Kade

“How’s Quinn doing?” Jenny asks when I come into the bar on Friday night.

“Good. They’re home now.” I scan the room for Sophie. She’s been ignoring me for the past few days, but after what happened the other morning in the kitchen, I’ve tried to give her space.

Obviously, something I said had upset her. I’m just not sure what exactly it was. But from the way she averts her eyes every time I walk into the room, I get that she doesn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to me.

And while I know I should let it go, all week there’s been something pressing inside my chest. I can’t explain it. But the pain that had flashed in her eyes, it had taken all my strength not to wrap her up in my arms and not let go.

I catch a glimpse of a silvery purple streak of hair bent over a table. Sophie laughs at something one of the customers says as she collects empty glasses, then nods and jots down a note on her pad.

She’s wearing the same ripped jeans she’d had on the first night I met her, and a black Savages and Saints t-shirt that Jenny must have given her. Her hair is twisted in a bun on top of her head, except for a few pieces that fall around her face.

So damn beautiful.

When she straightens, her gaze meets mine, and I see her eyes widen slightly, her lips parting.

Desire.

Heat.

Gravity.

She looks away, breaking the connection. I sigh.

“When you’re done staring, mind helping me with the kegs in the back?” Jenny says, giving me a knowing grin.

“I’m not staring.” I turn my back and lean against the bar, arms crossed.

“You were definitely staring.” She blows a strand of red hair off her face and puts her hands on her hips. “Not that I’m judging. I think it’s great that you’ve finally taken an interest in women again.”

I grunt. “I was never not interested in women.”

“Could have fooled me. And everyone in Port Clover, for that matter.” Chuckling, she pours a draft for a customer, then turns back to me. “So, what’s your game plan?”

“Game plan?”

“Please tell me you have one.” She shakes her head. “Even with all that Savage charm, I’ve got a feeling that one—” She nods her head in the direction of Sophie. “—is going to be a challenge, even for you.”

I know she’s right. I just haven’t figured out if it’s a challenge I’m willing to accept. I’d been willing to lose myself with her. And I had. But if the past few days have done anything, they’ve made me realize it isn’t just sex I want. That’s not to say it hasn’t been a primary focus of every waking thought. But, as scary as it is, I want more than just a casual hookup. Fuck, maybe it’s the way I’m hardwired, but the whole just-sex thing has never been my style. Which is a goddamn shame, because I have a feeling that’s all Sophie is willing to give.

If that.

Jenny’s smile broadens as Sophie approaches, then whispers, “Let’s see if you still have game, boss.”

I roll my eyes at her and she laughs.

Sophie keeps her gaze averted as she types in her orders in the touchscreen.

“Hey,” I say to her, my fucking voice catching with nerves. “You ready for your set? I have you opening tonight.”

Her throat bobs. “Are you sure you don’t need me on the floor? Jenny—”

“She’ll be fine. Plus, I’ve been looking forward to hearing you sing again.”

She gives me a nervous smile, finally meeting my gaze.

I hold it.  

It’s like the energy around us charges in that second. It buzzes with electricity. Shit, it’s only been a few days since we’ve been this close, since she let her guard down and looked at me, but I’d forgotten the intensity of the pull between us.

It guts me. Makes me want to jump over the damn bar and crush my lips against hers.

She says softly, “I should go deliver these.”

I glance down at the drinks Jenny places to the side of us.

“Right.”

She gives a small smile before placing the drinks on her tray and walking away.

“Oh, you’ve got it bad,” Jenny says with a huge grin.

I ignore her laughter that floats behind me as I walk back into my office, pulling out my cell when it rings.

“Hi, Daddy,” Lola says when I answer. “Can you come pick me up?” She’s whispering into the phone. “It’s soooo boring here, and Grandpa is already asleep.”

“Just like you should be.” I glance at the time, knowing my mom probably put her to bed an hour ago.

“Why can’t Aunt Q watch me? I promise I’ll be really, really quiet. I won’t wake Jaxson.”

I sigh, knowing how hard it’s going to be for her not having Quinn all to herself anymore. “She’s still really tired. Babies are a lot of work, but you know how much she loves you.”

“Then what about Sophie? She said we could have another princess night.”

She hasn’t stopped talking about Sophie since their sleepover, or asking to hang out with her again. I’m starting to wonder if Zee wasn’t right, that my choice to not date was protecting myself more than Lola. I worried about her getting attached to someone and having them leave, but maybe it’s worse not having anyone at all.

“Sophie’s working, sweetheart. But I’ll pick you up in the morning and we can spend all day together.”

“With Sophie?” she asks, hope flooding her voice.

“I don’t know about that. But we’ll do something fun. Now go back to bed.”

She grumbles a few more protests before finally hanging up.

Almost immediately, my phone buzzes again. This time, Liam’s number pops up.

“Hey,” he says, sounding distracted. “I don’t have a number for Sophie, and I need to get a hold of her.”

“I can give her a message.”

“She asked me to put the car online for parts, and I’ve already got an offer. Guy’s coming next week to pick it up.”

“Okay, I’ll let her know.”

“And she asked about any used cars I came across. There’s a Honda Civic she might be interested in that’s got decent mileage for the price.”

With my chest tightening, old fears assailing, I mutter a quick, “I’ll tell her,” before hanging up.

She’s allowed to have a fucking car, asshole, the rational part of my brain scolds. And even though I know how pathetic it is, I can’t help but think she’s already planning an escape route.

I shouldn’t care, but I do. And the harder I try to guard my heart, the more I try to push the thoughts of her away, the stronger the need is to be with her.

She’s becoming a goddamn obsession.

Damon is at the bar when I come back from setting up the kegs, and he gives me a stoic nod.

“Thought Jasper was with you,” I pour a draft and set it in front of him.

“He found something more entertaining to play with.” Damon glances across the room, and I follow his gaze.

Wearing one of his two-thousand-dollar suits, hair slicked back, Jasper looks more than a little out of place in Savages and Saints. But he’s not the one who catches my attention, it’s the blonde he’s hovering over. One hand plastered on the wall beside her head, he’s got Sophie pinned as he leans in close, saying something that brings a smile to her face.

And not a forced smile, a real fucking smile.

A smile that belongs to me.

Jealousy stirs in my chest, and that primal beast that’s been sleeping most of my damn life growls inside of me, ready to claim what’s mine. I can barely hear the rational part of my brain, the warning it screams, over the beast’s battle cry.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

I round the bar and head towards them, ready to pull my asshole of a brother away from her if I have to. Not that Jasper is really a dick. He’s been with his share of women, but he hasn’t left a trail of bleeding hearts like Abbott. And in all fairness, he doesn't know the woman he’s talking to belongs to me.

But unlike me, Jasper is smooth. One glance and he has most women melting in a puddle at his feet.

Sophie’s eyes widen when she sees me stalking towards them.

I try to rein back the possessiveness that’s driving me. Too bad the part of my brain that’s more caveman than gentleman wins when I open my mouth.

“You have customers waiting on their orders,” I snap.

She frowns, and her lips part like she’s about to say something, but instead she just gives a frustrated little huff and walks away.

Jasper chuckles. “Looks like you haven’t lost your charm.”

“Looks like you’re still playing Casanova. Nice suit. A little rich for Port Clover, isn’t it?”

He smirks at me, not being baited by my comment, which only annoys me more.

“Damon was right,” he chuckles under his breath, his grin widening.

I ignore the comment, not wanting to know what my brother was right about. “Just leave my staff alone. It’s hard enough finding good help around here.”

I realize too late that Sophie is only a few feet away, and the look she gives me makes me pretty sure she heard every word I said.

Shit.

Jasper follows my gaze, then slaps my shoulder. “Maybe I need to come back here more often. Entertaining, as always.”

I grumble under my breath. “Come on, I’ll get you a drink.”

He sits beside Damon, and it takes less than five seconds before two women approach him. But whatever he says to them has them sulking and walking away.

“I’ll have a Manhattan,” he says, loosening his tie.

“Honestly, what’s with the suit?” I place his drink in front of him.

“I’m heading back to New York tonight. I’ve got a flight leaving in the morning.”

“Quinn will be disappointed.” I can’t help but be a bit relieved. Jealousy still pricks the back of my neck from the way he was hovering over Sophie.

Jasper shrugs. “She’s got Zee and the kid. I don’t even think she noticed I was here. But I do think we need to talk about what’s going on with Abbott. He’s fighting again?”

“Yeah,” Damon says, leaning back in his chair, his mouth thinning in a hard line.

“What are you going to do about it?” Jasper asks, swirling the liquid in his glass.

“Other than arrest him?” Damon mutters, even though we all know he won’t.

I lean on the bar, trying to keep my gaze from wandering over to where Sophie is starting to set up the microphone and guitar on the stage.

“If Damon’s right, that he’s messing around with drugs, someone needs to do something.” Jasper gives me a pointed look.

I’m not sure why I’m so on edge tonight, but his words sound like an accusation, and I bristle. “Maybe you should come home more than a few times a year and act like you actually give a shit. I can’t clean up everyone’s mess.”

Jasper’s jaw tightens. “I didn’t say that.”

I hold his gaze, the anger that’s been pent up between us threatening to spill.

Damon slaps his palms on the bar between us. “Instead of taking stabs at each other, maybe we can come up with some kind of solution.”

“The solution is letting him deal with the consequences of his actions for once in his damn life.” My words come out harsher than I intend, and a few customers glance over at me. “I’m tired of making excuses for him. Cleaning up his messes—”

“You never seemed to care when it was Zee’s messes you were cleaning up,” Jasper says, his voice cool and collected despite the reproof I see in his eyes.

I’m about to lay into him when there’s a sharp sound from the speakers, followed by a soft rasp. “Hi. Uh, I’m Sophie, and I’m going to be playing a few songs that I wrote for you tonight. I...hope you enjoy them.”

Tension sizzles and fades, my attention diverted from the argument that was about to escalate.

Onstage, Sophie sits on a stool, her cheeks a cute shade of red as she adjusts the microphone again, then starts to strum a few chords on the guitar. So damn beautiful.

Mine, my heart beats. That twisting, uneasy feeling makes everything seem off kilter.

Most of the customers go back to their conversations, but as the first few lyrics fall from her lips, heads begin to turn, and by the time she’s belting out the chorus, I’m pretty sure she has every person in the bar mesmerized.

“...I close my eyes and you’re back in my arms. Breathe you in and I’m undone. But you fly away when morning comes...”

Heartbreak pours from her words. Her words. Words she wrote. And I can’t help but wonder who they’re meant for.

“Shit, she’s good,” Jasper says, turning to watch her.

“And off limits,” I say roughly.

He twists back to me, one brow lifted, a smirk on his face. “Is that so? On whose orders?”

Damon chuckles, then takes a sip of his beer as I narrow my eyes at him.

“Just leave her alone.”

“You staking a claim?”

“Maybe I am.” I hold his gaze.

“Well, let me know if you change your mind.” He winks, and I know he’s just trying to get under my skin.

It works.

By the time Sophie is done her set, seeing my brother watching her, remembering the smile she’d given him, a smile that was mine, that primal part of me is demanding full control.

I let it.  

As she approaches the bar, I take her hand and pull her into my office, slamming the door behind us before she has time to protest.

She frowns up at me. “What’s wrong? If you want me to play other songs—”

Fisting a hand in her hair, I crash my lips against hers.

Desperate. That’s what she makes me feel.

Out of control. She steals my restraint.

Her body tenses slightly, but as my tongue swipes into her mouth, her whole body sighs and her arms wrap around my neck, pulling me closer, deeper.

“Kade,” she whimpers against my lips. “We shouldn’t.”

No part of my brain, body, or heart agrees with her in this moment.

“We should,” I argue, breathing her in. I don’t let my hands roam down across her soft curves like I want to, because I know if I do, I’ll end up taking her against the door, or laid out on my desk. And I want more. More than just a quick fuck. I want to taste and possess every inch of her body. I want to take my time and devour her moans and sighs.

More.

More.

More.

“Kade.” She says my name again, like a plea, and I know she’s just as unable to pull away as I am.

I drop my forehead to hers and hold her face in my palms.

“I don’t know what I did to piss you off, but whatever it is, I’m sorry.” My voice is ragged.

“You didn’t—”

“I like you.” I brush my lips against hers, lightly this time. “A lot, Sophie. And I know you said you’re not looking for anything right now. I didn’t think I was, either. But there’s something between us. And I think we’ll both regret it if we don’t at least give it a chance.”

There’s a hard knock on the door before Jenny’s muffled voice says, “When the two of you are finished, I need a little help out here.”

Sophie’s cheeks turn pink, and she whispers, “Oh my God, she’s going to know.”

I chuckle. “Good.”

Her frown returns, and my heart takes a little dive.

“There’s just a lot you don’t know about me,” she says softly.

“Then tell me.” I press my lips against her forehead. “Spend the night with me. Lola’s at my parents’. We can talk.”

“I have a feeling if we’re alone together, we won’t be talking.” She chuckles then, but there’s still a touch of sadness in her eyes that never quite goes away.

“I admit it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep my hands off you, but I want to know what’s up here—” I tap her temple gently with my index finger. “—before we go any further.”

“We’ve kind of already gone as far as we can go,” she says teasingly, but I can see the uncertainty in her eyes, the reservation.

“I’m not talking about sex.” I grin down at her. “But if I was, trust me, sweetheart, we haven’t even scratched the surface of the things I want to do to you.”

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as she tries unsuccessfully to pull back a smile.

“I want to know you, Sophie.”

“I want to know you, too.” Still so much doubt in her eyes, but her words hold hope.

“Anything you want to know, just ask.”

She gives a small nod, but I feel her pulling away.

Stay with me. Don’t run away. Choose me.  All my insecurities roar in my head. And I wonder if there’s something else stopping her from wanting more with me. Or someone else.

“I have one question now,” I say, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek. I’m not sure I want to know the answer, but I ask anyway. “The first song you sang tonight. It was about someone you care about, someone you lost?”

A flash of something that looks like grief crosses her expression. She nods.

“Do you still love them?”

“Always,” she whispers, the word filled with anguish.

“Okay.” My chest aches, but I’m not sure if it’s more from knowing there’s a piece of her I’ll never have, or because I want desperately to erase the pain that swirls around her so chaotically, threatening to break her.

Either way, I’ve decided one thing for certain. I want her. And I’ll fight to make sure she stays.