She and Stone found a primal rhythm, their movements now frenzied as they chased their climaxes. Amid guttural growls, andoh my Gods, andfuck that feels goods, their skin grew slick with sweat, and the air around them became charged with the heat of the union and, if she wasn’t mistaken, sparkles.
“You have no fucking idea how much I’ve wanted this,” Stone growled. “To drive out any notion that I could be your sweet, leading man in some romantic tale.”
“Sweet guys are the ones women marry, but bad boys like you are perfect for moments like this,” she replied, a raw honesty in her voice. It was a belief she had always held. The reason she’d dated her ex. But now, as the words left her lips, they struck a chord deep within her, causing her heart to jolt with a terrifying intensity. She no longer believed that to be true. Men like Stone were also marriage material.
“Smart. Fucking smart. Never marry a man like me.” Stone’s response was laced with a hard edge of realism.
Her body tensed, her mind racing. No. Not smart. Profoundly mistaken. “But—” she started, her protest caught in the vortex of her swirling emotions and the undeniable connection that tethered her to him in that charged moment.
“No buts, princess,” Stone whispered, his voice a commanding velvet before his lips crashed into hers, silencing any further protests. His hand moved with certainty between them, finding her clit and pinching sharply, the unexpected intensity sending her spiraling into oblivion. Her world fractured into blissful shards as waves of ecstasy overwhelmed her, her entire being consumed by the powerful release that rocked through her, shuddering in the wake of the most intense orgasm she’d ever had.
At the same moment, Stone stilled, his own climax mirroring hers, a shared storm of release that left them both breathless.
“Holy book boyfriend,” Sophie whispered in awe. Never had she ever been…so fulfilled.
“Alpha book boyfriend,” he corrected with a chuckle.
As their exhausted breaths mingled in the quiet aftermath, he gently slid off her, drawing her into the crook of his chest.
“Sophie?” he murmured, propping himself up on one elbow to gently brush the hair from her face, a soft tenderness replacing the earlier fervor. “We need to talk.”
“Hmm,” she managed, still lost in the haze of their shared enjoyment.
“The guy who threatened you—it was someone from my past,” Stone began. His voice was burdened with a weight she hadn’t heard before. “Years ago, we clashed, and he never forgot it. He heard about us on Isabella’s podcast and saw a chance to strike where it would hurt me the most…by targeting you. A woman he believed was the love of my life.”
The heavy implication of his words lingered in the air, casting a pall over the room.
Sophie, her bones still rubbery with happiness, struggled to prop herself up on one elbow, as her brain scrambled to make sense of what he had said. “You caught him?”
He nodded solemnly. “Yes.”
“It’s over, then?” She wanted to make sure she’d understood.
Again, he nodded.
“I see. You knew the threat was over, and yet you chose to scold me for simply continuing my life in your absence. Why?” She didn’t wait for his answer. She knew the answer. “Because it meant you couldn’t control me, and God forbid the great Stone Blackthorn doesn’t have complete control over every aspect of his life, even his client.”
“You’ve got it wrong,” Stone shot back. “The past twelve hours have been my fucking worst nightmare. Every quiet hope I’ve ever harbored—that I could somehow have both love anda career—has been shattered. His decision to target you just confirms it. My life, my career, it’s too dangerous for—”
“For what? For someone to love you,” Sophie interjected. “You think you have the right to make that choice for yourself and the woman you fall in love with and who loves you back?”
“Do you love me?” he asked, looking startled.
Nope. This was not how she was going to admit that to him. Hell, she’d not even admitted it to herself. “Are you still my bodyguard?”
“I resigned six hours ago.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. “You didn’t even talk to me first.”
“I made the decision that was best for all concerned.”
She sat up and scrambled off the bed. “No. No, you didn’t. Your decision was not what was best for me. You’re nothing but a coward hiding behindwhat ifs. Not a hero. And until you figure that out, you’ll never be book-boyfriend material. I don’t care how good you fuck.”
Chapter 28
Stone watched Sophie dress, words failing him as he strived to see the situation through her eyes. Only he couldn’t. She lived life like a story written in a book, a story guaranteed to have a happy ending.
That wasn’t reality.
