Nothing but Trouble by Tory Richards Read Free Book Online Page B

even if she could. He probably stood a better chance of having the gun thrown at him. As the silence stretched between them he saw tears of frustration slip from her eyes and that sexy bottom lip tremble slightly. He swore beneath his breath and clenched his teeth, unprepared for the feeling her vulnerability had on him. A poised, spirited Sophie he could deal with.
    “Damn you!” she sobbed huskily, surprising them both by the passion in her tone.
    Brent reached forward and took the gun from her hand. “You couldn’t have shot me anyway. The safety is still on.” In spite of the tears slipping down her face she held her ground. Reacting to her softness, Brent surprised himself by gently wiping her cheek with the back of his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He felt compelled to promise.
    “I don’t believe you.”
    The mistrust in her eyes said it all. Brent didn’t blame Sophie for not believing him. Why should she when everything I’ve done so far led her to presume I’m a villain? A sucker for redhead, blue-eyed females in distress, he knew if he didn’t force himself to walk away from her it was just a matter of time before he took her into his arms to comfort her. And what kind of a kidnapper would that make me? Not a very credible one, that was for sure.
    “I can’t help that.” He tucked the gun in the waistband of his pants, opening the closet door and reaching for a shirt. He slipped it on, buttoning it as he faced her again. “Just remember, I could have hurt you at any time and didn’t.” To prove how ruthless he could be Brent’s gaze raked over her, visually stripping her naked. “I could have forced myself on you when we were putting on that little show.”
    “Thank you for restraining yourself; that was gentlemanly of you.”
    That haughty little tone rubbed him the wrong way and he clenched his teeth to keep from telling her to go to hell. It was apparent she wasn’t going to give him credit for anything. He decided to do the gentlemanly thing and ignore her statement. “This will be your castle for a few days. There’s a bathroom through that door.” He indicated the direction with a nod. “The TV…”
    “What about a phone? I’d like to call my father and let him know I’m all right.”
    She was kidding, right? Brent didn’t have time for her smart mouth, which was only going to land her in trouble. “I’ll be in touch with daddy,” he retorted with cool authority. “But what about Lord?” She didn’t seem to care about his feelings.
    A knock at the door saved her from having to respond. Tom’s voice came through loud and clear. “You have a phone call to make.”
    Brent’s eyes darted to the clock on the dresser. It was almost twelve. “My cue to leave, princess.” He stared at her long and hard, trying to decide if he should tie her to the bed and forget about anything else. “You could probably scream your head off and no one would hear you, but I’m not willing to take that chance. I’ll take your word you’ll behave and won’t make any noise. What’s it going to be?”
    “Why should you believe me?”
    “Because you’re proud and like to think your morals are better than anyone else’s.” And because he knew if she was anything like her father, he couldn’t expect anything less than the truth from her. The tightening of her mouth revealed she wanted to defy him, call him a liar, but she was a smart lady.
    “I give you my word I won’t make any noise.”
    Brent quickly picked up on the fact that Sophie eliminated the first half of his condition, wondering what kind of mischief she could really get into. She’d be locked in the room and there was no reason for Tom to open the door while he was gone. “You might want to use that bed and get some sleep.”
    “Don’t hurry back.”
    The sugar in her voice sent up a warning flag but Brent didn’t have time to figure out what she was stewing up in that pretty head of hers. The senator was