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  She swallowed hard at the intensity in his eyes. “You do it for me in a bad way, Deacon McConnell. You always have. Even when you scared the crap out of me.”

  Then he slanted his lips over hers and kissed her with tenderness. And he seemed as surprised by that as she was. “Give me another chance,” he said as he feathered kisses up her jawline. “I can figure out how to do this relationship shit.”

  “That’s what you want? A relationship with me?”

  “Yeah.”

  In that moment, when their gazes collided, the heat in his eyes imparted a few things.

  Sex with him would be raw. Borderline rough. Rarely tender.

  There wouldn’t be candlelit dinners beforehand.

  There wouldn’t be cuddling or spooning afterward.

  Being naked with him would likely ruin her for sex with mere mortal men.

  Those thoughts must’ve been easy to read on her face, because Deacon treated her to the most wicked grin she’d ever witnessed. “I see a whole lot of interest in those pretty brown eyes, and no fear.”

  “Oh, there’s fear.”

  “Of?”

  Right now she had too many to name, so she picked the most obvious one. “That you seeing me naked won’t be nearly as thrilling as me getting the full monty from you.”

  “Not a chance in hell, babe.” Deacon’s hands landed beside her head. He leaned in, letting his smooth jaw rub against hers. His breaths teased her cheek, then moved lower.

  The combination of the soft drag of his lips and the scrape of his teeth turned her skin into a mass of goose bumps.

  “You wanna test that theory right now?”

  “How would you do that?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Unbutton your blouse,” he murmured against her throat.

  She obeyed him without question—and she didn’t stop to ask herself why she had zero hesitation. She untucked her shirt from her skirt and started at the bottom, working her fingers up. When she reached the button between her breasts, the back of her hand brushed his chest. After unhooking the last button, she let her shirt hang open.

  Deacon didn’t waste time. He planted sucking kisses from the hollow of her throat to the V of her cleavage. Then he traced the edge of her bra with his tongue, up the swell of her left breast, back down, then up the right side. He didn’t speak; he just tormented her with hot kisses, leisurely licks, and tiny nips. He muttered, “Fuck,” then sank his teeth into her flesh and sucked hard.

  Molly gasped, more in surprise than in pain.

  Keeping his mouth in place, he snagged her left hand and pressed it against the fly of his jeans.

  Her palm met a rock-hard bulge.

  He broke the suction of his mouth on her skin. “You’re half undressed and I’m fully hard. So yeah, I’m thrilled by the idea of seeing you naked, babe.” He brushed a soft kiss over the mark on her breast.

  She glanced down; he’d left a big red hickey on her boob.

  Then Deacon nudged her chin back up, forcing her to meet his hungry, sexual gaze. “You look at that mark over the next couple of days and make sure you understand what it means to be involved with a man like me.”

  “Is that supposed to scare me?” Thankfully, her voice didn’t shake when she tossed out, “It doesn’t. Know why?”

  He waited, those blue eyes still blazing at her.

  “Because it’s really hot that you used your teeth on me just because you wanted to, so I guess I passed your little test to see if I’d get prudish.” Feeling reckless, Molly tilted her head, baring her neck. “I liked it. So mark me here.”

  He didn’t hesitate. He opened his mouth over the spot. When he started to suck, her knees wobbled. But Deacon held her up, pushing his leg between hers. Palming her breasts. Squeezing the flesh with his strong fingers in time with the pulse beating in her throat.

  She reached for him, wanting to feel the muscles in his back rippling as he positioned himself over her. Wanting to feel the muscles in his ass flexing as he powered into her. Wanting to feel the muscles in his chest abrading her nipples as he moved against her.

  Cool air met the wet spot he’d created as he trailed kisses up her neck to her jawline.

  “Deacon.”

  “That’s what I want. My name on your lips.” He fit his mouth over hers and delicately licked the inside of her bottom lip until she opened for him fully.

  No explosion of need, just pure sensual torture.

  He ended the kiss but didn’t release his hold on her.

  Breathing hard, they stared at each other.

  Then Deacon leveled that devilish smile on her. “No more denying there’s nothing between us. From here on out, we are together.”

  Not a question; a statement. “So it appears.”

  “So what are we doin’ tonight?”

  We. Lord, the man was a bulldozer. “Presley has a roller derby bout in Centennial. I need to change before we go.” We again.

  “Need help?” His gaze swept over her from her unbuttoned shirt to her bare toes.

  She pushed past her normal response to hide her body and listened to the voice that dared her to tease him. As she headed for the bathroom, she let her blouse flutter to the floor. She paused just outside the door and unzipped her skirt; then it too hit the carpet. Looking over her shoulder at him, she said, “Maybe next time.”

  His eyes were firmly on her ass. She might’ve heard a growl before she shut the door in his face.

  As she pulled on her jeans, her gaze caught on the red spot on her breast. Her fingers traced the mark. She’d never had a love bite before—just another rite of passage she’d missed.

  When she leaned closer to the mirror to check her makeup, she noticed kissing Deacon had made her lips full and pink. No need for lipstick. She adjusted the drawstring on the hoodie and saw the other love bite. Holy crap. It was huge. She smoothed her hands down her hair, pulling the sections forward to frame her face and mask the mark. After slipping on her pink and black canvas sport clogs, she shouldered her backpack and exited the bathroom.

  Deacon leaned against the wall, her blouse and skirt dangling from one finger.

  “Thanks for picking those up.”

  “I figured there might be questions in the morning if you left a trail of clothes.”

  Molly rolled to her toes to peck him on the mouth.

  Instantly Deacon’s arm circled her lower back, holding her in place as he kissed her with surprising sweetness. Then he released her and said gruffly, “Let’s go.”

  She shoved her clothes in her backpack, shut off the lights, armed the alarm, and locked the front door.

  On the sidewalk, she blocked the late-afternoon sun, noticing that Deacon already had his shades in place. “Do you wanna follow me?”

  “Nope. I’ll drive us.”

  “But then you’ll have to come all the way back here.”

  “I don’t mind.” Then he relieved her of her backpack, slipped the strap up his left arm, and draped his right arm over her shoulder.

  He brushed a soft kiss over her temple. “Love the shoes, babe.”

  “Yeah? Why?”

  “They’re unexpected. Can’t wait to find out what other surprises you’ve got in store for me.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “DO you go to a lot of roller derby bouts?” Deacon asked.

  “It’s not like I attend them all like some rabid fangirl.”

  Deacon peered over the top of his sunglasses and looked at her Denver Divas hoodie.

  “Hey, I bought this at their fund-raiser.” She resisted sticking her tongue out at him. “I support my friend’s activities. Presley would do the same for me if I suddenly took up racquetball or golf. Not that it’ll ever happen, since me and athletics don’t go hand in hand.”

  “You showed great improvement in kickboxing.”

  “Improvement doesn’t count as much as natural ability.”

  “Natural ability can only take you so far. Continual improvement is all that
matters.”

  “Are you improving with Maddox training you?”

  “Be a sad state if I wasn’t with as much time as I spend with him,” Deacon drawled. “Did you attend my last fight?”

  Molly shook her head.

  “Because I stood you up?”

  “Yes. You weren’t my favorite person. I might’ve rooted for your opponent that night.”

  “Harsh.” The edges of his mouth turned up, half grimace, half smile. “There’s no in between with you?”

  “If there weren’t, Deacon, I wouldn’t be here.”

  That answer didn’t make him happy.

  Too bad.

  Molly looked out the window. As they drove along the outskirts of Denver with the rolling hills and animals grazing in the fields, she realized it’d been a while since she’d ventured out of the city. In the spring she’d always made a point of hiking several of the wildflower trails in the foothills, but she hadn’t this year. The summer wildflowers weren’t as vibrant as the spring varieties, and she knew if she didn’t make time to do it, it’d be another source of enjoyment abandoned. Maybe she could convince Presley to go with her. God knew Chaz would likely complain about bugs, sun, and dirt. Amery spent weekends with Ronin. Her next-door neighbor, Nina, might be game.

  “Why the frown?” Deacon said. “What’d I do now?”

  That sounded a little paranoid. “Nothing. I’m just thinking.”

  “About?”

  She faced him. “Are you really interested, or just making polite conversation?”

  “Babe. I’m not so much with polite conversation. You know this about me.”

  “True. So I was thinking about taking a wildflower hike in the foothills.”

  “Lemme know when and I’ll make sure my gun is cleaned before we go.”

  We again? Really? Before she did a total dork move and squee’d, the gun comment registered. “Why would you bring a gun?” And why hadn’t he shot out a derisive remark about her stopping to smell the wild roses?

  Because this Deacon—with the hot eyes and even hotter kisses—isn’t the brooding Deacon you know.

  “Bears,” he said without sarcasm. “Those motherfuckers cover a lot of ground in the summer. Better to be safe than bear meat.”

  “You like to hike?”

  “I’ve never been. I’ve never been to a roller derby bout either.” A half smile flirted on his lips. “You’re getting me to try all sorts of new things.”

  “I’m sure there are all sorts of new things you’ll get me to try too,” she returned with a provocative look.

  After tossing his sunglasses on the dash, he placed a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist. “I stick to the basics when it comes to sex.”

  “The basics?” she managed to get out. The heat in his eyes burned away the moisture in her mouth, making it hard to form words.

  “Hot, wet, and as often as possible.” He sank his teeth into the fleshy part of her thumb.

  She bit her lip, but a moan escaped.

  “You don’t get to do that.”

  “What?”

  “Try to keep quiet when you like the way I touch you.”

  Molly felt her face and neck flush, but she didn’t look away.

  “Sexy thing,” he murmured. “You tell me when it gets too intense.”

  “Is that even possible?”

  His eyes darkened. “Jesus, Molly.”

  “I’m not being flip. I’ve only ever experienced intensity in small, singular doses.”

  “And yet you say this doesn’t scare you?”

  “How can I fear what I’ve never had?”

  “Killing me here, babe.”

  That gruff, sexy tone sent a shiver up her spine.

  Deacon continued to stroke her cheek. “One hour.”

  “What?”

  “One hour since I apologized. One hour since you agreed to give me a chance. One hour since I kissed you. I oughta be happy we’ve come this far in one hour.” His thumb returned to her mouth, and he outlined her top and bottom lips. “But it ain’t far enough. If I had my way? We’d spend the next hour, the hour after that, and the hour after that in my bed.”

  Her sex pulsed. If he could rev her up this fast with words, what kind of heat and power could he generate with his mouth, his hands, and his body?

  Atomic-level heat.

  “You know . . .” she offered, “roller derby is overrated.”

  “Don’t even fucking kid about that,” he growled. Then he kissed her hard. “Get outta the car.”

  “But—”

  “Leave this for now. We’ll revisit it when we’ve both got clearer heads.”

  Molly freed her inner temptress—who preferred instant gratification and thought revisiting this later was a bad idea—and unzipped her hoodie.

  One tine at a time.

  Deacon’s avid gaze followed that movement.

  She stopped below her cleavage. Then she pulled the tank top aside. “Which mark screams clearer head to you? The one you gave me? Or the one I asked for?”

  He bent his head over her chest.

  She expected a quick nip, not a featherlight kiss.

  Locking his gaze to hers, he righted her clothing. “Let’s go.”

  Deacon draped his arm over her shoulder as they walked toward the school. “How long does this last?”

  “It depends. I’d say . . . two hours. Why?”

  “We’re eating after.”

  They reached the ticket table by the door. She said, “Two, please.”

  Deacon paid before Molly fished her wallet out. “When we’re together, I pay. Always.”

  “That’s archaic.”

  “Get used to it.”

  With the large crowd in the gymnasium, Molly was relieved to see seating and not standing-room only. She pointed to the top of the bleachers. “That’s the best place to watch.”

  After they settled in, Deacon threaded his fingers through hers. “Explain how this is played, because it doesn’t look like what I’ve seen in the movies or on TV.”

  “This is a flat track. It’s used more commonly than the elevated track. Presley told me that when the team first started, they didn’t have a dedicated training place, so they had to practice in a parking lot.”

  Deacon winced. “Sounds painful. I did my time training under less-than-ideal conditions.”

  “I guess sweeping the area off with industrial brooms cut down