Commanding the Curvy Girl (Spoon Heroes)

Chapter Six

Easton

" B aby, this is only for today." I plant myself in front of Molly, forcing her to stop pacing for two seconds to look at me. She hasn't stopped moving since we got to my place fifteen minutes ago. She's anxious as hell about being in my space. It's written all over her face. "We'll be back at your place by morning."

I wish like hell that she'd agree to stay here, but she's hellbent on facing this on her own terms, and as much as I fucking hate to admit it…I get it. Would I feel safer with her here? Hell yes.

But she won't. She'll always feel like she wasn't strong enough. And that's a hell of a thing to have banging around in the back of someone's mind. I don't want her doubting herself before she ever even has a chance to find out what she's made of. If we have to stay at her place so she knows she's capable of meeting this on her feet, then that's what the fuck we're doing.

I don't fucking like it, though.

That motherfucker was in her house, prowling through her belongings. He knows her name, what she looks like…maybe even where she works. That last item should make me feel better, but it doesn't. It just gives me one more goddamn reason to worry that he may come back.

I don't plan to give him the chance. My new mission in life is arresting that prick. Actually, I have two missions. Getting my ring on her finger and arresting him. I'm multitasking.

"I know," she says after a moment, her pretty blue eyes locked on my face. "I'm just…" She huffs, her shoulders bouncing in a shrug as a blush climbs up her cheeks. "Promise not to laugh at me?"

I tug her into my arms, my heart pulsing at the vulnerable look on her face. She's been a goddamn rockstar so far. It's easy to forget that she's not nearly as calm and collected as she'd like me to believe. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she's afraid. She just doesn't think she's allowed to be.

"The night I got shot, I saw the gun and I was completely fucking helpless to stop what I knew was about to happen. I still remember how that felt," I say, holding her gaze. "I still wake up in a cold sweat, thinking about that moment. So there isn't a damn thing you could tell me about how you're feeling that would make me laugh at you, princess. I get it, more than you know."

Her expression softens, some of the anxiety bleeding away. And then her bottom lip quivers. "I wish you didn't remember any of it, Easton," she says, placing her palm against my chest just inches from where the bullet hit me. "I'd carry it for you if I could."

I stare at her, shaken in a way I've never been. Because I don't have to ask to know she means it. She'd carry those memories for me without hesitation if she could, just so I don't have them rattling around in my brain, haunting my mind.

Jesus. I've never met anyone like her. She may have walls higher than a Roman city around her heart, but little by little, she's letting me in. Her defenses are crumbling. And beneath them, she's so fucking soft and sweet.

"I'd never let you carry it, Molly." I brush my lips against hers, trying like hell not to lose myself in her sweetness even though that's exactly what I want to do. Every damn time I kiss her, I want to drown myself in her…just fucking forget to come up for air until she's invading every pore, every cell. I'm fucking wild about her—heart beating out of my chest, can't think about anything else, crazy for her. "I'm supposed to lighten your load, not add to it, princess. That's all I want to do…make your life easier."

"Maybe we're supposed to make life easier for each other," she whispers against my lips, sliding her arms around me. She nestles up against my chest, melting against me without resistance. There's something in her tone…a wistfulness that has my breath hitching. Is that what she dreams about? What she aches to find? Not to be taken care of, but to have a partner in all things? Shit. I can give her that. I'll be the best goddamn partner she's ever had.

I kiss her again, unable to help myself when she's in my arms, her lips right fucking there. She presses closer, crushing her tits to my chest. My tongue slips into her mouth, tangling with hers. Within seconds, all I'm thinking about is how goddamn badly I ache for her. For four and a half weeks, I've ached like a motherfucker. Now, she's in my space, in my arms. How the hell am I supposed to keep going slow?

"I want to lose myself in you, princess," I groan, spearing my hand into her hair to angle her head. My tongue touches hers again, my restraint quickly unraveling every damn time she whimpers or shifts against me.

She bites my lip in response, dragging her teeth over the sensitive flesh. A growl rumbles up from my chest as I palm her perfect ass, pulling her flush against me. The heat between us is electric, sparking and sizzling with every touch, every shared breath.

She arches into me, her nails digging deliciously into my shoulders through my shirt. I groan against her lips, the slight sting only making my cock throb. My other hand slides up her side, my thumb grazing the swell of her breast. Even through the fabric of her shirt, I feel the heat of her skin, the way her nipple hardens under my touch.

"Easton," she gasps, breaking the kiss to suck in a ragged breath. Her blue eyes are dark, need blazing in the depths.

"Come to bed with me, princess," I rumble, willing to do desperate, dirty shit to get her in my bed with me. I'll agree to whatever rules she wants me to play by if it means I get to hold her, kiss her…touch her in my bed. I'll go as slow as she wants me to go. But I want her in my bed. Want to show her how fucking good it's going to be between us.

A pretty blush stains her cheeks, disappearing under the collar of her shirt. "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier," she whispers.

"What, princess?" I lick the seam of her lips, unable to help myself.

"I've never spent the night with a man before," she says, her voice whisper soft. "I'm nervous about it."

Jesus.

I stare at her, not speaking, as all the blood in my body surges straight to my cock, making it impossible to think. I want to yank her into my arms and roar mine like some goddamn unruly beast. That's exactly how I feel right now…beastly. Unruly. Ready to fuck her through the floor.

But I fight through the instinct, trying like hell to think.

Think, goddammit. Think.

"Are you telling me that you're a virgin, baby?" I ask, my voice little more than a low rumble of sound.

"Yes." She bites her lip. "Um, I wasn't hanging onto it because I believe in waiting for marriage or anything like that. I just don't date."

"As in ever?"

"Ever."

"Never ever?"

"You're giving me a complex."

"Shit." I grimace, trying to get my shit together. She just knocked my world out of orbit. It's taking a minute to level out again. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to give you a complex. There's not a goddam thing wrong with you. I'm just…" I scrub a hand down my face. "I feel like a kid in a candy store right now."

I get all her firsts. She gets to use my body to learn everything she wants to learn. Am I an asshole for being happy about that? Probably. But part of me is happy about it.

"It's just a V-Card, Easton." She rolls her eyes. "It's not like it's the Holy Grail. Besides, it's not like you still have yours."

I feel the tips of my ears burning before her mouth pops open.

"Oh my gosh. You do," she whispers, shock lancing through the statement. "There's no way you do."

"Why not?"

"Because you're…" she trails off, motioning at me. "You're you. You're thirty-two. You're hot. You're a cop. I don't know a single hot, thirty-two-year-old hot cop who has his V-Card, Easton."

"You do now," I mutter.

"But…how?"

"I've been telling you for weeks that I'm not like everyone else. Your dad may have been a philandering prick, but mine wasn't." I shrug. "I'm not saying I'm a saint because I'm not, princess. I fooled around once or twice when I was younger, but I never slept with anyone. I never let it get that far."

She stares at me, a bemused expression on her face. "You were saving yourself for marriage," she finally whispers.

"No." I shake my head, holding her gaze. "I was saving myself for you." It's the truth as far as I see it. "I don't need a ring on your finger to take you to my bed. I already know it's going to end that way for the two of us. I'm determined to make sure it ends there."

"Every time we talk, I feel like an even bigger jerk than the last time," she murmurs, touching my cheek.

"You aren't a jerk, princess. You're a prickly little lamb." I nuzzle my face against the side of her throat, grunting at how goddamn good she smells. Fucking hell, I want that scent all over me.

A soft laugh burbles from her lips. "A prickly little lamb? Really, Easton?"

"Yeah, really." I nip the pulse pounding beneath her ear, making her shift and whimper. "You hide behind sarcasm, torture, and that sexy fucking attitude like it's going to keep you from falling for me, but we both know that underneath it, you're soft and sweet and cuddly as fuck." I lick a trail down the side of her throat, loving the way she trembles for me. "We also know you're fucking dying to let yourself love me."

Before I even know what's happening, she's wrapped herself around me like a fucking koala bear, her lips against my ear. "Is this cuddly enough, Easton?"

"Fuck," I groan when I feel the heat of her pussy against my cock. Even through our damn clothes, she's burning hot. I buck my hips, trying to get closer, both of my hands planted on her luscious ass. "Getting warmer, princess."

"M-maybe you should show me how cuddly I am underneath my prickly exterior. You know, for science," she suggests, her breathing choppy.

Oh, hell yes.

"Is that an invitation to get you naked in my bed, Molly? I need you to be real fucking clear right now," I growl, thrusting a hand into her hair to crane her head back. Her eyes are wide and dilated, so dark with desire they make my fucking cock throb. "Because I don't want you regretting a goddamn thing between us. I'll go as slow as I need to go to make sure you're on the same page as me."

"Easton? I don't need slow. I need you. Take me to bed."