Surrender

by K. M. Scott

  “December 6. I know you’re leaving right after the holidays, so I hope to see you there. Not only would it mean a lot to Stefan and Alexandria, but it would mean a lot to Cash and me too.”

  “Well, then. Seems all the Marches and future Marches want me there, so I’ll be there.”

  “Less than a month and counting,” she said with a smile. “I have to catch up with Cash, but it was nice talking to you, Shay. Come back and see me sometime. My office is right next to his.”

  Olivia walked away, and I couldn’t help but feel like everyone thought this thing between Stefan and me was much bigger than what I thought it was. Not that I didn’t enjoy being with him. The funny and sexy sides to him were definitely parts I liked, but what about the player part? The memory of that side to him never left me.

  “Hey, you look a million miles away. What’s up?”

  I shook myself out of my thoughts and saw Stefan standing in front of me. Quickly, I wondered if I should bring up what everybody thought. Maybe he’d said something about us that I should know. As this idea trudged around my brain, I couldn’t help but think that I should just enjoy myself and let this thing between us go wherever it was meant to.

  “Just daydreaming. How are you? Everything good with your mother?”

  “Yeah. She’s feeling better. The doctors think she might be able to go home tomorrow or the day after.”

  “At least you know she has something to read,” I teased, receiving a smile in return.

  “I know. I went a little overboard. I tend to do that with people I care about.”

  “It’s nice to see a man who treats his mother well. They say you can tell how a man will treat a woman by the way he is with his mother.”

  I knew Stefan’s history belied everything I’d just said, but seeing how he was with her had impressed me.

  “Then that’s a good thing for me. Maybe that will cancel out the other things you don’t like so much about me.”

  “Maybe. You better get going. Something tells me we’re giving off a couple vibe here, and if Lola sees that, she’s likely going to interrogate me the entire night.”

  Stefan’s brows knitted in anger. “You do realize I own this place and she’s my employee, right?”

  “Yes, but she already sees me as competition, so adding fuel to that fire can’t be a good thing for your business. Or for me.”

  “Did she give you a hard time the other night? Is that why you wanted to be up on the fourth floor?”

  I couldn’t hide my disappointment at losing the only friend I thought I had at Club X. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “She’s very territorial about you, and I guess she felt like I was intruding on her property. I thought we were friends, but I guess not.”

  Stefan’s frown deepened. “Then maybe it’s time she spends a few nights up on the fourth floor to get that idea right out of her head.”

  Reaching out, I squeezed his hand resting on top of the bar. “You don’t have to defend me, Stefan. I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

  “Maybe I want to defend you.”

  “I just don’t want you to do anything that would create a problem here. She’s your head bartender and losing her over this would be foolish.”

  “Over what? You? I don’t think that would be foolish, Shay. You’re an even better bartender than she is, so if Lola decides to leave, the club won’t suffer.”

  “I’m not going to be here forever. It’s best to keep that in mind when you make decisions regarding her.”

  I watched as his eyes filled with hurt at my allusion to leaving and felt bad, not because I had to leave but because he clearly didn’t even like hearing about it.

  “Right.”

  “And we agree we should keep whatever we’re going together on the down low?” I asked with a chuckle. “I mean, if you can’t really explain what you’re doing with someone, maybe you shouldn’t make it obvious.”

  Somehow, I’d become a blabbering idiot in the past few minutes, but I had a vibe that if Lola found out Stefan and I were together in any way, she’d make our lives a living hell. No longer my friend, she likely wouldn’t see any reason to keep the peace.

  “What if I don’t want to keep us on the down low?” he asked defensively.

  “Stefan, there’s nothing wrong with keeping your private life private. It won’t take away anything from what we’re doing if no one but us knows. It actually will make it more special, like a secret only we share.”

  He looked unconvinced, so I said, “What if I ask you to do this for me?”

  His eyes softened and he smiled. “You already know my weakness, don’t you? If you ask me to pretend like we aren’t together, I’ll do it, but I don’t want to hide being happy.”

  “I don’t want you to hide your happiness. Just that it comes from anything involving me.”

  Stefan hung his head for a moment and then looked up at me with that puppy dog look I couldn’t help but fall for. “Okay, but in return for doing this, I want you to come to my place tonight. Those are my terms.”

  He was so cute. Trying to stifle a smile, I said, “I didn’t realize we were negotiating, but okay. I agree to those terms.”

  “Good. Be ready to leave after the bar closes. Until then, I promise to look like the same guy I’ve always been.”

  Stefan flashed me a sexy smile and winked before turning and heading toward his office. Almost as if we’d gotten lucky, Lola walked in just as he closed his office door. Her eyes lit up when she saw me like they always had, but now I knew I had to suspect her every move since she’d decided I was the enemy as much as Mika.

  “Hey, Shay! You’re here early tonight.”

  “Just wanted to get a jump on the night. You know how it is.”

  I intentionally busied myself with arranging glasses and prep to avoid speaking to her as much as possible, but once Stefan emerged from his office, there was no way I could avoid her. His version of keeping us on the down low actually drew more attention to us, not less. While I tried to keep my eyes off him, his gaze seemed glued on me, which didn’t escape Lola’s attention. At times, it felt as if his stare was burning a hole in my side, and after about an hour of him acting like that, I wasn’t surprised when she finally gave in and asked me about it.

  “Did something happen between you and Stefan, Shay?”

  I served the member who’d ordered a gin and tonic and steeled my expression before turning to face her. Squinting, she wore the look of someone who suspected her man had been cheating on her. “Something happen? What do you mean?”

  Lola’s body twisted into a defensive pose as her right hip shot out. “He can’t take his eyes off you tonight. I’ve been watching him since he came out of his office, and he hasn’t stopped looking at you.”

  “How do you know he’s not looking at you? We’ve been standing right next to each other since you got here,” I offered, silently praying that my deflection worked.

  No such luck. “He’s looking at you. What’s going on? Did you two sleep together?”

  My mouth fell open in genuine surprise. Christ, she didn’t pull any punches when she thought someone was stealing her man. “Sleep together? Jesus, no!” She continued to glare at me, and something made me want to be spiteful. Not that being that way was ever a good idea.

  “I’m not like Mika or Kat or Jana. I know better than to sleep with a man whore. That’s a road to nowhere.”

  My mother’s repeated caution when I was a child not to spite my face by cutting off my nose rang in my ears as Lola’s eyes flew open in shock that I’d basically just indicted her along with the other women at Club X who foolishly slept with Stefan believing he would someday choose them and them alone. She may never have admitted to me she’d been sleeping with him, but we both knew what had been going on. I didn’t need to be defensive about her questioning or her sleeping with him, but I couldn’t help it. Something about the way she acted like Stefan was all hers bugged me, and if I couldn’t say anything outward
ly about it, I’d take whatever opportunity I could to slip in a dig or two.

  She worked quickly to regroup and contain her anger at my comment. “I know. It’s ridiculous that they think he cares about them. I wonder why he’s looking at you then.”

  “I have no idea. I’m sure if he has a problem with me, he’ll let me know. It’s not like Stefan ever holds anything back. Remember how angry he was with me about the Mika thing?”

  Lola nodded and appeared to consider the truth in my statement. “You’re right. I was probably just seeing things.”

  I looked toward the door as a steady stream of members made their way into the club. “Let’s hope so. I don’t need him yanking me out from behind the bar tonight. Looks like we’re going to have another great tip night. I don’t want to miss that.”

  My enthusiasm for making money seemed to put to rest her concerns that Stefan had taken a shine to me, but something told me this wouldn’t be the last time I’d have to deal with her suspicions.

  One step into Stefan’s condo and any ideas I had that he was just any other guy flew right out the penthouse window. A nearly 360 degree view of the bay may have been the selling point for the place, but the inside of the condo was nearly as spectacular. Impeccably furnished, his place could have been a showcase for contemporary design. Unlike most apartments I’d been in with that style, though, his had a warmth to it instead of a sterile feeling.

  Throwing his keys on the kitchen counter, Stefan spread his arms and smiled. “Welcome to Chez Stefan. What do you think?”

  I sat down on one of the barstools lining the island. “It’s gorgeous, but I’d expect no less. You’re a man who likes to enjoy life, and this condo shows that.”

  “You make it sound like I’m some billionaire playboy, Shay. I’m just a bar owner. That’s all.”

  Raising my eyebrows, I chuckled. “Going for the humble thing now? I’m not sure you can pull that off, Stefan.”

  “I figured it was worth a try. Come with me. I want to show you something.”

  I followed him out through the glass doors that led to the terrace and stopped dead at the sight of the view he had. It nearly took my breath away. The bay looked like it went on forever and from where I stood it seemed like I could see the entire world.

  Turning toward me, he grinned. “What do you think? Pretty nice, huh?”

  “It’s stunning. Utterly breathtaking. I can’t imagine having this right outside my window every day. I’d never leave home.”

  His eyes filled with pride. “I thought you might like it.”

  “Like it? I love it! It’s so gorgeous I could stay right on this spot forever.”

  He stayed silent for a long time as we looked out over the water and then moved behind me to wrap his arms around my waist. Leaning down, he rested his chin on my shoulder. “About that. We’re still doing the truth thing, right?”

  I turned my head and his lips softly grazed mine. “The truth thing, as you call it, is probably best for whatever we’re doing, friends or otherwise.”

  Stefan gently turned me to face him and kissed me, his tongue sliding into my mouth to playfully tease mine. He pulled away after a few moments as a jolt of need tore through me straight to my core, but I saw in his eyes he had something he wanted to tell me.

  “So about that truth thing…I have to tell you about something that you might not like,” he said in a quiet voice.

  “Like what?” I asked, worried that what he was about to tell me would ruin everything I felt for him already.

  “Maybe I should give you a little background so you can see this in the proper light. Kane and I have a love-hate relationship. Well, sort of. We used to be really close when we all got together to run Club X. He’s always been a little moody, but we had a good time.”

  “Chasing after women and having a good time?”

  “Well, for me, yeah. Him not so much. Kane never chases after women. I don’t know why or what the hell happened to him, but he’s never really had many women in his life. Other than how he is with you, which drives me out of my fucking mind with jealousy, he really only talks to Olivia and his dancers, but he never touches them.”

  “Which must confuse someone like you since you’d probably be all over those dancers,” I said with a smile. I knew what Stefan was, and in some ways, I had to agree with Lola. He loved women. Not in the way they usually wanted him to, but in a way that showed he enjoyed them.

  “The old me would have. That’s sort of what I’m getting at. The old me and Kane were close but not so much recently. He likes to bust my balls, which pisses me off. See? Love-hate. So that first day I met you right after your interview he was busting me about not being able to get you—that you were out of my league. And I…”

  Worry settled into those brown eyes of his and made me nervous. What had he done? “And you…?”

  “I made him a bet that I could get you to fall for me.” The words came out so fast that my brain took a few seconds to process what he’d said. By then, he had launched into damage control mode. “The bet wasn’t just for sex, though. I had to make you fall in love with me or I’d lose.”

  “Lose what?” I bit out. “Money?”

  “No. I’d lose this place for a year and my bike forever.”

  “You’re pretty damn confident in your abilities, aren’t you?”

  A smile lit up his face for a moment. “Well, yeah.”

  “And you’re telling me this why?”

  He looked out over the balcony’s edge and frowned. “Because I lost this place and my bike when I told Kane that we were just friends. I gave in and admitted he’d won because I didn’t want to be betting on us anymore, so he gets my condo for the next twelve months and my bike. So don’t get too attached to the view here.”

  I nudged his chin back toward me so he had to look into my eyes when I spoke. “You know, you two are really childish. Was that the reason why he’s been so nice to me?”

  “I don’t think so. I think he likes you. Not the way I feel about you but as a person. He’s like that with Olivia too.”

  “Why are you telling me this? I probably never would have found out, Stefan. I doubt Kane would have told me.”

  “I know. I just didn’t want to carry that around anymore. I like being able to be honest with you. I’m not trying to sound like an asshole, but I’ve never been honest with a female in my life. Well, other than my mother, and that’s only about some things.”

  “Don’t worry. She knows exactly what you are.”

  “Does she? How do you know?”

  “That’s what she wanted to talk to me about the other day. She hopes I’ll see past the man whore thing and realize that the guy underneath is pretty decent.”

  “Any chance that can happen, especially after what I just told you?”

  Pressing my forehead to his, I closed my eyes and smiled at how cute he could be. “I think you’re a decent person, Stefan. Even if I still can’t believe it, I like you, probably more than I should.”

  He cradled my face in his hands and kissed me gently. “I was so worried you’d get angry and storm out after I told you about the bet. I swear that was the old me. That guy doesn’t exist anymore. Only the one who loves spending time with you and misses you when you’re not around exists.”

  “So the leopard has changed his spots?”

  Stefan shook his head. “Nope. The tiger took off his leopard coat. It was all a façade.”

  Even though I should have been furious with him for betting he could make me fall for him, I couldn’t stay angry at him. Not when he stood there being so cute and giving me that look that made me practically melt. I didn’t tell him, but he was very close to winning that bet. All it would take was letting myself go.

  * * *

  I FELT like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders when I saw Shay smile after I told her about my bet with Kane. As I stood there with her on my balcony looking out at the lights shining off the water, I wished
I hadn’t made that stupid bet. Sure, Shay had taken it well, but I was losing my home and my bike, and she’d really been impressed by my place.

  Jesus, the old me was really an asshole.

  “So, when do you have to move?”

  “I don’t know. When I told Kane, he was so shocked to hear me admit I’d lost that he was speechless. I’m sure when it settles in, he’ll let me know when I should have my things packed and ready to go.”

  Shay wrapped her arms around my neck and looked up at me playfully. “That’s too bad. I like this place.”

  I nuzzled the soft skin just under her ear. “Then we better take advantage of it while I still have it.”

  “Got anything in mind?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  Lifting the black Club X t-shirt over her head, I kissed my way from her mouth down to her perfect breasts waiting for me, barely hidden in her black lace bra. Just enough for my hands, they were exactly what this breast man loved. As I kissed and nipped at her skin, I unhooked the bra and threw it off to where her shirt had landed a few feet away.

  She ran her fingers through my hair, tugging gently to urge me on. “What if your neighbors see, though?”

  “It’s the middle of the night,” I mumbled against her soft skin. “They should be asleep or at least not peeking out their windows. Either way,” I said low as I slid my finger under her shorts to tease her clit, “I don’t care. Let them watch.”

  Moaning softly, she unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs. Now only a thin cotton barrier remained between my tongue and her pussy. First, though, I had other areas to attend to.

  I pulled the chair over from the corner of the balcony and sat down, pulling Shay onto my lap so my mouth had perfect access to her delicious dark pink nipples I could spend hours sucking on. Taking one between my lips, I flicked my tongue over it and felt it harden in my mouth. I loved Shay’s body, but especially her breasts.

  A needy moan escaped her lips telling me she loved my attention there too. I bit down gently on the base of her nipple, knowing she enjoyed a little pain with her pleasure, and felt a hand tighten into a fist in my hair.