Surrender Read online

  My heart jerked in my chest.

  “I understand,” I said. “Actually, when I said I was in the mood for a quiet evening, I lied. The truth is, I didn’t have plans either. I ate dinner and had burned through all my TiVo shows already. If you hadn’t called, I probably would’ve just gone to bed.”

  His expression softened. “Why a beautiful woman like you would be forced to spend Friday night alone . . .”

  Beautiful. Kam Maldonado called me beautiful. My face warmed. “Thanks for the compliment. But it’s not anyone’s fault but my own. I don’t try to get out and meet people.”

  “Neither do I.”

  The waiter made a show of bringing our wine and pouring some into a glass for Kam to sample. After taking a sip and giving a quick nod of approval, Kam waved him off with a pleasant thank you, then poured a glass for me.

  I sipped. Delicious. Fruity but not too sweet.

  In the distance, music started playing. Soft, sultry music.

  Drinking his wine, Kam watched me over the rim of his glass. “Do you want to dance?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” I recalled the last time he’d held me, how confused and conflicted he’d acted. And how confused and conflicted his actions had made me.

  “Friends dance, don’t they?” he asked, tipping his head slightly.

  “Friends?” I echoed. “Is that what we are?”

  “I’d like that. Would you?”

  I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to be friends with him or not. A part of me liked the idea of having a safe, nonsexual, but personal relationship with this enigmatic man. But another was worried about how even a friendship might affect our working relationship. I also worried about the fact that I was so attracted to Kam. How I felt when he touched me. How I felt when he kissed me.

  And how I felt when he didn’t.

  The truth was, my body craved his touch. It craved his kiss. When he wasn’t touching me, I wanted to move closer, lean in, close the distance between us.

  Friends. Friends? Could I be friends with a man I was so drawn to?

  What if he started dating another woman?

  How would I handle that?

  My stomach twisted.

  “Abigail?”

  His voice yanked me out of my head, away from that awful what-if and back to the current moment. Our gazes met, and my insides flittered like little trapped butterflies.

  I sputtered, “Yes, sure. Friends.”

  He chuckled. “You sound so enthusiastic. Am I that much of a bastard?”

  “No, no!” I shook my head as I fingered the stem of my wineglass. My gaze dropped to the table, to my hand. His was resting on the table, not far from mine. Within reach. But I couldn’t touch it, hold it. Just like the man himself. Within reach but forbidden. “That’s not the issue.”

  “Abigail?” That hand, the one I had wished I could touch, reached for mine. His index finger stroked the back, ever so softly. “What is the issue?”

  “Well . . .” My gaze lifted again, swept over his face. His brows were pinched. His lips turned down slightly at the corners.

  He stood, took my hand in his. “Come, dance with me.”

  “But—”

  He pressed an index finger to my lips. “Shhh. It’s only a dance.”

  Only.

  Dancing involved standing close. And touching.

  Touching.

  A quiver of need raced through my body.

  He led me back through the doors and down to the dance floor. It was empty. The whole place was empty, except the two of us. The lights were low, red and blue colored beams casting a deep glow over us.

  Kam pulled me to him, placed one hand on my back, and lifted my hand with the other. He swayed his hips. “Do you dance?” he asked, speaking softly in my ear.

  “A little,” I said.

  He tightened his hold on me and started following a set of simple rumba steps. Slow, quick, quick. His hips were rolling as he moved. It was a seduction as much as a dance, and it made my heart thump heavily in my chest, my body warm.

  The hand on my back slid down toward my butt, but his feet kept up that simple pattern. Slow, quick, quick. Slow, quick, quick. My heart was thumping out the beat. My body undulating to the rhythm. I was melting into him. We were moving as one. Our bodies writhing to the music, limbs entwined.

  He snugged me tighter, until my entire body was flattened against him. The scent of his skin and cologne filled my nose. I breathed it deep, pulling it in, relishing it. My nipples hardened as they were gently grazed through the layers of our clothes. A steady throb pounded through my body, heat pooling in the deepest part of me.

  How I longed for his touch. His kiss.

  This was no dance. It was torture. Cruelty beyond words.

  The bastard.

  What the hell was he trying to do? Crush me? Destroy me?

  “I can’t.” Surprising myself, I shoved him and hurried away.

  Didn’t he know what he was doing? How could he not realize how confusing this hot-and-cold act was?

  “Abigail, wait.” He ran to me, catching me by the waist and jerking me around. “The dance isn’t over yet.”

  “Yes, it is.” Breathless, I glared into his eyes. Even as I said those words, my hands skimmed up his body and he began swaying his hips to the music again.

  We were dancing.

  We were fighting.

  We were living a strange, beautiful moment. It was magical.

  His head tipped forward and his lips found mine. The kiss was as sensual and intoxicating as the battle-dance. I skimmed my hands up his body to his face, cupped his cheeks. I held him, refusing to let the kiss end. My lips parted as I sucked in a deep gasp, and his tongue slid into my mouth, filling me with the decadent flavor of man and wine.

  My knees suddenly felt weak and soft.

  No man had ever danced with me like this, kissed me like this, made me want him so much.

  I whimpered. I shuddered. I grabbed fists full of hair and kissed him with all the emotion that was blasting through my body. And he possessed me. My mouth. My body.

  His hands stroked. His tongue claimed. He took and took, and gave and gave.

  When I couldn’t take another second, I murmured, “Please, Kam. I’m begging.”

  He eased back, gently loosening his hold on me while keeping me steady. “Dammit, Abigail. Dammit.”

  “Don’t!” My hands lifted to my lips. They were still tingling. And his flavor lingered. My tongue slipped out, dampening them, tasting him.

  Looking conflicted once again, he reached for me, but I jerked away. “I didn’t want to do this, Abigail. That’s not why I called you tonight.”

  “Why did you call me tonight?”

  “I . . .” He jammed his hands through his hair. “I wanted to make up for what happened in New York.”

  “The drugging?”

  “Not just that. Everything.”

  “Everything?” Feeling slightly chilled, I wrapped my arms around myself.

  Once again he reached for me, but this time he jerked his own hand back. I didn’t have to move out of his reach. “I meant it when I said I didn’t want to do this to you anymore. And here I go again, pawing at you like a horny high schooler. I’m an asshole.”

  “No. You’re not—”

  “Yes, I am. First, I take advantage of your situation, forcing you to agree to a ridiculous, illegal, and slightly immoral arrangement because of something your brother allegedly did. I still don’t know what the hell really happened regarding him. And then, when I try to make it right, I mess with you until you’re so confused you think you want me to keep doing it.”

  Was that what was happening?

  Yes, maybe.

  No.

  I wasn’t confused. I wanted him to touch me, to hold me, to kiss me. I wanted him to want me as much as I wanted him. And maybe now it was time to let him know that. Maybe if he knew how I felt he would stop playing this game. “I’m not confused.”

&nbs
p; “Of course you are.”

  “No, I’m not.” A hard knot of emotion twisted in my gut, and I felt my body tensing. “Don’t tell me what I am or am not feeling,” I snapped.

  “But—”

  “No, listen to me.” Adrenaline was flowing through me now, making me feel high, making me feel powerful. I grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked. The fabric gave way, revealing a slice of muscled chest and tight stomach. “I want you.”

  Something dark flashed across his face, but he didn’t move. Not for one, two, three seconds. Then he lunged at me, hauled me against him, and kissed me. This kiss was nothing like the last one. That one had been a seduction. This one was feral and raw. A plundering. As his mouth possessed mine, he half carried, half dragged me to the nearest table in a dark corner, lifted me up on it, and pushed his hips between my thighs.

  “Yes,” I said on a sigh as he ground the hard lump in his pants against my burning tissues. “Yes.” I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding him against me.

  He shoved his hands into my dress, pulled the cups of my bra down, allowing my breasts to spill out, and pinched my nipples so hard I shivered. I was burning up, melting, losing my mind. Everything in the world had narrowed down to this one small space, where one sensation after another pummeled my system. The sound of our labored breathing, the scent of my need blending with his cologne, the sight of his beautiful face as he angled back just enough to pull my panties down and unzip his pants.

  His cock sprang out, thick and erect and glistening with precome.

  “Tell me you have a condom.” He was breathless.

  So was I. “I don’t. But I have an IUD.”

  He found my entrance and, hands cupped under my ass, slammed his hips forward, surging into me.

  The sensation literally made my head spin. I shut my eyes and clung to him as he took me hard and fast. The thrusts were powerful, urgent, exactly what my body craved. And with each one, my muscles tensed harder, heat swirling round and round within me, pushing me closer, closer to the pinnacle.

  He literally lifted my bottom off the table, deepening his possession. His cock pushed deep inside, teasing the entry of my womb. Filled me to utter perfection.

  “Touch yourself,” he demanded. “Do it now.”

  I licked my finger, dampening it, and placed it on my clit. Matching my strokes with his, I circled over the sensitive bud. Within seconds, colors exploded behind my closed eyes as the first convulsion of a powerful orgasm gripped my body. My inner muscles clenched around his girth.

  “Oh, yes. I’m going to come.” He gave me two long, slow thrusts and then froze, groaned, and slammed deep inside one last time.

  It took us at least fifteen minutes to catch our breath. He didn’t move. He didn’t withdraw from me. He leaned his head forward, resting his forehead against my uncovered breasts.

  It wasn’t until my heart had slowed to a somewhat normal pace that I realized I’d just had sex in public. In a bar. Hoping nobody had caught us, I slitted my eyes open and glanced around.

  I didn’t see anyone.

  The music was still playing. A different song, but just as sexy as the one we’d danced to. I reached out, running my hands up his chest. My fingertips teased his nipples, and they hardened to little peaks.

  He groaned and opened his mouth, but I put my index finger on his lips.

  “Shhh,” I said.

  He nodded, took my hand in his, flipped it over, and sweetly kissed my palm. Then he murmured as he pulled the bodice of my dress back in place, “We should . . . we’d better get going. Miron will be opening the doors any minute now.” He glanced down at his torn shirt. “I don’t want to have to explain this.”

  I tugged the ripped pieces toward the center of his body, making a failing attempt at covering him. “You mean you don’t have women regularly ripping your clothes off?”

  “No. If there’s any ripping, it’s generally me doing it and the woman being on the receiving end.”

  “Well, then, I’m glad it’s different with me.”

  “It’s most definitely different with you. Very different.”

  Those words made me smile.

  After giving me a little kiss on the forehead, he fixed the skirt of my dress as he withdrew from me. And before he zipped himself up, he helped me off the table and retrieved my discarded panties.

  We left the bar, my hand in his.

  He didn’t take me home. Instead, he took me back to his house. He didn’t ask me. He just assumed I would be okay with it.

  I was, but that was beside the point.

  After he parked, he said, “Stay here,” got out of the car, ran around to my side, and opened the door for me.

  I thanked him as I straightened up. We were standing close. It was dark outside. We’d just had sex. I slid my arms around his waist and cozied up to his warm bulk.

  This felt so good, so right. Especially when he wrapped his arms around me and gave the top of my head a sweet kiss.

  My gaze swept across the front of the building. It was huge. Brick. Stately.

  “Let’s go inside,” he said.

  Leaving one arm wrapped around his waist, I fell into step beside him, our footsteps perfectly timed. We went inside, and he escorted me directly to his bedroom. “Stay with me tonight,” he whispered as he skimmed his hands down my arms. “Please.”

  My heart melted at the husky tone of his voice. I didn’t speak. But he had his answer when he reached down for the hem of my dress.

  Yes, I would spend the night with him. Tonight. The next one. As many as he wanted.

  As he slowly pulled my dress up my body and over my head, his dark gaze meandered over my form. “You’re so beautiful.”

  I couldn’t help smiling. “Thank you.”

  He gently tugged the cup of my bra, freeing my breast. Then he bent down to pull it into his warm mouth.

  I froze for a moment, just luxuriating in the pleasure he was stirring in my body. With each hard suck, a trickle of warmth pulsed through me. My senses were becoming more alert as I focused. The soft sound of his breaths and my little whimpers and moans. The scent of sex that clung to my hands as I lifted them to curl my fingers into his hair and tug. The taste of his kiss, still lingering on my lips.

  He moved to my other breast, pulling the fullness out from the shelter of my bra and caressing it with gentle fingers. It felt like my bones were melting, turning to formless goo. My legs began trembling.

  Seeming to sense my struggle to remain upright, he scooped me into his arms. I squealed, surprised, and threw an arm around his neck. I giggled as he dropped me on the bed and stared at me like a hungry lion about to pounce on his prey.

  “I wasn’t going to do this,” he rumbled as he crawled over top of me. “I thought we would just sleep.” He bent his elbows, angling himself over me, dipped his head down, and nipped my lower lip.

  Reacting to the heavy throb of need now pulsing through me, I wrapped my legs around his waist. Ah, the heat and friction were just what I needed.

  No, I needed more. So much more.

  “Kam,” I said on a sigh as I tightened my legs around him.

  One of his hands caressed my thigh. “You make me feel something I haven’t felt in ages,” he whispered as he nibbled on my neck. “Maybe never.”

  Little prickles tingled over my skin. I arched my back, wrapped my arms around his neck, and tried to pull him down on top of me.

  “You’re too impatient,” he whispered against my burning skin.

  “It’s your fault.”

  “Mmmm.” He bit me again, harder this time, and I squeaked, startled. Next, he gently laved the stinging away, and once again, I was desperate to feel his skin gliding over mine. His hand slid higher, cupping my ass. His fingertips dipped into the crease. “Have you ever taken a man here?” he asked, probing deeper.

  “No.” I clenched my bottom, wincing at the thought. Kam was well endowed down there. I couldn’t imagine anything that large going in
to my anus.

  “Mmmm.”

  “Won’t it hurt?” I asked, sounding almost as doubtful as I felt.

  “It may if you’re not ready.” He leaned back and looked me straight in the eyes. “Will you trust me?”

  “I . . . I don’t know.”

  “All right, then you tell me when you trust me, and I’ll show you how good it can feel.”

  My whole body relaxed at his words, and I realized I’d tensed up from fear.

  “I haven’t forced you to do anything you haven’t wanted to do yet. Not once. I won’t start now.”

  “Okay.”

  He pushed himself upright and unbuckled his pants. “Will you help me?” he asked.

  I sat up and went to work, unfastening his pants and pulling them down over his lean hips. My hands explored his smooth skin as I worked, satin stretched over hard muscle. Like the rest of him, his legs were perfect, the muscles well defined. And his ass . . . it was so cute I wanted to bite it.

  After he’d disposed of his pants and shirt, he held the base of his erection in his fist and motioned to me. “Taste me.”

  My mouth watered.

  I flicked my tongue over the tip, tasting salt and man. When he gave a little groan, I opened my mouth and took just the swollen head inside and swirled my tongue around the flared ridge.

  A soft moan encouraged me to continue. I relaxed my throat, taking him deeper. My flattened tongue cushioned his thick rod as it inched into the back of my throat.

  Kam grabbed my hair in his fists, holding me in place as he withdrew almost completely. Then, moving slowly, he pushed his hips forward again, forcing his cock deeper, deeper. I swallowed against the urge to gag and closed my eyes, focusing on giving him pleasure rather than taking for once.

  “My sweet girl,” he mumbled as he once again pulled back. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I licked the head of his cock like a lollipop, savoring the flavor of the precome that had gathered at the very tip.

  For a third time, he pushed inside my mouth. Moving deeper than the last time, testing the limits of my throat. Out he glided, in and out, in and out, slowly, allowing me time to relax my throat. I rested my hands on his thighs, feeling their muscles tremble and tense with each inward thrust. His skin was warming beneath my fingers. His breath sounding more ragged.