“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.