Sophie
Phil was spinning, and I knew it. I had really gone too far in the great room with the photos, and it had ramifications.
I cursed myself again.
He eventually fell asleep, as did I, and the next morning I woke up before him.
I hope he’s back to normal today.
I curled farther into his body, and he stirred.
“Hey, Petal.” He smiled at me and kissed my forehead.
“Morning.”
There was a knock on the door. He groaned and whispered, “Let’s pretend we aren’t here.”
I laughed and called out, “Come on in.”
Tom popped his head in the door. “We’ve let you sleep long enough. It’s time to get up, Dad.”
“Funny!” Phil rolled his eyes.
I yawned and stretched my arms to the ceiling. “What time is it?”
“After nine.”
Phil sat straight up.
Tom laughed. “Calm down. It’s still early. Get ready and come downstairs. Mary made breakfast, and everyone’s down there.”
“Good. I’m hungry,” I told him.
“See you downstairs.” He shut the door and left.
Phil slid back down on the pillow. He yanked me on top of him and gave me a naughty face. “What are you hungry for?”
I giggled. “Ha, ha! No time for that.”
He kissed me and cupped my butt cheeks. He stirred against my body. “I can be fast, Petal,” he whispered in my ear, then grabbed above the backs of my knees, spread me open, and slid into me.
I gasped as my body started to wrap around his erection.
I guess breakfast can wait.
“Did your dick get bigger overnight?” I blurted out. We hadn’t had wake-up sex before, and I didn’t know why, but he felt extra massive to me.
He gave me a cocky grin and put his forehead against mine.
“Don’t get cocky now,” I whispered.
He grabbed my hips and started to roll me against him.
Quick, pulsing tingles coursed through my body. “Oh, God,” I moaned out.
He whispered, “Keep it quiet, Petal.”
“Well, aren’t you sure of yourself,” I whispered back.
He gave me another cocky grin and circled my hips on him, which made me moan some more.
I crushed my lips against his and started to move against him as his arms tightened around me.
“Ah...we should do this every morning, Petal.”
“Mmm,” I mumbled between kisses.
There was a knock on the door. We both froze.
“Go away,” Phil called out.
“Phil!” I whispered.
“Sorry, but you’re needed downstairs, Phil,” Claire’s voice rang through the door.
Phil groaned.
I collapsed into his neck.
He started to move quicker in me, and the bed started to squeak.
“Shh,” I whispered. “We’re going to get caught.”
“I’m a thirty-nine-year-old man, I don’t give a shit if we get caught,” he whispered back.
“Then why are you whispering?” I whispered.
He started to thrust harder in me.
“Oh, shit,” flew out of my mouth.
Phil put his hand over my mouth, and we continued to grind against each other. The bed started to squeak louder and more frequently.
There was a loud rap on the door. “Phil, you need to get down there. The guards need to go to Wembley soon,” Ethan called out.
He stopped and groaned. “Sometimes I hate my life.”
I rolled off him and tried to catch my breath.
“I’m going to have blue balls all day now.”
I bit my lip and grinned at him. “Sorry.”
He sighed and got up off the bed and grabbed some fresh clothes out of the closet.
I slapped his ass, and he left to take a shower. I threw on some clothes and went downstairs to the dining room. Claire and Liv were eating breakfast.
“Having a good morning, Sophie?” Claire raised her eyebrow at me.
I smirked at her. “I was until someone knocked on our door.”
She laughed. “Sorry, but I was ordered to.”
“Where are the guys?”
“Over at the pub with the guards. You want coffee?” Liv held out an empty cup.
“Sure. Thanks.”
She grabbed the coffee carafe on the table and poured me a cup. I sat down next to her and started to scoop some scrambled eggs onto my plate from the serving dish.
“So, what’s your schedule today?” Claire asked.
I shrugged. “I’m waiting to see when I can do my pre-concert run through at Wembley.”
“Tom said it would be later this afternoon after the guards secure the area.” Liv took a sip of her coffee.
Claire asked, “Can we come watch, Sophie?”
“Sure. I don’t see why not.”
Liv did a little fist-pump in the air. “Awesome!”
I laughed. “You can even come on stage with me and sing for a bit, if you want.”
She grinned. “I think I’ll leave the singing to you.”
Phil walked in. “Where are the guys?”
“Pub.” Claire pointed to the door.
He leaned over me to grab a piece of toast, and the smell of amber and rosewood filled my nostrils.
“The girls are going to come with me today. That won’t be a problem, right?”
He shook his head. “I don’t see why it would be. I’ll double-check with the guards.”
“Okay, thanks.” I tipped my head back and smiled up at him.
He bent down and kissed me, pulled back from my lips, and looked at me and smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’ll let you know when we need to leave.” He gave me another kiss on the forehead and took a bite of toast and left.
“Phil looks happy this morning,” Liv commented.
“I think he would have been happier if I hadn’t knocked,” Claire laughed.
“Ha, ha!”
Liv shifted on her seat. “Tom came to bed worried about him last night.”
“Yeah, Ethan too.”
I nodded. “I think a good night's rest did him some good.”
“I’m worried about him. He’s been burning the candle at both ends since this merger began a few months ago.” Liv poured herself another cup of coffee.
“Well, my situation and what I did yesterday didn’t help,” I admitted with guilt.
Liv waved her hand at me. “We’re past that now. Time to move forward, Sophie.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Just go all in, and you’ll make up for it.” Claire winked.
Liv jerked her head at Claire.
“What?” she asked.
“Tom gave me an ultimatum to go all in or get out. I really messed up bad, and he laid it on the line. We had only been together a few weeks, too.”
“What did you do?” I asked her.
“Long story, but I got mad because he protected me in my firm, and then when a false story came out in the tabloids, I thought he might have cheated on me.”
I took a sip of my coffee. “Tom’s definitely not a cheater. I can see how he would go crazy about that. When Lisa cheated on him, he was a mess and I felt so bad for him.”
“Lisa?” Claire asked.
I nodded. “Lisa was his high school girlfriend who only came back into his life because she wanted fame and money. She actually cheated on him with a guy from one of my parties. I was the one who walked in on them and told Tom.”
Liv’s head snapped toward me. “Is that what happened?”
“Yeah.”
“Celia told me about Lisa, but I didn’t know the details.”
“He was a mess. Then he dated Rhonda, Carly, and Julia. They were all the same. Super into Tom at first, and then their true colors came out. He was always so generous with them, too. Carly, she was the worst. She was telling the tabloids where they would be and giving them info about their private life.”
“No!” Liv said.
“Yep. It was heartbreaking to watch.”
Liv sat back into her chair with a disgusted look on her face. “Well, that explains a lot about Tom.”
I nodded. “I suppose so.”
“He told me the first night I met him that he would never cheat on me, but I had dated so many losers that I thought he was only saying it to get in my pants. The day after we fought about him protecting me, I saw the article and doubted his loyalty to me. That’s when he told me to either go all in or get out,” Liv revealed.
“Why did you fight about him protecting you?” Claire asked.
“Because of my baggage from the past, and my ego.”
I took another sip of coffee and didn’t say anything.
The guys came through the front door. Phil, Tom, and Ethan walked in. They sat down at the table, and Ethan grabbed a piece of bacon and grinned at Claire. “I can’t believe this is still here.”
She swatted him across the shoulder. “Very funny!”
Phil put his arm across my shoulders. I sank into him.
“Ladies, you’re all good to go today,” Tom informed us.
I looked at Phil. “Are you coming with me?”
He smiled at me. “Yep.”
I kissed him. “Good. What time are we leaving?”
“Security is estimating three hours.”
I nodded. “Okay. I need to shower.”
He eyed my body with a cocky grin.
I smiled at him and lightly stroked his crotch under the tablecloth. That’s what you get for being cocky. Add that to your blue balls!
He licked his lips at me.
“You guys should seriously get a room,” Claire laughed.
Phil turned toward her. “We have a room, but certain people wouldn’t leave us alone this morning, remember?”
She held her hands in the air. “Hey, I was just the messenger!”
Phil rolled his eyes.
Liv stood up, walked behind Tom, and put her arms around his chest.
He looked up and smiled at her.
She leaned down and kissed him. “I’m going to go shower.”
“All right, Gorgeous.” He winked at her.
She kissed him again and left.
“Hey, I forgot to tell you that Collin got your clause enforced,” Phil said.
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Wow. That’s amazing!”
“Collin doesn’t mess around,” Ethan said.
“I guess not. I argued for weeks with the label and couldn’t get them to do anything.”
“That’s bullshit, Soph. Why didn’t you tell me you were having issues with them?” Ethan asked.
“E, I can’t have you fighting my battles.”
“I could have helped you.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks, but you have your own business to handle.”
“Soph, I could have helped.”
I shifted in my seat.
Phil’s fingers grazed my arm. “We put together a new strategy. Do you want to know about it?”
I jerked my head. “New strategy?”
“For the extremely dangerous group,” he replied.
My pulse increased at the thought of them. “What is it?”
“We’re going to hunt and monitor them.”
I squinted at him. “I don't understand. Are you telling me you’re going to stalk them?”
Phil laughed. “I guess you could say that, but it’ll be legal.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We did it with Charles for years,” Tom spoke up. “Our surveillance hunts them down. Then we continue to watch them and know their every move.”
I shook my head. “There are over three dozen men. That’s way too many to watch twenty-four-seven.”
“Don’t worry, Petal. We’ll handle it.”
I looked at Phil. “No way. I can’t even fathom what that’ll cost.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Phil—”
“Stop. I don’t want to fight about it. You promised me last night you’d let me take care of you.”
“That didn’t mean I expected you to bankroll my security.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not a big deal. It’s just money.”
“It is a big deal.”
“No, it’s not. I have more than enough money, and we can do it at cost.”
“Phil—”
Phil pulled his arm off me. In a low voice, he asked, “Are we seriously going to do this? After everything that’s happened? You promised to not fight with me and to let me take care of you.”
I took a deep breath. My insides quivered. I had promised those things, but this seemed beyond normal. “So that means we don’t even talk about it? I don’t get a say in it?”
“No. Not if it comes to protecting you.”
I jerked my head back in shock.
Out of the corner of my eyes, Tom, Ethan, and Claire were staring at me. Claire shifted in her seat.
Phil glared at me. “Do your promises mean nothing?” he seethed at me.
I had promised. And my promises did mean something. This seemed beyond the scope of that promise, but I also remembered how distraught Phil had been the night before. I remembered Liv talking only minutes earlier about how her ego and baggage influenced her decisions, and how she almost lost Tom over it. Claire’s voice telling me that it was Phil’s choice to gamble on me soared through me.
I knew I didn’t want to lose him. And I knew if I went back on my promise, this would be the last straw.
So I just looked at him, hurt, and quietly said, “My promises do mean something. Do what you feel is best. It’s beyond generous. Thank you.” I stood up and walked out of the room, blinking back tears.
My entire life I had supported myself and I hadn’t relied on anyone, and I hadn’t ever had someone offer anything to me without expecting ten times back. In my world, people took from me. They didn’t give. I was the one providing.
Besides a small handful of friends like Ethan and Tom, I didn’t have people around me who weren’t holding their hands out and taking.
And I didn’t grow up rich. I wasn’t poor, but I didn’t grow up with a trust fund. I had worked hard to make sure I did smart things with my money and didn’t end up a rock star statistic. Yes, I was rich, but I knew what my current security cost. When I tried to add up in my head what it would probably cost to hunt down and monitor over three dozen men, I knew I would never be able to sustain that cost.
Am I really supposed to just let Phil pay for all that? And how is he going to sustain that cost?
I walked up the stairs and got to my room. I sat on the bed for a minute and tried to comprehend this situation.
So many thoughts flew through my head. I needed to process this, but I wasn’t sure how.
Phil
“Sometimes you’re an asshole, Phil.”
I jerked my head up and looked at Claire.
“Claire,” Ethan said quietly.
She looked at him. “Don’t you dare.” She turned back to glare at me.
Are you kidding me? “Why exactly am I an asshole?”
“Sophie isn’t allowed to ask questions? She’s not allowed to discuss things with you? She’s supposed to let you spend millions on her and not even process it?”
“It’s not a big deal. I have plenty of money. Her safety comes first.”
Honestly, what is the big deal?
Claire stood up and shook her head. “Phil, I always have your back, but what you just did was wrong.”
“Exactly what’s wrong with me making sure Sophie is protected? You want to fill me in on this, Claire?” I ran my hand through my hair.
“It’s not a big deal to you, but did you ever think it might be a big deal to her? She’s worked hard to build what she has.”
“You don’t think I’ve worked hard to build what I have?”
“I’m not saying that. But you didn’t even take into consideration how she might feel about this. You didn’t give her an opportunity to be a part of this choice. You took away her choice. And that makes you an asshole,” Claire seethed at me.
“She promised me she would allow me to take care of her.”
“Phil, you’re seriously clueless sometimes.” Claire spun and left the room.
I put my hands over my face. “I can’t win,” I mumbled into my hands.
“You might want to approach things a little differently next time,” Ethan softly suggested.
I looked up. “I don’t get it.” I looked over at Tom. “Help me out here?”
“Sorry man, you’re on your own with this one. Liv would have had my balls for breakfast if I said that to her.”
“Ugh,” I groaned.
Ethan sat back in his chair. “Do you know how much I had to beg Claire to take the office suite in my building? Even then, she fought with me about not paying rent and made me sign a contract that, if we broke up, she would pay me market value for office rent or move out.”
“Okay. But she took it.”
Ethan laughed. “We discussed it. You can’t just walk in here and tell Sophie, or any woman who earns her own money, that you’re going to bankroll her no matter how she feels about it. Sophie has worked hard, making smart investments and not being stupid with her money. She knows the kind of money you’re talking about throwing down on this would bankrupt her in a few years.”
“Seriously, Phil, you should be happy that Sophie cares about you enough to be worried about your finances,” Tom said.
“You know I have enough.”
Tom chuckled. “You’re missing the point, Dad.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. “What’s that?”
“Sophie doesn’t know you have enough, and even if she did, she probably needs a bit of time to wrap her head around it. Relationships are a team sport, Phil. You can’t just take half your team away.”
“Ugh.” I put my head in my hands again.
Ethan started to laugh. “Man, you’ve got some serious groveling to do.”
I looked over at him. “So glad I could amuse you.”
Tom started to laugh, too.
“You’re enjoying my downfall, too, huh?”
Tom nodded. “If it makes you feel any better, we’ve all had to do our fair share of groveling. Welcome to the club.”
“Tell me again why this is better than casual?”
Ethan grinned. “Did you like waking up with her this morning?”
“Before you came and knocked on my door, yeah.”
He winked at me. “Well, there’s your answer. Oh, and because you're a miserable, sad bastard without her.”
Great. I seriously fucked up.
Tom looked over at me and pointed to the door. “Phil, why are you still sitting here? You can’t grovel sitting with us. Go.”
Ethan started to laugh.
Groaning, I shook my head and went upstairs and into our room. I could hear the shower running, so I stripped out of my clothes and went into the bathroom.
Sophie was standing in the shower, and music was playing on her phone. She was standing under the water with her eyes closed.
I stepped into the shower and wrapped my arms around her.
She jumped. “Jesus, Phil!”
“Sorry Petal. Didn’t mean to scare you.” I grabbed her and pulled her back to me.
She tried to push out of my grasp. “Let me go.”
I held onto her. “I’m sorry.”
“Phil, let go of me.”
“I’m sorry, Petal. I was wrong about how I handled things.” I still held onto her, but loosened my grip.
She spun on me. “Which part were you wrong about, Phil? Hmm?”
Shit, she isn’t going to let me off the hook with just an “I’m sorry.”
I grabbed her face in my hands and tried to kiss her.
She stepped back and squeezed the water out of her hair. She opened the shower curtain and stepped out, twisted a towel around her hair, and wrapped a towel around her body.
“Sophie.”
She stormed out of the bathroom.
I quickly turned the water off and grabbed another towel and started drying myself off as I walked out to the bedroom. “Sophie!”
Angrily, she turned to me and crossed her arms.
“I said I was sorry.”
She went to the closet and started pulling out her clothes.
I went up to her and put my arms around her waist. I kissed her neck. “I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. Let’s talk.”
“You made it pretty clear my opinion doesn’t matter, so let’s not.”
“Sophie. I was a jackass. Your opinion does matter to me.”
“Really? Because you seemed fine making all the decisions without even allowing me to process anything or tell you what I was concerned about.”
I hugged her tighter. “I said I was wrong. I said I was a jackass. What else can I say for you to forgive me?”
She didn’t say anything.
“Come, sit down, please.”
She let out a big sigh and turned toward me. “Fine.” She threw on her robe, walked over, and sat on the bed.
Cautiously, I sat down next to her. With glaring eyes, she waited for me to talk.
“Petal, we need to monitor these guys. They won’t be able to move without our knowledge. It will help protect you.”
“How much is it going to cost, Phil?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Honestly, money isn’t an issue. Your safety is all I care about.”
“I know you care about my safety, but I don’t want you going broke because of my security issues.”
I moved closer to her. “Petal, I’m not going to go broke. It’s a small fraction of what I earn every year.”
She looked at me like she didn’t believe me.
“I’m not lying.” I grabbed her face in my hands.
She scanned my eyes. “Phil, I’m trying to wrap my mind around this. I know what my current details cost me. This is an entirely different level of craziness. You would have to be a billionaire for this not to be a big deal.”
I stared at her and didn’t say anything.
Sophie raised her eyebrow at me. “You’re a billionaire?”
I nodded.
“Seriously?” Her eyes were wide.
“Yes. So when I say it isn’t a big deal what it costs, I mean it.”
She softly started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You really are underestimated, aren’t you?”
I grinned at her. “Well, you did say that you had high expectations for me, right?”
She smiled at me.
How can she be so beautiful and sweet?
I thought maybe it was safe, so I pulled her onto my lap. “Petal, I’m sorry I’m an asshole, but let me take care of you.”
“You’re not normally an asshole,” she said quietly.
“Sometimes I am an asshole,” I admitted, because if I wanted to be, I knew I could be.
“Okay, maybe you were a tiny asshole.” She smirked at me.
I kissed her and then put my forehead to hers. “I don’t care about the money. It’s worth every penny to protect you. Just let me do this for you and don’t think twice about it.”
She bit her lip. I could see her brain turning.
“Please.”
“Phil, I’m wrapping my head around all this, and I’m grateful—trust me, I am—but can you do something for me? It’s really important to me.”
“What’s that?”
“I want you to step back from it. You’re—”
“Petal, you said I could take care of you.”
“Let me finish, please.”
I sighed. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
“You’re too close to this. If you’re going to monitor them twenty-four-seven, then I want you to step back from it. Let the security team do their job, and only notify you if something is happening. I don’t want this to become your daily obsession. It’s not healthy, and will drive you batty. Trust me—I’ve been living it. We need to live our lives, too.” She stroked the side of my head.
I took a minute to think about what she was saying. Slowly I nodded. “Okay. That’s what we did with Tom when we had Charles monitored. It was a need-to-know basis. I can agree with that.”
“You can?”
“Yes.”
“You aren’t just saying that?”
“No. I’ll even promise you. As soon as they locate and put surveillance on them, I’ll go on a need-to-know basis. You’re right about that.” She was right, and I knew it from Tom’s past issues.
She leaned in and kissed me with her lips that I could never get enough of. “Okay then, you’ve got yourself a deal. Thank you. It’s beyond generous.”
Relief flooded me. “Thank you.”
She laughed. “Why are you thanking me?”
“I already feel better.”
She shot me a confused look. “You feel better because I’m costing you millions of dollars?”
“Petal, I don’t care about that. I care that you’re safe. This is going to help us make sure you’re safe. So yes, I feel better.”
She kissed me again. “How long till we have to leave?”
I looked at my watch. “About an hour and a half.”
She leaned in and whispered seductively in my ear, “Are you only able to be quick when you wake up, or at any time?”
I grabbed her and threw her on the bed, leaned over her body, and grinned at her. “I can be however you need me.”
She threw her arms around me. “I need you in all ways, but right now, you’ve got ten minutes to show me your quickie skills.”
“Well, let's not waste any time, then…”