Carly Phillips - Sealed with a Kiss

“No, thank you. I already had one.”

“Then how about one for the road? Molly’s pouring hers now and it’s a long ride to Atlantic City. Especially with Molly behind the wheel.”

Hunter hadn’t thought about how they’d get there, but he realized his bike wouldn’t be comfortable for them both on such a long trip. “I’m sure she’ll let me drive her car.”

“Don’t be so certain. The girl’s my granddaughter and like me, she likes to be in control.”

That sounded like Molly, all right. “I think coffee for the road sounds great,” he told the commander, then immediately turned back to the general. “And hopefully when we return, we’ll have good news.”

“Amen,” the general said.

For the first time in a long time, Hunter was actually looking forward to being with Molly. Even knowing that they weren’t in it for the long haul didn’t dim his sudden enthusiasm for their overnight trip to Atlantic City.

***

MOLLY HAD NEVER been to Atlantic City and she was excited by the idea. Small suitcase in hand, she met Hunter at the car. “I’m ready and on time.”

“I can see that. I also saw Jessie run by me in a bright yellow sweater earlier.” His eyes lit with approval.

“I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and pretend she really didn’t mean to blackmail me,” Molly said, laughing. “She’s warming toward me. I couldn’t see any point in saying no.”

He took her suitcase from her and walked around to the trunk. “But you gave her a lecture about not walking in without knocking, snooping and blackmail first?”

“You know it.”

“Keys?”

She pulled her key ring from her bag, then hit a button on the remote and the trunk popped open wide. Hunter tossed her suitcase in, followed by his duffel and slammed the trunk closed.

“I’ll drive.” He held out his hand.

Normally Molly preferred to drive and would have loved to navigate their way to the Jersey shore, but the medication she’d taken for her headache last night still weighed her down. Her muscles ached and she knew she’d be fighting to stay awake during the trip.

With a shrug, she tossed Hunter the keys.

He caught them midair. “Thanks.” He sounded surprised.

“Why so shocked?”

They settled into the car before he finally answered. “Your grandmother mentioned your need to be in control. She said you’d never let me drive.”

“And you believed her?”

He turned the key and started the ignition. “Let’s just say, knowing you the way I do, I had no reason to doubt her. But I figured I’d give it a shot.”

“I don’t mind you being in control, at least for a little while. Besides, it’s a new car and it has GPS.” She pointed to the map on the dashboard. “In case you get lost.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “I think I can handle it. It’s a straightforward ride.” He swung an arm over the back of her seat and backed out of the driveway.

Molly fell asleep almost before they left the neighborhood. She woke up after an hour and a half, when Hunter pulled in to a rest stop to buy coffee. She used the restroom, bought a snack, ate and fell back to sleep again, only to wake as they pulled up to a large, grandiose hotel.

A valet immediately opened her door. “Are you staying overnight or just for the day?”

Molly opened her mouth, then closed it again. She didn’t know if this was the place where they were chasing down leads or the place where they’d stay. The decision to come here, once made, hadn’t been discussed in detail.

“We’re checking in,” Hunter said as he came around to her side. He accepted the ticket stub from the valet and she followed him inside to the front desk.

“This isn’t Paul’s motel, is it?” she asked.

“Nope. This is our hotel, at least for the night. I thought since we’re here, we might as well enjoy the trip.” They stepped up to the long front desk and Hunter smoothly handed the man behind the counter his license and credit card.

The young man, dressed in a white, starched collared shirt, smiled at them. “Welcome, Mr. Hunter.” He began to type into his computer. “That’ll be one deluxe, no-smoking suite, correct?”

“Um…” Molly interrupted without saying anything intelligible.

“Excuse us for a quick second.” Hunter grasped her elbow and led her a few steps away from the other man. “Problem?”

“Well, I have no problem sharing a room as I’m sure you know…”

He grinned, a sexy, seductive, I-can’t-wait-to-get-you-in-bed grin. “But?”

“I can’t afford a suite. I’m not exactly working full-time these days. I’m not sure I can even afford half the price of a suite here. And I know you can’t write this off as a business expense because my father’s never going to be able to foot the bill for this place, either.” She bit the inside of her cheek, embarrassed to be discussing her finances or lack of them.

He stared at her for so long she squirmed and shifted from foot to foot. “Did I ask you to pay for it? Give me a break, Molly. I have some class. I brought you here, it’s my treat.”

Her eyes opened wide. She hadn’t thought they were coming down here for anything more than business, and they’d stay in a cheap hotel or motel, not one of the nicest places in Atlantic City. “I can’t ask you to do that!”

“You didn’t ask. I offered. I wanted to surprise you with a night away from the problems at home. So far the surprise isn’t going very well,” he said, obviously upset with her arguing. “Can we just start over, check in and have you not second-guess me every step of the way?”

“Okay,” she said, truly touched by his offer.

He reached out and caressed her cheek, his gentle touch in stark contrast to the frustration in his voice. “Let me do this for you.”

She nodded. “If you’d warned me ahead of time, I wouldn’t-”

He shushed her by placing his finger over her moving lips. “No more arguing, remember?”

She merely nodded.

“Good.” He clasped her hand firmly in his and stepped back to the desk. “We’re set now. The deluxe suite will be fine.”

Ten minutes later, they had finished the check-in process, but the suite wouldn’t be ready for another hour or so. “How about we head over to the motel and do some digging about Paul?”

“That would be great.”

“Just one thing,” he said. “Once we finish, we put it behind us until we get home tomorrow. We take the rest of today and tonight as ours.” He studied her intensely, waiting for an answer.

Molly realized he’d put thought and effort into their trip, much more than she realized. Sometime during the last twenty-four hours, he’d forgiven her for lying to him.

“Nobody will ever accuse you of being a stupid man. You have this all figured out, don’t you?”

“I gave it my best shot.”

Pleasure at his foresight washed over her and she smiled. “I like how you think.”

He nodded. “Good. Then let’s go see what we can dig up at the Seaside Inn so we can have more time for us.”

Us. Molly did like the sound of that coming from his handsome lips.

THE SEASIDE INN WAS a far cry from the hotel casino Hunter had chosen for them. Molly followed him into the seedy motel. The air smelled like must and mold and the place hadn’t been updated or painted in years.

She felt a keen sense of disappointment in Paul Markham, something that seemed to grow with each new thing they learned about the man. Victim or not, he hadn’t been the person her father and Sonya had thought they’d known.

“I’m looking for Ted Frye,” Hunter said to the female behind the desk.

“I’m Mary Frye, Ted’s sister. He’s off today. Can I help you?” the bleached blonde asked as she turned around to face them.

The young woman, who had to be in her midtwenties, took one look at Hunter and her eyes opened wide in distinct approval. Her hand flew to her long hair, which hung down her back in true beach style.

“As a matter of fact, you can. My sister and I are looking for information on this man.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo of Paul that Sonya had given them.

Molly bristled at Hunter calling her his sister and would have said something, but he grasped her wrist and yanked her closer to his side. A clear warning to shut up and let him do the talking if she’d ever known one.

Fine, she thought, but only because she wanted the information as badly as he did, and he obviously had another plan. He’d probably laid eyes on the pretty blonde and decided she’d be more cooperative if she thought Hunter was available.

She smiled sweetly at her brother and dug her fingernails into his hand at the same time, letting him know exactly how she felt about his presumption. Just because he was drop-dead sexy to Molly didn’t mean every woman would find him God’s gift.

The female behind the desk obviously did though, because she leaned toward him, resting her ample breasts on the counter and giving him an upclose view of her cleavage. Which Molly hated to admit was pretty damn impressive, especially compared to hers.

“Let me see.” Mary rested her elbows on the counter and stared at the photograph. “Oh! That’s Mr. Markham. I heard he was murdered,” she said in a stage whisper people often reserved for taboo subjects. “What a shame. His fiancée’s been here for the last week. My parents felt so bad for her, they’re letting her stay as long as she needs to regroup.”

“Fiancée?” Molly asked.

“Lydia’s here?” Hunter cut in smoothly.

The blonde nodded. “The poor woman is distraught, not that I blame her. If the man I was going to marry had been killed, I’m sure I’d fall apart, too.” Her arm deliberately nudged Hunter’s.

“It’s a tragedy,” he agreed. “We’re actually friends of Lydia’s and we’ve been worried about her.”

“Oh, I can call her and let her know you’re here.” Mary reached for the house phone.

“No! I mean, we’d much rather surprise her. In her grief she may not want to see us, but she’s been alone here for far too long,” Molly said, determined to be a part of this investigation.

“My sister’s right. Would you mind just giving us her room number?”

“I’m really not supposed to divulge guest-room information.”

“Just this one time. As a favor to me.” Hunter stretched his upper body across the counter, turning on his potent sexuality. “The truth is, I have some information about what really happened to her fiancé, so if you could just point me in her direction, I’m sure she’ll be extremely grateful. As will I.”

“Well…”

“Please?” Hunter shot her his sexiest grin.

The one he usually reserved for her, Molly thought, unable to tamp down her jealousy, no matter how inappropriate it might be.

“Okay. Room 215. Just don’t tell anyone I told you.”

“Your secret’s safe with me. Thank you.” He squeezed the other woman’s hand tight before turning to Molly. “Let’s go, sis.”

Molly gritted her teeth and followed him out the door, and around back where the rooms were. Typical of a motel, the second-floor rooms were accessible from stairs in the parking lot.

Once they were far out of sight and hearing range of the front desk, she grabbed Hunter’s arm to catch his attention. “Sister? You called me your sister!”

He turned. “And you played the part well. You stayed in the background and let me-”

“Turn on the charm so you could get the information you needed,” Molly said. “It was a good plan,” she admitted.

“Well, thank you.” His lips turned upward in a smile. “You know how I said I liked you in bright colors?”

She nodded warily.

“Well, I especially like you in green. ” Amusement lit his voice as he teased her.

Molly clasped her arms against her chest. “I was not jealous of some bleached-blonde bimbo with big boobs.”

“No?” Hunter stepped closer, challenging her to admit the truth.

She frowned. “Maybe a little.”

“Maybe you have no reason to be jealous. Maybe I like real boobs better than fake ones. And maybe I like your boobs most of all.” He dipped his head and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, leaving no doubt about who held his interest for now.

Forgiveness is divine, Molly thought and kissed him back, slipping her tongue between his lips, savoring his masculine taste for a long moment before lifting her head. “Sorry I pitched a jealous fit.”

He laughed. “I kind of liked it.”

“Well, don’t let it go to your head, okay?”

“Okay. Ready to go find Lydia McCarthy?” he asked.

“More than ready. What a bonus that she’s actually here.”

Hunter grasped her hand and together they made their way up one small flight of stairs, then followed the signs to room 215.

Molly raised her hand and knocked. To her surprise, the door quickly opened wide and Lydia, her father’s office secretary whom she’d met many times, stood before them.