Surrendering To Him

by Hope Jones

  “If it’s too much, you don’t have to tell us,” I assured her, squeezing her hand for support.

  She shook her head and trucked on.

  “Roman grew up with a very shitty father and a sorry excuse for a mother. He didn’t have anyone other than my family and me who treated him right. He told me he never wanted to be a father. He didn’t want to take the chance that he would turn out like his. He said he wouldn’t want to scar anyone like he had been scarred. I understood, and as much as I would have liked to have his babies, I agreed to the “no children” rule. Any time we had sex, we were religious with condoms and birth control, but I guess a condom broke. I ended up pregnant right around the time he left for Marine boot camp. It killed me, but I knew it would hurt him more if I told him I was pregnant, so I wrote him a letter shortly after he left and told him I didn’t have the same feelings for him anymore and didn’t want to see him.”

  I didn’t want to be rude, but I felt like I needed to interrupt.

  “Surely, Hux told him you were pregnant eventually and he put two and two together with the timing of your pregnancy?”

  Davina shook her head. “One other person knew about our relationship, my best friend in high school, Andrew. No one else knew, but Andrew is gay, and when I found out I was pregnant, I asked Andrew to be my fake boyfriend, so when the time for Roman to come back home came around, he thought I was pregnant with Andrew’s baby. The timing and no one knowing about Roman and me being together worked out perfectly. Roman thought I cheated on him with Andrew, and my family was none the wiser, because they didn’t know Roman and I were together in the first place.”

  “Ah, I understand.”

  “Yeah. So, to save Roman the lifetime of pain of having a child, and my son the lifetime of pain knowing his dad didn’t want him, I cut ties. I moved into a dorm room for college, so Roman didn’t have to see me regularly, only holidays. We never reconnected, because I hurt him so badly.” She sniffled, tucking her chin again to hide the tears she was shedding.

  Millie and I both got up from our seats at the same time and hugged Davina, squishing her between us and letting her soak up our strength and love.

  My heart went out to the twenty-three-year-old Davina just trying to do right by the love of her life and her son. She had a hard choice to make, and I can’t say I would have done things differently.

  She did what was best for everyone involved at the time.

  “I know you may not want to hear this, baby doll, but maybe you should tell Roman. That was six years ago; he may feel completely different about being a father now. I know Cal would probably love having his dad around,” Millie whispered to her, give her one last squeeze and taking her seat again.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  The rest of our day kept on without a hitch. Davina seemed to loosen up a little more around us as the day progressed. By the time I dropped her back off at her apartment, she seemed to be more relaxed, an easy smile gracing her already beautiful face.

  After dropping Millie off, I made my way back to Hux’s condo, only to find it empty. I thought he would be home from work by now. Digging my phone out of my bag, I dialed his number.

  “Yo,” he greeted me on the third ring.

  “Hey, baby, when are you gonna be home?”

  “Soon. I’m wrapping up some last minute things before I head out of the office. How was your day?”

  “It was great. We had a really good time. I seriously love your sister,” I chirped, walking into Hux’s walk-in closet and shedding my jeans and white T-shirt for a silk nightgown. For real, these things were so comfortable.

  “Hux? Are you still there?” I asked after several minutes of silence.

  “Yeah,” he answered in a husky voice.

  “Are you okay?” I hesitated at his tone.

  A few moments of silence went by before he asked, “Move in with me?”

  Stunned. That’s the only way to explain my feelings. I was not expecting that to come out of his mouth.

  Fuckity, fuck, fuck.

  I ended the call without saying a word. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I just hang up?

  Oh my God. Holy shit. Fuck balls.

  Huxley Carson just asked me to move in with him. What the hell was I going to say? I couldn’t move in with him, could I? I mean, we’d only been technically dating for two weeks.

  I’d also heard somewhere that when you know, you know.

  Did I know with Hux?

  Before the question had time to fully form, I knew my answer.

  Huxley Carson was fierce, loyal, and protective. He was intent on making my life better. He made it his mission to help me heal so I could have a future. He stayed by my side, even after I tried shoving him away multiple times. A lesser man would have run screaming for the hills when he learned of my baggage.

  So, although I’d hung up on him before I could give him an answer, I already knew it was a resounding yes.

  _______________

  “Phoebe!” Hux bellowed. I could hear his footsteps echoing through the house, stopping outside the bedroom door, which then banged against the wall.

  Uh-oh, someone wasn’t happy.

  His boots hit the carpet in the bedroom, and I could no longer hear where he was going, but he wasn’t stupid; he’d find me.

  A moment later, the closet door opened, and he looked straight down at me in my silk nightgown, ass on the floor, knees to my chest, and my head resting against my knees.

  “What the fuck, woman?” he barked at me.

  What he did not expect was the huge smile on my face. Resting my chin on my knees, I held my hand out for him to come to me.

  He was obviously confused but wasted no time coming to me, dropping to his knees, and taking my hand in his.

  “I got a little dramatic,” I stated.

  “Ya think?” he asked sarcastically.

  “It’s too soon,” I replied.

  “Phoe—”

  I cut him off with the finger that was universal for “give me a minute.”

  “I’ve also read somewhere that when you know, you know.”

  Hux’s eyes softened, and he gathered me in his arms with haste. “You gonna move in?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “No,” I told him, giggling.

  He peered down at me in anger but allowed me to finish.

  “We need a bigger house. Your condo is sweet. I love the style and layout, but I also miss the hominess of my house. You have your secret lair, and I have my office, but both our places are only two bedrooms. I’d like to have Millie or Davina stay over without being crammed into one of our offices.”

  “We need a bigger house,” he confirmed.

  Laying my head on his chest, I nodded.

  “Kiss,” he demanded.

  I gave him my mouth, but that was clearly not all he wanted. His tongue dipped into my mouth, tasting, taking everything I had to give him. He probably wouldn’t ask for it, but I’d give him the world if he wanted it.

  Hux’s hands dipped into my silk nightgown until he reached my nipple. There, he tweaked and twisted until I was a writhing mess in his lap. Satisfied with his assault on my chest, he lowered me onto the floor of his giant walk-in closet, bringing my nightgown effortlessly over my head and tossing it to the side.

  His fingers dipped into my wet sex, eliciting a gasp from me, which he took advantage of by kissing me with more force than the first time.

  As he worked my pussy, tortuously slow, I fumbled with the buckle of his belt and then the button of his jeans.

  When he became exasperated with my fumbling, he flicked the button of his jeans with none of the issues I was having previously, allowing his cock to spring free. I moaned at the sight and took his hardness in my hand, feeling the silky smoothness and weight of it.

  I don’t know what kind of God was up there, but I was thanking him for giving me a great man who also had a great cock and knew how to use it.

  Conti
nuing his finger fucking, he brought me close to the edge of orgasm, only to let me down without it. I began to get frustrated until his hot mouth came down on my nipple and I lost concentration and his dick fell from my hands.

  Moaning and gasping loudly, I told him, “I’m so close, baby.”

  “Eyes,” he responded gruffly.

  Giving him what he wanted, I lifted my heavy lids to look at him.

  The normal army green color of his eyes was now so dark it was almost black. I loved the change in color when he was horny.

  When my eyes landed on his, he lined his cock up at my entrance and plunged in.

  My nails raked down his back and my head dug into the carpet until I was sure there would forever be an imprint in the shape of it.

  “Eyes, babe,” he commanded, the tone of his voice giving me no choice but to listen and obey.

  My legs wrapped around his back, and my hands went to his ass to encourage him to plunge deeper into me. I wanted him so deep I would feel him between my legs for the rest of my life.

  Huxley thrust in and out, starting off so slow the orgasm I was close to left my body again. A few moments later, he picked up the pace and plunged into me so hard we started scooting up on the floor.

  Rocking in and out of me, the thickness of him, the length of him hitting the exact spot I needed, I felt my orgasm reaching its peak. I knew it was going to be glorious when I fell over that edge.

  “Oh fuck,” I moaned loudly.

  Hux thrust deeply one more time, pushing me over the edge, the whiteness behind my eyes blinding me. He followed me over the edge a moment later, collapsing on top of me and groaning in my ear.

  We lay there, catching our breaths, my fingers rubbing lazy circles on his back, and him running his fingers through my hair.

  My eyelids began to get heavy with sleep, and Hux told me to stay put. He wasn’t going to get an argument out of my tired body.

  After a moment or two, Hux came back with a washcloth and cleaned me up, hitting my clit and causing my legs to jerk because of my sensitivity. Still naked, he strode out of the room, returned, and picked me up to deposit me in the bed. He covered me up and said, “Be back.”

  I was out like a light before he even got in the bed next to me.

  Fourteen

  Panic Button

  It was two weeks since the night in the closet.

  Huxley and I had technically moved in together, since nearly all my stuff was at his condo. We decided to sell my house and his condo to buy the new house. It took a lot of convincing on my part to get him to let me pay for half of the house we were buying. It was an argument we had every day for the better part of last week, until he caved.

  The good news was I was picking up the new house keys in just a few minutes.

  Hux and I were in such a good place.

  I hadn’t yet told him that I loved him, because I was still scared to throw that at him, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it in much longer.

  Looking at myself in the mirror, I decided that my black leggings, white Vans, and mustard-yellow T-shirt were good enough to leave the house in. I added some small diamond earrings to my ears, ran a brush through my hair, and spritzed on some perfume and left the condo wearing the biggest smile on my face.

  _______________

  An hour later, I was sitting in Hux’s office, giving him the second key over lunch. He had hit a wall on finding Hector and the other Disciples. Because of this, he was taking on other cases, mostly smaller ones to pay his guys and his bills and leave enough free time to put toward taking down the cartel.

  He seemed to be carrying more weight on his shoulders lately, and it worried me. I didn’t want him to fall down a rabbit hole trying to chase a ghost.

  And a ghost is what Hector was.

  There was no trail.

  It was like he was here one day and disappeared into thin air the next.

  I set my carton of noodles on his desk, moving to Hux’s side and rubbing his tense muscles.

  “You’ll catch him, honey. In the meantime, you should go see Millie; she’ll work these knots out in no time and you’ll feel better. She’d love to get her hands on you,” I joked, wagging my eyebrows.

  “Mm-hm,” he replied distractedly, making my shoulders fall in defeat.

  I wished I could do something to make finding the cartel easier.

  Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

  “Hey,” I said, sitting in his lap, forcing his attention to me. “I’m still getting the exclusive Huxley Carson interview, right?”

  “Yeah, baby,” he told me, wrapping his arms around my hips, finally looking at me and not the Hector case file on his desk.

  “Good, I have something planned for it.” I beamed up at him.

  “Like what?”

  “I can’t tell you; it’s a surprise. I promise it’ll be worth the wait though. How does two weeks from now sound?”

  He shoved the folder to the side to look at his desk calendar.

  “Sounds good, baby,” he said, nuzzling my neck.

  I learned over the last two weeks that the more frustrated and anxious he got with Hector’s case, the more he wanted sex. I guessed that was the only way he could relieve his stress. I wasn’t going to complain though.

  The sex was great.

  Phenomenal.

  I swear he made me leave planet Earth when I came.

  My phone started ringing across the room.

  “I have to see who it is. It could be work,” I noted.

  Huxley’s arms let me up and I picked the phone up to see it was Millie.

  “What’s up, bitch?” I answered.

  “Phoebe, I need you to come over,” Millie said in hysterical sobs.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” I replied, worrying my lip between my teeth.

  “It... It’s William, he broke up with me,” she cried.

  “I’m on my way, babe.”

  I hung up the phone, tossed it in my purse, and threw my purse on my shoulder.

  Gathering my lunch containers to throw away, I explained to Hux, “I have to leave. William broke up with Millie. She’s really upset. This one’s going to hurt her. She truly thought he was the one.”

  I looked at him, and he was shaking his head with adoration on his face. “You’re a good friend. Go ahead, I’ll meet you at home.”

  Leaning down to give him a small kiss, I said, “Thank you for understanding.”

  He winked at me as I walked out and almost plowed into Roman after opening the door.

  “Hey, Roman. Bye, Roman,” I yelled as I breezed out the doorway and hurried to the elevator.

  The drive to Millie’s was uneventful. I threw the car in park and used my key to let myself in. Making my way in the house, I didn’t find her on the couch, so I deduced she would be in her bed, curled up in a ball like I had seen her countless times before.

  “Millie?” I asked to the dark room.

  “Here,” she sniffled from under the covers.

  Crawling into bed with her and trying to wrap her in the cocoon of safety, I petted her hair, rubbed her back, and gave her general words of encouragement. After twenty minutes, her cries started to quiet and she was no longer hiccupping.

  We were making progress.

  I was trying to explain that she didn’t need him; she didn’t need anyone. She was a strong woman, and yes, love was out there for her, but it would come knocking on her door—bad choice of words in hindsight—and she didn’t have to go looking for it.

  “I just really liked him.”

  “I know that, honey, but he wasn’t the one. Remember, you have to kiss the frogs to get to the prince? Well, he was just a frog.”

  She nodded against my chest but was silent otherwise.

  Millie’s doorbell interrupted our girl powwow, and I looked down at her.

  “Are you expecting company?”

  She shook her head.

  “Want me to get it?”

  She nodded
.

  I guessed we were in the stage of nonverbal answers.

  At least she wasn’t crying anymore.

  Answering the door, I found a Hispanic man on the other side who looked agitated and was holding a gun.

  Backing away, I told him, “I think you have the wrong house.”

  “Phoebe Danvers, right?”

  My panicked eyes widened a smidge, which was enough confirmation for him.

  “Run, Millie!” I screamed before the gun raised and my world went dark.

  _______________

  I woke up with a splitting headache, unable to see out of my right eye and my arms were sore. I tried to move my arms to touch my head and eye, but I was clearly handcuffed to something.

  Fuck, how was I supposed to get out of this?

  My phone was in my purse, in my car. Suddenly, a groaning noise next to me made me go DEFCON 1. I remained silent and still ready for anything to happen.

  “Oww,” I heard in a woman’s voice and immediately knew it was Millie.

  Fuck! She didn’t run like I told her. She probably thought I was joking, but I had hoped she would hear the panic in my voice.

  “Millie?” I whispered.

  Wherever we were was dark as fuck, and I couldn’t see past five feet in front of me.

  Pushing through the pain in my head, I looked behind me and saw I was handcuffed to some kind of metal pipe.

  Trying not to panic, I looked to my left and found Millie handcuffed to a pipe exactly like mine. From what I could tell, she had no bruises and appeared to be unharmed.

  Thank God.

  “Phoebe?” she moaned.

  “It’s me; we have to be quiet. Whoever took us is going to come back soon.”

  “William,” she croaked.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “It... was... William,” she forcefully pushed out.

  “Fuck.” I sat up straighter but rested my head against the pipe, careful not to lean back too hard.

  This headache made my head feel like it was literally splitting in two.

  “What are we going to do?” Millie asked.

  “Do you have your phone?”

  “No, it’s back at my house.”

  “Shit!” I whisper-yelled.