Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
I knew Sophie was faking the phone call.
I didn’t catch the call on the pen recording. I put more of the pens out because she seemed to like them. From the moment she found my pen in her bag, it’s the one she used for everything.
But I watched her sit there and inspect the pen on the feed from the cameras in the apartment. I watched her compare it to her phone, and then, mysteriously, a few minutes later she got her phone call. Only there was no call on the screen, and it was lit up when she put it to her ear and put it back down.
I know what a phone call looks like on an iPhone.
Of course, she didn’t know I was watching video footage. Maybe if I’d been listening to just an audio recording, it would have worked.
In any case, I explicitly told Sophie what would happen if I caught her fucking around with some other guy, and then she turned around and made an effort to make it look like she was.
Clearly, she wanted me to go after the guy.
Maybe it’s an unconscious thing. Maybe she doesn’t even realize it’s what she wants.
But I realize it, so I’m gonna give it to her.
I don’t like the idea of Dylan existing in the world, anyway. Not only did he touch my girl when she didn’t want him to, but he disrespected her time and time again, and that’s not something I can let him get away with.
Hugh said he disrespected me, too, but I couldn’t give fewer fucks what he thinks about me. Still, I guess it’s mildly satisfying to show him what a dorky fucking loser Sophie’s new man is, after all.
He was boiling mad after I fucked her in that short little skirt and he couldn’t do shit about it. Couldn’t even watch without risking fucking body parts.
I figured he would be. I had a hunch from the stuff Hugh had relayed to me and my own digging that this guy liked Sophie and was probably bitter he never caught her.
I’m not surprised, though. Sophie requires meticulous care and he’s far too self-involved to be able to offer it to her.
She can be cornered and pushed around for a short time if you know the right buttons to push, but if you want to keep her, that’s not nearly as easy. She’s slippery, and it takes a lot of effort to find out what she needs to be happy. I don’t know if it’s how she was raised, the shit she’s been through, or just her natural inclination, but Sophie is very reluctant to express—or even admit—her desires. It’s like there was never room for her wants and needs to be a priority so she got into the habit of pretending she didn’t have any to not inconvenience anybody else.
I’d like to break her of it eventually, but in the meantime, I’m happy to stalk her little ass and figure out what she needs that way.
Dylan couldn’t cut it with Sophie. Most guys probably couldn’t, but it’s their loss because she’s worth every bit of the effort.
Right now, her needs are very well met, so she’s curled up beside me on the couch with her arms around my waist, her head resting on my shoulder, watching Snow White. She mutters about the Huntsman, and I laugh at her disgruntled tone.
“Too fresh?” I tease.
“I almost had to run for my life into the woods. You’re lucky I didn’t dress warmer. I might have.”
“You better not.” I pull her closer. “We’ve got a lot of land out here. You could get lost or eaten by an animal.”
“It wasn’t nature’s furry predators I was worried about,” she murmurs. “I thought your friend would chase me if I ran, so I didn’t.”
“Nah. If someone’s gonna chase your pretty little ass through the woods, it’s gonna be me.”
“Sounds kinda sexy when you put it that way.”
“Mm-hmm.” I lean in and kiss her neck, feeling the thrum of her pulse beneath my lips. “You should see how sexy it would be when I caught you.”
Her heart rate kicks up a little.
She likes to be a little afraid, so I bet she likes that idea.
We’ll have to play that game sometime, too.
Satisfaction washes over me and I wrap my arms around her middle to give her a hug. “I love you, Sophie.”
I don’t expect her to say anything back. She never does, and that’s fine. I know the score.
So, it’s like someone scoops out my soul when she threads her fingers through my hair and says, “I love you, too.”
I tip my head and look up at her. “Oh, yeah?”
She smiles. “Mm-hmm.”
“This is a new development.”
“Near death experiences have a way of bringing things into quick perspective.”
I smirk. “You sure it’s not because I’ve made your Beauty and the Beast fantasies come true?”