Page 36

Thirty-Six

RHODES

I’m turned on and jealous at the same time, which is not a good mix.

As soon as Sunny disappeared from my sight, I stood and followed. Not to be a creep or a pervert. This time, it was purely out of protection.

I told her I’d watch out for her the entire night, and there was no way I was going to go back on my word, even if it was absolutely torturous to watch her dance with some guy.

The torture got worse when I saw them in the dark hallway. Agitation crawled up my spine as I stood and watched some man stick his tongue down my daughter’s nanny’s throat. I was drowning in envy. So much that I almost grabbed the woman who walked past and started to make out with her, just to ease the jealousy.

But then I heard the faintest no, and I became fully enraged.

I want to kill him.

Good for him that I know how to control my impulses. If I can stand and watch Sunny get tongue-fucked by some guy and do nothing, surely I can stand and verbally threaten the culprit instead of knocking his teeth out.

“Who are you? Her boyfriend?” The idiot glances at Sunny, but she isn’t paying us any attention. Her hands are on her knees, and she’s bent over at the waist.

She needs me.

“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you were so blinded by your tongue down her throat that you didn’t hear her say stop.” I swallow roughly. My voice is more of a growl. “Now go before I change my mind about letting you go scot-free.” With my Sunshine’s taste on your tongue.

The guy scrambles away, muttering something under his breath that has no place in my head. I stride toward Sunny and stand in front of her. Her breaths are choppy, like the sea during a storm, and I don’t know what to do. I’m not naturally an empathetic person. I’ve been told most of my life that I’m emotionally unavailable, cold, and heartless. It’s been said that I don’t console, coddle, or even attempt to comfort people.

It’s not necessarily true.

I just hide my feelings well.

As for consoling, I reserve it for Ellie.

And apparently, Sunny.

“Sunshine,” I sigh and crouch down. I peer at her through the thick curtain of hair that envelops the entirety of her face.

“I’m fine,” she whispers.

Her breath smells of whiskey, and my mouth waters to get a taste.

“Just focus on your breathing,” I remind her. “In and out.”

She nods once and slowly straightens to stand. I follow the action and tower over her. The apples of her cheeks are red, and those big brown eyes refuse to look at me.

Gently, I reach forward and place my hands onto her warm face. “Breathe,” I demand.

I inhale, wait for her to do the same, and then we both exhale at the same time.

We do this several times before she finally gets the nerve to look me in the eye.

I get lost.

There are so many things trapped behind those innocent eyes that I want to know.

“I’m going to be a born-again virgin for the rest of my life.”

I chuckle dryly. “A born-again virgin?”

Sunny’s brows fold in on themselves, and she pouts.

It’s fucking cute.

“All because that boy couldn’t seal the deal?” I scoff and drop my hands from her face since she’s seemingly breathing better. “Try again, Sunshine. He doesn’t count.”

“It’s not him,” she hisses, crossing her arms. “It’s me!”

No, it’s that jackass who broke your trust in men.

I shake my head. Someone exits the bathroom, and I wait until they’re gone before leaning my arm on the wall above Sunny. I grip her chin and make her look at me. Her lips are slightly swollen, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the aggressive mauling that her dance partner gave her, or if it’s because she constantly nibbles on that bottom lip. “You don’t like your hands trapped.”

It was an obvious tell.

“If it were me, I would have pressed against the wall myself and let you lead. There wouldn’t have been any restraint to your hands because I would have wanted them to explore.”

Fuck, what am I saying?

Sunny’s shaky inhale catches my ear, and I hate that it makes me excited. Her eyes travel down to my mouth, and my dick twitches. I apparently used up all of my self-control for the night, because I can’t stop spilling my dirty little secrets.

“Then what?” she whispers, breaking the last of my restraint.

God damn, I am skating the line.

The hand on her chin loosens since I have her full attention. I drop it and wrap it around her waist, landing on the small of her back. I keep the pressure light, not wanting to set off alarm bells.

“The kiss would start off slow. Tedious.” My stomach burns. I should not be saying this.

I can blame it on the need to prove a point to her—that she’s not allowing herself to pick the right men to break her past experiences—but it’s a lie.

Sunny nods slowly, fully engaged.

“I’d wait for you to sweep your tongue in my mouth before I reciprocated.”

As if on cue, that devilish tongue slips out of her mouth and wets her bottom lip.

I swallow thickly. “Then I’d pull you in like this.” I spin and press against the wall quickly, bringing her flush against the front of me. Her two legs straddle one of mine, and a sweat breaks out against my neck.

I should take my own advice.

It’s not my birthday, but god damn, I need to fuck someone so I stop thinking about fucking her.

Her hot swallow catches my ear.

Is she turned on by this?

My fingers wrap around the slender part of her waist, and I bring our faces closer. Shit, I need to stop.

“Then I’d kiss the hell out of you and let your body do the talking.” I flex my jaw, my teeth clicking on one another. “That’s what you need, Sunshine. A man who knows what a woman wants.”

My body is on fire.

She’s so sexy it hurts.

She has this needy look in her eye that I’ll never be able to forget.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Malaki’s voice hits the side of my face, and I quickly let Sunny go.

Fuck.

“But there’s a cake out here with the name Sunny on it.”

Sunny stumbles backward on those thigh-high boots and swings her attention to my teammate.

We’re caught.

Or should I say, I’m caught.

Without saying anything, she hurries toward Malaki. He puts his arm around her shoulders and leads her out of the darkened hallway and into the club. One glance over his shoulder with his stupid, knowing smirk, and I’m baring my teeth at him.

He laughs silently, and I follow after them with my dick tucked into the top of my boxers.

What the fuck was I thinking?

The scent of birthday cake follows Sunny and me to the front door of the house. I’m holding it in one hand, and with the other, I open the door and nod for her to go through.

It’s after midnight. The street is quiet, and the house is even quieter.

Marco pops up from the couch as soon as Sunny and I enter the living room. “12:32,” he states. “When I was your age, I closed down the clubs.”

I snort, and Sunny places her hands on her hips.

I drag my gaze away quickly, because even looking at her does something dangerous to me.

She and Marco are in a heated yet teasing conversation. He follows her to the kitchen where she cuts a piece of birthday cake, chocolate with pink frosting, and places it on a paper plate before putting Saran wrap over it.

“There you go.” She smiles sweetly, and it’s a nice sight to see.

I’d rather her smile than have that look of lust in her eyes that I can’t stop thinking about.

Our gazes snag and stay for a second too long.

My dick twitches.

With my restraint tighter than ever, I walk Marco over to the door and thank him for watching Ellie. I stay near the door well after he drives off and let the cool night air coat my heated face.

Once I get my shit together and mentally prepare to say goodnight to Sunny, I realize she’s already gone off to bed.

The downstairs is empty, except for my semi-hard dick and the scent of guilt lingering in the air.