Page 4 of Sweet Surrender

“Oh, yeah. Last time we got together for dinner with Mom and Dad, she told us all about it.” He chuckled, shaking his head like he was glad she was the one who’d dealt with the spoiled little prick and not him. “And you know what she said at the time? She didn’t have to like the kid. All that mattered was doing the job she was paid for, which she did. It’s all blown over now, and he just got a new Netflix special.”

What I was looking at was a little bigger than a Netflix special. There were plans to open offices in LA and Chicago in the pipeline. All it took was one vindictive asshole to destroy all of that.

“I can’t wait to get my hands on whoever planted that fucking story.” My throat tightened to the point it was difficult to speak. All I could do was seethe, staring at my glass, seeing the faces of countless suspects. Was it my fault I worked harder than the competition? Should I be held responsible for knowing how to deal with people? Getting them to trust me, understanding pain points, and how to address them? Was that something I should be vilified for? Being good at business?

“It’ll be fine,” Colton promised. “Sit back, relax, and let my sister do what she does best.” He threw back what was left in his glass before checking his watch. “I better go. Dinner plans.”

The rage boiling in my gut wasn’t enough to prevent me from busting his balls. I smirked at how he hurried through, grabbing a few bills to toss on the bar. “Better hurry up, or else Rose might realize she could do better than you.”

“Fuck off,” he growled out.

Unlikely. “She’s got you on a pretty tight leash, doesn’t she?”

“I’m not complaining, am I?” That was the truth. If anything, I had never seen him so at peace. He was the same Colton I had known since the day I was born, but he was centered now—grounded—working at his father, Barrett Black’s construction company, managing new projects. He is a responsible professional, when only a month ago, he’d pretty much looked down his nose at anybody who worked for a living. So long as he could get his dick wet, he was fine.

Rose was happy with him, which was what made it possible for me to accept their relationship after giving them shit for it at first. He knew I’d kill him if he ever hurt her, and that wasn’t hyperbole.

The girl behind the bar lifted an eyebrow when she noticed me sitting alone after Colton made his exit. “On your own now?” she purred, leaning in and resting her forearms against the bar’s surface. When she pushed them together, her tits practically spilled out over the top of her low-cut shirt. “How does a guy like you end up sitting alone at the bar?”

“Bizarre things have been known to happen,” I offered with a shrug that made her giggle. She was pulling out all the stops, and I had already run the gamut from A-to-Z with every possible come-on, every attempt at seduction. If I were in a plain shitty mood after a rough day, or if I was bored or simply horny, I would have taken her up on the unspoken offer. She had the kind of body that could make a man forget his problems for at least a little while.

It wouldn’t be enough.

My mind resembled a war-torn battlefield, with every thought fiercely vying for control. It had been too long since I’d had a proper night of letting go, of losing myself in the chaos of passion and desire. But tonight, the typical roll in the hay with a cute bartender would do nothing to break the tension ripping through me like barbed wire tearing at my insides.

She couldn’t hide her disappointment when I added cash to Colton’s already generous offering. When I dropped another hundred-dollar bill and slid the money her way, she perked up a little. “Have a good night,” I offered, then left with a plan in mind.

Earlier in the week, I’d brushed off the invitation to the masked event at Club Caramel, hand-delivered to my office in a discreet, unmarked envelope. I hadn’t given it another thought until tonight while elbowing my way through the crowd, caught between wanting to scream out loud and wanting to bash somebody’s face in. It didn’t matter who, so long as I hurt somebody.

Nobody took what was mine. Not if they expected to live to see another day.

There had to be some way to get rid of this burning, seething rage. I’d told myself I wouldn’t do it again after the first time. It was too risky for a man in my position to hang around kink clubs where anyone could recognize me, but at the moment, it was either that or kick the shit out of a random stranger whose only crime was being in my way.

Maybe a masquerade at Club Caramel was what I needed.

Dante West had a few clubs. The Vanilla Club in LA was a membership-only gentleman’s club, but Club Caramel was unisex and open to the same upper-crust clientele.

It had been a while since my visit to LA, and since then, Dante had opened Club Caramel—a night of discovery. I’d found I rather enjoyed taking a dominant role during sex. Not that it was exactly a mystery. I liked having my way, calling the shots, and being in control. That had been a night to remember.

By acting as a dominant and playing with a submissive partner, a whole new world had been unlocked for me. I finally found a way to release my tension, forget everything, and wipe the slate clean. There was nothing like it for clearing my head.

That was what I needed tonight—an escape. The fact that it involved masks and disguises made the entire endeavor seem heaven-sent. The perfect opportunity for a little anonymous fun.

And if I were going to face Sienna Black in the morning, I would need a clear head. Otherwise, I’d have to kiss my business goodbye.

3

SIENNA

It wasn’t unusual for me to look forward to a meeting with a new client. It was, however, unusual for me to wish I had a time machine so I could skip fifteen hours and get to the meeting that much sooner. Years spent patiently waiting for Noah Goldsmith’s bullshit to bite him in the ass were finally about to pay off. And in my office, no less, even I hadn’t dreamed of that added twist. Surprising, since I’d spent a lot of time dreaming of Noah’s sins haunting him.

After checking off the last item on my task list, I leaned back in my chair and grinned up at the ceiling. Noah, forced to humble himself. I’d say I hoped he didn’t injure himself while digging up what was left of his humility, but then that would be a lie. I wished he had hurt himself. He needed to be in the act of going through every single stupid, selfish choice he’d made throughout his useless life. Was he finally starting to understand he couldn’t treat human beings like they were nothing but extras in the saga of his life?

That was the problem with too many guys who grew up the way we had. They all had this thing where they considered themselves the main characters, no matter where they happened to be or who they were with. Everything was about them, all the time. Even my brother, who I loved but had no illusions about. He was as selfish and thoughtless as they came and always had been.

At least, it seemed like his new relationship with Rose had mellowed him a little. It must have, or else there’s no way Rose would have put up with him. I knew my best friend inside and out. She didn’t suffer fools any more than I did.

If time had taught me anything, it was that Noah wouldn’t mellow. If anything, he’d gotten worse over the years. He thought he was God’s gift to the real estate market now, working his way to a billion, at least according to Colton. I would never bother asking or checking up on his prick of a best friend, but he’d offered the update during a dinner with our parents.

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