Page 39 of Sully

“The cover was very deceptive,” she said as I flipped to look at it in all its cartoon character glory.

“You can say that again. Feel better after that?” I asked. I meant the shower. But the way her fading blush spread once again across her cheeks had me thinking she did things in that shower that I really didn’t need to know about. It was feat enough to keep my cock down while reading her steamy book. I couldn’t add the idea of her rubbing one out in the shower to the mix. Least of all if she was doing so because of me. “The shower,” I clarified.

“Oh, right. Yeah. I, uh, still felt kind of grimy from the basement and the stress sweat and… everything,” she said. “I will wash your sheets when we get back to the clubhouse.”

“It’s probably already being done as it is. The perks to prospects,” I said to her blank look. “They’re prospective—“

“I know,” she said. “I’ve read biker romance books before.”

“Have you? Any characters with my name, that I may or may not be real-life inspiration for?”

“Not that I know of,” she said, smile soft. “I’m just gonna pack some stuff up. Then we can get going. Nave and Perish look like they need sleep. Oh, I wanted to ask…”

“Ask me what?”

“Perish.”

“Yeah, that’s his real name,” I said, shaking my head. “Wonder what kind of parents he had,” I added, getting up. “I’ll help you pack,” I offered. “Including this. Because you bookmarked it just before some of the best parts,” I told her.

I expected her to brush me off, say she could do it herself, but she just let me follow her into her bedroom, where she grabbed a large duffle, then a weekender bag, and, finally, an extra-large purse.

“For crafts,” she said as I eyed it.

“Of course,” I agreed. Even if I’d been secretly hoping we could have a repeat of the whole coloring my back thing. Hell, I wasn’t above getting another tattoo or two for her to use as a canvas. Maybe even places more erotic…

No.

Jesus.

I needed to get a grip.

Bonnie’s bedroom was somehow even cozier than her living room. Lots of plush drapes on the windows, a corner recliner, and a bed covered in a borderline absurd number of blankets, pillows, and those big squishy animal pillows. Though it didn’t escape my notice that the bed itself was a full. Sure, you could sleep on a full with a partner. But it would be cramped.

Everything about Bonnie’s life said she didn’t share it with men. Or, at least, not real ones. She had the fictional ones on lock.

Lord knew it had nothing to do with looks. She was a fucking smoke show. She just… didn’t put herself out there. And I found that both a little sweet—because there was something endearing about her cozy, quiet life—but also a little sad. Because she was missing out on a lot of fun and happiness and connection.

I didn’t think, as I dropped onto her bed and pulled a plush to my chest to watch her shove clothes in her biggest bag, that she genuinely wanted to be as isolated as she clearly was. She wasjust… shy and fearful. And worried that people would judge her for her anxiety.

Well, I had the girl for a solid week, if not more. And if there was one thing I was good at, it was fun.

And if there was one thing she could find in the club and the family surrounding it, it was community, inclusion, friendship, and people who would accept her just as she was.

Sure, it was fucked up how she came to arrive at the club. But we sure as hell could make it up to her. Me more than anyone else.

Though, I reminded myself as I followed her into the living room, watching as she shoved a ton of shit into the large purse—and a few more books into her clothes bag, actually discarding a sweater to fit them—that the fun I was about to show her wasnotgoing to include the naked kind I was having a hard time not obsessing over.

CHAPTER TEN

Bonnie

The rest of that day involved Sully actually clearing out a drawer in his dresser for me and relocating a third of his Hawaiian shirt collection to a shelf for me to hang my clothes, eating the takeaway feast his club brothers had ordered, and explaining to a few of said men what a gem art painting was and why I didn’t just do paint-by-numbers instead. The answer mostly being that gems didn’t require water.

Just when I thought I might get a little alone time with Sully, though, his president pulled him away. And, feeling awkward around the other guys, I excused myself back to Sully’s room.

But he didn’t return.

It was stupid, but I kind of hoped he would come back with me. We would watch more movies. Maybe he could sleep there again.

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