Surrender To Me

He swallowed the rest of his drink and poured himself another, topping my glass off too. “No. I want you in my penthouse, but I understand your reluctance to move in with me.”

His words warmed me. I wasn’t the kind of girl to believe in fairy tales. I always had to be the breadwinner, the provider for Hawk and me, but there was something so appealing about letting Bane take care of me if that’s what he wanted to do. His protective instincts were ingrained, but he was such a juxtaposition. Here he was, the owner of the largest gentlemen’s club in California-probably the entire West Coast-who acted and believed in such a way that was counter-intuitive to his work. He may have women surrounding him in a sexual environment, but in his way, he was protecting them.

“Have you ever had sex with any of your Dolls?” I ask softly. “Not penetrative sex, no.”

Penetrative? “Oral then?”

He dipped his chin, keeping his eyes on me. “I’m not going to lie to you, Little Bird. Before you came into my life, I often used my Dolls for the pleasure they could give.”

I tried hard to lock down my emotions, but they were powerful and banging on the door of my self-control. “That redhead who interrupted our meeting?”

Bane sighed and took another sip of champagne. “Sydney was one of the girls I used a few times, yes.” He stared at me, his gaze moving over my face like he was looking for something. Jealousy, perhaps. I felt it surging through my body, but it was misplaced. This was before me, so I had no right to be upset. “Wren?”

I waved my hand in front of me, telling him to give me a minute. “Logically, I know you’ve probably used your girls, but hearing it is another thing.”

“You’re jealous?”

“Yes.” Was I wrong to be jealous?

Standing from the table abruptly, he stalked around, then leaned down to give me a punishing kiss. He slid his hand into the top of my dress, palming one of my breasts. “I fucking love that you’re jealous,” he rasped out. “But you don’t need to be jealous now we’re together. I don’t see those other women. All I see is you.” Giving my nipple one last tweak, he sat back down like nothing had ever happened. “It’s your turn.”

Blowing out a breath, I centered myself and said, “Threesome.”

His brows arch. “With another woman or man joining us?”

I shrugged. “I don’t care, to be honest. I think both ways would suit me just fine.” “I’m filing all this away, just so you know,” he said with a devilish smile.

“Okay, my turn. How many buildings, businesses, and homes do you own?”

“Enough,” he replied evasively. I let it slide. It was in that gray area, and I wasn’t going to push him for information relating to his business dealings. I hoped that one day he might trust me enough, though.

“What’s another one of your fantasies, Little Bird?”

I cleared my throat. “Sex swing.” His eyes sparked with lust. “I want to try a sex swing to see what it’s like.”

Reaching under the table, he readjusted himself. “I could probably take care of that fantasy tonight.”

Lust hit me like a lightning strike, my pussy flooding with warmth. Holy shit. “Okay.”

The hidden door opened, and the waiter was back with a few long rectangular plates balanced on his arm. He placed them down, then gestured to the champagne bottle. “Would you like another bottle, sir?” he asked. “Please.”

I stared at all the food, wondering where to start. When I looked up, Bane was typing out a message on his phone. “Work?”

He smiled in a way that made my pulse pound. “Pleasure. Just arranging something for later on tonight. I want it to be a surprise.” Gesturing to the food on the table, he said, “Eat. There are miniature versions of every single dish available on the menu. Please, take what you want.”

“What’s your favorite? I’ll leave that one for you.”

“It’s this,” he said, picking up what looked like a mini burger. “Pulled pork slider. Slaw. Delicious. Take it.” He offered it to me, and I blinked.

“But it’s your favorite?”

“And I want you to have it. I want to see the pleasure on your face as you eat it.”

I’d just finished chewing when the waiter returned with our champagne. He put it on ice, took the other away, and we were left alone once more.

“Have you had any serious relationships before?” I asked.

“No, unless you count my girlfriend in grade school. You?”

I smiled at that. “No. I’ve never had time for it. I was always having to work or fight for scraps of food when there was no work.”

“You had a tough childhood?”

I sat back in my chair, staring at the plates in front of us. “Not my childhood, but adolescence. We were so poor that sometimes I didn’t eat so Hawk could.” My stomach ached with phantom pain at the memories of those days. It was when it was just my brother and me against the world. I shook my head, dislodging the pathetic history from my mind. “What happened to your dad?” I asked.

His eyes darkened a little as he studied my face, wondering whether I was worthy of such secrets. “By the time I was sixteen, I was stronger than him. One night, he came home drunk and started hitting my mom. I got between them this time and baited him into hitting me. As soon as he did, I proved to him it was the last night he would ever raise a hand to her or me.”

I wanted to reach out and take his hand, but I held myself back. Bane was the kind of man to pull away from things like that, so I simply let him talk. “He left?”

“After I broke his arm and a couple of ribs, yeah,” he replied darkly. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Does that disgust you, Little Bird?”

“No. No, it doesn’t. You just did what you had to do to survive, just like Hawk and I had to do.

What about your mom?”NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

“She passed from cancer while I was in college.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Waving away my platitudes, he swallowed what was left in his glass and placed it back down deliberately like he was pulling himself back together inside. “What about your parents?”

I swallowed some more champagne and stared sightlessly at the table in front of me. “Our parents died in a car crash when I was sixteen. Hawk was twelve. We ran away from every foster family we ever had because of the abuse we suffered there. I became emancipated at eighteen, and I’ve been looking after Hawk ever since.”

“He relies on you,” Bane told me softly.

“Yeah, he does because I’m just as much a mother to him as our parents were.”

“Is that why you finally agreed to take me up on my offer?”

Plucking the napkin from my lap, I ran the linen through my fingers a few times. The fabric was thick but still soft, and the motion soothed me just like it did when I was petting the dogs I groomed. “Partly,” I admitted. I looked into his watchful eyes. “The other reason was because I wanted you, Bane.”

“I fucking wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you, Little Bird.”

The intensity of his stare made my blood warm in my veins. “Take me back to your place.” He stood and threw his napkin on the table.

We left an entire table of food behind us, but when I had Bane wrapped around me like he was right now as he escorted me out of the restaurant, I knew I would never hunger for anything ever again.