've only ever been with one other man. I didn't even know sex could be like that. He's dangerous to women, Molly."
Molly laughed. "Well, we know he's dangerous to you. You kept going back, and so did he. What did you think was going to happen?"
"A week of the best sex in the world. That's what I thought and then it would be over. My heart wouldn't be totally involved, and I would pine away every night for just his brand of super sex." She was honest. "I thought I had it under control. Unfortunately, I think he's the one in control and I'm a mess."
"It didn't sound that way when he said you had to kiss him good-bye," Molly pointed out. "It sounded like he was the mess, afraid you were going to pull another disappearing act. He sounded a little desperate to me."
"I hope he was desperate, because every time I think about going to bed frustrated and aching, I'm dying for him." She sent Molly a mischievous grin. "Maybe not him. Maybe just his cock. Can a girl fall in love with just a man's cock? If he kept his mouth shut . . . No . . . wait. The things he does with his mouth are a miracle. If he just didn't talk, he'd be perfect. I could look at his body all day and take advantage any time I wanted."
Molly groaned. "You can't say things like that to me when I'm not getting any. I'm alone in my bed, remember? Toys are poor substitutes for the real thing."
"Now it isn't even a substitute," Sonia said and jumped up to pace across the kitchen floor. "I can't . . ." Frustrated, she halted in the middle of the room and flung her hands into the air. "You know. Nothing works without him."
"Okay, that's bad. Really, really bad. A girl has to be able to get herself off if she doesn't have a man."
"He says I do have a man."
"What do you say?" Molly asked.
Sonia took a deep breath. "I say he scares the living daylights out of me. I have no hope in hell of keeping up with him. His brand of sex is very adventurous. I mean very. Sooner or later he's bound to get bored with me."
"Sonia, you know better than that. You're looking for excuses not to be with him. And you're avoiding the question. Do you want to be with him?"
Sonia raked both hands through her hair. "I don't know, and that's the truth. I hate being alone. I love the sex. He's amazing. His voice. His hair. His mouth. His cock. His body. But, he's scary. He is. He can be looking at me one moment all sweet and the next he's cold as ice. He would demand I do whatever he wants. He has a temper. He was angry, but I couldn't tell if it was at me or because his--" She stopped herself from revealing their leopards. "His sex drive forced him to be with me, and he resents that."
Molly frowned. "I never thought about what it might be like for him." She shrugged. "I guess I think men just want sex any way they can get it without their emotions being involved. He must be as driven as you if he came back every night and just had wild sex. Why not try with him, Sonia?"
"I'd have to have complete trust in him, and I don't trust so easily."
Molly nodded. "I understand that. Still, what is really keeping you from trying it with him? You could always walk away if it doesn't work out."
Sonia shook her head. "I couldn't. Not with my heart. I know if I was around him too much, he wouldn't just own my body, that wouldn't be enough for him. He's already as much as said he'd want my heart--and he'd get it. I know I'd fall for him. He's just my type. I have a type, and it isn't good, Molly, it really isn't good."
"You like bad boys."
Sonia gathered the dishes from the table and took them to her sink. "Unfortunately. I don't know how it happened, but that seems to be my lot in life. Looking at them is awesome. The sex is good, or in this case, fireworks and rockets. But living with them, that's scary, dangerous and bad, bad, bad. Did I mention bad? Because it goes from bad to worse."
Molly studiously avoided looking at her. Instead, she rinsed the plates and put them in the dishwasher. "I'm sorry, Sonia. It sounds like your bad is right up there with mine."
"Did yours try to kill you?"
Molly almost dropped the plate. She caught it and rinsed it off. "How did you know?"
"No, I meant--" Sonia broke off. "Wait. That asshole tried to kill you? The one that kept you in that closet?"
"I'm not certain that was his intention, although he said if I refused to stay with him, I wouldn't be staying with anyone else," Molly confessed in a shaky voice. "He broke my arm in two places and three ribs. Both eyes were swollen shut, and my jaw had a hairline fracture. He had a friend, a doctor, who came to the house. I don't remember much of those early days, other than I couldn't do anything but drink through a straw for a few weeks after. They bandaged my jaw and told me not to move it. Blake told me I should thank him, that being on a liquid diet would keep me from getting fat."
"He did not." Sonia wanted to find the man and let her leopard loose. "He wasn't even arrested? He got away with it? And your parents still champion him?"
Molly nodded. "He's connected to law enforcement. The local DA schmoozing with all the bigwigs. Just the sort of man my parents want in their lives. He comes from a prominent family, and he's got tons of money. He's everyone's darling. Who would believe me?"
"I believe you," Sonia declared.
"I have a type too," Molly said. "Law enforcement every time. I can't even look at Bastien without turning red. I'm sure he knows it. He always wears that smirk when he sees me."
"His cocky grin?" Sonia gave a little sniff. "No, hon, that's permanent on him. He's hot and he knows it."
Molly sighed. "Unfortunately for me, he flirts with everything that wears skirts, no matter the age, and he's law enforcement, which means if Blake had his friends put a fake BOLO out on me, Bastien would get it and turn me in."
"Bastien might flirt, honey, but he's intelligent. He wouldn't just hand you over without asking your side of things."
"Yeah, well I'm just staying out of his way as much as possible. I'm afraid to be alone with a man," Molly confessed. "I'm going to be a cat lady."
"Didn't you mention once to Jerry that
you were allergic to cats? He told me the lumberyard cat had kittens before he could get her to a vet, and you couldn't take one because you're allergic."
"Yep. Totally allergic, so I'll be the cat lady that has rashes and sneezes all the time. So attractive."
Both laughing, they moved through the kitchen into the dining room. Molly looked around at the paintings on the wall. "These are beautiful. Are they all the same artist?"
Sonia blushed. She loved painting, but she had to hide her work. She couldn't stop herself from sketching nature, all the plants and animals she saw in the swamp. "I'm working with oil because I want the colors vivid. The swamp is beautiful, and I want others to see it the way I do."
"Everyone should see these. Honestly, Sonia, these are very good. I'd love to buy one from you."
Before she could answer, she caught the flash of lights through the trees. Her breath caught in her throat, and she stepped back from the window. "Molly, it looks like I've got more company. Why don't you stay in the kitchen while I go to the door?" If she had to shift, she didn't want an audience. "Just in case, you know."
Molly paled. "Didn't you say Joshua was going to come by later?"
They could hear the car coming up the gravel driveway. Sonia shook her head. "I was going to text him after we were done talking and having a good time. I wanted your advice, not his company tonight." Which was kind of a lie, but she wasn't admitting that to Molly or herself. "Just stay in there for a couple of minutes, hon. I'll go see who it is."
She hurried through the formal dining room to the great room. Pulling open the door, she slipped outside and moved to the left of the door on the verandah. She didn't have lights on outside and didn't turn them on now. She just waited while the visitor parked his SUV and then got out. Instantly her body relaxed.
She waited until he was up the three steps before she let him know he wasn't alone. "Bastien. What brings you out here tonight?"
He was in uniform. He paused on the wide porch. "Sonia. I didn't see you there in the dark." He looked around. "You alone?"
"Why?" she countered.
"I saw Molly leave town and when I cruised by your house, I saw her car. She doesn't normally travel this far out, and she never stays out this late. I was worried."
She could hear deception in his voice. He wasn't telling her the entire truth. The lie was mixed with truth.
"We had dinner together. Girl talk. Forming a posse."
He leaned one hand against the large column. He did look good in his uniform, and the lazy pose only served to emphasize how handsome he was. "Why do the two of you need a posse?"
She stayed in the shadows. The more still she stayed, the more the night covered her. He knew where she was, his gaze was directly on her, but she knew she blended in at night. She wasn't certain what he wanted yet and she wasn't going to let him get to Molly if his intention was to arrest her and send her back to Blake.
"Women stick together when men are circling. We compare notes and keep each other strong."
"Molly trying to be strong?" He flashed a grin at her. "Or is it you?"
"Maybe both." She wasn't in the least fooled by that easy smile.
"Invite me in." It was said nicely, but there was a subtle order underlying that pleasant tone. He straightened, going from lazy to meaning business.
"Why?" She got the message, but she wasn't giving in without knowing what she had to do to protect her friend.
"I have to see for myself that Molly's okay."
His answer was so unexpected she made the mistake of moving, presenting a good target if he wanted to take out his gun and shoot her.
"Why?" she repeated.
He sighed. "She's careful. She looks over her shoulder. She's in trouble. I'm not about to let anything happen to her. I'm getting her story, and then, I warn you, I'm going to get yours."
She liked that he wanted to look after Molly. The sincerity in his voice told her that much was the strict truth. She also was happy that he didn't think she was running from someone. She was a woman alone and he wanted to know why, but he didn't think danger was as imminent with her as it was with Molly. She was doing something right.
"Fine, but behave yourself. I'm not afraid of kicking you out if you upset her."
"Why would you think I'd upset Molly?" There was genuine concern, but also speculation.
Sonia knew she could never forget he was a cop. He had the mind of an investigator and the way she answered him or even got sassy with him would give too much away. She pressed her lips together and stalked back to the door.
Keep close, she warned her cat. She didn't need Gatita going to sleep on her when she might need her.
He is no threat to you, Gatita said.
Sonia pushed the door open. Stop sulking. You're going to see your male tonight. I'm not worried about me. I'm worried Bastien might want to arrest Molly. Stay alert.
"Molly, Bastien's here. He just wants to check in and make sure we're both all right. Why don't you come here into the great room?" she called, mostly to warn Molly. After what Molly had disclosed about her attraction to the cop, she wanted to give the woman plenty of time to shore up her defenses. Not that time would help Sonia if Joshua were there.
Bastien caught Sonia's shoulders and moved her, with surprising strength, out of his way. He strode through her house. The layout made it easy for him as one room flowed straight into the next. He was in her dining room almost before she knew what happened.
"Molly." His gaze moved over her, taking in every inch of her. "You good?"
Molly's chin lifted. "Why wouldn't I be?" She sounded out of breath and a little shy when she obviously meant to sound belligerent. "I may have overeaten. Sonia's a good cook."
Bastien glanced over his shoulder at Sonia. She stood in the doorway of the dining room watching them, but the light spilled across her face. His gaze narrowed instantly and he strode straight back to her, catching her chin and turning her face toward the light. "What the hell?"
She pulled away from him and stepped back. "I bit my lip when I fell. It was actually a couple of days ago when I first bit it, but then, this morning . . ." She licked at the small injury. "I keep doing the same thing. I have a bad habit." She knew she was stumbling over her explanation, saying too much and making it sound like she was lying.
He swung away from her back to Molly. "This sudden meeting doesn't have anything to do with Sonia's lip, does it?"
"No, of course not. Bastien, if Sonia was in trouble, I'd tell you."
"Would you tell me if you were in trouble?" he demanded.
Molly ducked her head, faint color flushing her face. "I'm boring. I don't get into trouble," she hedged.
He stepped closer to her. Sonia's breath caught in her throat. Bastien's entire body language screamed protective toward Molly. The man might flirt with every woman alive, but she had never seen him look at anyone else the way he was looking at Molly.
"There's nothing boring about you, Molly. If you're in trouble, you need to clue me in."
Molly looked to her a bit helplessly. Sonia rescued her. "Funny you should say that, Bastien. We were just talking about how, when you've been burned, it takes a lot to trust again. That's the kind of things women talk about over a kick-ass, spicy dinner."
"Her cooking is kick-ass and very spicy," Molly stated. "And look at her paintings. Sonia not only can build a house, and cook a killer meal, she can decorate with her artwork."
He hesitated and Sonia held her breath, willing him to let Molly off the hook. She had to tell him when she was ready, and that would take trust. A lot of trust. Molly didn't want to be handed over to Blake. Sonia made a mental note to find out his last name and where he was. Until Molly could trust Bastien, she was going to have to be Molly's protection.
"You paint these, Sonia?" he asked.
She nodded. "I've been painting since I can remember."
"Were your parents artists? These are good. Really good. Even I can see that."
 
; She couldn't help but bask a little. She loved painting, but there was no chance now of ever knowing how good she was. She had no idea if anyone would ever really show her work in a gallery or if someone would really want to purchase one.
"When I paint, I just lose myself in it," she said. "I don't paint portraits, although I've experimented with them. I especially love nature." She indicated the three paintings she had on the wall. "When I get to this room and it's elegant, I'll shift these paintings somewhere else, but the room was such a mess I needed to brighten it up."
"You ever show your work in a gallery?" Bastien asked, standing in front of one, studying it carefully. "I know the owner of the most successful gallery in New Orleans. It's very high-end. She'd kill for a chance at these."
Sonia flashed a fake smile and shook her head. "I just paint for myself. I'm a carpenter, Bastien, just trying to make a name for myself renovating old houses."
"Did you really just drop by to see if we were all right?" Molly asked. She stumbled a little over the words and there was an attractive flush on her face, but she managed to meet Bastien's gaze.
"Yes." He looked around the house. "Are you ready to go?"
Molly nodded. "It's late. I've always hated going into my house after it's dark."
He stepped back to allow her to precede him into the great room. "I'll follow you home and do a walk-through."
"I have a security system. It's supposed to be a really good one."
"I'll do a walk-through," he stated, his voice firming. "And I'll leave right away after. I'm a cop, Molly. I love what I do and would never risk my career by getting out of line with a woman, no matter how attracted to her I am. Just for your information, I have a high regard for women, instilled in me by a good mother. I would never hurt a woman, and I don't like seeing them afraid or with bruises, or swollen lips." His gaze found Sonia's face.