by Ronica Black
Passion’s Sweet Surrender
Synopsis
Cam Santiago might live in paradise on a private beach in Mexico, but wealth and success mean very little to her after the death of her partner. Now she puts her heart into her friends and family while keeping everyone else at bay. That is, until she runs into a very beautiful but very rude woman in town who turns out to be her new neighbor.
Blake Livingstone is a family physician about to take over her parents' practice. No one knows about her secret dream of opening her own medical clinic in Mexico. When a friend invites her to stay at their beach house, Blake is keen to check out the area. If only she wasn’t living next door to a woman as beautiful and mysterious as she is impossible.
Cam and Blake are unable to deny their passion for each other, but surrendering to love is a whole different matter.
What Reviewers Say About Ronica Black’s Work
Freedom to Love
“This is a great book. The police drama keeps you enthralled throughout but what I found captivating was the growing affection between the two main characters. Although they are both very different women, you find yourself holding your breath, hoping that they will find a way to be together.”—Lesbian Reading Room
Snow Angel
“A beautifully written, passionate and romantic novella.”—SunsetXCocktail
The Seeker
“Ronica Black’s books just keep getting stronger and stronger. …This is such a tightly written plot-driven novel that readers will find themselves glued to the pages and ignoring phone calls. The Seeker is a great read, with an exciting plot, great characters, and great sex.”—Just About Write
Flesh and Bone—Lammy Finalist
“Ronica Black handles a traditional range of lesbian fantasies with gusto and sincerity. The reader wants to know these women as well as they come to know each other. When Black’s characters ignore their realistic fears to follow their passion, this reader admires their chutzpah and cheers them on. …These stories make good bedtime reading, and could lead to sweet dreams. Read them and see.”—Erotica Revealed
Chasing Love
“Ronica Black’s writing is fluid, and lots of dialogue makes this a fast read. If you like steamy erotica with intense sexual situations, you’ll like Chasing Love.”—Queer Magazine Online
Hearts Aflame
“Sleek storytelling and terrific characters are the backbone of Ronica Black’s third and best novel, Hearts Aflame. Prepare to hop on for an emotional ride with this thrilling story of love in the outback. …Along with the romance of Krista and Rae, the secondary storylines such as Krista’s fear of horses and an uncle suffering from Alzheimer’s are told with depth and warmth. Black also draws in the reader by utilizing the weather as a metaphor for the sexual and emotional tension in all the storylines. Wonderful storytelling and rich characterization make this a high recommendation.”—Lambda Literary Review
“Hearts Aflame takes the reader on the rough and tumble ride of the cattle drive. Heat, flood, and a sexual pervert are all part of the adventure. Heat also appears between Krista and Rae. The twists and turns of the plot engage the reader all the way to the satisfying conclusion.”—Just About Write
Wild Abandon—Lammy Finalist
“Black is a master at teasing the reader with her use of domination and desire. Black’s first novel, In Too Deep, was a finalist for a 2005 Lammy. …With Wild Abandon, the author continues her winning ways, writing like a seasoned pro. This is one romance I will not soon forget.”—Books to Watch Out For
“This sequel to Ronica Black’s debut novel, In Too Deep, is an electrifying thriller. The author’s development as a fine storyteller shines with this tightly written story. …[The mystery] keeps the story charged—never unraveling or leading us to a predictable conclusion. More than once I gasped in surprise at the dark and twisted paths this book took.”—Curve
“Ronica Black, author of In Too Deep, has given her fans another fast paced novel of romance and danger. As previously, Black develops her characters fully, complete with their quirks and flaws. She is also skilled at allowing her characters to grow, and to find their way out of psychic holes. If you enjoy complex characters and passionate sex scenes, you’ll love Wild Abandon.”—MegaScene
“Black has managed to create two very sensual and compelling women. The backstory is intriguing, original, and quite well-developed. Yet, it doesn’t detract from the primary premise of the novel—it is a sexually-charged romance about two very different and guarded women. Black carries the reader along at such a rapid pace that the rise and fall of each climactic moment successfully creates that suspension of disbelief which the reader seeks.”—Midwest Book Review
In Too Deep—Lammy Finalist
“Ronica Black’s debut novel In Too Deep has everything from nonstop action and intriguing well developed characters to steamy erotic love scenes. From the opening scenes where Black plunges the reader headfirst into the story to the explosive unexpected ending, In Too Deep has what it takes to rise to the top. Black has a winner with In Too Deep, one that will keep the reader turning the pages until the very last one.”—Independent Gay Writer
“…an exciting, page turning read, full of mystery, sex, and suspense.”—MegaScene
“…a challenging murder mystery—sections of this mixed-genre novel are hot, hot, hot. Black juggles the assorted elements of her first book with assured pacing and estimable panache.”—Q Syndicate
“Black’s characterization is skillful, and the sexual chemistry surrounding the three major characters is palpable and definitely hot-hot-hot…if you’re looking for a solid read with ample amounts of eroticism and a red herring or two you’re sure to find In Too Deep a satisfying read.”—L Word Literature
“Ronica Black’s debut novel, In Too Deep, is the outstanding first effort of a gifted writer who has a promising career ahead of her. Black shows extraordinary command in weaving a thoroughly engrossing tale around multi-faceted characters, intricate action and character-driven plots and subplots, sizzling sex that jumps off the page and stimulates libidos effortlessly, amidst brilliant storytelling. A clever mystery writer, Black has the reader guessing until the end.”—Midwest Book Review
“Every time the reader has a handle on what’s happening, Black throws in a curve, successfully devising a good mystery. The romance and sex add a special gift to the package rounding out the story for a totally satisfying read.”—Just About Write
Passion’s Sweet Surrender
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Passion’s Sweet Surrender
© 2020 By Ronica Black. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-704-6
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: September 2020
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editor: Cindy Cresap
Production Design: Susan Ramundo
Cover Design By Jeanine Henning
eBook Design By Toni Whitaker
By the Author
In Too Deep
Deeper
Wild Abandon
Hearts Aflame
Flesh and Bone
The Seeker
Chasing Love
Conquest
Wholehearted
The Midnight Room
Snow Angel
The Practitioner
Freedom to Love
Under Her Wing
Private Passion
Dark Euphoria
The Last Seduction
Olivia’s Awakening
A Love That Leads to Home
Passion’s Sweet Surrender
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the entire Bold Strokes team for all their hard work.
Thank you to my editor, Cindy Cresap. Cindy, your never-ending faith and encouragement keep my head above water in the stormy seas of self-doubt. Thank you!
Chapter One
Saturdays in Puerto Tranquilo were not what the town’s name implied. There was no peaceful haven to be found. Which was why Camille Santiago usually avoided venturing into the heart of town at all costs on weekends. Especially during the warmer months when the market was crammed with summer tourists. The majority of them sun-scorched visitors from Arizona, seeking an oceanside reprieve. They came to Mexico for the white sand beaches but also enjoyed the abundance of cheap beer, a vast array of wonderful, local food and, of course, the shopping.
Today seemed to be no exception and Cam could see dozens of tourists from her Jeep as she neared the market. They were wandering from one street vendor to another, eager to get a glimpse of the local goods and souvenirs for sale. Cam couldn’t blame them for their excitement, because the deals were good and the items were unlike anything they’d find in the States. So, she didn’t necessarily have anything against the onslaught of seasonal visitors. She just hated crowds in general.
She preferred going into town during the week when most of the tourists were either back home in the States, pleasantly satiated from their weekend getaway or happily tucked away in whatever beach resort or rented condo they were staying at. And even though her town had yet to completely blow up and commercialize like a couple of others along the western coast of Mexico, it had slowly been gaining popularity among the visitors, mostly due to curiosity and spill over from the neighboring booming beachside towns. She was grateful though, at least for the time being, that her town still had some semblance of calm, even if she did have to wait for the off-season now to really experience it.
The old, low-key fishing village, which was where Cam was headed today, seemed rather sleepy in comparison to the market, despite the market’s close proximity. People, she reckoned, didn’t tend to linger when they came looking for seafood like they did when shopping for material items.
She shoved her ’84 Jeep Wrangler into park on the dunes sandwiched between the market and the fishing village after finally giving up on finding an available parking space in the paved lot. She slipped off her canvas deck shoes before climbing out of her doorless vehicle and walked through the heavy sand away from the sounds of loud chatter and commotion and headed instead toward the hungry, aggressive shrills of the seagulls. The thick, salty smell of the sea and the strong, overpowering smell of freshly caught fish hit her hard as she slid back into her shoes and began walking along the worn planks toward the pier where she hoped to find her friend.
“Santi!”
“Hola, Santi.”
Cam waved at a few of the fishermen as they said hello, referring to her by her well-known local nickname. Some of the fishermen were tending to their boats, while others worked in their corrugated steel huts, selling their daily catch to hungry tourists. She’d known many of the townsfolk for years, from her early visits to the area as a child, and they’d always treated her like a local, even before she’d moved there to live full-time.
It was still difficult for her to believe that this once quaint little seaside town, raw and rugged with the coastal beauty of the Sea of the Cortez, was well on its way to becoming a thriving, bustling tourist destination. She’d still decided to call it home, regardless of its probable future as a booming beach town. This place had always meant a lot to her. The salt, the sea, and the people were in her bones. This town had always been her haven, where she’d spent countless summers soaking up the sun, the surf, and the community. It was where she’d always felt the happiest, the safest. So, it had only made sense to her to finally make the move and call it home.
She’d just made sure the house she’d bought wasn’t very close to town.
Because peace and tranquility were what she was all about these days.
“Hola, Santi. Necessitas una cerveza?”
She smiled at her friend Marco and waved off the bottle of beer he was offering from his tiny fish taco stand.
She continued toward the pier where she found the man she was looking for, her friend Tomas.
Tomas, however, was busy. He was in his brother’s fishing hut surrounded by the large coolers containing their daily catch. He was talking with a woman, most likely a customer, but strangely, he didn’t appear to be his usual jovial self. Cam stood off to the side, politely waiting for the woman to finish her business with Tomas. Cam assumed, by the look of her, that the woman was a tourist. Albeit an extremely fit tourist from the look of her well defined arms and legs. Her tank top with the name of a popular Phoenix marathon run for charity allowed Cam to notice that. It was her freshly pinked cheeks and shoulders that sold Cam on her being a tourist, however. That, along with the rest of her, like her perfectly creased navy shorts and spotless Nike trainers, sealed the deal. The strong scent of the sunscreen glistening on her skin was, at that point, irrelevant.
Cam had no interest in the woman’s transaction with Tomas and stared off into the mildly tempered turquoise sea, concentrating on the warm breeze as it ran its fingers through her short hair. Occasionally, it brought the mist of the water along with it, pricking her with cold tingles, just enough to chill her for a few quick seconds before the sun baked them into her skin.
“Excuse me,” the woman next to her said. “Do you know anything about the shrimp for sale around here?”
Cam turned to look at her, surprised and a little disappointed at being pulled away from her tranquil state.
“No, not—”
Cam’s words fell, toppling into the sea as she properly took in the woman for the first time. Cam stood motionless, mouth hanging open. She was awestruck. Completely awestruck by the woman’s beauty. And then came the shock at being so awestruck. It had been years, years since she’d been so strongly affected at the sight of a woman. It had been so long she’d totally forgotten how powerful and uncontrollable those feelings she’d long thought dead were. Now, in a flash, they were back, having dug their way to the surface from their graves to run amok inside her, wild, free, and hungry. And what was worse, she seemed to have no way to capture them, to wrangle them up and cage them. There was no sheriff coming to the rescue to help her round them up either. No Wyatt Earp was going to ride in and save her.
God, help me.
What is happening?
Chapter Two
“I was hoping you could help,” the woman continued, obviously clueless to Cam’s overwhelming sense of shock and awe. “I think there may be a language barrier.”
Her pink lips parted, as if she were intending to speak again. As if she were waiting to respond to whatever Cam was going to say. But Cam couldn’t say anything. She was too busy thinking how very much her lips looked like a bow, an archer’s bow, turned on its side.
Would kissing those lips feel like the piercing of hundreds of tiny arrows? Sweet, sultry, honey dipped arrows launched from the most exquisite mouth she’d ever seen?
The bow-shaped lips closed, bringing Cam back to reality. Below the woman’s dark, stylish sunglasses, the tips of her sunburned cheekbones appeared to have darkened to a deeper shade. And then her brow creased. She was obviously
upset, apparently at Cam’s lack of response, but all Cam could do was think about pressing her mouth to the small ball at the base of her jaw as it flexed.
“Never mind.”
The woman turned back to Tomas, her short, brown layered hair, which was stacked in the back with a stylish cut, swayed from her sharp movement. Her frown was evident, even from the side, but it did nothing to detract from the perfection of her profile.
“Maybe we should try again,” the woman said to Tomas. “I don’t want the blue shrimp, I want the brown.”
“No brown, miss. No, mas.”
“But I need the brown.” She rubbed her forehead. “I have to have the brown. Yo necessito…” she trailed off and Cam could sense her struggling to find the correct words in Spanish.
Cam intervened, growing frustrated herself. She spoke to Tomas in Spanish, and he explained that he’d already sold all the brown shrimp he’d had for the day. He only had the blue and the lady didn’t seem to be willing to accept that. He also relayed that she’d been standing there arguing with him for more than twenty minutes.
Cam directed her attention back to the woman, who was now standing with her arms folded across her chest, waiting, not so patiently, for Cam to say whatever it was she was going to say.
“He doesn’t have any more brown,” Cam said, staring into the abyss of her black lenses. “He’s sold out for the day.”
