Chapter Thirty Seven

“Mm, this is nice,” Lucy said, her voice muffled by the pillow under her head. She moaned as Sullivan hit a particularly sensitive spot, his hands working and working over her skin.

“Do massage therapists get massages themselves, usually?” he asked, kneading the muscles of Lucy’s back.

“We try to, but it’s hard to not focus on how their technique is different from yours,” Lucy murmured. “But when you find a good one… oh yeah. But I haven’t had one in ages, and now I’m wishing I had,” she admitted, groaning again as Sullivan pushed into a particularly tight muscle on her right thigh.

“Feel good?” he asked, intently focused on his work with her body.

“Feels amazing after what I did today,” Lucy said, meaning it.

For the last several weeks, Spencer had been having Lucy do long distance walks at a pretty fast clip. Then, in a particularly twisted plan only he could come up with, he had announced to her that she would be doing a half marathon, and then a marathon – every other day for a week.

Or maybe two weeks.

He hadn’t decided yet, he had said evenly.

She had protested that there was no way in hell she could walk thirteen miles one day, then twenty six the next, then thirteen, and so on.

He had argued that if she wanted to haul her ass up a mountain on the other side of the world, she better get hip to the idea that it was a lot of walking and just man up and do it.

And so, following a route he had mapped out, she walked.

And walked.

And kept walking.

She had walked along Seventeen Mile Drive, following the trails and roads that wound around the golf courses, the beach access areas, and the hugely expensive houses that sat back from the road.

She had walked huge chunks of Highway One as it cut through Monterey, passing the shops and stores of the town.

She had walked around and through Manzanita County Park, she had walked to the airport and back, and once, she had walked more than halfway to Santa Cruz, going up the coast from home.

Every route he gave her, every mile he pushed her, she just kept going, head down, feet moving, forward momentum being key to everything.

A few times she thought she would give up, but at just those moments, Spencer would say something encouraging (for he almost always walked right beside her), or she would see Sully and his car parked up ahead on the side of the road, armed with a huge bottle of Gatorade and a cheesy sign to keep her spirits up.

“Worst parade ever.”

“May the course be with you.”

“You trained for this longer than Kim Kardashian was married.”

“Your feet are hurting because you are kicking so much ass.”

“Chuck Norris never walked a marathon.”

Every single one had made her laugh out loud – and then pick up the pace so that she could kiss him and thank him for encouraging her.

She had finished every single mileage distance that Spencer had given her – and had vowed to participate in a real marathon sometime in the future. She may only do it by walking, but that was more than a lot of people could do, she reasoned.

But now, after so many miles of those alternating walks, her muscles were definitely sore – and Sullivan’s powerful hands were the cure she wanted the most.

“I know I’ve said it before,” he said, leaning over to press a kiss between her shoulder blades, making her smile into the pillow at the feather light touch. “But I really am so extraordinarily proud of you. Not just for walking far, but for… well, for all of it. From where you started to where you are now, and the person you’ve become. I’m… I’m proud to be your guy.”

She looked over her shoulder and gave him a sweet smile. “Thanks,” she said, meaning it. She wanted to say so much more, but found her throat tight at his sweet words.

“Do you feel ready?”

She sighed and turned over, tugging the sheet up to cover her warm skin in the cool room. Sullivan moved over and positioned himself beside her on the pillows, propping himself up on one elbow.

“I’m nervous, I’m not going to lie. But I feel better about it than I did a few weeks ago. Spencer wants me to do long walks at least a few more times, then start tapering off to get ready for the summit so I have lots of energy when we get there. I can’t believe it’s only a few weeks away now,” Lucy said, her voice filled with wonder.

“I can’t believe you are going to be gone for two whole weeks,” Sullivan said sullenly, giving her an exaggerated pout. “And that you are going to go on a safari. I’ve always thought that would be amazing to see. I mean, the landscape and the animals and the completely different culture…”

Lucy brightened. “I know, I can’t believe it either. When Lionel told me they were picking up the tab for the whole wedding shebang, I nearly fell of my chair. Including this awesome sounding safari, he said. Unbelievable.”

“I guess being a green warrior pays well,” Sullivan mused.

“I don’t know about that, but they tend to live pretty frugally. Not a lot of opportunity to go the closest mall and blow all your cash when you are in the middle of a desert or a jungle,” Lucy replied. “But they’ve never been up Kilimanjaro, so we’ll get to experience that for the first time – together.”

“I’m glad you’re going on an adventure,” Sullivan said, sounding wistful. “But I really am going to miss you.”

“What are you going to do while I’m gone?” Lucy asked, snuggling down in the pillows more comfortably, her eyes searching his face.

“Wallowing in grief that you aren’t around,” he answered immediately, and she grinned.

“That’s sweet.”

“That’s me.”

“Do you have a lot of work to keep you busy?” she asked, and he shrugged.

“Some, but nothing earth shattering. I may have to go to the warehouse just to keep myself amused,” he said with a small eye roll.

“Mm, twin harassment. The perfect way to pass the time.”

“Spencer’s getting ready to order some new equipment, and I think he wants a guinea pig.”

“I’m glad the warehouse is attracting more clients,” Lucy said, meaning it. She had made tentative plans with a local reporter to talk about her journey to the summit when she returned from Africa. She hoped the exposure – and the fact that it was all due to Spencer – would help attract even more clients to his warehouse.

“But other than working and working out, I’ll probably just lay on the floor of my room, listening to sad country music about losing my girl or something,” Sullivan said with mock seriousness.

“Because, see, I was thinking,” Lucy began, and Sullivan shot her a considering look. “That it’s traditional to have a ‘plus one’ at a wedding.”

Sullivan merely stared at her, mute.

“So I was wondering what you were doing in a couple of weeks, for a couple of weeks,” she continued with a barely concealed grin.

“Lucy…”

“Wanna go climb a mountain with me?” she whispered, nibbling on his ear.

“Are you serious?” he asked, pulling away so that he could meet her eyes.

“I’m totally serious.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” he stammered, and she smiled.

“Say yes,” Lucy said. “Look, the fact of the matter is, I know I couldn’t have done this without Spencer’s help, but I couldn’t have done it without yours, either. Whenever I wanted to give up, quit, whatever, I thought of you, and how it would feel to tell you I failed. I want to make you proud, and I want to climb this damn mountain, and I want you to be there when I do. Plus, it sucks to go to weddings by yourself,” she added with a smile. “I know from experience.”

Sullivan grinned and nodded. “True enough.”

“If it’s about the money…”

“I have money,” Sullivan assured her. In fact, he had begun socking away more and more from his take home pay in order to put a down payment on a house – for both of them.

He hadn’t told Lucy that explicitly, but they had begun to have the serious conversations about merging their lives permanently – marriage, house, kids, everything. They had had long talks into the night about what they wanted from their lives, and how they pictured it as they got older.

And both of them seemed to agree that they should get old together – surrounded by kids and a dog, laughter and happiness.

It was scary and exhilarating and amazing – and was such a different experience from when he and Jewel had begun talking about long term plans together. Sully and Lucy agreed on almost everything about what they wanted out of life, and both of them were eager to take the next step towards a life together.

Plus, with the roommate factor they both had in their present living situations, privacy was becoming more and more of a premium.

And Sully wanted privacy with Lucy more than anything, he thought with an inward grin, for just such an evening as this.

“Oh, okay,” Lucy said. “Soo… you’ll come?”

Sullivan looked at her with a teasing glint in his eye. “I don’t know. Will you be there?”

“I’ll be the one standing by the bride, yeah,” Lucy said flippantly.

“On top of Kilimanjaro?”

“The one and only.”

“In Africa?”

“So I’m told.”

“Yeah,” Sullivan said after a beat. “I think I can work it into my schedule.”

Lucy squealed and threw her arms around him, pulling him to her, skin to skin, lips to lips. She kissed and kissed him, so happy to know he would be with her in Africa – every step of the way.

What began as happy, celebratory kissing took a turn almost immediately into passion for both of them. Sullivan tenderly brushed her hair from her face with his strong hands, cupping her face and kissing her deeply, making her entire body flush with warmth and pleasure.

He tugged the sheet away from her body, dipping his head to kiss and nibble her neck, her collarbone, her breasts.  Her hands roamed over the smooth skin of his broad back, reveling in the feel of the rippling muscles beneath as he shifted and moved above her, covering her body with his.

She didn’t even flinch as he ran a warm hand over her stomach, her thighs, her calves, her core, instead loving the feel of his touch all over her, and she reached out her own hands, eager to return the favor. She grasped him and cradled him, and he took in a sharp breath at her strokes. His fingers searched out her center, making her pant and arch her back, wanting more of his touch, his teasing.

They kissed and played, laughed and moaned, until finally neither one could take it any more. Sully slid inside her, making her gasp his name aloud, both of them moving in unison, kissing and murmuring sweet nothings until Lucy knew she was about to tumble over the edge of ecstasy. With a strangled cry, Sully thrust once more inside her, and both of them let go together, crying out with release and happiness.

And just like every other time she had made love to Sully, Lucy noticed her toes were definitely curled.


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