His big hand slid upward and she tipped her head back into his palm, her gaze never leaving his. Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for his lips to finally settle over hers. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she savored the feel of his mouth, the warm glide of his tongue over her lips and the delicious arousal thrumming through her veins.
She couldn’t help but notice how much more touchy-feely they’d become now, when his walls were supposedly higher and she had no idea where they stood. When he kissed her like this, she didn’t care.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, aligning their bodies flush against each other. His heat sucked her into a whirlpool of sensation and his scent ignited a flame of desire the likes of which she’d never felt before. She wanted him badly and the low moan that escaped the back of her throat ensured he knew it, too.
She tangled her fingers in the back of his hair at the same moment she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. “Well, this is a fine welcome-home greeting,” her father said in his “general” voice.
Hunter flew backward. Molly jumped away from him at the same time and they both turned guilty looks his way. But the general had a huge grin on his handsome face.
And then his presence registered in Molly’s mind. “You’re home. You’re home! Oh my God.” She ran and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. “I had no idea but I’m so relieved.”
“Same here,” he said.
She stepped back, her hand still inside his. “How? When?”
“Hunter freed me in time for dinner.”
Molly turned Hunter’s way. “You didn’t say anything.”
“Made the surprise that much sweeter, didn’t it?” Hunter asked.
Molly thought she fell back in love with him right then. If she’d ever fallen out. She doubted it.
She shot him a lingering glance before turning to her father. “Where were you when I came home?”
“Next door checking on Sonya and Seth.”
Molly nodded. “That’s good. And now that you’re home, you’re going to remain here,” she said in her most determined voice.
“I’m sorry to be the bucket of cold water, but bail is only a temporary solution,” Hunter pointed out.
Molly rolled her eyes. “Surely we can celebrate just for tonight.”
“You two certainly can. I have to bring myself up to speed, but I don’t want to put you out of your office,” Hunter said to the general. “As I told your mother, I can stay in a local motel.”
Molly’s heart skipped a beat. Although she’d fought the idea of him staying in the house at first, she’d quickly changed her mind. She hadn’t realized how much she counted on having Hunter right there until he’d offered to leave.
The general waved his hand, dismissing the offer. “Don’t worry about me. I can’t concentrate on work until this is over and there isn’t much I can do until I clear my name. Please make yourself at home.”
Molly forced herself not to show her elation. She didn’t even try to tell herself the reason was so she could be nearby to help Hunter with the case. She wanted him nearby for purely selfish reasons.
“We didn’t discuss money at the jail today but I need you to know something,” her father said, his serious gaze on Hunter’s. “I can’t afford to pay you much right now, but I will pay you back.”
Hunter shook his head. “I appreciate it, sir, but—”
“No buts. If you’re going to represent me, you’re going to be paid. I don’t take charity, so save the pro bono work for people who really need it. Once I can buy and sell real estate without this case hanging over my head, I’ll pay you for your services.”
A lump rose in Molly’s throat. She knew it wasn’t easy for her father to have this conversation with Hunter and she admired him for it.
“That works fine for me.” Hunter shook Frank’s hand.
She admired Hunter as well, not just for the way he’d handled her father and salvaged the general’s pride, but also for the plain fact that he’d shown up here at all. She’d needed his help and he’d come despite their past. Despite his own pride.
The two men had a lot in common. Including how deeply she cared for them both. She met Hunter’s gaze, hoping to convey her feelings in a glance.
He shifted his stare. “I have a lot of work to do if we’re going to make your freedom permanent,” Hunter said to the general.
Hunter deliberately avoided Molly’s damp stare. He’d wanted to see her expression when he freed her father but now that he had, he couldn’t handle the blatant adoration in her gaze. Not on top of that soul-rocking kiss. If her father hadn’t returned, he’d have taken her in this office, on the desk, the floor, standing against the wall. It wouldn’t have mattered as long as he was buried deep inside her body, finding the release he’d long been denied. The attraction was strong and consuming but he could deal with it.
Sex was easy. Nothing about Molly or his feelings for her ever had been.
He cleared his throat. “Okay then, there’s no time like the present to get started. So if you two would excuse me…” He gestured to the piles of papers on the desk, attorneys’ notes, copies of police files and evidence. Just the beginning as far as this case was concerned.
The general’s narrowed gaze darted back and forth between Hunter and Molly. Obviously the man didn’t know what to make of the clinch he’d interrupted or their distance now.
Molly ran her tongue over her lips.
Damn, Hunter hated when she did that, if only because he loved it so much. That small swipe of her tongue was such a turn-on.
“I’ve had a long day at the senior center. I really need to head on upstairs and relax,” Molly said.
“Face it like a man.” The macaw broke the tension with his high-pitched voice.
Molly laughed. Hunter didn’t blame her. The damn bird was funny.
“Now, that’s something I didn’t miss,” the general said.
The bird made something like a raspberry sound.
Hunter chuckled, then glanced at Molly.
“I’m out of here,” she said.
He had no idea if she’d read his withdrawal as embarrassment at being caught kissing by her father, or as the cowardly retreat it truly had been. Regardless, she obviously agreed it was time to return to their separate corners, he thought, relieved, and waited for her to head out the door.