Salvation (Surrender 3)

“This is the dress.”

“You recognize it?”

“It’s the dress you wore to the Launch Party.”

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

“How could I forget? You were stunning.”

Her breath hitches as our eyes lock. The warmth and beauty in her gaze sends a thrill up my spine.

“Absolutely stunning.” My fingertips skim softly across the back of her hand as my pulse increases. I inhale deeply and breathe in the scent of coconuts, the same smell of the night she fell into my arms. The tip of her tongue lightly moistens her upper lip. Heat and energy buzzes between us, as a bead of sweat trickles down my back. We’re so lost in each other, neither of us realizes we aren’t the only ones in the room.

“What the fuck is going on here?” An angry voice booms through the small room, breaking our connection.

Ember jumps so high, I’d swear there’s a spring under her ass. She falls forward and into my lap. When I turn, there is a large and extremely pissed off man glaring at me. My protective instincts kick in, and I cocoon her closer.

Who the fuck is this guy?

Chapter 4

Never Be Nervous

Ember

“Cruz! What are you doing here?” I shriek and try to dislodge myself from Robbie’s hold.

“I live here. Question is, what is he doing here?” His tone is bitter.

I scramble to my feet and shoot him an icy glare. “This is Robbie. He brought lunch.”

“I know who he is, Ember. I wasn’t sure you’d ever talk to him again after last night.”

The room goes quiet, and I silently plead with Cruz not to embarrass me further. He gets my message and relaxes his stance a bit, dropping his arms.

“It was an asshole thing to do. So much has happened with my family lately, and I didn’t think of the repercussions. It won’t happen again,” Robbie tells Cruz and squeezes my shoulder.

Cruz tilts his head back to look at the ceiling, letting out a deep breath. Then he walks over with his arm extended. “Cruz Walker, Ember’s cousin.”

“Robbie Hayes.” They shake hands.

“Cruz, who’s at the store?”

“Mom came in for a few hours. I thought you may need me to bring you something. That’s why I called. I got the feeling you weren’t alone. Curiosity got the best of me.” He shrugs his shoulders and takes in the buffet of food. “Looks like you’re taken care of.”

I start cleaning the table¸ avoiding eye contact with either man.

“Are these your sketches?” Cruz thumbs through the papers on the table.

“Yes.”

His eyes melt. A look of approval spreads across his face, and he grins widely. “Wow.”

I shake my head quickly, hoping he doesn’t say more, but no such luck.

“Little Star doesn’t usually share these. We have to beg to see them,” he tells Robbie and starts making a plate of food for himself.

“Really, who’s we?” Robbie raises an eyebrow at me.