Dangerous Surrender

by Katie Reus

  “Turn toward the mirror,” he ordered.

  She paused for a second but did as he said. Grabbing a condom from his pants, he ripped it open and quickly rolled it on as he turned to face her.

  Her hands were on the counter and her legs spread as she watched him in the mirror. Moving behind her, he grabbed one of her hips and reached around to her front as he pulled her flush against his chest. Sliding his hand up her flat stomach he stopped under one of her breasts before cupping it.

  He kept his gaze on her face, watching as she tracked his movements. Her breathing hitched up a notch when he flicked his thumb over her already hard nipple. Oh yeah, it wasn’t going to take long to push her over the edge. Or him.

  God, his entire body pulled tight with need, desire. He could hardly stand it, he wanted inside her so bad. Brushing her long hair forward, he leaned down and started feathering kisses along the back of her neck. “Touch your clit,” he murmured.

  She jerked against him, her butt rubbing against his erection at his order. He could do it, but he wanted to see her touch herself, to know that she had no problem when he gave orders in bed. Or against a bathroom counter.

  He liked control in the bedroom, always had, and he knew he needed a partner who meshed with him on this level. He wasn’t into chains and shit, but he did like to take control.

  Without pause she reached between her legs and started stroking herself, her blue eyes locked on his in the mirror as he nipped down on one of her shoulders.

  “Feel good?”

  She nodded, her lips parted a fraction, eyes glazed with pleasure.

  “Want to feel my cock in you?”

  In response, she moaned, pushing back and wriggling against him. He couldn’t help himself even if he’d wanted to. Grinning, he lightly pressed his teeth into her shoulder, raking over her skin.

  He was so damn hard and she was so incredibly wet that when he nudged her entrance, he slid right in. She was tight, like he’d known she would be after feeling his fingers inside her, and he didn’t want to be anywhere else but inside her tight, wet body.

  Groaning, she arched back, pushing against him so that he slid fully to the hilt. She clutched onto the counter as her head fell forward, as if she was savoring the feel of him buried inside her.

  Without moving, he slowly kissed and nipped his way across her back to her other shoulder, the feel of her soft skin perfection. “I didn’t say you could stop touching yourself.” There was an edge to his voice he knew she couldn’t miss.

  Her eyes snapped open, meeting his gaze in the mirror. For a moment he worried the way he was ordering her would make her pull back. Instead, her full lips curved into a wicked grin as she reached between her legs again and started stroking herself.

  And wasn’t that the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

  Rolling his hips back, he pulled out before plunging deep inside her. Knowing how sensitive she was after last night, he cupped both her breasts and began teasing her nipples, gently at first. When he rolled and slightly pinched them, she jerked back against him, trying to make him increase his rhythm.

  So he buried himself completely inside her and held onto one of her hips, keeping her tight against him. The pleasure that shot through him at the feel of her tight body had all his muscles tensing in anticipation. It wouldn’t be long now. God, he needed her to come first. Craved the sounds she made.

  Her eyes were dilated, her breathing uneven as she looked at him in the mirror. Sliding the hand down that had been holding her hip, he pushed hers out of the way and started stroking her clit in the rhythm he’d learned she needed.

  Just like that, her inner walls spasmed and clenched around him as her orgasm slammed into her.

  “Roman,” she rasped out his name, a ragged moan on her lips.

  He continued stroking her clit as her head fell forward, her eyes closing. She murmured his name and other indecipherable words as she came. He drank in the sight of her losing herself to her climax and let go of his control.

  Unable to stop the groan that tore from him, he thrust into her over and over, his own release following on the heels of hers with a sharpness he hadn’t expected. His balls pulled up tight and all the muscles in his body pulled taut as he let go.

  “Taylor,” he moaned, burying her face against her neck as he came down from his high. Wrapping his arm around her middle, he kept her close to his body, loving the feel of her back against his chest.

  As their breathing returned to normal, he met her gaze in the mirror. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed as she gave him an intimate smile.

  “Remember what I said about not wanting anything serious?” he asked quietly.

  She tensed in his hold and he could feel her inner walls clench around his now half-hard length. She nodded, her expression wary.

  “I’m full of shit. We’re going to be doing this again. A lot. And I’m not sharing you with anyone else.” Because if they weren’t serious she’d be free to date other people. The thought of that made something jealous and foreign flare inside him. Yeah, he didn’t like that idea at all.

  She grinned and wiggled against him, making him groan against her neck again. “Good, because I’m not sharing you either.”

  Fine by him.

  Hating to do it, he pulled out of her and disposed of the condom as she turned to face him. “So…you want to see where this thing between us goes?” he asked.

  Nodding, she bit her bottom lip. “Yes. It’s probably crazy to even entertain something between us right now, but… I feel like I’d really regret it if we didn’t give whatever’s happening between us a chance. Are we crazy?”

  He let out a sigh of relief he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Who cares if we are?” he murmured, brushing his lips against hers. God, he could lose himself in her all day. As he deepened the kiss, a sharp knock on the door made him pull back.

  He’d heard the alarm briefly beep before it was turned off and had assumed it was Escobar returning since no one else knew the code. Still, moving on instinct, he pushed her behind him.

  “Roman?” Escobar called out before he could say anything.

  “Yeah.”

  “Taylor’s getting a call. Unknown number.”

  They both sprang into action, hurriedly tugging their clothes on. Taylor was faster than him by a second, grabbing the door as Roman finished pulling his shirt over his head.

  Escobar stood there, phone in hand. The ring was a soft chiming sound. She snagged it from the other man, but Roman plucked it from her before she could answer. She made a yelping sound, but he ignored her, stepping into the bedroom as he answered.

  “Hello?”

  There was a short pause. “Is Taylor available?” The slightly accented male voice gave away who the caller was. Or who Roman guessed it was.

  “Alexei?”

  Another pause, this time longer. “Who is this?”

  “The friend of hers you threatened. She’s going to help you get what you want, but then you have no reason to contact her again. And anything you say to her, goes through me. Understand?”

  “I will speak only to her.”

  Roman snorted. “Then you’re done. Good luck getting that five hundred thou for your boss.” He hung up.

  “Roman! Why did you do that?” Taylor sounded horrified, her expression matching her tone when he turned to look at her and Escobar.

  Escobar answered before he could. “Because he had to establish ground rules. Someone like this only respects power and we need to let him know who’s in control.”

  Exactly, Roman thought.

  Taylor started to say something but the phone rang again. Unknown number. Roman answered. “Yes?”

  “I will need confirmation from the woman that she will do what we request.” There was an underlying note of impatience in his voice. And the terms were clearly vague in case this was being recorded.

  “I’m putting you on speaker,” Roman said, pressing the button. “She can h
ear you.”

  “How long will it take to transfer everything?” Alexei asked, his words clipped.

  She looked at Roman as she spoke, her expression tense. “Not long. Couple hours at the most. I’ll need someone to transfer everything to though.”

  For the next couple minutes Taylor talked to the Russian mob enforcer, writing down benign enough information for who the boat’s title would be transferred to and she gathered what she’d need to make it happen. Roman figured she’d do that magic of hers, probably some of it illegal, and he was just counting down the seconds until this was all behind her. Behind them.

  As soon as Taylor was done, Roman took the phone off speaker. “You still there?”

  “Yes.” A terse answer.

  Roman nodded at Escobar, silently asking him to keep Taylor in the room as he left. Thankfully she didn’t argue or try to follow as he strode from the room. He didn’t give a shit that this guy was part of the mob. Roman had better training than most people on the planet and he’d been trained to kill in too many methods to count.

  He wanted to make it clear to this man that if he tried to cross Taylor or come after her in any way, that he would be a dead man walking. The mob couldn’t protect him from Roman if one hair on her head was touched. No force on earth could.

  Chapter 15

  Panic detonated inside Neal as he hurried down the dock toward his boat and saw Alexei standing next to the vessel, his hands shoved in his pants’ pockets. The sun had just set and the marina was quiet, with most people who lived here on their way to dinner at one of the nearby seafood restaurants. He’d been running errands all day, gathering all the money and IDs he’d stashed around the city in various places. It had been tedious and slow because he’d had to be extra careful about the places he retrieved his money from. He’d had to make sure he wasn’t being followed or that the places he’d been to weren’t under surveillance. All this was necessary in case he needed to go on the run. Which seemed to be a certain thing if he didn’t find Taylor by the end of tomorrow.

  His deadline.

  So why the hell was Alexei here now? That familiar fear at seeing the big Russian slid through Neal’s veins. As he neared the boat, he saw another man exiting the interior cabin, one of Neal’s gym bags in his hand.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, trying to keep his voice civil. Alexei wasn’t the kind of man you lost your temper with.

  Alexei barely glanced at him as he surveyed the area. As if Neal wasn’t worth his time. “My boss has decided to claim your boat as payment. You no longer owe him. My men are removing your belongings,” he said, as the other man dropped the gym bag onto the dock close to Neal’s feet.

  “I have until tomorrow!” God, he needed a bump. Something to take the edge off. His fingers trembled and he went to grab at Alexei’s arm, to beg if need be, but stopped himself at the last minute. He wasn’t suicidal. His boat was supposed to have been his way out of here, a backup if he needed more money, a way to bribe officials if he crossed the border. Because this vessel was worth a lot.

  Alexei acted as if Neal hadn’t spoken. He pulled out his cell phone and started texting—texting!—as if he wasn’t even there. A predator-like grin spread across Alexei’s face as he sent his message.

  Another surge of dread filled him as two more bags were dropped onto the dock. No, no, no. He needed the money this boat could give him. It was clean and matched one of his IDs. Fleeing the authorities in it would be easy. Now he had nothing but cash. And the money wouldn’t last him long. “Alexei, please, I have until tomorrow. This boat is still mine. If your boss takes it he runs the risk of using stolen property.”

  Now those eerie, green eyes focused on Neal. “You plan on calling the police?”

  Neal didn’t miss the mocking note in his voice. He swallowed hard. “I’ll report it stolen.” He sounded braver than he felt and the words were bullshit. Something Alexei had to know.

  The other man smiled then, once again reminding him of a shark. Involuntarily Neal took a small step back then inwardly cursed his weakness. When he reached into his jacket pocket Neal froze, certain the Russian was pulling out a gun. Instead he pulled out a sheaf of papers. He unfolded them and held them up. “Thank you for the very legal bill of sale.”

  No! Ice filled his veins, threading through him, leaving him frozen where he stood.

  Alexei laughed, the first time Neal had ever heard the sound from the man. The sound was even more frightening than his smile. Continuing, the Russian shook his head. “I wish you could see your expression. You are a man with no honor and deserve everything you will get. What kind of man kills his own partner? You think I’m a monster, I know this. But I am loyal to my people. You…you are worthless.”

  Neal opened his mouth to respond, but no words would come out. His throat was dry, scratchy and—that was sirens in the distance. His head whipped around in their direction, not that it did any good. He couldn’t actually see the police cars. Were they coming for him?

  He looked back at Alexei and the smug, triumphant smile on the man’s face was all he needed to confirm the truth. “You called the police?”

  The Russian shook his head. “No. You angered a lot of people Mr. Lynch. My boss gets his payment and now the people who helped us get what they want. You in prison. Simple as that. Like I said before, you might want to just kill yourself. I don’t think a man like you will do well in prison.” He chuckled again then turned away from him, completely dismissing him.

  Oh God. He had to move fast. To flee.

  The sirens were getting louder. Closer.

  Bending, he grabbed the bag with his extra cash. He looked inside to make sure it was still there. Cash and burner phones. He could replace everything else.

  Hefting the bag up, he started running. He had to get away from the marina.

  Behind him he could hear the men laughing at him. Fuck them. He would escape. No matter what it took, he’d get away. The Russian’s words rolled around in his head; ‘the people who helped us’. What the hell? Only one person that he knew of wanted him in prison. Taylor Arenas.

  Well, most of the employees at the Powers Group wanted him imprisoned or dead. Everyone had loved Hugh. But Taylor and maybe a few people from the IT department were the only ones smart enough to transfer his boat to the Russians.

  He’d made sure that purchase was buried deep, under layers and layers so there would be no tracing it back to him. But that bitch must have figured it out.

  It had to be her.

  Even if it wasn’t he didn’t care. He was going to make her pay for everything she’d done. This whole situation was her fault. She’d told Hugh what he’d been up to. If she’d just kept her nose out of his business none of this would have happened. Hugh would still be alive and the company would be out a little cash.

  No big deal.

  But she’d thought she could just check up on him, like he was some common criminal. As he raced along the dock a plan formed in his mind. There was one more person he could turn to for help.

  It was risky and would cost him every last cent he had to get what he needed to bring her down. But it would be worth it because if he did it right, she’d be dead and he’d be able to escape for the rest of his life without looking over his shoulder. He’d have to start over financially but it would be worth it with that bitch dead.

  Chapter 16

  Three days later

  Roman opened the back of the armored SUV door for Taylor and as she slid in, another wave of tears welled up. She swiped at them, willing them to stop. But it was useless.

  Hugh’s funeral had left her emotionally spent. Everyone from work—sans Neal—had been there. Not to mention hundreds of other people. Hugh had made a lot of contacts and friends over the years. A fair businessman who gave back to the community, he would definitely be missed by many. Especially by her. So much. She’d never forget the first big business deal she’d helped him with. He’d taken her and the others on the team out fo
r a big celebration dinner, making her feel like she belonged somewhere and was doing something good for the first time in a long time. He’d made her feel like more than an employee, like she mattered. And he’d done the same thing for so many people because he’d truly cared.

  “He’d have loved how many people showed up today,” Taylor murmured, leaning her head on Roman. He’d been with her the past couple days, a steady rock. For once in her life she had no problem depending on someone for emotional support. Because right now, she needed it. Saying goodbye had been harder than she’d thought. She’d made a silent vow to him that she would see Neal brought down for what he’d done. That was the only thing that helped make her feel better.

  Roman’s arm tightened around her shoulders as Escobar started the engine. The last three days they’d basically been holed up in Wyatt Christiansen’s condo. Despite what Escobar had said about her taking time off, she’d been working on different company projects, tying up anything she could this week just to keep busy and because she didn’t want things to fall apart because Hugh was gone. Since she could work anywhere as long as she had her laptop it hadn’t been an issue.

  She knew she needed to ask Roman how much longer he’d be staying and what would happen between them from here, but she’d been feeling way too raw to say it in case he didn’t give her the answer she wanted. She’d just needed to get through today. Now that the funeral was over, she knew it was time for the conversation. Because as much as she wanted him to, she knew he couldn’t stick around and guard her until Neal was found.

  She was still pissed he’d managed to get away. Neither the police nor the security team—all of whom Escobar had since fired for losing sight of him—had been able to track him down after he’d fled the marina. Alexei had actually called to apologize for not locking Neal down at the marina. The Russian had said he thought the cops would easily apprehend him and if she hadn’t known better she might have believed the man truly felt bad.