Whisper of Surrender

by Melanie Shawn

  “I think you’ve finally met your match. This is going to be very fun to watch.”

  Just as Ali made that annoying prediction, the sky lit up with bright flashes of color. Whisper Lake spared no expense on their fireworks display. The fourth was a huge holiday for the city. She knew that Ethan was on duty today. He’d texted her to let her know that he was working a double, which meant he’d be off around two a.m.

  And when he was, she had a plan for a little fireworks of her own.

  CHAPTER 19

  It was almost three a.m. and Ethan had been on duty for the past sixteen hours. He should’ve been pulling up to his house. But instead he was stopped at a red light on his way to Jess’s house, checking his phone one more time to see if she’d sent another text.

  When he was leaving the station, he saw that he had a text from her. She’d messaged about an hour before to ask if he was off duty and he’d replied that yes, he was finally off duty and going home to sleep for the next ten hours.

  So then she sent another text. One with a photo, a close-up of her bare belly standing next to the shower.

  I’m feeling very dirty. Too bad I don’t have someone to help wash me off. And in other non-related news: my front door is unlocked.

  He may have been exhausted, but after that text he had pure adrenaline coursing through him.

  A car honked behind him. He looked up to see the light had turned. Shit. Jess drove him to complete distraction. He pulled out even more agitated than he had been.

  In the back of his mind he knew she was kidding about the door being unlocked. Or at least he thought she was. But he’d feel a lot better about it if he could get confirmation. Which was impossible because she wasn’t picking up his call or answering his text back.

  As he pulled onto her street, he knew that all of the agitation he was feeling was a culmination of a lot of things, the main one being that he’d barely seen Jess over the last two weeks.

  She’d been avoiding him. He’d tried to see her and she’d made excuses. The talent show was in fourteen hours. That was technically the end of their arrangement. Not that they’d discussed it. They would’ve actually had to talk to do that.

  He couldn’t say that this entire thing hadn’t been worth it. He’d never take back the weekend that they’d had together. Or the time he’d spent with her at rehearsals. He loved watching the pure joy on her face as she danced. It was her happy place and he felt honored to have been able to share that with her.

  It was strange, but he felt closer to her than he ever had and at the same time more distant than he’d ever been. And he had no idea what to do about it.

  He parked in front of her house and as he was getting out of his truck, he paused. He wasn’t sure how to approach things with her. And he was exhausted. Not just physically. He was emotionally drained trying to figure out how to end this charade and not lose Jess in the process.

  At this point, he figured it was time to put his cards on the table. He needed to come clean about his true intentions. There was no way he was going to start a relationship, a real relationship, with a lie. If she wanted to be with him, it would make him the happiest man in the world. If she didn’t, he’d know that he’d been honest and opened himself up to what he thought was a chance at something real.

  He climbed her porch steps two at a time and took a deep breath. He was ready to face this thing head on. As he reached for the door, it opened, and he looked up to see Jess, wearing a robe and holding her phone. She turned the screen toward him. The stopwatch app displayed a time of five minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

  “Wow. That must be a record. It usually takes me at least ten to get home from the other side of the lake.” Mischief danced in her baby blues as she asked, “Tell me, was it the thought of me in the shower that gave you the lead foot or the fact that my door was unlocked?”

  Relief washed over him. He’d missed her. A lot.

  He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, making sure to turn the deadbolt as the realization that this was her idea of a joke sank in. That still didn’t stop him from saying as he turned back to her, “Do you know how dangerous it is not to lock your door?”

  “I do.” She nodded in an exaggerated fashion as she pulled up her text messages and flipped the device back at him. “See? You told me.”

  His text telling her that it was dangerous to leave her door unlocked and that she needed to lock it now was illuminated on the screen.

  She chuckled a little as she backed up a step. “Don’t go all RGF on me.”

  He grinned, not able to help himself. “This isn’t funny.”

  She lifted her hand, pinching her thumb and forefinger together. “It’s a little funny.”

  “You could’ve just asked me to come over.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” She lifted one of her shoulders in a shrug and the light pink terrycloth material fell, exposing nothing but bare skin.

  “What are you wearing under that robe?” His entire body grew tense with arousal.

  “Hmm…I don’t know.” She said coyly. “Maybe we should find out.”

  She set her phone down on the entryway table and untied the belt. As the material slid down to the ground his dick grew so fast and so full he could feel his heartbeat pulsing in it.

  The only light in the darkened house came from the moon shining in through the kitchen window and it highlighted her show-stopping curves. As his eyes traveled over the body that he now knew like the back of his hand, he was finding that his breathing was shallow and the air around them had grown thick.

  As much as he’d love to turn her around and take her up against this wall, he had a better idea. He’d been too tired to take a shower at the station and after the day he’d had, that was exactly what he needed.

  His hands itched to reach out and touch her now but he knew if he did they’d never make it past this entryway.

  “You said that you were feeling dirty, I think it’s time we take care of that.” He pointed down the hallway. “Go.”

  He saw Jess’s eyes flare with desire at his rough command but she didn’t move. He’d spent the past couple of weeks missing the frustrating woman standing in front of him and between that and the stunt she’d pulled tonight, his patience was at an all-time low.

  “Now.” That time, his authoritative instruction worked.

  Jess’s lips fell open and she gasped as a faint blush rushed up her cheeks. She did an about-face and headed down the hallway. As she walked, his eyes devoured the view from behind and his pants grew even tighter. His gaze traveled from the humming bird tattoo on her left shoulder down to the lotus flower on her lower back. It sat just above the gentle slope that curved into her world-class ass that was swaying seductively back and forth with each step she took.

  The rhythm was mesmerizing and by the time they made it to the bathroom, he was even deeper under her spell. Neither one of them spoke as Jess reached into the shower to turn on the water. Ethan began undressing. By the time she’d settled on the temperature she wanted, he was totally naked.

  Just as his eyes had scoured her body, Jess’s gaze drank all of him in.

  “Damn,” she breathed, a hint of awe in her voice.

  He loved the way that she looked at him with an intoxicating combination of lust, desire, and wonder. Or maybe he was just projecting how he looked at her.

  She started to reach out and touch him but he caught her wrist. “If you do that this is going to be over in about ten seconds.”

  “But think about how fun those ten seconds would be.” Jess wagged her brows and as much as he was tempted to let her go, he didn’t.

  Instead, he tightened his hold on her wrist, spun her around, and guided her into the shower. During their time in Chicago he’d been gentle and loving, but tonight he wasn’t in a gentle and loving mood.

  He directed them beneath the spray of water and wasted no time exposing her neck and biting it with just enough force to sting. The high-pitched ga
sp that she made shot straight to his dick, causing it to bob up and strain for attention.

  He lifted her arms above her head and flattened her hands on the tile as he pressed his erection against the slickness of her backside.

  He dipped his head and his lips brushed against her ear as he gritted out, “In Chicago, I made love to you. Tonight I want to fuck you. Hard. Fast. And rough.”

  * * *

  Holy shit.

  Jess squeezed her thighs together and almost came solely from Ethan’s bold declaration. She was overwhelmed from the erotic scene. From the water pouring down between their naked bodies, to Ethan’s fingers capturing her wrists above her head, to the feeling of his rock-hard arousal pinning her into place.

  She’d had a pretty good idea when she’d sent that text that it would lead to sexy time. That was the reason she’d sent it in the first place. Well, that and she’d just plain missed him.

  But she never would’ve imagined that things would’ve got this hot this fast. This was a side of Ethan that she’d never seen before. Well, there was that one time at Lanterns that she’d seen Ethan on the job, breaking up a drunken brawl. He’d disarmed a man with a baseball bat and held another down while he waited for backup.

  The commanding authority that he’d shown that night had given her lots of material for her clit bank. But this, tonight, this was next-level. A romance novel come to life.

  “Is that what you want? Do you want me to fuck you hard, fast, and rough?” he growled against her ear.

  She nodded her head and was barely able to speak but managed a strained, “Yes.”

  “Tell me,” he demanded.

  A whimper escaped the back of her throat when she opened her mouth. “I want you to fuck me…hard…fast…rough.”

  Ethan’s fingers dug into the plump flesh of her hip as he tilted her hips up and pushed into her in one smooth, hard thrust. He didn’t stop until he filled her completely. The hairs that surrounded his shaft brushed against her bare cheeks as he ground against her before he pulled out and plunged back into her.

  She was right, Ethan didn’t need a hotel to make sex hot.

  She closed her eyes and braced herself, her fingers gripping the slick surface of the tile walls as she went up on her tip toes so that he could get an even better angle and she could take more of him. His thickness stretched her body as he slammed into her. She cried out as a sensation that walked a fine line between pain and pleasure shocked her.

  She felt Ethan’s hand press on her back as he shifted them to the side and he bent her over the bench seat that lined the back wall of her shower stall. Her hands flattened against the cold, wet surface as Ethan grasped both sides of her hips and began slowly thrusting into her with powerful strokes. She was no longer trying to stand up on her tiptoes. The new angle had him hitting a spot that had her seeing stars.

  He kept a steady pace of measured strokes until her body started to quiver as her release built. The sound of their skin slapping together and the sensation of her hardened nipples brushing against the tiled seat as Ethan pounded into her all conspired to take her to an erotic peak.

  When her release slammed into her, she slapped her hand on the tile and cried out as a thousand tiny bursts of ecstasy exploded through her. Behind her she could feel Ethan’s body tense as he groaned and they climaxed together.

  Knowing that he was feeling the same crash of pleasure that she was increased the earth-shattering bliss that was claiming her.

  When she came floating back to reality she was being picked up and carried out of the shower. Just like she had in Chicago when he’d carried her to the bed, she held onto his neck and buried her face in his chest, absorbing his strength. Not just his physical strength. She absorbed the calm authority that made her feel safe and protected.

  He began to lay her down but she held onto him tighter and curled against him. “No!”

  “What?” he asked.

  “We’re wet and there’s cat hair on the comforter.”

  He grinned as he tugged it off, revealing sheets she’d freshly laundered.

  “Better?” he asked.

  “Better.” She smiled as he gently laid her down.

  She sank into the mattress under his weight. Her hand roamed over the hard planes of his back as she wrapped her legs around his hip. As incredible as the sex was with Ethan, this was her most favorite part. Holding him and feeling his skin against hers. Feeling the heft of his body on hers.

  He rose up on one of his elbows and brushed a wet strand of hair off her cheek with heartbreaking tenderness. She leaned into his palm and her eyes met his.

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Hi.” He grinned down at her.

  “I missed you,” she admitted.

  “I missed you, too.”

  There were a lot of questions running through her head.

  What was going to happen after the talent show?

  When he’d asked her to be his fake girlfriend, was that all he really wanted?

  Did he have any real feelings for her?

  But none of those came out when she opened her mouth. “Did you see the fireworks?”

  “No. Did you?”

  “Yeah, I watched them with Ali and Dumbass.”

  “How did he do at the kissing booth?”

  “Good. Dumbass was the best canine kisser we’ve ever had.”

  He grinned and she snuggled closer to him as she told him about how they didn’t have to use treats to bribe him and he told her about a drunk that came into the station and reported himself missing. They talked about movies they wanted to see. They discussed what the best pizza toppings were. They argued over whether or not the Cubs had a chance at a ring this year.

  They talked about everything under the sun except them and their relationship. But as Jess fell asleep wrapped in Ethan’s arms, a peace settled inside of her. What they had was real, she knew it. And if he didn’t, she’d just have to show him.

  CHAPTER 20

  “Come on,” Jess said under her breath as she paced the community center foyer. She’d left her table to come out and call Ethan again to find out what his ETA was.

  She’d been texting and calling him for over an hour but hadn’t heard back from him. The thought had crossed her mind that he might be doing it because she hadn’t returned his calls or texts last night, but that was only for a few minutes when she knew he was headed her way. There was no way he’d do that to her like this.

  She hadn’t seen him since he left her house in the wee hours of the morning. After taking the best shower of her life and collapsing into bed together, she’d fallen asleep during one of the best talks of her life. The next thing she knew, she woke up to find him getting dressed. He’d been called into work at six a.m. Something about a missing person from witness protection.

  Throughout the day he’d been texting her updates, but she hadn’t heard anything since he messaged her several hours ago telling her it was done and he’d be able to make the performance.

  Since then, it had been radio silence. He’d said he was about an hour away, and she knew that he had to stop by his house, shower, change, and then pick up Daisy, it still seemed like he should’ve been here by now.

  The door opened and she fully expected to see Ethan walk in but it was the other man in her life. Well, besides Elvis Pawsley, of course.

  Her dad hadn’t come with her and her mom because he’d insisted on finishing working on her parents’ air conditioning unit because if he knew something needed to be fixed, he couldn’t leave it unfixed. But, he’d promised that he’d be there in time for the dance, and he was. Jess hugged her dad, suddenly feeling more nervous that he’d arrived and Ethan still hadn’t.

  “Wow! You look incredible, baby girl.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jess had gone to painstaking lengths to find an exact replica of the pink Hilary Rosenfeld dress that Jennifer Grey wore in the movie. Everything from the side zipper, to the twisted straps, to the l
ace band with beading around the waist, to the lightweight taffeta skirt with charmeuse overlay. She figured that she’d never get another moment like this so go big or go home.

  “Are you ready for your big dance?” Her dad’s voice interrupted the worried thoughts that raced through her mind.

  “Yep.”

  If Ethan shows up. There was still another hour until they were scheduled to go on, but he was cutting it close.

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Yep.”

  And not just because her dance partner was a no show.

  When you stare down the Grim Reaper it sort of puts things in perspective. Usually, Jess didn’t sweat the small stuff. And, to the great dismay of her overprotective father, it actually made her more daring in life.

  When she’d decided to test out her brand new ticker by zip-lining five hundred feet in the air, she hadn’t had a moment’s hesitation. When she’d become a business owner and signed a five-year lease, she hadn’t blinked an eye. But thinking about what was ahead of her in the next hour was making her more nervous than a cat at a rocking chair convention. Her pre-show jitters were off the charts.

  And Ethan being MIA was making it worse.

  Her dad either missed her affirmative response or ignored it. His hazel eyes grew misty and he wiped his finger and thumb beneath his glasses. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

  It didn’t surprise her that he was getting emotional. Her dad was even more sentimental than her mom. He was a man’s man who liked fishing, could fix anything, and had never missed one of his precious Bears’ football games, but he also liked romantic comedies and got choked up at chic flicks.

  “You haven’t even seen me dance yet.” She tried to lighten the mood. And also take the expectations down a notch or two.

  “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about you. You amaze me. The odds you’ve beat. When I think back to all the times I saw you in the hospital, I would’ve never imagined I’d be about to see you competing in a talent show, or running your own business, or doing all the amazing things you do.”