Sophia
I’m surprised to have received a call from the very talented ballerina Jade Reyes earlier. It turns out that Jade Reyes is the one dating Micah’s friend. Jade is an incredible dancer. Sage, Maleah, and I saw her perform at a Gala in Manhattan several months ago. Imagine their excitement when they found out that Jade called. We ended up making plans to meet at a Karaoke bar that night. I figure since Micah was going to be out all night, I’d enjoy some time with new and old friends.
Thankfully, Sage joined us. We dressed to the nines that night. I’m wearing my favorite black halter top and tight leather skirt with knee-high leather boots. My hair is knotted into an intricate sideways braid, and my makeup is smoky. I feel sexy and
Micah I feel exhilaration and fear at once as I drive away from the building. I know that I have a great deal to do, but all I can think about is going back home and making love to Sophia until neither of us can walk. My phone rings a moment later. Looking at the screen, I answer. “Priest. I was just on my way over there.” Priest responds quickly. “We have a problem, Savage.” I sigh in frustration feeling the relaxed mood from earlier dissipate. “What is it?” He grunts. “Who is Detective Colin Vane?” I stiffen in my seat with alarm. “Did you say Detective Colin Vane?” He snorts with derision. “Yes, I fucking did! Now, are you going to answer me?” My head pounds as I mutter through clenched teeth. “Yeah, I met him a couple o
Sophia I watch Micah’s departing form as he walks out the door, and feel a sense of elation.I can’t believe he just made love to me on top of Maleah and Sage’s desk. It was so desperate and intense. Everything about Micah is that way. I look in the mirror, fix my hair, and make sure my dress is not rumpled before I walk out of the office. Maleah raises a questioning brow when I step around the counter. “Well, it looks like someone was having some fun. What did lover boy want from you?” She says, wagging her eyebrows mischievously. Taking a deep breath, I flush slightly. “You mean after he thoroughly ravished me on top of your desk?” Her eyes widen, and her mouth gapes open with surprise. “What? Are you telling me that you two just did the nasty on my desk? You little vixen!” She says with a sly grin.&nbs
Micah “Where the hell have you been?” Priest asks the moment I walk into his office door. I quirk my brow at his daring question. “Last time I checked, you weren’t my keeper. So I suggest you take a better tone with me.” Priest’s head tilts with a challenging frown. “What happened with the detective?” Taking a seat in one of his comfortable chairs, I cross my leg over my knee and release a frustrated sigh. “Well, I told him to back off, but I get the feeling that he won’t. He also asked me about Willem.” Priest’s face stiffens. “Are you fucking kidding me? What exactly did he say?” He asks, taking a seat behind his desk and resting his folded hands on the surface. Running a thumb across my lips, I think about what the
Sophia Letting Micah walk out that door on some dangerous job is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Everything has been so great lately. There have been so many times that I’ve wanted to tell him that I love him, but I’m scared. I know that our relationship is different now, but all I can remember is him running away from me all of those years ago. Taking a deep breath, I walk back to the bed and stare at the ceiling. I’m too nervous to sleep. Even after making love so many times, I’m still feeling energized. I just want to rewind back to an hour ago when we were in the tub touching and kissing. For the rest of the night, I walk around the apartment, feeling restless. The upside is that I use the time to design Ms. Reynolds’ apartment. The woman is quickly becoming
Micah- Earlier in the evening Gideon, Hunter, and Priest are waiting for me when I get through the empty apartment doors where we set up surveillance. “What’s going on?” I ask the men who are staring at the surveillance monitors intensely. Priest rises from the chair in front of the computer and gestures to something on a nearby table. “We know how they’re transporting everything. Take a look at this.” I walk toward the table and look down at a set of blueprints. “What is it?” Hunter stands behind me and points to the blueprint. “Remember the other day when you said there was something we were missing?” I nod my head and wait for him to continue. “Well, you were right. We were not really thinking about the whole scope of the operation.
Sophia The elevator doors ding as I step into Ms. Reynolds’ apartment. So far, I’ve been able to order several pieces of furniture and am redesigning the kitchen. I still haven’t touched her bedroom, considering how difficult she has been about her design. A small smile slips across my lips as I remember another bedroom where I just spent the past few hours making love with Micah. I’m still amazed that Micah told me he loved me. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. Especially considering that I’ve been in love with him for so long and never expected him to reciprocate. Even after we made love the first time, I didn’t expect him to ever express such deep emotion for me. I
Micah My hands run up and down her back as Sophia’s naked body rises and falls over my lap. I close my eyes feeling sparks of ecstasy every time her tight sheath constricts around my shaft. After I gave her self-defense lessons, we laid down on the couch and fell asleep in each other’s arms. I didn’t mean for it to escalate so quickly this morning. I woke up feeling her soft skin beneath my fingers, enjoying the feel of her body against mine. It started with a simple kiss for my sleeping beauty. Then we were ripping the clothing off our bodies and trying to get as close as we could. I just can’t get enough of this incredible woman. Everything about her captivates me. &n
Sophia We all step into the townhouse, feeling a variety of emotions. My parents’ relief and gratitude that they’re home, and Micah and I with anxiety at what will happen once we reveal our relationship to them. We spend all of Friday and Saturday enjoying time with our parents. I can’t say the opportunity to reveal our secret wasn’t right. I think it was more like we didn’t know how to go about it. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on our perspective, the opportunity is taken out of our hands when our parents step out to go grocery shopping. Micah and I had to sleep in separate beds for the past two nights and were desperate for each other. We’ve only been sleeping in the same bed for a little over a week, but I feel like I c
Sophia I pose in front of the mirror and admire my wedding dress. After putting my best friends through the bridal shop gauntlet, I found the gown of my dreams. Tears gather in my eyes as happiness bursts in my heart. I’m finally with the man that I love. My best friends, Sage and Maleah, lounge on the couch behind me and raise their glasses of wine. “That’s the one. Micah is going to be psyched when he sees you in it.” I turn to my friends and smile. “I can’t wait for him to see me in it.” Maleah pushes her dark hair b
Micah I pat Tate in the back as my mother sits anxiously for the door to open. Ms. Smith, the social worker, gives her a reassuring smile and looks down the empty hallway of the state home’s foster care section. Sophia sits next to my mother and pats her hand. “I’m so excited for you and dad, Chelsea. You’re going to change a kid’s life.” I nod my head. If only Chelsea and Tate knew how much they are going to change this girl’s life. April is the little girl that I saved from the farm. I knew the moment that mom and Tate told us about wanting to adopt a child that April would fit right it. From the moment I met the little girl, I had this strange sense that I’d meet her again. Not j
EpilogueMicah Life has been great with Sophia. I never thought I’d be happier than we are now. It has been nearly a year since we got married. So much has happened with the Confradia and my friends. The one thorn in my side is that even though I promised myself that I would kill Willem— the bastard is still alive. To the other men and my consternation, Willem became quite the font of information for the Confradia. We were able to find some of our most wanted and stall a worldwide massacre because of him. Which is to say that we’re not aware that he has an underlying agenda. The Confradia has placed the bastard in a very top secret place where no one can reach him. We’ve tried to find h
Micah Her heels click on the hardwood floor as I lead her into our elevator and push her lightly against a nearby wall. “It looks like my new husband is feeling needy right now.” She whispers as she wraps her arms around my neck and connects her lips to mine. “You don’t know the half of it, Mrs. St. Clair.” Sophia giggles as my arms wrap around her waist and run my fingers over her beautiful silk wedding dress. Sophia and I opted to have a small wedding ceremony too. But unlike Jade and Gideon, we got married in a small fieldhouse near the Central Park Carousel. There was no question about it being there, considering how much Sophia loves the place. All of our friends came and our parents. The girls were Sophia’s bridesmaids and dressed in various out
Sophia The wedding is perfect. I can hear the hum of the ocean waves off in the distance and the rustle of the palm trees as we stand under a white canopy and watch the happy couple recite their vows. The sun gleams down on our bodies like a warm blanket, and the salty, coconut scent of the ocean breeze envelopes all of my senses. My hair flows wildly around my shoulders, and my blue halter dress rustles under the wind as I dig my bare toes into the soft, warm sand. Jade and Gideon both gaze upon each other’s eyes with all of the love and devotion they feel written clearly in their expressions. Jade’s beautiful white dress is simple yet elegant in its design. The girls and I helped her plan the wedding. Unfortunately, some of our friends couldn’t make it. Sage and Ivy stayed behind
Micah “Sophia Drake!” I watched proudly as my beautiful girlfriend walked down the auditorium stairs with her diploma in hand. My mother and Tate both cheered happily, waving their arms out excitedly. Sophia smiled and waved. True to her word, she slept in my arms last night, after some heavy kissing and petting, of course. It was a bit frustrating, but it beats not being with her at all. After waking up in each other’s arms this morning, we decided that we weren’t going to tell our parents about the kidnapping at all. We worry that our parents will freak out, and it’s pointless since she’s safe. It was an incredible morning for both of us. I woke up before she did and decided to wake her up with breakfast in bed. I was gladdened to
Sophia It has been five weeks since Micah ended our brief relationship. I don’t even know how I got to the dorms that day. Thankfully, my roommate was part of a foreign exchange program, so I could lick my wounds in private. I simply crawled into my small bed and bawled until I fell into an exhausted heap. Unfortunately, the next day was not as easy, especially since my father called me about helping me move into Micah’s place. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that Micah and I were over—especially considering that days before, we convinced our parents that we were in love. I ended up telling him that I didn’t need his help because some of my friends volunteered to help me. He seemed to buy the excuse fairly well. He also offered to let me keep his car for the move. I didn’t argue. I simply thanked him and made up some kind of excuse to hang up th
Micah My mind whirls with doubts as I sit on my bed, with my elbows on my knees, and listen to the muffled spray of the shower behind the bathroom door. My body aches painfully from the beating it took on the motorcycle. Thankfully, I was wearing protective gear, so I wasn’t hurt too badly. However, I did catch a grace on my thigh, and my chest and shoulders are bruised from the bullets hitting the vest. I took a quick shower in the guest room earlier, giving Sophia time to wash up. Sophia told me about her kidnapping after we took Ivy home. I can’t believe that Maya betrayed me that way. She must have found so much pleasure in telling Willem about Sophia and me. Too bad she didn’t bank on Willem’s easy dismissal of her life. Now, I have to think about Sophia and how to keep h
Sophia Okay, girl, calm down. I think to myself as I gaze into the dark interior of the crate. Another noise makes me stiffen in alarm. I blink my eyes, trying to adjust my vision. “Hello?” I whisper warily as I lean on the side of the crate and use it to guide me forward. “Is anyone here?” I ask, feeling my heart speed up with panic when the sound of rustling echoes in the darkness. I’m about to call out again when I feel a hand clamp down on my wrist. I cry out in fear and pull at my arms but quickly calm when a soft female voice penetrates my panic. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I was brought here against my will too.” The sound of my heavy breathing meets my ears as I stiffen my shoulders and focus my eyes on