Ultimate Surrender (14 page)

“
R
elax
, Cassandra,” Miller said.

That might have meant more coming from a man who hadn’t just insinuated, no, promised, that he soon planned to start removing parts of her body.

She had no doubt that Miller meant to go through with what he said. Not a single one.

She also knew that this was about more than her.

When he’d revealed the plastic explosive, Cassandra had started doing some math. Lucian’s building was tall, one of the tallest in the city, and it sat on a busy intersection. An explosion would do untold damage, not to mention those who might be injured by shrapnel, debris, structural collapse. Things Cassandra was sure she probably hadn’t even thought of.

The loss of life would be enormous.

And also unacceptable.

What was also unacceptable was allowing him access to the servers. Cassandra had no idea what specifically was inside them, but whatever it was, Miller and people like him couldn’t be allowed access to it. The government wouldn’t allow it. Lucian wouldn’t allow it. She didn’t blame him, she understood, but that meant there were precious few options.

She slyly looked at Miller again. Certainly not many that didn’t involve lots of pain or the loss of her life.

This went far beyond Cassandra, probably beyond Lucian’s ability to protect her.

Which meant that she would have to protect herself.

How would she go about doing that?

She’d taken self-defense classes, was comfortable handling herself, but this was a delicate situation, one she definitely wasn’t trained for.

Maybe a brute attack. Miller was stout, almost husky. Cassandra knew she didn’t have a chance at taking him in a one-on-one fight, but maybe if she surprise-attacked—

“Relax,” he said.

She just managed not to jump and instead looked over at him.

“I’m sorry?”

“Women are so predictable. I can see the wheels in your mind spinning. You should stop them. We’ve had a pleasant morning so far, and I’d like to keep it that way, at least as long as Silver will let me. So, like I said, relax.”

Cassandra didn’t even bother to deny his statement, certain he wouldn’t believe her, and decided not to waste the energy. He was right, but that didn’t mean she would just sit here and wait for Lucian to come. She’d fight for her life and the lives of the innocent people around her.

Miller began to pace, and Cassandra couldn’t resist asking the question that popped up to the front of her mind.

“Why are you waiting?” she said.

He paused, turned to face her, his back to the large window. “Are you anxious? In a hurry?”

She shook her head.

“Then why so inquisitive?” he said, narrowing his eyes on her.

“I’m sorry. An old habit, I suppose. I was just wondering. I mean, you were waiting?”

“Okay,” he said, nodding. “I’ll humor you. You can’t just spring this shit on people. I need to really let him think about all the terrible things I could be doing to you right now. Let him stew. That’s half my work right there. So it’s a matter of being patient, and once he’s all worked up, imagining your pretty face not so pretty, he’ll be much more willing to talk.”

“You don’t know him, do you?” Cassandra asked. Miller didn’t, or he wouldn’t try to extort Lucian.

“I know he’s a man in love,” Miller said, smiling. “Which makes him predictable.” He shook his head. “I never quite understood the impulse myself. Who needs the added pressure?”

He took a step closer, and Cassandra didn’t react. She wanted to, though, badly.

“Since you raise the matter, I suppose I’ll let it be your choice. If you want my advice, I’d start with the ears. People always think fingers, because there are so many of them, but there are lots of little nerves in the fingers, lots of pain. Ears are mostly cartilage. You won’t feel a thing,” he said.

“I…” Cassandra trailed off, her voice closing off as her sickness intensified. She knew she was giving him exactly what he wanted, but the wave of repulsion, the shudder of fear, were beyond her ability to control.

Miller tsked. “Cassandra, how many times do I have to tell you? You need to relax. You’re going to give yourself a—”

He cut off in the middle of his sentence and let out a low grunt. He looked at her, his face twisted in a mask of surprise, surprise that mirrored her own. She watched as he lifted his hand to his chest, and when he pulled it away, Cassandra stared at the dark, slick substance coating his fingers.

Blood, she finally realized, and in the next instant she heard him give out another throaty grunt, but this time she heard the soft puff of air that came immediately before it, and when she heard yet another, she looked toward the glass window, seeing the three holes that now pierced it.

The next seconds unfolded as if from a movie, the window cracking and then shattering as Miller fell to his knees.

He looked at her again, and Cassandra stared back, at a loss for what else to do. He started to speak, but there was another grunt, and then a bloom of red blossomed across his forehead.

For a moment, Miller stayed surprisingly upright, still, and then he collapsed, his body falling to the left with a muffled
thud
.

“
Y
ou all right
, Cass?” Seth asked.

She was back sitting on Lucian’s sofa, her legs unwilling to move. Cassandra looked up at Seth, ignoring the countless others that streamed in and out of the apartment, the wind that rushed into the room through the windowless patio.

At least it was quiet. She’d heard some talk about them finally reopening the streets once they were certain all of Miller’s explosives had been recovered. At that thought, she looked over to the spot where Miller had died, now vacant except for glass and blood, something she’d seen far too often recently.

She looked up at Seth. “I’m all right, Seth,” she finally said.

And, strangely, that was true. She was alive. Lucian was alive. Nothing else mattered.

“I sent Adam downstairs to wait with Sloan. I can have him take you home if you want,” Seth said.

Cassandra shook her head. “No. I’m going to stay,” she said, looking at Lucian’s closed bedroom door.

The feds and Homeland Security hadn’t even bothered to take Lucian elsewhere and instead now questioned him in his own home. A place Cassandra had loved, but one she couldn’t wait to leave.

She wouldn’t, though. Not without Lucian.

Seth nodded curtly. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said.

She nodded faintly and then said, “I will.”

All she needed was Lucian, and Seth’s expression told her he understood that. So he crossed Lucian’s living room, grabbed a bottle of water, handed it to her, and then leaned against the wall, clearly waiting with her.

Cassandra didn’t know how long she sat there, the hum of activity fading to nothing. She didn’t really hear or see anything, just felt frozen as she waited. Then, Cassandra felt something, a thawing of the ice that seemed to enclose her. A moment later, his bedroom door opened, and Lucian emerged.

His eyes settled on her, and with that single look, the ice around her was gone. Cassandra didn’t stop to think, consider the ramifications, she simply gave in to instinct and ran to him. Lucian met her halfway and when they met, he locked his eyes on hers and then, without pause, he kissed her.

It took a few moments for Cassandra to realize that her feet were no longer on the ground, to realize that she was moving. She opened her eyes and looked at Lucian, whose face was set in a rigid expression that made Cassandra want him even more than she already did. Before they exited, the mangled apartment door reminding Cassandra of what had transpired just hours ago, she looked up at Seth, who gave her a knowing smile.

And then, they were in the elevator.

“You could put me down,” Cassandra finally said as the elevator began its descent.

Lucian met her eyes. “No. I have you now, and I’m never letting you go.”

“What about the authorities? Don’t they have questions?” she said, her hands on his shoulders.

“They can wait. I’m taking you home,” he said.

True to his word, Lucian carried her until he reached the SUV, where Adam stood waiting with Sloan on the opposite side of the vehicle.

Sloan gave her a tentative smile that spoke deeply, one that Cassandra returned. A moment later, Lucian settled her in the vehicle, and then they were off.

“Where are we going?” Cassandra asked when Lucian’s home was no longer in sight.

“Figured you wanted to go home,” he said, though he didn’t look at her.

“Thank you,” she said.

He didn’t respond, but Cassandra didn’t press. She could see Lucian was still wired, probably in no mood to talk, and she didn’t need to. Being with him was enough.

He came to a stop in front of her house and then got out of the vehicle and led her out.

“I had the place checked out, and it’s clear. Thought you’d want to be here,” he said as he unlocked the door and led her inside.

“Thank you,” she said again.

Again he didn’t respond directly and instead said, “I’ll get you something to eat while you shower.”

“You gonna make me some orange juice?” she said.

That got a tentative smile from him, but one that didn’t reach his eyes or do anything to slacken the intense atmosphere around him. Cassandra knew him well enough to know what he was thinking, what he was doing to himself, and she wouldn’t let that happen.

Cassandra walked to him where he stood still strong, confident, but not her Lucian. When she reached him, she stood on her tiptoes and held his face in her hands.

“I’m here, Lucian. I’m here, and I’m safe,” she said, wanting to chase away the clouds that darkened his eyes, wanting to smooth away the lines of worry that wrinkled his forehead.

She moved forward and pressed her lips against his, and then wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him as tight as she could.

He did the same, locking his arms around her waist and lifting her so that her body was crushed against his.

In his rigid muscles, she felt the nervous energy that had been there since she’d first seen him, the pent-up emotion that he hadn’t expressed but that had vibrated off him.

“I’m fine,” she said again, her breath a whisper against his ear.

“I—”

She felt more than heard the word grumbling from his chest.

“I’m fine, I’m here in your arms,” she repeated, holding him a little bit tighter.

He loosened his arm, but only to lower her feet to the floor, and then he pulled her closer, grasped the side of her face with one hand and began to stroke his thumb across her cheek.

“I thought…”

He trailed off again and locked his gaze with hers, his eyes seeking, his expression suggesting that he wasn’t quite sure that he could believe his eyes, that he wasn’t sure she was there.

She nodded. “I know,” she said.

He shook his head, his eyes still on hers. “You don’t,” he replied.

She said nothing and instead gripped his arm and waited, knowing he needed to do this in his own time.

“You could’ve died, Cassandra,” he said.

His voice cracked on the word “died,” and his features twisted as if he could not even contemplate the thought.

“I was supposed to protect you, and you could have died,” he said.

“But I didn’t. Because you protected me. You saved me.” He had, he’d saved her, and she’d never doubted he would for a single moment.

“But you could have—and I never would’ve had the chance to tell you…”

She frowned, shaking her head slightly. “Tell me what?” she asked.

His eyes, which had gone heavy-lidded for a moment, lifted again and he locked eyes with her.

“Tell you that I love you,” he said, his voice not wavering.

In some ways, Cassandra suspected she had known that all along, but hearing the words, seeing the truth of them in his eyes, was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

“I love you too, Lucian,” she said.

“You don’t have to say that,” he said. “I just needed you to know. I will never take the chance of you not knowing again,” he said.

He leaned toward her and kissed her, his touch rough, urgent, but so tender it made her heart melt. She returned the kiss, trying to comfort him, show him how much she loved him with her touch. In that sea of kisses and touches, they made their way to her bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes in their wake, and when they reached her bedroom, Lucian stood in front of her, eyes shining as he pushed her back.

She lay on the bed, and when he stretched out atop her, she widened her thighs to accommodate him, and he slowly worked his hands up her body, moved them down her arms, and then entwined their fingers. He pulled her arms tight over her head until she was completely stretched out, and then he lay against her, his cock heavy against her thigh, barely brushing her wet sex.

He pushed himself inside her and she came instantly, the intensity of him touching her everywhere at once too much. Lucian flashed her a quick smile, but his face soon set in the expression of determined focus that was everything she knew Lucian to be. Everything she loved.

As he moved inside her, she clung to him, arms and legs entangled with his, hands roaming his body as she again climbed toward climax. She opened heavy, drowsy eyes to meet his, and when he reached forward to press his lips against hers, she returned the embrace.

Then, wrapped in the arms of the man she knew she would love forever, she let pleasure take her away.

E
leven Months Later

“
D
o
you think we’re moving too fast?” Cassandra asked.

Lucian looked at her as if she were insane. “Not moving fast enough,” he replied.

The three-karat solitaire that weighed down her finger suggested otherwise, but Cassandra chose to keep that observation to herself.

Instead, she smiled up at her new fiancé, the feeling of love and affection growing ever more intense as it did every time she looked at him.

“Well, Mr. Silver, if you insist,” she said.

“You letting me have my way? What’s in it for you?” he asked.

“Not much, I guess,” she said with a shrug. “Just that I get to be your wife.”

“I like the way that sounds,” he said.

Then he leaned forward, kissed her deeply. Passionately.

He broke away and looked down at her.

“I’m glad you came to the office. Can I convince you to stay a little longer?” he asked.

As he spoke, he grabbed a handful of her ass and pulled her hips in until she was resting against his burgeoning erection.

“I might be able to be convinced,” Cassandra said.

“Let’s see what I come up with, then,” Lucian responded, his breath warm against her neck as he began to kiss her, rock slowly against her.

Cassandra had quit Silver Industries, conflict of interest and all that, but she still tried to come down a couple times a week as she figured out what, besides being hopelessly in love with Lucian, she would do for the rest of her life.

She missed being at the company every day, but this kind of afternoon treat was a nice diversion.

“Well,” she said, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, “I think you’re more than—”

There was a sharp knock at the door, and barely a second passed before it was thrown open.

Sloan walked in, moving as fast as her wedge heels would take her.

Cassandra glanced at Lucian and saw his expression shift from irritation to concern, concern that was reflected in Sloan’s face.

Lucian dropped his arms and Cassandra stood and followed him as he walked toward Sloan.

Sloan never entered without a response, and if this was a regular day and she’d caught them in that kind of position, Cassandra would have expected at least a knowing smile.

But there was none of that. Sloan was all business.

“What?” Lucian said.

“It’s Damien,” Sloan said. “He’s downstairs. And I think he’s in trouble.”