Dare to Surrender

by Jeanne St. James

  “I could stay like this all night. You on my cock, Eli in my ass. Like I said, complete euphoria.”

  “Mmm. Next time we do this position, I’m on the bottom,” Eli murmured against the skin of her back.

  “How about if we put it into regular rotation,” Grant said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  Regular rotation. They would need a third for that. She wasn’t going to be here long enough for it to be her. She wondered if now that they’ve added a third to their sex life, they’d want it to continue.

  “I can attest to whoever you find that it’s a worthwhile position, especially for the woman.”

  Eli lifted his cheek and his weight from her back, his fingers flexing along her waist. “Whoever we find, Olivia? What do you mean?”

  “Well, I can’t imagine this mess I’m embroiled in will go on for any length of time, will it? Please tell me it won’t.”

  “I hope not,” Eli murmured. “We’re doing what we can.”

  “So once that’s all settled, I’ll head back to my apartment, my job, my... life, so to speak. Will you look for someone to join you?”

  “No,” Eli said sharply. “Absolument pas. Absolutely not.”

  “Well, Grant mentioned a regular rotation. I don’t plan on being here that long, so he can’t mean me.’

  “Ma chérie... he means you.”

  Liv tried to climb off Grant, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled her down onto his chest. His deep voice vibrated against her. “I meant you, honey.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to wrap her head around what they just said. “So, even after I leave, you want the sex to continue?”

  “Olivia... you think this is just sex?”

  Grant stared over her shoulder and she turned her head enough to catch a glimpse of Eli. Both their faces were way too serious for just having explosive, mind-blowing sex.

  After a moment, Eli said softly, “Why don’t you go clean up, we’ll follow in a second.”

  Eli helped Olivia climb off Grant and watched as she padded to the master bathroom, closing the door behind her. His eyes slid back to Grant, then he slipped from his husband.

  “Mon amour,” he began.

  “Eli.”

  “Let’s let this go for now, yes? We have other things to worry about, to deal with at the moment. Once things settle down, we can revisit it.”

  “Eli,” Grant repeated.

  “It’s sudden for all of us. And... Shit! I fucked up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Gryff knows.”

  Grant groaned. “Fuck. Was he pissed?”

  “He wasn’t happy. But for now, we both have our jobs and I don’t have a broken jaw, so that’s a good sign.”

  “He tried to hit you?”

  Eli shook his head. “No, but...” He released a loud breath. “He wants to keep this from Trey for now.”

  “Trey might fucking flip.”

  “Right. So, we keep this from him until we see what this is. I know and you know it’s not just sex. But what is it? That’s the million-dollar question.”

  “Do we let her continue to believe it is?”

  “Mon amour, I just told her it wasn’t.”

  “But we didn’t get into any details.”

  “Do you want to try to explain it, Grant? Because I can’t. Can you?”

  Grant was quiet for a moment. “No. Honestly, I can’t.”

  Eli nodded. “Let’s just let this ride for now. Okay?”

  Before Grant could answer, the bathroom door opened, and Olivia paused, her eyes on the bed.

  “Are you having a serious conversation? Should I go back to my room to give you two privacy?”

  Eli smiled. “No, ma chérie. Not at all.” He patted the bed. “Come, get comfortable while we clean up.”

  A small smile tugged at her lips and, as she moved toward the bed, Grant and he rolled off it and headed toward the bathroom.

  They washed up in silence, their eyes meeting occasionally, fingers brushing along ribs, a hip, the indentation of each other’s spine.

  Eli loved the man who stood next to him at the sink so much he thought his heart would burst. He never thought his love could grow stronger, but it did. Which was odd, since someone else was now in their life. But Olivia seemed to strengthen the bond that he and Grant had.

  Eli moved behind him, wrapped his arms around Grant’s waist and settled his chin on his husband’s shoulder. He stared at the two of them in the mirror.

  “What are you going to do to get the target off her back?” Grant asked softly.

  Eli took a deep breath and then released it. “First, I’m going to make a backup of the evidence she has and lock up a copy in Gryff’s safe tomorrow. Then I’m going to start digging around and see if I can find someone not in Dean’s pocket to give a copy to.”

  “You’re going to hand it over directly?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m going to see who can be approached with the information, but I might anonymously give it to them. Then I’ll sit back and see if the info comes to light. If it does, I’ll know the person’s trustworthy and isn’t afraid to do their job.”

  “You could be putting that person in danger, too.”

  “Maybe,” Eli murmured. “But we need to do something. I’d like to hand it over to the DA...”

  “I could talk to her, baby. See if I get a sense she’s not in Dean’s pocket. Just strike up a conversation next time I run into her. I don’t want to search her out as she might get suspicious.”

  “I don’t want you to put yourself in harm’s way, mon amour.”

  Grant patted Eli’s arm. “I won’t. It’ll be casual conversation, that’s all.”

  “Are there any ADA’s that you trust?”

  Grant stared at him through the mirror as he hesitated. “I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with any cases involving powerful politicians to get any kind of read on them in that regard.”

  Eli pressed his cheek to Grant’s. “We just need to be cautious.”

  “I agree.”

  “I don’t think Trey should come over here. They might be watching him.”

  “Again, I agree.” Grant reached up and laid his hand along the side of Eli’s face that wasn’t pressed to his. “Before we go back out there, I need to say this...”

  The seriousness in Grant’s eyes made Eli’s heart skip a beat. “What?”

  “I didn’t think I’d ever want to share you.”

  Eli watched in the mirror as Grant’s Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed hard.

  “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t mind sharing you with Liv. It should bother me, but it doesn’t.”

  Eli gave him a small smile. “You must remember I’m sharing you, too.”

  Grant smiled back. “Yes, you are. And you can share me like you just did anytime you want. That was,” he shook his head, “fucking incredible.”

  “Mmm. Now I’m tempted to go back out there and do it again but with me in your place.”

  “Next time.”

  Eli released him and laid a kiss on his shoulder. “Yes, next time. Let’s not make her wonder what we’re doing in here.”

  Grant opened the door and they saw Olivia curled up under the covers, facing the bathroom, her eyes shut, her breathing steady.

  Eli shot Grant a glance as they approached. They split off to either side of the bed and carefully climbed in, trying not to wake her.

  But when both their heavy weight settled onto the mattress, her eyes opened, and she rolled to her back.

  “I fell asleep,” she murmured sleepily.

  “You can go back to sleep if you want.”

  “I can go back to my room. I don’t want to crowd you two.”

  “Olivia, you’re not going to crowd us. Sleep here.”

  She rolled to her side to face Eli. “I want to curl up with you, but I want to curl up with Grant, too.”

  Grant shifted closer. “
I can spoon you.” He sandwiched her between him and Eli, curling an arm over her waist and planting a hand on Eli’s belly.

  “That’s nice,” she murmured, her eyelids drooping.

  “Yes, it is,” Grant murmured back.

  Eli covered Grant’s hand with his left and with his right, he brushed fingers through Olivia’s long tresses then combed them through Grant’s shorter hair.

  He laid there for the next hour, watching them sleep.

  Chapter 12

  Eli leaned back against the headboard and took a sip of his coffee. Grant had gotten up early and made them an extensive breakfast, bringing it all upstairs so they could eat in bed.

  Not Eli’s preference, as he’d rather not have crumbs in his sheets, but Grant put a lot of work into it, so he wasn’t going to complain. Plus, Olivia was enjoying it, smiling between bites of toast with strawberry preserves and sips of Chai tea.

  “You were never served breakfast in bed before?” Grant asked her after swallowing a mouthful of his fluffy scrambled eggs.

  “No, but these are the best eggs! What do you put in them?” Olivia asked.

  Eli loved his husband’s scrambled eggs. Somehow he made something so simple taste gourmet. And the man could brew a cup of coffee like no other. Though, Eli had splurged on getting him an outrageously expensive coffee maker last Christmas. One that made espresso and other fancy coffees, actually ground the beans, and it also wiped Grant’s ass. Or so it should, for the price. Coming from humble beginnings, Eli had to force himself to lay out that much money for something that made coffee. But it made Grant happy.

  And if he was happy, so was Eli.

  Grant was definitely enjoying their lazy Saturday morning in bed, even if he did do all the work.

  “It’s a secret,” Eli said. “He won’t tell anyone.”

  “He’s correct. I don’t tell anyone, but,” Grant winked at Olivia, “I will show you.”

  “I love to cook,” she said softly.

  “Your lemon chicken was very good last night. Maybe you can share that recipe with me,” Grant said.

  “I found it on the internet, so I’d be glad to share. It’s not like it’s a family secret.”

  Eli was sure her and Trey’s mother didn’t bother to ever cook for her children. The only meal the woman had been worried about was a liquid one.

  “How did you learn to cook?” Eli asked her.

  “Just by trial and error.” She licked some strawberry preserves off the tip of her finger and immediately Eli’s cock twitched and thickened.

  It must have affected Grant also, since he pointed to her lips and said, “You’ve got some right there.” He leaned over, kissing away a spot of jam off the corner of her mouth. He didn’t pull back, but instead deepened the kiss for a moment. Watching that didn’t help Eli with his erection. It was expanding by the second and would soon be knocking on the wooden tray that had been placed over his lap with his meal.

  “Mmm. I love strawberries,” Grant said with a smile. He straightened back up to take another bite of sausage.

  “Me, too,” Olivia murmured, running a finger enticingly over her bottom lip.

  “Stop, Olivia,” Eli warned. “Or I’m going to toss these trays onto the floor and take you before you’ve had a chance to finish your breakfast.”

  “Stop what?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.

  Grant chuckled. “I don’t think she’s even aware of how much she gets our blood flowing.”

  “I’m aware,” she said, popping the last bite of jam covered toast into her mouth. She wiped her finger through a spot of the sticky preserves on her plate and dabbed it onto her bottom lip. “Who’s going to help me with the mess I just made?”

  Eli laughed but lunged quickly before Grant could and licked away the sweet fruit from her mouth.

  “Mmm. I like this breakfast in bed concept,” she laughed.

  “Me, too,” Grant said with amusement.

  “Je suis tenté à recouvrir tout ton corps avec ces confitures et de te lécher jusqu’à que tu sois toute propre.”

  Grant laughed again. “Count me in on that.”

  Olivia’s head spun from Eli to Grant. “What did he say?”

  “Ma chérie, I said that I'm tempted to spread those preserves all over your body and lick you clean. Would you like that?”

  A grin lit up her face. “Yes, I think I would.”

  A noise came from the back of Grant’s throat, then he said huskily, “I’ll add a few more jars to the grocery list.”

  “Good idea.”

  Olivia sipped at her tea and turned to study Eli. “So, why are you fluent in French? You haven’t said.”

  No, he hadn’t. Neither he nor Grant had talked much about themselves. And because of previous background investigation on Trey, he knew more than he probably should about her upbringing. So, it was only fair she learn a little bit about his own.

  “I’m originally from Martinique, so I grew up speaking both English and French.”

  “Oh! Are your parents still around?”

  “Unfortunately, my maman died over a year ago. My father...” Eli took a deep inhale. “He was an American who came to our island on vacation. He knocked up my maman and left at the end of his trip not having a clue that he created me. Not that he would have cared. My maman struggled to raise me, so I did my best to help her put food on the table and pay the bills by working odd jobs and sometimes even begging. We were very poor.”

  Olivia reached under the tray and squeezed his thigh. He covered her hand with his and returned the gesture.

  “Like you, I wanted to leave at sixteen. But for me it was to come to the States to find my father. My mother convinced me to stay and obtain my baccalauréat from lycée first. Here in the States it’s the same as your high school diploma. Anyway... I had this fantasy that he’d be thrilled to find out he had a son. Honestly, I didn’t know much about him since I only had a name along with a picture of him and my maman together.

  “Well, needless to say, I found him, and I was dead wrong. He was horrified that I tracked him down and wanted nothing to do with me.”

  Her fingers tightened on his thigh. “Why? Why would someone turn away their own flesh and blood?”

  “He was married when he had his vacation fling with my maman. He not only had a wife, but had three kids already.” Eli tucked a finger under her chin closing her gaping mouth. He smiled softly. “He actually threatened to kill me if I ratted him out, ever showed up again at his house, or even contacted my half-siblings.”

  Liv gasped. “That’s horrible!”

  “Since I had no ties to the man, other than him being a sperm donor, I walked away. But one thing good did come out of it.”

  “What was that?”

  “By finding him, I realized what I was good at. I could put pieces of information together like a puzzle. I could read body language and pick up things from simply a tone of voice. I was good at recognizing patterns. I realized I had a natural instinct to do investigative work. See? Fate had a plan for me.

  “However, I came to the States with nothing but a few dollars in my pocket and the clothes on my back. So I went to work for a P.I. for free in what he called an ‘internship.’ Though, I was no more than slave labor, it did get my foot in the door and gave me some good experience. I learned surveillance, tracking, research. Since the job paid nothing, I worked odd jobs like I did when I was a kid. I scraped together enough to buy a piece of shit, rusted-out Corolla. I ended up living in it for a year since I couldn’t afford rent and the asshole I ‘interned’ for wouldn’t let me stay in his back room which he only used for storage. But, again, I learned, honed my skills, built up my contacts and got enough experience under my belt to become a certified investigator.

  “Then when I demanded my so-called mentor to start paying me for my time, he refused. So, again, I simply walked away. And, again, I had nothing but the clothes that I purchased in a second-hand shop, my car and a quarter tank of gas.
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  “But, like you, Olivia, I was determined to make it. Make something of myself. I, too, wanted no hand-outs or hand-ups. I wanted to only rely on myself. Did I do things that I’m not proud of to get me through the tough spots? Yes. So did your brother with that coach, as I’m sure you did, too. We all have our burdens to bear.”

  Olivia was quiet for a few moments while she seemed to process everything he’d just told her. She wrapped her hands around her tea and as she lifted it to her lips she asked, “So, tell me about this coach. What happened?”

  “That’s Trey’s story to tell, Olivia, you must ask him. My point is this... I now have this house, a man I love and respect greatly, an amazing job with people I highly respect and admire, and now... Now we have you.”

  “Me?”

  “You’ve come into our lives to make it even better. More special.”

  She shook her head slightly with a frown. “No, I’m a nobody.”

  He took her mug from her and placed it on her tray, then traced his fingers over her cheek and along her jaw. “No, Olivia, you’re not a nobody. You care about people. You’re willing to give when you don’t even have anything for yourself. That’s not a nobody. That’s a somebody. You helped a prostitute get off the street, find a place to live, and get a job. How many people can say that?”

  “She got killed,” Liv whispered.

  “Not your fault.”

  “I wanted her to be safe. And she wasn’t safe enough. I should’ve done more.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You did what you could. That’s more than most.”

  Grant reached out and hooked his fingers under her chin, turning her to face him. “Liv, Eli’s right. You’re not a nobody. You’re a somebody to a lot of people. And you’re definitely someone special to us.”

  “Very special,” Eli agreed. “Now...” Eli slipped the spaghetti strap of her nightgown over her shoulder until the silky fabric fell away exposing her left breast. “Even though breakfast was magnifique, I’m still hungry and ready for dessert.” He swiped his finger through the preserves that remained on his own plate, then brushed it over Olivia’s peaked nipple. He removed his tray off his lap, placing it onto the floor, grabbed hers and did the same. His mouth watered as he saw the strawberry jam clinging to the tip of her breast.