Текст книги "Rock Addiction"

Автор книги: Nalini Singh

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Chapter 27

Kathleen turned up again two weeks later, while Molly was working at her computer. She’d had a bite from a nonfiction writer looking to hire a research assistant for a short-term contract. Since being able to make a living doing that type of work was Molly’s ultimate goal, she was in the midst of preparing a detailed outline of her proposed research path when the other woman rang the doorbell.

“Hi.” A long, false Kathleen smile when Molly opened the door. “Look, I was wondering if you wanted to do lunch? Since Fox is a good friend, and you’re in his life, we should get to know each other.”

 “I’d love to, but can we do it tomorrow?” Molly said, unsurprised Kathleen remained skeptical about her—trust couldn’t come easy in this town. “I’d really like to send an e-mail off to a potential client in the next couple of hours,” she added so the other woman wouldn’t think she was blowing her off for no good reason.

Kathleen’s expression was odd for a second before she said, “Sure, I’m between films at the moment, so my time’s flexible. I’ll pick you up at one?”

“Sounds good.”

Conscious Kathleen would select a nice restaurant, Molly dressed with care the next day, choosing a slim black skirt that flattered her body and a pretty mint-green top. To her surprise, the actress took her to a park in what appeared to be a suburban neighborhood where everyone was too busy with their kids to worry about anyone else. “That guy makes the best burgers,” she said, pointing to a silver food truck parked in the shade of the palm trees on the street. “You game?”

“Sure.” Molly waited with the actress at a picnic table while Kathleen’s bodyguard went to buy the food, the line long enough that it’d be several minutes at least.

“Does the guard go with you everywhere public?” Molly realized she’d unintentionally stepped on a nerve when Kathleen’s expression went blank, shields slamming down. “Sorry,” she said at once. “I was just trying to break the awkward silence.”

Kathleen shrugged and thrust a hand through her hair. “It’s no secret. I have a disturbed and obsessed fan who thinks we’re married—the cops haven’t managed to catch the fucker, even after he broke into my house and left a disgusting piece of himself on my bed.”

Knowing exactly the toll stalking could take on a victim, Molly was horrified, then outraged. “At least you won’t have any problem with DNA evidence.”

Kathleen laughed, the frost thawing a fraction. “That’s just what Fox said.”

The bodyguard returned then. Leaving the food and bottles of water on the table, he walked off to stand by the car with the driver, their eyes scanning the picnic table and surrounding areas.

The scrutiny made Molly want to squirm. “Don’t you feel bad when they just stand there?”

 “Not at the wages I pay them.” The pragmatic words were followed by a small smile that might even have been real. “It’s okay—they’re professionals. I tried to get Butch to eat with me once, but he was mortified. How is he supposed to protect me if he’s stuffing his face? Casey, my driver, he’s a bodyguard, too, so he thinks the same.”

“I see their point.” Molly took a bite of the burger and moaned. “Oh my God, does Fox know about this truck?”

“Yes, I showed him.” Taking a bite of her own burger, Kathleen chewed and swallowed before saying, “Did you get that e-mail sent?”

“Yes.” Molly took a sip of water. “I got the project. It’s small, but it’s a start in the right direction.” Fox had opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate last night, his genuine happiness for and pride in her another arrow to Molly’s heart.

Kathleen was silent for a long while. Wary of exploding another conversational mine, Molly watched the mothers pushing their toddlers on the swings and found herself thinking how much Charlie would’ve enjoyed a lunch like this. She missed having her best friend nearby.

“You’re really real, aren’t you?”

Molly angled her head at the other woman. “I don’t understand.”

An incisive look. “The way you look at Fox, the way you touch him, you care about him.”

Befuddled by the statement of the obvious and a little annoyed at Kathleen’s continued questioning of her and Fox’s relationship, she said, “Why else would I follow him halfway across the world?”

“I didn’t mean to offend you.” Kathleen blew out a breath. “The thing is, in this business… let’s just say I’ve learned to be careful who I trust. Fox’s always been good at looking after himself, but then he turns up with you after a vacation.”

Molly kept her silence, giving Kathleen a chance to talk.

“It made me wonder what your angle was. Only I don’t think you have one.” The actress looked nonplussed. “Either that, or you’re a better actress than I’ll ever be.”

“Not a chance.” Putting down the uneaten part of her burger, Molly took another sip of water. “Fox is the only reason I’m here—he’s become my home,” she said simply. “I don’t need anything else.”

“I’m beginning to see that.” Kathleen rolled her own water bottle in her hands. “I should’ve twigged when Abe mentioned how the guys end up at your and Fox’s place more often than not for a jam session these days. They used to alternate between houses a lot more. Now he says it feels like your place is home.”

Molly had had no idea Abe felt that way, he said so little. “Thank you for telling me, and thank you for reaching out.”

“I did it to get some dirt so I could open Fox’s eyes about you.”

Molly laughed at the other woman’s disgruntled expression. “I know.”

“Shit.” Kathleen shoved her hand through her already tousled hair. “Now we have to be friends. You’re going to need me to teach you how to navigate these shark-infested waters.” She leaned forward. “Rule one—nice people get eaten alive.”

“Should I take notes?” Molly asked lightly, even as her stomach turned at the reminder she existed in a different world now, one run on rules she didn’t understand.

Kathleen smiled, and this time, it wasn’t as perfect, but was much more real. “Don’t worry. I’ve got the guidebook.” She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Kit.”

Seven days after the tentative beginnings of her friendship with Kit, and Molly didn’t know what she was doing at a swanky New York party filled with tattooed rock stars other than her own, award-winning actors, actresses, and directors, “money people,” assorted plus-ones like Molly, and beautiful swimsuit models with boobs out to there and legs up to their ears.

“Stereotypes,” she muttered under her breath.

Fox leaned close. “What?”

“I’m reminding myself I shouldn’t judge anyone until I meet them.” She brushed a speck of dust off the shoulder of his black shirt with intricate black-on-black detailing along one side—which he’d worn in place of his usual tee because he’d overheard her talking to Charlotte about how men in suits were hot. She’d been teasing Charlie about T-Rex, but Fox had been adorably jealous.

When she’d pointed out how cute he was being, she’d ended up naked.

Now he was as gorgeous and as charismatic as usual, his version of a “suit”—the fitted short-sleeved shirt worn over a pair of well-loved jeans—unbelievably hot. In Fox’s case, she thought, the clothes very definitely didn’t make the man, the man made the clothes. “Though,” she added in a whisper, “it’s really, really difficult to accept that the twenty-five-year-old stunner is with the seventy-five-year-old lech out of true love.”

“What a cynic.” Fox’s lips curved, his hand sliding to her butt, possessive as hell. “A sexy cynic.”

Feeling her face heat, she tugged at his wrist, though his smile had melted her bones. “Fox.”

He kept his hand where it was, stroking her through the tight red pencil skirt he’d bought her, and which she had to agree made her body look smokin’. “I love it when you blush.”

“I’m going to kill you,” she threatened sotto voce as one of the besuited record executives came over. The man oozed oily sincerity, but for some reason, Molly liked him. Short and with a balding hairline, he reminded her of a friend of a friend—Ken was a sweet guy, but he wanted so badly to be liked that he went over the top with it.

Now Fox was noncommittal to the point of looking bored with this “Ken’s” conversational overtures. Molly did her best, but the man slunk away with a big fake smile a couple of minutes after he’d arrived. “Fox, that was rude.” It shocked her to see this side of him—the arrogant asshole star.

 “Do you know how many guys like that circle around me and the others? Fucking vultures. They want us to jump labels or for one of us to leave the band, go solo, make money for them.” Scowling, he took a swig out of the beer bottle in his right hand. “If I was just some poor schmuck who wanted him to talk to me, I’d be lucky to get a ‘piss off.’ I wouldn’t even exist.”

Molly closed her mouth before she could say the words that wanted to come out. Fox knew these people far better than she did. But the way he’d spoken, he didn’t sound like the man she’d fallen for.

A squeeze around her waist. “Hey, sorry.” He nuzzled a kiss to her temple. “Band got kicked around a bit back at the start. Men like that tried to cheat us into signing lousy contracts when it became clear we were developing a following. Guess it’s a sore spot.”

Leaning into him, she placed a hand on his chest, his body heat caressing her through the fabric. “It’s okay.” She could understand his disdain for people like those who’d treated him in a shoddy manner, but the unexpected glimpse of who he could be in this world planted a seed of worry in her mind about exactly how well she knew him, a sense of burgeoning unease in her belly.

So when a long-limbed goddess with mink-brown hair down to her butt and a dress that might as well have been painted on sashayed over after Fox left to grab them something to eat, Molly wasn’t in the mood to pull her punches.

“I heard you’re a librarian,” the other woman said, her tone syrupy enough that it was noxious. “That’s… charming.” A flash of teeth so white, Molly wondered if they glowed in the dark. “And what a… sweet outfit.” Cue faux laughter, eyes catty.

“Thanks, I’d return the compliment”—oh God, she was going to go to hell for this—“but you look like you picked up your clothes in the red-light district.”

 “This is a ten-thousand-dollar designer dress!” It was a screech.

“Really?” Molly shook her head, deciding she might as well give in to Evil Molly all the way. “That material is $2.99 per yard at my local fabric shop.”

“You know nothing about fashion!” Spluttering, the brunette staged a quick comeback as Fox appeared with a plate. “Foxie, I was just talking to your little friend.” A giggle.

Fox grabbed Molly’s hand. “It’s time to leave this zoo. Here.” He shoved the plate of food into the other woman’s hand. “Eat this. Don’t throw it up later.”

The look on the brunette’s face was priceless. Fighting laughter as Fox all but dragged her out of the glamorous hotel ballroom hired for the party by a celebrity couple who were friends of the band members, Molly waited until they were outside to tug up her skirt past her knees so she could keep up with his pace. He took her down the hallway, through an emergency exit, and past two landings before going through another door and down the corridor to an elevator.

It arrived within seconds. The instant they were inside, he scanned his keycard, pushed the button for the penthouse, and pressed her against the wall, his mouth fused to her own. All she could think about was the security camera, but then Fox licked his tongue against hers, his hand squeezing her hip, and she forgot about everything except his body and her own.

It was as well the elevator was a fast one, arriving at the penthouse level just as Fox was fisting his hand in her skirt to pull it up. Shocked by the blast of cool air that entered the elevator when it opened directly into their suite, she pushed at him. “Cameras.”

“Fuck ’em.” But he tugged her out and pinned her to the wall outside the elevator.

A tearing sound, the force with which he’d pulled up her skirt causing it to rip. Her panties were gone a second later, and he was lifting her up. Locking her legs around his waist, she felt him reach down to release himself from his pants, his knuckles brushing her acutely sensitive flesh. Molly’s gasp was short, ragged. Entering her in a single relentless thrust, he wrapped the hand not curved under her thigh around her throat, his mouth demanding on her own.

Barely able to process the sensations, Molly simply held on for the ride as he thrust in and out of her in a primal rhythm that made it crystal clear who was in charge. She couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but kiss him, her hands locked tight in his hair while he pounded into her.

She came in a wild clenching that made him groan and rasp something so dirty in her ear that she was sure she was blushing even as her womb spasmed in pure ecstasy. Holding him close, she ran her nails over his nape. It sent him over the edge, his teeth gritted together as he buried himself to the hilt inside her, his pleasure harsh and beautiful to witness.

Molly felt a trickle of sticky wetness along her thigh when Fox finally pulled out of her and set her on her feet. Her knees would’ve buckled if he hadn’t been holding her up. Eyes slumberous, he pressed her to the wall and initiated a kiss as lazy as his earlier ones had been voracious, then reached down past her bunched-up skirt to cup one of her lower cheeks, fondling it with a possessiveness she’d come to expect. As she’d come to expect the way he was after sex.

Finding the willpower to throw her arms around his neck, she kissed him in turn, playing with the ring she loved. “That was nice.” She had no idea what had set him off, but she was a very grateful beneficiary.

“Nice?” He spanked her lightly after zipping up his jeans. “Phenomenal would be a better word choice.”

“How about splendiferous?”

“Is that a real word?”

“Yes. It’s like splendid, only better.”

“Then yeah, I’ll accept that description.” A pause. “You were splendid, darling.”

Biting her tongue to still her laughter at his posh English accent, she put on one of her own. “You too, Foxie dear.”

A pinch on her butt that made her jump before he smoothed over the punishment. “This,” he said, his tone a softer version of the sexy growl that was his singing voice, “would feel better if you were naked.”

“Oh?” Molly played her hands over his shirt. “What about you?”

“Trust me.” He moved his own hand to undo the button and zip on her skirt.

She stepped out of it, nudging the puddle of fabric aside with her toes as Fox pulled up her fitted silk top and dropped it on the floor. Her bra took a second to remove and then she was naked, every curve exposed. Fox stepped back to take a good, long look. “You’re so damn hot, Molly.” Smoky-green eyes lingering on her breasts, the sensitive flesh straining as his look became a near-tactile caress. “The first time I saw you, I wanted to bend you over one of those tables at the party and do you right there—except fuck if I wanted anyone else to see what was mine.”

The things he said… “I didn’t think you even noticed me.”

“Oh, I noticed you—especially this mouth.” A single finger tracing her lips, his next words not the sexual ones she’d expected. “You smiled at Thea, and it was a punch to the goddamn gut.”

It was such a romantic thing to say, and such a Fox way to say it. “I’ve never had a reaction to a man like I had to you,” she admitted. “If you’d crooked a finger, I would’ve probably followed you into a dark stairwell.”

Wicked delight in his smile. “Now you’re putting ideas in my head.” Lifting her up again, her legs around his waist, he initiated another lazy kiss, all tongue and wet heat. It was a stark contrast to the other textures that touched her skin. The well-washed denim of his jeans, the crisp cotton of his shirt, the hard angles of his belt buckle, the heat of his skin, the cool bite of his teeth.

She moaned. “Oh, I like this.”

“You were right though,” he said, nibbling and kissing at her mouth as he spoke. “This feels good, but skin on skin feels even better.”

Running her fingers through the chocolate silk of his hair, Molly raised the topic she’d earlier shelved. “What happened downstairs?” Something had.

His jaw a hard line, he said, “One of the execs was about to put the moves on you.”

“What?” Molly shook her head. “Fox, I only spoke to that brunette. No one else paid me the least attention.”

Fox raised an eyebrow. “Like I didn’t at Thea’s party?”

Oh. “You know I’d never—”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I’m rational about it.” One more kiss before he slid her oh-so-slowly down his body, the friction exquisite.

Molly rose on tiptoe to follow his mouth as he pushed off the wall and straightened to his full height. Knowing what she did of his internal scars, she hated that he’d worried about losing her for even a single second. “Don’t go.”

“Molly.” Stroking his hands down her body, he palmed her ass and they indulged themselves in one another for long minutes.

Her lips deliciously kiss-swollen, she resisted when Fox took her hand to lead her to the living area of the suite. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

His eyes dropped, a very satisfied, very male smile on his lips. “I think you should stay sticky.”

Making a face at him, she ducked into the bathroom off their bedroom and had a lightning-fast shower, hair pinned up. She was just about to step back out clad in the plush hotel robe when she heard voices. Hesitating, she looked down at her robe. It covered her neck to ankle, but it was still a robe and she didn’t know who was out there.

It only took a couple of minutes to find a change of underwear and a summery dress– Underwear! Her face burned as she realized her clothes from the party were currently in a puddle beside the elevator.

Chapter 28

Mortified, Molly took a baby step outside the bedroom as soon as she was dressed, hoping no one would notice her in the large suite. The first thing she did was glance toward the elevator. No clothes. When Fox winked at her as soon as she turned in his direction, she knew he’d thrown the incriminating evidence somewhere where Noah wouldn’t immediately see it.

The blond guitarist wrapped his arm around her shoulders when she got to him. “Why, you’ve changed, Molly.” A sniff. “Showered, too. How interesting.”

Molly elbowed him, having learned by now that while Noah could be glacial and distant at times, he also had a wicked sense of humor around people he trusted. Sometime in the past few weeks, Molly had fallen into that category. Now, laughing, he pulled her close to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Fox’s been telling me all about the benefits of having a girl of his own.”

“I think you’ve had more than one girl,” Molly said as Fox grabbed a seat in one of the midnight-blue armchairs by the large plate-glass windows that formed two corners of the suite, then held out a hand.

No longer shy around the other members of the band, she slid into his lap.

Noah grabbed the facing seat. “I may have had one or two”—dark gray eyes dancing—“but I’ve never had my own girl.” The slightest hesitation before he continued. “Didn’t seem worth the bother. No offense, Molly, but having a girl of his own is a lot of work for a man.”

She arched her eyebrows. “Oh, really?”

“It’s not like Fox can pat you on the ass and say ‘nice ride, honey,’ then show you the door when he’s done.” Grinning at her narrow-eyed look, the guitarist leaned back in his armchair. “No, he has to talk and listen, and when you get mad, he has to grovel and make it up to you.”

“You might grovel,” Fox drawled, spreading his fingers on Molly’s back. “I, on the other hand, apologize manfully and sex Molly into forgiving me.”

“You’re both as bad as each other.” Scowling at her rock star and his unrepentant friend, she got up off Fox’s lap. “I’m going to order room service. I don’t think my palate was refined enough for the canapés downstairs.”

“What the hell were those orange things?” Noah kicked out his jean-clad legs after she’d passed by to grab the menu sitting on the lovely little carved table a few feet away.

“Fish eggs,” Fox told him. “Expensive shit.”

“Tasted like it, too.” Both men laughed before Noah turned to her. “Can you order me a burger, Moll?”

“Sure.” Glancing at Fox, she said, “They have pad thai.”

A groan that had her digging her bare toes into the sumptuous champagne-colored carpet, her body sensitized to the sound of his pleasure. “Order me two plates.”

“Two?”

“One thing we’ve learned—the ritzier the hotel, the smaller the portions.”

“Yeah, make that burger order a double, too,” Noah said. “Throw in a couple of beers.”

The elevator intercom dinged on that statement, and when Molly pressed the button to answer, it was to find Kathleen on the other end. After the way the band and Kit ended up at their place more often than not these days, Fox had predicted their suite would become the natural gathering spot after the party, the reason he’d pulled strings to make sure they ended up in the penthouse. Not only did it have a huge living area, it had a separate dining room. Molly hadn’t even known there were hotel suites with dining rooms until she’d walked into this one!

Now, pushing the button to allow Kathleen to ride up, Molly waited until the stunning actress arrived, then held up the menu. “Want to add something to the order?”

Slipping off the mile-high heels she wore with her short and sparkly blue dress, Kathleen came over. “I’m starving. Those canapés looked so tempting, but did you taste any?” She shuddered, placing her glittering purse on the table. “I should know by now—A.J. always goes for pretty over edible at her parties.” Having scanned the menu as she spoke, she pointed to an item on the second page. “The grilled swordfish with vegetables. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.”

Molly scribbled her choice on the notepad beside the phone and was about to pick up the handset to place the order when the elevator dinged again. Kathleen walked across to answer it, letting up Abe. Who wanted a steak, a big one. Grabbing Kathleen as he said that, he bent her over his arm and kissed her full on the mouth. “You realize your very nice tits are about to fall out of that dress.”

“Please.” Kathleen patted his ripped chest. “I’m sewn into this thing. Just like you are into your T-shirt.” She tried to pinch the black fabric between her fingertips. “Could it be any tighter?”

It was interesting, Molly thought, how Noah’s eyes had locked on that byplay, which, despite the subject matter, had held no sexual innuendo whatsoever. Abe might as well have been talking to a sister. “Did you all abandon David?” she asked when Abe dragged a chair from the bedroom and flipped it to sit with his arms on the back.

“He took off an hour ago.” A shrug of Abe’s heavily muscled shoulders. “Said he had to pick someone up at the airport.”

Hmm... After placing the room service order, adding in a few extras because she knew how much the men could pack away, she ducked into the bedroom and sent a quick message to Thea. Are you in the country? Did you get a flight? Her sister had flown to London to handle a situation for a client there, become stuck in England when flights were grounded because of a storm.

Finally. Spending a couple of days in New York, was the return message. Just waiting for my luggage now. Damn memos.

Molly stifled her laugh. Have fun. xoxo

When she walked back out into the living area, it was to see Kathleen perched on the arm of Fox’s chair, all toned legs and tumbling hair. The child of a pillow-lipped Venezuelan supermodel and an American tennis ace now considered a “silver fox,” there was no doubt Kathleen had hit the genetic lottery, her parents’ genes combining to give her a breathtaking and exotic beauty.

She was laughing at something Fox had said, and at that instant, they were the embodiment of the perfect celebrity couple.

Then Fox glanced Molly’s way, held out a hand… and the look in his eyes, it was for her, no one else.

“Oops.” Kathleen rose with a good-natured smile. “I’m in your spot.”

“Here.” Noah patted the side of his armchair, distinct challenge in his expression.

Kathleen smiled sweetly. “Thank you, but I’d rather cuddle a rabid dog.” Pointedly skirting his seated form, she pulled out the executive chair from the desk in the opposite corner and rolled it next to Abe.

“What’s going on with those two?” Molly whispered in Fox’s ear, having noticed the slight edge in their interactions soon after she’d first met Kathleen.

“Later.”

As it was, by the time they got to bed, she’d forgotten the question and Fox had other things on his mind.

Molly woke to an empty bed, but she could hear Fox out on the small private balcony off the bedroom, strumming his guitar. Smiling, she simply lay there for a while, listening to her man. His talent was apparent even in what appeared to be a meandering dance through the chords, as if he were exercising his fingers. The breeze was soft, the sunlight coming through the open balcony doors languid and golden, its rays just kissing the bed.

Every so often, when the wind lifted the gauzy curtains a fraction, she caught sight of Fox seated in one of the outdoor chairs. He was shirtless, his feet up on the railing and his guitar held like a lover. Stretching luxuriantly, she decided to get up, make them both some coffee using the espresso machine that came with the suite. She liked doing these things for him, looking after him as he did her. Showing Fox just what he meant to her until he believed it deep within, that was her number-one priority.

It was as she was tying the belt on the hotel robe that she remembered her phone. As was her habit, she’d turned it to silent during the night.

Picking it up to check if Charlotte had messaged, she was surprised to see notifications for six voice mails and double that number of texts. Curious, she opened a text message at random—from a library colleague—and felt her eyes widen.

Molly! You’re on the front page of G&V! And looking hot!

Mouth dry, heartbeat a drum against her ribs, she scanned through the other texts; they all said pretty much the same thing. She had somehow ended up front and center on one of the major gossip blogs in the world.

Not bothering with the voice messages and her fingers too shaky to work the small phone screen, she grabbed the sleek touchscreen tablet Fox had given her with a card that said “Spoiling has begun.” She was ridiculously attached to the thing already, which pleased him to an adorable smugness that always made her want to kiss him silly.

Today however, she was too stressed to think about how very cherished he made her feel. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she did a search for the exact site address—while she had a secret weakness for celebrity gossip, it was strictly in magazine format. She’d curl up in an armchair on a Sunday morning, tea in hand, and spend a couple of hours reading through the articles.

Now, fingers trembling, she clicked through… to see a full-color image of her and Fox in the elevator. His mouth was locked on hers, his hand pulling up her skirt, the tattoos on his arm taut over muscle, while one of her own hands was clenched in his hair. Her other hand was lost to sight, but the angle of the shot made it appear she was stroking him through his jeans.

Her heart roared in her ears, the brutal memories of her father’s scandal smashing to the surface to tear shreds off her. Gripping the sheet in one bloodless fist, she took a deep breath, exhaled. She did the same again and again, calming herself before she could spiral any further into the nightmare. “It could’ve been much worse,” she murmured and looked back down.

The photo was tame by most standards—two lovers who’d gotten a bit carried away with a kiss. Embarrassing, but of a nudge-nudge, wink-wink kind rather than anything that would lead to malicious attacks. Fox, after all, wasn’t a married politician who’d run a campaign based on family values, and she wasn’t an underage girl.

No, this was a shot of two adults enjoying one another. Yes, it made her blush, would do so for a while yet, but she’d live it down. Her thundering heart settling into a more controlled rhythm, she blew out another breath and looked at the photo again. Her lips curved slowly. Maybe the embarrassment was worth it to see the way Fox was so totally focused on her, his entire being concentrated on the kiss.

She should’ve left it at that, but she’d already scrolled past the photo to read the article—which wasn’t much, just a couple of lines about Fox’s “mystery date”—and caught the start of the comment thread. It was already over two thousand, though according to the blog’s timestamp, the image had only been up for an hour.

At first she didn’t understand what it was she was reading, then it hit her with the force of a body blow.

“I’d do her. I’d even bring the paper bag to put over her face.”

“Ugh.”

“I never knew Fox liked pork chops. Oink, oink.”

“What a hot slut. Lol.”

“Maybe he was drunk? :-(”

“Or maybe she has a vacuum for a mouth?”

“Total thunder thighs. Gross. Fox, u can do better hunney!”

“Molly? Baby, you’re shaking. What’s the—” Fox bit off a vicious word and grabbed the tablet out of her stiff hands to put it on the bedside table. “Come here.” Tugging her trembling body up into his arms, he crushed her to the heat and strength of him. “Forget those fuckers. They’re nothing but two-bit losers who live to pull others down.” Rage had turned his body rigid, his voice hard. “They’re no one to us.”

She stroked her hand over his back. “It’s okay,” she said, finding her feet in the fierceness of his hold. “I just… it reminded me of the hate page from when I was at school.” Except back then, the mean and nasty comments had come from other teenagers, while the profile pictures on these comments had shown adult faces. “I can’t believe people would say such ugly things about someone they don’t know.”

“Face-to-face with you, not one of them ever would,” Fox ground out.

Molly swallowed, continued to stroke his back. “I’ll be fine.” It was a surprising realization—she’d wobbled a bit, but she hadn’t crashed. “It was unexpected, you know? The shock of it.” To innocently scroll down, expecting maybe the odd cheeky comment about getting carried away, and yes, even a number driven by envy… and see such vitriol directed personally at her, it had been a punch to the gut. “They called me fat.”