One Chance (Hogan Brother's Book 1)

by KL Donn

  “Very.” She gazed up at him. Seeing the intent in his eyes, her own closed as his lips barely touched hers.

  Hearing, “Get a room,” broke up the moment and had a growl leaving Nox as he spun to slap his brother.

  “Go find Levi and pester his ass,” he demanded.

  “Can’t,” Loch told him with a shrug.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “He’s out of town again.”

  The statement was full of meaning, but she couldn’t figure out what or why as they both pondered Lochlan’s words.

  “Is he okay?” she asked hesitantly.

  Neither answered her.

  “Let’s go grab lunch,” Nox suggested again as he guided her out the door with a firm hand on her lower back.

  Quickly forgetting her question at his touch, she let him lead her to the small café around the corner. Not once had he lost contact with her until he sat her at a table and went to order for them.

  He exuded confidence as he waited in line. Dirty as could be and he was still the best-looking man in the room. Not that she paid attention to anyone else. There was a group of girls around her age sitting on the other side of the café, giggling and pointing towards him. When one girl got to her feet, a look of intent on her face, Sophia stiffened as she approached him.

  She stood behind him for a moment before pulling her top down a little further to expose her cleavage. Tapping him on the shoulder, Sophia waited for his devastating smile to grace this other woman. Shock invaded when he dismissed the girl with no more than a curious glance. He didn’t smile, didn’t engage her in small talk. In fact, he downright scowled at her and turned his back when she tried jiggling her breasts for more attention. Not getting the desired effect, the woman walked back to her table of friends, a look of defeat on her face.

  When Lennox turned his attention to Sophia with a smile and a wink, she blushed, deeply satisfied with the entire display. As he placed their order and walked over to where she was sitting, she saw the girls shooting her dirty looks.

  “You have some admirers.” She nodded in their direction. When his head turned, each of the girls preened and puffed out their chests, as if the only way to get a man’s attention was to flaunt their assets.

  His scowl returned when he saw what they were doing. “I’ve got everything I want right here,” he told her as he turned back to her.

  They spent their lunch in harmonic silence with soft touches and secret looks. Sophia couldn’t have been more satisfied with how things were turning out if she had tried.

  When she’d run away from home, she hadn’t had high hopes of being able to stay away, of succeeding. She’d spent her entire life believing she was stupid. With Lennox, she felt like she could accomplish her goals, as if she were worth more than what she felt. He made her see hope and light at the end of the tunnel, instead of despair. Her only fear was when everything would crash around them like a toppled house of cards.

  Watching Soph as she looked around while he ordered gave Nox a chance to see her in a public environment. Observing her discern others let him see how she really felt about certain things. Like he knew when the girl had walked up to him that Soph was expecting the rejection to be aimed at her and not the stranger. When he did brush off the other girl, Soph was shocked.

  He hated that she felt like she wasn’t good enough. He knew she was having a hard time with talking to so many people at work, and he wouldn’t force her to do it if she didn’t want to, but he also knew she wouldn’t accept a free ride.

  Lennox had thought the job was a perfect fit. Mac was up front with her when she would need help answering the technical aspect of things. He had a feeling she wasn’t asking for help, though.

  While they ate, he stole as many touches of her soft skin as he could. Seeing her small delicate features next to his hardened ones was a huge turn on. He hadn’t thought of himself as a caveman before, but with her, it seemed to just come out.

  He loved that she was so much smaller than his six-foot frame. That when he wrapped his arms around her, she was engulfed in the width of his shoulders. He felt like he was shielding her from the ugly things in the world. The doubts and fears that were a constant presence in her eyes made him afraid he wouldn’t be able to. He knew he was going to have to completely reprogram her to believe the world was intrinsically decent, despite what she’d been led to believe. Not everyone was a complete douchebag like her parents.

  “It occurs to me,” he began, “that we didn’t have that perfect date I had in mind yesterday.”

  “Maybe we could tonight?” He was glad to see her opening up even just the slightest bit with her question.

  “I say, we do it.”

  Her smile, it was all light and sunshine and life. He’d kill to see the same one on her face for the rest of his life.

  Hell, he’d make sure it happened.

  They walked back to his shop hand in hand, evening plans set. He couldn’t wait for the end of business.

  “Hey, boss,” Joey called to him from one of the open bay doors. A look of uncertainty on his face. Nox’s first instinct was to protect Soph from his sharp tongue. Despite what he’d like to do, he couldn’t fire the other man because decent mechanics were hard to find. So, he did his best to keep the man away from her.

  “Go on inside, sweetheart, I’ll be there in a minute,” he told her with a kiss on the cheek. Walking over to the man, he asked, “What’s up?”

  Joey looked around for a moment before answering. “I’m sorry about being a dick to her. My girl cheated on me, and I’ve been in a shitty mood.” His voice held a hint of fear, confusing Nox.

  “Show her respect, and we’re good, Joey.” He was raised to be the better man.

  As he went to turn away, Joey grabbed his arm. “There’s someone in there looking for her,” he rushed to say.

  Not waiting for more information, Nox hurried inside. He didn’t know what to expect. Preparing for the worst, he was shocked to see Braxton and her father standing at the front desk. Looking around, he didn’t immediately see Sophia.

  “Loch took her in your office, boss,” Mac told him, apparently catching onto his panic.

  “Thanks, Mac.” Ignoring the two men standing there waiting, he went straight for his door.

  Soph was in his desk chair, bent over. Loch was trying to soothe her.

  “What happened?” he barked at his brother.

  “She panicked, man. Straight up knees weak, breath gone, deer in the headlights look panicked.” Loch sounded every bit as unnerved as she was.

  “Thanks, man,” he told his brother dismissively.

  “Want me to get rid of them?”

  He thought about it for a second. The fact that her father was there gave him pause. “Not yet. Make ‘em wait.”

  As the door closed behind Loch, he knelt in front of his love. Her whispered, “Please don’t force me to go back,” nearly broke him. Her little body was vibrating with her fear of returning to her cold childhood home.

  “Not in a million damn years, baby. You’re mine, and there ain’t nothing going to change that.”

  “Why are they here?” Figuring it was a rhetorical question, he remained silent. Pulling her into his arms, they sat on the floor in silence as she got her emotions under control. As much as he wanted to fix everything bad in her life, he knew she had to face this one thing with him by her side. It had to be her choice to stay. If she chose to leave, well then, he’d make the decision for her.

  Seeing her father and Braxton in the office as Lennox left to speak to Joey, shook Sophia up more than she ever imagined. Running away from them left her feeling more foolish than anything.

  Never in a million years did she expect her father to make an appearance where she was concerned. If anything, she’d half expected her mother to show up with men holding a straitjacket out for her. It wouldn’t be shocking if she did at some point, either.

  Her father looked…old, sad, when she saw him. Braxton
appeared tired and annoyed, which for him she’d quickly learned was normal.

  A knock on the door had her head swiveling in that direction as Nox called out, “Come in.” Panic sought to threaten her control again as she heard the door open, footsteps enter, and the snick of the latch closing again.

  Nox stood to greet who she assumed were her father and Braxton while she remained hidden like a six-year-old. She didn’t feel too far off from that age either. She used to hide from her mother all the time. This felt no different.

  “Sophia,” her father called her name softly.

  Closing her eyes, she rose to her feet as Nox grabbed her hand in his, showing his support. She fought to bring her eyes up to meet his. She’d had it beaten into her most of her life that she didn’t have or deserve the respect it shows.

  When their gazes finally met, the picture she had seen before her made her incredibly sad. Her father had always been a huge imposing presence—larger than life, hard—now, he looked beaten down and despondent. So much so that she rushed to his side. When his arms wrapped around her, held her to his body, she felt the wall of tears she’d been fighting to hold onto for what seemed like years, fall. His fingers dug into her back, and she didn’t care because he was holding her, rocking her, treating her like the daughter she never felt she was. There were so many secrets and lies in their home, Sophia hadn’t believed she’d ever experience this moment.

  “I have some things to tell you, Sophia,” he whispered in her ear. His voice full of so much pain and regret it was palpable in the air.

  Pulling back, she wiped the tears from her face as Nox walked up behind her, gripping her hips. She could feel the tense muscles in his upper body as her father took a few deep breaths.

  “Sit down before you fall down, you fool.” Braxton berated the older man.

  “I lied when I told you the threat was because of my job,” Anthony confessed. She wasn’t surprised because, after the text message, she felt like it was personal.

  “I figured as much.”

  Running a weathered hand down his face, she saw regret flash in his eyes before he went on. “There are so many more lies, Sophia. I don’t even know where to start.”

  “From the beginning is always a good idea,” Nox suggested, his voice cold. Noticeably unwilling to be as forgiving as her. Not that she could blame the man.

  Evidently impatient, Braxton snapped. “Out with it, Anthony. She needs to know.”

  Be understanding. Be forgiving. But do not be a fool.

  Rebecca’s not your mother.

  Her father’s words kept playing over and over in her mind as Lennox drove them to Fort Collins to see the observatory. He wanted to take her home; she wanted to forget the horrors of her life.

  It made so much sense. All the hatred the woman felt towards Sophia, the insults. Everything.

  Her mother couldn’t have children. Her father wanted at least one.

  They’d settled on a surrogate.

  When her father had begun falling in love with the surrogate, Rebecca became bitter and angry. Irrational.

  Anthony and Braxton recently learned that even though there were complications during the birth of Sophia and the surrogate had died, she’d also been poisoned, inducing an early labor. They didn’t say it, but she suspected they believed her mother had been behind the poisoning. Probably to make sure her father was stuck with the nasty woman. Making them both endure a life of hatred and anger.

  Sophia was torn between feeling pity and anger at the other woman. Imagining the man she married, the man who was supposed to pledge his love and life to you, falling in love with a woman who was giving him the one thing you couldn’t, wouldn’t have been easy. The pain her mother must have endured watching as her husband slowly drifted away must have gutted her.

  Looking over at Lennox, she couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like to lose him that way. Would he want the same thing if she were unable to have children? Would he love her less? He didn’t love her now, so she didn’t know why she was even thinking about it.

  “Whatever that look is about, it needs to stop,” he told her, his eyes never leaving the highway.

  “What would you do?” she asked quietly.

  Nox did look at her then, his eyes understanding. “I’d give you whatever you wanted.”

  She smiled wanly at him. “Do you think she’s behind the threat?” It had crossed her mind on more than one occasion since learning about it.

  “I don’t think it’s something to be ruled out.” His answer wasn’t committal, and that bothered her. “Soph,” his quiet voice drew her attention. “You and me, we’re different. We’ll be different. Something was wrong with your mom long before you came along.”

  “I know,” she murmured.

  She looked up through the windshield as the purr of the engine was cut. Realizing they were at their destination, she looked over to him. “I’m so tired of being sad. Feeling useless. I want something more, Lennox.”

  She wasn’t shocked when he unbuckled her and pulled her onto his lap. His hand entwining her hair in a tight grip, the other hand clenching her thigh under her dress. “You’re not useless, Soph.” When she attempted to interrupt him, he spoke right over her. “I’m going to make you happy, and if it kills me, I’ll give you everything you’ve never dreamed of, but I already have.” A lone tear cascaded down her cheek. “You, Soph, are my dream.”

  Their mouths clashed in a kiss so intense she felt it to her toes. All her pain, all her fears flew out the window as he made her believe his passionate words. She wanted it all with him. She was ready to experience it all with him.

  “I want it all, Lennox,” she muttered against his lips.

  “You’ll get everything you’ve ever imagined, sugar.” His desire matched her own.

  “Take me home.” Her bold demand had him pulling away.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  It was all the assurance he needed as he re-buckled her, and they left without going into the observatory.

  Another time. She smiled.

  Excitement drummed through her veins at the thought of giving herself to him. Her eyes were closed as she pictured the way he would strip off her clothes. Kiss his way down her body. His light touches would leave goosebumps in their wake.

  Thighs shaking, she tried to quench her thirst for impending pleasure by squeezing her legs together. Hearing Nox groan, “Christ, Soph,” had the pleasure drumming through her veins in a faster beat.

  After he kissed every inch of her, he would slowly spread her thighs, force her knees to her hips. He’d be hypnotized by her pulsing core just begging for his hot touch.

  “Lennox,” she moaned out loud.

  Feeling his warm hand on her thigh, her eyes slid open to small slits as his fingers lightly trailed up and down her skin.

  “More,” she whispered, marveled that this vixen was coming forth. She’d never been so bold before.

  “You trying to kill me, darlin’?” he groaned, his fingers digging into her thigh possessively.

  “I feel so hot,” she panted. Her cleansing breaths suddenly gone.

  “I’m not taking you on the side of the damn road.”

  She felt the speed of the car pick up as his fingers grazed across her sex. She pulsed in response. Her body was alight with new sensations she’d never before entertained. He was awakening the woman in her, and she fought between her fear of baring her soul and her desire to connect on an intimate level with him.

  The car jerked to a stop, and she heard Lennox’s door slam shut before her eyes would open in cooperation just as he opened her door. Pulling her from the vehicle, his lips were on her own in a flash.

  It wasn’t just a kiss or nibble, he devoured her entire being in the act. His tongue pushed past her startled mouth and tangled with her while his hands had her ass in a bruising grip as he hoisted her up into his hold.

  She was so lost in his dominance that she didn’t realize
they were in the bedroom until he’d dropped them to the bed. His body towered over hers, enveloped her small frame into his muscled chest and arms. She felt so cherished by his forceful move. The way his hands skimmed along her body, swift yet assertive. She knew he was as lost in the sensations as she was.

  “Sophia,” he groaned into her neck, his hips pushing powerfully against her most intimate area.

  Ever so slowly his hand slid her dress up past her waist to settle on her hips. Arching her back as those same strong fingers delved behind her back, she felt the tear as he ripped the zipper open.

  Her gasp in the quiet room was audible.

  Before she knew it, he had the garment up and over her head. The plop as it landed on the floor the only sound in the room. His eyes, oh, sweet mercy, those deep blue eyes ate her entire body up. She felt electrified as they travelled down her figure. Lingering on her white lace bra, her dusky rose-colored nipples strained for his touch. No words were needed as his hands cupped them, rubbing his thumbs over the peaks, eliciting a moan of pure rapture from somewhere hidden deeply inside of her fighting to break free.

  “I don’t know where to start.” His whispered words were full of reverence and wonder. Her blush was immediate as his hands moved further down her body.

  Watching the pleasure work its way across his face and through his body, she felt it as her own. When his hands left her skin, the loss was immediate. Gripping the back of his shirt, he ripped it over his head. All of his glorious muscled form on display. His tan perfection made her mouth water.

  His intricate tribal tattoos danced across his chest to his shoulders and wrapped around his back. Chinese symbols marked his ribs, and she wondered what they said until he bent forward to kiss her stomach. She lost all rational thought after that.

  “You’re like summer and beauty rolled into one sweet package, Soph.” The husky note to his voice made her whole body shiver.

  Silence shrouded them and every breathy moan from her, every shocked gasp, his guttural groans, they were all magnified. They were the soundtrack to their pleasure.