Mercy (10 page)

Jarrett had been the one man to make her rethink the life plan. Even undercover, she shared bits and pieces of her real backstory. Let him know she’d once been a pawn and never wanted to play the role again.

For him, she’d debated leaving the job. Just walking away from the only adult life she’d ever known. Then she found the drugs, and the allegations proved true and her world crumbled.

“It’s not working.” He delivered the blow without moving or even raising his voice.

Everything inside her froze. “Meaning?”

“I can’t keep doing this.”

“I still don’t get what you’re saying.”

He sat up, not bothering to cover his bare body as he propped his back up on the pillows and threw an arm behind his head. “It’s too much.”

“Jarrett, really, what are you talking about?”

“Forget it.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. “Tell me what you need.”

Maybe it was the coaxing in his voice or the feel of his skin, but the list she meant to dribble out in pieces came pouring out. “Computer access, any files you’ve collected on me, Spectrum and my team, and don’t bother saying you don’t have them. You know things about my work and the very fact Spectrum exists, or did. You shouldn’t know any of it.”

“Yet, I do.”

“I also need any background, documents and articles about the deaths of my team members so I can look for a pattern in how they were eliminated.”

He cleared his throat, but he looked like he really wanted to laugh. “Gee, is that all?”

Having gone this far, Becca didn’t see a reason to go back now. “No.”

“Did you miss my sarcasm?”

She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. “I want access to Sebastian Jameson.”

Jarrett’s muscles tightened to the point of snapping. She could see each one freeze in place and half expected to hear cracking as the tension running through him and mirrored on the grim line of his mouth caused something important to break.

His eyes narrowed but he did not drop her hand. “Excuse me?”

“He got you out of the CIA charges. He might know something helpful.”

“He knows how to negotiate.”

“I don’t believe for one second he managed to clear the charges and your name and hand your life back to you because he was top of his class at law school. He had information. From you or from somewhere else, and I need it.”

This time Jarrett did let go of her hand. With his palms at his sides, he pressed against the mattress and sat up even higher. “You understand what you’re asking, right?”

“We’re talking about my life.”

“You could be talking about mine.”

There it was again. A one-liner that didn’t fit and begged for more. “Explain that.”

He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. His gaze went to the floor and around the room. “I’ll consider the request. Some of it, not all.”

“Wait a second.” She lunged forward and grabbed his wrist before he could pull away. The clothing search could wait. “You just said you would give me what I need.”

“No, I asked you what you wanted.” He just stood there. Not pulling away but not holding on either.

“Verbal gymnastics.”

“You heard what you wanted to hear.”

She dropped his hand as she scrambled to her knees. Something about half lying across the bed right now seemed wrong. “Jarrett, we’re not playing a game here.”

“We’re not playing house either.”

She threw up her hands. “Care to expand on that? I mean, you’re a bit more cryptic than necessary this morning.”

“You can’t ply me with sex.” He walked to the end of the bed and scooped his pants off the floor.

“You think I’m trying?” The direction of the conversation had her head spinning. Just a few minutes ago they were all over each other. Entwined and open. His kisses had touched off a firestorm inside her and now he rebuilt that cold wall between them.

He was making her crazy.

He didn’t fight back. Didn’t even rise to the challenge. He just shrugged. “Sure feels like it.”

“Did you ever think I am in your bed because I want to be?” The question sat out there in the ringing quiet. She stared at him, refusing to break eye contact while mentally making him deal with her instead of running away.

“I bought that line from you once before and it landed me in jail.”

She jumped out of bed and stood in front of him. When he started to fold his pants, she tore them out of his hand and threw them on the bed. “That’s what you get for dealing drugs.”

“Last time, Becca. So, listen the fuck up.” He pointed at her as an icy darkness moved into his eyes. “I have never used drugs and certainly never sold drugs. You can lay a lot of shit at my feet, but never that.”

“I saw—”

He yelled right over her. “You got played.”

“By whom?”

He picked up his pants and threw them over his shoulder. “For the last eight months I assumed you were the mastermind, but since we both got played, who knows.”

The fight whooshed out of her as his arguments bombarded her brain. “I didn’t set you up.”

“So, you keep saying.”

“Do you really think I wanted you to go to jail?” Once out, the words left an ache behind.

“I thought you wanted me.” He put his hand behind her neck and brought her head in close.

A rough kiss singed her hair.

“Jarrett, we need—”

Then he walked to the door, sparing her one last look. “Shows how stupid I was back then.”

EL
E
VEN

The next night Wade finally closed his eyes after a long shift downstairs on the floor. Grown men went to battle over a parking space. Another guy tried to hide a cocaine problem while running to the bathroom every few minutes. Thanks to Jarrett’s no-drugs policy, Wade had an excuse to escort that fucker out for good. Wade came back to find another idiot who had bounced two monthly payments at the bar still expecting service.

It had been a hell of a night.

The way Wade saw it, a percentage of the membership needed a priority check. He rolled onto his side and tucked an arm under his pillow to prop up his head. Tomorrow would be soon enough to work out all the club problems. Now he needed sleep.

“I screwed up.”

At the sound of Elijah’s voice, Wade’s eyes popped back open and his muscles tensed. “What?”

“When I lost my temper yesterday and put you in the middle.”

Wade didn’t need a road map for this conversation. After the showdown, Wade had unloaded on Eli and gotten hit with the silent treatment in response.

Turning onto his back, Wade opened both eyes and stared at the exposed pipes on the ceiling above the bed. In the next second, Eli moved and his face swam in front of Wade. “Jarrett is not a man you fuck with.”

“I have the bullet wound to prove that.” Eli balanced on his elbow, hovering close as his hand flattened against Wade’s chest.

“I’m serious.”

Elijah’s fingers tightened into a fist. “Her nosing around, him losing control . . .”

Hoping to calm whatever storm was brewing and keeping Eli talking, Wade rubbed his palm up and down Eli’s arm. “What?”

At first Eli shirked off the comment, but then his eyes focused again, as if he’d wrestled with sharing and decided to take the risk. “I could end up dead.”

There it was. The nightmare scenario. And it wasn’t exactly an argument Wade could ignore. They were all on edge and double-checking locks and security feeds since she showed up in the building . . . again.

Still, he’d been trained, had spent his youth fighting and his twenties crossing the line. After a lifetime of working dirty jobs he was out of the business, but he’d step back in. For Eli. For Jarrett. If he had to lay it on the line, even if it meant hurting Jarrett by going after the one woman who mattered to him, Wade would.

He didn’t issue the vow out loud. Didn’t need to. He knew it to his bones and that was enough, but he did want Elijah to figure out a way to silence the battle waging inside him. “That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”

“Others are dead. Strong agents, smart agents.” Eli dropped his arm and his fingers speared through Wade’s hair. “People I worked with and trusted.”

“Did you ever trust Becca?” Wade had at first. He wasn’t sure what to think about her story now.

“I’m not convinced she’s on the run, or needs help, or whatever line she sold Jarrett.”

Wade noticed Eli hadn’t exactly answered the question but let it drop. “Me either.”

“Then work with me,” Elijah whispered into the dip at the base of Wade’s throat.

The conversation blinked out on him. The combination of Eli’s mouth and hand wandering lower had Wade’s concentration fading in and out. “I’m trying, but you losing your shit makes that tough.”

“Because you have to support Jarrett no matter what.”

Wade’s hand slipped to the back of Eli’s head and pulled him even closer. “Because Jarrett responds to logic and respect. When you go off, the only thing he’s thinking about is how fast he can get rid of you.

Eli lifted his head. “You lived with danger.”

“A long time ago.” Wade wanted more than anything to put those days behind him.

“Did you stay calm and rational under fire back then?”

Leave it to Eli to drag out the logic now. “Not always, no.”

The corner of Eli’s mouth kicked up in a smile. “Well, do you blame me for having the same problem now?”

Despite the sparkle in Eli’s eyes and the way his fingers explored, Wade refused to be reeled in. “When it comes to Becca you won’t listen.”

“Tell me you think she’s not setting him up.”

“If she is, Jarrett will stop her.” Or a bullet would. Wade wanted the decision to belong to Jarrett, but when the end came that might not be possible.

“He couldn’t before.”

“He’s smarter now.” Wade ignored the part where Jarrett was pretty fucking smart before but still got wrapped all around when Becca stepped into his life.

“Is he?”

“He has a weakness for her.” And that qualified as the understatement of the century.

“I get that.”

This time Wade laughed. “No, you don’t.”

Wade tried to imagine Eli growing weak over anything or anyone. Even when he stumbled into the club those months ago, beaten and broken, he held his body with an assurance that dared them to try anything. Shot and bleeding, he continued to stare Jarrett down until Jarrett blinked.

“What the hell does that mean?” There was no anger in Eli’s voice, but surprise swept around him.

Wade weighed each word to keep from sending the conversation to a dark place where Eli got worked up all over again. Wade preferred him right where he was. “I doubt anything ever threw you off the job.”

“You did.”

Elijah brushed his lips over Wade’s collarbone as he angled his body closer. They lay interconnected now from their chests to the tangle of legs just below the thin white sheet. Eli’s warm breath blew across Wade’s skin.

“I don’t know—”

Eli bit into Wade’s shoulder. “Get on your stomach and I’ll show you.”

•   •   •

Becca propped her head on her hand. In this position, leaning over Jarrett’s chest, she could watch his chest rise and fall on deep breaths. Study him.

His long fingers lay on his chest, and his other hand stayed tucked under her. Black eyelashes and a relaxed mouth. In sleep the churning darkness inside him faded.

She’d wondered if he would hide from her today. After last night and her delivery of the long list of what she needed from him, he bolted from the bed. Something she said freaked him out. She had no idea exactly which point did it. She only knew that when he slid in beside her an hour ago, leaving the club floor well before closing, his arm came around her and his finger slipped inside her.

Day five of being back in his condo and he hadn’t wasted much time unleashing his revenge. He went to work, came in and out of the condo, and kept her on her back and any bit of clothing off. The fear of him hurting her faded away to nothing. Being freed from the worry this fast was a surprise. She assumed he’d toy with her, keep her dangling and on the defensive. Emotionally, he did, but not physically.

She’d searched his place and spent hours trying to crack his computer password. She even took a few hours and worked on the door alarm. Not that she planned to leave. She just wanted to know she could break out if needed. If the world imploded on her, she’d already devised an escape out the window. To quell the anxiety, she needed that alternative. But explaining any of that to him would only start an argument and make building any trust impossible.

“You’re making me nervous,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.

The grumble of his voice had her jumping. She forced her body to still, but tension ramped up in her at the unexpected noise. “You’re awake?”

“Staring makes me twitchy.”

She spread her fingers and touched as much of that hard chest as possible. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Any reason?” His eyes blinked open. “Other than being tracked by the CIA and targeted for elimination, I mean.”

“Funny how that seems to be enough.”

“Imagine that.”

They lay there in the silence for more than a minute. She could feel him staring and see his face with the help of the hallway light cutting through the darkness.

Reaching over, he flicked on the small lamp next to the bed. “Okay, I give up. What’s going on in your head?”

She squinted until her eyes adjusted to the light. “Nothing.”

“Uh-huh. Not believable at all, by the way.” He pushed up until his back rested against the pillows. “If it’s the list of things you want—”

“No.”

“Then it must be that you want me to exhaust you.” His smile promised he could do it, too.

“You already did.”

“I seem to remember a few favorite positions we haven’t revisited.” His fingers skimmed down her bare back to the top of her ass as she cuddled in closer.

“Are you asking to try something specific?”

Something dark fell over his face. “I don’t have to.”

She sighed inside but kept it hidden there. At least he was consistent. He gave an inch and showed her some softness then quickly slammed the gate shut again. “Because you own me?”

“Your body. Temporarily, yes.” The way he slid his hand over her and kissed along her jaw contrasted with his verbal shots.

Words kicked around in her head and she fought the urge to say them. Any sense that she didn’t feel his revenge and he would balk. But still, a part of her wanted to know . . . “What if I told you I wanted something else?”

His shoulders stiffened. “I’d remind you of our deal.”

“Right.”

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Forget it.” She shimmied up his body, pressing tight against his and ending with her mouth kissing his chest. “The answer is yes.”

With his hands on her face, he pulled her head up and kissed her until her body shook. Her hands teased his shoulders and hair. Cutting through his words, she sunk into the trembling excitement of having him take charge.

He lifted his head without moving his palms from her cheeks. “Get on your back.”

“What?”

“You can lie down or I can put you how I want you.”

She didn’t know what came next and didn’t care so long as he took her. With her insides bouncing, she scrambled off her knees and dropped back against the mattress. The move put her body next to his with her feet flat on the mattress near his head.

He didn’t let the position go to waste. With a quick grab of the knob to the nightstand drawer, he opened it and pulled out a condom. Then he was back, his body touching hers with his hand wrapped around her ankle, keeping the connection.

Before she could steel her body for the pleasure, his fingers danced up the inside of her thigh. He pushed her legs wide open as he kicked off the sheet and crawled between her knees. A kiss trailed up the inside of one leg until he reached the fleshy part of her thigh.

“I want to go in deep.” The rough words rumbled against her bare skin and skidded across her senses.

She had to grab the sheets underneath her, ball them in her fists, to fight off the tension already spiraling through her. “Yes.”

“You won’t be able to control the fucking and I won’t hold back,” he said in between kisses. “You’ll take every last inch.”

“Jarrett, please.” She wasn’t sure if she said the plea out loud or only in her head, but she felt it in every cell.

He licked a long line over her skin, down farther until it swept over her. “What do you want me to do to you, Rebecca?”

She jerked at the slick contact against her sensitive flesh. “Fuck me now.”

Two fingers disappeared inside her. They thumped against her as he plunged and withdrew in a steady rhythm.

Barely able to move but so desperate to feel his cock inside her, she raised her head and saw her wetness glistening on his fingers. Still he thrust his fingers inside her. In and out with his thumb flicking over her clit every time her hips lifted. Her insides quivered and her thighs shook. Fire burned through her as her skin heated and she feared she’d implode.

“You’re soaking wet.”

Gulping in air, she tried to answer him. “For you.”

She hovered on the edge. If she could press her legs together tight enough, she’d come, but his shoulders blocked her and the rubbing of his thumb over her clit stopped every time she got close.

He bent down and sucked on her clit. Her gasp filled the room as her vision went dark.

His finger replaced his mouth when he sat back on his heels again. “I decide how I fuck you.”

She would let him do anything, touch anything, try anything. “Yes. God, yes.”

Both hands were on her now. Fingers rubbed her thigh as his other hand kept up the pulsing beat inside her. Need swamped her and she lifted her head again, thinking to bring him in for a blinding kiss, but his concentration centered on her clit and the pump of her hips in time with his presses.

“Your body belongs to me.”

“Jarrett . . .” The rest of the words caught in her throat. She did and he knew it, but she had to hold something back.

“Say it.”

Before she could give in, he pulled his fingers out of her. Those small inner muscles clenched in frustration and her lower half lifted off the mattress. She tried to inch closer, but he clamped his hands on her legs and held her still.

Rational thought fled. If he wanted begging, she’d beg. “Please fuck me.”

A warm breath blew over her wetness, making her twitch and squirm. “You know what I want to hear. Give it to me and I’ll let you come.”

“Yes.” She chanted the word and didn’t stop until his fingers plunged inside her again.

“All of it.”

She forced her eyes to stay open as she stared up at him. “My body is yours.”

“Good girl.” He bent over her once more and that talented tongue swirled over her. “Are you sure you’re ready for me?”

“Yes.” She fought the need to shift and moan. Her body rocked as the tension ramped up inside her.

He pulled away again and she almost screamed. She might have if she had any breath left in her body. Sweat dampened her hair and broke out on her chest.

Just when she found the voice to demand he enter her, he shifted. He lifted one of her legs and pushed her thigh back against her chest. He somehow got the condom on without her noticing and now he pushed into her with one long demanding stroke.

Her sensitive tissues felt raw. The pleasure was so intense her mouth dropped open. And he kept moving. He plunged inside her, pushing until he filled her and every nerve burst to life.

The position meant she couldn’t hold back or control his thrusts. He was in control. Total control. Going as deep as promised as he wedged her foot against his shoulder. Satisfaction filled his expression as he focused on the push and pull of his cock inside her.