Saving Sophie: Book Seven In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series (23 page)

She put her arms up, wrapping them around the back of his neck. “Whenever I put them on the grill.”

“Good.” He walked her forward, slipping his hands under her blouse, playing with her breasts on the way down the hall to the bedroom.

“Stone,” she shuddered out, sliding her fingers through his hair.

“I don’t like arguing with you.” He turned her around, pressing his lips to hers, sending his tongue deep.

“Me neither,” she said against his mouth, pulling him closer for more. “This is much better.”

“Agreed.” He lifted her tank top over her head.

She grabbed the hem of his polo, easing it up.

He tossed his shirt aside and turned, collapsing backwards on the bed, taking her with him so she lay on top of him. She attacked his neck with hurried kisses, nibbling at his ear, listening to his deep groan before he dragged her mouth back to his and slid his calloused hands down her waist to her hips and butt, clutching, grinding her against his erection.

A hum of anticipation escaped her throat with the promise of pleasure as he tugged up her skirt on his way back.

“
God
I love your underwear, Soph.” He fingered the barely-there scraps of black.

She grinned. “Abby had some of her new designs come in. She dropped them off yesterday. I have several more options.”

“That woman’s a genius.”

“I’ll tell her you said so.”

“Later.” He slipped his thumb in the front clasp of her bra. “Much later.” He freed her breasts, feasting with his hungry mouth, teasing with skillful fingers, driving her crazy. “I need to be close to you. I’ve thought about you all day.”

She bit her lip, moaning, reaching for the button and zipper on his slacks.

He helped her free him of the rest of his clothes and rolled her beneath him, getting to his knees. “As much as I love these, you won’t be needing them.” He sent her panties to the floor.

“Stone.” She reached for him, ready, already throbbing as he pushed her knees to her shoulders and arrowed himself deep inside her.

“Mmm,” she whimpered, clutching at his wrists with the rush of sensations as he pumped, bringing her legs up, locking them around his waist so she arched her back in a slight bridge. He anchored his hands on her hips, moving faster, harder until she moaned, on the edge. “Yes, Stone.
Yes
.” Gasping, she stiffened with the sudden, intense rush of heat overtaking her, and cried out.

He quickened his pace, now frenzied, making the bed squeak as his breath steamed out. Closing his eyes, he groaned as she rocketed up to fall with him for the second time. He collapsed on top of her, kissing her with as much passion as he’d taken her with and eased back, staring into her eyes. “This is so good.” He rested his forehead against hers, gripping her hands in his, pulling them above her head. “We’re so good, Soph.”

She nodded, drowning in overwhelming emotion for the man still nestled inside of her. “Every time we’re together you find a new way to destroy me.”

“I can’t get enough of you.”

“I’ve never—”

His stomach growled loudly, interrupting her. He winced. “Sorry.”

She smiled. “Sounds like it’s time for dinner.”

“Naked dinner.”

“Is there any other kind?” She grinned as he did. “We haven’t had nearly enough naked dinners over the past couple of weeks.” This was just what they needed, because Stone was right—they were great together.

“Things will settle down again eventually.”

“I can’t wait. I love our quiet nights—just you and me.”

His cell phone jingled with a text. “Hold that thought.” He pulled free of her and leaned over the bed, searching for his phone in the heap of clothing on the floor. “I’m Hunter’s backup on call tonight. Let me make sure he’s good.”

“Of course.” She sat up, giving him more room to move as he grabbed hold of his phone. Standing, she took her robe from the closet, sliding it on as his fingers flew over the keypad. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, this is Jeremiah getting back to me.”

She paused as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail, her light mood vanishing. “Why are you talking to Jeremiah?”

“I had him check into the PI crap. They’re definitely violating the agreement.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” She finished twisting her hair back and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

“Hey, hold up, Soph.” He pulled on boxers and a pair of jeans, stumbling as he followed behind. “I
do
want to talk about this. We can’t keep avoiding the situation.”

She twisted on the grill section of the new range top. “Why can’t you leave this alone?” she demanded, opening the fridge with more force than necessary, her anger growing. “I’m happy. I’m living my life. I have everything I want right here.” She grabbed the platter of kabobs ready for the flames. “Eric can have his pictures and beer bottles and play all the creepy music he wants…” She stopped, darting a glance his way, realizing she’d said too much in the heat of temper.

He stared at her with his hands on his hips, his jaw clenched. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” She turned toward the large piece of plywood that served as their temporary counter, setting down the food.

“Don’t give me that. Look at me, Sophie, and tell me what the hell is going on.”

She sighed, already weary, and faced him. “It’s no big deal.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Eric had someone play some music in the parking garage the other night and left a few of his favorite brand of beer bottles in front of my store. And some homeless man was sitting next to my car eating sashimi—”

“Goddamn.” He slid a hand through his hair. “Are you fucking
kidding
me? This is going to stop.” He grabbed for his phone.

“You’re right,” she raised her voice, hoping to stop him before he called the cops or Jeremiah and made this worse. “Eventually he’ll get bored with spending the money—”

“He’s never going to leave you alone until you stand up to him.”

Eric would never leave her alone. Period. But he didn’t hit her anymore, and she could come and go as she pleased. And she wasn’t afraid every single day. But more importantly, she fell asleep next to the man she loved each night in the house she adored. Stone would never understand that the rest didn’t matter as long as she had that. Huffing out a breath, she placed down the first few skewers, listening to the sizzle. “This is about you, Stone.
You
need to stand up to him. I just need to forget. All I want to do is forget he exists.”

He walked to where she stood, turning her to face him. “It’s not that simple.”

“It is if you let it be.”

His cell phone alerted to another incoming text. “
Damn
it.” He yanked the phone from its holder. “We’re not finished with this.” He looked at the display and steamed out a breath.

She lifted another kabob and set it back down. “You’re leaving.”

“Hunter needs some backup.”

She nodded, even though she didn’t want him to go. This was two nights in a row where they weren’t going to solve their problems. “Go help him. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“I can see if Shane or Jerrod can cover me.”

She shook her head. “Jerrod and Abby are going out for dinner, and I have twenty more necklace sets I have to finish up before Saturday. I’ll cook up the rest of these and wait for you to get back.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be.” He walked into the small laundry room off the kitchen, grabbing a clean shirt and socks.

“Then we’ll have dinner together another night.”

“Yeah. Sure.” He snagged his keys from the table, a pair of shoes by the door, and walked out.

She shut her eyes, her stomach sinking when the Mustang started. He didn’t kiss her the way he usually did before he left. This
wasn’t
how she wanted things to be between them. Shaking her head, she turned off the grill and sat down at the kitchen table, staring at the pretty purple and white blooms Stone had brought her.

Sophie sat in her workroom, spiraling sterling silver
wire for a pair of earrings while her new assistant, Cynthia, recreated one of the designs she had drawn early this morning. She’d sketched more than two-dozen new ideas over the last three nights, sleeping little since Stone left for Madrid. It was better than laying in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark.

“This looks wonderful already,” Cynthia said, wrapping a loop above the bead. “These dark pink crystals really make this bracelet pop.”

Sophie smiled at the pretty forty-something woman who reminded her so much of her mom. Her part-time helper and mother of two didn’t have any formal training, but her gentle personality and ability to bring her pieces to life worked well enough for her. “I was hoping it would.” She studied Cynthia’s steady, capable hand as she attached the wire-wrapped bead to the jump ring, knowing she’d chosen well.

At first she’d been hesitant when Abby suggested she hire on help during their Wednesday afternoon lunch date, but the workload was becoming overwhelming. There was no way she could continue to design, run the business end of McCabe Jewelry, and make all of the pieces on her own. Cynthia was on her second four-hour shift of the week, and she was already a godsend.

Focusing on her work, Sophie picked up the fuchsia-and-black-swirled glass bead as her phone alerted her to a text. Her heart kicked up a notch as she yanked it up, her excitement fading when she realized it was Abby, not Stone.

How’s it going?

Great!
She typed back, even though it wasn’t. Her necklace sets for the runway had been enthusiastically approved by both Lily and Abby. The shop was more or less ready for customers, but things between her and Stone were still strained. He’d left the country before they had a chance to resolve their last argument. Wednesday morning, he’d tiptoed his way into their bedroom after his night out helping Hunter, and packed a suitcase, telling her Ethan wanted him on the first flight out to Madrid. He’d given her an absent kiss and Murphy a quick rub, then he’d been gone. She hadn’t heard from him since.

She’d hoped he would call to chat the way he usually did during his downtime or send her a simple text that might ease her constantly queasy stomach, but her phone had remained stubbornly silent, at least where her husband was concerned. Maybe he was waiting for her to reach out to him. Licking her lips, she glanced at her watch. Eleven thirty, which meant it was eight thirty in Spain. “I’m going to… I’ll be right back.”

“Sure.”

She stood. “Can I bring you some water or maybe a bowl of fruit salad? I made it fresh this morning.”

“I’m good for now, sweetie, but I’ll take you up on some of that fruit when we have lunch.”

She smiled again. “Okay.” She walked out of the workspace with Murphy following her into the stairwell leading to the empty apartment upstairs. Sitting on the first step, she stroked the puppy’s ears when he settled his head on her thigh. “Here goes nothing,” she murmured, selecting Stone’s number in her directory. The line connected, ringing several times before going to voicemail.

“This is McCabe. Leave a message.”

She closed her eyes, missing his deep voice. “Hi. Um, this is Sophie. I just—I just want…” Her tongue grew thick and clumsy. She swallowed, trying again. “I don’t need anything. I don’t know why I’m calling, actually. I guess I just needed to tell you I miss you and can’t wait for you to come home—not that I know when that is...” She wanted to tell him she loved him and hated being at odds, but she didn’t. “That’s it. I guess I’ll talk to you later. You can call me back if you want.” She pressed her lips together. “Okay. Bye.”

She hung up, resting her head against the wall, no longer sure of what to do. Stone wanted her to stand up to Eric, certain doing so would banish him from their lives once and for all, but Stone didn’t know Eric the way she did. Stone had no idea that antagonizing Eric was like dancing with the devil himself. What Stone saw as an ending to their problems she saw as a dangerous beginning. She didn’t know if she could walk that path, even for Stone.

Murphy whined, crawling into her lap.

“Aw, Murph.” She cuddled him close, kissing the top of his head, absorbing the comfort he was offering. “Thanks, buddy.”

~~~~

Stone closed himself in his hotel room and walked to the bed, lying back against the mattress, sighing as his head hit the pillow. He hadn’t slept well in days. Between the jet lag and twelve-hour shifts he could hardly see straight. Then there was Sophie. Their last argument had kept him up late for the past few nights, despite utter exhaustion. He closed his eyes, scrubbing his hands over his face as his cell phone started vibrating against his hip.

He pulled the phone free, glancing at Sophie’s name and number on his screen, and let it ring. He’d thought of her since the moment he left, but hadn’t bothered to check in. What was the point? The last thing he wanted was another strained conversation in which they both said nothing that mattered to pass the time. She would tell him about her runs with Murphy or the latest pair of earrings she was making, which was typically fine, but not now, not while fucking Eric Winthrop was hanging heavy between them. The bastard was harassing her, and she was happy to sit back and let him. Just thinking about it made him clench his jaw and caused his stomach burn with anger.

They were supposed to be dealing with the asshole together, yet she refused. She was afraid. He got that, but she didn’t have to be anymore. He was here to help…when he wasn’t out of town, which was all the damn time lately. This was their fight now—his as much as hers, yet his hands were tied until Sophie was willing to take the next step. He’d put in another call to Jeremiah before the flight out of LA, but there was little more either he or their attorney could do without her help.

His phone beeped, and the light flashed red. Sighing, he retrieved Sophie’s message, listening to her soft voice and stuttering hesitations he hadn’t heard in weeks. He sat up, resting his head in his hands as she told him she missed him. He missed the hell out of her too. There was nothing he wanted more than to be back home with Sophie, but he set his phone down on the bed next to him, staring at the carpet instead of returning her call.

He didn’t know how to stop being angry with her for letting another man come between what they had. He wanted to focus on their future, but they couldn’t move forward with their relationship until she was willing to deal with her past. Sophie would have to wait until tomorrow night when he got home. They could talk then. He lay back down, shielding his face with the pillow, too damn tired to get up and turn off the light.