Initially, at least. “And when she leaves, which she will invariably do considering her work record shows she never stays long in one place,” he grated. “What happens then?”

  “If that’s what Molly decides to do, then she can be Lilybeth’s godmother from a distance.” Mia’s mouth firmed. “I’d like your approval of the idea, but Darius and I won’t change our minds if we don’t have it.”

  Rufus had seen how quickly the friendship between Mia and Molly developed. It was one of the reasons he had tried to stay away from Molly. Darius obviously also accepted the closeness between the two women, or he wouldn’t have agreed to Molly being godmother to their beloved daughter.

  Rufus hadn’t seen Molly in the two days since they’d kissed at the hospital. He’d telephoned the shelter the following day to see if Molly needed any help preparing for the open weekend today and tomorrow, but she had politely refused his offer, assuring him she had everything under control.

  He was sure that she had, but with no news yet from Linus on Ronan Harper, Rufus had just been looking for an excuse to see her again.

  An excuse Molly obviously didn’t reciprocate.

  “Molly will make a good godmother,” he agreed abruptly before glancing at the watch on his wrist. “Now, if you and our beautiful little miss will excuse me…” His voice softened as he looked down to kiss his granddaughter’s cheek before handing her over to Mia. “I have a few errands to run today.”

  “Are any of those errands taking you near the animal shelter around closing time?” Mia teased, as if she already knew they were. “If so,” she added before he could answer, “Molly prefers Chinese food to any other.”

  He frowned. “Who knew you would grow up to be such an annoying little shit.”

  Her grin was confident. “But you love me anyway.”

  “I do,” he confirmed without hesitation.

  She sobered. “Go be with Molly, Dad. And if you go later today, and she has Angus with her in her apartment, just act as if that’s normal too, okay?”

  “Is that something she would do?”

  Mia nodded. “He adores her.”

  “She is very adorable,” he allowed.

  “Yes, she is.” Mia chuckled. “And if what you say is true, then she might be leaving soon, and then you will have lost your chance.”

  Rufus believed telling Molly he’d done as he’d said he would and started the search for her brother might delay that departure for at least a short time.

  There was no reason for him to also tell her that so far, Linus hadn’t been able to find a single male in the country born seventeen years ago with the name Ronan Harper. His cousin had now widened his net to identify all the male babies born in the area where Molly and her mother had been living in that particular year, and he was currently tracking where each of them was now.

  It was a long and no doubt tedious job, but Rufus had no doubt Linus would eventually track down the whereabouts of Molly’s brother.

  In the meantime, as Mia advised, he intended to see Molly again this evening, at least.

  “Don’t tell Molly we’re going to ask her to be godmother. We’re going to invite her over after the weekend and do it then.” Mia moved up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Otherwise, go get her!”

  Rufus wished he could deny that was exactly what he intended doing. But the past two days of not seeing Molly but wanting her every minute of the day and night told him he was just a man, not a bloody saint. A man who very much wanted to see and kiss Molly again.

  Who wanted to do more than kiss her.

  Molly heaved a sigh of relief as she stood in the doorway taking a last look round, keys in hand, as she prepared to lock up after the last of the workers and volunteers at the animal shelter finally left for the day. After which, she fully intended to go up to her apartment to take a shower, and then order some food to be delivered. She was just too tired to even think about cooking dinner tonight.

  It was the first of the two open days, and it had been as busy as the ones the previous month. Almost a hundred people had been allowed through the doors to see the pens at the back of the building where the animals for adoption were housed.

  It had been a beautiful sunny day, and some of the friendlier dogs had been put out in the open yard for the people and children to pet.

  There was also a basket of small kittens for them to ooh and ah over, but not to touch. The kittens were only four weeks old, and it would be at least another six weeks before Mia thought about separating them from their mother.

  In all honesty, Molly had been glad of the rush and bustle today. It had kept her physically occupied after Darius had arrived this morning to take Honey home to be reunited with Mia and to meet her new human.

  Darius had stayed only long enough to assure her that Mia and the baby were both fine and that Rufus was staying with them while he came to the shelter. Molly had had to bite her tongue to stop herself from asking Darius how Rufus was.

  The only contact she’d had with him since the kiss at the maternity hospital had been his phone call the following day to see if she’d needed any help at the shelter. He certainly hadn’t mentioned the kiss then or repeated his invitation for her to go to his home or for him to come to her apartment. Nor did Molly have any intention of reminding him of it.

  There was no point, absolutely none, in allowing this attraction between the two of them to progress any further when she knew in her heart that her time here was coming to an end.

  That was depressing enough, but inwardly aching to have Rufus’s arms about her again and to feel the press of his lips against hers was a recipe for heartache.

  “Did you have a busy day?”

  Molly was so startled, she immediately threw the keys in her hand up in the air, fingers fumbling, and failing, as she attempted to catch them on their way down again.

  “What the hell…!” She straightened from picking up the keys to turn accusing eyes on Rufus where he stood a few feet behind her.

  He wore casual clothes again. A fitted black T-shirt and faded blue jeans that rested low on his hips. Black biker boots added to his bad-boy look.

  He grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Maybe next time, you could try clearing your throat or giving a cough before speaking,” Molly grumbled.

  “I’ll do that.” He nodded. “But for now, I come bearing gifts. Well, gift.” He held up the bag in his hand.

  From which Molly was able to discern the delicious aroma of Chinese food. Her empty stomach gave an appreciative rumble before she could politely refuse the “gift” by claiming not to be hungry.

  Rufus raised a pointed brow. “Busy enough not to have time to eat, by the sound of it.”

  She’d managed to grab a cinnamon bun to eat with her coffee this morning, but hadn’t felt like eating again after Darius had taken Honey away with him. She’d become really attached to the beautiful dog over the past couple of days. She knew Angus was going to miss her too.

  “I bought enough food for two.” Rufus sounded uncertain whether she would welcome him joining her.

  Probably because they both knew that Molly inviting him up to the privacy of her apartment to share the food wasn’t a good idea.

  Except Molly wanted to do exactly that.

  Ridiculous as it seemed, she’d missed Rufus these past two days. Which made it impossible for her to turn down the chance to spend more time with him now.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have any news yet about your brother,” he told her regretfully. “But I promise you we intend to keep looking.”

  “We?” she echoed sharply.

  “My cousin, Linus, is the tech expert for Wynter Security. He would tell you he’s the best hacker there is,” he drawled. “But that’s probably because he is.”

  Her eyes widened. “And you have him wasting his time doing stuff for me⁠—”

  “Hey.” Rufus put the bag of food down on the reception desk before taking a step closer to her. He lifted his hand to place his palm gently against the heat of one of her cheeks. “Nothing to do with helping you find your brother is a waste of anyone’s time. Do you understand?”

  She swallowed. “I’m not used to any of this.”

  “People helping you?” he easily guessed. “Well, I suggest you get used to it, because I know Mia considers you as part of her family.”

  She gave a shake of her head, only becoming aware of the tears in her eyes when the movement caused those tears to fall down her cheeks. She bowed her head. “I’m sorry for being so emotional.”

  “I don’t want you to be sorry, I want— Fuck, Molly, what I want is you!” Rufus groaned as he tilted her face up, and his lips claimed hers.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The kiss they had shared at the hospital bore absolutely no resemblance to the way in which Rufus’s firm lips now devoured Molly’s.

  Long-drawn-out kisses from lips that claimed and hands that restlessly caressed and aroused.

  Both of them were breathing heavily by the time Rufus rested his forehead against hers. Molly could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing against her abdomen.

  “I need to take a shower after being with the animals all day,” Molly finally murmured huskily.

  “Can I join you?”

  Could Rufus join her in the shower?

  Could he take off his clothes and reveal all of that hard and muscular body to her avid gaze? Most especially that hard length throbbing so insistently against her.

  “We can warm the food up later,” he encouraged.

  Not that Molly needed much encouragement to accept Rufus taking a shower with her. Or doing anything with her, for that matter.

  But if life had taught her anything, it was that she would pay a price for allowing herself any emotional closeness. No doubt in heartache when she was forced to leave London and everyone here she had come to care about, most especially Rufus, and start again elsewhere. She felt as if she had been running her whole life, and she couldn’t see that changing anytime soon.

  But here and now?

  “Yes, you can join me,” she accepted shyly.

  Rufus felt as if his heart had stopped. Or as if he was having a heart attack. Which was more likely at his age. Statistics said that men aged over forty-five were more likely⁠—

  Fuck statistics!

  Besides, he wasn’t forty-five for another six months.

  Which meant his heart had to have stopped because he’d been completely thrown by Molly’s acceptance of him joining her in the shower.

  He knew that was because, after kissing Molly again, touching her, his need to make love to this woman completely was now off the charts. Being naked in the shower with her was certainly a good place to start assuaging that desire.

  “If you’ve changed your mind⁠—”

  “I will never change my mind about wanting to be with you,” he stated gruffly.

  Her lashes lowered. “You might.”

  Rufus put his hand beneath her chin and raised her face until she had no choice but to look at him. “I won’t.”

  Molly really hoped that continued to be true. In the meantime, she wanted to be with this man as much as Rufus’s obvious arousal told her he wanted her.

  There was one thing she needed to share with him first. She knew from romance books she’d read in the past that men could react badly if they didn’t know beforehand.

  She forced herself to continue to meet Rufus’s gaze. “How do you feel about virgins?”

  “How do I…?” Rufus’s hand dropped, and he took a step back, his expression stunned. “Are you saying that’s what you are?”

  “I’m saying I could be,” she hedged.

  His smile was rueful. “Darling, either you are or you aren’t.”

  Her jaw clenched at the endearment. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had used one when speaking to her. If they ever had. “I am.”

  “At twenty-seven?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you’re so beautiful. Surely other men must have wanted you in the past?”

  “And because everything I know about my mother indicates she didn’t know who my father was, and then being brought up in an orphanage after she left, I never wanted any of those men back.”

  “But you do want to be with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I…like you.”

  “And you didn’t…like any of those other men?”

  “No.”

  “I obviously like you too. But we don’t have to rush this,” he reassured.

  “But I want to rush it!” she protested. She really had no idea how long she would be able to continue staying here.

  He was silent for several long seconds before nodding. “Okay.”

  Molly looked at him searchingly. “Okay, it’s okay for me to want you and you still want me? Or okay, it’s okay to be a virgin, but no, thank you?” She held her breath as she waited for him to answer.

  Rufus had never been confronted with such a dilemma in his life before. He hadn’t been Beth’s first lover, and the few women he had been with since were all older than Molly and experienced. Deliberately so.

  A woman’s first time should be memorable.

  Could he make it that for Molly?

  More to the point, should he make it that for her?

  He wanted her, but taking a woman’s virginity was a big deal. A responsibility no man should take lightly.

  “Never mind,” she dismissed in a brittle voice as she stepped back. “Take the food with you. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”

  “Molly—”

  “Don’t,” she snapped, looking almost feral as she glared at him with overbright eyes.

  “I don’t want you to ever look back on this moment and think I’ve taken advantage of you or the situation here⁠—”

  Her scathing huff cut him off. “I’m a grown woman, and quite frankly, having you question the autonomy of my freedom to choose my own lover is fucking insulting.”

  He winced. “I didn’t mean it to be⁠—”

  “Get out.” She turned away to collect her bag, only to turn back again when she realized Rufus hadn’t moved an inch. “I asked you to leave.” Her nostrils flared.

  If anyone should be leaving, it wasn’t Rufus. Yes, it was Mia’s business, but he and Darius were silent investors in the shelter, and as such, Rufus had a perfect right to be here.

  But maybe not to be in a situation where he was considering making love to one of his daughter’s employees.

  Molly looked so fucking beautiful, with that raven-dark hair and pale complexion. Her height of a few inches over five feet meant she was at least fourteen inches shorter than Rufus, and yet, in this moment Molly looked almost regal in her disdain for what she obviously considered his cowardice in being unwilling to explore whatever this was between them.

  She was right.

  Because Rufus had a deep-rooted reluctance to open himself up to the possibility of being hurt again as he had when Beth and Emily were taken from him all those years ago. In Molly’s case, he believed that hurt would come when she simply up and left one day without so much as saying goodbye, as her history showed she had done many times in the past.

  But for all she was now glaring at him so fiercely, there was also an innate vulnerability to Molly. A fragility beneath the outer confidence she chose to present to the world.

  Giving Rufus the insight into the reason she always ran: if she was the one to leave, then she couldn’t be abandoned again.

  Perfectly understandable behavior with her background.

  So, it was up to Rufus now whether he wanted to put himself and his emotions on the line. Which he knew he would have to do if he wanted to be with Molly.

  “I don’t have any condoms with me,” he told her huskily.

  She drew in a sharp breath at his obviously unexpected reply before she snorted dismissively. “Then it’s as well you aren’t going to be needing one this evening after all, isn’t it? Not with me, at least.”

  He chose to ignore the implication he was going to leave here and go to another woman, because he knew she was deliberately trying to antagonize him with her scorn. “Are you on birth control?”

  She snorted. “Why would I have needed to be on birth control when I’ve just told you I haven’t ever been with anyone in a sexual way?”

  And her derision. “You wouldn’t,” he accepted. “Which is why I intend to drive you out of your mind with only orgasms this evening. I’ll make sure to bring a condom next time.”

  “Next time…?” she repeated.

  “Next time,” he confirmed, knowing one night with this woman would never be enough.

  “I— You— I don’t⁠—”

  Rufus grinned at her inability to form a complete sentence.

  He sobered. “I never, at any time, said I didn’t want you, Molly. I just want you to be sure. You’ve now told me, as an autonomous woman more than capable of making your own choices, that you are,” he repeated her own words back at her. “So, we’re going upstairs, getting in the shower together, and I’m going to start orgasming the hell out of you.”

  Wow, when Rufus decided he was going to do something, he certainly went all in!

  Verbally, at least.

  Looking at Rufus’s face, taking in his single raised eyebrow over those challenging green eyes, Molly was absolutely certain he would follow through on the promise to give her so many orgasms she passed out from the pleasure.

  Just thinking about it made her panties wet and her nipples hard.

  She held out her hand. “Then I suggest you come upstairs with me.”

  His much larger hand and longer fingers closed firmly about hers. “I’ve only been waiting for the invitation to do so.”