innocent.
Sophie waved a hand in the air. “This. I’m not easy, but you make me do the stupidest things.”
Emery cupped her cheek in one palm, nuzzled her neck and then kissed the corner of her mouth.
“When we’re through, you’ll do many things you wouldn’t have done before. Being with me is about testing your limits.”
The car rolled to a stop. Hans slid out and walked around to Sophie’s door and opened it for her. Emery followed her, eyes fixed on her curves, on the way her skirt hugged her bottom and her hips swayed as she walked.
She was probably just out of college and her energy appealed to him. Normally he avoided much younger women. Their innocence wasn’t alluring. He’d only slept with jaded women, who mistrusted emotional connections and wanted sex and nothing more. They knew the score and didn’t fall asleep dreaming of sunny futures with children and happily ever afters.
There was something about Sophie, though. A passion for her goals, a healthy ambition rooted in her desire to be good at something she loved. He knew so little about her, but he did know that once he discovered her every secret, he’d be even more impressed. Even though he despised journalists as a rule because they couldn’t keep their noses out of his life, Sophie seemed different. It wasn’t morbid curiosity that had her begging for his story. There was pain and fear in her eyes, something he recognized all too well because he was forced to look at it in the mirror every day. This was the secret he wished to know most about her. What had driven her to seek him out; what reason could she have for needing his story, needing to know how he’d survived?
He slid an arm around her waist as they went up the steps to the door.
“Sophie, where are you staying in town?”
“The Brighton Bed and Breakfast. Why?” She raised a delicate brow.
Emery tightened his grip on her waist. “Hans, go to the Brighton and retrieve Sophie’s things. Settle her bill while you’re there.”
She jerked out of his grip. “Hey! You can’t do that!”
“Are you objecting to the removal of your luggage or my paying the bill?”
Her hesitation told him everything. She was afraid of ceding control to him. A small bump in the road, one he’d have to smooth over quickly.
Sophie sighed, eyes drifting up as though beseeching the heavens to spare her from him.
“You can’t just…” Her fists clenched against her thighs.
“You forget about our bargain. I set the limits and the terms. You get your story.”
He didn’t leave room for her to argue. He simply tucked her arm through his and escorted her into his home. Emery didn’t miss the flicker of amusement in Hans’s eyes. Unable to resist, he flashed a small smile at his bodyguard. Hans was a good friend, a mentor, and one of the few people outside his family and his two friends Royce and Wes who he trusted implicitly, without question. Emery kept his distance from the rest of the staff at Lockwood, which was really only a small weekly cleaning crew, but Hans was never kept at arm’s length. A man’s bodyguard had to know his charge well enough to anticipate his needs and, more importantly, any life-threatening circumstances that could develop. He and Hans had been together a long time.
He covered her lips with a fingertip. “Let’s get any objections out of the way right now. You’ll sleep in my room, my bed. Unless of course you’re afraid of me…or is it that you’re afraid of yourself, of the passions you hide?” Outside his home, he couldn’t afford to demand such intimacy with a woman; it was too dangerous for him. But here…inside these walls he could breathe and just… be .
She narrowed her eyes, the angry expression only making her more irresistible to him. Her stubbornness was going to give him so much pleasure.
“When you glare at me, it only reminds me I owe you a punishment.” Her eyes darkened with rebellious heat as he teased her. Never had he
Sophie waved a hand in the air. “This. I’m not easy, but you make me do the stupidest things.”
Emery cupped her cheek in one palm, nuzzled her neck and then kissed the corner of her mouth.
“When we’re through, you’ll do many things you wouldn’t have done before. Being with me is about testing your limits.”
The car rolled to a stop. Hans slid out and walked around to Sophie’s door and opened it for her. Emery followed her, eyes fixed on her curves, on the way her skirt hugged her bottom and her hips swayed as she walked.
She was probably just out of college and her energy appealed to him. Normally he avoided much younger women. Their innocence wasn’t alluring. He’d only slept with jaded women, who mistrusted emotional connections and wanted sex and nothing more. They knew the score and didn’t fall asleep dreaming of sunny futures with children and happily ever afters.
There was something about Sophie, though. A passion for her goals, a healthy ambition rooted in her desire to be good at something she loved. He knew so little about her, but he did know that once he discovered her every secret, he’d be even more impressed. Even though he despised journalists as a rule because they couldn’t keep their noses out of his life, Sophie seemed different. It wasn’t morbid curiosity that had her begging for his story. There was pain and fear in her eyes, something he recognized all too well because he was forced to look at it in the mirror every day. This was the secret he wished to know most about her. What had driven her to seek him out; what reason could she have for needing his story, needing to know how he’d survived?
He slid an arm around her waist as they went up the steps to the door.
“Sophie, where are you staying in town?”
“The Brighton Bed and Breakfast. Why?” She raised a delicate brow.
Emery tightened his grip on her waist. “Hans, go to the Brighton and retrieve Sophie’s things. Settle her bill while you’re there.”
She jerked out of his grip. “Hey! You can’t do that!”
“Are you objecting to the removal of your luggage or my paying the bill?”
Her hesitation told him everything. She was afraid of ceding control to him. A small bump in the road, one he’d have to smooth over quickly.
Sophie sighed, eyes drifting up as though beseeching the heavens to spare her from him.
“You can’t just…” Her fists clenched against her thighs.
“You forget about our bargain. I set the limits and the terms. You get your story.”
He didn’t leave room for her to argue. He simply tucked her arm through his and escorted her into his home. Emery didn’t miss the flicker of amusement in Hans’s eyes. Unable to resist, he flashed a small smile at his bodyguard. Hans was a good friend, a mentor, and one of the few people outside his family and his two friends Royce and Wes who he trusted implicitly, without question. Emery kept his distance from the rest of the staff at Lockwood, which was really only a small weekly cleaning crew, but Hans was never kept at arm’s length. A man’s bodyguard had to know his charge well enough to anticipate his needs and, more importantly, any life-threatening circumstances that could develop. He and Hans had been together a long time.
He covered her lips with a fingertip. “Let’s get any objections out of the way right now. You’ll sleep in my room, my bed. Unless of course you’re afraid of me…or is it that you’re afraid of yourself, of the passions you hide?” Outside his home, he couldn’t afford to demand such intimacy with a woman; it was too dangerous for him. But here…inside these walls he could breathe and just… be .
She narrowed her eyes, the angry expression only making her more irresistible to him. Her stubbornness was going to give him so much pleasure.
“When you glare at me, it only reminds me I owe you a punishment.” Her eyes darkened with rebellious heat as he teased her. Never had he
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