I smile as I check the school principal’s Twitter feed on my phone. It shows students eating pizza, playing board games, and watching some silly cartoon.

It sucks that Nicole had to be stuck at school due to the snow storm, but it doesn’t look like a bad experience at all for the kids or the teachers.

If anything, the pictures show everyone having fun. I’ll bet this snow storm will end up a pleasant memory.

If Nicole had gotten the cell phone she wanted, she would’ve been texting me. Under the circumstances—I glance at the beautiful woman sleeping on the couch next to me—I’m not sure that would’ve been a good idea.

What if she had called while I was pressing my rock-hard cock against Sophia?

I wonder what I should tell Sophia about Nicole.

When I first saw Sophia naked by the fire, I didn’t think it was going to matter at all, so I hadn’t thought about it. I didn’t think I had a chance in hell with the woman of my dreams.

But now, everything has changed. To think she had crouched behind the counter at the cupcake shop just to avoid me. To think that a couple of days ago, she would’ve preferred to have cupcake icing all over her than make small talk with me.

I huff a small laugh as my fingers caress Sophia’s soft, red, icing-free hair. I didn’t think I’d ever touch these flaming strands again.

So, what should I tell her about Nicole? What should I fucking tell her about the reason I told her to leave, especially when it concerns someone who tortured her and made her life a living hell for years?

“Would you ever forgive me?” I whisper in the dark, not expecting a response.

Sophia’s breathing is slow and regular. A blanket covers her, but I can make out the shape of her tits under it. I can see her chest rising up and down with her every breath.

Despite the heavy thoughts clouding my mind, I can’t help but remember the way her tits looked and felt and tasted. Despite everything, my cock twitches in my pants.

Seriously, man? I want to ask myself.

But, Sophia has always had a certain . . . unique effect on me.

She’s singularly, overwhelmingly exquisite. She takes my breath away when I look at her gorgeous face, when I hear the witty things she says, when she seduces me with her complete submission.

“What am I going to do with you, princess?” I ask—again, not expecting an answer. “What the fuck am I supposed to do here?”

A deep pit gapes open in my stomach.

There’s another effect Sophia has on me. She terrifies me.

Yes, this petite, slender, smooth-skinned red-head scares me like nothing else can.

It may sound strange, but it makes complete sense.

In my whole life, nothing has ever hurt me as much as losing her did.

Now that I’ve let myself believe it’s possible for me to have her back in my life again, I’m petrified.

There are things about me she doesn’t know, things that can potentially change everything between the two of us.

It’s not just the past that we need to deal with. It’s also the present, and the future.

I don’t want Sophia to walk away again. But, at the same time, I can’t ask her to abandon her dreams for someone like me, someone who has lied to her and hurt her.

She tries to act like she’s unaffected, but I see glimpses of her pain when she glances away from me, when she pulls away from me. I inflicted a wound on her that hasn’t healed in the seven years we’ve been apart.

She’s back in my life, yes. But, for how long? And, can I be selfish enough to ask her to stay after the way I betrayed her the last time she trusted me?

* * *

Ring ring! Ring ring!

Jesus, I forgot how loud those old phones can be.

I wake up with a start and jump up to my feet right away.

Damn it, I was planning to let Sophia sleep in. I wanted to make her some breakfast before gently waking her up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

I squint at the blinding rays streaming in through the window, then at the clock. It’s nine a.m. Not too early for a phone call, I guess.

Whoever’s calling has no idea I stayed up until four this morning, making out with my drunk ex-girlfriend, giving myself grief for making out with my drunk ex-girlfriend, and then plotting ways for me to keep making out with my ex-girlfriend in the future—even when she’s not drunk.

I grab the phone receiver angrily even though I know it was my own fault I didn’t lower the volume before falling asleep last night.

“Hello.” My voice is normally gruff, and being sleepy doesn’t help me sound better.

“Hello, may I speak to Mr. Strome, please?” says a woman’s on the other end of the line.

“Speaking,” I say, keeping my volume down as I glance at Sophia, who’s wriggling awake in her blanket on the couch.

“Oh, hi, Elijah.” The voice on the phone turns saccharine sweet. No doubt this is the teacher who continues to flirt with me every time I stop by the school despite my obvious lack of interest. I blame Mom’s friend, Brenda, who insisted on setting me up on a blind date with her. “This is Nicole. Mackenzie, I mean.” She laughs. “Obviously.”

“Hi, Miss Mackenzie.”

“You can drop the formalities,” she says. “But, I suppose it feels weird to call me Nicole, too huh?”

“Is everything alright?” I ask flatly.

“Oh, yes. Everything’s great. Silly me. Of course, you want to know how things are. You’re probably worried sick,” she says.

“Well, yes, mainly because normally the school contacts my mother at home, so I’m inclined to think something has gone wrong.” I’m growing irritated by her attempts to prolong the phone call. I wish she’d just get to the heart of the matter.

“On the contrary, I’m just calling to tell you everything’s fine and the kids are about to be shuttled back home by bus right now.”

“That’s a relief. Can I speak with Nicole now?”

“You’re speaking with me now,” she answers, laughing.

I stay silent.

“I’m just joking,” she says finally. “I’ll get her right now.”

“Thank you.” While I wait for the only Nicole I’m interested in speaking with, I draw the blinds closed. Sophia is rubbing her eyes, but maybe I can help prolong her rest somewhat.

“Hello, who’s this?” asks a bossy voice from the phone.

I chuckle. “You don’t pick up the phone and ask that right away. That’s not how you do it. You should’ve given me a chance to say something first.”

“Oh. It’s you,” she says flatly, like I’m interrupting her during a colossally important meeting.

“Yeah, it’s me. What were you expecting? A business conference call from China?”

“I’m going home,” she says.

“I know. Sorry I can’t pick you up.”

“That’s okay. I’m glad you finally have a life.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes. She’s the entirety of my social life, and she should know it.

I’m about to say something into the phone when a pair of delicate, feminine hands touch my back and wrap around my waist.

Sophia.

I almost choke when I feel her chest pressing against me. Again, at an inappropriate moment, my cock stirs.

Holy hell, is she still naked?

I look over my shoulder just to find that she’s wearing her shirt from last night although I’m absolutely sure there’s no bra over those plump, juicy tits. God, they feel heavenly.

“Eli?” Nicole asks, reminding me she’s still on the phone. “Can I go now?”

“Right. Sorry, I know how busy you are.” I clear my throat, trying to recover. It’s not easy when Sophia’s hands are snaking down front, on their way to the rock-hard cock testing the stretch on my pants.

“Are you with a girl?” Nicole asks suspiciously.

“What? No,” I answer, a little too quickly.

She pauses, then says, “Okay.”

“Yeah, uh, take care, okay? Stay safe.”

“Of course.”

“Love you.” I end the call the way I always do.

“Love you, too, Eli.” She hangs up.

I put the receiver down on the landline phone.

Shit. What do I do now? There are bound to be some difficult questions coming from Sophia now. Although, judging from the way her hands are still slowly but decidedly heading south, she thinks nothing of what I just said before hanging up.

“So, how’s your mom?” Sophia asks.

Of course. She thinks I was talking to my mom.

“She’s doing well.”

I can’t keep up this ruse. Technically, I’m not lying because my mom is doing okay, but . . .

“Mmm . . . Good to hear that,” Sophia says, her fingers slipping underneath my shirt and tracing the lines of my abs. “She’s not coming here to clean the place up right now, is she?” She giggles. “I remember that time when we had to sneak out through the back door.”

Fuck. There’s no escaping it now.

As much as I want to find out what Sophia plans to do once she reaches the waist of my pants, I can’t keep her in the dark.

It’s time for some hard, difficult truths.

I just hope she’ll still look at me the same way when we’re done talking.

“Sophia.” I grab her wrists and turn around to face her. The evil part of me is cursing at this stupid decision, but I love her too much to think with the wrong head at the moment.

“What is it? You said we could continue where we left off last night?” Sophia’s full lips spread into the sweetest smile. A playful twinkle flashes in her big, green eyes. “See? I remember. I wasn’t that drunk.”

I regret the words before they even leave my mouth, but I have to say them out loud. “Sophia, there’s something I have to tell you.”