Dare to Surrender (4 page)

I spun from the gorgeous view to look at the equally gorgeous man. “I’ll borrow your sister’s clothes if you’re sure she won’t mind.” I wasn’t going to touch his other outrageous statement.

“She won’t. Lucy’s the most generous woman I know,” he said, the warmth in his voice both unexpected and touching.

He seemed pretty generous himself, at least to me.

He swung open the door to what I figured was the bathroom. It was actually a luxury spa, a mix of cream, taupe, and brown marble. The shower was filled with more nozzles and hoses than I knew what to do with, and even a bench inside.

“I’m sure Lucy left enough bottles of female stuff that you’ll make do.”

I managed a nod. I didn’t want to admit I was overwhelmed but was certain he could see it in my face. Channeling Scarlett O’Hara, I decided that tomorrow I’d deal with things in a much better frame of mind.

Chapter Three

Gabe: Revealed

G
abe silently thanked God his houseguest escaped into the shower as soon as she possibly could. The tour of the house had just about done him in. Isabelle’s oohs and aahs had been genuine, as had her love of his favorite room in the place. Unlike Naomi, who had taken one look at his apartment and immediately begun calculating how she could move in permanently, Isabelle, who he had invited, not only wanted to pay her way but she planned to leave as soon as possible.

Not if he had his way.

Back at the police station, outside in the rain, it’d been all he could do not to reach out and swipe his hands over her responsive nipples, feel her tremble beneath his touch, and get rid of the ridiculous distance between them. He might not know her well, but he’d always felt they’d connected. The physical attraction was obvious. She was all woman, supple curves, her breasts full and lush, and she possessed one hell of an ass. His cock twitched with desire he’d felt from the moment he’d first seen her on Daltry’s arm.

But things ran deeper. They’d shared banter and flirting during opportune moments when he’d caught her alone. He’d had glimpses of the intelligent, witty woman she was when not with that pompous ass. But not until today had he really seen beyond the exterior beauty to the depth beneath. Those sexy blonde curls that bounced wildly around her face were a proud testament to the fiercely independent woman she desperately wanted to be.

The woman he intended to help her find.

It wouldn’t be easy. Isabelle needed gentling. Understanding. Patience. Not his best traits, but when it came to her, he’d already exercised plenty. He’d bided his time, knowing Daltry would fuck up sooner or later. The balls that made him a crack financial investor also imbued an arrogance that would be his downfall. And it had been.

It was Gabe’s good fortune that Daltry’s screw-up had landed Isabelle at his brother’s police station. Seeing her there had given him insight he wouldn’t have had otherwise. In Isabelle, he saw an intriguing combination of weary life experience and innocent ingenue. It was the innocence the most primitive part of him wanted to conquer, to possess. Since he’d begun running his father’s empire at the age of twenty-one, the same age he’d been drafted into surrogate parenthood to his sister, he had always gotten what he wanted.

And Gabe wanted Isabelle.

Chapter Four

Isabelle: Sleeping Beauty

A
fter Gabe left my room, I prowled around, inspecting the beautiful flowered artwork on the walls. Georgia O’Keefe originals if I wasn’t mistaken. I’d always been drawn to the bright colors and light. I searched the drawers for clothes, discovering that Gabe’s sister and I had similar taste. In fact, we shared some of the same items, but mine were back in my old closet, while hers were lying unused, inviting me to squeeze my Ds into her obviously more compact Bs.

Gabe was right. Tomorrow I’d have to go buy some of my own clothes, and I cringed at the thought of digging into my meager savings but would because I wouldn’t let him buy me the way Lance had.

I took a long, hot bath, lingering and feeling ultra decadent as I relaxed into the whirlpool bubbles. After, I dressed in Lucy’s sweatpants, mortified to discover that they, too, were a size too small. Clearly the woman didn’t have my boobs or my size ass. And here I’d really wanted to like her.

With a resigned sigh, I stepped out of the bathroom, surprised to find a tray of food at the foot of the bed, a chilled bottle of Bling H20—which cost forty dollars a bottle thanks to the Swarovski crystal-encrusted wording and the champagne-like cork. I knew this because Lance complained when I requested tap water at his favorite restaurant, insisting I order only the best.

And Gabe kept the water in his home. The bottle was too pretty for me to even open. Well, the man did own exclusive hotels and clubs, and I knew he’d been featured in online gossip columns more than once for his single, eligible status. He certainly desired and could afford the very best.

Still, I was thirsty, he had left it for me, and as with most things in my life at the moment, I had no viable choice. I ate the scrambled eggs, not questioning too hard whether he’d made them himself, I was so hungry.

But the biggest impact of the night came from the other item on the tray. The newest Nora Roberts book, hardback, which had just gone on sale this past Tuesday. I hadn’t yet ventured to town to buy myself a copy. Now if I’d thought about it, I would have resigned myself to waiting until I could afford it or found a library that was sure to have a long wait list.

Why Gabe owned the book was a mystery. How he’d known that was my taste in novels even more so. Especially since I didn’t want to come off as a starry-eyed romantic. Unfortunately, he’d figured me out already. Ready to read and relax for the first time all day, I crawled into the luxurious bed, sinking into the mattress and cuddling into the duvet, planning to read.

Next thing I knew, sunlight, muted by drawn curtains, streamed through the room. I blinked and instinctively knew the light wasn’t what had woken me. I forced my eyelids open to find Gabe staring at me from a chair across from the bed.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.” He sipped coffee while he read the paper, as if being in my bedroom was perfectly normal, something he did every day.

Mortified, I sank deeper beneath the covers. “Get. Out.”

He looked me over from head to toe, heat in his predatory gaze. I had to be imagining things. I wasn’t vain and was well aware that my hair always looked like a bad eighties perm experiment in the morning.

“What’s wrong? You’re completely covered,” he said, closing the paper.

I blinked, wondering when my world had gone mad. “I was asleep. That’s private! It’s first thing in the morning. Why would I want you to see me this early?” I realized I was shrieking and forced air into my lungs, calming myself down. Hysterical shrew didn’t become me. “Look, if I’m going to stay here, I want a lock on that door.” There. I’d managed to regain control of my voice.

He grinned. “There is one. But now that you’ve reminded me, I’ll have it removed.” He folded the paper and set it down on the table beside him.

“This arrangement isn’t going to work out.” I mistakenly shifted, sitting up higher in the bed, revealing the tank top that barely covered my breasts and pulled too tight where it did.

“Calm down,” he said, still clearly amused. “We need to talk.”

“And it couldn’t wait until I was decent?” My voice rose again.
Modulate
, I muttered under my breath.

“No. It’s something that needs to happen now, and I want you here when I teach Daltry a much-needed lesson.”

I gulped in air. “Why in God’s name would you do that?”

“Any man who lets a woman leave his home in the dead of night with nothing but the clothes on her back, a small stack of bills, and no cell phone deserves it.” He cocked an eyebrow my way, that possessiveness there in his blue-black gaze. “That he did it to you merely compounds his error.”

I bolted upright in bed, forgetting all about modesty and coverage. “You really need to explain this.” I gestured back and forth between us, ending with a clean sweep around his sister’s bedroom. “You don’t know me well enough to care that much about what Lance did. You can’t expect me to believe you’d have taken in just any … stray,” I said, pulling his brother’s word out for good use. “But you took me into your home. Isn’t that enough without teaching Lance a lesson?” I asked in disbelief.

His gaze darkened into an unreadable hue. “Not even close. And we can talk about the whys another time. Now tell me. Did you contribute to the relationship?” he asked.

I nodded.

“You obviously don’t have a bank account, so was yours joint?”

I glanced over at Central Park behind the gauzy curtains, unable to face him while I, again, managed a nod.

“And you’re not the type to sit around and eat bonbons while your man works his fingers to the bone to provide for you.”

I swallowed hard. “I used to work. But later in the relationship … I think I was brainwashed,” I muttered, embarrassed.

He burst out laughing. “Considering the you I’ve known for less than twenty-four hours, I’d have to agree with you. What brought you out of the fog and into the light?”

I set my jaw. “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

He studied me through narrowed eyes. “Eventually you will,” he stated.

I blinked. “What kind of lesson?” I asked, changing the subject. “I mean, no blood or broken bones, right?”

He grinned. “No, I like my bones intact.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I’ll be utterly civilized. I can’t promise Garrett will behave the same way, but he’ll only act if provoked. Ex-Navy SEAL and all that.”

“Who is Garrett?” I asked.

“Our bodyguard.”

There it was again. That possessiveness in his words and tone. Just like
my
room,
our
bodyguard presumed we were in a relationship of some kind. We barely knew one another. What I did know was that he unequivocally turned me on in a way no man ever had. He also made me feel safe, wanted, and cared for.

But I was starting over, I reminded myself, and that included being smarter. What that entailed, I hadn’t yet decided.

“All done with the questions?” he asked.

I managed to nod.

He hit one button. “Daltry? Gabriel Dare.”

I ran my tongue over my dry lips. “You have him on autodial?” I asked loudly, then snapped my mouth shut as Gabe continued, his eyes on me as he spoke to Lance.

“I’m not so hot, and I’m not your buddy. Not anymore. Just giving you a heads-up. I’m cancelling all my accounts with you effective immediately. Just to be clear, do not make any more trades in my name. All my stocks and finances will be transferred by end of business today.”

My eyes opened wide. I’d had no idea Lance managed Gabe’s financial accounts. Then again, Lance was with the best-known firm in Manhattan, and Gabe clearly did business with only the best. Their relationship had just ended … because of me.

The blood drained from my head, and I sank deeper into the bed, lowering myself against the mattress that had given me such a good night’s sleep. Now it supported me when I started to shake.

Gabe walked over and placed a firm hand on my shoulder. His touch burned my skin, reassuring me as well as confusing me.

“Not that I owe you an answer,” Gabe said into the phone, still speaking to Lance. “But if you want an explanation, I’m happy to provide one. Because you’re a fucking prick who doesn’t know how to treat a lady, that’s why.”

Gabe was defending me. Surprise, gratitude, and a host of unfamiliar emotions washed over me. My own parents hadn’t defended me throughout my teenage years. Lance sure as hell had never truly supported me in any way. Yet Gabe was pulling what had to be million-dollar accounts from Lance’s firm.
Because of me.

I didn’t know what to do with this. I didn’t want to owe him, and yet gratitude flowed through my veins like freshly tapped maple syrup. Yeah, I remembered that day in elementary school.
Useless information
, I reminded myself and focused instead on the strength of Gabe’s hand on my shoulder.