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  His fingers gripped the edge of the couch. How had she turned the tables? Maybe he had never been in charge. From her seductive tone, he’d say that she’d been in control all along.

  Haley called down to him. He hurried to the stairs.

  “You bad, bad woman.” He turned to see her naked back go around the corner. Her blouse was lying on the floor discarded.

  Now that he knew her destination, he didn’t hurry to follow. It made the moment all the more exciting. He picked up her shirt, enjoying the feel of the silky fabric between his fingers.

  In the hallway on a bust, she had left her bra. He picked it up with a finger and tossed it on top of the shirt in his other hand.

  “Pierce, you dear old man, what’s taking you so long? Are the stairs too much for you?” Her laughter floated in the air. The raised ceiling added a sultry echo to her ringing laugh.

  He passed her shoes on the way, then blue slacks. By the time he reached the room, he was panting.

  All the doors along the hall had been closed, except for one. The door to his bedroom stood open. It was the only door that faced him. Since it was the width of the house, there was enough room for her to play hide-and-seek in the suite. He hoped that she’d have mercy on him. He didn’t want to rip the room apart looking for her.

  Soft music wafted from the room. As he got closer, he recognized the alluring tones of Nina Simone.

  He pushed open the door. To his left in the small sitting room there was no sign of Haley. In the middle of the room, his chest of drawers and bureau lined the walls. On the right was his king-size sleigh bed. Sheena had insisted on the cranberry-red décor, not allowing him his first choice of forest-green and maroon. Despite his objections, she had zoomed in and installed the color and all the decorations in one day.

  He opened the two walk-in closets, expecting Haley to jump out at him. Then he heard the faint sound of a shower. He smiled.

  His bathroom was the size of a standard bedroom. He approached the shower stall. The cloud of steam hovered over the opening before being eliminated by the fan.

  The door swung open. She emerged naked, wet and too damned sexy.

  “Love the shower cap,” he teased.

  “It’s a new fashion trend.” She pulled the plastic bag off her head that protected her hair. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to come to dry me.” She tossed the towel to him.

  Pierce threw the towel aside, tossed her over his shoulder and went to the bed where he laid her against the thick comforter. “Why waste the energy?” He covered her body with his and covered her lips with his.

  He ran his hands down her sides, locking into memory every curve and nuance from the roundness of her breasts to her narrow waist to her sensuous curve of hips. Once he had covered the exterior, he wanted to explore below the surface. His hand ran down the outside of her thigh and up toward the inside. He felt her tremble as he followed the line of her muscle until he brushed against the sensitive folds that spoke to him with a moist greeting.

  Haley arched against him, moaning, clawing her way up the sheets. He sucked his way from her neck down to her breast. The brown nipple brushed against his cheek. Haley ran her fingers through his hair, begging him to take her. He blew gently against her nipple, feeding it with his warm breath and then letting the coolness of the room have its effect. He played this game, while his fingers thrilled her.

  She rubbed against his fingers. He obliged her because he needed to enjoy the feel of her. He slid inside, playing with her with the expertise of a concert pianist.

  “Don’t make me…come,” she said and moaned.

  “On one condition.” For heaven’s sake, he heard the squeak of his voice. He couldn’t play the game of interrogator too much longer or he’d be begging her.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Aah, there’s still some fight left in you,” he said and covered her nipple, teasing the hard peak with his tongue, letting his teeth graze the peak before swirling his tongue around it.

  “I told my brothers that I love you,” she shouted.

  He didn’t have to ask her to repeat the words. She’d said them in a passionate confession with the purity of truth.

  With her help, he pushed down his pants, unleashing his arousal. She wrapped her hand around him, stroking him with a wicked smile. “Now I want to know why your sister is being so nice to me,” she said.

  “Be-because…Damn it, Haley, don’t do that.” He grabbed her hand. The woman was trying to kill him. His breathing grew ragged. His heartbeat pounded in his head. All his muscles had tightened as if readying for an explosion.

  He stared deep into her hazel eyes, drowning, falling, seeking their warm depths. She scooted under him and then guided him until she wrapped her legs around his hips.

  “Do I still need to confess?”

  “No, darling. I won’t force you to say what you can’t say without me rubbing myself against you.” She continued the rubbing. She quivered against him, welcoming him to enter.

  He grabbed onto the one thing that could make him do the right thing. He thought about his father, the man who had walked away from the family. He pushed himself away from Haley, away from her touch and applied the condom. He sat on his knees looking down at her perplexed face.

  “Listen to me, Haley.” His chest heaved with the effort of resisting her, but also at facing his fear. “I want you right now, so badly that I can’t think. But I want you to know that I love you. When you came at me with the rake on that first day, you intrigued me. I admired your strength. I know you think that you were weak to stay with your husband as long as you did. But you’re wrong. You had priorities, you had a plan. It took courage to remain focused and make sacrifices until the time was right. I never wanted to make us anything more than casual friends. I didn’t want to disappoint you. But most of all I didn’t want to make promises that I couldn’t fulfill,” he said in a strained whisper.

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Pierce. I’ve watched you with your family. I’ve seen you handle your patients. I’ve seen you with Beth. You have the kind heart of a decent man with high principles and lots of love. There is no doubt that you are man enough for me,” she assured him.

  “And that’s why I can say what I’ve been afraid to say,” he said. “I love you. I want you to be at my side for all time. I want to be a part of your life with Beth.” He took a deep breath.

  “I told Sheena that for the first time, I was willing to let go of our father’s ghost and move on with my life. The fear of failure, the guarantee of true love…I blamed him for leaving that legacy with me. But, Haley, I love you.”

  Pierce lowered himself onto her, into her. They hugged each other in a tight embrace. Their tears mixed with their cries of rapture.

  And that was the end of any logical thought.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-7059-9

  SWEET SURRENDER

  Copyright © 2006 by Michelle Monkou

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Surrender