Sweet Surrender: Mari & Ki (A Royal Vow Novel Book 1) Read online

  Sweet Surrender

  BY: LIZABETH SCOTT

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  Join my blog at: http://lizabethscottauthor.blogspot.com

  Or email me directly at: [email protected]

  Copyright 2014

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, currently known or future inventions except as may be expressly permitted in writing from [email protected]

  This ebook is legally placed by author, Lizabeth Scott at the following ebook retailers. iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. If you received this book from a different source you have illegally downloaded Sweet Surrender and have obtained it by a method not intended by the author.

  The Royal Vow Novels

  Sweet Royal Beginnings – Novella Jane & Mikal

  Sweet Surrender – Mari & Ki

  Sweet Denial – Ella & Zahir

  Sweet Seduction – Kassie & Taj

  Sweet Temptation – Chellie & Siran

  Hearts of Gold (Coming 2015)

  A Sheik for Rose

  A Music Star for Annie

  A Cowboy for Mary

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Sweet Surrender

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Recipe

  Next in Line

  Chapter One

  “Ben Helmsley, you did not just do that! What will your wife think? She trusts you and here you go and do something like that! You better be glad that I stopped you before it went any further.” Every time Ben came in, it was always the same thing. All the girls knew to watch out for him. He had the slipperiest fingers in town.

  “You keep those hands where I can see them mister. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Mari grabbed his plate from under his repentant sixty-two year old nose and hid her smile as she quickly made her way to the bar.

  She tore the top sheet from her order pad, sat her drink tray on the bar, and disposed of Ben’s pilfered cake. She placed the dirty glasses from her tray in the washtub with a hidden smile on her face. Ben always tried to sneak sweets. His wife tried to keep him away from sugar due to his diabetes, but Ben didn’t always go along with her wishes.

  “Another round Sam,” she watched to make sure Sam heard her over all the music and laughing. Mari looked at her watch and took a minute to lean against the counter to rest her feet and back. Three more hours and her long ten hour day would be over. She stretched her neck from side to side and promised her feet a long soak before bed. Looking back at Ben, Mari couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as he grimaced after each bite of his sugar free pudding.

  Mari Roe had been lucky to find a full time job in the small town of Pikeville, North Carolina. What had once been a thriving textile mill community was now home to only those that were fortunate enough to find employment in other areas when the mill shut down. Many had to move to larger cities to find work.

  At the age of 17, her entire world changed. Mari had no choice other than to become a full time waitress at Obie’s Bar and Grill. After a long battle with cancer, her mom had died, leaving her responsible for her sister Ella. As the sole provider for herself and a 12 year old, Mari grew up fast. In an instant, she went from being a carefree high school senior with dreams of college to a high school dropout with bills to pay. Not once had Mari ever regretted her decision.

  Mari had to sell everything she could, their home, most of their furniture, and even the car to pay her mom’s hospital, medical, and funeral bills. With what little was left over, she was able to purchase a small two bedroom duplex and put a little into a college fund for Ella.

  Now at 23, Mari had been able to get her GED while working a forty hour week and turned a hobby that she enjoyed with her mom into a way to make ends meet. Baking for the few businesses around town not only provided a way to bring much needed cash in, but it also made Mari feel close to her mom. Someday she hoped to open her own bakery.

  “Can you believe these costumes?” Mari said to Sara, a friend and co-worker, as Sara emptied her tray full of dirty glasses in the washtub and joined Mari. “I think Jenna May miss-judged my size.” While waiting for her drink orders, Mari pulled and tugged on her top trying to contain all of her size thirty-six D charms. There was more cleavage showing than she was comfortable with.

  “Hmm,” Sara gave Mari the once over. “There does seem to be an overabundance. Maybe you could tuck some extra napkins in there.” Laughing, both girls picked up their loaded trays and headed back to the party. “Too bad that top is wasted on a room full of women. You could really rack up the tips,” Sara popped her gum and said as they entered the room full of noisy women.

  Tonight’s bachelorette party had a Desert Nights theme, complete with harem girl costumes for the waitresses to wear. The party was in full swing with tequila shots already going around. Jenna May, the owner, loved to throw theme parties and all the waitresses were supplied with a costume that they were required to wear. Jenna May was all for whatever worked and brought in business.

  The girls met once again back at the bar for refills and picked their conversation right back up. “Jenna May has really gone overboard this time. Do you remember the Hawaiian luau she did for the old folk’s home? The hula dancers about sent the old guys into cardiac arrest!” Sara’s imitation sent Mari into a laughing fit.

  Mari couldn’t believe some of the parties Jenna May had thrown over the years. “I know these parties make for a very long day, but they are entertaining. And the overtime and tips sure are nice. I have my eye on the perfect pair of shoes for Ella. Tonight’s tips should just about do it.”

  “Mari, can you clean table six while I mix these?” Sam, a retired Marine, had been the bartender at Obie’s since it opened. While gruff looking on the outside, he really was just a sweetheart. But he could quickly take care of any dis-respecting customers if need be.

  “Sure, Sam.” Mari picked up the mop rag and clean-up tub, and headed to table six. She wiped down the table while staring out the window and dreamed about soaking her poor feet. The big black vehicle that pulled into the parking lot grabbed her attention. It certainly didn’t belong in town.

  “Sara, will you look at that?” Mari watched as the Hummer limousine parked. “Oh my goodness, Jenna May really got a winner this time!” Mari couldn’t believe her eyes.

  Sara turned to see what Mari found so fascinating. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s has to be the entertainment for tonight, right? With a vehicle like that, they probably came all the way from Charlotte.” Mari walked closer to the window and she got a glimpse of a white pant leg as it stepped from the vehi
cle.

  “White pants? That’s something you don’t see around here.” Local men wear jeans or maybe Dockers if they really wanted to be dressy. White anything and red Carolina clay just didn’t mix. But then the vision got even better when that leg was joined by the other leg, which brought the perfect male specimen along with them. “Wow,” both girls said in unison.

  “Well would you look at that.” Wide, muscular, make-your-jaw-drop shoulders draped in a white shirt emerged from the limo. Mari’s gaze continued upward to a strong square jawline and full sensual lips. The dark sunglasses that sat on his nose caused Mari a moment of annoyance. She needed to see his eyes. His long dark wavy hair was trimmed to just brush the top of his collar. It looked like he had just run his fingers through it which made her personal regions go into a tizzy. Two more huge dark haired men in black suits exited the limo and surrounded the obvious headliner for tonight’s bachelorette party.

  Finally Mari closed her mouth and took a breath, something she seemed to have forgotten to do since the trio came into sight. “Jenna May outdid herself alright. With those guys dancing, tonight may go down in the record books.”

  “You’re right Mari. Sally’s bachelorette party is going to be the hit of the year.”

  Mari stared at the threesome while she finished wiping down table six. The one in white said something to the two gorilla sized guys and then took off towards the door.

  “Oh no Sara, they are coming in the front door. They’ll spoil the surprise.” Mari took off towards the door, “Don’t worry, I’ll head them off and send them around back so they don’t spoil the surprise.”

  Prince Kiliad SuMartra exited the limo, frustrated by the weather that had caused an unscheduled landing and forced him to continue his trip by road. Something he detested. He was to meet with the President the next morning, a meeting which his father was supposed to attend. An unexpected illness resulted in Ki being called in from the training field only minutes before his plane was due to take off without even time to change his clothes. He was not looking forward to a three hour drive to the closest airport to pick up a helicopter to Washington.

  He had not seen much in the way of civilization for the past hour. But, at least they were able to finally locate a restaurant. Well, Ki thought it was a restaurant. As hungry as he was, he didn’t even mind that it was American food. Having attended Stanford University, he was quite fond of American cheeseburgers and pizza, but of course, it was not his preference.

  Ki chuckled at the absurd image of a petite harem girl racing towards him. He blinked to clear his vision. Yep, she was still there. His eyes slowly wandered from her golden slippers, past the sheer multi-color fabric covering very shapely legs that peaked out of the flowing fabric with each step.

  The low riding cerulean bottoms showed off the most adorable belly button. Further up, her breasts spilled from a low cut mid-drift top in the same blue shade. Ki couldn’t help but think that they were perfectly fit for his hands. Her hair was a deep chestnut color with golden highlights flying behind her as she came closer with a determined look on her face. Ki couldn’t help but smile at the image of the tiny warrior as she approached.

  Breathing in as she neared, his nostrils flared, picking up the clean floral scent of her fragrance. He couldn’t wait for her to come closer. He was fascinated with the bizarre woman in front of him.

  His two bodyguards halted her progress, he heard her low and slow unmistakable southern drawl. That voice coming out of that body awakened a need in him so intense he had to physically stop himself from growling at his bodyguards to get away from her.

  “Hey!” Mari said as the two gorilla sized men in dark suits quickly blocked her. She slowly ran her eyes over them from top to bottom. Mari was very impressed with the width of their shoulders and the fit of their dark suits. Nice…very nice.

  She tore her gaze away from gorilla number one, “Wow! Jenna May spared no expense did she?” Switching her eyes to gorilla number two she had to tilt her head back to look into his eyes, “Do you guys have the white outfits too?” Nothing. Not a sound.

  Biting her lower lip, she looked from one gorilla to the other and tried not to let their size intimidate her. “Well, I guess ya’ll don’t have to talk with bodies like that.”

  The gorilla on the right gave her a slightly upward grimace. Mari had never felt so small in her life. At five feet five inches tall, she considered herself of average height. But she had never felt as insignificant in size as she did standing between these guys. Maybe it was because they were not only tall, but wide as well.

  She so didn’t like the fact that the gorilla guys were not only ignoring her but they were also blocking her from getting to her main target, the guy in white. In her best don’t mess with me voice, she tried again. “Listen. Ya’ll need to go around to the back.” She felt like stamping her foot for emphasis, but she didn’t think it would do any good either.

  Mari watched as the man in white unsuccessfully tried to hide his smile. He nodded at the gorillas, and they moved aside. Finding her way to him now unblocked, Mari walked closer, miffed that he was amused. The closer she got to him, the warmer her body became. Clearing her throat she hoped she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt. She stopped in front of him, silently wishing he would remove his glasses. “You really do need to go around to the backdoor.”

  Even with her slippers on, she doubted the top of her head would reach the top of his shoulders. “The girls are already here. If you go in the front door, they’ll see you. You have about an hour before show time. So…you need to go around to the back door.”

  Ki tried to focus on her words instead of the smooth way her voice washed over him. At first, he didn’t realize she thought he was there as some sort of show. “I can assure you that I am no one’s entertainment, unless you would like for me to entertain you.”

  His exotic accent sent a shiver down Mari’s spine. Finally, he removed his sunglasses. Mari’s mouth dropped open as she gazed into deep blue eyes. She couldn’t stop herself from closing the remaining distance between them. With each step she took, she fell a little deeper into his eyes. A force propelled her to within only a few inches of his body, and it still didn’t seem close enough.

  Ki’s eyes roamed over her, “While I do appreciate, very much, what you are wearing, I can’t help but wonder…why you are dressed like that?”

  Dazed, Mari couldn’t process his words. Instead, eyes moved to the pulsing vein in his neck. What would it feel like to run her tongue over that beating vein? “Wha…what?”

  “Did my father send you?” It would be just like his father to send him an American harem girl!

  Finally, his questions registered, breaking her trance. “The…the bachelorette party.” She was finally able to get out. “Aren’t you here to dance? And I don’t know your father, is he from around here?” Mari couldn’t understand why she was feeling all warm and tingling just from staring at his neck. She must have been watching entirely too many vampire movies.

  His bodyguards laugh startled her as she looked up into his smiling eyes. “No, I am definitely not here as the entertainment.” Ki noticed that her nipples were pebbled and her breathing had quickened. He was pleased she was aroused by him as well.

  “We stopped to eat. You do serve food at this establishment, don’t you?” Now that she was closer, Ki could see her eyes. He couldn’t decide if they were blue or green. They reminded him of the ocean waters surrounding his country. Aquamarine eyes, in which he would happily drown.

  Mari’s eyes once again returned to his neck, “Yes, we serve food. The best chicken fried steak you will ever taste.” She moved her questioning eyes to stare into his, “You mean you’re not one of Jenna May’s dancers?” Her nails dug into her hands to keep them from reaching to touch him, she felt her face flush. She wanted to see if he felt as hard and strong as he looked.

  “I am sorry to disappoint you but I am not the entertainment. We are only here for a meal.” N
ot giving her a choice, he began to walk towards the door. Mari had to run to keep up with him.

  “Join me. You can fill me in on this chicken fried steak.” The two gorillas rushed to take the lead and opened the door. All Mari could see were three very impressive backsides and ran to keep up.

  Inside Obie’s, every head turned to stare at the group as they entered. Mari, fixated on the tight backside closest to her, which just happened to be covered in white, didn’t notice the trio had stopped. She slammed into him before she knew what was happening.

  Strong arms quickly captured her and stopped her forward fall. Mari leaned in, tucking her head under his chin, and inhaled his musky scent. She was dazed, in his arms she felt exactly like where she was meant to be. With effort, she peeled herself away, and tried to get her body to stop tingling.

  “Thanks. You guys can sit anywhere. I’ll just get ya’ll some menus and be right back.” She rushed behind the counter and retrieved three menus, her order pad, and hopefully her self-control.

  Chapter Two

  “OK sister, spill it. Who are those guys? Are they dancers for tonight? The one in white is really hot!” Sara whispered to Mari as she rushed behind the counter to get her order from the pick-up window.

  “They’re not dancers. I have no idea who they are. They just came in to get something to eat. I think I’m getting sick.” She pulled at her top again and decided it was hopeless. Mari gave up on covering any more skin with the amount of fabric provided.

  “Oh honey, what’s wrong? Do you need me to cover for you? The flu has been going around. Do you think you are getting it?” Sara touched Mari’s forehead with her wrist, “You do look flushed, but you don’t feel like you have a fever.”

  “Sara, pick up!” Sam eyed them both, which, in Sam language, meant stop gabbing and get back to work.

  “Maybe it’s nothing. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” That was the only explanation Mari could come up with. She felt her forehead, maybe she was getting sick. That had to be the reason she had felt so hot and shaky inside. But she felt okay now.