Reluctant Surrender

by Riley Murphy

  “What’s the matter baby girl? Tell me.”

  She was staring at his mouth and when she licked her lips he lost a small amount of patience with her hedging.

  “Colin?”

  “I’m so horny when I’m around you it’s disgraceful. Especially when you’re behaving like a gentleman.”

  He was so not expecting this honest admission he almost dropped her. She had it all wrong too. The way he was feeling about her at the moment was so far from gentlemanly it wasn’t funny. He debated a millisecond and decided to show her. Not only would it assuage her worry and boost her confidence, it would also keep him from having to examine why he was so relieved at her declaration.

  Slowly he let her slide down the wall until her center connected with the rigid length of his hardness. “I want you too, can you feel how bad?” He flexed into her and she moaned, seeking his heat. He gave it to her, letting her ride the rock-hard outline of him through his pants. “Does that feel good?”

  She groaned this time and shivered against him. “Yes.”

  Loving her reaction, he captured her lips and delved inside her hot mouth with his tongue, pressing his hips forward until she opened up completely. Her legs spread to fully accommodate him, while her mouth was his to command, use and devour. She’d submitted. She’d do anything for him. With him. The power that swept through him, knowing he could have her anytime he wanted, brought him back to his senses.

  He broke their kiss and took a moment to adjust her higher against the wall again. Putting distance between himself and that blazing part of her that taunted. He sucked in a fortifying breath, about to remind her that she’d promised him anything he wanted the next day when she laid her palms on either side of his cheeks and pulled until he faced her.

  She looked directly into his eyes and whispered, “I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s beautifully devastating and now that you’ve given it to me, I don’t ever want it taken away.”

  First he kissed the tip of her nose and then he rested his forehead upon hers. “What you’re feeling, Colin, is not for me to take. It’s the gift you are free to give to a man. It’s your surrender.”

  Although he was mightily glad she’d worked this out and was feeling precisely what he’d wanted and hoped she’d be feeling at this point, he couldn’t help the niggle of jealousy that surfaced the minute he’s said the phrase, give to a man. He’d had to fight his every instinct to say, give to me, instead. He couldn’t say that yet. Not until she got over the fear of what people might think of her and she was ready to admit she’d be his and his alone.

  “I want you to get a good night’s sleep.” He came away from the wall and made like he was going to drop her.

  “Oh!” She latched on to him, squeezing him hard with her legs around his waist and her arms nearly choking him.

  “I love when you octopus me.” When she squashed in harder, he swatted her butt. “I said octopus, not drill-press. Damn, for a skinny little thing you’ve got some strength.”

  “I used to be skinny,” she murmured, easing up. “Truthfully? I think those kale chips are fattening.”

  He grinned. “You wish.”

  When he pretended to drop her again, she laughed. “Hey, it was worth a try.”

  “I like that,” he spoke into her ear. “I hope you’re good at trying, Colin because tomorrow I’ll expect you to put your every effort into trying new things just for me.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Midmorning the next day, Colin and Ethan were at the mansion again. Only this time she was better prepared. Hadn’t she decided that wearing a skirt yesterday was too convenient for him? So today she’d opted for jeans and t-shirt instead.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded, waiting for him to open the door to room number four, glad it wasn’t the examination room. That one kind of creeped her out.

  “Good. Now, once you’re inside and you get used to the light, go to the far side of the room. You’ll see a metal and white table there and I want you to get underneath it. Crawl to the corner and stay there until I come in.”

  Before she could tell him he was nuts if he thought she was going to do that, he’d opened the door and shoved her in. She stood there, attempting to see in the semidarkness while she squinted and couldn’t help herself when she jumped, hearing the door snap closed behind her. “So much for being prepared,” she murmured under her breath.

  The place was set up to mimic a seedy hotel room. Right down to the shadowbox window with a blinking pink and yellow neon sign that read, Ginger’s Place. It flashed with regular strobe beats that illuminated the surroundings in an amber burst of light. And with that afforded glow, she took in the bed, the nightstand and the white table with metal trim that he’d mentioned.

  The room had an air of authenticity about it. Cracks in the wall plaster around the room lent to its dingy charm. She spied the cement pillar that went from floor to ceiling on one side of the window and made note of bare concrete floors. She’d taken no more than a step forward before coming to a halt as her eyes fell on the metal hooks embedded in that pillar. Wincing, she decided they weren’t there to hang a robe on. They were too high.

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she walked to the table and looked underneath it. The floor was clean enough and examining the table itself, she saw it was well made. Why that should matter to her at the moment, she had no idea, but it gave her a modicum of comfort nonetheless.

  One would think after the conversation she and Ethan had shared this morning about what he expected of her and what she could expect, her nerves wouldn’t be acting up like they were now. When her heart started to palpitate she frowned.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Shaking off the last of her uncertainty, she dropped down on to all fours and headed in. Halfway through, she had second thoughts as she bumped her head. “Oww.”

  Automatically, she ducked and looked up. That’s when she saw the words his grace is what I live for engraved on the underside of the table. Her first thought? How long had the engraver been left sitting under there? A scene of solitary confinement from The Shawshank Redemption came to mind. Ethan better not leave her here that long. Sheesh. Once she reached the corner, she sat with her back wedged into it and her knees drawn up to her chest. She could see why he’d wanted her in this position. Was she supposed to be hiding from him? No, not hiding, cowering more likely. If she were trying to hide, under the bed would have been the better choice.

  There was no time to think because he walked in. Even though she’d been expecting him she still experienced a zing of thrilling anticipation at his arrival. The energy in the room shifted and that sexual hum low in her belly clenched and pulsed to life.

  He came directly to the table, dropping what she thought were metal keys on it. She feared the klunk had deafened her until she heard him ask, “Are you going to come out so I can have a look at you?” He collapsed to his haunches, elbows resting on his knees. “Or do I have to reach under there and pull you out?”

  His hair was different, messy, and he’d changed his top. Gone was the pristine white dress shirt of a few minutes ago and in its place was a black, totally-molded-to-him T. He looked the part of a super-sexy bouncer, which wasn’t so intimidating. Why, if he weren’t scowling, she’d be creaming her jeans right now.

  “Come on, we don’t have all night. The buyers will be here in less than two hours and I need to see what I’ve got to sell them.”

  She was crawling toward him when his words made her pause. “Buyers?”

  He lunged for her but she skittered away, going for a side exit. “I’m not for sale.”

  “I think you are.”

  Getting out from under the table she shot up and spun around. He was standing now too and damn him, he looked much taller but she wasn’t going to be intimidated. “I’ve got money. I can pay you better than whatever those buyers will.”

  “Oh, yeah, I know how much Little Ms. Rich Bitch has in the bank. It’s not
your money I want.”

  Hmm. Her shoulders slumped as she held back a sigh. She was kind of disappointed they’d arrived here so fast. “So, you’ll let me go if I sleep with you?”

  “Sleep with you? What I’m going to do to you doesn’t involve any sleeping and no I’m not going to let you go.”

  “No?” This was a surprise twist.

  “No. As of right now I own you. Every square inch of you is mine to use, abuse and sell. It’s up to you which one of those three things you don’t want to happen to you tonight. Because after everything your family has put me through, I can assure you, two of those three things I’ve definitely made time in the schedule for.”

  She swallowed and her chin came up. “Which two?”

  His voice went silky. “Guess.”

  The room all of a sudden felt small and the tiny bed looked big and the pillar with those hooks—she tried to contain her mounting panic—scared the ever-loving crap out of her. “You’re just trying to frighten me. What could you possibly hope to gain other than money or sex from me?”

  The relief she experienced when he smiled was short-lived as he said, “There it is. That snobby attitude that apparently runs through your family. Do you really think you can equate your screwed-up values with what you perceive my needs to be?” He sat down on the table and crossed his arms over his chest. “If I were you I’d start worrying because I can get laid anytime I want to and as far as money is concerned? I have enough to keep me comfortable for two consecutive lifetimes.”

  “Revenge? It’s revenge isn’t it?” Knowing she couldn’t barter or beg her way out of this left one option open to her. She needed to cut and run. This might be a possibility if she could keep him talking long enough to plan a route to the door.

  “Revenge is the small scale, I should think.”

  She counted the strides she’d need to make, half-listening. “Really?”

  “Yes, because if I only wanted revenge I would have tanked your family’s company and bankrupted them.”

  Those words got her attention. “Wait, if you have the power to do all that, why are we here?”

  “Because that would have been too easy on them.”

  Too easy? “And what do you determine as being more difficult?”

  “Their precious, spoiled princess, humbled. Either by me or some other man, until she forgets them and cares about nothing else in life. Sees nothing else but her Master while she presents to him naked on her knees every day from this day forward.”

  “Master, huh? I get it.” Now she was covertly mapping out her escape route. “You have a God complex.”

  “And you have a death wish.”

  Her eyes flickered toward that solitary exit. She bit her lip, gauging what she needed to do to get there.

  “Go ahead,” he whispered.

  His quiet tone unnerved her. “What?”

  “Let’s see if you can make it to the door.”

  He was staring at her in such a way that she thought it best not to respond.

  “Go on. If you do make it you’re free to go. I swear.”

  He swore all right, he also dropped his arms as if he were preparing to launch himself off the table to go after her at a moment’s notice.

  “And if I don’t make it?” she had to ask.

  “Let’s just say you’ll never forget what I do to you tonight.”

  It was the adrenaline. The fear. The submersing herself in the moment that pushed her to take off. She made it around the bed and nearly to the door when disaster struck. She tripped over absolutely nothing and wound up being caught in a jarring embrace. The air went out of her and she doubled over the steely band of his arm.

  The second she stopped rocking he grabbed a fistful of her hair and slowly pulled up. “You can scream if you want to. There’s no one here to pay any mind. There’s nothing you can do. How does that make you feel?”

  “You’re hurting me.” Her eyes watered and she came up on tippy-toes to ease the tension of his pull.

  “So?”

  She was ready to freak out. So close to yelling her safe word. She wanted to cry and yet a part of her said she could hang on for just another minute. The thought that curiosity might be her downfall came to mind, but so did how much she trusted Ethan. How sure she was that he’d never do anything to hurt her and that gave her strength to push a little further.

  “Fuck you.” Okay, a lot further.

  “You want to?” he taunted. Letting go of her hair, he used his big body and forced her up against the wall.

  She gasped as the side of her face met one of those cracks she spied earlier. Oddly, the only thought that came to her was how cool the plaster was against her cheek.

  “I asked you a question. Do you want to fuck me?”

  “No.”

  “Well.” He suggestively banged his hips against her bottom, then changing tact he moved in a grinding motion, and said, “That’s too damn bad. I’m going to get into you whether you want me to or not…but I’m going to make a prediction. You’re going to want me inside you. You’re going to want me bad, before I give it to you.”

  “No.” Her lip started to quiver and she could barely see through her shimmer of tears. “This isn’t right. I don’t want that.”

  “You do.”

  The feel of him. The heat. The scent. “No!” She pushed back. Panicking. Not sure what she wanted anymore. “No, I don’t.”

  His full weight landed against her. Pinning her as he captured her arms and slowly drew them up over her head. “I say you do. I say you’re going to love what I do to you. You’re going to beg for it. Cry for it because you’ll want me so much it’ll hurt.”

  She pushed back against him. Wiggling. Straining. And when he held her wrists firmly in one hand and brought the other down to slide between her hip and the wall, she did cry out. She jerked and bucked and tried to angle away from him, but he wouldn’t allow it. Too soon his hand landed between her legs. Cupping her pussy and pressing against it, hard and firm, in a rhythm that stole her breath and incited the shame inside her to riot. She fought harder.

  “Good. Get the fight all out of you. Come on.” He went right for her pants, tugging at the button and then working the zipper. “You can do better than this. Use your legs. Push against me.”

  Stupid though it was to take his direction, she did, and was shocked when it got her nowhere. Stunned as she realized how powerless she was at the moment. She couldn’t give up this easily. She wouldn’t. With renewed courage she called on her reserve strength, hoping she’d be able to challenge his steady power.

  “That’s it, baby. Get mad. Use all your energy now so you’ll be putty in my hands later. Come on. Scream. Let me hear you.”

  “I’m not going to. I’m not. You can—”

  “Shh.” He yanked on the right side of her pants. They came down to just below her butt cheek. “You don’t want to go telling me what I can do to you. You might give me more ideas than I already have.”

  “Go fuck yourself.”

  “Now,” he leaned in hard, “why would I want to do that when I have you to fuck?”

  That set off her outrage. She hissed, growled, grunted and snarled, trying to get some space between him or between herself and the wall. Anything other than being pinned by him when he was being so superior, but it was no use. With her heart hammering and her breath rasping she fully collapsed against the wall.

  “There,” he let out in a breath across her cheek. The warmth of it stole over a tear, which caused her to shiver. “Your ass is mine now,” he told her and gave one of her bare cheeks a squeeze.

  Maybe it was the exhaustion or the knowledge she didn’t have the strength to stop him no matter what he had in mind to do to her that gave the littlest voice inside her a platform to be heard. A tiny whisper that said it was okay to give in. Okay to give up because he was stronger and he’d win in the end no matter what she did. Did he feel her resistance ebbing?

  “I’m going to let g
o of your wrists, little girl. I want your arms up like they are now, put your palms flat on the wall. That’s good. Just like that. Very good.” He gave her some room. The cool air that swept across her bottom after he moved aside was a heady reminder that her pants were bunched on the tops of her thighs and the most intimate parts of her were naked and exposed. “I want to look at you,” he said. “Get that ass out. More,” he directed, grasping one of her hips as he pulled.

  After a few adjustments, apparently he was satisfied, because he let go of her. The silence. The stillness that followed was electric somehow. Firing her up and making her burn. Knowing that he was behind her, examining her with her pants down while she was forced to hold a stance as if she were being frisked was darkly titillating.

  Seconds ticked by into a minute and when he finally put his hands back on her, her knees nearly folded. One hand captured her hip and the other dove between her legs. “Let’s see how much you’re enjoying this. You may lie to me, but your traitorous body can’t. It gives up all your secrets with…” He sucked in a breath, right by her ear and hearing it, her heart skittered and raced because she knew. She knew what he’d found. “You’re drenched, little girl. Wet and swollen. Tell me again, you don’t want this.”

  He pressed two fingers against her clit and the pressure drove a fissure of lust-fueled fire through her veins, causing her to moan.

  “Tell me.”

  “No.”

  “Don’t lie to me, I can feel it. You’re nice and wet for me.” He huskily spoke right next to ear. “I can hear it too. In your breathing. You’re hot and panting for me.”

  “No.” This time the denial sounded weak and ineffective. Breathless.

  “Oh yeah.”

  That made her shiver. “No, please…” His fingers circled around her swollen clit. Over and over until her legs trembled. “Please don’t. Please…”