Chapter 23

(Chapter song ‘Head Over Feet' by Alanis Morissette)

MARCUS “She’s here?”

I push past Jax and head for the stairs.

“Hold up.” He says and I turn. He walks up to me. “I want a few words first.”

“Ok.” I cinch my brow.

He hauls off and lands a right hook to my jaw.

My face is slammed to the right and I stumble on my feet as stars explode in my eyes. I have to blink my eyes several time to get my vision back. I grind out the pain and hold my cheek. “What the hell?!” I say stretching my jaw out as I stand straight.

He grabs my nape and points in my face. “That’s for cheating on my sister, dick!” He clenches his jaw as he grabs my shirt and shoots daggers at me. “And keep it down. She’s upstairs.” He growls as my eyes stare into his.

“I didn’t mean it. I swear, Jaxton. I-I couldn’t help it. I tried so damn hard.” I plead as I take his hands off me.

“You have that little self control that you couldn’t keep a fake relationship fucking fake!” His sneers as he gets in my face.

A look of guilt ridden shock fill my face. “You know.” I whisper.

“Sophie told me. She also told me you fucked your fake girlfriend. So what is it, Marc? Why are you here, huh? Sophie’s head not messed up enough?” His anger pours off him and he grabs my shirt in both fists again as I try to explain the unexplainable.

“No. No, Jax. I couldn’t…” I shake my head and grab his hands. “Just let me go. Let me talk to her. Please.”

He rips his hands off. “If you fuck with her.” He throws a finger in my face. I swear he’s double in size as I throw my hands up in surrender.

I adamantly nod. “I won’t. I promise, but this thing. Jax, I’m as confused as you. Just try to understand it Ok?”

“Understand what?” He asks as he crosses his arms.

“I promise. I’ll explain everything. Just let me do my thing.” I say as I spin around, jog to the stairs and take the stairs two at a time.

“SOPH!”

Her scent hits me first and my wolf goes nuts with excitement. I’m excited to see her too even though I have so much groveling to do. I hope to God she takes me back.

I hit her door and see she’s packing up her stuff.

Oh hell, Naw. Not now. Not ever.

This little girl will not be walking out of my life.

“Princess.” I breathe quietly.

She turns to me and I see the hurt I dealt her. It crushes me that I put that there.

I felt my heart swell as I stared into her sweet, beautiful face. My palms turn sweaty and my mind races with how I’m going to explain myself.

When she told me she was leaving, I got defensive. She may be a mess, but she’s my mess and I can’t live without her.

“You can’t leave me like this.” I growl as I keep her bag away from her.

“Excuse me? Why the hell not?” She scowls.

“Because I love you, damn it! You aren’t going anywhere!”

She stares at me blinking out tears. “What did you just say?”

“Ya heard me.” I drop her pack, step close to her and hold her cheek in my hand. “Sophie Dupree. I love you. So much it hurts. I don’t care about what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours. I still want you.” I look to the floor. “I thought I could just walk away, but I can’t.” I lift my eyes to hers and see them glass over.

“But I can’t be what you want, Marc. It’s impossible. Let me go. I’ll find myself somewhere else.” She goes to pick up her pack and I grab her shoulders to stop her.

“No, baby. I can't do that. I know it sounds stupid, but I think I need you more than you need me.” I study her eyes as I try to say what I’m feeling right now.

She stares into my eyes. “That's bullshit.”

“No.” I shake my head. “No, it’s not. I want to help you, baby. I need to help you. I need you with me.”

She looks me over. “While entertaining Claudia? Don’t think so.”

She turns to the door.

“Sophie!” I grab her arm, spin her around, grab her cheek and slam my lips on hers. My tongue asks for entrance and her lips part with a tiny squeak.

I pour all my love for her in that kiss. She drops her pack and her arms wrap around my neck. I hold her so tight to my chest so she could feel how hard my heart is pounding for 1her right now.

I slowly break the kiss and place my forehead on hers. “Baby, I don’t care if you’re broken. I love you. All of you. Please, just give me a second chance.”

She pushes off me. “Marcus, how can I trust you? You live with her!”

I suck in my top lip and think hard about this. My eyes meets hers. “Move in with me.”

“What?” She scrunches her face and looks at me like I’m crazy.

“Baby…” I grab her hand and pull her to sit on the bed. “I’m serious. You want trust, let me earn it. Move in with me.”

She narrows her eyes and crosses her arms. “And live with her.”

“You can see you can trust me around her. I'll prove it to you. Say yes.” I give her the most sincere look I can muster.

If Sophie's around then Claudia can’t mess with me anymore. She'll have to behave and I won’t be so…tempted.

This will work. I know this will.

I lean closer. “Please, say yes.”

“You'll keep her off my back?” She mumbles.

I nod. “Totally. 100 percent. She won’t bother you. We'll work on you and you don’t have to worry about Dia at all.” I kiss her knuckles. “It’s just until the moon then it’ll be over.”

She looks around the room. I can tell she mulling it over. She blinks at me. “What about Jax?” Her brows stitch up and I see a tiny bit of guilt in her eyes.

“What about him?” I ask.

“He just found me. I can’t just leave him. I'm the only family he has.” She lowers her head.

“Soph, it’s just across the street. Jax can take care of himself. He has Rey, Jesse and Curtis. We aren’t going anywhere. You can’t just stay here because of your brother. How can you have your own life?” I reason.

“I've never had my own life.” She grumbles.

“Maybe it’s time to change that.” I whisper.

“He likes taking care of me.” She says.

“Well, why don’t we ask him how he feels about it?” I suggest.

She chuckles. “If I know Jax, I already know what he’s going to say.”

****

“Absolutely not!” Jax growls as he stands in the kitchen with his arms crossed.

“Buddy, be reasonable.” I say as I motion a hand to him.

“Jax, I need my own space.” Sophie says as she leans on the island.

“With him?” He points to me. “Fuck, no.”

“What’s wrong with me?” I hold my hands out.

He leans his hands on the island and glares at me. “Your pool table has more notches than your bed post.” He sneers.

I scratch my head. “Ok, I hear that, but this is different. Jaxton, Sophie means so damn much to me. I promise, I’ll take the best care of her. She just needs to do her own thing.”

“He may have a point, Jaxton.” Audrey leans her elbow on the island and her chin on her curled fingers. “Sophie may need to spread her wings a little bit.”

“She’s flown enough. Now she’s crashing.” He glares at Sophie.

Sophie walks around the island to her brother. “I get it. You want to protect me, care for me. You’re afraid to let me out of your sight, but who better to take your place then your best friend in the whole world.”

“I need to know you’re safe.” He whispers.

I feel his worry. He felt helpless 20 years ago and doesn’t want to feel that again.

Sophie rubs his arms. “I’m right across the street. I understand your fear. This isn’t the same thing. Besides, I’m the White Mace, right? I think I can’t beat back some bad guys.” She smiles at him.

He meets her eyes. “You’ll keep your mace close?”

“Always.” She says. “I know how to handle myself.”

He chews his lip and thinks it over. He rolls his eyes to me. “You’ll make sure she does all her therapy?”

I nod. “Every appointment. I’ll even book extra ones if she needs. I’ll cover everything she needs so she doesn’t have to worry about anything except getting herself better.”

He turns and leans to me. “And the Vinellis?”

“I have 24 hour security and everyone’s being vetted. They won’t get near her.” I confirm.

He turns his head to his sister. “You’re OK with the fake relationship thing?”

She shrugs. “It’s only temporary so, yeah.”

He nods then points to me. “One hair.” He points to Sophie without breaking with my eyes. “One hair on her head…”

“I know. You’ll snap me to pieces. I’ll keep her safe.” I nod back.

He stands and pulls Sophie into a hug. He buries his head in her hair. “I hope you know what you’re doing, kid.”

“I do.” Her eyes meet mine with a smile. “I’m in love.”

I smile back at her and preen over hearing her admitting she loves me.

“How you can love that idiot, I’ll never know.” He grumbles.

“Shut up!” I stand on my stool rungs, throw a punch to his arm and he flinches away with a cackle.

Audrey chuckles and holds out her hand to Sophie. “Come on, we'll pack an overnight.”

The two women walk upstairs and Jax slams a beer in front of me.

“So, Claudia. She’ll be at the pack house?” He asks.

I tip my bottle back and shake my head. “No. We have to fix the house after Sophie…stopped by…so, Dia's going to have to stay at the penthouse for the time being.”

“Well, that’s not awkward at all.” He swigs his best.

“It will be, but man, I know this is the right move. Soph only gets worse when I’m not around. If she’s with me, I truly believe she’ll be better.” I shake my head at him. “Just trust me. Claudia will not be a problem for us. Sophie’s in good hands.”

“If not, I’m strapping Griffin to your feet and throwing you both in the lake.” He smirks as he raises his bottle to his lips.

“Why Griff?” I arch a brow.

“He’s a soccer player. He can’t swim.” Jax snorts and I crack up, shaking my head.

“Deal.” I grin and we clink our bottle necks together.

****

An hour later, I put the key to my penthouse in the lock and open the door. I’m hit with Claudia’s scent so I know she’s here.

“Just stay here. I’ll talk to Dia.” I stop Sophie at the door.

“Ok.” She drops her bag and leans on the door with her hands in her jacket pockets.

I walk in and look around the kitchen and living room. “CLAUDIA?”

“SLUGGER, THAT YOU?”

She bounds down the stairs, wet from a shower and in a tiny, black, silk robe. My wolf perks up and I quickly push him down.

She sees Sophie and slows her steps. “Oh. The princess is here.”

“Yes, she is.” Sophie snarls.

Claudia looks at me with confusion.

I stand tall in front her and lay down the law. “Sophie needs me and she’s living with me now. Any arguments will fall into the category of I don’t give a fuck, got it?”

Her brow goes up. “Really.” She crosses her arms. “How’s that gonna look, Marc? Two women coming and going from your place? You know we're being watched. Daddy won’t be pleased.”

Sophie walks up beside me. “Don’t worry, I won’t blow your precious…FAKE…relationship.” She looks up at me. “Where’s our room…slugger?” She side eyes Claudia who narrows her eyes.

I lean to her. “Cool the passive aggression.” I whisper. “Upstairs third door on the right.”

She turns to Claudia. “Cool.” Turns on her heels and heads for the stairs.

Once Sophie was upstairs, Claudia whips her head to me. “Are you nuts?”

“Maybe.” I say nonchalantly as I walk to the kitchen for a beer. “Or maybe I’m clever like a fox. With Sophie here, I’m not getting confused again.” I point to my temple like I’m brilliant, twist the cap off my bottle and chug half it back. I can feel myself getting heated seeing her wet and wrapped in a thin piece of fabric. My wolf growls at the thought of what’s under that robe.

“Oh. So, you were just confused in Vegas.” She says to my back as she follows me.

“Yep. It was a mistake I’m not making again and Sophie is my insurance policy.” I say as I sit on the couch and prop my feet up on the coffee table.

She plops herself down on the couch beside me. “That’s OK. I was going to tell you the same thing. A dumb mistake. I had too much wine. Skylar knows about it and I don’t plan on hurting him again so, no worries from me.” She turns and pulls her knee up on the couch. My eyes fall to the split in her robe and how dangerously close it is to revealing her…

Stop it!

“She better be using the back door to this building. If my Aunt gets even a whiff of another woman here…” She points in my face.

I push her hand away. “First of all, if they have spies here, they’re breaking the law. Secondly, they won’t know what apartment she came from, so relax."

“Don’t tell me to relax. They already tried to kill us once.” She says as I stand and step past her leg. I walk to the stairs with my beer. “Where are you going? Marcus?”

I spin on my heels and hold my arms out as I walk backwards. “I’m going to help my girlfriend make room in my closet. You have a good night.” I point to her, smirk and spin around. I hop up the stairs with an ear to ear grin.

My baby is under my roof and I’m fucking ecstatic about it. Claudia may be here, but she ain’t ruining this for me.

Sophie is mine and there’s no way I’m letting her go.