LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER NINE

      MOLLY eyed Gideon warily, unsure what was going to happen next—those ‘polite pills’ had most definitely worn off.

      ‘How dare you say something like that to me?’ Gideon demanded coldly.

      ‘How dare you say something like that about Sam to me?’ she returned heatedly, her hands clenched at her sides as she met his gaze unflinchingly.

      He gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘Forget about that for the moment. Let’s concentrate on—’

      ‘No. Let’s not forget about it!’ Molly cut in determinedly. ‘Your accusations…your suspicions about Sam and some other woman are totally unfounded,’ she insisted firmly. ‘Just something nasty and trumped-up because—’

      ‘I would advise you not to repeat what you just said about my feelings towards Crys,’ Gideon put in softly, a nerve pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw.

      Molly faced him unblinkingly. ‘Why not?’ she scorned. ‘Because, no matter what accusations you may make about other people, you are above such things? Or because it strikes a little too close to home? What—? Oh!’ She had time only to gasp before his mouth took fierce possession of hers.

      And yet somehow it wasn’t a kiss of anger as before…

      Gideon held her captive merely with his lips, plundering hers, and a light cupping of a hand on each of her cheeks. He held her face up to his, the kiss gentling after that first assault, sipping and tasting.

      Heat coursed through her as she responded to those kisses, an aching need engulfing her. Her body curved into the hard length of his as if by instinct, and every hard contour told of his own rising desire.

      His lips left hers to travel down the scented column of her throat, and the heat of his breath, the moist warmth of his lips against her skin ignited a fire wherever they touched.

      She wanted this man.

      Oh, how she wanted him!

      His tongue probed the hollows at the base of her throat, dipping and tasting, and Molly shook with desire as she clung mindlessly to the width of his shoulders, the heat of his body matching hers.

      She gasped as his teeth bit the lobe of her ear, the gasp turning to a throaty groan as that bite turned to a sensuous nibbling that raised her temperature even higher.

      Finally those lips returned to hers, easily transmitting Gideon’s passion and desire, and Molly returned those emotions as she pressed closer against him.

      ‘Hmm-hmm,’ interrupted a softly teasing voice. ‘When you have quite finished seducing my little sister, Gideon…’ Sam drawled as the two of them sprang abruptly apart, ‘Diana has received a call on her mobile and won’t be able to join us in going to church, after all; I thought the two of you might want to come and say your goodbyes,’ he told them pointedly.

      For a few moments Molly had trouble remembering who Diana was, and from the frown on Gideon’s face he wasn’t faring much better.

      Although he recovered more quickly than she did, straightening purposefully before nodding abruptly. ‘I’ll go through now,’ he bit out tersely, giving a brief, dismissive nod that included both Molly and Sam before striding from the room.

      Molly let out a shaky breath, momentarily closing her eyes, sure she must have imagined what had passed between herself and Gideon just now. Because it hadn’t been anger. And it hadn’t been disgust. To her, at least, it had felt like something else entirely.

      She needed time to think, time to analyse what she thought had happened—

      Sam was eyeing her mockingly when she opened her eyes, his smile one of teasing affection. ‘Anything I should know about, little sister?’ he asked softly.

      Not until she had worked out for herself what just now had been all about. If she ever did.

      And Sam certainly didn’t need to know that one of his guests believed he was having an affair with another woman, Molly recalled frowningly, the rosy haze that had briefly surrounded her disappearing completely at this recollection.

      No matter how it might have felt to her at the time, Gideon had kissed her initially because of the accusations she had made concerning his own feelings towards Crys. And she mustn’t forget that fact.

      ‘Not a thing,’ she assured Sam lightly, moving forward to link her arm with his. ‘Let’s go and say good night to Diana.’

      ‘Fine with me.’ Her stepbrother nodded. ‘But don’t think you can avoid answering me forever,’ he warned teasingly. ‘Something is definitely going on between you and Gideon,’ he stated with certainty.

      ‘Something’ definitely was—she just had no idea what.

      Neither did she have any clearer an idea once she was alone in the house with only Peter a couple of hours later, having insisted on being the one who stayed behind with the baby while the others all went to the late church service.

      ‘You’re my idea of the ideal male companion,’ she told the baby ruefully as he slept in the cot in his nursery. ‘Totally uncomplicated.’ She smiled. ‘You cry when you’re hungry, and sleep when you aren’t.’

      Peter gave a brief smile in his sleep, as if in sympathy with her, although Crys had assured Molly that those smiles were of the windy type.

      ‘What am I going to do, hmm?’ she mused as she stood up and moved to the window, staring out at the starlit sky much as Gideon had done earlier this evening in the kitchen.

      Gideon.

      Every thought, everything she said, all seemed to come back to Gideon just recently. Which wasn’t surprising, considering the circumstances, but she could do with a little respite now and again. Like ten years or so.

      ‘He kisses me, Peter,’ she continued slowly, ‘and yet I’m not even sure that he likes me. If you had asked me yesterday I would have been absolutely sure that he didn’t!’ She grimaced.

      Earlier today she had been sure of the same thing. And yet this evening…

      There had been none of his earlier contempt in the way he had kissed her this evening, none of the anger, either. Just… Just what?

      She really didn’t know.

      She did know that she was becoming far too attracted to him. Possibly more than attracted.

      What did that mean?

      She couldn’t be falling in love with Gideon! Could she…?

      Molly gave a pained groan as she realised that she already had, that every word Gideon said, every gesture he made, affected her more deeply than any other man she had known.

      Great!

      Another Molly blunder. She had fallen in love with the one man guaranteed to hate her.

      She—

      She frowned slightly as she saw car headlights at the top of the driveway, and glanced down at her watch. The others couldn’t be coming back from church yet; it was only just after midnight, and the service hadn’t started until eleven-thirty.

      But there were no other houses down this stretch of road, so the car had to be coming here. Unless it was some late-night revellers who had lost their way?

      Even as she thought

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