After she’d flopped on the mattress beside him, she assumed they’d take a minute.

But Deacon’s damp face and wet mouth were immediately on her nipples.

“You’re obsessed with them,” she said with a soft wheeze.

“I’m obsessed with you. These are just attached to you.”

She reached down and stroked his sleek head. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“For showing me that multiple orgasms and collapsing into a sticky pile after phenomenal sex isn’t a myth.”

“My pleasure.” Deacon looked up at her. “This makeup-sex shit is pretty fucking awesome. But, babe, I’m hoping we never have to do it again.”

“Me too.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

DEACON insisted on walking Molly into the office Monday morning, so Chaz, Presley, and Amery understood they were back together.

Not that anyone would mistake the lingering kiss he left her with as anything but possessive.

Molly had poured herself a cup of coffee when Amery sidled in for a refill. “Morning, Amery.”

“Morning, Molly. Got a second to talk?”

“I don’t suppose you want to discuss the Wicksburg Farm account?”

“No, I don’t suppose I do.”

Great. “Sure. I’ll be right in.”

She took a couple of deep breaths after Amery walked away.

Presley intercepted her. “You don’t think you and Deacon getting back together rates a phone call to me?”

“If Deacon and I had left his bedroom at all yesterday, I would’ve called.”

Her eyes went as wide as her grin. “You’re not joking about spending all day in bed, are you?”

“No.”

“But things are good?”

Molly grinned back. “Very. And I promise we’ll talk as soon as the boss is done grilling me.” She headed straight for Amery’s office and shut the door behind her.

Amery checked out Molly’s outfit. Since Molly hadn’t been home since Saturday afternoon, she’d paired the spare pair of black jeans she’d found in her workout bag with the sequined silver tank top she’d worn beneath her western shirt to Katie’s party Saturday night. She’d finished the outfit with one of Deacon’s crisp white dress shirts, knotted at the waist. “That’s a funky outfit, Mol. You look good.”

“Thanks. I feel good.” Molly settled in the visitor’s chair and crossed her legs—a move she couldn’t have done a year and a half ago, before she started working out.

“Did your conversation with Ronin on Friday prompt you into giving Deacon another chance?”

Molly shook her head. “In fact, my discussion with Ronin increased my doubts about . . . everything.”

“Fuck. I worried that might happen. Sensei Black isn’t as attuned to emotion as he thinks he is. And sometimes he comes off as an uncaring asshole.”

No kidding. “I’ll be straight with you. It seemed like Ronin was warning me off Deacon.”

Amery’s eyes went flat.

“You’re right that your man says what he thinks and damn the consequences. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to take it that way, but I did.”

“Do you remember exactly what Ronin said and how he phrased it?”

Molly repeated as much of that part of the conversation as she could remember. She withheld a laugh when Amery smacked her own forehead after she finished speaking.

“I know him, Molly. And he wasn’t saying Deacon was better off not in a relationship with you. He was relaying how Deacon dealt with the hurt and frustration of not being with you. In his Ronin way, he was telling you to be prepared because Deacon would be coming for you as soon as he got control.”

Her jaw dropped. “That is not at all how I took it!”

“I know. And Ronin sort of suspected that after he got done talking to you. So he asked me to clarify a few things, but by the time he mentioned that on Friday, you’d already left for the day.” Amery sighed. “I love him. The man’s instincts are unparalleled when it comes to me, but I’m the exception with him, not the rule.”

“Was Ronin all mental ninja with his other girlfriends?”

“No. After Naomi, women were a tool. He used them when he needed them and put them out of his mind when he finished with them.”

Molly sipped her coffee. “Harsh.”

“But true. I could make excuses and claim he’s a man’s man. He understands his instructors and his guy friends. Knox, Deacon, Gil, and now Fisher and Riggins. But he is way off base when it comes to Blue, Beck, Maddox, and Ito. He seriously fucked up with Knox and the Shihan issue.” She shook her head. “That was another situation I had to explain to Master Black after the fact, about how wrong his approach had been with Knox. And don’t get me started on how fucking clueless he was about his own damn sister.” She paused and closed her eyes. “He’s getting better with Shiori. And Katie. She can be annoying, but she knows her stuff. That’s not something I ever thought I’d admit.” She opened her eyes and looked at Molly. “But back to you. I’m so freaking sorry I sicced Ronin on you and he made it worse.”