Surrender to Me (26 page)

“Go,” she urged. “I’ll let you know if there’s any change with Mamá.”

“You need to rest, too.” Mari put on her older sister face. “Think about what I said.”

Kata nodded as Mari exited, her charcoal gray skirt swishing with each efficient step. Exhaustion set in. A million thoughts skimmed the top of Kata’s head, but she was too tired to actually grasp one. She needed a meal and sleep—and to decide what to do about Hunter.

“You all right?” Ben handed her a cup of coffee, then caressed her shoulder with a warm hand. “You want to talk about anything?”

The last person Kata wanted to discuss Hunter with was Ben. Her former friend-with-benefits wasn’t furious that her husband had stolen her—but he wasn’t thrilled, either.

“No, thanks.”

“But something is on your mind. I can see it on your face. Did Gordon say something that upset you? He’s such a prick.”

“I don’t care what Gordon says to me, but the way he treats Mamá is unforgiveable. If it’s the last damn thing I do, I will convince her to leave his sorry ass.”

Ben guided her over to the chair beside her mother’s bed, where tubes stuck out from everywhere and monitors beeped. As soon as her butt hit the ugly mint green vinyl, she focused on her mom.

She drank some of the coffee he’d given her with a sigh. “Thanks—for everything. Smuggling me away from Tyler’s place and watching my back, helping my mother get to the hospital, for not leaving my side since we got here.”

Setting aside his coffee, Ben shook his head and knelt in front of her. “That’s what friends are for. That”—he worked his hand up her thigh—“and other things. Kata, come home with me. You need a shower and sleep and someone to comfort you. I miss you. I don’t know what’s up with you and Hunter. And I don’t care.”

Once upon a time, she would have whispered an easy “yes.” Ben was so familiar and easy to be with. Strong arms; a laugh or two; pleasurable, if predictable, sex. A guaranteed orgasm.

But she wanted nothing to do with his offer now. Kata knew her indefinable feelings for Hunter were to blame. It made no sense. How could she feel this aching attachment to Hunter when he terrified her emotionally?

“Ben—”

Suddenly, a man with dark sunglasses swaggered into the room, exuding menace like an expensive cologne. Inky hair, head-to-toe black, and a mean SOB scowl all screamed, “Don’t fuck with me.”

Was he one of Villarreal’s men? Kata snatched up her phone to dial 911.

“Put it down,” he growled, his hard stare moving to Ben, who cupped her thigh. “Hunter will care very much that you’re propositioning his wife. Get your hand off her. Now.”

Ben scowled but didn’t move. “Who are you?”

“Someone more than happy to fuck up your face. Leave, or one of my buddies will set your truck on fire in the next two minutes if you’re not driving it off the lot.”

Sputtering, Ben jumped to his feet and glared at the stranger, a terrier taking on a pit bull. “Y-you can’t . . . Don’t touch my truck!”

The ominous stranger looked at his watch. “A minute forty-five. You’re wasting time.”

“How do I know you’re not going to hurt Kata?” Ben challenged, shoving her behind him.

Kata loved that Ben was willing to defend her, especially at the risk of losing his beloved truck. But he was going to get his ass kicked . . . or worse. She started dialing the phone.

“Put it down,” the stranger demanded of her, then said softly. “I’m one of Hunter’s friends.”

“Yeah? Me, too.” Ben crossed his arms over his chest.

The stranger took a menacing step closer. “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t feel too friendly toward you, since you’re trying to get in his wife’s panties.”

Kata stood and faced the guy. “I don’t know who the hell you are or why you’ve come, but you don’t get to strut in here and threaten my friends.”

A dirty smile lifted his lips. “Actually, I do. Your husband sent me. I’m Jack Cole.”

TWENTY minutes later, Kata still stared at Jack as he lounged against the sterile hospital room’s wall and sent her an unnerving glance. Ben had left for the moment, ostensibly to call in sick to his bartending job, but she didn’t doubt for a second that he’d also gone to move his truck.

“You don’t have to hover,” she told Jack.

He shrugged. “Occupational hazard.”

Everything about Jack Cole unsettled her. His every loosehipped move was calculated and full of controlled power. Danger rolled off him. Jack was one bad son of a bitch she wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. And she had no trouble believing that he could totally, utterly dominate a woman. He and Hunter had too much in common.

Instead of pointing out that she hadn’t asked Jack to do this job—a waste of breath—she grumbled, “Where is Tyler?”

She’d rather have him as a babysitter than the menacing Cajun.

As if Jack had read her mind, he smiled smugly. “Checking with the security detail in the hall. He hasn’t had a chance to confer with them much since he put them in place nearly twenty-four hours ago.”

Kata nearly choked. “Tyler’s been
here
all that time? But I sneaked out of his apartment. How did he . . .”

“Know?
Cher
, when you left his place, he wasn’t three minutes behind you,” Jack drawled, looking amused. “He didn’t drag you back to his apartment because he realized why you’d gone and that your mom needed help.”

Relief and gratitude poured like a warm shower through Kata as she looked at her mother, still heavily medicated and asleep. Mamá’s color appeared rosier today, but her lingering, hacking cough hadn’t improved. The doctor hoped her mother would be well enough to go home tomorrow. But even if she was, who would care for her? Certainly not Gordon.

“So . . . Tyler watched me from afar?”

“No. He blended into your surroundings. He knew that if he showed his face and played the heavy, you were likely to run again, which wasn’t optimal for you or your mother. The hospital environment is chaotic, but along with some of the local off-duty officers who are buddies of ours, he put together a detail to keep you safe until I could take over.”

Wow.
Tyler had done all that seamlessly, invisibly. Kata had been on edge since arriving at the hospital, worrying not only about her mother, but fearful that somehow the threat would find her. But Tyler had managed to keep her safe with quiet efficiency. Behind all the charm and bluster, he was a badass.

“I’m not leaving my mother,” she vowed, raising her chin.

Jack smiled, and it wasn’t pretty. “Hunter loves a challenge. I can see why you fascinate him.” He shrugged. “But it’s not my job to give you the spanking I think he’ll be itching to give you when he returns.”

“A spanking? For taking care of my mother?” She advanced on him with narrowed eyes. It was probably stupid to provoke someone so much bigger than her, but she was exhausted—and he’d just crawled on her last nerve. “I’m being a responsible adult, not a bratty child. I don’t need some
man
to put me back in line.”

“So responsible adults sneak out a second-story window and away from their security detail, putting themselves in danger?”

Kata winced at his question. Okay, so she’d done that. Still . . . “I wasn’t sure if Tyler would let me go.”

“But you didn’t ask. You didn’t advise him of the situation.” Jack edged closer, his tone dropping to dark steel. “You’re not a bratty child, Kata. Hunter will want to spank you because you didn’t give his protection a chance. A Dom’s job is to know what you need and to provide it. To protect you. He’s trying to do all that from halfway around the globe and went to a hell of a lot of trouble to see you safe. Instead of trusting him, you cut his protection loose and acted rashly. What good would you have been to your mother if the assassin had been waiting for you at her house and put a bullet between your eyes on her front lawn?”

Horror assailed Kata. She’d imagined that she’d be safe enough if she moved quickly, then spent all her time in a public place like the hospital. Yeah, she got Jack’s point that she’d been reckless, but something in her rebelled at the idea of punishment. “Can’t he just talk to me? Tell me his concerns? Spanking is so—”

“Simple and effective. People respond to the unpleasant and generally avoid behaviors that lead to it. Not that he’ll hurt you in the traditional sense, but he’ll make sure you feel remorse. I’m pretty sure the orgasm he’ll withhold will be its own kind of pain.”

Kata wanted to deny that she’d find any such spanking arousing enough to be on the edge of climax, but she knew better. Just like she knew that he could hold back her orgasm for hours and hours, if he chose.

She braced her hands on her hips. “You don’t think spanking is condescending?”

“Am I offending your feminist sensibilities with the truth?” Jack raised a dark brow. “Look, we know you’re women, not children. But the spanking isn’t all for you,
cher.
When a Dom feels his woman has endangered herself, sometimes he needs to reassure himself with your skin under his hand and your cries in his ears. We’re only a few thousand years from cavemen. In evolutionary terms, the blink of an eye. Now, from my perspective, you can remain at the hospital as long as we can keep you safe. Just don’t imagine that Hunter will be as calm when he comes back.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask who the hell he thought he was to give her “permission” to stay with her mother. But he was Hunter’s stand-in, the assigned watchdog who had no compunction about doing whatever necessary to keep her safe. That he wasn’t shuttling her back to a secure facility was probably cause for celebration. When Hunter returned, she’d have to pay the piper—and damn if the idea of an erotic spanking didn’t make her wetter than it should.

Or should she just give him the divorce papers and end this before she got in deeper?

Kata chewed on her lip and retreated to the corner to sort through her tangled thoughts.

“Oh my gosh, the baby is gorgeous, Jack!” a petite redhead gushed as she hustled into the hospital room, her blue eyes lit with excitement as she placed a soft kiss on his intimidating face. “Wait until you see him!”

This must be Morgan Cole.

With every step, a sparkling gold and ruby choker bobbed at the hollow of the woman’s throat and her slim hips swayed with a well-sated sensuality. A huge diamond winked on her left hand. Jack had both married and collared her?

The woman’s lips looked swollen, as if she’d been thoroughly kissed recently. And she looked sublimely happy. As he put his arms around her, Jack’s expression was nothing short of smitten.

An inexplicable bolt of envy pierced her. Not that Kata wanted Jack, but she yearned for the affection Morgan had, wanted to be steeped in that sort of tenderness and sexuality with someone who meant everything to her. Kata had never been aware of such a need. Hell, until recently, she would have denied it with her dying breath, especially after having Mamá and Gordon as her role models. But now the craving for a relationship like Jack and Morgan’s blindsided her. The kind Hunter had described. His face swam in her mind.

“Tell me all about Deke and Kimber’s baby
, mon coeur
.” Jack smiled at his wife.

He worshipped Morgan with just a gaze and a few words, bowling Kata over again. Did being a man’s submissive make the relationship deeper—or just more dangerous? Morgan looked like a vibrant woman, full to the brim with happiness. But Kata didn’t know how to reconcile that vision with the reality she’d seen her stepfather dish out for all these years. How could the woman be anything but miserable under her domineering husband’s thumb?

“Ten little fingers and ten little toes. He’s so pink and chubby and perfect.” Morgan sighed. “The maternity ward isn’t very busy, so they brought the baby in, and I got to hold him.”

“And now you want one?” Jack’s smile was nothing short of indulgent. “I’ve been telling you since our wedding night that I would love babies with you.”

Morgan glowed. “And I’ve appreciated your patience.”

The big man returned her grin but didn’t say another word. No pushing. No pressure. Just sparkling dark eyes that matched her excitement. Looking at Jack and Morgan, Kata wasn’t sure exactly what to make of their exchange. Who had the power here?

“Can we . . . ?” Morgan asked with hope in her blue eyes.

Jack’s smile only deepened. A warmth she would have never imagined him capable of suffused his face. “Whatever you want. You know that. Of course, I’d be thrilled.”

“It’s definitely worth . . . discussion.” Morgan kissed her husband, then shivered at his touch. “But first things first. Where is . . .” Morgan whirled until their stares locked. The little redhead started, a hand to her chest. “Oh, I didn’t see you in the corner. Kata, right? And, oh God, I just talked about having a baby.” She blushed, then punched her husband. “Why didn’t you tell me we weren’t alone?”

Jack laughed, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulder with a wink. “If Kata has been married to Hunter for more than ten minutes, I’m sure she knows where babies come from.”

Morgan did a poor job of repressing a smile. “Yes, and no doubt, Hunter will want, um . . . lots and lots of practice when he returns.”