Mercy (6 page)

Wade slipped Elijah’s cock through the slit in the boxer briefs. Pumped his hand up and down until it swelled to life. He drew the head into his mouth and licked his tongue over the tip. The smell, the hardness, touched off a wild frenzy inside Wade.

His mouth slid down, taking Eli deeper as his moan echoed through the cavernous room. Loving the husky sound, Wade pushed the cock to the back of his throat then slowly drew it out again.

“Wade . . .” His voice cut off. “That feels so damn good.”

Wade licked a line up Eli’s cock. “I love the way you taste.”

Elijah’s head fell forward as he whispered into Wade’s hair. “Then make me come.”

SEV
E
N

Jarrett propped his back against the stacked pillows of the guest bed and watched Becca. Slow and steady, she sat up. Facing him with her legs crossed in front of her, she picked up a stray pillow and tucked it in her lap, between her legs, covering all but her shoulders and thighs to his view.

He would have ordered her to put it down and show him everything, but the sex clouded his head. Even now need pounded him. He fought back the urge to roll her under him and slip inside her again.

It had taken only the barest touch of her skin to transport him back to the time before her betrayal. His tongue licked inside her and he forgot about her lies and willingness to hand him over to people who wanted to destroy him and all he’d built. That body, that mind. She wove a spell around him, dragging him in deeper. If she hadn’t tried to kiss him, he’d probably be drooling like a pathetic dog at her feet.

His lack of control pissed him off. Made him long to hate her.

Maybe hearing whatever tale she wanted to sell him would restoke his rage. He didn’t even bother to pull up his pants. He just lay there, bare assed with his pants shoved down to his upper thighs. Ready to laugh off whatever bullshit line she planned to feed him.

“I’m listening,” he said as he forced his mind off her body and back to her lying words.

“This isn’t a secret.” Her hair drifted over her shoulder. “I need somewhere to hide while I figure this out.”

“So, I’m your landlord and we’re trading sex for rent.” He should want that, demand it even. Yet he hated the thought of being used by her for nothing more than a release and a roof.

She clenched the pillow tighter against her bare chest. “I didn’t say that.”

“While I admit I don’t know you—you proved that eight months ago—I did learn something living with you.”

“Like?”

“You aren’t the hang-around-the-house type.” Now he knew she’d been too busy snooping and reporting back to her superiors.

“Maybe I am now.”

He scoffed. “Sure.”

“I’m tired of running, Jarrett. It started as a kid and I still haven’t stopped.”

Jarrett knew her history. The custody case that blew up into a kidnapping and international race. Years of hiding, changing names and moving around. It all ended with her father dying at the end of a police officer’s gun and Becca blaming her mother.

The fact that Becca dealt with the upheaval by picking a career that put her on the run fascinated Jarrett. When he first found out her life was a lie he expected her childhood history to be part of the concocted cover, but the file he collected on her backed it all up. It was quite possible her upbringing was the one truth she’d told him.

But no way would he let the sad story or the exhaustion in her voice pull at him. This was all about acting for her. About carefully throwing out a word for maximum impact and getting what she wanted, regardless of what that did to him. “I’m betting you have a safe house and stored money. Yet here you are with not even an extra shirt to your name.”

She rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t let me wear it if I did.”

Seemed the wariness that followed her when she first arrived was now gone, and sarcasm moved into its place. Wasn’t that just fucking great? “Tell me about the safe house.”

She fiddled with the bottom edge of the pillow, rubbing it between two fingers. “Exactly why would you think I have one?”

“Humor me.”

“I kind of am.”

His temper flared and he had to clamp down hard to keep his back against the pillows and his indifference in place. “Rebecca.”

“The safe house was a rendezvous spot for the team. Since most of the team members are now dead,
hanging out
there seemed like a bad idea.”

“Probably a good call.”

“Someone cleaned out two of the drops where I kept money and identification documents.” She exhaled, letting her head drop back and treating him to the enticing length of her neck. “The crash pad I had on my own could be compromised because I have no idea who knows what or how.”

“I’m betting there’s more to this story.”

“I know everyone thinks operatives have passports hidden in every country, but I don’t.” She lowered her head and faced him again. “And what I do have hidden I have to be able to get to without being shot or set on fire, so there’s that.”

He ignored the fire part. “So you came to me.”

She shook her head and her mouth moved, all before her shoulders fell. “Okay, yes.”

“The man you betrayed.” This time he moved. He couldn’t stand to sit still one more second.

The point was to reduce their interaction to sex, distant yet satisfying. In-depth conversations and unaccounted for time together would only lead to trouble. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and the bottom two holding his shirt closed.

“Again, not how I would phrase it.” Her words came out slowly as her gaze followed his hands.

“I’m stating a fact.” He shrugged out of his shirt and threw it in a heap on the chair next to the bed.

“It’s a matter of perception. From where I sit you were the liar.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about the drugs, because they were not mine.” Rather than dwell on her words, he shoved his pants the rest of the way down his legs.

“So you say.”

“Put the pillow down.” He spared her a glance as he kicked off the last of his clothes. When he noticed she hadn’t moved, he tried to make his command clearer. “Now.”

“Jarrett, you don’t need to order me around.” The pillow moved against her as her breathing grew heavier. “I’m not fighting you about having sex. I said I was yours and I meant it.”

“Happy to hear it.” He took off the condom and wrapped a hand around his cock. “Move the pillow.”

She eased her hold on it. “You need to know you can’t break me.”

“An interesting concept.” He watched her as she eased her legs apart. “Why do you think I want to?”

“Experience.”

“While we’re on that subject, you know what I like.” Her mouth over him until his cock slid down her throat. Her riding him. Him sucking those nipples. He planned to run through every mind-blowing step then go downstairs and not let it touch him. Pretend it never happened.

“Does that mean the interrogation is over?” she asked.

“Come over here and we’ll see.”

He expected a battle. It wasn’t until she dropped the pillow on the mattress and showed him those breasts that he realized he was not the only one using sex to his advantage. She avoided his question. Expertly.

Damn her
.

When she sprawled against his thighs and her fingers skimmed down his cock, he fought off the sensations rippling through him. With a hand under her chin he lifted her head. “Tell me the rest.”

She blinked several times. “What?”

“Why do you need
me
specifically and not some other guy you fucked on the job?” He cupped her cheek and didn’t let her turn away. “If you want to be treated as more than a sex toy, you might want to try the truth.”

“Sex toy?”

“Is there a term you’d prefer?”

When he let go, she dropped her head to the side, sending her hair falling over his bare thighs. Seeing that, feeling the gentle touch, had the air punching against the walls of his chest. She started talking a second before he forgot his plan and dragged her up to straddle him.

“Your computer system,” she said.

His mind rushed to catch up with his dick. “Excuse me?”

“I need access to your computer system with its rotating IP addresses and bouncing signal through proxy servers and whatever else you have that will ensure no one backtracks the snooping to me.”

He framed her face with his hands and forced her to give him full eye contact again. Not that she couldn’t lie without blinking, but he wanted to make the task difficult at least. “You think I’m handing you my passwords?”

She nodded. “And opening your Rolodex, or whatever electronic version you have of one. Might be I need your contacts to dig deep enough to figure out why everything went sideways on Spectrum and who placed the order to kill off the team.”

He wasn’t sure if he should be impressed by her hubris or stunned by her insanity. “Ignoring the fact none of that is ever going to happen, if you do manage to get to ground zero on this fact-finding mission, what then?”

“I convince the person doing the attacking to leave me alone.”

He snapped his fingers. “Just like that, huh?” But he knew she wasn’t talking about a friendly chat. She was a survivor and would take down whoever got in the way.

“Yes.”

Looks like insanity won the day. “No way any of that is going to happen.”

“We can set up any parameters you want.” She crawled up his body, stopping when her knees touched the outside of his hips. “But I need the power circles you move in to make this work.”

He tried not to touch her, but she wasn’t making that easy. With all the sifting and bouncing, her breast brushed against his cheek and now pressed against his chest.

He cleared his throat, but it didn’t do anything to stop the erotic dance playing in his head or the swelling of his cock right beneath her. “You mean you want my Holton Woods client list.”

With her hands planted on the headboard she leaned in closer. “Possibly.”

Sweet hell
. Her scent wrapped around him, and his body jerked when her wetness pressed against his thigh.

“You’ve lost your mind.” And he was two seconds away from losing his.

“I’m desperate.”

His hands went to her hips. He had to slow this down, if only to grab a second condom. “Apparently.”

“And I am willing to give you whatever you need to help me.” She said the words while trailing a line of kisses down his throat.

“You mentioned my need for revenge. What do you do if all investigative roads lead to me?”

She lifted her head, slipped her fingers through his hair. “Are you trying to kill me, Jarrett?”

He was a fucking dead man
. “You aren’t going to control this situation or me.”

She pushed up on her knees. With a hand on the back of his head, she brought her nipple to his mouth. “We’ll see.”

•   •   •

Wade groaned as he rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. His head spun, so he grabbed on to the mattress to keep from tipping back over.

Eli had drained every ounce of energy from his body. Even now Wade looked down to where his limp cock lay against his thigh and tried to remember when his pants came off. Eli’s mouth and hands. The sex was a wild ride that had Wade hooked.

“One more round.” Elijah’s sleepy voice echoed through the room with his favorite refrain.

Wade already expected his legs to wobble when he stood up. “Another round and you’ll have to carry me downstairs.”

Eli laughed, something he rarely did. “That would be interesting.”

“I’m trying to imagine what the club patrons would say.” Wade didn’t hide his sexuality, but he didn’t advertise it either. Once or twice club members had come on to him and he shut that down fast. No way was he screwing with the folks he served.

When he leaned forward, thinking he’d get up, Eli stopped him with a hand on the arm. “Don’t leave yet.”

A second later his palm skimmed over Wade’s back. Fingers traveled down his spine to the top of his ass. Then lips pressed against his bare hip.

The man had the stamina of a boy half his age.

Wade twisted around to look at his lover. Eli rested on his side as his tongue licked over Wade’s skin. The exhaustion so prevalent when he tried to sit up less than a minute ago vanished. His body revved to life and he had to smile at how quickly his mind turned from
I can’t move
to
I want him again.

Still, he held on to common sense this time. Knowing Jarrett didn’t accept “having good sex with Eli” as an excuse for being late opening the club helped. “I can’t.”

Eli leaned back and stared up at Wade. “Are you too sore?”

He rubbed his palm over Eli’s upper arm, tracing the line of his muscle with his finger. “I’m good.”

“You’re fucking great, but that’s not news.” Eli dropped back against the pillows in a sprawl.

“You’re talking about the sex, I’m assuming.”

Eli’s dark-eyed gaze toured Wade’s face. “In part.”

Defining their time together as something more than sex? That was new. “Really?”

“I know I can be a shit.”

“True.”

“Thinking about Becca being in the same building makes me crazed and this situation . . .” Eli exhaled long and loud as his hand fell back against the pillow. “I’m just saying you’re the one good thing I have going now.”

Wade hated that the words meant so much, but Eli rarely opened up. Only in bed did he lower his defenses. He stayed in black-ops shutdown mode most of the time. He’d made clear at the start the relationship would revolve around sex, then end when he no longer needed to hide out in the building.

And now this. Leave it to Eli to open the door to real emotion when Wade had to get downstairs to work.

He balanced a palm against the bed and leaned over Elijah. “I know this situation, being hunted, sucks for you.”

“My temper tends to rage even without being threatened, but it’s true bucking death isn’t helping.”

“You’re getting better about the outbursts.” And Wade welcomed the change.

At first Eli slammed around like a caged animal, only finding any sort of peace when they had sex. Now he could relax enough to study files and not need to pace around mumbling.

“Because of you.” Eli’s hand trailed down Wade’s chest.

Wariness warred with pounding excitement inside Wade. “What brought this on?”

Eli frowned. “Things are going to get bad. While she’s here, I mean.”

Wade feared the same thing. “Okay.”

“Well, I want you to know when I lose it, and I will, it’s not about you.”

His cock jerked to life when Eli’s fingers slipped down and around him.

Wade tried to clear his throat but whatever was stuck in there wouldn’t budge. “You could try not losing control.”

Eli leaned forward and ran his tongue over Wade’s nipple. “Not possible around you.”