Page 15 of Going Down Hard
Chapter Four
Stone held Soph in front of him, his arms circling her waist, and watched the auction. They’d found a spot off to the side of the room, out of the way, where no one seemed to take any notice of them. He wanted to keep it that way, and not only because she needed to keep a low profile.
No. Stone wasn’t going to hide from the fact he wanted her all to himself. It was the reason he’d decided to risk bringing her out tonight. If they’d stayed in their room a minute longer, he’d have lost the battle against his libido and taken her. Instead, he’d taken a cold shower, and she’d skipped out of the room, giving him a heart attack when he’d discovered her gone.
That moment right there. The razor-sharp slice of terror that slashed through him, almost took him to his knees. Definitely not his usual work-mode reaction. Nowhere in sight was the stone-cold professional he’d been in the past. Nope. This Stone felt like he’d been gutted. With a blunt letter opener.
He pulled Soph in a little tighter just to remind himself that he hadn’t lost her. She fit so perfectly in his arms, with her head resting on his shoulder, that Stone knew his control was history. Hell, maybe it had been from the second he’d touched her yesterday.
There was no way he could walk away from this woman after they dealt with her stalker. But until then, he needed to keep a clear head, and fighting his attraction to her wasn’t giving him that—so maybe he should accept it, stop struggling against their chemistry and enjoy this unexpected connection. He wouldn’t take it far, but he wouldn’t deny himself the opportunity to touch her, hold her. Possibly steal a kiss or two.
His body tightened, his jeans growing a little more uncomfortable at the thought of tasting her. Stone shifted his feet to keep from pressing his erection into her back. The hard-on wasn’t a new development. He’d sported some level of hardness since he’d first put his hands on her. Damn awkward, and certainly not conducive to doing his job with a clear head. He needed to nix the thoughts of getting Soph naked until they were somewhere less public.
Somewhere he knew her stalker couldn’t get to her.
He scanned the crowd around them, looking for anyone who might be a threat. None of the pictures Ford had emailed him had been clear, and with various hair colors and lengths, and the facial hair Hagar had, there was no way Stone could get a good idea of his bone structure. And Soph wasn’t any help, the only clear thing she could tell them was the guy she’d seen had ice blue, almost clear eyes, which meant he was still working blind.
They’d gotten nothing at the hotel in Omaha either. They were hitting dead ends every direction they went.
From across the room Jack caught his eye and subtly lifted his beer in acknowledgement. His colleague had rolled into town earlier this afternoon. Stone didn’t know where the other man was staying, and didn’t care as long as he was close at hand. While he hadn’t wanted anyone else here, he had to admit he was relieved to know he had backup.
The auctioneer’s voice boomed through the speakers, announcing the final candidate on the auction block, dragging Stone’s gaze back to the stage area. The cowboy who strutted out onto the stage quickly sold for a respectable fifty dollars.
Declaring the night a success, the auctioneer revealed the grand total of three thousand raised. One thousand of that had come in for a woman named Kate. There was a bit of back and forth about her not being eligible but the crowd had hooted and hollered when the man who’d made the only bid jumped up on stage, tossed a check at the auctioneer, threw the leggy blonde over his shoulder and made off backstage with her.
Soph shifted against him and Stone couldn’t resist dipping his head and nuzzling the hair behind her ear. He’d managed to keep himself in check so far. He might have wanted to drag her farther into the dark and do some scandalous things, considering their location, but he hadn’t.
She tilted her head, moved into his touch, and Stone smiled. Her hands covered his, their fingers weaving together where they rested on her belly. He felt her moan more than heard it and his hips bucked forward, his cock thickening with the hot throb of his blood.
“Soph,” he murmured in her ear.
“Please.” She ground her ass against his groin.
“Fuck.”
“Yes. Please.”
Stone buried his face in the side of her neck and sucked in a breath.
Her scent surrounded him—filled him—and if he opened his mouth he’d be able to see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled. He held back though. He didn’t want them to go any further. Not here. A little suggestive movement to the music would be acceptable but keeping her in this dark corner away from prying eyes was bound to get them into trouble.
Reluctantly, he cupped her shoulders and pushed her forward. “Let’s dance.”
She looked over her shoulder, blinked. “What?”
“Dance. C’mon.” He grabbed her hand and started for the dance floor but she dug in her heels and pulled him back. Glancing at her, he asked, “You don’t want to dance?”
Soph looked past him at the dance area, her expression apprehensive. “I can’t.”
He tugged her closer. “It’ll be fine. We’ll keep to this side of the floor. It’s shadowed, and with how crowded it is, no one will see you.”
She shook her head. “No. Ican’t.”
Studying her closely, he tried to determine what the problem was. If it wasn’t fear of her stalker finding her then what— A thought struck him. “What do you meancan’t?”
A deep sigh raised and lowered her chest and a frown tipped the corners of her mouth down. She stepped into him, went to her toes and whispered in his ear, “I’ve got two left feet. Actually, it’s more like fifty.”
Stone stared at her when she plopped back down on her heels. “But…you sing.”
