Surrender to Me (34 page)

Then he sat her on the corner bench as he washed and rinsed himself quickly, then helped her out, drying her off like a child, running the comb through her wet hair carefully.

Kata watched him, watched herself, in the steamy mirror. He looked so big, capable, and content caring for her. So utterly reassured, almost at peace. She looked like a refugee from a war zone, one of those women who had survived but had seen too much.

Once finished, he led her back to the bed, checking his phone. “We have another five hours before your mother’s release. You look exhausted.”

She nodded. Sleep. She could escape this overwrought feeling when she slept. Eagerly, she curled up on the bed, rolled to the far side, tucked the sheet beneath her chin.

With a soft grip on her arm, Hunter rolled her to her back again. Without any warning, he slid his thigh between hers, his body over her own. Then he plunged the iron length of his cock inside her, all the way to the hilt in a single stroke.

That quickly, her body flashed electric with need.

“Again?” she panted.

Even as she asked, she parted her thighs wider, threw her arms around him, and clasped him close. Plunging deep, he gave her more of the powerful dominance that her mind could no longer fight. Pleasure soared inside her.

“Yes, again. And again. I will always give you more than you think you can handle. And I have no doubt that you will always thrill me with your surrender and your strength.”

Shock pinged through her. Before she could think of anything to say or any way to stop him from dismantling her even more, Hunter proceeded to undo her with one deep, destructive stroke after another.

From his very first thrust, moans fell from her lips, and Kata couldn’t stop them. They weren’t the pretty kind, not from any normal sexual soundtrack. These were animal pleas, punctuated by her nails digging their way into his back and thrusting up at him wildly.

Hunter held her hips down, controlling her movement, forcing her to take the torture of his slow thrusts. Every inch of him glided over swollen, sensitive flesh as he entered her repeatedly, each stroke ending with a nudge against a spot high and deep inside her. She jolted, gasped, clamped down on him.

“Ah, there. Perfect, honey. That feel good?”

It did, and he damn well knew it.

He withdrew, then slid back in to rub over that same nerve-laden spot. “I asked you a question.”

As he pulled back, her body clung, trying to keep him deeper, the intimacy of the act more stark and stunning than ever. Robbing her of the last of her feeble defenses.

Kata pressed her lips together and closed her eyes to shut him out. If she didn’t, she would say or do anything Hunter wanted.

“I want to make love to you, Kata, sweet and slow. But if you keep pushing me, I won’t hesitate to punish you again.”

Punish. Spank. Sensually torture.
He’d drive her to the brink of sanity, then throw her into a black chasm of pleasure so overwhelming that the shelter of his arms were her only chance of survival. But his touch came with a price: her soul. He was fast becoming an addiction, and she didn’t know how to break free of something she wanted so desperately. Or what she’d do when she could no longer cope.

“It feels
so
good,” she admitted.

He caressed her face. “Open your eyes.”

Reluctantly, knowing he would strip her raw once more, Kata did. As their gazes connected, he surged deep inside the clasp of her body again, prodding that hungry spot.

No way could she hold back her needy moan.

“That’s so sweet, the way your pussy tightens on me while your eyes are all but begging. I look forward to taking every opportunity to push your limits, strengthen our bond.”

With his methodical thrusts, Hunter continued to nudge the nerve-laden spot inside her again and again, at a slow pace that set her on fire. She mewled and clasped him tight, panting. God, she was close.

“Come, honey. Don’t hold anything back.”

His whisper filtered down her ear, vibrating inside her. Pleasure gripped her, settling with a dark throb between her legs. The pulses started, shaking her body, bursting her wide open. A guttural roar sounded around her, ringing in her ears, and Kata realized she’d made the sound. Hunter fucked into her again, and the need bubbled over, jolting her entire body. Again, she screamed. A moment later, he spilled inside her with a possessive roar.

His stare locked on hers, and their breathing synced up, foreheads touching. Hunter was buried deep, as if he’d always be a part of her. Kata had never felt closer to another human being in her life—and it scared the hell out of her.

“I love you,” he murmured and kissed the tip of her nose before quietly withdrawing.

Kata closed her eyes. Minutes later, she felt a warm washcloth between her legs, soothing, cleaning. Exhaustion beat at her as she watched him caring for her so intimately. It, like him, was simply too overwhelming.

When he curled up beside her, spooning his body against hers, Kata knew that she should fight, not give him every part of herself.

A voice in her head whispered that it may already be too late.

AFTER a few hours of sleep, Kata and Hunter returned to the hospital. The doctor was in emergency surgery and hadn’t yet signed her mother’s discharge papers. Kata waited impatiently, wincing every time she looked at Mamá lying amongst her sheets. Despite the fact that her color looked a bit better today, she still appeared frail.

Finally, Hunter tracked down the nurse and pushed a few buttons until he’d arranged the release. Now, Kata looked down as he entwined his hand with her own. Even now, she didn’t know if she should grab on tight or push him away.

THEY pulled up in front of Mamá and Gordon’s house near dusk. The lights inside weren’t on, except the alternating flare and darkness of the TV visible through the front window. So, her stepfather was home.
Yippee.

Kata wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for a month. For her mother, she had to deal.

“You all right, Mamá?” Kata asked, turning in her seat.

Lying down in the back of the Jeep, her mother smiled. She looked pale, her cheer forced. “You worry too much,
Mija.
The doctor said I will be fine. All the medicine, it has helped.”

But the doctors also prescribed a great deal of rest, and Kata knew she wouldn’t get any here with Gordon. “Please stay with Mari for a few days. Let her wait on you. I’m sure she’d love to have you.”

“We discussed this. She is busy with Carlos and the boys. I will not trouble her. Besides, I belong at home. Gordon will be waiting.”

Damn it, what did she see in that manipulative bastard? “You need someone to take care of
you
now, Mamá.”

“Truly, I will be fine.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Hunter frowning in question. He didn’t understand why she was fighting so hard to keep her mother from returning home. She’d explained Gordon, but . . . maybe it would compute once he saw the asshole in action. After the way Hunter had fed her from his own hand and bathed her himself, she didn’t think Gordon’s neglect would go over well.

She should be happy that Hunter would finally see the sort of woman she feared becoming and why. Maybe he’d pull back, give her space. But her immediate concern was that he and Gordon would come to blows.

“Ready?” she asked her mother as Hunter stopped the Jeep and jumped out.

When her mother nodded, Kata opened her door, then gathered her mom’s luggage. Mamá tried to get to her feet. Hunter was having none of that. Instead, he bent and picked her mother up as if she weighed nothing.

“Mr. Edgington, I am older and not quite so healthy as you, but I can make my way up the walk. You need not trouble yourself.”

“My name is Hunter. It’s no trouble, ma’am.”

He glanced her way. Despite the tension between them, Kata couldn’t help but smile. “You won’t win this argument, Mamá. Trust me.”

The three of them made their way to the front door. Kata fished out her key, knowing that Gordon would only be more annoyed with them—and take it out on her mother—if they made him get off the sofa to let them in. He was a selfish prick who’d do anything to assure his own comfort. Her mother was a convenience for him, like an electric razor or a cell phone. And he behaved this way because Mamá was too lost to stand up to him.

Kata wondered if, after months or years of Hunter’s intensity, she’d be like her mother, resigned to taking the path of least resistance.

She pushed the front door open. Hunter followed her inside, her mother tight against his broad chest. She looked slightly gray, and it scared the hell out of Kata to think of leaving her here. What if Mamá didn’t recover because she didn’t get any rest? Hunter had hired a nurse, which was a relief, but Kata wished she could be here herself to oversee her mother’s recovery.

Not for the first time, Kata damned whoever was trying to kill her. The asshole had shoved her into Hunter’s arms and now away from the one place that duty and love dictated she be. It fucking pissed her off.

“Where is your bedroom, ma’am?” Hunter asked her mother.

“Through the living room and at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Hunter nodded and made his way through the foyer, into the living room. “Your nurse’s name is Becka. She’ll be here in an hour. She’s picking up your prescriptions along the way. We’ll stay with you until she arrives.”

“That’s very sweet of you. You never said, how do you and Kata know each other?”

Kata’s heart stuttered. She’d asked Hunter to keep their marriage quiet. Now wasn’t the time to rattle her mother. And really, why bother, when Kata wasn’t sure she’d remain his wife past Sunday?

“Is that you, Carlotta?” Gordon called over the blare of the TV, his feet hanging over the arm of the sofa.

Kata caught an unfortunate glimpse of the weasel lounging flat on the couch in a T-shirt and his boxers. His salt-and-pepper hair was askew, his pale blue eyes as washed out as the rest of his face.

“Yes, dear.” Her mother sounded breathy. Was she merely tired and winded, or actually anxious to see this bastard?

Gordon grunted. “You’re late.”

The man could crawl on Kata’s last nerve faster than anyone. “It’s not her fault. We had to wait for her discharge papers. Which you would know, if you’d bothered to pick up your wife.”

“Kata . . .
Mija,
don’t.” Her mother pleaded, meeting her stare around Hunter’s bulging biceps.

“Shut up, girl. I work hard to keep this roof over your mother’s head and food in her belly. All I ask for when I come home is a little peace and relaxation. I already called someone to do the yard work while she was laid up. Back off.”

As Hunter passed Gordon’s line of sight, her stepfather jackknifed into a sitting position and scowled. “Who the hell are you?”

Kata knew she should leave it alone. Knew it . . . but couldn’t. “Someone willing to help Mamá, since you’re too fucking lazy and self-absorbed to even put her to bed.”

“Bed? You’re treating her like an invalid.” Gordon stood, his brows drawn together in incredulity. “It’s nearly seven o’clock. I’ve been waiting for dinner.”

“Mr. Buckley, your wife is in no position to be out of bed for any reason. Kata, hand him the hospital’s instructions.”

With an angry shrug, she reached into her purse, then tossed them at her stepfather. “Here you go. It says in black and white that she should get as much rest as possible for the next week. Hunter found a nurse who will come in and take care of Mamá—”

“No strangers in my house. Carlotta doesn’t need coddling.” He turned to Hunter. “Put my wife down. She can limp to the kitchen from here.”

“She’s going to bed.” Hunter’s voice rang with steel. “You’re a capable man who has two arms and two legs. You should be the one cooking.”

Kata zinged a glance at Hunter. He sounded seriously pissed off. She had to repress a smile.

“You don’t tell me what to do in
my
house,” Gordon snarled at Hunter, then sneered in her direction. “Katalina, no nurse. You’ll stay and take care of your mother and me.”

“I can’t.” And she absolutely would not tell Gordon why. If he could write Mamá’s pneumonia off as a mere cold, Kata knew he’d never believe that someone was trying to kill her.