Molly moaned when she felt the tip of his tongue start to explore the contours of her mouth. She could taste the richness of the chocolate he had drunk on his tongue and it merely heightened her desire for him. Opening her mouth, she allowed him all the licence he needed to deepen the kiss and he wasn’t slow to take advantage. They were both breathing heavily when they broke apart, both shaken by the speed and the depth of their need for one another. They might not have planned on kissing but Molly knew that neither of them could deny that it had had a profound effect on them both.
‘I didn’t mean for this to happen, Molly.’
‘I know.’ She gave a little shrug then stilled when she felt desire scud through her once more as his hands slid from her shoulders and down her arms. It had always been this way, she thought sadly. Sean had only needed to touch her and her blood had raced. And the most terrifying realisation of all was that nothing had changed.
‘I never planned it either,’ she said huskily, trying to damp down the fear that engulfed her. She didn’t want to feel how she had felt two years ago, definitely didn’t want to risk having her heart broken once more. Now, more than ever, she needed to be sensible—now that she knew about Claire. She had to nip these feelings in the bud before they could grow into something even bigger and far more dangerous.
‘I suppose we should put it down to the heat of the moment. Everything got a bit tense just now, didn’t it?’ His hands skimmed back up her arms and came to rest against her collarbone. Molly could feel the coolness of his fingers seeping into her heated flesh through the thickness of her woollen sweater and shivered.
‘It did.’ She dredged up a smile. ‘My crying like that probably didn’t help either. Sorry.’
‘Don’t apologise. I was touched that you felt that way.’ He returned her smile. ‘You always did have a tender heart, Molly.’
‘In other words, I was a soft touch,’ she retorted, deliberately whipping up her anger in the hope that it would help set her back on track. ‘It’s a good job I’ve decided to make some changes to how I behave. There will be no more wearing my heart on my sleeve in future, believe me!’
‘So today was a one-off, was it? You’ll be hard-hearted Molly from now on?’
‘Yes!’ Molly declared roundly when she heard the teasing note in his voice and realised that he didn’t believe her. The last thing she wanted was for Sean to think she was a pushover. ‘I’m going to concentrate on what I want for a change.’
‘Then I’m glad that we had this conversation today.’ He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. ‘I feel a lot better than I did, Molly, and it’s all thanks to you.’
‘I’m glad,’ she said huskily, so touched by the admission that her anger immediately melted away. ‘So does that mean you’ll think about what I said, about you not being to blame? It was an accident, Sean, and it wasn’t your fault.’
‘I’ll try.’
Although he agreed readily enough, Molly had a feeling that it would never actually happen. Sean was determined to blame himself for the tragedy and it hurt to know that his life would be blighted for ever by it. Reaching up, she cupped his face between her hands.
‘Then you must try really hard!’ Her voice caught. ‘I can’t bear to think of you ruining your life this way.’
‘Oh, Molly!’
Turning, he pressed his mouth against her palm and she shuddered when she felt desire spike through her once more. When she felt the tip of his tongue start to stroke her skin, she moaned softly. It was almost too much to feel the light moist pressure of his tongue caressing her flesh. Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the moment, blanking out any thoughts about the wisdom of what she was doing. She didn’t want to think—she just wanted to feel.
The tip of his tongue moved from her palm to her wrist, lavishing it with the same attention. Molly had never realised before that her wrist could be an erogenous zone and closed her eyes, savouring the moment. Kisses were fine but this was different. This gentle act of seduction implied an intimacy that she had never expected. Maybe she was mistaken but she couldn’t imagine that Sean had done this with many women.
The thought filled her with a sudden sense of peace. One of the hardest things to deal with had been the thought that she had been just one of many women in Sean’s life. However, the gentle pressure of his tongue as it moved over the delicate inner skin of her wrist put paid to that; it made her feel special. Wanted. Cherished.