Dare to Surrender (3 page)

“Oh no,” his brother said. “Absolutely not.”

“Shut up, Decklan.”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering what conclusion the cop had arrived at that I wasn’t privy to. My gaze swung back to Gabe, who merely nodded at his sibling, as if all had been decided.

“You’ll come home with me,” Gabe said, his tone definitive.

“What?” I hadn’t seen that coming, nor could I begin to process the words.

He braced one hand on the wall beside his brother’s desk. “You’ll come home with me. I have plenty of room, and you can stay till you get back on your feet.” His words sounded confident, sure, and obviously made sense, at least to him.

Panic spiraled through me at the thought of going from one controlling man to another.

“Are you insane?” Decklan asked. Loudly.

I nodded, agreeing with him. “Listen to your brother. I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re practically a stranger.”

Gabe frowned at that comment.

“And she’s a stray,” Decklan added.

“Hey!” I turned to him and scowled. “That’s just insulting.”

“You have a thing for strays,” Decklan said to Gabe, ignoring me. Giving me more reason than just my arrest to dislike Officer Decklan Dare.

“Shut the fuck up,” Gabe muttered, his jaw set as he glared at his brother.

Decklan had hit a hot button, I noted, and wondered who the stray woman was to Gabe. What she’d meant to him.

I couldn’t afford to find out. “It’s been interesting,” I said on a rush. “Later, boys.”

And while the two brothers remained locked in a silent, combative stare, I turned and strode out of the station house without looking back.

Chapter Two

Isabelle: Into the Fire

I
’d barely escaped the door of the police station and hit the night air when rain assaulted me, soaking through my clothes almost instantly.

I dove back beneath the awning, where it was dry. Plan, I thought. I needed a plan. I’d left my cell phone at Lance’s house, and even if I hadn’t, Lance would shut off my service as soon as he realized I wasn’t coming back.

I hadn’t yet made it into Manhattan, where a taxi would drive by, light on, waiting to be hailed, and I had no ride to the nearest bus or train. I ran a trembling hand through my damp hair, wondering why I’d bolted out of the station when I really had nowhere to go. Even if the rain miraculously stopped, I was all alone.

“Hey.”

I turned. Gabe had followed me outside. From the tips of his black shoes up the dark denim jeans that molded to his hard thighs and the white collared shirt open enough to reveal his tanned chest and dark hair, he looked delicious enough to eat. And I wanted a long, thorough taste. I might be panicked and needing to get out of here, but I couldn’t deny his appeal.

At the sight of him, a rush of relief washed over me, though I couldn’t say why. “You’re leaving alone? Did your brother decide the nightclub scene wasn’t for him?” I hugged my arms tighter around me. It might be summer, but I was growing colder and more chilled.

He studied me as if he knew exactly how uncomfortable I was, both in my clothes and with myself. He didn’t answer my question, merely waited for me to come around to the inevitable—I might not want to be beholden to him, but he was my only option.

I swallowed the little that was left of my pride and met his gaze. “Can you take me to the nearest bus station?” I asked through chattering teeth.

He shoved his hands into his front pants pockets. “So you can go where?”

I swallowed hard. “I’ll figure it out when I get away from here, and I need to do that before Lance arrives.” I stuck my head into the rain and looked up and down the quiet street, afraid the sound of a car motor would break the silence and ruin my escape.

Gabe grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back under the awning before spinning me around, turning me to face him. My terry cloth jacket hung open, and my nipples, hardened from cold, grew tighter beneath his hot stare. If I peeked, no doubt I would see them poking through my thin shirt.

He looked
there
, saw what I was too embarrassed to do more than imagine, and a vein throbbed in his temple.

“Let’s go.” He grasped my hand and steered me out into the rain, to the parking lot on the side of the building where a black Porsche 911 Turbo waited.

He unlocked the door, opened it for me, and helped me inside. To my surprise, he popped the front trunk and returned, covering me with a blanket before closing me inside the small car.

He strode around to the driver’s side, climbed in, and started the ignition before hitting a series of buttons, turning the heater on, including the one in my seat. I didn’t relax until he pulled away from the small police station, leaving any possibility of a confrontation with Lance behind.

I wrapped the quilted covering around me for warmth, and as more distance passed, it slowly dawned on me I was safe. The feeling was so at odds with my normal tense state I almost didn’t recognize it. I also understood a big part of that relief stemmed from being with Gabe, something I didn’t want to question too strongly at the moment.

Once on the highway heading back to Manhattan, Gabe broke the charged silence. “Is there anyone you want to call?”

I clutched the blanket more tightly. “I have old friends in the city, but I’m not sure they’re still living where they used to. It’s been a long time.” I stared out into the dark night.

“So that leaves you where?” he asked, the kindness in his voice reminding me he wasn’t just a stranger I was attracted to, he was a friend. Or could be.

I sighed heavily, hating myself even as the breathy sound escaped. “I don’t know. I left a bad situation without thinking things through.”

“That much is obvious.” One hand on the wheel, he drove with precision and confidence, turning his eyes from the road to face me for a moment. “But you did leave.” Satisfaction sounded in his tone. “What were your plans?”

I shivered, and he raised the temperature.

“I thought I’d find a cheap motel where I could hole up and think. Which I still can do since your brother returned my cash.”

Gabe set his jaw, much the same way his brother had when I’d said something to aggravate him. “You’re coming with me.”

I sighed, the sound heavy in the enclosed space. “It’s not smart, Gabe.” I didn’t need to elaborate on why.

He reached over and covered my hand with his. “Maybe not in the way you mean, but for my peace of mind? Your safety? It damn well is.”

I closed my eyes in acknowledgment. The sexual tension between us scared me, but that didn’t come close to more immediate fears. I wasn’t afraid of Lance tracking me down, but if I were honest with myself, the kind of rattrap I could afford in the city freaked me out.

I wasn’t stupid. Gabe was offering me a lifeline. I might not know him all that well, but the way he took control and his dark edge gave me a sense of security Lance never had, not at the beginning, middle, and especially not at the end of our relationship.

Okay
, I thought to myself.
Decision made
. “I’ll go home with you. For now.”

His deep exhale told me my answer pleased him, and I liked having his approval. I narrowed my gaze, confused by the reaction and the warmth rolling through me.

“You won’t regret it,” he assured me.

A smile curved my lips. “That remains to be seen.”

His wry chuckle echoed around us.

He maneuvered the stick shift as if the car were a part of him, the high speed no match for the powerful man. Which made me wonder more about him.

“So what do you do for a living? Besides invest in nightclubs?” I asked.

“Various things.”

I rolled my eyes. “Such as?”

“I own hotels and nightclubs,” he said.

“It’s better than you being on Wall Street,” I mused.

“Technically, one of the hotels is on Madison, but I live off the East River.”

I whistled before I could stop myself. “Swanky address.”

“Decklan picked you up on your way from the Hamptons. Not so rough yourself,” he reminded me.

I swallowed hard. “That’s over.”

Yet here I sat, en route from one man’s cushy beach house to another’s deluxe apartment. I exhaled and said what I should have from the beginning. “Thank you for helping me out.”

“My pleasure, kitten.”

The term of endearment sent a rush of warmth skittering through me and a distinct pulsing between my thighs.

“Stay as long as you need.”

I shivered at the prospect of being alone with Gabe. I wished I knew how long I’d need to remain there, but the hard truth was, his generosity would help me get my head on straight and give me breathing room to make decisions about my future.

“If I stay, I need to earn my own way.” I was finished being kept by any man.

“So we’re back to prostitution after all?” he asked, laughing before I could take offense.

I blushed, my cheeks hot. “I just don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”

“I’m not kind,” he said, his severe words at odds with the lightness from seconds before. “But if you insist, we’ll work something out.”

I exhaled in relief. More relaxed now, I leaned my head back against the sturdy leather and closed my eyes, when a very unwelcome thought intruded.

I bolted upright in the seat. “Won’t your girlfriend have a problem with me staying over?” Even before I’d been on the receiving end of being cheated on, I drew the line at going after another woman’s man.

His gaze slid to mine. “It won’t be any of her concern,” he said, the words clipped but certain.

“I… Oh.” I bit down on the inside of my cheek, not knowing how to respond to that or what he meant.

We remained quiet, only the rain lashing down on the windshield breaking the silence. I shut my eyes and let the steady beat wash over me, lulling me into oblivion.

“Wake up, kitten.” A familiar, soothing voice washed over me.

A gentle shake and I came fully awake, my surroundings registering. Gabe’s car.

“We’re home,” he said in the deep voice that caused a flood of moisture between my thighs and a distinct softening of my brain.

The one that told me I was in trouble. Sexy, compelling trouble.

*     *     *

Isabelle: Home?

I’d assumed Gabe’s apartment would be huge. Gorgeous. Expensively decorated. He looked like a man who expected and would only accept the best. And I’d been around enough of Lance’s associates to know how the other half lived.

Gabe’s place put anything Lance owned to shame. It was a three-bedroom, three-and-one-half-bathroom apartment with not one but four terraces on Fifth Avenue. Yep. Apparently off the East River meant on the
most expensive street in the world
. I was a fountain of useless knowledge, as Lance liked to remind me when I’d occasionally spout out a tidbit or fact I’d learned from the Internet, television, or books.

Something else about me, I’m a bookworm and not the least bit ashamed of it. So when, in the midst of my tour of Gabe’s living space, I found myself in a den with fully lined bookshelves and a movable wooden ladder, I instantly fell in love. Not with the man, I assured myself, but with the library.

“You can read in this room anytime you like,” Gabe said, pleasure in his voice that I loved his library as much as he obviously did.

“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this,” I murmured. “Your brother is right. You must like taking in strays. How many before me?”

He came to a complete halt in the entryway of the library, a furious look in his eyes, and not one I liked aimed at me.

“None,” he said.

We both knew he lied.

With a tip of his head, he started back toward the foyer, past a closed door. “What’s this room?” I asked, eager to change the subject, at least for now.

“Bedroom,” he said, his tone still clipped. “Come. This way.”

I was still thinking about the library and the books, some hardcover, others paperback, all appearing in pristine condition.

“One day I’d like to hear that sound for something other than books,” he said, his tone lighter than seconds before.

“Seriously, what am I supposed to say to that?” It was like the handcuff comment at the precinct.

Gabe chuckled, grasped my elbow, and led me back through the elegant inlaid marble entryway from which I’d entered to the other side of the massive apartment.

“Master bedroom here,” he said, pointing to the open door leading to his suite.

I wasn’t ready to get an intimate look at his personal space, so I waited for him to move us along.

“And this is your room,” he said.

Next to his.

I swallowed hard and stepped inside. Wall-to-wall windows on one side surrounded by light, drapey-looking white curtains, and another generous set of windows on an adjoining wall.

“You can see Central Park in daylight,” he said, his tone back to normal. “My sister, Lucy, stays here when she’s in town.”

“How many of you Dares are there?”

“Three. Lucy lives in L.A. and runs our clubs out there, and she has no visits planned. Feel free to use whatever you’d like until we can get you a wardrobe of your own.”