The Lover's Surrender (No Exceptions) (22 page)

Fifteen
months later

There are
so many kinds of loves, but only one kind—true love—can change a
person and raise that person to a meaningful existence. Love is a beautiful
thing. Sacred. It’s the only feeling that can grow if you pay it enough
attention and care for it. It’s also the only thing that can give you more
meaning than all material belongings.

I was
sitting in the backseat with my eyes blindfolded, my leg brushing against
Jett’s at every turn, as the black limousine took us to a place God only knew.

Jett had
made a big secret out of our destination so, naturally, the suspense was
killing me.

“We have
one hour before we need to get back to Treasure. Can you guess what my surprise
is?” Jett said, his deep voice with the slightest hint of a Southern accent
caressing my senses, and helped me out of the limousine.

“No.” I
smiled. “But I wish I could. You know how much I hate surprises.”

He let out
a pleased laugh. “But this one, I think, you’ll love.”

“You think?
What happened to your usual, ‘It will blow your mind’?”

“Well, this
is different.” He touched the small of my back to guide me forward. I could
feel the wind on my skin. The air tasted salty. The cries of seagulls
intermingled with the sound of waves crashing against a shore.

I had no
idea where we were, but I liked it a lot.

Jett always
made the best surprises. His inventiveness never failed to amaze me.

Finally, he
removed the blindfold. I blinked once, twice, then took in the shore before me.
The sun was shining and the sky was streaked with red and orange.

No surprise
there.

Jett beamed
at me. “Now turn around.” He touched my shoulder and motioned for me to follow
his command. I did as he said. My smile vanished. My whole being froze.

I
recognized the setting and its private beach immediately. We were standing in
the backyard of a place we once visited. It been a long time ago, but even back
then I knew I’d never forget it.

Countless
rose petals were scattered across the trail in the sand, forming a path
illuminated by candles lit to either side. They were leading to a sandcastle. I
walked toward it, my heart beating frantically as I tried to process what was
happening. As I reached it, I spied a key with a note attached to it. The note
read:

HOME.

A small
arrow pointed ahead. At Jett’s silent encouragement, I followed it until I
glimpsed the front door.

“Jett.” My
voice reflected my excitement. “You can’t be serious.”

“Very
serious here.” His fingers intertwined with mine, and he spun me around. “The
moment I realized you liked this house, I knew it would be perfect for us, so I
had to get it. It wasn’t easy. The previous owner had changed her mind about
selling it, so it took me months to convince her to sell it to us.” He pulled
me forward gently but with enough persuasion to make me follow. “Come on.
Treasure’s waiting for us.”

I was so
shocked, I couldn’t reply. Thankfully, my legs began to move, following Jett up
the trail.

With shaky
fingers I unlocked the door.

“Mama.”
Treasure’s voice echoed through the hall as she dashed for me, the smiling
nanny behind her forgotten. I scooped her up and kissed her, burying my nose in
her hair to inhale her scent.

She had
grown so quickly.

With her
black hair and beautiful face, she was in every way a carbon copy of Jett.

“Dada.” She
stretched her hand out to Jett, and I let him take her, instantly catching the
glint of adoration in his eyes as we returned outside into the balmy breeze.

With the
warm sunlight on my face, I closed my eyes to the sound of little Treasure
giggling as her dad held her up in the air and spun her in circles—the
sound of the two even more calming and beautiful than the realization that we
were a family in our family home.

We were
free to be happy.

Right
before returning to NYC, we had spent a few months in Bellagio. It had become
something like a second home to us. We were finally free to live the life we’d
always envisioned without a threat hanging over our heads.

The news of
Nate’s yacht blowing up had broken less than twelve hours after the explosion.
Officially, no one knew what exactly happened that fateful night a year and a
half ago, but I knew for a fact that Kenny and Jett had been involved. Jett
seemed more carefree, as though all his worries had lifted off his shoulders.

Had he
singlehandedly orchestrated Nate and Danny’s death?

Based on
his words, probably. But we never talked about it again since the ‘talk.’ And
to be honest, I didn’t want to know every detail.

Jett had or
hadn’t done what he had deemed necessary to protect his family, and that was
it. He got rid of my demons. I owed him my life and my happiness.

For a long
time, I had wondered what to do with the estate I had inherited from Alessandro
Lucazzone. After Treasure was born, Jett came up with the idea of turning it
into a charity. A home for abused women—an idea which appealed to me on a
very deep level. It was the solution I had been searching for, and so he
assigned one of his best account managers the task of transforming the
Lucazzone estate, which had been a place of abuse for far too many years, into
a safe haven for those who needed to learn how to feel safe again.

At some
point, Jett’s dad had woken up from his coma. Jett had yet to forgive him, but
Treasure’s birth had mellowed him down a bit. An improvement in their
relationship didn’t seem so far-fetched after all. Besides, I was working hard
to make it happen.

As for Jett
and I, we had tied the knot twice: the first time in a private little ceremony
in Las Vegas, and the second time in a big and beautiful ceremony in Italy only
a few months ago, after which we had taken a much-deserved vacation.

Jett’s
urgency to work on baby number two couldn’t wait.

Apparently,
he wanted an entire football team.

He joined
me in a few steps, and together we watched Treasure playing in the sand, her
nanny nearby.

“Lots of
fond memories here.” Jett smiled, his gaze hazing as he thought back to a very
naughty day we had spent in the house. At that time, I had thought Jett had
broken in.

Turned out
he was an amazing actor.

“The best,”
I said.

I turned my
head to him because I couldn’t believe my luck. This insanely gorgeous man…I
knew I would love him forever.

I thought
back to the first day I met him two and a half years ago. The way I had
snatched my umbrella from his grip and sped off, because he had seemed intense
and arrogant. I knew now that I hadn’t meant to run away from him. I had been
running from myself in fear of unleashing something inside of me that could
destroy me. If he hadn’t come after me and hired me for a position in his company
without my knowing, we might never have ended up together.

“You got
one thing wrong,” I said when he joined me. “It was your inflated ego that made
me want you in the first place, not your stubbornness.”

He raised a
brow. “Not the fact that you thought I was hot?”

I shook my
head in a weak attempt to stop his ego from growing to immense proportions.

Yes, I had
thought he was hot.

Yes, I
wanted to jump into bed with him.

But his
confidence could convince even a bear to give up his prey.

“I couldn’t
stand you because I knew I could easily be yours. It was all too easy to run
and lie to myself that I wanted you but didn’t need you. However, the truth
was, I wanted you because I needed you in some way. I just didn’t want to be
that
woman who got weak, only to be used
and discarded.”

“You’re not
that woman, because I’m not that kind of guy.” He took my hands in his. “I like
you needing me, Brooke. It makes me feel wanted. It makes me want to see you
happy. I wish you’d ask for more so I could give you all that I have.”

“I’m
already demanding,” I said.

Jett shook
his head. “No. Not to me, you’re not. You should be
more
demanding. I love it when you ask for more, especially when
I’m inside of you. I love it when you scream.”

Heat rushed
to my face. “I don’t scream.”

“The times
you do it fuels my imagination.” He glanced at me softly, his green eyes
shimmering with happiness. “Since you’re married to me and all, I can ask for
anything,” Jett continued. “So this is what I want. I’m asking for your
promise.”

“What promise?”

“That
you’ll stay with me forever.”

I shook my
head. “I thought you forgot about it.”

He let out
a laugh. “Fat chance. I’ve already married you, haven’t I? Now it’s only fair
that you return the favor.”

“You play
dirty.”

“That’s one
of the things you love about me.” He grinned. “You should be grateful for the
fact that I’m asking. I could force you—” he raised his eyebrows
“—but I won’t, because I’m a gentleman.”

I snorted.
“You’re no gentleman.”

“I’m not?”
He pressed his hand against his chest. “Now I’m hurt.”

I laughed
at his exaggerated expression. “You’re more manipulative than an insurance
sales guy. Sweet-talking is worse than forcing. With forcing, you sort of see
it coming. With manipulation, you’re being played.”

“Are you
trying to tell me my charm’s working on you?” The seriousness in his eyes made
me conclude that beneath our playful façade, he was still waiting for my
promise. He had made his, and it was my turn.

“Okay,” I
said slowly. “I promise I won’t leave you. I’ll stay as long as you love me.”

“Which
means for a long time. Maybe even forever—depending on how much sex I get
tonight.”

“
Right
.” I bit my lip, trying hard not to
laugh. In the end, it didn’t work and I let out a snort. “Just to be clear,
your charm’s the only thing working its magic on me. You could never ever force
me.” I leaned my back against him and let him wrap his arms around me. Snuggled
against his warm chest, I relaxed.

“You sure?
’Cause I could swear my charm’s not the only thing that worked today. I could
remind you of—”

I pressed
my hand against his mouth because I knew exactly what he was about to say. He
was getting out of control, and before we knew it, we’d be back in bed.

Or on the
floor.

Against the
wall.

I cringed
at the direction my thoughts were taking.

Jett
removed my hand gently, finishing his statement. “—all the ways I made
you come without employing force.”

“No need,”
I said, slightly breathless.

“You’re
right. Why waste time talking?”

I squealed
as he pulled me down on the sand and pushed himself on top of me, burying me
under his weight. Time seemed to stand still for a moment. And then he
smiled—that beautiful smile of his that always made me wonder what it’d
be like to melt with him forever. Above him, the stars were beginning to
show—beautiful like a canvas—and yet they couldn’t take away from
Jett’s magnificence.

Yes, Jett
Mayfield was perfect. Complicated but still perfect.

Perfect
with all his faults and imperfections.

My
relationship—even with all the fighting, the arguing, and the effort we
put in—was all worth it.

And so I
pray our love story will never end.

***The End***

If you
liked this book, please consider leaving a review.

I’m a
writer of happy endings, and if you like this final book in the No Exceptions
series, you might also enjoy

An Indecent
Proposal: The Interview and An Indecent Proposal: The Agreement.

The
Interview by J.C. Reed and Jackie Steele

“It was
supposed to be easy. Hire a professional actor to play my fake fiancé. But when
he steps in front of my door to pick me up for The Interview, my heart stops.
Chase Wright is perfect. And hot. I mean like, burn up your dress hot. However,
Chase isn't professional at all. I hate what he does to me with his sinfully
sexy blue eyes. I hate that he wants me in his bed.

One
month...that's all I need him for. All I have to do is stay out of his bed.

But the
rules slowly begin to change. My fake fiancé suddenly becomes my fake husband.
When Chase offers me an indecent proposal, it's too late to fire him. It's too
late to decline.

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