Wicked Surrender (Hollis Brothers Book 3)

by Linda Verji

  She dipped her head down and whispered. “I knew he wouldn’t.”

  “No, you didn’t.” He tipped her chin back up. “It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do, and if you ever do it again I swear I’ll kill you myself.” Her eyes narrowed as if she was about to snap at him, but he cut in before she could, “But it was also the most overwhelming thing anyone has ever done for me. I’m always the one protecting people. No one has ever tried to protect me. Except you.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t want him to kill you.”

  “Because you love me?” he asked. She didn’t answer, but he could see that love shining in her eyes.

  How could he give her up? Someone who loved him so selflessly? He’d never, ever, ever find a woman like her. And he wouldn’t let her go. Not even for his employees, his brothers, or his mother. He couldn’t let her go! He moved his hands to her waist then lifted her until she was seated on the bar counter and was eye-to-eye with him. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize how much I love you too.”

  “Don’t!” She pushed at his chest.

  “Don’t what?” He set his palm on her hand over his chest, right over his heart, and stepped in the v between her thighs. “Tell you that I love you? But I do.”

  “Why are you telling me this now?” Her eyes shining with unshed tears, she said, “We both know there’s nothing either of us can do about our feelings. You’re the one who said that too many people would be hurt if we got into a relationship.”

  Immediate guilt pricked Zeke, but Nathan’s words floated in too, reminding him to stop putting the whole world’s problems on his shoulders. Inching forward until he could press his lips to her nose, he said, “I know. But we deserve to be happy too. And whatever happens I’ll find a way to deal with the backlash. I always do.”

  “But your mother-”

  “Don’t worry about her. I’ll deal with her.” His lips wandered over London’s brow before he pulled back to lock eyes with her. “I want a relationship with you, London. A real relationship. Not just hiding up here talking and loving each other. I want to take you out for dinner, go to the amusement park without a disguise, tell my brothers about us.”

  London snorted. “They already know.”

  “I know.” Zeke chuckled and dropped a quick peck on her lips. “But I want them to know know, not suspect. I want them to know how important you are to me and that I love you.” He paused then asked, “So what do you say? Interested in something like that?”

  She watched him for a long tense moment, then just when he’d started to lose hope that he’d get the answer he was hoping for, she drew his head back to hers and touched her lips to his. Happiness soaring within him, he deepened the kiss.

  SHE WAS INTERESTED! Oh yes, she was interested.

  Considering the amount of hurt he’d put her through these last few weeks, she should’ve made him work more. But she was so glad to hear the words ‘I love you’ come from his lips that the walls she’d built up against him had crumbled as if they were made of sand.

  Wedging his body harder between her legs, he met her mouth in a kiss that was as passionate as it was thorough, as deep as it was hard. Butterflies fluttering in the pit of her belly, she responded with just as much passion. Her tongue tangled with his incessantly as she ran her hands over his shoulders, over the nape of his neck and into his hair urging him to do his worst.

  And he did.

  His lips slanted over hers in a tongue-binding kiss while his hands ran over her torso, back, breasts… With one expert move, he rid her of her t-shirt and bra so he could set his warm hands on her overheated skin. She whimpered as she returned the favor, snaking her own hands all over his body and to the buttons of his shirt. With a few quick snaps of buttons, he was shirtless and she could press her swollen breasts to the hard-planes of his chest.

  “Mm,” she moaned into the skin at the crook of his neck as she pressed hard against his chest, loving the sweet pressure on her nipples.

  Smiling faintly, Zeke captured that whimper in his mouth. He turned it into a cry when he lowered his mouth to her breast, kissed the soft flesh there then captured her nipple. Oh, the pleasure! It rocketed through her body unchecked, set all her senses aflame until all she could do was cup the back of his head and hold him there.

  Oh, Lord, the things this man was doing to her. The way he lashed his tongue against her swollen tip, the way he rolled it, the way he suckled it whole into his mouth, the way he gave the same attention her other breast… He knew her so well, knew exactly which buttons to push so she couldn’t even think. Ah, she’d missed this. Missed him.

  Her breathing became heavier and she started quivering. She needed him. Wrapping her legs around his flanks, she tried to push her crotch into his. But her jeans were an unassailable barrier, keeping her from him.

  “Zeke,” she whimpered his name, silently pleading for more.

  His response was to bring his lips back to hers, even as he cupped her ass and dragged her as close as she wanted. It still wasn’t enough.

  “Please,” she begged against his lips. Her whole body was burning, afire with arousal, and she needed it quelled.

  “It’s okay. I got you,” he reassured her before lifting her off the counter. She instinctively clasped her arms and legs harder around him as he walked them from the living-room. Taunting her with short, sweet pecks, he carried her into his bedroom. The moment he set her standing on the bed, he turned his attention to her jeans. With an adept flick of the clasp and a quick lowering of the zipper, he was dragging the fabric down her legs along with her panties. Kicking the bundled fabric from around her feet, London closed back on him. He lifted her easily into his arms again and slanted his lips against hers.

  Sweet as his kiss was London wanted something more. Using one arm to hold herself to him, she lowered the other hand between them to his belt so she could unbuckle it. She was so intent on her task that she barely noticed that Zeke was moving them. Not until she felt the wall against her back. She lifted her startled gaze to him, to find his handsome features carved into granite with desire. His eyes raking her with fiery need, he lowered his hands between them, pushing hers aside so he could finish what she’d started.

  Then she felt him. That thick part of him tap under her. She was wet, open and ready for him and with a deft repositioning he was burrowing into her.

  “I love you,” Zeke whispered those sweet words she never thought she’d hear as he slowly pushed into her, forced his hardness inch by inch into her tight warmth.

  She wanted to say them back to him, but right now she was incapable of phrasing words. The only sound that fell from her lips was a cry. “Ooh!”

  It wasn’t enough for Zeke. His face flushed dark with passion, he ordered, “Tell me you love me.”

  “I lov- oh my Go- aah!” She inhaled deeply and wrapped her arms harder around his strong back, taking in every sweet sensation of his entrance as he worked more of himself into her.

  “Tell me.” He sunk in deeper.

  “I love – love- ah- you too.” The words fell brokenly from her lips, filling the room as they filled her heart.

  With one last push, Zeke sat himself completely inside her. They let out a mutual groan of relief. It felt surreal to have him impaled so deeply inside her. So deep she could feel him in her womb. So deep she could feel him in her heart. So deep she could feel him in her soul. Like he was now totally part of her and she was part of him.

  And it felt wonderful. He felt wonderful.

  Locking eyes with him, she repeated, “I love you.”

  He lowered his head and captured the words in his mouth before he eased ever so slowly out of her. Holding her propped against the wall and with a firm grip on her ass, he pumped back in. Then out. In. Out. Then slid back in. Eased out then thudded back in. His rhythm was as steady as it was sure. Whimpering in time to each slow, long, delicious thrust, she leaned against his chest and met him stroke for stroke. She ground her crotch
against his each time he came into her, pulling him deeper into her overheated depths.

  “I love you,” he whispered as he pushed her deeper and deeper into a world where only pleasure and sensation existed. The only sounds in the room were his whispers, their moans and the thuds of their bodies meeting in ecstasy.

  His kisses and sweet declarations of love dragged her to the edge, his cock tipped her over and soon her muscles were contracting over him. Bucking recklessly down into his strokes, she let the waves of pleasure milling inside her build, and build, and build until they reached crescendo.

  “Zeke.” She came with his name on her lips, trembling and shaking like a leaf.

  Her release was his cue. Propping his arm on the wall behind her to protect her head and using his other hand to hold her lower body firm to his, Zeke sped up his strokes. His movements, his obvious desperation, prolonged her pleasure. And when, with a final lunge he sat himself deep, deep within her, she clasped him tight within her and took every bit of the seed he flooded her with. He slumped against her as his body rippled with the last of his orgasm, and she wrapped her arms around his body to hold him tight.

  She heard his whisper in her hair. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she returned, tilting her neck upwards so she could sear those words onto his lips.

  HOURS LATER, THEY lay in his bed, fresh from another bout of lovemaking in the shower. Zeke lay on his back with London half over him, jumbled thoughts playing on his mind. Top on his mind was the fact that they hadn’t used protection in the shower either. The thought should’ve frightened him. After all he was a careful man, and even a baby had to be planned. Yet, he smiled and tightened his arm around her waist.

  A baby with London was not the worst thing that could happen to him.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” London startled him out of his thoughts. He didn’t even know that she was still awake.

  Afraid that she might know he was thinking of her and babies, he asked tentatively, “Sure I want to do what?”

  “Sure you want to be in a relationship with me.” She lifted up slightly to prop her arms on his chest and set her chin on them. “Are you sure you won’t wake up tomorrow and realize what a big mistake you’ve made?”

  “I won’t.” He was as sure of that as he was sure that he loved her.

  She didn’t say anything, just looked at him. In her eyes he could see the anxiety, the unsaid fear that he would disappoint her – again. And suddenly he knew what he needed to do.

  “What are you doing tomorrow evening?”

  “Just the show here.” She shrugged. “Why?”

  “Okay.” He thought for a second then said, “Can you get any of your band-mates to cover for you?”

  “I guess.” Her brow furrowing in confusion, she asked, “Why?”

  “I’m taking you somewhere.” His lips curved into a smile. “I’ll pick you up from your apartment at seven.”

  Her eyes lit up in curiosity. “Where?”

  “You’ll just have to find out tomorrow,” he said, dragging her upwards so he could kiss her.

  But she turned her face away so his lips only grazed her cheek. “No, tell me now.”

  “Patience, sweetheart,” he teased as he tipped her face back to his and touched his lips to hers. “You’ll see.”

  CHAPTER 27

  Usually London loved surprises, but for some reason whatever Zeke was planning had her on the edge. Or maybe her nervousness was because she was afraid that in the light of day he’d realize that he’d made a big mistake last night by telling her he loved her. Once the adrenalin faded and common sense hit him, he’d realize that she really wasn’t his type of woman and change his mind.

  Charlie’s arrival at her apartment in the early hours of the afternoon with a parcel in hand didn’t help much, especially when the parcel turned out to be carrying a white evening dress that was just her size. Obviously Zeke was taking her somewhere. But where?

  To distract herself from her nervousness, she started preparing for whatever he had in store early. It was early enough that she even had time to dye her hair back to its usual fiery red. By the time seven o’clock drew near she was dressed and ready for him - on time – a fete that was completely unlike her.

  At exactly seven p.m., the doorbell sounded. London hopped off the couch and rushed towards the door. She stopped midway to inhale a calming breath, steady her nerves and straighten her gown. Once she was calm enough, she marched to the door and opened it. Every thought in her head disappeared the moment she saw him standing there. Swallowing hard, she took in his tuxedo; the way it caressed his broad shoulders and the long length of his body. She took in the snowy, white shirt, marveling at the way it was the perfect contrast to his tanned skin. He looked really good.

  Zeke was similarly entranced by her. He skimmed her from head to toe in one sweltering gaze then came back up for more. His gaze hooded as it lingered over the tops of her breasts revealed by the scooped neckline of the gown then licked its way down the rest of her body, following the curvy lines of the snug dress. His heated study of her body dried her mouth, and when he met her gaze, the smile in his blue eyes made her heart slam against her ribs in a funny little thump.

  “These are for you,” he murmured, as he held out roses she hadn’t even realized he was hiding behind his back.

  “Thank you.” She smiled as she took the bouquet. No man had ever bought her flowers before, and to see Zeke – logical matter-of-fact Zeke, being so romantic brought a smile to her lips. Stepping to the side of the door so he could enter, she sunk her nose into the top of the roses and inhaled their fresh scent. “They’re beautiful.”

  “As are you.” Zeke closed the door behind him, then stepped to her. She lifted her head just as he lowered his and they met in a sweet, tender kiss. Then he whispered against her lips, “I love you.”

  And all her nervousness melted away. He hadn’t changed his mind. He still loved her.

  “I love you too.” Happiness flowing through her, she curved her fingers around his nape of his neck and dragged him down for a kiss so deep she wanted to ditch their plans and do something even better.

  “Later. Right now we need to get to our destination.” He pressed one last kiss to her mouth then asked, “Are you ready to leave?”

  “I’d be readier if you told me where we were going.” She stroked his arm. “Are you taking me to dinner?”

  He chuckled “Something like that.”

  She leveled a narrow-eyed gaze at him. “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll see.” He turned her forcefully to face away from him. “Now go put away those flowers so we can leave.”

  She kissed her teeth in annoyance but followed his instructions anyway. Minutes later, they exited her building. The moment they did, she saw the stretch limo parked there. She gasped, “Wow! You’re going all out, aren’t you?”

  “You deserve it.” He smiled as he opened the door for her.

  Their conversation in the limo involved her questioning him about their destination. But nothing she said or did could get him to reveal it. By the time the limo slowed down in front of a tall building, she was about to pull out her hair in curiosity.

  “This is it?” She turned to stare outside the window only to note the crowd milling in front of the building, the red-carpet leading to the entrance of the building and all the people holding cameras. Her heart immediately began thumping faster. “Zeke, what is this?”

  “Our destination.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he was just as nervous as she was. “One of our business partners is launching a new company, and I wanted to bring you as my date.”

  “You want me to go in there with you?” Her fingers flew to her neck, nervously toying with the simple silver chain there as she shot a frightened glance out the window at the crowd. “With all those people watching us?”

  “Yes.” He must’ve seen the nervousness in her eyes because he caught her trembling
hands in his. “I want to introduce you to my world, London. Last night you wanted to know if I was serious about us starting a relationship, and this is my way of showing you that I am.”

  He was serious. It was in the grave expression on his face, and in the way he stared at her. But she… Her voice trembled as she stammered, “I – I can’t.”

  “You can,” he insisted. Then scooting closer to her, he pressed his lips to hers and corrected, “We can.” She didn’t want to go out there. She really didn’t. But the way he was holding her and saying, “Please, London. Come in there with me.”

  How could she refuse him?

  Despite the screaming of every fiber of common sense in her body, she nodded. Giving her one last kiss to fortify her, Zeke tapped on the partition separating the back of the limo from the chauffeur. A moment later the door on Zeke’s side opened, and the hum of the crowd seeped in. Zeke stepped out first then held out his hand for her. Drawing in a lungful of air, she took his hand and stepped out of the limo and into the flashing lights.

  The excitement level of the crowd seemed to rise several notches the moment they spotted Zeke, it rose even higher when they saw London. Immediately she became the focus of their attention, cameras and questions.

  “Zeke, who is that,” she heard someone shout nearby.

  “Who’s your date?” someone else asked.

  “Where’s Meredith?”

  The barrage of questions followed them during the short walk from the limo to the building’s entrance. She’d always dreamed of walking the red-carpet, but never like this – never with Zeke. Though all she wanted to do was turn on her stilettos and run back into the limo, his strong arm around her waist strengthened her, urged her to straighten her shoulders and stay right by him. So she did.

  It was only when they finally entered the building that she finally exhaled the breath she was holding. But it was too early for her to be breathing easy because almost immediately they attracted the attention of the event’s well-heeled guests. Murmurs and curious eyes followed them as Zeke guided her through the foyer and towards the gallery.