Total Surrender (16 page)

“They told you about Mara?” His touch lost the gentle teasing quality and turned intense, and he bent toward her, his body over hers.

“No.” She tried unsuccessfully to yank from his grasp. “They showed me a recording. You’re impressive, going all night like that.” Sarcasm nearly burned her tongue as she spat it out, oddly jealous, and oddly hurt.

Then she lost her breath as he gripped her hips, lifted, and pressed her against the fridge. Not hard but not exactly gentle. Pictures rained down.

“What do they know about Mara?” he ground out, no mercy in those unholy eyes.

Her body jolted, and her head swam from being jerked upright so quickly. She blinked. “What do you care?” she coughed out. The guy had used the blonde for information as part of a mission.

“I care.” He leaned in, easily holding her aloft, a new darkness chasing away the light in his eyes. “Please tell me about Mara. Now.”

It hit her suddenly, and with the oddest force, that she didn’t fear him. Call it instinct, call it stupidity, but any fear she’d had was gone. “Why?” she asked softly.

His head jerked back. “She’s my friend. At least she used to be, and I can’t let them get to her.”

Right. “I can see how you’d use a friend like that.”

“Damn it.” He set her down gently. Then he bent and rummaged in a duffle bag before yanking out a laptop, setting it next to her, and quickly punching up a screen.

Piper tried to sidle to the door.

His arm snaked out and yanked her into him, her chest to his side. “Stay.”

Stay? Oh, he didn’t.

He typed quickly. Several seconds later, a cute blonde came on. “J?” she asked, her blue eyes wide.

Same woman, but she looked softer. More like the girl next door than an exotic dancer involved with a mobster. She wore a pink sweatshirt, minimal makeup, and had cut her thick hair into a cute bob.

Piper tried to draw back, and the iron band around her waist turned to solid steel.

Jory nodded. “Hey.”

Mara pushed her face closer to the screen. “Oh my God. Where have you been? I’ve worried so much, then I was afraid you went undercover again, and then I got worried you’d been…”

“I’m fine but was undercover.” He kept the screen angled so Piper could see Mara, but Mara couldn’t see anything but Jory. “Are you all right? I had to check.”

Mara smiled. “I’m totally great. Devon was just promoted at work, and Katie is taking ballet.” She snorted. “Believe me, her affinity for dance isn’t lost on me.”

Jory chuckled, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “What about Jackson?”

Mara’s eyes softened. “He just started preschool, and I bawled all day to have him gone, but he’s the smartest kid in the class.”

“I’m sure he is.” Jory’s voice softened. “You’re safe? No signs of any problems?”

“No.” Mara leaned even closer to the screen. “I’m safe, J. I promise. How about you?”

“Getting there.” He pressed his fingers on the keys. “If you need anything, or if you feel any danger, you know how to contact me. My lines are back up.”

She nodded. “I’ve missed you. Glad you’re alive.”

“Ditto.” He clicked off. Then a huge sigh rolled through his impressive chest.

Sweet. Undeniably sweet. Piper curled her fingers over the table end. “I didn’t say she was in danger. The commander just has the video of your time in Vegas—I didn’t see anything besides you using Mara and taking information from a safe. No indication that she’s in any danger.”

He breathed out. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Although now I’m more confused than ever.” And a little jealous.

He nodded and stepped back, releasing her. “Mara was a job, and then she was a friend who wanted to get the hell out. So we played it up for the camera, I got the info, and then I found her a new life. Last I checked, two years ago basically, she was a real soccer mom in the suburbs married to a banker. Turns out she still is.”

Was any of this true? “Why two years ago and not since?”

“That’s when I got shot and ended up in a coma. Came out of it three months ago.” Jory rubbed his chin and glanced down at her bare chest. The environment shifted again. Tension spiraled around, nipping and sucking. His gaze darkened. “Either put on a shirt or let’s take this where we want it to go.”

She swallowed. Her body warmed and thrummed. But her mind clicked into gear, and she backed away. “Shirt?”

With a low snarl of impatience, he yanked off his T-shirt and slammed the cotton over her head.

Warmth, spice, and man filled her senses.

Then muscle, hard male, and danger filled her view. “Your chest is freakin’ unbelievable.” As were his abs.

“Look who’s talking,” he said, a smile hovering on his full lips, his intensity not diminished a bit.

She eyed the sexy tattoo above his heart. “Freedom. It means everything, right?”

He glanced down and tapped the smooth lines. “All four of us got it when we escaped. You could say it’s our family crest.”

Sweet. Desperately sweet. She hugged herself and meandered over to sit in a chair. The adrenaline rush of the day was waning, and she needed some balance. More and more she was starting to believe him. Seeing Mara in the flesh, happy and serene, had certainly helped. “You mentioned my assisting you.”

“Chance.” Jory crossed the table and dropped into a matching chair. “He and two other boys are at the facility being trained by your father and threatened with death. I need you to get information about them to me so I can get them out. Get them freedom.”

“I will.” Chills wandered down her back. The back that had until recently held a foreign device without her consent. Her father had lied and basically tagged her like a dog.

Her heart spasmed, bombarded by harsh reality. She’d wanted to trust her father, and she’d wanted to know him. Much like she wanted to know Jory. Could either man be trusted, or were they cut from the same damaging cloth?

Her chest hurt, and she rubbed over her heart.

“The commander only knows cruelty and his own odd sense of destiny, and I’m sorry.” Jory leaned both elbows on the table. “I don’t want to, but I’ll prove it.”

“Okay.” Her chin lifted.

He dragged a nondescript phone from his back pocket. “Call the commander and tell him you’ve been taken by PROTECT, and that they want Chance. See what he says.”

She eyed the phone and considered the possibilities, her head pounding. “You want me to lie to my father?” It would be taking a side, an absolute one.

“Yes.”

“I can’t,” she breathed, her gaze caught on the innocuous device.

Jory brushed his thumb across her lips, and she looked up. “I wouldn’t ask if they weren’t kids. They need help.”

Tears filled her eyes. Again. “Won’t he be able to track me?”

“You won’t be on that long.”

She swallowed, her gaze on the innocent-looking phone. Making the call, if she was caught, would forever end her relationship with her father. But he had lied to her, and he had inserted a tracking device into her flesh.

Jory slid a warm hand along her jaw. “This sucks, baby, and I know it. The commander is a sociopathic prick, I’m a stone-cold killer about to die, and neither of us is a good bet. But you have to choose a side, and since I’m dead in three days, you have to choose now. Whatever side you choose, I’ll support.”

She lifted her head to meet his gaze directly. “If I don’t choose you?”

He studied her. “I’ll make sure you get home, and I’ll get those boys out myself. Nobody touches you—nobody hurts you. My word.”

She believed him. Right or wrong, she believed him. “Jory.”

“Choose me,” he said softly, a strong man who could be so devastatingly gentle.

The words resonated through her, so much meaning encapsulated in them she couldn’t breathe.

He waited patiently, his gaze intent.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her mind spinning through memories of the last week. In the end, in defiance of her impressive brain, she went with her gut, or maybe her heart, which was already full of him. “Fine.” Drawing the phone to her ear, she quickly dialed. Somebody had to save those kids.

“Yes,” the commander barked.

“It’s Piper,” she whispered.

Silence for a moment. “Where are you?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice shook, from the lying and the adjoining confusion. “Some PROTECT group has me, and they want Chance. Why would they want that sweet kid?”

“I don’t know. How far away are you?” the commander asked.

“I’m not sure.” She lowered her voice. “Is it true? Are you genetically enhancing soldiers?”

He scoffed. “I expect you to get free, and once you do, contact me immediately. Not the police, not your mother, me. It’s life or death for our cause here, Piper.”

What cause? “I understand. But you didn’t answer me about your experiments.” Jory nodded, and she frowned back at him.

He sighed loudly. “Obviously you’re using their phone. Give it to one of the men who has you.”

She blinked at Jory, and he held out his hand. Taking the phone, he pushed the
SPEAKER
button. “We’ll kill her. You know it. Where are the newest abominations?” His voice emerged thick and with a Middle Eastern accent. If Piper hadn’t been watching him, she never would’ve realized he was the one speaking.

“They’re not abominations, and you’ll never get to them.” The commander growled low. “Release my analyst, or there’s nowhere you can hide from me.”

“Already hiding. Hand over your creations, or I’ll kill your daughter. With great pain.” Apology lingered in Jory’s eyes, even as he kept up the flawless accent.

“My daughter understands my cause, and if need be, she’ll die for it.”

Piper shook her head, her eyes widening. She opened her mouth to protest, and only Jory’s quick snap of his fingers kept her from speaking.

“Just how far off God’s course have you fallen?” Jory asked, his voice serious while his eyes rolled.

“All the way. What I’ve created will be the ultimate soldiers—beyond anything created by the God you love so much,” the commander said.

Piper’s mouth fell open. Now it sounded like he was taking full responsibility. “Is your program sanctioned by the government, or have you gone rogue?” Her voice thickened with tears.

“Stop asking stupid questions,” the commander ordered.

Fine. How about a more direct question? She sucked in air. “They cut a silver tracking device out of my shoulder. Want to explain?”

He hitched in a breath. “No. Now tell them to let you free, or I’ll send my best men after you.”

“Why don’t you fucking come get me?” Her temper exploded, erasing the hurt.

He sighed. “You’ll be safe soon. Don’t worry about your mother, as I’ll leave her a message that you’re working late and won’t be home tonight.”

Yeah. That’d go over like an anvil to the head.

Piper’s gut hurt. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. The fantasy she’d harbored of her father wafted away like mist in a storm. He was a monster, and he didn’t care about her. Plus, he’d created soldiers on his own. No way was the government involved in that program.

Jory winced and then continued. “You made your choice, old man. Your daughter dies.” He ended the call.

Piper sat back, her mind spinning. “You’re not going to kill me.”

“No.”

Was her mother safe? Piper jumped up and rushed for the door. She had to get home.

Jory was on her that quickly, his back to her front, his
hands caging her against the light-colored oak. Slowly, he turned her around. “I can’t let you leave, either.”

She shoved him back an inch. He pushed back, and being stronger, she ended up plastered against his hard frame, the door firm against her back. “You can’t stop me.”

His gaze morphed into something new. Not anger, not interest, not amusement. What was that?

Her breath caught. Determination. Hard, male, iron-clad determination.

He leaned down, his gaze right above her. “You made the choice, baby, and you chose me. Period.”

W
ARMTH CAGED HER,
and Piper’s knees wobbled. “You can’t keep me here.”

“We both know that’s not true.” Jory’s lips hovered near her right ear, spiraling along her neck. “Just for the night, and I promise I won’t touch you.”

“Then?” She cleared her throat to sound in control.

“Then you’re going to escape your PROTECT captors and head back to the compound. I’d appreciate it if you’d get me information on Chance and the other boys, but if you don’t, I’ll go another route. The commander believed you, so you’re not in danger.”

She kept perfectly still so as not to brush up against him. “How do you know?”

“I can hear a lie. Easily.” Jory’s lips enclosed the top of her ear.

Her knees wobbled, and her eyes closed. “Nobody can hear a lie.”

“You trusted me, so I’m trusting you. Whatever the scientists did to me in those petri dishes gave me extra abilities. I can hear and see beyond normal, and I can detect wave patterns even in air.”

She tried to focus with his heated breath against her neck. “That’s impossible.”

“I can also use pheromones to increase sexual tension.” His lips wandered down her jugular.

“Right.” She tipped her head back to allow him more room.

“Pay attention to your body,” he whispered against her collarbone.

Heat flared through her, vibrating with intensity, shimmering from her breasts to her clit. Hunger edged into a craving that forced her to flatten her hands against his chest. Her heart thundered, and her lungs overheated.

Desire. Red hot and devastating.

She opened her eyes, her vision blurring and then clearing. “How?”

The warmth in the air caressing her skin slowly dissipated. “Don’t know, just can.” His gaze dropped to her lips.

Even though he’d halted the sensual attack, her body thrummed, primed and ready. She shook her head. “Don’t use that on me again. Ever.”

“Don’t need to.” He grinned. “And you know it.”

True. Definitely true. “Why do you have a Southern accent sometimes?”

He stilled. “We were raised in Tennessee, and the accent gets loose every once in a while.”

The tenor melted her panties. Easily. Her mind turned to the crazy plan. “I have to escape tonight and get back to
the computers to save you.” A large clock shaped like a bird ticked in the corner, each second a harsh reminder of the kill chip in Jory’s spine.

“No. Not until tomorrow.” He caressed down to nip her earlobe. “Too easy. And we need time to hide the bodies so they won’t be found. Right now, you’re safer here than if you returned home too quickly.”

Her nipples scraped against his chest, and she whimpered. “What about my mother?”

“Matt is keeping an eye on her house, on her, and on her neighbor. He won’t let anything happen to the people you love. I promise.”

Pure truth echoed in the low tone. Piper shook her head, her body moving against his. Her nipples brushed his chest, even through the shirt he’d tossed over her head, and this time, he groaned. “You’re the real deal, aren’t you?” she asked, finally accepting the truth.

“I’m afraid so.” Sadness and a lingering regret glimmered in his odd gray eyes.

Man. Weird as it felt, she’d give anything to comfort him. To give him some sense of hope. “I have to get back to the computer.”

He shook his head. “No, you don’t. My brothers have the program, and I can figure out the code to save them.”

“What about you?” she breathed.

His fist unfolded through her hair, and he cupped the back of her neck. “We both know there’s no way to reach my chip. It’s damaged too much.”

Tick. Tick. Tick.
She shook her head. “I need to try.”

“You can try starting tomorrow. Tonight? You have to stay here.”

She couldn’t fight him and get free. What if she couldn’t figure out a way to connect wirelessly to the chip? “Please don’t give up,” she murmured.

He nodded. “You’re on board?”

“Yes.” And they had a night. So she threaded both hands through his silky hair and rose to her tiptoes before sliding her lips between his.

He breathed her in, his pectorals clenching. “What are you doing?”

“We have a night.” She spoke against him, not moving back an inch.

He blinked. “I’m letting you go tomorrow no matter what.”

She grinned, enjoying the firmness of his mouth against hers. “I’m not trying to seduce you to gain my freedom.”

He levered back, a veil drawing down over his eyes. “Then what are you doing?” Warning and something darker, something deeply intriguing, echoed in his low tone. Something she wanted to explore.

“Living.” She lifted her shoulders, stirring the scent of him in the cotton. “I’ve never been much for regrets or not jumping in. I believe you… all of it. And I want this night.” She believed him in that her mother was safe. And maybe he was right and she wouldn’t be able to deactivate his chip. The idea flared pain into her heart, and she shoved it away. Maybe this night was all they had. Trying to keep eye contact, she drew the shirt over her head.

He swallowed. “You saw me kill.”

She nodded. “I did. Interesting, that. It was self-defense, but even so, I got the feeling it wasn’t quite you. Not like when you MacGyvered the keypad back at the facility. That just seemed more… you.”

His chin lifted, while his gaze warmed. Hell. It heated over. “You think you know me?”

“No.” She kept a firm hold on his hair. “Something tells me I’d like to, however.”

He remained in place this time. “I don’t have long on this
earth, Piper, and the time I have is going to be spent saving my brothers from the kill chips near their spines.”

Yeah. She got that. “You’re free tonight.”

His nostrils flared. “You sure?”

That warning voice in the back of her head screeched a
hell no.
“I’m sure.” She’d never listened to that bitch, anyway.

He didn’t ask again. Instead, his broad hands encircled her waist, and he traced her rib cage up and over to caress her breasts, his gaze following his movements.

Sparks zipped straight from his talented fingers to her clit. She gasped and leaned into his touch, so much need coursing through her she wondered at her own sanity.

Then, as he tweaked, as he twisted with just enough bite to weaken her knees, she forgot all about saneness.

Who wanted to be sane?

This? This she wanted. “Jory,” she murmured, releasing his hair to run her hands over those amazing pecs, the badass tattoo, and down to trace each individually ripped ab. “You’re nearly airbrushed.”

He chuckled. “You confuse me.”

“Then we’re even.” She slowly unbuckled his belt. “I’m attracted to you, and I know you’re telling the truth. The other night was good, but…”

“Not enough.” He reached for the button of her jeans. “I know.”

And life was short—probably too damn short for him. Although neither one of them said it, the truth of that sad fact hung like a fine mist in the elderly lady’s home.

Almost as if reading her mind, Jory glanced around. “You deserve better than this.”

She kicked out of her jeans, trying to erase shyness at her plain pink panties. This, more than ever, was one of those times she needed to accept herself, to like herself. But a guy like Jory? Yeah. He’d probably been with perfection before.

He glanced down at her, a low hum emerging with his breath. “You’re beautiful, Piper.”

This was crazy. So damn freakin’ crazy. But when he looked at her like that, when she considered the counting-down clock, when she allowed herself to acknowledge the danger she’d courted by trying to be in her father’s world… she wanted crazy. “Just take me away, Jory. Just for one night.”

His smile gentled, while his expression hardened into something so masculine he took her breath away. “That I can do, darlin’. I promise.”

She gulped and tried to concentrate, even though his too-warm hands had cupped her breasts. “What about your brothers?”

His cheek creased. “I think I’ll keep you for myself.”

The possessive tone wandered right under her skin and to her heart. “You know what I meant.”

“We have the night. I promise.”

She swallowed and tried not to blush. “I want this.”

He’d let her go. She knew, without any question, if she said no, he’d release her. This wasn’t about rebelling against her asshole of a father, nor was it about wanting to trust Jory. This was about her and taking the moment. For fun, danger, and dancing too close to the fire. “I want this.”

Then his mouth was on hers. No hesitation, no more talking, he went deep and hard, shoving her head back. His mouth was firm, his tongue demanding, all hesitation or question gone, leaving absolute possession in place.

His tongue thrust with hers, hard and sure, sending tingles through her entire body. Good. He was so damn good.

The world shifted. He swung her up and strode through the tidy home to sit on a bed, her thighs encasing his. One humungous hand pressed down on her head, pushing her entire body down on his full length. He controlled the kiss
like he had everything else, with complete ease and a burst of passion.

All intelligence and masculinity rolled up into an explosive package.

The possibility of that explosion, of that detonation, had been hinted in him since the beginning.

She knew, without a doubt, that was the exact characteristic of his that attracted her. She wanted to detonate with him.

God help them both.

She kissed him back, her hands roving over his muscled arms and to his back, riding him even through his jeans.

Somehow he lifted her with one hand while still kissing her, and before she knew it, chilled air brushed across her bare ass. Then he set her down onto granite, smooth, lava-hot male hardness.

Her eyes flew open.

Even with his mouth working hers, those gray eyes met her gaze.

She stilled. He felt huge. Not huge in a make a guy feel good way, but freakin’ real huge. She’d seen him the other day, but he hadn’t been fully erect. She had to look.

Levering back, scooting back, she looked down. He was long and thick, verrrry thick. A dark vein wound around his penis, somehow looking both promising and menacing. “Wow,” she breathed.

He threw back his head and laughed, his body gyrating against hers. “You make me happy, Piper.”

She swallowed. “From the looks of things, you’re about to make me happier.”

The idea that this might be their only time flared pain into her, and tears filled her eyes.

He stilled. “Be here, baby. Just be here.”

She nodded.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he flipped them and
moved her up on the bed until she lay on her back, covered by the most amazing male specimen she’d ever imagined.

“I hope I can trust you,” she breathed, batting back the tears.

He pressed a soft kiss on her nose, his pulsing shaft rubbing against her. “You can, although I’m not some easygoing accountant, sweetheart.”

Yeah, she got that. He’d killed easily, and there wasn’t much of a doubt that he’d done it before. But something sweet, something genuine, lived in Jory, and she wanted to know that side of him. While she still could. “Just be you. That’s what I want.”

His head jerked back, and an emotion she couldn’t track flashed across his face. Before she could question him, he dropped his head to the nook of her neck and nuzzled. Then nipped.

His hands went to work, exploring her, a combination of rough hands and gentle touch. Of need, lust, and futility.

Kisses rained along her skin, under her jaw, over her collarbone, to take possession of both breasts. He nipped and sucked, harder than she would’ve thought, more than she could control. Could anticipate.

His talented fingers found her, and she arched into his hand, crying out. Too much and yet not enough. She caressed down his flanks, knowing he couldn’t be quite human, marveling at the power barely leashed right beneath his skin. At the shift of muscle, the nearly animalistic perfection of his form, she believed he had been created on purpose.

Such perfection had to have a master crafter.

She gyrated against him, her mind blanking when he found that sizzling bundle of nerves inside her. “Now, Jory.”

“Slow,” he murmured against her breasts, his damp forehead slicking her skin.

“Later slow.” She was incapable of full speech. “Now
fast. Please?” The tension built and created true pain, so her body rubbed against him as if reality no longer mattered. As if it ever had. “Please.” She dug her nails into his fine butt.

He stiffened.

So she did it again.

“You like to play with fire,” he groaned, his breath brushing her nipple.

“Now you figure that out?” She chuckled, but in the face of such tremendous need, the sound came out high-pitched and desperate. “Please.”

One hand slipped under her ass, cupping her completely, and lifting. “Spread your legs wider,” he groaned.

She complied, opening herself as much as possible, any doubts shot to hell by the raw need clawing into her.

He plunged into her with one brutal stroke, his balls slapping her butt.

She cried out, bombarded, taken over. Pain flared inside her followed by an unbelievable burn of erotic fire. It licked at her, tempted her, destroyed her. From her clit to so far inside her she hadn’t realized her own depth, she felt him.

He levered up, his mouth enclosing hers, his tongue thrusting inside.

It was too late to slow him down, and she knew it. He withdrew and slammed back inside, somehow gaining strength. Her eyes fluttered shut, no longer able to see when feeling was all that mattered.

He took her over, and for the first time in her entire life, she let surrender happen. The pinnacle she needed to reach more than she needed to breathe was in his control, in his hands, and in that spectacular body. The power and the strength.

So she widened her thighs and clasped her feet at the small of his back, her arms winding under his arms to dig into his moving back muscles.

At the moment of her surrender, her submission, his grip tightened on her butt hard enough to bruise. Another sensation bombarding her with the rest.