Page 12 of Silver Fire

The waffle machine beeped, and Sophie took that opportunity to run back into the guest room. She heard Derek curse and saw him grab what looked like a tong to take the waffles out before they burned.

* * *

Derek fumedas Sophie avoided his eyes all through breakfast. He had never, in his entire life, had a woman reject him after kissing him. He knew he had moved too fast; it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she wasn’t like his usual women. Sophie Leroux was going to give him a complex if he did not turn this around. But she refused to address him directly and only talked to Beth, even if her reporter friend pointedly tried to bring him into the conversation, she would smartly deflect and talk of something else that did not concern him—like the man Stephen Parker was currently dating. At least she seemed to enjoy the waffles and bacon. But maybe she was stuffing her mouth full so she wouldn’t have to talk to him.

“All right you two,” Beth said, obviously having had enough. “What happened? The tension is so thick, it’s like breathing through a pillow.”

“You can’t breathe through a pillow,” Sophie informed her friend.

Beth rolled her eyes. “Sophie, quit being a literal nerd for a minute. So what the fuck happened?”

“Sophie watched me have sex last night,” Derek stated bluntly.

“Fuck, Lockwood,” Beth exclaimed, half in awe, half in disdain.

“You said it.” Derek smirked.

“Where’s the woman?”

“They come. I make them come. They leave.”

By now, Sophie was burying her face in her hands, but Beth looked like a dog with a bone. “So that’s why my girl here is feeling as tense as a violin string this morning?”

“Beth!”

“And then what happened?”

“I kissed Sophie earlier. And she—was—gone. I could have taken her right on the kitchen counter, but when I felt her up, she bolted.” Derek stared at Sophie who looked up and glared at him.

“Did it ever occur to you, Lockwood, that some women might be repulsed by you?” Sophie fired back. “After all, you’ve had your penis, and god knows your tongue, marinating in some other woman’s…some other woman’s—”

“Vagina,” Beth supplied dryly.

“Thank you. Some other woman’s vagina and I don’t want any of your appendages anywhere near my…my—”

“Vagina,” Beth finished for her again.

“Right,” Sophie huffed. “So get over yourself. Why are you smiling?”

“Because you look so damned cute, Angel,” Derek said, grinning. She did. He also knew she was lying about the reason she did a 180 on him after he had kissed her.

“Wait, how did you watch him have sex?”

Sophie related what had happened.

“Aha,” Beth said shrewdly. “So you just walked up casually to an open door emitting rutting noises?” The reporter turned to Derek. “And why were you having sex with the doors open?”

Derek’s brows furrowed. “It’s my goddamned condo, I can have sex in the living room if I want.”

“Not when you have promised to protect me,” Sophie argued. “What if that woman was an assassin?”

“Yeah, right, as if Layla would know two weeks in advance that a hit on you would fail and you would be staying with me that night,” Derek shot back. The truth was, Derek had forgotten that he had an appointment with Layla the night before. The woman showed up at 11:30 p.m., and they had been going for round three when he saw Sophie, standing outside his room, looking like a blonde angel, the slim curves of her body achingly visible through that damned transparent nightie she was wearing. And she was touching herself while watching him have sex, taking him over the edge. He had not come so hard in a long time. He had his dick sheathed in another woman, and was watching another fondle herself. This was nothing new for him with all the threesomes he’d had, so what had changed?

“Wait, Layla Robinson? Senator Robinson’s daughter?” Beth asked curiously.

Derek felt his lips thin.Damned reporter.

“Sophie, you really need to get over your hang-up and have Lockwood here tap your sweet ass,” Beth said with glee.

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