Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss #1)(102)

“Liar, liar, pants on fire.” She pretended to punch his jaw, then wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s stunning, Fox. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His thumb brushing over her nipple, the light in his eyes dimming as he said, “You can ask me for anything you know. I want to give you the world.”

“I know.” Molly caressed his nape, unsure what was wrong. “The fact is you’re the best present I could’ve ever received. I’m not a greedy or possessive person, except when it comes to you—there, I’m afraid I’m awful.”

“I like your kind of awful.” An intense look, his voice rough. “Always be possessive and greedy about me, Molly.”

“Something’s bothering you.” She could sense it with every cell in her body, had even before the concert. “Talk to me.”

Bracing himself on his forearms above her, his lower body tangled with her own, he blew out a breath. “I got a call from Tawanna this morning to say my half sister Lauren’s been trying to get in touch with me again.” A hardness to his jaw. “You saw her right after Abe was hospitalized.”

Molly connected the dots. “Linen shift, shiny bob, called you Zachary?” At his nod, she remembered what he’d said then, about everyone wanting something, and her protective instincts bristled. “What does she want?”

“She’s trying to sell me some sob story about her husband losing his job and their house being repossessed by the bank.” His expression was grim. “I checked it out the first time she asked months ago. They have enough money coming in from investments to live a stress-free, normal life, but she’s used to luxury. Enough to lower herself to asking me to support them.”

Aware of Fox’s loyalty, his generosity, Molly knew his half sister must’ve done something horrible to cause the breach that clearly existed between them. She took a guess. “Has Lauren ever made any effort to stay in touch except to ask for money?”

“Hell no.” Fox snorted. “I reached out after she turned twenty-one, figured maybe she hadn’t ever been in touch herself because it would create friction with her parents. I wasn’t planning to mess that up, just wanted to know her.”

Molly nodded, her heart aching. She knew exactly what it meant to find a sister; her relationship with Thea was an integral part of her life. So she could understand Fox’s need to reconnect, hoped desperately this story would have a happy ending—even though Fox’s tone made it clear the hope was a futile one.

“You know what she said?” Fox’s shoulders tensed. “That she didn’t associate with trash like me and she’d appreciate it if I didn’t flaunt our relationship, as it might taint her reputation in the circles in which she moved.”

“That bitch.” Molly put one of her hands on Fox’s cheek. “You don’t have anything to feel guilty about then.” When he would’ve argued, she pressed her fingers to his lips. “You do feel guilt—because you’re a good man with a huge heart.” A heart strong enough to have survived the rejection and neglect of his childhood. “But here’s the thing: you might be related by genetics, but she’s a stranger to you in every other way.”

Fox’s expression was intent. “You’re not going to tell me to make nice with my family, all that stuff?”

“Lauren isn’t your family. She’s toxic, and you can’t let her get to you.” Weaving her fingers into his hair, Molly said, “I’m your family. Noah, Abe, David, and Kit are your family.” She picked up his wrist, kissed the strange characters above his pulse point, which he’d finally confessed were from a made-up language he’d created as a lonely eight-year-old. “You told me this means loyalty. That’s what family is, whether of blood or of the heart.”

She kissed the characters again. “If Lauren has children later on, and you want to reach out to your nieces and nephews, I’ll go with you.” Molly wouldn’t blame the children for the sins of their mother. “But Lauren doesn’t deserve you.”

He settled more heavily against her, the green of his irises rich against the jet-black of his pupils. “There’s something else I haven’t told you.”

“I’ll spank you later. Now talk.”

It made him laugh, his shoulders shaking. “So f*cking strict.” Thrusting a hand into her hair, he kissed her the pure Fox way, all tongue and sex.

She was close to melting when he sat up and brought her into his lap so they were face-to-face. “When I was eighteen,” he said, “I decided to give my mother another chance.”

Molly’s throat grew thick. She knew how much courage it must’ve taken for him to do that. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him as he spoke, but to her surprise, though she’d expected bleak pain, his tone was even, his eyes unshadowed.

“I walked up to her front door, knocked.” He ran his knuckles down her back. “The maid who answered said my mother was in the park with Zachary.”

“What?”

“Yeah, that was my reaction.” Still no anger, no hurt. “I walked over to the park, and there she was playing with a little boy who called her Mommy. She redid her life, Molly. Redid me.”

Molly had no words for the cruelty of it. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “Your mother has no idea of the incredible man her son grew into, a son she’ll never know, and that’s her loss, Fox, not yours.”