The Promise (47 page)

“You ready for me to take you to bed, Baby?” he asks and I nod
my answer as he stands up, before wrapping my legs around his waist. He carries me like this around the house as he shut lights off and checking to make sure everything is locked up.

After checking
in on JT, he pulls his door closed and walks me over to the bedroom. He sits me down on the bed and kisses me sweetly on the lips, before whispering, “Take your clothes off and I’ll be right back.”

I do as he asks and wait patiently while he runs the water in the bathtub.
As he walks back out, he lifts me back into his arms before carrying me into the bathroom and placing me down gently on my feet inside the tub.

He pulls the braid loose in my hair, run
ning his fingers through the strands before taking my necklace off and kissing me softly on the lips again. “Sit,” he whispers and I do as he asks.

Lowering
myself into the tub, I watch him as he undresses in front of me. A moment passes before he reaches in and shuts the water off, lowering himself in behind me and switching the radio on. He pulls my body back to rest against his chest and begins washing me gently with the loofah and body wash.  He begins humming along with the radio, into my ear, running the soapy loofah over my breasts. I close my eyes and melt against his front.

“I love you so much
, Baby,” he whispers.

“I love you too
, turtle toes,” I say, feeling him chuckle behind me and smiling against my neck. “Did you like that one?”

“I think all of your nicknames for me are adorable,
Sweetheart,” he answers as he continues running the loofah over my breasts and stomach, before slowly making his way further down my front. He presses his lips against my neck and sucks gently, causing a quiet moan to leave my lips. Dipping the loofah into the water, he lightly taps against my knee. “Open up for me Sophie,” he whispers huskily. I do as he asks, pulling my knees apart for him as he slips the loofah between my legs. He gently begins washing me, rubbing against my sex, which causes for me to let out another gasp of pleasure as he bites down on my neck gently. “Does that feel good?”

“Yes,” I nod. “You always make me feel good, Baby.” I whisper into his neck
before meeting his lips. He begins the kiss slowly, to match his strokes against my clit but as his pace increases, so does the urgency of his lips.

He pushes his tongue into my mouth at the same time he positions the loofah against me, push
ing two of his fingers inside me. I moan deeply into his mouth as he bites down onto my lower lip. He continues to work me into a frenzy as only he can, and as I pull away breathlessly, I hear the desire in his voice.

“Hmm,” he groans into my mouth, pushing a third finger into me
before dropping the loofah and moving his thumb over my clit. “Go, Baby. Let me feel you come.” He commands and I feel myself coming apart in his hand.

As the tears leave my eyes, he runs his tongue up the side of my face, slowly licking them away w
hile letting out a groan of pleasure. Never breaking our eye contact, he swallows my moans into his mouth and presses his hard cock against my back, rubbing against me until I find my second release.

He keeps working me slowly
while I come down from my orgasm, and when I begin to pull away from him, he lips brush against my lips again. “I want you, Baby,” he says, while quietly turning me in his arms. “I have to have you right now.” He insists, lifting me up so I’m straddling his hips, while I place my arms around his neck as he slides slowly inside me.

He leans his head back against the tile as I
begin riding him slowly. He’s watching me through hooded eyes. He lets out a gasp of pleasure as I grip the hair at the nape of his neck while increasing my pace. His hips begin thrusting into me with more force and when I bite down on my lip, he lets out my favorite growl and moves one of his hands to my neck, pulling me closer to him.

His lips crash
onto mine as he winds his arm up behind my back, gripping my shoulders from behind and penetrating me deeper as I begin to unwind again. I let out a muffled whimper against his lips and as I start to clench around him, he whispers his command against my lips.

“Come on me
, Sophie.” With those words, I fall slowly, melting into him again as we swallow each other’s moans and groans of pleasure. Pulling away slowly so I can look at him, his gaze remains locked on me as his hands fall to my hips. I watch him studying my face as his breathing begins to return back to normal. I let out a small yawn, seeing him smiling as he rubs my hips, “Did I wear you out, Baby?” I nod and he pulls me against his chest, kissing the top of my head sweetly before placing his hands under my thighs and telling me to hold on to his neck.

Once I comply, he lifts us from the tub and steps out. He
places me on the sink and wraps a towel around my shoulders, before wrapping one around his waist and kissing me on the nose.

He rubs my arms dry before lifting me again and walking me into the bedroom. I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten sick of carrying me around like this so much
, but the intimacy of it is so sweet that I never complain. When he notices that I’m shivering, he walks over to the closet and grabs one of his t-shirts for me, before gently setting me on the bed. Telling me to lift my arms, he slides the shirt over my head before pulling the comforter down for me.

“Climb in
, Baby,” he whispers and as I do, he pulls the covers over me and kisses me on the lips. “Be right back.” He promises before walking out of the room.

After a few moments, he comes back in the room
with a glass of water in his hand. He places it down on his table after offering me a drink. I watch his still towel clad body move around the room as he gets his things ready for the morning ahead, setting his alarm before shutting off the lights. “I checked on JT while I was in there, he’s still fine,” he tells me and I smile.

“Thanks
, Love Bug,” I say, earning a wink from him as he tosses his towel into the bathroom hamper before walking over to his side of the bed.

He grins at my reaction to his nakedness a
s he climbs into the bed behind me, pulling me back so I’m against his front. He snakes his arms up under my shirt and once he has his hand settled over my breast, he kisses me on the back of the neck, inhaling my scent.

“Hmm, you smell like
heaven,” he whispers through his contented sigh. “I just can’t get enough of you,” he admits, softly caressing the skin on my lower stomach with his free hand. “I love you.”

“I love you too
, Baby,” I say as I nestle into his arms and kiss his bicep. I realize this is the beginning of the last week JT will be with me. Needing the extra space won’t be an issue anymore. I wonder briefly if things will go back to the way they were before, with us moving back and forth between Chase’s and the apartment. I’m a little surprised that I really don’t want to go home. I’m not sure that moving in together is something I’m ready for, but I know I don’t want to leave yet. “Chase?”  

“What
, Baby?” he whispers his question while kissing me on the back of the head.

“Do you mind if I stay here for a couple days after JT goes home?” I whisper
. He hugs me tightly into his chest and chuckles softly into my ear.

“Of course not.”

I turn to face him and nestle myself closer to him, planting a kiss in the middle of his bare, chiseled chest. “Thanks,” I whisper.

“For what?”

“For letting me stay here with you, dork,” I laugh, moving with him as he turns onto his back and positions me on top of him.

“Baby, you could move all of your stuff in here tomorrow while I’m at work and never say a word to me about it and I would be ecstatic,” he whispers and kisses me on the head, rubbing his palms affectionately under my shirt and
along my bare thighs. “You can stay here as long and as often as you want. What’s mine is yours. You don’t ever have to ask.”

“You’re so sweet,” I say, gently biting his chest and making him laugh quietly. “I love you,
Sugar Bear.”

I lean in to kiss him and feel hi
s smile against my lips, “I love you too,” he whispers as he returns my gentle kiss. “Sweet dreams, Baby.”

Chase

The rest of the week
we’ve spent getting back into the routine that we’ve gotten ourselves used to since Sophie and JT came to stay at my place a few weeks ago.

I
’ve been going to work every day, while Sophie has been spending her time caring for JT. When Ana’s had days off from work, they’ve both been spending time over at her apartment too.

On
Thursday night I walked into JT’s room and was a little surprised by how disappointed I was feeling when I saw that Sophie had gotten most of his things packed, ready for when we take him back to Camden.

I know having him here with us for a month
wasn’t something that we had planned, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that I’ve gotten attached to the kid. A big part of mine and Sophie’s relationship has revolved around him over the past few weeks. Although I’m excited that I’ll be having some more alone time with Sophie, I know that I’m going to miss him.

When I
asked Sophie how she’s holding up with him going home soon she told me that she was fine, but I know how much she loves him. It isn’t going to be easy for either of them to be separated again.

Friday arrive
d, with Drake and Ana coming over for supper, so they could see JT before he was due to leave the next morning. Sophie had tried her hardest to keep her spirits high and enjoy their visit, but she was thoughtful and quiet throughout the entire evening.

When she disappear
ed into the house for a few minutes, I walked in to find her coming out of the bathroom with red eyes and holding a tissue in her hand. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest. After a few minutes, she pulled away gently and looked up at me.

“I’m okay,” she whisper
ed, using the destroyed tissue in her hand to wipe the tears away from her eyes. “I’m not going to spend the last day he’s here crying like an idiot.

I know he has to go back and I know that he’ll be happy when he’s home, I’m just worried about him. Lucy’s doing everything she can to get better for him. I know she’ll call me if she needs me, but she’s at a vulnerable point in her recovery and I can’t help but worry.”

“You don’t have to explain Baby. I understand,” I told her, then kissed her on the head before I pulled her back into my chest. We stood there like that for a couple of minutes before she pulled away from me again.

“We should get back out there,” she whisper
ed and gave me a small smile. “Thank you for letting me vent.”

I smile
d back at her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we made our way back out to the porch where Drake, Ana and JT were. We ate our supper and sat outside while JT played for a while. When it was time for Drake and Ana to leave, they said their goodbyes. Sophie took her time getting JT ready for bed before joining me in our room.

We t
ook a bath together and made love before we fell asleep in each other’s arms. Sophie hadn’t cried anymore after that, but I knew that the following day was going to be extremely hard on her.

I
was starting to think that going back to Camden was never going to be easy.

***

Although we had talked about getting a room for the night, Sophie decided earlier that she wants to head straight back to Rockport as soon as we’ve dropped JT back with Lucy.

We stay for lunch
, with Sophie having a talk with her before she says her goodbyes to JT. Lucy hugs us both, thanking Sophie most probably over a hundred times for being such a wonderful aunt and godmother, while Sophie makes her promise to call her if she needs her to take care of JT again.

B
ending down to JT, I watch as Sophie pulls him into her arms, hugging him tightly for as long as he’ll stay still. I try to give her some space, although I can’t help but overhear the conversation she’s having with him.

“Do you know how much I love you, my
funny goose?” she asks, and I watch as he nods at her while giving her a smile. “How much?”

“To the moon and back,” he
answers with a smile as she kisses him on the forehead.

“Even more than that, my
love,” she tells him softly. She sings a small piece of their song quietly to him, with he keeps his arms wrapped around her neck while smiling up at her. “You’ll be good for momma?”

“Yes,” he promi
se. She points to her left cheek and he plants a kiss there. She tickles him before giving him a final kiss and hug goodbye.

“I love you, Sweet P
ea,” she says in a soft but broken voice.

“I love you,” he answers.
Once she’s given both another hug to JT and Lucy, she climbs into the truck before we back out of the driveway. She waves and smiles back at them, making sure that she appears perfectly fine, but as soon as we’re out of their sight, she begins to fall apart.

“Baby, come here,” I whisper
, pulling her to my side and wrapping my arm around her. “Hang on and I’ll pull over, okay?”

Immediately she
begins to shake her head at me.

“No, please don’t,” she manages
to choke out through her tears. “I’ll want to go back and I know that I can’t, Chase. I have to get out of here.”

“Do you want to go back? We can stay if you want to, Baby,” I offer.

“No,” she answers firmly. “I can’t stay with him. Please just get me out of here.”

“You can stay for a little while,” I offer
again, but she keeps shaking her head insistently. “Okay, well come over here at least.” I say, pulling her as far into my lap as the steering wheel will allow. She’s resting her head on my chest and crying quietly against me as we drive out of town. “Will you tell me why you don’t want to stay longer?”

She’s quiet for a long time before she answers.

“Because he’s not mine, Chase,” she whispers brokenly. She’s still sniffling a little but isn’t sobbing uncontrollably anymore. I run my free hand up and down her legs, loving the feel of them draped across my lap, as I wait for her to continue. “I love him like he’s mine, but I know that he’s not. I have to respect the relationship he has with Lucy enough to walk away when it’s time. I’ll always do that for him, but it’s not easy on my heart, especially when I know what it’s like to have a mother who is sick.” I nod my understanding but stay quiet so she can get everything off her chest that she needs to. “I always get too attached to the people I love. It’s one of the reasons I close myself off sometimes.”

“You don’t cut yourself off from me,” I say
, and she shakes her head, resting it against my window.

“Not anymore
, but it’s one of the reasons I was scared to be with you,” she admits. “Yeah, the biggest reason is that I was getting over Jack, but I knew loving you would be too easy for me, Chase. I was afraid that if I let myself love you that it would be too much for you. I knew that if things didn’t work out between us then I’d be left devastated. I couldn’t face that possibility with you until I knew I could trust you with my heart,” she rests her head on my shoulder while releasing a small sigh. “I know I’m too much to take sometimes. I just don’t know how to love in any other way.  That’s the reason why I can’t go back to Camden right now.”

Sophie is still sitting across my lap
, with her head resting on my shoulder. Her body is angled slightly to face me and her feet are resting in front of her on the seat.

I slip my hand between her thighs and squeeze
her gently, before relaxing my grip and resting my hand there. Steering with the arm she’s resting against isn’t easy, but I can’t bring myself to ask her to move. Instead, I look down at her with a small smile of understanding.

“Baby
, you’re not too much to take,” I tell her as I kiss her temple softly. “I love how you love me and wouldn’t want our relationship to be any other way.” I wish I wasn’t driving right now but I promised to take her straight home. Now that I understand why she needs to get away from here, there’s no way I’m taking my foot off of the gas pedal. “There’s nothing you could ever do to show me your love that would scare me away, okay?” she nods at me and bites me lightly on the jaw, giving me a light kiss before resting her head back against my chest. 

She whispers a line from my favorite Johnny Cash song to me
and I kiss her on the head while smiling to myself. I absolutely love it when Sophie sings or quotes lyrics to me.

“I know you
were holding back from me and I understand why, but there’s something I need you to know,” I say and she looks up at me with question in her emerald eyes. “Things like your love bites, nicknames … the way you’re constantly touching, kissing me and singing to me? Those are all parts of why I am so hopelessly in love with you, Sophie. The only thing that you could do that would be too much for me to handle would be if you took those things away from me.” I kiss her hand and place it back on my chest where it’s been resting most of the time, before I return my hold on her thigh.

She leans up to kiss me on the lips quickly
, so I won’t have to take my eyes away from the road ahead. I see the moisture in her eyes as I briefly glance at her.

“I love you
, jerk,” she teases, wiping the tears away from her eyes as leans her head back into the crook of my arm and against my chest. 

“I love you too
, Baby,” I say softly. “So fucking much.”

***

The rest of our weekend is almost perfect.

We arrive
d in Rockport earlier than we thought we would. After taking Sophie on the couch, for what would be the first time in around a month, we showered together before she called Lucy, so she could check on things and say goodnight to JT.

As soon as she ends the call
, she walks into the bedroom, wearing only her towel and makes a beeline for the closet where some of her things are hanging.

“Get dressed
, muffin,” she says as she makes her way over to me, kissing me quickly on the lips as she throws me her amazing smile. “You’re taking your girlfriend out and getting her trashed tonight.”

“Yes ma’am,” I laugh a
s I watch her making her way back into the bathroom. She stays in there for another 45 minutes as she gets herself ready. I get dressed in the bedroom while I’m waiting, throwing on a pair of nice jeans that Sophie seems to like me wearing, and a fitted black dress shirt, for which I roll the sleeves up to my elbows. I think I look pretty good, but as she emerges, I find that I’m unable to speak.

Sophie always
looks hot, but there are no words for how she looks right now. She’s wearing an insanely short, long sleeved green sweater dress that is tight fitting and so low cut, I hope she doesn’t plan on leaning over for any reason while we’re out.

My new favorite dress is accented with a brown belt that hangs on her hips in
such a way that it should be illegal. The nude heels she’s wearing with it make her bronze legs look a mile long. Her hair is down and has soft curls at the ends. Her normally natural makeup is smoky and seductive. She smells like she’s bathed in coconut milk and even after she laughs at the dumb look that I’m so obviously wearing over my face, I still can’t find any words to say to her.

“Well don’t you look delicious,” she says as she walks over to me
, putting her hands on my chest as she leans up to kiss me on my mouth. My hands immediately move directly towards her barely covered ass. I release a small groan as I feel the tiny scrap of panties she’s wearing under her dress, but before I can do anything else, she pushes me away gently.

“Oh no you don’t!” she warns,
while fixing her dress back in place. “You can have all you want of me when we get home, but right now I really want us to go out. If I give into you now, we’ll never leave this house!”

“All I want, huh?” I ask and
watch as she nods at me with a smile. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Babe.” I lean over and kiss her on the base of her neck, while working my way up to her jaw. Planting feather light kisses across the path to her mouth, I bite down on her bottom lip.

She lets out a small gasp of pleasure a
s I slip my hand back in between her legs, sinking one finger into her at the same time that I deepen the kiss. She whimpers into my mouth, pushing against me weakly, as I work her over with my fingers. “You’re so wet for me already, Sweetheart,” I whisper, almost begging against her lips. “I want you so bad. At least let me taste you. Baby, please?”

She moans against my lips a
s she looks up at me through her long eyelashes.

“You’re such a jerk,” she whispers and
I feel a victorious smile slowly crossing over my face as I lower to my knees in front of her. I gently remove my fingers from out of her wetness, before moving the fabric of her dress up high.

P
eeling her tiny thong down her legs, I expose her completely as I place them in my pocket. She watches me inhale her scent and I groan deeply as I run my tongue over her wet slit, causing her to shudder violently. I press her against the side of the couch and tap her lightly on the knee.