Read Sweet Child o' Mine Online

Authors: Lexi_Blake

Tags: #Lexi Blake, #Masters & Mercenaries, #McKay-Taggart, #erotic romance

Sweet Child o' Mine (2 page)

Especially
when he fucked with them for their own damn good.

She
breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. I was hoping it was a joke.”

Alex
never fucked with anyone. He was practically Captain America. “It’s not a joke,
Erin. You can pick up your tickets with Grace. You and Theo are set to fly out
early Thursday. You have a meeting with the security head of the hospital on
Monday, so rest up. It’s a long flight and you’ve got a half a day’s layover in
Frankfurt. Grace gave you a nice long layover so you don’t miss that flight to
Monrovia. Also, since your cover is that you’re an ex-military,
down-on-her-luck girl looking for work, we put you in coach. I’m really sorry.”

Ian
snorted. Damn, maybe Alex did fuck with the employees. That flight to Liberia
was a killer. “But we made sure Theo’s got the seat right beside you. After
all, a Master always looks after his precious submissive.”

Erin’s
face went a bright red that could have been anger, but unfortunately her
T-shirt was thin and that showed the truth. Poor girl’s nipples had gone rock
hard and it wasn’t cold in the building.

Really,
he should get extra for playing cupid to the clueless.

“Send
someone else with me,” she said, her shoulders straight and her feet planted
like she was standing at attention. You could take the girl out of the Army,
but Erin hadn’t yet figured out how to get the Army out of the girl. “Send me
in with Chase or Hutch or Michael Malone. I understand that I’m the only female
operative who can handle this mission. Hell, I believe in this mission. I want
to take out Senator McDonald as much as anyone, but I don’t think Theo is
ready.”

Was
that how she was going? “In what way? Is his SEAL training not sufficient? Was
his time as a CIA operative too short for your liking? Or is there something
else you would like to tell me? Has he harassed you?”

He
hadn’t considered that. Theo had been attracted to Erin from the moment he met
her. There was sexual chemistry between them, but also his half-brother seemed
genuinely fond of her. He tried his damnedest to take care of Erin, though it
was obvious she was scared of Theo. But if Theo had been doing something he
shouldn’t, Tag would shut that shit down, brother or no.

Erin’s
eyes slid away. “No, Sir. You know he’s actually very kind. I don’t know how to
handle it. I would be more comfortable with Hutch.”

Because
Hutch treated her like one of the guys. “Hutch is incapable of looking like
he’s in love with you and he has zero training in D/s. Faith McDonald has been
in the lifestyle for longer than you have.”

“Longer
than Theo, too.” It was obvious Erin wasn’t giving up.

“But
Theo has been training day and night.” Theo seemed to have figured out what
Erin needed, and he was trying hard to be able to give it to her. He’d been
working with Ten under Tag and Alex’s tutelage, and he’d come a long way. His
brother was more than ready for this assignment. He was the best man for the
job. Tag liked to fuck with his employees, but he took his business seriously.
“Theo is perfectly prepared for this mission and you’re the right operative to
get close to Faith McDonald. You’ll be her personal bodyguard and you can bond
over giggling and tea and whatever girls bond over.”

Erin
flipped him off. It was a good sign. He suspected she had some serious shit in
her background having to do with authority figures. Flipping the boss the bird
meant she was comfortable he wasn’t going to hurt her. Now she simply had to
figure out Theo wouldn’t either. “I’ll take care of Faith. I actually kind of
admire her. She’s smart and seems to be trying to do good in the world.”

Unfortunately,
her father was an evil fuck who sold out servicemen for a buck and made his
fortune off keeping the wars going. Faith McDonald could be Mother Teresa and
he would still use her to take down her father. “Don’t go into this expecting a
lifetime friendship. She’s the target. Talk to her. Convince her to come to
Dallas with you so she can meet a new Master. She’s single right now, but the
word is she always indulges during her off time. Get her back here with you and
Ten will handle the rest.”

“And
Theo?”

Did
he have to figure out everything? “Don’t sleep with him. It’s just your cover.
Sometimes operatives don’t use their covers to get a little something
something.” Ian scratched his head, trying to think of an example. It was hard.
His operatives were the worst when it came to sleeping with their
partners—Simon and Chelsea, Jesse and Phoebe, Alex and Eve—or being stupid
fucks and falling in love with their targets—Sean and Grace, Li and Avery.
Hell, Jake and Adam had married their freaking client. It could be their new
slogan.
McKay-Taggart: We Don’t Keep It
In Our Pants.
Oh, well, there was one he could think of. “Alex and I went
undercover once and we did not sleep together.”

Alex
shrugged. “He tried but I wanted someone a little more tender. Li used to go
undercover with Karina and he
’s never once slept
with
her. Then there was that first mission we sent Jesse on at the strip club.”

Ian
cleared his throat. He was pretty sure Jesse had slept with about ten of those
strippers, but that had all been before Phoebe.

Alex
shook his head. “JoJo, Eboni, and Misty Rose weren’t his partners. Simon was.
Si swears up and down they’ve never cuddled. Not once. So you’re safe, Erin.”

“You’re
all jackholes, you know that, right? And Liberia? Really? I left the damn Army
so I didn’t have to spend all my time in the world’s shitholes.” Erin was
shaking her head as she walked away. “Simon gets to go to Venice. Li’s biggest
op was in London. I get fucking West Africa.”

“Don’t
forget the Ebola,” Tag called out. “You’re welcome.” He shook his head as she
disappeared around the corner. “They’re totally going to do it in Africa.”

“Oh,
they will so do it, but then that’s your plan.” Alex started toward the
conference room again. “You know she’ll probably end up being your
sister-in-law. Your girls will call her Auntie Erin and she’ll teach them how
to make homemade grenades or something.”

“Yeah,
well, I can’t seem to get rid of anyone anyway, so I might as well minimize the
damage. God only knows who Theo would drag home if he wasn’t all moony over
Erin. I’m pretty sure Case is going to show up with some chick he scrapes off
the floor of a bar. That boy can drink.” He had to smile because the light of
his fucking life stepped out of the break room.

Charlie
Taggart. The sight of his gorgeous wife made his heart speed up. He knew she
was due to deliver their babies in five weeks, but damn he wanted to fuck her
long and hard. She was stunning, a freaking super-hot fertility goddess who
made his dick stand up and cheer every time he thought about her. She had a
grin on her face as she caught sight of him. “Hey, those people from LA are
completely insane. They asked for spring water but nothing filtered by modern
hands or from any country with a dictator or not approved by Angelina Jolie.
They also asked for water without carbs. Seriously. They think water has carbs.
We could make so much money off these people.”

It
would be a miracle if he survived the afternoon. “How does Chelsea feel about
heading to LA for a couple of weeks?”

“Months,”
Alex said. “This could take months and Sully has promised to pay top dollar.”

Charlie
frowned. “I don’t know that I want to be so far away from my sister after the
babies are born. I kind of hate that idea.”

“I’ll
figure it out.” If Charlie wanted Chelsea, who was the single least maternal
woman he’d ever met, around their babies, then Chelsea would be there. “Maybe
this once, Jesse can work with Michael.”

She
went on her toes and kissed him. “Thanks, babe. And have you come up with a
name yet?”

“Rocky.”
It was a joke between them now. “Or Rambo. Hey, maybe you’ll name yours Rambo.
I think they’re perfect names for twins.”

She
made a vomiting sound and slipped her hand in his as they walked down the hall.
“Over my dead body.”

“Is
he still doing this? What was it last week?” Alex asked.

Ian
saw the conference room up ahead. It was full of Sully’s “cast.” Apparently, it
wasn’t Kendalmire’s way to travel with less than an entourage. “Chuck. Girls
can be named Chuck.”

“Not
if they want to have any kind of a social life. Ian, they’ll be here soon. Mine
is Kenzie. Her sister needs a name that wasn’t plucked from an action movie.”
Charlie gave him her death stare but it
was really softened
by the hand on her belly. She smoothed it over as though soothing the babies
inside. “We can talk about it after the meeting.”

He
stepped inside, and Sully was talking to his people.

“This
is all going to be over soon and it won’t disrupt your schedule.” Sully spoke
in silky tones, like he was calming down an unruly child. “Trust Mr. Taggart.
He’s got a sixth sense about this kind of thing. We’ll have you safe in no
time, Hoover.”

Hoover
Kendalmire stood at the back of the conference room, his likely expensive
loafers tapping against the floor. “My life isn’t safe, Sully. There’s nothing
about this life that’s safe, and I’m going to put it all into my music, man.
You’ll see. I’m going to be the new Eminem. Except way more attractive and less
angry. Why so angry, dude? But seriously, I’m going to be the Eminem of
Malibu.”

Sully
sighed. “Well, we can get right on that as soon as we get back to California.
We’ll be out of here soon.”

An
emaciated blonde flipped her hair back. Ah, the girl who modeled. According to
her press kit, Brie Westerhaven was the daughter of a minor rock star from the
eighties and a groupie who didn’t know how to use birth control. The show
chronicled her attempts to make it big on fashion runways while her dunce boy
attempted to take on the music business in absolutely the most superficial of
ways.
They were surrounded by hangers
on. Hoover’s two
brothers, his producer, who looked heavily invested in dental gold if that grill
he was wearing was real, two personal assistants, who looked like they really
wished they’d finished college and gotten real jobs, and the chick with the
crazy eyes.

Ian
looked over at Alex, who shook his head.

“You
can’t know that,” Alex muttered under his breath. “Don’t, Ian. We should follow
procedure.”

“Do
you see those eyes?” It was all so clear to him and he’d spent two seconds with
these people.

Alex’s
mouth firmed stubbornly. “It could mean nothing. Let Jesse handle it. He’ll
follow procedure and we’ll actually make money off this.”

Brie
shook her head as she paced. “God, I hope we get back to Cali soon. This is so
boring. I thought Texas was one of those not real places. You know what I
mean.”

She
glanced over at a woman who stood by her side, staring up at the model as if
she was the second coming of the Virgin Mary. “I do. You’re so smart, Brie. I
didn’t think Texas was real either. I mean who would? Sully, we should tape
this scene. Brie is so funny.”

“Dude,
anyone who’s seen Dallas knows it’s real, hello.” Hoover waved a hand through
the air as though it was all too much for him. “Don’t you watch TV and shit?
Where do you think
J.R
. came from? It’s a brilliantly
ironic television show about global warming.”

The
pixiesque woman by Brie shot the DJ a look Ian had seen before.

Damn,
Sully had really lost his touch. He used to be good at understanding the people
around him. Alex wasn’t going to like it, but Ian really couldn’t stand the
thought of even having these people as an open case halfway across the country.
It was time to shut this shit down.

He
pointed at the girl because despite the fact that Sully was willing to pay by
the hour, if these people didn’t get out of his office he was going to launch a
grenade at them. “It’s Crazy Eyes. She’s a closeted lesbian in love with
Dimwitted Blonde, and she tried to kill Douchebag.”

Damn,
didn’t they know it was always the bitch with the crazy eyes?

His
wife turned, about to yell at him—yeah, he knew that look—but Crazy Eyes saved
him from the inevitable lecture about giving peace a chance and shit by pulling
a forty-five out of her outrageously large handbag.

“You
don’t deserve her!” Crazy Eyes shouted as she pointed the gun at Hoover.

All
hell broke loose, but then it wasn’t really a day at the office without a
little chaos.

Chapter Two

“C
razy Eyes, I swear to god if
you fire that fucking gun in my conference room, I will kill you myself, and
you won’t like how I do it,” Ian swore. His heart was going to beat out of his
fucking chest. Charlie was in here. If the bullets started flying, she
could get hit
. The babies
could get hit
.
Damn it, they were supposed to be safe here.

Brie
had a hand over her chest as though protecting herself. “Marcy, what are you
doing?”

Sully
put out his hands and eased toward Crazy Eyed Marcy with the calm movements of
a lion tamer. “Marcy, honey, there’s no need for this. Hoover wasn’t trying to
be mean. You know how he is. Let’s calm down and talk about this.”

Hoover
had ducked behind the dude with the grill and was currently peeing his pants,
if the smell was any indication.

Yeah,
Sully was going to pay for that.

“Charlie,
get out of here.” He didn’t like how shaky Marcy was. And she’d already proven
herself entirely incapable of hitting her target.

“It’s
fine, Ian.” She didn’t move, merely watched as the chick with the gun pointed
it her way.

“Don’t
move,” Marcy said, her voice thin and reedy.

“God,
Marcy, you’re such a drama queen.” Brie huffed and sat down in one of the
chairs and started to look at her nails as though the rest of the action bored
her.

“Marcy,
honey, why don’t you give me the gun?” Sully asked.

“Wait,
it was Marcy?” One of Hoover’s brothers scratched his head and seemed to be
trying to the figure the situation out.

“Dude,
I thought you slept with her,” the other brother whispered in a too loud voice.

Marcy
pointed the gun toward Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. “I only love Brie. I would
never sleep with any of you.”

Alex
leaned toward him. “You get Charlie and I’ll take down the girl.”

Ian
nodded. He had to be careful. Normally he would simply hit Charlie with the
force of a steamroller, forcing his body over hers so if a bullet came their
way it would take him out instead of her. But her body wasn’t her own. Her body
held their babies. His girls. All three of his girls were in danger. His heart
pounded in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream. Normally he
went ice cold in these situations. Charlie was deadly all on her own. His wife
could take care of herself, though he preferred to handle the dangerous stuff.
She was competent, but she was almost nine months pregnant. God, if anything
happened to his girls…

Charlie
had died once. Oh, it had all been a ploy in a spy game they’d been playing,
but he’d spent five years in hell mourning her. He couldn’t do it again. He
couldn’t lose her again and god, he couldn’t lose their daughters. He had a
sudden vision of burying all three of them, and it stopped him in his tracks.

“Ian,
are you all right?” Alex whispered.

And
that was the moment Charlie chose to make her play. Marcy had backed up, moving
away from Sully, who seemed to be putting himself between the gun and his star.
Unfortunately, it moved Marcy’s back close to Charlie, who had her in a choke
hold before Ian could scream. The gun fell out of Marcy’s hand, clattering to
the floor.

“Oh,
my god. Something’s kicking me!” Marcy said before her eyes closed and she went
limp.

Charlie
let her drop to the floor and Alex was kicking the gun away before Ian could
move. She grinned his way, her hand on her belly. “Ian, the babies just went
crazy. I swear to god they could tell we were taking someone down. They’re
already helping Mommy take out the bad guys.” She frowned. “Babe, are you all
right? You are really pale.”

Ian
sat, staring ahead as he tried to get himself under control.

 

 

“I
think you broke him,” Eve whispered to Charlie two hours later.

“I
can still hear, you know.” He hadn’t moved in hours. He was replaying the
situation over and over in his brain. The sight of Charlie creeping up on a
woman with a gun while she was super pregnant wasn’t one that would go away
easily.

The
Dallas Police had shown up and hauled Crazy Eyes off to prison. She was about
to find out just how damn real Texas was, complete with a prison system where
she could totally find a new girlfriend since Brie wasn’t interested. She
hadn’t been all that interested in Hoover, who had required a change of pants,
either. She had been interested when the press had shown up downstairs.

Derek
was going to keep McKay-Taggart’s name out of it so they didn’t become the
go-to security firm for douchebag reality stars. Lieutenant Brighton had tried
to question Ian, but all he’d managed to say was something about asking Charlie
since she was freaking Superwoman and his babies in utero could kick ass.

Jesus.
He couldn’t breathe.

“Babe,
do you want something to eat? I can have Sean bring something over.” Charlie
was using a deeply soothing tone on him as she rubbed his shoulders.

“Not
hungry.” He might never eat again.

“How
about some Scotch?” Charlie offered.

“I
know Alex has some eighteen-year-old,” Eve offered. “Or we could go back to my
office and sit and talk. You’ve been through something traumatic. You need a
safe place to discuss your feelings.”

That
got him moving. He wasn’t going to have a flipping session. “I’m fine.”

He
stood up and started down the hall but not before he noticed Eve taking a
twenty-dollar bill from Charlie, who was shaking her head.

“Told
you it would work,” Eve said under her breath. “Now you need to go and fix him.
That man is in serious denial.”

He
wasn’t in denial. He knew damn well there was absolutely nothing he could do.
He strode down the hallway. It was utterly out of his control. He hated this.
He wasn’t in control of fucking anything anymore.

Adam
started to walk out of his office and shrank right back in when he saw the look
on Ian’s face. At least one person was still afraid of him.

He
needed more fear from his employees. He should begin routine beatings. Yes,
that would make him feel better. He could randomly beat the shit out of people,
and then he would have the illusion of control.

Because
it was all an illusion.

He’d
just sat down in his chair when she came through the door, closed it quietly,
and locked it behind her.

What
was that about?

“Ian,
I know you’re mad.”

“I’m
not mad.” He couldn’t be mad. She was ridiculously pregnant and that meant he
couldn’t get mad. He couldn’t take charge. He couldn’t do fucking anything. He
was supposed to be “supportive” and calm, even when she did stupid things like
take down a killer with a choke hold.

“Yes,
you are furious and I don’t really understand how you aren’t yelling at me.
Come on, babe. It would make you feel so much better. Do you want me to get the
paddle out? It’s been a while since you gave me a good long spanking. We could
both use it.”

Yes,
he could so use a nice session where he took out all of his frustrations on her
gorgeous backside. But again, she was pregnant. “I think you’re right. I’ll
have some Scotch and chill out here. It’s not a problem, though I’m sure Alex
is pissed I didn’t draw this out.”

She
reached out a hand, and when he thought she would lower herself into his lap,
her knees found the carpet and she knelt down beside him. “You always have had
an instinct for finding crazy eyes.”

“Baby,
that can’t be comfortable. Let me help you up.”

“No,
I want to be here. I’m fine. You have got to stop treating me like I’m made of
glass. I’m fine. You’re the one who’s fragile right now.”

“I
am not fragile, Charlie.”

A
little glint hit her eyes. “Prove it.”

Frustration
raced through him like a freight train. When she got that light in her eyes, he
was usually in for a hell of a time. His Charlie could take as much as he could
give. Their kinks matched beautifully. He topped and she loved to
be topped
.

If
he was honest, he would say his kinks changed for her. He’d been hardcore,
dominating women for both discipline and sex. His D/s style had been rigid. Now
he was a lovingly indulgent top who spanked his wife more because she liked it
than for any real disciplinary reasons.

Though
today, he’d definitely wanted to smack her ass for pulling that stunt. She
could have been killed
. She could have lost the babies.
Anything could have happened.

“I’m
not going to talk you into punishing me, am I?” Charlie asked, her eyes wide
and innocent.

He
wanted to, but he didn’t dare. She was so close to delivery. She might think
she was superwoman, but she was pregnant with twins and he
would
be damned if he caused her a single moment’s discomfort until she was fully recovered
.

Then
all bets were off and her ass was his.

And
he would still have to deal with the fact that he wasn’t in control. Two small
girls would prove that to him once and for all. He couldn’t control those
girls. Kenzie and…

One
of his babies didn’t have a name yet and he couldn’t come up with one. He’d
been joking about Rambo, but he couldn’t for the life of him come up with a
name. The one thing Charlie had asked him to do.

“Ian,
you’re going to be good at this. Everything is going to be fine. I know you’re
scared, and I didn’t make that any better by taking down crazy pants by myself.
I think you need to relax. You’ve spent the last several months catering to my
every whim and I really need to pay you back for that.” Her hands were close to
the fly of his slacks. She was on her knees, that gorgeous mouth of hers
trembling. “I need you to top me. I need to know that you still want me. For
weeks you’ve been so sweet and so distant. I know I’m big, but I still need
you. I need to be more than the mother of your children. I need to be your
wife. God, I miss being your submissive.”

And
he longed to be her Master. What could it really hurt? If he was gentle, he
wouldn’t hurt her.

He
twisted a hand in her hair, pulling lightly. He wouldn’t be too gentle. Charlie
wouldn’t like that. He pulled just enough to watch her eyes go soft as she
began to submit. “You want to play, brat? You want to play after that stunt you
pulled? I need you to understand a few things, Charlie Taggart. Your ass is
mine as soon as those two girls who are renting move out.”

She
bit her bottom lip before running her tongue over it. “What are you going to do
to it, Master?”

Fuck.
He was going to come before she touched him. He took a tight
reign
on that unruly and desperate cock of his. She was
right. They both needed this. He needed a few moments where he could pretend
everything was the same. “I’m going to slap that sweet ass silly. Have you seen
some of the new toys I’ve bought for you, my love? Unzip my slacks and take my
cock out. You’re going to see to me while I explain how bad it’s going to get
for you in a few weeks.”

He
let go of her hair and she eagerly moved forward, her hands on the fly of his
pants in an instant.

It
was one of the things he adored about his wife. She didn’t hold back or
prevaricate. She loved playing with him and she didn’t hold back her affection.
It was Charlie’s honest need for him that had first broken through his defenses
and allowed him to love her openly and with a free heart. God, he fucking loved
her.

He
was also going to torture her.

His
cock popped out as she drew back the band of his boxers. He was already hard as
a rock and wanting, but he was going to enjoy this and that meant not shooting
off the minute she touched him no matter how much the bastard wanted to. “Lick
me. I want you to suck my cock until I tell you to stop, but I swear to god,
Charlie, if you’re in pain because of the position, you better tell me.”

Charlie
groaned and her only real reply to him was a long lick of her tongue over his
dick. Her hand disappeared and he groaned as he felt that soft palm cup his
balls. She rolled them lightly as she swiped at his cockhead, licking up the
cream he was already producing. His dick was always ready to go where she was
concerned.

So
fucking good. His wife knew exactly how he liked it. She leaned over, her
strawberry blonde hair flowing all around, and she sucked at the head of his
cock. He shifted his hips, trying to make it easier on her. She settled in and
started to suck his cock in long passes. Pure pleasure swamped him, but he
hadn’t forgotten what he promised her.

He
settled back and watched his cock disappear between her plump lips. “Once
you’re recovered, I’m going to take you to Sanctum. It’ll take a few months,
but it’s going to be perfect. I’ve stocked it with everything I need to torture
you. You won’t believe the things I’ve bought. New plugs to open up your
asshole with. Pretty clamps for your nipples.”

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