24. Colton
Chapter 24
Colton
“H ave I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
Molly smiled up at me as I twirled her around the dance floor, her green eyes, hell, her whole body, radiated pure joy, and I couldn’t help but think I had something to do with that. Her blond hair brushed over my hand as she tilted her head back, a small blush staining her cheeks. “You might have mentioned it a time or two.”
“You always look good, especially in those itty bitty shorts, but you and a denim skirt? A match made in heaven.” The skirt hugged her ass and hips like a jealous lover, hitting about mid-thigh so her shapely legs were on full display. The red belt that nipped in her small waist was a bright pop of color against the soft white shirt with the snap buttons. It looked like lace, but it didn’t feel like it, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. “And red cowboy boots?”
“You like?”
I nodded and then swung her around the floor again, making her squeak and laugh, before her gaze darkened as I dipped her over my arm when the song came to an end. “Hell, Molly, I more than like it.” I wiggled my brows, and she laughed again, the sound growing more intoxicating by the minute.
“Then I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention just how handsome you look in this whole getup.” Her gaze darkened, and her nostrils flared; the heat of desire was like a quickening tornado around us. “Especially these jeans.”
I groaned and pulled her even closer as the strains of a slow country ballad started. “Temptress.” I whispered the word in her ear, my chest swelling with masculine pride when she shivered.
“Yeah? No one ever called me that before.” She looked quite pleased with the compliment, which pleased me in return.
Making this woman happy, I was starting to realize, made me happy. Tonight I felt lighter and freer, happier than I’d felt in a long damn time, and it was just her nearness that gave me permission to feel that way.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d like to go dancing.” She smiled again, and that toothy white grin smacked me right in the chest, causing my heart to skip a beat.
“No one has ever taken me dancing before, not like this. A dance here or there in high school, maybe a club or two in college, but this is,” she shook her head and sighed, “this is perfect, Colton. Thank you.”
After a few more songs, we headed to the bar for a drink. “What’ll it be, Molly Mae?”
Her eyes lit up at my use of her full name, and another laugh spilled from her lips. “Whatever you’re having, cowboy.”
I didn’t bother to remind her that I was a rancher, not a cowboy, because she was too damn sexy. “Dark beer?”
She winced slightly but then stood a little taller and gave one sharp nod. “Yep. Two dark beers,” she said as she turned slowly to the bartender. “Please.”
“Sure thing, doll.” The bartender winked, and though Molly rolled her eyes, she also blushed as she turned back to me.
Her smile was radiant. The pulse in her throat fluttered wildly, and I liked to think I had a little something to do with her flustered state. “Didn’t peg you as a dancer.”
I shrugged. “During that sweet period between sixteen and nineteen, when I was working the ranch nearly full-time, Friday and Saturday nights were the only downtime. Wyatt and I would sneak in here, steal a few beers, and twirl pretty girls around the dance floor. Turns out women love a man who can dance.”
The story surprised her, and she tossed her head back; a husky laugh tore through the air. “Bet you and Wyatt made quite the pair—big and young and handsome, whisking all the ladies off to the dance floor, pissing off the older guys.”
I blinked in surprise. “Pretty much.”
The bartender set the beers in front of us; his gaze never left Molly, even when he swiped the money from the counter.
She took the beer and turned to me. “To first dates and good dancers.”
“And beautiful girls in red boots and denim skirts.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Molly took a hesitant sip and frowned before she took another, bigger taste. “Not bad, actually. Bitter, but there’s a nutty or chocolatey taste underneath.” She took another sip and then another, smiling bigger with every sip. “Okay, I’m starting to see the appeal.”
“Colton McCall, haven’t seen you out in a long time.” Jack Winters clapped me on the back with a wide grin before he turned a wider one on Molly. “Now I can see why.”
“Molly,” she said with a laugh and extended her hand.
“Jack Winters. Pleased to meet you.”
“You too,” she grinned. “How do you know Colton?”
“Jack and I grew up together,” I offered with a smile. “And he went and became a bull rider.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “Wow, how does one get into that line of work?”
“Lots of grit and skill, and a bit of insanity.”
She laughed, her gaze bouncing between us. “I’d love to hear about it sometime. I’ve never even met a bull rider before.”
Jack smiled and turned to me. “Guess I’ll see about swinging by for dinner one of these days.”
“Guess so.” Jack and I had been good friends for most of our lives, but he’d been away when Sara died, and after that, I was in survival mode for the past few years. “Good to see you, Jack.”
“Back atcha, Colt. See you soon, Molly.”
After a few more turns on the scuffed dance floor, Molly and I headed to a nearby steakhouse for dinner. “It was a good idea to burn those calories before dinner,” she sighed as we settled into a booth with menus. “Now I can really enjoy my dinner.”
“You’re beautiful,” I assured her, and it wasn’t an empty compliment. Molly was confident most of the time, but she’d told me enough to know that her curves were still a source of pain for her. “Always beautiful, Molly. Period.”
“Thank you, Colton. You make me feel beautiful even when I look a mess.”
“That’s because sometimes you look the most beautiful when you’re a mess. Digging in the dirt of the garden? Or getting messy with Hunter doing one of your craft projects?” She was everything a little kid should have in a mother: warm, caring, and unafraid to get on her knees and be one of the kids.
The whole dinner was like a damn dream sequence from a movie. We talked about anything and everything, we flirted over our meals, and shared our dishes. She laughed, and she made me laugh, and the only quiet moments were when we got lost in each other’s eyes. I couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect date if I’d tried, and I never wanted it to end.
“Dessert?” Our server arrived with a knowing smile, as if even she could see the sparks and the happiness sparking between us.
Molly sighed. “I really want that chocolate cheesecake, but the food was so good I gobbled up every last bite.”
And I just wanted her to keep smiling. “Two slices of chocolate cheesecake, please. To go.”
“Coming right up.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said when the waitress was out of earshot.
“Of course I did. There’s still time for dessert,” I told her and took her hand, brushing a soft kiss to the middle of her palm.
Her eyes widened, happiness shone in the green depths. “Yeah?”
“Oh yeah, we have one more stop to make.” Half an hour later, we were parked in the middle of a field lit by the low-hanging moon.
“Is this the parking I heard so much about as a girl?”
I laughed at her question as I helped her from the truck. “If that’s what you want, sure, but I thought we could have a dance under the stars.”
She let out a swoony sigh and laid her head on my chest. “Well now, that’s about the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard, Colton McCall.” Her playful tone put a smile on my face.
I took one hand in mine and held her close. We barely swayed to the slow song about long-lost lovers being given a second chance, both of us lost in our thoughts. One song ended and another began, and I held her close; her warmth and her scent set my heart on fire.
Molly looked up at me, smiled, and then pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. “This night is perfect, Colton. Completely and totally perfect.” Her lips touched mine again, and I lifted her off her feet, devouring her mouth while her hands clung to my shoulders, her tongue met mine stroke for stroke.
“Molly.”
She smiled down at me and cupped my jaw. “Is this the parking part of the date?” she asked, wiggling her brows.
Fuck yes. I gripped her by the waist and set her in the passenger seat before climbing in beside her. Before I was settled completely, Molly straddled my lap and fused her lips to mine again; except this time, the kiss was pure white-hot fire. Her tongue led the dance while her hips swirled over my growing erection until I could no longer stifle the groan that began deep in my gut.
“Colton,” she gasped breathlessly, pulling back to unbutton my jeans before she reached inside, squeezing and stroking my cock. “Yes.”
“Molly,” I growled, squeezing her soft, round ass.
She slid off my lap, and after a few seconds of pretzel aerobics, she dropped a pair of lacy red panties on the driver’s seat before settling on my lap once again. “Colton,” she moaned when my fingers slipped between her thighs, finding her wet and swollen. “You always know how to make me feel good.”
“Making you feel good makes me feel good,” I admitted, sliding a finger deep in one long stroke. “You’re so wet. Is that for me?”
She pulled back, her green eyes glazed over with heat, want, and need. “Only for you,” she breathed out, swirling her hips and bucking up when my thumb found her clit. “I need you, Colt.”
I needed her too, and as I watched her come apart in my arms, I realized I needed her for more than this. Sex with Molly was incredible, always shockingly explosive. But the in-between times, when she was soft and sweet and just Molly, had dug deep into my heart, into my soul, and laid claim to all of me. “I’m right here, Molly.”
She nodded and freed my cock from my jeans, raising up on her knees before she slowly, achingly slowly, lowered herself onto my cock. “Now you’re right here,” she bit out with a groan as her head fell back and desire took over. “So hard and thick,” she moaned.
“Molly,” I whispered and gripped her hips tighter, surging up to meet her stroke for heart-stopping stroke. It was like one of those fires that went from a spark to an inferno in seconds. She panted hard, and I grunted my pleasure; the sounds blended with yet another slow country ballad, the perfect soundtrack for this night.
We came together hard and fast, our need to get closer and deeper the only driving force. Our mouths attacked clumsily, teeth smacking together, lips misaligned in our dizzying desire to be together. “Yes, Colton,” she shouted a second after she tore her mouth from mine. Her hands gripped my shoulders as she rode me harder and faster, taking me so deep that I was sure I’d left a piece of myself in there. “Colton!”
Watching Molly as she flew apart left me transfixed for several long moments, and the next thing I knew, my own orgasm exploded out of me, shocking me with its intensity, its ferocity. “Fuck, Molly. Babe.” I held her shuddering body close; my cock still surged as she trembled in my arms and shook with aftershocks.
“Wow,” she breathed out. “That was… wow.”
“It was more than wow,” I replied in a confident, if slightly shaky voice, because it was everything.
“It really was, wasn’t it?” She smiled down at me and then kissed me so gently that my heart squeezed painfully.
After we both managed to get our breathing in check, I took Molly home, laid her across my bed, and did it all over again.
And again.
And again until we collapsed in exhaustion on the bed and fell asleep, with my woman in my arms.