Scorched (Sizzle #2) (3 page)

Molly 

Closing
the door to the bathroom with her foot, Molly quickly shed her ratty old sweatshirt
and nursing bra before she took care of pumping her full breasts.  The last
thing she wanted to do is leak milk all over her hubby.  She already felt like
she’d failed him once by not making their six-week appointment special; the
last thing she wanted to do was kill the romantic mood she was trying to set now
by squirting breast milk in his eye during a pivotal moment.  That certainly
wasn’t their kink, she thought, wrinkling her nose as she dumped the fluid down
the sink and tossed her bra and shirt toward the wicker hamper in the corner of
the room.  Pivoting to her left, she twisted the silver water taps and began to
fill the tub.

Peeling
her soft cotton sweatpants down her legs, Molly sighed as she turned to stare
at her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors lining the east wall of the
bathroom.  Tilting her head, she studied her body.   Wrinkling her nose at what
she saw staring back at her from the mirror, Molly shook her head, lifting a
hand up to pull the elastic rubber band from her hair.  Shaking her head, she
knew it was now entirely safe to say that petite was no longer in her
vocabulary.  Her freaking curves had curves.  Eyeballing herself critically,
she bit her lower lip painfully.  This definitely wasn’t the body with which
Devil was previously acquainted.  While she had never considered herself to be
one of those tiny waifs that could happily exist on angel whispers, she had at
least attempted to maintain some sort of a figure.  Well, until now, that was.

Pregnancy
had not been kind to her form, leaving her body in the worst condition she’d
ever been.  Where once she’d had firm, toned muscles, a semi-flat, concave
belly and pert bouncy breasts, now she sagged…absolutely everywhere.  Molly cringed
as she ran a self-conscious hand over the swell of her lower stomach.  Okay,
swell was a far kinder word than she should have used.  It was more of a
bulge.  And no amount of abdominal crunches or sit-ups seemed to be designed to
make that ungainly pouch disappear.  Talk about disheartening.  God knows she
had tried everything she could think of to diminish that unseemly mass. 
Nothing worked! 

Then,
as if that unsightly bulge wasn’t enough to draw her attention, there were
those faint white lines...those garish stretch marks standing out against her
pale skin like neon arrows directing the way to her unfortunate attributes.  The
only thing she might have going in her favor was the fact that she had at least
managed to do a small amount of landscaping in all the right places earlier in
the week when the baby had taken a longer nap than usual.  But that was not
enough to raise her spirits at the moment.  Not at all.  And while she was
inventorying the substantial damage to her body, she really ought to mention
that brand new zip code that seemed to have grown around her hips and thighs. 

No,
pregnancy had definitely NOT agreed with her body at ALL!

Who
knew that her seven pound bundle of love could inflict so much damage on her
figure, leaving at least an extra fifteen pounds hanging off her previously almost-slender
frame?

Molly
closed her eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath, trying to center herself
as she leaned one hand against the cool marble counter of the bathroom sink. 
What the hell was she going to do here?  It wasn’t as though she could escape
through the bathroom window, she thought, cracking one eye to assess the
opening above the Jacuzzi.  Devil would just chase her down.

It
might not have been so bad if her husband was the happily oblivious sort.  But,
he was not.  Never had been.  Ever. 

Oh,
no, her handsome hunk was a visually-oriented lover that memorized every single
crack and crevice, hill and valley, peak and pitfall of her body.  Before baby,
this keen eye for detail had made her an exceptionally happy and exceedingly
satisfied woman.  Devil had a way of taking his time as he had traveled up and
down her body as he’d loved her.  It had made her feel special and valued.  Wanted
and loved.

But,
if she was going to be honest (and generally, she tried to be truthful), she
didn’t think the Casanova she’d married was exactly going to enjoy the new
rides decorating her personal playground.  Especially once he got a look at the
new equipment.

Her
body had changed – changed in a big, bad way. 

Yep,
her figure was markedly fuller while his cut physique had remained unaltered by
the cruel hands of pregnancy.

How
the hell was that fair?  And what if that wonderfully hot, sensual pastime that
they’d both once loved so much (yeah, folks, the S-E-X)… what if it just didn’t
work for them anymore?  What if, once he got a full view of the ‘new’ look she
was sporting, her husband decided that he wanted a younger, firmer model?  What
then?  Devil Delancy was a red-blooded, hot-headed, domineering Southern male,
after all.  He was accustomed to all the bells and whistles that went with her
old body.  What if she just couldn’t satisfy him anymore?

“Oh,
God,” she panted, as her breaths suddenly came faster and faster, “He’s gonna
trade me in for something new and shiny!” she whispered to the reflection staring
back at her in the mirror.

Clutching
her chest, she shook her head as she tried to clear those overwhelming and
terrifying thoughts from her hormone-soaked mind and forced herself to take a
deep cleansing breath.  “I can do this,” she ground out through her teeth,
continuing to stare at her naked body in the unkind mirror.  “I’ll just figure
out a way that I can do it clothed,” she continued, snatching her long black
silk robe off the hook hanging from the bathroom door while the tub continued
to fill behind her.  She could bathe clothed…if she had to, she’d start a
fashion trend, dammit!  Jabbing her arms into the sleeves, she was cinching the
sash at her waist when she heard the door open behind her.

Holy
Christ, that moment she’d been trying (albeit unconsciously) to avoid was upon
her.   It really wasn’t that she didn’t want to be intimate with her husband. 
She did.  Badly.  It was just that insecurity like she hadn’t felt since her sexy
husband had conned her out of her knickers a few years earlier flooded her
every time she thought of getting naked with him.  And she knew, without a
doubt, she was screwed in the no-fun-at-all kind of way.

“Did
you say something to me?” she heard Devil greet her as he entered the oversized
bathroom,  carrying two very full goblets of wine.

Startled
by his sudden question, Molly jumped slightly, clutching the sash of her robe
as she spun to face her husband.  Forcing a smile to her lips (or at least what
she hoped would pass for a reasonable facsimile of one), she swallowed quickly. 
“Lord, you scared me, Devil.”

Canting
his head, Devil’s eyes narrowed.  “You okay, baby?” he asked slowly, as his gaze
tracked her movements suspiciously.

“I’m
fine,” Molly stated quickly as she moved to turn off the water and press the
button that would begin to churn the water into foamy waves.  “Just a little
nervous, I guess.”  She could tell by the way Devil stilled almost instantly
that she’d captured his attention with that remark and she mentally kicked
herself for being so blunt.  Way to go, Molly, her inner voice almost sneered
at her. 

“Nervous,”
Devil echoed, his deep voice spitting out the word as though it tasted foul. 
“Why in the hell would you be nervous?  And why are you clutching at your robe
like a lifeline?  It’s pretty hard for us to relax in the tub when one of us
has clothes on,” he noted dryly, his perceptive eyes missing nothing as they
watched for her reaction.

Well,
shitty Mcshit Shit SHIT!  They were off to a roaring start, weren’t they, Molly
thought anxiously.  Desperate for something to occupy her hands and keep her
eyes somewhere besides her husband, she began to collect the linens they’d be
needing. 

“Molly,
I’m waiting,” Devil reminded her, calmly putting their wine glasses on the wide
lip of the tub where they could reach them easily before he moved toward his
tense wife.  “Babe, it’s just you and me here.  Why in hell would you be nervous
with me?” he asked again.

Molly’s
neck went hot as she imagined his eyes boring into her.  “I’m not nervous
exactly, Dev,” she replied quietly, stacking thick fluffy towels beside the tub
within easy reach.  “I shouldn’t have put it that way,” she muttered.

Picking
up her goblet of wine, he slid an arm around her side to hold the glass in
front of her.  “Here.  Drink,” he suggested against her ear.  “Then explain to
me what you think you should have said.”

Taking
the wine from his hand, she took a long sip, letting the fruity notes play
against her tongue before swallowing.  Feeling slightly calmer, she turned to
face her husband.  “It’s just been a while for us, Devil,” she said carefully
as one hand toyed with the silky sash of her robe. 

Capturing
her fingers, Devil chided, “Quit fidgeting, Mols.  I know it’s been a while,
honey.  Hell, I can tell you just exactly how long it’s been down to the hour
if you want me to.”

“I
don’t,” Molly interjected quickly, rolling her eyes.

“Okay,”
Devil averred, “Then how ‘bout you explain what has you looking like a trapped
cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.  And don’t tell me I’m imagining it because
we both know that I’m not,” he added, moving his hands to cradle her hips as
she opened her mouth to speak. 

Scowling
because he knew her entirely too well, Molly blew out a frustrated breath. 
“Fine!  I’ll tell you.  I am nervous.  In fact, I’m jumpy as all hell.  Devil,
you haven’t seen me naked in a really, long time.”

“Molly,
I saw you naked last night,” Devil retorted instantly with a deep laugh,
rolling his eyes at her.  “I loved your body then, and I’ll love it now.”

“No, what
you saw was a naked shadow last night.  I made sure to turn the lights off
before I changed into my nightgown.  The body you’ve been loving is a dim
memory that your mind is recalling.  In fact, I know you’ve only seen blurry
naked shadows of me since before Devylynn was born.  I’ve made sure of it,”
Molly continued, trying to ignore how good it felt as Devil massaged her hips with
his thumbs and not let her mind wander to how wonderful it would feel to let
him rub something else.  “I’ve been real careful about not letting you see me
without my clothes since the baby got here.  Especially in the daylight or
under fluorescent lighting,” she explained, gesturing at the light fixtures
above their heads.  “My body was never exactly model-worthy, but now….”

“Whoa!”
Devil interrupted on a low roar.  “Molly….”

“Just
let me get through this, Devil,” Molly ordered, putting her hands against her
husband’s chest.  “My body isn’t going to be what you remember, honey. 
It’s….bigger…mushier.”

“Mushier,”
Devil repeated incredulously.  “Are you insane?” he asked in exasperation.

“No,
I’m not.  Just listen.  I need to prepare you for what you’re gonna see, Dev,”
Molly huffed, growing irritated at him and his interruptions.

“I
already know what I’m going to see,” Devil replied, growing impatient as he
moved his hands to the tied knot at her waist.  There was only one way he could
put her baseless fears to rest and the first step was removing the robe that
was in his way.

“Stop
that,” Molly demanded, batting away his hands.  “Devil, I don’t look the way
you remember me!  Just let me dim the lights and….”

 Quickly
backing her against the mirrored wall, Devil pressed his body against hers,
effectively cutting off any hope of escape she might have harbored.  Anchoring
her still squirming body with his torso, he shook his head.  “Settle down,
Spitfire, and listen to me,” he urged warmly against her cheek.   

“Dammit,
Devil,” Molly complained even as her traitorous body began to soften against
his.  “If you’d only just hear me out…”

“Shhhh,”
Devil hushed her, as one persistent hand slipped between them to untangle the
knot at her belly, “I don’t need to hear anything else, babe.  You’re scared. 
I get that, but it’s unfounded, Molly.”

“Is
not,” Molly mumbled, dropping her head against his shoulder as she felt his
nimble fingers divesting her of her security covering.  Well, hell!  That
wasn’t supposed to happen so quickly, was it?