Surrender in Crime: A Hilarious Binge-Worthy Romantic Suspense

By Elise Sax

Ever since Piper walked out of the Redwood Forest, naked and amnesiac, she’s been desperate to find out who she is and why so many people want her dead. Now, engaged to be married to the love of her life, she’s about to discover the truth of her identity. Will it derail her plans, her relationship, and her happiness, or will she finally get her happy ending with a fresh beginning?

Surrender in Crime is the fourth and final book in the Partners in Crime Chronicles series. It is a funny international action-adventure romantic suspense.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elise Sax
• Release date: Apr 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005215613

Elise Sax

USA Today bestselling author Elise Sax writes hilarious happy endings. She worked as a journalist, mostly in Paris, France for many years but always wanted to write fiction. Finally, she decided to go for her dream and write a novel. She was thrilled when An Affair to Dismember, the first in the Matchmaker Series, was sold at auction to Ballantine.Elise is an overwhelmed single mother of two boys in Southern California. She's an avid traveler, a beginner dancer, an occasional piano player, and an online shopping junkie.Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theelisesax?ref=hlFriend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ei.sax.9Or just send her an email: [e-mail] can also visit her website and get a free novella: elisesax.com

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

There was nothing sexy about the Washington D.C. hotel room. It was obviously designed for lobbyists and traveling businessmen. USB ports were all over it to plug in phones, computers, and whatever other devices the D.C. influence peddlers needed for their work. The bar was well-stocked to soothe the stress from their high-powered jobs.

The room was high up with a view of the city to remind travelers why they were there, and the televisions were all set to a business network.

Yep, there was nothing sexy about it.

Even the luxurious linen on the king-sized bed screamed all business instead of all pleasure.

But even so, Peter was turned on.

All the way on.

So turned on that he was bursting out of his pants. His pulse was racing. His face was hot. If he didn’t get some relief soon, there would be a testosterone explosion that would take down the whole building.

The object of his desire wasn’t the bar or the executive desk in the corner of the room. Instead, the object of his desire was a hot-blooded woman with a thick mane of flame-red hair that caressed her shoulders and blue eyes that had the power to turn Peter into Jell-O with one look.

Peter had first met her when she was stark naked, which was an excellent way to appreciate Piper Landry.

Her heavy breasts, her taut, flat belly, her luscious hips, and her legs that went from here all the way to there and then some, all added to one hell of a woman.

His woman.

She had just agreed to marry him, and now he could call her his fiancée. She had amnesia and didn’t know who she was, and he was a retired superspy, unemployed and stupid happy. He felt like a little kid at Christmas. They had found their happy ending.

Why are you looking at me like that? Piper asked him.

She was sitting on the couch with her knees up to her chest and holding the last half of a Toblerone chocolate bar up to her mouth. She took a bite and chewed. Chocolate stained her lips and her chin.

I was just thinking how sexy you look in chocolate.

Peter loosened his tie and tossed it on a chair.

I haven’t eaten a thing yet, today, Piper said and took another bite of the Swiss chocolate. Chocolate has more phenolic antioxidants than pretty much any other food. Besides, you haven’t fed me. You know, a husband needs to feed his wife.

Peter took a couple steps toward her. I thought the wife does the cooking.

Who said anything about cooking? Nuh-uh. I never want to cook. Not even toast. Uh-oh. Why are you looking at me like that? That’s not a chocolate look. That’s some kind of other look. Something…scary. Predatory. Like a superspy mixed with a gorilla.

Peter shook his head and smiled, never taking his eyes off of her. Not scary. I was just ruminating about seducing you with my suit on. I’ve never done that before.

Piper finished her Toblerone and licked her fingers, which made Peter strain even more against his pants, as he sucked air between his teeth in agony. How much could a man take? Did she know how crazy she drove him?

What’re you talking about? You always wear a suit, and you’re always seducing me.

Piper lowered her knees and tucked her feet under her, as she leaned against the arm of the couch, driving Peter mad with desire. He made up the space between them in two loping strides. That wasn’t hard for him since, at six-foot-six, a stride was a good portion of the large room.

Kneeling down in front of her, he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it tenderly. "Yes, but I’ve never seduced you all the way with my suit on. I took my tie off, but I can put it on in no time. I’m a pro at tying ties."

Piper’s eyes twinkled, and her lips twitched, as if she was trying not to smile, but it was really hard.

Speaking of hard…

What’re we talking about here? she asked. "When you say all the way, do you mean something special or just the usual all the way, but in Armani?"

Peter grabbed at his chest with both of his hands. "You wound me, Piper. I’m wounded. The usual? Are you saying we’re in a rut? I thought we were rockin’ in that department."

Piper shrugged and studied the fingernails on her right hand. I have amnesia, so I have nothing to compare it to. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the only man I’ve ever slept with.

I can assure you that sex with me is off-the-charts and far above any sex you could ever have with any other man on the planet.

You assure me?

Peter crossed his arms in front of him. I assure you.

She locked eyes with him and arched an eyebrow ever-so-slightly. But how do I know? Maybe three orgasms a night isn’t much. Maybe other men could give me six. Or more.

Peter sputtered and coughed, trying to get words out, but he couldn’t. Had he not been satisfying the woman he loved? Had he failed her while he had been experiencing the most mind-blowing sex he had ever experienced?

He had failed her.

He had been selfish.

He was a cad.

Piper laughed, cutting the tension. You look like a little boy whose new bike was stolen. She grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him close to her. Don’t you know what you do to me, Peter Bolton? Her voice turned deep and gravely, serious and filled with emotion. You turn my blood hot and molten. Each pore of my skin turns alive with your touch. I walk around, half-crazed with arousal when you hold my hand.

That all sounds pretty good, Peter noted, feeling greatly relieved. Piper’s breath smelled like chocolate. Delicious, like the rest of her.

Suddenly, he was starving.

But not for chocolate.

He craved only Piper.

Very good, she said. "Not pretty good. So, I think you should Armani me."

Peter sat up straight. Really?

Really. Armani me all the way.

Should I put my tie back on?

Not necessary. Armani me with no tie, like in a nice restaurant but not snooty.

He didn’t need more of an invitation than that. Grabbing her ankles, he pulled her down until she was sitting on the edge of the couch. Still kneeling in front of her, Peter put his hands behind her knees and brought his lips to the inside of her thighs.

Piper was warm and salty, and she squirmed under his kisses. His lips traveled up, and he felt her skin come alive for him. She scooted down a little to give him better access, but he stopped her with one strong hand.

No, he ordered. Armani sex means I’m in charge.

She answered with a soft moan that almost set him off there and then. He took a breath to calm himself. No matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn’t rush the first time he made love to Piper after asking her to marry him.

His fingers followed the trail taken by his mouth until he removed her panties and separated her legs.

Beautiful, he muttered, delighted to see Piper blush all the way down her body.

Continuing his journey with his mouth, he rose up on his knees and felt the warmth of her sweep through him. He was lightly aware of her shallow breathing, but more than that he didn’t know because he was entirely focused as Piper allowed him to explore her. He spread her legs further to reveal her swollen mound.

With one sweep of his tongue, he knew she was ready for him. More than ready. Her breath grew more ragged, and he slowed down, wanting to draw out her pleasure as long as possible.

Peter, she breathed.

The word uttered from her mouth hit him with such force that he finally had to free himself, unzipping his pants while he never stopped making love to her with his mouth. He felt her arousal rise under him, matching his own.

The moment for keeping things slow had passed, not that he could have stopped the forward momentum of Piper’s climax. Her flesh trembled under his rough beard, and her hips arched upward. Her breathing took on a furious pace, and her hands flew to Peter’s head, her fingers combing through his hair and grabbing on as if she was afraid that he would disappear at the very moment she found her release.

But he didn’t disappear. He made love to her with his mouth, his tongue, his lips as her body was wracked with waves of pleasure until she settled into a post-climax stupor. Her hands dropped to her sides, and Peter placed her on the couch so she was lying flat. He positioned himself over her, nestling his pelvis between her open legs.

She was wet and ready for him, and he was engorged, painfully ready for her.

Peter entered her inch by inch and almost immediately felt her core clench around his girth. He groaned and willed himself not to give in to his unyielding arousal. With more urgency, he drove himself deep into the woman he loved.

It was like this always with Piper. They fit together perfectly, like they were made for each other. Soulmates. Bodymates. They had never failed to satisfy each other. When they connected, it was like coming home.

So easy. So perfect.

Piper wrapped her legs around him and put her hands behind his head and brought him down toward him to kiss him slowly with heart-breaking passion. She had revived to remind him that she was his and he was hers, all with the brush of her lips on his and her tongue exploring his mouth. No, not exploring. Conquering.

And that was it. Peter broke into a million little pieces, floating on air and emptying himself into Piper, giving all of himself to her, including his heart.

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But that was hours ago.

Now, Peter wasn’t aroused, excited, or the littlest bit turned on. In fact, he wouldn’t have been at all surprised to discover that his balls had been sucked up into his body completely.

That’s because he was face to face with Igor Fodor, who was calling Peter’s Piper Irina.

Igor spoke English perfectly, like he had been born and raised in Phoenix or Los Angeles. He had glanced briefly at Peter, but then diligently ignored him as he spoke only with Piper.

His Piper, according to the sixty-something man with thick, gray hair and ice-blue eyes. He was tall and trim and wore slacks and a gray, button-down shirt. His voice was rough, a smoker, Peter assumed.

You raised me? Piper asked Igor.

Peter could barely hear her, and he knew that she was half in shock. He put his arm around her shoulders and wanted to whisk her away from there. Protect her.

Since she had emerged from the forest in Northern California with amnesia, she had been desperate to find out who she was. And Peter had wanted to help her. He wanted to return her identity back to her. He would do anything to make her happy.

But now, when it looked like the curtain was going to be pulled back not by the Wizard of Oz, but by a man named Igor in a cheap suit, Peter’s fight-or-flight response was kicking in like a nuclear bomb, and he didn’t know if he had the strength to stay there and risk hearing the truth, which might separate him from the woman he loved.

From the time you were a baby, he said. Well, I was the one who raised you from when you were a toddler. But you know that. I don’t understand. You’re looking at me like you don’t recognize me.

I don’t, she said. Her voice broke, and her eyes filled with tears. Peter gave her a gentle squeeze of support. I have amnesia.

Amnesia? Igor asked, clearly surprised.

Amnesia, Peter repeated, but Igor ignored him, still only focusing on Piper.

Peter found me in the Redwood Forest. I had no memory. I only knew my name, she explained.

She also knew her bank account number with more than three hundred million dollars in it, but Peter was happy to notice that she omitted that piece of information from Igor. She must not have trusted him the same way Peter didn’t.

Igor leaned back and sat on the edge of a desk. He rubbed his jaw. Amnesia? That explains so much. Not that I doubted you. They wanted me to doubt you, but I refused. But now, amnesia or no, it’s time for you to come home.

Piper leaned forward. Where’s home?

Siberia. Listen, Malishka, you must come home to Siberia with me.

CHAPTER 2

Piper tried to close her mouth, but her brain refused to communicate with the rest of her body. Not that anyone could blame her for the breakdown in her neurological and muscular systems. After all, she just found out that she was from Siberia.

Siberia?

Piper was an amnesiac, but she had a ready stream of trivial facts at all times. Now, her brain was telling her that the average temperature in Siberia in December was minus forty-three Celsius. She managed to keep that bit of information to herself. Normally, she blurted out trivia as it came to her, but since her mouth wasn’t working, Igor and Peter would just have to stay in the dark about that peppy little factoid.

Piper didn’t want to be from Siberia. Actually, she didn’t care where she was from. But she didn’t want to go back there. It was unthinkable that she would ever leave Peter, but there was something about Igor that made her believe that her life truly was in Siberia and by his side, and that she would have to leave with him.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she tried to will them not to fall, but they did anyway. She swiped at them with the back of her hand, and Peter held her tighter.

Funny, you don’t sound Siberian, Peter told Igor.

Igor ignored him and spoke only to Piper. I’m very serious. You must come with me. You don’t understand the situation.

But he wouldn’t explain the situation, not that Piper felt she was ready to hear about it. She had enough information to deal with for the moment. And more than that, Igor was familiar to her. It was like trying to search for a word that was at the tip of her tongue,