“Shit.” I look down at the ground. “I’ve been seeing her for a while now, Ma.”

“How long is a while?” she asks

“A few months,” I tell her softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I can hear the hurt in her voice. I knew this question was coming.

“She hasn’t had the easiest life, Mom. I needed to give her time to trust me without overwhelming her with everyone.”

“We wouldn’t overwhelm her,” she argues.

“Ma…” I say, the ‘who are you trying to kid?’ implied in my tone.

“Okay, okay,” she concedes. “So when do I get to meet her?”

“Soon.” I smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can set up a time for us to come for dinner.”

“Okay, honey. I love you. And I’m so happy for you,” she whispers.

“Love you too, Ma. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye, honey.”

“Later.” I hang up, setting my phone on the counter before looking at Daisy. “Let’s go to bed, girl.” I go back into the room and climb into bed with Sophie, who automatically curls into me. I hold her to me, kissing her hair before following her off to sleep.

Chapter 9

Sophie

“Hi.” I smile at David as he walks into the library. He’s a pleasant-enough guy; he asked me out a couple of times, but I just couldn’t go out with him. It’s not that he isn’t good-looking—he is—but he seems like he has to try too hard to be nice. It’s odd.

“Hey, Sophie. How are you?” He leans on the counter in front of me.

“Good, and you?” I ask, typing in the call number for another book a teacher asked me to check out for their classroom.

“I’m good. I was wondering if you’d want to go out and get a bite to eat after work?”

“No, sorry. I can’t.” I don’t even look up from what I’m doing when I respond.

“It must be hard for you moving to a new state all by yourself, living alone, and not having anyone around.”

“Pardon?” I ask, finally looking up at him.

His eyes appear darker, and something about him just seems…off. A shiver slides down my spine, and I sit back in the chair. Something is telling me to get away from him.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry. You look scared.” He laughs. “I didn’t mean anything, Sophie. Just that, if you need me, I’m here for you.”

“Thanks,” I wheeze out, finding it hard to breathe.

“See you around,” he says, smiling. He taps the top of the desk before leaving the library, and as soon as he’s out of sight, I grab my keys and bag, turn out the library lights, and lock the door before rushing down the hall and out to my car.

My hands are shaking as I open my door, and once inside, I engage the locks. I start my car and lift my head when I feel eyes on me, my eyes landing on David’s car a few spaces over. I can just barely make out David sitting in his car as he waves. I lift my hand quickly, put my car in drive, and speed out of the parking lot. By the time I reach Nico’s, the strange encounter with David is just that—a strange encounter. David’s always been nice. He knows I moved to Tennessee alone and was probably just worried about me being on my own all the time, and since he doesn’t know about Nico, that would be understandable, I convince myself.

I turn the key in the door and open it to complete silence; this catches me off guard. Daisy always greets me when I get home. I walk into the kitchen to set my bag on the counter. I lift my foot behind me, ready to take off my shoes before searching for Daisy.

“Leave them on,” is growled, and I look over my shoulder at Nico, who is shirtless, wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else. Seeing him makes me forget about everything. My heart kicks up when I see his face; his eyes are dark and hungry. “Been home all day, worked out three times, and still couldn’t get the image of what you’re wearing out of my head.” He takes a step towards me.

I look down, confused. I wore a high-waisted pencil skirt with a white blouse, sheer stockings, and black suede stiletto pumps to work today. This is my normal attire when going out of the house to work. He has seen me in these kinds of outfits a million times.

“What?” I ask, my head tilting to the side, studying his expression.

His hands come up to pull the pins out of my hair, tossing them onto the island in the kitchen. Then they go to my top, unbuttoning it and pulling it to the side before undoing the front clasp on my bra, releasing it so my br**sts are free. “You have this whole naughty-librarian thing going on.” His hands lift my br**sts as his head dips so he can lick each nipple before biting and sucking them, making me grab his hair. “Every time you leave the house in one of these getups, all I can think about is you on your knees in front of me, your skirt up around your waist while I watch you suck me off,” he says as his hands begin to pull my skirt up my thighs and his teeth bite down on my earlobe.

“Oh,” I breathe, feeling his fingers pull my panties to the side and then two fingers fill me.

“Look at how wet you are,” he groans, pulling his two fingers up between us. He’s not wrong; I can feel the wetness between my legs, and my cl*tis now throbbing. He puts his fingers in his mouth, his eyes on me the whole time. “So sweet.” His hands go to my waist. Then I hear material tearing, and I realize that he is ripping off my panties. “I’ve had this fantasy since the first moment I met you. You were on your knees in front of me, your tits out,” he says, rubbing his thumb over one nipple and then the other, “and your skirt up around your waist.” He looks down, and I feel a hand on my bare ass. “The stockings… Those are a bonus,” he growls, trailing his hand around before one finger slides over my clit. “Do you want to make my fantasy reality?”

I bite my lip, nodding my head. Without thinking, I sink to my knees in front of him. I look up, running my hands up his thighs before unbuttoning his jeans and pulling down his zipper. I hear a low rumble and my eyes lift to his, and then I watch as his nostrils flare. The second his jeans are unzipped, he springs free, bouncing against his stomach. Commando—so hot.

One of my hands goes to the back of his thigh, the other to the base of his cock, pulling it down towards me. Seeing his piercing makes my mouth water. Knowing the way it feels when he’s inside me causes a whole new surge of wetness to spread between my thighs. I lick the head before closing my mouth over it. I can’t get much of him into my mouth. He’s too thick and long, so I use my hand, moving it along his shaft along with my mouth.

“Give me your eyes, Sophie.”

I lift my eyes to his; watching his expression as I work him makes me want to please him that much more. I stroke him fast, and then his hands are in my hair at the sides of my head.

“This is better than any fantasy I’ve ever had,” he groans, his head falling back and his h*ps pumping himself in and out of my mouth. “Shit, baby,” he says, and before I know what’s happening, he pulls out of my mouth, turns me around, and sinks into me from behind.

My hands go to the hardwood in front of me, my head bowing forward. Nico’s hands go to my hips, lifting me higher, forcing himself deeper. He plows into me hard and fast. His hand slides around my waist, his fingers zeroing in on my clit. He circles it as his other hand goes to my breast, pinching my nipple. I cry out as I feel the first wave of my orgasm wash over me.

“Fuck,” he groans, planting himself balls-deep and grinding his h*ps as he spills into me. “You okay?” he asks after catching his breath, sitting me up on my knees.

“I think so,” I whimper as he pulls out of me.

His hands remove my shoes before wrapping an arm around my waist to help me up. “Shit, baby,” he says, looking down.

I look at him then follow his eyes to my knees, which are red from the hardwood floors. “I’m okay.” I smile, feeling my cheeks heat up. I’m still so dazed by that orgasm that I wouldn’t notice any pain.

“Let’s shower.” He picks me up, carries me to the bathroom, and then helps me get undressed and into the shower before stripping his jeans off, following me in. “I have another fantasy,” he whispers in my ear as his hands massage my br**sts from behind.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“Oh yeah,” he says, nipping my neck before showing me a few other fantasies he’s had. All of them are awesome, but my favorite has me with my thighs wrapped around his head.

“Tomorrow we’re going to dinner at my parents so you can meet everyone.”

I try to lift my head to look at him, but I’m just too exhausted. “Was this your plan? Wear me out so I don’t argue?”

“No, but it sounds smart.” I hear the smile in his voice and can’t help but to smile back.

“I’m nervous about meeting them, but I also can’t wait,” I confess quietly.

“Really?” he asks, making me feel like a jerk.

I hate that he thinks I don’t want to meet them. It’s never been about not wanting to meet them. It’s always been about being afraid of what would happen if I had a panic attack or something. I don’t want them to think that their son should find someone else who’s normal.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” I run my hand along his abs. “I want to see where you come from and meet the people who raised you. Plus, you’ve talked about your brothers and their families so much that I feel like I already know them.”

“Thank you for doing this. I know it’s not easy for you, but my family’s cool. They’re gonna love you.”

“I hope so,” I tell him, my eyes feeling heavy. I don’t care who else loves me. I just want him to.

“Sleep, sweet Sophie,” he whispers, his lips on my forehead.

“’Night,” I mumble.

I feel his laughter against my cheek, making me smile before I drift off to sleep, completely forgetting to tell him about my strange reaction to David.

“You’re here!” a woman yells, running outside and down the front steps to where I’m exiting Nico’s car. I stumble back as she embraces me in a tight hug. “Welcome,” she says breathlessly before her hands go to my face, her eyes soft as she looks at me.

“Hi.” I can’t help but smile as she pulls me back in for another hug. She doesn’t seem so scary anymore. I almost laugh at my own fear.

“Hey,” Nico says, walking towards us. The smile he’s wearing is one I haven’t seen before, but I have to say—it’s probably one of my favorites.

“Hey, honey.” She lets me go and walks to where he’s standing, her hands going to his face this time. I hear her whisper something to him, but I can’t make out what it is. His face goes soft, looking a lot like his mom as he nods before kissing her cheek. “So, I hope you two are hungry.” She smiles, linking her arm with mine as we make our way into the house.

“Where’s Dad?” Nico asks.

She turns to look over her shoulder to answer him. “He’ll be here soon. He called to tell me he would be late,” she says as we make our way inside.

The house is a beautiful two-story farmhouse. The outside is painted a pale yellow with white trim, and a large front porch sporting two rocking chairs completes the picture. As we walk inside, all I can think is how welcoming their home feels. The warm wood floors and country-style decor make me feel like I should be drinking a glass of lemonade while putting my feet up.

“I love your house,” I tell Susan as we make our way into the kitchen.

“Thank you, honey. Nico’s grandparents bought this house when they moved into the area. When they told James they were going to sell it, he bought the house from them.”

“I would love to live in an area like this. The drive out here was beautiful. When I moved to Tennessee, I wanted to buy a house in the country on a couple acres, but I just couldn’t afford it,” I explain with a smile.

“I thought you liked living in a neighborhood close to the city?” Nico states as a question, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

“I don’t mind it.” I turn my head and look back at him. “But when I was little, I read all of the Little House on the Prairie books and dreamed of living in a house in the middle of nowhere with my husband and filling it up with tons of kids.”

“We can definitely have tons of kids,” he says, his eyes going dark.

He is on a baby-making mission. Since he got back from Vegas—unless I’m working—we’ve been in bed, and he’s been doing everything in his power to put a baby in me. Not that I have been putting up much of a fight about it. After opening up to him about everything, I know that he is everything I want and need. I know that, deep down, even the night I ran away, I would have gone back to him; I wouldn’t have been able to stay away.

“Nico, you wanna come help me out?” a guy yells into the house, my heart rate automatically kicking up.

We talked about this. This morning, he told me that everyone was meeting at his parents’ for dinner. Like it told him last night, I am excited but still nervous. I know that I put this off for as long as I could. And honestly, it wasn’t fair to Nico to keep pushing him away even if it was unintentional. When I told Maggie what was going on, I could hear her clapping and jumping up and down while we were on the phone. She loves that Nico is forcing me to step outside of my bubble. She is happy for me and excited to meet Nico.

“Yeah!” he yells back before kissing my neck and whispering into my ear, “You’ll be okay. I’m here with you.”