Nothing but Trouble

by Tory Richards

  “Please help me!” Sophie cried up at Tom, apparently not recognizing him.

  “He’s with me, princess.” Brent pulled her away from the wall. “We’ll be right up,” he called to Tom.

  “You won’t get away with this!”

  “I already have.” Brent should have been prepared for what happened next. And he would have been, if he’d been more focused on the matter at hand and not her soft curves. The second

  Tom closed the door she made her move, once again catching him unaware. She pushed and pulled against him until she broke free. His eyes grew round when he lost his balance. He watched helplessly as Sophie turned and dashed up the stairs as fast as she could.

  He was getting tired of this. “Damn it!”

  His curse didn’t so much as slow her down. Brent recovered, and stormed up the steps like a mad bull. Sophie glanced back at him once and let out a cry. Brent was gaining on her. She stumbled and lost a shoe, but that didn’t stop her from swinging back around and reaching for the door knob. He watched as she struggled with the heavy door, until she was finally able to open it, before stumbling into the hallway. He reached for the door before it closed, entering the hallway in time to see Sophie sprint unladylike toward her apartment.

  Brent knew he had to stop her. If she managed to get inside and lock him out, no telling what damage she could do before he got to her. Her groan of frustration echoed in the narrow corridor as she fumbled with the doorknob, nearly falling inside her apartment and slamming the door in Brent’s face. Before she could turn the lock, he shoved it open with such force that she stumbled backwards. She cried out, running further into the apartment before coming to a halt. The look in her wild eyes revealed she knew there was nowhere for her to go.

  “Going somewhere, princess? You forgot your glass slipper.” He held up her dainty heel by the broken strap.

  “Stay away from me!” The glass swan she snatched off the nearest table was probably expensive, but she tossed it at him without a care. Her aim was wild, missing Brent by a mile and hitting a picture on the wall. Both went crashing loudly to the floor. He grinned at the disbelief in her lovely eyes, and slowly walked toward her. She darted away from the table, grabbing a lamp on the away by. “Security will be here any minute!” she gasped in a desperate tone.

  “Really?” Brent knew she was lying. “You didn’t have time to make a call, and I happen to know the apartments at this end of the corridor are empty.” He continued to pursue her, ducking when she threw the lamp. “I’m not going to hurt you.” It was the truth. But if she forced him to subdue her she might get a little roughed up in the process.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  Brent was just inches away. His gaze ran over her. She was breathing heavy; her full breasts were satiny smooth over the top of her gown. He unwillingly recalled what they’d felt like against his chest. How quickly his body had responded to her.

  Something in his expression must have frightened her, because alarm washed over her face. She reached down and removed her other shoe, threw it at him, then turned and headed for the direction of the kitchen. Brent was right behind her, entering the kitchen just as she opened up a drawer. She whipped around to face him with a knife in her trembling hands. The little fool! What did she think she was going to do with that?

  His gaze narrowed on the blade. Before he could warn her to put it down she seemed to have second thoughts. She dropped it in exchange for a small, wooden hammer. Without hesitation, she threw it at him. He quickly raised his hand and caught it in midair, grinning at the look of disbelief spreading across her lovely face.

  “Why are you doing this? What do you want?” Not giving Brent time to reply, she twisted around as though to flee. Only there was no escape for her, unless she decided to go over the countertop, which Brent highly doubted.

  He moved up behind her, trapping her against the counter with his body. “You’re good and stuck, princess.” He was close enough for his breath to stir the fine hairs at the back of her neck. Close enough to breathe in her silky warmth. Her delicate shiver awakened something deep inside Brent. Like any red-blooded male, he was attracted to beautiful women. In spite of a hard lesson learned from his last involvement, to be precise, Connie Simmons. A relationship that had turned sour, while making him cautious and skeptical of any woman’s intentions. Sophie had already proved more resourceful than he’d anticipated. He wasn’t about to let his guard down anytime soon. No matter how enticing she was.

  His body had other ideas though, betraying him by their close proximity. Only he fought it down. “You might as well give up.” He twisted her around in his arms, at the same time reaching for the knotted scarf in his pocket. He’d crammed it in there just in case, thankful now for his last minute thought.

  “No!” she screamed, struggling wildly when her eyes lit on the scarf. “Help!”

  She strained away as Brent’s hand moved closer to her, and opened her mouth to let out what he sensed would be another ear-piercing scream. He moved quickly, and stuffed the knot into her mouth before tying the loose ends at the back of her head. All the while she struggled furiously against him, but he had no trouble using his greater strength to keep her right where he wanted her.

  The panicked expression on her frightened face almost caused Brent to hesitate, almost. For the first time, he began to question what he was doing and the reasons why. Was terrifying her this way worth it? The senator might not think so if he could see Sophie’s frightened face right then. Yet Brent knew he couldn’t afford to soften.

  “Sorry, but I gave you fair warning,” he grated in an unsympathetic voice that said it was her own damn fault.

  She continued to struggle wildly, trying to break free. Brent grabbed her arms and forced them behind her, locking her wrists together at the small of her back. His gaze remained on her pale face, moving over her delicate features in a leisurely sweep before sliding down the graceful column of her throat and below.

  Part of him knew his look was calculated to intimidate her, make her wonder what he would do next. He took a few seconds to appreciate the beauty of her skin, how soft and flawless, before letting her muffled sounds of protest snag his attention. She shuddered against him, whimpering behind the gag in her mouth. Brent’s gaze slid back up to study her face, noticing her pupils were dilated with fear. Everything his mother had taught him about treating a woman came rushing to the surface, almost crippling him from carrying out his scheme.

  As much as it bothered him, he was glad she was smart enough to be afraid. He needed her frightened if his plan was going to work. It might help keep her manageable and God knew he needed all the help he could get. A sudden movement at the doorway drew his attention and he stiffened before realizing it was Tom.

  “I’m sorry she got away from me earlier, Brent, but she caught me by surprise.” Brent flashed him a scathing look for using his name, when they’d already agreed on an alias. Tom paused in the open doorway, his face turning red when his mistake caught up to him. “Sorry,” he said lamely.

  “Don’t sweat it,” Brent muttered, reaching inside his pocket for a second piece of cloth. He jerked Sophie away from the counter, tying her hands together with a bad feeling in his gut.

  So far nothing was going to plan.

  Chapter 4

  As it began to dawn on Sophie that she was being abducted, she strained against Brent’s hold in earnest, dragging her feet in an effort to stall for time. Maybe with a little luck someone had heard the commotion and phoned security. However, she soon realized he was much stronger. Without half-trying he curled his hand around her upper arm like a steel shackle, forcing her to walk ahead of him. As they moved closer to the door she realized she had to do something. She couldn’t just go with them without a fight.

  As they reached the threshold, desperation forced her into letting her body go limp. Maybe pretending to faint would work to her advantage, but unfortunately her plan was short-lived. She heard Brent release a tisk
of annoyance before scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of unwanted potatoes. At least he hadn’t let her hit the floor, but his undignified solution to the problem was no less welcome.

  The gag only muffled her groan of protest over the unladylike position. Frustrated her fainting spell hadn’t worked, she began to squirm vigorously, gaining nothing but a grunt of irritation and a hard slap that wounded her pride more than her posterior. She had no idea where they were going. From her vantage point all she could see was the back of his neatly pressed slacks and the royal blue carpet embellished with little gold crowns.

  They hadn’t gone very far when they paused before a door, long enough for Brent’s partner in crime to unlock and open it for them to pass through. The short distance told Sophie they’d entered the vacant apartment next to hers, making her recognize they were the new tenants. They’d obviously thought of everything. The tenants who lived in the building were extremely wealthy, valuing their privacy. Unless they had a good reason, security would think twice before knocking on a tenant’s door to question them.

  “Something tells me we aren’t going to get lucky where security is concerned, which means they could show up here any minute. Keep your eye on the peephole. You know what to do if they come knocking,” she heard Brent say over his shoulder as he continued through the room in hurried strides. “Don’t screw this up, Tom.” He strode into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him and dumping Sophie unceremoniously on the bed.

  She bounced several times before coming to a stop, staring at Brent over the gag with a mixture of fear and anger churning in her stomach. What would he do now? As if he had read her mind, his face split into a wolfish grin, adding to her apprehension when his hands quickly moved to the buttons on his shirt. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when he began to undo them. Why was he unbuttoning his shirt? She raised her gaze to find him watching her, shaking her head no vigorously. However, his only response was a wider grin if that were possible, turning his eyes a darker shade of gold. His slightly spread-eagle stance was as intimidating as it was sexy. She tried to swallow behind the gag, nearly choking herself.

  “Getting nervous now, are we, princess?” Brent pulled his dress shirt out of his slacks, slipping it off his shoulders before letting it fall carelessly to the floor.

  Her stare zeroed in on his sculptured, well-defined chest that appeared every bit as hard as the rock of Gibraltar, complimented by a pair of the widest shoulders she’d ever seen on a man. Mesmerized, she followed his strong hands when they dropped to the belt buckle at his waist, watching him deftly undo it before moving to unsnap and unzip his pants. It quickly dawned on her that he was undressing all the way. Her heart lodged in her throat at what that could possibly mean, wishing she’d put up more of a struggle to escape; now it was too late. Whatever Brent had planned, it was clear by the intense look on his face he wasn’t going to change his mind.

  She was beginning to feel like a sacrificial virgin, lying there helplessly while waiting to be conquered. Her eyes rounded pleadingly over the gag in a silent attempt to get him to change his mind but his hands didn’t falter. His gaze remained cemented on hers, revealing a volley of complex emotions she couldn’t begin to unravel.

  Then something made him pause, and Sophie wondered if it had anything to do with her expression. She’d never been so frightened in her life and knew it had to be reflected on her face.

  “Sorry, princess. You’ve forced me to come up with a change of plans. You made too much ruckus for it to go unnoticed by the few tenants living close by. My gut tells me we’re going to have company.”

  Company? Sophie felt a glimmer of hope. But before she had a chance to get too excited Brent kicked off his shoes and peeled off his socks, staring down at her. “If I thought Tom could handle you, I’d turn you over to him.”

  Ohmigod…what did that mean?

  When his hands moved to the open waistband of his slacks, her eyes widened with alarm. She felt her heart racing, her gaze locking on to his. His hands faltered, a muscle in his jaw tightening. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, tearing into the tense moment like a gun shot blast.

  “The security guards are knocking on the door down the hallway!” Sophie heard Tom say in a voice rushed with panic. “I think they’re heading this way!”

  Tom’s comment spurred Brent into action. He yanked off his pants and knelt on the bed, ignoring her pathetic whimper of appeal. His added weight on the mattress forced her to roll his way. She couldn’t stop him from reaching behind her, where he made quick work at untying her hands. As soon as she was free Sophie brought them up to fend him off, aiming for his face, using her long nails like lethal weapons. Before they reached him Brent snagged her wrists, slamming them down on the bed, and lowering his face close to hers.

  The fierce look in his eyes terrified Sophie; she stilled, and held her breath. What was he going to do?

  “Good, now that I have your attention,” he said in a low, threatening tone. “This is how it’s going to be.”

  As scared as she was, Sophie inwardly bulked at his arrogance, but she was helpless against him. She’d been raised a lady, had gone to some of the finest schools for the well-to-do. Nothing in the two years of etiquette classes her gentile grandmother insisted she take had prepared her for something as unforeseeable as this. She was sorry now, for turning up her nose at the chance to take the self-defense courses offered the last year of high school. The knowledge of where to hit an attacker would definitely come in more useful now than which side of the plate the salad fork went.

  She made an attempt to break free, which Brent quickly took care of by giving her wrists a jerk against the bed. “I’m not going to hurt you, unless you force me to. Is that clear?”

  Do I dare trust him? She stared into his eyes for a moment, as if gauging the truth behind his statement, before finally nodding slowly. What else can I do?

  “We’re about to have company, princess, so I’m going to remove your gag, but if you try anything, anything at all,” he stressed in a forceful tone, “you’ll have what happens to them on your conscience.” He paused for a moment. “Do you understand?” he inquired softly.

  Sophie nodded, as he reached for the gag. “I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that you’re not some spoiled, rich society type who doesn’t care about what happens to anyone other than yourself.”

  “My father will give you whatever you want!” she was compelled to whisper the moment the gag was removed from her mouth. “My fiancé…”

  “In due time, princess.” Brent cocked his head as though to listen for the sound of something significant coming from the outer room. “Right now we have to make it through the next few minutes. Think you can play the convincing part of a woman in the act of making love?”

  “What?” Sophie’s jaw dropped, she couldn’t have heard him right. “I don’t understand.”

  His hands moved to the halter straps of her gown, curling around the delicate fabric. “Sure you do. If security opens that door, I want them taking in the scene of two people so engrossed with each other that they don’t know what’s going on around them.”

  “Please don’t,” Sophie whispered sharply, realizing what he was about to do. Her hands pressed against his chest, the heat of his solid flesh beneath her palms sent a current of sharp awareness through her body, which she promptly ignored. She lowered her gaze, taking in the contrast of her scarlet-tipped nails buried in the sprinkle of crisp, black hair covering his chest. “I’ll cooperate!” she promised desperately, feeling his fingers tugging at the material as though testing its strength. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?” She held her breath, watching his gold eyes flicker with hesitation.

  His expression revealed he wasn’t sure he could trust her, yet she was finally rewarded with a deep sigh of resignation. “If you double-cross me…”

  “I won’t, I promise.” Sophie wasn’t stupid. Nodding eagerly, she began to relax. But that tur
ned out to be a mistake. Instead of letting go, Brent’s hands gave a sharp tug, pulling the halter loose from the back of her neck.

  Her astonished gasp echoed throughout the room. Glancing down with reluctance, she was thankful to see the action had only bared her shoulders. One hand flew to her breasts to make sure the material remained there. “Why…” That was as far as she got. Voices outside their room indicated company had arrived.

  “Let’s see if you know the true meaning of teamwork.” Brent lowered his face to hers as he spoke, forcing her further into the pillow, but there was no escaping him. The warmth of his breath caused a shiver to run through her.

  “What do you want me to do?” Her words came out low and breathless, barely registering.

  “Put your arms around me,” he demanded softly, watching her closely.

  Put my arms around him? Sophie gulped, reluctantly doing as she was told and praying there was nothing else.

  “Now pucker up, princess, and kiss me like you mean it.” His mouth was hovering over hers, so close Sophie could feel his breath against her trembling lips.

  Kiss him? Her eyes grew round at his command but before she could utter a protest, his mouth closed firmly over hers, stealing her breath away. The crazy thought flashed through her mind that if all he wanted was a kiss, she could cope with that. Only when he deepened his sensual attack she felt him slowly lower his weight against her.

  If he thought she wouldn’t notice what he was doing then he was in for a big surprise. Furious at his boldness and feeling betrayed by his action, she began to squirm like an eel out of water; trying everything she could to dislodge him. When nothing seemed to work she moved her hands between them, pushing against his chest. Using her nails like lethal weapons, she raked his flesh, getting an immediate response out of him.

  He pulled back, sucking in his breath, his eyes blazing. “You little witch!”

  “You’re taking advantage…”

  They both stilled when they heard Tom say in an overloud tone, “I’m telling you, there’s no one in the bedroom except my brother and sister-in-law.”