Surrender

by K. M. Scott

  “Water’s usually what I drink after workouts.”

  I grabbed him a glass of iced water and returned to the bedroom to find him still buck naked and sitting on the bed, the only change the lack of condom on his still hard cock. Why I had thought he’d quickly dress and down his drink before bolting out the door I didn’t know, but he appeared perfectly at home sitting there waiting for me.

  “A workout, huh? I didn’t think I was that hard on you,” I teased as I handed him the glass.

  He gulped down the water like a man who been stranded in the desert and placed the glass on the nightstand. Turning back toward me, he leaned back on his elbows and grinned. “I knew you’d be like that. It’s good. Nothing worse than a woman who just lays there and doesn’t participate.”

  And there right in front of me he morphed into the Stefan who’d gotten under my skin from the first moment I met him.

  “Participate? Maybe that’s a reflection of the partner, not the woman.”

  He reached out and snaked his arm around my waist to pull me toward him. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. Whatever. You don’t have to worry about that. You’re definitely a partner worthy of a workout.”

  “You’re pretty cocky, aren’t you?” I teased, secretly loving the feel of his body against mine and wishing he wouldn’t leave as soon as I feared he would.

  He looked down toward where our bodies touched and back up at me. “Shouldn’t I be? I thought you liked the way I am.”

  Arching one eyebrow, I pretended to be skeptical. “I didn’t say I didn’t.”

  “Good. We need to do this again.”

  “Really? Need to?” I mocked.

  “Yeah. Good sex is a need thing.”

  Smiling, I said, “Well, when you put it that way…”

  Stefan nuzzled my neck and kissed me on the sensitive area just under my ear. “Good. Then we’ll definitely do this again.”

  He leaned back with a satisfied look in his eye. Tapping him on the nose, I continued my teasing. “For a player, you’re not very non-committal. I thought players hit it and left. You’re all about making plans for next time.”

  “Who told you I was a player?” he asked with a genuine look of confusion in his eyes, as if he thought he wasn’t one.

  “Everyone. I mean, it’s no secret, Stefan.”

  He shook his head. “Like I told you at the club, you think you know all about me, but you don’t. I might just surprise you, Shay Callahan.”

  I climbed off him and slipped a t-shirt over my head. “I look forward to it, Stefan March. Few people in this world surprise me, so it would be a nice change.”

  Leaning back on his elbows, he nodded. “That sounds like a challenge I’ll accept. I like surprising people who don’t believe I have it in me.”

  Was he trying to charm me? Whatever he was doing, it was working, and I couldn’t have that. Regardless of who he was there lying naked on my bed looking more incredible than a man should joking around with me, Stefan was a player, pure and simple. Forgetting that would only lead to me getting hurt, and I couldn’t let that happen.

  “Well, Mr. Surprise, I need to get some sleep or I’ll never get back to that place I work with the boss who cracks the whip, so you better get going.”

  Stefan sat up and stood in front of me wearing a playful expression. “Crack the whip? That sounds kinky.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s find your clothes so you don’t have to ride that bike of yours buck naked all the way to your place.”

  I turned to head out to the living room and he followed me. Scooping up his clothes, I had to smile. The man had already surprised me more than I thought possible. Not that I wanted him to know, though.

  “Shay, are you trying to get rid of me?”

  I shook my head. “No. I just figured since this is just a hook up, you wouldn’t be staying the night. Player, remember?”

  He took the clothes from me and began to dress. “Yeah, but I’m getting a bum’s rush vibe here. Did you and your boyfriend really break up?”

  His feelings were hurt. Damn, I couldn’t figure this guy out. He definitely was a player, yet he seemed bothered by me not wanting to have him spend the night. It was odd player behavior, but what did I know? No matter what Carrie believed, I wasn’t a player and my experiences with them had been limited, at best, but none had ever wanted to do the cuddling after sex thing.

  “Yes, we did, Stefan. I wouldn’t do that to someone. If I’m with a man, then I’m only with him. I don’t cheat. It’s something I can’t abide.”

  “Okay. Good. I mean, I don’t want to have to fend off an attack from that skinny guy. It wouldn’t be hard, but putting the beatdown on your poor boyfriend would really kill the good time we had, don’t you think?”

  Chuckling, I brushed a piece of lint off his shirt. “There’s no boyfriend, so no need to kill our good time. But it’s time for me to get to sleep. I had a good time.”

  In another classically un-playerlike move, he leaned down and kissed me long and deep, like we were separating for ages and he needed to remember the feel of my lips on his. “See you at work, princess.”

  And then he was gone and I was left trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

  * * *

  STRETCHING MY arms above my head, I closed my eyes and thought about how good the night before had felt, loving the memory of Shay completely giving herself to me. Rarely had I enjoyed fucking a woman as much as I did her. I had a feeling she’d be wild, but I never imagined she’d be so…so able to make me want her.

  Not that I’d gone over to the dark side like Cash had with Olivia, all lovey dovey and ready to race down the aisle. Fuck that! I was a confirmed bachelor committed only to the single life, and that wouldn’t be changing any time soon. I had the world by the tail. Why would I give that up?

  I did enjoy myself, though, and I planned to get back inside Shay’s tight body as soon as possible. Now that she’d warmed up to me, it would be nothing but smooth sailing from here on out.

  A knock at my office door tore me from my daydreaming, and before I could even yell to tell the person to come in, Kane appeared in my doorway with a look on his face that told me he knew. I didn’t know how, but he knew.

  “What can I do for you today, Kane?” I asked wearing a grin I couldn’t wipe from my face.

  He studied me for a long moment and closed the door behind him. Arching an eyebrow, he stared and said, “Just wondering how that bet of ours is going.”

  I laughed. “You know what, big brother? Today’s your unlucky day, or my lucky day, depending on how you look at it. I was with her last night.”

  His steely blue eyes narrowed. “No way. I can’t believe that woman would ever go with the likes of you. She’s too good for you.”

  “Believe whatever you want. Even after you pulled that shit by inviting her upstairs to check out your area, I had her and it was fucking fantastic!” I bragged. “And now, it’s just a matter of time, Kane. I got the girl, and I’m getting your car and your place in this club. I’d say that’s a complete win.”

  My half-brother stood stunned, his shoulders hunching slightly under the weight of my gloating. But he wasn’t giving up yet. “You know, Stefan, it’s way easier to get a woman to sleep with you than it is to get her to fall in love with you. Revel in whatever last night was all you want. You’re still miles away from winning.”

  “What last night was, Kane, was just some of the best sex I’ve ever had with a woman. Face it. It’s just a matter of time. The woman is primed. I win.”

  “Not so fast, Stefan. The hard part is only beginning, and you only have a couple months.”

  I couldn’t believe this guy. What the hell? I’d bedded Shay and all he wanted to talk about were hurdles, as if I hadn’t overcome the most important one. “Maybe you didn’t hear me correctly. I slept with her last night. As in we had great sex and she’s going to want more and I’m going to want to give it to her.”

  “Sex
and love aren’t the same thing, baby brother. Our father was the poster child for that truth. No, getting a woman to sleep with you is easy. You’re going to have to work to get Shay to fall for you, and I still am willing to bet you don’t have what it takes.”

  Suddenly, my day wasn’t looking as rosy as before he’d showed up. He was definitely harshing my post sexually triumphant buzz. I didn’t need to be reminded of the fact that a woman like Shay would be hard to break. I’d recognized that fact within thirty seconds of meeting her. But fuck, he at least could give me some credit for getting her into bed.

  My head began to throb, which I suspected was all part of Kane’s intention in coming into my office in the first place. Taking a deep breath, I worked to keep myself calm. I didn’t need to let myself get goaded into some asinine argument with him today.

  “Whatever, Kane. Just remember today as the day I told you this is all but won. She’ll fall into line like all other women do and that’s that. So go back upstairs to your miserable, lonely existence and know that soon I’m going to be in that shithole you call an office surrounded by gorgeous dancers and you’ll be down here dealing with bartenders, liquor orders, and all that comes with running the bar.”

  My insults didn’t faze him in the least. Grinning like some cat who’d just eaten a canary, he leveled his gaze on me and said, “It’s not over till the fat lady sings.”

  Turning on his heels, he headed out of my office, leaving me with the hard truth I hadn’t wanted to admit to him. Shay likely wasn’t going to fall into line like every other woman I’d ever been with. Those women would have lined up to fall in love with me. Some even had. Shay Callahan wasn’t those women, though.

  Kane wasn’t entirely wrong. She was going to take some work. But I hadn’t met a woman I couldn’t get before in my life, and I didn’t plan to make her the first one. I might need to bring in reinforcements, though. This had “needs a woman’s touch” written all over it.

  Olivia. Who better than my soon-to-be sister-in-law to help me get the girl and win my bet with Kane?

  I beat a path over to her office and found her sitting behind her desk with her nose to the grindstone. Typical Olivia. Thankfully, Cash’s fiancée had liked me from the moment she met me, unlike Shay, so I figured she’d have some good ideas how to seduce her since my tried-and-true method likely wouldn’t work this time.

  “Hey, Olivia! What’s up?” I asked as I sat down in a seat in front of her desk.

  She looked up and gave me one of her terrific warm Olivia smiles that lit up her dark brown eyes. “Not much. What’s going on, Stefan?”

  “I’m not bothering you, am I? If I am, I can come back later.”

  My polite offer was met with a suspicious look. “No, we’re good. What’s up?”

  “I want your advice on something.”

  I figured it was best to try to ease into this conversation. Olivia and I were more than friendly, but it wasn’t every day your future brother-in-law with a man whore reputation came into your office to ask how to get a girl.

  She closed her laptop and sat back in her chair. “My advice? Okay. What’s up?”

  Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and began. “Well…how should I put this?” Suddenly, easing into things seemed all wrong. Best to just jump into the deep end. “I need your advice on how to get a woman to fall for me.”

  Olivia’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. Looking around like she was being punked, she shook her head. “What?”

  “You heard right. I want to get a girl, but I’m pretty sure none of my tricks are going to work on this one. So I thought I’d ask you since she’s sort of like you and you know what you’d like a guy to do. Well, if you weren’t with Cash. You know.”

  Nice. Two minutes in and I’d already devolved into some rambling teenage boy. All I needed was a big zit on the end of my nose to make this whole thing complete.

  “You want me to tell you how to seduce a woman? Stefan, is this some kind of joke? I doubt anything I could tell you would be more effective than what you already do. Cash tells me everything, and I know how successful you are with women.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. I am. But this one’s not like those women. That’s why I want your help.”

  Still confused, she seemed to consider what I’d just said and then she got a faraway look in her eyes. “Hmmm…so are you asking me what I’d like a man to do to seduce me?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. What would a guy have to do to get you to want to be with him?”

  “Well, when Cash and I began to get together, he—”

  “No, no,” I said quickly, cutting her off before she gave me any details of how my brother had gotten her to fall for him. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to look at you the same way again if I knew what moves Cash put on you. Let’s just stay away from that, okay?”

  Olivia giggled at my discomfort. “Okay. So you want to know what someone like me would like in general from a man to make me fall for him. Well, he’d have to be a good man first and foremost.”

  A good man was not who I was.

  “A good man, huh? I think I’m already out of the running.”

  She reached across her desk to give me a sympathetic squeeze on my wrist. “That’s not true, Stefan. You’re not a bad man. You just do things good men don’t usually do. There’s a difference.”

  “Oh yeah? So if I didn’t do those things I might have a chance?”

  “Um…maybe. I can tell you that a good man would treat a woman with respect. I’m not saying you don’t do that with the women you date, but maybe you could be less about sex and more about what interests her.”

  All I knew about what interested Shay was that none of it interested me. She was a science geek. I didn’t give a damn about science.

  “I don’t think we like anything the same.”

  “Stefan, is she a bartender?”

  “Yeah. Don’t tell Cash. He’ll have a stroke or something and ruin your whole wedding.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes and smiled. “I won’t. He’ll be up all night pacing about future lawsuits, and I don’t want to see him upset like that. But you have that in common with her. You both work here. Maybe you can start there.”

  “Maybe. It’s not much to go on. Any other advice?”

  “Stefan, how well do you know this woman?”

  “Pretty well. Well, not really.” I hesitated a moment and then confessed, “We’ve already slept together.”

  For the second time in our talk, Olivia’s eyes flew open. “Oh. Okay. Uhh…do you think you might have gotten to know her before you slept with her? Not to sound all old fashioned or anything, but it would have made getting her to fall for you a little easier.”

  “I guess, but that’s all water under the bridge now. So you think I should just talk to her about the club?”

  My question made a grimace come over her face for a moment, but then her expression softened. “I don’t think that’s the way to go, Stefan. Think of it this way. If you really want her to like you, she has to see the person I see. What she sees now is the player. You have to make her see the fun guy who made me smile when your brothers intimidated me, the guy who jokes around and drives Cash and Kane crazy. Then she’ll see the real you.”

  “Okay. This is good. I can use that. A few jokes, some sweet talk, and I should be in like Flynn. Thanks, Olivia!”

  I rose to leave, but she stopped me. “Wait a second! That’s not exactly what I meant. You need to be genuine.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be genuine. You know me,” I said with a smile as I headed out into the club.

  So I needed to be funny and genuine. No problem. I had this under control. Kane’s Mustang and his part of the club were all but mine.

  My plan couldn’t have been simpler. I’d see Shay at work that night, turn on the genuine and funny charm, and let nature take its course. I ran home for a quick shower right after six to make sure I looked as good as I could. I guessed Shay was more of a button down
shirt kind of girl, so I broke out my favorite black dress shirt and checked out my look in the mirror. A little too close to Cash’s style for my taste, but I wasn’t trying to seduce me.

  I got back to the club in time to see Shay walk in with Lola, ruining any chance I had for flirting with her. Why was Lo here? Tonight was her night off.

  “Hey, Lo! Come here!” I yelled as they headed toward the bar. She came running, as she always did when I called, a look of worry on her face.

  “What’s up, Stefan?”

  “What are you doing here? You’re not scheduled.”

  Lola looked up at me with fear in her eyes. “Is it okay? Kerry called and said she had an emergency and asked if I’d take her shift tonight.”

  “Yeah. I guess. I just didn’t have you scheduled. Now I’m going to have to rearrange everything.”

  She smiled and gave the answer I knew she would. “Oh, that’s okay, Stefan. Just put me anywhere. I know it’s not my night, so wherever you were going to put Kerry is good. I’m just here to help out.”

  “Thanks, Lo. That helps.”

  Flinging her arms around me, she hugged me tight and whispered against me, “You’re the best, Stefan.”

  The familiar scent of her flowery perfume drifted up from where her head pressed against my chest, and I remembered what Kane had said about keeping her happy. The thing with Lola was going to be a problem. Nothing I couldn’t overcome, but a problem nonetheless. As for tonight, I could separate her and Shay, but I’d promised Shay I wouldn’t put Lola at the back bar anymore and I didn’t want to put her there. But she was filling in for Kerry, so I had a little more wiggle room.

  I gently pushed Lo away and forced myself to smile at her. “Time for work.”

  With just a nod, she walked away toward Shay to await the nightly meeting. As I stood there quickly growing frustrated by the whole situation, I saw Kane stroll down from his perch on the top floor and walk right up to Shay. What the fuck was he doing?

  I watched as he stood way too close and laughed just a little too much at whatever the hell she was saying. When he touched her shoulder, a clear sign he was up to no good, I walked over to break up their little whatever it was. Deep in conversation, they didn’t even notice me standing there for nearly a minute.