Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Thorne
With all that's been going on with Mollie and me, I nearly forgot that I have this charity gala to go to tonight. I ordered Mollie several dresses last week when she’d mentioned offhand that she had nothing to wear to anything formal, a bit of preparedness that feels almost miraculous in hindsight.
I had my stylist pull options in her size and left them hanging in the guest room without making a thing of it.
I've been really putting in the work on the ice, ramping up for preseason. But coming home and finding Mollie getting ready makes me forget all of that immediately.
Her hair is wrapped in tight curlers, and she's wearing a silky white robe, just the way I imagine a bride preparing for her wedding would.
I drop my bag in my room, and then elbow her door wider.
She looks up from her spot on her bed, where she has a dozen pots and palettes of makeup spread around a standing mirror.
Putting her mascara wand down, she gently nibbles her lower lip, which she's painted an alluring blush. "Hey, did you forget that we're supposed to go to an event?"
"No." I fold my arms and lean against the doorway, not even trying to disguise the way I'm checking out her lush curves. "I just have to put on a suit."
Mollie rolls her eyes. "I've spent the last two hours getting ready. It's not fair."
"It's not. You picked out a dress you liked, though?"
"Yes. The dresses were all gorgeous, by the way. Whoever picked them has taste."
I smirk. "The stylist gave me twenty choices and I narrowed it down by what I thought would look good on you."
Her cheeks blaze. "You knew my size?"
"Yes, Freckles."
"Alex!" she says. It’s hard to keep myself from pouncing on her, laying her back, and ruining her makeup by licking her clit until she cries.
My fingers curl, itching to touch her, and my cock stiffens. I clear my throat.
"Make sure you keep all the dresses that you like. You can wear them at other galas this year."
She gives me a pointed look. "Alex, I can't keep them."
"What's that?" I cock my head. "All I hear is a girl with a bratty mouth, asking to be spanked."
She looks alarmed. "You wouldn't."
"We’re going slow. Be a good girl for me."
She rolls her eyes and turns away. “You’re a terrible tease, Alex Thorne.”
With that, I leave her to get ready. As I dress in an elegant, bespoke suit, and expensive, off-white button-up, I try to clamp down my runaway libido.
I haven't touched her since we dry-humped, but my brain has been busy offering me suggestions for all the delicious ways I can make her come.
Bent over her bed. On the kitchen counter, splayed out like a feast. In my bed every single fucking night, over and over again, switching positions until I find the one that makes her scream.
Gordie barks at me, drawing my attention to him. I spend a couple of minutes giving him attention, scratching the spot on his chest that makes his leg thump.
I wish that I had a clear understanding of what Mollie's thinking, so I'd know if my fantasies were even possible. That wouldn't make her any less off-limits to me, but it would clarify some things.
After feeding my good boy, I perch on a kitchen chair and wait. Mollie comes tripping down the stairs, light as air, only a couple minutes later.
And I lose my breath as I take her in. She's wearing a lustrous pink satin dress, spaghetti straps holding it up as if by magic, crisscrossing to cling to her bare back.
She's clutching a white fuzzy cardigan, thank god.
If the whole world got to see all of her sweet, lush curves, it would drive me insane.
Before I make any conscious decision, I'm running my hands over her hips, my eyes on her tits.
Mollie laughs a bit nervously. "I take that grunt as your sign of approval?"
"If we weren't expected at this gala soon, I would strip this dress off your body, ruin your hair, and fuck you so hard that you'd be unable to sit down for a week."
She smooths a hand against my chest, two bright pink circles burning in her face. "You're talking a good game, but..."
Fuck her lipstick. I haul her close to me, breathing in her vanilla and citrus scent, and plunder her mouth.
She moans and kisses me back, her fingers tugging my hair, her dress sliding up her thighs so she can wrap a leg around my hips.
I dip her backward, kissing a trail down her neck, collarbone, right into the swell of her cleavage.
Fuck, I'm so hard right now that my cock could drill through a wall of diamonds. And Mollie slips her hand between our bodies, brushing her fingers against it.
"Fuck," I breathe. I'm about to say fuck the gala. But my phone chimes with a message.
And that's enough to make her back away, patting at her lips. She's breathing hard as she says, "We should... um..."
"Right." I adjust my cock as I check my phone, my head still buzzing.
It's always like being electrified when I touch Mollie.
I groan when I read the notification. "The car's here."
Mollie lifts an eyebrow. "Car?"
"Yep. I have to drink to get through these things, so I'm going to be responsible and let someone else drive." I nod to the door. "You ready?"
"I am." She slips her sweater on and secures her purse. As we walk to where the car waits, she slides me an amused look. "I'm assuming that we'll want to play it cool at the gala."
I usher her into the backseat and go around. "I think that would be the best. We don't need your brother having a cardiac emergency because we can't keep our hands to ourselves."
"Beck's going to be there?" She wrinkles her nose. "I was really hoping to tease you a little bit. With my brother breathing down my neck, that seems unwise."
"I don't think I can handle any teasing. Not from you, especially not dressed like that."
She grins. "Don't make it sound more tempting. I'll break."
"You have no idea how much I simultaneously want that to happen and can't risk it. My cock can only get so hard."
She looks away out her window with a coy smile. What a brat.
I'll be revisiting this moment after we get home.
The charity gala is held downtown at the Four Seasons.
It has done what hotels do for events like this: filled every surface with flowers that cost more than some people’s first cars, lowered the lights to the specific dim that makes everyone look like they're in a perfume commercial, and put a string quartet in the corner that nobody listens to.
The NHL went all out on the event, splashing ‘All-Stars Under the Stars’ on every conceivable surface, gift bag, table decoration, and even on printed flags stuck in the canapés. I'm not surprised; the NHL has money, but money can't buy taste.
Pressing my big hand to the small of Mollie's back, I direct her as we arrive. She leaves her sweater with the coat check, which I personally am against.
Anyone who looks at this girl for more than two seconds gets a glare and a growl from me. I must be pretty obvious, because she presses up on her tiptoes and whispers into my ear. "You aren't very good at playing it cool."
"I don't like all these men staring at you," I mutter.
She rolls her eyes. "You picked the dress, Alex."
I did, but I didn't exactly plan on how distracting it would be. Before I can come up with a witty retort, Theo and Connor find us.
"Look at you," Theo says, his gaze on Mollie's figure. "You look amazing."
Mollie flushes with pleasure. "Thanks, Theo. You clean up pretty well yourself.”
The very last thing I want to do is move away from her, but I drop my hand from her back and give Theo and Connor a hard nod.
Connor's gaze slides between me and Mollie, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "’Sup, Captain. Are you two..." He gestures with two fingers. "Here together?"
"No!" Mollie says at the same time, I say, "Yes."
We look at each other. Mollie's eyes widen. I narrow mine and clarify, "She's here as my date because I have to have a warm body."
Mollie looks like she's just swallowed something bitter. "Alex is letting me crash at his place since mine burned down."
"Alex, huh?" Theo grins. "Must be cozy at Chez Thorne." The glare I give him doesn't have the desired effect of him fucking off to the moon. He shrugs. "I'm just saying, I've never been invited to Thorne's place."
"And it'll stay that way if you're lucky," I grate out.
Luckily, Beck chooses that moment to swan in, catching his sister by the waist and giving her a little hug. "Hey, Moll."
I have to hide my grimace. It’s not that I don’t want to see my best friend. It’s more that when he’s around, I have to be careful not to touch Mollie. And I very much don’t like when I’m not in constant contact with her.
Mollie beams at Beck. "I didn't think you were coming!"
“Yeah, I thought you said that Rosie's usual nanny is down with mono,” I grumble.
He flinches. "God, yes. It’s sounds like she’s dying. Anyway, I had to scramble to get a replacement." He checks his watch. "And I won't stay too long because I don't know how the replacement will fare."
"She came from the same service, though, right?" I ask, concerned.
"Yeah. But that doesn't really make me feel any better about my baby girl being with a stranger." He glances around the ballroom, shoulders tight. He spots Jessa. "I should talk to her about travel logistics."
"Yeah?" My brows rise. But he's already gone, pushing men in suits to the side to get to the pretty brunette.
"He's a stress case," Mollie declares.
"Funny, he doesn't look all that stressed now that he's talking to Jessa," Connor jokes. "He seems... focused."
"Speaking of things that are none of our business in any way," I say smoothly. "Has anyone seen my dad? Looks exactly like I will in thirty years, probably has a suit on with no tie, likely has a puck bunny hanging off his arm?"
Theo jerks his thumb over his shoulder. "Your old man is holding court over there, with the rest of the All-Stars."