The Carrero Heart - Beginning (Friends to Lovers)

Sophie grabs my wrist and tries to yank me to the side, but I cannot tear my eyes from her. I want to tell her I made a mistake, that she is who I want, that she is all I can even think about. I want to wipe away the memory of that asshole on her body, and replace it with memories of kissing her softly, cherishing her always. No one should ever touch her, except me.

“Natasha.” She snaps at me and slaps my hands down from her face harshly, bringing my focus back to reality again. I tear my eyes from her and glance up as I see Tasha heading our way, looking completely non-plussed and again the accompanying guilt is like a constant shadow with her, and wracks me to the bone and almost smashes me in the skull. Nothing hits home and drills to my shame brain, like Natasha’s appearance.

It makes me feel shit for even thinking what I just did. That same doubt and uncertainty hitting me with equal force, and I sigh hard. So much for fucking choosing.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” Natasha is a momentary distraction, pulling my mind away for a fleeting second of doubt. That’s before the overwhelming realization comes back at me that Sophie could be really hurt, or he could have touched her some place that has messed her up, and that is why she is pushing my touch away. It’s all I can think about.

Impulsively I pull her back into my arms and pull her face to mine, nose to nose so I can get back to my calm place against her. Too drunk for this shit, head spinning, and I need her to keep me grounded. Sophie has always been my safe sane place in life, but right now she looks scared, agitated and I know it’s because that fucker must have done more than just kiss her. She’s trying to hide it, hide something about the encounter that has all my alarms blaring off crazily in my head. Sophie looks distraught, antsy, and I immediately assess that he has done more to her, rage erupting epically again. I will destroy him.

“I want to fucking kill him.” I growl into her face, overcome with aggression once more, as my blood pulses at rate through my veins and reignites my inner devil. Sophie pushes me away a little more gently than before and turns her head towards Natasha, who is the least of my concerns right now.

“Some guy tried it on. Forcefully.” She explains to her, yet all I can think about is what would have happened had I not found her. She was immobilized, caught in his embrace, choking her, and he wasn’t exactly weak. A dark corner under a shady ceiling, in a place no one noticed her attack. It doesn’t bear thinking about. This is why I should never leave her alone. “Arrick hit him, a lot. He’s out cold, pretty fucked up. Arrick needs to get upstairs and out of sight until it calms down.” Sophie is talking to Natasha, but my eyes are scanning the room behind us and searching out the dick head. I want another go at him to just make sure he never lays a fucking finger on her again.

“You don’t fight in bars!” I hear the accusatory tone of Tash and glare her way. If she thinks I’m not going to defend Sophie against some hands-on sadistic sleaze, she’s deluded. I will break him into a thousand pieces, and she can cry over the improperness of my public fighting if she likes.

She is dating a fucking fighting pro, what does she expect?

“Natasha! Take him upstairs, I can find my own way home. Now, Natasha! He needs to be up there with friends who can back up that he was not down here when this went down. If there’s any comeback from this it will fuck up his fight career.” Sophie shoves me towards Natasha, and I don’t catch what she snapped at her at all. I just realize she is walking away, without me, alone as she lets go and Natasha takes me arm instead. Still so drunk, still half immersed in the surreal mist of what happened and not quite with it, not fully in control of my faculties.

fuck I am doing and grab Sophie in a bid to keep her close while I shrug Tasha’s hand off me at the same time. No way

Sophs, confused that she even wants to go without me, enraged that Tasha

I’ll get a cab. I have my bag here and money.” She points at her tiny bag and I stare at her in disbelief, stubborn

in the heart and there is no way she gets to leave here, without me to

stern look, that ‘go away’ glare and I can only stand and numbly stare at her. Hurt that I am not what she wants right now in this. I get the ‘girlfriend’ jibe too and right now in my head, there is no fucking girlfriend. We agreed to try dating again, nothing more. After this I am not sure that’s how it will even play out; my

need me. This is not how this works, ever. It’s not how I

for the first time ever, Sophie doesn’t need me to look after her. My head finding it hard to compute that my little warrior is choosing to take care

happening. I don’t

my arm after her and like some dazed kid I follow her, tripping on the steps because I’m too damn drunk, and my head is still reeling in the aftermath of adrenalin, violence, and Sophie leaving me. The fact she is doing this to us, after a million times I went out and picked her up and took her home from a million sleazy bars. I swooped in and rescued her more times than I care to remember, and not once did she ever tell me to stay behind, so

fuck is happening to

Natasha blankly. Not sure what’s going on or how she even got me up here without a fight, all I know is my girl is headed the other way and I don’t like

and a lot of crap falls out of my pocket that I do not stop to pick up. Something black skates across the table and dives to the floor with Natasha chasing after it hopelessly, but I’m already turning and fleeing back in the

hell am I sitting here while she does so. I almost fall down the stairs of the club as the full hit of drunkenness consumes me, weakened from my adrenalin wearing off and I know I should lay down and sleep this off. Pulling on

here already, so I slide her coat over her body to warm her up, impulsively pulling

she looks a little startled at my appearance, but I don’t care. She has no chance of getting rid of me, even if she throws a Sophie rage and throws something at me. I’m hers. I’ll

in theory I will always follow her when

mode that makes me want to hold her closer and push it all away for her. She’s shivering, despite her jacket and I