Page 55 of Echoes From Within
She says that last part softly.
“I’m not worried about that, baby,” I tell her. “I know you won’t risk your life knowing that you hold my very own in your chest. You’re my very heartbeat, Sophia. I trust you to keep it safe and in working order.”
She shakes her head but I see her smile.
“She’s happy,”Miles tells me.
I nod in agreement.
“Then why do you insist that I never go to work alone?” she asks, grabbing the beer I was about to drink from my hands and taking a drink.
“Because when you’re alone you let your thoughts wander,” I tell her, grabbing another beer from the cooler right next to her seat.
She giggles and takes another drink of the one she stole.
“I don’t want you getting doubts about me,” I keep explaining. “I don’t want you to ever think that I’m not standing in your corner.”
“I have no doubt about that,” she says, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She may not doubt that I’m in her corner but she does have some doubts about something and I have a pretty good idea what it is.
I’ve tried to keep myself from going too fast when all I want to do is sink into her body until our bodies connect in a way neither of us has ever experienced. But she went through so much hell during the time she was taken and I don’t want to trigger her. I think when we get home tonight we need to sit down and have a talk about all of this shit.
I want to doubt in her mind about my feelings towards her.
“You could always get things scheduled over the phone, Venom,” Ghost tells me. “Everything is already cleaned and ready for the next fight so there isn’t really much you need to do at the Cage until then.”
“I’m training new fighters tomorrow,” I tell him. “And you may be my older brother and my President, but I could still kick your ass.”
Ghost reaches out and smacks the back of my head.
“True,” he says as I fight off a concussion. “If we’re going to train men to fight then I want the best training them.”
“I still think King should go with you tomorrow, baby,” I say, rubbing the back of my head much to Ghost's enjoyment. “We have no idea why this person is in witness protection. If trouble follows them I don’t want you in the middle of it.”
“I can understand that,” she tells me. “But I highly doubt there will be any issues. Besides, I have John’s back and his team is there. Everything will be fine.”
It took John over a week to find Sally. She had run away when she thought she saw her brother in the community room one night. There’s no way to tell for sure if he was actually there, but over the years I’ve learned to not always dismiss something you see from the corner of your eye. Anyway, Sally had checked herself into some hospital hours away and that’s where John found her. Instead of taking her back to UNITY, he took her to his house where she is this very day.
“I’ll be fine,” she tries to assure me.
“I don’t think King will be here anyway,” Blaze says. “I’m pretty sure he accepted another job.”
“I did, but family comes first. Always.” King grabs a beer and leans against the porch we’re all sitting on. “If you need me tomorrow, little wolf, I’ll be there.”
“Based on what you’ve told me, King,” Sophia says. “Your job is a heck of a lot more dangerous than mine. Maybe I should tag along with you to make sure you’re safe.”
“Not happening,” I say.
“I work alone, little wolf,” King chuckles. “Besides, I don’t want you physically seeing what I’m capable of. I like being your favorite Obsidian.”
“Hey, fucker, I’m her favorite,” I say, tossing my empty can at the fucker’s head.
“You had best pick that up before your Ma sees, Venom,” Pops says from the grill.
We spent the rest of the evening having a nice time. I’ve hardly kept my hands off of Sophia. I crave the feeling of her skin, even if it’s just simply holding her hand.
Jax tells her a story about his sister that has her tossing her head back and laughing. It’s the first deep full belly laugh that I’ve heard from her and the image of her in that moment will forever be burned into my brain.
“Our little man is in love,”Miles says.