Ripple (Persy & Sully) (Seaside Valleria #2)

by Marianne Knightly

  He leaned forward and tipped up her chin. “First time for everything.” He gave her a quick kiss, then signaled for the waiter.

  She stayed silent while the check came then went with his credit card, stayed silent as he signed the receipt and left it on the table. Still silent, he helped her out of her chair and tucked her against him. She didn’t push him away, which he considered more progress.

  “Sully.”

  He halted just at the top of the stone steps. When a prince called your name, you didn’t ignore it. His head tipped down to Persy, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

  “Guess we’ll need to meet some royals. You up for it?”

  “No.”

  “You can wait here if you want.”

  “That would be rude.”

  “They’ll understand.” He didn’t know them, not really, and he couldn’t say for sure that would be true. However, Hector spoke well of them, so he’d give them the benefit of the doubt.

  She looked away, then back. “Will I need to curtsy?”

  He nodded. “Can you do that in those shoes?”

  “Probably.”

  “I’ll help you, honey.”

  She took a long breath. “D-do I look okay?”

  He took in her soft cheeks, painted with the barest hint of blush. Her lips—glossy at the start of their night—had faded into her natural pink and were even more gorgeous. “You’re beautiful.”

  She flushed. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He shifted his hand to hold hers and they made their way to the royal table.

  She leaned in and whispered. “Do I curtsy to all of them?”

  “Just curtsy once to the whole table.”

  She nodded and did just that when they stopped beside it. He waited until she finished before he bowed—he wanted to be ready in case she tripped or fell, but she was fine. He took her hand again and found it a little clammy.

  Prince Lorenzo stood, his eyes assessing Persy, and shook his hand. “Sully. I saw you heading out and just wanted to introduce you. Everyone, this is Officer Ronan Sullivan. He’s the Irish Liaison to the MPF this year.”

  Sully also caught Prince Alexander with the same assessing gaze, this one aimed at him. “Thank you, Sir. May I introduce my date, Ms. Persy Norton.” Even though some of the royals knew her, not everyone had met her. It was protocol to introduce her, regardless.

  Lorenzo smiled at her.

  Persy’s hand tightened in Sully’s.

  Lorenzo nodded to the group of royals. “Do you know everyone at the table?”

  “I know of them, of course, but we have not all met.” Sully nodded to Princes Alexander and Nathaniel, Princess Rebecca, then the ladies. “Your Highnesses. Lady Cecilia. Lady Charlotte.”

  Lady Charlotte looked startled. Sully vaguely noted she hadn’t touched her wine. “I’m not a ‘Lady’ in the official sense.”

  Sully just smiled. “You are in the eyes of the people, ma’am. As are you, Lady Cecilia.”

  Lady Cecilia looked just as surprised and smiled. “How lovely.”

  Prince Nathaniel whispered in Lady Charlotte’s ears and she shook her head slightly, then smiled and spoke. “That is a very lovely thing. I don’t know what to say except thank you.”

  Princess Rebecca leaned forward. “I must say, Persy, I do love your earrings. Wherever did you get them?” She looked across the table to Lady Cecilia. “Wouldn’t those be just the thing if we could find them in purple?”

  Lady Cecilia nodded. “You know, I think you’re right. Although, that blue and green would work just as well.”

  Persy’s free hand went to her ear and fiddled with her earring, as if she were trying to remember which ones she wore. “Oh, thank you, Your Highness. My friend, Millie—Amelia, that is—she made them.”

  “Does she have a website? Or does she do custom jewelry? I’d love to speak with her.”

  “Oh, yes, Your Highness. I can’t recall what the site is, but I’m sure she’d love to help you.”

  Sully turned to Prince Lorenzo. “Hector would know, Sir.”

  Prince Lorenzo nodded as he sat down and leaned back in his chair, a conceited air about him. “I’ll get it from him. Don’t worry, ladies; Lorenzo’s to the rescue again. Really, I don’t know how you get anything done without me.”

  A series of head shakes went around the table, and Sully used that a cue to leave. “Sir?”

  Grinning deviously, Prince Lorenzo caught his cue and nodded. “Yes, thank you for stopping by.”

  Sully bowed, and Persy curtsied again, and they said good-bye.

  As they walked away, he heard Prince Alexander speak. “Do you know that, if we weren’t in public, I would likely throw something at you for that pompous remark?”

  “Why do you think I suggested dinner outside the castle?”

  “Because the food is excellent here?” Prince Nathaniel guessed.

  “No, because the chances of either of you maiming me are much less,” Prince Lorenzo answered.

  Sully heard giggling and laughter, then they walked away into the night.

  “Your place or mine?”

  She looked down at her boots, then up at him. “Maybe yours?”

  “Whatever you want. You want familiar, we can stay at your place.”

  She sighed. “I don’t want familiar right now.”

  “Then we’ll stay at mine.”

  He tucked her close as they walked home. It wasn’t far from Persy’s apartment, actually, though she’d never known. She’d never asked where he lived in all the time they’d known each other. That first night they were together, he’d asked her if they should go to his place or hers. She’d said ‘Always mine’ and that’s what they’d done.

  She looked surprised as they walked to his building, then through the front door and up one flight to his apartment. It was in an older building that had just six units total, two on each floor. The relative privacy had appealed to him.

  Plus, when he’d run a check on the other tenants and the landlord, and they’d all come up clean except for traffic violations, he’d decided that had appealed to him, too. Based on prior experience, he’d learned that arresting one neighbor tended to make him really unpopular with the rest of his neighbors.

  He unlocked his door and they stepped inside.

  She was looking around curiously and a little surprised. “Did you buy all this furniture?”

  His furniture was…eclectic, to say the least. “Not all of it. Some of it was left behind by the last tenant.” Yet another thing which had appealed to him, since it meant he didn’t have to buy an apartment’s worth of furniture; everything else he had bought second-hand or on sale. “The rest I picked up here or there.”

  She pointed to a fuchsia-toned lamp. “Did you buy this?”

  He held back a grin. “No. Previous tenant.”

  She pointed to a bright blue sofa. “This?”

  He took a few steps closer to her. “I bought it. Just a couple months ago in fact.”

  “You paid money for this?”

  A few more steps. “I like the color.” Though now, thinking about it, he realized that the blue reminded him of her eyes and that’s likely why it had appealed to him.

  “Because it reminded you of the ocean?”

  More steps; he was almost to her. “It reminded me of something I’m very fond of, yes. I was thinking of your eyes. Do you even know how blue they are? The couch doesn’t hold a candle to the beauty in your eyes, honey.” With a last few steps, he reached her and pulled her into his arms.

  She gasped, again surprised he made the first move. “Sully. I don’t know what to say to that.”

  “You don’t have to say anything at all if you don’t want to.”

  “But it’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. You bought a couch because it reminded you of my eyes?”

  He could tell he’d scored with that comment, but that hadn’t been his intent when he’d said it; he was ju
st being honest. Right now, he was more concerned about the shadows under her eyes rather than the color of them or his couch. “Let’s talk more in the morning, all right? I think we could both use some rest.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it and nodded her head. “Okay.”

  He started walking her backward towards the bedroom. “Are you working tomorrow?”

  “I’m closing. You?”

  “I’m working the night shift tomorrow. Guess we’ve got the day to ourselves then.”

  “Yeah, I guess we do.”

  “Good.”

  Inside the bedroom, he let go to turn on a bedside lamp.

  She turned around, gasping at the sight of his bed. “Sully!”

  “Yeah?” He went to his dresser to pull out a tee for her to wear and wondered if she’d want some boxer shorts, too. He knew what he’d prefer she sleep in, but took out the boxers, just in case.

  He usually slept nude, so he didn’t have pajamas.

  “This bed is…is…”

  “Big?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “And tall?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Kinda like me, then?” He turned around and caught her disbelieving look.

  “You always fit in my bed.”

  He leaned against the dresser, the corner of his mouth tipping up. “Honey, I make myself fit in your bed. If I want to stretch out, I need something bigger.”

  She looked sad again. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  Amusement fled as he walked over to her. He tossed the clothes on the bed and tipped her chin up. “This might be hard to hear, but you never wanted me to stay, so it wasn’t really an issue.”

  “Tonight, though. Would you have said anything if we’d gone back to my place?”

  “No.”

  Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Right.”

  “Honey, me sleeping in a bed that’s a little too short for me is not an issue. You and how you’re feeling are more important.”

  Her forehead dropped against his chest. “Thanks, Sully.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Anything for you. Speaking of, I’m going get you a toothbrush. You good with a tee to sleep in or do you want boxers, too?”

  “Do you have any pajamas?”

  “No, since I’ve been sleeping in the buff for years now, I don’t have any.”

  Her head shot up. “What?”

  He frowned. “If that makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep on the couch. You take the bed.”

  “You’ll sleep on the bright blue couch.”

  “Yeah.”

  Her lips were pursed in disbelief. “Will you fit on the bright blue couch?”

  He shrugged.

  “We can share the bed. It’s fine.”

  He cupped her face. “Honey, do not ever tell me you’re ‘fine’ or ‘okay’ or any other bullshit words to prevent explaining to me how you really feel. Be honest with me. I can take it. I grew up with a bunch of women, and I never let them get away with that shit, either. Other men might not care, but I do. Get me?”

  Her hands tightened at his waist, then relaxed. “Oh. Um. Okay. Then, I just might be a little uncomfortable if we share the bed, but it won’t last.”

  “I can take the couch.”

  She shook her head. “No! It’s not awkward because you’re naked. Well, not entirely. It’s just, we’ve never slept together before. We’ve slept together but not actually slept.”

  “I understand that.”

  “Do you feel awkward about it?”

  He decided on honesty again. “No.”

  “So, I’m alone in this?”

  He framed her face and forced her eyes to stay on his. “Listen to me: you are never alone. Just because we don’t share the same feelings doesn’t mean I can’t empathize, or that I can’t relate to what you’re going through.”

  She rubbed her lips together. “Okay.”

  “Good.” He kissed her forehead and stepped back, thumbing to the clothes on the bed. “Those okay for you to sleep in?”

  “You really don’t have pajamas?”

  He rubbed his chin. “I think my ma got me a pair for Christmas. It’s probably still in a box in the closet. You want me to look for it?”

  She thought for a second. “Would it take a long time to find?”

  “Probably. Closet’s a mess.”

  “How big a mess? An ‘it-will-take-me-hours’ kind of mess or an ‘it-will-take-me-minutes’ kind of mess?”

  He grinned. “Probably hours, if you want me to be honest.”

  “I do, so hours. Okay. No, don’t look tonight. These clothes will work.”

  “And you’re fine with me sleeping naked?”

  She nodded.

  “All right. Give me a minute.”

  He went into the bathroom and quickly cleaned what he could. His ma had trained him to keep a clean bathroom, so it wasn’t too bad but Persy deserved the best. He pulled out a spare toothbrush and set it on the counter next to some fresh towels. He threw his dirty clothes—currently strewn around the floor—into his laundry bag. It would have to do.

  When he came out, he stopped dead at the sight of her. Her clothes were draped over a chair in the room and, sadly, her boots had been removed and were by the door. She’d put on the tee without the boxers and he could see miles of her creamy legs. She was using his comb to brush out her long hair, and the shirt was riding up as she raised her arms. When it did, he caught a glimpse of her black underwear. It wasn’t fancy, just plain dependable underwear, but it looked hot on her.

  Fuck. He needed to stop thinking about her underwear and remember that she was feeling vulnerable. His erection wouldn’t help her.

  “It’s all yours.”

  She jumped a little. “Um, thanks. I borrowed your comb.”

  “Use whatever you want, I don’t mind.” He walked up to her and kissed her lips, slowly, easily. He made it clear with that kiss he wasn’t expecting anything sexual from her, but she could expect comfort from him.

  “I’m just going to check the apartment, make sure everything’s locked up.”

  She seemed a little dazed. “Okay.”

  He checked the doors and windows, set the alarm he’d installed after moving in, then headed back to the bedroom. He stripped down, deciding at the last second to leave his boxers on anyway and slipped into bed. He’d just finished checking his morning alarm—and making sure it was off so they didn’t wake up—when she came back into the room.

  She turned the light off in the bathroom, then stood in the doorway, one foot rubbing the top of the other, her fingers plucking at the hem of her tee. Her faced looked clear of makeup and he guessed the soap he had was enough.

  God, she was beautiful. “Come here, honey.”

  She paused a moment, then walked towards him. She’d left her earrings in, and he wondered if that was something she did every day, or if it was just something she’d done tonight. Before, when they were just fucking, she’d usually keep her earrings in, but he never stayed long enough to find out if she took them off later.

  He wondered what else he’d missed about her, and what else he might learn now.

  She slid under the covers and he twisted to turn off the light in the room. When he twisted back, he pulled her into his arms. He caught her quick intake of breath, but she didn’t pull away.

  More progress.

  They both settled in, finding that sweet spot that was the most comfortable. Her fingers strayed to his chest and followed the lines of his abs. Her leg slid against his, then stopped suddenly.

  “You’re wearing boxers.”

  Was she disappointed or was he imagining it? “You seemed uncomfortable with me being naked tonight.”

  Her voice sounded at least a pitch higher. “I was okay with it.”

  He turned his head to the side and grinned against her hair. “Next time, then.”

  She shifted a little closer. “Next time.”

  “Goo
d night, honey.”

  “Night, Sully.”

  He stayed awake until he felt her body relax against him and her breath against his chest evened out. He followed her into sleep a short time later, when he was sure she was safe, even in dreams.

  It might have been only minutes, or even hours, when he woke in the dark.

  She was whimpering.

  She was scared.

  He jolted upright and turned to find her curled up in a ball, as far away from him as she could be and still stay in the bed.

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “Persy, honey?”

  She shivered and whimpered some more, each sound cutting through him like a knife.

  She was dreaming. He had to wake her gently.

  He turned her around until she was against him, and gently began rubbing her back. “Persy.”

  She shook her head and tried to pull away.

  “Persy, it’s Sully.”

  She paused.

  “It’s Sully, honey. I’m here.”

  She burrowed closer.

  “I’m here. Sully’s here.”

  She jerked, then gasped and started to scramble away.

  “It’s Sully. It’s me.”

  “S-Sully?”

  He pulled her against him. She buried her head against his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. “I’m here, honey. Hold tight.”

  “I-I’m sorry I woke you.”

  “Shhh. Nothing to be sorry about. I’m concerned about you, honey.”

  “I’ll…I’ll be okay. I just need a few minutes.”

  “Take all the time you need.” One of his hands moved to rest on the curve of her ass, while the other stroked her back. “What were you dreaming of?”

  She shook her head against his chest. “Nightmares, memories. My brain can’t stop thinking. God.”

  “I’m here. Just hold on.” His hand continued stroking her back, then tangled with her hair. From his post-traumatic stress training, he knew it’d be better if she got it all out now. If he let it linger, it would become a festering wound that would be harder to heal.

  “What can’t you stop thinking about?”

  “Everything.”

  He gave her ass a little squeeze. “That’s a lot to ponder in the middle of the night.”

  Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. “I was thinking about her. Dreaming about her.”