Between Here and the Horizon(60)

“It’s impossible for me to think any less of you than I already do,” I informed him, pulling a face.

He pulled one back. The second he planted the alcohol soaked material against his side, his eyes looked like they were about to roll back into his head. “Ah, shit. Goddamn it, that stings.”

“Don’t be such a wimp. Here, let me do it.” I took the cloth from him. Sully grumbled, but he didn’t stop me; he placed his hands on the wall again, arching so that his back was curved up toward the ceiling, and he grimaced.

“Make it quick.”

“If I were a cold hearted kind of person who enjoyed seeing others suffer, I might take as much time as possible in this situation. Lucky for you I’m more Maria than sadomasochist, huh?” The sarcasm was thick in my voice as I dabbed efficiently at his bleeding side. Sully closed his eyes and bore it. His body slumped a little, so his head was hanging down in between his arms, but other than that he kept perfectly still while I worked. When I was done, he let go of a shaky, uneven breath and turned to look at me.

“A sadomasochist derives sexual pleasure from inflicting pain on others, Lang.”

Oh, god. Fire exploded in my cheeks, undoubtedly turning them bright red. Perfect. Why was the way he said sexual so, well, sexual? It made me feel like I was squirming inside my own skin.

“Good thing this moment couldn’t be any less sexual, then,” I answered. Was I doing a decent job of acting cool? It was highly unlikely, given the burning, hot spots on my cheeks, high up, by my cheekbones.

“It couldn’t?” Sully spoke slowly. His head was still hanging low between his braced arms, hands planted high over his head. He was scrutinizing me, cutting a glance at me out of the corner of his eye, and the next few seconds that passed were so intense they damn near sucked the air right out of my lungs. Why was he looking at me like that? And what the hell was he trying to imply? Taking a deep breath, he blinked those long dark eyelashes of his, so f*cking perfect, but he didn’t avert his gaze. “Because, if you asked me, this moment could definitely be less sexual.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I balled up the vodka and now blood-soaked cloth into my hand, ready to run away with it into the kitchen, but Sully stood up straight, towering over me with a bemused look on his face.

“Yes, you do. I’m standing here in a towel, covered in water, and you’re playing nursemaid, tending to my injuries, your hands on my bare skin… If this were a porno, we’d basically be f*cking by now.”

“I’m gonna have to take your word for that. I wouldn’t know. I’ve never watched porn.”

Amusement flickered across his features, lighting them up in an expected, warm way. “You’ve never watched porn? Not ever?”

“That’s what never means.”

“Not even when you’re turned on?”

“No. Not even when I’m turned on.”

“What do you do to take the pressure off, then? Do you just…take care of it all by yourself? No outside input? Just your fingers and your imagination?”

Hot damn. I couldn’t maintain eye contact any longer. The words coming out of his mouth were enough to make me avert my eyes to the floor. My cheeks weren’t the only things flushed red now. I was the color of a beet from my hairline down.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” I said quietly.

“I don’t suppose it is. But you can still tell me.”

“Just put some clothes on, Sully. God.” I tried to slip around him into the kitchen, but the moment I moved Sully was moving too, sliding along the wall to block the entrance to the other room. It was surprising he could move so quickly, given how much pain he was in.

“Remember my no bullshit policy, Lang? Well, I’m calling bullshit. Right now. On you.”

“You can’t.” I tried to duck under his arm, but again he saw where I was headed and blocked my route.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because. I’m not lying to you, am I? I’m just not giving in to what you want.”

He looked up at the ceiling for a second. “I’d call that pretty bullshitty.”

“I’d just call it tough luck. Now get your ass out of my way before I knock you down on it.”

He grinned—beautiful white teeth, beautiful pout to his lips. “Think you could?”

“Right now I do, yeah. In a couple of weeks maybe not, but you’re more fragile than a ninety-year-old man at the moment.”

“I could still take you, Lang. Don’t tempt me.”

The way he said take you sent shivers down my spine. I was way out of my depth here. It occurred to me that somehow, out of the blue, Sully and I were flirting, and I was neither equipped nor prepared for such a dangerous undertaking. I backed away, hands held up. “No need. How about I just leave you to your own devices and head on home? You know how to work a microwave, right?”

“I know how to work one, sure. However, I don’t own one.”

“Who the hell doesn’t own a microwave?”

“Who the hell doesn’t watch porn?” He was enjoying this far too much. I never thought I’d see the day Sully Fletcher smiled, and yet here I was, witnessing the miracle with my own two eyes. His whole face changed. The severity lifted from his features, and everything all at once seemed…light. It was like looking at another man, a stranger I hadn’t met yet.