Yield to Me (3 page)

“I’m not going to hurt you, ma’am.”
He was shorter than Sophie but by no more than an inch or two, pushing his way
into her apartment as he spoke to her in a tone that almost bordered on
apologetic.

“Who are you? What do you want?” she
demanded in a voice hardly recognizing as her own. Several wild thoughts
flashed instantly through her mind. “Take my jewelry and go.” She indicated the
marble table.

“Jewelry?”
He actually looked dumbfounded, glancing at the jewelry before
returning his gaze to her. “I’m not here for your jewelry,” he explained
quickly, as if to reassure her.

Sophie became frightened then,
wondering what that meant. She stared at the gun in his hand, which was shaking
slightly, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing with fear. “Then why do
you have a gun?” It wasn’t very big but that didn’t make it any less deadly.

“A necessity,” he said quietly,
somewhat distracted.

As he walked further into the room,
her mind registered the fact he’d left the door wide open behind him, a
careless move for a criminal.
If he isn’t
here to rob me, then what does he want?
She immediately halted the
direction of her thoughts. Now was definitely not the time to let her thoughts
run wild and besides, he didn’t strike her as a rapist or a killer. The
profiles she’d seen on TV about serial killers quickly evaporated from her
thoughts. If she was going to stand a chance against escaping him, she had to
keep a clear head.

She knew she had to escape him
somehow but doubted she’d get very far in three-inch heels, and she certainly
couldn’t outrun a bullet. Strangely enough the man seemed intent on something
and at the moment, it wasn’t her. He appeared to be looking for something, or
rather someone. As he continued to search the darkness beyond her, Sophie gave
him a shove, turned and ran.

“Hey!” he shouted after her, just as
she reached the elevator. She jabbed her finger on several buttons, cursing
when the doors didn’t open right away. Swinging around wildly, her gaze fell on
the door directly across from the elevator that led to the stairwell.

“Wait!” he called out as if fully
expecting her to do his bidding, sounding more anxious than angry.

Sophie ignored him, realizing she’d
be a fool for letting the opportunity to escape slip by. Swallowing the fear
lodged in her throat, she pulled her gown up and opened the stairwell door,
dashing down the stairs as fast as she could run.

Chapter 3

The elevator door opened and Brent
stepped into the hallway just in time to see Sophie disappearing behind the
stairwell door. Shooting Tom a look of disgust, he took off after her. If you
want something done right, do it yourself. All Tom had to do was
escort
her to the apartment across the hallway and hold her
there until he arrived. It was his fault for not taking into account that Tom’s
adventures were strictly limited to office work and not kidnapping.

Brent knew he had to stop Sophie
before she reached the garage, and security. Senator Adams had spent nearly a
week just convincing him to help and now the whole plan was about to go up in
smoke. There was no way he was about to face his old friend this early in the
game with news of failure.

He hit the door running, the force
sending it against the wall as he sprinted after her taking the stairs two at a
time. Her speed and determination surprised him; she was already a floor away.
Funny, she hadn’t struck him as a survivalist but more like a woman who’d be
helpless against someone kidnapping her. He’d taken her softness and pampered upbringing
for granted and should have remembered that looks could be deceiving.

Just as she reached the third floor,
he heard her gasp; watching as she stumbled before releasing a cry he suspected
was from sheer frustration more than pain. Gaining on her, he reached out, his
fingertips just grazing the delicate bones of her shoulder. A scream of pure
fright echoed through the hollow stairwell almost breaking his eardrums. She
might as well have pulled the fire alarm. He swore. If the security guards
didn’t hear that and come running, it would be a miracle.

His hand closed firmly over her
shoulder and he pushed her into a dark corner, entrapping her there with his
body. Sensing she was about to let out another scream, he quickly slapped his
hand over her mouth effectively cutting it off. “I’m not going to hurt you…damn
it!” he swore when she bit down on his hand. “Unless you do that again!” he
threatened, grating the words out as he shook his hand.

Brent knew it was too dark for
Sophie to see him, but she had to know he wasn’t the same man who’d entered her
apartment. He and Tom were nowhere near the same height, or build. His hand
returned to her mouth as he pinned her against the wall. He realized his
mistake immediately. Everything about her assailed his senses, blinding him to
what his objectives were. The last thing he expected was his body’s betrayal by
responding to her nearness. The first thing he had to do was distance himself.

“I’ll remove my hand, if you
promise…”

Brent shouldn’t have reminded her
about his hand. The next thing he knew she was biting down on it a second time.
Adding insult to injury, she shoved him in the chest as hard as she could at
the same time, catching him unaware. Before he had a chance to recover, she
took advantage of the moment by pushing herself away from the wall and taking
flight.

“Damn it!” Brent grunted in anger.
She managed to descend one-step before he tangled a hand in her hair and hauled
her back into his arms. A cry escaped her but Brent ignored it. He yanked her
roughly against him. “Bite me again and you’ll find out what it feels like,” he
muttered between his teeth.

“Who are you?” she asked softly.
Brent felt her slight tremble and steeled himself for what he had to do. “What
do you want?”

“One question at a
time, princess.”
Brent realized he had to assert
his dominance early on if he wanted to remain in control of the situation. Not
giving much thought to the consequences, he pushed Sophie up against the
concrete wall and leaned in close, threatening her with his superior strength
and size.

His actions had repercussions he
wasn’t anticipating though. Like the rush of heat surging through his blood,
turning the victim in his arms into a desirable woman. Wrestling with her
provided conditions he hadn’t counted on.
Appealing
circumstances, which could easily upset the scheme of things if he let it.

Too much body
contact for one.

“I demand you keep your hands to
yourself!” she whispered sharply.

“Do you now?” he said softly, amused
at her haughty tone. “You’re not in any position to demand anything.”

With every breath Brent took, he
could smell her.
Beyond the light scent of soap and perfume,
to the sensuous woman beneath.
A sexy combination of
innocence and know-how.
It was playing havoc with his senses, preventing
him from keeping a clear head. He swore beneath his breath. Nothing good was
going to come of this.

She was tall as he liked his women
but he wasn’t into rich, spoiled, society types who held themselves above
others, thinking they were better than everyone else. He’d watched Sophie long
enough to know she was used to the best in life and probably demanded it.
A woman who let society rule her emotions, not her heart.
He
recalled her quiet, almost suffering acceptance of Lord touching and kissing
her, putting up with it because it was expected of her and not because she’d
liked it. That action alone told him a lot about her.

She was probably as cold as a block
of ice in bed.

“I demand you tell me who you are
and what this is all about,” she said in a frigid tone, confirming his
thoughts.

Her haughty tone grated on his
nerves. “Demand all you want, princess, it won’t get you anywhere.” He was glad
she’d broken his train of thought. He could care less what she was like in bed
and would do well to remember that. What’s more, he doubted her father would
appreciate his wayward notions. Brent respected and liked Senator Adams. It was
because of that reason alone he was doing this in the first place.

This, meaning
kidnapping.
So far Sophie was more trouble than
he’d anticipated which could cause serious problems down the road. He’d have to
watch her like a hawk. It hadn’t taken her long to get the drop on Tom. Well,
she’d learn soon enough that he wasn’t a pushover. “Come on.” He yanked her
away from the wall.

“Let me go!” She tried to pull free.
“Ouch! You’re hurting me! I’m not going anywhere with you!”

Brent swung around and pulled her up
against him. “You have a choice, lady; you can come with me the easy way, or
like a sack of potatoes over my shoulder. In case it hasn’t hit you yet, I’m
stronger than you.” She stiffened even more, apparently not liking his
condescending tone. Suddenly a door on the floor above them opened and someone
entered the stairwell. The lights flickered back on at the same time.

Talk about rotten luck! And timing!
Brent’s gaze pinned Sophie, watching her black-fringed eyes widen in shock as
they moved over him. He’d removed his tie and jacket but was still wearing the
same black slacks. His forearms were bare where he’d rolled his white
shirtsleeves up to his elbows. There was no doubt in her pretty eyes that she
recognized him. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

“You!” she gasped, her accusing tone
slicing through him like a sharp knife.

As her thorny exclamation echoed
through the stairwell, Brent swore, tilting his head to see who’d entered the
landing above them. He relaxed when he recognized Tom’s silhouette in the
threshold.

“Please help me!” Sophie cried up at
Tom, apparently not recognizing him.

“He’s with me, princess.” Brent
pulled her away from the wall. “We’ll be right up,” he called to Tom.

“You won’t get away with this!”

“I already have.”

Brent should have been prepared for
what happened next. And he would have been, if he’d been more focused on the
matter at hand and not her soft curves. The second Tom closed the door she made
her move, once again catching him unaware. She pushed and pulled against him
until she broke free. His eyes grew round when he lost his balance. He watched
helplessly as Sophie turned and dashed up the stairs as fast as she could.

He was getting tired of this. “Damn
it!”

His curse didn’t so much as slow her
down. Brent recovered, and stormed up the steps like a mad bull. Sophie glanced
back at him once and let out a cry. Brent was gaining on her. She stumbled and
lost a shoe, but that didn’t stop her from swinging back around and reaching
for the doorknob. He watched as she struggled with the heavy door, until she
was finally able to open it, before stumbling into the hallway. He reached for
the door before it closed, entering the hallway in time to see Sophie sprint
unladylike toward her apartment.

Brent knew he had to stop her. If
she managed to get inside and lock him out, no telling what damage she could do
before he got to her. Her groan of frustration echoed in the narrow corridor as
she fumbled with the doorknob, nearly falling inside her apartment and slamming
the door in Brent’s face. Before she could turn the lock, he shoved it open
with such force that she stumbled backwards. She cried out, running further
into the apartment before coming to a halt. The look in her wild eyes revealed
she knew there was nowhere for her to go.

“Going somewhere, princess? You
forgot your glass slipper.” He held up her dainty heel by the broken strap.

“Stay away from me!” The glass swan
she snatched off the nearest table was probably expensive, but she tossed it at
him without a care. Her aim was wild, missing Brent by a mile and hitting a
picture on the wall. Both went crashing loudly to the floor. He grinned at the
disbelief in her lovely eyes, and slowly walked toward her.

She darted away
from the table, grabbing a lamp on the way by. “Security will be here any
minute!” she gasped in a desperate tone.

“Really?”
Brent knew she was lying. “You didn’t have time to make a call, and
I happen to know the apartments at this end of the corridor are empty.” He
continued to pursue her, ducking when she threw the lamp. “I’m not going to
hurt you.” It was the truth. But if she forced him to subdue her, she might get
a little roughed up in the process.

“I don’t believe you.”

Brent was just inches away. His gaze
ran over her. She was breathing heavy; her full breasts were satiny smooth over
the top of her gown. He unwillingly recalled what they’d felt like against his
chest. How quickly his body had responded to her. The excitement of the chase
was affecting him in an obvious way.

Something in his expression must
have frightened her, because alarm washed over her face. She reached down and removed
her other shoe, threw it at him, then turned and headed for the direction of
the kitchen. Brent was right behind her, entering the kitchen just as she
opened up a drawer. She whipped around to face him with a knife in her trembling
hands. The little fool! What did she think she was going to do with that?