Molly

“Almost ready, Molly?” Cody asks as he comes around the corner from his office.

“Yeah, I think so. Let me send this last email.”

I’ve struggled all day at work. Being in such close proximity to Cole and not being able to tell him what’s on my mind or feel his touch has been pure torture. I thought that after two days off, I would be ready to face him and deal with everything head on. But I’m not. I’ve spent most of today busying myself and doing all that I can to avoid him as much as possible. Something that is not a small feat when you feel like the walls of the office space are closing in on you.

“Okay. I’ll be ready when you are,” Cody says, then disappears into Cole’s office and shuts the door while I finish up.

He reemerges a few minutes later, just as I’m shutting down my computer and turning the phone lines over to our answering service.

“Hey. He wants to see you for a minute before we leave.” Cody nods toward Cole’s door and gives a slight laugh when I sigh and roll my eyes.

“I’ll make it quick,” I tell Cody.

“Shut the door, Mol. This might take a few minutes,” Cole says as soon as I step in his office.

“What is it?”

“A couple things. Business first.” He leans back in his office chair and laces his fingers behind his head. “Your car will be ready for pick up tomorrow morning.”

“Great.” I’m relieved that I won’t have to rely on Cody, or Cole, to get me back and forth to work. And that I won’t have to call for an Uber on the rare chance that I need to go somewhere else. “How much do I owe them when I pick it up?”

“It’s been taken care of.”

“Cole, that’s not what I asked. I don’t need you or anyone else to pay for my expenses.”

“Molly, I’m not paying for your expenses. It came out of company money because it happened during work hours, on work property. I’d do the same for any of my employees.”

“Fine. Whatever. Let the record show that I’m not happy about it either way.” I relent.

“Noted,” Cole smirks. “You’ll be happy to know that Candy confessed to having something to do with your car being tampered with. Now that they are all out of the picture, I don’t anticipate any further issues there.”

“Even better. Is that all?”

“Molly,” he warns.

“Cole.” My hands are on my hips now, and the annoyance is clear in my voice. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not in the Goddamn mood. Today has been brutal, and I want to go home.”

Cole immediately leans forward and gets to his feet. “Go home with me.” He grabs his keys from his desk and flips off his computer monitor.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

Cole rounds his desk, and I take two steps back causing him to pause. “Problem, Molly?”

“I said I needed time. I’m not there yet.”

“Yeah, I heard you. I’ve watched you avoid me all day. Hell, you’ve avoided me for the last forty-eight hours or more. There’s taking time, and then there is shutting me out. What you’re doing is the latter,” he says, completely calling me on my bullshit. “Here’s the thing though Molly, you can’t hold my past against me if you want us to have a future. Yes, what I did was shitty, and Goddamnit, I’m sorry. It should have never happened. I can’t change it. I can tell you it won’t happen again.”

Cole moves closer to me. With each step he takes, I step back, until my back is against the wall, literally. His right arm goes above me, his left hand is on my hip as he leans closer. “Molly, at work, you trust me with your life, right?”

“Y-yes.”

“Now I’m asking you to trust me with your heart.” His eyes search mine in silence. “Trust me. Completely.” Leaning in a little further, he rests his forehead on mine. “Give your heart to me and let me spend the rest of my life proving to you that I’m worth it.”

“I’ve wanted this, wanted you for so long. And now that we’re here...Cole, you terrify me,” I confess. He already has my heart, which means he has the power to destroy it.

His hand moves and his knuckles trace gently over my jawline. “Funny thing, Molly,” he rubs his nose against mine and sighs, “you terrify me too, baby.”

“What you did, hurt. A lot. You’re not responsible for my past either, but years of hurt and rejection because I wasn’t good enough, because I wouldn’t put out on the first date, all of that came flooding back and reminded me just how wrong we are for each other.”

“Molly, something that’s so wrong – has never felt so fucking right,” Cole whispers against my lips.

“What happens when you decide I can’t give you what you need?” The words rolling off my tongue have so much more meaning than just being able to meet Cole’s sexual appetite. “Losing you would destroy me.”

“That’s not going to happen. You’ve already exceeded any expectation I ever had about you, about us.”

I roll my eyes and push against his chest, forcing him to take a step back so that I can free myself. “It hasn’t been that long. You don’t know that. I lack experience. Cole, I’m not going to be willing to do things that other women you’ve been with have.”

Moving over to his office window, I stare out and take a few deep breaths.

“Molly, that night, when I was buried inside of you, there was no other woman on my mind.”

Turning back around, I take another look at Cole. “You say that now. But what about when you get bored?” I know some of what he’s done before. People talk or whisper. Cole has varied tastes.

“Then we try something new? Whatever you’re comfortable with.” He runs his hands up and down my arms. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself, Molly. We’ve had sex one time.” His hands leave my arms and trace up my sides, dancing across my chest. “I won’t lie, there will be times where I’m going to push you out of your comfort zone. But, Molly, I’m never going to force you into something you don’t want. What’s in my past, is nothing more than a man sowing his oats and trying to figure out what more he wants from life. I’ve finally found that with you.”

“As much as all of that scares me, I want that with you. I want you to push me, to show me what I’ve been missing.”

Cole takes my hands in his and pulls me closer. “Oh, the things I can teach you.” He pushes his erection against me and my thighs instinctively clench together as his lips land on mine.

Placing my hands on his chest, I push him back once more. “There’s one more thing we need to talk about.”

He leans his forehead against mine and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Go on.”

“Jade. Your reaction to her and Dallas. That didn’t exactly scream ‘I’m over her.’”

“Mol, I need you to understand something. Please. Jade and I, we were good friends, outside of all the physical stuff. I care about her. Anytime she’s dated someone else? I’ve looked out of her. That’s not something that is going to just go away. Dallas isn’t the type of guy I’d like to see her with, and not knowing how much she knew about any of this, makes me question her judgment. Christ, we thought the guy was a drug dealer and that’s who she chose to shack up with.”

It takes me a few seconds to process what he’s saying. As much as I don’t like it, I do understand where he’s coming from though. It’s in Cole’s nature to protect. Hell, it’s why Cole Security worked so hard on this case, because of his loyalty and fierce need to protect his closes friends.

“I get it. You’ve got to learn you can’t save the world though, Cole. You’ve got to let all of us make mistakes and learn from them. My God, how many men did you scare off over the last four years because you thought you needed to protect me?”

He grins and shakes his head. “I did need to protect you. And, I selfishly wanted you all to myself.”

“Even though you kept pushing me away?” I raise my brow and question him.

“Maybe.” He shrugs without the smallest amount of regret.

I’m holding on to him for dear life when he leans in and kisses me again. The passion between us ignites into a full-blown wildfire, and I’m caught up in flames. My body begs for him to take me right here, and for a moment, I’m convinced he might. Especially when he pulls back and I catch a glimpse of the wild look in his eyes.

“Come home with me?” he asks.

“I thought you’d never ask.” I flash him a saucy smile.