Nobody But You (23 page)

“Sorry, boys,” she said to everyone else, although her gaze was locked on Mitch. “You snooze, you lose.”

Mitch swore, strode straight for her and yanked her into his arms, planting a hard kiss right on her mouth. When he pulled back an inch, he said, “The move has always been yours, since the night you let me into and then kicked me out of your bed, and you know it.”

“Hey, man, sorry,” the guy in the wheelchair said. “I didn't know. She's all yours.”

Kenna narrowed her gaze on Mitch. “We both agreed that night was stupid
and
that we'd
never tell another soul
.”

“The move is yours,” Mitch repeated. “Use it or lose it.” And then he walked away.

Kenna stared after him.

“You going to use it?” Sophie asked.

Kenna was still watching Mitch go, her expression filled with both longing and fear. “I can't.”

Sophie reached out to touch her, but Kenna shrugged her off. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I need a moment.” And then she, too, was gone, leaving Sophie sure of only one thing.

She wasn't the only chicken in Cedar Ridge.

W
hen the sun began to sink in the sky, Jacob lit a bonfire and then sat with Hud and Chris. He was feeling a little sunburned and a whole lot tired, but also pumped up, like he'd been a part of something really great today, something that had reached deep inside to the heart he'd kept locked up as tight as he could get it.

He and Hud had nearly killed themselves behind the boat earlier, trying to best each other, and it had felt so much like old times that he could hardly believe it.

How had he stayed away so long?

Why
had he stayed away so long? It was getting so that his reasons no longer made any sense at all.

And having Chris here today meant the world to him, showed him that in spite of not being able to see it for so long, there was life after combat.

And he wanted that life, badly.

His gaze sought out Sophie, who was with Kenna—and shit, Hud was right: That combo was guaranteed trouble. The two of them were directing what looked like a very serious competition of horseshoes.

As if she could feel his gaze, Sophie turned her head and unerringly found him. Right in the middle of her horseshoe game, she cocked her head at him and silently but effectively asked across the span of one hundred feet,
What's wrong?

Was she kidding? She'd given him this. Chris. Laughter with Hud. The feeling of being important to her.

Don't let your glass be half empty…

Remembering that, he shook his head and smiled at her. In response she sent her best, sexy, happy, two-hundred-watt smile before she turned back to her game.

A local band that was donating their time had set up on the dock behind them and was warming up. More food had arrived and was being barbecued and spread out for dinner. They all ate together, laughing at the pics Sophie had gone around and taken during the day and then projected with her laptop onto a makeshift screen of canvas she'd commandeered from one of the tents.

She amazed him, completely amazed him.

“You should marry her,” Hud said, coming back from the food table with his second plate, sitting next to Jacob with their old ease. “Because if you don't, I know at least two guys who would.”

WTF. “Who?”

Hud grinned at him.

“
Who?
” Jacob demanded.

“Mitch and Chris, for starters.”

Just because Mitch was an old family friend who'd become invaluable to the resort over the past few years wouldn't stop Jacob from pounding him into the ground if he made a move on Sophie.

Chris would be tougher to beat, but he'd find a way.

The band had kicked into play and more than a few people were dancing. Chris tugged one of the resort workers out there and made a move, pulling her along to the music. Gray did the same with Penny.

Mitch approached Kenna and Jacob braced for Kenna to punch the guy, but to Jacob's surprise, she stood up. “You want to dance with me?” she asked.

“Actually,” Mitch said, “I want to date you until you're convinced you're mine, something I've known forever. And then I want to put a ring on your finger so the whole world knows. But yeah, I'll settle for a dance for now.”

Kenna stared at him for a long beat, and then she did the most amazing thing. She smiled a warm, sweet, adorable smile that Jacob hadn't seen for a very, very long time. And then she put her hand in Mitch's and let him lead her to the dance floor.

“What the hell?” Jacob asked.

Hud grinned. “Love's in the air, man,” and with that, he went after Bailey, snatching her by the wrist, tugging her in to him.

Everywhere, guys were claiming their women left and right. Or, more accurately, their women were allowing themselves to be claimed. Jacob knew one woman he wouldn't mind being claimed by and sought her out in the crowd, finding her slow dancing with—
shit
—Chris now.

They were looking pretty cozy too. As Jacob walked up to them, Sophie was laughing at something Chris had just said while Chris held her way too close. The ass saw Jacob coming, too, and kept Sophie tight to him, shooting Jacob an innocent grin over her shoulder. “Go get your own woman, Kincaid,” he said.

“That's what I'm doing. Get your mitts off what's mine.”

Laughing, Chris brushed a kiss to Sophie's cheek and walked away.

Good man.

Sophie didn't move into Jacob's arms. She stood there, brow arched. “Get your mitts off what's
yours
?” she repeated with more than a hint of disbelief.

“We've had this talk.” He tugged her in to him. “You
are
mine.”

Her arms were still crossed. A barrier between them. “And?” she inquired.

He smiled into her chilly features. “And I'm yours.”

She softened at that, letting her arms fall to her sides. “One more question,” she said.

“Go.”

“Were you really upset that I was dancing with Chris?”

“No,” he said, and paused. “You made him smile.”

She stared at him for a moment before she touched him, her hands gliding up to tighten around his neck as she pressed her face to his throat.

As she relaxed in his arms, he let the beat of the music carry them around for a few minutes. It was ridiculous, but he wanted the song to go on forever just so that he didn't have to lose contact with the feel of her skin.

She wriggled in a little, like maybe she didn't want it to end either, like she couldn't get close enough. Tightening his grip on her, he was just about to whisper a naughty nothing in her ear when he felt the wetness of tears against his skin.

And his heart dropped straight out of his chest. “Hey,” he said quietly. “What's this?”

She shook her head and kept her face buried against him, clearly struggling for composure. He waited her out, holding on to her with a grip he hoped conveyed some of his feelings since his mouth had never been any good at doing that for him.

Finally she gave a last sniff and lifted her head. “You make me smile too.”

“You sure? Because at the moment, it looks like I made you cry.”

Her eyes filled again, but she blinked back the tears. “It's a good cry,” she whispered.

She killed him. “Soph,” he whispered, swiping a thumb over her cheek.

She shook her head again and looked at him, eyes clear now. “And just so we're clear,
I
wouldn't have been so gracious about you slow dirty dancing with someone else.”

“No?” he asked, finding that kernel of knowledge fascinating. And also a little hot. “What would have happened?”

“Well, for starters, I'd be appropriately grief stricken at your funeral.”

He burst out laughing.

Smiling, she slipped her arms around his neck. “But realistically? I'm happy to have you,” she said. “For the duration.”

It was the second time she'd made the distinction. Definitely time to put that to bed. “How about for as long as it works instead?”

She just looked at him for a long beat, and then without saying a word, set her head on his shoulder and sighed, cuddling in like everything was okay in her world.

And it sure as hell was in his. He opened his mouth to say so, but one of the Wounded Warriors cut in. And after that, Gray cut in. And then the music slowed again and he claimed her back with a scowl that made Gray smirk.

Flipping his brother off, Jacob tugged Sophie out onto the sandy beach for privacy. There he pulled her into his arms, where they swayed to the music drifting over them in tune to the water slapping the shore.

Pressed up against her warm, giving body, he couldn't think of another place in the entire world he'd rather be, and when she sighed in sheer pleasure, he hoped that meant she felt the same.

She smiled against his throat. “Pretty nice day,” she said.

“Better than nice,” he murmured, and stroked a finger along her jaw, lifting her face to his. Her eyes were deep, dark, and full of things, things she felt for him, he realized, his heart taking a good, hard knock against his ribs. “What you did for me today, getting Chris here—”

“That was all Hud and Aidan,” she said.

“No,” he said with a slow shake of his head. “It started with you, and I can't even find the words to tell you what it means to me that you did that. I didn't realize a part of me was broken. Not until I saw Chris looking whole and…okay.”

Her eyes shimmered with emotion. “You found the words just fine,” she whispered, and gave him a soft smile, holding his gaze until it was…too much, and he dropped it to look at her mouth instead.

Her lips curved slowly, and he kissed her. And then again, still moving her to the beat, his body shifting against her in a way that had her letting out a soft moan, which he caught with his mouth.

“Let's go home,” he said against those lips.

“The party—”

“Is going to be fine without us.”

She lifted her head and stared at him, and he did the best he could to look like something she couldn't live without. When she smiled and took his hand, he felt like he'd just won an amazing prize.

J
acob brought Sophie to his cabin, a place that felt more like home to him than any other place ever had. And if he played his cards right and also got very,
very
lucky, it might someday be the place she felt that way about as well.

He left the lights off. He opened the windows so that they could hear the music from the beach but kept the shutters closed enough that no one could see in. Then he slowly pulled Sophie in to him. They spent long moments swaying to the beat before he nudged her face to his and kissed her.

When they broke apart for air, he stared into her eyes and felt his heart roll over in his chest and expose its underbelly. “You're so beautiful,” he said.

“Don't.” She shook her head. “You don't have to do that, Jacob. I'm here. I'm a sure thing tonight.”

“Well, that's a relief,” he said. “I'll cancel the string quartet and five dozen roses about to be delivered, and I'll stop wondering if you're going to be scared off by the ten cases of condoms I just bought.”

She laughed, her fingers smoothing their way up his chest, around his shoulders, and into his hair, making him want to purr. “Ten cases, huh?” she teased. “Cocky much?”

“Okay, maybe just one case. And it's called ‘hopeful.'”

She laughed again. “Did you think I wouldn't be?” she asked softly, nipping at his lower lip. “A sure thing?”

Truthfully? He had no idea what she was thinking, or even what
he
was thinking—other than he'd trained himself not to count on anything as a sure thing.

She stared at him for a beat and then proved she was a mind reader. “You claimed me out there on the dance floor tonight,” she said with a small smile. “All cocky as hell. I mean, you might as well have peed in a circle around me. Do you want to know why that didn't make me mad?”

Since she was still running her fingers through his hair and he was quickly turning into a puddle of goo, he shook his head.

“Because I've claimed you too. Love it or leave it,” she said, cracking open something deep inside of him that him hauling her in even closer. Nothing was between them now except her sundress and his T-shirt and board shorts, and even that was way too much.

She must have felt the same way because she backed away from him and, with a little smile, nudged the spaghetti straps off her shoulders so that they fell to her elbows. Then, with that smile going more than a little naughty, she turned her back on him and started walking slowly to his bedroom, hips gently swinging with casual grace as she reached behind her and unzipped her dress.

And then let it fall.

And then walked right out of it in nothing but a very tiny pair of panties and vanished into his room.

Sophie barely got past the doorway before he grabbed her hand. One thing she could say about him, he wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

And she was definitely a challenge.

Eyes locked on hers, his own dark and heated, he pulled her in to him, kicking the door shut behind them. He had her up against the closed door, hands locked around her wrists, his lips devouring hers before she had time to breathe.

That was okay. She'd breathe later. All she needed now was him, and she gave herself over to it, to him, losing herself in the power of what he made her feel.

When they finally pulled apart, panting, staring at each other, he seemed to have enough control left to assess the situation and took action accordingly, yanking his shirt over his head and shoving his shorts down and off. He immediately locked her against him again, letting go of her arms only to lift her up by the backs of her thighs effortlessly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and held on as he turned and walked to the bed with a casual strength that thrilled her.

And then he was tumbling her down to the bed. She landed on her back, where Jacob hooked his thumbs in the sides of her undies and slowly tugged them down her thighs, sending them sailing over his shoulder.

He looked down at her and groaned. “Damn, Soph,” he murmured, reverently running his hands up her legs, letting his thumbs meet in the middle to lightly stroke over her. “You're wet for me.”

She let out a shaky breath. “I've been this way since watching you wakeboard earlier,” she admitted.

He let out a low laugh. “Is that right?”

“Mm-hmm. You guys were hot stuff out there.”

“All of us, huh?”

“Well, maybe one of you more than the others,” she murmured, wrapping her legs around him so he couldn't move away.

“Maybe?” he asked.

“Or definitely.”

He bent over her, bracing on his hands on either side of her head. “You take my breath, Soph. Every single time.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” he whispered, and began kissing her body, starting at her mouth and working his way south. Long before he got to where she needed him the most, she was in a state, rocking her hips, practically begging him to get inside.

“In a hurry tonight?” he asked against her skin.

As a matter of fact, yes
. She could feel him hot and huge against her and couldn't stand it. “
Please
, Jacob.”

“Mmm,” he said approvingly, nibbling at an inner thigh, making her squirm. “Love that. More of that.”

She slid her fingers into his hair and tightened her grip.

That did nothing besides elicit a chuckle from him. Out of patience, she rolled and crawled on top of him. Triumphant, she beamed down and then oscillated her hips so that she could rub the neediest part of her over the hardest part of him. This caused some creative swearing from the man as taut as a bowstring beneath her, his hands going to her hips to take over in the rhythm he wanted.

A rhythm that drove her up so high she could feel herself start to quiver. Another “please” escaped her before she could stop herself, and she gasped when he pushed up into her.

“Is that what you wanted?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Gripping her hips, he urged her down to him so he could kiss her while also controlling her admittedly frantic movements. Seemed he wanted her on top and he wanted it slow and steady. This worked, too, and she loved how he helped her when she faltered, slowing her when he didn't want to come.

Not being nearly as controlled as he, she came twice, his name on her lips, and when she sagged over him, he flipped her over and pinned her beneath him on the mattress and then he was even deeper inside her. Holding her face in his hands, he deepened the kiss, his fingers curling into loose fists in her hair as he moved. She arched into him with every thrust he made, spurring them both on as the deep sensations pulsed and spread through her in welcoming waves.

Neither of them smiled now. Jacob's breathing was every bit as rough and unsteady as hers, and she realized it wasn't just passion washing over her, taking her under, but something much deeper. For a minute she slammed her eyes closed, needing to hide it, but then Jacob said, “Look at me, Sophie.”

Dragging her eyes up to meet his, she felt an almost fist-like clenching spread through every part of her as she came.

And took him along with her.

After, she could hear her own crazy breathing compared Jacob's, deep and even now, his eyes dark as he cupped the nape of her neck and slowly brought her mouth to his, his gaze never wavering.

Hard to hide from a man who liked the visuals.

She was still trembling, but when his lips grazed hers, she gripped him tight and kissed him back. Under his gentle ministrations she finally quit shaking and felt something inside her let go.

Her fears.

After, they both fell asleep and were jolted awake later by the sound of her phone vibrating across the bedside table—a text from her sister.

Sophie hit herself in the forehead with her phone a few times until Jacob pulled it from her fingers. He read the text, snorted, and then…

God bless him.

He turned off her phone and tossed it aside. “Better?” he asked.

“A little.” She sighed. “I just want…”

“What?” he asked quietly. “What do you want?”

“To be in charge of my life,” she said. “I want to be my own boss.”

“That's easy enough,” he said. “Start your own temp agency. You'd be a natural. It seems like you know how to do everything.”

“No.” She paused. “Well, maybe. But I know what I want to do even more than that. I want to start a concierge business.” She held her breath, but he gave her a slow smile.

“You're going to rock at it,” he said.

The easy confidence he had in her had her smiling back. “I am, aren't I?”

He pulled her on top of him. “You'll be good at anything you go after,” he said. “I love that about you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” He slid a hand to the nape of her neck and drew her in for a quick kiss. “I love your cup-half-full, rose-colored-glasses, fight-for-what-you-want 'tude.”

“I thought you liked quiet and calm,” she said. “And we both know I'm anything but.”

“
I'm
quiet and calm,” he said, “but I don't need that in you. In you, I love the chaos. I love waking up next to you and thinking, ‘Good Christ, what next?'”

She smacked him and he laughed, catching her hands in his. “You're an adventure, Sophie, and I love an adventure.”

She sucked in a breath because he kept using that L word.

He took in her reaction and slid his hands down her back to cup her bottom, squeezing her cheeks. “Would you like to take a guess at what else I love?” he asked.

“Um…” Her heart was suddenly pounding in her ears. “Frozen pizzas, chopping wood, and your crazy siblings?” she asked more than a little breathlessly.

“All that,” he agreed. “But something else. Something big.”

“Your truck?”

He smiled and pulled her arms out from beneath her so that she fell onto his chest. “Nice try.” He kissed her, short but most definitely not sweet. “You,” he said against her lips. “I love you, Sophie, just as you are. Not quiet, not calm, and most definitely not easy.”

She went utterly still. When was the last time she'd heard those three little words from a man who'd meant it? When was the last time the simple but devastating statement had something deep inside her welling up, filling her heart and soul?

He just continued to look at her, patient. Steady as a rock.

Everything she was not. She gnawed on her lower lip. “You said we weren't going to do love.”

“No, you said that. Not me.”

“But you agreed,” she whispered.

He shrugged. “I should've known better. Nothing goes according to plan around you. You told me not to fall for you no matter how lovable you were. I overestimated my ability to resist you. The end.”

She stared at him. “There's a chance I already love you,” she whispered. “But you scare the hell out of me.”

His mouth quirked. “I'm aware of that.”

She stared at him. “What, that I love you, or that you scare me?”

“That I scare you,” he said, “but good to know you love me.”

“I said there's a
chance
,” she clarified.

He smiled. “I heard you.”

“I don't love easily,” she warned. The understatement of the year, of course.

Jacob nodded. “I get that too.”

“Do you also get that I don't want to love at all?”

This he didn't say anything to, but she could read him every bit as well as he could read her, and she sighed. “Okay, that's a lie,” she admitted. “I want to. I want to love you. And parts of me already do. Quite madly.”

He smiled. “I'll take those parts for now,” he said easily.

No frustration. No annoyance at her pace. No sign of anything but the easy acceptance of what she could give. And his patience wasn't a sham either. It was totally real. He loved her enough to let her catch up. He loved her enough to wait. No one had ever loved her like that before, and it stole her breath and her ability speak for a minute. For the first time in her life she had someone who was in just as deep as she was.

And suddenly that wasn't scary at all.

A night breeze made its way through the shutters and drifted over them, cooling their overheated bodies.

Sophie felt enveloped, protected in a way that didn't smother, and she relaxed into the mattress and sighed, heart full.

She felt him smile against her and rolled her head against his shoulder to meet a pair of warm brown eyes studying her in the low light.

“Tired?” she asked, shifting to face him, touching his jaw, dark with a beyond-five-o'clock shadow.

He shook his head. He wasn't tired.

Neither was she. “Hungry?”

His eyes revealed a smile as he watched her like maybe she was his breakfast, lunch, dinner,
and
dessert. “Not for food,” he said, making her laugh.

But the laugh backed up in her throat, replaced by another wave of heat and desire when he tucked her beneath him, making it clear what he
was
hungry for.