Until Series: Box set (111 page)

“Get back here.”
I pull Sophie back under me after she tries to roll away. “Where are you going?” I kiss the skin of her neck. My hand runs along her thigh, up under my shirt she has on, along the smooth skin of her stomach, and then up to cup her breast.

When we got home last night, I helped her shower—even though she insisted she was fine—and carried her to bed so I could hold her close. I haven’t let her out of my grip since.

“Oh,” she breaths, and I watch as her head tilts back, giving me better access to her neck.

“Sensitive?” I question, running my thumb across her nipple. Last night, she said that her nipples were extra sensitive when I was washing her in the shower. She nods as I tilt her face towards mine so I can take her mouth in a deep kiss. “What about this one? Sensitive?” I ask, traveling my hand to her other breast, tugging on that nipple.

“Yesss…” she hisses out, pressing herself deeper into my hand. Her hand closest to me travels down my abs and grips my erection, pumping once before her thumb slides over my piercing at the tip. My hips automatically shift, wanting closer to her.

“What about this? Is it sensitive?” I ask, running a finger over her folds before dipping in and then circling a finger outside her entrance.

“Oh, please,” she cries, making me smile. Her head turns, her eyes open, and they lock on mine as her fingers dig into my bicep.

“How did I get so fucking lucky?” I lean forward, kissing her mouth before kissing her chin, each nipple, and below her belly button, where I kiss my child.

I look up at her, pulling one of her legs over my shoulder before licking her in one long stroke. She’s gotten sweeter since becoming pregnant. Her taste hits my mouth and I can’t hold back; I take her aggressively, burying my face in her pussy until I can hear her screaming my name.

“B
ut where are
you going? Where in Seattle? Have you ever even been here before?” Sophie asks in rapid-fire succession.

We got to Washington yesterday for her best friend’s wedding. I hate fucking lying to her, but there is no way I’m telling her that I’m going to meet her dad. She doesn’t even know he’s in prison, and the last thing I want right now is her worrying.

“Baby”—I finish tying my boot and grab her hand before sitting back so I can pull her onto my lap—“I go to cities I know nothing about at least once a month. Don’t worry about me. I won’t be gone long.” I run a hand down her back, the other lying over her stomach.

Her eyes go to her lap before meeting mine again. “I hate being away from you.”

“You’re safe here,” I tell her. Since the attack, she hasn’t left my side. I hate having her away from me, but because we’re so far away from Tennessee, I know I can relax a little.

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“I’m always safe. Besides, I’m not working. I just need to go out and pick something up.”

“What could you need to pick up in Seattle?” she asks, obviously frustrated.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Now go back to sleep. You need your rest.”

“I’m not tired,” she huffs.

“I can see the bags under your eyes, Sophie. I know you’re tired.” I run my fingers under her jaw. Yesterday was a long day of traveling, and I pray we won’t have to do it again while she’s pregnant.

“Sheesh, you’re a charmer.” She shakes her head.

“You know you’re beautiful. Now stop being difficult and lay down. I’ll be gone three hours tops.”

“Okay, but you owe me cake—chocolate cake. Wait, no, chocolate cheesecake. No—just chocolate cake.” She bites her lip, and I burst out laughing, pulling her closer to me.

“How ’bout I get you both? That way you don’t have to choose.”

“I’m going to be as big as a house by the time this is over.” She sighs.

“You will always be beautiful,” I assure her.

“Even if I weigh four hundred pounds?”

“Hell yeah,” I smirk. “Big girls are hot.”

“What?” she asks, searching my face.

“I don’t discriminate, babe.”

“You don’t?” she asks, her eyes narrowing.

This is one thing about Sophie being pregnant—she is moody as fuck. One minute, she’s happy-go-lucky, and the next, you would swear she’s possessed by the devil.

“I didn’t before you. Women of all shapes and sizes are beautiful.”

“I get that.” She nods, looking off in the distance before her eyes come back to me. “I totally feel that way about guys. You know, skinny, muscular, jock, nerd—they all have something I find attractive,” she says, and I growl deep in my throat. I do not ever want her to check men out…ever.

“You better not be checking dudes out,” I tell her, watching her try to hide her smile. “You fucking with me?”

“No. Why would I do that?” she asks innocently, batting her lashes.

“Just for that, when I get back and I’m inside you with you begging me to let you come, it’s not gonna happen.” I watch her breath pause before speeding up. “I should tie you up and torture you.” Her thighs tighten together and she squirms on my lap, rubbing against my dick, which is ready to go. “Seems like you like that idea,” I whisper against her neck before biting down on her earlobe. I slide my hand from her stomach to her thigh. “When I get back here, this is mine.” I run my finger up the center of the panties before pulling her in for a kiss. I end it quickly, knowing how fast things can get out of hand with her. “Be back soon.” I kiss her once more before picking her up off my lap and heading out the door.

“Be careful.”

“Always, baby,” I tell her, shutting the door behind me.

When I finally get to the prison and make it past security, I know I’m going to be late making it back to Sophie. Not only do I have this stop, but I have to pick up her ring from Tiffany’s. Maggie and Devon want me to ask her when they are there to see it. It’s fucked up, but the only time I can do it is at their wedding. They’re leaving town in the morning to head out for their honeymoon.

I walk down a long hallway with phone booths and Plexiglas lining one side. “Wait here,” a guard says before going to stand near the door. I take a seat, watching as a man wearing an orange jumpsuit enters. He’s short with a stocky build, dark, greying hair that’s tied back into a ponytail, and a face that is weathered and aged. If not for eyes perfectly matching Sophie’s, I would have no idea that he’s her father. His eyes meet mine through the glass, and I can see the confusion on his face; I know he has no clue who I am or why I’m here. He sits down across from me and nods to the phone, lifting the one on his side to his ear as I do the same.

“I don’t know you,” are the first words out of his mouth.

“No, you don’t.”

“Why are you here?” he asks, his eyes looking me over.

“You and I have someone in common.”

“Since I’ve been here for the last almost eight years and you look like you’re young enough to be my son, I doubt that,” he says and starts to pull the phone from his ear.

“Sophie,” I say, and his face pales, his eyes go wide, and his grip on the phone tightens so much that his hand and knuckles turn white.

“What did you just say?”

“Sophie,” I repeat and watch as he leans back in his chair, his hand going to his mouth, covering it.

“How do you know Sophie?” he asks as his hand moves from his mouth to run over his head.

“She’s going to be my wife,” I tell him bluntly.

His eyes look me over again before narrowing slightly. “Not my daughter.” I’m slightly taken aback by the adamancy in his voice. “She’s a sweet girl.”

“She is,” I agree. “So tell me why the fuck you didn’t protect her?” Even though this isn’t my reason for being here, knowing the shit she went through after losing her mother, I had to ask him.

“I…I was lost.” He takes a breath.

“You were lost?” I repeat, wondering what the fuck that even means.

“After her mother died, I was lost. I tried to be a good dad, but I couldn’t even look at my own daughter without hating her.”

“What?” I growl.

“She looked just like her mom. I know it was fucked up, but I hated looking at her and seeing my wife. Do you know how fucked up it is to look at your only child and wish they would have died with their mother just so you wouldn’t have to see the disappointment in her eyes when she looks at you?”

“You’re one stupid motherfucker.” I shake my head in disgust, wishing the glass weren’t separating us.

“You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t regret the way I treated her?”

“I don’t think you do. You left her to the wolves.”

“I was fucked in the head after losing my wife,” he says, shaking his head.

“I get that, man. I really fucking get that. I honestly don’t know what would happen if I lost Sophie, and I pray to God I’ll never have to know what that feels like, but if she left me with our child, I would always make sure my kid was safe. No way would I fuck my kid’s life up just to make mine easier to deal with.”

“I fucked up!” he shouts this time, making the guard take a step towards us.

“You did, but what I want to know is—are you still fucking up?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said earlier you wished Sophie had died. Do you still feel that way?”

“Do you know why I’m in this fucked-up place?”

I do know. I know he’s in here for murder. “I do,” I reply, looking him dead in the eyes.

“Do you know who I killed?”

“No.” When Justin told me where Sophie’s dad was and why he was there, I didn’t ask any more questions.

“I killed the guy who touched her. It was two days after she left. I had been sober for two whole days, looked around, and realized what I was doing to myself and what I let happen to my daughter. I tracked the guy down that hurt her and killed him. I’m in here for the next fifteen years. I do not regret for one second taking that fucker’s life. I know I should have prevented it from happening in the first place, but I didn’t, so I made it to where it would never happen again.”

“Holy shit.” I sit back in the chair, my body sagging.

“I know I fucked up with her, but I never wanted her to be afraid again,” he says softly.

I shake my head, still in shock from what he just said. “Someone has tried to hurt her twice since she moved to Tennessee.”

“That’s where she went?”

“What do you mean?”

“I had someone keeping an eye out for her, and then one day she was just gone.”

“Yeah. She’s in Tennessee with me.”

“How long have you been in the picture?” He cocks his head to the side.

“A while.”

“How is she?” he asks, closing his eyes, but not before I catch the look of pain in them.

“Good, but I really need to know who’s after her. Do you know of anyone here from her past who would be messing with her?”

“The only threat she had is dead.” I nod. “What’s your name?” he asks.

I debate for a second if I should tell him, but seeing him in here behind bars and knowing the reason he is here, I quickly make up my mind.

“Nico Mayson.”

“And you’re with my daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Is she happy?” he asks quietly, hopefully.

“Very,” I tell him.

His eyes search my face. “Take care of her,” he chokes out before hanging up the phone and standing. He leaves me sitting there in shock.

I still know nothing about who’s after Sophie, but I do know that her dad loves her, and now I have to figure out if I should tell Sophie about him.

“Fuck,” I grumble out before hanging up the phone and getting the fuck out of there.

*

Sophie

“Girl, you know
I don’t do the whole ‘white meat’ thing, but that man of yours is seriously fine. I mean F-I-N-E,” Maggie says, throwing herself down on the bed next to me.

“I know.” I smile.

“I’ve never seen you this happy.”

“I’ve never been this happy before. He makes everything okay. With him, I feel safe, like I can explore or just be me and know he will watch over me.”

“Yeah, I saw that. He’s kinda scary,” Maggie says quietly.

“He told me he doesn’t have to be nice to anyone but me,” I tell her, watching her eyes widen.

“Wow.” Her head turns towards me, her lips parting slightly.

“You know, when I first met you, I wondered how the hell this little ol’ white girl was gonna make it in the world if she couldn’t even be around a group of people without freaking out. Then you surprised me by never giving up. Yes, you did freak the hell out every time, but you never quit trying. You’re one of the strongest people I know, Sophie. So yes, that man will probably kill anyone who ever tries to harm you, but your strength is internal,” she says, and I start to cry immediately.

“Don’t mind me. This baby has me all messed up,” I say before thinking. No one knows I’m pregnant. Well, no one except Kenton, Nico’s friend Leo, the EMTs, and a whole bunch of cops. Okay…so a lot of people know I’m pregnant.

“Did you just say what I think you said?” I squeeze my eyes closed and shake my head. “You did! You just said, and I quote, ‘Don’t mind me. This baby has me all messed up.’”

“Um…”

“Holy mother of God! Sophie Jean Grates, you’re pregnant!” Maggie yells as she climbs up to stand on the bed. “You’re pregnant and you weren’t going to tell me?” She starts to jump up and down, and just like that, my stomach flips, I stand up and run to the bathroom, and proceed to get rid of my breakfast and lunch. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think.”