Sweet Surrender

by Lori Wilde

  “Why me? Why now?”

  “Other than the fact I’m madly in love with you?”

  Bianca inhaled sharply.

  “That’s right. I love you. I love your dogged intensity and the way you don’t let me get away with anything. I love your energy and that you have enough stamina to keep up with me. I love your adventurous nature, how you’re willing to try things you’ve never tried before and you keep an open mind. I love how self-reliant you are, how you’re committed to your goals. And I love how you give me the freedom to do my own thing, even when I no longer want that freedom.”

  “What are you saying, Thomaz?”

  “I’m saying I want commitment. I want to settle down. It’s time. I’m no longer afraid to take a chance, to grow up, to risk pain in order to get the greatest pleasure of all—love. I love you, Bianca and I’m asking you to give me a chance to prove it. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Oh, Thomaz.” Bianca breathed. Then she said what she’d been longing to say for weeks. “I love you, too.”

  And then there were three….

  NEVER ENOUGH

  1

  Madison’s banking on finding amore, but what about true love…?

  JAKE STRICKLAND pushed the heavy, black-framed glasses up on his nose, peering through the nonprescription lenses at the Power Point presentation projected on the wall of the main tiki hut. Damn things kept sliding down and it was all he could do to keep himself from yanking the glasses off. Playing the role of orchid-loving geek was harder than it looked.

  “You know what they say about the amore orchid?” whispered Bunk Jones, the seventyish guy sitting next to him.

  Bunk was dressed much like Jake in a Hawaiian-print shirt, khaki cargo pants and hiking boots. The old dude had started yapping at him on the long bus ride in from the San Jose airport and had apparently decided they were going to become bosom buddies. Jake had done his best to shake him, but it was a small group and there weren’t too many places to hide in the Costa Rican compound.

  Jake didn’t ask, but Bunk told him anyway. “Legend has it that the amore orchid emits such potent pheromones that whenever you smell it, you have an irresistible urge to make love.”

  “What?” Jake jerked his head around to stare at the wizened fellow.

  Bunk nodded solemnly. “Yep, it’s true.”

  “So this orchid is like, what? Floral Viagra?”

  He shrugged. “I’m just sayin’…”

  “Is that why you’re here?” Jake asked. He really didn’t want to think about Bunk being on the prowl, but he supposed old dudes needed love, too. Hey, he wasn’t getting any himself. He’d been going through a dry patch of late, and this nerdy getup, complete with pocket protector and unkempt hair wasn’t going to help.

  “Is that so wrong?” Bunk asked.

  “Far be it from me to judge,” Jake said. “We’ve all got our reasons to be on this trip.” Some of them nobler than others.

  “I like studious, scientific women, and they tend to gravitate toward these things.” Bunk waved a hand.

  He was using an orchid-hunting group as a dating service? Jake scanned the scant pickings and shrugged. To each his own.

  “What about that one over there?” Bunk used his chin to point at a woman in her mid-twenties sitting on a stool at the front of the building beside the podium. “She looks interesting.”

  The woman was dressed in a style that Jake would only describe as “mitts-off-the-merchandise-buster.” She had on baggy black jeans, a gray sweatshirt with Columbia printed across the front and a pair of hiking boots. Her hair was jet-black and fell to her shoulders, Cleopatra-style. She wore skinny, red-framed rectangular glasses and no jewelry whatsoever. Her skin was notebook-paper pale. A sheen of pink lip gloss rode her lips and her mascara was the same color as her hair. Her eyes, from what he could see of them behind those glasses, were chocolate-brown.

  Weirdly, his pulse skittered. Why on earth would he feel a sudden attraction? She was certainly not his type. “She’s too young for you,” he told Bunk.

  “Not for me. I got my eyes on Lucinda.” Bunk indicated a silver-haired woman in the first row. “I meant for you.”

  “Nah, she’s not for me.”

  “Why not? You in a relationship?”

  “No way,” Jake said. “I’m footloose and fancy free.”

  “Ah.” Bunk smiled. “You’re one of those.”

  It seemed like an indictment, and this from a coot old enough to be Jake’s grandfather. “I’m one of those what?”

  “The love ’em and leave ’em kind.”

  Jake was about to argue, then he shut his mouth. He didn’t intentionally set out to love ’em and leave ’em, but whenever a woman started talking about taking their relationship to the next level—i.e., commitment—Jake’s feet got twitchy.

  “You’re right,” Bunk agreed. “She’s too much woman for you.”

  “Who? Emo girl?”

  “Emo?” Bunk looked confused.

  “Never mind.” Jake waved a hand. “What makes you think she’s too much woman for me?”

  “That woman…” Bunk nodded as if he knew everything. “She needs a man who’ll stick around and find out exactly what’s going on in that brain of hers. She’s sharp as a tack. You can see that right off the bat.”

  Huh? Jake stared at Emo girl. In that moment, she raised her head.

  Their eyes met, and for one second he could have sworn he saw surprise in her eyes, as if she knew him. But in an instant the look was gone and she simply glared at him like he was getting on her last nerve. Jake was the first one to break eye contact—not his usual MO.

  “Yep.” Bunk chuckled. “She’s too much woman for the likes of Mr. Love ’em and Leave ’em.”

  “Stop calling me that,” Jake snapped, irritated.

  “Hey, if the shoe fits…” Bunk shrugged. “Me, I’m going up there to talk to Lucinda.”

  And then the old man was gone, ambling down the grass aisle to the front row. He leaned in to say something to Lucinda who smiled up at him and scooted over so Bunk could take the seat next to her. Jake had to give the old man props for moving fast.

  Just then, a man stalked through the back door of the tiki hut and up to the podium. He introduced himself as Professor Hampton from Columbia University and turned to Emo girl perched on the stool. “And this is my number-one research assistant, Madison Garrett. She’s doing her doctoral dissertation on the amore orchid.”

  Madison raised a hand and smiled at the group, but when her eyes met his again, the welcoming smile disappeared. What? She didn’t like him? That was unusual. Women almost always liked him. At least until they figured out he wasn’t the kind to stick around.

  Professor Hampton went into detail about the research project he and his team were engaged in. They wanted to find the amore orchid—which was rumored to exist only in Costa Rica—and get it listed on the endangered species list.

  If the group only knew he was working for an orchid collector in Taiwan, his goose was cooked and he’d end up on the wrong side of a lynch mob. Clearly these people took their orchids seriously. He didn’t get what the big deal was. It was just a flower. Jake had no real vested interest in the orchid itself. All he cared about was the sweet paycheck Tao Liu offered.

  Two weeks ago, Tao Liu had approached Jake at Joe’s Bar and Grill, his favorite hangout in L.A., and told him about Professor Hampton’s Costa Rican expedition. Jake had never smuggled orchids before. For the most part, his enterprises were legal, if perhaps sometimes a tad unethical, but his job gave him flexibility and the ability to see the world on someone else’s dime.

  Obtaining the orchids for Liu just seemed like a quick way to make a buck and right now he was really hard-up for cash. Not for himself, but for Joe, the man who’d taken him off the streets and given him a home when he was a twelve-year-old runaway. Tough economic times had put Joe behind the eight ball and he was about to lose the bar and grill. The place was all Joe h
ad. Without it, Jake didn’t think his surrogate father would survive. It was time for him to give back to the only person who’d ever really believed in him.

  Of course, it was going to require a bit of subterfuge. Like maybe cozying up with Miss Madison Garrett. The idea wasn’t repulsive. Beneath the glasses and the frumpy clothes, she was actually not bad-looking. Why did she hide herself behind those glasses and that dark sheaf of thick hair?

  “The amore orchid is very rare and there are collectors who will stop at nothing to have one—and that includes hiring soldiers of fortune to beat us to the punch and steal them.”

  Jake forced himself not to slink down in his seat. Hey, he didn’t consider himself a soldier of fortune. The term had such pejorative connotations. He was more daring adventurer—searching for buried treasure, acting as a guide in countries with iffy political situations, obtaining useful information for various groups and individuals. That’s how he saw himself. A man who dared go where others feared to tread.

  THE LECTURE ended and the group immediately gravitated to the wine and cheese buffet set up on one side of the hut. Madison stood awkwardly in the corner, making her obligatory appearance and waiting for the chance to escape to the quiet of her hut. She hated these meet-and-greets. Luckily, the majority of the volunteers were over fifty; she often felt more comfortable in the company of older people.

  Although…there was one guy near her own age. He wore rectangular framed glasses that were almost identical to the ones she had on, except where hers were red, his were black. His hair was shaggy, unkempt, and a pocket protector filled with pens peeked from his shirt pocket. Nothing suspicious about any of that. Almost every male in the place—including her professor—looked similar.

  No, what stuck out about this guy was the way he carried himself. Not slump-shouldered and shy like most introverts, but rather with razor-straight shoulders, almost military in stance. He also possessed a smug grin and a way of moving that shouted, “I’m the cock of the walk.”

  He was more than he appeared. A guy playing at being a nerdy geek? Instantly a red flag went up in her mind.

  Blowing out her breath to bolster her courage, Madison strolled over and put a smile on her face. Should she treat him like the introvert he seemed to be or just go ahead and shoot for the ego he couldn’t cover up?

  In the end, her own timidity won out. “Hi,” she said simply.

  A slow, easy grin started at one side of his mouth and slipped to the other, and his eyes held onto hers. Oh, yeah, there was something definitely off about this guy.

  But then he quickly dropped his gaze, ducked his head, toed the ground and mumbled, “Hello.”

  “I’m Madison,” she said and boldly thrust out her hand.

  “Um…so I heard…” he replied, still keeping his gaze averted, but reaching up at last to take her hand.

  The second their palms touched a shot of pure sexual awareness spread down his arms and traveled up hers. The sensation was electric. She’d never felt anything like it.

  His eyes widened and he looked as thrown as she was. Quickly, they both dropped their hands.

  They stood there, focusing on anything but each other. Madison hooked one arm around the other. “What’s your name?”

  “Jake. Jake Strickland.” He pushed his glasses up.

  This time she noticed his thick, work-roughened hands. From gardening? She felt her attraction to him grow. This wasn’t normal for her. She wasn’t the kind of woman who did anything spontaneously, much less fall in lust, but she couldn’t help letting her eyes track from his muscular shoulders—so non-geekish—to his broad chest, waist, narrow hips and… She jerked her gaze away. For heaven’s sake, Madison, don’t stare at the man’s crotch.

  “Well, Jake Strickland, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you as well, Maddie Garrett.” His shy grin had turned bold again.

  “It’s not Maddie. It’s Madison. No one calls me Maddie.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Why not?”

  “What are you? Three years old?”

  “I’m just inquisitive.” His smile softened.

  Madison’s belly churned. She couldn’t decide whether to be attracted to him or to be suspicious of him for his conflicting behavior.

  “Are you ready for tomorrow?” she asked.

  “I am.”

  “We leave at dawn.” She didn’t know why she was hanging around, baiting him.

  “I’ll be ready.”

  “Be sure to bring the supplies listed on the hiking guide in your welcome kit. It can get pretty hairy out there.”

  “I’ve been in a few jungles,” he said. “I know what to bring.”

  Now that sounded one-hundred-percent cocky. Not at all like something a nerd would say. She narrowed her eyes and was about to start interrogating him about his jungle experience but he preempted her.

  “See you in the morning, Maddie.” He turned and walked away, leaving Madison more irritated, confused and attracted than she’d ever been in her life.

  JAKE let out a deep breath as soon as he ducked around the corner of the hut. He had to be really careful with Madison Garrett. She was as sharp as a shark’s tooth, and playing at being a nerd wasn’t second nature to him. He was a self-confident guy who normally took the lead with a woman when he was interested, and it had required every bit of willpower he possessed to pretend to be shy and retiring. He didn’t think he’d been all that successful. Especially there at the end when she’d been shooting him dirty looks. Bunk was right about one thing. Pulling the wool over her eyes was not going to be easy.

  He was lurking outside the main tiki hut where almost everyone still lingered over drinks and nibbles, trying to plan his course of action, when he saw Professor Hampton and Madison emerge from the back entrance. They stood in the glow from the flickering tiki torches and it seemed as if they were arguing. Keeping to the shadows, Jake crept closer.

  “Based on my calculations—” Madison said and then spouted intricate scientific mumbo jumbo about ph balance and soil conditions, optimum temperature range and daylight “—the amore orchid is most likely to be growing on the northern slopes above the San Pablo waterfalls.”

  “Your calculations are inexact at best since every species of orchid has its own specific conditions for optimal germination. Plus native folklore has the amore orchid growing far south of the San Pablo,” Professor Hampton argued.

  Hmm, apparently there was tension between the teacher and his student. Jake rubbed his chin pensively and eased closer.

  Madison sank her hands on her hips. “You said you’d give my input serious consideration.”

  “I did, and I decided you’re wrong.”

  Anger crept into her voice. “I don’t understand how you can dismiss my work so cavalierly. I have spent three years of my life on this research and—”

  “We don’t have the time or manpower to go gallivanting off on your wild-goose chase, Madison,” he said curtly.

  “Wait a minute.” She glowered. “Is this about last summer?”

  “Of course not,” Professor Hampton retorted, but his voice went up an octave.

  “It is! You’re mad because I broke things off with you and you’re punishing me.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” He snorted.

  “You said we were both adults, that you could still work with me. I took you at your word.”

  “Our little fling meant nothing,” Hampton denied.

  Ouch. So Hampton and his research assistant had gotten it on last summer and now this horse’s ass was taking it out on her when it had gone south. Jake felt a twinge of sympathy. In the light from the full moon Madison looked mad enough to rip open a coconut with her bare hands.

  Man, but she was fierce. Jake felt a curious stirring inside him. A sizzle that started in his stomach and sped downward.

  “If you take your group south you’re not going to find a damn thing,” s
he said.

  “What do you mean your group?” Hampton scowled. “It’s our group.”

  “Not any more it’s not. I’ve spent my entire adult life looking for the amore orchid and I’m not going to be disappointed again. Not when I’m so close. I’m going north to San Pablo. You’re free to follow me if you want, otherwise, I’ll see you in a week.” With that parting shot, Madison turned on her heels, ducked her head and started stalking toward Jake so quickly that he didn’t have time to get out of her way, and she ran smack dab into him.

  The collision forced all the air from Jake’s lungs. “Ooph.”

  She’d bowled him over. Literally. He was lying on the ground and she was straddling his torso.

  He blinked up at her. She stared down at him. He saw in her eyes the same baffled attraction he felt.

  Madison uttered an unladylike curse word and sprang to her feet. “What were you doing prowling in the dark?”

  “I wasn’t prowling,” he lied and levered himself to his feet. He splayed a palm to his stomach. Was it pitching because of the impact or because of the full-body contact with Madison?

  They stood glaring at each other, neither one of them moving.

  “Madison,” Professor Hampton’s voice was sharp in the darkness. “We have to discuss the logistics of separate expeditions.”

  “You’re being summoned,” Jake said.

  She swallowed, but didn’t look away. “Coming.”

  Rattled by the chemistry surging between them, Jake said, “You gotta come, I gotta go.” He heard how that sounded, winced, tried to backtrack. “You gotta go, I’ve gotta come.” Hell, he’d just made things worse. “I mean—”

  “Get to your tent,” Madison commanded and pointed in the direction of the volunteers’ accommodations.

  Bossy. He kind of liked that.

  “I want to come with you,” he said, meaning he wanted to be part of her expedition, but under the circumstances it had a completely different meaning.

  She gave him a “go-straight-to-hell” look.

  “What I meant to say—”

  “I know what you meant to say.”

  “So can I? Come?”