Page 9 of Lord

“The reason I’m calling is there is a Circus in town this evening, Tom and I would love to take Rowena if you are okay with her staying another night. We are enjoying her so much and would love to have her,” Linda said.

Roe would love that. I had no doubt. “Sure, it’s okay; I have to work anyway. What about clothes?”

“I took Rowena shopping and picked up a few things she liked. Would you like to talk to her?” Linda asked, already handing the phone to Roe.

“Hi, Mommy.”

“Are you having fun, sweetie?” I asked, already knowing she was.

“Yea and night I go to Circus, grams, and pap take me,” she said, her words excited.

“You have fun, and I love you, Roe. I will see you tomorrow. Now put grams back on.”

“Love you, mommy.”

“I will call and let Rowen know she is staying; I wanted to ask you first,” Linda said, getting back on the phone.

“Okay, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me anytime.”

“I will, and thanks, Sophia, for letting her stay; we love her so much already. Bye now.” Linda hung up, and once again, I thought of how lucky Roe would be to have Tom and Linda in her life.

I needed to find dad and tell him he didn’t need to watch Roe tonight. It was such an odd feeling to have time to myself. I loved my baby girl; she was my life, but it felt good to have a break. I think I will visit Lettie until time for work. She has been blowing up my phone since last night. Lettie works at a Salon in town, so I will text and see if she wants to have lunch.

I passed by the common area, and Jen sat there, giving me a cold stare. I heard what she said to Rowen, and I know she said it for my benefit; I wasn’t stupid. I also saw the shocked look on Rowen’s face and knew he didn’t appreciate her advances. Jen had it bad for Rowen, which was a no, no when you were a club girl. I ignored her and walked toward the kitchen, where I knew dad would hang out with Jane.

Then I would head out to be interrogated by Lettie.

CHAPTER EIGHT

SOPHIA COULDN’T STAYindifferent to me forever.I thought as I watched her work. I didn’t bother to hide how much I wanted her, and I watched her like a predator stalking his prey with an intensity that burned her soul. And the shorts and club tank she wore were hot. I knew it was working by the side glances she shot me that told me I was affecting her. Sophia may think she hates me, but her body wants nothing more than to crawl into bed with me. Sophia and I had mind-blowing sex like nothing I had ever felt. We had chemistry in and out of bed.

It was hot in here tonight. Friday nights were always a crush at The Unlimited. The bodies gyrated on the dance floor to the dance techno music making my ears bleed. Give me classic rock any day over this shit. I smelled her nauseating perfume before I saw Claudia, who once again showed up in front of me wearing practically nothing. This was the last thing I wanted Sophia to see, and the worst part is I don’t fucking understand why Claudia is bothering me. I haven’t so much as given her any indication I want her attention. I was nothing but professional when I worked at Scarlett. I took that job specifically because I wouldn’t have to pretend to be something I wasn’t, a womanizer.

“Hey, Lord, you wanna dance or something,” Claudie asked, leaning into me.

I moved to the side. “No, I don’t. I have a girlfriend, Claudia, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t try and make moves on me. I’m not interested.” I was blunt; it was the only way. I kept my eyes on her face since she wore a see-through top with no bra. Her face changed to something I couldn’t read, but it looked like crazy.

“Lord, can I talk to you a minute?” Soldier said, coming up to me where I stood before Claudia could spit out anything.

“Sure, brother, what do you need?” I asked, walking away from Claudia.

“Nothing; it looked like you needed an escape. I saw the signs,” Soldier smirked. “Why is she fixated on you? That woman is here every night, barely dressed, asking for you. Viking warned her last night that she wasn’t meeting the dress code. I’m pretty sure if he sees her, she’s out. Especially after suggesting he give her a try, if you know what I mean.”

I forgot Soldier and Viking didn’t frequent the Scarlett; they wouldn’t recognize her. And she obviously didn’t know Viking wouldn’t touch her even before he got Summer. “Her name is Claudia. She is a stripper at Scarlett, though if she’s in here every night, she can’t be still working there. I’ve never even talked to Claudia unless it was work-related. I only want Sophia,” I said as my eyes found Sophia again.

“I heard you wanted her back. But, if you don’t watch, Claudia will ruin it. She has the look of a woman possessive of what’s not hers. You might want to warn Sophia. Let me know if I can help with anything.” Soldier said, walking away.

I saw Sophia head off the floor for her break. I followed, I knew she would push me away, but I had to try. She knew I was behind her because her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t stop and made her way into the break room. I closed the door, locking it. I turned to Sophia, her mouth screwed up in a stubborn scowl. “What do you want, Rowen?”

I gave her no warning as I wrapped her in my arm. “Sophia, have you ever needed someone so bad that you died inside the minute they were gone, and your heart didn’t start to beat until they reappeared? That was me when I lost you. I love you so much that I'm a dead husk walking without you in my life. You have my heart; without you, I’m dead inside,” I said forcefully, rocking her with my body.

She didn’t push me away but said, “Don’t try and make me feel guilty, Rowen. You left me; I didn’t leave you. And judging by the women I see floating around you, your heart was pumping fine because if it weren’t, your dick wouldn’t work, and we both know that it did,” she accused. And then she did try and push me away.

I held her tighter, making her listen. “My cock hasn’t seen another pussy since yours. No other woman was you, Sophia, I know I fucked up, but if you believe one thing, it’s that I never stopped loving you, and you still owned me whether I liked it or not,” I growled in her ear, rubbing my erection into her stomach. “My cock only gets hard for you. You are the only woman I see. Sometimes I wanted to gouge my eyes out because no matter how hard I tried, your image was on every other woman I saw and in my dreams every night.”

Sophia gave me another hard shove, and this time I released her, seeing tears running down her cheeks. “You cannot expect me just to forget what you did to me, Rowen, I didn’t deserve it, and you never even questioned if I was the woman in that video. Do you know how hurt I was, how broken? No, because you weren’t there and jumped into bed with the first woman you could grab, and I have to look at that woman every damn day as a reminder. I may still love you, Rowen, but love can’t always fix a deep hurt and betrayal. Now I need to get back to work,” Sophia said as she unlocked the door, storming out.

I know she’s right about everything she said. I have an uphill battle that I am prepared to fight. But, I’m focusing on the wordsI still love you, which means I can fix this. I may have to play dirty, but I will have her back. The first thing I am going to do is find a house for us, and I will start tomorrow. She’s wrong love can fix anything if it’s deep enough.

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