Yield to Me (11 page)

The rose in her cheeks elevated,
revealing her emotions were close to the surface. Brent’s interested gaze fell
to her quivering bottom lip. It was full and soft, damp from where she’d licked
it. He wondered how much protesting she’d do if he took advantage of the moment
and kissed her.
Like he wanted to.

“Get off me!” she demanded, arching
against him, but he thwarted her efforts to throw him off. “What kind of kidnapper
are you?” She began wiggling like an eel. “You haven’t even asked for a ransom!
Or is it a political favor you’re seeking from my father?” she continued,
revealing she’d seen the news.

“All in good time,
princess.
If we seem too eager, Lord will think
he can negotiate, which means less money for us. The more time that goes by,
the more he’ll begin to wonder what we’re doing to you. When we finally make
our demands, he won’t blink at the amount he’ll be so eager to get you back.
And you could save yourself a lot of grief, if you’d just come to terms with
your predicament and wait patiently for the outcome.”

“Jonathan will pay you whatever you
want,” she breathed, glaring up at Brent with bright eyes. “There’s no reason
to drag this on.”

“He must love you very much.” She
looked sexy as sin, and just as tempting. Soft ribbons of fire were splayed out
on the carpet around her, giving Brent the urge to touch it. He couldn’t recall
a time he’d felt an overwhelming need to touch a woman’s hair. The warning
signs were there. His control was slipping fast.

Sophie stilled, whether it was due
to self-preservation or something he’d said, he didn’t know. He became mesmerized
by the deep mystery reflected in her eyes as they moved over his face, as
though searching for the answer. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she
didn’t know what to say. “Aren’t you going to answer me?”

“Yes.” This time she didn’t
hesitate.

“And you love him,” he prompted in a
hard tone.

“I…” She halted, her pretty white
teeth sinking down into her bottom lip.
Had she been about to
divulge something?
Brent watched an array of emotions cross her face,
curious as to what thoughts had left that despondent look in her eyes. Hardly
the look he’d expect to see in the eyes of a woman in love.

“What’s going on in the pretty head
of yours?” he asked, as the silence stretched between them. “Your eyes are
giving you away, princess. You’re hiding something.”

Her mouth tightened into a firm
line. “You’re fishing.”

He felt her begin to relax beneath
him. “And you’re not biting.” Brent knew he should release her, only he wasn’t
ready to. That decision turned out to be a mistake. Now that Sophie had stopped
focusing on getting away, he became aware of how intimate their position was.
How good she felt beneath him.

“Please, let me up.”

Sanity returned almost instantly.
The sound of her voice sliced right through the lust surging through his blood.
Getting up suddenly became more important than subduing Sophie, especially when
his body betrayed him by hardening. Only Brent knew he had the upper hand. “Not
until you answer me.” Though she gave no outward sign, he saw something flare
in her eyes, suspecting the turmoil running through her. “You love him.”

“I…yes!”

Her exclamation was a mixture of
unwillingness and desperation. Her hesitation told Brent she was lying. He was
willing to let it slide for now, knowing that sometimes patience was a virtue.
“Are you thinking about him now?” There was a challenge in his tone. He was
good at pushing people into talking when they didn’t want to, instinctively
knowing which buttons to push. Sometimes he got lucky.

His gut told him Sophie was
definitely hiding something. Nevertheless, he knew it was too good to hope that
she’d come right out and tell him what. She had too much pride for that. In
that respect she was a lot like the senator. And that meant her stubbornness
was going to mean more trouble for him.

“I’d like to eat breakfast now,” she
remarked, letting him know their conversation was over.

Well, he controlled the situation,
though he seemed to have forgotten that for a moment. Sophie’s delicate shiver
reminded him she was at his mercy. When he’d held her close during the night
he’d roused several times to find her nestled against him, almost seeking
contact, and he’d adjusted his position so she could get closer still. A
mistake he’d paid for countless times over.

His cock was reacting to her
closeness, reminding Brent he’d missed an opportunity to appease some of the
lust riding him, that morning. His intentions had been to fuck her after she
came.
So why didn’t I?
Hell, he knew
why.
Because he hadn’t intended for things to go that far.
Only Sophie had been so wildly responsive, and he’d sensed a strong need in
her.

He must be a fool because he was
going to ignore another opportunity. Instincts told him he could have her hot
and horny in no time, like he was now. He hesitated for a moment before getting
to his feet. He easily pulled her up with him, refusing to be taken in by the
seductive scent threatening to suck him under.

“I wonder, are you an honest woman?”

Sophie made a halfhearted attempt to
break away but his question obviously caught her off-guard. She halted, meeting
his gaze. “What kind of question is that?” she demanded to know, her brows
coming together with confusion.

“A simple
question.”
He slowly uncurled his fingers from
around her wrist, studying her expression closely. He had good instincts; in
his line of work, it was a commodity. “I want to know if I can trust you.”
Probably about as far as I
can throw her.

“Yes,” was all she said, a nervous
look filling her bright eyes.

Brent had to give her credit for
being able to look him in the eye and lie to him, because he didn’t trust her. With
the exception of his mother and sister, he didn’t trust any woman. Still, he
had to find out how far she’d go to convince him of that. “Can I trust you not
to try and escape, if I let you out of this room for a little while?”

Sophie’s eyes grew round with
disbelief. “How can you even ask me such a thing? Do you really expect me to be
honest with you?”

Brent watched her expression
carefully, instincts warning him she was struggling with what to say. The way
he figured it, she could tell him what she thought he wanted to hear. Or, she
could be honest now and gain his trust. That would definitely work to her
advantage later. Did she have the patience for that?

“I can’t do that.”

Her response surprised him.
“Why?"

“Because I know that every time the
chance presents itself I’ll try and escape.”

Grudging respect filled Brent. Why
hadn’t she taken the easy way out? He wouldn’t have blamed her. He expelled a
deep sigh before turning to leave. “I’ll be back later. Eat your breakfast.” He
tossed the clipped words over his shoulder.

“What about clothes? Surely you
don’t expect to keep me in nothing but your shirt.”

Brent opened the door, pausing in
the threshold to glance back at Sophie. Her expression wasn’t hard to read. If
looks could kill, he’d be dead right now. A slow smile formed on his lips. Her
chin raised a notch for every second his eyes raked over her scantily clad
attire. He liked his shirt on her.

“Make yourself at home.” He
indicated the direction of the closet with a sweep of his arm. “What’s mine is yours.
Feel free to search for something more suitable to wear.”

Instead of acknowledging his
comment, she sat down at the small table, placed the paper napkin over her lap,
and then waited. She didn’t make eye contact with Brent again, but he had a
hunch she wouldn’t touch her breakfast until he was on the other side of the
door and she heard the sound of the lock being turned.

Chapter 10

“The senator’s expecting you, Mr.
Howard; go right in.”

Brent ran an appreciative glance
over the senator’s secretary before walking past her desk and opening the door.
Senator Adams was sitting at his desk; his head buried in a mountain of
paperwork; a drink to the left of him and a plate with a half-eaten sandwich to
the right. The evening news was on the TV in the corner but he appeared to be
ignoring it.

“Help yourself to a drink before you
sit down,” he instructed Brent, still not looking up from what he was reading.
“I’ll be right with you.”

It was a little early in the day but
Brent decided he could use a good stiff drink. The portable bar held a little
bit of everything but he reached for the scotch, pouring a generous splash into
a heavy crystal glass before taking a seat in one of the leather chairs in
front of the desk. He was just relaxing back when the senator gave a deep sigh,
removing his glasses before tossing them down on top of the material he’d been
studying. Leaning back in his chair he linked his hands behind his head and
stretched, directing a narrowed gaze on Brent.

“How’s my daughter holding up?
She giving
you any trouble?” The look in his eyes clearly
revealed he was slightly amused over the prospect. He clearly didn’t have a
clue that Sophie was nothing but trouble.

Brent shrugged. “She’s your
daughter; what do you think?” Taking a sip of the best scotch money could
buy,
he studied the senator over the rim of his glass,
thinking about the lady in question. In fact, he couldn’t stop thinking about
her, which troubled him. The sex he could handle. All he wanted to do was kiss
that smart mouth of hers every time she opened it. Slide his tongue inside the
sweet warmth behind those sharp little teeth and drive them both a little wild.
Change the sass to a purr.

It was the feelings she aroused in
him that he wasn’t prepared to deal with. He’d been prepared to dislike her.

“Sophie’s a gentile lady. Her
grandmother, God rest her soul, raised her and she was from the old school.
I’ve never known my daughter to lose her control over any situation.”

Well then, he doesn’t know his daughter very well.
Brent thought about the scratches furrowing his chest, wondering
what the senator would say about those.
And how wildly she
responded to being petted and played with.

“For the most part you’re right on
the money.” He didn’t see the need in bursting the older man’s bubble. After
all, he was talking about a whole other issue. “But she’s shown a little spirit
now and again.” Unable to help the slight twitching of his lips he camouflaged
it with another sip of his drink.

“You mean she’s not using her
womanly wiles on you to control the situation?
While growing
up that little girl kept me twisted around her little finger using such
trickery.
Something she picked up from her grandmother.” Senator Adams
paused long enough to take a sip of his drink. “My mother was a southern bell
during her day and taught Sophie that a little charm goes a long way. She’s
used to getting what she wants.”

And knew how to
get it too.
Brent wisely kept thought to
himself. He’d experienced a little of Sophie’s womanly seductiveness but he’d yet
to see the southern charm the senator was talking about, except maybe when she
was playing her damsel in distress act. He already knew how to handle that.

“I think that’s the problem; she’s
not getting what she wants. I bring out the worst in her.” He couldn’t help the
little smile that spread across his chiseled lips, forgetting to disguise it
this time.

The senator’s eyes narrowed
suddenly, giving Brent a long, hard look that quickly turned into a speculative
gleam. “That little bit of news is interesting.”

Worried about the glint in his eye
Brent decided it was time to get down to business. He finished his drink, welcoming
the raw burn that settled in his gut. At least it gave him something else to
think about other than the little witch in his bedroom.

“Have you found out what’s going on
between your daughter and Lord, if anything?” he asked, setting his glass
aside.

Shaking his head negatively, the
senator’s mouth became tight and grim beneath his neatly trimmed mustache. “Not
a damn thing so far. Jonathan is a sneaky bastard. He appears to have a lot of
people in his pocket and all of them spineless cowards. Not a one willing to
spill the beans on anything we can use, if they know anything. It’s frustrating
as hell and my team isn’t getting anywhere.”

Buying off your enemies was just one
of the perks of being a millionaire. “Senator, if you don’t mind my asking,
what makes you think Sophie doesn’t want to marry him?” He knew money was a
powerful incentive. “Has she given you any reason to believe…
”

“No!” Senator Adams snapped, leaning
forward with a fierce expression on his square-boned face. “I know there’s
something going on here, Brent. Every time I look at her when she doesn’t know
I’m watching I see the way she cringes away from him when he gets too close. I
see the relief in her eyes when he finally walks away. A woman in love doesn’t
act like that.”