Page 32 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

Rolling her eyes, she continues up the final flight and shows me her ass. “I’m so glad you’re a new-age jerk and don’t rape women while they sleep. That’ll help keep my nightmares away.”

“Well shit, you just had to go and make everything serious, huh?” Jogging up the stairs, I catch up with a frown. “I’m playing with you, Soph. I’m trying to get you to smile once in a while, but then you throw words like rape around and ruin my buzz. I don’t rape women; I don’t force or hurt. In fact, I respect the hell outta women, but that doesn’t mean I won’t tell a crude joke every now and then and hope to make you smile.”

We stop at her door. For a moment, she leans her box against the wall and fumbles with her keys, but with a huff, she turns and dumps the box on top of my pile. “You wanna be my pack horse? Work for it.” She pushes her key into the lock and opens her front door. For the first time in her life, she steps back and waves me through.

The heat hits me first. It’s like a sauna, but in the best way. Climbing the stairs with thirty pounds of paperwork kept me warm, but this place is just… I give a happy sigh and turn. “Marry me, Soph.” I wait for her eyes to meet mine. “I thought I had a thing for blondes. There’s this one chick back home, and she has an identical twin sister, but then I found this beautiful brunette who lives upstairs, and she’s gotheat! Please let me move in with you.”

“No. Put the boxes by my desk, will you?”

Chuckling, I turn and dump the load on the floor beside her messy desk. The screens are switched off, but papers litter the surface, and post-its are stuck everywhere.

“Umm…” She trails off until I turn and give her my attention. “I’m sorry for throwing around mean words out there.” Peeling her coat off and hanging it by the door, she turns back to me with her phone in hand and something akin to exhaustion in her eyes. “I’ve had a shitty day. A shitty week. Geez.” She runs a shaky hand over her face. “I’ve had a shitty decade. So I took it out on you. I haven’t been the kindest person to you since we met, it’s just…” She blows out a long breath. “I don’t get a choice. I don’t have time for men.”

Stepping forward, I don’t stop again until my boots touch hers and her neck has to bend to keep my eyes in focus. “Can I help you, Soph? My week is kinda wide open with nothing to do, so maybe whatever is hurting you can be offloaded to me. I can help.”

She scoffs and turns her head away. “No. You can’t help me. I have all the help I need. Honestly? I just need more time, or a machine to take me back in time to fix shit.” Her long lashes flutter closed, like she’s just too tired to cope. “You’ve never raped a woman before, right?” They open again and bore into mine. “Would you hurt a woman, Jay? If she said no, would you accept that and leave her be?”

“I’ve never touched any woman who didn’t give her permission first, I swear. I’ve partied hard; I’ve fucked in questionable places, under questionable circumstances. I’ve fucked while high, and I’ve fucked women who were high, too, so that might say something about consent…” It baffles me that I actually care about her opinion. That I care about my shitty past and the list of women I’ve spent time with.

It bothers me that my past might affect my present in ways I didn’t expect. I’m here for Kane, but standing this close to Sophia makes me reconsider everything… He’s my priority, but… the sadness in her eyes does things to my cold heart. “The fact we weren’t always sober might hurt you. But I’ve never taken anything that wasn’t offered up. I promise.”

“What do you want with me?” When I bring my hand up to cup her jaw, she leans into it and closes her eyes. “What do you want, Jay? Why me? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

Because you’re beautiful. Because you’re intriguing. Because you told me no and made me realize just now that I’m chasing you when you already laid down your answer…

I’m an asshole.

“I just want companionship.” When she lifts a questioning brow, I add truthfully, “I want to touch you so desperately, I might explode, and if you gave me the go ahead, I wouldn’t be able to stop until I wore us both out. I have twenty-two hours to fill every single day, and fuck if I don’t wanna fill them with you. But if Ihadto choose between touching you and knowing you, I’d choose the companionship.”

“You…” Her eyes snap wide. “Really?” She folds her arms to create space between us, because each time she takes a breath, I fill the space she was in. “I’m just your neighbor, Jay. I’m just a random girl in a sea of random girls. If it’s a dancer fetish you’ve got going on, you could find a billion of those around, too. So give it to me straight and don’t waste my time.”

Bending my neck, I come closer until our noses almost touch. “Why are you so against knowing me, Sophia Solomon? I’m just a random man in a sea of random men. Why are you so adamant on hating me?”

“I don’t hate you, but I’m not willing to waste my time either.”

I pull back and hold a hand to my heart. “Ouch.”

“You wouldn’t choose a life of celibacy for me, right? If I never wanted to give it up, would you still be here in a week? A month? A year? You think I didn’t notice the parade of women who came to your door since you moved in? You need women like you need oxygen, and even a pretty dancer will lose her appeal once you’re horny and haven’t been laid in a few weeks. Any pussy will do, right?”

“Do you have a problem with sex in general? Is it a religious thing? A promise you made someone? Are you scared? Are you a virgin? Were you…” And then it hits me. Like a fucking sledge hammer to the solar plexus. “Were you abused, Soph? Has a man taken something from you without your permission?”

Images of her crying out while a man forces himself on her enrages me. The thought that she would have screamed, she would have kicked and hit, scratched and screamed to be let free, but he took it anyway… It makes my blood boil. “Is he still alive? Do you know how to find him right now?”

“No.” Drawing in a long breath, her chest expands until she lets it out again. “It’s not what you think. Nobody has raped me. Nobody has touched me without my permission.”

Relief. Sweet, pure relief makes my body slump. Running a thumb over her bottom lip, I smile when she leans into it. “Thank God, because I might’ve died inside if you’d said yes.” Cupping her jaw, I pull her face up until our eyes meet. “Tell me what’s hurting you, babe. Tell me why the thought of me and you together scares you. I swear, sex is one of the single most pleasurable experiences in the world. When you get to connect with someone until you’re one person for a moment…” My cock aches behind my zipper and presses against her belly. “Jesus, Soph. Can you imagine what it would feel like if I touched you? Because I can. I can imagine it really fuckin’ clearly. I’m at a point that I’d beg if you said I had to.”

“Don’t beg,” she huffs. “And no, I’m not a virgin. I’m not against sex for religious reasons. I’m not against sex at all; I just don’t think you and I can be compatible.”

“Why not?” I slide my left hand over her shoulder, down her side until my thumb slides along her breast, then down to her ribs. Pulling her in, I smile when our chests touch and her breath comes out in tiny pants. “I bet we’d fit.”

“I’m sure we would,” she laughs without humor. “I’m not saying it wouldn’t feel good. I’m not saying you wouldn’t blow my mind.” Her eyes meet mine. “I see you here, Jay. I see you right in front of me. You think I don’t notice your body? Your broad shoulders, or the smirk that promises heartache? You think you get the exclusivity of noticing the other person, and you’re the only one who’s hungry for time in bed to relieve some of the pressure?”

“I kinda did think that.” My laugh comes out in almost silence. “I thought you didn’t see me at all.”

“I go to bed alone at night. I hear your stupid tennis ball thumping against your ceiling; you think I don’t want you? Of course I do! You think I haven’t watched you bring other girls into this building and imagined it was me? You might not have noticed me living here, Jay, but I noticed you from the start.”

“So why not take what I’m offering? I’m standing right here with a throbbing cock and a big fat yes coming out of my mouth. I could fill you up in ways you’ve never known.” I lean in closer until my lips brush the top of her cheekbone. “I could make you scream, the good scream.” I smile when she shivers. “I could make you weep, but I swear, any tears you cry for me would be tears of joy.”

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