Page 29 of The County Line (Whitewood Creek Farm #2)

I have a plan.

After another session with my therapist—where I reluctantly filled her in on my latest attempt to feel something again—I finally head to my rescheduled parole meeting with Molly.

Liv pressed me about my progress, so I gave her just enough to satisfy her questions, mentioning a few recent flashes of anger but leaving out any mention of Molly.

She didn’t need to be dragged into my mess.

Liv wasn’t exactly thrilled that anger was still the only emotion I seemed to tap into, but she called it a step forward.

Then she challenged me to focus on something lighter—love, desire, passion, joy, contentment, hope, relief. Anything that wasn’t born from rage.

But the only thing I can think about is Molly. And how I want to explore every one of those emotions with her.

Not that I’m in love with her—at least not yet. But I love her. I always have. She’s mattered to me as much as my own blood, someone I’ve protected and stood by no matter what. Loving her has never been a question.

And really, how different is loving someone from being in love with them? It feels like a natural shift, inevitable. Now, I just have to show her that wanting me is easy. That choosing me is the simplest thing in the world.

And today, I’m starting with desire. Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I want to watch Molly come undone in my hands. I felt it in the kiss and saw it in her eyes when she tasted me in the RV. Molly desires me too.

Now she’s sitting across from me in Isabel’s office, where we met before. I know we could be meeting anywhere, but I’m thinking Molly chose this spot on purpose—a safe place in her mind, neutral ground after the kiss we shared a few days ago, the one we still haven’t spoken about.

Well, if she thinks this is a safe place, she’s about to learn just how skilled I’ve become at bending the rules. There’s an art to seduction that doesn’t require laying a single hand on her, and I fully intend to show her every method I’ve mastered.

And to start, all it takes is a simple, but sincere, compliment.

“You look nice today. Did you do something different with your hair?”

She shuffles her paperwork on the table and pulls out a pen from her briefcase before looking at me with a smile. “I washed it,” she laughs, “Washed and dried actually. Thank you.”

I nod, maintaining eye contact with her for a few beats longer than necessary which causes her to squirm slightly under my gaze.

Good.

“Okay, Colt...” she clears her throat and moves her hands to her slender neck to scratch. It’s her tell. That thing that she does when she’s nervous. “So, talk to me about how things have been going since we met last.”

Since you watched me get myself off with your name on my lips?

“Feels a little formal asking that question given we’ve been spending the last two weeks together; I think you know how they’ve been going. Pretty well, I’d say?” I wink.

She blushes, a soft pink spreading from her cheeks down to her chest—a reaction I can’t help but admire every time.

My gaze stays locked on hers, my lips curving slightly at the side, and my arms folding across my chest in a casual but deliberate stance.

I know my strength, both from my job and the way I push my body when Cash and I lift weights together, but right now, I want her to see it so badly that she feels it.

Teasing Molly like this? It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes.

“Yes, we have, um, been spending time together,” she says, though the flush deepens, betraying her cool tone. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to with the distillery and planning for the brewery’s grand opening?”

I chuckle softly, letting her off the hook for now but I’m not finished with her yet.

“Checked out the property in Charlotte. It’s looking solid—everything’s on track for the grand opening in a few weeks.

I’m back to managing the distillery full-time now, and I feel like we’ve got a good handle on the brewing plans to keep up with the new restaurant.

We have some new products in the pipeline to deliver at the end of the year for the holidays, too. ”

“That’s great, and how are things with your family?”

“Fine.”

“Are you back to having weekly family dinners?”

I shake my head no. “Not consistently. The spring and summer are a hectic time for our businesses, but we’d love to have you there for the next one when we do.”

She flushes again, and I know it’s my cue.

Leaning forward just enough to close the distance, I lower my voice, keeping my eyes locked on hers.

“Molly, you’re a part of our family, you know that, right?

” The words are familiar, ones I’ve said to her countless times before, but today they carry more weight.

Today, after that kiss—after she’s seen just how deeply she affects me—I want her to truly feel it.

I want her to understand that no matter what happens between us, she’ll always have a place at the Marshall family table.

“And... and dating?” she asks, stumbling over her words and ignoring my comments. Her voice is soft and hesitant, cracking just slightly. I’ve got her now, caught in the web we’ve both been weaving.

“What about it?” I ask, leaning back slightly, playing it cool.

“Are you seeing anyone? Have you gone on any dates? Put yourself back out there?” Her questions come out in a rush, but her tone tells me she already knows the answer and is hoping I’ll set her straight.

I raise a brow, because I know that’s not a question that’s a requirement of a parole officer, even if ensuring we’re maintaining healthy relationships are, and she’s asked me this shit before. “Whose name did I say when I was fucking my hand two days ago while you watched?”

She shivers, her lips parting slightly as she stares at me with a soft gasp. “Colt…”

“I think we both know that it was you who had me spilling my seed all over myself in the back of my RV.”

“What are you doing Colt?” she whispers. I watch as her eyes widen and lips part slightly.

“What do you think I’m doing?”

She clears her throat. “I… Okay...” she flushes again, quickly regaining her bearings as she tries to pick up her paperwork and shove it into her briefcase. “I think we’ve covered everything for today then.”

She moves to stand and it’s the first time I get a good look at her since I’ve entered since she was seated when I arrived. Cute little police uniform cargo pants, her dark black hair blown out in curls the way that I know she never wears it if she’s just going on patrol for the station.

She wore it like this for me and she knows it too.

“Hey, wait,” I reach out, tugging on her wrist gently to stop her before she can make her escape and retreat back to the precinct where she feels like I can’t reach her. She freezes, her blue eyes turning to gaze at me with a look of panic and desire behind them.

“Colt…” she whispers, it’s both a warning and a request. She wants me, she just doesn’t want to want me.

“What do you think I’m doing?” I ask her again, needing her to say it.

She shakes her head as I tug gently on her wrist, pulling her onto my lap effortlessly.

I hold her like that for a moment, her back pressed against my chest, loving the way she fits so neatly there like she belongs with me.

My fingers move tentatively to her thighs to rest there.

Her legs are so damn long and toned, I want to wrap them around my waist, tie her into a pretzel and feel the strength behind them while I sink inside of her.

“Colt,” she says my name again, this time it’s a plea.

My fingers dance around the waist band of her pants, before I reach for the button, undo it then drag down the zipper. Each notch of it like my own brand of seduction.

“We can’t do this,” she whispers.

“Why not?” I ask, my fingers brushing over the silk of her underwear.

It’s a contradiction with the uniform that I can’t get enough of—a hard, no-nonsense officer on the outside and yet inside, this soft, delicate thong covers her pussy I know is going to undo me.

Just like Molly herself: tough and guarded with the world because she’s had to be, but underneath, she’s all warmth, a sweet, vulnerable center scared of getting hurt again.

“Because... I told you, I’m your parole officer,” she says, her voice catching. “I’m new to this job, and I need it. To survive.”

“You think I’d tell anyone?”

“I… what if someone walks in on us?”

“The door’s locked and there aren’t any cameras,” I murmur, leaning in to press my nose to her neck.

I breathe her in, right over that fluttering pulse beneath her skin.

She smells like sex and temptation, and it takes everything inside of me not to claim her outright.

“It’s a private office building. People could be doing yoga in one room and God knows what in another.

When I came in earlier, I saw a Zumba class in session with loud dance hall music.

Trust me, Molly, I’d never do anything to hurt you. ”

She bites her lip, her teeth sinking into the soft flesh, and nods, her resolve slipping. “What are you going to do?”

My fingers slip inside the front of her underwear, pushing the fabric aside as I drag them up through the outside of her slick, wet heat.

The groan we let out at the same time is audible and in sync, just the way we’ve always been with each other.

I swirl my pointer over her sensitive clit before plunging my middle finger deep inside of cunt, feeling her body tighten around me on command.

“I’m not going to fuck you,” I whisper.

“Why not?” she pants, her voice breathless as I slide my fingers in and out, adding another to stretch her.

I’m surprised by the tone of disappointment in her voice. If she’d been cautious before, it wasn’t on account of her not wanting me to. She’s soaked, and I can feel her trembling with need as I scissor my fingers inside of her, teasing her closer to a release.

“Because you don’t deserve to be fucked by a felon in some shitty office in Whitewood Creek while you’re in uniform,” I say, my voice low and rough as I watch her come undone while she squirms on top of my lap.

My cock is hard as stone, aching against the zipper.

“And because I swore that I’d never let a woman who could destroy me get that close again. ”

“I would never.”

I raise a brow then tilt her chin to the side so that I can get a good look in her eyes. “Oh, I think you could definitely destroy me, Molly.”

A shiver runs up her spine as I continue to pump my fingers in and out while her hips grind down into me.

I brush the hair away from her neck, so that I can access it again before kissing then biting down on the smooth flesh savagely.

She gasps at the sensation but doesn’t tell me to stop.

I’m sure it’ll be a mark, but I want to leave one there, and everywhere else on her body.

Marks of passion, and love, to show her and everyone else that she’s mine. Always has been.

My one hand holds her in place, rubbing her ass back and forth against my hardened cock while the other presses into her tight cunt.

“Ride my hand and come on it like a good girl now,” I command.

She grinds down into me harder as my fingers pick up their pace. “Do you think you can take a third?” I brush the heel of my palm into her clit, pushing firmly while sucking and biting at her neck.

“Yes…” she hisses, and I plunge a third inside, pumping viciously, taking the orgasm from inside of her like its mine to have. As it crests, I guide her face to the side to meet mine and cover her mouth with my lips to swallow her moans.

She clenches around my fingers, her body pulsing in waves as she whimpers against my kiss.

I suck on her tongue, swallowing the noises spilling from her lips, stealing every sound that she makes so no one else can hear them.

When she finally stills, melting into me like soft clay, I remove my fingers and hold her tight around her waist.

“So fucking pretty when you come, Molly,” I whisper, brushing back the damp with sweat hair from her neck to nip at where I was kissing.

Suddenly, a flicker of realization crosses her face, sharp and immediate.

“Fuck!” she whispers, jerking upright as if she was struck by lightning. She scrambles to zip up her uniform, her hands trembling slightly as she tucks in her shirt. “We shouldn’t have done that, Colt. I have a client I’m supposed to meet with next in this building!”

I’m still hard, the ache relentless as I palm myself through my jeans. Her eyes dart down despite herself and her lips part on a gasp. I press against the bulge with my hand, firmly, deliberately, knowing she remembers exactly how I looked when I touched myself. T

he thought crosses my mind—should I do it now, jerk off with her watching again just to see how she’d react?

“Colt…” she warns, her voice full of want. I bet she’d drop to her knees right here like a good girl if I asked her to. Then she glances at her watch, swearing under her breath again. “Shit. I’ve got to go.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you.” I lean back in my chair, my hand still resting on my cock, and let my lips curve into a slow smirk.

Her gaze flickers between my face and my jeans, hesitation warring with her better judgment.

“I think you know I can handle this just fine on my own. You don’t have to stick around. ”

“Fuck, Colt,” she mutters, rolling her lips under her teeth and shaking her head. Her cheeks pink up as she runs her fingers through her mussed hair then straightens out her uniform and finally turns toward the door to leave.

“I’ll be seeing you soon,” I call over my shoulder and give her a quick swat on the ass while she tries to escape.

The moment the door clicks shut, I throw my head back and laugh—a sound that feels foreign, raw, alive.

For the first time in four years, I’m feeling something real.

Joy. And curiosity. A wild, consuming curiosity about all the different ways Molly can come.

About all the things I’d like to do with her while I find myself.

The taste of her lingers on my tongue, sweet and intoxicating.

I press my lips together, savoring it for a moment longer before I shift, adjusting myself enough to be presentable.

Heading out to my truck, I already know how this night’s going to end—a bottle of lube, a head full of memories, and a desperate need to take the edge off until my best friend comes around.