Nothing But Trouble
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 g***n 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 replace 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 turned 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 k**s me like you mean it.” His mouth was hovering over hers, so close Sophie could feel his breath against her trembling lips.

K**s 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 k**s, 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.”

A glimmer of hope filled Sophie. If the security guards didn’t pick up on Tom’s obvious nervousness, then they weren’t very good at their jobs. Before she had a chance to react to their muted responses, Brent slammed his mouth down on hers. She found her wrists grabbed and brought over her head. He clamped them together in one hand, using his other to reach for the edge of the comforter.

At least he was showing some consideration to the implied intimacy of their situation, even if it was for show. Yet knowing that didn’t keep Sophie from struggling against him. If security opened the

door she wanted them to see she wasn’t a willing participant, in spite of telling Brent she’d cooperate. Instincts warned her she wouldn’t get another chance like this.

Brent tore his mouth away from hers. “If this little show is going to work, the security guards have to believe we’re very involved beneath the covers. So absorbed that a tornado can rip through the

damn building and we wouldn’t notice.

You’re acting more like a woman fighting off an assailant.”

What did he expect? “Then maybe you’d better change your technique!”

His eyes blazed with sudden anger at her remark, and the next thing Sophie knew, he was giving her ear a barely controlled tug with his teeth. “You have about five seconds to start cooperating like you

promised, or someone’s going to get hurt,” he rasped, sucking in a deep breath before lowering his mouth to hers again. This time in a more tender assault.

His threat couldn’t be any clearer. Sophie forced herself to calm down, accepting the return of his mouth on hers. But that turned out to be a mistake. Once she stopped struggling, she became aware

of other sensations: the sharp taste of his k**s; the sound of his hunger rumbling inside his chest, and the unwilling response of her own starved senses.

How could this be? It didn’t make sense. She became afraid for other reasons, moaning deeply beneath the mastery of his persuasive mouth. She’d never been kissed so forcefully before, with a mixture of tenderness and savagery that left her confused and trembling with weakness, drunk with desire.

The invasion of his tongue made her hot inside and moist in places that ached for fulfillment. Yet she refused to give in, pushing her tongue against his in an effort to force him out of her mouth. It was

a mistake. Though they each battled for dominance, the fire surging through Sophie’s b***d caught her completely unaware.

Something, a small noise, alerted her to the fact the bedroom door was opening. In spite of her promise, desperation forced her to twist her head to the side in a futile effort to break away. She unintentionally gave Brent’s bottom l*p a bite in the process. The animal sound that followed both frightened and excited her.

“Oops! See? I told you they were in here,” Sophie heard Tom say in a slightly hushed tone. “They just returned from their honeymoon,” he went on, just before closing the door again.

Sophie felt the change in Brent almost immediately, not realizing how tense he was until that moment. He gradually relaxed against her. Though he didn’t break off the k**s, she sensed his concentration was more on what was going on around them, than what they were doing. Part of her balked at the ease in which he detached himself.

He remained in complete control, while she was as hot as a furnace inside, her body pulsing with sensation. Finding the strength, she pushed against his shoulders, angrier with herself than frightened of him.

It seemed an eternity before he allowed her to push him away. Her gaze fell to his smooth, sensual mouth; hers still tingling by his masterful possession. Hardly understanding how it had brought her

so much pleasure.

Or, is it simply because I haven’t been kissed in a long time? No, she quickly dismissed that thought. It hasn’t been that long. She watched as his tongue slipped out to trace his bottom l*p where her teeth had grazed him. There was a dollop of b***d there.

Slowly reining in the desire riding her body she looked at him. The undisguised hunger she saw in those lazy, half-closed orbs made her yearn for him to take her lips again. Yet she forced the urge away, wondering where in heavens it had come from. Out of nowhere, a k**s meant to serve a purpose, had sparked a need of want so hard and fast in her body that she didn’t know what to make of it. Did

he feel it too?

She opened her mouth, not even sure what she was going to say, when he slapped his hand over it. He shifted his weight until she was completely pinned down by his hard body. Sophie’s eyes widened when the move revealed he was hard as steel. She arched against him in an effort to throw him off, which only brought to attention how perfectly aligned their bodies were for lovemaking. She stiffened, fear and excitement overwhelming her senses at the same time.

“If I were you, I’d stop moving,” he warned in a guttural tone. “I’ll release you as soon as Tom gives me the okay.”

Sophie could only guess that meant the three little knocks she heard at the bedroom door a minute later. Next thing she knew Brent released an audible sigh and rolled away from her. He got to his feet

and glanced down at her, mild amusement, and something else, swimming in his sexy eyes.

“I can see it in your eyes, princess. Go ahead, blast away.”