Unexpected Surrender Read online

  Cover Design and Formatting: Just write. Creations

  Editing: Joanne Thompson

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  ISBN: 978-0-9938369-6-1

  Unexpected Surrender (A Standalone Novel)

  Copyright 2019, J.M. Walker

  DEDICATION

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  EPILOGUE

  BONUS SCENE

  ABOUT

  To my Jems:

  I wrote this book for you.

  I came up with the idea some time last year to write a story exclusively for my reader group. I wrote a short little one and then I started writing this book. And the next thing I knew, it grew it into a full story and my Jems were chomping at the bit for more. Who knew right?? So, Jems. This book is for you. Thank you so so much for helping me with this story. I can’t believe that it’s finally time to release Luther Knight into the world.

  My alpha and beta readers and my editor: Thank you girls for helping me with my book. I couldn’t do this without you. You are the best team a girl could have!!

  Authors, bloggers and readers: Thank you as always for sharing my releases and helping me spread the word. I couldn’t do what I do without your support. Thank you as well for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read. Not just my books. But ALL of our books!

  Lastly, my husband. He never wants recognition, but I seriously couldn’t do this without him. Because of him and his never-ending support, I’m able to give you all of the books!

  I hope you enjoy Luther and Lexi and their crazy but hot story!

  J.M.

  XX

  Lexi

  WITH HIS COCK DEEP inside me and his mouth firmly on mine, I submitted. The soft silky rope dug into my wrists, stopping me from touching the dark stranger who had full control of every inch of me. Whether I liked it or not, I was giving over my all to someone I didn’t know. All because I had no choice. All because I had to save my brother.

  The man grunted, his mouth brushing along the length of my throat, but he didn’t say anything. No. How could he? We weren’t allowed to speak. It was against the rules.

  And I couldn’t see him. Again, rules. The silk sash wrapped around my head shielded him from me, but I could feel him. Every inch. Every throbbing vein as he moved slowly in and out of me.

  He had gone in completely bare. Another rule. We had to go through rigorous testing before we were even considered for the job. Job. Fucking please.

  The stranger grunted again. “Relax.” His voice had been so soft, I wasn’t sure if I heard him correctly. No. He couldn’t have. Could he? If he was caught speaking to me, the session would end, and I would be leaving without what I came here for in the first place.

  Even if I was dreaming it, I willed myself to relax.

  He groaned, sliding back inside me.

  Arching beneath him, I took him even deeper. His rough, calloused hands slid over my hips before cupping my ass.

  I shivered, spreading my legs even wider for him.

  The stranger groaned again, pumping into me slowly and deeply. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t hard. But it was perfect. It made me wonder why he was at this place?

  The Club.

  I was sure he probably wondered the same thing about me. Or he didn’t care. Probably the latter.

  God, stop thinking so much, Lex.

  Taking a deep breath, I squeezed my eyes shut even though I was blindfolded, and just felt. His hands on my body. His breath on my skin. His thick length deep inside of me.

  The more he thrust, the higher I climbed.

  Spots danced in my vision. My hands tugged on the ropes.

  Another thrust and I broke.

  I whimpered, chewing my bottom lip to keep from crying out. Another rule.

  His hot breath scorched the side of my neck, his release following soon after. It coated me, heating me from within.

  I moaned, tilting my hips up and then up even higher still. God, I was greedy for him.

  A dark chuckle escaped him. Placing a gentle peck just beneath my ear, his lips roamed over the soft skin.

  Just when I thought he was done, he pushed into me even harder.

  I gasped, my back bowing off the bed I laid on.

  The stranger waited, kissing me softly on the mouth before slipping free from my body. A door sounded a moment later and I was left to my own thoughts.

  Whoever just left my body, made an impression. On my skin. On my damn soul. I wanted more, and I didn’t know why. I had never wanted more. Not until him. Not until the stranger. Not until I was forced to fuck a man I didn’t know just to save my brother.

  Lexi

  3 months ago

  I WAS GOING TO kill my brother. No, better yet, I was going to torture him first and then kill him. It was his turn to take care of the bills. Both of us worked, split our paychecks, and paid the bills. It was now my month to pay but as it turned out, he hadn’t been paying at all. Not for at least three months. I flipped through each bill. Big bold letters in red, screamed back at me.

  Overdue. Bill due immediately. Notice. Pay now.

  How the hell had I missed this? Oh right. My brother had hidden the bills until I found them stashed away in his laundry basket beneath some dirty clothes. God I was so stupid. I loved him. I loved him sometimes more than he deserved. Especially right now. I was going to kick his ass.

  I had an hour before I had to open up the deli. One hour to sort through this shit and hope for the best we had just enough money to satisfy these companies or else we would lose our place of work and our home.

  This sucked. This sucked a whole fucking lot.

  The front door opened, the bell at the top dinging when my brother entered.

  Ma’s Deli.

  God, if only our mother could see this place now. She was probably rolling over in her grave.

  “Hey sis.” Charlie came toward me, a bright smile on his face. He sat in the booth across from me and placed an envelope on the table between us. “I have some good news.”

  “Well I don’t.” I sat back, crossing my arms under my chest. “You haven’t been paying the bills. We’re on the verge of losing this place, Charlie. How do you
think Mama would feel if she were still alive?”

  The smile fell from his face, his jade eyes turning even darker. “Well she’s not alive, now is she?” And just like that, his mood switched. While I got our mother’s small physique, he got his temper from our father. Thankfully, besides his large built, that was the only other trait my brother got from that bastard.

  “Charlie, we can’t keep doing this. We could lose this place.” I sighed, trying to calm the anger rushing through me.

  “We’re not going to lose this place.” He pushed the envelope toward me.

  “What’s that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Open it.” He grinned.

  I grabbed the envelope and opened it. “What the hell?” My mouth fell open. “Where did you get this?” My gaze snapped to his, back down to the envelope in my hand, back to his. My thumb grazed over the wad of cash. One-hundred-dollar bills. And a lot of them. “How much is here?”

  “Two-fifty,” he said, like it was no big deal and I didn’t have two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars in my hand. I had never seen so much money in my life, let alone had it in my hands.

  “Charlie.” My stomach twisted, my heart racing. “What did you do to get this?”

  His jaw clenched, his green eyes that mirrored my own, took on a faraway look like he was remembering. Something big. Something bad. Something so damn desperate, he didn’t give a shit what he had to do to get it.

  “Charlie,” I whispered, placing the envelope back on the table in front of me. “I can’t take this. This isn’t right.”

  “This is for us,” he said gently, covering my shaking hands with his. “This is to make this place better. To fix up the things that need fixing up. To make our apartment in the back more livable. To get rid of the damn rats that like to live rent free.”

  A laugh escaped me. “We can’t keep this money.”

  “Too late.” Charlie squeezed my hands. “It’s already ours.”

  “Who did you get this from? What did you have to do?” There was no way someone would hand over this kind of cash without needing something in return.

  “I haven’t done anything.” Yet.

  “Charlie,” I whispered.

  “Look.” He smiled, grabbed the envelope, and stuffed it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. “You’ve been working so damn hard. This will give us the boost we need. It’ll help us be able to afford to hire some staff so we’re not killing ourselves by working twenty-four-seven.”

  It would be nice to have a cook, so I didn’t have to do it all myself.

  “Trust me, Lexi. This is for you. For us.”

  “Tell me who you got this money from.” I needed to know. I needed to know who we owed.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Charlie ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair, giving me a wink. “Now, let’s get some of these bills paid.” He grabbed the stack of papers spread out in front of me and slid from the booth.

  As much as we needed the money, why did I feel dirty? Why did I feel like I was suddenly owned by someone?

  Charlie may have had good intentions, but he was young, foolish and so damn desperate to make ends meet.

  I appreciated him trying to help but why did I feel like he had sold his soul to the Devil? And knowing how ruthless some of these people were in our city, it would only be a matter of time before the Devil came to collect.

  Lexi

  IT HAD BEEN A month since Charlie brought home the money and I still hadn’t touched it. He used some to pay the bills but that was it. It sat in a kitchen cupboard on the top shelf. A part of me was scared to touch it, let alone spend it. I kept thinking that as soon as that first dollar was spent, a black SUV would show up with guys in suits and they would take us away and throw us in jail. Or worse.

  But what I wouldn’t give to use it to fix up the deli.

  It was our mother’s life before she died. When she left it to us, it was her only insurance that we would have some sort of future that was at least a little better than hers.

  It wasn’t much but it was home.

  The deli stood on a corner in an older neighborhood with an upstairs apartment we could access from a stairway in the hall on the first floor.

  We served simple, hearty food that the local working class had come to love and count on, but we were mostly known for our sandwiches.

  It kept us busy, but being busy didn’t always amount to huge profits and it was nothing we could count on. That was why that envelope of money was so damn tempting.

  No, I couldn’t. I didn’t know where Charlie had gotten it from. Not that he would tell me anyway.

  “Are you still stewing?”

  I jumped, spun on my heel, and found Charlie leaning against the doorframe.

  “It’s not going to bite you,” he teased, lighting up a smoke.

  “I know.” I chewed my bottom lip.

  “This came in the mail.” He handed me an envelope. “Maybe it’ll change your mind.”

  I frowned. “You opened it already?”

  “Yeah because I want to know which part of you I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of the night.”

  “Great.” I pulled out the letter. It was another past due notice. “Oh, God.” I slid down the wall, landing hard on my ass.

  “I bet that money looks really good now, doesn’t it?” Charlie sat beside me, hooking an arm around my shoulders.

  “We’re going to lose everything.” My vision blurred.

  “No, we aren’t.” Charlie released me, went to the cupboard, and came back a moment later, kneeling in front of me. “I love you, Lexi, but I hate seeing you kill yourself. You work way too damn much.” He placed the envelope in my hand. “Take this and get whatever’s needed to help fix up the shop.”

  “How much is left?” I sniffed. As far as I knew, Charlie hadn’t used it since he paid some of the bills last month.

  “Just enough to get the utility companies off our asses.” He shrugged. “There’s plenty here to fix up the shop, pay the bills for the next few months if we wanted, and you can even get yourself a new purse. Or whatever you girls like these days.”

  I laughed, wiping under my eyes. “I have a bag. And the purse I want, we can’t afford.”

  “Why not? What is it? A couple grand?” Charlie pulled out a wad of cash stuffed into the envelope and handed it to me. “It’s Hermes isn’t it?”

  “You remembered?” I asked in awe.

  “Of course. Here. This should be enough.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I couldn’t. It’s like five grand, Charlie. That’s way too much money to spend on a bag. We have more important things to buy.”

  “Lexi.” He tried giving me the money again but I pushed him back and rose to my full height.

  “I can’t.” I took the bill and went to the kitchen table. Turning on my laptop, I went through the money we had saved to see what we could afford to pay. The legal way.

  “I’m going to see if I can get some friends to help us. Fix up whatever needs done to the deli and all that shit. Maybe give it a new paint job.” He shrugged.

  “But then we’ll owe them.” I shook my head. “We can’t afford to pay them.”

  “You let me worry about that.” He knuckle-rapped the table. “I’m heading out. You going to be good here by yourself?”

  “I’m a big girl.” I smiled, giving him the reassurance that I would in fact be fine when really, I was beginning to feel desperate. And that money started tempting me.

  “Okay.” Charlie kissed the top of my head. “I’ll bring you home a bottle of wine.”

  “Thank you.” My head snapped up. “Wait.”

  “It won’t be an expensive one. Shit, Lex. Live a little.” He left the apartment, closing the door behind him.

  I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck and cracking my knuckles. “Alright, Lexi. Let’s do this. Let’s pay some bills. Such a fun fucking Friday night.” And I was talking to myself. “Great.”

&
nbsp; A few hours later, when a kink was settling on my shoulders, I pulled away from the table and shut the lid to the laptop. I managed to pay some of the most important bills. At least enough where the companies would leave us alone for another month. And it was all done with legal money too. I had to dip into my savings. Not that I had a lot in there, but it was almost enough to pay for a new stove.

  My chest tightened that I would have to wait a little longer to get the stove and oven I had been looking at. It would help me cook at the normal speed and not take twenty minutes to make scrambled eggs.

  But that could wait. Bills were more important.

  Stretching my arms up and over my head, my gaze landed on the clock mounted on the wall above the TV. It was almost midnight. Where was Charlie? He was usually out late but when he promised to bring home wine, it meant he would be back within an hour or two. But that had been almost six hours ago.

  My heart jumped. Thoughts of him lying dead on a curb somewhere forced their way into my head. No. I would not think that. He was fine. He was perfectly fine.

  Suddenly, a heavy bang landed against the door.

  I jumped, a shriek escaping my lips. Clutching my chest, I took a deep breath.

  “Lex.”

  I frowned at the muffled voice coming from the other side of the door.

  “Lex.” It was louder that time.

  “Charlie?” I rushed to the door, unlocked it, and swung it open just as he fell to my feet.

  I gasped, letting out a sharp scream and dropping to my knees. “Charlie!”

  He groaned. Dark purple bruises marked his face. One eye was swollen shut and a split was in his lip. The white shirt he wore when he left the apartment hours ago, was now covered in blood.

  “What the hell happened?” I hooked my arms under his and pulled him into the apartment.

  Charlie mumbled some words that I couldn’t make out.

  “You need the hospital.” I sat him on the floor just inside the apartment.

  “No,” he croaked. “No hospital.” He hugged his arm to his side. “I can’t.”

  “Charlie,” I said gently. “Then tell me what happened?”