Chapter Nine #2
He grunted, as he slammed his cock into me over and over.
“You want it rough, darlin’? You got it.
” Another series of savage thrusts. I screamed for him, losing all sense of shame or any need to guard my reactions.
This was the man I was growing to love with every ounce of my heart, and it was as wonderful as it was frightening.
Right now, I was desperately chasing the pleasure he wrung from my body with his hard, bold fucking.
He bent low, searching for the side of my neck with his mouth. He brushed his lips over my skin before biting down hard enough I was certain he left a mark. The small pain also triggered an orgasm that had me screaming yet again.
His grunts and snarls at my neck grew as his movements became erratic. Then, with one long groan, Sully emptied his cum deep inside my pussy. His cock throbbed in time with his shudders as his orgasm attacked him in waves.
We both gasped for breath. Sweat made our skin slide against each other. Sully’s weight was heavy on me, but I reveled in it. I slid my fingers into his hair as we both heaved for breath.
He shifted slightly, his hand sliding down my body. As his fingers skimmed over my ribs where the bruises from the fight with Jenkins’ man in the parking garage next to the mall had faded to an ugly greenish yellow. “Did I hurt you, honey?”
“No.” I smiled up at him. “I felt no pain.”
Sully sat up and bent his head to my ribs.
He brushed his lips over my skin with reverent strokes.
The gesture was so achingly tender, emotion tightened my throat and my eyes burned.
Big feelings swelled in my chest, threatening to overflow.
Did I really love this man? Did he love me? Why did I care?
The answer was simple. Sully was entrenched in my heart, and I wasn’t altogether sure I wanted rid of him.
I should have felt vulnerable, and maybe I did in some ways.
Mostly because I wasn’t certain of my place in Sully’s future.
I mean, sure, he’d said all the right things, but did he really mean them?
But in addition to my uncertainty, a strange peace settled over me, a contentment I couldn’t remember ever feeling before.
It was terrifying and wonderful all at once.
“You okay?” he asked softly, pressing a kiss between my breasts.
“Mmm,” was all I could manage. I was too drained to form words.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest and into mine. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
We lay tangled together on top of the bedding.
I settled with my head resting on Sully’s chest, his arm curved protectively around me.
The room was quiet except for the sound of our gradually slowing breaths and the distant hum of the compound settling for the night.
My body felt heavy, pleasantly exhausted in a way that reached down to my bones.
I should have been planning my escape by now.
Instead, I found myself sinking deeper into his embrace, my muscles relaxed in a way that had nothing to do with physical release and everything to do with the man holding me.
The unfamiliar sense of peace washed over me in gentle waves.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this way.
Maybe I never had. There was always an edge to me, a constant vigilance, a readiness to cut out at the first sign of trouble.
It was how I’d survived. But here, with Sully’s steady heartbeat beneath my ear and his warmth surrounding me, that edge had dulled to something almost imperceptible.
It was terrifying. And I honestly couldn’t be happier.
Sully’s thumb feathered over my skin where his hand curved around my shoulder. The gentle touch soothed me. Praised me.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, his voice a low rumble I could feel through his chest.
“Nothing,” I lied, then amended, “Everything.”
He chuckled softly, not pushing for a more coherent answer. Thank God, because how was I supposed to tell Sully I’d gone and fallen in love with him?
As I lay there, surrounded by Sully’s strength and warmth, the usual panic didn’t come. Instead, I felt something shifting inside me.
“Sully?”
“Yeah, baby.”
I was silent for a long moment, not really sure what I was going to say. If he’d pressed me, I’d have told him nothing and closed my eyes to rest. When he waited patiently, I took a breath. “I love you.”
He stilled but didn’t speak right away. Then he exhaled in a long, soft breath.
A release of tension I hadn’t realized he was holding.
His lips found my forehead before he tilted my head back by pinching my chin gently.
Then he gave me a long, lingering kiss. When he pulled back, he pressed another kiss to my forehead. “I love you too, Darby.”
We lay entwined in the quiet darkness. I think we both knew there had been a fundamental change in our relationship.
Hell, if I was honest, I’d known Sully was different that first night we’d been together.
What had started as physical attraction had deepened into something neither of us had expected.
But I wasn’t running from this. I was staying, at least for tonight. And maybe, just maybe, for all the nights that followed.