she can’t stand the sight of me.
Lauren and Josephine watch with interest and one look from me has them scooting back down the bar. Ashton stands and says pleasantly, “Sorry guys, I’ll just grab a minute with Ryder, will you be ok, Sophia?”
“I’ll be fine, thanks, Ashton.”
Her voice is soft with a hint of steel lacing it and Ashton catches my eye and looks almost apologetic. “Keep my seat warm, Maverick, I won’t be long.”
As she heads off, I take her seat and feel like a high school kid asking a girl to prom. It feels awkward as fuck and I’m in unknown territory. I’m not sure how to play this, so just say softly, “We need to talk.”
She looks up and the sight of the pain in her eyes makes me want to smash something. Did I put that pain there, I sure as hell hope not?
She nods and then she looks around nervously and I see the sweat building on her upper lip as she appears to be having a panic attack before my eyes. Looking around, I finally understand.
This place is heaving and a lot to process when you see it for the first time. The guys are loud and fill the space with a dominant edge. The girls are at their worst when they are in this mood and openly make out on couches and against the walls. It’s noisy, rough and the loud rock music does little to help the situation. There is cheering, jeering and loud laughter. Groaning, moaning and the sound of breaking glass. Some of the guys are openly staring at Sophia because she is fresh meat they are hungry for and instinctively I shield her a little from their view and throw a warning look to anyone who dares look in her direction.
Taking her hand, I’m happy to see she grips it hard and I feel her shake a little, so I lean in and whisper, “We should leave.”
She just nods and so I pull her after me and head for the door, stopping only to tell Ashton of our plans. She is standing beside Ryder who has his arm curled protectively around her waist, looking like the cat who got the cream and Ashton looks concerned as she sees the state Sophia is in. “Are you ok, honey, do you want me to come with you?”
“It’s fine, thank you, Ashton, I’m just, well…”
She looks around briefly and then fixes her eyes to the floor and Ashton looks at me with a nod of understanding. “Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow, honey.”
Sophia nods and smiles briefly before I almost carry her out of the room. As the door slams behind us she says in a small voice, “I’m so sorry, it’s fine, you can go back, I’ll just head back to my room.”
“Like hell you will.”
With a grim determination, I drag her behind me to my room. Seeing Sophia scared of just about everything is sending me insane and I can’t turn a blind eye to it any more. This girl needs to tell me everything tonight because until she does, we don’t stand a chance of setting her back on the right track.
17
Sophia
That place scared the hell out of me. When Ashton met me, I thought I’d be fine. I even dressed for the occasion and fixed my hair and make-up as if I was going on a night out. The minute I stepped through those doors, I knew I’d made a huge mistake. It was like walking into Satan’s lair. The noise alone hurt my ears and the men—well, they overpowered me. They were intense in not only their numbers but the sheer look of them. The women were no different. They were awesome and I couldn’t stop staring. It was like a scene from a movie playing out right before my eyes. It was hot, sexy and a lot to deal with.
I tried to avoid the eyes of the men, but it was impossible to do. I felt a hunger directed at me that stole the breath from my body. It was as if I was for sale and they were deciding whether to buy or not. I’m not used to it. Men look away, or to the ground when I walk into a room. They avoid me like the plague because of who I am. These men don’t care.
The women were scary in their own way because I couldn’t even begin to compete with their beauty. Self-assured and