Unexpected Surrender

by J. M. Walker

  “Tell me,” I pressed. If he wanted me to spend the night with him, he had to give me something. Anything.

  “Lexi,” he said, his voice filled with warning.

  “You want me to spend the night with you.”

  He looked my way. “I do.”

  “Then tell me something about yourself. I don’t know you, Luther. I know this.” I waved a hand between us. “But I don’t know anything else.”

  “There are ears, pet. Ears that would fucking kill me if they found out anything about me that they don’t see on the exterior.” He pinched my chin. “I can’t ruin my rep.”

  I frowned. “What you do in public is so they, whoever they are, fear you?”

  “Yes.” He leaned toward me, placing a soft peck on my forehead. “It’s also to keep you safe.”

  “Me?” I pulled back. “Why?”

  “Your brother is lethal, Lexi. Not because he’s smart. But because he’s fucking desperate. That makes him dangerous. And I worry that you’ll be brought into the middle of it when the time comes. That’s another reason I want you to spend the night with me. Then I can keep you safe.”

  “My brother won’t hurt me,” I murmured, not liking the worry written all over Luther’s face.

  “Maybe not but it doesn’t mean others won’t.” Luther pulled away. “If you’re done, I need an answer. I’m not a patient man, pet, but I need you to tell me if you’re coming home with me or not.”

  “Why?” I circled my fingers in his.

  “I already told you why. I want to get to know you. And I can’t do that in public.” He released me, signalling the young waiter over. “Tell the cook we’re done here, and he can close up. Have Georgio contact me tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Sir.” He backed away, heading to the large man who greeted me at the entrance just over an hour before.

  “Lexi,” Luther barked, his voice rough. “Give me an answer. Now.”

  “Ask me nicely.”

  His jaw clenched. “Will you come home with me? Pretty please.”

  A laugh escaped me.

  His lips twitched. “I’m waiting.”

  I pushed him, indicating for him to move out of the booth. I stood, staring up at him. “Take me to your home, Luther.”

  Grabbing my hand, he led me out of the restaurant just as a sleek black car pulled up. A giant of a man stepped out of the vehicle and handed Luther a set of keys.

  “Thank you.” Luther clapped him on the shoulder. “After you, pet.”

  I took a breath and headed to the car.

  Once we reached it, Luther stepped around me and opened the passenger door for me.

  My heart warmed at the moment of chivalry coming from him. “Thank you,” I murmured then slid into the vehicle.

  Before closing the door, Luther leaned inside. “I promise I won’t hurt you,” he said, cupping my cheek. “You have nothing to be nervous about.”

  I nodded, covering his hand with mine. “Take me to your home, Luther. Show me you.”

  He nodded once. Closing the door, he headed around to the driver’s side.

  My phone rang. It vibrated with incoming texts, but I ignored it. I turned off the sound, my heart jumping behind the walls of my rib cage when I realized it was Miss Vee trying to get a hold of me. I wasn’t supposed to head to The Club until the following Saturday night. I still had a week.

  Miss Vee: Your Master wants to see you. Tonight.

  That was the last text I read before I put my phone away.

  I needed this. Whatever Luther had to give me. Although this was probably going to come back to bite me in the ass, my Master would have to wait.

  We drove across the city in silence. With Luther’s hand on my inner thigh, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking about. Or how this night would go. Or what he wanted from me. Would he actually show me parts of himself he had never revealed to anyone else like he said? Or did he just say that to get me to spend the night with him? I wasn’t sure anymore but as we drove down a dark street with houses bigger than I had ever seen before in my life, I knew that I was in way over my head.

  “You live here?” I asked him, leaning forward and staring out the window in awe. The house was larger than anything I had ever seen before. I was never in this part of the city, so it was like driving into a whole other world. The house was a provincial type home with a grand water fountain sitting in the middle of the circular driveway.

  “I do. I inherited my father’s estate after he passed away. If I could sell the place though, I would.”

  I turned to him. “How come?”

  “It’s too big. My sister used to live here but moved out a year ago. So now it’s just me but it’s usually filled with people. Men who worked for my father. Business associates. Maids. Cooks.”

  “Why can’t you sell it?”

  “My father wrote it into his will that it can’t be sold. Not that I ever would but sometimes, the house is a little much. It can be overwhelming at times when you’re here by yourself. The house is old.”

  “So when it’s quiet at night and so on, it can be a little unsettling?”

  He nodded. “It wouldn’t be so bad if I had someone to share this space with.”

  “Why don’t you?” Not that I complained seeing as he was taking me to his home, but I also wondered why he was still single.

  “I’m not an easy man to get along with, pet.” He pulled us down a long gravel driveway. “The women I’ve been with didn’t stick around very long.”

  “I’m sorry.” My heart ached for him.

  He shrugged, pulling the car into the garage. It held three other vehicles: a black SUV, a red sports car, and a black sedan. The garage was huge and could probably fit my whole deli inside it plus the vehicles.

  “I’ve never been in a house this big and this is only the garage.” My eyes were wide as I took in everything around me.

  Luther put the car into park and killed the engine. “Where did you grow up?”

  “Here but we had nothing. My dad was an alcoholic and died when we were young after his liver gave up on him. Our mother changed after that. She was happy. I think it was one of those situations where she felt like she had to stay with him for us. But we were too little. We couldn’t tell her to leave for herself and that she deserved to be happy.” I shrugged. “As much as I miss my mom, I like to think that she died happy. Finally.”

  Luther nodded. “I get that.”

  “It’s been my brother and I ever since, and even though he drives me crazy…I never would have met you…” My words trailed off, my cheeks heating at the intense scrutiny coming from Luther.

  He left the car and came around to my side. Opening the door, he held his hand out.

  I placed my hand in his, letting him pull me out of the car and into his arms.

  He gripped my hips, backing me up and closing the door at the same time. Leaning down to my ear, his mouth brushed over the shell of it. “I like to think we would have met no matter what. Just maybe not the way we did.”

  “You mean we could have met like normal people?” I asked, brushing my fingers inside his suit jacket. “Not after you kicked my brother’s ass?”

  Luther chuckled, the deep sound vibrating through me. “You make me laugh, Lexi. I like that.”

  “You don’t laugh a lot.” I leaned back. “Do you?”

  “No.” His mouth brushed over mine. The touch was soft, sweet, nothing like the man holding me.

  Circling my arms around his thick tattooed neck, I deepened the kiss.

  He groaned, pushing me up against the car with his pelvis. His tongue slid into my mouth, controlling every waking fiber of my being.

  “Luther.” I released him, taking a deep breath. “Take me inside.”

  His lips twitched. “This is a big house, pet. I could spend the night fucking you in every inch of it.”

  I swallowed hard at the delicious promise and pushed out of his hold. “Where would you start?”

 
Cupping himself, he stalked toward me. “Here. I’d bend you over the hood of my car and impale that sweet body with my cock so your pussy leaks all over it.”

  Holy hell.

  I shook my head, patting his chest. “Take me inside, Luther.” I gave him a small smile.

  “Yes.” He kissed my temple. “Ma’am.”

  I laughed.

  Luther’s phone rang. “Shit.” He pulled his cell out of his pocket. “I have to take this. Make yourself at home, pet. It’s just you and I here this evening. The staff went home already.” He kissed my cheek. “I’ll come find you.”

  Before I could protest, he disappeared down a long hallway, leaving me on my own. The house was so damn big, I was nervous being in it with just him. I didn’t know that we would be alone. I was definitely in way over my head.

  ***

  (Him)

  “You’re not pissed but you should be.” Vanessa’s brows narrowed. “What gives?”

  “She’ll show up at the next meeting. I can’t expect her to drop everything for me.”

  “Then why did you have me text her?” Vanessa asked.

  “Because I wanted to see what she would do.” I moved my phone, leaned it against the screen of my laptop, and sat back in my leather chair. “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever been with.”

  “Of course she isn’t.” Vanessa scrubbed a hand down her face, peering at me from the small video screen on my phone. “You like her. You like her a lot.”

  “We’ve already established this,” I murmured, tenting my fingers under my chin.

  “Does she know about your sessions?”

  My chest tightened. “It hasn’t come to that yet.” And I wasn’t sure if it ever would. There was something about Lexi that curbed the dark side of my personality.

  “But it will. It always does. What are you going to do if she can’t give you what you need?”

  “She will.” I rubbed my jaw. “She might not like it. Hell, I don’t even like it, but she will help me. I know she will.” Because it was how she was wired.

  “When are you going to reveal yourself to her?”

  “Next Saturday. I’ll have you place her in the room with the mirrors. She won’t be able to get away from me then.” A soft knock sounded on the door to my office. I grabbed the phone. “I have to go.” I disconnected the video just as the door opened.

  Lexi

  THE ESTATE WAS GINORMOUS. You could probably fit five of the delis in it. And the backyard, from what I could see, was even bigger. I imagined what it would be like growing up in a place this size. Although with the house being this big, I could imagine that it would get quite lonely at times. It would be hard to run into anyone.

  “You have a good night too.”

  I turned at the sound of Luther’s voice. He stood with a man in the foyer. Yeah, because this place had one of those.

  Luther shook the man’s hand. The man glanced my way and gave me a small smile. He turned on his heel, heading toward the front door while Luther approached me.

  The sound of the front door closing made my heart skip a beat. I didn’t know that we hadn’t been alone. Must have been one of the crew who worked on the estate.

  “Everything okay?” I asked Luther when he closed the distance between us.

  He gripped my hips, pulled me flush against him, and kissed the side of my neck. “Now it is.”

  My heart stuttered at the deep growl of his voice. “Luther.” I turned my face toward him at the same time he lifted his head. Taking a breath, I placed a hard kiss on his lips.

  He groaned, tightened his hold on my lower body, and backed me up until I hit a wall. His large hands roamed up my sides and cupped my breasts. “Tell me what you want, pet.”

  “Luther,” I breathed, my chest rising and falling.

  “Tell me.” He pushed my breasts together, covering a nipple with his mouth.

  Although I was still wearing clothes, I could feel the pressure of his lips right down to my toes.

  His teeth grazed over the hard nub, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to my clit. “Tell me.”

  “I need more,” I whispered.

  Luther hooked an arm around my middle, throwing me over his shoulder.

  I gasped, grabbing onto the waist of his pants. “Luther, what are you doing?”

  He didn’t answer and carried me through the house to what I had assumed would be his bedroom. But when he dropped me on my feet, he spun me around and pushed me forward. Opening the door in front of me, he gently nudged me. “Light’s on the wall on the right. Turn it on.”

  I grazed my hand over the wall, came into contact with the switch, and flicked on the light. I winced, blinking a few times to clear the spots dancing in my vision. When the room came into view, my eyes widened.

  Luther cupped my shoulder. “Everything in this room is used for pleasure. Or pain. Depends on what you’re into. We can figure that out together. I told you I wanted to play with you, Lexi. I want you to feel things you’ve never even dreamed about.” He pushed me into the room, shutting the door behind us. “But what I want most, is to control you.”

  Unable to take my gaze away from the room spread before me, I listened. Luther’s words washed over me, promising me hours of pleasure. Maybe even longer. He wanted to play. I already had someone to play with. Something about this situation was familiar. Although I couldn’t see my Master, I could see Luther and yet they still reminded me so much of each other.

  “Tell me what you see, pet.” Luther nudged me forward a couple of steps.

  “B-Black carpet. Black walls. Black everything.” I took a breath. “So much black.”

  “What else do you see?” he asked, brushing the scruff of his thin beard against my cheek.

  “Items.” Most of them looked like benches and a cross sat against the far wall. Miss Vee had taught me what these items were. St. Andrews Cross. Sawhorse. And more.

  Luther guided me to a large unit with two doors. “Open it.”

  I did as I was told, revealing whips, floggers, butt plugs and handcuffs. I reached out to touch them but pulled my hand back.

  “You can touch them, pet,” Luther murmured in my ear.

  I ran my fingers along the soft ends of the floggers. They were leather and all different colors. A shiver trembled through me at what they would feel like running over my skin. Or slapping against my ass.

  Luther ran his hand down my spine, brushing his fingers over the cheek of my rear. “Do you know what they are?”

  “Floggers,” I answered breathlessly.

  “They are. And they’re all handmade by an artist in Italy. These also haven’t been used on anyone, but I would like to use them on you.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “I would like to use everything in this room on you, Lexi.” Luther kissed the spot beneath my ear. “I know there’s a submissive inside of you. You’ve always been in control of everything around you. You need someone to take you out of your head, pet.”

  “You’re going to be that someone?” I asked him, my throat going dry.

  “If you let me.” Luther released me and grabbed my hand. “Any questions you have, just ask.”

  “Why this? Why not have sex the normal way?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Because I’m not a normal man. I have needs. Unconventional needs. Not many people can satisfy those needs, but I think you can. It’ll be a challenge, but I know you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make those you care about, happy.”

  “You think I care about you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have felt so damn guilty about letting another man fuck you.”

  My back stiffened. Pulling my hand from his, I walked past him and moved around the room. “I don’t know anything about this lifestyle. But I’ve seen movies.” I ran my hand over a blood red bench. Miss Vee hadn’t told me what this type of item was. I had a feeling that it was custom-made and not something you would normally
see at The Club. Unless it was in a special room and I just hadn’t been introduced to it yet. It had two wooden posts on either side of it. The posts had a large hole in the top of them.

  “Give me your wrist.” Luther held out his hand.

  I placed my hand in his.

  His fingers wrapped around it and he pulled me toward the post. “Your hand goes in here. And this—” He pushed the top of the post until the hole closed, leaving my wrist locked in the wood. “—closes so you can’t get out. You would be completely restrained with your ass in the air for me to do whatever the fuck I want to do.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to move,” I whispered, unsure how I felt about that.

  “That’s the idea.” He smirked. “It’s a mind fuck but it also builds trust.” He lifted the top of the post until the hole became bigger.

  I removed my hand, rubbing my wrist. It reminded me of being restrained by my Master. It was the same idea anyway. But this would be different. I would be able to see Luther. I wasn’t sure what was worse. Looking into a man’s eyes as he controlled me completely or not being able to see him at all.

  “Did it hurt?” Luther asked, his brows furrowing.

  “No. Not at all.” I looked up at him then. “Luther?” I brushed my hand down his chest. “Hey.”

  His eyes popped to mine. They were dark, stormy, and so damn intense, they took my breath away. Something flashed behind them, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. A memory maybe?

  “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  “I don’t want you going to The Club.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me against him. “I need…I need you here.”

  “I am here, Luther.” I leaned back. “I’m not going to The Club. Not tonight.”

  He nodded, that muscle in his jaw ticking.

  “What’s going on?” I ran my hand up and down his arm.

  Luther cupped my cheek, placing a soft peck on my forehead. “So sweet,” he murmured. “Forgive me.”

  Just when I was about to ask what he meant by that, he turned me around and bent me over a nearby bench.

  “No.” I struggled against him when it reminded me too much of my Master. If Luther wanted me to know him, he would have to show me other parts. I didn’t want to know him like this. Not yet.