Chapter 68

Blake stretched out on his cot in the corner of the gym. Sophia and Megan had taken over his quarters, and he was okay with that. There was talk of splitting the Saviors up between the Phoenix silo and the silo outside Reno, but it was only talk at this point. Blake personally didn’t think it would happen, as everyone enjoyed being with each other too much to separate.

He rolled over when he heard the gym door open and shut. Sophia walked in wearing a nightgown and robe.

“May I come in?” she called from across the gym.

“Of course,” Blake said, sitting up on the cot. He wore nothing but his boxers, so he wrapped a blanket around his waist.

As Sophia approached, his body stirred with want, but his head gave a firm “no” when he realized she had something on her mind.

Her fingers twisted in front of her as she came toward him with hesitant steps. “What’s up?” he asked. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded and stopped about a foot in front of him. “I-I need to talk to you.”

Blake looked around, trying to find a place for them to sit. A large stack of mats in the corner seemed as good a place as any. The cot certainly wouldn’t do—he’d be too tempted to lay her down.

“Let’s go over there,” he said. He took her hand—the gesture seemed so natural to him that he hadn’t even realized he did it until they were at the mats. He looked down at their intertwined fingers and the urge to touch more of Sophia roared within him. He shut his eyes, reminding himself that she had experienced a lot of crap.

They sat down, and she stared off into the distance, a crease in her brow.

“So what’s going on, Sophia?” Blake asked.

“I’m not sure how to begin.”

“What’s it about?”

Sophia took a deep breath and bathed him in the warm glow of her brown eyes. “Us.”

“What about us?” he asked.

“Blake, I like you,” she blurted.

“Well, I like you too,” Blake said, wondering what she was getting at. Certainly, she couldn’t be thinking along the same lines he was, could she?

“You do?”

“Well, sure,” he said.

“Do you like me in . . . that way?”

Blake’s breath hitched in his chest. “What way is that?”

“That way. When a male likes a female.”

He stared at her full lips, wanting to kiss them, but he held back.

“Sophia, I don’t know if we should go there,” he whispered, hating every word. “You’ve been through a lot, and I’m just starting to get it back together.”

She nodded as the pink tip of her tongue smoothed over her top lip. “I know. But if we like each other in that way, then maybe we should see where it leads.”

Excitement and terror swirled within Blake, the ache to kiss her twisting his gut, and he looked down at their hands, still intertwined.

“Are you sure want to do this, Sophia?”

She nodded. “I am, Blake. Perhaps being together will help both of us.”

“Then I’m going to kiss you,” he whispered, breathing hard.

“I would like that.”

Blake lowered his head and closed his eyes as their mouths met. Bringing his hand up to the side of her face, he gently caressed her cheek, his finger trailing down the column of her throat to her collarbone. He urged her mouth open with his tongue, and she accepted it. They slowly explored each other’s mouths, the hum of desire shooting through Blake as she lightly rested her fingers on his bare chest.

He pulled away, his need to be inside Sophia barely contained.

“I liked that,” she whispered, as she opened her eyes.

Blake chuckled. “Me too.”

“That was a wonderful start,” she murmured.

“I agree.”

She leaned in and kissed him again, and Blake’s body hummed.

“Sophia,” he breathed against her mouth, “please, let’s take this slow.”

She nodded.

“Go back to your room,” he whispered, frustration rolling through him.

“Come with me,” she said, sounding so sure of herself. “We don’t have to do anything of a sexual nature. I-I just want to be with you, Blake.”

“What about Megan?” Blake asked, totally uncomfortable with the idea of Megan seeing them in the same bed.

“Megan is at a sleepover in Hudson and Beverly’s quarters, and then Beverly and Abby are taking them both to the zoo tomorrow.”

God, she was making this too easy for him, and he had to wonder if the women of the house had conspired to get Sophia and him together.

“Come with me, Blake. That old cot looks terribly uncomfortable.”

That didn’t even begin to describe it. He looked around the gym, thinking of how nice it would be to lay in his own bed, and the thought of Sophia next to him in that bed made him want to cry tears of gratitude.

“Okay,” he said, not seeing any reason not to. Willpower was the name of the game when it came to Sophia, and he’d let her take the lead.