Chapter 14
Sophie
I don’t know how the hell he did it but somehow Tank has managed to heal a bit of the pain that resides in my heart. He has helped me to see a future where my son doesn’t exist. It’s the hardest thing to actually accept but in order for me to move forward, I need to try.
I sit here curled in his arms, thankful that he had enough fight in him for the both of us. That he had what it took to come after me and prove to me that I was wrong. That I belong with him and that there is a bright and long future for us.
I hate myself for putting him through the pain of the last twenty-four hours but in the end, I’m sort of glad it happened as, without his push, I’d still be sitting in my bed, day in and day out, sobbing for my son and wishing there was a way out.
“Thank you,” I murmur as I wipe my eyes on the blanket once again.
“I would have done it a million times over, Sophie. You’re my wife and I intend for you to stay that way, even if it means you need a good kick up the ass every now and then,” he tells me.
I grin at him as he lifts us up off the bed. He carries me around to the other side of the bed before placing me down on the edge. He pulls on his jeans and quickly shoves his hand into his pocket.
He pulls out my rings and falls to one knee before me. “What do you say to a new start?” he asks as he takes my hand in his and gently slides my rings back into place. “I fucking love you so much,” he murmurs.
I lean forward and catch his lips in mine. “A new start,” I say, thinking it over but decide to word it better. “A new start where an angel is looking down on us.”
He smiles. “It’s perfect,” he says as I scoot myself off the bed and drop down onto his lap so I straddle him.
“Careful,” he warns me of my injuries.
“Shut up,” I scold. “I need you to kiss me.”
Without another word, my man obliges. My hands instantly find purchase on his sculptured back and my nails dig into his strong muscles, telling him I need more.
His hand come down to my singlet and slip it up over my body. After weeks of constantly being covered up, feeling my skin against his again is like absolute magic. Goosebumps take over and before I know it, Tank lifts me up onto the bed and hovers above me.
He loses his jeans and boxers as I slip my own underwear down my legs. His lips come down on mine and he kisses me with every ounce of love he possesses. I open my legs and wrap them around his narrow waist allowing him entry.
He doesn’t skip a beat as he slides into me, nice and slowly, filling me to the brim. He starts to move and I let out a gasp as he makes the sweetest love to me and treats me as though I’m the most precious object he has ever laid eyes on.
We come together with our lips still firmly on one another’s. “I’ve missed you,” I murmur.
He smiles down at me. “Never again am I going that long without being inside you,” he tells me… or maybe it’s more of a warning but either way, I completely agree.
He eventually pulls out of me and we decide it’s best to show our faces to the world. He pulls his jeans back on as I get myself dressed and search the room for his shirt. Once he finds it, he follows me out of my old room and down the hallway. He is just raising his arms to pull his shirt on as my mother comes from the opposite direction.
“Oh my,” she gasps with a hand across her chest as she takes him in and starts to swoon. “You just keep getting bigger and bigger every time I see you.”
Oh geez.
Tank scoffs a laugh but reaches down and pulls her into a tight hug. “It’s good to see you,” he says and she looks at me over his shoulder and winks as she pretends to fan herself.
“Put your fucking shirt on before she has a heart attack,” I hear my father scolding from the end of the hallway.
“Thank you,” I announce. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
We all make our way down the hallway and into the kitchen where dad and Zac are busy fussing over lunch. Well by fussing, it’s more like Zac telling Dad how to do it while he huffs and whines about doing it in the first place.
I take over for my dad as Tank settles in to catch up with my family.
Zac starts dishing out lunch and adds an extra plate. I’m about to ask the moron if he knows how to count when a knock sounds at the door.
“I’ll get it,” I groan as my dad is busy questioning Tank about last night’s game while mum is nowhere to be seen.
I make my way over to the door and open it up to find some girl staring back at me. I narrow my eyes at her as I look her up and down. She must only be around 22 or 23 and my guess is she is here to see my dimwit brother. “Can I help you?” I question as I hold the door close to my body, not allowing her entry.
Her eyes go wide as she takes me in. “Holy shit. You must be Sophie, Zac’s sister,” she says.
“Yes, I’m well aware who I am. Who are you?” I question, enjoying that I’m making her squirm.
“Shit, of course… um, I’m MJ, or Emma Jane or um… I guess you can call me whatever you like,” she stutters, leaving that comment wide open. Though I give her a break and let her continue. I watch as she visibly swallows. “I’m Zac’s girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend, hey?” I say with interest.
“Yeah,” she smiles. “It’s only been a few months. Though, congratulations, he mentioned you were pregnant,” she says as her eyes instantly travel down to where there is no bump before widening in horror. “Holy shit. I’m so fucking nervous, I forgot. I’m so sorry. I tend to ramble when I get nervous.”
“Yes, that part’s clear,” I say, a little unimpressed with the girl.
I sense a mountain of a man come up behind me and watch as MJ’s face rises to meet Tanks. Her eyes bulge out, though this time it’s obvious she is gawking at the pure size of him. “Stop interrogating the girl,” he tells me. “Let her in.”
I roll my eyes but do as he says before opening the door wider. I wave her in and watch as she scurries past me and beelines straight for Zac, who looks up, only noticing her arrival now. He looks at her and notices her freaked out face before looking back at me with narrowed eyes.
I shrug my shoulders. “What?” I question.
He presses his lips together but decides to let it go. I mean, what are big sisters for? I need to weasel out the weak ones.
We all sit at the table and it’s a flurry of chatter.
“So, do you have to go straight back?” my mother asks us.
I look to Tank, guilty that I have no idea what his training schedule is like at the moment. “Nah, we’re good. We can head home in the morning.”
I raise my eyebrow at him in question. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll have to call Coach this afternoon to explain why I missed today’s session but he’ll be fine. The next game not for another week and besides, I think you need a little time at home,” he says as he reaches under the table and laces his fingers through mine.
‘Thank you,’ I mouth to him, so happy that he always seems to know just what I need.
“The dragons have their first game of the season tonight, did you want to go to that?” he asks.
My face brightens up as a huge smile takes over. “Hell yeah, can we go to Micky’s after?” I question, thinking about his famous burgers.
“Anything you want,” he says with emotion heavy in his eyes, almost as if he had missed this easy way of conversing between us but I can’t blame him. I’ve also missed it and I’m so damn happy to have it back.
He squeezes my hand under the table before leaning across and planting a big kiss on my lips.
“Ugh,” Zac whines. “Do you really need to do that at the table?”
I can’t help but smirk at my little brother. “You think that’s bad? You should see what he made me do at the table a few weeks ago.”
“Shit, Sophie,” Dad scolds as Zac’s face scrunches up. “I don’t want to hear this while I’m trying to eat.”
“I’m with Dad,” Zac says.
“Oh, come on. It’s not like you’ve never done it,” I say.
“Actually,” Tank says with a thoughtful look as he studies my brother. “I don’t think he’s that adventurous.”
“Hmm,” I say. “Maybe you’re right.”
“What?” Zac says. “I’m plenty adventurous.”
“Eh,” MJ says with a shrug while Zac looks at her horrified.
“You should take some lessons from Tank,” I grin. “He knows how to show a woman a real good time.”
Tank grins in approval as Dad demands the conversation to come to an end. We get back to lunch and manage to finish our meal without any further talk of Tanks good deeds in the bedroom.
After lunch, Tank disappears to call his Coach while I spend the afternoon with mum, who insists on taking me through her own version of a counselling session just to make sure I’m doing ok but since Tank’s kick up the ass this morning, I seem to be coping much better.
That afternoon we head over to Tank’s family’s home and have an early dinner with them before landing ourselves at the first Denver Dragon’s game of the season.
As we step through the doors, a wave full of memories come rushing back, reminding me of my final year at college. The very year I met Tank and when Dani and I unofficially became their Public Relations team and journalist for the year.
As we head deeper into the ice rink we notice the place is a sea full of Dragon’s colours with stalls upon stalls of merchandise. Tank walks up to a table and grabs a stuffed Dragon wearing hockey skates and holding a hockey stick before grinning at me. “And to think all this shit started with you and Dani.”
I can’t help but laugh. It’s completely true. I’m about to make a sarcastic comment when a certain calendar catches my eye. “Ooooh, get me that,” I say, pointing it out.
Tank follows my eye line and groans when he figures out what I want. “Seriously? You’re going to make me ask this chick for a calendar full of naked dudes?”
“Uhhh… yeah.”
He rolls his eyes but does it anyway, then surprises me when he buys me a large foam finger and a Dragon’s blanket to keep me warm during the game. I reach up on my tippy toes and plant a quick kiss on his lips before we start searching out our seats.
“Do you think we could screw in the locker rooms like we used to? “ I ask as we start climbing the grandstand.
“Might be a bit weird, seeing as though we don’t know any of them,” he comments as though the suggestion had actual merit, though, I guess it did. We have certainly had our way with each other in much weirder places.
“What might be weird?” A deep voice asks from behind us.
We turn around and find a grinning Jaxon leading his wife, Cassie up the stairs. Tank’s face instantly lights up as he comes down a step. “Hey, man,” he smiles. “Sophie wants to screw in the locker rooms.”
“Ah,” Jaxon laughs. “Some things never change.”
I roll my eyes but yeah, he’s right. “Don’t get me started on you,” I warn him.
He holds both his hands up in surrender and starts to make a snide comment when a throat is cleared from lower on the stairs.
“Come on,” Cassie says. “We got to keep moving.”
“Yeah,” Jaxon agrees. “We’ll catch up with you guys after the game?” he questions. “Maybe Micky’s?”
“We’ll be there,” Tank says as he takes my hand and starts leading me back up the grandstand. We find our seats and I get myself comfortable for what should be a great game. I pull my new blanket on and place my foam finger on my lap, ready to slip it on when the time comes. Tank busily texts Miller, making sure he is good and jealous of our surroundings as I judge the pictures in this season’s calendar.