by Iris Blobel
“What situation?” Sophie interrupted.
His voice was shakier now. “Your lack of money, assets, and home.”
Lost for words, Sophie didn’t answer.
“Mr. O’Connor tells me you’ve done a marvellous job looking after your sister.”
“Yes, she’s beautiful,” she heard herself saying without any hesitation.
“You deserve the house, Sophie,” he said, his voice low and composed again. “Clara’s house is yours. Mr. O’Connor’s told me you’re worried about it.”
She stared at Mark, who gently pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Mr. Schuster, I have decided I will not tell Mia about you.”
There was a rustling noise of paper. Or was it tissues?
“I understand.” He paused. “With your permission I will stay in contact with Mr. O’Connor and start an account for you both—”
“I don’t want your money,” she almost shouted.
“Sophie,” he said with a calm voice. “Please, you deserve it. And your sister does, too. You’ve suffered enough for my arrogance. Leave pride out of it, and let the girl enjoy a good life.”
“Why now? Why not help my mother when she needed it?”
There was a moment of silence, and she thought she heard the noise of a desk chair being moved.
“You seem to have inherited your mother’s pride. I don’t want to go into too much detail about what happened between us, but I wouldn’t have left my wife for your mother. And your mother knew that. She didn’t want any money from me either. I regret now to have just accepted a no from her. I hope you’ll understand I won’t take a no as an answer again.”
She shook her head. No. No way! Moving the phone off her lap, she stood in one fast motion, and stormed out of the lounge room and down the hall into her room, slamming the door behind her. Mark’s muffled voice was the last thing she heard before she threw herself on the bed, deep sobs shaking her small frame.
No longer able to hold back on the fury, she punched the pillow. How dare he want to be part of Mia’s life? Now, after all these years, after all their struggles and surviving on the bare minimum. There was no way she would allow him to be part of her sister’s life. She would make sure of it. They didn’t need his money.
And as she recalled the conversation and tried to sort her what had been said, not only in words and not only about her mother, but also between the lines, her eyelids grew heavier with each minute until she slowly drifted into a light sleep.
****
Propping herself on her elbow, Sophie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her alarm clock read quarter past five, so she’d been asleep for well and truly a couple of hours. She darted a glance around the room and remembered why she was in bed at this time of the day. She collapsed back onto the bed. As she turned towards the window to watch the clouds move, she noticed a piece of paper on her bedside table with bold writing scrawled across the page.
Picking up Mia. Will be back around five. Mark.
She leaned back and listened. Faint sounds came from the other side of the bedroom door. Yes, it seemed they were home. With a lot of effort, she threw her legs over the bed, stood, and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Her lips twitched into a smile when she took in the scene in front of her. Mia and Mark were cooking. And giggling. And her sister telling stories about Kristen’s boys being silly. Sophie walked over to her sister.
“Hello, possum.” She took her into her arms and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“We’re making spaghettis, Soph.”
“Yummy.” She turned to Mark, but her gaze drifted back to Mia. “Sorry I didn’t pick you up.”
Before she could finish her apology, Mia interrupted her. “That’s okay. Mark told me that you had a headache and lay down to have a little snooze.”
Her sister still in her arms, she looked over at Mark and mouthed a quiet but sincere thank you. He replied with a nod.
“So, spaghetti, eh?” Sophie took a little spoon and tried the sauce. “Very nice indeed.”
Mia talked all the way through the meal about her attempts to kick the football with the boys, leaving Sophie time to work out in her mind all the things she and Mark still had to discuss.
“We might have to try and take you to a football game when they play here in Tasmania,” Mark said.
The little girl’s eyes shot wide open. “Oh, could we?”
He smiled. “I’m sure we could.”
Sophie remained silent, yet enjoyed listening to the other two, not missing a word they were saying.
Mia went to bed early, all worn out. It was one of her first lessons, that boys were truly exhausting.
Sophie and Mark settled on the couch, this time next to each other. The TV was on, yet they weren’t focussing on it.
“Thanks for your help today,” she said quietly.
He slid his arm around her shoulder and gently drew her closer, placing a kiss on her forehead. They sat for a while when he suddenly gave her a gentle tug and pulled her onto his lap. Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke for several minutes.
So much had gone through her head over the last few weeks, but especially today. She’d finally found out about Mia’s father, but also the reason as to why they’d inherited the house. Yet, at that moment, her head was empty of any thoughts. All she was able to do was to take in every little detail of his beautiful eyes and the lines of his face.
“How’re you feeling?” he finally asked just above a whisper, breaking the silence.
Shrugging, she leaned into his embrace and rested her head against his chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat gave her a sense of comfort. He moved his hand up and down her spine, and a small moan escaped her lips.
“Thank you so much for everything,” she whispered. “I don’t think I can ever repay you.”
Instead of replying, Mark showered her neck with feather-like kisses. Her body trembled from his gentle touch, aching for more.
Instead, she put some distance between them and studied him.
“Sleeping with someone, for me, needs to be with the right person,” she finally said as she touched his face. “I come as part of a package, Mark.”
His eyes conveyed to her that he was processing every little detail she had just told him. And she was scared of losing him. Her head, as well as her heart, ached. She closed her eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t walk out on her.
She swallowed. Had seconds gone by? Or minutes? Everything inside her trembled when he raked both hands through his hair, mumbling words she couldn’t hear. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to hear them, either. Sophie’s stomach had already been churning, but now her pulse began to beat erratically in the face of his silence. Apprehension knotted within her. But she waited for him to speak first.
“Am I the right person, Sophie?” he asked quietly.
“You tell me,” she spoke softly.
Instead of replying, he cupped her jaw and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. And then he lowered his mouth to hers. When his other hand explored the hollows of her back, her body, already flooded with sensations that had laid dormant for so long, chased a shiver down her spine. Her hands moved up and cupped his face, and she broke their kiss to meet his darkening eyes. She was conscious of where his warm hands touched hers and warm desire raced through her veins.
Her eyes fluttered closed as she breathed him in, his cologne that had become so familiar to her. His lips moved over hers again before he claimed her mouth in a kiss, deep and tender, yet full of promise. Every nerve in her body tingled, making her wish he’d never stop.
Sophie’s blood pounded in her ears when his hand moved under her shirt. Very slowly, she broke the kiss to look into his eyes. His beautiful eyes, filled with affection and devastating heat.
As he lowered his lips to a spot behind her ear, his hands moved down to her waist and in one smooth motion
, he stood. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his body and her arms around his neck.
A shiver went down her back in anticipation.
“You think Mia is zonked out enough?” he asked.
Unable to speak, she nodded, hoping it’d be true for at least as long as this was going to take. She felt his smile on her skin, not sure whether he knew what she was thinking.
“Is it bad to do this with a child in the next room?”
“Sweetheart, if you want to stop, you need to tell me now.”
Guilt and desire fought a small battle inside her. But why should she feel guilty? She’d given her sister so much over the last years. Missed out on so much to put her sister first.
“Soph?”
She gave him a smile, which he returned. They closed the door behind them before he lowered her onto her bed. She gripped his shoulders as he followed her down, claiming her with his body and then his mouth. His lips travelled over her jaw and down her neck where he flicked his tongue over her beating pulse. The moan she heard came from her own lips, heating her cheeks for a moment with embarrassment when she caught his smile. He’d heard it, too.
He tugged her shirt up, and she moved to let him pull it over her head. And before she was able to toss it aside, he’d unhooked her bra and shoved it down her arms.
Sophie’s pulse pounded as her body almost exploded when he reached her breast, swiping his tongue against one peak and then the other. The sensation inside her was like a bolt of pleasure that went straight through her. As she arched into him, another moan escaped her lips. More. She had to have more.
And more he gave her, yet he was not a man of haste.
He kissed every inch of her body, caressing her gently with his hands at the same time. As he left a trail of kisses along her shoulder, down her the swell of her breasts, before he lingered at her navel.
When he stopped, she looked up, afraid he’d changed his mind. “Mark?”
“Too many clothes.”
He unzipped her pants and slid them down her legs then made short work of removing her panties as well. Starting at her calves, Mark moved his hands up her legs with the lightest touch, and Sophie gasped as soon as his fingers stroked the outside of her thighs. Then he leaned forward and touched her navel with his tongue before moving down with a lazy appreciation until he reached her most sensitive spot.
Squirming, she shoved her hands into his hair, losing herself to the explosions inside her.
Mark kicked of his shoes and removed his clothes before he lay on top of her again, their naked bodies touching. His lips brushed over hers, teasing her with a gentleness that had her almost come again.
“Mark, please. I can’t—”
“So impatient,” he whispered, as he propped himself up on his forearms. “Look at me, Sophie. I want to see you come this time.”
She met his gaze, took in his beautiful blue eyes, marvelling at how easy he made her feel this way. Happy, safe, and desired.
They held still for a few seconds, then he moved, and her legs parted automatically before he slid into her, setting up a steady rhythm.
“Mark—”
“Right here, sweetheart. Can you feel me?”
Oh, she felt him all right.
“Let go,” he whispered into her ear. “Let go for me.”
He increased his tempo, sliding his hand between them, scraping over the small bundle of nerves at her core with his thumb. She countered his thrusts, arching into each stroke — until an incredible pleasure rushed through her. An explosion of colours as he claimed her mouth when she came.
Spent, he collapsed on top of her, and they both lay breathing hard. When he tried to move off her, she begged, “Stay.”
Snuggling closer, she absorbed the touch of him right there with her. The thousand sensation that had sent her beyond anything she’d ever felt before
After a very long moment, he tightened his hold on her and rolled to his side. In a husky whisper he said, “You’re my girl. You… and Mia.”
Weak with relief, she felt the world spin around her. Cradling her face with his hands, he kissed her softly and then moved down her neck, kissing the hollow at the base of her throat.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Sixteen
Sophie was still daydreaming about the previous night when she heard a knock at the door.
Damn! Not now.
Spending the night with Mark had been like an elixir, a wonderful experience that would be in her mind and her heart for a long time. It had been as if something had changed inside her. So afraid of everything, so worried about not raising Mia right, and afraid of giving her heart away only to have it crushed like what had happen to her mother, she’d forgotten how it was to really live. But was one night with Mark really the cause of the sudden change? She shook her head, knowing that the night with him had also been a piece of her puzzle. And it seemed it was now complete — or at least almost.
Wanting to reminisce a little longer about Mark’s kisses, the way he’d touched and caressed her, or the way she’d woken in his arms, safe and happy, she ignored the visitor.
But there was another knock.
She exhaled a long breath of irritation. “Come in. It’s open.”
When the sound of footsteps stopped, she turned and smiled. Zach leaned against the doorjamb with a smile, yet hurt reflected in those green eyes. “I came over last night, but saw you had a visitor. You seriously should remember to lock the front door once in a while.”
It took her a moment to understand before embarrassment flooded her. She stepped a bit closer, her legs heavy like lead. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The corner of his mouth twisted upwards as he nodded.
“Your heart wasn’t in it, anyway.”
“Neither was yours, obviously.”
He cocked a brow.
“You’re over it very quickly.”
“It?”
She shrugged. “Well.”
“Cupcake, there was a never an it. It would have been nice, but circumstances wouldn’t have been on our side.” He winked. “Let’s move on and enjoy a great friendship. Got a beer for me?”
Confused by how quickly Zach was getting over their super speedy relationship, she shook her head. She wondered whether she had been just another one in his life. Although somewhat relieved, she had to admit it hurt a little as well. But probably not as much as the hurt he must’ve felt last night seeing whatever he’d seen. Sophie took a deep breath, left their kiss behind in the past like Zach had, and with hands on hips looked up at him. Her smile turned into a chuckle. “No. But I’ve got something better.”
A little while later, Zach was on the chair beside her, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. He took in every word she was telling him. The connection to Clara Bellinger and Darren Schuster.
“Mia doesn’t know. And I don’t want her to find out.”
He nodded. It seemed it was less of an agreeing nod, but more of an I’m still thinking gesture. “She deserves to know, though.”
A small frown appeared on Sophie’s face. “I agree,” she said hesitantly. “But not yet. Let her grow up a little bit, so she’s old enough to understand.”
He choked back a laugh. “And when will that be?”
There was a pause. “When she’s sixteen years, three months, and fifteen days old.”
Zach’s eyebrows shot up.
“How on earth am I supposed to know?” She sighed. “I guess when the time’s right.”
He leaned back his head and stared at the ceiling for a while.
Sophie followed his gaze, but she wasn’t sure why. She stood and walked over to the window before her attention moved back to Zach. “Please understand that this might be selfish, but I need for Mia’s dad to stay out of our lives. We need to make the best of this opportunity with our new house.”
“I still don’t understand.�
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Playing with her necklace, she focussed right past Zach. “He doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. He offered us money, but he does not want any contact.” Her hands fell heavy by her side as she took a deep breath. Her voice nearly broke. “How can I tell her that I’ve found out who her dad is, but ‘Sorry, honey, he doesn’t want to know you’?”
He nodded. “Understand.” Then he joined her near the window. “Promise you will tell her, though, one day.”
“She’s got the right to know. So yes, I will tell her. When the time’s right. When she understands why I didn’t tell her before. And understands that her dad is not a real dad, but just a part of her DNA.”
“So what’s happening now?”
She shrugged. “Mark reckons it’s not a bad idea to have him pay some kind of maintenance. His idea is to put the money into something like a trust fund, until Mia reaches twenty-one. Her school fees will be paid through this trust fund, though. It would be nice to think she’ll be able to enjoy a proper education.”
Zach scrubbed a hand down his face and after a moment, which seemed like an eternity in the silence, he finally said, “So,” he looked up to her. “How are you?”
She exhaled. Then a hesitant smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “D’you want the long version, or the short one?”
His laughter echoed in the small room, and it felt good to have found a friend in him. “Short one.”
The small punch to his upper arm hurt her more than him. “Thanks for the concern.”
He moved his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her a little closer. Then he sighed. “Okay, give me the long version.”
Sophie chuckled, and he placed a kiss on her forehead.
“Mark’s been good. He’s been a massive help.”
“After last night, I suppose I don’t have to ask how you two are going.”