Chapter Four
Grayson
I wake to find my hand resting over Sophia’s soft, creamy breast. Our positions changed during the night and now her back is melded to my front, my stiff cock in the crease of her curvy ass. I can’t believe I’m waking up next to an angel like her.
Last night felt like a dream. It’s as if I’m experiencing what it’s like to be with a woman for the first time. I should have known I was too far gone when I took her to my personal suite last night instead of the guest wing.
Memories of the night rush through my mind. I frown, remembering how beaten down she looked when she thought I didn’t want her.
Once she wakes, I’ll try to find out more about her past. There has to be something or someone that caused that deep insecurity, and I hope my actions can help her overcome it. I’ll spend every day showing her just how gorgeous she is and how much I want her. My cock hardens as images from last night fill my head. For a petite woman, she has curves that would drive any man crazy.
I flick the pad of my thumb casually over her tight nipple as I try to understand the feelings she evokes in me. I’ve had relationships with many women in the past, but they’ve always been emotionless, never filling that void. Growing up, I thought getting out of my impoverished state would fill that emptiness, but it did nothing.
With Sophia, that empty feeling is nonexistent.
Before now, it’s been impossible for me to truly trust people, or to care deeply for them. I assumed it just wasn’t in my nature. Although a few people have proven their loyalty—Damien being one of them—none have possessed my heart the way my doe-eyed angel has done.
Ever since I brought her home, my whole worldview has been changing. She has made me realize that despite all the money I’ve made and the status I’ve attained, I’ve lived an empty life.
She has become a part of me, the other half that completes me. I feel it deep in my soul. Her imprint. Her presence. I can’t go back to my cold, lonely life. I’ll do everything to make her choose me, stay with me.
My brain ruminates on what I can do to keep her with me forever.
Forever?
I look at the woman nestled against my body—her long, dark hair fanning over her shoulders and my hand plucking at her hard nubs. I realize that I don’t mind the thought of keeping her with me forever.
I lean down and take her earlobe between my lips, sucking softly. My hand continues to brush over her breasts, kneading and rolling. I let go of the lobe after a slight nip and trail kisses down to her neck, kissing the sensitive arch. Tension springs in her body, indicating she’s awake.
“Morning, baby.” My voice is thick and gruff.
She moans softly in response, shifting sensually in my arms. I continue my assault on her neck and trail my hand down her stomach to the flesh between her legs. My cock seeps, bobbing against the curve of her ass, and I groan when my fingers find her pussy soaking wet and slippery.
“Fuck. So wet,” I murmur against her flesh.
She trembles in my arms, and whimpers as my thumb moves rhythmically over her clit. I keep circling and stroking until her stomach heaves and her hips buck against my hand, asking for release.
I stop abruptly, pressing a kiss on her neck. “I need to be inside you,” I say urgently, flipping her onto her stomach.
I place a pillow beneath her, arching her ass in the air, leaving her pink, swollen flesh wet and exposed, ready for my cock. I line my erect length against her pussy and bend to gather her hair in my hands. Stealing a kiss over her shoulder, I slowly rotate my hips against her sex. She shudders, mewling softly as I trail my lips down her left shoulder. And that’s when I see it. It’s a raised line of scar tissue right under her shoulder blade.
I freeze and pull back. The scar is the length of a pinky finger and the flesh is a bit darker than the rest of her skin. The injury must have been deep, because it looks like it healed without proper care.
My blood roars at the thought of Sophia in pain. A dark possessiveness consumes me, and the cold predator in me rises to the surface. Arousal is far from my mind as I push to my knees.
She senses the change and turns. “What? What is it?” she asks, scrambling to look at me.
Her eyes widen at the darkness in my eyes. She slowly sits up and arranges the sheet around her without fear, and I almost growl in approval. Good . She needs to know that I’ll never hurt her. I would sooner hurt myself than cause her pain in any way.
Which is why the thought of her in pain makes me clench my teeth in anger.
I inhale slowly. I don’t want to scare her. “Where did you get the scar?” I ask.
She ducks her head and sighs. “It happened a long time ago,” she finally answers. She looks back up and there’s resignation in her hazel eyes.
“How?” I ask, trying my best to soften my voice.
“Promise you won’t be mad,” she says, and my chest tightens at her shaky voice.
My jaw clenches and unclenches. “I can’t promise that, baby,” I reply gently.
She nods, understanding my torment. “I got it from my brother, but it was an accident.”
“Sure. An accident.” I go with her statement. Maybe if I agree with her, she’ll keep talking. “What happened?”
“You have to understand that life hasn’t been easy for him—he had to take on so much responsibility when he was just a kid. He’s the reason we survived in a harsh environment, and it made him harsh too. It’s not his fault.”
I settle opposite her and cover my now-flaccid cock with a pillow. I stay silent, watching her hazel eyes darken. The hurt and pain that she tries to hide while she defends her fuck of a brother pulls at my soul.
“When I got my first job, Daryl thought I’d use all the money for us, for our bills. But I wanted…I’d fallen in love with photography and it was my dream to own a camera of my own. So I gave Daryl some of the money, but saved the rest for over a year until I had enough money to buy a cheap camera from a secondhand store.”
She sighs, lost in the memory. “The first picture I took was of Daryl while he was sleeping. I thought he would be happy when I showed him, but he wasn’t. He…accused me of being selfish.”
I can’t help it. I growl slightly at the word selfish , and she jumps. I reach out to reassure her. “Baby, I’m not sure you could be selfish if you tried.”
She blushes, leaning into my touch, but shakes her head. “The next day I wanted to use my camera and couldn’t find it, so I asked him. I shouldn’t have even asked, because he had just lost some money while gambling, and I know how he gets when he loses,” she says softly as if it was her fault.
My anger is a dark force, but I force myself to stay calm as she continues, “But I was so mad that I didn’t care. I didn’t think. He told me he’d sold the camera. I yelled at him. I’ve never yelled at Daryl. I’ve never wanted anything else for myself and he sold my camera like it didn’t mean anything. Just to spite me.”
She wipes a tear from her face. “He got angry and pushed me hard. I hit the edge of the table. His beer bottle broke and I fell back on it as I tried to get away from him. It was deep and needed stitches but we didn’t have money for the hospital and besides, we were running from social services. Daryl didn’t stitch it well, so that’s why it’s such a messy scar.”
I growl. “Your brother is a fucking pussy,” I say darkly.
Sophia shakes her head. “He just has his own demons, and his addictions, but on his good days, he’s the same brother who took care of me when our mother overdosed.”
The fury in me is barely leashed but I nod, knowing I can’t change her mind. “So, how did you get to be at the chapel?” I ask.
With every word that leaves her lips, my anger grows. So I sit with my fists bunched as I listen to Sophia tell me how her fucking brother tricked her into going to the chapel. In her voice, I can hear the love and affection she has for him even though he did fuck all to deserve it. Not many could forgive something so cruel as what he did to her. My Sophia is so pure and good that it takes my breath away.
One thing I know for sure is that she’s never going back to that asshole of a brother. He thinks he’s sold her, but his actions have only given me the greatest treasure of my life and I’m going to keep her. She’s mine.
“I understand that you think your brother truly didn’t mean to harm you, and I won’t fight you, but you should know that he’s my least favorite person in the world and I’ll be damned if I let you go back to him,” I growl softly.
“I know. Still, I’m thankful to have met you,” she answers with a shy and beautiful smile.
My eyes darken as I watch her swipe her tongue nervously over her top lip. My dick jerks in response and my arousal roars back to life. I discard the pillow and watch her hazel eyes dilate with desire as she stares at my growing cock. A drop of pre-cum beads at the slit of my length and she licks her lips.
I swallow a groan as I imagine her full, pink lips wrapped around my cock. But I want it to be her choice. I want her to go for what she wants.
“Can I kiss it?” she asks hesitantly, and I almost growl in satisfaction.
A soft groan escapes my lips and I answer, “Of course, baby.”
She goes to her knees and moves closer, her eyes swirling with curiosity and excitement. She rubs her thumb over the head of my cock, smearing pre-cum over it, and I almost buck into her hand. But I try to hold still, allowing her to satiate her curiosity.
She slowly bends over me, her breath blowing over my length.
“Fuck, Sophia ,” I groan out.
Her tongue swirls over the cap of my cock and then she closes her mouth over it, sucking deep and hard. I buck my hips as sensations wash over me in droves. I jerk slightly as she closes her hand around my girth and her mouth swallows down my length. The soft and warm flesh of her palm sends a blaze of want through my veins. My breath seizes in my lungs and my heart thunders with every tentative stroke. I need her to go faster, but I want her to enjoy herself at the same time.
She looks up at me, trapping my gaze in hers. Her hazel eyes are dark with festering need. Her movements are awkward and innocent but still evoke desire. The wantonness in her eyes feeds mine, inflaming my insides.
My chest heaves as I move my hips gently into the hot vacuum of her mouth. I release more pre-cum and Sophia swipes her tongue around to taste it, moaning in delight. The sound vibrates to my balls and currents of need race up my spine.
“You’re doing great, baby. Relax your throat and take me deeper,” I urge. My voice is a guttural command, the reins of my hard-won control gradually loosening. Pleasure races up my veins, starting at the pit of my stomach, burning everything in its path. Tension builds and the intensity increases, rushing down to my balls.
The feeling winds up, tightening at the base of my shaft, needing a push. She swallows me down until I’m hitting the back of her throat. My breath hitches as she moans deeply, and the overwhelming sensation tips me over the edge. My control snaps and I let out a loud groan as I spill cum down her throat.
I hold her gaze as she swallows every drop.
I’m not letting her go.