Nothing But Trouble
Epilogue

By the time Sophie reached the dock she was a bundle of nerves, between worrying that she was doing the right thing, and if Brent would even want to see her. There was absolutely no one around; the restaurant parking lot was deserted and the bait shop looked closed. If it hadn’t been for the fact Brent’s truck was parked in front of the pier, she would have asked the driver to turn around and go back the way they’d come.

Now she stood there, watching the white limo disappear, trying to work up the courage to take the first step onto the dock. Her gaze riveted to Brent’s boat at the end of the pier, the only thing keeping her from his arms. She didn’t see him right away, realizing he must be below deck, making preparations for the trip. As frightened as she was, she loved him a thousand times more. The knowledge he was at the end of her journey gave her the strength she needed to take the first step.

Almost at once she was overcome with dizziness, closing her eyes and grasping for the rail to keep from tumbling into the water. Cursing her weakness, she paused long enough for it to pass before opening her eyes and continuing. And that’s when her gaze landed on Brent. He’d just stepped up on deck and hadn’t noticed her yet, bent over some task at his feet. Her heart sang with joy, the sight of him just what she needed to give her the courage to take another step, and then another. Something alerted him she was there because suddenly his head turned her way.

He straightened in slow motion, turning fully toward Sophie. The instinct to call out to him to come to her was overwhelming, but making the walk down the dock was something,Sophie needed to do on her own. Not only to put to rest a childhood memory that tormented her every time she got close to the water, but to show Brent she loved him enough to overcome that fear by facing it, taking control like the strong, willful woman they both knew she was. A smile trembled upon her mouth when she raised her face long enough to meet his stare. Their gazes clung. Sophie felt her heart constrict with love.

“You can do it, baby,” he mouthed the words quietly, holding her gaze, encouraging her with his strength. Sophie sensed he was poised for action should she need him.

“You better come get me if I start to fall,” she said half jokingly. She became more confident the closer she moved to him.

“I’ll be there before you hit the water, baby,” he promised huskily.

Finally, Sophie reached the end of her journey. She paused before taking the final step onto his boat. “I love you.”

The decision to take the last step was taken away from Sophie. Brent reached for her with an impatient growl, drawing her onto his boat and into his arms. He crushed her against him as if he would never let her go, reaching up with a shaking hand to gently brush the soft strands of hair out of her face. Then, before anything else, he slanted his mouth over hers. Kissing her hungrily, gradually reducing it into a tender assault that went on for several long seconds.

It left her breathless. And hungry.

“What are you doing here?” His lips brushed against her temple as he spoke, his hands moving over her curves as though convincing himself that she was really there, in his arms, and not his imagination working overtime.

“I told you,” she explained, before he reclaimed her lips. She opened her mouth beneath his, giving herself freely to his passion, joining her tongue to his in a dance meant to ignite a fire and sweep them away.

Sophie was trembling wildly when their lips parted, her senses overloaded by Brent’s fierce passion. She arched into the cradle of his h**s, moaning softly when his body awakened against hers. His hands smoothed down her back to the curve of her h**s, before gliding over her bottom and squeezing. He leaned his forehead against hers.

“I love you, Sophie. I love you so damn much that I almost lost my mind last night. I never want to go through that kind of hell again.”

“Hush.” She pulled his head down, touching her lips to his. “That’s all over now. The only thing that’s important is us, here and now.” She continued to tease him with her mouth, her tongue, nipping tenderly at his bottom l*p. A shiver racked her body. A shudder racked his. “I’ve been looking for someone like you all my life.”

His hand closed into the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her back so he could meet her gaze. “I’ve never met a woman who’s come close to making me feel what you do. You’re coming with me,” he said with steely authority.

A joyous laugh escaped Sophie. She didn’t question his ability to protect her from any of the fears that plagued her.

“But I don’t have any clothes…”

“I have plenty of shirts…” he said with a wolfish gleam in his eyes.

“Are you kidnapping me again?”

“Now that’s the best idea you’ve had, princess.” A grin broke out on his face, his eyes narrowing at her with mock severity. “And our first stop is the Bahamas, where I think I’ll make an honest woman out of you.”

Her heart was about to burst with happiness. “Do I have anything to say over the matter?” Emotion made her voice low and husky.

“I do, for starters,” Brent replied, sweeping her up into his arms.

“I do,” she whispered against his mouth, teasing him into kissing her again.

“Forever.”