Page 21 of Sully
“Understood,” Sully replied simply.
Tonio nodded once.“My men will handle the situation with Jenkins and his associates.”This he directed at neither of us specifically, as if sensing Knuckles or another club member might be listening.Wouldn’t surprise me.One only had to look at Knuckles to know there was nothing that happened within his home he didn’t know about.
With a final, lingering look at me, he moved toward the door.“The offer remains open, Darby.When you’re ready to know your family, I’ll be waiting.”Then he was gone, his footsteps fading down the hallway, leaving behind only the faint scent of expensive cologne and the ghost of a connection I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
For several long moments, neither Sully nor I moved.I remained in the circle of his arms, face pressed against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.I wasn’t sure what to say, how to process everything that had just happened.
Sully broke the silence first, tugging me along back the way we’d come.“You okay?”he asked, his voice gentle in a way that made my chest ache with unfamiliar emotion.Off in the distance I heard the men speaking but didn’t really care what they discussed.All I knew was Sully was taking me away from them.
“I’m good.”
We hurried back across the yard to his apartment.Sully didn’t let go of my hand at any time during the short walk.Once inside his home, he pulled me back into his arms and held me.
“That was… unexpected,” I admitted after we’d stood there a moment.
“Which part?”A small smile played at the corner of his mouth.“Your father showing up, or me claiming you in front of him?”
“Both?”I found myself returning his smile despite everything.“Especially the part where I didn’t punch you for making decisions about me without consulting me first.”
His smile widened.“Figured the punch might be coming later.Besides.Sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”His hand cupped my face as he grazed his thumb gently over the bruise on my cheek.“For what it’s worth, I meant what I said.You’re with me now.If you want to be.”The words hung between us.I should have felt trapped, cornered.Instead, I felt something dangerously close to hope.
“I think I want to be,” I whispered, the admission dragging itself from somewhere deep inside me.
The kiss, when it came, was tentative at first, a gentle press of his lips against mine.He was careful of the cut on my lip, the pressure soft enough that it didn’t hurt but firm enough to make my pulse quicken.I slid my hands up his chest to his shoulders, fingers curling into the cotton fabric of his shirt as if anchoring myself to him.
The hesitation lasted only moments before something seemed to spark and catch fire between us.Weeks of wanting and trying to forget exploded in a sudden surge of need that left us both breathless.Sully tangled his fist in my hair, tilting my head back as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine in a way that made heat pool low in my belly.
“Need you,” he murmured against my mouth.“Fuck, Darby, I looked everywhere for you.”
The raw honesty in his voice undid something in me.I kissed him harder, ignoring the sting of my split lip, wanting to taste his hunger, to feel wanted in a way I never had before.
Without breaking the kiss, Sully began walking us backward, guiding me to the bedroom.My back met the wall beside his door, his body pressing against mine as he ran his hands down my body to my ass, territory he’d mapped once before in that hotel room and now felt like a lifetime ago.
“Ribs,” I gasped when his touch skimmed too close to my injury.
He immediately gentled his approach, his hands finding safer purchase on my hips.“Sorry,” he murmured, pulling back to look at me with concern.“We should stop --”
“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” I growled, pulling his mouth back to mine.“Just be careful.”
The laugh that rumbled through his chest vibrated against me.“Demanding little hellcat,” he said against my lips, but I could hear the affection in his voice.
We stumbled through his door, clothes coming off in a frantic rush.I’m not really sure how we both got undressed, but the feel of his body beneath my hands sent both a familiar and thrillingly new jolt of pleasure through me.
When we finally reached his bed, he laid me down with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the urgent need evident in his eyes, in the hard press of his cock against my thigh.He hovered above me, careful not to put pressure on my injured side, his gaze raking over me with such naked desire that I felt beautiful despite the bruises marking my skin.
“Tell me if I hurt you,” he said, his voice strained with the effort of restraint.
I reached up to trace the line of his jaw, the curve of his lips.“You won’t.”
And he didn’t.Even in his most possessive moments, when his teeth grazed my shoulder, when he dug his fingers into my hips hard enough to leave bruises, he remained achingly aware of my injuries.He moved with a controlled strength that made me feel simultaneously protected and desired, a combination I’d never experienced before.
“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he whispered against my breast, his tongue circling my nipple in a way that made me arch beneath him.
When he finally positioned himself between my thighs, his cock pressing against my pussy, I felt none of the usual urgency to take control, to set the pace.Instead, I surrendered to his lead, trusting him to take care of me in a way I’d never trusted anyone before.
He entered me slowly, giving me time to adjust to the stretch and fullness of him.The reverent care in his movements brought unexpected tears to my eyes, which I blinked away before he could see them.When he began to move, it was with a deliberate rhythm that built the tension inside me gradually, inexorably, like a tide rising toward shore.
“Sully,” I gasped, clinging to his shoulders as the pressure built.“Please.”
