Chapter 9 #2
“James, I wanted to ask you something before Sophie gets back from the bathroom,” Lisa said in Mandarin. She took up residence in Sophie’s abandoned seat and laced her fingers, taking a deep breath. “Are you really just friends with my daughter?”
His eyes widened for a moment, then he sighed, slumping forward. “No … it’s complicated.”
“I thought so. Not with the way you look at each other.” Lisa paused for a moment. “James … did you know my daughter only comes home every month for a few days? Do you know why she’s aiming for a promotion after only five years at her job?”
He shook his head, drumming his fingers on the table. He had a suspicion, but …
“It’s because her father left, and all her life, she’s seen me work hard to make her and Noah happy.” Lisa’s face softened.
James pursed his lips and nodded.
If he ever got his hands on that asshole …
“She might deny it, but I know she wasn’t happy growing up.” Lisa sighed. “Which is why she worked herself to the bone in school to get the best experience and education for herself.”
“I see.”
“And … she won’t talk about it, but something happened her first year of college.” Lisa wrung her hands and stared out the window. “It made her focus on school that much more, but it also made her different.”
“Different how?” He frowned.
“Just small things I noticed when she came home for breaks.” Lisa adopted a faraway look.
“She wasn’t going out as much anymore, and when she did, she always came home early.
On top of that, she said there was no one she was interested in, which I knew had to be a lie because …
well. I’m going to be transparent about it and tell you that Sophie was the type to rarely be single.
So, for her to say that … I know I should’ve been happy as her mother, but it worried me. ”
James was quiet and fiddled with a bean sprout.
“All this to say, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, or where you can take her. Given her experiences, Sophie is never going to change the fact that she works too hard, or that she wants to be seen for her accomplishments.”
James hadn’t packed a pajama shirt. In his defense, he expected to spend the night in a hotel, alone. But he should’ve had more foresight to realize before he was out of the shower.
It shouldn’t have mattered. Plenty of people slept shirtless, regardless of their surroundings. And yet …
It’s too strange here.
He stood in the small bathroom Sophie and Noah shared, unsure if he should risk darting down the short hall.
Steam curled around him as he ran a hand through his damp hair, and he settled on a decision. It would be damaging, but what else could he do?
Sighing, he grabbed his phone and texted Sophie.
Can you bring me one of your brother’s shirts?
She replied after a moment.
Excuse me?
I didn’t pack a shirt ok? And I doubt I’d fit any of yours
Well not with that attitude you can’t
Sophie
??
Sitting on the closed toilet lid, he shoved a hand through his hair again and blew a breath from his lips. God, this was embarrassing.
A knock rattled the bathroom door and he cracked it open.
“Here, put this on.” Sophie handed him a bunched cloth through the opening. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I’ve seen you without a shirt before.”
He slipped the shirt over his head and pulled the door open the rest of the way. “Yes, but it feels … weird here.”
Sophie snorted and crossed her arms. “I promise you; my mom won’t care.”
“What about your brother?”
Sophie cocked her head. “Alright, maybe.”
James hummed as he clocked the terry cloth pajamas she wore, and his mouth dried out.
This was why he hadn’t wanted to stay overnight. He wanted to carry her to her room, rip the matching set off her, and spend a good, long while worshipping her body.
She cleared her throat. “What was wrong with your shirt from earlier?”
He snapped out of his stupor. “It’s dirty, and the one I have for tomorrow is out of the question.”
The client tomorrow was the one Gemma managed to coax back, but he doubted they would agree to anything if his shirt was wrinkled as all hell.
“Right, and in case that shirt doesn’t get them tomorrow, you have a great backup option.” Sophie’s lips twitched as she nodded at the shirt she gave him, featuring a gigantic rubber duck. Sunglasses dominated its face and a speech bubble leading from its mouth declared, “Life Is Sublime!”.
“Why does your brother have this?” James asked.
“He saw it in a gift shop when we were on a family vacation and thought it was funny.” She rolled her eyes.
“Well, everyone does love ducks.” James grinned and followed her to her room. “By the way, what’s your Wi-Fi password?”
She scrunched her nose and moved to sit on her bed. “I know you said the client is in Japan, but why call a work meeting on a Sunday morning?”
He passed her his laptop, shrugging. “It was the only day the client could do a meeting. And you’re one to talk, Ms. I-Read-Work-Documents-For-Fun.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and typed in the password. “I have my reasons, you know.”
Sitting on the edge of her bed, he didn’t dare inch too close to her as he took his laptop back. “Oh?”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat and pulled her legs up to her chest. “My mom was always working. And I wanted to change that. Correction, I want to change that. And you being here …”
He swallowed hard as her unspoken words shot barbs into his chest.
It jeopardizes that.
In his peripheral vision, her chest rose and fell with rapidity as her eyes widened.
“Pumpkin, we’re in different rooms,” he pointed out.
She shook her head. “First off, don’t call me pumpkin. Second, I know we’re in separate rooms, but … that doesn’t matter.”
He swallowed. “I know.”
Dismay and anger consumed his heart. This entire thing would’ve been a little easier if he’d been firmer and put his foot down about going to a hotel. Hell, he should’ve left during the afternoon.
Sophie shook her head. “It is what it is.”
“I guess,” he acquiesced. “Just don’t make me make you regret those words.”
Once the syllables rolled off his tongue, he tensed. Fuck.
Mentally slapping himself, he shot her an apologetic look. “Jesus, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
She snorted. “It’s okay. But out of curiosity,”—her cheeks turned vermillion as she shifted—“how?”
He cleared his throat, considering all the lines that would be crossed if they had sex that night. Yet the next thing he knew, he plopped his laptop on her blankets and stepped between her legs. Caging her body in his arms, he leaned forward while she bent back. “You really want me to answer that?”
Her breath caught and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “I asked, didn’t I?”
His gaze flicked to her tongue, just as her core gave out, and he cushioned the back of her head with his palm as they fell onto her mattress.
He hovered over her, gaze catching on a lock of her hair.
“If you want, you can always boss me around,” he murmured.
Pressing a kiss to her neck, his lips lingered against her skin.
Her breathing quickened, but he ignored it as he kissed her again, dragging his mouth down to where her shoulder met her neck.
“And you can always tell me the shots I need to call. But if you ever change your mind,” he smoothed his lips to her collarbone, “all you have to do is ask.”
He backed away, dragging his gaze down her body.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she peered up at him. “James—”
“Night, Sophie.” He walked into the hall, shutting her door behind him.
In their situation, she had the royal flush. One word from her and Lotus wouldn’t be represented by Covey LLC. any longer. They would be over, too.
But he hadn’t been joking around. If she asked, he’d gladly fall to his knees for her.
It neared one in the morning and James sat upright in bed, staring at the rolling darkness. Heaviness dragged at his eyelids, but they refused to slip shut for long, keeping sleep at bay.
Blowing a long breath out between his lips, he rubbed the blankets between his fingers and slid his eyes shut again.
A muffled choking sound passed through the wall, and his eyes snapped open.
The gasping came again and he gulped, lifting himself from the bed. Immediately, cool air swarmed his skin, raising pebbles. He tripped over something and staggered into the wall, looking over his shoulder at the discarded shirt on the floor.
Creeping toward the door, he exited into the hall and lingered outside Sophie’s.
Sniffling traveled through the wood, muted but omnipresent, and he inched the door open.
“Sophie?” he whispered, sticking his head in. e floor.
A dark mass huddled in the middle of her bed, shaking a little, but otherwise still.
“Are you awake right now?” he hissed.
No response.
Glancing behind him, he stepped into the room and carefully shut the door. Everything blurred into a mess of pale moonlight and shadow as he crossed the small space to her bed.
He peered at her. “Sophie?”
Her eyes remained firmly closed, but she sobbed, every sniffle and choked hiccup a dagger to his heart.
“Sophie.” He shook her shoulder. Nothing happened and he shook her a bit harder, cold sweeping his entire body. “Sophie.”
She sniveled, rolling away into a fetal position.
To hell with staying quiet, she was fully weeping in her sleep. He had to wake her up.
He climbed onto the bed and jostled her insistently. “Sophie!”
Her eyes finally opened, and she sat up, looking around wildly.
“Where … where’d he go?” she stuttered. Sucking in breath after breath, her hands gripped the blanket.
James placed a hand on her back. “Where’s who?”
Her shirt had rucked up, and a cold sweat slicked her skin, but she might as well have been holding a blowtorch to his hand.
“Are you okay?” His heart raced in the silence around them.
She whimpered slightly, and although her breathing settled from rapid jumps to a plummeting monotone, he drew her into his chest.