Sam had ten days until the shareholders met for the vote. Ten days to keep herself, and those close to her alive and well. Ten days to freedom. Because if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that in ten days, she would be free of Covington forever. The only question was, how would gain that freedom?

Her heart fluttered with anticipation as the plane taxied down the snow-blanketed, Colorado runway. They'd talked on the phone, but she hadn't seen Stone since she let him walk out of her apartment the week before. She needed to see him, needed to know that if the worst happened, if she didn't see him again in this life, at least he would know what he'd meant to her.

When she saw him standing next to his large Rover, waiting for her despite the cold, she couldn't stop herself from running straight for him. Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his strong shoulder as he encircled her in a warm embrace. They clung to each other without words until he kissed the top of her head and leaned back to look at her.

"Sweetness. I’m sorry I was such an ass, walking out on you like that. I never should have acted that way." He brushed a lock of hair from her face and she smiled into his warm, brown eyes.

"I'm sorry too.” She replied softly. “I shouldn't have let my insecurities get the best of me." She tried to suppress a shiver as the cold wind blew across them, but it took hold of her anyway.

"Come on." Stone hurriedly turned to open the door and ushered her into the warm car. “It's freezing out here."

The plane's crewman opened the boot, setting her duffle inside. He tipped his hat to them, then disappeared quietly. Stone climbed into the driver's seat, pulled off his gloves, unwrapped the scarf from his neck, and turned to look at her. She felt a thrill shoot through her at the determined look in his eyes. He reached a hand out, caressed her cheek with a calloused thumb and continued staring at her. Sam sighed and leaned into his touch, letting the warmth of his affection suffuse her. She turned her head and kissed his palm, letting her lips linger on his skin before she opened her eyes again.

"What is it, Stone?"

"I’m thinking it's a mighty long ride back to the ranch." He answered gruffly.

She barked out a laugh, but eyed the back seat.

"You know,” She lowered her gaze, chewing on her bottom lip for effect. “I’ve never done it in the back seat of a car, feel like I really missed out on that one."

She smiled coyly at him.

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Sam pushed open her door and quickly jumped into the backseat.

He groaned. "You're going to kill me, Love. Are you serious?"

"I'm back here aren't I?”

Sam gave him her best come-hither, then shrieked when he clawed his way over the center console to get to her. She was laughing when he pushed her down on the plush seat, giggling when he pressed her jacket open and shoved her shirt up to her armpits, gasping when his mouth closed over one taut nipple beneath the sheer fabric of her bra. She arched into him, whispering his name while he continued his assault. He reared back to look at her, grinning with a gleam in his eyes.

"You don't know what it does to me, knowing I’m the first to give you the back seat experience."

She laughed shakily. "Stone, you've been the first for most of my experiences."

"And I plan to be the last."

Stone looked at her somberly and she wiggled her hips. A minute ago, it had been fun, now it was taking a turn she wasn't prepared for.

Sensing her discomfort, he set to work on her jeans, quickly dispatching the button and zipper. She lifted her hips to help as he pulled them down along with her panties. He pulled one boot off and dragged the jeans off her leg, then pushed her right leg up over the back of the seat, pressed her left to the side so it was dangling off the edge, and just looked at her.

"You’re so beautiful." He murmured.

Sam swallowed hard, pushing back the swell of emotion his words elicited. She let her eyes flutter shut. He would do what he wanted and she would let him, but she needed to calm her swirling emotions, the flurry within her mind. With her own hands, she caressed her breasts, pinched her nipples, rolled them between her fingers and smiled when she heard the throaty groan that escaped his lips.

"You think you're clever, don’t you?"

He stroked her legs with long, smooth motions from her knees to the top of her hip bones, letting his thumbs trail just outside the place where her legs joined. Teasing, promising without delivering. So close, but not quite there.

"Stone.” She opened her eyes, saw the burning desire in his eyes matched her own. "You're such a tease...”

"And yet, you're the one playing with yourself, making me feel like a teenager about to embarrass myself."

She grinned ruefully at him.

“I could help you out."

She propped herself onto an elbow, reached the other hand to touch him, stroked the length of him over his jeans. His head fell back and his hands stilled for a moment before he was pushing her hand aside, unbuttoning his pants and shoving them down.

He grasped her hand with one of his, pushing it over her head as he came down on top of her, covering her with his muscular body. He still has all his clothes on, Sam thought absently, not really caring about that when his mouth was over hers, his tongue exploring her so thoroughly. Stone brought her other hand to meet the one above her head and pressed them together.

"Stay." He ordered.

She smiled, watching him push back up to stare at her again.

"You really like to look, don't you?"

"I do, Sweetness. Only at you."

She bit her lip when he shoved his boxer-briefs over those massive thighs, letting his erection spring forward. She thought she'd never get tired of looking at him either.

"You're beautiful too.” She said with a hint of awe in her voice.

He met her gaze, tore open the foil packet he'd retrieved from his pants and lowered himself to her again. She couldn't control the shudder that moved through her when he slid a hand across her flat stomach, down to one thigh and back up to her most intimate place. He let his fingers trail lightly across her and she thought she might die of need. He kept kissing her mouth like he had all day, teasing her with his fingers, and when he finally slipped one inside of her, she moaned, grinding down onto his hand.

"So wet for me. So greedy." He whispered against her lips.

All she could do was nod in response. He loved to do this, loved to make her beg. Sam could beg, she would beg as much as he wanted. Her body was aflame, coiled tight, just waiting for him to give her a little more. Just a little bit more was all she needed, but he toyed with her still. Lazily drawing that finger in and out. Smiling against her lips when she pressed her hips up, desperately seeking release.

"Stone.” She groaned. “Please, I’m so close. I need you."

“I love to hear those words, Sweetness."

He withdrew his hand and she felt bereft at the loss. Before she could complain though, he pushed into her with one smooth stroke, pausing for a moment, his head buried in her neck.

"You feel so damn good, Love. I'll never get use to this."

"Stone.” She ground out. “I love your sentimentality, but if you don't move, I’m going to scream."

"Oh sweet, sweet, Samantha. I'll make you scream."

And he did.

He moved against her in a punishing rhythm that had her pressing her hands against the window to keep from hitting her head. When he ground his pelvis down against her and stroked up, finding her sweet spot, she came unglued. And when she wrapped her legs around him, urged him on, bit down on that muscular shoulder that was so close she just couldn't help it, he growled her name on his own release.

When she came back to her senses, remembering where they were, she started to laugh. It started out as a chuckle and grew into something almost uncontrollable.

Stone pushed back, looking at her with a quizzical expression.

Sam took a shaky breath, wiping the moisture from her eyes.

"Do you think anyone saw us?” She tried to stop it, but the giggles started again.

"Nah. I think we're safe on that." He tapped the window behind her. "Privacy tinting. Nobody can see inside." He glanced at the windshield. "We did a fair job fogging the whole thing up too."

He grinned down at her and her heart stuttered. She really loved this man. He'd opened a whole new world to her and the thought that she might have only a short time with him nearly broke her heart.

"Hey now," He pulled her upright, concern etched on his handsome face as he wrapped an arm around her. "Where'd you go? What's that look about?"

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking how much you mean to me now."

She reached her hand to touch his face, cupped his cheek, and lifted her head to brush his lips lightly with hers.

“I love you, Stone."

His brow furrowed with concern. "We need to get on the road, but you're going to tell me what's going on."

* * *

Sam let her head fall back against the headrest while Stone expertly traversed the snowy roads leading to Hartstone. He slid his hand into hers, twining their fingers together.

She loved the way she felt so safe, so secure with him. She gave his hand a squeeze and opened her eyes to look at him. The glow from the speedometer cast his masculine features in soft, blue light.

She inhaled deeply.

"My mother and father died during efforts to merge CSM with larger companies."

His jaw ticked, but his eyes remained fixed on the road.

“I’ve gotten more threats, put a lot of pieces together. My mother didn't commit suicide, Stone. She was murdered."

He ran his thumb over her knuckle when she paused. She watched his chest rise and fall with a deep breath and wondered how he could remain so calm.

"I'm so sorry, Love." He said gently. "How are you handling all of this? What can I do to help you?"

"Tell me something."

"Anything."

"Were you serious about using acreage on Hartstone for the Phoenix Project?"

He glanced at her quickly.

"'’Course I was. Wouldn't have said it if I wasn't"

Right. Because Stone wasn't the kind of man who offered things he wasn't prepared to deliver. Sam turned to look out the darkened window, eyes widening when she saw the glow in the distance. "Is that Hartstone?” She asked, peering through the windshield.

"It is.” He chuckled. “Christmastime gets pretty bright around here. You can probably see us from space."

"Wow.” She murmured as they passed under the big archway.

“I love New York at Christmas, but this is incredible. How long did it take?"

He shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips.

“It's all hands on-deck for decorating. Took about two days and twenty guys, Ma driving us like a cruel taskmaster." He grinned as they drove around the main house, making their way to his cabin. "She doesn’t play when it comes to Christmas. Once it's done though, it sure is a sight to behold."

Sam agreed. As far as she could see, cabins, trees, fences, and barns, were covered in colorful, twinkling lights. Stone's cabin was no exception and she gasped in delight when she saw the huge tree dominating the living room.

"This tree is magnificent.” She whispered in awe, looking at the decorations which, to her surprise, were modest but elegant. "Did you do it yourself?"

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her head, then her neck.

"I do my own every year. It's relaxing, soothing." He let go of her, but grabbed her hand to steer her to the window side. “I want to show you something. Maybe it's a little premature," He said hesitantly. "But I was hoping you'd be with me for Christmas."

Sam took a wobbly breath. "Stone, it's beautiful. Are these real?" She reached up to trace her finger over the tiny gems inlaid on a surface of gold and silver. A heart with the words, Our first Christmas, engraved just below their names.

"Our birthstones with diamonds in between." He turned her to face him. "We were made for each other, Samantha. I want us to be forever, just like these diamonds."

He looked at her with such intensity, cupping her face in both hands while he rubbed his thumbs across her cheek bones. The world seemed to fade away. “I was moving toward you before I ever knew who you were, and now that I have you, I’m not ever letting you go."

She blinked and moved one of her hands to cover his. It was so much, too much. She’d just gotten comfortable loving him, but what he was saying - what was he saying? She tried for a smile, but it turned into a strained quiver of her lips. "What are you saying, Stone? What do you want?” She hated the unsteadiness of her own voice.

“I was going to wait." He said slowly, still holding her face hostage, his eyes never leaving hers. “I want to marry you, Samantha. I want to be the man who protects you, cares for you, loves you for the rest of your life, or mine. I want to be your everything, just like you're mine."

He paused.

She swallowed.

His hands loosened.

She blinked back hot tears.

He took a breath.

She blew one out.

"Stone, I don't know what to say.” Sam shook her head regretfully.

"Then don't say anything. Not yet."

He released her face with a sad half-smile.

Sam felt adrift until he pulled her into himself, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Stone kissed the top of her head tenderly as she pressed her cheek to his chest. She focused on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, letting it drown out the noise inside her head.

“I know this is a lot for you, Sweetness. It's ok. I’ve said it, but I’m not pressuring you. We can talk about when you're ready." He stroked her hair, continued to hold her, made her feel that he meant what he’d said. That it really was ok.

Sam pulled back to look at him, closed her eyes when he bent to brush his lips across hers, and thought that she had never felt more like a woman than when she was in his arms. She wasn't Samantha Covington when Stone held her. She was just a girl, in love with a man like no other. As he kissed her softly, sweetly, she wished with all her heart they could stay like this, but the harsh reality of her life wouldn’t allow it. She knew that someone wanted her company, that they were willing to end her life to have it. That thought was the reminder she needed of why she'd come here.

She pulled away from him.

“I have to ask you something, Stone.” She took his hand and led him to the sofa.

"You can ask me anything." His told her in a voice laced with concern.

"If something happens to me..."

"Nothing's happening to you." He interrupted sharply.

She held up a hand to silence him. "If something happens to me, I want to know if you’re willing to continue with the Phoenix Project. Here at Hartstone.” She held up her hand when he started his protest again. “I’ve updated my will with Nora as my beneficiary with the stipulation that she continue the work. She's agreed to be the foundation's chairwoman."

Stone shook his head, but she looked at him pleadingly and continued. “I need to know that, if it comes to it, the thing that I was most passionate about will continue on."

He stood abruptly and paced the room. Sam clasped her hands in her lap, watching him, waiting for the storm in his mind to settle.

“I won't let anything happen to you, Sam." He told her sternly. “I won't let them touch you."

"Stone.” She swallowed the past the lump in her throat. "You may not have a choice. I may not have a choice."

"NO!" He yelled, causing her to flinch. "No." He continued more softly. “I will use every resource at my disposal to keep you safe. They will not get to you, Samantha."

"Stone, you don't understand them like I do.” She began removing her socks while he eyed her suspiciously. “I need to show you something." She set her bare feet on the floor and motioned him over, patting the cushion next to her.

"Come, sit here."

* * *

Stone watched Samantha take a quick breath, eyes on the floor before turning to him as he lowered himself to the sofa.

"First, I want to thank you for sending Agent DeLuc. I can't tell you what it means to me, knowing that someone else wants to see justice done."

She looked at him intently, trying to convey the importance and severity of her situation. “I tried to go to the police, when I was younger. My father, James, Norman, they had, still have, them in their pockets. I have always been given the run-around, so I stopped trying. Early on though, my father taught me a lesson I'll never forget."

He reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze.

She met his action with a tremulous smile.

“I went to the police when I was twelve. The detective I spoke to said they would look into the matter and he drove me home. I begged him the whole way to let me out, to please just let me go somewhere else, anywhere else.” She dropped her chin and shook her head. "Do you know what he said to me?” She asked bitterly.

Stone waited for her, knowing she wasn't asking because she wanted an answer.

"He said he had an obligation to my father. That he had to take me home. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but after all the things I’ve dealt with in the last several years, I understand it quite well."

"What happened?" He asked slowly. "When they took you home?" It was a question one part of his mind screamed at him not to ask, but the other part needed to hear.

"He said that I'd made a fatal error," Sam raised her feet, and for the first time, let him study the scars crisscrossing from heel to toe. "That I’d underestimated my enemy's scope of influence. He made sure it was a lesson I’d never forget."

She began to lower her feet, but he took them in his hands.

"My father strove for precision in everything.” Sam said in a tight voice.

As he ran a thumb over the perfectly even cross-hatched patterns, felt the slight tremble in her legs, heard her swallow and take a shaky breath, he asked the question he didn't want an answer to. "How?"

"Stone, it doesn't matter now."

Her voice was barely audible above the pounding of his own heart, the blood rushing through his ears with the rage building inside him.

"Let me in, Love"

He met her pained eyes with his own and hoped she would see the way he felt about her, the way he'd always feel about her. Hoped she'd see that he wanted to be her comforter, her protector, the one she could turn to for anything.

"A whip.” She cleared her throat and shook her head. “It was his punishment of choice for myself and my mother. My feet are the only places he left marks."

He closed his eyes against the onslaught of emotions threatening to overwhelm him. When he looked at her again, she was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, her eyes downcast. He reached out for her, gently tipping her chin up so he could look her in the eye.

“I don't care how far they think their reach is," He said firmly. "Mine is farther. I don't care how deep their pockets are. Mine are deeper. They will never touch you again, Love. I promise you that."

She shook her head and he felt his frustration rising.

“I won't hold you to that, Stone. I can't. You can't make promises about things you have no control of."

He wanted her to hold him to it. He wanted to protect her with everything he had, but something in her just wouldn't accept it. That was alright. He didn't need her consent. He would keep her safe. She would see that she could depend on him. He looked at her soberly.

"Then how about I promise you that I won't leave your side. That I'll be with you every step of the way through this deal you're doing. If they want to get to you, they'll have to go through me."

She smiled. It was a weak, half smile, but his heart lightened at the sight of it. She was going to take his bait.

"What are you going to do, Stone?” She asked saucily. "Come back to New York? Stay with me twenty-four, seven?"

"Yes."

He watched her eyes widen, then narrow. Her eyebrows drew together as the wheels turned in her head.

"Don't you have work to do here?” She cocked her head and an eyebrow.

"Nothing I can't do anywhere. All I need is my computer."

He gazed at her steadily, waiting.

"Alright.” She grinned happily.

"Alright?" That had been easier than he thought it would be.

"Alright. Come stay with me. In ten days my deal will be done. In the meantime,” Samantha looked at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes, and Stone suddenly felt like he was the one who'd been trapped. “I have a charity event, a fundraising dinner for Women Standing United. You can be my date."

She blinked at him happily, like she'd roped him into a surprise that would throw him off. Samantha Covington didn't know who she was dealing with. The thought sent a pain threw his heart. She didn't know, but she would soon.

He smiled serenely back at her. “I would love to accompany you, Ms. Covington."

She suddenly became serious and he thought he'd made a mistake. "Alec stays with us.” She told him abruptly. "And Jasper".

"Jasper is a given. But Alec doesn't need to stay. I’m just as capable as he is, if not more."

"Not negotiable. He's my body-guard, you're my boyfriend. If you stay with me, that's the way it's going to be."

"You want a delineation of roles." He sat back, folded his arms across his chest. "Fine. But I’m the only one who spars with you."

She barked out a laugh. "Let's go to bed, you jealous brute. I’m exhausted."

She rose from the sofa.

"Sam." He said sharply and she turned back. "I'm the only one.” She rolled her eyes and he growled. "Don't push me, woman."

"Only you, Stone.” She giggled and trotted towards his bedroom.

"Going to be the death of me." He muttered as he got up to follow her.