Page 44 of Redeemed

"What are you doing?" Sofia asked, the smile growing on her lips to mimic his.

"I was going to give you this on our three-month anniversary but as I was being an asshole then so…"

"Stop! Don't say that," Sofia admonished him.

"No, it's the truth. But here. I wanted you to know that I want you in my life always, Sofia, for infinity," he told her as he presented her with the long, black box.

Her eyes filled with tears as she opened it and saw the beautiful gold infinity symbol. "Oh, JT, it's gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

"Here, let me put it on you." She handed him the box, and he carefully took out the necklace and fastened it around her neck. The gold stood out against her glowing skin just as he'd imagined.

"I love it!" Sofia said, looking at herself in the mirror. "And, I love you."

"I love you more and always," JT declared, bending down to take her mouth in an excruciatingly sweet kiss. "Now I want to see you in nothing but this gold."

He slowly peeled away Sofia's clothes piece by piece kissing each new area of skin that was uncovered. She moaned at the feel of his lips moving over her skin causing frissons of desire everywhere they traveled. Before she knew it, she was naked and being lifted into the tub of warm, bubbly water. She watched with hooded eyes as JT quickly stripped and climbed in behind her. He settled her onto his chest and kissed the top of her head.

She brought his hand to her mouth and gently kissed the cuts and scrapes on his knuckles. "Your poor hands," she murmured between kisses.

"Totally worth it," he said, bringing her other hand to his mouth and placing a kiss on the palm.

They stayed in the bath stroking and kissing and caressing each other until the water cooled. After drying themselves with towels warm from the towel warmer- another Maggie idea that he was coming to appreciate- JT tucked her into his bed and crawled in behind her, surrounding her with his heat. She tucked his hand against her heart and held it tight "Sleep, baby. I've got you," he told her kissing her shoulder.

"I know," she whispered before sleep claimed her completely.

JT frowned before he cracked open an eye to try to figure out what the noise was that had awoken him. The first thing he saw was Sofia, her head resting on his chest with her beautiful hair covering him like a silky, black sheet. He reached out a hand and ran his fingers through a few of the strands before focusing on the noise again. His phone was vibrating on the nightstand. Who the hell was calling him in the middle of the night? He didn't care. He wasn't moving and disturbing Sofia's sleep for anything.

Decision made, he had closed his eyes again and was enjoying the sensation of her breath against his chest when "Let's Get It Started" by The Black-Eyed Peas came blaring from Sofia's jeans on the floor. She popped up and whipped her head around. "Whaa…."

JT ran a hand down his face as his phone started buzzing again, too. "Shit! It's the middle of the damn night. What's going on?"

He rolled onto an elbow and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. "What?" JT barked. "Wait. When? How long ago? Okay, we're on our way!"

Sofia pushed her hair out of her face as she listened to JT's side of the conversation. "What's happening?" she whisper-yelled.

"Maggie's having the babies!" he exclaimed, jumping up and searching for his clothes.

"Really? It's too soon, isn't it?" she asked as she pulled on her own clothes.

"A bit, but Zane says they expect twins to come a little early. They're already at the hospital. You ready?" Sofia nodded and they were on their way to meet his highly anticipated nieces.

The waiting room was full of family when they arrived. His mother, Tricia, greeted them with hugs. She was virtually vibrating with worry and excitement. "Your sister's blood pressure spiked, and they took her in for a C-section about twenty minutes ago," she informed him. "She'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

Dani greeted him with a slap to the chest for him before hugging him, "I've been calling you for half an hour, you big dumbass! Why don't you answer your phone?"

"We had a kinda eventful day," he chuckled. "We were both passed out hard. But we made it, so it's all good."

She pulled Sofia into a hug. "We're all so glad you're okay! And that y'all are back together where you belong." Sofia could only hug her back and nod.

Hugs and handshakes were given and received all round by the rest of the friends and family. Levi was there, of course, as were Dani's Uncle Eustace and Aunt Lu, as well as Levi's mother, Wanda. It felt like forever before Zane came into the room to see them, a wide smile overtaking his face.

"Maggie's fine and the babies are perfect," he announced to the group. "If you'll keep it down, I'll sneak you all into the room for just a minute. Maggie's worn out, but she wants to see everyone."

The group found Maggie sitting up in the bed with two small bundles propped up in her arms. Tricia made it to the bed first, followed closely behind by JT and Sofia. "Oh, baby doll, they are beautiful! You did a wonderful job!" Tricia gushed as she smoothed back Maggie's hair and placed kisses on each baby's head.

"They're perfect, Mama, aren't they?" Maggie asked in wonder. Tricia nodded as happy tears flowed from her eyes.

Zane motioned to JT and Sofia to come closer before picking up one of the bundles. "May I introduce you to Riley Sofia Savage," Zane said, placing the little bundle in Sofia's arms.

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