Taming the Bachelor (12 page)

“What do you want baby?”  He brushed his fingers across her nipple and tugged the pink puckered flesh. 

“You.  Now.  Please don’t wait.”  Sophie grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head and made quick work of the button on his jeans.  Pushing his pants and boxers down in one fluid movement, she wrapped her hand around his erection and grit his teeth.

“Baby, this is going to be quick.”  He entered her and began pumping into her recklessly.  His eyes were glassy and almost feral.

She felt the familiar tightening in her belly and dug her heels into his back.  She threw her head back as her release hit her.  Her body clenched and shuttered.  She bit his shoulder and he pumped even harder.  “I’m never going to be able to let you go.”

She held him tightly.  “I don’t want to go anywhere.”

Chapter 13

Mark paced his kitchen.  Her flight was delayed and he was getting anxious.  The appointment with Neil Lane was today and he smiled.  She would know exactly what Sophie would like.  He wanted this to be perfect.  The knock on the door brought him out of his daze.  Show time.

“Layla?”  Mark locked eyes with the woman at his door.  She was taller than Sophie but had the same big chocolate eyes and pouty lips.  Her hair was dark brown and fell to her mid back with shiny curls.  She wore skinny jeans, a halter top and red lipstick and had a tattoo on her right arm.

She pushed past him into his suite.  “You have got to be kidding me.  You are Mark?  Way to go Soph.”  She laughed and wrapped him into a tight hug.  “You are hot.  Wow.”

Mark laughed.  She wasn’t shy or timid like his Sophie.  She kept him in a tight hug when he tried to pull away.  His laugh grew louder when she kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m not sure I want to let you go.  I haven’t hugged a beefy man in awhile.”  Layla Barringer stood in his suite, looking around and shaking her head.  “My sister hit the jackpot with you buddy.  Get my bags and show me around already.”

Mark’s smile grew bigger.  “You got it.  Please make yourself at home.  Help yourself to anything.  The bathroom is on the right and your room is right next door.  I’ll bring your bag in and we need to get going.  We have an appointment.”

“Yes sir.  Please don’t let me sit down after that long flight.  That would be too kind.”  She teased back over her shoulder and walked down the hall to find her room.  “I still think it’s crazy you needed me here.  But now that I see you are eye candy, I think I will stay the week.”

“You are too kind.”  He tossed her a helmet and jingled his keys.  “Let’s roll Kid.”

“What are we rolling in exactly?”  Layla looked at the helmet and smiled.  “You have a bike?  You don’t look like a bike guy, pretty boy.”

“Don’t let these good looks fool you.  I happen to have a Ducati that just arrived yesterday from my place on the East Coast and I am drying to ride it.  Get your ass in gear, let’s go.”

Mark led Layla down to the garage.  He strapped his helmet on and straddled the bike.  Layla squealed.  “Oh my God.  I have to drive this.  Can I drive?  Please pretty boy. This is amazing.  I have a bike but it is nothing like this.”

Mark couldn’t help but laugh at her.  She was nothing like Sophie.  She jumped up and down begging to drive.  “I’ll tell you what.  I will drive us there, you help me with this and I will let you drive it.  Now stop jumping and get on.”

She wrapped her arms around him and they sped out of the parking garage.  She leaned into the turns with him and loosened her grip on his waist.  He was worried he would never get Sophie on his bike.  Layla was a natural.  It was a short drive to the appointment and she huffed her disappointment when they stopped. 

Her eyes widened at she took off her helmet and noticed the name on the store.  “Why are we here?”

Mark climbed off his bike and smiled down at her.  “Layla, I need to ask you a question.”  She shifted uncomfortably.  “I love your sister.  I never thought I would love anyone but she’s amazing.  Sophie means everything to me.  And you mean everything to her.  I know she really only has you.  I want to ask your permission to marry your sister.”

Layla launched herself off the bike and wrapped her arms around his neck.  “Yes.  Yes.  I am so excited for her.  She deserves this so much.  She needs some good in her life.  Does she know?”

Mark shook his head and took her hand as they walked into Neil Lane’s store.  “She has no idea.”

****

“Ryan, come here man.”  Caleb slowed the treadmill from his run and yelled over the crowd to Ryan.  He had been doing a training session but Caleb didn’t care.  This was important.

“Dude, do you not see that babe I am training?”

“I don’t care.  Does Moretti have a bike?”  Caleb pointed out the front window of the gym at the Ducati sitting in front of the jewelry store.  “I swear to God I just saw him with some brunette.  She was hugging him and then they walked in there holding hands.”

Ryan looked out the window stunned.  “No way man.  It couldn’t have been.  Besides, what would he be doing over there?  And not with Sophie?”

The men stood in the window staring at the bike for a few minutes.  When they didn’t come right back out, Ryan went back to his training session and Caleb picked up his pace on the treadmill.  He would run five more miles and call it a day.  He had taken a half day from work to spend some time with Ryan at his gym.  He had been promising to come by for months and he needed to blow off some steam. 

Movement across the street caught his attention.  “Um, Ryan?”

Ryan moved to the window and his jaw dropped.  Mark was coming out of the store, holding hands with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  His heart raced and he shook his head.  “Who is that?”

Caleb reached for his cell phone.  “I have no idea man.”

Ryan grabbed his hand.  “Leave it alone Allen.  Or at least ask Mark about it before you go blowing this out of proportion.  You owe it to him to ask.  And you owe it to Soph.”  He looked back out the window and his eyes locked with hers.  His breath caught in his throat.  She smiled at him and he froze. Her gaze returned to Mark and she hugged him, holding tightly to a little jewelry bag. “What the hell just happened?”

****

Layla was star struck.  She had just met Neil Lane and helped pick out the most gorgeous engagement ring she had ever seen.  Sophie was a lucky girl.  Mark was gorgeous, adventurous and very rich.  She held his hand and dragged him to the bike.  “I can’t believe I get to drive this.  Thank you.”  She jumped up and down and then jumped into his arms.  “You are the best brother in law in the world.”  She looked across the street and noticed two men in the gym staring at them.  She smiled at them before Mark cleared his throat.

“Are you sure you want to drive this?”  He dangled the key in front of her and pulled it back when she grabbed for it.

He fastened her chin strap and grabbed the bag with the ring.  When she was seated, he eased in behind her and put his hands on hers on the handle bars.  “Layla, I am going to let you drive, but first, I am going to hold on for dear life.”

Layla elbowed him and started the bike.  “Oh pretty boy, if you weren’t taken…”  Her sentence died as they launched into traffic.

****

Caleb arrived at the office late the next morning and slammed his office door.  He had tried to call Mark the night before and left a voice mail that had yet to be returned.  He ran his hand through his hair and put his head on his desk.  His brain was at war with his heart and his heart was winning.  He still loved Sophie and more than anything, he wanted to be with her.  But at what cost?  His head told him that there must be a logical explanation for what he had seen.  But as she entered his office with a timid smile, his heart leaped and overpowered his thoughts.

“Caleb?  You ok?”  She was so beautiful.  Her soft yellow dress showed off her tan and her blond hair was pulled into a loose pony tail, showing off her long neck. 

He shivered.  “I will be.  I need to ask you something.”

“Ok.”  She sat down in the chair opposite him and smiled.

“Did you talk to Mark last night?”  Caleb shifted papers on his desk, not making eye contact.

“No.  He has a really busy week at work.  He told me we wouldn’t talk too much this week.  Why?”

Caleb flinched.  “Soph.”  His voice was quiet.

She sat up straighter.  “Why Caleb?  What’s happening?”

Clearing his throat, he leaned across the desk and took her hand.  “I saw him yesterday.  He was with some woman.  Ryan says it’s probably nothing.  And it probably is.  But it didn’t look like nothing to me.  And I tried to call him last night to ask him about it but he never returned my call.”

Sophie’s face was blank.  Her eyes remained locked on his.  “What did it look like Caleb?”

He hung his head.  He should have ignored his heart.  He felt like the worst friend in the world.  “I don’t know.  They seemed pretty friendly. God, I shouldn’t have said anything.  I feel like shit.  I’m sorry Soph.  It’s probably nothing.  I’m going to call him again.”

Caleb hit the speaker button on his phone and called Mark’s office.  “Mr. Moretti’s office.  This is Mary.  May I help you?”

“Hey Mary, Caleb Allen.  Is Mark in?”  Sweat broke out across his forehead.

“I’m sorry Mr. Allen.  Mr. Moretti is off this week.  Can I give him a message for you?”

Caleb froze as Sophie’s face fell.  He had broken her heart.  He was an asshole.  “No thank you Mary.  I will try his cell phone.”  He hung up and took Sophie’s hand again.  “Shit, Soph.  I’m sorry.  I’m still jealous and I am sure my mind is making things up.  Maybe you should try his cell?”

A tear rolled down her face and she whispered.  “I can’t.  What if he’s cheating on me?  Oh God.”

“Then he would be a fool.  Want me to try his cell?”

As Sophie nodded her head, Caleb hit the speaker button again and dialed the number he knew so well.  Was he setting their relationship up to fail so he would win Sophie?  He wasn’t sure.  He prayed he wasn’t but as the phone began to ring, dread settled into his bones.  He was hurting her and assuming the worst about his best friend.

“Moretti,” Mark was out of breath when he answered, shushing someone or something in the background.

“Yo, Marko, it’s Caleb.  What’s up man?”  Caleb winked at Sophie.  Maybe this wasn’t bad news.

“Not much C.  What’s up with you?”  His hand covered his phone and his words were to muffled to make up.

“Hey, I was just wondering what you were up to today.”

“I’m working.  Listen, I’ve got to run.  Work is crazy.  Can we catch up later this week?”  Mark laughed and asked the driver if she knew how to drive a stick and to stop messing up his car.  “I really have to call you back.” 

The phone went dead and Caleb’s eyes froze on Sophie.  The blood drained out of her face.  Her hands shook and more tears formed in her eyes.  He stood and wrapped her into a hug.  “I’m sorry Sophie.  Go home.  Take the day.  Call him.  Maybe he is with a client.  Maybe this is nothing.  Please call him.  I feel terrible.”

Sophie hugged him hard.  “Did it look like a client Caleb?”

“No Sophie.  It really didn’t.  I’m so sorry.”

****

“Have you ever driven a stick?  You are killing my car.”  Mark laughed at Layla as they tried to make their way up the long driveway of a house his realtor had told him would be perfect.  “Listen, I really have to call you back.”  Mark ended the call and frowned at Layla.  She just laughed as she stalled the car again.  “You were better on the bike.”

“Get over it pretty boy.  You could buy a bunch of these.  Why do you have this car anyway?  An Audi?  I would have expected to be picked up in a limo or something.  Don’t get me wrong, this car is awesome and I would drive it in a second but.. Sorry, I am babbling again.  I know you aren’t used to constant talking.”

Mark smiled and thought of Sophie.  “Soph is pretty quiet.”  He sighed.

“Oh gag.  You’ve got it bad.  When did you know you loved her?  When do I get to see her?  When are you asking her?”

“Slow down Dr. Phil.”  Mark laughed and waved at his realtor, Beth.  “You can see her Friday at the rehearsal.  And I am thinking of asking her at the wedding.  May get Molly and Rich involved in the proposal.  I thought maybe even during the reception since Molls has asked me to sing.  We will talk about it tomorrow night when they come to dinner.  Come on kid.  Let’s see if this is the house.”

Mark looked over the gray stone exterior of the house situated at the top of Beachwood Canyon.  He sighed at the three car garage.  “This one is how much?”

The realtor shifted her papers.  “2.2 million but we can offer less.  It was built in 1991.  5,500 square feet of living space and the lot is about 15,700 square feet.  Give it a chance Mark.  This has a rooftop pool and a sauna.  And you would be tucked away from city noise here.  You can see the Hollywood sign from the roof.”

“Million?”  Layla cleared her throat. 

Mark patted her back. “Come on.  You check the closets for me kid.”

She smacked him and ran ahead into the house.  She gasped. “Mark, get in here.  You have to see this kitchen.  It’s huge.  And white.”

Mark walked through the four bedroom, five bathroom house.  The closet space was the size of an additional room and knowing he would be spoiling Sophie, he knew that would be a plus.  The pool and Jacuzzi were separated by a wall in the pool and he liked the flow of the water back and forth.  The view was breathtaking, the ocean on one side and the Hollywood sign on the other.  It would be perfect for entertaining but something felt off.  “The bedrooms are pretty small Beth.  I am willing to pay more if we can get some more space.  I want to have kids and I want to be able to see the pool without having them sneak up onto the roof.  I’m sorry.  It’s just not it.”