“Something like that,” I grumble at her.
Tyler chuckles and rubs his stubble as he tells us, “Did I say there was a job? Mom just called and asked to get you out of her hair. You were driving her nuts.”
I stare at him, wondering why the fuck he told me there was a job, too. Hits me immediately why though. He was being a friend, guessed I was miserable out here on my own for the first time in my life without my family.
Soph explodes with anger and disappointment all at once. “What?! We drove all the way to Arizona, stopped in Amarillo and Albuquerque, and the whole time you’re acting like we’ve got some important job, and now there’s just these?” She throws her arms up and spins around, ass gorgeous underneath the Ciphers patch sewn into her leather jacket. “Huge mountains. Hippies who believe in ghosts, psychics, and aromatherapy. And that’s it?!!” She pushes his chest. “No beating anybody up, is that what you’re telling me?!”
Tyler is the opposite of her, relaxed as if he just had a blow job. “You forgot to mention the red soil. Can’t describe Sedona without that.”
She stares at him a beat, then shouts, “No, can’t forget the damn red soil!” She’s about to throw her helmet but thinks better of it—she loves the copy of her father’s tattoo she had painted on it in gold. His brothers all have one, and she wants her cousins to come up with one for themselves. But to watch her almost toss that thing in a temper fit, and then control herself is pretty fucking funny, so Tyler and I laugh.
Grey eyes lock on me, then him, then me again. “What’s so funny?”
“You trying to control yourself,” Tyler chuckles.
I add, “It’s like watching a panther try not to chase a buck.”
“You saying it’s in my nature to lose my shit?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“I’m pretty fucking together most of the time, Luke.”
“I never said I didn’t like you how you are.”
She stares at me. I freeze.
Tyler pulls at his bottom lip with his thumbnail. “Maybe that cooling off period needed more time,” he smirks, turns on his worn boot. “Let’s get checked into the hotel. I’m starving.”
“Nice place,” Sofia mutters, scanning the wood ceilings and columns, all rustic. “You two were planning a vacay for yourselves, or what?” When we don’t answer her, heading for the front desk, she tries again. “Didn’t think the beach would be better? Don’t you get enough mountains in Montana, Ty?”
“Never enough mountains, Soph,” he glances to her rack and holds there, for comedy’s sake. Teasing her like that is normal—we all joke with each other, doesn’t mean anything—but this time it bothers me. My fists involuntarily twitch. Tyler doesn’t see it as he focuses on the friendly woman behind the counter. “Yeah, good day to you, too,” he smiles. “Soph, where do you want to stay. Sky’s the limit?”
She flicks a glance to me before answering, “Not near him.”
The clerk’s painted eyebrows shoot up.
Tyler just smiles and turns around, his elbow on the counter. “You got a room with a hot tub in it?”
“I do! All of our suites have jacuzzi bathtubs.”
Sofia Sol moans and wilts a little. “Oh, yes please.” A relieved grin spreads on her face.
I have to head away or I’ll keep staring at her.
“We have breakfast from seven to nine-thirty every morning in our cozy dining room right over there,” she points to it, “And if you’d like a list of the best restaurants in Sedona there’s one in each of your rooms. Here’re your keys—welcome! If you need anything, just call me. I work every day but Sunday. My name is Sherry.”
Tyler smiles, “Thank you, Sherry, will do,” tapping his plastic room key on the counter as Sofia Sol picks up hers and removes it from the paper sheath that holds two keys per room. I’m just glad she’s not on my floor, I was listening to everything they said. Made sure I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief when I found out she’s on ground level. Too much temptation for a man who’s been thinking about that woman too damn much.
“You wanted to keep up tradition?” I mutter to Tyler. “Stay on the first level for a reason, or what?”
He booked me on the second floor, but we always stay on the first. Easy to make a run for it.
“Just habit,” he shrugs as we head to the bikes for their saddlebags. “No plans for anything here but some much needed R&R.” He unharnesses his bags and throws them over his shoulder. “Don’t think I’ve had a day off from breaking necks or changing diapers in two years.”
I glance to Sofia Sol. She sneaks a look at me, pretending to be listening to Tyler. Her gaze drops to my body and up quickly, but I catch the sly intent, which makes it a failure. Grey eyes squint at her bag as she tries to pull it off, but it’s stuck. She grimaces a little, doesn’t want the thing to give her trouble in front of us, and make her look like she can’t carry her bags.
I glance to Tyler. He smirks at me and we watch her, both knowing better than to help. She wrestles with the thing, swears under her breath, and pulls her leather jacket off because she’s starting to sweat. My amused stare drops to her breasts as they jiggle with her struggle. Her ass out like that, body bent over, boobs bouncing, it’s just too much. And when she throws a boot on the back wheel for support the curve of her thighs is murder.
“Alright, enough,” I growl, stomping over.
She snarls, “I’ve got it, Luke!” thinking I’m impatient with her ineptitude. It ain’t that, but I’m not going to tell her the truth, that if she keeps working this thing I’m going to work her.
“Just back the fuck off and let me give it a shot.” I pry her hands away and she makes likes she’s going to hit me. So I grab her wrists and hold them between our bodies, leaning in close. She’s got animal in her eyes, always like this when she’s embarrassed. “Soph, the Ciphers let the men do some of the heavy lifting, remember, because it makes us feel good. You wanna make me feel good?”
Her eyes flicker and drop to my lips a couple times. It’s unintentionally hot as fuck. “No,” she grumbles. “I don’t want to.”
“Pretend.” I roughly let go of her wrists, turning to the green Triumph I’ve secretly been missing for weeks on this forced exile. I bend a little and pull up the leather to see what’s going on. “You’ve broken a piece of metal here, and it stuck in the leather like a fish hook. Gonna have to get both repaired. There, all good for now.” Hoisting the bags I throw them over my shoulder and not hers.
“I’ll carry them!”
I walk to the hotel and smirk at Tyler as I pass him and tell Soph a firm, “No.”
Ty says to her, “Man earned the right by helping the little lady out.”
“Screw you, Tyler,” she mumbles, grabbing her leather jacket and following us inside. “I’ll give you a little lady right in your crotch.”
“My wife might object to that,” he laughs. “She already thinks you’re too pretty for your own good.”
“For her own good, you mean,” she counters as we stop in front of the elevator. “I never go after married men.”
“I know that.” He heads down the hall to his room, saying on his way, “Oh, and why you taking that when you’re on this floor, Soph, huh? Other direction, I’m this way.”
“Shit,” she mutters, stepping back. “Give me my bags.”
Ignoring her I head where he pointed, and she comes with me, reading the numbers with the usual amount of hip-shake. We stop in front of her room and Soph swipes the key. Half our lives have been in hotels and motels, but not as nice as this place. “How ya been out here on your own?”
“Just fine. I like my own company.”
She opens the door, leaning on it to push it open as she flicks a glance up and down my body. “Me too. I like your company, too. I missed you.” I pause, and she walks inside, taking in a sharp breath as she spins around. “Look at this place!” She runs in the bathroom and whoops, rushing to stand in the doorjamb and
hold her hair back from her face as she points behind her. “The bathtub is half the size of our bedroom back home! Look!”
Motherfucker, why does she have to be so damn unpredictable? Total bitch one minute, excitable little girl the next, dropping me compliments when I least expect one, and then acting like it never happened.
I drop the saddlebags on the bed, rolling my shoulders in a good stretch. “I’ll leave you to it.”
Her smile falls as I pass her. “Luke, how long you been in this place?”
“Few days, just while I waited for Tyler.”
“You been outside?”
“Nope, ‘cept for just now when I was on that bench and you guys rode up. Was getting some air.” I close the door and start down the hall. But the sound of it opening again turns my head. Sofia is leaning out of her room, watching me. “What?”
She mutters, “Nothing,” holding my eyes two hot seconds before disappearing inside.
Standing here I listen as the lock falls into place.
CHAPTER 23
SOFIA
“What room is Luke Martinez in?”
Sherry pauses on the other end of the call. “I’m sorry…I know you came in together, but I’m not allowed to give out room numbers.”
“Is it 27?”
“We leave that up to the guests, if they want people to know where they are.”
I pick at my comforter and ask, “So you won’t tell me if I guess it right?”
“No.”
“Is it 22?
A pause and then, “I’m sorry, I wish I could!”
“It’s okay,” I smile, because she just told me and doesn’t even know it.
“Hotel policies, Ms. Cocker, I’m so sorry.”
“I understand, Sherry, you’re doing a great job. My buddy Tyler was saying so, too.”
She gets happy, leaving behind the guilt for not being able to help me. “Really? How nice of him. He’s a very handsome man, I was sad he had a wedding ring on.”
My face squishes up, because I’ve never heard Tyler called good looking after he hit puberty and left his cute-kid-face far behind. “They’re pretty happy, too, I’m afraid. Oh well, you’ll find your man.”
“I hope so,” she wistfully replies.
“Have to go. See you soon I’m sure.”
“Bye, Ms. Cocker.”
I gently drop the hotel phone back in its cradle, staring into the possibilities. I know I should leave this alone, and that’s why I’m not in the elevator right now. I’ve explored a few shops not far from the hotel, but my eyes kept finding the second floor, wondering what Luke was doing up there. Tyler will probably come get us for dinner, but what the hell am I supposed to do with all this time if there’s no mission to execute?
I want to spend time with Luke.
As soon as I saw him standing there waiting for Tyler in the parking lot, I knew it was him I’ve been missing, haven’t allowed myself to think about him, did everything possible to distract myself around the plantation.
He’s angry at me.
Feels betrayed by Atlas.
I have to make this right.
Marching to the elevator like he is now my mission, I jab the button and impatiently wait to hit the top floor. At Room 22 I bang on the door. Heavy footsteps clomp toward me and Luke appears, wearing no shirt, belt off, first button undone on his tight-fitting jeans like he’d gotten really comfortable.
My mind goes blank. “Uh…”
He reacts, runs a hand through his shiny, black hair hanging down his naked back. His chest is peaks and valleys of burnished copper muscle. “Soph, what do you want?”
Parting my lips I try hard to remember why I thought it was a good idea to come up here. “I…uh…”
We don’t move for what feels like minutes, but it’s probably three seconds, tops.
“Come in, Soph,” he grumbles, holding the door open wider.
I’ve never been this awkward around him, so I clasp my hands behind my back and walk inside, scanning the pretty room as I struggle to speak. Clearing my throat, I offer a lame, “It’s nice in here.” He shuts the door and crosses his arms, the stance not impatient but not welcoming either. “Bed okay?”
“I sleep fine.” He takes a couple steps in as I lift a notepad from his nightstand. “Don’t touch that.”
“What is it? You writing a story or something?”
“Just some thoughts I have,” he shrugs. “Non fiction. Put it down.”
“Put this down?” I smile, teasing him, “You don’t want me to open this?”
He uncrosses his arms and points at me. “Soph, put it the fuck down.”
My fingertips shuffle just the edges of the closed pages, torturing him with, will I or won’t I?
“Gosh, you’re so nervous. What’s in this notebook, I wonder?”
He starts for me, coming around the bed, so I jump on it to escape him. “Sofia!”
“What?” I hold it high and dodge left and right as he circles the bed. His gaze drops, repeatedly flickering around my body. With all the jumping around, I’m jiggling like crazy, and the way his expression changes, he’s in a war with his baser instincts.
I should stop.
But when have I ever done anything I should?
So I bend over, cleavage at its deepest, and hold the journal out. “You want this?”
Double entendre intended.
Like a predator about to pounce, Luke hunches over, dark eyes sparkling with a warning. I’m sure I’ve got the same look in mine as a naughty smile spreads on my lips.
“Come and get it,” I whisper.
He lunges for me.
I whip the notebook out of reach, leap off the bed.
He lands on fluffy blankets and pillows, grasping at zip, zero, nada. Flipping around he sees me standing near the window, opening the notebook and he shouts, “NO!”
It’s so loud it startles me, and that gives him the edge he needs. Tackling me, Luke grabs the book, lifts me over his shoulder, flings the notebook far away as he throws me on the bed, leaping on top, caging me. Our chests are heaving as we stare at each other, his hair brushing the sides of my face, mine fanned out. I lick my lips. He keeps staring at them, like he’s trying not to kiss me but desperately wants to. Voice gravelly, he asks, “What do you want from me, Sofia?”
My mind is filled with images of our Dads punching each other, Mom furious and reminding me why we have rules.
“I…”
He punches the bed, and repeats, more desperately, “What do you want?!”
I almost say, you. But I can’t make the same mistake twice and jeopardize our family. Instead I say what is so true, it hurts. “I want to go back in time.”
He frowns. “To before you and Atlas…I can’t even say it.”
“Yes,” I whisper, “To before then.”
“You saying you would have chosen me?”
“I’m saying I wouldn’t have done it at all.”
He jumps to standing with the grace of a Black Belt. I rise up on my elbows as he takes angry strides to the window and looks out at red sandstone mountains protecting the peaceful valley.
Sitting up I plead with him to understand. “Look at where you are, Luke! Stuck out here because they’re trying to keep us apart and it wasn’t even us! Imagine if it had been.”
“I’ve been imagining it, that’s the problem,” he says through gritted teeth, eyes locked outside.
Closing my eyes I almost tell him he’s not alone in that, but I’ve been trained to fight for what’s right, and for our family. And that’s what I’m going to do. Climbing off the bed I go to him, but don’t touch him. I’ve no intention of teasing him now. I’m dead serious. “Listen, our parents put this rule in place for a reason, and I didn’t know it until all of this went down. Sage isn’t talking to Atlas. After I found out he lied and gave the blame to you, I’ve done nothing but punish him. You’re out here, away from your family when we should all be doing what we do! And then there’
s Celia, crushing on him! Can you believe that? You should have seen our fathers, they haven’t been the same!”
His eyelids are heavy, voice drawn with tension. “What’s done can’t be undone.”
“But I miss you!” He looks at me with so much distance in his gaze. “You know I’m better at ripping things apart than I am at putting them back together! Help me!”
“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. I don’t know how. Atlas fucked me over, Soph, and I haven’t been able to get past that yet. Need some time.” He walks to pluck his notebook from the ground, smoothing the pages that got bent from the fall.
Under my breath I say, “We’ve got tons of it out here.”
Putting the notebook in a drawer he flattens his fingers as he shuts it, making sure it’s closed. “No doubt.”
“Well, let’s spend some time together, like we always do.”
He thinks about it, snapping two fingers like a slowing heartbeat. “Act normal and then maybe it’s normal again?” I nod and force a smile, which brings a bemused smirk out of him. “Nothing better to do.” He walks me to the door.
“You want to go do something now?”
“Nah,” he mutters. “Going to stay here today. I didn’t expect to see you, Soph. Just give me a minute.”
In the hallway I turn. I don’t want to leave, even if we could just sit and watch the television, I’d relish it. But Luke’s got his wall up, heels dug in.
“See you at dinner?”
“Yeah, Ty say where or when?” he asks, chewing his lip.
“No. Haven’t talked to him.”
I just wanted to see you.
He digs his phone from his pants while I try not to stare at his naked chest. “I’ll give him a call then text you.”
Smirking I reach out and stop just shy of touching him. “Oh, you know how to use your phone now?”
Luke chuckles, “Just remembered. Amnesia passed, lucky me.”
I head away, “I’ll look out for the text.”
“Soph?”
“Yeah?”
“I missed you, too.” He closes the door.
CHAPTER 24
Sofia Sol Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 13) Page 11
