I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to xAngelofHardyx, RoseanneMay, Luna, Lady-Sony, Ms. Chandy, SwtPoison, extremechaingangenigma and Queen Of Extreme Kate. You guys rock!!! \m/ (.) \m/ Enjoy! (Oh, and by the way, I'm a huge Shane McMahon fan.)
Of course, the second time I fed worked out so much better than the first. I was more prepared for my body's (and Jeff's body's) reaction. We worked out all the kinks. Jeff spent the next few days teaching me almost all I needed to know. We found out that I didn't have the ability to vanish. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed about that. Jeff thought that if I worked for awhile at it, maybe, I could get it.
My first venture out of the house was to my first 'vamp' doctor's appointment with Dr. Dave. He went over all the changes that my body went through. Everything still worked pretty much the same. The only differences were that for a few more days, I was on a strict 'liquid' diet and then I could try and eat solid foods again. Also, for awhile, my eyes would be extremely sensitive to bright lights. Finally, my fangs. He told me it would be a good 6 months before I would be able to retract them completely. The only other difference was that once Jeff and I were trued, conditions would have to be exactly right and perfect for me to get pregnant. I laughed at him. I told him he was way jumping the gun. He smiled telling me that it was fated, just like the fact that Jeff and I were meant to be together, how many children we would have and when we would have them. We could actively try to have kids all we wanted, but until the fates were ready, we wouldn't get pregnant. Well, I guess that took all the fun out of planning.
Jeff and I decided that we would keep our secret jealousies between the two of us. No one else really needed to know. A couple of weeks later, when Jeff called a meeting, we were putting them to the test. It would be the first time that all of us would be in the same room, together, since the attack and I had gotten better.
We were sitting downstairs in Jeff's office. I was kinda nervous for some reason. It was like this was the first 'party' I had thrown since officially moving in with Jeff. I had asked Bessy, Jeff's (now, our) housekeeper, to help me make some snacks for everyone to munch on at the meeting. Bessy had been the housekeeper for Jeff's family ever since he was a little boy. (Yes, she was a vampire.) Jeff sat with us in the kitchen while we worked earlier.
"Love, you know you don't have to make anything. I wish you would relax. It's not that big of a deal." I stopped what I was doing and walked over to where he was sitting. I leaned in to kiss him.
"I know I don't have to," Jeff yanked me down into his lap, "but I want to." He kissed my neck.
"Bessy, tell her she doesn't have to do this." Jeff said, still kissing. Bessy laughed.
"I'm not stupid Jeffrey. I will not cross the would-be Queen. You know that she runs this house and not you right?" Jeff laughed.
"Yeah, I know."
Like I said earlier, Jeff and I were sitting in his office, waiting for everyone to arrive. He was sitting behind his desk working on something and I was pacing around the room. I don't know why I was so nervous, but I was. It wasn't like I didn't know these people. Maybe the nervousness was about what he was going to tell them.
"I wish you would sit down, love. You're making me worry about you. I don't like to see you stress out over nothing." I walked over to his desk. I walked behind it and hopped up to sit on one empty corner. I crossed my legs and swung my foot lightly.
"I'm sorry. Just nervous energy." Jeff grinned. He laid his hand on my upper thigh.
"Well, we have a few minutes before they get here. And I know a good way to burn of some of that energy." I smiled back.
"And what would that be your majesty?" He stood up and stepped in front of me. He uncrossed my legs and pushed them apart enough so that he could step in between them. I leaned back on my hands as he grabbed my hips and pulled me up against him. I crossed my ankles behind his thighs, holding him in place.
"I think it's best to show you, love." I nodded in agreement. He leaned in, placing his hands beside mine. He kissed me. I lifted a hand off the table to wrap my arm around his neck. "Here or upstairs, love?" Jeff asked as the hand he had on my hip gripped tighter. I let my head fall back as he kissed the base of my throat.
"Here, Jeff, here," I moaned. Jeff's hand went for the button on my jeans. He popped it open just as his phone started to ring. He smoothed a hand up my stomach under my shirt. "Are you gonna answer that, baby?"
"No, they'll call back." I hooked a leg over Jeff's hip as the ringing stop. "See?" Jeff started to push me back on the desk when the knocking on the office door started. "Shit! Why do they have to be on time? We can make them wait, love. We can vanish upstairs…"
"Baby, why don't we just do this, get it over with and then you and I can spend the rest of the night," I looked down to where his hips were laying tight against mine, "taking care of 'pressing' matters." I kissed him. "Okay, baby?" He nodded.
"Okay, love." He stepped back and helped me off the desk. We fixed our clothing and Jeff took his seat behind his desk (for obvious reasons). I walked over to the door and let Maggie, Randy, John and Matt in. They all found seats and went right for the food I had made. I motioned to Jeff behind their backs that the food was a good idea. He smiled and nodded, conceding that I was right. "Alright, now that everyone's here," Jeff started. I took a seat on the couch between Maggie and Matt. Matt draped his arm around me. I leaned into him. Jeff didn't even bat an eyelash. He trusted his brother above everyone. Now, if it had been John, he might have had something to say, even though he knows I don't feel like that about him. "So, none of Taker's men know that Sophi's okay. My source says that they all think she's dead." His eyes flashed black quickly and then back to their normal shade. "I haven't been in the public eye recently either, so that is just adding fuel to the 'Queen's dead' theory. Well, I think it's time that I introduce Sophi to everyone and show Taker and his men that they can't take away our Queen." Everyone nodded in agreement. Jeff went on to explain that he and I were going to the party being held in his honor at the hotel the next night. Jeff had donated a large sum of money to a few of the local charities in town and they wanted to honor him. He had begged them not to, but they insisted. He volunteered to have it at the hotel and pay for everything. It wasn't a formal tux and evening gown kind of party, just nice casual.
"Sophi and I are going to be seen everywhere together. When the media asks, cause I know they will," he gave Matt a fake angry look, "we'll tell them the truth. That we have been together for over a year and just didn't want our private life to be public news. Okay, with that out of the way. I have one more thing to share with you and then I'll let you all get on with your night. In two weeks we're opening the new club downtown, which," he looked at Randy, "we still need a name for."
"Yeah, I know. I've been trying to come up with something." Randy said.
"Umm…I have an idea for a name." Maggie said. Jeff waved her on.
"Let's hear it Maggie." He said.
"Well, what about 'SJ'?"
"What does 'SJ' stand for?" I asked. She smiled and nudged me with her elbow.
"Sophi and Jeff. It's ambiguous enough that no one will know what it means but they'll still like it." Jeff grinned at Maggie.
"That's a wonderful name. Good Job, Maggie." Oh, no. I felt that little spurt of jealousy flair up. I knew that he was just thanking her, but I wish he didn't have to smile at her like that. Okay, breathe Sophi. He doesn't mean anything by it. "Now that we have that settled, the night before we have the opening, I have a few bordering Kings coming into town. They have been having some similar problems with Taker and we are going to try and coordinate some things so if we get the chance, we can take him out. They will be either staying here with Sophi and I or they will be staying at the hotel downtown. They will be attending the opening with us and then the next night we will have our meeting." Jeff picked up his glass and drained the remaining liquid. He looked at me. "Love, would you mind running to the kitchen and getting me some more." I stood up and walked to his desk.
"Not at all." I took the glass. "I'll be back in a sec." I pulled the door shut behind me. I walked into the kitchen to find Bessy there washing up. "Bessy, what are you still doing here? You don't have to be here this late. You can go. I can clean this up later." She smiled at me.
"I don't mind Ms. Sophi. I love taking care of you and Jeffrey. I don't have anyone waiting on me at home. My husband is visiting his sister and my kids are all grown and on their own. I don't mind staying at all." I walked over to her and hugged her shoulders.
"Thanks for staying. Now, don't take this the wrong way Bessy, but you remind me so much of my grandmother. She used to let me and Maggie have our independence but was always right behind the scenes, taking care of us. She did so much for us without asking for anything in return." Bessy smiled at me.
"Ms. Sophi, that's a wonderful complement. I've heard you talking about her and I take no offense to that what's so ever." I hugged her again. She filled up Jeff's glass and handed it back to me.
"Thanks Bessy." I took the glass and headed back to the office. I opened the door and everyone went quiet. Nice, they had been talking about me. I walked over to Jeff and set the glass in front of him.
"Thank you, love." He smiled, taking a sip. I looked at everyone else in the room. They were all smiling at me. Okay, what had they been talking about? I wasn't worried, I would get it out of Jeff later. I took my seat back beside Matt. Jeff talked for a few more minutes about what was going to happen in the next couple of weeks. "Okay, that's all I have for you guys tonight. Do you guys have anything else you want to talk about?" Everyone shook their heads 'no'. "Alright, y'all are free to go." They told Jeff and I that they would see us tomorrow at the party. Randy and Maggie were going as guests. John and Matt were going in a wok capacity. They were both covering the story for the paper. The moment they vanished from the room, Jeff walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
"Love," Jeff moved the hair away from my neck to kiss at it, "I think we should finish what we started earlier." I turned in his arms. I kissed him.
"I think that's a wonderful idea."
Later that night, Jeff and I were laying in bed. I was laying on my stomach with my arms tucked up under my pillow. I was almost asleep when I felt Jeff lean up on an elbow. He laid a soft kiss against the back of my shoulder. He slowly stroked his hand up and down my naked, exposed back.
"Love, can I ask you something?" He asked me, kissing my back. I looked at him over my shoulder.
"Sure, baby." I smiled lazily at him.
"Will you become trued to me?" I opened my eyes wide in surprise. I knew it would happen someday but I never expected it would happen this soon. So this had been what Jeff was talking to the others about earlier.
"Jeff…" He stopped me.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He rolled over, pulling open the nightstand drawer. He rolled back over holding out a beautiful, 3-carat, round cut diamond ring. "Will you marry me too?" I rolled up on my side to face him. I smiled at him as I felt my eyes fill up. "Well, love?" I nodded as the tears spilled over.
"Yes, Jeff, yes!" He smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He slipped the ring on my finger and pulled me against his chest.
"You don't know how afraid I was that you were going to say 'no'. I've only been afraid two times in my life. Once when you got hurt and just now when you didn't answer immediately." I kissed his chest.
"I'm sorry. You just surprised me. I knew someday we would be trued, I just wasn't expecting it right now." He smiled and tucked some hair behind my ear.
"If I could have, I would have trued you on the day that we met, love. I knew if I dropped that kind of information on you that day, you would have run as fast as you could down the sidewalk in the opposite directions. I had just found you and I really didn't want to lose you." I laughed and kissed his chest again.
"I'm not gonna lie, I would have run just like I did that night that you actually told me. Then we wouldn't be here right now," I kissed him, "would we?" He smiled back.
"No, we wouldn't." He kissed me. I laid my head down on his chest. I looked at the beautiful ring that he had just given me.
"Jeff, you know you didn't have to buy me a ring, right? Believe me, I'm not being ungrateful. It's beautiful, but I would have married you without it. Wait, why did you ask me to marry you? Isn't being trued just like that?" He rubbed my bare shoulders.
"I know I didn't have to but I wanted everyone to know that you're mine and we're gonna be together forever." He kissed the top of my head. "Truing is like marriage but it's more personal. It's just between you and me. I asked you to marry me because I remember that you weren't born a vampire, love. I want you to have a wedding." He ran his fingers through my hair. "I want you to have the wedding you always wanted to have. You can have anything you want, love." I sat up so that I could look into his face.
"Anything I want?" I threw a leg over his hip and sat up across his waist. I laid my hands on his chest and leaned into kiss his neck. "Anything, baby?" He caressed his hands up my thighs to my hips. He groaned as I grazed his neck with my fangs.
"Yes, love. Anything."
The party the next night was surprisingly a lot of fun. I did feel like the spotlight was on me all night instead of Jeff. And just as Jeff predicted, we fielded quiet a few questions about our relationship. I stayed as close to Jeff as I could all night. Every time he stopped to speak to someone, one of the nosey women in the crowd would try and get me away from Jeff so they could get the gossip on him.
I couldn't help but laugh later on, when we were eating dinner. Two young ladies, a table away, were talking about me. One of them was very much enamored with Jeff and was pissed that I was here with him. She was going to make a play for him tonight but I screwed that up. I laughed when she called me a gold-digging, trailer-trash whore. I thought it was funny that she admitted that she was gonna go for Jeff for his money. Would she be even more pissed if she knew I didn't want any of it? Sometimes, vampire hearing was so much fun.
The evening wrapped up with Jeff giving a speech. He told why he chose these charities over any other ones. He ended the speech by saying, "The one they should be thanking tonight would have to be my beautiful fiancée, Sophi. She was the one that inspired me. She told me, 'what's the use in having all this money, if you don't do something useful with it." I think he was trying to make me cry.
The write up in the paper was really good. I thought that Matt and John's combined effort was great. At least the pictures that they picked for the story were nice. Now, that Jeff and I had gone public with our relationship, we were seen everywhere together. I was going out more now, than I have ever in my life.
I told Jeff that I decided I wanted a small wedding. Just him and me (obviously), Randy, Maggie, John and Matt. I thought we could have it at home. Jeff just smiled, kissed me and repeated, 'whatever you want, love.'
Before we knew it, time had flown by and it was the night before the 'SJ' opening. It was also the night that the four boarding Kings were coming into town. Jeff never talked to me about them, but I did know that one was coming from the city that Maggie and I used to live in before we came here. We also went to college in that city. Damn, if I had known there were vampires in that city, I might have gone looking for them.
We were sitting in the diner waiting for the last King to show up. Oddly enough, he was the one from our old city. The other three Kings decided they would prefer to stay at the hotel and not impose on Jeff and I. It was after hours so the shades were pulled so no one could see people vanishing in and out. Maggie decided to stay with Randy. They were sitting at the counter. John and I were sitting across from Jeff and Matt. We were talking about the upcoming night when Jeff got a text. He opened it and shook his head.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"I should have known. As many times as the dumb ass has been here and he doesn't remember what the place looks like. I have to send him a picture." He lifted his phone to take the picture. "Maybe I shouldn't have you in the picture, love." I leaned over into John.
"I'm sorry."
"It's probably best if you don't put her in the picture. I'm sure you don't want Shane vanishing on top of Sophi." Randy said, laughing. Jeff's face got dark.
"You're right about that. Damn, I need a better shot." He slid out of the booth to get a better picture. I leaned in to Matt and John.
"Okay, so what's with this Shane guy? Jeff doesn't seem to like him very much." John laughed.
"That's an understatement."
"Ever since they were younger, they have made everything between them a competition. Who had the better city? Who had the best looking girl? Oh, sorry Soph." Matt said.
"That's okay." I patted his hand. "So why invite him if he doesn't like him?" I watched Jeff take his picture and send it. He stood there and waited for him.
"Because Shane McMahon is one of the biggest allies we have." My heart literally stopped beating for a second. Did he just say what I think he said? This time, Matt patted my hand. "Sophi? Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost." I waved him off.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I kept telling myself that I needed to calm down. McMahon was a pretty common last name. Yeah, but what were the odds it would be combined with the first name Shane, which just happened to be the name of my ex-boyfriend. Come on, what are the odds that it was the same Shane McMahon?
"Finally, Shane! What took you so damn long?" Jeff said, drawing my attention back to him and the new arrival. Oh shit! It turns out the odds were pretty damn good. It was my Shane. I dropped my gaze to the table and started to play with my drink. Maggie walked over to ask if he wanted anything. She hadn't seen him come in.
"Hi, can I get…you…any…thing?" She drew out the sentence as she instantly recognized him. He looked up at her.
"Uh…no, I'm fine. Thanks." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he recognized her too. She walked back to sit by Randy. I didn't look at her cause I knew that would give it away. I could hear Jeff and Shane talking back and forth. It turned out that Jeff hadn't seen Shane since about 5 years ago, when Shane broke up with some girlfriend that he had been dating for awhile and needed to get out of town. Oh God, that was me!
"So did you ever see that girl again?" Jeff asked him.
"No, but I wish I did. She moved away a couple of days before I got back." I knew he was saying all of this loud enough so that Maggie could hear. He knew how close we were. "She was really something. I really cared about her. Everyday we were together, I wished I'd get that feeling that she was my kept, but it never came." Oh God, oh God, oh God. I didn't realize that I had been quietly chanting that to myself. John nudged me with his elbow.
"What's wrong?" He whispered to me.
"Nothing."
"Really? Come on…"
"Umm, I know Shane. Do you think Jeff's gonna be mad?"
"Mad about what?" Matt asked.
"The fact that…Shane…he's my ex-boyfriend."
"What?!?" John said loudly, making everyone turn and look at him. Matt shook his head.
"Like John said earlier, that's an understatement." John nodded in agreement.
"Oh, before we head to the house, I want you to meet my kept." Oh shit! Those were the words I had been dreading since Shane vanished in here. Jeff waved his hand to me. I shook my head 'no'. He waved his hand again. My stomach felt like it was a lead ball in my body. I knew this wasn't going to turn out well. I stood up and walked to the table. "Shane, I want you to…" Shane's eyes went huge as he looked up at me.
"Oh my God. Sophi?" He stood up. He pulled me in for a hug that I didn't return. "God, Sophi. It's been, what, 5 years since I saw you. God, you look amazing. Do you live in this town now?" He sat back down. I nodded. "Damn, what are the odds?" Pretty damn good, I guess. "Jeff, you really know how to pick your employees. This one's amazing. She's a keeper. And she definitely needs a raise." He winked at me.
"You two know each other?" Jeff asked. Shane let a cocky smile spread across his face.
"Oh yeah, we know each other. We used to date. So, Jeff, where is this kept of yours?" I could see that Jeff's eyes where turning dark. This was so going to be a flight later.
"Sophi is my kept." Shane choked on his own air.
"She's your kept?" He looked at me and I nodded. "Damn, Jeff. You got yourself a winner here. She's one hell of a girl." The tone and implications in Shane's voice made Jeff slam his fist down on the table, rattling everything on top of it.
"I think it's time we left. Do you remember what my house looks like Shane?" Jeff asked. He was so not happy.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Why don't you meet us there?" Shane stood up.
"Okay. I've got to go grab my bags. I'll be there in a couple of hours." He winked at me again and vanished.
"Jeff…" I said his name and went to touch his shoulder. He pulled away and stood up.
"We'll see you guys tomorrow night." Jeff said and grabbed my upper arm, none too lightly. He vanished us back to our house, in our room. He let me go so abruptly and I wasn't prepared. I stumbled and caught myself on the edge of the bed. I turned around to find Jeff with his back to me. I walked up to him.
"Jeff, please look at me." I laid a hand on his back. Again he shrugged me off. He turned around. His eyes were really dark.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what Jeff? I didn't know Shane was the other King you were waiting on."
"How long were you together?"
"Two years." He clinched his fists at his side.
"You were together…did you sleep with him Sophi?" I wanted to cry.
"Yes. Jeff, please…" He turned away from me and started to pace the room.
"And you told me that you didn't know that vampires existed. Yet you had been having sex with one for two damn years."
"Jeff, I didn't know. He never brought it up and he never bit me." He stopped in front of me.
"How could you not know?"
"We dated for 4 months before I knew with you." He turned away again. "Jeff, please don't be like this. I didn't even know you then. You know I don't care about him." I stepped in front of him. I put my hands on his chest. "I love you. Not him, you. I really don't even want to be anywhere near me. I just want you. Just you." He grabbed both of my hands and pulled them away from his chest.
"I really want to believe you." He let go of my hands and stepped back. "I…I need sometime to think." I started to cry.
"Jeff…" He vanished. I walked over and sat on the bed. I never thought he would be so upset about an ex-boyfriend. Granted, this one was a vampire. And not to mention he was a King that Jeff had a rivalry since they were kids. I looked at the clock on the nightstand. Jeff had been gone for over an hour. I had been sitting there staring at the wall and crying the whole time. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called him. It went straight to voicemail. I did it three times before I finally left a message telling him that I loved him and to call me. I waited for a few minutes and called him back. He still wasn't answering. I know I called about a hundred times. Now, I was worried. I just needed to know he was safe. I did the only thing I could think of…I called John. I was almost hysterical at this point in my crying. I didn't know where Jeff was and it was killing me. I know I was over reacting, but I couldn't help it. I don't know how John understood a word I said. He answered on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"John, it's Sophi." My words were all running together and the sobbing didn't help.
"Sophi, baby, what's wrong?" My breath hitched several times before I could speak.
"Jeff…" That was all I could get out.
"Baby, where's Jeff?"
"I don't know." I heard him say a few choice words.
"I'm coming Sophi. Hold on." I heard the phone click on the other end. I ran down the stairs to meet him by the front door. That's where they always vanished in to. I hit the bottom steps as John vanished inside of the front door. I ran right into his arms. He wrapped his arms around me holding me tight.
"I don't know where he went John." I kept crying. "He won't answer his phone. Why did he leave?" John rubbed my back softly.
"I don't know, baby. Shh…" he stroked my hair. "I'll find him for you." John kept rubbing my back softly. It was actually calming me down. I felt John lay his cheek against the top of my head. Thank God for John. Outside of Maggie, John was my closet friend. He had always been there for me and I knew he always would be.
"Well, what a scene to pop into." Shane said from behind us. We tried to ignore him. John let me go. I wiped my eyes before looking at Shane. "So, is that how you greet all you guests?" Shane asked, his cocky grin reappearing.
"Shane, please. Do you want me to show you which room is yours?" I asked obviously irritated with him. He stepped towards me.
"I'd love for you to show me the room." He took another step closer. John stepped in front of me. I let out a breath that I hadn't even known I was holding.
"It's the last door on the left, McMahon." John said.
"So, are you supposed to be her supraveghere?" Shane asked him.
"Something like that." I touched John's back, silently thanking him. I wanted to yell at Shane and throw him out of our house. He knew the way he said thing had pissed Jeff off. But he didn't care. I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to do anything that would mess up this alliance for Jeff. Standing there, having Shane staring at me, brought back a flood of memories from that night that l ended our relationship. I felt the tears welling up. I'll be damned if I was going to let Shane see me cry over how he made me feel. I really wish Jeff was here. Jeff. I needed to find him.
"Shane…" I started.
"I'm going, honey. I'm going." He looked at John, who was still standing in front of me, in totally bodyguard pose. Then he looked at me. He gave me a smile that used to make my heart melt. Nothing. This time, I felt nothing. 'I'll talk to you later." I didn't even respond. Shane grabbed his bag and walked down the hall. When we heard him shut the door behind himself, John turned around to face me.
"I'm sorry he's like that to you." John said. He reached out and rubbed my arm. "If he wasn't so important to getting rid of Taker, I would have hit him." I gave John a half-ass weak smile. I patted his chest.
"Thank you. That means a lot." He returned my half smile and took a step closer. I stepped into his arms. I laid my head against his chest. Man, Shane must have really made him mad. John's heart was thundering in his chest. "John?" He had resumed rubbing my back softly.
"Yes, baby?"
"Do you know where Jeff is?" His hand hesitated for a millisecond before resuming. Is it that bad that he didn't want to tell me? I lifted my head to look at him. "John, do you?" He sighed deeply.
"I think I have a pretty good idea. I'll go see." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. His lips lingered for a moment before he pressed another kiss. He pulled back and vanished. I walked back and sat on the bottom step. I wrapped my arms around my legs and laid my cheek on my knees. God, I hoped Jeff was okay and hadn't done something stupid and gotten hurt. A few minutes later, John vanished back in front of me. I popped my head up.
"Did you find him?" I stood up. John nodded. He held out his hand to me.
"Come on, baby. I'll take you to him." I took his hand. We vanished into the woods behind the house. From where we were standing, I could hear the creek. "He's right down there." He pulled me in for a hug. "Call me if you need me."
"Okay. Thank you John." I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek. "I love you. Thanks." I turned and walked quietly down to Jeff. He was standing at the edge of the creek with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Jeff?" He turned his head to glance at me.
"What are you doing down here? How did you even know where to find me?" I walked over to stand beside him.
"I made John find you and bring me down here." He just nodded. I closed my eyes, feeling like him nodding and looking away was a rejection. I tried to keep the tears from falling. I failed miserably. I felt them slide out from under my lashes and glided soundlessly down my cheeks. "Jeff, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I never in a million years would have guessed that you knew him. I swear that I didn't know he was a vampire. I swear to you, I didn't know." Jeff hadn't moved or responded to anything that I said. I raised my face up to the sky as the rain started to fall. I looked back at Jeff. "I'm sorry that my previous relationship with Shane changed everything between us. But I want you to know, what I said is still true." The rain had picked up. I was starting to get really wet. "I do love you, Jeff. What I feel for you is more than I've ever felt for anyone in my life. It's more than I'll ever feel for anyone." I paused for a second. "I'm gonna walk back to the house and get a few things. I'll call John and get him to take me to the apartment." I took a step towards him, reaching out to him to touch him. I stopped just short of touching his back. "I love you, Jeff. I'm so sorry." I turned away. I took a few steps.
"Sophi, don't go." I turned back around. He was still watching the creek. "I'm the asshole here. I'm the one that should be apologizing." He turned around to face me. He walked the few steps towards me. I noticed that the rain had completely soaked his shirt, molding it to his body. "I'm sorry. This whole thing changes nothing between us. I'm sorry I reacted that way. It's just that…Shane's always been one…okay, I was just pissed that it was him first and not me." He stepped closer, so that now we were just a breath away from each other. "The thought of another guy touching you, loving you, makes me crazy." He laid his hand on my cheek.
"Jeff, I…" He kissed me softly.
"You're my everything, love. Please, don't leave me. It doesn't matter where you go, I'll follow you. I need you, love. Please, I love you. Please, love, don't leave me." I wrapped my arms around him. I kissed him.
"Jeff, I don't want to be anywhere that isn't close to you. I'll never leave you. I love you, baby." He kissed me, pulling me tight against his body. He deepened the kiss. Despite the cold, pouring rain, I was on fire. I wasn't even aware that we had been moving until my back came up against a large tree. Jeff pulled away.
"I'm so sorry, love. I want," he started to kiss down my throat, "the chance to prove that I'm better than him." He said against my neck. He nipped at the muscle between my neck and shoulder, pulling a moan from me.
"Jeff…you are. You are better than he will ever be." He kissed around the open collar of my button-down shirt that was now drenched, it was molded to me like a second skin. Jeff's hand skimmed down my ribs, over my hip to grab my thigh. He lifted it to his own hip, giving himself more access to rub his hips closer to mine. I moaned as he pressed me tightly against the tree. "Yes…" I answered his unspoken question. He kissed me with a molten heat. I was surprised that we didn't both go up in flames. He started to work at the buttons of my shirt. My shirt was so wet that they were not cooperating at all. While Jeff was struggling with my buttons, I was working my hands under the back of his t-shirt. I was more successful. I pealed his shirt up and over his head. I heard it slap wetly against a tree as I tossed it away. I ran my hands down his rain streaked back. Jeff lifted his head from where he was kissing the side of my neck.
"Fuck this." He grabbed the open collar of my shirt on either side and yanked it open. Buttons flew everywhere. "I'm sorry, love." He kissed me.
"I don't care. It's just a shirt."
"No, about the whole thing with Shane." He forced his hands in between my shirt and my skin to caress my back. "I was stupid to think you still wanted him. If you did," he bent his head and licked some of the rain that had started to run down my chest, making me moan his name, "then," he kissed his way back up to my mouth, "you wouldn't be here with me." He kissed me. "I love you so much, Sophi. I'm sorry that I acted like a jealous ass. I should have known better and trusted what you where telling me." The whole time he had been making his apology speech, his hands had been slowly working my plastered shirt off of me. He kissed me. "I want to make it up to you. I'm willing to do anything, love." I smiled as I caressed my hand down his rain covered chest. He sucked in his breath sharply as I wedged my hand inside the top of his jeans.
"Are you?" He nodded. I smiled at him. "Vanish us to our bed and prove it, baby." We were instantly in our room.
"With pleasure, love."
Later that night, I gently lifted Jeff's arm off of me and slipped quietly out of the bed. I walked into the bathroom and grabbed my long red robe off the door to the bedroom. I tied the sash in a bow as I made my way down to the kitchen. Jeff had made me work up quiet an appetite. I walked into the kitchen looking for something small that I could take upstairs with me. I spotted a bowl of apples sitting by the sink. Perfect. I grabbed the red one off the top. I washed it in the sink and took the apple slicer out of the drawer. I got a plate down out of the cabinet. I walked over to the fridge and grabbed two cold bottles of water. I set them beside the plate while I sliced the apple. I tossed the core into the trash. I heard Jeff's bare feet as he walked into the kitchen. I didn't even bother to turn around. I took a bite of one of the apple slices. I set it back down on the plate when Jeff wrapped his arms around me. I leaned back against his chest. He dropped his head and nuzzled my neck, laying a few soft kisses against it. I dropped my head to my shoulder, giving him full access.
"You taste just as good as I remember, honey." I froze. I pushed Shane's arms away and turned around to face him. I clutched my robe lapels tightly together.
"Shane! What the hell are you doing in here?" I started loudly but quieted myself down, remembering Jeff was still asleep.
"I heard you walk in here." He stepped back up to me. I leaned back against the counter.
"What if I had been Jeff?" He grinned.
"I heard you humming quietly to yourself. I knew it was you." He leaned into me, I laid a hand on his bare chest to stop him from coming closer. "That's not the only thing I heard. I heard you."
"You heard me? Heard me doing what?" He pushed a little closer.
"I heard you and Jeff. I heard every sigh, every moan, every damn cry you made, honey. What happened? You used to make those noises for me." Shane placed a hand on the counter on either side of my hips, caging me in. I leaned back some more.
"Shane, you know what happened. You know why I left."
"Honey, that's the past. Now that you know everything, you can come back with me. We can start all over again. I can true you. You can become my Queen. I loved you Sophi." I laughed quietly at him.
"You loved me Shane. That's the keyword, loved. I'm not so sure that I even believe that anymore." I pushed him back away from me and surprisingly, he let me. "Did you love me when you were having sex with Megan?"
"Sophi…" I stopped him.
"No, Shane, you hurt me. I really did love you and you crushed me when I found you with her. She was my friend." I was surprised in myself. I was upset, but not as bad as I thought I would be if I ever got the chance to tell Shane how I felt.
"Honey, that doesn't matter now. The past is the past. We should let it go. I still want you." Ah, that was it. I smiled.
"It does matter. It matters to me. You broke my heart back then Shane. I'm also not stupid. I know you don't even really want me for me. You may have back then, but you don't now. You only want me because I'm happy with someone that truly cares about me. He will never do to me what you did. I love Jeff. Nothing you can say or nothing you can offer me will ever make me leave him. He's the best thing to ever happen to me. I'm so happy with him." I pushed Shane away from me.
"Come on, honey…" I shook my head.
"You can stop. It's not gonna work. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Jeff." Shane sighed.
"Sophi…I'm sorry. I was an idiot. I wish I could make this right." I grabbed my plate and the bottles of water.
"You know what will help? You can stop acting like an ass to Jeff just because you're jealous. You and the other Kings work together with Jeff and make this alliance stronger. Taker has hurt a lot of people. He needs to be taken care of. If Jeff didn't need your help so badly, I would probably ask you to go home, but I'm not going to. I'm gonna be the bigger person here. I'm letting it go." I turned away from Shane and walked out of the kitchen.
I headed back upstairs, not once looking back at Shane. I got to our door, nudged it open with my knee and pushed it shut with my hip. Jeff was sitting up against the headboard with the sheet laying across his lap. He had turned on the light beside him. He smiled at me. Jeff had been waiting for me to come back.
"I brought you a snack." I climbed back in the bed and set the plate in between us. I settled back against the pillow and grabbed a slice of apple. We sat in a comfortable quiet. Jeff finished off the last slice of apple and set the plate on the nightstand. He laid down and patted the bed beside him. I curled up beside him, laying my head on his chest and hooking my leg over his. Jeff moved the hair away from my neck and softly stroked his fingers down it.
"I heard you and Shane in the kitchen." Jeff said quietly to me. I lifted my head. Jeff kept his hand wrapped around the back of my neck.
"Umm…you did?" Jeff smiled and leaned up to kiss my forehead.
"Yeah, and I'm so proud of you. You stood up to him and told him how you feel. As far as I'm concerned, you could have kicked him out of this house for the way he treated you back then. If I had known, I would have swept in there and stolen you away from him." That made me smile. He stroked my cheek. "Tell me the truth, love. Would you rather have Shane back when your relationship was good or me and my moody ass?" I pretended to think about it. I kissed him,
"It would be you and your sexy moody ass every time." Jeff laughed.
"That's what I hoped you'd say."
I feel so bad about making Shane the asshole. I needed someone that I liked enough to make me feel crapy if he was really this way. I promise, I really do love Shane! I would really appreciate if you keep the reviews coming. Please take a couple of seconds and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks! =^.^=