Page 21 of The Secrets We Keep (Sovereign Sons MC: North Carolina #1)

SOPHIE

I’m fucking nervous .

I haven’t seen Grayson’s mom or sister in seven years, and I’ve only spent a few minutes with Kurt and Ro over the last few weeks. The family that I was so close to years ago are now like strangers to me.

I take a deep breath and look at myself in the mirror.

I put on a little bit of makeup and curled my hair, because makeup and hair feels like a safety net for me.

I brush my hands over the cornflower blue sundress I’m wearing, smoothing the lightweight fabric over my body. The color really brings out my eyes.

“You look beautiful, baby,” Grayson murmurs from the doorway. “You don’t need to be nervous.”

I snort. “Is it that obvious? You only say that because you’re not in my shoes.”

He moves to stand behind me before wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. Our eyes meet in the mirror. “They already love you. They aren’t going to blame you for what happened.”

This man sees right through me. He knows that the real reason I’m nervous is that I don’t want his family to hate me for what happened. I bite my lip and nod.

Grayson pats me on the ass as he smirks at me. “This dress looks incredible on you,” he says before whispering in my ear, “I can’t wait to take it off you.”

Heat pools between my thighs and I shoot him an unimpressed look. He holds his hands up defensively and walks out of the room. I give myself one more once over and then walk out to join the boys.

Grayson is dressed in dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and black boots.

Asher wanted to dress like his dad, so he’s wearing a similar outfit, and it makes my heart swell in pride.

Asher is bouncing in excitement. After meeting his grandpa this morning, he asked Gray everything he could about his family.

Grayson’s answers took away his fear and turned it into excitement.

Grayson takes my hand and leads Asher and me out of the suite. The clubhouse is relatively quiet as we walk through, finding only a few of the members in the main room. They wave as we walk outside.

Grayson’s truck is waiting for us. He opens the door for me and then helps Asher into the brand-new booster seat in the back. I smile as Asher looks around the truck with wide eyes. He’s never been in a vehicle this new, so I don’t blame him .

Grayson hops into the driver’s seat and buckles himself in. He turns on the engine and it rumbles to life.

“Did you just buy this?” I ask as he pulls past the gate.

He gives me a wicked smile in answer. Ugh, this man.

I know that he bought this truck, so he’d have a safe vehicle for our son to travel in.

The thought makes me love him even more.

Because I do still love him . Seeing him with our son has only reaffirmed that fact for me.

My feelings for him haven’t changed over the last seven years, but since I’ve been back in Silver Springs, those feelings have only grown.

Before I know it, we’re pulling into the Williams’ driveway.

The familiar ranch house looms before us.

The white siding and black shudders are classic and well kept, as is the beautiful landscaping that Lisa has spent years perfecting.

This is home. This house has always been more of a home to me than any house I lived in with my father.

Grayson hasn’t even parked the truck when the front door opens and the whole family files out onto the wrap around porch. The truck rolls to a stop and I feel Grayson’s hand squeeze my thigh. I turn to face him and find him smiling at me. I give him a watery smile in return.

“Can we get out now?” Asher asks impatiently.

“Yeah, bud,” Gray chuckles. “Let me get your door. ”

He hops out of the truck and rushes around to our side.

He opens the door for me and offers me his hand.

I take it and slide down from my seat, smoothing my dress out as he helps Asher from the back seat.

I take a deep breath and close the door, not taking my eyes off Grayson and Asher until they’re ready to walk over to the porch.

Grayson takes both of our hands in his and leads us to the porch.

I nibble on my lip when we stop in front of everyone.

Grayson and Rowan look just like their dad and Ella looks just like Lisa.

Kurt has started to gray around his temples and Lisa’s brown hair is a little lighter now, but otherwise, they look the same.

Ella has really grown into herself. She was two years younger than us in school, so she was only sixteen when I left.

Now, she’s twenty-three and beautiful. Her dark brown hair is cut in a bob which shows off her slender neck.

She’s petite but her body has filled in with curves over the years.

Her green eyes are alight as they take us in.

Grayson pulls Asher in front of him, placing his hands on both of his shoulders.

“Mom, this is my son, Asher,” he says in a warm tone. “Asher, this is my mom, your grandma, Lisa.”

Asher nervously waves at Lisa.

She gives him a beaming smile in return. “I’m so happy to meet you Asher.”

“And this is your Aunt Ella,” Grayson says as he turns Ash toward her .

Ella smiles and crouches down to Asher’s level. “Hey, buddy. I can’t wait to spoil you.”

Asher’s face breaks into a smile, making the ice officially break. Lisa turns her attention to me. She doesn’t say a word; she just moves forward and wraps me in a hug. I hug her back, reveling in her affection. Something I’ve missed so much over the years.

“I heard that you love french fries,” Ella says as her mom and I break apart.

Asher’s eyes widen and he nods his head excitedly.

We follow them inside where we find, steaks, french fries, and salad waiting for us.

We devour our dinners and spend the evening watching Asher get to know his family.

He answers all their questions, and they answer all his.

Ash makes best friends with their chocolate labrador retriever named Archie and plays with him all night.

As much as I want to talk to them, to explain what happened, this is Asher’s night. He deserves to know his family without any drama. I can wait.

****

When we get back to the clubhouse, we get Asher ready for bed. He’s exhausted after playing with Archie all evening. I have a feeling we’re going to have to talk about getting him a dog before too long. It’s something I always wanted for him, but we were never in a stable enough place to have one .

Asher wants Gray to put him to bed, so after I give him a hug and a kiss goodnight, I leave them to it.

I put my hair up in a clip, remove my makeup, and then step out of my clothes, ready to get in the shower to wash away the day.

I turn the water to hot and step inside.

I shave my legs and underarms and then wash my body with my vanilla body wash.

After I towel off, I apply lotion to every inch of my body and then get dressed in one of Gray’s t-shirts.

When I walk back into the bedroom, I stop dead in my tracks.

Grayson is near the bed. He’s removed his shirt and jeans and stands there in just a pair of black briefs.

My eyes take in his powerful thighs, muscular arms, and ripped stomach.

Tattoos pepper his flesh, only enhancing his already enticing physique.

I meet his heated gaze, and I swear I’ll combust on the spot.

He strides toward me, eating up the space between us easily.

He stops in front of me, towering over my much shorter frame.

“You didn’t let me peel that dress off you,” he chides as he reaches out and pulls the clip from my hair, placing it on the dresser as my hair falls in waves around me.

My breathing picks up as he leans down, his lips meeting mine in a slow, sensual kiss.

His tongue parts my lips and meets mine in a familiar dance. There’s been no one since Grayson. There’s only ever been Grayson.

My arms wrap around his neck as I pull him closer to me, desperate to feel every inch of him.

His powerful hands trail down my body, cupping my ass and lifting me up.

My legs wrap around his waist as he walks us toward the bed, never breaking our kiss.

His hard cock presses against my pussy and I moan into the kiss.

He kneels on the bed, gently laying me down and immediately filling the space between my thighs.

I break our kiss to flip our positions, climbing onto his lap and then pulling his shirt from my head.

His eyes go heavy lidded as they watch the material skate over my naked body.

His hands move to my breasts, cupping them before his fingers find my nipples.

He tweaks them, knowing how much nipple play turned me on, and apparently that hasn’t changed.

“So fucking beautiful,” Grayson rasps.

I scoot back on his thighs and reach for the waistband of his briefs.

He lifts his hips and helps me lower them until his beautiful cock is on display.

It really is beautiful. It’s long and thick with a vein running down the length of it.

It’s been so long that I don’t have time for foreplay, so I grab his cock and position it at my core, making eye contact with him before I slowly sink down his length.

We groan when he bottoms out inside me. We sit like that for a moment, just reveling in the feel of each other.

The familiar feeling of home. One that we never thought we would have again.

We lock eyes as I begin to move. He thrusts up into me as I grind down on him.

It’s been a long time since we did this, but the way we move together is like it was just yesterday. He knows my body and I know his.

Grayson flips us and lifts my legs over his shoulders, sliding in even deeper. “You feel so fucking good, baby. So tight. So wet.”

His words make me clench around him. “So do you,” I pant.

He continues to thrust as he reaches out and massages my clit.

I know that I won’t last long with him doing that, it’s been too long for me.

Before I can even warn him, I’m coming. I clench around him like a vice.

I moan as my vision darkens. Grayson’s thrusts become erratic.

He’s trying so hard to hold on, but it’s too much for him.

He spills inside me as he comes, collapsing on top of me.

We lay there for a moment as we catch our breath in bliss.

“I’ve missed this,” I whisper as I run my fingers through his wavy hair.

“Me too, baby,” he murmurs. “I love you. Please, don’t leave me again.”

My throat constricts. “I love you, too, and I’ll never leave you again,” I promise him.

And I mean it. I have no desire to leave Silver Springs and the home I’m making with my boys. I want Grayson and I to be how we were back then but only better. I want my son to experience what having a happy family is like . I want to experience that for myself.