Surrender to Me (10 page)

Grimacing, she rolled carefully away from Hunter, sliding out from under his thigh. Kata ignored the fresh ache in her head—and the flesh between her legs that still throbbed—then stood on wobbly legs.

Clutching her rolling stomach, she kept sifting through her memories as she tiptoed around the room for her clothes. At the club, she and Hunter had eventually joined a happy group, who’d soon left the hotel. She had a vague recollection of passing all the bright Vegas lights situated on Hunter’s lap, his lips whispering over her neck, his fingers swirling lazy circles on her clit under the cover of her skirt, as they squeezed into a cab with their new acquaintances. Everyone had been excited about going downtown, but she could only remember the orgasm she’d screamed into Hunter’s kiss, not why their destination had been important. Was there a better casino down there? A show?

Everything after the car ride was a total blank.

Kata bent, still feeling around the hotel room in the semidarkness for her clothing. Her panties were toast, literally now in three pieces. She could only imagine Hunter had done that in his haste to fuck her again. The thought shouldn’t make her wet, but . . . Kata cursed quietly. She had to focus.

Her skirt hung on the doorknob, her shoes just beneath. Her sweater strewn in the hall two paces into the room. Her bra? Missing altogether.

She had a vague recollection of Hunter stripping her down to her skin seconds after closing the door behind them, and she’d let him have his wicked way with her again. The wisps of memory made her hot all over.

Turning back to the bed, she watched the steady rise and fall of Hunter’s powerful chest. Most people looked softer or more vulnerable in sleep. He looked every bit as formidable as he did awake. And given his occupation, if she didn’t sneak out quietly, he’d wake before she could make a clean exit.

Running out on him seemed cowardly, but with attraction still tugging at her and her odd reluctance to leave him, she’d best find the door pronto. Besides, they’d shared a whole night, and her slightly achy throat told her that she’d screamed for him over and over. Hunter had to be satisfied with that. His oddly possessive behavior aside, what more could he want?

Kata glanced around for her purse, resisting the urge to take another peek at him. She didn’t dare wake him, or he might be motivated to start round . . . what, fifteen? No. Her need to pee would have to wait.

Finally, she spotted her bag on the floor near the closet, grabbed it, and scampered for the door. It took forever to undo all the locks quietly. Hunter grunted, his breathing paused as she flipped the door’s main lock. But she paused, letting silence slide over the room again. Within moments, his breathing became deep and even once more.

Kata opened the door and closed it behind her with a soft, final
snick
. Most likely, she’d never see him again.

As the thought hit her, she stopped dead in the hall. That was a good thing, right? Yes, their killer chemistry made her shudder even now, but he was a one-night stand. His job was pure danger. He dominated, pushing her, challenging her. Granted, when she’d been really furious, he’d listened. He wasn’t a jerk. But when she considered spending more time with him, icy panic rolled through her. Foreboding churned. Being with Hunter could change her life. Change her.

It hit her then that she feared for her heart. What had passed between her and Hunter hadn’t
felt
like a one-night stand. Despite her panic, something inside her screamed that she was making a terrible mistake sneaking out on him.

That feeling was so, so dangerous . . . but undeniable.

Kata spun around for his door again, then looked out the huge window near the bank of elevators. The sun was high in the sky. Crap, what time was it?

Pulling her cell from her purse, she nearly choked at the clock’s display. Her plane left in less than two hours!

Okay, so she’d have to deal with her feelings for Hunter once she returned to Lafayette. Maybe some space was good. They could both cool down, decide what, if anything, should happen next. If she was still thinking about Hunter in a few days, she’d ask Ben for his number. If not . . . maybe leaving now would be for the best. Besides, now that they’d had lots of sex, maybe Hunter was done with her.

The possibility depressed her.

Kata dashed to the elevator and raced in, pounding the button to go up to her suite. At the door, she wrestled out her little plastic key and slid it in. Ben stood there in a towel, staring at her as if Medusa had just walked in.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Drinking a lot and not remembering much.”

He grunted, then held his head with a wince. “I hear that. I woke up on the fucking bathroom floor. What happened last night?”

“You mean after you got me half-naked with Hunter, then passed out?” She arched a playful brow at him.

“Fuck! I did?” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Kata. I ruined everything.”

Surprisingly, he really hadn’t. She smiled. “You had good intentions.”

He sauntered closer, a lock of his wavy brown hair brushing across his forehead. “We might have time for a quickie now. What do you say, babe? I’ll make it up to you.”

No
. Her reaction was immediate and confusing. Normally, she enjoyed quickies with Ben. He was at his best when he only had a few minutes and poured everything into making it good. But she pictured Hunter’s face hovering over hers during the darkest part of the night, focused and intent, as he held her wrists above her head and drove hard inside her. She shivered.

Kata shook her head. “We’re going to be late if we don’t get out of here. I need a shower, and I still haven’t packed up.”

Ben sighed and backed away. “You’re right. Damn it. I’ll finish getting ready and arrange for a cab.”

“I’ll be ready in fifteen,” she promised, as she grabbed a pair of denim capri pants, a T-shirt, and fresh undergarments from her suitcase, then darted for the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

“Chloe, Hallie, and Mari already left for the airport. Your sister called, looking for you. You were supposed to ride with them?” Ben called through the bathroom door.

Kata winced. “Sorry. I... overslept.”

“With who? ’Cause looking at you, I have no doubt you didn’t give yourself that whisker burn on your neck.”

Turning, she peered in the mirror and pressed her lips together to stifle a shriek. Ben had looked at her as if Medusa had come through the door, because she had. Her hair was a rumpled mess, her mascara smudged, her lips incredibly swollen. Kata stripped off her clothes as if they were on fire and bit back a gasp at all the marks on her body. Whisker burns, love bites, faint bruises in the shape of Hunter’s fingers on her thighs, hips, and ass. What the hell had they done last night? And God, she was still wet just thinking about him.

“Kata . . . Who? Were you with Hunter?”

No way in hell was she answering that now. She stuck her head in the shower and flipped it on, the sound of the water running drowning out Ben’s inquiries.

Twelve minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom with wet hair, a freshly scrubbed face, clean clothes, and sunglasses to find Ben, fully dressed, setting down the hotel room’s phone.

“Hunter is looking for you. He’s pissed that you left him.”

Against her better judgment, excitement cramped in her belly, made her ridiculously giddy. Gathering the contents of her suitcase, Kata checked herself. Yeah, they had great sex, but no way in hell was she volunteering to be with a man like that. Too bad everything about Hunter flipped her switch. It was insane but . . . she missed him already.

Speculation flitted across Ben’s face. “You fucked him. And you liked it. Gotta say, I didn’t picture you going for his tie-’em-down-fuck-’em-hard sort of thing.”

“Tie ’em down?” Her heart stuttered just asking the question.

“Yeah.” Ben crossed his arms over his chest and stared like he was looking forward to imparting news that would totally shake her. “Hunter’s a well-versed Dominant. That means he’s into BDSM. From what I understand, when he takes a submissive, he insists on taking complete control.”

Kata sucked in a breath. She’d been around enough to hear bits and pieces about people into bondage, mind games, and pain. She was no expert, but everything she’d heard scared the shit out of her.

Puzzle pieces snapped into place—Hunter’s behavior. And, God, her reaction. Did he think that he could make her some submissive plaything, willing to bend backward and inside out just to earn his approval and a smile? Likely so, because she’d stupidly given him every indication that she ate that shit up. Kata shuddered.

Ben watched her carefully. She smoothed out her expression. He was the last person with whom Kata wanted to discuss her feelings for Hunter.

“We’d better get out of here.” Before Hunter came pounding on the door, looking for her. And he would, Kata suddenly had no doubt.

With a practiced shrug, she closed up her suitcase, grabbed her purse, then reached out for Ben’s hand. “C’mon. We have a plane to catch.”

THE minute Kata hit her seat, she buckled up and closed her eyes. In the window seat on her left, Ben did the same and started snoring almost immediately. Hallie and Chloe were two rows behind her, looking every bit as hungover as she felt, but the smile on Hallie’s face told her they’d gotten lucky last night. Kata didn’t ask, though. She didn’t want to answer in turn.

What happened in Vegas
. . .

Yes, it should stay here, but Hunter had proven last night that he took intense to a whole new level. He’d find her if he wanted to.

Shoving the thought aside, Kata tried to sleep, but she couldn’t nod off. She couldn’t put Hunter out of her mind.

While Kata pored through her lost memories of the previous night, something tugged at her again and again, as if she’d forgotten an important fact. But that something proved as elusive as smoke. She could only latch on to bits of things that made no sense—an overbright government office with bored clerks, flashbulbs, strangers laughing, a moonlit garden. Vividly, she recalled Hunter pressing her into an elevator and kissing hungrily on the way up to his room. He’d called her
his
, the word emphatic, as solemn as a bond.

Kata opened her eyes to find the flight attendant standing beside her row with the drink cart. “Something to drink, ma’am?”

“Coffee, cream and sugar.”

The fortysomething blonde nodded efficiently as she poured. “And your husband?”

Kata frowned. Why the hell would the woman think . . . Then she felt Ben’s hand, warm and big, as he tangled his fingers with hers.

“Nothing for him,” she whispered to the other woman so she didn’t wake him.

With a polite smile, the flight attendant moved away.

A few minutes later, Ben stirred at her side. “Damn, did I miss the coffee?”

“You can have some of mine.” She offered the cup to him with her free hand.

“That’s okay, but thanks. I’ll get some when we lay over in Dallas.” He squeezed her hand affectionately.

Discomfort wound through Kata. She’d never had a problem with Ben’s touch, so why now? She still considered him a friend—hell, he’d helped Mari throw her a great birthday party—but the idea of sex with him again didn’t appeal. In fact, it turned her way off.

Ben was good in bed, but she didn’t have romantic feelings for him. Kata had long viewed that as a blessing, hoping that after all she’d seen with Mamá and Gordon over the last decade that her heart had scabbed over—and permanently put her off anything too deep.

In a few short hours, Hunter had challenged all that. The thought of blazing up the sheets with him once more . . . even allowing him to tie her up. Instant arousal. God, how was it possible that, in a single night, he’d hardwired her body to respond so thoroughly to him? Her thoughts to revolve around him?

What the hell was she going to do about her comfortable arrangement with Ben? She searched his face, lax in sleep once more. Last night’s doofus drunken behavior aside, he really was funny and kind. Attractive. Dependable. He’d make someone a great husband someday. But not her.

The pilot announced their initial descent into Dallas/Ft. Worth, where she and her friends would change planes before going on to Lafayette. She loved where she lived, but the lack of direct flights anywhere really sucked.

Carefully, she extracted her hand from Ben’s—and the streak of sunlight shimmering through the little window’s shade glinted off something unexpected. It wasn’t the eclectic silver swirl ring she always wore. The weight was similar, but . . . this was an unfamiliar, endless band of gold.

Her stomach dropped to her toes. Suddenly, the obvious smacked her in the face. She gasped.

The sound jarred Ben awake. “What?

Kata stared at the ring in horror, puzzle pieces from the night before snapping into place.

They’d gone with the strangers in the bar to the county clerk’s office because Christi and . . . what was his name? Nick, maybe. They’d wanted to get married, despite only knowing each other for two weeks. So they’d run off to Vegas. She and Hunter had tagged along, lured by the promise of a big post-wedding celebration.