Read Online Protected by Shelley Michaels - Free Book Online Page B

asked
whether I wanted to visit him, I declined.  I knew it wasn’t my father
that extended the invitation because I had heard my grandma cursing him to my
grandad, late one night when they thought I was asleep. 
    ‘How can he not want to know her? 
Our baby’s, baby?’ Grandma had cried.
    ‘It’s his loss,’ my granddad had
expressed.  ‘He was always a cold fish.  The only reason he kept
Oliver, was to pass down the business to him,’ my granddad had cursed. ‘Sophie
is better off not knowing him.’
    That was the second time my father
rejected me.
    Throughout the entire service, the
knowledge that Nate’s warm body was pushed up beside me kept me from falling
apart at the seams. The tears had flowed, and he had pulled me closer to him,
his mouth at my hair as he whispered endearments.  I couldn’t fathom his presence
or have the strength to turn him away, right now, he was my protector.
    When the coffin disappeared behind a
curtain, the crowd stood to allow my father, and a handful of people that I didn’t
recognise, to leave the chapel before the rest of us departed.  As he
turned, his eyes found mine, and I watched as he physically blanched.  He
recovered well, his face instantly returning to an unemotional mask as he
exited the building without a word.
    Nate guided me out, his hand on my lower back
until we found ourselves standing amongst the crowd of mourners that gathered
outside.  There was a mixture of attendees, young and old, the majority of
them surrounding my father, eager for a piece of his attention and pandering to
his every demand. 
    ‘You okay?’ Nate whispered down to me.
    ‘Thank you,’ I smiled up into his
concerned face, ‘for being here, I don’t understand why you are, but I’m glad
you are, nevertheless.’
    His hand curved my nape and squeezed in
response, but his eyes flared with affection.  Our gaze clashed and held,
in silent communication.
    ‘Excuse me,’ a man, approximately
mid-thirty in age stopped before us, dark hair, pretty green eyes.  ‘Are
you Sophie?’ He asked.
    ‘Yes!’ I felt Nate step closer to me, his
hand curving around my hip in a possessive gesture.  I stepped into his
warmth.  ‘Sorry, I don’t know you,’ I apologised.
    He eyed Nate for a second with a hint of
amusement before returning his gaze to mine.  ‘I’m Carl,’ he holds out his
hand. ‘I was a friend of Ollies.  He told me all about you, and I have to
say the resemblance is uncanny,’ he comments, as his gaze roams my features. 
‘The eyes,’ he deduces.
    I smile, ‘why thank you. We apparently inherited
our eyes from our mother.’ I turn to Nate, ‘this is a friend of mine, Nate,’ I
introduce the two men.  Nates eyes take on a hooded stare as he evaluated
the man standing before us.
    Carl holds out a hand to Nate, which
meant he had to release his hold on me, but as soon as Carl releases his grip,
he moves back to me.   We chat casually with Carl, as he recites a
few tales of him and Ollie in their college days, before I sense my father’s presence. 
    I tense, and Nate squeezes my waist
reassuringly.
    ‘Sophia,’ he mutters.
    ‘Actually, my name is Sophie,’ I
announce, ice evident in my tone. How the fuck can he forget my name?
    ‘Yes, of course,’ he fidgets
uncomfortably. ‘I did express there was no need for you to attend,’ he
continues, his cold grey eyes penetrating mine.
    ‘Unfortunately, that isn’t something you
decide,’ Nate growls from beside me.
    ‘Excuse me, I was talking to my
daughter,’ he pins Nate with a glare so glacial, you can almost see the icicles
dripping from it.
    ‘Your daughter?’ Nate’s voice is
dangerously low.  ‘No, man. You don’t get the privilege of that label.’
    ‘What the hell do you know?’ Dad growls
to Nate.
    ‘You’d be surprised what I know, Mr.
Parker,’ Nate lifts his jacket to expose his police badge snapped on his belt.
‘In fact, expect a visit real soon to discuss the events