Surrender To You

  Simon’s face lit up, his grin bigger than I’d ever seen it before as he crushed me to him, hugging me hard enough to steal my breath. His mouth found mine and after a few long, deep kisses, he whispered against them.

  “I’m gonna be a father. My god, Elle, you’ve just made me the happiest man ever.”

  “You’re…you’re not mad? It wasn’t planned…”

  He pulled his head back with a laugh. “Hell no! Are you kidding me?”

  The knot in my chest loosened just a little.

  “No.” I shook my head, unable to keep my lower lip from wobbling. “I wasn’t sure what you’d think. I missed a few pills when…”

  He caught my face in his hands.

  “Never, ever think I’d be upset about that when I knew how upset you were. It takes two, you know.” He grinned again. “I can’t wait to be a father and I’m glad it’s with you. So now you know what you have to do right?”

  I bit my lip and shook my head. “No, what?”

  He grinned and held up the ring. “Simon says you have to surrender and say yes, you’ll marry me.”

  Shaking, I held my hand up as I beamed back at him. “Well in that case, I surrender to you, Simon. Wouldn’t want to break the rules.”

  And as he slid the ring on my finger with a laugh of pure joy, I’d never felt more home in my entire life than I did in that very moment.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  One Year Later

  “I can’t believe it’s been over a year since you both died.”

  I was visiting the cemetery, crouched down between Liliana’s and Stefan’s graves.

  Stefan Elliot Pierce ~ Loving father, brother, son and friend and Liliana Nicole Pierce ~ Loving mother, daughter and friend.

  So simple, yet those words said so much.

  I knew they weren’t there, not really, but I still talked to them anyway.

  Because both of them had brought me home.

  Really, they’d both saved me because I’d still been lost and hadn’t known it.

  A debt I could never truly repay.

  “I miss you both, so much.”

  I knew tears streamed down my face. I didn’t care.

  “Thank you for bringing me home. Without you, I’d have never met Simon and gotten married. I wouldn’t have my son. I wouldn’t have fixed my relationship with my mother. I wouldn’t have gotten a little more time with either of you. You made me face my fears and helped me heal fully. I owe you my life.”

  I touched a hand to each headstone as I heard Simon approach.

  He bent down beside me, our son in his arms.

  Samuel Pierce Worthington, who at eight pounds and six ounces had come screaming into the world just a mere three months ago, saw me and started kicking his legs and waving his arms.

  “Somebody wants his mommy,” Simon said with a laugh, holding Sam out toward me.

  I swiped the tears away then reached over and took him into my arms. As he clutched the front of my shirts in his tiny fists and snuggled up to me, I breathed in his wonderful baby scent. Simon put his arm around my back and kissed my cheek.

  He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to.

  By now, he knew me all too well.

  We’d gotten married three months after he’d proposed, the ceremony taking place in Penny’s backyard at her insistence. Since her family, Simon’s family and mine were the only people in the world I wanted to share the moment with, it had been the perfect choice. The only choice.

  Simon and I, wanting it to be a complete surprise to everybody including ourselves, had waited until the birth to find out if it would be a boy or girl. We’d discussed names but nothing had been decided until the birth. And when they’d placed our beautiful baby boy in my arms, Simon gazing down at us with a look of love that still made my heart squeeze, the decision about his name had been an easy one.

  Samuel for Simon’s maternal grandfather and Pierce, for the two people in the world who’d never given up on me. Who had loved me even when I’d failed to love myself.

  Determined to not let that be for nothing, I’d spend my life paying it forward. It was the least I could do for the second chance I’d been given.

  As Sam let out a cry and jolted me out of my reverie, Simon laughed.

  “Well, Samuel says it’s time for dinner and Simon says he agrees. What about you?”

  With a grin, I held out a hand for him to help me stand up.

  “I say it’s time to go home.”

  And we did.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Elizabeth’s story is just one of many women. Women who are mistreated. Women who are attacked, raped, abused or otherwise harmed by those who don’t care who they hurt.

  It’s not just women though. It happens to men, too. To children.

  It happened to me.

  Abuse has lifelong effects that simply don’t matter to the abuser. Some people will be able to ‘move past it’ with therapy, while others end up in worse situations, or take their life.

  We should never shame victims of abuse. They deserve a life full of happiness and should not be looked down upon when their lives become a mess. They should be held up, given a hand, and told how much they are worth every single day. If you care about them, don’t give up on them - some have darker places to come back from than others and may simply take more time.

  If you are the victim of sexual abuse, never stay quiet. Speak out when you have the chance and don’t be afraid. More often than not, there will people who will back you up. If someone doubts you, find someone who will listen. Somebody does care and they will listen.

  Do what you need to do until you can say something if you’re afraid. Most of all, stay safe and be smart.

  And just remember, abuse in any form is never, ever your fault.

  You are worth something. You matter.

  Never let a bully tell you or convince you otherwise.

  If you need help and don’t know where else to turn, contact:

  National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

  About The Author

  C.S. Janey is a big fan of romance - writing and reading.

  The mother of one, she currently spends her days writing, reading, attending college to receive her BBA in Accounting, and protecting her son from himself as he pretends that he is a superhero.

  Surrender To You is her first contemporary adult romance novel. Intended to be the first of a series, the story can be enjoyed as a stand alone. She also has many other works in progress and hopes to share them with the world soon.

  Look for Grace’s love story in the future, along with Yvette’s.

  To keep an eye out for those stories, as well as other exciting information, connect with the author at the locations below - and follow to stay up to date!

  TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/csjaney

  FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/authorcsjaney

  GOODREADS: smarturl.it/authorcsjaney

  WEBSITE: http://authorcsjaney.wordpress.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you, first of all, to everyone in my life who has supported me to this point. I know you will continue to do so and nothing could possibly make me happier.

  To my author friends that I talk to quite often - Danielle Taylor, Jennifer Howard, Christa Simpson - you three are the best friends a girl could ever have and I am honored to be called such! Thanks for all your advice and, more often than not, your ear when I’m rambling about things that most people might find embarrassing. ;)

  To A.M. Khalifa - thanks for all your wonderful advice, your friendship, and your input on the cover.

  To the indie author community - you are all fantastic! I have never met such wonderful and supportive people in my life. It is amazing and I am proud to be a part of it.

  To anyone who has offered me advice, or put advice up on the internet for authors to read, thank you. Your contribution is not going unnoticed.

  To the readers and fans - thank you
for supporting me by purchasing this! Thank you for reading and reviewing. Thank you for commenting and participating on my Facebook page, letting me know how much you are waiting for my book. Thanks, thanks, thanks! And I will try to write faster and procrastinate less in the future. ;)

  To all the authors who responded to my list – thank you and I hope you find some great new readers! You will be listed in the future automatically, so no need to reapply every time I put out the sign-up.

  OTHER AUTHORS YOU MAY ENJOY

  I put out a sign-up for authors to get listed here in my novel!

  Below they are listed by Genre, so take a peek and discover somebody new!

  Action & Adventure

  Jack Plues

  Elbert Alberson (Adult)

  Chick Lit

  Corri Lee (Women’s Adult)

  Monique Sorgen

  Demelza Carlton (Adult)

  Contemporary

  Christopher McGoldrick (YA/NA)

  Erotica

  Beverly Ovalle (Adult)

  Sarah Daltry (New Adult)

  Danielle Jamie (New Adult)

  Fantasy

  Bailey Ardisone

  L.J. Capehart

  Bill Hiatt (Young Adult)

  Kate Sermon (Young Adult)

  Alandra Hensley (Young Adult)

  Lisa Goldman (Young Adult)

  Derek White

  Philip Dodd (Adult)

  Susan Reid (Adult)

  Jennifer Parr (Young Adult)

  Lillian Bishop & Constance Williams (Young Adult)

  Madeline Dyer (Young Adult)

  Meg Winkler (New Adult)

  Demelza Carlton (Adult)

  Jessica White (New Adult/Adult)

  General Fiction

  Faith Marlow

  Serenity Valle

  Meri Elena

  Historical Fiction

  Cassandra Grafton

  Laurel A. Rockefeller

  Horror

  Stephen Drivick

  Mark Mackey

  Samuel Southwell

  Lee Cushing (Adult)

  Justin Bienvenue (Western)

  Humor

  Dani J. Caile (Adult)

  Crystal Smith-Connelly (Adult)

  Literary Fiction

  Janet Moulton (Adult)

  Multi-Genre

  Sofia Diana Gabel (Adult)

  Multicultural/Interracial

  Stacy-Deanne (Adult Romantic Suspense/Mystery)

  Olivia Linden (New Adult)

  Mystery

  Hadena James

  Laurel A. Rockefeller (Historical)

  Paranormal

  Jodie Pierce (Adult)

  Rebekkah Ford (Young Adult)

  Paranormal Romance

  C.L. Champlain (New Adult)

  Sandra Bischoff

  Poetry

  Mary M. Perry (Adult)

  Queen of Spades

  Aaron Boxley

  Romance

  Devon Youngblood (New Adult)

  Mellie George (New Adult)

  Shirleen Davies

  Sarah M. Cradit

  Christa Simpson

  Jackie Weger (Adult)

  J.J. DiBenedetto (New Adult)

  Kaylee Ryan (New Adult)

  M.K. Oien (New Adult)

  Tori L. Ridgewood (Adult)

  Theresa Marguerite Hewitt (Military)

  Nicole Tetterton (New Adult)

  Michelle Abbott (Adult)

  Corri Lee (Adult)

  Marie Wathen (New Adult)

  V. Murphy (New Adult)

  Roberta Capizzi (New Adult/Adult)

  Danielle Taylor

  Rachel Sparks

  Hilary Storm (New Adult)

  Lisa Fisher (New Adult)

  Karen Einsel (Adult)

  Demelza Carlton (Adult)

  Arabella Sheen

  L.A. Remenicky (Adult)

  Charity Santiago (New Adult)

  Cassandra Grafton (Austen-inspired)

  Clarissa Wild (Adult)

  Jennifer Howard

  Sci-Fi

  Margaret Taylor

  Jacinda Buchmann (Young Adult)

  Merita King

  Ruth Silver (Young Adult)

  James W. McAllister

  Tuan Ho (Adult)

  Arleigh Bison Westunlied

  Self-Improvement (Non-ficton)

  Nihar Suthar (Young Adult)

  Short Stories

  Samuel Southwell

  Supernatural

  Craig Evans (Young Adult)

  Thrillers & Suspense

  Bruce A. Borders

  True Life

  Donald Ross

  Western

  Samantha Livingston

  Women’s Fiction

  Mishael Austin Witty

  Joyce DeBacco

  Kate Warren

  Patricia Mann (Adult)