by Jamie Pope
He looked down into her eyes with concern in his. “Are you okay?” He cupped her cheek. “I didn’t hurt you?”
“No. It was perfect. Thank you.”
He gathered her into his arms and rested his lips on her forehead. He was very quiet and she could feel that there was something churning inside of him. He was thinking hard about something and Sunny felt her insecurities rise even though she knew they shouldn’t. She had wanted nothing more from him than this.
“What’s the matter, Julian?”
“I’m feeling a lot right now.”
“Is one of those things regret?”
“I regret not making love to you months ago. I knew we would end up here. The pull was too strong. You’re my best friend, Sunny, and I feel like knowing you has changed me. I’m not sure I recognize myself anymore.”
“All that from having sex with me once. Damn, I must be good in bed.”
He laughed out loud and pulled her on top of him. “You are,” he said, still smiling at her. “I imagined being with you a thousand times. All the things I would do to your body.” He ran his hands down her back, arousing her again.
“It wasn’t like you expected?”
“No.” He sought her lips and gave her a slow but incredibly sexual kiss. It wasn’t sweet like the kisses he gave her before. “You gave me your virginity and now I’m selfish. I don’t want you to ever have sex with another man as long as you live, no matter what happens.”
“Oh . . .” She rubbed her body against his. “There’s only one way for me to even consider that.”
“What’s that?” He grinned.
“You’re going to have to make sure all my needs are satisfied.”
“I think I can do that.”
“Are you sure, Mr. King? I have so many of them.”
He rolled her back over and pushed inside of her. “Be careful what you ask for, Gibson. I might never leave you alone.”
* * *
Julian sat on the edge of Sunny’s bed while he waited for her to get ready. He was in a weird place. His body felt calm, satisfied in a way he didn’t think was possible, but his mind was a jumble. He couldn’t shake what Sunny had told him last night. She had witnessed a man being killed right in front of her eyes, but it was the man who was trying to groom her, the man who was brutal enough to burn a small child with an iron when she fought to stay away from him. And her mother.... Too stupid, or selfish, or sick to know that she should never let a strange man watch your child.
How the hell did Sunny stay so strong? How the hell did she survive it? He wasn’t that strong. His life hadn’t been that hard. He had a family and a support system. He had opportunities. She had to fight for everything she had and she still didn’t have a lot.
And he had made love to her. Finally. He had waited so long. He had been afraid to before because he knew what it would mean. He would want more of her. Crave more of her. She was a drug to him. There were a thousand things going on in his mind. His career. His future. His family, but the only clear thoughts he had seemed to revolve around her. He hated it. It wasn’t him. His career had always come first and now the only thing he was driven to do was be with her. Protect her. Save her even though she didn’t need him to do any of that.
She walked out of the bathroom wearing a little sundress that hugged her curvy body just right. Her feet were bare. Her curls were short and springy. She was adorable and sexy and just looking at her made him hard.
“I got coffee while you were getting ready. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to eat breakfast here or stop somewhere else.”
She placed a few items in her bag and then walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Hugging was new to him. It sounded odd, but it was. He never shared this kind of closeness with Regina. They never touched just to touch. She never just pressed her body to his without seduction in mind. And he had never attempted it with her or any other woman, for that matter. He wasn’t affectionate. At least he didn’t used to be, but he savored Sunny’s every touch. He leaned into it. It made him feel like he had never felt before.
“I don’t care where we eat, just as long as there is a lot of it and it’s bad for me.” She kissed his forehead and because he wasn’t satisfied with that, he lifted his chin and pressed his lips to hers.
She let out a little moan as if his kisses were delicious and he found it arousing. He knew he should let her go. They had to get on the road. They needed to eat, but he was more hungry for her than any food. He kissed her again and skimmed his fingers up the backs of her thighs.
“You’re not wearing any underwear,” he said when his fingers found her bottom to be bare, round, and smooth.
“You weren’t supposed to put your hands that far up my dress.” She gave him a sexy grin and turned away from him.
“I think you planned that. You didn’t put any on because you wanted to turn me on so much that it’s hard for me to think.”
“I just forgot to take them in the bathroom with me.”
He followed her around the room, grabbed her arm, spun her toward him, and kissed her.
“I want you again. This is why I waited so long, because I knew once I had you, I would never be able to have enough of you. You’re going to have to start carrying a hose with you.”
“No.” She closed her eyes and leaned into him. “It feels good to be wanted.”
“How are you feeling?” He slipped his fingers between her legs to find her wet already. “Are you sore from last night? We don’t have to have sex. Tell me what you want.”
“I’ve always dreamed about you taking me against a wall in a hotel room.” That mischievous grin crossed her face again and it turned him on so much his hands trembled as he pulled her dress up and pushed against the nearest wall.
She tore at the fly on his shorts and he was inside of her in moments. She was so tight and wet and he could barely control himself. Her legs were wrapped tightly around him, her fingers dug into his back and she cried out his name over and over. And then she climaxed. He felt her clench around him and it drove him over the edge. He let out a string of incoherent words and then carried her to the bed, laying her down gently.
“That was . . . I liked that,” she said with a smile.
“You let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. I’m happy to be of service.”
“Anything?”
“Anything. I would do anything for you.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “Call your mother. Please. For me. It feels wrong to leave it like that.”
“You’re thinking about my mother after sex like that? I feel inadequate.”
“I’m still seeing stars. There’s nothing inadequate about you, but please call her. I won’t ask you for anything else.”
She didn’t ask him for anything. Only to take this case and his life ended up being better for it. “Okay,” he sighed. “I’ll do this for you.”
* * *
He was surprised when his mother picked up his call on the first ring. He wasn’t sure he would have if the tables had been turned. She agreed to meet them in the same park they had met in the day before, but this time Julian knew what was coming.
He got out of his car to see his mother already waiting beside hers. Sunny grabbed his hand as they walked toward her. His heart was pounding a little harder than usual. He wasn’t sure why. If he had to put a name to it, he would say he was slightly nervous. But for the life of him, he didn’t know why.
“Hello,” Sunny greeted his mother with a bright smile. “Thank you for coming back. I hope we get the chance to talk one day.”
“Hello, Sunny. Thank you for convincing him to return. I know my son wouldn’t be here without you.”
“I’m pretty sure that a big part of Julian wants to be here. Or else I would have never gotten him to come back.” She looked at Julian and kissed the side of his face. “Just listen,” she whispered. “I’ll be near the pond. Come find me.”
She let go of his
hand and walked away. He hadn’t wanted to let her go, but he did because he knew that this conversation was one that he needed to have alone.
“I know my opinion doesn’t mean much to you, but I really like Sunny. The only thing I have ever wanted for you was to be happy and with her I don’t have to worry that you will be.”
Happy . . . Is that what he was with Sunny? He wasn’t sure he would describe it that way. He didn’t know how to describe the way he felt when he was with her. He had never felt this feeling before. There was a heady rush whenever she was near him and he missed her when she was gone. Then there was uncertainty because she wasn’t what he wanted for his life. But she was presented to him, like some sort of gift he never knew he wanted.
“She’s a thoroughly good person. She’s strong and she’s kind and she always puts everyone else first. I can’t say that about many people but I can say that about her. And sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve to know her.”
“What a beautiful thing to say.” She smiled. “I hope you tell her that.”
He should have told her that, but wasn’t sure he was able to. “I’m supposed to listen, but I have one question. Why the hell did you leave us the way you did?”
“I know you think I left you because I was unhappy with my life and that I regretted marrying your father, but that wasn’t it. Your father is a very good man and he was very good to me. My family wasn’t happy when I brought him home at first, but I didn’t give a damn about that. What you don’t know is that I had been pregnant again after Galen. From the start of the pregnancy I knew something wasn’t right, so your father and I agreed not to tell you until we were sure the baby was going to be okay. When I was around seven months pregnant, the baby died inside of me and I had to give birth to him. Do you remember when I was in the hospital when you were a kid? We told you it was my appendix.”
He nodded. He did remember. He had remembered her gaining weight and always being in pain, but he had never thought she was pregnant. They had been so happy when she was pregnant with Galen. That time, he could only remember his parents being worried all the time.
“The loss of that baby hit me incredibly hard. I developed a deep depression that I never sought help for. I thought it would go away on its own, but it didn’t. It only got worse. A lot worse. I started having vivid visions of hurting myself and hurting both of you. It’s why I used to lock myself in my room whenever you two were around. I was afraid of hurting you. Your father confronted me, telling me that if I didn’t get help he was going to have me committed. He was right. I needed to be committed, but I was so angry with him for telling me I was unfit, so I left. I drove across country alone and was found by the police when I tried to break in to someone’s home. I was committed to a hospital for five months.”
“Did Dad know you were in the hospital?”
“Yes, but I asked him not to tell you. I was ashamed. Ashamed of being sick. Ashamed for having those thoughts of hurting you. It took me a long time to be okay. It was a lot of therapy. A lot of medication changes. I was so afraid that those feelings would come back that I was too afraid to see you or your sister, to be alone with you. I was afraid to face you. You were better off with your father. It took me a long time to feel like myself again. Years and years and by the time I felt safe again, it was too late. You both hated me and I hated myself for not getting treated earlier.”
It was too much information to process at once. He turned away from his mother. He couldn’t look at her any longer. He couldn’t stand to see the pain on her face, or the tears in her eyes.
She was sick. She had been a danger to them. She had been ashamed.
“I wish you would have told us.” His voice came out choked. His throat burned. He didn’t sound like himself. “I spent so long being angry at you. Why the hell couldn’t you just tell us?”
“I didn’t know how. I didn’t think you would understand. But I love you. I have always loved you and the biggest regret of my life is that I didn’t see you grow up. That I can take no credit for the incredible man you have become.”
He turned back to her and wrapped her up in a quick tight hug. “I’m sorry,” he managed to get out. He kissed her forehead and then walked away from her, blindly walking down the path toward Sunny. He found her and she looked toward him without him even calling her name. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. His face was wet and hot. His chest burned and it took him a while to process what was happening to him.
Sunny never asked him what happened, she just ran her hands down his back and whispered soothing things in his ear.
It struck him in that moment that he wasn’t alone, that he didn’t feel alone for the first time. He had never realized that he felt that way before, and it shook him. He pulled away from her and stared at her for a long moment.
“I think we need to eat. I feel like French toast or maybe a western omelet or maybe both,” she told him.
It was the perfect thing for her to say to him in that moment. He took her hand and as he walked he began to think that it would be impossible to go back to a life without her.
Chapter 16
Sunny had never asked Julian what his mother said to him. They had gone to breakfast and drove nearly seven hours to get to South Carolina, but he remained silent on the matter until they stopped at a hotel that night. They were only about an hour away from his sister’s home, but she could tell he was exhausted. He showered and climbed into bed with her and started to tell her the story, not just what his mother had told him, but his memories of his childhood and how he had felt then and how he felt now. He had been in so much pain and she had hurt for him. She understood him better now. She felt closer to him.
He had made love to her afterward. Long, slow, intensely passionate, and intensely sweet. And in the morning, they got up and drove the rest of the way to the little island off the coast of South Carolina and Sunny felt like Julian had taken her to paradise. He had had his contact at his law firm put out a search for Grace’s husband, hoping they could track them down at the South Carolina home. In the meanwhile, they would relax. Have a real vacation. It was the first one Sunny had ever had.
The house was lovely, which was an odd word for a home of its size. It was more like an estate that overlooked the ocean. But it was homey and it felt like a place like she could stay forever.
“Alex used to come here as a kid with his parents and he had seen this house every year and promised himself he would own it one day. It was only supposed to be a summer home, but he fell in love with my sister here and this is where they stay most of the year.”
“I don’t blame them. It must be hard to leave here.”
“Let me take you inside to meet them.”
Sunny was nervous entering the house. She had met Julian’s mother yesterday, but she didn’t think much about it because of the nature of her relationship with Julian. But she was about to meet the rest of his family. The people he loved the most, the people who were the closest to him. She had always felt awkward around families. She had never really belonged to one. She didn’t know how to interact with them. She’d had her last foster mother who had taken care of her better than anyone else, but she hadn’t had her for very long, a little over a year. It was just the two of them and it was a quiet life until she had gotten sick and the cancer had quickly taken her away.
“They’ll like you,” he said softly just as they were entering. “I promise.”
Sunny heard a loud scream and then saw a flash of pink launch toward Julian.
“My big dumb brother is here!”
“Hey, little stupid sister.” He spun her around, hugging her tightly.
“I missed you,” she told him as he set her down. “You can’t wait so long to visit.”
“I have some time off now. I’m not rushing to get back to New York. You’ll be sick of me before I leave.” He looked over to the large man with wavy brown hair who was standing just behind Galen. “Hey, Alex.” He gave his brother-
in-law a brief hug.
“Good to see you, man. We’re glad you’re here.”
“Is that my boy?” Another large man, this one older, came from down the hall. He rushed and swept his son up in a huge hug. Julian did resemble his mother, but he was his father’s son.
Sunny felt emotional standing there watching the family reunion. It was sweet, but it made her feel empty. It made her hate herself a little for feeling jealous that she would never get this greeting, that there was never a home for her to return to.
“Guys,” Julian said when he let go of his father. “I want you to meet Sunny. Sunny, this is my father Peter, my sister Galen, and my brother-in-law Alex.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Julian only has wonderful things to say about all of you. Thank you, Galen and Alex, for letting me stay in your apartment. I really appreciate it.”
“You sent baked goods to us,” Alex said. “Those were the best brownies I have ever had. I have to hug you.”
He hugged her and then Galen hugged her and then Peter hugged her. They were warm and friendly and she liked them immediately.
“Galen, can you put Sunny in the seashell room? I think she’ll like the view from there.”
Galen frowned at him. “Of course. If you’re sure that’s what you want. And you would like to stay . . . ?”
“In the same place I stayed in last time.”
“Okay . . . Let me show you to your room, Sunny.” She looked at her husband. “Can you start the grill? Julian, grab the bags and meet us upstairs.”
Sunny followed Galen upstairs and listened while she gave a brief tour of the house.
“It’s all so incredibly beautiful,” Sunny said to her. “Thank you for allowing me to tag along with Julian and thank you again for the use of your apartment.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” She smiled. “My brother told me your apartment was broken into. He was concerned. Extremely concerned. In fact, I’ve never known my brother to be that concerned about anyone before.”
“He’s sweet. He can be a macho ass sometimes, but he’s a good man and it’s rare that I encounter anyone who cares as deeply as he does.”
