Surrender Read online

  CLUB X #2

  formatted by E.M. Tippetts Book Designs

  * * *

  Stefan March lives for a good time. Born into wealth, he sees everything in terms of what he can have, especially women. So far, life has denied him nothing and no one. When he meets his newest bartender, he instantly knows who his next conquest will be, but Shay’s not like the usual women he collects. To get her, he’ll have to be more than just the player he’s always been.

  Shay Callahan is beautiful, determined, and intelligent. She’s got plans for her life, and they don’t include getting sidetracked by a man, and certainly not her wealthy player boss. Her job at Club X is for one thing—money to fund her education—but if she can make Stefan March see he’s not God’s gift to women, all the better. She never expects to find out there’s more to him than meets the eye.

  As different as day and night, can these two see past who they think they are to find love?

  Surrender is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  2014 Copper Key Media, LLC

  Copyright © 2014 Copper Key Media, LLC

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Published in the United States

  ISBN-10: 1941594069

  ISBN-13: 978-1-941594-06-3

  Cover Design: Cover Me, Darling

  Adult Content: Contains graphic sexual content

  Sometimes it’s the ones you’re sure you won’t like who turn out to be your favorites. You’re one of those souls for me. May others see in you what I see.

  * * *

  ELLIOT LAY still half asleep, spread-eagled and taking up three-quarters of the bed as I sat down on the edge of the mattress to slip on my stockings. I turned to look at his naked body barely covered by the sheet and nudged him back over to his side, but he grumbled some words to let me know he didn’t like me waking him so early. The man didn’t seem to recognize any time before noon.

  “I have a job interview today, El. It might be nice if you woke up to have some breakfast with me before I go. Maybe a little pep talk?”

  He waved his hand in the air and gave me the thumbs up sign, mumbling, “You’ll be great, Shay. Don’t worry.”

  Standing up, I straightened my black pencil skirt and shook my head. “Let’s hope my potential new bosses think the way you do.”

  Elliot rolled over and slid his hand up my leg and under my skirt to where the top of my stockings sat on my thigh. Looking up at me with his sexy hazel eyes, he chuckled. “Baby, if these men don’t want to hire you to bartend, then they’re fucking crazy. You’re hotter than any other bartender I’ve ever seen. Just be yourself and you and I will be celebrating tonight.”

  “And you’ve seen how many bartenders? You aren’t even legal to drink, El.”

  He looked up at me and winked. “I don’t have to know any bartenders to know you’re sexier than fuck. Now get that gorgeous ass back in bed so I can show you how sexy I think you are.”

  I nudged his hand down my leg, but he fought me, pushing against my hand to feel the cotton of my panties. “El, I have to go. I’ll see you when I get back.”

  “I like the idea of you lifting that skirt and riding some morning wood a whole lot better. You have time. You said you wanted me to have breakfast.” Inching his fingers up underneath my panties, he slid a fingertip over my clit, sending a jolt of pleasure straight through me. “I want this for breakfast.”

  “I can’t,” I protested, wishing I could. We’d spent most of the night making love, but that’s what a new relationship was all about. I couldn’t or didn’t want to see his negatives, such as the fact that he didn’t seem to be much of a worker if the number of hours he spent in bed with me and by himself was any indication. Or that he had little money. I didn’t care about that yet. What I enjoyed about Elliot was that he was good in bed and like most guys of twenty, he could fuck for hours. Being twenty-four, I appreciated his youthful enthusiasm.

  “Baby, you can do whatever you want. They won’t care if you’re late for this interview. It’s a bar.”

  Shaking my head, I tried to push him away again, but he was insistent. This was what I got for hanging out with a twenty-year-old guy. “Elliot, stop. I need this job.”

  “So serious all the time.” He pulled the covers down to show me his rock hard cock ready to go, as he always was. “Thank God one of us keeps us off the straight and narrow. Now come here.”

  I couldn’t help but lick my lips as I stared at his body ready to go. His dark brown hair, too long for my usual taste, hung in his eyes, but even lying there as a disheveled mess he still made me wet just looking at him. Not an ounce of fat marred his perfect body, although in two months I’d never seen him do even a single push up. Maybe he didn’t just lie around the apartment when I worked, after all?

  This thing between us was basic biology. I knew this. He was a hot, young guy in his prime, and I liked that. Nothing more. Not that it had to be anything more. We’d gotten into this knowing neither one of us wanted a serious relationship. I knew I’d be leaving in a few months and likely never see him again, and he was a typical twenty-year-old nearly grown up boy whose only mastery of anything was shirking responsibility.

  We were an odd couple everywhere but in bed. My goals included earning my Ph.D., and Elliot had not one goal. None. He had no job, and as far as I could tell in the whole time we’d been together, he had no plans to get one. Where he got money was a mystery to me, but the truth was if I cared about him—truly cared—I’d want to know.

  I’d never asked, and he’d never offered the information. I only knew he had money but no job. And I was the exact opposite. I always had a job, even with attending school full time, and never had enough money.

  “Shay, you worry about things for nothing. If you don’t get this job, you’ll get another. No big deal. Now come here so I can bury myself balls deep inside you.”

  “This means a lot to me, El. I have to save up for my trip. I can make a lot of money at Club X.”

  Elliot laced his hands behind his head. “Club X isn’t really your style, though. What’s wrong with your current job?”

  “I don’t make enough money, and what do you mean it’s not really my style? As long as they pay in good old American dollars, it’s my style.”

  “I’ve heard things. It’s not like a usual bar.”

  I lowered my head and stared down at him. “And you’d know what about a usual bar?”

  “I heard it’s more of a sex club.”

  In truth, I’d heard that once or twice about Club X too, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t applying for a job that would have anything to do with sex. All I’d have to do was serve alcohol. “Well, I have enough sex with you, so they’ll just have to take me as a bartender.”

  “That better be all they want.”

  Elliot’s expression told me what all this stalling was about. He was jealous. “I see what you’re up to. You’re worried.”

  He shrugged and made a face that looked like he’d just sucked on a lemon. “No, I’m not.”

  Leaning across the bed, I pushed my face in front of his. “Yes, you are. You’re jealous. I thought we weren’t about that. This was just supposed to be a good time, remember? Nothing more.”

  I saw in his eyes this wasn’t just a good time for him.

  “Whatever. Do what you want. Just know that I don’t share wel
l with others, Shay.”

  Oh the petulance of youth! I knew I better soothe his hurt feelings now or he’d sulk all day. “Elliot, I have no plans to share myself with anyone but you, okay? But I can’t do the committed thing. You know that. You don’t want that anyway. Twenty-year-old guys like to have a good time, so let’s have a good time.”

  He pulled me down on top of his body, pushed my skirt up around my waist, and thrust his hips off the bed, his sour mood disappearing by the second. Nuzzling my neck, he murmured, “That’s all I wanted, baby. Consider it a good luck fuck so you get the job.”

  I rolled my eyes and tried to wriggle out of his hold. “I can’t be late, El. We can pick this up when I get back, okay?”

  He ignored my words and pulled my panties off to the side to give his cock clear passage. One quick thrust and he was fully nested inside me, making my legs go weak. Giving in, I sat up and straddled him for some of that morning wood he was sporting. In truth, I had a little time before I had to leave, so why not begin with a breakfast of champions?

  I didn’t make it two steps into the coffee shop before my best friend Carrie looked at me and said, “Shay, you look like you just rolled off that hot man of yours.”

  Quickly, I looked down my body to check that my clothes weren’t wrinkled and screaming “I just had sex!” There was no sign of any untidiness, so I took a seat across from her at our usual corner table and shook my head. “Don’t be jealous.”

  Carrie took a sip of her latte and smiled, pushing her dark blond hair off her forehead. “No jealousy here, girl. That boy isn’t even legal. You getting a coffee?”

  “No. Not today. I already had a cup at home. I don’t need to be jumpy today. And he’s perfectly legal. Twenty is legal.”

  “That boy can’t even get into a club, Shay. What do you plan to do with him if you get this job at Club X? It’s not like you’ll be able to take him there.”

  Reaching over, I broke off a piece of her coffee cake and popped it into my mouth. “I don’t plan to take anyone there, Carrie. It’s a job. Do you take people to the boutique?”

  “You know what I mean. He’s four years younger than you.”

  “And the problem is?”

  Carrie and all her twenty-six years of cynicism stared at me with a look full of judgment in her jaded brown eyes. “He’s a child. You’re a grad student, and he doesn’t even have a job. What exactly are you doing with him?”

  “Other than fucking him every chance I can?” I said with a chuckle I couldn’t hold back.

  “Shay, there are millions of men in the world who aren’t boys and have great bodies and penises who are actually gainfully employed. Some might even be good in bed too.”

  This wasn’t the first time Carrie had given me this lecture. Elliot was an acquired taste, and as a woman who’d made a success of her own boutique all on her own, she found his boy-toy act appalling. For her, a man had to wear a suit, and an expensive one at that, and as she always said, “bring something to the table more than a big cock.” That Elliot only brought the right size cock wasn’t enough, in her mind.

  She wasn’t necessarily wrong. I knew that. I knew El was a passing fancy. He had no idea what I meant when I talked about my work, and he had nothing to say to my friends, even the ones who didn’t think he was one step above gigolo like Carrie thought. I freely admitted that he was merely great sex.

  Breaking off another piece of her coffee cake, I leaned forward and nodded. “Gainfully employed penises?” She shot me a look of disgust. “I know. I know. I don’t plan on this being a forever thing. Elliot is just something for now. I’ll be leaving in a few months anyway, so we’ll be over then, if it doesn’t happen before.”

  “He must be incredible in bed, Shay. You know I wouldn’t give you a hard time if I didn’t love you like a sister, but he’s way too young for you. You need a man who can handle his business. That boy has no business at all.”

  “I get it. I don’t want you thinking he’s a freeloader. I never pay for him.”

  Jesus, I sounded like one of those abused women making excuses for their man.

  “He has no job, honey. Where does he get money from?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “You’ve never asked?”

  Avoiding her intense stare, I looked away and mumbled, “No.”

  “Shay, look at me. I’ve known you long enough to know this isn’t healthy for you. Maybe Elliot’s a great guy. Maybe he isn’t. That isn’t the point. You bring a ton of great stuff to the table, and he shouldn’t even be let in the house to find the table. There are levels, honey, and he’s not at yours.”

  I looked at her and knew she was right. The problem was I didn’t want to let Elliot go. Not yet anyway. “I know all of this, Carrie. And I know you love me, but give the poor guy a break. It must be terrible to be used just for sex.”

  Her face twisted into a look of disgust. “Uh-huh. A hardship like no man has ever endured before.”

  “Let’s change the subject. I need to go into this interview feeling good.”

  Carrie pulled her cake away from me and shook her head. “Speaking of that, why are you bothering with this job at Club X anyway? You’re leaving, so why get a new job? What’s wrong with the one you have already?”

  “I’m not making enough at The Brew House. I need to save up some money for when I go to Copenhagen. I just figured if I could get a job at Club X, I’d be able to have a stockpile when I leave.”

  “You think you’re up for that? I hear that place is wild. Members only and freaky.”

  I rolled my eyes at her use of freaky. Like I hadn’t seen my fair share of that in and out of the clubs I’d bartended in. “I’m not worried. I heard from one of the girls who used to work with me that there’s money to be made there, so why not? She worked there for a while and it was fine.”

  Carrie leaned forward and whispered, “You have to tell me if the rumors of the fantasy rooms are true. I’ve heard things.”

  “I don’t plan on doing anything that involves fantasy rooms, Carrie. I’m going there to bartend. That’s it. My friend from The Brew House got me an interview, so I’m going in with the attitude that they need a bartender and I’m their woman.”

  “I’ve heard things about the one brother, Stefan, who runs the nightclub part. Major league player, Shay.”

  “So?” What the hell did I care about some guy she thought was a player?

  “So nothing. I’ve just heard things.”

  Leaning back in my chair, I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care what this Stefan does when he isn’t running Club X. As long as he pays me the money I need, we’ll get along fine.”

  “I hear he’s loaded. He and his two brothers run the place and make millions every year off the wild shit our fellow citizens like to act out in those fantasy rooms.”

  I looked across the table and saw Carrie’s eyes light up. “Why do I have the feeling you think this guy would be more appropriate for me than Elliot?”

  “Because he’s got millions and owns a club. Your guy has some secret stash of cash and goofs around your place all day while you work your tail off.”

  “Money’s not everything, Carrie. I would think everything you went through with Rick would show you that.”

  Now it was time for her to roll her eyes. Every time I mentioned her most recent ex-husband I got the eye roll of disgust. “He Whose Name We Are Never To Say Again has nothing to do with this. And he isn’t even loaded. All I’m saying about your situation is that you might like it if a man with some success behind him began to take care of your business.”

  “So better to be with a guy who’s some kind of world-class player than an unemployed twenty-year-old who’s crazy about me?”

  Taking a sip of her coffee, her red stained lips spread into a wide smile. “Better to be with a man who’s your equal, Shay. And by the way, you have some nerve pooh-poohing players. Isn’t that what you’re doing with your boy-toy there? Playing?�
�

  I hated when she hit too close to home. Fidgeting in my chair, I looked away again. “It’s not the same thing, Carrie. We’re having a good time and nobody’s going to get hurt. Players like you’re talking about leave a lot of emotional carnage in their wake. I’m not up for that, thank you.”

  Sliding over the rest of her cake, she rested her hand on top of mine. “I’m not saying you are, honey. I’m just saying you’re too good for what you’re doing now.”

  Looking down at my watch, I saw I had just enough time to get to Club X for my interview. “I have to head out. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

  “I want all the in depth details, so take lots of mental notes. And don’t worry. You got this.”

  I stood from the table and grabbed the last bite of coffee cake. “Yeah, it’s nothing. They want a bartender, and I want a job. I’ll make sure to check out this world-class player you’ve heard about, though. You know, just for shits and giggles.”

  Carrie nodded. “Exactly. Call me when you get out.”

  As I headed out the door toward my car, I tried to ignore the little voice in my head telling me Carrie was right about Elliot. I didn’t know how she’d gotten my conscience on her side, but I didn’t plan to listen to either of them yet. For the next few months, all I planned to do was make as much money as possible at Club X and have the time of my life with the hot young guy sharing my bed.

  Nothing more. Nothing less.

  * * *

  CASH’S OFFICE door opened and a knockout brunette walked out right past me on her way toward the front door and out of my life if I didn’t stop her. Quickly following behind, I caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, where you going? If you’re here for a job, you’ll probably be dealing with me.”

  She turned around and looked me up and down, her gaze settling on mine after she’d thoroughly checked me out. “Yeah? Well, if I get the job, we can talk then.”