“I’ve broken every rule with you. I should take myself off the job—”
“No!” She tried to turn and face him.
He slipped his arms more securely around her and held her in place. “I’m not going anywhere. If Ford tried to make me, I’d quit and stay with you regardless of what he said.”
“Why?” He was saying all the right words to soothe her wounded feelings but it wasn’t enough. She’d never felt so exposed—so raw—so dependent on someone else’s motives. “Why would you quit your job for someone you just met?”
He laughed softly, his breath ruffling her hair and making her shiver. “I’m asking myself the same question. All I know is I can’t walk away.”
“So now what?”
“Now. We get some sleep and tomorrow we go spend the day at the festival.”
“We’re going out again?” She tried not to get her hopes up. “I thought you wanted me to stay out of sight.”
“I’ll be right beside you and Jack is shadowing us. Plus, I don’t think Hagar will do anything to draw attention to himself, and grabbing you at a crowded festival would definitely get him noticed.”
“Does anyone know where he is?” The uncertainty, the not knowing when or if he’d find her… She shivered.
“No one has seen him since you did in LA.”
“Do you think he’s given up?” Sophie held her breath. She knew what answer she wanted, but she wasn’t stupid and expected a completely different one.
“No.”
“Bloody hell.” She blew out her breath. “I knew you’d say that.”
“I promised I wouldn’t lie to you, so I’ll tell you now that I plan to call Jack in the morning to work out the best way to get you noticed while keeping you safe. We need to flush Hagar out of hiding. It’s the fastest way to put an end to this.”
“So I’m bait?”
“No. You’re the catch. He wants you.”
Revulsion slithered through her, making her shudder.
“He can’t have you.” Stone’s hold tightened. “You’re mine.”
A chill—the good kind—raced through her when Stone uttered the last two words in a guttural growl. The possession in his tone, his words, gave her a sensual buzz and she remembered how he’d taken her earlier. As though he couldn’t get enough of her. As if he could pound some sort of claim into her.
When he said things—did things—like that, she couldn’t be blamed for falling. In spite of knowing so little about each other, she felt a connection deeper than she had with anyone else in the past or present.
“Go to sleep, Soph.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Try. I promise you’re safe.”
“I know. That’s not what’s keeping me awake.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She smiled. “No. Can we talk about something else?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Anything.”
“Sure.”
