Chapter 29

Sophie

"Would you hold still?" Alex flinched as she applied aloe to the scratches along his shoulders and back. They might give him a hard time, but she didn't regret any of it. Alex giving her the go-ahead to do what she wanted had unlocked a new side of their sex life.

And he realised just how much she had been holding back.

She had always been a passionate lover. She liked to bite and scratch, to leave her mark on her partner. Because she wanted to possess Alex deeply, it heightened the feeling. She had never felt like this before, so consumed with another person. So obsessed. She knew it wasn't healthy, but she couldn't help it. She craved him.

"Jesus, Soph, you really went to town on me last night," Alex said as he looked at himself in the mirror. She followed his gaze to his chest covered in long scratches and his neck covered in bite marks. If he thought those were bad, he was lucky he couldn't see his back.

"Listen, I think a new rule needs to be put in place," he said seriously, turning to face her. She tried not to pout, but she hated rules. "I still have to go to work and look professional. From now on, all marks stay under clothing. Understand?"

She sighed and nodded. "I understand." She didn't like it, but he was right.

He actually had a pretty big client meeting next week, which had the potential to earn him a decent chunk of money. |But no one was going to hire a guy with bite marks all over his neck. She'd have to rein herself in, at least until he bagged the client .

"I'm going to get your breakfast, handsome," she said, kissing the tip of his nose and jumping down from the bathroom counter. She left him to rub aloe over his chest and made her way through the house.

The last few days had been nothing short of domestic bliss.

She loved this enormous house and being here with Alex. A home like this made her want to put the effort in and become the housewife she knew she could be. Marcus had complained to her here and there about her lack of help with chores. But he didn't live in a somewhere like this. If he had worked harder and provided, perhaps she would have felt more inclined to help.

Hell, perhaps she wouldn't have strayed away from him.

She couldn't lie. Alex's money was a big part of the appeal. She wasn't a gold digger or anything, god no. She could, and did, provide for herself. Nails, hair, tan - she paid for them all herself. Never once had she asked Marcus for a handout. But while she treated herself, Marcus was stuck with the bills. Once he had paid everything off, they didn't have too much left over to put into savings.

That had been their plan. Save enough to find somewhere bigger and give Sophie the walk-in wardrobe she craved. The longer it took, the less attractive Sophie found her husband.

But Alex? He already had the big house.

A house with that many spare rooms he had converted one of them into a closet for Erica.

Sometimes, when he was fast asleep, Sophie would creep into that closet and admire the rows upon rows of beautiful clothes and shoes. This was her dream right here. She'd die before she wore another woman's clothes, but some of these dresses made it difficult. However, it was only a matter of time before she could fill the closet with her own beautiful clothes.

Patience was the key.

She had just grabbed the eggs from the kitchen when she heard the doorbell. Alex came down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Given his haste, she presumed this was business and paid no attention. She may have to fake an interest in these things at the office. But not here. Not at home.

"What the fuck is he doing here, Erica?"

That made her pay attention. Rushing through the hallway, still clutching the eggs, she saw Erica and Marcus in the doorway. They were still together?

Weird.

Erica's attention flicked to hers, causing her to bark out a laugh.

"Probably the same thing she is doing here," she said, replying to Alex's question. She turned to Sophie and smirked. "Sticking to your guns, I see. The big break-up between you two going well?"

Sophie felt her face flame, glancing down at the floor.

"Let's not draw this out," Erica continued. "I just want my things."

"You didn't say he was coming!" Anger radiated from Alex as he blocked the entrance to the house. "Why didn't you say something?"

Why didn't Alex? He knew Erica was coming and he hadn't said a thing. Sophie glanced down at herself, still only in Alex's shirt and very little else. Her hair was a mess. She hadn't applied make-up since she arrived, and she hadn't showered since the previous day. Alex said he liked his scent on her, so she hadn't bothered.

Now face to face with Erica, she wished she had time to prepare.

Even though she was clearly wearing Marcus' old clothes, she looked incredible. All long legs and simple grace. Though Sophie was confident enough in her own looks, she had always been incredibly jealous of Erica - though that was a secret she would take to the grave. The older woman just possessed that special something that made her stand out above the crowd. Although she couldn't put her finger on it, Sophie knew it was something she would never possess.

"Can we just get this over with?" Erica said, sighing heavily .

"What's going on, Alex?" Sophie said finally. "Why are they here?" Alex looked over his shoulder and cursed under his breath.

"Just… go back to the kitchen, yeah, Soph? Breakfast, remember?" From behind Erica, Marcus snorted in amusement, and Sophie shot a dirty look in his direction. "Something funny asshole?"

Delighted that Alex came to her aid, she watched as Marcus came into full view, a small gasp leaving her lips before she could help herself. Why did he look so good?

When she left only three days ago, Marcus had been looking a little worse for wear. She supposed it was the stress of the affair. But that man was long gone.

He looked insultingly good.

"Plenty of things are funny about this scenario," Marcus said. "But none more so than Sophie playing housewife. Change your mind about cooking being beneath you?"

"You mistook me, Marcus," she said, feeling her face flame again. "I only meant that cooking for you was beneath me."

Ha.

She smirked at him, smugness radiating from her. He barely even reacted. Instead, he glanced at Erica and the two of them shared a secret smile. What the fuck? Were they laughing at her?

"Well, I think we can just keep on cooking together, right Marcus?"

This had to be for show, right? No way there was actually something going on! Marcus had said it himself; they'd only pretended they were fucking. And the kiss was only to wind Alex up, right?

No way.

Marcus loved her far too much to move on so fast.

But then, why were they looking at each other like that? Surely no one was that good an actor. She glanced at Alex, who looked ready to punch someone. Maybe he could take care of Marcus and she could wipe that smug look off Erica's face.

"Look, how about we all cool off?" Marcus said. "Erica can get her shit, and we can get out of here. "

"Don't speak to me like I'm a fucking child," Alex said, balling his fist. "I think we can sort this out between ourselves. Me and my wife. Or did you forget she's married, prick?" Sophie felt a stab of hurt punch her right in the gut. She was standing right there.

"I'm not sure your girlfriend would like that," Erica said. "Or did you forget you cheated on me with her?"

"She's not my—" Alex stopped himself before he could finish his sentence, but the damage was done. Sophie scoffed and turned on her heel, stomping back to the kitchen. She heard Alex curse under his breath as he followed her, abandoning Erica and Marcus at the door.

"Sophie! Soph, wait, wait, wait." He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, tilting her chin up to face him. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it."

"So, am I your girlfriend?" She asked, challenging him.

He hesitated for a moment. "I don't know what we are," he said. "I know that's probably shitty, but we're both married. How can we label ourselves right now? What I will say is I'm here with you instead of out there with Erica. So I made a choice, right?"

Well.

That was true. She hadn't considered that. It hadn't been that long ago when he told her there was no choice and Erica would win? And yet, here he was comforting her while Erica was still at the door.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, offering him a sad smile. "Why didn't you tell me they were coming?"

"I didn't know shithead would be here," he replied, his lip curling.

"But Erica? You knew she was coming?"

"Yeah." He paused and sighed. "We've been texting on and off since Christmas."

She processed that for a moment, trying to put herself in his shoes. There were things for the two of them to figure out, she supposed. But she was going to have to see those texts. She wondered if she could get access to his phone at some point. For now, she needed to seem cool. No point in causing an argument if there was nothing to argue about .

"Okay, that seems fair." She chewed her lip. "You couldn't have let me know, though? Instead of springing it on me?"

"Yeah, that was an asshole move," he said, resting his forehead against hers. "God, I'm sorry, Soph. I just didn't wanna spoil the little bubble we were in by bringing us back to reality. I didn't want you to think this was something it wasn't."

"So what is it?"

"She's just coming to get her things, that's all. If I had anything to hide, I'd have got you out of the house, right? I wouldn't keep you here."

"I suppose," she said, conceding his point. "But why are you bothered by Marcus being here? Her business is her business, right?" Alex sighed heavily, taking a step back from her.

She could see him trying to form his words and gave him a moment. This was an opportunity to show him how mature she could be. Or at least pretend to be. "Alex, you can tell me the truth. That's all I want from you - honesty.

"I know you're not where I am yet. I know you weren't ready to call time on your marriage. But you invited me to stay, and you haven't asked me to leave. All I'd appreciate right now is a bit of transparency. I'm not looking for you to say you love me, but I wish you'd show you respect me."

Oh, that was good . Giving herself a mental pat on the back, she kept a solemn expression as Alex searched her eyes. She could tell she was getting somewhere with him. He wasn't just seeing her as something to fuck, but a real person who wasn't as bratty as he once thought.

"You're right," he said, pulling her closer once again. "You're completely right. I've been rotten. Forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive," she assured him, kissing him once.

"In the spirit of transparency, I am not okay with Marcus being here. The bloke punched me. Multiple times." A dark expression came over his face, his eyes blazing. "I am not okay with the insinuation that they spent breakfast together. And I hate the fact he's had his hands all over her."

"Do you hate that he touched me at one point? "

Alex looked down at her and nodded once. "I told you to stop sleeping with him, didn't I?" He was still lying to her face after promising her transparency. But it was okay. She could handle little lies here and there. Things were going her way more than they weren't, and she was sure the rest would fall into place soon enough.

All she needed to do was keep showing Alex there was more to her than he had assumed. He could have everything he wanted with her and more.

Who cared what Marcus and Erica were up to. If she wanted Sophie's sloppy seconds, she was welcome to them. It was one hell of a downgrade, but that was Erica's business.

It wouldn't last, anyway. Rebounds rarely did.

But why were they looking at each other like that?

And why did it bother her so much?