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

Sebastian

If there was ever a face Sebastian Priest had explored in detail, it was the woman with her head tipped back to look up at him.

That face, with its pale blue eyes surrounded by long lashes and her braid hanging over one shoulder, used to be so expressive that he could read it like a favorite book, knowing what she was thinking.

But that was before he broke her heart, and now he couldn’t see his friend on that beautifully feminine face anywhere.

In the interim, since he’d last seen her, she’d learned to mask her emotions and was expressionless, though for a second, when she’d spotted him coming through the crowd to her, he’d caught the flicker of surprise. A fast pulse in her throat was the sole sign she was reacting to his presence.

Yeah, Seb noticed that.

Her beauty was unmatched, indescribable, and she only got better each time he put his eyes on her.

Sunshine was someone who left a lasting impression on any person she met.

She’d been leaving them on Seb since she was born.

With a bright, quick-witted mind, Sunny was hardworking in whatever she tackled. She was family-focused and incredibly devoted when she loved.

Only his memories of her had kept him a sane, functioning man.

Though he knew he was the last person she’d want to see, it hadn’t even been a choice to volunteer to take the thirteen-hour drive from Colorado.

He’d been in the truck, slamming the door, even before Hawk got the words out, and he’d made it in less than eleven hours, speeding where he could. Worrying the entire way.

His hair was sopping, and he ran a gloved hand over it.

She ignored his question, which slipped out before he could stop himself. He contacted her repeatedly for months, but received no response.

“We should get going. It’s a long drive.” He stated. Sunny nodded, climbing to her feet without a word. Seb crushed his back molars together and urged her to talk to him. There were many times when she’d talk for hours. About nothing, about everything. And he’d listen like her one-person audience.

If she was excited about whatever she was into that day, Seb was always the first person she told.

But no longer.

Expecting her action, he swiftly took her roller suitcase, freeing up his hand closest to Sunshine. Although he anticipated no problems, Seb was ready and wouldn’t jeopardize her safety by slacking off, even though seeing her was frying his fucking brains.

She might hate him now, but he’d never neglect her safety. Hawk wouldn’t need to kill him if anything happened to her. Seb would off himself.

They were in sync as they walked through the airport.

Even if flights opened up and Sunny could leave right away, Seb would still make her take the long way home.

Only the intervention of a thunderstorm calmed him down, having visions of buying a ticket he didn’t want so that he could carry Sunny off the plane.

This way was better.

Less chaotic.

He looked over and saw her stony expression. Not once had she asked a question.

Sunny was curious about everything.

When she was seven, she’d sidled up to him, eating a purple sucker, and innocently asked him what sex was, because she’d overheard boys talking. Fourteen-year-old Seb had nearly choked on a swig of soda.

“I’m over there in the short parking.” He pointed across to the area. It was raining in ferocious sheets, and she had no hood on her coat. Frowning, Seb placed a hand on her arm, and he felt her stiffen.

“You’ll get wet.”

“It’s only water.” She answered, then started across the rain-slicked road.

He regretted not stopping to grab an umbrella for her.

Lightning flashed, and he saw her jump. Storms frightened her, and he quickly caught up.

He unlocked the passenger door, let Sunny in, tossed her bag in the back, and got in himself.

Reaching from the back seat, he offered her a towel.

She only stared at it, and Seb felt his jaw flex again.

“It’s clean.”

She took it silently and dabbed at her hollowed cheeks. Had she been eating properly? His worry tripled.

“How was the exam?” he asked after texting Hawk that he had her, switching on the heated seats to warm her up.

It was the first time she’d looked at him, but she glanced away just as quickly.

“It went well.”

Three words. That’s all he got out of her.

The Sunny he remembered would have ranted for an hour about a specific question on the paper or talked in depth about her answers while nervously chewing on a thumbnail, knowing she’d aced it.

She was exceptionally intelligent and would teach and influence kids in the future. Seb did not doubt that. Being a teacher was her life goal. As a little girl, she’d pretend he was her student, even before she could read herself.

The memory made him smile.

But it fell from his face when he heard her sigh. He studied her face, then returned his gaze to the road. The wipers went on as the rain came down hard.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I ate.”

Three more words. It was going to be a long fucking journey.

With Sunny confined, he finally had the chance to speak his mind, something she’d avoided for almost a year. It was the longest they’d ever gone without speaking.

Their history was extensive and complex.

It was beautiful and torturous.

They were joined by the club, by family, not by blood, but it might as well be. It was that strong.

Priest wasn’t Seb’s birth name.

It belonged to Preacher, his Road Captain father, when he and Ruby, his blood aunt, had adopted him. Seb, only four, had fragmented memories, but always knew his birth father, imprisoned for murdering his mother, was rotting in jail.

He felt like a Priest. It was as if he were born to be a Renegade Soul.

That’s all he’d ever dreamed of since Preacher first brought him to the clubhouse. And he’d known Sunny from birth, even sooner, while she was still in Gia’s belly.

Their connection ran deep, and with little thought, he’d kill any motherfucker who laid a hand on Sunny. With unhinged actions, he’d slaughter them in cold blood.

Being on the receiving end of her hate now, when she’d loved him her whole life, didn’t alter that fact.

He’d been her best friend, her Seb.

And she’d been his little buddy. His sunbeam.

And then it changed. Strain putting fractures in their relationship. And then it became worse.

And now it was this awkward silence with the tension so fucking thick in the truck; Seb wanted to strangle himself, to make it right between them again.

If he thought it would help, he’d do it.

But she was stubborn.

More stubborn than any other woman he knew.

“Aren’t you gonna ask what’s happening back home?” he finally broke the silence after driving for a while. He was on a clear stretch of road, so he switched his gaze to Sunny, who was staring out the window.

“I’m sure my parents will let me know.”

That was over three words, and a smile kicked up one side of his mouth.

“I could tell you if you wanted to know. Just ask me,” he coaxed, willing Sunny to start a conversation. Any fucking conversation. He’d talk about makeup or whatever TV drama had her in a chokehold lately.

Her secrets were no mystery to him. Or until recently, they weren’t. She could have made a thousand more since then, and a burning sensation went through his belly.

But then, he felt better, happy to have secrets of his own that would really freak her out.

A minute went by with no response.

“Sunny, are you ever gonna talk to me?” he asked, feeling his nerves pulled tight at the edges.

Though the danger was minimal, he’d driven like a madman; he still didn’t feel at ease until he could put his eyes on her. The elation had filled his belly like helium when he’d seen her sitting in the airport lounge.

She was safe. Unharmed. And his sunbeam.

Another sigh came from across the cab, and she turned her body toward the window, her arms around her chest. If he were a body language expert, that action would speak volumes to Seb.

“I’m tired. I might nap unless you need me to drive.”

Seb scowled. “No, I don’t need you to drive.”

An hour later, her eyes were still shut, but she was far from sleeping. The little brat was avoiding him, shutting Seb out, and disassociating from him.

He might be a grease monkey, but he also knew a thing or two about psychology. As the old ladies would say, he was in touch with his emotions.

Seb and his boys weren’t like the previous generation—his father and brothers. He could talk about his feelings or cry without feeling like his man card was threatened.

Most of those private conversations had been with her, though now she was giving the impression she’d rather travel by pigeon than with him.

But she couldn’t avoid him forever. And then he smiled as an idea came to him.

The rain had long since stopped as he moved through Texas.

It wasn’t his best idea, but his brain was fueled only by adrenaline and frustration.

She was so smart, was Sunny. Too gentle and kind-hearted. She loved everyone and once loved him the best of everyone. He knew that because she’d told him a million times. “ My Seb, I love you best of all .”

He wasn’t My Seb anymore, just the guy driving her home.

Yet he felt selfish.

He wanted her back in his life, bugging him, tormenting him.

He’d hated every second of her silence.

And if he had to kick down the fucking walls, brick by brick, he’d do it.

Best friends were scarce.

And she’d claimed him two decades ago.

She couldn’t take that back now because he’d rejected her.

There were scores of people in Sunny’s life, but Seb was selfish enough to need to be her number one person again, no matter what he had to do to get that position back.

In any other walk of life, he could fix a wrong, no problem.

It was a different story, with the woman in the passenger seat curled into herself as if shielding her emotions from his hands.

He couldn’t use any tactic he’d ever used before, not with Sunny. She’d see through it like it was a pane of glass.

The miles passed as he drove them further away from Texas and toward their home. He was halfway, and Sunny was still feigning sleep. He checked on her often and considered shaking her thigh and having it out with her.

Only as he pulled into a parking lot, did he see her open an eye to peer through the window.

“You’re awake.” He spoke, so she couldn’t pretend any longer.

Sitting up, she faked a yawn. “Where are we?”

“I need to take a piss, and we need some food, so we’re gonna grab a room and bunk here for a few hours.” He told her outside a heavily lit motel.

Her head swung around like it was on a spring, and her pale eyes flashed with venom.

“The hell you say.” She snapped, showing signs of the rambunctious Sunny he knew and adored. “I’m not going in any motel room with you, Sebastian Priest, not if you were the last man on earth and the state of humanity rested solely on my shoulders.”

And then she huffed, folded her arms, straightened her spine, and ignored him like his existence no longer mattered.

For fuck’s sake. An idiot grin formed on his face.

His chest tension loosened, and Seb switched off the engine, pocketing the fob, not trusting her not to drive off and leave him stranded.

“You’ve got five seconds to modify the attitude, Sunshine, while I come around to your door, or I will haul your fucking ass over my shoulder and cart you into that diner over there.” He told her. “We’re gonna have some food together and talk.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” She fired back.

Seb’s blood burned like lava.

It was the most engagement he’d had from her in months, and he was high on it.

Before he stepped out of the truck, he threw her a predatory smile, all teeth and intent.

“Try me.” He meant it.

If he had to get unhinged to get her attention, watch him lose the fucking plot in the parking lot. He didn’t have a shameful bone in his body. If they gained an audience, so fucking what?

But Sunny cared about shit like that, so he was smiling as he rounded the hood, holding her burning stare the whole time.

Seb opened her door and stood there, staring.

Letting her decide for herself. Before he took over.