Sophie looked at him with caution. Now she didn't know what to expect of him. With the other four chatting away, he wouldn't stop gazing at her and she could feel his eyes upon her every few moments.

She was enjoying not talking and just focusing on the meal—which was actually really good.

Alexander had told Sal and Micah not to speak with her about anything concerning the events that happened. In their world, that's just the way things were. Rico and Fred faced the consequences of their actions and even their loved ones and those closely associated with them would have to let it be.

"Sophie? What are your plans after graduation?"Loretta asked as the room fell silent. Surely the woman knew about her marriage arrangement with Joe Crane?

"I'd like to go to college,"Sophie told her, "I want to be a teacher."

"Joe isn't gonna allow you to be a teacher, Sophie,"Sal mocked. Saul glared at him.

Sophie didn't flinch. She stayed focused on Loretta and smiled, "You asked me what MY plans are and that's what I'd like to do."

Loretta seemed uncomfortable and she hated making Sophie feel that way, too.

"How are your sisters? Lorraine?"

"They're fine,"Sophie lied, "I miss them."

"Bet you're excited for Eddie to call this whole thing off, yes?"

"Yes,"Sophie said as Saul placed his hand back on her thigh, gripping it tightly, "I want to go home."

Micah smirked at her, "We want you to go home, too."

Saul was about to jump across the table when Sophie began,

"I've never done anything wrong to you or your family so I don't know why you hate me so much. You need to focus your hatred on my uncle or his soldiers because it's not us. It's not me and it's not my sisters or my mother who are supposed to be your enemies. When my father was alive, we were allies. Do you not remember that?"

Micah shrugged.

"You're just told to hate me the way I'm told to hate you,"Sophie glared at him, pushing Saul's hand away from under the table, "But to be honest, I didn't hate you...until recently."

Loretta furrowed her eyebrows, "Sophie..."

"May I please be excused? I have a headache,"Sophie asked, "I'd like to go back to my room. Dinner was lovely. Thank you for having me, Mrs. DeMarco."

Alexander sighed, "Sure. Saul, take her back, please."

Saul was happy to get away from the table. He couldn't even look at his brothers or his father after what happened to Sophie, and he didn't care that he'd killed those men. It wasn't his first rodeo and it was most likely not going to be his last.

Sophie didn't say anything as they made their way back to her room. Saul felt a million miles away from her even though she was walking right next to him.

"I'll wait until you get your stuff together,"Saul told her as she entered her room.

"I'm not going anywhere with you,"she said, defiantly, "I don't even know who let those assholes in my room! You could have given them access for all I know."

Saul rolled his eyes, "I would never do that, Sophie, but you need to come back with me. I don't want a repeat of today. I want to keep you safe and if that means staying in my room then so be it."

Sophie hadn't turned around. She shuddered at the thought of them pulling their little stunt again and actually getting what they wanted.

"I promised you,-"

"No, you didn't promise,"Sophie reminded him, "You said you'd try. I guess I can't be mad then. Who could have wanted to hurt me like that? Sal and Micah claim they didn't know what was going on."

He wanted to find out who had access to his security room. He had her key and the only other one would have been his father—unless Rico and Fred had made spares. It was known to happen and they were loose cannons anyway. Saul had never trusted them.

Saul stood behind her now and put his arms around her. She tensed up and he hated that, "Trust me, Sophie. I'm not going to hurt you."

His scent, his touch, the way his deep voice soothed her was driving Sophie insane. The way he felt when they were intimate, or how he was genuinely concerned for her when they were in the ocean. She shouldn't have allowed him to take her to the beach, and she couldn't hide her phobia of deep water. Eddie would have been pissed if he knew she'd shown her weakness to Saul.

It wasn't taking her very long to feel like Saul was becoming her weakness.

"Why do you treat me differently?′

Saul didn't answer her. He didn't know why. She'd always been weird, different, but kind to him even when they were at school around others. She always had her nose in a book, but the only friends she had were her family members. Eddie wanted it that way. She was bright and beautiful and, even though she was shy in class, she was a criminal and they both knew it. She was just like him and he enjoyed the time he spent with her. He'd also never felt so good inside of a woman until she came along.

"I told you before that I see a spark in you,"he told her as she packed up her bags.

"Once I'm gone, it's not going to matter,"Sophie paused, "The Crane's are allies of the DeMarco's though. Are we not going to be enemies then?" Her sarcasm was evident. She really didn't care to be a part of this world and the chaos it brought. Hell, most of the rules kept changing and confusing the hell out of them. They were supposed to learn everything there was about the organizations because one day, it would be theirs.

"Do you really want to be a teacher?"

"Yes,"Sophie nodded, zipping up her book bag, "I hope that isn't taken away from me."

Saul hoped not either. He wanted to see her succeed. It looked bleak considering that her sisters were not married or educated beyond grade school. They were smart, though and also knew the family business. If anything, that's what they were born and bred to do.

"Why aren't your sisters married?" He blurted out.

Sophie winced, turning to face him, "They'd rather take a beating from my uncle than a beating from another man. Dana is too busy learning the ropes and Ivy and Fiona have lovers on the side. Unfortunately, they're men who aren't like us so they'll never be a part of this world."

"What about Suzy?"

"Can you keep a secret that really won't be a secret for much longer?"

"Sure,"Saul chuckled, crossing his arms and waiting for the gossip.

"She and John are an item."

"John Crane?"

"They're in love."

Saul smiled, "Is that OK with Eddie?"

Sophie frowned, "They don't care. They'll die on that hill. To be honest, two of us married into the Crane family would please Eddie immensely."

Saul opened her door and they headed to his room. They said nothing to each other on the way there, but Saul carried her bags like a gentleman. He was growing quite fond of Sophie Swann and he owed her for what happened. He couldn't bear to see her like that again.

"I'm not so sure us being together like this is such a good idea anymore." She'd been contemplating this since he asked her to go to his room. It wasn't like she was upset about being intimate with Saul, but it would never work out if they began to have feelings for each other and that's something she didn't want.

Saul didn't say anything. He took her belongings and placed them on a nearby chase lounge. He knew she kept saying it just so he would, but he couldn't. He wanted to be with her for the short time that they had and they both knew it.

"Wanna watch a movie?" He asked her without turning around.

Sophie sighed, figuring he'd ignore her concerns, "Sure."

Was that how it was going to be? He was going to ignore the fact that she'd been assaulted earlier?

No, it wasn't that Saul was ignoring it. It was just that their world was different from the natural, normal society surrounding them. He knew her too well now. He knew she was tough. He knew that whatever was going on with them was strictly business—even the sex, or so he tried hard to tell himself.

"What are we watching?"Sophie said, sitting on the edge of Saul's bed.

"A porn."

"Saul..."

Saul laughed, "It's Nosferatu."

"The black and white film from 1922?"Sophie's smile spread across her face.

"I take it you're into classics?"

"I am!"

Saul already knew that which is why he snagged it from his father's collection. He'd been watching her for a long time. She knew him, too. He could feel it and she'd already shown him how well she could read him—how much she remembered of him.

"Are you really reading Romeo and Juliet?"

Saul rolled his eyes, "Yes, but it's weird..."

"Weird how?"

"It's..."

"A tragedy?"

Saul nodded.

"Saul, life is a tragedy,"Sophie sighed, crossing her arms.

Saul turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised, "Do you really believe that?"

"Have you seen our lives lately?"

Saul never thought of his life as tragic.

"Saul, you killed two people today and we're about to cuddle and watch Nosferatu. Doesn't that strike you as strange?"

Saul heaved, "Sophie, this is our world and you need to get used to it."

He was too harsh. He shouldn't have been. All Sophie wanted was a normal life and she'd never had it—not with Joe.

"I always try to think that maybe I'll love Joe,"she said, staring at Saul as if he was now a stranger, "Maybe when we have kids it'll be different."

Saul tensed when she said that. Of course, she'd have kids with him. That's what he'd want. Hell, Sophie loved kids. Then she'd be stuck. Stuck with Joe Crane and his shit and his offspring.

"Does he hurt you?"

"Who? Joe?"Sophie lowered her eyes, "Not really."

Saul frowned, grabbing the remote for the television, "What do you mean?"

"He's not physical with me,"Sophie said, taking off her shoes, "He's just mentally unbearable."

She crawled onto the bed with Saul, "I still can't believe he got me out of the warehouse. He's so strange, but he's finally texting me a lot now."

"Oh?" Saul didn't want to hear about Joe fucking douche bag Crane texting Sophie.

"Yeah. He wants me to meet him in the gym.."

Saul patted the spot beside him next to the bed, "Well, that's not fucking happening tomorrow."

"I don't think you understand,"Sophie handed the phone to Saul, "You're not my warden at school anymore."

Saul took the phone and stared at the messages sent by Eddie to Sophie earlier that evening.

"He changed the rules. That means he's getting close to deals with Hal,"Sophie choked, but she turned away and pretended to fumble with the buttons on her flannel.

Saul handed her phone back to her, "The Garcia's might be backing off.."he trailed off his sentence as if talking about work would make him forget about Sophie and Joe.

Sophie nodded, "I figured they would eventually. What happened?"

Saul quickly told her while the movie started playing everything he knew about the Garcia's and their retreat.

"They're not giving anything back that they've been able to acquire as, but they've decided to completely stop doing business with any of us,"Saul said.

Sophie shrugged. "They were close to becoming a part of the fold, but maybe they don't feel like they have enough man power? I don't think Garcia's ever had a hit on his men before."

"Didn't they just take one of your clients from Colombia?"

Sophie's lips curled at the corners, "Eddie did say he wanted Lorenzo back..." She breathed in, "I can't talk about that, Saul."

Saul knew she wouldn't let anything slip on accident. She glanced at him momentarily and settled in to watch the movie.

He felt like they were oceans apart though. With what happened earlier in the day, he had no right to feel mad about anything Sophie did to him. He'd failed her.

Yawning, Sophie turned to him after the movie ended, "Do you mind if I shower?"

Saul shook his head and motioned towards the bathroom, "Go ahead, sparks."

He wished he could be in there with her, but he let her have this time alone.

Now he wondered if she was right when she told him that Eddie was pushing him further away because the engagement would be announced soon. She would be out of is clutches forever once that happened.

He picked up his copy of Romeo and Juliet and started reading it again. He had no idea why she was so fascinated with Shakespeare and classic writers, but Sophie had always had an old soul.

Saul watched as she emerged from the bathroom a while later, wearing what she'd worn the first night they'd been together.

"You're turn, playboy,"she said, drying her hair off with the towel.

"Wanna watch?" Saul winked at her, grabbing some joggers from his drawer.

Sophie blushed, "And I'm the tease?"

He wasn't in there long, but when Saul got out, Sophie was already asleep. He watched her for a good while before turning out the lights and trying to get some sleep of his own. He could hear thunder rolling outside and sensed Sophie stirring in her sleep. They were both light sleepers and when he did snooze, he didn't stay asleep for very long.

It didn't take him long to grab his phone and start scrolling, playing some smooth jazz mixed with a little traditional Italian music. Sometimes it worked to lull him to sleep, but sleep eluded Saul DeMarco yet again.

"Are you OK?" He heard her ask, sleepily.

Saul turned to look at Sophie. She'd rolled over to face him.

"Is the light keeping you up?"

"No, I just want to know if you're all right."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go back to bed."

Sophie rolled onto her back and sighed, "Do you think you'll get married soon? Got any girls in mind?"

"Just Darlene,"Saul joked.

Sophie huffed, "Darlene..."

Saul shrugged, "I want to get married and have kids. I want to be a lawyer, but I know my place as head of security here and that's fine with me."

"How many kids do you want?"

"As many as my wife wants,"Saul told her, putting his phone on the night stand and rolling onto his side to face her. He propped himself up on his elbow, "How about you?"

Sophie closed her eyes, "I don't know. Maybe two or three."

Saul moved closer to her and Sophie's twinkling green eyes fluttered open again. He was so close that he could see the little freckles on her nose. She used to hate that he'd just go around shirtless like the playboy that he was, but now that Sophie knew what he felt like, Sophie could have licked those washboard abs of his up and down all night long.

As if he could read her mind, Saul leaned in and kissed her, running his hand through her hair and over her shoulder, slowly tracing a path down her back and grabbing her ass. Sophie yelped at the unexpected touch, but Saul continued to squeeze her plump little peach.

"I want you.."Sophie said, pulling back from him as if she didn't mean to say anything out loud. Her eyes widened at her lack of will, but Saul was already removing his joggers and tossing them onto the floor.

"You can have me."

Saul pulled Sophie's shorts off as she lifted her shirt and tossed it away. He was aligned with her in a second, positioning himself on top of her body and prodding her wet core with the tip of his erect cock.

"Are you wet for me?"Saul ran a hand down her chest, over her luscious breasts and straight to her pussy.

"I,-I am.."Sophie wrapped her arms around his shoulders and opened her legs wider, pulling her knees into her chest. Before Saul could finger her clit, she shook her head, "No foreplay. I'm ready to take you now."

Saul pulled his hand to his cock and guided himself slowly into her channel. Sophie moaned, pressing herself up to reach him, arching her back and giving Saul access to her chest. He dove in, suckling and nibbling at her hardened pebbles while he glided in and out of her slowly. He wanted to pound into her mercilessly, but now that he might be getting closer to having to release her from his custody, he wanted to remember her, remember what she felt like to be his—even just for a little while.

"You feel so so very wonderful,"Sophie whispered almost whimsically. Saul laughed at her sudden dreamlike state, watching her tits move up and down to his rhythm. He pulled out completely, causing a whimper from Sophie who pulled him back in.

"Don't leave me empty, Saul.."

Saul's pace quickened, his ass bouncing up and down underneath the sheets. Sophie wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into him as she clung on to him, wishing that they never had to stop. Her sobs were mixed with pleasure and pain, good pain—real pain, pain that she wanted more than anything.

Sophie couldn't believe how well she accommodated him, especially with his size. Saul felt the same way, but he felt something deeper.

"I've never wanted anyone the way I want you, Sophie, and I don't understand it,"Saul had stopped. He was now looking down at her, but staying buried deep within her channel, "I want to hate you and I can't."

"We're not enemies right now,"Sophie smiled, "But you have to keep going because you're too big to just sit in there like that. There's so much pressure..."

Saul laughed, leaning in to kiss her softly before continuing his slow strokes inside of her. He could feel himself building inside of her, watching her face as she got closer to her peak.

Sophie felt her arousal dripping out of her and down her thighs, blushing at how much Saul turned her on. Saul could feel it, too, and it made him want her even more. He felt her bite down on his cock so tightly that he barely contained his release when she yelled out his name like she was calling to him, beckoning him to join her.

He lost himself, hammering into her wildly and attaining his peak within seconds, flooding her hole with his juices, fucking the cum into her slowly as his cock jerked a thousand times it seemed before he finally groaned out the last of himself.

The room was silent, save for the music still softly playing from Saul's phone.

He slipped out of her slowly, toppling off and pulling her into his arms. They stayed like that for the longest time, Sophie tracing the indentations of his abs just like she wanted to earlier.

"Can I tell you something?" Sophie asked him, rolling onto her side to face him, "It's something I didn't want to tell you because I don't understand it, either."

"Of course," Saul moved a strand of hair out of her face, pushing it behind her ear, "You know you can."

Sophie swallowed hard. This wasn't supposed to be happening, but she felt like it was. Something was moving within her, but she couldn't give in to it. She needed to tell him though...how he truly made her feel.

"The only times I've felt safe in the last nine years have been when I'm in your arms."