Surrender

Excerpt

Forcing a smile, Alexandria pressed her thighs together in an attempt to ease the ache that had settled there. Part of her felt relief that he seemed to understand her, while another part feared that he saw too much. Averting her gaze so he didn’t see more, she found herself breathless. “My needs are none of your business.”

Beau glanced at the waiter as he brought a bread basket, the scent of it tickling her taste buds and making her mouth water. Waiting until the waiter left, Beau took her hand in his again and brought it to his lips, his action surprising her into meeting his gaze again. “On that, we disagree. Did I mention that you look beautiful tonight? But then, I’ve never seen you look anything but.”

“I think the word you used was stunning.” Running a fingertip up and down the stem of her glass, she raised a brow. “You don’t really believe you’re going to charm me into capitulating with compliments, do you?”

“Not at all. You’re not naïve, and you’re certainly not gullible.” He buttered a small slice of bread and handed it to her. “Do you have a lot of trouble with theft in your company?”

Breaking off an edge of her still steaming portion of bread, Alexandria shrugged. “It’s always a threat. I have to have employees I trust completely, and I don’t trust that easily. Still, someone has to do the work, but I have to keep a sharp eye on everyone.”

Beau picked up a piece of bread. “Steve takes care of your security?”

“He does. I wouldn’t trust anyone else. He watches over the head of security—”

“Paul Simpson?”

Surprised that he remembered that, Alexandria nodded and popped a bite of bread into her mouth. “Yes. He’s very upset that someone was able to copy something.”

Beau frowned, glancing up when the waiter came through the curtain again with a platter of hot appetizers. “I’m surprised that was allowed to happen. I could tell when I spoke to him earlier that he was coding something.” He smiled and gestured toward the platter. “Your brother speaks in one-word grunts when he’s coding. What would you like?”

“Hmm. The clams, shrimp, and stuffed mushrooms look good. Everything looks good, but I didn’t hear you order it.”

“Arthur just wants to know what you want as a main dish. He chooses a variety of appetizers and desserts. We should get a small salad next.”

“Hmm.” Alexandria took another sip of wine. “I didn’t know you knew my brother so well.”

Beau slid the items she’d mentioned, along with a bacon-wrapped asparagus and a small, filled puff pastry onto her small plate before buttering another piece of bread for her. “He wanted to meet me when Les Willard sold the firm to me and retired. We hit it off, and have lunch together when we get the chance.”

He smiled and slid the bread onto her plate, his attention to her more than she was used to. “He mentioned his beautiful sister more than once and his frustration with her that she seemed so alone.”

Chewing the bite of breaded clam, Alexandria shook her head and smiled. “I have all the social life that I want. My brother thinks I should let him do background checks on every man I date. Because of that, I keep my social life to myself.”

Beau slid several appetizers onto his own plate. “Steve knows we’re out tonight.”

Amused, she cut her asparagus. “Can’t keep a secret?”

“I didn’t intend to keep it a secret. I have no problem with people knowing of my interest in you.” He cut into the puff pastry. “If you don’t go out much, what do you do with yourself after work?”

“Who says I don’t go out much?”

Beau popped the bite of his appetizer into his mouth. “Your brother, for one.”

“I told you that I don’t tell him about my social life.”

Picking up his wine glass again, Beau narrowed his gaze on hers. “It’s interesting that you mention a social life but you never call it a love life.”

Alexandria cut her shrimp in half and decided it was time to change the subject. “Why did you decide to become a lawyer?”

Beau smiled. “I like the rules. Right and wrong. I like the challenge of outwitting a prosecutor. I like making sure my clients have a proper defense and aren’t pushed through the system.”

She finished chewing her bite of shrimp and stabbed the other half. “But most people wouldn’t be able to pay your fees.”

“Those fees enable me to pay the best private detective agency in Georgia.” His lips curved. “They also allow me to take more cases pro bono. As a matter of fact, the murder case I’m trying next week is pro bono.”

“That’s nice of you. It’s important to give back.”

“Is that why you send free makeup and skin care products to cancer patients at the hospital?”

Alexandria shrugged. “A little makeup can sometimes make a woman feel beautiful. A woman needs to feel beautiful. My entire career is based on that concept.”

Beau refilled his wine glass and topped off hers. “Women also feel beautiful when they know they’re desired.”

Looking down at her plate, she sighed. “Feeling desired isn’t enough.”

Because he was watching her, Beau couldn’t miss the brief flash of a deep sadness, one that appeared to have been cultivated for quite a long time.

The waiter appeared again with their salads and, after he’d cleared away the appetizers, disappeared again.

Beau’s mind worked as he watched Alexandria, and feeling on the verge of learning something more, he carefully searched for the right words. “No. Feeling desired isn’t enough. You have to desire in return. It has to be a two-way street.”

Averting her gaze, Alexandria cut into her salad. “I imagine so.”

“You also need to play.”