Page 36 of Sunshine & Sinful

Was it real? Is it real? I don’t have a fuckin’ clue. You never know with my son. One minute, he’s annoyed by the girl whose mother died, who we took in so she wouldn’t end up alone on the street in a van that barely ran. The next, he’s madly in love with her, and they’re getting hitched and having babies.

I wasn’t there to witness the Penelope affair unfold.

Only that it did, and they’re still technically married. Well, as married as you can be to a man with a fake identity. Then again, the IRS seems to think Maxim is as real as his tax documents, so I guess you can say my kid has two wives.Had.

Kali wonders why I didn’t tell her what happened with Dark when he was on a run, knocking up Abby and returning home with her and their baby in tow. She blames me for breaking that trust, and I don’t hold that against her. She doesn’t understand I did it for her own good, not because I was protecting my son or the club. I was protecting her. I couldn’t share he was married to Penelope when it happened because I didn’t know if she’d even believe me if I did. But when Dark showed up with a whole new family, that ended any chance of fixing a broken relationship Kali never realized was broken in the first place.

It was a gift, whether she realizes it or not.

With him gone, I was able to move her into her new home, give her as much independence as I could afford, and support her imminent heartbreak.

It’s gut-wrenching watching the woman you love more than anything in this world mourn the loss of her family.But on the other side of pain is growth, and damn if badass doesn’t look good on her.

“Tell me everything,” I order Gunz, my tech-savvy brother.

“Alright. Buckle up.”

Still seated on the bench, I hitch my foot onto my knee and get comfortable. This is gonna take a while.

TWELVE

Kali

Rolling over in bed,I groan and pat the empty spot next to me, hoping to find a body. No dice. Sunshine’s gone. Damn.

Rubbing the crusties from my eyes, I stretch and blink myself awake. It’s difficult, considering I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. In a good way. Alright. Maybe that’s a horrible example. My poor pussy is sore. I spread my legs to give the bare lady a chance to breathe and hopefully stop throbbing. It’s a pleasant throb that reminds you of a wild night… and last night…holy hell…that was… something.

Licking my dry lips, I rub a hand down my belly and pause for a moment at the small thatch of hair above my sex before I venture down. Every inch is swollen from overuse. Even my clit is oversensitive when I draw a fingerover the bundle of nerves and hiss at the electrical shock that makes my toes curl.

Peering around the room, I look for evidence the man in question is still here. I don’t think he’d disappear like a one-night stand. At least, I’d hope not. Not when he’s been my literal ride-or-die for well over twenty years. He was the first person to buy me a new wardrobe after my mother passed. The same man who sold my van, gave me what little cash it was worth, and moved me into his house, no questions asked. Just like that, we were family. Now we’re what? More than that?

I sniff the air, hoping for bacon, but I come back with a hint of coffee instead. Sunshine only drinks coffee when he’s stressed, tired, or both. Is he out there contemplating what went down last night without me? That man sure as hell better not be. We can figure this out together just like we have most everything else.

Rolling out of bed, I force myself to stand and use my nightstand to keep me up as I gain my balance. Even my thighs ache, which makes sense. I rode that man like a bull last night after he bent me in every direction, even ways I didn’t know I could bend, to fuck me into a coma.

Not bothering with clothes just yet, I hobble into the bathroom to pee, give myself a quick whore bath in the sink, and brush my teeth. Not wanting to stink, I liberally apply the deodorant and smell myself—vanilla fresh. The matted mess of my hair on top of my head is not easily tamed by a brush. I use my fingers to unknot places I didn’t even know could get knotted like this from just a night of sex. Damn. We sure did a number on my body. There are tiny fingertip bruises sprinkled across my shouldersand an even bigger one on my thigh. How did I get a hickie on my tit? I probe the discolored skin around my nipple, testing to see if it hurts. It doesn’t. Drawing a hand down my front, I press my palm to the center of my belly, right over the skull and raven tattoos. It’s fluttery in there—a whirlwind of unexpected emotions running rampant. We’ll deal with those later.

Back in the bedroom, I blindly gather clothes from my drawers—an old, oversized t-shirt from Sunshine and a pair of black cotton booty shorts. Not wanting my toes to freeze, I step into my moccasins and mosey out of my room into the living space, where I find a cereal-munching Lily at the kitchen island still in her unicorn Pjs and a pissed-off Sunshine seated on the couch in the living room, arms tucked across his chest. The set of his jaw is scary as he stares blankly at some spot on the floor, deep in thought.

“Everything okay?” I address him, then focus on Lily when I ask, “Did you sleep well, kiddo?” In other words, please tell me you slept like a rock, and my noises didn’t wake you.

Spoon shoved into her mouth, Lily smiles around the mound of cereal and nods enthusiastically.

Thank Mother Earth.

I blow out a relieved breath.

That’s good.

We didn’t scar her for life.

Turning back to Sunshine, I approach the living room hesitantly. His gaze zeros in on me, and the tension in his shoulders and the wrinkles in his forehead deepen the closer I get. Wanting to give him space because somethingis seriously off with this man, I slide in front of the chair and bend to sit, only to be stopped by a hand wrapping around my forearm and drawing me directly into his lap, right in front of Lily. Sunshine doesn’t seem to give a crap about that when both of his arms wrap around me protectively, and he kisses the underside of my chin.

A low, almost purring rattles in his chest as he nuzzles my neck. “Good morning, Sweets.”

“Morning.”

“How you feelin’ this morning?”

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