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Molly cuddled the little pup she’d just finished feeding against her neck. “That’s a good name.”
She put the puppy back down with his brothers, and when Petal joined the rest, she made sure they were nestled together in the blanket that smelled like their mother and stood back. She felt such love for these helpless little creatures. It was overwhelming sometimes. It made her wonder what it would feel like to have a child of her own. That thought quickly bled into others, like what would her child be like? Hers and Nate’s?
And that thought freaked her the hell out.
“Why don’t you have one?”
“A baby?” Startled, she turned to Nate. Was the guy a mind reader now?
“What? No, not a human baby. A dog or a cat or something with fur or feathers.”
She shrugged. It was a question she got asked a lot. “I love animals more than I like most people I know. And I work with them nearly every day. When I’m not at the clinic, I’m at the shelter, and I just…I live alone, so it wouldn’t be fair, you know? Until I’m around more or…” She stopped short, unwilling to share her train of thought. But Nate was having none of it. He moved closer.
“Or what?”
“Well, until I get married and have a partner, I guess I don’t feel I’d have the time to give to a dog. I see folks who do it to their pets all the time, and it makes me sad. They think all they have to do is fill its water bowl and toss it some food and the animal will be happy. That’s not the way it works. They need love and attention the same as we do.”
The plain truth was simpler than that. She was lonely as hell and was never home because being here made her feel empty. It amplified the fact that something was missing from her life. And that was something she wasn’t sharing with Nathan. Because, to put it more simply, he was the thing that was missing. She knew that now. There would be no one else.
His eyes darkened, and he looked at her through the thick lashes that covered them, like he was hiding something. Or maybe it was the shadows creeping in from outside. Whatever it was, she shivered, suddenly cold and not liking the knot that twisted in her stomach.
“Moll.” The way he said her name made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A muscle worked its way across his jaw. Something was up. But what? Did she want to know?
“I don’t want to talk anymore,” she whispered softly.
A heartbeat passed. Or two. And then his expression relaxed. “What is it that you want to do?”
She inched closer. “I need to eat.”
“Eating’s good.”
“Chinese?”
“Always been a fan.”
“Good. I ordered takeout. It should be here in an hour or so.”
“So I’ve got time to shower.”
She ran her eyes over all six foot three inches of him, and by the time she met his eyes, the blood was thrumming through her veins, and she was pretty sure the neighbors could hear how madly her heart beat—and they lived at least a mile down the road.
“Don’t,” she whispered, reaching for him.
“Don’t what?” Had his voice always made her insides quake?
“You can shower after.” Her hands were on the hem of his T-shirt, while his found their way to her hips.
“After what?” Nate dipped his head and kissed the side of her neck.
The devil was inside Molly, and she was fine with that. She’d never felt this powerful before.
She dropped her hands and took a step back. “After you bend me over that sofa, you can do whatever the hell you want.”
That wicked grin was back in place, and she nearly tripped on her heart. She was done for. There was no other way to explain the need inside her.
But his smiled faltered a bit, and he ran his hands through his hair and exhaled as if he wer
e in pain. Judging from the bulge in his jeans, that scenario was bang on.
