Sweet Surrender: Carson-Fox Resorts Book One

Chapter 1

Why life had a way of fucking you in the ass without any lube whenyou were already down on your luck, I didn’t know. But it was a question I asked myself as I rested my head against the steering wheel of my car.

The horn blared loudly in an annoying scream from where I’dsmashed into the rear of a very nice, and no doubt incredibly expensive Bentley.

Muttering to myself, I ignored the man tapping at my window, callingout a question I had no answer to.

Was I okay?

I wasn’t hurt. But okay?

Far from it.

I hadn’t been okay for the last four months when my world had been flipped upside down, and it was going to take me a long time until I resembled anything near okay again.

I cursed under my breath when he knocked a second time. Sooner orlater, I was going to have to face the music.

It would have been slightly less mortifying to step out of the car if I wasn’t covered in bean juice, courtesy of a little shit who’d run head first into me because his mother wasn’t watching him properly.

She’d been too engrossed in gossiping with her friend to keep an eye on her kid, who’d plowed straight into me as I carried a fried breakfast to an impatiently waiting customer.

I didn’t have time to think about what was happening, it was either megetting coated in the breakfast or the little sprog, and given that my boss, Harry, insisted the customer always came first, I had little choice but to take the hit.

Not only was I covered from tit to toe in beans, but the customerwho’d been eagerly awaiting his food had shouted at me as if it was my fault his breakfast ended up all over the floor.

As a means of an apology, I’d asked Paul, our chef at Bean andGone diner, to plate him up another breakfast, knowing full well the loss would be coming out of my wages.

Wages I couldn’t afford to lose, even if it was only a few dollars.

I wish I could say that getting covered in beans was the only thingto go wrong, but from the minute my eyes opened at the ass crack of dawn, fate was against me.

First, the shower in my crappy apartment stopped working secondsafter I’d lathered my hair in shampoo. The pathetic drip, drip, drip that came from the showerhead wasn’t enough to get the soap out, and knowing the clock was against me, I had to resort to other means.

I couldn’t be late, I depended on my job way too much. Harry was agreat boss, a fair one, but he’d made it clear that he didn’t stand for lateness.

Not having any other choice, I wrapped a towel around me andheaded to the kitchen, where I bent over the sink and used a cup to rinse my hair.

Of course, that would have been too easy, and evidently, the universehated me today.

As I was bent over the sink washing the shampoo out of my hair withfucking freezing cold water, my towel slipped and fell to the floor.

Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been a problem. I had a blind up to stopmy neighbor from looking in, but as bad luck would have it, it broke several days before, and I didn’t have the funds to replace it.

I’d nicknamed my neighbor Pervy Pete, mainly because whenever hetried to talk to me, he would spend the entire duration with his eyes fixed on my chest while constantly running a hand over his groin.

If that wasn’t enough of a turn off, the fact that he was at least fortyyears older than me, and smelled like he hadn’t washed for at least thirty of those years definitely would have been.

I did my best to avoid Pete whenever I left my apartment, buttypically, at the very moment the towel fell, Pete was in his kitchen looking ridiculously happy at the unintentional strip show I was giving him.

To make it worse, he must have thought I was giving him the comeon, because seconds later, he pulled his grubby pants down, flashing his semi-erect cock with a manic grin on his ugly face.

Horrified, I scrambled to get my towel back up and rinse the last ofthe shampoo from my hair, doing my best to ignore the morning treat Pete was giving himself. I vowed then, that even if it meant not eating for a week, I was going to replace the blind.

Thanks to my crappy shower, and the image of Pervy Pete knockingone out, my mood was already in the gutter by the time I made it out of my apartment and to my beat-up car, only for it to not start.

I bought my Honda on the cheap from Harry two weeks ago. He wasabout to send it to the scrap yard when I begged him to sell it to me. I didn’t particularly want to spend the money on a car, but public transport to the diner wasn’t reliable, and it was too far to walk.

With winter falling, and the days getting colder, I needed to either finda better way of getting to work or risk getting ill from standing out in the cold while I waited for the bus, and then I’d miss work anyway.

Harry reluctantly sold it to me at the value he would have got for it atthe scrap yard- a grand total of $50. It wasn’t exactly a dream machine, but it got me from A to B, and that was all I needed it for. I ignored the fact that several warning lights went off every time I started the ignition.

By the time I got the car started, I was already late forwork. I drove as fast as I could, which given we’d had thick ice overnight, wasn’t very fast, not if I wanted to make it to the diner in one piece. When I eventually reached Bean and Gone, I was ten minutes late, and the morning rush had already started.

Despite Harry giving all his staff lectures about being on time, he wasoften late, but as I’d already established, today the universe hated me, so of course this was the one morning Harry was on time.

Sheepishly, I’d gone into the diner and begged for his forgiveness,promising to make up for my lateness by staying on for an extra hour for free when my shift finished.

Thankfully, Harry agreed. I was still on probation after all.

The morning shift went smoothly, aside from Trent, the overly-friendlycar salesman asking me out on a date for the umpteenth time. It was a daily occurrence, and despite my answer always being a resounding‘no’, he continued to ask, and quite frankly, it was beginning to grate on me.

Don’t get me wrong, Trent wasn’t at all bad to look at, what with hisblond hair, hazel eyes, and chiseled features, not to mention I was sure he was packing some muscle under his designer suits. But I’d made a vow to stay far away from anyone who had a penis for the rest of my life.

Trent finally left just before the lunchtime rush started, and that waswhen the bean juice incident happened. After that, everything went wrong.

The coffee machine broke when I tried to make a latte with a doubleshot of espresso. One of my customers ran from their booth without paying, and a bag of trash split open with the rotting food contained within spilling everywhere. The stench was revolting and made several people gag, myself included.

To top it off, the health inspector paid us a sneaky visit, announcinghis true identity after an hour of witnessing the chaos, and telling Harry he needed to buck his ideas up.

Needless to say, I was more than happy when my shift finally ended.That was until I accidentally rammed my car into the back of the sleek Bentley.

If I was honest, I didn’t really know what happened. I saw the lightswere red. I hit the brakes, but for some reason, the car didn’t slow. The next second, I was thrown forward, and my head slammed into the steering wheel. The airbag failed to deploy, and the sound of crumpling metal rang out into the evening sky.

I knew my car needed some work done to it, but the brakes hadalways been fine.

Until now.

Unable to ignore the suited man tapping at my window any longer, Igrimaced as I opened the car door, prepared for him to chew my ear off for damaging his car.

He looked like a businessman in his perfectly tailored suit, and if Ihad to guess his age, I would have said mid-40s. He was a handsome man, with light brown hair which was shaved short, like how a soldier would have it, and his caramel colored eyes were framed by dark-rimmed glasses.

“Are you okay, Miss?”he asked politely once I’d got out of my car, hisbrows pulled together in worry.

Slamming the door shut behind me, the horn stopped blaring,bringing some much needed quiet to my ringing ears. The man’s eyes raked over my body, but not in a leering way, more like he was checking for any obvious injuries.

“I’m okay. Are you?”I replied, ignoring the dull ache growing in myneck and head, and casting my eyes over him to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Upon finding him uninjured, a slight pang of relief flushed through me.

“Oh, yes. We’re fine. But I’m afraid your car isn’t,”he said. It was onlynow I realized he had an English accent, and to my surprise, he remained calm, almost sounding jovial.

Maybe I wasn’t going to get shouted at after all.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened. I hit the brakes but the cardidn’t stop. I think I might have hit some ice,”I explained quickly, looking behind me and hoping to see a patch of ice to back up my claim. When I didn’t see anything, I side-stepped him to check how badly damaged our cars were.

I cursed under my breath when I saw how bad it was. Therewere no two ways about it, my car was fucked.

I must have collided harder with the Bentley than I’d initially thought.Either that or the beast of the SUV was made with reinforced metal, which was highly likely seeing as the front of my Honda was completely crumpled, while the Bentley had escaped with only a tiny dent.

“Accidents happen, Miss,”the man said, having followed me aroundto where our cars were almost touching.“The main thing is, you’re not hurt. Besides, the insurance policy will cover the damages.”

Fuck.

I didn’t have insurance.

Yeah, I was aware of how damn stupid that was, but I could barelyafford to put gas in the car, let alone insure it. I figured that if I drove it only to and from work, and drove super carefully, then it was a risk I could take.

Wasn’t that biting me on the ass now?

I didn’t reply. Instead, I crouched down to look at the damage to theBentley, my stomach plummeting to the soles of shoes as panic consumed every inch of my body. Even if it was just a small dent, how much would it cost to fix the bodywork on a car like this?

The panic wrapped around my lungs, gripping it so tight that I couldn’tbreathe.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Miss? You’ve gone very white,”the mansaid, coming to hover beside me.

I quickly stood, doing my best to stop the tremble that had started inmy legs from spreading any further. He was going to be so pissed when I told him I didn’t have insurance, and I couldn’t not tell him.

“I’m fine, I...erm…I,”I said, trying to find the words.

“Have you got a recovery service you could use to collect your car?”the man said, interrupting me before I could confess my sins.

For a second, my heart stopped beating.

This was getting worse.

Of course I didn’t have a recovery service.

“Oh, no. It’s fine,”I said, my voice turning high-pitched as despairstarted seeping into my bones.“I only live a few blocks down the road, I’ll just drive it home.”

The man looked at me as if I’d lost my marbles which was a fairobservation, my brain was slowly going into meltdown. It was as clear as day that my car was in zero state to drive anywhere, especially with the pool of fluid now starting to spread onto the road from underneath it.

“Erm, Miss, I don’t think you’ll be able to drive it anywhere,”he said, giving me a look full of pity.“Your front wheel isn’t pointing in the right direction.”

At his words, my eyes landed on the front wheel. How it hadn’t fallenoff when I slammed my door, I didn’t know. I scrubbed a hand down my face in frustration.

What the hell was I going to do? I couldn’t pay for a truck, nor could Ileave the blasted thing abandoned on the side of the road. Brownsville, Oregon was only a small place, it wouldn’t take the cops long to find out who the car belonged to, and I didn’t need them turning up on my doorstep to fine me for dumping it.

Or even worse, sending me to prison because I didn’t haveinsurance.

Before I could come up with any kind of response, a deep, gravellyvoice sounded from behind me.“My driver is right, your car isn’t going anywhere. It’s not safe.”

I turned to find who the newcomer was, and instantly regretted myself-imposed ban on all men. But it was probably a good job I had put myself on a ban, otherwise, there was a good chance I would have stripped down naked, right there and then, and begged him to fuck me.

Without knowing a single thing about him, I knew he was the type toturn a woman’s world upside down, before walking away without any fucks given, leaving her broken and in ruins.I’d had my fill of that to last me the rest of my life, thank you very much.

The newcomer towered over my five foot, six inches, and I had to tiltmy head back to look up at him. He oozed power and confidence, and looked like someone you didn’t argue with. I didn’t usually shy away from anyone, yet this man made me feel like finding the nearest corner and huddling in it to protect myself from the heartache he would undoubtedly cause.

His shoulders were wide, and a lean, toned body was evident underhis tight designer suit. A suit that looked as if it cost more money than I made in a year, tips included.

Smatters of two-day-old dark brown stubble graced his strong jawline,the same color as his short hair which had been swept back and held with product, not a single strand out of place.

When my eyes fell to his mouth, I couldn’t help but wonder what itwould be like to feel his stubble rubbing against the apex of my thighs, and my cheeks heated as I tried to push the thought away, especially when his full lips pulled into a knowing smile.

But it was his eyes that caught my attention. Stunning silvery-grayeyes met mine, and a feeling of familiarity crept over me.

Did I know him from somewhere?

No. I was certain I would have remembered a man like him.

“Are you hurt?”he said, rubbing a finger over his mouth.

The movement drew my eyes to his hand, finding the back of itcovered in black ink which disappeared under the sleeve of his suit. From the brief glimpse before I looked away, it appeared like he had tattoos of playing cards and casino chips.

“No, I’m okay,”I replied, my voice filled with the sudden onset ofnerves from the intense stare this beautiful stranger was giving me.

“Good, that was quite a hit,”he replied, his eyes flicking over to thecar, his tone full of concern.

“Yeah. I’m so sorry about your car, I think I must have slid on someice because I hit the brakes but,”I trailed off and waved a hand towards the wreck, indicating what happened next.

“No harm, no foul,”he shrugged.

“Mr. Carson, I was just asking the young lady if she knew of arecovery service who could tow her car,”the driver said, causing both me and the other man to look at him.

Truth be told, I’d forgotten he was there.

“Contact the company we have on file, Brian. We’ll take care of it,”the man said in a no-nonsense tone.

My eyes widened in alarm. As much as I didn’t have any means ofgetting my car towed, I was sure the company he used would be expensive, and I didn’t want to get myself into even more debt.

I owed enough as it was.

“Oh, really, there’s no need! Look, it’ll be fine,”I said, my voicefull of desperation.

By now, my brain was in full meltdown, caused not only by thedespair of the crash, but from the way my body was reacting to the adonis of a man. With the way he smirked, it was as if he knew exactly the effect he was having on me.

Without giving either of them a chance to stop me, and momentarilyforgetting the wheel was fucked, I jumped back in my car and tried to start the ignition.

But as if to confirm my belief that I had somehow managed to piss theuniverse off in another life, my pathetic Honda refused to start.

Fuck my life.