Yield to Me (22 page)

“It’s over!” Sophie said from behind
him, her fingers digging into the muscles of his arms until he pivoted to face
her. “I’m going back with Jonathan, I have to.”

“You’re a fool if you think I’m
going to let…”

“Please, Brent.” Her mouth was
trembling with emotion. “I love you!” she gasped, as though just discovering
the truth for herself. “I love you!”

She loves me?
How does she expect me to let her go after that admission?
Before
he could stop her she jerked away, running toward Jonathan. Leaving her went
against everything he stood for, especially to the likes of Lord, but she was
right. Lord wouldn’t hurt her, but he’d become fish bait if he remained there
much longer. Besides, he couldn’t help her if he was dead.

It didn’t seem to matter they were
out in the open and two lanes of traffic were speeding past. A single gun
wouldn’t stand a chance against three, and by all rights Lord had justifiable
cause to kill him. On top of that, there was always the possibility Sophie
would get caught up in an ugly confrontation. He couldn’t let that happen. He
knew if he thought she was in any danger he’d gladly stay there and meet his
maker. Only Lord had more to gain by keeping Sophie alive.

With great reluctance Bret returned
to his truck, leaving Sophie to face Jonathan on her own.

Chapter 18

At six foot five inches, short women
didn’t appeal to Brent Howard in the least. So it was only natural his sharp
gaze zeroed in on five feet nine inch Sophie Adams the minute she walked into
the room.

That and the fact he loved her.

She took his breath away, looking
very much like she had the night his gaze lit on her for the first time. Had it
only been a week since they’d parted on the side of the road? It felt like a
lifetime ago when he’d watched her climb inside Lord’s car with him and his
goons. Leaving her had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. His gaze
feasted on her like a man dying of thirst.

The strapless gown she was wearing
clung like second skin to her shapely form and jutting breasts; the side view revealing
a split that went from the top of a glittering ankle bracelet all the way up
her thigh. His stare lingered a moment on her shapely leg, being rewarded with
a mouth-watering view when she took a step and the platinum-colored satin
separated even more. His gaze narrowed, intense heat rushing through his body
when he realized she was wearing a garter belt.

To keep his mind focused on matters
at hand he forced himself to shift his gaze. Holding a tumbler of scotch, he remained
hidden in the shadows, not yet ready to reveal himself. The fact his face
wasn’t plastered all over the news told him Lord was out to kill him. He
couldn’t get away with something like that if he admitted he knew who’d
kidnapped Sophie. The asinine explanation he’d given the authorities and news
media that the whole thing was a misunderstanding didn’t fool him or the senator.

From his vantage point he had a good
view of just about everyone in the room as they congregated at the elaborate
buffet table or moved slowly on the small dance floor. The French doors that
led to the garden were open, allowing guests to come and go at will. He made
sure he knew where Lord’s henchmen were at all times, willing to bet Senator
Adams didn’t know some of his guests were little better than gangsters, packed
and ready for action. Most likely they were looking for him, with orders to
shoot first and ask questions later. Brent took a sip of his drink.

He was packed for trouble too.

Ever attuned to Sophie’s presence, a
movement drew his attention back to her. Lord had joined her, causing Brent to
angrily swallow the rest of his drink. His hand tightened around the glass with
enough pressure to break it if he wasn’t careful.
The thought
of her becoming Mrs. Jonathan Lord and sharing his bed left acid churning in
his gut.
His gaze automatically dropped to her hand, looking for the
gaudy diamond and glad to see it not there, before narrowing dangerously on
Lord when he suddenly raised his hands. It was all Brent could do not to storm
across the room and smash his fist into the other man’s face. Remembering his
promise to the senator that he wouldn’t make a move until the time was right.

* * * *

“Another wedding gift to you,
darling.” Standing purposely in front of her, Jonathan brought the diamond necklace
up and fastened it around her throat. His position forced him to lean into
Sophie as he reached around to do the clasp. “You don’t look very happy,” he
continued with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

“Should I be?” she inquired coolly,
turning her face away. She barely moved until he finally stepped back. Only Jonathan
would have none of that; he wouldn’t tolerate her cold acceptance of him in
front of their guests. Reaching up, he took her chin, forcing her around in an
attempt to kiss her. She turned before he could complete the action.

His lips twisted into a humorless
smile. “Did you shudder when
he
touched
you?” he whispered cruelly. “When he fucked you?”

Sophie forced herself to meet his
hateful gaze, not surprised at his crudeness. If there was anything she knew
about Jonathan, it was how his true colors came through when something was out
of his control.

“With ecstasy,” she answered softly,
taking pleasure in the hardening of his jaw.

“Then I’ll just have to make certain
you enjoy my possession more,” he said with relish. “It will be my pleasure taking
you over and over again until I wipe his memory away.”

That wouldn’t happen in a hundred
years. She could only look at him, too much a lady to respond to his
coarseness. Refusing to let him see how much she loathed him, knowing it would
be as good as handing him a weapon to use against her. She was careful to keep
her emotions in check even though she was shocked to the core by his threat.

“What, no response to that?” He
smiled.

“Have you seen my father?” He’d said
he wanted to talk to her when they could steal a moment alone. So far Jonathan
had always managed to be there, clinging to her like a leech and refusing to
let her out of his sight.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen
our host yet this evening. Why, do you think daddy is going to save you from
me? You should know by now that I always get what I want.
At
any cost.”

“Through
blackmail.”
She rolled her shoulders out from
under his hands, growing angry. “How does it feel knowing that’s the only way
you can have me? You’ll never have my love or respect. You might take my body
but even then I’ll be thinking of another man.”

Sophie no longer cared about keeping
up pretenses. She casually scanned the occupants in the room, searching for
Brent. She couldn’t see him but she knew in her heart he was there. She could
feel him, watching her and waiting.

“He’d be a fool to show his face
around here,” Jonathan said, guessing her thoughts. “My men have orders to
shoot him on sight. There’s not a jury in the world that would convict a man
protecting his woman from the very person who kidnapped her.” His low laugh
grated on her nerves, as she was sure he meant it to. “I’d be a hero in the
public’s eye.”

“And why do you think I’d want him
to come here? I ran away from him to you, remember?” She frowned, looking into
his eyes until guilt forced her to break the contact. In that instant she saw
the answer on his smug face, somehow he’d guessed the truth.

“Because, Sophie dear, you love the
bastard. You’re not as clever as you’d like to think. The only reason you ran
to me was to save him. I know you fucked him on his boat; all you accomplished
was sealing his fate.”

She gasped that he actually had the
nerve to put it into words, facing him fully. “We have a deal, Jonathan.”

“In regard to your father only,” he
reminded her.

“If you kill Brent…”

“You’ll do what?” He laughed
sarcastically. “Run to daddy? Do you think his political reputation will stand
the truth coming out? And what about you, my beloved, do you want the world
knowing what your mother is?”

Sophie turned and walked away before
she lost control, heading straight for the buffet table. Her mother couldn’t
hurt her because the woman had never really fulfilled that role for Sophie. No,
that wasn’t quite true. Her mother was hurting her now by keeping her from
going to the man she loved. She reached for a small plate and began filling it
when her father appeared at her side.

“What’s wrong, dear? You look
flustered.” His expression hardened when she turned his way and he noticed the
tears in her eyes. Grabbing her plate he set it down, taking her by the arm. “I
think it’s time for that talk now.”

Sophie nodded
gratefully, still too emotional to talk past the lump in her throat.
Before she knew it they were in his library with the door safely
closed and locked behind them. A father’s instinct that she needed something to
calm her nerves led him to the bar where he poured her a glass of wine and a
scotch on the rocks for himself.

“I have something to confess to you,
dear.” By the time he turned to face her Sophie was getting comfortable on the
sofa by the fireplace. “I have a feeling you’re going to need this.”

She took the glass from him without
comment, watching as he sat in the chair opposite from her. Crossing his legs,
he took a sip of his drink, his eyes filled with a father’s worry. He took a
long breath before finally speaking.

“I’ve wanted to get you alone since
Jonathan phoned to tell me he’d found you.”

“I hope you’re not going to bring up
that nonsense about blackmail,” she warned him mildly, not about to go through
another round with him about that particular subject. She didn’t know if she
had the strength to continue denying it.

Her father smiled, slowly shaking
his head. “If that were all I had on my mind, this would be easy. But the time
has come for me to be truthful with you, Sophie, completely honest.”

“You’re starting to scare me,” she
breathed, bringing the glass to her lips.

He expelled a deep sigh. “I’m afraid
what I have to say is going to make you hate me. But keep in mind, everything I
did was because I love you and wanted to protect you. Some day when you have
children of your own you’ll understand. I, ah…” He hesitated, clearing his
throat, and then decided to take a sip of his own drink.

His obvious reluctance to continue
kept her watching him with interest. It wasn’t like her father, who was usually
so strong and forthcoming, to stagger and appear contrite. A man in his
position couldn’t afford to be weak.

“You have my attention.” The smile
on her face had nothing to do with humor, and was meant only to put him at
ease. Whatever he had to tell her, she believed him when he said it was done
out of love.

He took another breath and plunged
on. “First, let me tell you that your abduction was a farce from the start.
Brent Howard is a friend of mine. In fact, he’s a bodyguard I hired to kidnap
you.”

“What?” Eyes rounding with
disbelief, Sophie spilled her drink when she started to get up too fast. She
didn’t know what shocked her most, finding out Brent was a bodyguard or that
her father had arranged for her abduction. She’d suspected something but not
this. “I don’t believe…”

The senator raised his hand to stop
her. “Please, hear me out before you get all riled up. I promise all your
questions will be answered.” Waiting until she sank back against the cushions,
he continued, “In spite of your insistence that you aren’t being forced into
this marriage, I was certain you were.”

“I told you…” She halted when he
raised his hand again in a silent plea for her to let him finish.

“Jonathan Lord has a nasty
reputation beneath that polished exterior, and you’re far too sweet and loving
to be attracted to a man like him. That’s why I arranged for Brent to kidnap
you on the eve of your wedding. I needed time to get to the bottom of this.”

Sophie hung on his every word,
stunned at what he was admitting, but she didn’t hate him.
How can I when his actions brought Brent into my life?
He took
another drink, relief visible in his eyes that she was receptive to what he
said.

“I was determined to find out what
kind of hold Jonathan had on you. It didn’t occur to me it could have anything
to do with your mother, since she’s been out of the family for so long.”
Sophie’s eyes flared with alarm. She opened her mouth to deny it, but he
continued quickly, “It’s your mother, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she
hedged, looking nervously away. It sounded like he was fishing and she wasn’t
about to admit to anything until she knew for sure. It suddenly occurred to her
she’d been right about Brent. He had been protecting her.

Senator Adams finished his drink in
one swallow. “I know all about Ann, dear. I know she changed her name and is living
a less than acceptable lifestyle these days. Though, you need to understand
something, Sophie; she was very young when I married her, perhaps too young.
You and Paul came along within the first two years. That was my fault because I
wanted to start a family right away. She tried to be a good wife and mother for
a while but everything happened so fast. Then she mixed in with the wrong
people and got hooked on drugs.”