Delta: Rescue: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family) (8 page)

“I need it.”

But what did he need? To avenge the past. His mind raced back to their first interaction, when she stood near a bed, positioned in an eerily similar way, while other women sat on the mattress. His throat closed as he reviewed what he knew then and now. “Where was the other girl?”

“Excuse me?” Her face blanched.

“On the balcony-climbing day, Maddy. Intel said there was another girl.”

“No.” Her cheeks pinked, and her mouth stayed parted as though she had so much more to say.

“Where is she? What did you do for her?” Suddenly, Luke had a glimmer of hope that Maddy Mercier wasn’t the devil. “I don’t want your secrets. Your resources. But I need to know. What happened to her?”

Seconds ticked. “I bought her.”

“What does that mean?”

“To save her.”

Not the devil.
His soul sighed as a hot rush ran through him. Cade had said she was bloodthirsty, but Luke couldn’t stay away and couldn’t believe he was this drawn to depravity. That second, they had a connection—the same target, the same goal. What buzzed between them was more than sexual. It was primal. If Maddy wanted to lose control with him, he’d take it. If she was able to rescue a girl, he’d respect it. Their minds had melded. He’d never met a woman who mirrored him. He’d never met
anyone
who mirrored his demons.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Power and dominance emanated from the chiseled man standing before Maddy. His presence electrified the air and slid over her skin, pulling down her dress and teasing her core. All of this he did without so much as a physical touch. But she was way,
way
in over her head. Never having been kissed, she’d just told a man like Luke to dominate her.

Losing her virginity was going to be awful. But that was her destiny. She sold sex and didn’t know the first thing about it—only how she’d grown up and what she’d been taught. That was to submit, to be trained. Nothing about how she felt on the inside and what she wanted.

Nerves getting the best of her, she wavered but didn’t let him see her fearful excitement. Luke turned, and the visual display of color deeply inked on his skin was beautiful. His back muscles were taut, his shoulders sharp, and the column of his spine trailed into the gym shorts he’d fought in. They covered the well-defined curves of his ass, and she wanted to touch, to really feel the power tied in him.

When he twisted back to her, an erotic storm was playing on his face. His pupils dilated, his skin flushed. “Dress off, beautiful, and get on the bed.”

Trembling, she stepped out of a shoe.

“Woman.” He caught her startled gaze hard, which made her shiver. “I said
dress
.”

This was what she had asked for. Maddy stared at the slingback and slipped it back on, then unzipped the dress. With a simple shrug of her shoulders, the expensive fabric fell away, leaving her in lingerie and heels.

Luke sucked a quiet breath, his eyes drinking her in. As hard and harsh as he was, the savoring appreciation filled her with something in addition to lustful need.

With a nod, she moved to the bed and crawled on, never letting his gaze go.

“On your back.”

She did, tilting her head to keep her focus on him. Luke crossed his thick arms, making his biceps bulge and his forearms flex. His shoulders were broad, and his erection hung heavy in the shorts, which hid nothing.

“Spread your legs for me.”

Her stomach jumped, and her heart stopped, but she did as directed.

He stalked closer to the bed. “Hands above your head, beautiful.”

Again, she did as told. Shivers cascaded over her as he took long strides toward her. He leaned on the edge of the bed, and her nipples were surprisingly hard, and the mound between her legs was hot. An aching neediness coiled deep below her stomach, and she thought if she could hold on to this feeling, she’d be set for a lifetime of daydreams.

“Do not move.” He brought his angry face to hers, with just inches between their lips. His chest didn’t touch her chest, and their arms didn’t glance off one another.

All she wanted to do was feel his skin, but he didn’t give her that gift.

“Not one inch.” As quickly as he had hovered over her, Luke turned, headed to the bathroom, and shut the door.

What?
Tempted to sit up, she closed her eyes and replayed the deep, shaking anger that she could feel he shared and decided
that
was the kind of energy she wanted deep inside her. Maddy didn’t move.

The water turned on, and a realization hit. He was showering. Instantaneously, her mouth watered, and her ears burned. The sounds of him washing, naked and dripping, filled her thoughts.

Her breasts ached for his onslaught as much as her lips wanted to be kissed. Maddy was primed in a way that she didn’t know existed, waiting and wanting. She
needed
him, and that blew her mind, having never
needed
…ever.

Anticipation crackled when the water shut off, and her core clenched, another amazingly new feeling. Seconds turned into years. The door cracked open, and steam and the scent of soap rolled in. Then there he was, towel around his waist, barefoot and focused on her.

The room warmed as steam wafted into the suite. The bedroom was luxurious. The trappings of the Miami penthouse were decadent. Yet the heat burning in Luke’s eyes was the only thing worth looking at. How many hours had he spent sculpting his body to sheer perfection? How many hours had he spent under a tattoo artist’s gun?

Her lips trembled as he towered over her, the shower’s damp warmth making her react with a cascade of shivers. She bit her lip. “What are you going to do?”

“Dominate you, beautiful,” he rasped. “Make you feel more than you ever have before. Just like you asked.”

Her eyes shut as they rolled back, and the grit and scratch of his words ran over her senses. His hands hovered over her skin without making contact, heat radiating from his palms. She imagined how rough they were, maybe calloused, definitely strong. She recalled the possessive hold he had on her, how his long fingers demanded that she behave in her office, her domain.

Luke leaned his handsome face close. He smelled like soap, like clean, virile man. His lips were a dark pink, the hint of dark stubble scratching her cheeks. Without kissing her, his lips hovered close, floating across her cheek and toward her neck. Goose bumps erupted under the trail of almost-not-quite kisses, but neither his hands nor his mouth made contact.

Maddy shifted, unconsciously lifting her hips, arching her back the tiniest of degrees. A moan purred from her mouth, encompassing every deep, dark desire this man was eliciting from her. A fraction of air separated them. Electricity pulsed in her blood, strumming between her legs. “Please.”

He pulled back enough that she knew a lash of his tongue wouldn’t happen, nor would she receive a bite of his teeth.

“You’re teasing me.”

Amusement danced on his face. His erection jutted from under the towel that hung dangerously low around his waist. If only it would fall. If only she could have his rigid length against her.

The tips of his fingers touched her hard nipples. His touch ran an almost nonexistent circle around the tight, lace-covered buds.

“God…” The sensation was astonishing. Her breathing hitched as his fingers drew their path more firmly. The back of his knuckles dragged from one peak to the next, and she found it ironic how the angriest, toughest man she’d ever come across was teasing her with pressure lighter than a breath.

“Why do you do what you do?” he asked as his hand began to explore her stomach, stroking from her breast to the top of her lacy thong.

With the models?
She sucked a breath as his finger dipped into her belly button on the way back up. “Beautiful people make beautiful pictures.”

“Liar.” Down his hand went again. “That’s not why, and I wasn’t talking about Love.”

Her eyes narrowed razor-sharp. “Not what we’re here to talk—”

“Beautiful.” Luke traced the top of the lace band again before following it to her hip and then drifting down that sensitive line where her leg met her mound. He didn’t go past the fabric, didn’t dip under the lace to the skin that was nearly crying for his touch. Just the simple torture he seemed so keen to dole. “I know the cartels, and I know Mercier.” Over her thong-covered clit, he flicked his thumb slowly, making her writhe at the unexpected sensation. “And you aren’t what you seem.”

Panting, she shook her head. “You don’t know as much as you think you do.”

“I know there’s a woman hard and cold as she is fragile and hot, lying before me, begging me to take away her ability to say no, her control, her attitude. I know—”

“I’m not fragile,” she hissed, but for the first time in her life, she was…
hot
. Every time she thought she couldn’t feel more explosive, he ramped her up again.

He laughed quietly as though he could read the desperation in her soul. “You’re something.” He bent, still not kissing her, but she could feel the heat from his lips hovering over her hip bone. “What do you like?”

Her eyes sank shut again, out of her control. “
That.
”

“Specific, baby.”

“I don’t know. Please.”

His hands trailed up her thighs. “You want me here?”

She nodded, nearly moaning. “Yes.”

His hands skipped to her stomach, smoothing over her breast. “Or here?”

“There too.” Her skin was on fire, needling her to the point of insanity.

His black eyes burned into her skin. The look smoldered as much as it scared her. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous. You wanna take my cock, you’re gonna learn it’s the best you’ve ever had.”

His lips hit her neck, making her gasp, making her insane. She lost her mind, lost her censor. “It’ll be the only I’ve ever had.”

He froze and inched over her face. All of the emotion that had heated his cheeks and fired his gaze went flat. “
What?
”

“I…”

His face twisted. “What kind of game is that?”

“Uh, never mind. I—I don’t know—”

“I’m not one of your sickos wanting a fucking virgin. I am
not
your clients.” He pushed away. “I can’t believe this.”

She sat up, embarrassed and angry at who she was. “It’s not what you think.”

“Un-fucking-believable. I don’t need this crap.” Luke turned from her coldly and grabbed his shorts, stepping into them and complaining about the evils of traffickers before he left her alone on the bed.

Devastated, she twisted to watch him walk out. Words to stop him wouldn’t come as unfurling desolation twisted her into the fetal position. Hot tears slid over her cheeks, the first time she’d cried over how screwed up she was.

* * * *

Luke’s heart slammed in his chest as he reached the elevator.
A virgin?
Bullshit.
That was the biggest load of crap. He punched the button and wanted to cling to the wall for fear he’d run back to Maddy’s suite, strip her thong, and fuck her until they both came, screaming to the heavens that nothing could be better. Because she was a liar.

What the hell was his problem? She was the very definition of what he despised, and he’d almost…almost done everything she asked for because he couldn’t say no. She held a power over him like nothing he’d ever experienced. He hated her for the attraction as much as for her past. Never had cock before? Bullshit! What level of screwed up was she?

The elevator chimed, and as he jumped in, his mind raced to the team. Cade knew he’d gone out to get his fighting fix, but if he heard Luke left with her, that’d be problematic.

Still bare chested and looking like he did—angry, dangerous, and horny as all hell—he earned his fair share of second glances from hotel guests. Surely someone was going to send security up to the penthouse to make sure Maddy was still kicking. He laughed. It’d take quite the man to fuck up that woman. She was ice cold, a total lunatic. A stabbing sensation hit his chest—
if someone did hurt her, or if she hadn’t been lying…
He shook his head. If someone hurt her, one fewer trafficker would exist. That was his goal in life, so what did he care if this one was a pretty face who had never been touched?

Her words haunted his memory. What was her promise—she wasn’t like what she seemed? That she had more than a surface-level need to retaliate. Who bought women only to save them? No one. Except Madeleine Mercier.

Luke ran his hands over his face as he exited the hotel. He had miles to his crash pad, and rolling his shoulders once, he took off at a run. He’d push himself again, hoping to feel a burn in his muscles, and maybe that ache would draw out the sweet sound of her voice trying to explain how she’d never been with a man before.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Mercier office did not possess the same swank feel as Love. Maddy acted different here. Cold, more ruthless.

Hale loomed over what was basically a negotiation. His sidearm on his waist and his bulky arms crossed over his wide chest, he looked the part he was to play, the muscle. Sitting in front of her was Felipe Rivera’s great uncle, a wealthy cartel man who wanted to throw money at the Mercier-Rivera problem. The man didn’t want bad blood between their families, and he was making amends for Felipe, who had already been sprung from federal custody. But US federal agents were not Rivera’s concern. He was concerned that she would exact her revenge against Felipe, which she would, and he wanted to make sure Papa was not irritated, which he was.

Maddy pursed her lips together. “Nothing, Mr. Rivera, that you’ve said changes my mind.”

He’d gone from haughty to indignant to knowing. A thin sheen of sweat decorated his forehead. Miami’s harsh heat wasn’t making him perspire. The office was cool, almost to the point of cold. The uncertainty that danced in his eyes was an indication of fear. “We’re all in business together.”

“
We
are not.”

“To some extent—”