Sunny
She had to leave, she reasoned for what seemed the millionth time. It was the only responsible thing to do. She couldn’t risk becoming another source of upheaval in their young lives. Yet, the thought of walking away from the girls made her heart lurch.
In the time she’d been with the Andersons, Maddie and Hailey had burrowed their way into her heart. Their resilience in the face of grief, their giggles during movie nights, the way they looked to her for comfort after nightmares. Leaving them felt like abandoning her own family.
But he held up a hand.
She had to say this now, before her resolve weakened.
“I…I felt like leaving. Running away,” she admitted.
She saw the surprise and hurt flash across his face.
“Not just because of you, or what happened,” she added. “But because of the girls. They’ve been through so much already. I can’t be another source of confusion or pain for them.”
Liam’s expression softened.
“You wanted to leave because you care about them,” he said, understanding dawning in his eyes. “In a messed up way, that makes perfect sense.”
Sunny nodded, blinking back tears.
“But I can’t. The thought of leaving them… it hurts too much. They need stability, Liam. They need someone who won’t abandon them.”
“Like you were abandoned,” Liam said quietly, and Sunny’s heart skipped a beat.
She’d shared little snippets of her childhood with him, but she hadn’t realized he’d pieced them together. But she wasn’t angry. More resigned.
“Yes,” she said, looking at him earnestly. “I know what it’s like to feel unwanted, to have people come in and out of your life. I won’t do that to Maddie and Hailey. So I’m staying, if you’ll all have me.”
She took a deep breath to steady herself.
“But I need you to understand, Liam. I… I’m not sure I can control myself around you.”
She felt vulnerable admitting that, as if she were handing him power that he could wield over her. But the time for hiding was over. This was about more than just the two of them. She had to be honest.
“Last night was…” she continued.
“Incredible,” Liam finished for her, his voice husky.
He took a step towards her.
Sunny’s pulse quickened.
“Yes,” she breathed. “It was. I can’t deny that. But..”
“I feel the same way, Sunny,” Liam interrupted again. “That’s why I went AWOL yesterday. I needed to think, to clear my head.”
Sunny’s eyes widened. She had wondered about his absence, assuming he was avoiding her out of regret or shame.
“And what did you decide?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Liam closed the distance between them, his gaze intense.
“I decided that I want you, Sunny.”
She could only stare at him, her heart hammering in her chest.
“Not just physically,” he continued. “Though God knows I do. But your kindness, your strength, the way you are with my girls… you’re everything I’m not. Everything this house needs.”
Sunny’s heart swelled at those words, she couldn’t help it. But she forced herself to stay focused on the issue at hand.
“Liam, we can’t. We just can’t. Your daughters…”
“I know,” he said, stepping back, giving her space now. “They come first. Always. But Sunny, what if… what if we could have both? Keep it discreet, set some rules? Establish boundaries.”
Sunny stared at him, incredulous. Her mouth hung open.
“You mean… continue what happened last night?”
The idea was thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.
Liam nodded, his sharp blue eyes fixing her with an intense look.
“We keep it professional around the girls. No signs of affection, no shared rooms What happens between us stays private. It’s not ideal, I know, but…it might just work.”
Her mind was racing. The proposal had blindsided her.
It was risky. So incredibly risky. If the girls found out, if anyone found out, for that matter.
But the nuclear option was leaving Hailey and Maddie and walking away.
The other alternative was staying and denying this connection, this unexpected comfort and spark Liam and Sunny had found in each other.
“We can try,” she said quietly, as if the idea was an abstract concept that she still had to properly digest. Her response came more from her heart than her head, she had to admit. Then she looked up at him sharply.
“But the moment it starts affecting the girls, we stop,” she added, rather too harshly. “No ifs. No buts. No exceptions.”
Relief washed over Liam’s face. The physical tension he was holding in his body seemed to abate. He reached out, cupping her cheek gently.
“I agree one hundred per cent. Giving them stability is what matters most. We can do that. The two of us.”
Sunny nodded.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “For staying. For understanding. For all of us.”
Then without wasting a second he leaned down and kissed her, and Sunny was lost.
It was different from the previous night’s desperate passion. This was slower, deeper, a seal on their unconventional agreement.
Sunny melted into him, her body molding to his larger frame.
She knew they were playing with fire, that their delicate house of cards could come crashing down if they were not careful. But right now, in the safety of Liam’s tight embrace, she allowed herself to feel the warmth of his body and melt under his tender touch. She decided to just let go.
Liam appeared to sense her surrender. He gently pushed her back against the wall then knelt down and stripped her of her trousers and panties.
He began tracing delicate kisses up her legs while massaging the back of her calves with his large hands.
His kisses deepened as he moved his lips to the inside of her thighs.
Sunny sucked in a breath and tilted her head towards the ceiling, enjoying the intimate sensation of Liam’s warm lips against her soft flesh. She placed her palms flat against the wall as he traced his mouth to the top of her legs.
Liam reached for her left leg and gently placed it over his shoulder, so her legs were spread. Sunny gasped in anticipation.
Liam began to ever-so-delicately trace his tongue over her folds, taking his time exploring every millimeter of her most intimate area before finally finding her thrumming clit. He worked his his tongue in gentle circles, making Sunny delirious as waves of pleasure radiated from her center.
He began licking her with greater intensity, flicking his tongue against her tingling flesh and occasionally sucking on her swollen nub. Sunny’s breathing became labored as her whole body felt electrified by Liam’s skillful touch.
She had reached the point of no return as Liam’s tongue darted with a primal ferocity across her clit.
She cupped her hands around his head as spasms of the purest white-hot pleasure rippled across her whole body.
She tried her best not to scream the house down, but instead let out a series of gasps as the electricity cascaded though her being.
Just as she reached her crescendo, Liam spread her legs wider and then buried his tongue deep within her soaking vagina.
That was Sunny’s undoing. It felt so raw, so intimate, so connected.
She instinctively drew his head closer to her soaking pussy as his tongue explored hungrily inside her.
She had a vice-like grip on him as her orgasm reignited, sending fresh, even more intense waves of the purest ecstasy across her body.
She could feel her nipples were rock hard against her shirt as she arched her back against the wall behind her.
She had never felt anything like this in her life. Her legs began quivering. It was a miracle that she was able to remain upright. And still Liam tasted her juices with an insatiable hunger, using his tongue and lips to drink her in, to taste every part of her.
The sensation finally become too much and Sunny legs actually buckled under the spasms of bliss.
Liam was attuned to her body and quickly scooped her up in his strong arms before she could hit the floor. He carried her over to the bed while looking down longingly into her eyes. Sunny could only lay there in his strong grip, looking up into this chiseled face with a look of sheer surrender.
He gently lay her down on the mattress — then knelt on the floor before her.
Sunny had thought that her moment of bliss was over. But Liam had other ideas.
He gently spread her thighs again and buried his mouth in her folds once again, carrying on from where he left off.
Sunny felt the heat rising in her again as Liam went to work.
She clutched at the sheet with her fingers as the tip of Liam’s tongue found her clit again with the gentlest of touches.
He was going to make this last…and last… and last.
Later, as they lay tangled in each other’s arms on the bed, Sunny traced the lines of Liam’s face.
“That was…” she began. But could find no words. Mere language couldn’t do justice to what she had experienced over and over and over again in the last hour.
“I don’t even know what what was,” she said, finally, admitting defeat,
Liam just smiled at her.
“That was…” he said gently, “…my absolute pleasure,” before leaning forward and kissing her passionately.
They lay in each other’s arms for a long while.
But as Sunny slowly came down from the electrifying and disorienting sexual high, her thoughts also began to come back down to earth. The stark reality of their situation came back into focus.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” she murmured.
Liam caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm.
“Nothing worth having is,” he replied. “But we’ll make it work. For the girls, and for us.”
Sunny nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips.
But she also thought about the risk they were taking, the delicate balance they’d have to maintain.
However, as she looked into Liam’s eyes, she saw the hope and determination flaring there.
She felt the same emotions in her own heart. She could not deny it.
Liam dressed in silence. The air thick with unspoken promises and fears.
Before he left her room, he pulled her into one last embrace.
“We’re in this together,” he whispered against her hair.
“Together,” Sunny echoed, drawing strength from his words.