Total Surrender (The Sinful 1)

The arousal he’d spiked in the kitchen returned with a vengeance, and she pressed her thighs together to stave off the aching, pulsing need that Maddux was solely responsible for.

The pressure did nothing to ease the torment, and she forced herself to ignore it and headed into his enormous walk-in closet to hang up his suit. When that was done, and needing an escape, she decided that she was going to enjoy that huge soaking tub and read, which was her favorite thing to do. Losing herself in a book would guarantee to relax her and take her mind off of the reality of her situation. And if she was lucky, it would also make her forget about that unfulfilled throb between her legs.

Despite how gigantic the tub was, it filled quickly, and by the time she’d stripped out of her T-shirt and underwear and managed to put her hair up with the pins from last night, the bath was ready. She immersed herself in the steamy water, sans bubbles, and loved the fact that the tub was self-heating so the water would never get cold. Which meant she could stay right there for hours if she wanted.

After retrieving her cell phone from a nearby ledge, she opened her book app, which took her to the romance novel she’d been in the middle of reading. Except the part where she’d left off had been the start of a very explicit and erotic love scene with a hot and dominant hero, and by the time she’d finished the chapter, her own body was screaming for some kind of relief.

She was a virgin, but at age twenty-five, she’d given herself plenty of orgasms, and right now she desperately needed to take the edge off that growing lust building inside her. It certainly wouldn’t take much to get the deed done.

Setting the phone back up on the shelf, she reclined in the tub, closed her eyes, and slid her hand between her legs . . . and lost herself in the fantasy of it being Maddux’s long, thick fingers sliding through her folds, rubbing her sensitive clit, and providing the enticing, beckoning pleasure that was only a few strokes away.

Chapter 10

Maddux knew this conversation with his siblings was going to be difficult as hell, and as soon as they entered his penthouse office and the door closed behind Hunter and Tempest, his brother promptly unleashed his fury.

“What the fuck is going on, Maddux?” his brother snapped angrily, his eyes dark and filled with turbulent emotions. “We trusted you to stick to the plan and take down that bastard who killed our parents, and instead you decided to bring his daughter up to your penthouse so you could screw her?”

Maddux clenched his jaw, and even knowing he deserved his brother’s wrath, he tried to keep his own composure collected. “I didn’t screw her,” he said calmly.

At least not yet, anyway. But considering what Tempest and Hunter had interrupted minutes ago, Maddux had been right on the verge of defiling Arabella’s sweet, innocent mouth. The fact that she’d been two seconds away from complying with his order to get on her knees to suck his cock had made him hard enough to pound fucking nails. Disc

overing that Arabella had a natural submissive streak had triggered his instinct to dominate, control . . . and eventually, possess.

“What happened?” his sister asked more reasonably, her arms crossed over her chest. “Clearly, things didn’t go as planned.”

Maddux rubbed his fingers across his forehead, preparing himself to rehash last night’s debacle. “Everything was proceeding as we’d discussed, until Theodore’s daughter, Arabella, made her presence known at the door, along with the fact that she’d eavesdropped on the conversation inside the room.”

Tempest frowned. “Was she aware of her father’s debt or gambling problem . . . or anything else Theodore was responsible for?”

Maddux shook his head. “No, she was, and is, innocent and oblivious to her father’s lifestyle and criminal activities.”

Hunter dropped into one of the leather wingback chairs in the room, his long legs splayed in front of him, his expression furious. “Then maybe you should fucking tell her so she’ll hate her father as much as we do.”

“When the time is right, I’ll make sure she knows everything,” Maddux said, though his brother didn’t look reassured.

“Okay, so Arabella overheard,” Tempest said, ignoring Hunter’s outburst and getting back to the conversation at hand. “That still doesn’t explain why she’s here and Theodore is a free man.”

“He’s not a free man,” Maddux said, leaning his backside against his desk. “I still own him. His three-million-dollar debt and all his assets, and now, his only child and daughter, which was a deliberate and calculated choice I made.”

“Really?” Hunter asked, his tone edged with disbelief.

“Yes, really,” Maddux replied, giving his brother an impatient look. “Once Theodore realized he was now indebted to me, he nearly had a heart attack—”

“Too bad the fucker didn’t die,” Hunter interrupted bitterly.

Maddux couldn’t disagree. “With her father’s health at risk, it was Arabella who jumped in and begged me to take her in exchange for backing off of her father. And it was a split-second decision based on the fact that Arabella’s offer nearly pushed Theodore over the edge. So, I agreed, knowing it would eat away at the old man that I had complete control over his daughter, which seemed like a nice bonus at the time.”

Gripping the edge of the desk with his hands, he glanced from Hunter to Tempest, still trying to smooth things over. “Look, I know this wasn’t the plan, but it’s the way it turned out and I’m going to play the situation with Arabella by ear for now. But make no mistake. I’m not done with Theodore Cole. Not by a long shot. I’ll give him a week or so of thinking the worst about Arabella living here with me, and even after I decide to give her back, I still have every intention of taking him down and exposing him for the corrupt, immoral bastard he is. I have his debt. I own every single one of his assets, and when his illegal activities come to light, his reputation and his life won’t be worth shit. This doesn’t change anything.”

“No, it just delays it.” Hunter’s bitter tone came through loud and clear.

“Hunter—”

His brother held up a hand to cut off Maddux as he pushed to his feet, his gaze narrowed. “Look, you do whatever you need to do with Cole’s daughter. Play your little cat-and-mouse game with her. Get her out of your goddamn system if that’s the issue and then get your fucking head on straight and finish what Theodore started.”

Hunter stormed out of the room, and Maddux exhaled a deep breath and rubbed a hand along his jaw, his gaze shifting to his sister, who was looking at him thoughtfully.

“Care to add anything to that?” he asked wryly.