Surrender 01 - Surrender

surroundings with some dismay, apparently intimidated by all the luxury and expense. It wasn’t surprising that Ari, having grown up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood, might have a difficult time adapting to his world. He didn’t even blink when he lost millions in the stock market, but then that was nothing to him, not when he had billions more to secure his future. She could hardly have the same reactions.
    Ari’s eyes adjusted to the light, and that’s when she turned and spotted him sitting there. His first instinct was to stand up and haul her to the back of the jet, where his luxurious suite was available for him to devour her. Still, he didn’t allow even so much as a single muscle to twitch.
    This was a game — and his ultimate victory would come when she surrendered herself totally to him. He would let her speak first — if she did so at all. By the look in her panicked eyes, it was obvious she hadn’t expected to see him. Had she honestly thought he would allow her to leave him so easily? He was soon to find out.

    *****

    Ari was frozen to the spot as she looked into Rafe’s now frosty purple eyes. How could she not have put the pieces together? Of course she hadn’t been so lucky as to get her current job on her own. The minute that call had come in, she should have researched the company, found out all there was to know.
    It wouldn’t do her any good to kick herself now. She felt as if she’d been run over by a herd of animals. She was trapped against the ground and the line of mammals continued to keep her locked down, with pain radiating from every single inch of her body.
    “You own Sunstream Electronics.” She wasn’t asking, but merely making a statement. She refused to play the victim or ask senseless questions.
    “Obviously.” He wasn’t going to make any of this easier on her. But then again, when had he really made things easier? Yes, there’d been some moments. A few brief flashes in time when he’d actually seemed to be human, but those times were quickly fading in light of how manipulative he’d actually been the entire time she’d known him.
    To be honest, Rafe had said he always played to win. He’d let her know in no uncertain terms that she was nothing more than a plaything, another trophy for his shelf. She thought the two of them had played every game, with her always losing the battles, but apparently there was still one game left to play.
    It looked as if she were losing her job.
    His last hand was being dealt and her only question right then was how bad the damage would be to her. If he felt confident enough to reveal himself as her true boss, then one of two things had happened.
    He was either bored with her and ready to purge her from his life, or he had an offer he felt was too good for her to refuse . If the latter was the case, h e had underestimated her. One thing she’d learned in the last few months was that she could survive on her own.
    It wasn’t always easy, and she knew there were plenty of speed bumps ahead in her long journey, but her confidence had grown. She was managing to take care of herself and her mother. She might have been working for Rafe all along, but she took it as a huge victory that it hadn’t been as his personal call girl.
    With a surge of confidence, she threw her shoulders back and stepped farther into the jet, walking up to him and looking impassively down into his once again burning eyes.
    “Mr. Palazzo, we’ve been cleared for departure. Would you like us to shut the doors now?”
    Before Rafe could respond to his attendant, Ari spoke, staring straight into Rafe’s eyes the entire time, making sure he knew she wasn’t afraid of him.
    “No. I’ll be getting off the aircraft in just a moment.”
    She nearly stumbled back a step, away from the flames leaping in Rafe’s dark depths. If looks could kill, she’d be nothing but ashes. But instead of revealing her slight moment of weakness, she decided to push his buttons a bit harder, and she smirked.
    “Hold the doors for a moment and leave us,” Rafe commanded. The attendant almost scampered away.
    “It seems we’ve finally arrived where I knew we’d end up all along. You’ve just made an increasingly long ordeal out of something that should have been taken care of that day in the restaurant.”
    “I told you then that I wouldn’t be your whore, Mr. Palazzo. That decision still stands. That you were able to trick me into your employment anyway doesn’t mean