“What the hell, Sophia, are you okay?" Farah asks as she grabs my hand and we sit on the steps.
I take a deep breath and turn to her. She’s been my rock for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what I’d do without her.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Farah. I met this guy today and he’s, God, so gorgeous. Like his eyes captivate me and when he was holding me just now, it felt so right, you know?"She grins and squeezes my hand for reassurance, her reddish-brown hair tucked behind her ears, her knowing eyes seeing right through me."Then go with it, Sophia. Don’t start over thinking it!""He called me beautiful, Farah. I mean, I don’t even know his last name! Is this crazy?"She shakes her head and looks into my eyes, forcing me to be honest.“Do you like him?" She cocks her head to the side, pinning me with her gaze."Yes.""Then stop thinking about it. I can tell he likes you." I grin at the thought and narrow my eyes at her."Really? How?"Her eyes gleam with a smile as she throws her arm around my shoulder."He couldn’t keep his eyes off you. He asked us what your favorite band was so he could request it! Trust me, honey; he’s in this with you."Farah gives me another hug before she goes back into the house and I sit on the steps for another minute, deciding to give this a chance, knowing that if I shy away from him, I’ll always wonder what could have been."Are you ready for that dance?" Gavin’s smooth voice says from behind me, causing my heart to race just from the sound of it."Yeah." I lift my head and he offers his hand to me, a boyish smile on his lips.I giggle at the gesture, letting him help me up and my eyes lock onto his."Can I ask you something?" I ask with my hand still wrapped around his. He nods, not letting go of me as he steadies me with a hand placed on my hip.Trying to organize my jumbled thoughts, I briefly look up at the sun that’s hiding behind a crescent- shaped cloud. When I look back into his eyes, I lay it all out there."Why do you like me? I mean, maybe I’m misreading this, but I...I like you. But why do you likeme?"He gives me that sexy lopsided smile that makes my knees weak and cups my cheek with his hand as I step closer to him."I just want to get to know you, Sophia. You’re beautiful and kind and I saw the passion inside you through your dancing. It was amazing, as if you lived for each step, each movement, and each spin. Sophia...you take my breath away."His eyes fill with some unnamed emotion that stirs something deep inside me.
I suck in a breath as my body is instantly drawn closer to his body."You saw me dancing?"He nods, gliding his thumb over my cheek, leaving tingles everywhere he touches."Yes, I saw. You were incredible, Sophia. It was elegant, yet modern. Every move amazed me along with the audience. Then when I saw you in the parking lot, I had to talk to you. It was like fate or maybe sheer luck. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about you that draws me to you. I want more."A delicious shiver runs up my spine at his words and when he places both hands on my face, tilting it up to meet his, I see his clear, blue eyes melding into mine."More?""Do you have a boyfriend, Sophia?" he whispers, caressing my cheek achingly slow.I gasp, shaking my head and feeling how fast my heart is beating and the blood rushing through my veins. I feel alive and vibrant, as if my every breath lights my body anew.
"No."He smiles and leans his forehead closer to mine. I can feel his breath upon my lips."I want to kiss you, Sophia," he says, his voice deep with lust and a desire that takes my breath away.Yes, please."Gavin..." I whisper, my voice breathy in anticipation.He leans back, meeting my gaze so that it’s impossible for me to look away. His blue-gray eyes capture mine and in this moment, I’m his."Yes or no, Sophia?" he whispers, urging me closer to him with a hand at the small of my back as his other cups my cheek so gently.All I know is I want to be closer to him. I don't want to worry about whether this is the right thing after what I've gone through. I just want him closer now.
I nod my head, feeling his breath across my face as my chest presses against his.He smells like mint and his touch feels like a dream as I wrap my hands around his neck, my fingers grasping onto soft, smooth strands of his unruly hair.
"Yes."He smiles, one hand moving across my cheek to my neck where he tilts my head while his arm wraps around my waist, his eyes blazing with a desire that takes my breath away."Tell me if you want me to stop, beautiful."I moan deep in my throat, the sound of that word from his lips slipping past the last of my defenses as his mouth softly closes over mine.His heat engulfs my senses and I grab his hair, tangling my fingers in it.
I open my mouth to his. My leg comes up as if of its own volition and wraps around his waist while I gasp against his ardent, all consuming kiss.I’ve never been kissed like this. Savagely yet gently all at the same time. I hear Gavin groan, sending tingles up my spine, while his arms wrap around my waist and one of his hands grasps the bottom of my short, satin dress.
With his lips eagerly pressing to mine, his tongue slips slowly into my mouth, licking, tasting, and exploring me as I do the same, moaning in desire when he nips at my bottom lip. It sends a jolt of aching desire from my lips to my core.
Wrapping both arms around his neck, pressing into him, I lock his mouth with mine and clutch onto his tee as passion runs through my veins. God, I can't get close enough.
"Sophia," he whispers against my lips, pulling back an inch to meet my eyes, reading them for a moment before that gorgeous smile graces his mouth and he leans his forehead against mine. I let go of his shirt and wrap my hands around the back of his neck as I struggle to catch my breath."That was...wow," I whisper, smiling excitedly. His hand brushes my flushed cheek and his mouth sets in a smile that shows off his ruggedly handsome face."Amazing," he says, pressing his lips to mine softly once more before he leans back and grasps my hand, his eyes shining as he gazes down at me. "Do you want to dance, beautiful?"I grin and nod as he leads me back inside. My heart beats fast and erratically in my chest. His fingers close over mine as we walk back to the almost empty dance floor where a soft melody by Shania Twain is playing. He pulls me into him and presses a hand to my waist. He sweeps me into a slow dance that is just as graceful as before, only this time he presses his mouth
"When did you start dancing?" he asks, his deep voice next to my ear."When I began preschool, my mom enrolled me in a toddler dance academy, and my love for it grew from there.""Is your mom a dancer?” Gavin’s hands skate down my arms, causing goose bumps.I giggle and press closer to him. Being in his arms feels better than I could have imagined. "That’s two questions, but no, she isn’t. She's a model and travels a lot, too." The last thing I wantto think about is my absentee mother, but he asked and, truly, I want Gavin to know me."Did I upset you?" he asks, turning me so that I’m facing him. I hastily shake my head, pressing it against his shoulder as his hand strokes up and down my back."No, she wasn’t around a lot when I was growing up, though. I actually haven’t talked to her in a long time."Deftly, Gavin lifts my face with a finger under my chin and gazes into my eyes."I understand, but if she doesn’t appreciate you then it’s her loss, Sophia, not yours." My heart skips
"My dad passed Thomas Corporations down to me, the family company, last spring. He’d been priming me for it since I was fifteen years old. I own and operate it now, along with my mom, of course, who runs the offices and legal aspects of it."My breath catches. I struggle to imagine how much money he must make, owning a growing computer technology corporation like that. Mom always told me to follow the men with gold, but it doesn’t make me want him any less or any more. It’s just a surprise."Wow. I mean I figured you had a pretty high-end job to afford your Jaguar, but I didn’t expect that. What do you do? It’s computer technology, right?" He nods and leans back a little so his eyes meet mine in the setting sun."We try to innovate mobile and computer technologies for modern-day society. After Windows 8, our system was in almost every PC in America."I give him a smile, reassuring him that I’m only curious about his work and not trying to pry."Windows 8?""Yeah, once we put together
As I make my way into the kitchen, I see my dad giving Kel a hug. I squeal, a huge smile on my face since I haven’t seen him in weeks. Excitement bubbles up inside me when he turns and sees me."Pumpkin, come here,” Dad says, pulling away from my sister. I run into his arms, so happy to see him as he lifts me off my feet and kisses my cheek."When did you get here?" I ask, pulling back to take a look at him. I laugh, seeing his beard coming back. He has new lines around his eyes and mouth, but his deep amber eyes, the same as Kel’s, are as bright as they’ve always been."You look happy, Sophia," he says, twirling me in a circle like he always does."Dad, you seriously have to shave!” I laugh through the words. He throws his head back and laughs, pulling me with him. He makes his way into the kitchen where Kel places three plates of mac and cheese on the table.“I’ll take it under advisement, pumpkin,” Dad winks at me.Turning to my sister, he says, “This is great, Kel. Thank you." I si
GavinThe cup of steaming hot coffee meeting my taste buds could be described as the highlight of my day on most days I spend in the office. Today was different. Meeting Sophia Jones was the highlight, and if I could have spent more time with her today, I would have jumped at the chance. I haven’t truly thought about a girl or rather, a woman, in any way other than an easy fix at the end of a very long day in I don’t know how long. Back in college, it had been different. I was convinced that my girlfriend at the time, Jasmine, was the one. The one. As I think about it now, I have to laugh at myself.I didn’t know how naive that sentiment was. As if there was one woman that would stay by me through thick and through thin. As if there was a woman out there that could look past my name and the number attached to my bank account. Maybe even past the dollar signs on my paycheck each month. I’d thought she was that one woman. Shit, was I wrong. I sip my coffee slowly, closing my eyes f
Sophia "My Sophie," he whispers, sending terrible shivers down my skin as I writhe against his hold, finding myself trappedagainst his hard, heavy, unyielding body. His cold, hard eyes stare down at me. He grasps the button of my jeans,undoing it and roughly pulling them down my legs as I sob, feeling helpless against his weight and his greedy hands. "Please, stop. Stop, Bryce...you’re hurting me...no!” I whimper and scream fearfully as he holds me down,he’s having no mercy as I clutch the bed covers and sobs rack my body. The pain is relentless as I feel his hard lipsagainst mine. I can’t get away. It hurts! "No! Get off me...It hurts!!" I writhe and scream, crying out for help as he slaps me hard across my cheek,making me whimper in pain. I yearn for it to stop, but it never does. "Stop...please..." He chuckles, taking me again as I feel my sex spasm painfully against his punishment. I have no way ofgetting him off me with his death grip on both my hands. "Shut up, bitc
As I slip my ballet flats on and fasten the ribbons of my leotard, my cell rings. I skip over, almos falling as I’m reaching for it. I see Gavin’s name on the screen and smile. It’s been about a week since the night he held me, comforted me after that horrible dream. We’ve gone out to lunch almost every day, growing closer and I’ve found so many things I like about him. His laugh when I try to impersonate my family members or friends as I’m telling a story. His passion for the work his father has done in the technology world, the fierceness in which he speaks when we talk about his sister, Callie. I’ve learned he’s very protective of the only daughter of James A. Thomas. I’ve learned he will only drink when in the company of people he trusts, for some people will stop at nothing to get close to him and his family. When he told me that, I was intimidated. The lavish life style he has is something that is not new to me and though it is a lot to take in, Gavin is much more than a bil
Even after the movie ends, we sit and cuddle and stare at each other, not saying anything. A hand rests at the small of my back when he takes a big breath and I feel him stiffen a little as he holds me. "What happened earlier?" I murmur, trying to read his expression. "I don’t want to scare you off with what I’m about to say." I gaze up at him, a little uneasy about what he could possibly say to scare me away. "Look, if you’re changing your mind after last night, Gavin, I’d completely…" He interrupts with an index finger to my parted lips. His eyes blaze and I can’t take mine away from his. "I want us to be exclusive, baby." My heart stops and then immediately speeds back to a rapid beat, soaring at the sound of those words. He hasn’t changed his mind. He really wants to be with me, and I can see it in his eyes. I gasp, rendered speechless, and his hand comes up to my cheek, his eyes clear of the darkness I saw before. "Are you sure?" I whisper, my palm resting over his heart