Page 41 of Taming Bull

Monica: Where are you? Carly said you and Bull are talking. Do you need backup? A rescue? Assistance with body disposal?

I belted out a laugh. Her willingness to commit a felony on my behalf hit me right in the feels. I had so much to tell her. Bull had just tickled my tonsils with his tongue—through my vagina—and now I was waiting for him to return from the bathroom so we could discuss the details of our upcoming nuptials. She should start working on her maid of honor speech. I drafted out my response, but realized it exceeded the limit of crazy I was allowed to let even Monica see, so I erased the text and tried again.

Me: No questions asked body disposal is probably the thing I love most about our friendship. Well, that and your homemade chocolate chip cookies. Thank you. I’m good, though. For now. I’ll let you know if I snap and need a clean-up crew.

Monica’s response consisted of a series of emojis. Knife, heart, casket, broom, party, Chinese food carton, and champagne glasses. Apparently, we’d stab him in the heart, bury him, sweep the whole thing under the rug, and then celebrate with Chinese takeout and champagne. If things didn’t work out between me and Bull, it was a solid Plan B.

The door opened, and Bull stepped in. He closed the door, but his hand rested on the knob, like he hadn’t decided to stay. He did not meet my gaze.

Fighting the urge to scream, I set my phone aside and gave him my undivided attention. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” His tone was a little too defensive. “Now that we’re done talking, I thought we might want to go back downstairs and catch the rest of the party.”

Was he ashamed? He still wasn’t looking at me. If he was second-guessing the best moment of my life, I was going to have to call Monica for that clean-up after all.

“No.” I verbally put my foot down. “Clearly we’re not done talking, because you’re acting all standoffish again.”

“I’m not standoffish, I’m… We still have a shit-load of obstacles to face, Lily.”

“Lily? What the fuck happened to Angel? After two years, you’ve finally given me a nickname that doesn’t suck. I like it. If you even think about revoking it, I’ll buy some costume angel wings so I can use them to beat you upside your stubborn, foolish head.”

Stubborn, foolish head lolling to the side, the look he gave me made it clear he thought I was being unreasonable.

“Don’t look at me like that. You said you need me. Well, I need you, too. Yeah, we have shit to face, but we’ll face it together. You’re my best friend, Bull. I’m not letting you go. And, I’m not letting you overthink this so you can go back to acting like a little bitch.”

“I’m looking out for you. That doesn’t make me a little bitch. That makes me a concerned friend.”

“No, a concerned friend would realize I don’t need looking out for. I’m not after you for your family or your life in Shiner, Texas. I have a family.” My hands flew up to encompass the entirety of the club. “I have a life. I have an education and a job. I even have a dog now.”

His brow furrowed. “You do?”

“Yes. I’m happy and fulfilled. I don’t need you to do that for me. I need you because I love you.”

His shoulders relaxed and he let out a breath, finally meeting my gaze. “It won’t be easy.”

“Pfft. You don’t want easy. She might look tempting, but easy’s the village bicycle. She comes with burning STDs and raging regret.”

He coughed to cover a surprised laugh, but not before it stole away a little more of the tension in his shoulders. Shaking his head, he admitted, “I never know what you’re gonna say.”

That made two of us. “Hey. Stick with me, kid, you’ll never get bored.”

The humor drained from his face. “Kid?”

I shrugged. “You did say you wanted it easy. It seems like a man would want more of a challenge.”

That got a chuckle out of him. “What am I gonna do with you?”

“I have a few ideas. Let’s see if you can guess.” I gripped the top of the sheet that was curled up under my arms. “Am I gonna have to show you my boobs again as a clue?”

He considered me for a moment, his gaze drifting down over my body. The sheet didn’t offer much coverage, and he could most likely see what his attention was doing to my nipples.

“Wouldn’t hurt, but sex won’t solve everything.”

“Says who?” I scrunched up my nose. “You? By your own admission, you lack the experience necessary to make that judgement. That kind of conclusion can only come through… well, coming.” Smirking, I let the sheet dip a little until it barely covered my nipples. “Lots and lots of coming.”

Grinning, he valiantly tried to keep eye contact despite his apparent desire to leer at my exposed flesh. I could almost see his eyeballs bouncing south. “Fair enough.”

It felt so right to banter with him like this. Comfortable. Bull felt it, too. He’d taken a few steps closer, the remaining tension had drained from his body, and his eyes were filled with amusement. I’d just needed to remind him how good we were together. This would work. I didn’t need him to save me from his past; I was my own knight. Patting the bed beside me, I said, “Ass. Here. Now.”

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