Molly felt herself begin to wake in a sweat covered sheen from a terrifying nightmare. Her flat was on fire and she was unable to escape the flames from where she lived on the fourth floor. She suddenly realised with a start that she wasn't at home in her own bed. The mattress was soft and inviting, and there was none of the usual stench of damp, or the freezing cold air that always made her want to snuggle into the duvet and never leave its comfort to face the world.
No, wherever she was, it was overwhelmingly hot instead. The weight of a pair of arms wrapped around her waist held her in position. Warm breath that definitely wasn't her own fanned onto the clammy skin on her neck and a stubble covered chin rested on her shoulder. Her legs were wrapped around a pair of somebody else's, ones that weren't hers, because her foot was running along the hair on the bare skin and she'd definitely made sure to shave hers before she left for the weekend, even though there was no chance of any action.
Slowly, she continued to wake and finally remembered exactly where she was and who she was with. That the body she was currently wrapped up in belonged to Charles. The warmth of him wrapped around her was causing a warm fire to continue to burn somewhere deep inside of her body. His steady rate of breathing reassured her that he was still fast asleep. With that dawning on her, she dared to burrow even further back into his lap, grinding her body against the firm one behind her. A low, unconscious moan came from his mouth as she moved against him. It warmed her neck even more as a deep breath escaped from his mouth on an exhale and warmed her already boiling skin to an even higher temperature.
His fingers moved from her waist and brushed lightly against the bare skin around her belly button where her t-shirt had bunched up during the night. They whispered lightly across her stomach before stilling at the waistband of her pyjama trousers, tormenting her She was sure somebody up there was trying to torture her with the sensation.
The fact that they'd radiated towards each other during the night was disturbing enough to her. Molly hadn't woken up in the same bed as another man for as long as she could remember,and her body was reacting to how closely he held her. She tried not to wriggle too much and wake him. She was desperate to stretch out and relieve some of the tension she felt building inside of her body, but equally didn't want to risk waking him and causing him to pull away when she was enjoying this as much as she was.
Growing even more conscious of his body behind her and the warm hand resting on her waistband, with his fingers brushing against the cotton, she felt herself grind against his lap again before she'd even had a chance to think it through. It turned out to be a bad idea for her willpower when he shifted with a sleepy sigh and placed her body closer towards him, tightening his hold even more around her middle. One of his hands moved up instead of down, smoothing over the skin that covered her ribs, fleeting over the goosebumps that formed there. Molly thought she'd been in trouble before but the all new sensation of that combined with his morning glory rubbing against her was enough to almost finish her off.
His fingers stilled, not moving any further, no matter how much she willed them to. The fire inside of her was almost too much, she was desperate for him to move. The weight of his body around her was so stimulating that she couldn't bear it for much longer. Taking the decision to push her luck, she began once again to tentatively grind herself against the definite hardness that she now felt against her. His hardness was increasing in response to her limited movements, as she felt him stir in response. The deep breaths against her neck become slightly more shallow and ragged. At the clue that he might be starting to wake up, Molly clamped her partially opened eyes tightly shut and decided to pretend she was also fast asleep. She couldn't be blamed for anything that happened when she was sleeping, surely?
There was a sudden movement that took her by surprise. The mattress dipped as he moved and two hands were suddenly clamped around her hips, holding her in place as he took hold of her and encouraged the subtle motions of her body against his, moving her up and down against him, so slowly that she wasn't even sure it was happening.
Suddenly, she could feel his heart matching the hammering that she knew hers was doing, and realised instantly that he was beginning to wake, and that she had to stop this. Her eyes remained clamped closed, her body doing nothing except moving in the slow back and forth motion that he was encouraging with his hands. His head moved so that he was no longer nuzzling her neck, but was burrowing into her hair instead. She felt a husky moan released close to her ear as he tilted his hips towards hers. The pressure inside of her increased so much that she had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from giving into temptation and moving his hand to where she needed it. She was almost ready to resort to touching herself if he took this slow, sleepy torture much further.
She didn't dare to open her eyes at all, still resorting to a sleepy ignorance of what was happening and just feeling the moment. He eventually slowed to a halt, his hardness still pressed against her, but the deliciously slow movements trailing off until they were nothing. His hands pulled away from her hips and withdrew as she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was now awake and conscious of what was happening. She could hear him clear his throat as she faked sleeping indifference and continued to bury her head into her pillow as he pulled away.
She could feel his presence looming over her as he shifted in the bed and stretched out. She was suddenly cold without his touch, and silently congratulated herself on the self control it was taking not to jump onto him and beg him for some kind of release. Her breasts were heavy and her nipples ached with unreleased pressure as she herself stretched out and dared to slowly open her eyes. She was unprepared for what she saw when she opened them fully. With the streaming sunlight shining in the window in the gaps between where the curtains had been drawn, the room was brighter than she expected.
He sat looming over her, his elbow resting against the bed as he rested his head on his palm. He looked relaxed and happy, better than he had done the night before. There was something uncertain in his eyes though as he watched her open her own, trying to assess just how awake she was. She acted the part and yawned as she stretched out beside him.
"Morning." His voice was low and husky, not sounding entirely awake yet.
"Morning." She didn't want to return the small smile on his face, she was beyond irritated with him for not doing what she really needed him to do, asleep or not. She stayed polite though. "Sleep well?"
"I did actually" the smile was increasing, his eyes warm and amused. "Once I'd managed to block out your snoring."
Molly's mouth fell open in disbelief. "I do not snore!"
"Oh I beg to differ, Molly. For somebody so small, you make quite a noise."
"Whatever" she sniffed huffily as she turned onto her front and deliberately looked away from him to get rid of temptation.
"Molly" he sniffed out a small laugh as he moved so that he was slightly closer to her. "Are you sulking?" He tormented her further by whispering into her ear.
"No" she muttered into the pillow, doing exactly that and still refusing to look at him.
"Oh dear" his laugh was threatening to spill over. He was sure that if he turned her over, she would be pouting. "If you're already in a bad mood, it's only going to go downhill from here. This isn't going to be the most enjoyable day, I can guarantee it."
"You'd better think about puttin' me in a bloody good mood then, hadn't you?" Molly forgot herself and swung round to look at his smug face. She was tempted to chuck the pillow at him.
"How am I going to do that?" His tone was light and playful.
She was beginning to feel like she had whiplash from his moods over the course of the last 24 hours, something that was only adding to her growing frustration. Molly narrowed her eyes as she glanced up at him.
"There's only one thing I like in the morning."
"Really? What's that?"
"Well, it's the one thing I can always count on to get me going."
He played along with her words, knowing he was flirting shamelessly with her as he moved slightly closer, but telling himself it was harmless. "Tell me more"
"It's something hot." She looked up at him from deliberately lowered eyelids. "Really hot."
"Sounds...interesting." A deep laugh was almost escaping from his chest as he grinned with mischief.
"And it fills me right up."
His palm covered the stubble on his chin as he gave it his full consideration. "How curious."
"I don't think it's really your kind of thing though." She scrunched her nose as she continued to wind him up, now enjoying the playful side to his gentle teasing.
"No?"
"Nah." She shook her head as he watched her with amused eyes. "You're more of a coffee man than a cuppa, ain't you?"
"Indeed Molly. Indeed." He shook his head as his eyes fluttered closed, and lay back in the bed. "Give me a minute and I'll order room service."
The room was suddenly filled with a loud rapping on the door, the kind designed to wake the dead. Molly looked towards where he lay on the bed beside her, an eyebrow raised with curiosity.
"Ain't you gonna get that?"
He shifted uncomfortably in the bed as he tried to subtly rearrange himself to disguise the issue that was keeping him in bed and hidden under the duvet for the foreseeable future.
"Can't you?" He implored as he indicated towards the door with his head.
"Nice try" she grinned evilly, knowing exactly why he didn't want to get up, and enjoying his discomfort. "Your family, your hotel room, you open the door." After a stare off for at least twenty seconds with the door still being knocked impatiently, his eyes narrowed as he grabbed his jeans from a nearby chair and faced away from Molly as he pulled them on with a grimace. She was happily distracted by the sight of the row of tight muscles along his back, ones that rippled and flowed as he bent over to pull his jeans over his tight little..
"Charles? Open the pissing door will you?!" Emma's irritated voice came from behind the door to the room, disturbing Molly's train of thought as it moved across his body.
He thrust the door open, still dressed only in his jeans. "What?"
Emma took in his state of undress and grimaced at the sight. "Sorry to disturb your, ahem" she cleared her throat theatrically "morning activities baby bro,but I've come to kidnap Molly."
A brief look of worry crossed over Charles' face, one that he knew without looking would be reflected in Molly's.
"Why is that exactly?"
"Because Lauren's forcing me to attend a bridal party spa experience" her face screwed up with distaste "with her this morning, and quite frankly, if I have to sit through one more word about her perfect day, that horrid, cauliflower eared specimen she's marrying, or how wonderful life is, then I'm not doing it alone. Molly can suffer along with me." She turned her attention to the person in question, one who was sitting up in bed willing time to travel back five minutes and for her to have told Charles that under no circumstances was he to open the door. He was standing saying nothing, and she silently pleaded with him with her eyes to intervene and save her. When he didn't, she attempted it herself.
"It don't really sound like my kind of thing - I'm not really into all that spa stuff.." She tried to talk her way out of it before catching the steely eyed look of determination on Emma's face and realising that she was on a hiding to nothing.
"Molly" she asked with a degree of authority that made her wonder if it ran in the family. "Do I look like the kind of person who knows what a medipedi is?"
She shrugged with a degree of hesitation as she considered it. "No?" she questioned carefully.
"Correct. I'm not into 'all that spa stuff' either, but I'll grit my teeth and endure my medipedi, whatever the bloody hell it is, sit through whatever inane chat the hairdresser comes up with, and select my waxing package. Oh, and apparently, if you want a brazilian, you need to take a couple of paracetamol in advance."
"Are you pissed?" Charles came closer to his older sister and examined her eyes carefully. "You're acting pissed."
"Oh Charles" she waved him away as she moved towards the bed. "I had a teensy little glass of champagne or two with breakfast, it's a wedding. Now come on Molly, lets get you up and ready to go."
As Emma led her down the long corridor towards the dreaded spa, Molly tightened the belt on her white towelling gown and tried to count in her head the ways in which she could kill Charles and dispose of his body. Leaving him to enjoy his cup of coffee and a newspaper in the room while she put up with his sisters for hours definitely wasn't part of what she'd wanted to be doing that morning.
The corridor drew to a close with a set of large double doors marked "Spa and Beauty", which Emma drew to a halt in front of. She spun to face Molly before she opened the door.
"You ready for this?"
Molly looked at her dubiously. "Bout as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."
"Come on, safety in numbers and all that." She pushed on the large cream door and held out a hand indicating for Molly to walk through the entrance. The room was filled with a low tranquil light, the ceiling sparkling with dotted fairy lights and calming, tranquil music being played at a low level from a speaker bar in the corner of the room. The wall furthest from them was lined with a row of reclined leather chairs and stations set up for manicures and treatments. Two of the seats were already filled by women, also in white robes, with their backs to Molly and Emma as they entered. Both were busy having their feet worked on by spa workers as they lay back on the reclined chairs.
Reluctant to interrupt, Molly held back for Emma to enter the room. The voices chatting were oblivious to her entrance. She could make out Lauren's voice as soon as she entered the room.
"Becs, if I'd have known anything about her, I'd have told you. I didn't even know he was seeing somebody until mother mentioned it a few weeks ago, let alone that he'd started shopping in the junior section." She peered down at the lady who applied her nail polish. "Oh goodness, not that colour - you've lifted the wrong shade. It's dusky pink I asked for." She returned her attention to Rebecca as the girl before her nodded patiently and fixed her mistake. "It's a typical male midlife crisis if you ask me. He'll get rid of her and buy a sports car next."
Molly watched as Rebecca shivered with displeasure. "What age is she anyway? She looks like a teenager. He's making a complete fool of himself."
Emma grabbed onto Molly as she too entered the room, shaking her head and silently urging her to keep quiet. She could feel a red blush creeping up her cheeks as she heard them talk about her, the urge to leave the room would have taken over if it wasn't for the tight grip still on her wrist.
Emma cleared her throat loudly as she walked towards the chair where Rebecca sat. She looked down at the pedicure being applied to her toes; a deep shade of scarlet red.
"I'd have thought green would suit you better today Rebecca. It'd match your eyes perfectly."
Rebecca looked behind her, rolling her eyes when she spotted her former sister in law. "How hilarious. All I'm doing is commenting on Charles' poor taste in partner. She doesn't even look like a partner, she's more like somebody he's picked up in a trashy nightclub somewhere. Surely you don't disagree?"
Emma pretended to ponder it, her tone ice cold. "He certainly doesn't have the best track record in picking the right woman does he? Still, I'm sure he's learnt from his past mistakes."
"Emma" Lauren's impatient voice cut between them with a warning. "I've already asked you to cut it out. Becs is my friend, she's not here for Charles. Let's just be pleasant on my wedding day, please?"
"You're absolutely right Lauren." Emma responded with her eyes still narrowed in Rebecca's direction. "Molly?" she called over to the door where Molly remained frozen, still resisting the urge to leave as quickly as possible. The wide eyes of Rebecca and Lauren both peered towards the door. "-come and sit down. Lucky your youthful complexion won't need much attention, will it?"
Molly tried to push her self-consciousness aside, and forced herself to smile politely at the two faces watching her, ones which dropped when she made her way to the third unoccupied chair in the row. A glass of champagne was thrust into her hand by a passing spa staff member, and she sipped the liquid confidence gladly.
"Don't mind me ladies, carry on. I think you'd got to Charles' mid-life crisis. Want me to ask him what car he's thinkin' of?" She asked the question with a straight face, and was sure she noticed the glimmer of a smile on the girl who was applying Rebecca's manicure. She felt another rush of confidence when she definitely noticed Emma's smirk. "Don't worry by the way-" she looked at Lauren, who had the good grace to look sheepish "-I can make it for the whole night tonight, I ain't on a curfew."
Emma snorted into her glass of champagne, and Molly could have sworn she heard a faint whisper that sounded an awful lot like "I knew I liked this one for a reason" as she took a deep, calming breath and steeled herself for the next few hours. It looked like she'd need painkillers for the company as well as the waxing.
AN - Thanks for the lovely reviews and for being so patient with me, I realise that this isn't the fastest moving story in the world. Thanks also to CJ's morning wood, for being the undoubted stand out character of this chapter (and my daydreams) - good job ;-D
