Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Alex
I t’s agony watching Sophie as she listens to Ryan and Brennen argue. I’m oblivious to the insults Brennen lobs at me, but the way her face pales and her look of horror freezes my blood. It’s like watching all my hopes and dreams wash down the drain.
Her face crumbles as she puts the pieces together and everything falls into place. She whirls, fleeing the room as if her feet had wings.
“Sophie!” I take several steps forward, intent to chase her down and explain myself, but I freeze. My stomach clenches in rebellion, but I can’t forget why I’m really here: to support Ryan.
“Go get your girl, Alex,” Ryan orders, his tone soft despite the command. He turns his focus back to his brother. “Brennen and I have some family matters to discuss.”
I don’t need to be told twice and tear out of the room, my eyes scanning everywhere for Sophie. The tasting room is full today with visitors but she’s nowhere in sight. Besides, this would be the last place she’d be.
I stop at the bar and tap Tony on the shoulder. “Have you seen Sophie? Did she come through here?”
“Yeah.” Tony nods, pointing toward the main door. “She flew out of the back room like someone was chasing her. She was crying, man. I think something upset her.”
Someone upset her all right: me. My chest turns to ice, and I pray I’m not too late, that I can save what we have. “Thanks, Tony.”
Barreling out of the winery, I nearly run over Emma. “Hey, watch it,” she cries. “You’re the second person in two minutes to nearly knock me over.”
“Sorry, Emma. Have you seen Sophie?” I think my heart might pound out of my chest.
Her eyes narrow and spark with a dangerous gleam. “I sure did.”
I glance up at the sound of tires screeching on gravel coming from the parking lot and watch helplessly as Sophie’s car fishtails and then races down the road.
“Fuck!” I take a step toward my car when Emma snags my arm, pulling me to a halt. Out of respect, I don’t rip away.
“I don’t care how close you are to Ryan, Alex.” Emma’s voice was as soft as velvet. “But if you hurt my friend, I’ll make sure you regret it until your final day.” Her gaze cuts like the honed edge of a combat knife, and her resemblance to Ryan is on full display.
I give her a reluctant nod. “I’m gonna do my best to fix this right now. Don’t worry.”
“Be sure that you do.” She releases me with a bob of her head, and I follow what’s left of Sophie’s trail, my heart in my throat.
I race to her condo and scan the cars outside. But she’s not parked in her usual spot, so I keep driving. She couldn’t have gone too far, and Pelican Point is a small town. Where the fuck could she have gone?
I pass the shopping centers and don’t waste my time. There’s no way she’d go somewhere with a lot of people. She’ll want to be alone, to think.
Then it hits me. I know exactly where she is, and I step on the accelerator.
The sand bogs down my feet the moment I hit the beach, but I don’t dare slow down. I’m desperate to find Sophie and explain everything. I spotted her car in the parking lot, so I know she’s here—somewhere. I only pray she’ll listen to me when I catch up to her. I just need to find her first.
The romantic spot where we picnicked last week is empty, but I know she has to be along this stretch of beach. I spot her work boots and socks tucked beneath a short palm tree and try to follow the footsteps in the soft sand, but there are just too many of them. She couldn’t have gone far.
The pier is empty other than a handful of fishermen working their lines. I shade my eyes and scan the shoreline, looking for her honey blonde hair. Finally, I see her! Running along the edge of the choppy surf, Sophie is moving at a fast clip, and even from this distance I can tell she’s upset.
“Sophie!” I shout, but she’s too far away to hear me with the roar of the waves.
With my stomach churning, I kick my boots off and rush after her, desperate to explain my role in what she just witnessed. And more importantly, to beg her forgiveness. Instinctively, I know my window for getting through to her, for any hope at a future with her, is closing rapidly.
“Sophie!” I try again, but she’s still moving too quickly. Doubling my pace, I gain ground and within a minute, I’m ten feet behind her. “Sophie! Stop! Please!” I call out.
Without slowing, she glances over her shoulder. My heart clenches at the pain I see even from a distance, at the tears streaking down her cheeks. Her face hardens, and I can see her shutting me out as she turns her gaze forward. She picks up speed—damn, the girl is fast!—but my adrenaline is riding high, and there’s no way I’m letting her go.
“Dammit, Sophie! Stop!” I’m just a few feet behind her now.
“Fuck off!” she screams back at me.
With a growl, I launch myself like a missile, my arms wrapping around her waist as I tackle her into the sand. Sophie shrieks and fights me like a wildcat, her arms and legs flailing, but I manage to pin her hands by her head. Her body bucks, and she yanks at her hands, trying to break free.
“You asshole! Get off me!”
“No.” I soften my voice, hoping it calms her down. “I need you to listen to me, Sophie. Please, listen.”
She quiets beneath me and turns her face away, panting as her body sags from the energy it took to fight.
“Ryan and I have known each other for years. He and my brother, Leo, served together as Navy SEALs, and he’s like a member of our family. Ryan has helped us out so many times that when he asked me to come out here and track down the problem at his family’s winery, I jumped at the chance to pay back some of his generosity.”
“So Brennen is right. You are a spy.” The accusation hangs heavy between us. But I’m done hiding things from her.
I nod, not bothering to deny it. “Ryan suspected that Brennen was in over his head, and he needed someone on the ground to find out just how bad it was. But I swear to you, Sophie, the moment I walked into that fermentation room and found you cursing your head off at that rusty bolt, I fell in love. When you looked up at me with all that fire in your eyes, I lost my heart right then and there.”
“Why should I believe that? You’re nothing but a fucking liar, Alex,” she cries, fresh tears streaking down her cheeks.
I shake my head. “No. Everything I said to you was true. Winemaking is what I want to do and the chance to work with you is like a dream come true for me. The fact that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met wasn’t something I anticipated. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with you, Sophie.”
“You’re full of shit,” she huffs. But I can see that my sincere words are softening her.
“Not to mention, you’re the most instinctively talented winemaker I’ve ever seen. I’ve learned so much just watching you work.” I drop my nose and nuzzle at her neck. When she doesn’t fight me, I drop a soft kiss on her salty skin. “In my last call with him, I told Ryan I was in love with you and wanted to stay after all this is over.”
She sniffs and finally meets my gaze. “After all what is over?”
I shrug. “That’s between Ryan, Emma, and Brennen. Now that Ryan knows the problem and he’s taken charge, I’m out of the mix. The only thing I’m worried about now is you and keeping what’s between us alive.”
“Do you honestly expect me to believe there’s anything between us?” she scoffs, but there’s absolutely no heat in her voice now, only a question, a plea.
“Yes, I do.” I release her hands and thread my fingers through her hair, tilting her face up. “You love me, too, Sophie. I can see it in your face. We’re gonna build a beautiful life making incredible wine and someday have gorgeous and brilliant babies.”
Her mouth pops open, and I press a kiss to her puffy lips. “Forgive me, Soph. Please. I never lied to you. I swear.”
“But you did. It was a lie of omission, and that counts, Alex,” she argues as she kisses me back.
“Mmmmm.” I pepper kisses along her jawline. “A shady developer is trying to steal the winery out from under the family. I had to find out who. But everything else I told you about me is true. Ryan is the financial backer who has promised to help me start my own winery when I’m ready.”
She stares up at me, a stunned look on her face. “Someone’s trying to take the winery from the Murphys?”
I nod slowly. “But we found out in time. Don’t worry, baby, your wine is safe. Ryan will take care of the problem and make whoever it is sorry they ever tried to mess with his family.”
“Wow. So that’s why Brennen has been so moody lately.”
“I’d say that’s probably part of it.” I give her a sucking kiss. “But if you don’t mind, I’d rather talk about us right now.” I hold her face between my hands and stare into her eyes. “I love you, Sophie. I fell in love with you the moment I walked in that door. Please believe me, baby. Don’t send me back to Texas with a broken heart.”
A soft sob erupts from her throat, and her arms wrap around my torso. “I love you, too, Alex. So much it scares me to think that everything we’ve shared is a lie.”
My heart skyrockets at her words and I can’t hold back the smile that stretches across my face. “No, baby. Everything between us was real.” I press my hips into her core. “This is real.”
“Hey!” comes a voice off in the distance but growing louder.
I glance up and see two men running toward us at a fast clip. “Hey! Get off her!”
“Shit!” I suddenly realize how this must look to any bystanders and I spring to my feet, pulling Sophie up with me.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, fellas. Everything’s okay here,” I call out as the men approach us, noting their balled-up fists. “My girlfriend and I just had a fight, and I was trying to apologize for being an ass. But she wouldn’t listen to me, so I had to tackle her.”
The men glare daggers at me as they come to a stop, panting from their exertion. “Is he right, miss? You can tell us if he was really trying to hurt you. We’ll hold him down until the cops get here.”
“There’s no need for cops, guys,” Sophie responds lightly, amusement in her voice. “Alex is right. He was being a dick, and his face was the last thing I wanted to see.” My heart pounds at the grin she throws me. “But we’re okay now.”
“Are you sure about that? It looked pretty fishy from the pier.”
Sophie’s grin widens to an earth-shattering smile that takes my breath away. Everything shifts for me in that moment, and I know I’m gonna marry this girl.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she answers. “But thank you for running to my rescue, guys.”
The men huff out ‘you’re welcomes’ and throw me one final glare, muttering under their breath as they turn back toward the pier.
“Can we continue this conversation at your place?” I ask, my mind immediately on how I can make this up to her—on my knees preferably. “I think we could both use a hot shower.”
A soft blush moves up her cheeks, and I chuckle, knowing her thoughts have wound down the same sexy rabbit hole as mine.
I snag her hand and tug. “Come on, beautiful. I’ve heard makeup sex can be pretty incredible.”
The drive back to her condo only takes minutes, but it feels like an eternity. A desperate need builds inside me to reestablish our bond and at this point, if we don’t get out of bed for a week, I’m okay with that.
I park next to her and move up behind her as we jog up the stairs. There is a measure of relief to see the same urgency on her face that I’m feeling. And as the terror of losing her wears off, the need to bury myself inside her is practically insatiable.
My clothes start flying off the moment I lock the door behind us, and Sophie launches herself at me. Her fingers spear through my hair and her mouth latches onto mine. I grab her ass and grind my hard cock into her belly, showing her just how desperate I am, how much I need her.
“Shower,” I order between kisses, cradling her ass cheeks in my hands and walking us into the bathroom.
Sophie sheds her clothes at a record pace, and as I toe off my boots, she yanks my pants down, kneeling to drag them off my feet. Her hand immediately goes to my cock, and I growl loudly as my hand cups the back of her head.
“You always taste so good,” she purrs before her lips wrap around my swollen head.
The sensation is mind blowing, and I see stars as her tongue works its magic on my length. My balls tighten in a warning, and I pull her away. This is not how I want this to end. This time anyway…
“Not yet, baby. In the shower.” I turn the water on and we step under the warm spray.
Her full breasts and tight nipples practically beg for my attention, and I drag my tongue across her velvety flesh, loving the moan I wring from her throat.
My fingers coast over her sensitive folds, thrilled at the way she gasps and arches her hips into me. She’s dripping wet, and my cock throbs with the need to bury deep inside her. “Alex,” she groans.
“I’m sorry, baby.” I lift her, catching her knees with my arms and pinning her against the shower wall. “I can’t wait. I need you now.” My cock notches easily at her swollen entrance, and I press forward, her wet heat wrapping tightly around me. We moan in unison, and my mouth latches on the juncture where her neck and shoulder meet, sucking and licking as I pound into her at a ruthless pace.
My emotions and adrenaline are still riding high from nearly losing her today, and the need to reestablish our bond is relentless. But with each stroke, my soul settles a little more, and the rightness of our union takes my breath away. Her hot channel tightens around my cock, and I nearly lose it as her nails dig into my back, creating tiny divots in my skin. “Fuck, yeah, baby. Come for me,” I groan out. “Let me feel you.”
I twist my hips, making contact with her sweet spot, and sigh with relief as she shrieks and convulses around me. “That’s it,” I moan as I let go and burst inside her. My body arches with each throbbing pulse and my eyes roll back into my head. I don’t think I’ve ever come this hard in my life.
I slump against her, panting as I trail kisses up her sweet neck and latch onto her mouth. Our tongues twine together lazily as we enjoy the last vestiges of our orgasms.
Then it hits me and I freeze. “Oh shit. I forgot a condom.” I pull back and meet her serene gaze.
“I’m on the pill, Alex. As long as you don’t have some horrible disease, we’re good.”
I slump against her in relief, my lips retracing the juncture of her neck and shoulder. “Damn. I’m not certain I’ll be able to walk after this.”
Sophie gives me a bashful smile, warming my heart. “Then we’ll just have to stay in bed the rest of the day.”