As wedding guests leave the gardens and trickle back into the stone mansion, creating a slow-moving line through the stained-glass double-doors, I find Banks saying goodbye to an uncle at a dessert table. Nothing but crumbs and half-eaten coffee cake left.
Once his uncle leaves, I tell Banks, “I’m taking Sulli back to her place.”
She’s currently hugging her parents one last time, and I left a temp to watch her for a minute.
Banks glances to her, and he downs a glass of sparkling water, which I know he hates. “She choose you, then?” Pain already grips his voice.
My muscles tighten. “No.” I laugh under my breath. “Almost the opposite, actually.” I spread out my arms. “She asked me if I thought you’d want to come with us back to Philly.”
So there’s that.
Back in the city, Banks is more of a floater than her 24/7 bodyguard, and it’s more unclear to Sulli when Banks will follow her around. I make those decisions.
Surprise reaches his eyes. “What’d you say?”
I lick my dried lips. “I told her I’d ask you.”
His brows knot into a harder frown. “This was your one shot to get her alone and you fucked it?”
I nod slowly. “I guess so.”
What I don’t tell Banks is that I want him to come along. That maybe, after all of this, the thought of leaving Banks here, alone, in a hotel room tonight sounds like an asshole move.
I’m cutthroat, but not when it comes to him. I’ve accepted the fact that he’s my exception, and I don’t want to be an asshole to him. Ever.
* * *
We’re the only humans at the penthouse where Sulli lives.
Two fluffy Newfoundland dogs and a few cats greet us at the front door. “Hey there, Orion.” Sulli hugs Luna’s dog and rubs behind his ears.
Banks grabs Arkham by the collar before he darts out, and I shoo a few cats away to shut the door behind us.
Once the door closes, the weight of the past 48-hours descends heavy on my muscles. We’ve all traveled across the world before, but this expedition was layered differently. Delayed flights, the car breaking down, the plane ride, and socializing at a wedding causes aches and weight, but so does the sheer emotional toll.
That part of our journey is unlike anything I’ve felt in a long time.
Like we’ve all jumped in a washing machine of happiness, heartache. Hurt, laughter. Joy, pain.
Loss.
After my dad passed, I’ve fought so hard not to lose the things that matter to me. My gym. My job as a bodyguard. My position as a lead, my own security firm, Sulli’s friendship.
And the trip to Yellowstone has been a crash course in Hanging On.
Hanging on to the people I love.
Hanging on to what I want out of this life.
I’m afraid of an ending more than I’ve ever been afraid of a beginning.
Sulli rises to her feet, rubbing a knot in her shoulder.
I fix the tangled cord to my mic. “Banks and I are going to do a quick sweep of the penthouse.” I want to switch-on a different, less serious setting, but safety first.
Usually I wouldn’t feel the need to check every inch of the 9,000 square foot penthouse, but Jane’s wedding date is public knowledge. If someone were to attempt a break-in, it’d be tonight. It’d take some bribery and incredible Mission Impossible shit for them to sneak past the building’s security, but I’m not taking any chances.
Sulli nods. “I’ll feed the animals and meet you both in the bathroom. We can wash off the travel stink.” She’s already gone for the pantry before either of us can point out that we have our own bathroom in our own apartment three-floors down.
I think even if I weren’t dating Sulli, I’d still find a way to stay. To walk that blurry line between friends and her bodyguard like a pro.
The difference now is that I want to wash off with her.
“Take the kitchen first,” I tell Banks, and then I leave them to cover the east side of the penthouse. Checking rooms mostly. Opening doors and closets. I’m quick about the sweep. Every step feels weighted, energy draining.
So by the time I enter Sulli’s bedroom, the rushing water from the bath is the sweetest sound I’ve heard all night.
Steam billows out of the bathroom’s cracked door.
Pausing for a second, I don’t enter right away. I sweep Sulli’s bedroom. Decorated pretty plainly like she spends little time here, except for her bed. Topped with a turquoise velvet quilt, tons of kitschy pillows—shaped like cupcakes, donuts, mermaids, crabs, and more sea creatures—are stacked so high, you can barely see the mattress.
I’m smiling as I open her closet. Pushing aside her striped T-shirts, no one is hiding behind her jackets either. I do another quick sweep of her room.
A weight bench in the corner looks worn-out, scratched, lovingly used. My eyes latch to Sulli’s shelves of medals and trophies. Some of the awards I saw her win. Her Olympic gold medals dangle right next to medals she won in amateur competitions when she was twelve.
I wonder if after tonight, this’ll be the last time I enter her room. If she picks him, I’ll finally make the hard choice and permanently transfer Banks to her 24/7 detail. I’ll throw myself into my companies like I need to do anyway.
Not see her as often.
Barely see her.
Rarely see her.
Pain shoots through me. I grind down on my teeth, and I hear a soft splash from the bath like someone is climbing into the water.
Footsteps sound from the hallway, and I glance at the door as Banks slips into her bedroom. “West side clear,” he says, and his eyes skip to her shelves of medals.
I see the way that Banks looks at them. Like each one is a piece of Sulli he hopes to protect. It’s the same way I look at them. Pride. Love.
Devotion.
It’s clear.
So very clear.
One of us is going to be obliterated.
Banks meets my eyes with the same raw understanding.
There might be pain tomorrow, when she does choose, but tonight there’s a bath. Heat and warmth. Her company. Loss isn’t here yet.
We’re still hanging on.
I run a hand through my hair, then drop it to wave to the bathroom door. “After you,” I say.
Banks smiles. “Even when you let me lead, I’m following.” Before I can reply to that, he’s pushing through.
Hot steam hits my face. A huge, soup-bowl-style bathtub sits underneath an iron chandelier. Sulli’s bathroom is more industrial than elegant. Green planters hang on brick walls, creating a more serene atmosphere.
I was wrong about Sulli already climbing into the bath. Still fully clothed, she’s knelt beside the tub. Her hand dips into the water, testing the temperature.
She looks over her shoulder, seeing us enter. “Oh hey,” she whispers. “It’s still too fucking hot.”
“Why are you whispering?” I ask in a soft voice as I unhook my radio from my waistband.
Banks does the same, winding the cord around the device.
“Fuck, it’s just habit,” she says a little louder. “When I was Luna’s roommate at the townhouse, I tried to be quiet, even if I’m not any fucking good at it.”
Banks eyes the tub, then the shower. “Where do you want us, mermaid?”
“I thought…we could all share the tub.” Flush ascends her neck. “I’m too tired to even stand up in that thing, and you two are probably feeling spent—unless you want to take the shower.”
“I’ll take the tub.” I already pull my dirty shirt over my head.
“It’s good with me, too,” Banks says, shedding his tee. He tosses his shirt at the wicker hamper, but it lands on the concrete-slab sink counter. “Unless, you think my six-seven ass can’t fit.”
Her eyes glitter, lips lift, like she just heard a challenge. “We can all fit.” She rises to her feet and unbuttons her jeans.
Banks and I watch Sulli snap off her bra, slide off her panties—all
the while, we’re stepping out of boxer-briefs. Vapor kisses my bare flesh as the three of us stand naked in her bathroom.
I never thought this would happen.
But I’m not shocked that I’m here. Not when the air between us is unfettered and peaceful. Why would I run away from that?
I study the bath for a half-second. Figuring out how to maneuver in it will be like a human puzzle. The tub is striking, almost like the focal point of the room. It could comfortably hold three people, but we’re all six-foot or over.
“You first,” I tell Sulli. “Stay in the middle.” Steam coasts over the gentle water, and she reaches out for Banks’ hand. Doesn’t mean anything. She didn’t just choose him. He was just closer.
Banks helps stabilize Sulli as she plunges each foot into the bath. She has good balance, so I know it’s partly just to touch each other.
My gaze melts over Sulli, dripping down her athletic body. Every inch of her is defined muscle. Her legs are leaner than her broad-shoulders, and the dark hair on her pussy is fueling my need.
Sulli catches me staring. “What’s that look?”
I want to run my hand over every inch of you. “You’re a total babe, Sul.”
Her lips tic up in a cute smile.
I smile back, and I imagine cupping her tits, pinning her to a bed, driving deep between her thighs. And her overcome face as she unravels in the intensity.
The pleasure.
My cock twitches, and I absentmindedly palm my length, still holding her gaze.
A shallow breath expels between her lips. Hot and bothered, she twists her hair up in a tighter, messier bun. I swear she mutters a soft, “Fuck.”
She’s twenty-one.
And a virgin.
Sometimes I forget she’s a lot younger and inexperienced until these small moments where she’s overwhelmed at my confidence, assuredness, forwardness.
She lowers down into the bath. Water laps at her tits.
I look to Banks. “You next. I’ll squeeze in after.”
He’s clumsier climbing into the tub, and Sulli grabs onto his thighs before he slips. He sinks down, legs bent and spread open so that she can fit between them. I do the same. The hot water feels amazing, and every ache in my muscle screams at me to just relax.
We shift around until we’re all in a comfortable position. With my legs spread, my ankles practically hook with Banks’ ankles, our knees bent out of the water. I rest my back to one side of the tub. Still close to being chest-to-tits with Sulli.
I watch her dip her head beneath the water. Very close to my cock, and then she pops up, combing her wet hair back out of her face.
Shit.
She’s beautiful.
Sulli leans back against Banks’ chest. His arm moves underneath the water, maybe around her waist. Whatever he does, she looks deeply satisfied, easing completely like putty, and that makes me smile.
Sulli squirts some soap into the water and swirls the suds around with her fingers.
My muscles slowly unwind in the hot bath. Relaxation sinking me down. I skate my hand along Sulli’s leg. The hair on her calf feels softer in the water, but I love the prickly Sulli as much as the fuzzy Sulli.
“Goddamn,” Banks exhales as his eyes flutter shut. His arms grip the lips of the tub on either side of him. “I could just fall asleep here and never wake up.”
Sulli slides a palm over his bicep. “No falling asleep then. I want you to wake the fuck up.”
“Me too.” I splash water at him, but Sulli’s face gets doused instead.
Her brows rise. “You do not want to start a splashing fight with me, Kits. I will tidal wave this bathroom.”
Banks chimes in, “Good thing mermaids don’t drown.”
Sulli smiles.
And I lean forward a little. Her tits brush up against my chest as I tell Banks, “We don’t need to test that one.”
She splashes me this time.
I grab her wrist before she can try a second time. Her breath hitches. Shit, my body goes into a full-body alert. Screaming words.
Want.
Need.
Sulli.
I notice more clearly how Banks drops his arm into the water. How he pulls her back tighter to his chest, and he must clasp the inside of her thigh, spreading her legs wider—because her knees knock into the sides of the tub and an aching sound leaves her lips.
I harden. Veins in my cock throbbing. She’s open right in front of me, but the water is murky with soap.
I glide my hand up her hip, over her abs, to her tit, thumbing her soft nipple. Letting it harden from my touch.
She pants softly, her head lolling back against Banks’ shoulder. He drops his head down to kiss her. I watch him slip his tongue into her mouth.
The bathroom suddenly feels stifling hot. All steam.
All feeling.
All arousal.
Make Sulli feel extraordinary is on the agenda. Banks must get the memo too. Our hands move in hot, ravenous waves over her body. She bucks her hips, “Kits. Banks. Fuck…yes.” I’m not even inside of her.
I lean forward and take her nipple between my lips, sucking gently and then firmly. Her body shudders, and I keep her other leg opened as she jerks in arousal. “Oh, fuck.” She whimpers, and her fingers thread through my hair.
I reach up to touch her head, but my elbow knocks into Banks’. Shit.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling back from her tit.
He cracks a smile. “It’s not you, it’s me.” He’s shifting behind Sulli, who’s just trying to catch her breath. “I’m trying not to poke her in the ass.”
I tilt my head. Didn’t realize it, but she is kind of sitting on his lap.
Sulli rests fully against his chest, breathing hard. “I don’t mind being poked in the ass. I like feeling you guys. It’s really fucking hot…knowing how hard you are.”
I rub my lips—am I regretting being in front of her and not behind?
Banks moves her wet hair to the left side of her shoulder, exposing her neck. My blood pumps harder when I watch him sink his lips to the nape of her neck, sucking deeply.
Her aroused eyes—they’re on me.
No bowl of Instant Regret this time.
Her lips part in a heady breath, and I take her wandering hand and guide her palm to my erection. Underneath the water, her fingers curl around the hard length, and she nearly squirms in need.
Her grip around me and her flowing desire is churning mine on high-speed. Banks kisses her neck hungrily, and I clasp her jaw in a strong hand. Our movements rougher, she forgets to jerk me off, and I don’t need her to.
I kiss her like I’m famished, nipping her bottom lip, and I massage her tit. She arches up her hips, her legs jolting in my hold and his hold. We keep her spread open.
“Oh…fuck,” she moans. “Please…”
I’m on fire, burning in the water.
Banks kisses the most sensitive spot of her neck, and his eyes flit to me while he sucks. He’s watching her hand find my cock beneath the water again. She rubs me a few times. I’m watching him drive her crazy. Her body keeps trembling in needy waves.
This give and take is like walking into high voltage. All shockwaves and electrified energy.
I suck her nipple again, and she lets out a raspy breath. Her hand is friction on my length, but I crave to sink between her legs.
Something changes in the room. The temperature kicks up ten notches, and our movements grow more passionate, more urgent. Like this could end.
Like some unforeseen figure just overturned an hourglass and time drains with the sand.
My lips find hers once more, and our kiss siphons oxygen. Banks and I knock elbows again, but this time I don’t apologize. His face is inches from mine as he sucks on her neck, and as his hand cups her breasts, I can feel the tops of his fingers against my chest.
I break from her lips at the same time Banks pulls away from her neck. She breathes ragged breath as her hand slips from my length and g
rips onto my thigh.
My hard body is pressed against hers while I breathe beside her ear, “We can slow down.”
“I don’t want to slow down,” she says, very raspy. “I want this to last forever.” She touches our hands under the water that hold onto her thighs. “I want to have sex.” She takes a breath. “Tonight.”
She’s a virgin. The thought blares in my head. Be careful with her. I know she’s not even on any kind of birth control.
Banks looks her over. “Sulli—”
“If that’s something you two want,” she spits out quickly. “I know we had a rule—no P-in-the-V action until I chose. But tonight just feels…”
“Perfect,” I finish for her.
Her eyes wash over mine. “Yeah.” Her breasts rise in a bigger breath. “It’s perfect. Or is it just me?”
“It’s not,” Banks says the same time I say, “It’s not just you.”
She nods strongly.
Banks and I share a look. Feel the moment.
It feels right.
That should be all that matters.
52
SULLIVAN MEADOWS
Akara leaves the tub completely naked.
Oh my fucking God. My chest rises and falls heavily while I watch him, his shoulder and upper-chest beautifully inked. Water drips off his body as he steps on my teal bathmat. Behind me, Banks reaches down and unplugs the tub.
“Are we fucking leaving?” I ask, a little more than just bummed. I don’t want to go. Everything has been perfect right here. Being so close. So warm.
The water.
Banks.
Kits.
Them. And us.
“No, I’m just letting some of the water drain out,” Banks says in a way that makes me think he knows what he’s doing. More than me.
“Have you had sex in a bathtub before?” I ask, but my eyes flit to Akara. He’s squatting down and rummaging through his pants’ pocket.
Banks rests an arm on the lip of the tub. “This’ll be a first for me.”
“Same,” Akara says, standing up with something in his hand.
I’m grinning. “Look at that. You both are virgins, too.”
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