Page 25 of Reckless Flames

I couldn’t hold out any longer. “I’m so close, Soph.”

“Me too,” she said. “Together...”

The sensation was indescribable, her body clenching me like a vise, her inner muscles milking me for all I was worth.

With one final thrust, I emptied myself into her as her fingers dug into my shoulders, and I knew she was coming too. The feel of her clinging to me as we came together was nearly too much to bear, and I became lost in ecstasy.

We lay there, our breathing slowing as the tension drained from our bodies.

As we broke apart, breathless and reeling from the intensity of the encounter, the reality of our situation settled back around us like a shroud.

And the question remained—where should Sophie be spending her time? In the aftermath of our intense encounter, the air seemed to hum with unspoken words. Unfortunately, none of them answered the question.

Chapter fifteen

Sophie

Ben and I had just gotten dressed again, when the bubble of our newfound intimacy was burst by a knock on the door. I opened it so see my brother, Jake, standing in the doorway, his expression a mix of concern and begrudging acceptance. I guessed that the latter came from the sight of Ben in my bedroom. At least we had had time to get dressed again. Thank God!

“Hey, Sophie, I’ve heard about your stalker. Just thought I’d come by and check on you myself. I know it’s kinda late, but Anna thought you were still up,” Jake muttered, running a hand through his hair in a gesture of exasperation. His sudden appearance, though startling, was a stark reminder of why I was here in the first place—safety.

“Ben,” my brother acknowledged his friend’s presence in my bedroom with a stern nod.

Jake’s gaze flicked between Ben and me, the unspoken questions clear in his eyes. But he shook his head slightly, as if to clear away thoughts he’d rather not dwell on. “How are you holding up, Sophie? Has anything else happened since Ben chased that guy away from mom and dad’s house?”

“I’m fine, Jake. Being out here feels safer since everything that’s happened was in town. Well, felt safer,” I added, knowing that the two of them were going to rain a shitstorm of irritation down on my head in a minute.

And here we go, I thought, as both their heads swiveled to me in horror.

“What’s happened!” Ben asked quickly while Jake was saying, “Sophie, did something happen out here.”

“Well, I’m not 100 percent sure, so I didn’t say anything, but the way he waved at me just seemed a little creepy.” And I told them about the guy across the river from me the other day. It was an explanation followed by the expected shitstorm.

Ben calmed down pretty quickly and said, “Okay, that does it. I’m getting security around the house, twenty-four, seven.” He looked at Jake as if to ask my brother for any other suggestions.

Jake said, “Well, I don’t know that there’s much more you could do except to add a bank of screens monitoring the camera feeds and someone to watch them day and night, but that’s pretty extreme.”

I watched the exchange, a silent observer as two of the most important men in my life reviewed my protection like generals strategizing for battle. It was both comforting and unnerving, the lengths to which they were willing to go to ensure my safety.

Jake turned to me, “Sophie, you okay with all this?”

I nodded, finding my voice. “Yes, I mean, it's a lot to take in. Are you sure a security team is necessary? Isn’t that going to be super expensive?” Ben snorted as if the expense was nothing.

Jake continued, giving me a serious look, “Well, tell me the minute you’re not okay, and we’ll put you someplace else.”

Ben wasn’t so sure about that option. “I don’t know where that would be. If this is the weirdo from her last book signing, then he started stalking her where she lives.” Then, of course, we had to tell Jake about the guy who acted so strangely.

The conversation shifted then to more practical matters—check-in times, emergency protocols, the kind of details that made the threat to my safety seem all the more real. It was a sobering discussion, one that left little room for the complexities of the emotions still swirling between Ben and me.

Jake left then, promising to check in regularly, and the door clicked shut behind him, sealing us back into our private world.

Ben turned to me. "Sophie, I need you to know, I’m taking this very seriously. I won’t let anything happen to you."

The earnestness in his voice, the intensity of his gaze, it all served to underscore the gravity of his promise. And in that moment, despite the chaos that seemed to swirl around us, I believed him.

I wanted to stay with my family, to help Madi, but Ben had made an excellent case for the security of his place. The last thing we needed was some psycho crashing Madi’s wedding prep.

The next day, three security guards showed up early and met with Ben in his study. Ben said I didn’t need to be in that meeting unless I wanted to. I didn’t. Still, the shadow of the stalker loomed a little larger with this level of security, a constant reminder of the danger just beyond the safety of Ben’s now well-guarded estate. But within the walls of his home, in the sanctuary he’d welcomed me into, there was a sense of defiance, a refusal to let fear dictate the terms of our existence.

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