Read Unconditional Surrender Online

Authors: Desiree Holt

Unconditional Surrender (10 page)

Slade could tell by the question in her voice that she had no idea who it was. He hadn’t given his number to her although he wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was part of his nature as a Dom to want to control every situation. He had a feeling he might have to adjust that outside the bedroom with Kari.

“It’s me. Slade.”
Wow! Smooth, Donovan.

“Oh! Hi. Just a minute. Let me get to my office.”

She apparently had her hand over the phone because whatever conversation she was having with someone was muffled. Then silence for a moment, the closing of a door and she was back.

“Hi, again. I didn’t want to take the call in the conference room with a bunch of people.”

“Look, if you’re tied up at the moment, I can always call back.” He tried to tamp down his disappointment that she might not be free tonight after all.

“No, no. It’s fine. We’re just taking a break right now, anyway.” She paused. “I’m glad you’re back.”

And just like that he relaxed.

“I’m home for a couple of weeks. I thought tonight maybe we could have that dinner we talked about.”

“I’d like that.” The soft musical sound of her voice warmed him.

“Is seven o’clock good for you? How about we try that new restaurant that opened up a while ago. Bacardi’s.”

“I’ve heard good things about it. Make it seven-thirty and you’ve got a date. I’ll meet you there.”

His body heated, his cock pressing eagerly against his fly as he visualised the evening ahead.

“I can pick you up. No problem.”

She hesitated for so long he wondered if she might change her mind. Was she afraid to let him know where she lived? He had her name. He could find out her address easily enough.

“Okay,” she said at last, then laughed a little unsteadily. “I can’t imagine why I’m making such a big deal out of it. If I don’t trust you by now…”

“I promise I’m not a stalker,” he assured her. “Just trying to do the gentlemanly thing.”

“All right then.” She rattled off her address. “See you at seven-thirty.”

 Slade disconnected the call and sat on the edge of his bed in silence for a long moment. He needed to make sure the other guys had wheels tonight and that their admission to The Edge was taken care of. After that he could concentrate on his own evening. He couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he’d looked forward to being with someone this much. He just hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Or Kari either.

Chapter Eight

 

 

 

The maître d’ pulled out Kari’s chair and waited for her to sit down then took the fan-shaped napkin, opened it with a flick of his wrist and placed it in her lap. He nodded to Slade, who folded his lean body into the opposite chair.

“Your waiter will be with you shortly.”

Slade thanked him and reached across the table to take Kari’s hand, wrapping his fingers around it. That was always the first thing he did whenever they were seated in a restaurant, as if he wanted to maintain that connection to her. He had to know he was driving her crazy, constantly touching her, caressing her hand or her arm, his masculine scent always drifting across her nose. Of course, that was probably his plan. And it was working. 

This was their fourth ‘date’ and Kari was amazed at how comfortable she felt with him. And how he danced attention on her. Each time he’d taken her to one of San Antonio’s top-notch restaurants. Tonight they were at Morelli’s, one of the city’s oldest dining places, with a reputation for the best in Italian cuisine.

Kari looked around. “This place is everything I’ve heard about it and more.”

The restaurant was actually broken up into small intimate dining rooms. Barely audible music drifted on the air from concealed speakers just enough to set the mood without interrupting conversation. People spoke in hushed, muted tones punctuated by the tinkle of fine crystal as glasses were filled and people lifted them to drink. Exquisitely framed prints adorned the walls along with dimly lit wall sconces. And the fragrant scents of gourmet food enfolded it all like a sensual cloak.

She looked at Slade. She still had no idea what he did for a living but she was smart enough to know that every place he’d taken her had probably cost an arm and a leg. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“I wanted to make this special,” he told her.

“You know I’d be just as happy with pizza or Chinese food. It’s the company that makes the difference.”

Slade grinned. “Don’t worry. I didn’t have to break my piggy bank to do it.”

She wet her bottom lip, a nervous habit she’d developed at some point in her life. “Was I that obvious?”

“It’s okay. I’ve just been doing my best to make a good impression.”

“I don’t need fancy restaurants,” she pointed out. “And you’re doing just fine.”

He laughed, a deep sound that she could feel reverberating in the air. “Thanks. And it’s been fun learning about each other in elegant surroundings. My work usually keeps me away from the finer things in life.”

They’d made an agreement that this time together would be more about who they were than about anything else, so for the moment sex was off-limits, something they were both having an increasingly hard time with, especially with Slade’s scorching kisses each time he took her home. Kari wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold off before begging Slade to take her.

The only thing he’d insisted on was that she wear the butt plug each time.

“I want to get hard sitting across from you knowing that thing is filling your ass,” he told her with a grin. “And that every time you shift in your seat you feel it.”

Oh, she felt it, all right. It kept her on edge and hungrier for him than before.

They’d talked about a lot of things over these dinners and discovered they had many interests in common. Movies, books, even sports. Slade had a sharp mind and a depth of interest that she didn’t find in a lot of men.

She’d talked about her house and how excited she’d been the day she’d bought it. He’d told her he lived just south of San Antonio on a ranch he owned.

“Medium size,” he’d said. “About ten thousand acres. I run a small herd of cattle and keep a few horses. I like to ride when I’m home.”

“Who handles things when you’re away?” She might not be from a ranching family but she wasn’t clueless. She knew ranches didn’t run themselves.

“I have a great foreman, which helps a lot.”

She could actually visualise his lean, muscular figure sitting easy in the saddle, well-worn jeans outlining his long legs and fantastic butt.

But, while they’d discussed everything else, interestingly enough they’d had yet to discuss what they each did for a living. As if it might somehow change their perception of each other.

A waiter materialised from someplace, setting menus in front of them, and Slade gave him their drink orders. The first night at dinner, when he’d been about to order wine, she’d told him nervously she’d rather have Jack Daniel’s on the rocks if it was all the same to him. Wine was okay with her but she really preferred the smoky taste of the Tennessee whisky. She waited to see if he thought her choice of alcohol was unfeminine but he just smiled at her.

“Me too.”

Outside of their activities at The Edge that had been their first bit of common ground.

“We’re in no rush,” he told the man now. “Just keep an eye on us, okay?” He looked back at Kari. “That all right with you? I like it when we sit and talk and I figured we aren’t on a deadline.” He paused. “Or am I mistaken?”

“No.” She smiled. “I don’t have a curfew.”

She just needed to keep her alcohol intake to a minimum until she got some food in her system. For some reason, tonight she was more nervous than any of the other previous evenings. She couldn’t imagine why. Maybe because things seemed to be going so well between them—almost too well—and she was afraid the bottom would fall out. Life had not been very kind to her in the romance department and she’d become wary and distrustful. But Slade had got under her defences. This was a man who made her feel emotions she’d never felt before.

Heat crept through her as she thought about the purchases she’d made on her way home, hoping she wasn’t being too bold or presumptuous…but enough was enough with the no sex. She was either in this all the way or not.

The waiter returned with their drinks. Despite her silent warning to herself just seconds before, she took a healthy swallow of her drink, hoping to settle her nerves.

Wow! Big-time prosecutor nervous on a date. And not even the first one. Wouldn’t everyone, including Sasha, laugh themselves silly over this?

“So.” She set her glass down carefully. “We’ve talked about everything else except one subject.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“What do you do besides disappear for weeks at a time? I guess your job requires you to travel a lot.”

One corner of his mouth quirked up in a hint of a smile. “You might say that.”

She could tell he was trying to decide just how much to tell her about himself.

“I’m not sure why it’s such a big secret.” She tilted her head. “Are you a hired killer? A wanted thief? A bank robber?”

He picked up his glass and took a deep drink from it.

Kari was fascinated by the workings of his throat muscles, the way his head tilted slightly as he drank. The long, lean fingers holding the glass—fingers that had stroked every part of her body. She remembered the feel of them, their touch. The pulse in her womb throbbed to life and her nipples tingled, wanting those fingers to pinch and tease them.

“Let me ask you something first. What were you doing in Chicago that night?”

“I was visiting a long-time girlfriend. I had no idea she was into the D/s scene until she told me about it.”

He looked at her, his eyes questioning. “Were you shocked? Did she have to push really hard to get you to go with her?”

Another swallow of her drink.

Slow down, kiddo.

What was with all the nerves tonight? And why did this question make her edgier? She’d been in the D/s life for more than five years. Any discomfort about the subject had long disappeared. She’d certainly had no reservations with Slade at The Edge. And even now just sitting across from him made her entire body quiver with need.

“I was…curious.” She stared down into her drink and gave a nervous little laugh. “I like to read erotic romances. It’s a nice change of pace for me. And a lot of them are based around BDSM. I have to admit the whole thing intrigued me.”

She felt his hot gaze on her and looked up. The heated lust in his eyes nearly undid her. As it was, she had to keep from squirming in her chair to still the pulsing in her cunt.

“And did it meet your expectations?

She knew exactly what he was asking.

“I was lucky enough to meet a man who was wise and gentle as well as commanding. He made the experience both wonderful and memorable.”

“I’ll take that as one of the best compliments I’ve ever received.” He reached across the table and stroked the back of one hand. “It was…unbelievable for me, too. You had a freshness I hadn’t seen in a long time. And a strength that was more inner core than brashness. Every moment of that night is still etched in my memory.”

“I think that freshness has probably worn off a little by now.” She retrieved her hand, wondering if he saw something in her that wasn’t there. If it was just that memory that appealed to him.

He took her hand again, this time closing his fingers around it. “It will always be there, Kari. It’s part of who you are. It’s what made me…have feelings for you.”

He looked as if he’d been about to say something else then changed his mind.

Their glasses were empty and, without asking her, he signalled the waiter for another round. When it came, she inhaled the smoky flavour of the whisky before taking a sip.

“What exactly is it you do that takes you away for so long?” she asked finally. “Why are you afraid to tell me?”

“You first.”

She swallowed a sigh. Would he respect her for her profession or think she was just a hard-assed bitch like so many other men did?

“Come on, it can’t be that difficult to tell me,” he joked. “Assassin? Pickpocket? Con artist?”

“How about assistant district attorney?”

“No kidding?”

She listened for a hard edge to his voice but it wasn’t there. What she heard instead was…admiration?

“No kidding.”

“I’ll bet you’re damn good at it, too.”

“I am.” She couldn’t keep the pride out of her voice. She’d worked her ass off to build her reputation and she knew it was well deserved. “My friend and I are among the few women in the trial division. I prosecute scumbags.”

He snapped his fingers. “That’s why you told me that time you couldn’t see me for a while.”

She nodded. “I was just starting the prep for a big murder trial. It always consumes me. And when we finally go to court—my day doesn’t end when the courtroom doors close. I always have a lot of work at night going over the day’s transcripts and prepping for the next day.”

“I thought at first you were just giving me the brush-off.”

She stared at him. “Wait. A big macho Dom like you thinking something like that? Hard to believe. Besides, I’m just one sub out of many.”

“Not hardly, Butterfly.” He put his drink glass down and reached across to link his fingers with hers. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before. You’re a lot of things that appeal to me and, besides that, I think you’re a very strong woman. One who is comfortable in her own skin. It takes someone like that to be a very good sub and not lose herself in it. Anyway, you couldn’t succeed in your career without a lot of guts and smarts. And a sense of humour.”

“And what about you, Slade Donovan? Ready to tell me finally what the mystery is all about?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw and for a moment there was a distant look in his eyes.

“I’m in the military.”

The military? That was his big secret?

“Okay. Which branch?”

“Army.” He took a healthy swallow of his drink. “Actually I’m the leader of a Delta Force team.”

Of course. She should have seen it. The air of command. The military bearing. The complete self-control. All of these to a much greater degree than any other Dom she knew.

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