Page 2 of Relentless Surrender

The red head moved, raising her arms higher, preparing to drop the PlayStation.

Conner pointed a menacing finger in her direction and said in his most authoritative voice, “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to put that down, right now.”

Melissa lowered her arms and looked to Sage for guidance.

“You can’t tell her what to do!” cried Sage. “Smash it, Melissa!”

Melissa raised her arms again.

“Ma’am, I’m warning you.”

Melissa lowered her arms.

“Don’t call her Ma’am!” ordered a frustrated Sage, arms akimbo. “Melissa if you don’t smash that, I will.”

The little one was quite the spitfire when she was angry, thought Conner. That kind of energy was usually equally as fun in bed. He really did enjoy a woman with spirit. He had to admire her loyalty to her friend as well, not many woman would face larceny charges in the service of a friend. Not to mention face down a complete stranger who was as intimidating as himself.

Melissa raised her arms again.

“Ma’am is a sign of respect which I am trying to show you despite the fact you are probably both thieves,” said Conner as he took a step further into the room, his eyes focused on Sage. Without turning his head or losing focus, he warned Melissa again, “Put that damn thing down before I lose my patience.”

“Sage, I can’t hold it any longer. It’s heavier than it looks,” whined Melissa.

Sage? Conner laughed. “What the hell kind of name is Sage?”

Sage drew her shoulders back, affronted. The offended movement lost on Conner since it only served to push her breasts out more prominently. Sage had been teased about her odd name her whole life. She would be damned if she would explain to this arrogant ass about her unorthodox upbringing with her two Chef parents. Besides Sage was the lucky one, just ask her sister, Damiana, named after a Mexican aphrodisiac herb her parents “enjoyed” before Damiana was conceived.

“Forget it. Just grab your stuff and let’s get out of here,” directed Sage to Melissa. “We have already wasted enough time.” The last part was uttered with a disgusted look directed at Conner.

She didn’t care if he was one of the sexiest men, she had ever laid eyes on. He was distracting them from their purpose, which was to grab Melissa’s stuff, destroy a little of Ricardo’s crap and get the hell out of there.

“What exactly is going on here?” he asked, again. Trying to keep his attention on the matter at hand and not on her beautiful pink lips and all the possibilities with them that came to mind.

Clearly, they were not going to make a clean get away until this man got his explanation thought Sage. Sensing he had a very low tolerance for bullshit, she decided that an abridged version of the truth was her best bet. She also needed to get as far away from him as possible as soon as possible before she truly embarrassed herself by staring too long or saying something really bad like blurting out please fuck me! Besides, they had already done enough damage to the Lying Latin Lover’s apartment.

“Not that it is any of your business,” responded an exasperated Sage, “but my friend just broke up with one of your asshole kind and we are here to retrieve her stuff.”

Conner raised an eyebrow, taking in the completely trashed apartment behind her.

Without missing a beat, Sage said archly, “We were in a hurry,” by way of a completely, unapologetic explanation.

“Uh…huh,” said Conner, trying to look serious and failing. The fact was he was a Marine, not a cop. He didn’t even know the poor bastard these woman had targeted. As long as they weren’t leaving with the T.V. or anything really expensive, he didn’t see why it was his business to get more involved.

Turning to Melissa, he stated, “Well Ma’am, on behalf of my asshole kind please accept my apologies. Carry on.” Conner turned to leave.

Just as he was crossing the hall, he could hear the Spitfire’s friend loudly whisper, “Why didn’t you ask for his number?”

“Are you serious?” asked Sage.

“Why not?” said Melissa. “He’s hot.”

“Um…maybe because he caught us in the middle of committing a felony and we’re lucky he didn’t call the cops!” rejoined Sage. “Now grab this stupid Hello Kitty suitcase of yours and let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Melissa was right. The guy was incredibly hot but it wasn’t just the circumstances that were all wrong. Sage could tell he was one of those arrogant take-charge types. She was far too independent to ever even consider dating a guy like that. Plus, the whole felony larceny thing would probably be a deal breaker any way.

Conner closed the door on the rest of their conversation. Making his way back to the bedroom, careful to avoid the pile of boxes this time, he collapsed on the bed. The moment he closed his eyes a vision of almond-shaped, doe brown eyes and large pink lips assailed him. Grabbing a pillow, Conner smashed it against his face and groaned. He was only in town for a few weeks before he left for training, then more than likely another deployment.

He needed a chick who was game for a few laughs and a quick fuck with no strings. Any idiot could see Sage was not that kind of a woman. Despite being grouped together with his temporary unknown neighbor he was not the “asshole kind”. As a Marine, he was a man of honor. He took that seriously. It was why, despite their obvious attraction, he didn’t pursue it. Didn’t try to ask for her number like he wanted too. A woman like that deserved some steady nine-to-fiver like an accountant. Someone who would wine and dine her. Not fuck her and leave her.

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