Surrender. Brenda Jackson

those other women may want, you are the only woman that I want.” Instinctively he pulled her closer to him. “You are the only woman who matters.”

      Netherland wanted to tell him that although she'd wanted to hear those words, she shouldn't be the only one who mattered because there would never be a future for them as long as he was in the military. But she couldn't force herself to say the words. The only thing she could do was to continue to look into the darkness of his eyes and see how the lighting from a nearby lamp shone on his features making them more profound, more handsome. As he continued to look at her she felt that same jolt of awareness she had felt the first time she had met him, nearly three years ago, and the same jolt she felt upon seeing him every time since then. Around her he generated heat, electricity, desire.

      Without a word she tilted her head up when she saw his mouth move closer to claim her lips. She knew she should stop it now because once they had crossed over the line, there would be no going back. She had waited almost three years for this kiss.

      He took her breath away the moment his mouth came down on hers, and the jolt of awareness exploded through all parts of her body. When he parted her lips with the tip of his tongue she was ready and opened completely for him.

      Netherland felt him cup the back of her head to bring their mouths closer, tighter, to mate in hungry passion. As if they had a mind of their own, her hands reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck as she moaned gently to the feelings he was evoking within her. She felt herself being picked up, lifted and placed in his lap as he continued to kiss her, absorb her mouth with his, as her heart continued to beat out of control.

      She couldn't help but recall the many nights since first meeting him that she had yearned for this moment to find out what his taste was like, to share such an intimate experience with him. His mouth was pleasuring her beyond anything she had known. He was demanding stirring and explosive sensations from within her. He was unfolding a need she hadn't known existed, and his kiss was beckoning her to taste, to feel and to feast on everything about the man who so gently held her in his arms as he gave her the experience women only dreamed about.

      Netherland's hands tightened around his neck, urging the intoxicating intimacy to continue forever. She took his tongue into her mouth, savored it, exulted in it and connected with it. No man had ever kissed her this way before, and she knew that no man would ever kiss her this way again. Ashton Sinclair had his own brand of style and was meticulously stamping it all over her mouth with kiss after kiss after kiss.

      The kiss eventually came to an end when the need to breathe overrode everything else. Ashton released a ragged breath and touched his forehead to hers. “Netherland, do you want to know something?” he asked, barely able to catch his breath.

      She inhaled deeply, trying to catch a breath of her own, almost failing in the process. “What?”

      “You don't ever have to agree to go out with me as long as you let me stay in with you doing this.” He then kissed her again, more thorough and hotter than before.

      There was no telling how long they would have continued to kiss if the knock on the door had not interrupted them. Netherland drew in a deep breath and released it with a sigh before pulling herself out of Ashton's arms and lap, making it to the door. Without opening it she answered, “Yes?”

      “It's Rainey, Nettie. I just wanted to make sure you're okay.”

      Netherland turned slightly and looked at Ashton. He was sitting on the love seat watching her. The dark sensual look in his eyes was making her consider things she shouldn't. Already she had gone beyond a point of where she should have with him. He knew it, too. They also knew there was no way to go back to where they had been before tonight. They had done more than acknowledge the attraction between them. In that short space of time, they had tasted the passion, and she had gotten addicted to it. A part of her wished that nothing stood in the way of indulging in the desires he stirred within her.

      “Nettie? You're okay?”

      The worried tone of Rainey's voice drew Netherland's attention back to her friend. There was no way she could tell Rainey that she was okay when deep in her heart she knew she would never be okay again. Drawing in a deep breath, she unlocked the door and cracked it open slightly. “I'm fine, Rainey.”

      Rainey looked at her with those ever-observant eyes. After a brief moment she said, “Yes, Nettie, I see that you are.” She placed a smirky grin on her face, turned around and headed back down the hall.

      Netherland closed the door and turned back around to Ashton. He was now standing in the middle of the room. His eyes were simmering with promises of pleasures that went beyond kissing. He was tempting her mindless with the very thought. Tension gripped her entire body as she watched him slowly walk over to her. He must have felt her anxiety and reached out and bracketed her face in the palms of his hands. He probed her eyes for a moment before saying, “We'll work through whatever is keeping us apart, Netherland,” he said simply, easily.

      Netherland shook her head. “There isn't a middle ground, Ashton. I refuse to become involved with someone who's in the military.”

      His smile was slow, endearing, determined. “You are involved, Netherland. And now that I've tasted you, you're a craving I can't do without, so don't ask me to. There is a middle ground and we will find it. Together.” He took her back into his arms and placed a gentle yet possessive kiss on her lips. Once again her body automatically responded to his.

      He then brought his lips to her ear and whispered, “Surrender, Netherland. Surrender your fears about us to me, and I promise to make things right for us.”

      Netherland wanted to believe it would be that easy but knew he was promising the impossible. “I can't, Ashton. I've got to have stability and that's something you can't give me as long as you are in the military.”

      Without waiting for his response, she opened the door and walked out of her office.

      Later that night after Netherland had gotten into bed, she lay there and remembered the kiss—or should she say kisses?—that she and Ashton had shared in her office. A part of her wanted to regret what they had done, but another part of her continued to rejoice and forbid her to worry about the consequences of her actions.

      She tossed around in the bed a few times before finally finding a comfortable spot. As much as she tried not to, her mind reflected to that day almost three years ago when she and Ashton had first met. Maybe if she had known from the first that he was military, her attraction to him would not have been so great, so overpowering, so downright unnatural. But it had been. The first sight of him had been like a magnet, pulling her in, and it was a day she would never forget.

      As Netherland watched the blades of the ceiling fan swirling overhead, cooling off her overheated body, her mind became occupied with memories of that day…

      “Nettie?”

      Nettie lifted her head from the document she was reading. “Yes?”

      “I hate to disturb you but Trevor Grant and Clayton Madaris are here,” Rainey said, smiling. “They brought some other gentlemen with them and would like to introduce you to them.”

      Netherland smiled. Trevor and Clayton were two of her biggest clients, and as single men they patronized her establishment at least three to four times a week, claiming the restaurant's good food was the big draw. She knew their interest in her place also went beyond food. Their frequent visits were designed to check out the single women there, as well. “Do you know who these other men are?”

      Rainey smiled dreamily. “One I recognize as Clayton's brother Dex Madaris. I remember him from the last time he came in and had all the women drooling. The other one I think is Clayton's other brother. He favors Clayton and is handsome as sin. The other man I believe is a friend of Trevor's—and he's a total knockout. His hair is longer than mine. He seems to be part Indian or something. All I know is that the man is to die for, three times over.”

      Netherland chuckled as she placed the papers she'd been reading aside. “He's that good-looking?”

      “Judge