To Win a Rebel

Chapter Three

Molly had been kissed before, but never like that.

She couldn’t quite think for a second, and then, as quickly as Nate had kissed her, he stepped away. She missed his touch and wanted to pull him closer, but instead she nibbled her lip and tried not to think about what had happened. Nate had kissed her. That seemed to be ringing around in her head.

“Shall we?” he asked, taking her hand.

Kind of dumbfounded, Molly followed him without a second thought. There was nowhere else for her to go. Her lips tingled, which was a stark reminder of the kiss he’d taken.

She wanted to touch her lips, but she managed to stop herself from doing that. She no longer had any idea what was going to happen tonight. Most of last night and throughout the whole day, she’d been distracted by wondering what would happen.

Molly had been on several dates, but none of them were memorable. She had a guy who constantly had his mother texting him, and throughout the meal had even asked to speak to her. Much to her embarrassment, she was still good friends with the guy’s mother. In fact, he’d married another woman a few years ago, and her friend had been mortified, and had even said she wished she hadn’t called so much during his date with her. That had been interesting.

Then there was the guy who’d constantly been flexing throughout dinner. At first, she found it charming as he was attempting to become a bodybuilder, so it was part of his personality. He was one with his muscles, or something like that. Yeah, that didn’t work out. In fact, at the end of the night, he kissed his biceps before he even attempted to kiss her. That didn’t end well for either of them.

There were so many bad dates.

She even had one date where the man’s wife arrived. Yep, Molly had been out of there right away. There was no way in hell she was going to help a guy cheat on his wife. It went against everything she stood for.

This was no room to think about all those dates, because the truth was, when it came to Nate, he made her nervous. She didn’t quite know exactly what kind of guy he was. He was a mystery to her, and one she wasn’t sure she wanted to crack. He confused her, and she knew she spent a great deal of time blushing. She only hoped in learning makeup skills, she was able to hide it.

What he, or no one else knew, was she’d had the biggest crush on Nate Sinclair for as long as she could remember. It was insane.

There were one or two dates when Nate had arrived with his buddy Randy, and she’d been so distracted, it was the only reason she’d been able to get to the dessert.

Even now, she was so distracted by old memories, she suddenly realized there was no car or bike.

“We’re walking?” she asked.

“Yep, don’t worry, it’s not far.”

She had no problem with walking. It was one of the many reasons she didn’t own a car or bike. She loved to clear her head, and walking was the best way to do that.

Every now and then, she couldn’t help stealing glances at him, wondering if he’d put any special product on his lips that had made her tingle, because her lips were still very much tingling. She wanted to reach up and touch them, but she held herself back.

“It’s a lovely night,” he said.

“Yeah, it is. Nice and warm too, which is surprising.” She usually liked to wear a cardigan, but over the next couple of days, they were supposed to have a heat wave.

“So, tell me a little about yourself, Molly,” Nate said.

“Uh, you know all about me.”

“Nah, I don’t. I was thinking about you most of today, actually, and you know it got me thinking that you don’t talk about what you do. There are times you’re not seen for days at a time around town.”

“It’s, uh, not that important, to be honest. I work for a company online, nothing new there, and it’s all boring. So, tell me, what are you working on currently?”

“You’re evading the question,” he said.

“I’m not evading anything, I’m simply curious about what you do.”

“You want to hear about cars?”

“Or bikes. I know you’re constantly doing upgrades to your current cycle, and aren’t you, like, working on a big project or something?” She had to think of somethin g— anythin g— so it would take his thoughts off of what she was doing.

There was no way she was going to be able to get through tonight if he knew she wrote erotic books. This was her biggest secret. Everyone in town was so wrapped up in their own lives and the current hot gossip, that she didn’t even register with them. When questions started to flow, she had become an expert in dodging them. Very few people knew.

Her parents being long gone, there was the mother of her one-time date who’d kept calling. She knew, and in fact she claimed to be her biggest fan, much to Molly’s surprise. For some reason, she had thought the older woman would hate her for writing such smut, but nope. She loved it, and read each book that was released.

She glanced over at Nate, and hoped he took the bait.

He smirked and then entered the park. “You know, Molly. You’re not fooling me,” he said.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I would love to learn about engines and grease, and all the tools you need to work through. Like wrenches and pliers, and weird-looking things.”

She had no idea what she was talking about. Didn’t have the first clue what went into fixing a car. All the mechanics in her books didn’t do a lot of talking, unless it was what she heard in passing. Oil change, bust belt, or something like that.

She really should read a book or find an internet source, but she would then find herself constantly thinking about Nate Sinclair, and procrastinating was never a good thing.

The park was beautiful, but what made her stop and took her breath away, was the scene set before her. The park in town was considered one of the most romantic places, because it had been designed that way. Trees surrounded a small patch of grass that gave the illusion of twinkling lights. A small table with a few candles sat in wait. There was even a waiter, who looked like Randy.

“Really, because I would love to know who the inspiration was for your latest book. I believe he was a dirty-mouthed mechanic who had a thing for a certain brown-haired, green-eyed heroine, who needed her ass spanked from time to time.”

Molly didn’t have a clue what to say, or think, or do.

****

Nate had every intention of giving Molly the space to tell him what she did, rather than just evading the question. The only problem was, he felt enough time had already been wasted in them dancing around each other.

She spun around to face him, as he’d whispered the words against her ear. Randy didn’t know the truth, and he’d not told another living soul. This was strictly between them, and of course, whoever knew in Molly’s circle.

“What? How? How do you know?” Molly asked.

He liked that she didn’t attempt to lie to him, as that would have totally pissed him off, and he would have started to experience doubts about the kind of woman she was. This just proved to him that Molly was an ange l— a perfect, beautiful, sexy angel. He intended to delve inside and find the little devil lurking beneat h— the one that clearly wanted to come out and play, but didn’t know how.

“How about we have a glass of wine or a cold beer?” He placed a hand at her back and moved her toward the table. Nate let her go to pull out her chair and be the perfect gentleman.

Right on queue, Randy was there, offering up wine or beer. Molly impressed him again by going for a bottle of beer.

He thanked his friend and gave him the signal to leave. They wouldn’t be disturbed tonight. Everyone in town knew he was taking Molly on a date, thanks to Randy and Bethany. He didn’t want to run the risk of anyone watching or listening to them. Not that he could stop them, but his reputation would help keep them at bay.

“Are you going to tell anyone?” Molly asked.

“I have no intention of telling anyone, and I’ve known for a year.”

“The USB key,” Molly said.

“My … curiosity got the better of me.”

She ran fingers through her hair and glanced around. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Do you enjoy it?” he asked.

Molly lifted her gaze. “What?”

“Do you enjoy being an author?”

She frowned and then nodded. “Yes, it is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I just … I kind of fell into it.” She shrugged. “I was struck by this idea and I had no choice but to start writing it down, and once I started, I just couldn’t stop.”

“Does anyone else know?”

“No, I mean, uh, one other person does.”

“Who?” he asked, curious.

“It’s complicated.”

“We’ve got all night.”

After her explanation, he chuckled. “Wow,” he said.

“Yeah, wow, and I guess now you know.” She nibbled her lip. “I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or angry, or upset.”

“How about intrigued?” he said. “I’ve known for a year, and I happened to notice, Molly, that you have a lot of books that feature a very heavily inked mechanic.” He leaned forward. “Kind of reminds me of someone.”

He watched as she took a deep breath, and he also thanked the warm night air, because he caught sight of the flush building within her chest. She nibbled her bottom lip, and he was pretty sure he detected the blush of her cheeks, and there was something about her eyes.

Molly was aroused, and she looked positively outstanding. He just couldn’t look anywhere else, not that he wanted to look anywhere. She was stunning and he felt a quickening in his cock. He wanted her badly.

This is how it had felt for a long time when it came to Molly. He’d always felt she was out of his league, and the truth was, he still felt that way. She was pure, beautiful, almost angelic, and he was far from any of those things.

“It does?” she asked.

“Yeah, so I was thinking, Molly, how about you and I cut to the chase, and rather than us dance around this, just tell me, do you want to fuck me?” he asked.

He should have known pushing too far would spook her. She put the beer bottle down and was out of her chair within a matter of seconds.

Nate had no choice but to chase her. He caught up with her, before she’d even gotten past the first tree. Spinning her around, he pressed her up against the bark.

“Don’t … mock me,” Molly said.

“Do I look like someone who is mocking you?” he asked.

“You don’t talk to people like that!” She glared at him.

“You’re right, you don’t talk to any normal person who I don’t give a shit about, but you’re not just anyone, Molly.” He put both hands on either side of her head. “The truth is, I could dance this tune with you for fucking months, pretending I didn’t know stuff, when I do. Lying to you, stringing you along, but I don’t play that way. I’m being honest with you. I don’t date. I don’t give a shit about women’s feelings, but I don’t know what it is you do to me, Molly, and I can’t seem to think straight when I’m around you.”

“You do?” she asked.

“Yeah, haven’t you figured that out yet? I’m not exactly Mr. Talkative, but I’ve read your books. I know what you want, and I sure as shit am not going to step aside and allow someone else to take what is surely mine, and you are mine, Molly. You can pretend and lie about it if you want. You want me, and I want you. All I’m doing is cutting the waiting time.” With that, he slammed his lips down on hers.

This could go either way, he knew that. The truth was, he didn’t know how tonight would go. He’d never dated. He wasn’t a monk, and he’d been with his share of women, there was no denying that.

When it came to Molly, he lost his mind.

There were so many ways he wanted tonight to go. This was the last thing he ever thought possible.