With Brave Wings (26 page)

"Oh!" She gasped and arched her back.

"Answer me," he growled.

"Because he's not you, Tennyson." She squirmed under him, her small hands settling along his biceps. He didn’t know whether she was trying to push him off or keep him in place. "No one is. Just you."

He sat back between her legs and pulled down her panties. "Where did he put his mouth on you? Here?" He cupped her pussy. "Did you let him suck on your clit?"

"No. We only kissed once." She shook her head quicker this time. "He didn’t get under my clothes at all."

Good. Fuck, that was good.

He fingered her slowly, creating little sounds as she got wetter and wetter. "Where did he touch you?"

"Um, he…he—we were on the couch, and he was on top of me."

Anger flared, and Tennyson chuckled darkly. "So he was all over what's mine." The relief lingered after learning their clothes hadn't come off, but that didn't stop him from flipping Sophie over and drawing her back so she was on all fours. "Did he touch your ass?" Bunching up her top, he inhaled the scent of her bath products and kissed her spine.

"Only a little," she whispered.

He had officially gone crazy, but he loved her even more for humoring him with this. He couldn’t help it; he needed to get all his facts straight, reclaim what he loved almost as much as their son, and then he'd be able to move on. Put this behind him.

"Was it like when I touch you?" He spread her delectable ass cheeks and lowered his face to kiss the entire length of her sex, not counting her clit. He wasn’t going near that until she was begging.

"Nothing is." She gasped as he softly swiped the tip of his tongue over her ass. "Oh my God, Tennyson. I'm so sorry for hurting you—"

"Stop." He spoke in a quiet, gruff voice as he continued eating her out. "I don't want you to regret your actions, because you did nothing wrong. I just want you to forget them."

"I did that the second I became yours again."

"Fuck," he whispered. "I'm glad."
All his.
He groaned against her sweet-tasting, wet flesh and began tongue-fucking her gently. But he kept getting distracted by her perfect little ass. He licked her upward, slowly, drawing it out, and sensed her shiver when he gave her tightest opening an openmouthed kiss. "What if I wanted to fuck you here one day?"

"I'd let you," she whimpered. "You'd be the first I trust not to hurt me. The first and only."

She knew exactly what to say. She was fueling him, feeding him, but he knew she wouldn't spout off bullshit just to please him.

Goddamn yes, he'd push his cock deep inside there one day. Something foreign to the both of them, a mindless fantasy from the past turned into a need only because it was this girl.

"Time to get this top off of you." He yanked her back to his chest and pulled the top over her head. Then he kissed her shoulder and neck while he reached around her and squeezed her breasts together. "I'm sorry for pushing you away, Sophie. For hurting you." He switched to kiss her other shoulder. His eyes closed as he breathed her in. His fingers pinched her nipples, and his cock grew impossibly harder from her reactions. She was so fucking sensitive. "It was a dick move, and I let my jealousy control me."

He kissed her lower, between her shoulder blades, enjoying every dip and every curve. Then he opened his eyes, only to frown.

There was ink. The silhouette of what looked like three little sparrows.

"Finally seen it, huh?" Sophie let out a small, breathy laugh. "I have more than that one."

"Show me," he demanded. It was suddenly getting difficult to breathe.

She showed him. She lay down and explained the birds represented her family, she showed him the feather and the word "Love" within the infinity symbol, and she showed him the tiny "Family" and the heart inked on the inside of her ring finger.

Much like when Tennyson found out he was becoming a father, there were no words. He kissed her instead. He crushed her to his body and kissed her for all he was worth. He thanked her. He apologized to her. He forced his cock deep inside of her and told her how much he loved her.

The way they could move together was hypnotic, and Tennyson's head swam with only her. Images, memories, dreams, plans.

She rolled on top and rode him sensually, taking her time, seemingly as lost in pleasure as he was. Sitting up, Tennyson cupped her breasts and kissed her skin, eliciting the sweetest fucking moans from her. Her head lolled back, exposing her neck. Perspiration dampened their bodies.

"I love you." She fell forward again and kissed him hard, hungrily.

He swallowed a groan and slid his palms up her back, holding her tightly. "You humble me." He gazed at her, his eyes flitting across her features. He'd always see a whole world behind her beauty. He saw her entire story, how much she'd grown, how much she continued to help others, and how much she'd brought Tennyson out of his own shell.

"Why would you say something like that?" She smiled curiously and leaned close, their noses touching.

"Because it's true." Flipping them over, he took control again and drove in deep, causing her to gasp. "You're not only my equal, but you're someone I look up to."

Once he had gotten to know Sophie better, he'd never, ever thought of her as anything beneath him. He'd judged her poorly at one point, and now there were times he almost felt unworthy of her love. But instead of letting that get to him, he fought. Fought to be better, a version of himself he strived to be, one he actually loved himself.

And wasn’t that what the best relationships were about? Bringing out the best in one another?

"That goes both ways." She palmed his cheek, to which he tilted his head and kissed the inside of her hand. "You make everything so much easier. Being alone…" She sucked in a breath and mock-scowled when he ground into her and stimulated her clit. He smirked. "Being alone didn’t give me awesome orgasms," she said cheekily.

"That’s not what you were going to say," he chuckled, out of breath.

"No, but you ruined the moment!"

"How can this be ruined?" He grinned. "We're having great sex and we're laughing like we're in a cheesy rom-com. Which, by the way, feels fucking amazing on my cock."

That made her moan, and her body melted into the mattress. "Those rom-coms were once my livelihood."

Tennyson hummed and dipped low to taste her neck. "We should do a movie night when we get home. My early work that makes me cringe and your romantic comedies."

"Oh my God," she giggled breathlessly. "Now you're really killing the buzz, honey."

Well, we can't have that.

"Let me fix that." He grunted and pulled out, then sat back on his heels and stroked his cock. "Get on all fours and tell me what you were going to say earlier. About being alone."

"Ooh, Daddy's in charge again. He's my favorite." She wriggled her ass at him and grinned over her shoulder.

"Then fucking obey him." Tennyson raised a brow.

"Yes, sir." She faced forward and spread her knees farther, opening up more for him.
Fuck.
"As painful as it was, being alone did me good. But I never wanna go through that shit again."

"You don’t have to, princess." He inched closer and slammed home.

"Shit!" she cried out.

With a tight grip on her hips, he fucked her over and over. He gave in to both their desires and cranked it up by making all kinds of promises for the future. They were going to fuck each other senseless in his Jacuzzi in Mendocino. They were definitely going to recreate their artwork, and this time by actually fucking on a canvas. It would hang in their bedroom with the first one they'd made.

"I want us to go to premieres together." He leaned forward and sank his teeth into her neck. "I want your panties wet, your pussy leaking of my come. You'll smile like a good girl for the cameras, but I'll know you'll be thinking of what we did in the limo on the way to the red carpet."

"Yes, yes—God, yes," she groaned. "I love it when I'm your precious little slut."

"
Fuck
," he spat out. Her comment sent him into a frenzy, his mind drowning in filthy fantasies. Fisting Sophie's hair, he pulled her back and held her like that as he drilled into her. "Can you imagine the sound? Your panties soaked with me—" He drew a ragged breath and began rubbing her clit with his free hand. "I'd sneak my hand between your thighs and spank the wet spot."

Sophie trembled and let out a keening wail.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to hold on for as long as he could. He could fuck her forever, if only his body would let him. His orgasm churned, the buildup making him sweat and tense up.

His muscles ached.

When she cried out and fell apart, he lost his battle. They both collapsed on the bed, Sophie writhing underneath him as they came.

"Fucking hell…" He swallowed dryly, more spent than after a four-hour climb. A shudder ripped through him as her pussy constricted around him. "Get it," he whispered huskily, rocking deeper. "Get all of it."

She released a labored breath, shaky and shallow, and Tennyson couldn’t help but hope they could really start trying for another baby soon. They already had sex unprotected, but she'd been gone too much for his liking.

He was ready for ovulation timers and period schedules, and he half joked about it once he'd pulled out and gathered her in his arms. It was too hot in the room to draw the covers over them, so he enjoyed the view of her naked body draped over his.

To his surprise, though, she spluttered a giggly laugh at his comment about period tracking, and he poked her in the ribs and cocked a brow at the cheeky shit.

"Did I say something funny?" The corners of his mouth lifted.

"Sort of." She snickered and scooted farther up to kiss his chin. Her eyes sparkled. "No need to check when I ovulate, though. I'm already pregnant."

What?

Heart drumming faster and faster, he didn’t know he'd asked that out loud until she answered.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated. "I haven't been to the doctor's yet—wasn’t long ago I found out. But either it's brand new or it's since I came home and surprised you after Toronto."

Holy fuck.
"Are you serious?" He pushed himself up a bit, his gaze flicking between hers and her stomach. Hope and pride swelled in his chest, and the love he already had for her grew tenfold when she launched into an explanation about why she hadn't told him yet.

She'd wanted it to be face-to-face. Her plan had been to tell him once she'd arrived in Cardiff, but then they'd fought. So she'd wanted them to solve their problems before she broke the news and, Jesus fucking Christ, Tennyson was at a loss for words.

"I don’t know what to say," he admitted. Looking down, he slid a hand over her stomach and caressed her skin. She was soft and toned as ever, and even the second time around, it was near incomprehensible. "Maybe I'm too happy?" He chuckled, dazed. Shocked. Once again angry he'd let his jealousy go too far. "Christ, baby…" He blew out a breath before he kissed her hard. "I love you. I can't wait—Kayden will be thrilled." His mind spun, and now he'd get the chance to be there from the get-go. First doctor's visit, ultrasound—everything. "Have you been ill? Any cravings yet? It'll be a while before we go home, so we should find a doctor here. I'll make calls tomorrow. I can ask my mother to send some of the things you craved last time, too." Unless they had Dove chocolate here in Wales. Perhaps they did. He wouldn’t know, but he'd find out. Same with Reese's peanut butter. "And we'll speak to Daniel and Sage about limiting your traveling. We should hire Lucy full time as well, and—"

"I think that’s enough," Sophie whispered and pinched his lips together. Her shoulders were shaking with laughter. "You're so fucking adorable, it hurts."

Well, all right, then.

Chapter 23

It was funny how life worked out when you got everything you wanted. Sophie had
everything
to lose for the first time in her life, and it was scary. Scary and exhilarating.

Work continued smoothly, and she reveled in everything she learned. Each day on the set brought a new challenge, and she loved how easy it was with Tennyson by her side. When she struggled with a scene, he was there to offer another perspective. When he tended to naturally exclude himself from meeting up with the rest of the crew and cast for dinner or drinks, Sophie became his social glue.

"Come on, people!" Tennyson barked out. "I want this scene wrapped before lunch."

"Woof, woof!" Sophie barked back.

Everyone around them cracked up, though they respected—or sometimes feared—Tennyson enough to hurry the hell up. And Brooklyn finished checking the pregnant belly on Sophie that looked remarkably real. She'd been in the makeup trailer for hours, and now she looked eight or nine months pregnant instead of four months.

"You're lucky I love you, brat," Tennyson chuckled and got behind his monitor.

Sophie blew him a kiss, and then she walked over to the middle of the warehouse set where a crew member tied her to a chair. She was only wearing a thin top to go with a pair of pajama bottoms, so Brooklyn lingered to make sure the rope didn’t dig into her fake belly.

"Will he hate me after this scene?" Judah asked quietly, seemingly both amused and worried.

"Nah." She grinned and wriggled her hands, unable to move them much. "He's been in the industry too long to get worked up over that."

Yesterday, she'd had a scene where her on-set husband had kissed her chastely. Tennyson had given her a devouring kiss afterward, but that was it. Rolling her shoulders, she closed her eyes and released a long breath. She found focus as the set cleared, leaving only her and Judah.

"Cameras rolling!" Noah called out.

Sophie hung her head and sank deeper into her role. Her mind brought forward the most recent scenes, where her brother had kidnapped her from her home in the middle of the night. She thought of her friends who were dead because of her. Sophie remembered the instructions from the medical expert who had told her the aftereffects of being chloroformed.

"Action!"

Judah circled her slowly.

Sophie's chest heaved, and she tilted her head to watch him warily. She loved her brother, but he scared her. He was dangerous. Ill. Delusional.

Her breaths were shallow, and she swallowed the nausea she portrayed.

"You're mad at me," Judah said softly.

She swallowed again and blinked slowly, dizzy. "I'm afraid of you, Rory."

He shook his head quickly and kneeled down close to her, to which she flinched away. "Don't be," he croaked. Tears welled up his eyes, and he looked so damn heartbroken. "I love you. It used to be us against the world. Remember?"

Sophie held her breath and tried to move her hands, but it was impossible. "What do you want me to say?" she blurted out, panting. A tear rolled down her cheek. "If I tell you what I really think, you'll hurt me."

"I would never hurt you!" Judah cried. "You just keep running away from me! I want us to be together like we used to—"

"You killed our parents!" Sophie screamed.

A tense silence followed as the echoes died and she and Judah stared at each other.

"And cut!"

Sophie drew in a breath and shut her eyes, wanting to stay in the moment while the cameramen switched angles. Judah stayed close in the same position too, and when a rigger asked if the ropes were bothering Sophie, she merely shook her head and waited.

"We'll take it from the silence," Tennyson announced.

"Everybody on mark, cameras rolling!" Noah called.

Facing Judah once more, Sophie stared at him as the scene started again, and he stood up to circle the chair like he'd done before.

"Mother and Father took me away from you," he said. "They had me institutionalized. Locked away. Forgotten."

"You were sick," Sophie whimpered. "Please understand me, Rory. I love you so much, but you're not well. You're hurting everyone I care for—you're hurting
me
!"

"They made fun of me, Em," Judah gritted out tearfully. He came to a stand slightly behind Sophie and shifted her hair to the side, exposing her neck. "At the hospital—they laughed at me. They told me I was worthless." His voice grew softer as he drew a finger gently along her neck. "They shook me when I wouldn’t respond. They scared me, and you weren't there."

Sophie hiccupped and screwed her eyes shut. Tears flowed. "I'm sorry." She started trembling when he lowered his face and nuzzled her neck and jaw from behind her. "Did—did you escape?"

"I didn’t belong there." He groaned quietly and kissed her jaw, his hands coming to her front to palm her stomach. "I belong with you. You always made me feel so safe, and now nobody can stop us." She shuddered and stifled a sob when he licked the corner of her mouth. "Your
husband
can keep the spawn." He nipped at her jaw, sharply enough for her to wince. "You and I will go away."

"Cut!" Tennyson called out. "Susan, make a mark at thirty-seven, please. I need to look it over." He spoke to the script supervisor. "And check for replacement words for husband. I'm not feeling it." Then he walked over to Sophie and Judah. "You guys up for one more?" He checked his watch. "We have another hour before we need to go, princess."

"I respect you and all, but calling me princess?" Judah quipped.

Sophie spluttered a giggle at Tennyson's snort.

*

A couple hours later, Sophie found herself in a doctor's office, and Tennyson had her hand in a death grip.

"Let's see if the wee one is shy today, too," the doctor said.

Sophie brushed her thumb over Tennyson's hand and waited as the doc smeared gel on her stomach. It was a relief to be rid of the fake one 'cause it was damn heavy.

"The crew's taking bets," Tennyson said quietly. "Noah's hoping for a boy because evidently you promised he could name your second child, and he doesn’t have any suggestions for a girl."

"He wanted to name Kayden after himself—Collins," Sophie chuckled. "I did what I had to do."

He grinned, and then nervousness joined in when the monitor was switched on and the doctor moved the wand over her belly. The sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room, and Tennyson leaned forward and held Sophie's hand to his mouth, his eyes glistening.

"You are sure you want to know the sex, yes?" the doctor asked.

They nodded.

"Congratulations, then." She smiled. "It's a girl."

Sophie smiled widely through her tears, and soon she was engulfed in a hug by Tennyson. God, she couldn’t even describe her happiness right now.

"I love you," he murmured thickly. "I love you so much."

"You too," Sophie croaked.

*

The day before they were going back to LA, Sophie woke up in the middle of the night, and for some reason, she couldn’t fall back asleep. She tried; she snuggled deeper into Tennyson's embrace and watched his peaceful expression, but sleep eluded her.

Then she tiptoed into Kayden's room and found him just as peacefully asleep, his thumb in his mouth.

She smiled and glanced out the window, noticing it was raining.

That brought back memories.

Her first kiss with Tennyson.

Returning to the master bedroom, she yanked on a pair of yoga pants, one of Tennyson's T-shirts, grabbed a blanket and her phone, and then she took the elevator up to the rooftop terrace.

It was ridiculously cold, but there was no wind tonight.

The bar was closed for the season, all the chairs piled up, the pool covered.

With the blanket wrapped around her, she padded over to the middle of the terrace and tilted her head up. Raindrops splattered across her face, and more memories came back to her.

"I hate the rain, Daddy!"
she'd told her dad as a kid. She couldn’t remember how old she'd been. Maybe five or six.

"Why?"
he'd asked.
"Without rain, you can't jump in puddles."

Sophie had scrunched her nose and eyed a puddle on the ground.

After that, Dad had taken her to the store, and they'd picked up a pair of rain boots with pink flowers on them. They'd been in New York at the time, and Central Park was the next stop.

Dad had been the first one to jump into a large puddle, and Sophie still remembered the shock of seeing her father go bananas. He hadn't given a fuck about anybody watching him.

She'd looked down at her pretty rain boots and then joined Dad with a war cry.

And her love for the rain was born.

"Let me tell you something."
Dad had squatted down to her level, rivulets of water trickling down his face.
"There will come a time when someone tells you you're too old to go puddle jumping. You don't want to be friends with that person. Okay, pumpkin?"

"Okay, Daddy."

Somewhere along the road, Dad had forgotten his own words. All things fun had been replaced with work. Making money and climbing higher on the corporate ladder became everything. There was no time for puddle jumping. Rain ruined fancy suits. Rain ruined shoes.

Sophie had her eyes closed, and she drew in a deep breath. The air was wet, crisp, and smelled of trees, ocean, and winter.

Opening her eyes again, she looked down at where she was clutching the edges of the blanket and her phone. Butterflies set up camp in her stomach.

She'd been confused for a long time. Always trying to
get
somewhere. Someplace she didn’t know existed. Whether it was figuring out emotions, deciding what was right and wrong, or finding her place, she'd wasted too much time on confusion. She'd tried so hard to understand, but…

Life wasn’t meant to be understood, was it? It was meant to be lived.

Sophie wanted to live her life with her family—and all it entailed. Fights, second chances, devotion, flaws, love, and acceptance.

Family.
She saw a raindrop slide over the word "Family" on her finger.
Second chances.
She released a breath and scrolled through the photos on her phone. While she'd been in Toronto, Tennyson had asked if he could read the letter Dad had given her, so she had taken photos of every page and sent them. At the bottom of the last page, she found Dad's new number.

It was too soon to add it as a contact, but she dialed it before she chickened out.

Funny, wasn’t it? She was calling the man who had hurt her so much, yet the idea of calling her mother didn’t exist. Maybe because wounds could heal, but once you were forgotten, there was nothing left. Mom hadn't once tried to reach out—not ever. Since the day Dad divorced her, she had been quick to get out, and she had cut Sophie out of her life the minute the partying started.

"Hello?" Dad answered.

Sophie sucked in a breath. She thought she was prepared, but she wasn’t. Fuck. "It's me," she managed to rasp out. It was getting a bit too cold, so she walked under the roof and grabbed a chair to sit down.

"Oh, Sophie—I'm so glad you called." His voice grew thicker. "Did you read my letter?"

She nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see her. "Yeah."

She'd lost count of how many times she'd read it.

"I have no excuses, pumpkin. I became greedy. It started with wanting a nicer house for us,"
was one of the lines in the letter. Yet, the Pierces had always been well-off. But he'd wanted a mansion.
"Nothing was ever enough, and I lost sight of everything that truly mattered."

"What changed, Dad?" she asked quietly.

He cleared his throat. "I had a heart attack a couple years ago. Woke up in the hospital alone, which… Well, it certainly put things in a new perspective."

Sophie closed her eyes and hung her head.
Christ.
He could've died and she would've learned about it from some inside industry scoop.

"I mistreated everyone who mattered to me," he went on, his voice rough with emotion. "Most of all, you."

Her bottom lip trembled, so she bit down on it. "Did you really quit your job and sell the estate?"

"I did," he replied somberly. "I'm staying at a hotel downtown for now. Closer to my lawyer's office." He made an attempt to joke, and she cracked half a smile. She remembered he'd mentioned getting divorced, too. "Do…do I stand a chance, pumpkin?"

Considering she was deliberately biting back countless questions about his health after having a heart attack, she obviously still cared. And she was the one who had called.

She'd once left her past behind her, but maybe some parts deserved digging up.

"You're gonna have a hard time winning over Tennyson," she said softly, trying to keep it light.

Dad let out a low, choked laugh. "I have no doubt. That only means he loves you." He sounded relieved. "I cannot tell you how happy this makes me, Sophie. I have a lot to make up for—I've said the most awful things to you."