“I like you too.”
He smiled and her heart raced. “I meant it when I said you can stay with me as long as you like. You can sleep with me or in any of the guest rooms. You can use the Jeep to come and go as you please. All I ask is that you don’t go to your duplex or flower shop alone. For now. I don’t want you ducking bullets, knives, or killers.”
“I’m a luckyducky,” she said playfully but spread her knees and pulled him into her embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, “I don’t know why you care about me, but thank you, Sully.”
“I expect nothing from you in return,” he said. “Whatever happens or doesn’t happen between us, I want you to be safe.”
Charley loosened her grip around his neck enough to lean back and kiss him. His strong arms slid around her and scooted her forward on the seat. As he molded her to him, he pulled her out of the truck. When her feet touched the floor of the garage,her lips left his. He took her hand, closed the garage door, and they walked across the backyard in the moonlight. Sully unlocked the side door to his house, and they were in the kitchen when her cell phone rang. She stopped, fished her phone out of her purse, and looked at the caller.
“Chase Cooper,” she told Sully. She answered her phone as Sully set her bag down. “Hi, Chase.” He had heard about her vandalized vehicle, through Sully from Cash, and was concerned after seeing on the news that another murder had been committed in her Old Colorado City neighborhood. He and Jade wanted to know if she’d like to stay with them as they had plenty of room. “Thank you so much, Chase. But I’m in good hands. Sully drove into town and picked me up since my car is still in the shop and I haven’t gotten around to getting a rental car.” She listened and smiled at Sully. “Yes, I agree. Sully is a good guy.” Chase then asked about her flower shop. “I’m keeping it closed for a while.” Lastly, she said, “Yes, Sully and I will see you all at Chloe’s Halloween party. Thank you for checking on me, cousin.”
“Chase is a good guy too,” Sully said after Charley clicked off her cell. “So is Cash.”
“Yes, I’m truly lucky to have found them, Chloe, and Coop.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and finished. “Better late than never.”
“They’re lucky too.”
Charley gazed up at him and said, “I want to sleep with you tonight, Sully.”
“Good deal,” he said. The slow, cocky grin that formed on his lips heated her cheeks. “In that case, I need another shower.”
“So do I.”
“C’mon,” he said and grabbed her bag. When he held out his hand, she took it, and he trailed her behind him to his big bedroom. Flipping on a soft light, he swung his hand toward themaster bathroom. “Ladies first.” He set her bag down on the bed, strode to a walk-in closet, and used a bootjack to pull off his boots.
Charley opened her bag and pulled out panties. Next, she took her shampoo and makeup out of the bag and walked into the master bath. It was large, with his and her sinks along with a glass shower and a Jacuzzi, both big enough for two. In the far corner, through an ajar door, she saw a toilet. Quietly shutting the main door to the master bath, she disrobed and turned on the shower. Stepping under the hot spray of water, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Using her shampoo, she soaped her hair and then washed her body. Ready to get out, she realized she had two problems.
“Sully?” she called, turning off the water.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t have a towel or a nightshirt.”
She watched him nonchalantly saunter into the master bath. He placed a white tee shirt on the counter and opened a closet at the far end of the room. He turned toward her but didn’t investigate the shower. Instead, he put a towel on the counter, shut the door, and left her alone. Charley stepped onto the thick rug outside the shower door and grasped the towel. She dried her body and wrapped the towel around her wet head. Pulling on his soft cotton tee shirt and her panties, she left the bathroom and entered the bedroom in search of her comb and hair dryer.
“My turn?” Sully asked from where he was stretched out in an overstuffed chair with his sock feet resting on a matching ottoman.
“Yes,” she said. He drained what was left in what appeared to be a glass of red wine. He got up and swaggered across the room to her. From the dresser, he handed her a glass of wine. After the day and evening she’d had, a glass of wine sounded wonderful.How did Sully always know exactly what she needed? She took the wine and said, “Thank you.”
With a nod, he headed into the shower. He didn’t bother to close the door, and as curious as she was, Charley didn’t steal a peek. Standing in front of the dresser with an attached mirror, she drank her wine and blow-dried her hair. She shivered with excitement and anticipation at the thought of doing more than just sleeping next to Sully. But then she recalled her terror when the intruder, potentially the Cave Killer, had grabbed her in her bedroom and thrown her onto her bed. Like scenes from a scary movie that couldn’t be stopped, she heard her mother scream her name before being shot. She turned off the dryer, ran her fingers through her hair, and picked up her wine. With a sigh, she sat down on the far side of Sully’s bed and hung her head.
“Hey, city slicker.” Sully turned off the bathroom light, leaving the bedroom bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. He rolled into bed behind her, and when she turned sideways to look at him, he smiled. Stretched out on top of the comforter, he wore a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else. “What’s wrong?”
“Murders, assault, vandalism, no car, and no shop worth opening. Two guys in town who have embarrassed me on several occasions.”
“You’re handling it all really well, Charley,” he said, and she shrugged. “It’s up to the cops to catch the criminals. There’s nothing more you can do now except keep yourself safe. You’re doing that by vacating your property and staying out of sight, right?”
“Right.” She nodded and looked away. “I want to feel something besides fear, defeat, and loneliness,” she told him. But not with just anybody. With Sully. Never had she been attracted to a man until she’d met Sullivan Custis. Never had she considered spending the night with a man until Sully came along. She gazed at him, and his forest-green eyes mesmerizedher. His lips had kissed her like she’d never been kissed before, sending hot chills racing up and down her entire body. His shoulders were broad and his arms were strong, and when he held her to his muscular body, she floated into a world where she was safe and protected. She wanted all of that and so much more, but only from Sully. “I need you to?—”
He waited, and when she silently shook her head, he asked, “You need me to what?”
She whispered, “Take charge of me tonight. Do you know what I mean?”
Charley lowered her gaze and stared at her lap. Sully got off the bed and walked around it, coming to stop in front of her. She looked up at him and he smiled. He reached down and took hold of her upper arms, bringing her to her feet. As soon as he embraced her, the familiar feelings of security and serenity enveloped her. Along with a whopping dose of craving this man’s touch, she liked the fact that he thought she was fun. And he liked her too.
“I always use a condom,” he said.
“It’s not the right time of the month for me to get pregnant.”
