Giving In: Surrender Trilogy
Read Giving In: Surrender Trilogy Online
Authors: Maya Banks
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Contemporary
Copyright © 2014 Maya Banks
Cover images © Joana Kruse/Arcangel Images (key) and oknoart/Shutterstock.com
The right of Maya Banks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in this Ebook edition in 2014
by HEADLINE ETERNAL
An imprint of HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by arrangement with Berkley,
an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
A Penguin Random House Company.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN 978 1 4722 2111 7
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Maya Banks is a No. 1
New York Times
bestselling author whose chart toppers have included erotic romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and Scottish historical romance.
She lives in the South with her husband and three children and other assorted babies, such as her two Bengal kitties and a calico who’s been with her as long as her youngest child. She’s an avid reader of romance and loves to dish books with her fans and anyone else who’ll listen! She very much enjoys interacting with her readers on
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For more about Maya’s books visit her at
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‘Incredibly awesome . . . I love Maya Banks and I love her books’ Jaci Burton,
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bestselling author
‘[A] one-two punch of entertainment that will leave readers eager for the next book’
Publishers Weekly
‘A cross between the
Bared to You
or Fifty Shades series and the Wicked Lovers series by Shayla Black’
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‘Hot enough to make even the coolest reader sweat!’
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Romance Junkies
The Surrender Trilogy
Letting Go
Giving In
Taking It All
Kylie sees the way Jensen looks at her. The dark promise in his eyes. That rough edge of dominance she knows he possesses. But dominance is the one thing that frightens her above all else. She and her brother barely survived a childhood steeped in violence and abuse. She could never give up total control and submit to a man. Especially a man like Jensen. Could she?
Jensen sees the shadows in Kylie’s eyes. Knows he has to tread very carefully or risk losing any chance he has with her. All he wants is the opportunity to show her that dominance doesn’t equal pain, bondage or discipline. That emotional surrender is the most powerful of all, and that to submit fully to him will fulfil the aching void in her heart in a way nothing else ever will.
For Sandra,
the mother of my heart.
“YOU
look like hell,” Jensen Tucker said bluntly from the doorway of Kylie Breckenridge’s office.
Kylie shot him a look that would have withered a lesser man. But Jensen was frustratingly unaffected by her icy demeanor around him. He acted as if he didn’t have a clue that he bugged the shit out of her. But no, she imagined he knew exactly how much he bothered her, and he just chose to ignore it. Stubborn, impossible, completely overbearing man. Precisely the kind of man she avoided at all costs.
Only he was her boss. That put another sour expression on her face. Carson had been her boss, he and Dash. And then when her brother had died three years ago, Dash had become her only boss and she had liked it that way.
Jensen should hire his own damn personal assistant, but he seemed perfectly content to dump his workload on Kylie and annoy the piss out of her in the process.
“Gee, thanks,” she said in a tone to match her glare. “Nice to know I pass muster around here.”
Jensen strolled into her office, uninvited. But then he’d never come in here if he waited for an invitation. Kylie had made it clear she didn’t want him anywhere near her. Another thing he chose to ignore.
He took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk, and she made a mental note to get rid of them. They were unnecessary. Jensen and Dash did all the entertaining of their clients. There wasn’t a need for anyone to ever enter her office. She did her job quietly and efficiently, never drawing attention to herself. Only for some reason, Jensen seemed determined to invade her personal space. A fact that had increasingly frustrated her in the weeks since he’d joined Dash in their consulting firm.
“You aren’t sleeping,” he said in that same straightforward tone he’d used to tell her she looked like hell.
His gaze penetrated her, raking over her features, and she knew what he saw. What she saw in the mirror every morning. Eyes haunted with the past. Deep shadows seemingly permanently etched underneath her eyes. She knew what she looked like. She didn’t need this arrogant asshole to point it out to her.
“I wasn’t aware that my appearance or sleep habits in any way interfered with my duties here.”
Her sarcasm was wasted because Jensen just let it roll off him, much like he did everything else. Never once had she seen him express any sort of emotion. He didn’t get upset or angry but neither had she ever seen him express happiness or excitement. Nothing but that steady gaze that saw too much. Peeling back the layers of her skin—and her mind. She hated it. She felt like a bug under a microscope. She wouldn’t put it past him to know when she went to the damn bathroom.
He was a man who nothing escaped his notice. He was quiet, observant. He stood back and observed others. It suited him well for the career he’d chosen. But it discomfited her. He could save his scrutiny for the consulting jobs he and Dash took on. Those companies needed his unbiased and discerning eye. She sure as hell didn’t need it or want it.
“You do a damn fine job, Kylie. I don’t believe I’ve ever given you reason to doubt my confidence in your abilities. If I have, then I apologize. Dash and I would certainly be lost without you.”
She blinked in surprise over the unexpected praise, and unwanted color washed into her cheeks, warming her skin. She didn’t want to acknowledge the brief surge of pleasure his veiled compliment had brought.
“When was the last time you slept?” he asked pointedly, still staring at her, studying intently.
“Last night,” she said lightly. “Just like I do every night.”
“Bullshit.”
Her eyes widened at the growl in his voice.
“If you’re even getting a few hours of sleep I’d find that hard to believe. Why don’t you take some time off? Go somewhere. Relax. Take a vacation. Dash says you’ve never once taken off. Only when Carson died.”
Kylie flinched, unable to temper the surge of grief that hit her square in the chest.