Chapter Thirteen
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Bonnie
After I made the bread—and Dezi literally ate an entire loaf himself—I was shooed into Sully’s room. Where I went ahead and let myself shower and get changed, more than a little excited about his plans since, so far, everything he’d arranged had been fun.
I never would have thought that playing poker would be something I enjoyed. But I had. And it wasn’t even just the cards themselves, but the men gathered around, easily pulling me into their conversation, not seeming to mind when I was occasionally my usual quiet self.
It was so strange and wonderful to feel so welcomed and accepted just as I was.
I guess when you had an organization their size, and the extended family and friends that came with it, you got really comfortable with vastly different personalities.
Even with my limited time with her, it seemed like Luna was much like me. On the shy side, bookish, happy being alone with her books.
The only difference for her was that she had this big, crazy, loving family group to pull her out of her shell a bit, to involve her so that her aloneness didn’t morph into loneliness like it sometimes did for me.
Excitement sizzled across my skin as I sat on the edge of Sully’s bed and waited to be escorted out to… whatever he had planned for the night.
There’d been a lot of noise in the common room for over an hour until, finally, I heard footsteps making their way down the hallway toward me.
The door opened.
And there was Sully.
There was no stopping the burst of laughter that escaped me.
“What are you wearing ?” I asked, taking in his bright blue smock with yellow piping and several large pockets.
“You like?” he asked, swirling around to show it off. “Because I got you one too,” he said, reaching out into the hall to produce a matching smock, only mine was pink with purple piping.
“Okay,” I agreed, beaming at him because his excitement was contagious.
“Come over here so I can get you suited up.”
“What are we getting suited for?” I asked, getting to him and turning my back on him, so he could slide it over my head, then tie the strings. “And why do I get the feeling that it is going to be messy?”
“Because it’s Sully,” Rune said as he passed on his way to the prospect room at the end of the hall. I hadn’t been inside it yet, but I heard it was a massive space, something like a school gymnasium, with bunk beds, lockers, and a giant bathroom.
All the men lived there from when they first started to prospect until they were patched. When they hopefully got their own rooms.
“He knows me well,” Sully said, reaching down to take my hand in his.
I knew that for someone like Sully, handholding was probably casual. But for me, I couldn’t help but notice a tingle where our skin met that quickly moved up my arm and across my chest as he pulled me down the hall.
I don’t know what I was expecting, even with the smock, but it certainly wasn’t to find the entire common area set up with card tables, each one of them featuring a different craft to work on.
“Oh my God,” I said, having to blink quickly because my eyes went watery. Not because of crafts. I mean, crafts were a big part of my life. But because Sully not only accepted my hobbies but embraced them.
The last guy I was close with had teased me relentlessly about my ‘old lady’ hobbies. You know, while he killed imaginary people in video games for twelve hours straight on the weekends. When I’d once said I wanted to spend my birthday doing one of those wine-and-painting classes, he’d laughed in my face and then told me to take someone else, because he wasn’t going to do that.
And here was Sully. A guy I’d just met. Setting up a craft night extravaganza for me.
“Now, listen, I’m a crafty virgin,” Sully admitted. “So all our projects are from some blog I found online. I have no idea if they’re gonna come out right or not.”
“But that’s half the fun,” I told him, smiling. “This is really, really nice. Thank you.” His only response to that was a squeeze to my hand. “Okay. Where do we start?”
“Easiest first,” he said, leading me over to one of the tables. It was loaded down with an absurd amount of beads. This table alone probably had hundreds of dollars’ worth of brand new supplies. “Jewelry,” he said, genuinely seeming excited at the prospect. “I have about a dozen bracelets I need to make for the girls for Valentine’s Day.”
“Oh,” I said, my heart sinking. “The club girls?”
“The princesses,” he said, too distracted by gathering his beads to notice the relief that moved through me.
“You buy for the princesses for Valentine’s Day?”
“Well, I usually just do flowers and chocolates. But I’m gonna add bracelets this year. Gotta remind them they don’t need no dusty-ass man to have a happy V’Day.”
“Um, you’re a man,” I reminded him as he set up rows of beads, presumably one for each princess with colors or beads he thought would suit them.
“Ouch,” Sully said, pressing a hand to his heart in faux offense. “So, what are you gonna make?” he asked.
“I’m gonna start with a bracelet too,” I said, gathering my own beads.
I was going to make something for him.
Did most men wear beaded friendship bracelets? No. But I had a feeling Sully would be one of the wonderful few who just might.
And despite never actually having any friends most of my life, I’d gotten really good at intricate beadwork friendship bracelets.
So I gathered the turquoise blue—to represent the calming feeling he offered—and the yellow—for his sunny disposition. Then I got some black and gold, just for contrast, and got to work.
“Romcom marathon in three, two, one,” Sully said as he held the remote up to the TV.
So then we made bracelets and watched Never Been Kissed .
I held onto my bracelet once I finished it, tucking it into my pocket, not quite ready to offer it to him, so I worked on a simple one for myself as he finished up his single-row bracelets for each of the girls.
Funnily enough, I could pick out which one went to Layna, Luna, and Gracie based on the colors alone. Which really said a lot about Sully—that he knew women so well that he could associate colors with them.
“Okay. My fingers are glad that’s done,” Sully admitted. He’d really struggled with his big fingers and the tiny beads.
“What’s next?” I asked, sure I could do this forever.
“Well, a quick trip to the snack station,” he told me, waving toward a table in the kitchen that I’d missed before. It was loaded down with snacks and bottled drinks. “Then we are working on mosaic tile drink coasters. The lady at the craft store wanted me to make sure to tell you that the edges of the glass tiles are sharp,” he told me as we went into the kitchen.
“Duly noted,” I said, feeling like I was floating.
“Having a good time?” he asked, glancing sideways at me as he loaded his plate.
“The best,” I told him, meaning it.
One movie rolled to the next as we made our coasters, then moved on to the next table.
“Air dry clay. The lady at the store said that I had to get all the colors because we can’t paint until it’s dry. And I wanted finished products. I was thinking we can make fridge magnets.”
And that was exactly what we did.
Sully made a longneck dinosaur, a duck, and a margarita glass.
I focused on exactly one very intricate piece.
“A Hawaiian shirt?” Sully asked, beaming at me when I finally put all of my parts together. “I love it,” he added, the soft look in his eyes making my belly swoop.
“Now?” Nave asked, coming up from the basement, looking at Sully for confirmation.
“Yep. We’re about to do our last craft.”
I had no idea if Nave was going to follow us after he finished in the kitchen. And I was surprised how disappointed I felt at the prospect. It was nothing against Nave. I was just enjoying selfishly having Sully all to myself.
“What’s the last craft?” I asked as we both stood.
“Bookmarks,” he said, practically bouncing on his heels at the grand reveal. “I got several different options. Coloring book bookmarks, pressed flower ones, stamps, and embroidery. Which is probably asking too much of me, but you might be able to do it.”
“It’s not so hard. I can teach you,” I assured him.
But we started with the others first.
“Nope. Wrong one,” I said when his needle started to go in through the wrong pre-punched hole. My hand went on top of his, navigating the needle the right way.
It wasn’t until I glanced up to find him watching me, not the needle, that I realized just how close I’d moved to him. My breast was actually pressed into his arm. The second I realized that, I swear my nipple decided to harden. And when his arm moved, it brushed right against it, stealing my breath.
“All set,” Nave said, making us break apart.
“Thanks, man,” Sully said, but his jaw was tight, and the words came out grumbly.
“What else do you have up your sleeve?” I asked, but I didn’t move away.
“Just a little something,” he said, shrugging. “But you have to help me finish this damn thing first.”
Which meant I got to stay close.
So I was all too happy to play instructor for those last few moments.
“I do have a question, though.”
“Okay…”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“Surprisingly, no,” I admitted. “I know, I’m shocked too,” I said at his wide eyes. “Are we leaving?” I asked, more than a little uncomfortable with that idea.
“Nope,” he said, reaching down again for my hand. And so what if my fingers maybe slipped between his? The second they did, his hand gave mine another of those little squeezes as he led me… to the basement?
“Um, why are you asking me about heights if we’re going underground?” I asked as we passed the beds where I’d sat with Luna, who talked me through my panic attack.
“Because we had to go down to go up,” he said, stopping in front of an impossibly steep ladder.
“Oh,” I said, exhaling hard.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he assured me.
“You sure about that?” I asked, dubious.
“Fine. It’s pretty rough,” he admitted, reaching behind him to remove his smock and hang it on a hook on the wall. He stepped behind me to work my knot free. “But I will be right behind you the whole way,” he said.
I’m sure he didn’t mean for me to take those words the way my mind decided to right then, conjuring up all sorts of naked, sweaty images. His hands on my hips, dragging me back as he slammed forward.
“I won’t let you fall,” he assured me, making a little shiver move through me as I made myself take a step forward while he hung up my smock.
Focus.
I needed to focus.
He was being a perfectly nice friend.
I desperately needed one of those.
I couldn’t go screwing that up by getting steamy fantasies in my head.
“I trust you,” I said, reaching for the ladder rungs and starting to make my way up.
It wasn’t until I felt Sully behind me that his words really sunk in.
He’d be right behind me.
Which meant that as I climbed higher, his head was basically in my butt.
At least that realization motivated me to go up more quickly, completely forgetting all about the steepness until I was suddenly at the top.
He’d taken me to the glass room that sat on top of the biker clubhouse.
Not only that.
He’d had it set up with blankets and pillows. As well as a carafe and mugs.
That must have been what Nave was doing.
Setting this all up for us.
My heart felt like it grew five sizes, threatening to break free from the confines of my chest; it felt so full.
“Wow,” I said, suddenly glad Sully was focused on my butt and not my face as more embarrassing tears filled my eyes.
“If Brooks or Fallon asks, this never happened,” Sully said, sounding like he was smiling.
“Are we not supposed to be here?” I asked, crawling inside to allow Sully to come up with me.
“On a normal night, no one cares. But since we’re on lockdown, it’s supposed to be a guard up here. I kind of worked out a deal with Nave,” Sully said, turning to close the little trap door, then walking on his knees over toward where I was already settling against the pillow-lined wall.
“It’s really pretty up here,” I said, looking out at the lights of Navesink Bank, then tilting my head up to look at the stars overhead. “This would be the perfect reading spot. A nice little book light. Tea. A good book…”
“Well, we have hot chocolate,” Sully said, reaching for the carafe.
“Even better. I’ve only had six different kinds of chocolate today,” I added, accepting the mug he handed to me.
“Those are rookie numbers,” Sully declared as he poured my mug, then his own. “Should we toast?”
“To the best night I’ve ever had,” I said, meaning it down to my bones.
“It beat out midnight margaritas?”
“I loved that. But one hundred percent. Here,” I said, setting down my drink, then reaching into my pocket to produce the bracelet. “I made this for you,” I told him. “I can, uh, turn it into a keychain if bracelets aren’t your thing.”
“What? No. Put it on me,” he demanded, holding out his hand toward me. “Damn, way to show me up,” he said, eyeing it.
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” I told him. “I loved how I could tell who your bracelets were for based on the colors. You seem really close with the princesses.”
“I wasn’t expecting them when I joined the club. But they might be my favorite part. They’re the glue for this club. The guys are great too, don’t get me wrong. But the girls are the heart.”
“I really like them too. Well, what I know of them so far.”
“Wait until you meet Vi and Willa and… all the others.”
He was saying it like he knew for sure I would get the chance to know them. Even if I was hyperaware that this situation between us was going to have an end point eventually. I couldn’t live in the clubhouse indefinitely. And, at some point, this guy who was a possible threat to me would be gone. I’d have no reason not to go home.
“What’s the dark cloud about?” Sully asked, watching me as he took a long sip of his hot chocolate. “Come on. You can tell me.”
“I hope I get a chance to meet them before… you know.”
“Before what?”
“Before I have to leave.”
Damn.
I shouldn’t have said ‘have to’ leave. That made me sound desperate to stay. And guys hated when women got desp—
“What does that have to do with anything?” Sully asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, you silly goose, you,” Sully said, suddenly throwing an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer, then turning me into his chest. “You’re stuck with us now.”
Maybe I would have preferred if he said I was stuck with him but I was too busy feeling all warm and tingly being so close to him to be nitpicking.
“Unless you don’t want to be, obviously,” Sully said, arm holding me tight. “You have options. But speaking for us, we want to keep you.” There was a pause. Then, with his lips seemingly pressed to the top of my head, “I want to keep you.”
“Yeah?” I asked, hearing the neediness in my voice.
“Yeah,” he agreed, his hand starting to slide up and down my spine. While I lay there, listening to the comforting beat of his heart against my ear, feeling the warmth of him settling into me. “Bonnie,” he called, voice a soft caress. But there was a gentle command there that had me lifting my head.
The look in his bright blue eyes made my belly swoop as his hand moved up my back, over my shoulder, then up my jaw.
Heat sizzled up my spine and pooled between my legs.
His hand applied just the smallest bit of pressure, urging me upward.
If this was anyone else, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Lift up. Move closer. Give him the silent invitation he was seeking.
Then he was closing the distance, his lips landing softly on mine.
There was no stopping the soft moan that escaped me. And then Sully was moving, turning, rolling me under him.
He was a welcome weight that had me immediately spreading my legs to pull him between, had my arms going tightly around him. His lips pressed deeper, harder, grew more demanding. And I was too happy to give him anything he wanted.
His tongue traced the seam of my lips, waiting for them to fall open before slipping inside, tasting of chocolate.
I whimpered against his lips as my hips rocked up against him, feeling his hardness against me. When I shifted, moving more fully against him, my hips rocking up, trying to get relief from the ache building in my core, a low, rumbling sound moved through him.
His lips broke away, his forehead pressing to mine as he took a slow, deep breath. Looking for control.
But that’s the last thing I wanted.
Emboldened by my own desire, by his reaction to it, my hands slid down his spine, then sank into his ass, dragging him more fully against me.
“Fuck, baby,” Sully groaned as I did another rock.
Sully ground down into me, the pressure dragging a ragged moan out of me.
“That’s a good sound,” Sully said, voice ragged.
“No,” I whimpered when he suddenly pulled away from me.
“Shh,” he murmured, grabbing me, pulling me with him as he sat back against the wall again, moving me to straddle him. “I want to watch,” he said, head tipping down to press into my neck. A shiver coursed through me as another wave of need tightened in my core. “That’s it,” he said when my instincts took over, making my hips rock down onto his lap again.
Sully’s hands slid down my back, sinking into my butt and using it to help me writhe against him. His lips, tongue, and teeth grazed up my neck, the shell of my ear, down my jaw, then finally sealed over mine again.
All rational thought—and my chronic insecurities—fell away then. All that was left was him. And the need building to a fever pitch inside of me.
Sully’s lips pulled from mine, his eyes opening, watching me as I rocked harder and faster against him, too consumed by my need to overthink this moment.
“Come for me, baby,” he murmured, his voice somehow soft and rough at the same time.
And just like that, the orgasm crashed through me, making me lean forward, pressing my lips to his shoulder to muffle my cries as the waves kept taking me under over and over.
Sully held me through it, his arms an anchor.
It only took about two-point-five seconds after the climax settled for the nasty little voices in my head to start talking.
“Nope, nope, nope, we’re not gonna do that,” Sully said, hands gliding up and down my back. “Shut those thoughts up,” he demanded, fingers slipping under my shirt to tease over my overheated bare skin.
A little shiver slid up my spine while the heat reignited.
His fingers traced the band of my bra, sneaking forward until his hands cupped my breasts through the material. My nipples hardened, and the press of them against his palms dragged a low groan out of Sully.
His hands shifted up, starting to tease up the cups.
And then there was a knock on the damn trap door.
“Go away,” Sully called, giving me a smile as his fingertips danced across the tops of my breasts.
“Troops are on their way in,” Nave called.
“Damnit,” Sully sighed.
Sensing the moment was gone, I slid back off of his lap and turned to start gathering up the blankets into a pile.
Sully sat there for a second, head tilted up, taking slow, deep breaths. Clearly trying to bring some calm back into his body.
“Hand me down some shit,” Nave called.
With Sully still not moving, I crawled over him toward the trap door, opening it and passing him the carafe.
“There’s a bag in the corner for the blankets,” Nave told me.
“Okay. Thanks.” With that, I watched him move back down the ladder.
But then I felt Sully’s hands on my butt, squeezing.
I looked back, seeing how I was on all fours bridged over his legs. Which, essentially, left my ass in his view.
“We have to go,” I reminded him.
“I know,” he agreed.
But then his hand slid down and pressed between my thighs, dragging a surprised, needy whimper out of me as his fingers teased between my lips, finding my clit with expert precision.
“Sully,” I sighed as his fingers circled.
“How fast do you think I can make you come?” he asked, circling a little faster.
“We can’t.”
“Can’t we?”