With Brave Wings (22 page)

She was so relieved. Like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders, and she hadn't even been fully aware of the pressure.

A familiar tattoo came into view as Tennyson shifted his arm higher up on her body.

She could ask now. She wanted the answer. She wanted it to be about her.

"The feather," she said softly. "There're splashes of color alongside it."

Had it only been the grayscale feather, maybe she would have talked herself out of the possibility of being the reason for the ink. But the little splashes and dots of what was supposed to be paint… How could it not be about them? They'd done that painting together in Vancouver. Which only raised another question she felt free to ask now. He'd bought it—the painting.

Not only had he bought it, but he'd sent Asher halfway across the world to get it.

"Took you long enough to ask." He pressed his lips to her skin but didn’t lift his face to look her in the eye. His voice was still a little off, a little hoarse. "It represents the moment everything changed. I thought I knew what I wanted, who I was, and then I met you."

Sophie blinked rapidly, trying not to get emotional. "And—" She had to clear her throat. "And the other tattoo?" There was a lighthouse on his calf, crashing waves licking the structure like flames.

That one was harder to decipher, and she couldn’t imagine it was about them.

"I suppose I always wanted to be someone you could turn to." He inched down a bit and kissed the tops of her breasts. "Even in Vancouver, I wanted to be there for you. A solid place."

It couldn’t fit better. "You're definitely that person for me," she murmured. "I feel tons lighter."

He sent her a quick smile before returning to her breasts. "Good. That makes two of us." His eyes didn’t seem glassy or anything. Perhaps slightly redder. She wasn’t sure. It had only been a glance.

"That only leaves one thing. The—the painting. You sent Asher to buy it in London." She shifted and giggled when closed his mouth over her left nipple. "Tickles!"

He grinned against her flesh but didn’t let up. "You know about that?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded and arched her back. Damn, she hadn't expected lust to roll through her already. "I met up with Claire and Kelly in London while I was working on
Barcelona Quarter
. Claire told me you had sent your brother to a benefit for a painting."

"Ah." He kept kissing her, kept driving her insane. "Well, that one's easy. It's ours. We made it, and I didn’t want anyone else to have it."

"Where is it now?" Her breathing hitched while he circled the tip of his tongue around her right nipple.

"Mendocino." He sucked the nipple into his mouth—hard—and Sophie let out a breathy moan. "It hangs over my bed." His hands joined in, stroking and cupping her. "I hope I can show you my home soon. I…" Now he stopped. Seriousness changed the atmosphere. "Fuck, I hope you'll like it up there."

She wasn’t worried at all. "How could I not?" She may not have been there yet, but she'd seen photos and knew it was beautiful. "As long as you haven't shared your bed with another woman." She scrunched her nose. "In that case, we're getting a new one."

Tennyson's eyes darkened with desire, and he shifted on top of her to reach her mouth. "Possessive of me, princess?"

"Hell, yes." She was actually surprised by how much the thought bothered her. "You're all mine."

He hummed and nipped at her jaw. "That bodes well for the future. I won't have to act like a gentleman if someone does anything inappropriate toward what's mine." Her only response was to whimper something unintelligible. "And for the record, you'll be the first and only woman I share that house with."

"Mmm, good, can we fuck now?" She shuddered and raked her fingernails down his solid chest. "You're killing me, Tennyson."

It didn’t help that his cock had woken up and was currently nestled along the slit of her pussy.

"We can't have that, can we?" The tone of his voice was so fucking sexy, all low, rich, and warm. "So giving you my cock once wasn’t enough?"

"No, sir." Sophie bit her lip and blinked, knowing a look of innocence could drive him up the wall with lust. Just like he did with her when he got all commanding. "I'll never get enough."

He groaned quietly and pushed inside in one long thrust. "My greedy little temptress."

*

They emerged some time later, showered and dressed, and decided to go across the hall together to pick up Kayden.

Sophie's selection of clothes had magically expanded now that she and Tennyson were together.
What's yours is mine and all that.
The simple cotton shorts were her own, but she was enjoying drowning in one of his many T-shirts.

She tucked it in a bit so people could actually see she was wearing shorts underneath, though Tennyson didn’t seem fully satisfied.

"Showing an awful lot of skin there, princess." He pulled her close, her back to his chest, and shifted her damp hair aside to kiss her neck. "Fuck, I can't keep my hands off you."

She grinned and closed the door. "You don’t have to." Spinning around, she stood up on her toes and kissed him. "I feel like a teenager." She jumped and wrapped her legs around his hips. "I love you so much."

He chuckled warmly and kissed her back hungrily, all while walking toward the guys' loft. "I love you too, monkey." He seemed to have a good time groping her ass.

"Monkey." She snickered. "Aren't humans allowed to climb their men?"

"All I heard there was the implication that men and humans aren't the same."

"Lord, I'm dating an alien!"

Maybe Noah had heard them because he ripped open the door at that point. He was evidently amused by the sight.

"I'm dating an alien," Sophie told him.

Noah snorted a chuckle and opened the door wider. "Boss. Blondie. I see I owe Danny-man money."

"What?" Tennyson's forehead creased, and he helped Sophie down.

She laughed and patted his chest. "I'll explain later." Then she passed Noah, giving his cheek a quick kiss, and spotted Kayden in the living room. "Thank you for watching him, neighbor."

"Anytime." Noah winked. "While you were, uh, busy elsewhere, I taught your son a new word. He can't say penguin yet, but baby steps."

Considering an old Penguins game was running on the flat screen, she could only assume it was hockey related. She was about to throw out a guess, but Kayden turned and spotted her then.

His eyes widened. "Mommy!" he shouted.

"Hey, baby!" She squatted down and held out her arms, and he ran into her with a force that nearly knocked her over. "Oh my God, I missed you."

She got emotional, and it was the worst fucking timing for her dad to creep into her thoughts. She'd done such a good job of pushing the letter out of her mind, but every now and then, she couldn’t help herself. Dad had mentioned Kayden several times, his grief clear as day because he'd pushed away his own daughter and effectively missed out on his grandchild.

"You keep growing up, don’t you?" She sniffled and cupped Kayden's cheeks, then kissed his nose, mouth, and forehead. "You're losing the chubbiness." Which saddened her. He was so stinkin' adorable with his chubby cheeks and thighs, but within a few years, it'd disappear. He wouldn’t be so little anymore.

"Go pane?" Kayden asked.

"Not today," she chuckled tearfully. "Mommy's going on a plane tomorrow, and then you and Daddy will go on a plane soon, too." They had a weekend in San Diego coming up. Asher, Brooklyn, and Maliah as well. They'd visit their new rehabilitation ranch before work continued here in LA.

It would be weeks before Sophie would get to see Tennyson and Kayden again, and the pain almost crippled her.

She didn’t want it anymore. It had gotten too much. She loved her job, but this was the last time she worked on anything where Tennyson and Kayden couldn’t be there. They'd have to come up with a schedule so they could always be together.

"You in town for long, babe?" Noah asked. "There's someone I'd like to introduce you to."

Sophie hugged Kayden close and picked him up. "Could it be the elusive Emma?" She smiled.

"How did you—" He turned to Tennyson. "You told her?"

"Hey, don’t look at me," he said.

"You sleep talk," Sophie giggled. "You crashed on my couch one time." She didn’t exactly remember when, just that he'd said the name Emma in his sleep. "You said 'Emma…oh, Emma! Right there!'"

"What the f—"

"Language," she scolded before cracking up. "I'm just kidding. You did say her name though, sans moaning."

"Oh." Noah rubbed the back of his neck. It was probably the first time she'd ever seen him bashful, if not shy. "Yeah. I got myself a girlfriend, I guess."

"That has to be the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Tennyson deadpanned. He smirked faintly and turned to Sophie. "She's on staff for
Killer
, works in costume design."

"We met before then, though." Noah wore a silly grin he couldn’t contain. "Brooklyn invited her to your party back in March." Sophie nodded, remembering the industry people that had flooded her loft. "Anyway, when Tennyson booked me for this project, I ran into her again."

"And one thing led to another," she sang. "Well, I can't wait to meet the woman who managed to snatch you up, but I'm afraid it has to wait 'til London—or Wales. Wherever we'll end up." She moved closer to Tennyson, and he placed an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. "I'm leaving first thing in the morning, so I wanna spend the day with Kayden and my alien."

"Keep it up and I'll turn your bottom red," Tennyson promised with a sinful smirk.

She blew him a kiss.

"Oh, so that’s how it's gonna be around here now?" Noah raised a brow and laughed. "Good thing I'm not single anymore. That would've gotten sickening way too fast."

"Either way, we'll get out of your hair," Tennyson said. "If you hadn't figured it out already, I won't go back to the studio today, but I'll be there for the eight o'clock meeting tomorrow."

"We're getting cake," Sophie told Kayden with Eskimo kisses. "You want to have cake with Mommy and Daddy?"

Of course he did.

It was shaping up to be one of the best days of Sophie's life, but she hated that she was leaving in mere hours.

*

Munich
 

"He's gonna love London." Sophie cradled her phone, hoping she sounded upbeat when she spoke to Tennyson. "Don't forget to pack his blankie."

She'd buried herself in work the second she'd arrived in Germany. It was either that or lose her mind over missing her guys. But as the scenes got more intense and she became emotionally invested, it got difficult to separate fiction from reality. It seemed sadness always held her heart in a tight grip.

"I won't," he replied with a grin in his voice. "So what can I do for you, baby?"

She blew out a breath. "Could you send me a care package? These next couple of weeks are gonna suck."

"Consider it done."

*

Munich
 

Sophie's summer dress had once been pretty. Now it was filthy and torn. She grabbed little Milo's hand, and they exchanged a nod, both ready. He was such a trooper.

"Action!"

"In there," Sophie panted. She all but pushed Milo toward a building.

A smoke bomb was set off, and she let out a shriek of terror as a soldier grabbed on to her.

"No!" She thrashed in his hold and tried to kick her way free. "Get off me, get off me! Let me go!"

The soldiers spoke in rapid German. Milo had been captured too, and he and Sophie were thrown down on the ground. Ouch, motherfucker, it wasn’t as soft as they'd promised.

"
Scheiss Amis
," one of the soldiers laughed.

*

Munich
 

"Action!"

It's not Kayden, it's not Kayden
, Sophie had to repeat to herself. Her chest heaved, and she focused solely on the soldier who had his pistol aimed at Milo. More smoke blew in, and there was a distant smatter of gunfire.

"I beg you," she choked out. She licked her lips, tasting her tears. "Please. I…
Sprechen sie Englisch
?" She looked pleadingly at them. "Please don't hurt him. I'll do anything—anything you want!"

"Anything, you say?" The soldier closest to Milo was mocking her, his English broken and stiff. "I would consider your offer,
Hure
, but…"

"
Mach den Jungen kalt
!" the other soldier snapped, less patient than his friend. "
Schieß einfach
!"

Sophie froze. Her character knew enough German to recognize "Jungen" as "young one," and that they were going to shoot Milo. The gun went off, and the rage that pummeled through her felt too real. She screamed as Milo's lifeless body fell to the ground.

"And cut! Great job, everyone!"

Sophie was shaking, and she stood still until Milo brushed some dirt off his knees and stood up like he hadn't just been shot in the head.

*

Munich
 

Sophie had expected the care package to have her favorite candy and maybe a photo or two of Kayden. But Tennyson had done much more than that. Getting comfortable in her hotel suite and changing into one of his T-shirts that he'd sent, she plugged a flash drive into her laptop and saw there was a video clip.

She tore open a bag of Sour Patch Kids candy and pushed play. The two loves of her life came into view. Tennyson had Kayden on his lap, they were seated on the couch at home, and it was so funny. Kayden had his own little clapboard.

"Okay, take four." Tennyson sent the camera a quick grin and then turned to Kayden. "Remember the words now, bug?"

Kayden nodded, only to shake his head. "No tick."

"That’s right, not hockey stick." Tennyson smirked wryly. "Noah's been teaching him more hockey terminology."

Sophie giggled and got teary.

"So what were you gonna tell her?" Tennyson asked.

"Wuv you, Mommy!" Kayden grinned goofily and waved.

Sophie had to blink so she could see clearly. "I love you too, baby." Didn’t matter he couldn’t hear her. She had to say it.

"Yeah." Tennyson kissed the top of Kayden's head, facing the camera. "We love you, Mommy. And we miss you."

"Mith-mith!" Kayden banged the clapboard, and the video clip ended.

Ugh, the care package had only made her miss them more.