Devil took his time coming downstairs, purposefully giving Molly the time she needed to compose herself again.

Hell, he couldn’t blame her.  He’d needed a moment to himself, too.  Shoving his unhappy libido back in the box and coming to grips with the fact that he needed the stubborn woman as much as he needed to breathe had taken a few minutes.  Clad now in faded jeans and a soft cotton tee shirt, he leaned against the doorway to his kitchen and watched her head bend over the cup of hot chocolate she held cradled in her hands, blowing gently on the steaming mug.

“Feeling better?” he asked softly from the doorway.  Wincing, he realized he’d startled her when she jerked in the chair and sloshed the hot beverage all over her hand.

“Ow!” Molly hissed, grabbing a napkin from the center of the table and wiping the scorching chocolate off her burning hand.  “Jeez!  Wear a bell around your neck or something, Devil!”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, crossing the room to take her hand and peer down at it.  “You want me to grab some ice?” he asked, eyeing the angry, reddened skin.

“No,” Molly muttered, jerking her hand from his grasp.  His touch still produced an uncomfortable effect on her body that she wasn’t ready to examine yet.  “I put your coffee on to brew.  I decided that I’d rather have chocolate,” she mumbled around the cup as she brought it her lips. 

“Thanks.”  Pouring himself a cup, he watched Molly out of the corner of his eye.  Still pale and nervous, she fidgeted with her mug.  “Molly, relax, honey,” he chided as he carried his own mug back across the room to sit in the chair opposite hers.  “We’re still the same people we were an hour ago.”

“Yeah, except now you’ve seen me naked,” Molly grumbled under her breath, shifting anxiously in her seat as she felt his eyes smiling at her.

“I saw you naked last night, too,” he reminded her lightly.  “You hit me then.  At least this is an improvement.”

“The night is young,” Molly countered threateningly.  “I’ve still got plenty of time to maim you yet.”

“Maybe we should spend some time focusing on things that I’ll actually let you get away with doing… like setting the terms of our marriage,” Devil suggested evenly.  “I believe we had a tentative arrangement regarding its length, and we’d moved onto compensation.”

How could she have just been sprawled naked in his bed mere minutes ago and now be talking about the monetary value he was going to place on their relationship? Molly looked across the table at him with wounded eyes.  “Do you really think I’d use this as an opportunity to get paid, Devil?”

“No, I don’t.  I don’t think you have a mercenary bone in your body, sweetheart.  That just makes me more determined to insure you get what you deserve.  I don’t take advantage of people, Molly.  Not intentionally.”

“I don’t want your money,” Molly growled into her hot chocolate. 

“Tough.  You’re getting it,” Devil declared firmly.  “I’ve already taken the liberty of pulling your credit report and paying all outstanding debts.  As of two p.m. today, you are completely free of any monetary obligations to any creditor.”

Molly’s eyes widened.  Had she honestly just heard what she thought she’d heard? “You did what?” she virtually screamed, slamming down her cup.  “Who the hell gave you that kind of authority?  How in the world did you even get my personal information?  Do you even know what a huge invasion of my privacy that is?   Are you insane?”

Devil offered her a content smile.  “Which question should I answer first?” he mused aloud, tilting his head as he met her enraged eyes.  Like twin glittering emeralds, they bore into him.  Unconcerned, he stretched his legs out in front of him and rested his coffee cup on his flat stomach.  “I think I’ll just go in order.”

“Devil, I own a gun, a shovel, a tarp and duct tape.  I am one good alibi away from the perfect murder.  Do. NOT. Test. Me.”  Molly gripped the edge of the table to keep from wrapping her hands around his neck.

Staring at her, he couldn’t help his involuntary grin.  It was little wonder he’d fallen in love with this incredible woman.  She was more than a match for him in every conceivable way, unafraid to take him on despite his wealth and power.  He couldn’t imagine a time when he wouldn’t have to hustle to stay one step ahead of his ideal match.

“Go ahead, keep smiling,” Molly invited darkly.  “We don’t want your final expression to be one of fear when we lay you to rest.”

“I apologize, but if you’ll stop being adorable then I’ll stop smiling.”

“Adorable?  Really?  Puppies are adorable.  Babies are adorable.  A little old man holding a little old woman’s hand on the front porch is adorable.   I am not adorable.  Homicidal, on the other hand, is a definite possibility.  What did you do, Devil?” she asked, narrowing her green eyes on him as she fought the rising desire to lunge across the table at him.

“I simply took care of a few outstanding debts, Molly.  It wasn’t a big deal,” Devil informed her in a bored tone. 

“My college loans?” she balked, her eyes widening.

“Paid in full.”

“My condo?” she asked, breathlessly.

“It’s yours, free and clear.  The deed should be in your mailbox on Monday.”

“My credit cards?” she questioned weakly.

“Cleared.”

“Devil!” Molly yelled, slapping her hands against the table, “Those were my personal debts!  Mine!  Not yours.  MINE!”

“Only temporarily.  In a short time, they would have become our debts.  I hate debt.  Therefore, I paid them off.  Problem solved, bills paid,” he stated simply, lifting his broad shoulders in a shrug.  Damn, he had always loved how those milky-white cheeks of hers suddenly flushed to a stunning rosy hue when she was furious at him.

“No!” Molly surged to her feet, fury invading every ounce of her being. Her independence was hers!  She had fought tooth and nail to get where she was, damn it, and she wasn’t about to let him swoop in like the Lone Ranger and save the day!  She didn’t need to be saved, thank you very much!  “The problem is not solved, Devil.  You invaded my privacy.  You paid debts that didn’t belong to you.  I do not need a Sugar Daddy!”

“First off, I did not invade your privacy.  The only information I needed to complete the transactions necessary was the information that you provided freely in your employee file.  Since I’m the boss, I had all the access I needed.”

“That’s….that’s…”

“Ingenious?” Devil supplied with a lazy grin.

“CHEATING!” Molly yelled.  “You can’t use my file to nose into my life.  It’s… it’s….it’s got to be illegal,” she argued, stomping her foot against the tiled floor.

“Nope.” Devil shook his head.

“Well, then it’s shady.”

“Not really,” Devil drawled. 

“Undo it, Devil,” Molly demanded harshly, dropping her hands to her hips.  “All of it.”

“Can’t.”  He shrugged again.  This time, however, he had the good sense to quell the smile that hovered around his lips.  The steady stream of smoke rising from her ears didn’t seem all that funny at the moment.  “It’s done, Molly.  Just enjoy being debt-free,” he recommended smoothly.

“No!  I can’t enjoy being debt-free, you interfering son of an ass!  Do you want to know why?” she asked huffily, flapping her arms at her sides.  “It’s because I’m not debt free, Devil!  I just traded in a bunch of little creditors for one single big creditor.  YOU!!” she shouted, jabbing her finger toward him.

How in the world did he suddenly become the evil villain in this morality play?  She acted like he’d committed some kind of heinous crime, and he felt himself growing angry.  “You don’t owe me anything, Molly.  I paid your debts.  Consider it an engagement gift.”

“You don’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a gift, Devil.  I feel like I’ve been bought and paid for, and I do NOT care for the experience,” Molly spat.  “You crossed a line.  No, wait.  You didn’t just cross the line.  You firebombed it.  Figure out a way to undo this,” she ordered him sternly.  “I don’t want to owe you for anything.”

“You’re overreacting and being completely ridiculous, Molly,” Devil growled, coming to his feet with the full power of his convictions behind him.  “I’m a millionaire.  I can afford to pay a few insubstantial bills.”

Blinking, Molly’s face hardened to stone.  “Did you just call me ridiculous?  Tell me that I didn’t hear that correctly,” she urged him as her eyes glinted dangerously. 

“Would you have preferred that I said you were being childish?  They both seem to fit at the moment,” Devil snapped quickly, instantly regretting his word choice as she took a step back from him and he watched a flash of hurt dim her bright eyes.  “Molly…” he began to apologize, taking a step toward her.

And in that one moment, Molly realized that her feelings, her needs were seemingly inconsequential to the mega-millionaire standing before her.  Throwing up a hand to ward him off, Molly glared at him.  “Don’t you dare ‘Molly’ me in that tone.  I’m not going to be placated.  Why, you ask?  The answer is very simple.  It’s because I’m not a child nor am I acting childish.  I’m angry.  Why?  Because I’m seriously pissed that a domineering, controlling jerk of a man decided to hijack my fricking life!  I’m livid that you went behind my back and made decisions that affected me without having even consulted me.  You do not make my decisions, Devil.  Not now, not ever.”

“Your independence is that important to you?  It was a few bills, Molly, not the national debt,” Devil replied, his jaw clenching.  Christ, he had millions.  It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to make her life easier.  As his wife, she’d be entitled to half of everything anyway.  And he wanted her to have the money!  The most he was guilty of was getting a jumpstart on the process of sharing his wealth with her, right?

“They were my bills to pay, and yes, my independence does mean quite a lot to me.  I’ve worked hard at getting it.  Believe me, it wasn’t an easy task, either, with you and Grant always hovering around me.”

“All either of us ever wanted to do was protect you,” he defended himself immediately.

“I don’t need that kind of protection,” Molly countered, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him pace.

“Well,” he began with a heavy sigh, “All I can say is that if paying off your debts has pissed you off this much, then, for the love of God, don’t check your bank account.”  He turned away from her to pace the length of the kitchen.  His shoulders were stiff as he felt her staring at him.  He was probably an idiot for even turning his back on her.

When she realized what he’d done, she’d probably plant a knife in it.

Hopefully, she’d be merciful and make it a quick, clean kill.  He’d hate to linger.