But he knew better.
It had been a platonic kiss, nothing more. It was just a show of thanks. Besides, sex with Ashlen would be distracting to his job, and she was the type of girl who would expect more from him than just a night of fucking. He couldn’t give that to her, so he would have to clear his mind and stop thinking with his dick.
Bryant’s words also hung heavy in his head.
Under no circumstances are you to have relations with this woman.
There was just no way Mercer was going to risk the wrath of Miles Bryant for a quick screw—even if it was with Ashlen.
Or could he?
Damn it, he thought, now conflicted.
“Yeah, sure,” he finally mumbled, suddenly feeling that he needed to get some distance between then and fast. He walked over to the living room area. He found himself pacing back and forth. He caught a glimpse of her, her face looking concerned.
“Go to bed, Ashlen,” he told her firmly, “before I do something that I’ll regret.”
“What?” She murmured.
“I said, go to bed,” he repeated, almost growling.
“No,” she said defiantly.
Her facial expression was also defiant.
Mercer stared at her. He was starting to get hot. She was starting to show her sassy side, which he was not in the mood for right now. If she continued doing what she was doing, she’d get hurt. He knew that. She didn’t.
“You’re treading on dangerous waters here,” he growled.
“I don’t care,” she snapped. “You’re going to tell me why you kissed me last night.”
He continued passing between the kitchen and the living room. Couldn’t she see how worked up he had become? Why was she pushing the issue?
Something snapped within him.
He didn’t care if he was being paid to protect her. He didn’t care that this would make him lose focus on his job. He didn’t care if she would get hurt. He didn’t care what Bryant would think. All he wanted was her, all her spunky sass and succulently sweet personality.
Mercer stalked over to her from where he had stopped in the living room. She had tensed slightly but didn’t look afraid. He got up right in front of where she had been sitting by the countertop. She didn’t even flinch. She was getting even bolder with him by the second. However, the spunkier she got, the more and more he wanted her.
The hell with it, he thought.
Boldly, he cupped her face with one of his hands. He pushed his lips down upon hers and began a deep, long kiss.
✽ ✽ ✽
Wow, what a kisser, Ashlen realized as Mercer worked magic with his lips. She responded with her own, drinking him in.
“Because I want you,” he breathed as he pulled away from her lips and began kissing a trail down her neck.
She could feel herself melting as his lips pressed again and again against her neck.
“Huh?” She murmured, her eyes shut.
She had completely forgotten about their previous conversation.
He pressed his body between her legs where she sat at the kitchen counter. She snapped open her eyes and let out a tiny gasp as she felt an erection pressing into her. This little outburst did not seem to faze Mercer as he continued to kiss her.
“The answer to your question: I kissed you because I want you,” he clarified, continuing to kiss further down to her collarbone.
When he got to the edge of her shirt, he lifted his head and studied the fabric, as if deciding what his next course of action would be. Then, he took the bottom of the shirt and slowly began raising it up her body and over her head. She let him, raising her arms to make it easier for him.
Ashlen vaguely wondered what she was doing. He was practically a stranger to her. They had just met for crying out loud. However, there was another part of her that wanted him to continue doing this. She had been through a lot the last couple of days. She needed this badly. Mercer had been right the night before when he said she was wound as tight as a nun. Four years without sex was quite a long time to go.
She was in deep, deep trouble here.
Mercer studied her breasts, which were contained in a black bra (interesting, how she had decided to choose her cutest underwear when he had told her to pack so long ago). Then, he lowered his head and began kissing the exposed parts of her breasts, first the left one and then the right. She let out a stifled moan at his touch.
Ashlen could feel his hand sneaking around to her bra clasp. With a swift pinch of the clasp, the bra let loose and sagged down her shoulders, exposing her breasts.
She held her breath to see what his reaction would be to her smaller-than-she-preferred breasts. To her delight, his expression was the look of pure male appreciation.
“Beautiful,” he told her softly.
Ashlen found herself standing from her seat at the counter. She began fumbling for his shirt, but her hands were shaking too hard to be effective. He took control by helping her lift his shirt over his head. She stared at the rock-hard body that was littered with scars and burn marks on the far-right side.
The scars didn’t detract from his body, she had decided. They made him even more enticing.
He backed her around to the nearest wall and pressed into her, hard. He was such a tall man that she had to crane her neck to look at him. She didn’t have to for long, though, because he began kissing down her neck, her shoulders, and to her breasts. She closed her eyes and moaned. His mouth found one of her nipples and he began sucking the sensitive area.
All she could do was cling to him, wanting him all the while. She didn’t care about anything anymore. She didn’t care about Bruce Marino trying to snatch her up or that she was currently going heavy with a stranger. She just wanted this, so she let it happen.
Mercer had just started on her other breast when a sharp ringing sound cut through the air. It took Ashlen a moment to realize that it was the phone, not a cellphone but the house phone.
“I need to get that,” he said huskily.
They quickly detached from each other, Mercer stalking to the nearest phone in the living room. Ashlen quietly slumped away to find her bra and top.
“Yeah,” he breathed into the receiver as he picked it up.
There was a long pause before he said anything else.
“I see. No, I’m sure we’re fine. Thanks for letting me know. Send me any information you have, and we’ll figure it out.”
Ashlen listened to the one-sided conversation as she got her bra and top back on. When Mercer finally laid the receiver back down on its cradle, she was completely dressed and was trying to decide on the best course of retreat. Even after briefly being apart from him, she was starting to think more clearly. She was beginning to realize what a complete idiot she had been.
There was a look of utter disappointment on his face when he turned to see that they would not be continuing. However, he was quick to straighten out his face.
“That was the people I work for,” he told her. “I was IDed and am wanted for kidnapping and homicide.”
Ashlen gasped.
“Wait. What?”
He shrugged.
“It’s fine, though I’m not sure how they got me. My information was supposed to be scrubbed. I guess it wasn’t.”
“You…you didn’t kidnap me, though!” She exclaimed.
“As I said, it’s fine. Gray Tower will get it sorted out.”
“And how are they going to get…get this sorted out! Mercer, this is serious. Why are you acting so nonchalant?”
“It’s taken care of,” Mercer insisted.
Ashlen wasn’t sure how that possibly could be. This was serious. He could go to jail, yet he acted like it was nothing.
“You must work for a pretty nice company,” she muttered.
“You could say that.”
She hissed a short sigh out through her teeth. If he wasn’t worried about the situation, then she shouldn’t be, right?
Then, Ashlen thought back to just a
few moments before when she and Mercer had been having a heavy make-out session. She could feel her face growing hot thinking about it.
Glancing over at Mercer, she suddenly realized that he was still shirtless and looking amazingly hot. She had to admit that she kind of liked the scars. It gave him that hard-edged look that drove women wild, and judging by the way he had kissed her, he had taken his share of women to bed.
Suddenly, his expression changed to almost a sneer as he eyed her up and down. She instinctively took a step back.
“What we just did…” He began, his voice low. “Don’t worry about it. We should probably stop the physical shit. You’re beautiful. Don’t get me wrong. But I have a feeling that you want something more from me than what I can offer.”
Ashlen stood there, stunned. She hadn’t been expecting him to say that. Hell, she didn’t know what she had been expecting.
“What the hell do you know what I want?” She demanded. “We barely even know each other.”
“Not necessarily. I’ve read your little blog. You’re looking for boyfriend material, and you know that’s not me. Don’t get any notions, sweetheart. I haven’t had a ‘girlfriend’ since the eight-grade. I don’t do long term shit.”
There it was.
This was the side of Mercer Cade that she couldn’t stand. He was a complete bastard sometimes, maybe even all the time. That soft and gentle side that occasionally peaked out may just be a ruse to try and get her in bed, she realized. He knew exactly what to say to her to get her riled up or to hurt her.
And now she felt hurt. She wasn’t quite sure why. Ashlen certainly hadn’t expected anything from him. It was just that the way he kissed her left her breathless. She had never been kissed like that before, not even with Paul.
Yeah, of course, Mercer didn’t do “long term shit,” as he had put it so eloquently. She knew that. But it had been so nice to pretend that what they had shared might have been more. The way he had looked at her made her feel special, made her think that he felt something for her, instead of primal male attraction. Ashlen wasn’t the type who dated just to date; she wanted that long term relationship. She wanted marriage. If a man wouldn’t commit, she’d send him packing.
Crap, she didn’t even like the guy. Why had she let him undress her?
“I think I’m going to bed now,” she said stiffly.
He shrugged his shoulders. Yeah, like he was going to fight for her. He had lost his window of opportunity, so he wasn’t going to pursue her any longer.
She was able to hold herself together as she walked out of the living space and into her bedroom, but as soon as she shut the door, she broke down into tears. Mercer had said that they had to wait everything out for a few weeks when her uncle would be producing his shipment. She wasn’t sure if she could stand that many days with this guy.
Chapter 11
One Hour Earlier
Katherina Langely stared at her computer screens, trying to focus as best she could. As Gray Tower’s Head IT Security Specialist, it was important that she do her job as effectively as possible. Unfortunately, she was quite distracted, but in this case, she didn’t mind.
She let out a low moan as her boyfriend, Jack Hunter, worked his mouth over her pussy. He had arrived only a few minutes beforehand, saying he had something important to do. Jack headed up Tactical Operations at Gray Tower, and the two had kindled quite a relationship on their last operation. Now, it felt like they were inseparable.
Kat let out a low moan as Jack’s mouth worked her over.
He paused for a moment to mumble, “Just keep doing your work.”
“But I can’t…concentrate,” she said, gritting her teeth as he licked and sucked on her clit.
She could feel an orgasm building, and she wasn’t sure that she would last much longer. His mouth felt too good. The suction he created was too much. And when he concentrated directly on her clit, she wanted to scream.
Finally, she succumbed to the pleasure. Wave after wave of sheer bliss radiated through her until she was gasping.
Jack slowly rose from behind her desk, a grin plastered over his face. Kat sighed, thinking about how amazingly handsome he was. She wasn’t sure how she lucked out, but she was enjoying every moment with him.
Just then, the door to her office opened. Kat gasped and tugged up her jeggings in one swoop.
“Kat!” Her best friend, Alex, exclaimed from the doorway. “What the hell?”
Jack smiled and sauntered to the doorway.
“Alex,” he nodded, wiping his mouth slowly and leaving the room.
Kat felt her face growing hot as she watched Alex stand there, mouth hanging open. Alex knew exactly what had been going on, and, of course, Jack had owned it with that little display. Kat was going to kill him.
Looking at Alex with apprehension, Kat waited for the worst. Alex stood in the doorway stiffly. Kat’s friend was beautiful. Long blonde hair was done in waves while her make-up and a tailored suit made her look both professional and stunning. At one time, Kat would have been jealous of her, but now, she had realized that she was just as beautiful—at least Jack made her feel that way. That was progress, right?
Kat waited for the inevitable scolding from her friend. As Miles Bryant’s Administrative Assistant, Alex had a lot of responsibility and pull in the company. She and Jack could get in a lot of trouble for what they had just done.
Instead, Alex started laughing. She laughed so hard that tears pricked her eyes.
“Oh my, Kat. You two are too much. How was it, by the way?”
Kat’s body was still humming from her orgasm, despite the embarrassment. She grinned.
“I can’t even tell you how amazing Jack is,” she said, recovering from the predicament.
“I bet,” Alex said, smiling. “So, besides fooling around with your boyfriend at work, what have you been up to?”
“It’s been a pretty quiet day, so not much. If things are running properly, then my job becomes easy. It’s when everything goes wrong that I’m scrambling.”
Alex nodded and said, “I understand. Gray Tower is lucky to have you.”
Kat glanced at one of her computer screens which contained a news feed. Usually, she had tech news on, so she could advance her skills. It took a lot of research to stay up to date in her field. This time, though, she just had on the regular news. However, what she saw made her choke.
“Oh, what the hell?” She exclaimed.
Alex looked concerned and asked, “What’s wrong?
“Look! Just look!”
She walked over to where Kat was sitting and stared at the screen in horror. Mercer Cade’s picture was all over the news. It read:
Wanted for murder and kidnapping.
“Oh no!” Alex exclaimed. “How could this have happened? Where was the clean-up crew?”
“I don’t know,” Kat replied. “But we need to let Miles know immediately. This needs to be fixed and fast.”
Alex nodded and said, “We can get it cleaned up. Gray Tower knows people in some high up positions in all areas of law enforcement and government. It shouldn’t be a problem. I’m just worried about the implications of having his face plastered all over the news. That could be a huge issue if someone spots him.”
“Let’s get to his office,” Kat said. “This is big.”
The women left the room and hurried to Bryant’s office without another word.
✽ ✽ ✽
Present
You are a fucking idiot, Mercer reminded himself as he set his 9mm on the nightstand of his bedroom.
He had no idea what possessed him to act like a complete jerk to her. He supposed that he had been frustrated when he had answered the phone only to see her putting her clothes back on. Mercer knew that he had lost his chance.
He grumbled at Gray Tower. They had cock-blocked him, he realized. He understood why, though. Being IDed and sought after for murder and kidnapping would make things a lot harder for them. They’d have to hide ou
t in this cabin for the remainder of the time.
However, the only person he could blame was himself. Yeah, he could get her worked up by being a bit of an ass to her, but what he had seen when he had told her that he didn’t do long term relationships had been hurt. He could see it in her eyes. The fact of the matter was, she had let him suckle on those fantastic breasts of hers with the expectation that he would at least try to make it something more between them. She was looking for something more than just a fuck, and he couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—give that to her.
Unfortunately, she was so different from all the other women that he had been attracted to that she was making him do and say things that shocked the hell out of him. Yeah, he didn’t go for long-term relationships, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had treated a woman so badly before. The only reason he could think of was that she was starting to get to him. Something about her was starting to grate at his soul.
Bryant’s going to kill me, he realized. He absolutely cannot know that I fooled around with her.
Mercer peeled out of his clothes, all except for his boxers, trying to forget their little interaction earlier. He settled down into the bed and flicked out the light.
Sleep did not come easily, though. He was still worked up over Ashlen. His dick was still throbbing. Trying to ignore it, he tossed and turned until he relaxed enough to find some actual sleep.
He finally drifted off into blackness. It was a sweet unconsciousness that he needed. He wasn’t sure how long he was out; it didn’t feel that long.
Suddenly, he felt movement from around him. He snapped his eyes open, very awake at this point. Instead of going for his gun, which could get dangerous in such a small space, he found the four-inch knife that he kept in his boot, which was sitting on his nightstand, and lunged at the shadow that was moving silently across the room. He tackled the figure, landing on top of it and pinning it to the ground, his knife pressing into the figure’s neck.
There was a feminine whimper below him.
Oh God, he realized when he identified the intruder.
It wasn’t one of Marino’s thugs; it was Ashlen. And she was terrified. All his weight was pressing down on her, so he shifted as best as he could.
Perilous Games (Gray Tower Book 3) Page 9