Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Thorne
I'm standing in the kitchen, trying to sort out my conflicted feelings about Mollie by staring into my open fridge.
The chef-prepared meals, the bottled Evian, the Norwegian protein shakes that taste awful but fulfill my macros; none of these can settle the gnawing, anxious feeling at the core of me that says that I'm fucking everything up.
Am I?
When Mollie bangs the front door open, sniffling, I close the fridge and look her way.
She's wearing another short black dress, this time with tiny flowers dotting the fabric.
Her flaming red hair has been shoved all to one side, and her mascara is smudged.
Mollie looks at me, her eyes shimmering with tears, and then makes a break for the stairs.
She's upset. Even worse, she feels like she needs to hide it from me.
Fuck. "Mollie," I shout.
She freezes on the first step, her shoulders hunching. I move toward her, taking every inch of her in. She takes a shuddering breath and pins me with her soft chocolate gaze. "Not tonight, okay?"
"Not okay." I grab her wrist and tug her away from the stairs. "What's wrong?"
Mollie looks at the front door. " I—I had a bad date."
My chest tightens. She had a date?
"Who?" I turn her head so I can see her face. Two spots of bright pink settle high in her cheeks. "Who did this to you, Mollie? I want a name."
She brushes away a tear and shakes her head. "It was no one worth remembering."
"If you won't tell me, I'll ask Indie." I arch a brow. "She's who you went out with, right?"
She rolls her eyes. "Thorne. Be serious."
"I'm serious as a heart attack. What happened?"
She looks me in the eye, as if trying to decide how much to reveal to someone she doesn't fully trust. Which, fair. I might be her temporary roommate, but I'm also her big brother's teammate.
"What happened, Thorne," she says. The edge of sarcasm is back in her tone.
"Is that some guy tried to rush me. I freaked out, because I'm basically completely inexperienced.
And then he called me what I am." She lifts her chin, eyes blazing.
"A stuck-up virgin. I couldn't even be mad. That's exactly what I am."
"Jesus." Her words hit me like a fist to the solar plexus. "I wasn't thinking that."
She huffs. "No?"
"No."
"What were you thinking, then?" She nibbles on her lush lower lip. It shouldn't make my cock stiff, but it does.
I release a sigh. "That whoever you finally decide to trust is a lucky guy."
She swallows, her eyes on me. "Thorne..."
I move closer because she's so goddamn magnetic. "Yeah?"
"I trust you. I should have said that the first time. I want someone experienced, yes. But I also feel safe with you."
"Oh, Freckles." I should step back, excuse myself from the room. Probably go upstairs and jerk my cock, imagining what it would be like if I'd said yes.
But I can't bring myself to say the goddamn words.
Instead, I tug her closer. Burrowing my hands into her silky hair, I tip her face up to mine, kissing the corner of her mouth.
"I'm no good," I whisper.
Mollie's eyes sink closed. "I know."
Another kiss to the other side of her lips. "I'm your brother's best friend. His teammate."
Her lips twitch with humor. "I know."
I nibble her lower lip, causing the breathiest moan to slip free. "I'm older than you."
Her mouth curves into a smirk. "And you're the team's biggest manwhore."
"Was," I correct. "I was the team's biggest whore. Over the past year, I haven't been sleeping around as much." Or at all, but this isn't really the time or place to reveal that.
"I know." She sucks in a breath. "But I still want you, Thorne. I... I trust you."
"Fuck." I touch my forehead to hers, inhaling her scent as if I can get enough. I already know that I can't.
Mollie presses up on her tiptoes and seals her lips to mine. My brain scrambles as I kiss her back. I know it's wrong for so many reasons, but I can't seem to remember a single one.
Mostly because I tilt her head and lick against the seam of her mouth.
She opens for me on a gasp. She runs her hands through my hair and tugs on it experimentally.
I fucking love that, and groan as I slip my tongue into her mouth and plunder it.
She twines her tongue with mine, still following that same rhythm that I set.
I'm painfully hard, glad that I'm not wearing a suit or jeans, just sweatpants. That shit gets uncomfortable.
Fuck, she's winding her arms around my neck.
I slow the kiss, then break it, my breath coming in pants. "Freckles."
She tries to kiss me again. Damn, she's determined. It's hot, but if I don't lay down some boundaries, someone's going to get hurt.
And the last thing I want is to accidentally crush the salty-mouthed, smooshy-centered girl that I've been crushing on for a year now. Okay, a few years.
"I want to help." I stare into her brown eyes, looking for the slightest hesitation. If I'm not careful, I'll end up doing what I want. Being an asshole like my dad, sucking Mollie dry and leaving her a husk.
She’s looking at me, so vulnerable, so easily crushed. And right this second, I can’t stand that I’m part of the reason she feels that way. It’s time to go for it with Mollie. Not just go for it, but be all in. The walls can come down.
I just need to go slow with this girl.
"You were helping." She fists my shirt and draws me back in, parting her lips to kiss me again. Damn, I fucking love that she knows what she wants.
But I resist. "I'll show you the ropes, Molls. But you have to let me set the pace." She shifts against me brushing against my cock, and I nearly groan. Pushing her back a step, I raise an eyebrow. "Are you gonna be a good girl for me?"
I can’t help but show her my dominant side. I’m trying to go so slow, but fuck. This girl gets under my skin.
Color floods her cheeks. "Yes."
"Come here." I lean down, brushing her lips with a kiss. She clenches my shirt in her fist. "You're so responsive to me. You know that?"
"Uh-huh." She gives her head a little shake. "Can I have some more?"
I slip my hand around her body, gripping her hip. It's hard not to grab her ass, pull her off her feet, and start grinding on her right now.
Shit, maybe I need to work on my patience as much as she does. Encircling her waist, I say, "Can you have some more, what?"
Mollie licks her lips and squirms. Her cheeks are already pink, her voice dropping like she's hoping I won't hear her. “Touch my…” She gestures vaguely at her collarbone.
I wait, hiding a smile.
She tries again. “My tits?”
Close enough. I redirect without commenting on it, brushing my fingertips exactly where she meant.
She sucks in a breath like I've surprised her, even though she asked for it.
She was trying to say something else entirely, I think.
Something more specific that she doesn't have comfortable words for yet.
“Like that?” I ask.
“Yeah.” Her exhale is shaky. “Yeah, like that.”
Gently, I brush my lips over hers again. Her mouth is fucking soft as rose petals, and so goddamn warm. She moans, melting against me just a bit. “Thorne…”
"Everyone calls me Thorne," I whisper against her mouth. "I want you to call me Alex."
It’s what I heard her call me when I listened through the vent. And ever since, I’ve been hoping that Mollie will say it, moan it, cry it out.
Her hand finds my hair, toying with the shaggy end of a curl. "Alex. Mm." She smiles. "I like that."
I like that too, more than I should.
“Can I take you up to my bed?” I ask. “Not to have sex. Just somewhere we can get comfortable.”
She nods, a flicker of excitement in her eyes.
Sweeping her into my arms, I carry her upstairs. She kisses my ear, her tongue darting out to taste my heated skin. I nearly trip over myself with her in my arms because that's my hot spot. My eyes roll up as my cock pulses.
I might growl a little, I'm not really sure.
Kicking my bedroom door open, I close it with my foot and head straight for my bed.
Lying Mollie against my pillow, I bite my lip. The urge to strip her bare and fuck her intensifies for a moment.
Yeah, those boundaries I talked about a minute ago are going to be necessary. I need to remember that we’re going slow.
I sit down beside her, unable to keep my hands off of her. Running my hands down her ribs, over her hips, her collarbones. She shivers, her eyes gone dark. "Alex..."
She touches my face. I grab her wrist and press a kiss there; her scent rises to me, snares me.
"Rules," I rasp. "There have to be rules, Freckles."
"Oh?" Her breath hitches and she runs her free hand through my hair. "Like what?"
"No touching me below my waist." I kiss her wrist again and she squirms. "And I keep my clothes on."
Mollie's pout is instantaneous. "That's not fair. Have you seen yourself?"
I smirk against her skin. "How about I keep my pants on?"
"Do you really want that? How are you supposed to take my virginity with your pants on?"
"One thing at a time." I lean down and skim my lips over hers. "That's a rule, too. We go through everything slowly, thoroughly, and we don't move on until the last one is done."
She bites her lip to hide a smile. "Okay, Alex."
"You have all the power here. I'm putting you in charge of telling me what feels good, what doesn't. What excites you." I kiss her lips, enjoying the soft gasp she can't hold back.
Mollie grabs my shirt and hauls me to her lips. The kiss lands hot and heavy. I sink my hand into the curls just behind her ear, licking and kissing and nibbling, parting her lips and opening her mouth, taking her deeper. My cock jerks. I can feel precum leaking from the tip.
But he's just going to have to wait.
"So, what's the first step?" Mollie gasps into my ear as I move down to her neck, biting and sucking and kissing.
"Strip for me," I growl. "Dress off, bra and panties on."