Yield to Me (21 page)

Brent’s gut told him he was getting
close to the truth. Her admittance revealed she wasn’t in love with Lord, which
gave him immense pleasure. It also proved there might be some validity to the
senator’s fears.

He snorted.
“A
business arrangement?
That won’t satisfy you in bed, princess. You’re
too passionate for a cold union.” She made him think of a little tornado,
twisting and hungry.

“I’m not going to dignify that with
a response,” she said. She laid her head back and closed her eyes.

“Why? Because you know I’m right?”
Brent slowed the truck down to pull into a convenience store. They needed gas.
“Or, are you going to be one of those rich, society types who have the rich
husband and a lover on the side?”

“If that’s what you want to
believe,” she snapped. “If you’re determined to stereotype me because of my
status in life, then far be it from me to disappoint you.”

Her comment rubbed Brent the wrong
way. “So, you were just getting in a little practice with me?” If he could let
go of the steering wheel without causing an accident he’d grab her and shake
her. “Any time you’re up for another round,” he grated in a low voice. Parking
the truck in front of a gas pump, he cut the engine. “You’re a pretty good
piece of…”

The next thing Brent knew, he was
getting clipped on the jaw. Caught unaware, the blow caused his head to snap
around, but almost immediately he swung back to look at Sophie with amusement.
He raised his hand to rub the side of his face, taking in the regret swimming
in her startled eyes.

She covered her mouth with a
horrified gasp. “I’m sorry!” Her words came out in a broken sob. “I…I have
married friends who’ve taken lovers on the side and should never have implied
I’m like that.” Her teeth chomped down on her bottom lip before she continued.
“I was raised better than that, Brent. I’ve never hit anyone before and I’ve
hit you twice.”

Brent gripped her wrist and pulled
her across the seat. “Why? Because you reacted naturally, proving that you have
more than ice water running in your veins?” His harsh whisper caused her eyes
to widen. “Maybe you should lose control more often.”

“No.” She shook her head firmly. “It
makes you weak.”

“Not weak, princess. Human.” He
placed her palm against his cheek so she could feel the heat left behind from
her blow. “Feel that?”

“How can I not?” Tears sprang in her
eyes. “That’s not the only thing I feel,” she said huskily.

The breath hissed from Brent; he
couldn’t take his eyes off her quivering mouth. He felt a blow straight to his
heart.
What is she doing to me?
“Damn
you!”

Something was happening between
them, drawing them ever closer.
I don’t
know how much longer I can go on pretending I’m not attracted to her. For the
first time in my life, I know what I want. And I want her.

“You’re my protector, aren’t you?”
she continued in a soft voice, surprising him. “Nothing will convince me that
you’re anything less. Maybe someday I’ll learn the truth.”

Her words registered, only Brent
didn’t care about anything except pressing his mouth against her soft lips and
tasting her. The palm cupping his cheek turned into a caress, soothing away the
pain she’d inflicted. Their gazes clung for a moment, her eyes clouding with
desire. He watched her lips part, then her tongue run over them in an unwitting
invitation.

Brent’s hand came up and cupped her
jaw. His thumb gently smoothed over her bottom lip, dipping inside slightly to
run along the inside where she was moist. She caught her breath, closing her
eyes and swaying closer. Fire licked at his senses, and before he knew it, he
kissed Sophie with everything he had.

Her sound of surrender excited him.
She melted into him like sweet frosting on a hot cinnamon bun. Forgetting where
they were, Brent’s fingers tangled in the soft cloud of her hair and his mouth
moved over hers with growing hunger. Little whimpers of pleasure erupted from
her throat when his tongue glided across hers. When his other hand dropped to
her breast in a lingering sweep, it didn’t take long for the passion to fully
ignite between them. She thrust her breast against his hand, and Brent nearly
had heart failure when he felt her hand drop to his lap.

Hell! He turned hard in an instant.
His tongue began to mimic what his body wanted to do. There wasn’t a shy bone
in Sophie’s body when she was hungry. Before the situation between them had a
chance to get out of control, the blast of a car horn tore them apart like guilty
teenagers.

“Damn!” he swore, his eyes quickly
searching the area around them, before narrowing on Sophie again. “I want you,”
he admitted gruffly. “Right here, on this seat.” The truth was in Sophie’s
eyes; she wanted it too. He shook his head to clear it and turned to exit the
vehicle. He wasn’t worried she’d try to escape. Too much had passed between
them.

After slipping a credit card through
he
began filling the truck. What was he doing, losing
control like that, and in a public place? The answer was simple; Sophie made
him feel alive every time she got close, every time she touched him, even in
the smallest way. And every time he looked deeply into her eyes, into her soul,
he lost a little more of his heart to her.

I’ve fallen in love with her.

For whatever reason, she was going
to marry Jonathan Lord. It was just a matter of time before he found them, especially
with the resources he had at his disposal. Brent glanced around, looking for
signs of him. His gaze landed on the late model Lincoln with its black-tinted
windows immediately. He’d been looking for them ever since they’d left the marina,
recognizing the bad boys when he saw them. Some things never changed. They were
obviously on their way to the boat landing and hadn’t quite reached the gas
station yet. Maybe with a little luck they wouldn’t recognize his truck and
continue past.

He quickly replaced the nozzle,
staring at the vehicle as he rounded the truck in unhurried strides. Opening
the door, he hesitated before sliding in, watching as the Lincoln came to a
stop at a light directly across from them. The only thing working in their
favor was they were going in the opposite direction, boxed in by other
vehicles. His gaze briefly fell to Sophie. She was watching him with worry in
her eyes; not the look of a woman about to be rescued. “It’s Jonathan,” she
said simply.

She’d seen the car, too. He gave a
slight nod. “I know.” He knew because he’d done his homework. On top of that,
he recognized the custom-made license plate on the front of the car, Lord’s
Law. To date no one had been able to figure out the significance of that, but
Brent had his own ideas.

All at once, Sophie leaned across
the seat toward him. “Let me go, Brent; it’s the only thing you can do.
Jonathan won’t let up until he gets me back. And we both know what he’ll do to
you.”

“Worried about me, princess?” he
teased, a crooked smile spreading across his chiseled lips. “Don’t be. I’ve
been up against tougher men.”

“I’ll give you the money myself!”
she rushed out desperately, fear for what Jonathan would do to him in her eyes.

“It’s not that easy.”

“But…”

“Damn!” Brent slid in, forcing
Sophie back to her side of the truck. The light had changed but instead of
continuing the way they were, he watched the Lincoln cut across traffic and
make an illegal turn. It was obvious they’d been spotted. He started the engine
and threw the truck in gear.

“They’ve turned around,” Sophie
stated the obvious, twisting in her seat to watch them approach. “Brent,
please, let me go.”

He ignored her. “Hold on.” Seeing a
break in traffic, he floored the accelerator, sending her flying against the
door before she could brace herself. His gaze shot back and forth between the
road in front of them and rearview mirror, watching to make certain he kept as
much distance between them and the Lincoln as possible.

“They’re driving like crazy men,”
she commented, watching as the Lincoln began to zigzag through traffic in an
effort to move closer. Drivers were honking their horns in anger, swerving to
avoid being hit.

“So are we,” Brent responded,
cutting off a semi and getting a not so polite hand gesture for it. His goal
was to keep enough traffic between them.
Who
am I kidding? Once we leave the congested part of town and are back on the
coastal two-lane highway we won’t be hard to catch.

He didn’t relish the thought of
placing Sophie in any kind of danger. He’d put her through enough. He glanced
over to see her clutching the dashboard for dear life as he wove in and around
vehicles in their way. Checking his rear-view mirror again brought relief when
he saw the Lincoln temporarily forced to stop at a red light. The windshield
was too dark to see who was driving; instinct telling Brent it wasn’t Lord.
Nevertheless, he didn’t doubt Lord was giving the orders.

“Things might get hairy,” he
remarked, shooting Sophie a warning look. “If I tell you to get down on the
floor, you do it without question.”

“Why would I need to get down on the
floor?”

The look of innocence on her face
caused his gut to clench. “There might be shooting.”

Her face turned a shade lighter. “If
you would just stop this truck and let me out, we can end it here and now,” she
said with growing panic. “I don’t want anyone shot over me.”

“Not even the man who kidnapped and
terrorized you? I’d think you’d want to see me brought down.” She ignored his
misplaced sense of humor, turning to glance out the window as the scenery raced
by. Brent felt like a bastard when he saw her bottom lip quiver.

“How can you be so flippant at a
time like this? I don’t want you getting hurt or going to prison.”

Interesting.
Brent remained quiet. Later he could explore the meaning behind
that. Right now he was concerned with Lord and his goons.

A look in his side view mirror
showed the Lincoln was about twelve car lengths behind, forced to travel at a
slower speed behind a cement truck. There was no way to go around the truck
until there was a break in the oncoming traffic. Thank God there’s a steady
stream of vehicles preventing him from doing just that. In spite of that, Brent
didn’t see any way of losing him. They were speeding down the coastal road only
as fast as the traffic in front of them allowed. Stoplights were nonexistent.

He glanced at Sophie, noticing the
stubborn set of her chin as she stared straight ahead. Her expression said she
was miles away. What is she thinking? Turning his attention back to traffic,
Brent shifted his foot to the brake pedal. The van ahead of them was slowing as
it prepared to make a left-hand turn across traffic, forcing them to come to a
dead stop.

“Damn!” he muttered beneath his
breath.

“Brent.”

“What?” His gaze remained on what
was happening behind them. He shifted his hips and reached behind him, withdrawing
the gun he kept tucked in his belt. He was vaguely aware of Sophie spinning
around, as though to see if he had reason to need his weapon. A sigh of obvious
relief followed. So far, no one had exited the Lincoln. Nonetheless, Brent
wasn’t taking any chances.

“Brent.” This time he turned,
something in her tone causing him to narrow his gaze on her. “I’m sorry,
but…please don’t come after me.” Her hand fumbled for the door handle as she
spoke.

He took in what she was doing.
“Sophie, damn it!”
He guessed her intentions too late. She
opened the door, evading his outstretched hand, and jumped down. She slammed
the door behind her and turned to run.

Swearing, Brent opened his door and
jumped to the ground. “Sophie!” He watched her slip on loose gravel on the
shoulder in her haste to get away. If she heard his angry shout, she ignored
it. He hurried after her, the gravel crunching beneath his feet. At the same
time, he saw the doors to the Lincoln open, and three men quickly exit.
Instincts warned him that one of them was Lord. Sophie came to a halt and swung
around; a look of terror in her eyes.

“Brent…”

Brent rounded the tail end of his
truck and grabbed her into his arms. “You little fool!” His anger was tempered
because of his concern for her.

“They’re coming, please go!” she
cried, struggling against him. Her gaze returned to Jonathan. “They’ll kill
you!”

“They won’t kill me out here in the
open,” he tried to reassure her.

“You don’t know that!” she wept,
ceasing her struggles and tearing her gaze off Jonathan long enough to appeal
to him. “I’m begging you, go!” Tears were streaming down her face. “I couldn’t
bare it if you’re hurt because of me.” She started to reach up to his face, but
thought better of it.

“Sophie,” he started
,
only to be interrupted by something hitting the gravel
near his feet. Then another and another and in a split second Brent knew what
it was. He swung sharply toward the three men heading their way. One of them
had drawn his gun and was shooting wildly as he ran.

Enraged, he quickly placed himself
in front of Sophie, shielding her with his body as he prepared to shoot his own
weapon. Is the man a fool? His first shot had come damn close to hitting her.
He watched as Lord pulled the man’s arm down. At least he showed some common
sense.