Surrender To Me

She nodded, then turned to look out the window. Fuck, that motion slayed me. She couldn’t even fucking look at me right now, and she didn’t even know the full truth about how Hawk ended up there in the first place.

“Little Bird?” I murmured. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Her reply was a bare whisper, hardly big enough to take notice of, but I did because I fucking loved this woman. I was consumed by her. She fed me life just as much as the blood in my veins did.

“I can’t wait to take you home.” To make love to you. To love on you. To fucking marry you. I didn’t say all that to her even though I wanted to. I should’ve been fucking terrified even to be thinking about marriage, but I knew what I wanted with Wren. I didn’t want an agreement for two weeks. I wanted her entire fucking life, and I wanted her to share it with me. If she agreed, she could stay with me forever. I could buy the entire goddamn block where her shop was if she wanted to continue, but mostly, I wanted her at home with her stomach growing with new life-a life we created together.

I realized as I burned the warehouse that my life had always been about instant gratification. The women, the drugs, the fucking power that rode my veins when I got my way. Wren made me work damn hard to get her, and I would work hard every damn day of my life to keep and make her happy. I was willing to give away that instant high for her. She was my high. She was in my veins, and I

wanted her to stay there. I needed to wake up beside her, to fuck her dirty when I needed it, to slow things down, and make love to her when she needed it.

I just needed her.

“Marry me, Little Bird.”

She stiffened at my words, turning her battered face toward me. “Marry you?”

I licked my lips. Was I fucking ruining everything here? “I love you. I need you in my life. I want to protect you, so you’ll never have to go through shit like this ever again.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and I brushed them away. “I-”

I silenced her with a kiss. “You don’t have to answer now. Not this second while everything is still so raw. But I want you to be my wife.”

Wren deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue against mine as that familiar spark between us flashed to life and sent us careening down a path of desire. I clutched her shoulders, holding her to me because as much as I wanted to wrap my hand around the back of her neck and control her, I couldn’t.

With a groan, I pulled away. I didn’t want to walk out of here with my dick tenting my fucking pants. Panting, I studied her red mouth, her lips swollen from our bruising kiss. Her breaths were heaving from her too, the passion that tried to consume us not letting go just yet. Pressing my forehead to hers, we stayed like that for a moment.

“Yes,” she said softly.

Tilting her face toward me, I asked, “Yes?”

“Yes. I want to marry you, Bane. I fucking love you, too. Even though you’re arrogant and cocky, I wouldn’t give you up after two weeks. How could I, after you owned my heart and soul when you took me in and cared for me after the break-in at my apartment?”

That statement brought reality back down on me with a crash. “That fire at your apartment… it wasn’t a random thing. One of my ex-dolls lit it. She was insanely jealous that you’d managed to catch and keep my attention.”

Wren’s mouth popped open in a little O. “What did you do when you found out?”

I glanced away from her face. Even though she couldn’t see me, I still hated that she knew about this filthy fucking side of me. “She was taken care of.”

Before she could withdraw, I kissed her again, drowning out all thoughts of the shit that happened to me daily. All that mattered now was that Wren had agreed to be my wife.

“I don’t even have a ring,” I mumbled against her lips.

She smiled. “I don’t need a ring.”

“Yes, you fucking do. I need every man who looks at you from now on to know you’re mine, and

I’m fucking yours.”

Even though she wouldn’t listen to my protests, she clambered onto my lap, straddling my waist. Stroking my face, she smiled again. “I love it when you go all alpha on me.”

My dick jumped at the implication, making her groan. “I want to fuck you so bad, Wren, but we can’t here. Not now.”

She winced as I helped her resettle on the bed. “I guess you’re right.”

I laid beside her, turning onto my side and stroking my fingers down her arm. “Do you know when they’ll discharge you?”

“Patty said it might be a couple more days. They’re waiting to see if I have any internal bleeding that the swelling is masking, although if I did, surely that would’ve shown up by now.”

I kissed her temple, inhaling her scent. It was faint thanks to the hospital sponge baths she’d been having, but I still fucking drew in her vanilla scent, letting it soothe the monster in me. “I’ll let you get some rest, then.”

“You’re leaving?”

“No, Little Bird. I’ll be sitting right beside your bed watching over you.”

She relaxed, her breathing evening out a lot more quickly than I would’ve expected. I moved from the bed and quietly placed the chair beside it, watching her rest and heal. I couldn’t wait to bring her home, to lavish all my attention on her. Fuck, maybe she’d let me buy her some furniture she liked to fill my apartment. I wanted Wren to put her mark everywhere in my life.

Folding my arms over my chest, I shut my eyes for a moment. Everything was okay in my world for now. Wren was safe. She’d agreed to become my wife. Sanderson and his cocksucking men were dead, and my drug trade could expand into the vacuum his death created. Although the tragedy of Hawk’s death had hit Wren hard, she would overcome that because my girl was a fucking fighter. Just like me.

I WOKE UP SUDDENLY, unsure why. Turning my head, I figured it out pretty fucking fast. Someone had draped a thin hospital blanket over me, and I shoved it off as I stood. Cox was standing in the doorway of Wren’s room, staring at her with a look of consternation on her face.

Taking her by the elbow, I drew her outside, glancing up and down the empty hallway.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I heard your girlfriend was still here, so I thought I’d drop by for a visit.”

The way she watched me was unnerving, but you never showed weakness in front of the enemy.

Folding my arms, I demanded, “What do you want?”

“I came to see if you knew anything about a warehouse fire today down by the docks.”

“And why would I know anything about that?”

“Because you’re a fucking snake, Rivera, and I want to cut the head off the snake.”

I wanted to laugh in her face, but I kept my shit together. “How were the funerals for those men who got killed in the explosion?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Her gray eyes darkened off to a roiling storm. “Three of my finest men were killed in that fucking disaster of a rescue of your woman.”

“And for that, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what Sanderson was going to do. I’m just glad Wren was pulled out of there before it happened.” The lies fell off my tongue so easily. “Speaking of Sanderson, have you arrested him yet? There are some serious charges against him, right? Drug possession, intent to distribute, manslaughter.”

“Murder,” she hissed. “He murdered my men.” She worked her jaw like she wanted to say more. “But no, we haven’t seen him. Even his ex-wife hasn’t heard from him, and he usually takes the kids on the weekend. The bastard didn’t show up to pick them up.”

I shrugged, the smirk on my face hard to wipe away. “What can I say? Some men are fucking useless fathers. You got any kids, Cox?”

She glared at me. “Do I look like I have time for kids?” “You look like you have time for casual dick,” I retorted.

Her cheeks pinked up a little, and I knew I had her. “Fuck you, Rivera.”

“You’re not my type, sweetheart. Now, if there’s nothing else you have to say to me, I’m going to go back in there…” I jabbed at Wren’s room, “… and keep watch over my woman.”

“I’ll be seeing you around, Rivera. I know there’s more going on here. Plus, I think we could use someone like you helping behind the scenes.”

Anger curled in my gut. “I’m not a fucking informant, and I wouldn’t flip anyone for you.”

“So why did you approach me to go rescue Wren Montana?”

“Because I couldn’t fucking go near that place. Sanderson has a fucking target painted on my back. If I’d gone, Wren would’ve been killed to spite me. I couldn’t risk that.”

Her eyes widened a little before a sly smile formed on her lips. “Look at that, Bane Rivera does have a heart.”

“Yeah, I do,” I spat back. “And it’s as black as yours. Fuck off, Cox, and don’t approach me again unless it’s to beg me for a job at the Dollhouse.”

I walked back into the room, angry energy working through my body. The muscles in my shoulders were tense-I could feel them all locking down one after the other after the other. Cox was a fucking cocksucking cunt that I needed out of my fucking hair. Killing her was off the table, but maybe feeding her scraps of information was a middle-ground I hadn’t considered. I wasn’t going to rat out on any of my associates, but anonymous tips might be enough. Fuck, that was a problem for later.

Right now, all I needed to concentrate on was making sure my Little Bird made it home.