Page 60 of Any Cowboy of Mine
“True. Too true. Come sit,” he said, patting the spot next to him on the couch. She closed the gap between them, making it so her thigh snuggled up against his. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat trying to hide his now-obvious erection.
“So, there’s no short way to tell this story,” Sophie said.
“I have as much time as you need, Soph. I’m here to listen.” All he wanted to do was reach over and kiss the spots on her alabaster cheeks that flushed. He knew where that would lead, though, and sat on his hands.
That didn’t stop her from placing a palm naturally on his thigh and rubbing it tenderly as she spoke. Good God, he wanted this woman.
“Okay, so I want to start off by telling you I heard everything you said to me last night, each word. I’m sorry I went with the easy out, but you have to understand how it looked at Julia’s wedding, to all of us. Especially with what your mom added.”
“I do, Sophie. You have no idea how much I mentally kicked my own ass for that. I’m still sore. As for my mom, I’ll handle that, I promise you.”
“I don’t want that, but I need you to know I won’t doubt you again. I know who you are and what you stand for, and there won’t ever be a situation where I won’t give you the benefit of the doubt in the future, okay? And, I don’t know, maybe we can at least discuss talking to your mom together. I want her to know that if you’ll have me, I’m not going anywhere.” Her hand tensed on his thigh and guilt washed over him for judging her harshly last night and that morning.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I heard you, and I desperately wanted to continue that kiss we started, as you can tell by my, um, unorthodox greeting earlier, but Drew has a way of being convincing, and he normally never calls it an emergency unless it is. So, I talked to him, expecting some lawyer problem he needed help with, like a briefing or call in to a judge I have a connection with, but it was so much more than that, Brad.”
Brad sat next to her as she told him the whole story of meeting Analise from start to finish. Each detail Sophie provided made him want to simultaneously embrace her as tightly as he could without smothering her, and pound the life out of the guy who’d hurt Analise. He didn’t know how anyone could be capable of such atrocities against women, especially the women they claimed to love. Even though villains like that were heavily featured in his novels, Brad knew no situation would ever arise where he would raise his hand to a woman. He had a hard enough time writing those scenarios.
Sophie paused after explaining what she was going to do next to help Analise, and Brad took the opportunity to lean in and kiss her. Her mouth responded by softening to him, opening to let him in. Her tongue explored his mouth, trailed his lips and sent shivers down his spine. He pulled back again but kept his forehead against hers.
“I’d kill anyone who hurt you like that, Sophie,” he told her. She nodded, moving both their heads in unison. “How will you be able to help Analise long term, though? I thought you didn’t have a practice anymore.”
Sophie laughed and sat up straight.
“Oh, there’s so much more to catch you up on, Connors.”
“It’s only been a week, how much could have changed since then?” he asked, and she giggled at his admittedly weak attempt at a joke to lighten the moment.
“So, Drew made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Sophie told him. She filled in the details of Drew’s amazingly generous partner offer and compensation package, as well as how she’d be given a budget each quarter to help fund projects she had a vested interest in, starting with a legitimate women’s shelter that could include continuing education courses, childcare, on-the-job training, and more. So much more.
Brad hung on each syllable like he had the night they’d danced at the wedding, talking about all kinds of seemingly unconnected topics that all somehow wove together. Now, she did the same thing, diving back and forth between her past work with battered women, the optimistic future she was making for herself, and how she’d called gleefully giving notice with the boutique office earlier this morning. She felt the tiniest bit guilty that she’d left the message with an answering service, but after their unprofessional behavior, she reasoned to Brad that it wasn’t the worst thing she could have done. Every last word out of her mouth had him captivated, and he was torn between wanting to hear more from her and wanting to do more with her.
“Anyway, I showed up at Steve’s to find you when everything was done, but the lights were out, and I still haven’t heard back from Jackie or Steve.”
“Yeah,” Brad started, running his hand through his hair, “that part might be my fault.” He grimaced.
“How so?”
“I may have told them I saw you leave with Drew, and then I, well, proceeded to get falling-down drunk and told Steve that he was forbidden to talk to you anymore.”
“Wow, you really know how to burn something to the ground, don’t you?”
“That part I’m apparently good at, but Sophie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt you’ve given me, and I feel like an asshole. A first-class asshole.”
“Don’t. I let myself believe you were capable of running back to your ex after sleeping with me the night before. This looked a whole lot worse, if I’m being honest. Would you mind telling Steve I’m off the shitlist, though?”
Brad laughed. “As soon as I’m back at work, he’s my first call. I promise.”
“Okay, so where does this all leave us now? We’ve both underestimated each other, and both agreed we won’t make that mistake in the future, but what happens next?”
Brad stood, and in one fluid movement grabbed Sophie from the couch. She gasped, a soft moan escaping her full lips, and the combination made Brad completely hard and ready for her. He cradled her torso and legs, carrying her to the back room which he’d turned into an office slash bedroom. He had every intention of only using the latter as he laid Sophie down on the bed.
She gazed up at him through long, dark eyelashes, and he groaned when she bit her lip, a slight smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Sophie was a study in lust, and he wanted to be the star student again. She nodded, urging him on. He took his time crawling on top of her, grazing each inch of supple flesh hidden beneath far too much fabric with his lips and fingers. He stopped at her waist and unbuttoned jeans that curved to her hips like they were part of her skin. They slid off easier than he imagined, and he tucked his thumbs underneath her panties and removed them in the same swift movement. Her cheeks were flushed a deep crimson, and her eyes shone.
Brad stared down at Sophie and took a moment to appreciate the woman who lay underneath him. Sure, she was flawless from head to toe, her skin a pearl white on her taut stomach and tan from the tops of her thighs down, a result, Brad knew, of her daily runs through the mountains in the spring through the fall. Her lips were the color of the cardinals that came to settle on the oak tree in the front of Brad’s parents’ farm, her hair the deep brown of the bark. She was made from nature and by nature, and every part of her felt like a gift he wouldn’t ever take for granted. But beyond her physical appeal, Sophie was all brains and heart, and the passionate combination of her parts made him feel whole.
“What?” she whispered.
“You’re perfect,” he answered her. Never before had he meant two words, or the three that followed them. “I love you.” He meant them now with every cell of his body that blazed with lust and more for this woman.
