10. Sophia

10

SOPHIA

" T heo, this all feels a bit…wild," I say, even as my heart beats traitorously for another of those kisses.

"Best plans…often are," Theo says, standing up before pressing a kiss that feels like heaven and protection to my forehead. He ruthlessly shoves his laptop, book, and a handful of his clothes and things from the bathroom into a backpack. "We need to travel light. We'll go to your room so you can pack a bag while I make a couple of calls."

He takes off his hoodie, puts his leather cut on, then puts his hoodie back over the top.

It takes us a few minutes to walk the hallways to my room. It's not odd for someone to be carrying a bag. I often carry one when I go to the pool so I can use the large showers and facilities down there.

I let us into my room and start to think about practicalities. If I can't take all my clothes, I need to be smart about what I do take.

"Wow, you really made your room look nice and homey." Theo strokes my lower back as he puts his bag down. The action sends a little shiver down my spine.

"It makes a difference to my mood."

I look at the comfortable armchair I had delivered. The burnt orange pillows and throw add a pop of color. The plush cream rug I added next to my bed.

"You've got an eye for it. Now go pack." He then pulls out his phone. "Niro," he says. "I need help."

I should probably change clothes into something more durable, warmer clothes for travel.

"Get us out of here," Theo continues. "You and Cat. One bike, one truck but with the cover over the back. Some padding in the truck bed if you can for Soph to lie on." There's a pause, and I look up at Theo, who smiles softly. "Yeah, we're busting out of the joint."

I hear a yee-haw so loud, Theo has to move the phone away from his ear momentarily.

I rush to the bathroom but stumble in my haste. "Careful, Sparrow," Theo says. "ETA sixty minutes. We have time."

He returns to his conversation with Niro, asking him to grab some medication on the way, and I close the bathroom door. Placing my hands on the vanity, I study myself in the mirror. My cheeks are pale, even paler against the black eye patch I replaced before we left Theo's room.

Am I leaving one danger for another?

Am I being reckless?

Will this start a war?

I'm about to run with a man whose last name I don't know, even though I know his club and my family could be at odds.

The world starts to spin a little, so I sit down on the floor and lean back against the cupboard while I catch my breath. I catch my shoulder on the knob and gasp.

The door pushes open. "Soph, are—shit. Text me when you get here," he says, then ends his call. "Hey, are you okay?" Theo asks.

I shake my head.

"What's going on?" He crouches next to me and runs a hand on my thigh.

"Am I being foolish for trusting you? Are you being foolish for trusting me?"

He's so very attractive up close. There's a ring of amber around his hazel pupils, and his skin is flawless. He moves the outer dial on his watch several clicks, then sits down opposite, his back to the wall, and stretches out his legs like we have all the time in the world.

"I bulldozed you, huh?" he says. "Pushed you into running?"

I think carefully about how I answer. While I am having second thoughts about our current plan, I don't want there to be no plan. That feels even worse. "Not exactly. We need to do something. It's just…I don't even know your last name, Theo."

He reaches for the bathroom door, closing it so it's just the two of us in the small space. It's intimate, but not intimidating. "My full name is a mouthful of former presidents. Theodore Ulysses Reavis. Dad decided a kid should be able to explain their name. Theodore because Roosevelt and…" He winces and rubs his temple. "Fucking memory. Something to do with a coal strike, maybe? And Ulysses Grant because he signed the bill to approve the Brooklyn Bridge. Random, I know. What's your full name?"

"Sophia Chiara Viscuso. I can't tell you why I'm named that because I don't remember, although I'm sure Mamà must have explained when I first woke up. I hope I have a story at least half as interesting as yours." I glance up at the closed door. "Don't we need to go?"

Theo shakes his head. "We're good. I'm thirty years old. How old are you?"

"My driver's license says I'm twenty-five."

He places a hand on my ankle and squeezes it gently. "What else do you need to know? I'll tell you as much as I can remember."

"That doesn't seem fair to you when I can't remember anything you might ask me."

"So? Hit me."

"If I go with you, will I be able to leave if I want to?"

Theo raises an eyebrow. "I don't know how much the rules have changed in the clubhouse, but my memories of it don't include holding women against their will. Oh, wait, no. I think King took Rae as a hostage. Someone told me that, I'm sure."

"Rae. As in, ‘Property of King'?"

Theo runs a hand over his stubbled jaw. "Yeah, the very same. Fuck, can't remember all the details. There was a reason. Something about Shakespeare's kings. But aside from that, I don't think we take people hostage unless they really deserve it."

"That's a lot to process."

Theo winces. "Probably shouldn't have led with those details."

I can't help but laugh. It's the nervous kind. "What do you think your club will do when they find out who I am?"

"Won't matter if you're my wife, and I promise I'd protect you. But if you're really worried, I can help you in other ways. I could give you a thousand bucks and a ride somewhere, and you can get a job that pays cash so you can hide from your family. I don't want to force myself on you as a solution to this. I may want to please my mom, but not at your expense."

I run my finger along a seam between the floor tiles. It would probably be better to take his offer of a ride and some cash. But what kind of work could I do? I remember nothing. And physically, I can't do a job that will require me to stand all day.

But can I make myself go with him and beholden to him?

"Are you sure this is a fair deal for both of us?"

"My gut tells me this is the right thing to do. And I'm having to listen to my gut a whole lot more because I truly believe it knows better than my brain right now. Plus, I get to contribute in a small way to how Mom feels as she heads into treatment. Yesterday she was nagging my dad about building bunk beds for all the grandkids she wants."

"I hope providing those grandkids isn't part of this deal."

Theo chuckles at that. "No. But we'll need to stay married. For a year. Mom will be well again, and the club will believe it was real by then." He's silent for a moment and picks at a thread on the bottom of his hoodie. "And I get a chance to know you better, Sparrow."

When he looks up, there's a soft smile on his usually grumpy and stern face that shows me for all his gruffness, there's a kind man beneath.

"Which do you prefer? Theo or Switch?"

"They feel like two different people right now. Guess I'm Theo working my way back to being Switch. He's a man I don't remember, but he achieved goals I remember making when I was younger. But the guy sitting here in your bathroom…whatever he's called…he's kinda waiting to hear whether getting to know him a little better would be something you're willing to do."

I take a steadying breath. "I've been hurt enough recently, Theo. Please don't hurt me any more than you have to."

At that, he shifts clumsily, his left arm not as strong as his right, and moves to sit next to me before tugging me onto his lap.

"One day, I'm going to be strong enough to do that a little more smoothly," he jokes.

I place my head on his shoulder and look up at him. "I didn't notice."

He lowers his lips to mine, and my whole body vibrates in reaction to it. I've seen kisses in movies, but I don't remember actually having any before today. The kisses in his room were too quick, but this one… I sigh as I sink into him, gripping the ties of his hoodie. His arms tighten around me as he pulls me close. Nothing is rushed nor hurried.

Simply two people making out.

"Fuck, you taste good," he says. "Makes me wonder what the rest of you tastes like."

I can't wait for him to do that either. I swear my panties are now a soggy mess. "If you're waiting for an invitation…"

"As amazing an invitation as that is, you still have to pack. Then we have to go get married."

I run my fingers along his jaw. His scruff is long enough to be soft. "Are you sure you want to take me on, Theo? There's stuff I still need. Physio. I can try to find a work-from-home job. Maybe something administrational. I don't know how long that will?—"

His lips cut me off. This time, he groans. I can feel his cock getting hard beneath me. "Need to stop kissing you, or we aren't going anywhere."

"I was trying to tell you something serious."

He looks at me earnestly. "I know, and that was my answer. We'll get a physio to come to the house every day. They can see us both, one after the other, or together."

"How will we pay for that?"

He tucks my hair behind my ear. "I have money. My club has even more. We're good."

"This is truly wild. But okay."

Theo smiles. "Good. Though I think we should carry out all important conversations in the future in a chair that we can both get up from."

It takes a moment and significant wobbling for us both to get up. It's reassuring that he has his own limitations too. Not that I want him to be hurt, but so that we can be ourselves. I'm fed up with fully able-bodied people telling me I'm doing great.

What I really want is occasionally someone to say, That looks fucking painful, are you okay, babe? Or, You know what, don't give me three more reps because I can tell you just did your best and that's enough for now.

Theo touches my cheek gently. "I'll keep you safe until you're ready to go it alone, Sparrow. I promise."