by Cassie Ryan
“That sounds terrific,” she said, and meant it.
“Come meet the rest of the family.” Lily smiled, making her even more stunning. Now Kate knew where Dex had gotten his beautiful brown eyes.
She was whisked away by his mother’s exuberant energy to meet Dex’s father and two sisters, who seemed much more laid back than his mother. But all of them seemed very happy to meet her, and very welcoming.
Lily laid a gentle hand on Kate’s arm to get her attention. “We met your father over by the other side of the stage. He seems like a very nice man.”
Kate pasted a smile on her face and nodded. She and her father had forged the beginnings of a new, closer relationship since the hospital, but it was still in the fledgling stages, and she wasn’t quite used to him being pleasant and open with everyone yet.
After a few more minutes of small talk with the Alexanders, Sandra and Brent came by and there were hugs and greetings all around. They had obviously met Dex’s family many times, and they all seemed like old friends.
Kate drifted away and found Min and Sherri, two of Dex’s old subs. He no longer played scenes with them, but they’d all remained good friends. Min seemed to have recovered from her ordeal, but she still seemed a bit skittish, not that Kate blamed her.
Sherri was outgoing and exuberant enough for the both of them.
Even though Kate had stolen their favorite Dom, Min and Sherri had welcomed her to Club Desire, and she enjoyed the Subs’ Dessert Bonanza meetings every Wednesday night after Dex’s self-defense classes. Nothing like a good dessert after a hard workout with a sexy Dom as the instructor.
They also often met outside of Club Desire for Starbucks or shopping.
“May I have your attention, please?”
Dex’s deep voice through the speakers surrounding the stage surprised her. She hadn’t seen him come in since she’d been busy chatting.
He looked good enough to eat in his tux with the green vest and cummerbund. Kate’s mouth watered as she fantasized about undressing him later up in their room.
“Kate and I would like to welcome you here for our pre-housewarming party.
“Our house will be move-in ready in about six months, and we’ll be having the actual housewarming party then. Just in time for summer, so we can make it a pool party and christen our fire pit. But for tonight, there’s an open bar, plenty of food, and rooms upstairs if anyone can’t drive home.” He paused as he studied the crowd.
“Kate, come up here and help me thank everyone for coming.”
She smiled as she walked toward the side of the stage where the steps were. She hoped she didn’t break her neck in these heels.
Dex must have seen her uncertainty about the narrow stairs, because he jumped down from the stage and scooped her into his arms. The crowd cheered as he carried her up the stairs and set her gently on her feet.
He pulled her against him, and Kate was thrilled at his possessive gesture in front of all their friends and family.
But then he took her breath away when he held her hand and knelt in front of her. All six foot eight of him looking up at her with love and devotion in his eyes.
“Kate,” he began in a booming voice that didn’t require a microphone to be heard by everyone in the room. “I kneel before you, a man in love. You’ve captured me body and soul, and I humbly ask you to be my wife.”
Emotion swelled inside her chest, and tears streamed down her face as she watched him pull a box from his pocket and hold it up to her.
She had to blink through her tears to be able to finally take the small box from him and open the lid.
When she did, she couldn’t help but gasp at what she saw. A large marquise-cut diamond set in a silver ring and surrounded by beautiful green emeralds. It was perfect.
Dex cleared his throat, and there were chuckles and a few catcalls from the crowd.
“Not to rush you, but I’m waiting for an answer down here.”
She laughed as she realized she had been standing there, crying and gawking at the ring like a fool.
She kicked off her heels and knelt in front of Dex. “Dex Alexander, I love you too. We are perfect for each other, and I would be honored to spend my life with you.” Her tears started again and he pulled her against him and leaned down for a searing kiss.
She distantly heard more catcalls and cheers from the crowd, and when Dex finally pulled back from the kiss they were both breathless.
“Put the ring on her, boy! Make sure it fits.”
Kate recognized that voice, but she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked out to see her father standing and motioning for Dex to get on with it.
Kate was astonished by how much her life had changed in the last four months.
Dex helped her to her feet and slipped the ring on her finger, which fit perfectly. There were more cheers from the crowd, and then Dex turned toward them and said in a loud voice, “The bar is now open!”
Still more cheers as the large curtains in the back of the room were pulled aside to reveal a few fully stocked bars and several tables full of decadent food.
Immediately, the guests rose and moved toward the alcohol and the food, leaving her a few minutes alone with her new fiancé.
“I love you, Dex. You’re wonderful. And this,” she gestured around them, “was amazing.”
He slid his hand into the hair at her nape and pulled her head back before he leaned down to nip her neck and then whisper into her ear. “Why don’t we go join the guests before we head up to Dungeon Two to try out the new floggers I had made for you?”
A sensual shiver ran through Kate’s body, pooling in her pussy and making her wet for him. “Yes, sir.” She paused and then said, “You’re going to make me wait that long?”
“You need food to keep up your stamina. It’s going to be a long night. I promise you.”
“A baker’s dozen?” she asked hopefully.
Dex laughed, and the sound boomed across the room.
“If you’re a good sub, yes, a full baker’s dozen. I’ll be happy to pleasure my new fiancée.”
Dex smiled at her and then leaned down to nip her throat and suck the fragile skin into his mouth, making her gasp as moisture flooded between her thighs.
Kate accepted his mark and couldn’t wait for all the others that would join it before the night was done.
To the love of my life, my husband Jon, for gifts beyond measure.
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks go to my very patient and extremely supportive editor, Sue Grimshaw. Thanks for all you do! And many thanks to your Random House support team, especially Ashleigh and Erika, who spoil me…and I love it!
To my agent, Paige Wheeler, who has been with me since the very beginning of my New York writing career and continues to cheer me on through every book. I wouldn’t be where I am now without your support and guidance over the years. Thank you. You’re the best!
To my critique partners, Cheyenne McCray and Kayce Lassiter, for their unfailing support, late-night brainstorming sessions, amazing critiques, and girls’ weekends for writing, motivation, and butterscotch martinis.
To my wonderful longtime critique and promotions group, The Butterscotch Martini Girls. You ladies are terrific, and I’m so grateful for your love and support!
BY CASSIE RYAN
Club Desire
My Obsession
My Addiction
PHOTO: © LOU WEGMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
CASSIE RYAN (aka Tina Gerow) started her career writing steamy paranormal romance under another pen name. However, when one of her critique partners suggested she try her hand at contemporary romance, she gave it a shot—and Cassie Ryan was officially born. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and besides being a write-a-holic, is a frequent speaker on several writing and motivational topics.
Web: https://authorcassieryan.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tina-GerowCassie-Ryan-163504537087060/
Twitter: @Tina
Gerow
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/Cassie-Ryan/e/B001PL8708
Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/592924.Cassie_Ryan
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tinagerow/
Read on for an excerpt from
Surrender to You
An At Your Service Novel
by Shawntelle Madison
Available from Loveswept
Chapter 1
Carlie
Less than six hours after arriving in Boston from London, and I couldn’t keep still: tonight I was gonna be fucked until I couldn’t walk straight. For the fourth time, I switched from leaning on one leg to the other. A light tickle along my inner thighs from the ribbons on my garters made me ache further. I didn’t have much longer until cocktail hour at the Subarctic Club.
First things first, though: before I could get a drink and be rid of this pent-up sexual tension, I had to make some arrangements.
“How do you plan to pay for the room, Miss Jason?” the front desk clerk at the Bellevue Hotel asked. My cellphone sang the chorus from M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls,” but I ignored it.
“American Express, please.” Before I’d walked into the opulent lobby with its marble floors and red carpets, I’d considered the answer to this question. My American Express black card had enough credit for a month’s stay, as long as that stay didn’t include room service, overseas calls, or extravagant perks like raiding the minibar for Milky Ways.
As he completed my registration, the clerk was all smiles. More than five years ago, I’d started out as a hotel concierge. Back then, the eagerness to please oozed out of my pores. Every happy customer meant a positive review or a possible promotion. Working at a five-star hotel in NYC was like that. Maybe that was the reason why I ended up opening my own personal concierge business.
The clerk finished my transaction, handed me a keycard, and gave me the standard spiel. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” he added.
“Thanks, Frank, you’ve been more than helpful.” Working the front desk was a thankless job. Everyone came to you with their problems—plugged-up toilets, complaints about the couple next door screaming out expletives during sex—but you always had to appear calm and polite. Even if you weren’t feeling it.
After I settled into my room, I finally returned the call from earlier. This particular person wouldn’t be satisfied with a text message.
“What’s wrong now, Penny?” I asked with a sigh.
“What’s wrong is you got back from the U.K., stopped at my place, hung out with Sophie, and then didn’t wait for me to come home.”
I rolled my eyes. At least she wasn’t in front of me right now. There would be over-the-top hand gestures involved, and head rolling. As one of my best friends since our days in the foster care system, I loved Penny dearly, but once you ticked her off, you heard about it for weeks. At least Sophie was far more levelheaded.
Relaxing was out of the question, so I decided to chat with Penny on the way to a coffee shop across the street from the hotel. Downtown Boston buzzed around me, making it hard to hear our conversation.
Even this early in the afternoon, Penny continued to berate me with that saccharine voice of hers. “If you weren’t staying in town for a while, I would’ve snatched your fake-blond ass off the street and beat you down for ignoring one of your besties.”
Umm, thank you? “Oh, don’t be mad you can’t pull off blond.”
“Have you ever seen a blond Indian chick? The men come running, sweetie. So where are you going and when are we hanging out?”
“We can have breakfast tomorrow, if you want.” Yep, I dodged her question.
“When have you ever seen me up early enough for breakfast?”
Never, which is why I suggested it. “Look, I’m borderline jet-lagged, so by tomorrow morning I can tell you whatever you want.”
“Why tomorrow morning? Why can’t you stay here with Sophie and me?”
“And sleep on your couch for a week?” I chuckled. “No thanks.” I had a whirlpool bathtub, and I planned to make good use of it.
“I have a queen-sized bed—” she began.
“I’m good, girl.” Not happening. Doing the roommate thing with her for over ten years as a kid was enough.
“So where are you going?” Penny was a pro at poking in my business.
“To get some coffee so I can wake up.”
She took a deep breath. “You’re not seeing him, are you?”
Now that made me stop in the middle of the crosswalk. A car honked at me, forcing me to keep going. She knew me all too well.
“You are a little freak of the week,” Penny chirped.
“Oh, stop it.”
“My thoughts exactly. Does Sophie know you’re about to hook up with Tomas again?”
Of course, Sophie didn’t know. If Penny hadn’t pried, I’d be able to shove whatever happened tonight into a pretty little box I could hide under my bed.
She kept going. “You two need to stop doing this. I’m all for casual sex every now and then, but hooking up with the same person every couple of years is saying something.”
“Maybe it means we like to fuck each other?” An approaching lady, who appeared to be around my age, flashed me a dirty look for cursing. I didn’t see any sensitive young ears skittering about.
Penny laughed into the phone. “No, it means you two can’t commit, and you care about each other.”
This little speech wasn’t new. Sophie and Penny lectured me every chance they could get.
“You two keep running away from each other, only to end up back together,” Penny said. “Maybe he’s waiting for you to stop running?”
I held back a snort. “Tomas isn’t waiting for anyone. Nor has he ever waited for me after we had sex. We both get what we want and we move on. Like we should do with this conversation.”
“Fine, but I’m calling you extra early tomorrow morning just because I can.”
“Bring it, babe.” Penny slept like the dead. She wasn’t calling anybody…
—
Two hours later, after somehow getting off the phone with Penny, the sun had set, and now I wove through the crowded floor at the Subarctic Club in downtown Boston. The heavy bass to the pop music thrummed through my bones. Just another night of partying for the young and elite. Out of all the places I could’ve selected, I considered this neutral ground. Tomas wasn’t the kind of guy to seek out the flashing lights or the bubblegum, sunshine electronic music blasting through the speakers. He was more of a jazz or big-band club kind of guy. Give him smooth music and I’d be the one playing into his hands.
But not tonight.
I made my way to the bar on the other side of the huge rectangular room. Shelves with beautiful sparkling liquor bottles and dark blue lights extended from the bar below to the ceiling above. This was my first time visiting the place, but I liked the overall nautical vibe.
With so many people here, it was hard to avoid prying eyes. Whether the dancer was a man or a woman, their first glance was what usually enchanted me. A beautiful half-Asian, half-black girl danced suggestively with a group of friends. She looked at me over her shoulder and her face blossomed into a smile. As pretty as she was, though, tonight wasn’t about playing, but finding a place to wait for Tomas. Just the thought of seeing him made my stomach quiver.
I moved faster. Anticipation snaked up my back. I scanned the bar to find a place to slide in. The club was pretty packed, so I had to walk a bit. One man smiled my way and gestured for me to take his place so he could stand behind me.
No thanks. I shook my head. Repaying the favor wasn’t happening. I kept going until I spotted a man leaving the bar, holding a few shots. He hurried back to his table of friends, and I took his place.
Once I slid onto the warmed leather seat, I sighed. There wasn’t a place like this in London. I only had to close my eyes to hear the sounds of the Northeast. In just this one club, I could hear
accents that existed only in the United States. Technically, I was more of a New York City girl, but I could learn to love Boston based on what I’d seen so far.
The bartender approached me. “What are you having tonight?”
I hesitated at my choice, but gave in. I’d deal with the real world tomorrow. “Two shots of vanilla vodka, please. No ice.”
“Coming right up.”
Time passed, but not much. Maybe it seemed as if I sat there for a long time, but I didn’t. The moment the seat next to mine opened up, Tomas Goodfellow slid in beside me. My breath caught in my chest and a hum settled in the back of my throat. As much as I wanted to focus on the bartender, who flipped shot glasses and placed them in a perfect row for his cheering customers, my body always reacted the moment I saw Tomas.
Not a single person close to us suspected they were drinking next to one of the richest hoteliers in the world. He was just Tomas to me.
I sucked in a deep breath. Memories of his strong citrus scent with a hint of spice flared in my mind. I could pick out the individual flavors: ginger, bergamot, cardamom, along with a hint of grapefruit and lavender. Damn, he always smelled good enough to eat.
Just one peek wouldn’t hurt.
Eyes forward, Carlie. Of course, I failed miserably and looked at him briefly. My eyes drank him in, from the curve of his strong jawline to his dark brown eyes. And his lips. Tomas had the kind of lips that were meant to be sampled. They were sensuously shaped, practically mocking me while I stared. When I turned my head just right, I could make out the slight upward tilt in his lips.
The bartender asked if he wanted anything.
“Vanilla vodka, please. Two shots,” he said.
Somehow, even though we sat next to each other, our bodies didn’t touch. The edge of his arm, where firm muscles bulged from underneath his dark gray shirt, was mere inches from mine. An itch formed along that tiny patch of my skin. He radiated warmth, and the need to slide into his arms grew overwhelming.
