Mercy (4 page)

When his gaze clashed with hers again, the intensity of her anger nearly swamped him.

“Do you have somewhere more important to be?” Natalie’s chill had morphed into an icy drip in her voice.

“Actually, yes.”

Her annoying smirk of satisfaction wavered. “You’re telling me you don’t care about the information I have on your former lover?”

“The key word is ‘former.’ I stopped caring about Becca a long time ago.” He refused to let that be a lie. Even ignored the way Wade’s eyebrow lifted.

Natalie finished her drink and dropped the glass against the bar with a thud. “I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care.” That much was true. He never cared what anyone at the CIA or with the police, or even Spectrum, thought about him. He’d abdicated a small portion of control in order to stay out of prison, sure. He laid the blame for that on Becca, but he was no one’s bitch. No one’s.

“Then I guess you don’t mind that Becca either is in danger or
is
the danger.” Natalie said it as a comment, but it was clear from the slow emphasis of each word she didn’t believe the sentiment.

At least they’d finally hit on a topic that did interest him. Not that he let that show. He steeled his body to remain still and forced his mouth into a thin line. “You obviously want to tell me something, so why not just go ahead and say whatever you came here to say.”

“She is the prime suspect.”

The news kicked him in the gut. Not what he expected at all.

Wade frowned. “Suspect in what?”

Natalie ignored Wade like he was beneath her. Just the help. Her focus remained on Jarrett. “Eliminating her team.”

“Why exactly would she do that?” Jarrett asked, unable to conjure up an explanation that made any sense.

“Power gone wild. Thirst for revenge. Lost her mind.” Natalie held both hands up in the air as she ticked through the possibilities with all the enthusiasm of someone reading from a grocery list. “The reason doesn’t really matter. The point is that she’ll be put down like a rabid dog.”

The description set a flame to Jarrett’s brewing fury, but he refused to even flinch. “And why are you telling me?”

“I thought you should know in case you got the wild idea of trying to help her.” Natalie finally glanced at Wade. “If she comes here—”

“Which she wouldn’t.” Jarrett said it like an order, basically commanding Natalie to speak to him again.

It worked. The explosive fury behind those brown eyes burned into him. “You are to contact me immediately if you hear from Becca.”

He’d hand over the keys to the club before he took directions from Natalie or anyone in her office. And no one was touching Becca but him. “Again, Natalie, I don’t work for you.”

“I know you think that.”

“You seem to forget our deal.” Not that he ever could. It proved to be the ultimate case of sleeping with the enemy. “I gave you information you needed—”

“To stay out of prison.”

Jarrett bit back a sharp response, one that pointed out how much he hated it when people interrupted him. But that would give her power. If she knew his weak points, those things that grated and prodded at him, she’d use them against him daily. Hell, he’d do the same thing in her position.

“You were desperate to have it and I acquiesced.” The same information he’d painstakingly collected and portions of which he continued to hold back for his protection and the safety of a select few others. “We both know the drug charges were bogus. The concerns about what I knew from customers, those from outside of the country and those in power positions in D.C., led your office to admit Spectrum had exceeded its authority coming after me.”

“I don’t believe we admitted any such thing.”

Maybe not directly, but it happened at some level or he wouldn’t be free. He had ferreted out that much. “The team wasn’t supposed to plant drugs or have me arrested. Because, as we both know, the CIA isn’t in the domestic drug-crime-fighting business. But I’m thinking someone at Spectrum went rogue. When you realized, you terminated the team and the operation. Then you got into bed, metaphorically of course, with me.”

Natalie spun her seat around to face him with her smirk back in place. “I never would have made the deal with you.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not in charge at the CIA.” Jarrett slid off the seat and stood next to the bar. “Next time make sure you have an appointment before you come over. I am no longer available for drop-in visits.”

Her feet hit the floor as she reached out for his sleeve, her hand catching only air. “We’re not done.”

He thought about the silent alarm and the woman upstairs and all he wanted to do to her, and kept walking toward the hall. With his final step in the room, he glanced over his shoulder and shot Natalie a look that made most men wither. “Yes, we are.”

FIV
E

The leather chair squeaked as Becca leaned forward and stared at the sign-in on the screen. Figuring out Jarrett’s convoluted password would be impossible without an intricate computer program, a tech expert and hours to analyze.

Not that she truly cared, whatever his current crimes, except to the extent she needed him out of jail for now. That was all. She wouldn’t let any other attachment or concern grow. She absolutely refused to worry about him. She’d wasted far too many hours on that useless task already.

Being back in the condo, up on the third floor and locked behind a wall of security, the rush of adrenaline that had been flowing through her and fueling all those fears bubbling in her mind slowed. Jarrett walked her into the building. He didn’t reach for a weapon or call his old contacts from the streets and have her hauled away. He put her in his most private space and bossed her around, but stopped before unleashing his fury with more than words.

An attack could still come. The waiting and quiet could be a game, and she’d mentally prepared for that possibility, but the panic that assailed her the second she stepped in the alley had disappeared. At the realization her heartbeat eased back to a normal rate.

Jarrett had to be in control and liked to deliver each sentence with a harsh bite to his words. She’d deal with that. The whip of need she experienced around him proved to be the bigger problem. Which was why she needed to get to work and get out of there as soon as possible.

Even knowing he wouldn’t be dumb enough to write down a password, she eased the chair back and opened the top desk drawer. The sound almost drowned out the soft click of the front door closing in the other room. Almost.

She shot to her feet with one hand clutched on the knot holding the towel together. The other reached for the desk lamp and yanked the cord from the wall. Not much of a weapon, but something in case a trained killer, and not Jarrett, lingered out there.

With her back to the wall, she peeked around the hall corner and spied Jarrett right by the front door. Tall, angry and frowning in her exact direction. He excelled at that sort of thing.

With the towel clutched tight against her chest and the lamp hanging loose in her other hand, she stepped out into the open living room. “It’s you.”

The frown deepened. “Who else would it be?”

“I don’t know. That’s kind of the point of me having this.” She held up her makeshift weapon, letting the plug scrape against the floor.

“I see we have some confusion.”

“About what?” But she knew. He was a man accustomed to having his rules followed and she’d violated quite a few since he walked out the door, including the asinine no-clothing one. She wasn’t clear what he knew or how, but she guessed something tipped him off or he wouldn’t be back so soon.

“I thought I made my expectations clear.” The anger vibrating in his voice didn’t leave much room for mystery about his mood.

She rushed to jump in before the anger festered. “I can explain.”

His hands remained behind his back but his gaze narrowed at her interruption. “You have either developed a hearing issue or the entire purpose of your trip here has been a ruse.”

The man’s paranoia was running in its usually high gear. “How do you figure that?”

“One could see this little visit of yours, along with the claims of being chased and in danger, as a second attempt at a setup.”

The lamp touched against her thigh as she lowered it. “You had me strip. You know I didn’t bring anything in with me.”

Tension continued to pulse off of him. “Is that a denial?”

“It’s the reality. I’m here to help
me
, not to hurt
you
.”

His eyebrow lifted. “You were in my bedroom, a place I specifically prohibited you from going.”

“Wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

She remembered the deadly soft tone. When he spoke like that, the unbending Jarrett appeared right after. Not that he bent all that much to begin with, but when threatened he downshifted into scary mode. She used to hear the monotone clip while he talked business and wonder about the life expectancy of the person on the other end of all that ire.

The file she had on him back then referenced a list of people from his past who mysteriously disappeared, but the idea of him as a killer never matched up with the man who rained kisses over every inch of her bare flesh. Of course, neither did the drug running. Tough and haunted, yes. Unreadable at times and ice cold at others. But a cold-blooded murderer she could never see.

“I was in your office. But I think you knew that before you even got up here.” An odd thought crept into her brain. She visually scanned the mantel and ceiling for potential hidden cameras, wondering how a man who coveted his privacy so much could open his life up to such unending security scrutiny. “Did you wire the place?”

“I give you points for not lying about being in the office.” He still hadn’t moved. Had barely blinked.

Her gaze shot to his arms as she tried to figure out what he hid in his hands. “Not really possible to do since I’m holding your desk lamp.”

The severe frown slipped for a second then shifted back into place. “Do you care to tell me why you were in a room where I ordered you not to go?”

He phrased it like a question, but she knew from the steel thread in his voice that he wasn’t expecting an answer. She gave him one anyway. “Technically, you told me to stay out of your bedroom.”

“No, I—”

She wanted to scream at his stubbornness. “Okay. Fine.”

“You would be wise to stop stalling.”

On that he was right. There was no reason to lie. “I wanted to see if I could tap into the security system and see what you were doing downstairs.”

“Why?”

“I’m showing a lot of faith in coming here. You could do anything to me. Turn me over to the very people who want me dead.” The fear burning a hole through her stomach gave rise to her voice. “Hell, you could be the person behind all of the team killings.”

“Put the lamp down.”

The base suddenly weighted her down on one side. “You’re not going to respond to that accusation or ask me anything else?”

“I don’t ask. I tell.”

“Right. Silly me.” She put the lamp on the floor and stood up, feeling his heated gaze roam over her as she moved.

“I don’t remember giving you permission to wear a towel.”

Whatever happened downstairs hadn’t eased his fury. Quite possibly it enhanced it, which made her even more curious about the last fifteen minutes.

She bit back a sigh as she mentally debated the best way to soothe the beast roaring to life within him and otherwise making her life more difficult than it needed to be. “We’re back to that?”

“The rules remain the same, Rebecca. You have my temporary protection and in exchange—”

“You get me.” She said it before he could utter some awful word that made her cringe. One that reminded her of how little she meant and of the hatred brewing right beneath the surface.

“Remove the towel.”

Amazing how something as flimsy as a fluffy piece of cotton could provide an emotional barrier. Could shield and protect. The idea of being without it sent a strange hollowness rolling over her. With it on, her old life came rushing back, shoring up her strength long enough for the confidence she took for granted to peek through.

She needed something from him and sensed that ran both ways. His likely grew out of an unsatisfied wish for revenge, and part of her believed he was entitled to it. But there were limits to what she would do to beat back the clawing inside him. She’d willingly give her body in exchange for protection and the use of his valuable resources. She’d hold back the rest so he couldn’t emotionally stomp her into pieces.

But one of them had to give in this battle. She’d showed up on his doorstep pleading for help and then agreed to his terms, so she’d already lost. Her gaze went from his stiff shoulders to the nerve twitching in his cheek. No matter what she said he wouldn’t back down. That wasn’t his style.

She could actually see her chest rise and fall as her fingers fumbled with the tight knot. The towel slipped away in a whoosh and the cool air-conditioned breeze brushed over her skin. Fighting off the urge to cover her body, a waste since there wasn’t an inch he hadn’t already touched and kissed, she faced him head-on.

Not glancing away when his stare swept over her. “Satisfied?” she asked when his visual tour showed no signs of stopping.

“I will be soon.” His shoes tapped against the hardwood as he shifted his weight and brought his hands in front of him. His keys rattled in a glass bowl a second later. “Go lie across the bed. Hands above your head. Legs open and feet against the mattress. I want to see all of you when I walk in the door.”

The words shot a shiver straight through her.

“Now, Rebecca.”

She didn’t hesitate a second time. Retracing her earlier path, she headed toward the extra bedroom. With every move she heard Jarrett’s shoes thud behind her. When his fingers slid down her spine in a firm touch that sent her stomach tumbling, her steps faltered.

She reached the doorway and clung to the frame as she forced air back into her lungs. After a deep inhale her muscles stopped shaking. Just as she pushed off and stood up straight, ready to take her position on the bed, he slipped his hand over her ass cheek, caressing her even as he lit her nerve endings on fire.

She bit back his name, refusing to give him the satisfaction of saying it.

Lips pressed against her hair and a hand flattened against her stomach pulling her body back tight against his. He palmed her breasts and nuzzled the side of her neck. The room spun and the hammering need she’d pushed out of her memory came whizzing back.

His closeness blocked out everything else. Her body melted against his and he’d barely touched her.

She shifted her head to the side as her hand traveled over the outside of his muscular thigh. Over the silky material of his expensive suit as the heat from his body pounded into her.

“Get on the bed.” He whispered the order into the dip between her shoulder blades.

She nodded, unable to say anything while she climbed onto the mattress. Lowering her back to the bed, she stretched her arms over her head. The instructions played in her head as her legs fell open.

Forcing her eyes to stay open even as a kick of lust blurred her vision, she glanced around, but he hovered just out of sight. Only the bright white ceiling greeted her. Desperate to watch him, she grabbed a pillow from the top of the bed and stuffed it under her head, propping her shoulders up.

There he was.

He stood at the end of the bed, staring down at her. Despite her wish to hold on to the briefest ties of control, her body grew wet and her hips rose in invitation for him to touch her. The sudden shock of intimacy sent her insecurities flaring. One of her legs fell closed but he touched her knee and pushed it back open again.

“I want every part of you to belong to me.” He slipped his jacket off and his hands went to his tie.

In a few tugs, the material loosened and he unbuttoned the top of his crisp white dress shirt. A few more and he uncovered that amazing chest and the sprinkling of rich dark hair that once tickled her nose and smoothed through her fingers.

Through it all, his gaze never wavered.

The mattress dipped under his weight as he put a knee between her open thighs. His hands skimmed down the inside of her legs and his mouth followed a beat behind. A nibble then a brush.

When his two middle fingers finally slipped inside her, pumping and rubbing, she closed her eyes. The deep presses sent her insides dancing in a wild frenzy. Expert caresses from a man totally in tune with her body.

She wanted to hold something back, to not give him the satisfaction of taking her to the place where she would chant his name, but she knew that wouldn’t be possible. The months apart only made the yearning spiral tighter.

Then his mouth touched against her. That tongue licked up inside her until he found her clit. He sucked until a breath hiccupped in her lungs. This time she couldn’t fight off the sensations. Light and dark exploded as she dug her heels into the bed. She shifted her hips, trying to bring his fingers deeper inside. But he toyed with her, making her slick but not giving her the touch she needed to send her careening over the edge.

With one final lick, her inner thighs pressed against his shoulders as she tried to tighten the tiny muscles inside her. He picked that moment to sit back then stand. Heavy breaths caught in her throat as she forced her eyes to stay open and watch him. She bit back the call to bring him back.

Need clouded her mind as she saw his shirt open and untucked. When his hand went to his belt, she sat up and slid to the edge of the bed. Her hands pushed his aside as she pressed her lips to the bulge under his dress pants. His cock jerked under her mouth and through the material. Loving the reaction, she did it again, rubbing the heel of her hand over his length until every inch was outlined and straining.

“Damn.” The breathy word sounded like it had been pulled out of him.

His hands went to her shoulders as her fingers went to work. She opened the belt, letting the buckle drop open as she abandoned it for the zipper. A rasp echoed through the room when she ticked it down in careful beats.

With his fly open and his hands in her hair, she slid her fingers inside and took out his cock. Long and smooth, heavy and warm.

The punch of desire nearly knocked her backward.

Unable to stop, she licked her tongue along his length. When his hips shifted, she slipped the head into her mouth and sucked. Her hand pumped, her lips moved up and down. Heavy breathing filled her ears and she didn’t know if it came from her, or him, or both.

When his hips bucked a second time, he slipped a hand under her chin and lifted her head. “Not in your mouth this time.”

She flicked her tongue over his top. “Yes.”

“I said no, and I decide how to use your body.” He pushed her back against the mattress. His body followed hers. She’d barely adjusted to the secure sensation of his weight anchored over her when she heard the crinkle of a wrapper. Her gaze followed the sound to the condom in his hand.