He adjusted his hips, plunged deep inside her, sending even more sensation through her. “Louder, Sophie. Louder.”
“Brandon!” she called out, and it sent her over the edge, the orgasm crashing through her as she bucked wildly.
He drove into her twice more, and with an inarticulate shout, he came, too.
They lay together, shuddering, limbs entangled.
After a moment, he murmured against her ear, “Wherever you go, I’ll go with you.”
She buried her face into his neck and tried not to doubt. He’d left right after their graduation, after their first time together, after he’d said almost the same thing. Things were changing between them but were frighteningly the same.
She wrapped her arms around him and shoved her doubts as far back in her mind as she could. She wouldn’t be afraid of change. This time, she’d give them a chance; she’d try, and if it got rough, they’d take it at a different angle. But she wasn’t going to give up on this dream.
Yes, it could get worse, but what if it turned out better?
Here, with him, was better. She was sure of it.
Chapter Eighteen
Forte stood on a high hill overlooking the road and the woods around the cidery. His vantage point gave him an unimpeded view of the entire area surrounding his Sophie. The building he’d left her in sat on a hill of its own, too. Even better to be sure no one unusual was approaching her while he was taking care of logistics.
A nondescript four-door sedan pulled up and Sa climbed out. The man lifted his chin in greeting to Forte before turning to open the back door of the car. A dark black-and-tan German Shepherd Dog hopped out, his attention on Sa as the man took his leash and led him over to where Forte was standing with Haydn.
“How’s Taz working out for you?” Forte asked, stepping forward and giving the dog a good scratch around the ears.
The big dog leaned into the petting, his tongue lolling out to one side.
Haydn, for his part, stood apart and mostly ignored the other dog. They weren’t strangers—having trained on the same property—but Haydn seemed to be going for the mature, no-nonsense attitude at the moment. Or he was jealous.
“I was glad to get your call.” Sa shook hands with Forte once Forte had finished greeting Taz. “We just got back from Hope’s Crossing and were wondering how you were holding up.”
“It’s been quiet.” Forte looked back out over the cidery. “I don’t like it.”
It was going too well. Moments like these, in Forte’s experience, were intentionally created to lull him or his teammates into a false sense of security. Get too comfortable and awful things happened.
Sa grunted. “My colleague is almost back from her flight to Europe. There were signs of her being followed on the way out of the country, but nothing on the return trip so far. Either she lost them, and she wasn’t trying too hard to do it, or they figured out she was a decoy.”
So for at least a portion of the time, Sophie’s pursuers had been successfully distracted.
Forte nodded. “Either way, it’s only a matter of time.”
Cruz was good when it came to laying down false trails in computer systems. He’d helped blur the record trail for renting the car. But if the person looking for Sophie was as good as Cruz, Rojas, or Forte, or if they had more resources at their disposal, they were going to home in on this location eventually no matter how careful they all were. If Murphy’s Law was involved, it’d be sooner rather than later.
“How can we be of help?” Sa wasn’t the type to waste time. Forte appreciated his direct approach.
“We’ll invoke the secondary clause in the contract. I’ll want twenty-four-hour support.” Forte wasn’t going to run yet. Sophie hadn’t made her decision and he wanted to give her as much time as possible.
Besides, even though he’d offered to go with her, he hadn’t planned it. It’d been an impulse. He wouldn’t go back on his word to her, but he did need time to set his affairs in order. Hope’s Crossing Kennels and anything else in his estate would need to be taken care of so Cruz and Rojas could either keep running the place or go on their own way. Making the change now would be too obvious to someone who knew what to look for, so Forte would have to think carefully about how to make sure his leaving wouldn’t screw over good friends.
“You got it.” Sa spoke with easy assurance. “We’ll be in range to respond within five minutes or less.”