“Truth or dare?”
“Stop.”
His hand slid down her arm, circling her stomach, before resting just below her breast. “Truth or dare?”
“Emmett, honestly, we’re not playing that game. It’s late. We should go to bed.”
His tongue grazed her nipple playfully, then blew a soft breath against it. “We’re playing the game. I insist. You promised.”
Scoffing, she playfully swatted his hand away from attacking her other breast. “I never promised any such thing.”
“Are you sure?” He cocked a brow, a devilish grin playing on his face.
“Stop.”
Snatching a kiss, he shook his head. “I can’t help it. I like having sleepovers with you.”
He loved them, actually. His very first sleepover he ever had with her was not a happy memory. Almost a year ago, they had their first one. While he had fun with Deja and Sophie, the reason for staying with them wasn’t a good one.
Austin had been in New York on vacation and found out Sophie’s ex was hell-bent on coming to find Sophie and hurt her. Emmett had stepped in, reassuring Austin no one would harm Sophie. It had been the first time he had the opportunity to get to know Deja.
The first time he laid eyes on her, he almost lost his breath. Spending the night, even as platonic it had been, with Sophie in attendance as well, had driven his emotions home with clarity. He was pretty sure he fell in love with her back then. That quick. Hiding it was impossible. He wouldn’t. Not anymore.
Trailing kisses down her chin to her neck to her breast and slowly to her belly button, he swirled his tongue a few times before lifting his head. “Truth or dare?”
Deja rolled her eyes. “Fine. Dare.”
A slow grin grew. “I dare you to put the ring back on your finger.”
She froze, her body suddenly taut with tension. He almost cursed himself for making her feel that way when she began to relax as quickly as she had tensed up. “I changed my mind. Truth.”
His grin refused to disappear, even knowing she’d hate truth just as much. “Why are you afraid of what’s happening between us?”
She turned away, her breaths deep and harsh. “Why are you doing this, Emmett? Why can’t we just enjoy each other?”
He sat up, trying his damndest not to get pissed. It was useless. And his own damn fault for bringing it up. “This isn’t just a fun time between the sheets for me, Deja. This is real. What’s between us is real. I love you.”
“Stop saying that.”
He leaned down into her face, inches from her sweet lips. “Make me.”
“What are we, a child? Make me? Seriously.”
Cracking a grin, he moved his mouth a little closer. “Naner naner boo boo. I love you.”
She couldn’t suppress a laugh no matter how hard she tried to keep it in. “You’re not funny, you know.”
He brushed his lips with hers. “Then why are you laughing?”
“I don’t want to play this game anymore.”
He kissed her hard, demanding she release the passion lingering within. She obediently listened as she wrapped her arms around him, then slowly brushed her hands up his back and through his hair. Without breaking contact, the kiss deepening stronger than ever before, his hand fumbled near her nightstand. With a quickness he never knew was possible, he donned on the condom and entered her with one swift thrust, thankful they had been lying in bed naked.
She moaned into his mouth, the kiss never stopping as he started to move in and out of her with complete abandon. She didn’t want to play that game. Fine. He’d play a totally different one. A game of love. He would show her at every available opportunity what she meant to him. She would eventually see what they had was real. They were real. Meant to be together. Forever.
Grasping her cheeks, he kept the pace slow and steady. She met every deep thrust with just as much enthusiasm as she did with their sweet kissing. Her fingers threaded through his hair, down his back and grabbed his ass, holding on tightly. Nothing felt better than her hands anywhere, everywhere on him.
The pace picked up. Her moans became louder between their kisses. He let go of her cheeks and her lips and grabbed her legs, lifting them to his shoulders, getting as deep as he could while thrusting as hard as he could.
“I love you, Deja. Forever. Believe it. Believe this. If it takes doing this every single night to prove it, I will.”
“Shut up, Emmett.” She closed her eyes as pure bliss crossed over her face, her hands clenching the sheets.
His body tightened in pleasure as they both came together in ecstasy. The beautiful feeling of loving her washed over him. She was perfect in every possible way. Even when she told him to shut up.
Which she liked to do a lot.
He collapsed on top of her, snuggling his face into the crook of her neck. He smiled, then placed tiny kisses while they both tried to come down from the high.
“You tell me to shut up a lot.”
“That’s because you talk too much.”
He pressed a tender kiss close to her ear. “Or that’s your way of saying I love you.”
She tensed briefly. There it was. Enough to convince him what he said was true. She loved him. She was just too scared to say the words.
“Don’t worry, honey. I won’t rush you into saying it. You just keep telling me to shut up. I hear it every time you say those words.”
♡
“Emmett, shut up.”
He grinned at Sophie, who chuckled at their byplay. “Don’t worry, Soph, she’s not mad at me. That’s just her way of saying I love you.”
Deja turned away from the kitchen sink, and with her soapy hands, pushed Emmett toward the exit. “Get out. Leave us to clean up the dishes.”
“Tell me one more time to shut up.”
She rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”
He snatched a kiss, winked, and walked out. Deja sighed, then turned back toward the sink. Ignoring Sophie and the questioning look on her face was hard to do. Impossible, in fact. Especially when she stood so close to her and grabbed a clean plate from the drip-dry and started to wipe it dry with a white dish towel.
“Just ask already.”
Sophie softly laughed. “I’m the last person who’d make you talk if you don’t want to, you know that. Is this you wanting to talk?”
“Thanks for making supper again tonight. I think Dare’s starting to fit in with everyone. Surprisingly, I think it’s Ethan who's helping a lot. Who would’ve thought?”
Sophie’s brow rose slowly at her dodging the real talk she should be doing, but didn’t say anything about it. “I don’t mind cooking. I’m glad Dare’s sticking around for you. I know you were worried about that.”
“I was worried. Still am, a little.” She stopped washing the plate. “He honestly thinks when I tell him to shut up that I mean to say I love you. Ridiculous.”
“Do you? Love him, I mean.”
“I’m not sure I know how to love. Growing up…my life wasn’t filled with a lot of love. My parents were so involved in themselves, they rarely paid attention to Dare and I. What does Emmett even see in me? I’m a criminal. A complete mess.”
“You’re someone who made a mistake, nothing more. I know he hates it when you put yourself down, and so do I.” Deja turned to look at Sophie when her voice held a lot more sternness than normal, then she continued, “Austin’s not fond of it when I put myself down. We all have insecurities, Deja. It’s not easy overcoming them, but it’s possible. Emmett won’t give up on you. So don’t give up on yourself.”
“I don’t know what I did to ever deserve such a wonderful guy.”
“I think the same thing every day. We’re just two lucky women, and that’s that.” Sophie smiled brightly as she grabbed another plate to dry.
“Any word on that douche bastard?”
Sophie pierced her with a hard look. “Language, please.”
“Not when it comes to that asshat. I’m sorry, Soph. I have a few more dirty words to say about him.”
Sighing, Sophie nodded. “The prosecutor wants me to testify. I don’t want to. Austin and I have…sort of argued about it. I’m not sure why they need me to. Of course, Kevin is trying to twist it that I hurt myself before Austin walked into the room. And then is insisting that Austin attacked him for no reason.”
“The jury actually believes that shit?”
Sophie shrugged. “The prosecutor must be a little nervous if she wants me to testify.” Her breath hitched. “I can’t. I just can’t, Deja. I already relive what he did to me in my nightmares. I can’t relive it in front of a bunch of people. I just want him to leave me alone. Leave the state. That’s all I want.”
Deja placed a soapy hand on her shoulder. “Then you do what you’re comfortable with. Nobody, especially Austin, is going to let that bastard get his hands on you again. He’ll get his just reward one day. Trust me.” She lifted her hand and laughed. “Whoops. Sorry about the sudsy mess.”
Sophie laughed with her and pulled her into a hug. “You’re the best friend anyone could ask for.”
“Ditto, Soph.”
Sophie let her go and picked up another plate. “I love you, Deja. You’re like a sister to me.”
Deja willed herself not to cry. “I love you, too. I always wanted a sister.”
“That wasn’t so hard to say.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
Deja crinkled her brows in confusion. “Of course not. I do love you. I even tell Dare that.”
Sophie looked at her with a perplexed expression. “I know you love Emmett. He knows it, too. Why is it hard to say it to him?”
Her mouth opened, then closed just as quickly. Why was it hard? She honestly couldn’t say. Perhaps because no man had ever loved her. They always saw her as a warm body good for one thing—sex. Emmett saw her as so much more. She knew this. Yet, letting him in was difficult. What happened if he took her love and broke her heart? He had the power to do it.
She pressed her lips together and shook her finger in a naughty gesture. “You tricked me.”
Sophie’s lips tipped up into a sweet grin. “Just showing you that you can say the words. You know how to love.” A slow breath left her body. “I’m scared every day. That’s what Kevin did to me. But I fight that emotion every day. I let Austin in. I let him love me and I love him back. It’s okay to be scared. There’s nothing wrong with that. And it’s okay to let the love in. Austin taught me that.”
“And if he breaks my heart?” Deja bit her lip, shocked she said that.
“That’s what best friends are for.” Sophie grinned wickedly, then tossed her head toward the living room. “And brothers.”
“Brothers? I only have one.”
Sophie shook her head with such animation. “You have five. Dare, Austin, Zane, Ethan, and Gabe. They might be Emmett’s family, but you know they’d let Emmett know just how dumb he was if he hurt you. Trust me.”
Deja never thought of it that way. She knew Dare would be on Emmett in a heartbeat if he hurt her. That’s one reason she didn’t like to mention anything to him concerning Emmett. But the others? Would they stick up for her? Sophie seemed so convinced they would.
“Let the love in. If Austin hadn’t captured my heart, I probably would’ve fallen for Emmett. He’s the sweetest, kindest man I ever met besides Austin.”
Deja pulled the plug and watched the water run down the drain in a slow dizzying manner. She could picture Sophie and Emmett together. Emmett adored Sophie so much. At the start of Sophie and Austin’s relationship, she almost thought Emmett like Sophie a little too much, but he swore he didn’t. After a while, she believed him. Trusted him. So it shouldn’t be hard to say the words I love you and ask for the ring back.
Oh, but it was.
Folding the rag over the middle portion of the sink, Deja looked at Sophie and grinned a very devious grin. “I need to go tell Emmett to shut up.”
Sophie giggled. “You go do that. He’ll love to hear it.”
She might not be able to say the actual words, but if he thought two simple words—shut up—meant she loved him, then she would say it at every available opportunity until the real words could pass through her lips. Until she overcame her fear.
One day she’d stop being scared. Today wasn’t that day. But soon. Because she was no coward.
♡
Dare propped his foot over his knee, leaning leisurely into the couch as Austin, Emmett, and Ethan all chatted together. He didn’t have much to add. The things he did want to add probably wouldn’t go over well with these guys.
He couldn’t stand to hear Austin talking about the way Sophie was hurt by this Kevin guy. Such a sweet woman, it was difficult to imagine anyone laying a finger on her.
He wouldn’t call himself a violent man, not even being locked up ten years for killing his parents. That was an—shit. He wasn’t going there, thinking such things that everyone had been telling him recently. He refused to believe it was an accident.
Still, he wasn’t a violent man. But for Sophie, he’d be one. He wanted to track down this Kevin guy for hurting her, for making her terrified every day of her life. He didn’t need to know her to feel the rage flowing through his veins. No man should hit a woman. Plain and simple.
He may not be violent, but he did spend the last ten years in prison. He made friends. Some of those friends were violent. One little word from him and they’d do whatever he asked. Two of his friends immediately came to mind. He saved both their asses from a serious beating. They owed him. Yet, he knew these gentlemen surrounding him wouldn’t go for it. They weren’t evil men like him.
No matter how much he wanted to deny it. That’s what he was. Evil. A danger to others.
“You know, Austin, I know you want to see that bastard behind bars, but putting Sophie on the stand—I don’t know, man.” Emmett rubbed his face to suppress a groan.
“I know. I don’t know why I’m arguing with her about it. I don’t want to put her through that pain. I deal with it enough at night. I just…he can’t walk. I told the prosecutor I’d take the stand and swear under oath that I saw him with his foot against her throat. She thinks with the way Kevin’s attorney has been portraying me that it won’t sway the jury much.”
Ethan swore under his breath at Austin’s words. “Well, shit. He’s portraying Sophie like she has mental issues and hurt herself. Is putting her on the stand really going to sway the jury? I mean, come on. Is he paying some of the jurors? I wouldn’t put it past him. He has tons of money.”
“I never thought of that,” Emmett said, then glanced at Austin. “Do you think that’s possible? Maybe he’s even bribing the prosecutor. She doesn’t need Sophie on the stand. There are plenty of photos to show how badly he beat her.” Emmett rubbed his face again. “I can still see it in my mind.”
“Me, too, Emmett. Me, too. I could throw up just thinking about it.” Austin rested his head against the couch and sighed. “It’s possible he’s using his money to get off. I never thought of it that way. This is just another way for Kevin to torture Sophie. Will it ever stop?”
“I can make it stop.”
Dare couldn’t believe he just said that. But damn it. He couldn’t stand to hear anymore. He was willing to beat the shit out of Kevin himself. Be damned the consequences. It’d be worth going back to prison.
Three sets of eyes turned to him in unison. All of them stared at him with confusion until a light bulb must’ve gone off in Emmett’s head. He leaned forward on the recliner, jabbing a finger in his direction as his face morphed into anger.
“Don’t you do anything stupid, Dare. Deja would crawl into a hole and never come out if you went back to prison. She’s already almost climbing into a damn hole.”
Ethan nodded. “She’d never survive—emotionally—if you got sent back. Emmett’s right. Stay clean.”
Dare shrugged. “I never said I would do anything, just that I could make it stop. He’d learn his lesson. I can get the case to turn in your favor. That’s all.”
Austin sat next to him, tense, his facial expression giving nothing away of what he was thinking. He glanced toward the kitchen, then leaned closer to him as he whispered, “I don’t know you well yet, Dare, but I know Deja. What my cousins are saying is true. She wouldn’t take it well, and she’d be pissed at you.” Austin sighed. “That being said, I don’t want Sophie living in fear.”
“Austin…” Emmett warned.
Austin whipped his head toward Emmett, whispering harshly, “You don’t hear her scream at night in terror. It breaks my heart.”
“Come on, man. Do you think teaching Kevin a lesson, as Dare put it, will stop her nightmares?” Ethan asked honestly.
Rubbing his jaw, as if contemplating the question with earnest, Austin shrugged. “No, but if the prospect of having to testify would disappear and he’s sent away to prison, maybe then they would. That bastard deserves it. He should be six feet under.”
Emmett cleared his throat. “We’re not having this conversation. Dare isn’t a killer, no matter how much he believes it.”
Dare cocked a grin. “Your faith in me astounds me.”
“Don’t be a dickhead,” Emmett snapped.
He laughed heartily, but not too loud. “Don’t call me names.”
“Alright, enough.” Ethan glanced between the two, eyeing them both with a look that said he’d pop one of them with a fist if they didn’t stop. “Austin never meant he wanted to kill him. Right, Austin?”
“Yeah. I’m a lover, not a fighter.” Austin gave a wicked smile, yet his eyes reflected so much anguish.
“I never said the guy would die, just be taught a lesson. One he would never forget.” Dare set his foot to the ground and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I don’t know Sophie. I barely know you guys. But Deja has accepted you as her family, which, like Zane said the other day, makes you my family, too. I protect my family. I protected Deja all the way until I couldn’t anymore. I regret that every damn day.”
Dare flickered a glance toward the kitchen, then his eyes landed on Austin. “I have friends on the outside. I haven’t said hi to them yet. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to give Kevin a little advice.”
“Advice?” Austin raised a brow questioningly, although the look in his eyes said he knew what Dare meant. “Why would they give anyone advice for you?”
“Saved their asses a few times in prison. That’s why we’re friends. Sophie’s sweet. She’s been kind to me since the moment we met. I don’t like to hear these things about her. It pisses me off.”
Austin grinned. “Pisses me off, too. I can’t keep secrets from her. Trust is very important between us. I…I want nothing more than to teach Kevin a lesson, but I can’t ask you to do that. I could never lie to Sophie about it. Although she hates him, she wouldn’t like knowing we had a hand in something like that.”
Dare nodded and sat back. “Offer stands if you change your mind.”
“Now that we settled that little issue, let’s not bring it up again.” Emmett glared at him.
He nodded, assuring Emmett he wouldn’t do anything stupid. His two friends could be discreet. Austin didn’t want to lie to Sophie. Well, Dare would make it so he wouldn’t have to. What Austin didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and he wouldn’t have to lie, not even a tiny little lie.
He never planned to contact his friends once he hit the outside world, wanting to separate that life with his new one. Not anymore. For Sophie, he’d contact them. Kevin would soon learn a lesson he’d never forget.