Page 14 of Priest’s Sunbeam (Renegade Souls MC: Next Generation #2)

Sunshine

“This is convenient for booty calls.” She remarked as she followed him up the staircase. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she was suddenly swaying on her tired legs.

“I’ve never stayed here, Sunny. And no one brings women here to fuck. It’s a safe house only. The Tennessee chapter stayed here last summer when they had some issues.”

Sunny followed Seb down a wide hallway with five doors. She saw one was a bathroom, three were empty, not even a bed, and then there was a bedroom, fully furnished with navy sheets and dark curtains. The carpet under her bare feet felt thick and cozy.

“Where are you sleeping?” she asked. Seeing her backpack on a corner armchair, she opened it to grab her PJs. This was just a sleepover, nothing to get nervous about, but knowing that didn’t stop her heart from skipping beats.

“Right here.”

“Okay. Where is my room?”

“Right here.” He was busy emptying his backpack; he just threw everything into the top drawer like a heathen without folding a thing. She was preoccupied with glaring at his back and didn’t comment about the chaos of his clothes.

“Be serious, Seb. It’s too late to joke with me. Where is my room?”

“This is the only room,” he said in a steady voice, turning to face her.

He was already tugging the t-shirt over his head by grabbing it from the back.

Off it came in one swoop, leaving Sunny faced with his bare, tattooed chest. He had more pieces than last time, but wouldn’t stay put so she could see.

He went to the side of the bed and dropped his phone on a charging docking station.

She noticed there was one on her side of the bed, too.

Wait. Not her side of the bed, just the other side of the bed.

“Sleep on the couch,” she told him, going into the bathroom to change. She heard the bedroom door close and sighed. Was she relieved he’d gone downstairs without an argument?

Shut up, Sunny. You can’t sleep in the same bed as Sebastian. It’s like being near a chocolate bar and not wanting to lick it all. Impossible task.

She paused in the doorway, her sleepwear suddenly feeling flimsy and inadequate as she stared at the large man occupying her bed; the room was silent except for her quickened breath.

“No. This isn’t a snowed-in cabin with a lumber-snack situation, Seb. Get out of that bed and go to the couch.”

He smirked and whipped the covers back.

Good God . She lost all the moisture in her mouth, and her lips became slack, seeing him sprawled in only a pair of tight black boxer briefs. Oh, God, the tightness. Were her lungs wheezing?

She quickly averted her eyes, but it was far too late. The image of the impressive thickness encased in the black material was already burned into her brain and was playing on a happy little horny loop.

She was no longer mad.

How could she be when her belly was a swarm of dancing fairies? If not for the bedroom plunged into darkness when he turned the lights off, her blushing cheeks would be hard to hide.

“Sunshine, get into bed. We’re only sleeping. It’s no big deal. You’ve climbed into my bed before.”

“I was a baby!” she gasped.

“And at thirteen, you biked it over to my parents’ house when I was home from college. You were pitifully sick, sneezing and coughing, with a fever, but you wouldn’t let my folks drive you home.”

“Yeah, well.” She blushed at the memory.

She had been a pushy kid, always demanding his attention, and he’d put up with her whims. He let her fall asleep in his arms, then she woke up alone in her bed hours later.

What a desperate little kid she’d been.

She embarrassingly acted that way a year ago, throwing herself at him out of jealousy after seeing Sinner flirt with Seb. The mortification still crawled over her skin when she thought about it.

Standing awkwardly in a strange bedroom after fleeing in the night and now faced with a nearly naked Sebastian Priest, it was all too much for Sunny’s fluttering heart to cope with.

If she climbed into that bed like it was no big deal, all she’d think about was fucking his brains out. And for a virgin, who hadn’t even fondled a dick—she was a whore solely in her mind—Sunny had no on-the-job hours to back up her thesis on fucking brains out.

“Sunshine,” he growled, breaking into her thoughts like a thief. “Get into this bed right now. If I have to get up, I’ll put you here myself and hold you down all night.”

Her raging hormones and pebbled nipples were screaming yes!

“You are a bully.” She huffed, storming over to the bed.

She all but threw herself into it, turning her back and balancing on the very edge like a maiden on her sixteenth-century wedding night with a rotund king, who was renowned for chopping off heads.

“I’ve gone through a traumatic few days, and this is how you treat me!

Your mother would be appalled if I told her you threatened to pin me to a bed, Sebastian Priest.” Because she was in a raging huff, she added for dramatic appearances, “You have no care, no compassion.”

Get a load of her, going for the Best Actress Oscar.

Of course, he chuckled, he was a raving madman. It was a rough sound stroked along her spine. It felt too intimate, and she failed to suppress the tremor of excitement.

Of all the scenarios of ending up in bed with him, this hadn’t made the list.

“Ruby will be thrilled when she knows you’re in my bed.” The bed dipped. Was he drawing nearer? Looking back, she saw him in the middle, his size dominating the space. It was only a queen-size bed. She was going to end up falling on the floor.

“And sunbeam, I’m all care for you,” he rasped, and her skin went up in flames hearing the husky whisper.

“I can feel you breathing on me. You’re too close. Move to your side of the bed.”

“Do we already have sides? That’s fucking cute. I think we’ll sprawl out in bed. No matter what the side, it’s who gets there first. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like you’ve been sniffing paint thinner. I’d quit if I were you before it fries what little brain cells you have left. I won’t be the one to remind your junkie mind to eat.”

“That means you plan to be in my future. I’ll take that.”

This was torture, like being forced to roleplay her ideal life just to have it snatched out of her hands.

“Sebastian?”

“Yeah, sunbeam?”

“Do you remember teaching me how to defend myself?”

“Yeah.”

“Then be aware that if I feel you move any closer, I will use one of those tactics you taught me. Say goodnight and get on your side of the bed.”

The bed shook, but only because he laughed so hard.

“It’s not a seduction tactic, baby.”

Baby ! Sunny bit her tongue so hard it hurt, and she felt an actual pulse between her legs.

“You’d know if it was. Turn over so we can cuddle.”

Say what now?!

“Sebastian, you’d tell me if you were a drug user, wouldn’t you?”

Amused, he answered. “Yes.”

“I’d get you into rehab and help you get sober.”

“Sweet girl.”

“I know I am. So now I know you’re not into drugs. Why are you talking crazy?”

“Trying to get my friend back.”

Friend .

That word meant the world to her once upon a time, but now it burned like acid rushing up her throat.

To be his friend was torment personified, and she couldn’t be in that place yet. Maybe never. She remained silent, and she caught his sigh.

“It’s happening, Sunny.”

“Don’t rush me, okay?”

“I have to. I miss you. So fucking much.”

Her eyelids closed with the agony of it.

She missed him until she thought she might die from missing him.

When people declared they’d die if anything happened to their person, for Sunny, it would be true.

If Sebastian died before her, she couldn’t live in a world without him.

It was unthinkable. The painful grief would suck her under.

Certain people were meant to cross paths. Hers was intricately sewn with Sebastian’s and reinforced with chains.

If that meant being his friend, she’d have to accept it. One day . That day wasn’t today.

After a minute, he said. “Turn over, Sunny. I need to make sure you won’t escape in the night.”

“Escape from what? I’m not a hostage. I’m here for safekeeping.”

“Now, Sunny.” He demanded, like a sexy alpha CEO.

She was as weak as a cotton pad and wanted to be in his arms so badly. But… there was always a but between them.

But she was too young.

But he wasn’t into her.

But she couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him with anyone else.

But she didn’t want to be only his friend.

But. But. But.

“I’m not a movie girl, Seb, who runs toward danger.

I stay where I’m put. Where I’m safe. I’m not going to run out into the night.

Can you see me climbing over fences? I’d still be trying when you got up the next day.

I’d be sweaty and exhausted, and you’d have to pacify my misery by making me a heaping mound of buttered toast. It would be a disaster.

So, no, there’s no need to watch me so closely. ”

“Sunny.” He drawled, and her pussy clenched. Would he talk in that sexy tone during sex? She just bet he would, all seductive and toe-curling good. “I’ve got injuries. You patched me up, remember? Just let me hold you so I don’t worry you’ll leave.”

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too.

“You’re manipulating my good nature. You know I’m a sucker for strays.”

“I do. Now get in my arms, woman. I’m so fucking tired. I think I’m talking in my sleep.”

Frowning, she thought about all he’d been through in the last however long and realized he’d slept little. All because of her. With a swift turn, she positioned herself half over him as though it were her usual spot. His arm came around her waist, and together, they exhaled.

“Fucking perfect. Sleep now, sunbeam,”

“Yeah,” she croaked, her heart singing crazily as her fingertips crept up his chest to rest on his left pec. His skin was burning hot, and that warmth intensified when Sebastian covered her hand. His mouth touched her hair, and minutes later, his breathing deepened. He was asleep.

Her mind was swirling out of control.

She was in bed with Sebastian, and there was no way she could sleep. Not when she felt the bump of his heart underneath her fingertips.

He couldn’t be this dense to make her emotions suffer on purpose. So he was serious about wanting his friend back. Sunny didn’t know how to give him that without breaking herself first.

“I’m right here, baby.” He muttered with his mouth against her hair, startling her. “You can sleep.”

He believed her fear was causing her sleeplessness. Her biggest fear was waking up and realizing she had humped his thigh in her sleep.

But as the silent minutes passed, and she listened to his gentle breaths, she was lulled into a calm state. The last thing she remembered was nuzzling Sebastian’s shoulder and thinking about how good he smelled.