Surrender [Coalition Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Sarah Marsh

  Ark tried to ignore the sputtering, angry look from Nala as his assistant stood at her desk trying to hide a bemused smile.

  “No need, Guild Master, I can find my own way out,” Nala snapped as she stormed out into the hall.

  “Another one bites the dust, huh?” Jessa snickered quietly as they listened to Nala stomp down the hall.

  “Don’t antagonize me any more, please, Jessa. You’re not the one that had to spend a month looking at that woman’s face wondering if she actually had any thoughts at all. I swear I’ve had more riveting conversation with a pleasure bot,” he answered, walking back toward his desk.

  “Well, I have interesting news that may perk you up. Your mother commed while you were ditching the baggage, and apparently one of the human females would like to apply to join the guild,” Jessa said, bringing Ark a cup of tea.

  For a moment he was shocked that any of the humans would be interested in joining the courtesan guild. He just assumed from the information collected on their species that their society’s inclination toward sexual repression would extend to the eleven remaining women in their care. Then, after he thought about how intriguing and attractive his new sister-in-law, Eve, was, he began to get very curious about this potential apprentice.

  “How intriguing. Send me her file please, Jessa. I assume my mother is en route to speak to me about her?” he asked with a mischievous smile on his face.

  “You know it, boss. The file is in your incoming messages…along with a picture. She’s a looker,” Jessa said, giving him a wink before closing the door.

  Ark was brimming with anticipation as he opened the document on his monitor and began to go over Sally Owens’s file and history. The picture included was taken in a candid moment from across the room during the women’s orientation. They preferred to take them without the applicant knowing, as it was always a more honest moment than when someone posed for the camera. Sally certainly was a beautiful woman, long, wavy golden hair. Her light eyes danced when she laughed. In the picture of her standing beside a petite woman with pink hair, she was laughing and animating some part of the conversation with her hands. He imagined that she would be a charming storyteller, able to captivate a room easily. As he read more into her family history, though, the red flags began to pile up with the inconsistency of what she had shared. Caric had made some notes that she’d felt that Sally wasn’t being 100 percent honest about her emotional status when it came to her family. The therapist was also concerned about her “serial monogamy” when it came to romantic relationships. A courtesan of Sirus was a master at knowing others’ needs and wants. If Sally didn’t even know her own needs and wants when it came to selecting her previous lovers, he was concerned about how much training she would require. She appeared to have some control issues, taking the lead in pretty much any situation she found herself in. That combined with her history was a telling thing. Ark knew that Sally’s most difficult hurdle in becoming a courtesan would be learning to submit and learning to let go and listen to her own instincts. After all, how can you truly hope to know and provide what someone else needs if you don’t have the courage to learn and accept what you yourself need in your very soul? Why was the thought of showing the beautiful human what she needed so enticing to Arkenon? The more he thought about it, the harder he got, and he shifted in his chair to ease the discomfort. Like always, though, his mother had perfect timing as she breezed through his office door, leaving no time for Jessa to announce her.

  “Good day, Son, have you reviewed the file for the human guild applicant yet?” Samal asked as she sat demurely in the chair in front of his desk.

  “I was just reviewing it, Mother. She seems quite attractive, but I’ve got some concerns about her history and her willingness to relinquish her control. What are your thoughts after interacting with her?” he asked, glancing at Sally’s picture once more.

  “She’s undoubtedly beautiful and is exceptionally charming and charismatic with others. She’s emerged as a natural leader with the rest of the ladies. She comes across as fearless, and they certainly look up to that,” she answered, and then continued with a thoughtful look on her face, “I agree that she will need to be pushed to open up about her past. I can see the concern and hesitation beneath her façade. I don’t think she trusts easily. It will take some work to get her there. But I believe that if she does find her true self, she would make an extraordinary addition to our guild. If you combine that with her exotic nature, I’m certain the suitors would book years in advance to contract with her.”

  “Hmm, I agree with your assessment. But I’m concerned that our regular training classes wouldn’t be enough to push her to her limits. Our regular apprentices would never have these issues. I don’t want her to finish the training and not be ready to accept her first contract,” Ark said, looking back at his mother.

  If Arkenon hadn’t been so preoccupied with the little human’s picture, he would have noticed the scheming twinkle that briefly lit up his mother’s eyes, but lucky for both of them, he didn’t.

  “Perhaps the best path to take would be to have her attend the training classes during the day and to have her apprentice one-on-one full-time with one of our senior master trainers? Someone like Galen, who has the experience needed to show her the beauty of her submission?” Samal casually suggested, hoping that her oldest son would rise to the challenge as she suspected he would.

  When his mother suggested that Sally apprentice beneath one of their master trainers full-time, his mind immediately created the image of her supple, creamy skin on full display as she knelt naked in front of him in submission. That fleeting picture had his cock back to painful fullness, but when the second part of her suggestion registered, about having another male master her, he was filled with an immediate rage and possession he’d never known before.

  “Galen? You think she would submit to him?” he asked, trying to mediate the level of jealousy in his tone.

  “I don’t know of many females who wouldn’t submit to Master Galen,” his mother answered with a wink, “but perhaps you should meet Sally first, and you can decide from there who would best suit her?”

  “I think that’s a very sound suggestion, Mother,” Ark answered, already knowing that he wasn’t likely to give this female over to another male. He hadn’t even met her yet, and already he was more intrigued by her than all of his previous lovers. How oddly…exhilarating.

  Chapter Five

  The next day Sally woke in her comfortable bed. She had a nice, hot, long shower and then enjoyed looking through her newly acquired wardrobe before donning a lovely royal-blue wrap dress. When all of the women had returned to their rooms last night, there was a chorus of surprised delight when they’d found their new wardrobes full of beautiful clothes and shoes. After all they’d been through so far, they were still women after all. Sally stepped out into the hall fully expecting Devyn to be waiting for her, and she was right, as the little dynamo popped up off the floor in front of her own room and greeted her with a light hug. After a full day of high-speed Devyn, Sally had reluctantly started to look at her like a Red Bull–infused crazy younger sister.

  They made their way to the lounge where their meals were served and chatted idly with some of the other women over fruit and pastries. Then it was time to attend their second day of cultural and etiquette classes, and Sally was determined to make the most of it. About halfway through a practical assignment of serving traditional Sirotian high tea in groups, Devyn was just about to pour the second cup, with Sally supervising, when the spunky woman’s eyes went wide as she looked up to the front of the classroom.

  “Holy crap on a cracker! Who’s that?” she squeaked as the stream of hot tea missed the cup and poured over the plate next to it.

  “Sheesh, Devyn, be careful. That stuff’s freaking hot,” Sally said as she dropped a napkin onto the mess and looked up to where all the women were now looking in various stages of interest.

  At the front of the room
there was an extremely large man speaking with Lady Samal. He was clearly Sirotian. His beautiful golden tanned skin and honed muscles looked utterly lickable in his loose pants and tight fitted vest. He had long, dark, silky hair that was pulled back into a loose braid, and his eyes were such a vivid green that she could see them from across the room. He was a giant of a man, at least six-five, his frame larger than most of the Sirotian men she’d seen since she arrived here. But it was his face that seemed to intrigue her most. His strong jaw and angular cheekbones gave way to lips that were full and utterly kissable. Despite his alluring features, his stance and presence gave her pause. Back home she’d run into a few men with such a presence, and it only took a short dalliance with one of them to realize that the alpha male was not for her. Such men would not easily be swayed or manipulated by feminine wiles or the lure of sex. They needed to be in control, which of course was her job, so obviously it didn’t work out so well. What a pity, she thought to herself, because she definitely wouldn’t have minded taking him for a spin. Just as she was taking a final good look and committing his fine ass into memory to use at a later date when she was alone and indulging in a little “personal time,” his head turned, and his green eyes caught hers in a devastating hold that had Sally breathless. Those eyes had so much depth and so much heat as they pushed past her idea of a comfortable amount of eye contact. She needed to look away, needed to disengage before he saw the yearning she might not be able to hide. Just as Sally managed to blink and pull back, she saw his perfect lips curl into a knowing smile.

  Well shit. Now she was going to have to outright ignore him to counteract that little show of weakness. Damn, Sal, pull your hormones together and suck it up, she thought to herself as he began to walk over to their group with Lady Samal.

  “Sally, how is your group coming along with high tea?” Samal asked while looking disapprovingly at the mess on their table.

  Sally gave the lady her most beaming smile while she tried to keep on ignoring the huge man beside her.

  “Oh, we did have a little incident, but I’m sure we’ll have it down by the end of the class,” Sally responded, giving Devyn a little pat on her shoulder for reassurance when the other woman blushed a bright red that clashed horribly with her pink hair.

  “Excellent. Guild Master Quinn would like to meet you, if you could take a moment to speak about your application,” Samal said as she took the teapot from Sally’s hands. “I’ll take over for you.”

  “Of course,” she managed with a wide grin she certainly wasn’t feeling at the moment.

  Double shit. This smoking-hot man was the guild master that she’d have to interview with to get into the courtesan guild? There was no way that a pretty smile and some flirty banter was going to impress him, which immediately left her half a game play short of a plan. She was suddenly cursing her shortsightedness of avoiding this exact type of man for so many years. If she hadn’t, then perhaps she would know how to manipulate him to ultimately get what she wanted. Now what was she supposed to do?

  “Sally,” he said in a low purr once they were off in the corner away from the rest of the group. He took her hand and brought it slowly up to his mouth. “I was so intrigued to meet you once I’d heard you were interested in joining our guild.”

  Sally could barely remember to breathe as he turned her hand and ran his nose lightly over her wrist as if smelling her skin. When he placed a lingering kiss on her open palm and her body responded with a wave of goose bumps, it was all she could do to remember to smile as she denied the instinct to retract her hand. Her body had never responded to a man so strongly. Her panties were already soaked, and she was terrified that he would be able to see the desire written on her features.

  “Thank you, Guild Master Quinn, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” she answered, still fighting the need to pull her hand back. Let him be the first to pull back. She needed to build back some control, but his touch was messing with her something fierce, and when he took a half step closer to her body, she caved. Sally pulled her hand out of his and tried to hide the move by casually touching his arm to turn him toward the small table and chairs beside them.

  “Shall we sit and get more comfortable, sir?” she asked, gesturing to the seats.

  Sally was relieved when she managed to complete the move without her hands shaking, but when he smiled and pulled out the chair for her, she wasn’t prepared for his large, warm hands to push in the chair, then follow up her back to gently run his fingers along her neck before he turned and sat himself.

  “You truly are a beauty, my dear. Your picture did not do you justice,” he said, leaning forward so that the small table suddenly felt nonexistent.

  “Thank you,” she said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

  Of course Sally knew she was attractive. It was obviously the first thing that most men told her, and as such, she barely paid it much attention. She knew that outward beauty was a fickle thing and meant little if someone wasn’t a nice person on the inside. But for some reason, when this stranger praised her, she felt like she’d actually done something right, and her inner girl preened at the compliment, which in turn made her inner feminist huff in embarrassed indignation. And when a warm flush rushed up her chest and face, she almost groaned as she saw his inescapable eyes take notice. Why was her body being such a traitor when it came to this man? Blushing like a virgin schoolgirl? Talk about amateur hour.

  “Now, Sally, I’ve gone through your application and history, but there are a few concerns I have before we can decide to move forward with your apprenticeship,” Arkenon said, his eyes never leaving her face for a moment. With her adorable blush at his compliment of her form, he was instantly charmed and knew at that moment that he wouldn’t be handing her over to work with any of the other trainers. Ark would take advantage of his position for the first time ever and take over her education himself. As the guild master, he had many responsibilities and hadn’t taken an apprentice since he was just a senior trainer, which was years ago, but he simply couldn’t accept the thought of this little human’s supple flesh under the hands of any of his colleagues. The very idea made him rage inside.

  “Concerns?” was all she said, though a mild panic rose at his question.

  Arkenon could see her visibly tense with his question, so he knew that she’d not been completely honest with her application, just as they’d all suspected. He could also tell from her flagrant need to try to control the situation that if he wanted her to agree to his training stipulation, it would be her pride and her ego that he needed to put on the offensive. Otherwise this little bird might balk at what he had planned, and the only way that she was going to become the courtesan that he hoped she could be was to fight past whatever was haunting her.

  “Lady Samal and I have discussed it, and we believe that with a slight alteration to the training procedure, you will have the greatest chance of a successful apprenticeship,” he continued, trying to hide the anticipation that was building inside of him.

  “Oh,” she said, a relieved breath coming out of her as she relaxed slightly. “Of course, I’m certain that whatever you and Lady Samal have decided will be best. I’m very eager to start my training. This seems like the ideal opportunity for me.”

  Sally was so relieved. She’d almost thought that the guild master was going to deny her application! What would she have done then? Her second choice of career would have been okay, but now that she’d made up her mind on a course, she was determined to see it through to the end and ultimately to her freedom from ever having to rely on anyone again.

  “Wonderful, I’m glad you agree. So you will be attending all the training courses during the day with the rest of the apprentices, and the evenings and weekends will be spent training one-on-one full-time with one of our master trainers. We believe that a full immersion is the only way to get you caught up with the other applicants, and I’m certain you will be more than able to adapt beautifully,” he said, carefully watching
her face for when she realized just exactly what he was proposing. When the slight narrowing of her eyes indicated the moment she figured it out, Ark was barely able to stop the smile on his lips as her rage simmered just below the veiled surface.

  “Full immersion? You mean I’ll be training twenty-four-seven with someone?” she asked carefully.

  “Yes, that is what I said,” he answered nonchalantly. “I think you’ll do quite well in the regular training classes. However, your control issues are obvious. Until you first learn how to relinquish that control and embrace your own sexuality fully, you will never be able to see the clearest path to what your contracts will require from you. The courtesan guild on Sirus is universally renowned for a reason, Sally. We only produce the best. Do you think you are up to the challenge, or shall we find another position more suited to you?”

  Immediately Sally’s hackles went up at his insinuation that she wouldn’t have the balls to go through with the training. Was he spot-on about her control issues? Absolutely. It was kind of a dick move, though, pointing it out. Was this a valid reason why she should chicken out and take the safer, easier route of her second choice in careers? It certainly was, and if Sally was a regular woman, she would have graciously taken the easy out that he’d offered. But damn it, Sally was a man-eating machine. Surely whomever they decided to assign as her trainer would be easier to manipulate than this Neanderthal? She could handle him just like she’d handled every other man she’d dated, right? Abso-fucking-lutely.

  Finally Sally’s head had gotten back into the game, or at least she hoped it was her head…If this was the empty bucket of bravado and bullshit coming back to bite her in the ass, she was going to be right pissed off. But hey, you couldn’t win if you didn’t roll the dice, right? She slowly smiled the most seductive smile she had in her arsenal, leaning forward to give him a confident cleavage shot in defiance.