Heartwood (2 page)

I slid onto the empty barstool next to her. Reaching out, I picked up her drink and took a sip. “Is this martini dirty?”

“Well if it wasn’t before, it certainly is now.” Her stunning eyes took in my tailored suit, and the corners of her mouth curled coyly as she reached out and reclaimed her drink from me. Her full sleeve of tattoos somehow meshed perfectly with the silky dark material she wore. She was dazzling, and I was glad I’d decided to wear her favorite tie.

“What’s a woman like you doing sitting at a bar
alone
?” My greedy eyes devoured her plunging neckline and her glossy, full lips. She giggled quietly, and the way her fingertips trailed along the stem of her glass made me heady with anticipation. Mustache Rides shot me a dirty look and turned reluctantly back to his scotch.

“Waiting on my fiancé.” She looked up at me from under her sultry lashes.

“He made you wait?” I asked. She nodded, and the bartender who’d been hovering nearby approached. “Johnnie Blue. Make it a double.”

“He’s a busy man.” Molly sighed dramatically, lifting her speared olives to her lips. She tugged one off showily with her teeth, her eyes fixed on mine.

Oh...it was definitely on now.

“He’s a fool,” I shot back.

The bartender barely stifled a chuckle as he poured my whiskey. It was clear he thought I was trying to pick her up, and of course, I was. Though we owned a house and had children together, and it was
my
ring on that pretty finger of hers, these facts were all irrelevant.

Tonight Molly planned to make me work for it.

She glanced at the bartender, and then back at me. She was well aware we had an audience. Her amusement was thinly veiled, but she kept a straight face and stayed in character.

“How late is he?” I continued, my voice sounding wanton and thick.

“
Very
.” Her decisive response reeked of promiscuity and I could feel the bartender assessing us curiously.

“I can keep you company while you wait
if
you like.” I leaned my elbows onto the bar and looked her over casually. She turned toward me and crossed her long legs. She was purposely drawing my attention to one of her best features, and I allowed my eyes to drop. My gaze trailed from the black straps at her ankles all the way up to her risqué hemline that ended far above the knee.

“Buy me another drink and
maybe
I’ll let you buy me dinner.” With that, she downed the last swallow of her martini. With a wicked smile, I turned back to the bartender who shook his head in blatant admiration.

“Oh, she definitely needs another one of those.” I stated. Mustache Man muttered something and abandoned his drink on the bar. The bartender glanced at Molly, and the gentle curl of her lips made him blush so profusely that his bald head looked sunburnt.

I’d slipped the hostess fifty bucks, and she seated us in a secluded brick nook near the back of the restaurant. The moment we were alone we both burst into laughter. I’d purposely chosen to sit across from her. I was enjoying our game, and made a point not to lay a finger on her throughout dinner. Her response was to spend the entire meal making me regret it. She pulled out all the stops, finding new and innovative ways to draw my attention to her charms. We made every effort to avoid discussing our favorite subject, the kids. It was refreshing. I reveled in the chase, and I could tell she enjoyed being pursued.

A date night had been a good call. We were long overdue for some couple time. The opportunity to ask her out had presented itself when I’d come home from work a few days before and found her trying on a sexy new dress. It was a clingy, fancy thing, and she looked unbelievable in it. The sight of her stopped me dead in my tracks and I stared with admiration at her shapely tattooed back. I wanted to attack her on the spot, but the twins were bouncing nearby in the exersaucers.

Molly had been surveying her reflection critically, but her eyes softened when she spotted me in the mirror.

“Where’d you get the dress?” I asked.

She batted her lashes, looking a little bashful. “I treated myself. For getting back down to my pre-baby size.”

“You’ve never looked better.” I blurted, and then wondered if she’d take it in some insulting way. The smoldering smile she wore seemed to imply that she took it exactly the way I meant it. “I want to take you somewhere to show it off.”

“Cocktails.” She gushed, as excitement lit up her face. “I quit pumping a week ago, and I’m dying for a drink!”

The next day, I called my sister Tamryn and asked her to watch the twins. Tamz agreed without hesitating, saying she’d bring her daughters so they could savor the flavor of multiple nightly wake up calls. I told her I was surprising Molly with an overnight getaway, and asked her not to say anything.

After Molly politely declined dessert, I leaned closer and murmured. “That’s quite a dress.”

“Why, thank you.” A knowing look passed over her features, and she seemed to debate whether we were still playing games or not.

“What are you wearing underneath?” I loosened my tie, and the wicked look I got in response made me shake my head. “If you say nothing, I might have to take you right here and now.”

She tortured me with a throaty laugh, and the sensual way she nibbled her lip was my personal kryptonite. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“The only way you could disappoint me is if you refuse to come back to my room with me.” I replied.

She arched a perfectly sculpted brow. “Your room?”

“I have a hotel room a few blocks away.” I stared at her intently, waiting for an argument.

“Well why the hell didn’t you say so?” She grabbed her purse and slid out of the booth. “Pay the damn check and let’s blow this joint.”

I was struck speechless, having expected some protest. She headed off toward the lady’s room and I waved the waitress down before she could change her mind.

We left her car at Bess’s and barely said a word to each other all the way to The Driskill. I felt nearly as impatient as I had the first night we’d slept together. This would be the first time since the twins were born that we weren’t “racing the babies” and a salacious tension settled over us. The air in the cab of the truck felt heavy and thick. I glanced at her and saw that she was watching me intently, her baby blue eyes reeling me in. I had to wrestle my gaze away and fight to focus on the road.

By the time we got to the hotel, I could no longer resist touching her. My hand went to her lower back as we walked past the front desk. The clerk shot Molly a vicious glare, but Molly failed to notice. She seemed far too fixated on getting to the room.

As the elevator door closed, my hand slid across the smooth material of her dress down to her mouth-watering ass. Gripping it firmly, I pulled her against me.

“Oh, the things I want to do to you.” I growled, and brought my lips down aggressively on hers. When her tongue plundered my mouth, I was tempted to pull the emergency stop and throw caution to the wind.

We somehow managed to make it into the room fully clothed, but quickly remedied that situation once I’d kicked the door closed behind us. My jacket was off in a flash, and she fumbled with my belt as I struggled with my tie, unwilling to remove my lips from hers.

We took out our pent up frustration on the room, making quite the mess of the place. Our poor maid
really
earned her money the morning after. In the midst of our sexcapades, we’d knocked a picture off the wall and one of the towel racks came loose not long after. The bite mark she left on my shoulder stung like a bitch for days, and in my eagerness, I accidentally ripped her new dress beyond repair.

It was totally worth all the residual pain and the extra charges to the credit card. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and Molly told me that I broke the record for the number of orgasms she’d had in one session.

“I’m so sleepy.” She mumbled as she came out of the steamy bathroom. Seeing her freshly showered and bundled in the plush terrycloth robe made me want to unwrap her like a present. “Ready to go?”

“In a bit. Come lie down with me,” I coaxed. She climbed under the covers and into my arms.

She sighed, and I felt the warmth of her breath and her eyelashes flutter against the flesh of my neck. “I love you, Joe.”

Lazy and content, I kissed her fragrant, damp hair. “I love you too, baby girl.”

Naturally, she drifted off, and listening to her peaceful, even breathing I knew I wouldn’t be far behind her. Living with two infants means you’re constantly sleep deprived, and sex had always made us drowsy. Relishing the feel of her warm, smooth curves against me, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

The following morning, the sun was high in the sky when her gasp blasted me awake.

“Oh my God! Joe, wake up!” Her panicked voice caused my heart to race, but I quickly fell back on the bed when I remembered where we were. She vaulted from the bed and fumbled to put on her black see-through panties. Her frantic eyes scoured the room. “Where the hell is my bra?”

“Calm down, baby girl.” I rolled to look at her, propping myself up on one elbow.

“I told Tamryn we’d be home by ten-thirty!” She struggled braless into what was left of her dress. “Can you please call her? I
swear
I set that damn alarm.”

“You did.” I replied, calmly. “I turned it off.”

She gaped at me, half pissed half disbelieving. Her eyes narrowed, and the look she wore was deadly. “What?”

“Molly.” I drew out her name in a cautionary way. I rushed on to explain that Tamryn had planned to spend the night.

“You could have
asked
.” She snapped, her tiny hands balling into fists.

“You would have said no.” I shot back, sitting up on the bed. My frustration got the better of me. “You always say no.”

“So what?” She scowled. “If you don’t like my choice, you’ll just trick me?”

I flinched, stunned by her accusation. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been. I realized that whether rational or not, I’d just landed in “The Draven Zone”. It wasn’t my favorite place to be. Molly’s ex was an abusive, cowardly fuck. He’d played a lot of mind games with her in addition to repeatedly hurting her, and even thinking his name pissed me off. Though it wasn’t fair for her to associate my blissful prank with his behavior, I supposed she’d say the same about the overprotective moments she had to endure as a result of my past with Jessica.

After I put two and two together, I tried to apologize, but Molly was already trembling and angry tears rolled down her scorching cheeks. Even the fresh change of clothes I’d packed her didn’t seem to score me any brownie points.

As she came out of the bathroom, I reached for her. “Hey.”

She shrugged my hand off of her arm and hurriedly stuffed her ripped dress into her purse.

I felt my face grow warm, and I paused to subdue my frustration before I spoke again. “Molly, I made a mistake. There are many more where that one came from, I’m afraid. I wanted to give you a break, and I knew you wouldn’t take it willingly.”

“You could have just told me last night.” The bite in her words was unmistakable.

“You wouldn’t have stayed.” I sighed. “And you needed a good night’s sleep.”

She maintained her silence but nodded. A moment later, she walked out of the room. Grabbing my suitcase, I trailed after her to the elevator. I had
hoped
that the night away would prove to her that the twins would be fine without us. She’d been skittish about entrusting them to anyone for any length of time. I’d wanted to prove to her that we could take a honeymoon without it bringing about the apocalypse. In the end, all I’d accomplished was erasing any trace of fun we’d had the night before.

She remained mute during the ride back to Bess’s, and I wracked my brain for something I could say to fix our disconnected state.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I love you and I worry about you. You needed to recharge. I made a bad choice, but please know that my heart was in the right place.”

“I know,” she whispered. I didn’t like that she was staring out the window instead of at me. We came to a stop beside her Mini Cooper, and Molly reached for the door. She paused, as if she might say something, and then she hopped out of the truck. When we got home, she put on a decent act for Tamryn and the girls, but when they were gone, she was cool and polite for the remainder of the day.

Bacon.

I’m not a morning person. On any given day, I smash snooze no less than four times before dragging my ass out of bed. I’d always been a card carrying “don’t talk to me until my third cup of coffee” kind of guy. That all changed when my girl moved in. Living with an insomniac chef had countless benefits. Not only did she spoil me with her unparalleled sexual prowess, but there was nothing like the smell of her cooking nudging me out of my slumber.

I rolled over and wasn’t at all surprised to find I was alone in the king sized bed. Morning light streamed through the eyelet curtains. We’d argued about the lack of privacy they provided, but Molly insisted they had “the perfect look” for our 1920’s cottage. As usual, when it came to my girl’s desires, I’d caved. Seeing her triumphant smile was worth a thousand early wakeup calls from Mother Nature’s spotlight. Still, I gave Molly a ton of crap about being an exhibitionist, saying if she wanted to give the neighbors a show, we should at least charge for concessions.