Men of Mercy: The Complete Story

by Cross, Lindsay

  “Worried? I was terrified. I thought...I didn't know what to think.” He reached for her and Hayden just barely kept herself from flinching. She let him take her hand, knowing she had to say something now, before he tried anything. “Listen, about the other night.”

  “It was the best night I've had all year. I know you can't come over anytime soon, not with your wound, but I can spend time here. I'll help take care of you.”

  “That's sweet, but I'm okay. Really.”

  Chance released her hand and leaned away, giving her some space. Hayden quickly tucked her hand under her leg.

  “I found this.” Chance reached around the side of the couch and came up with a pink backpack. Her pink backpack.

  Hayden gasped. “I thought it was a goner.”

  “I tried to get the blood out, but it had already set. I took it to the dry cleaners, but they looked at me like I was crazy.” Chance set it on the floor at her feet and Hayden grabbed the zipper and yanked it open.

  Her research papers, her homework, her textbooks. A whole semester of work was inside that bag. “Thank you so much. I'd thought I'd lost everything.”

  Chance's hand lowered to cover hers on top of the bag. “Anything for you.”

  When she looked up, his face was only inches from hers. Hayden sucked in a breath and tried to pull back, but he just followed her.

  No. No. No. Open your mouth, tell him about Hoyt.

  He got so close she could feel his breath on her face.

  “Chance, stop. I'm in love with someone else.”

  His features froze into a hard mask. “Who?”

  “Me.” Hoyt's coarse voice came from the doorway. Hayden twisted her head around to look at him, her heart hammering in relief.

  “Who are you?” Chance's voice deepened, got harder.

  Hoyt's lip turned up in a snarl. “I'm the guy who's going to kick your ass if you don't back off from her.”

  Chance glanced at Hayden, his eyes wide. “Is that true? You're with him?”

  Hayden nodded, her throat tight. Hoyt had finally come to her. He wanted her, he’d claimed her. “I'm with him.”

  Hayden rose and went to Hoyt. When he put his arm around her waist, her world finally fell into place.

  “Him?” Chance repeated.

  Hoyt went stiff. His arm pulled tense and Hayden's chest tightened in response. “Chance, I meant to tell you today. I'm sorry. I know you wanted more, but my heart belongs to Hoyt.”

  * * *

  Hayden's words filled the empty pit in his chest, and when Hoyt looked down at her, her eyes were glimmering with emotion.

  His.

  “You'd pick that over me?”

  Monster… Would his scars ever stop haunting him? He felt the panic rise, ready to take over and lock him down. And then Hayden’s words rose to the forefront and knocked his fear on his ass. Fury licked through Hoyt's veins, and this time he didn't try to shove it down and be a martyr. “You heard her.”

  “Chance, please try to understand. I never meant to hurt you.”

  Chance's lip curled. Hoyt recognized the look of disgust, but it vanished just as quickly as it had surfaced. The kid’s body language relaxed and he tucked his hands into his pockets. Something that seemed totally out of place given the situation. Hoyt didn't trust it—or him—one bit.

  “I'm sorry, you're right. I'm happy for you, Hayden.”

  Hoyt felt Hayden relax into his side, but he stayed focused on pretty boy. Warning bells were going off. If the kid really liked Hayden, he wouldn't relent so fast. Not like this.

  Frat boy shifted to his right foot and cocked his head to a slight angle. The smile slithering across his lips didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  “I think you should leave,” Hoyt blurted out. “Now.”

  “Hoyt-” Hayden gasped.

  “He's right. I'll go.” Chance started their way and held a hand out to Hoyt. “Take care of her.”

  Hoyt held Hayden to his side as he took Chance's hand with his free one, squeezing extra hard. “I already am.”

  He let go and Chance gave him the kind of hard smile serial killers gave their victims just before they disemboweled them.

  “I guess I'll see you around campus. Goodbye, Hayden.”

  Keeping Hayden tucked close to him, Hoyt walked Chance to the door. The kid’s escort was still standing by the shiny black Land Rover in the front drive. Chance paused by the yellow Hummer, his expression hardening into granite, and then got into his car and backed out of the driveway.

  “I feel bad,” Hayden said.

  “Don't, that guy is a punk.”

  “He was heartbroken.”

  Hoyt snorted and pulled Hayden inside, locking the door behind him. Before she could come to that prick's defense, Hoyt turned her in his arms, careful not to hurt her shoulder, and tilted her chin up. “Now, did you mean what you said? Do I have your heart?”

  Hayden gazed up at him and his stomach got tight enough to crack his spinal cord. What if she had changed her mind?

  She rose up on her toes, her lips only a whisper away from his. “You've had my heart since the beginning.”

  Her words broke the dam inside him and Hoyt crushed his mouth to hers. He was finished with holding back. He had Hayden James in his house, in his arms and he wasn't letting go ever again.

  Hoyt broke the kiss and lifted her into the air. He had all afternoon before he had to rotate back into position, and he meant to spend it in bed.

  “What is this? Speed dating? Where'd the punk go?” Hunter stepped into the living room from the kitchen, blocking Hoyt's path to his bedroom.

  “Not now. Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?” Hayden put her arm around Hoyt's neck and glared at her brother.

  Hoyt smiled at his tigress.

  “What are you doing here?” Hunter asked.

  “I live here.”

  “Not while my sister is here.”

  “Oh my gosh, would you quit already? What is your deal?” Hayden dug her nails into Hoyt’s shoulder, the little pricks of pain a balm to him. She was pissed at her brother, and so was Hoyt. He was sick of taking Hunter’s shit. Promise or no promise.

  “Deal’s off, bro.” With his entire being. There was no way he was turning back now, not even if Hunter put a gun to his head.

  “What deal?” Hayden looked up at Hoyt, but he kept his gaze locked on Hunter’s. Then she went stiff as a board in his arms, and he knew she'd figured it out on her own. “You! You are part of the reason he's been avoiding me like the freaking plague. You know how I feel about him. How could you just stand by and watch my heart break?”

  Hunter dropped his arms and Hoyt saw the first crack in the guy's hard-as-steel shell. “Look, he's not good for you.”

  “He is good for me. He is the only man good for me.” Hayden stabbed at her chest with her finger.

  Hoyt clamped his lips shut. He would stay out of the sibling argument for as long as he could. Hayden was tough; she could deal with this on her own.

  “He's not good for you. Is this the life you want? To be worried and anxious all the time? To be with a guy who's gone on missions more than he's at home?”

  Hoyt felt her tremble in his arms. “If it means I get to have him, then yes. That is exactly what I want.”

  Hunter switched tactics. “Hoyt, you know you're messed up. Can you really give my sister the life she deserves?”

  Those words would normally have stabbed Hoyt, cut him up on the inside. But not today. “No one on this planet is good enough for her, but I love her. And I'll spend the rest of my life taking care of her.”

  Hunter took a step back, his black eyes going wide. Hayden turned to look at Hoyt, her expression raw and beautiful. “I love you too.”

  “Everyone in this house has gone crazy,” Hunter said.

  “Hunter James, what on earth are you doing?” Hoyt spun around to see Evangeline Videl James—Evie, for short—with her hands propped on her hips and her mouth set in
a firm line. Hunter's five-foot-tall wife marched over to him, glaring with enough intensity to burn holes into flesh. “I heard that whole conversation.”

  “Evie, stay out of this.”

  “You owe your sister an apology.”

  “No way.”

  “How could you treat Hoyt like that? He's your teammate.”

  Sensing movement from the corner of his eye, Hoyt glanced at the kitchen doorway. Rowdy and half his team were watching the drama like it was a soap opera. Poor Hunter. His team leader’s attitude hurt, there was no denying that, but he understood where Hunter was coming from. Not one guy on the team wanted his sister to date another operator. Not because they weren't honorable men, but because they each knew the risks that came with the job.

  “Evie, cool down. I'm just looking out for my sister.” The big guy was backing down, his shoulders drooping.

  “Look at her, does she look like she needs you to watch out for her?”

  Hunter's gaze slammed into Hoyt's, but nope, he wasn’t helping. Hunter had dug his own hole.

  Hayden whispered in his ear, “Let’s slip out.”

  “You're a genius.” Hoyt turned and strode out of the room, giving Rowdy's team a nod as they passed them in the kitchen, and slipped into the last bedroom at the end of the hall.

  He kicked the door shut behind them, locked it, and crossed to the bed.

  “I love the flowers.”

  Her gaze was hypnotizing. “I'm glad.”

  “Make love to me.”

  Chapter 31

  Hoyt took one look at the hot desire in her gaze and he was a goner. Her arousal wrapped around him, taking control of his body, his mind, his heart. Unable to resist, Hoyt cupped her head in his hand and lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was gentle at first, but then her tongue met his, dancing, teasing and tasting. Hoyt felt his own raging need echoed in the little moans she was making as he took the kiss deeper. Harder.

  Her sweet bow-shaped lips fit his like a missing piece. He didn’t want to let her go, but now that he’d taken the crucial step of declaring himself to her, he was hungry for more. Hoyt gently lowered her to the bed, never breaking contact with her mouth. She was his. He would claim her, now, and he would never stop.

  When she was flat on the bed, he nudged her knees apart and settled there, careful to keep his weight on his forearms to avoid crushing her or hurting her shoulder. Her heated moans filled the room and her hand went to the back of his head, sliding over his skull and down his neck, pulling him closer as she wiggled and shifted beneath him.

  She tasted like heaven, like pure sweet heaven. Her hot little tongue darting with his, meeting him every single inch of the way. Hoyt groaned and thrust his hips against her, needing to feel her heat to help relieve some of the pressure building in his throbbing cock.

  He needed to bury himself deep inside her, until there was no starting and stopping, but they were simply together as one. Hoyt broke the kiss for long enough to say, “Need to see you.”

  His hands trembled like an addict in need of a fix. Hoyt wanted to rip the clothes from her body, but forced himself to go slow, snapping the buttons on her shirt free one by one. Her right arm was bandaged and he'd kill himself before he hurt her.

  Hayden gave a throaty laugh filled with sensual longing—a sound that shot straight to his cock.

  Finally, he pushed the edges of her shirt wide and nearly came right there. She wasn’t wearing a bra, so her chest was bared to him, her perfect pink nipples all tight and straining for his touch. Hoyt reached his hands out with reverence and filled his palms with her breasts, issuing a pained groan. Her nipples were hard pebbles against his palms.

  He'd waited so long, denied his need for so long. He could feel Hayden filling that empty hole in his chest, the one he’d despaired of ever losing. He'd be damned if he ever let her go again. He needed her, and he was finally willing to admit it.

  Hoyt lowered his mouth to her chest and took one small bud into his mouth, licking light and soft at first, wanting to drive her crazy with need.

  She held him to her, her chest rising and falling in bursts. “Hoyt, that feels...” He sucked harder, taking her into his whole mouth. She cried out, and it sounded like music to his ears. Hoyt kept drawing on her, his hand on her other breast, plucking and rolling her nipple until she undulated against him.

  Hoyt switched, lavishing the same attention on her other nipple. She writhed in his arms and Hoyt put a hand on her belly to hold her down.

  “Don't hurt your shoulder.”

  Hayden dug her nails into his arms. “I can't promise you that.”

  He licked her nipple and she gasped, arching up into his mouth.

  Long honey blonde strands fanned out across the pillow, framing her face and her eyes, which had become pools of need. She strained up against his hand, and Hoyt had to summon all of his control to keep from ripping her pants off and driving into her.

  “You’re so gorgeous.” He kissed a path down her flat belly, circling her navel, and dipped a finger into her waist band. Her skin was hot satin beneath his calloused fingers. Hayden writhed beneath him, palming his neck and trying to bring his mouth back to hers. Hoyt took her hand and placed it on her breast. “Touch yourself. Let me see you.”

  She complied immediately and cupped her breasts, arching into her hands, wishing it were Hoyt’s. Shaking with need, Hoyt pulled her pants down and tossed them to the floor. He sat back and stared at the perfect beauty laid out for his pleasure, unable to draw a steady breath. He could hardly believe she was his.

  He lowered himself to the bed between her legs and pushed her knees wide, locking in on the bare, wet little slit begging for his mouth. Hoyt lowered his head and tongued her tight bud, his eyes rolling back in his head at her sensuous taste. He growled and dove in, licking and sucking until her whole body trembled beneath him. Smooth and soft and natural. Honey and spice. He craved her like he did air and water.

  And right now, he wanted to make her scream.

  He pushed her thighs wider and dipped a finger into her, watching in fascination as her slick juices coated his skin. He teased her opening, sliding up to circle her nub and then moving back down, over and over, until she was crying out his name and begging. Hoyt lowered his mouth back down, needing to taste more of her. When he tongued her this time, he slid one finger inside, stretching her tight folds as she squeezed around him, milking him. “Hoyt, I'm so close.”

  His answer was a growl. He sucked her between his lips, flicking back and forth over her clit, mimicking the motion inside her with his finger. She stiffened. Her hips came completely off the bed as she fell apart. Hoyt shoved his hands under her hips and held her to his mouth, catching every drop, his cock twitching and straining against his jeans.

  She had all of him. She could either destroy him or make him whole again. And he was helpless to do anything other than love her.

  * * *

  Hayden stared down at Hoyt and the lust darkening his gaze. She couldn't catch her breath. Her body tingled and spasmed. The orgasm had taken hold of her so fast and hard she couldn't do anything but ride it out and pray she didn't shatter.

  Hoyt held her gaze and lowered his head, his tongue darting out for another lick. Hayden tensed, the pleasure too much, her nerves too raw. “Hoyt.”

  Slowly, he lapped at her again, this time with a gentle flicking. Soon she was close again, so close, burning with white-hot need. But he stopped before she could fall apart, leaving her panting and wild.

  Like a dark god, he rose to his knees and ripped off his shirt. Hayden's breath caught at the sight. Two huge scorpion tattoos wrapped up his arms, the tails licked over his shoulders and just barely up his neck.

  Hard muscles rippled beneath his flesh. Her mouth went dry. He was the most beautiful broken man she'd ever seen. And he was hers. His eyes glowed with aching need and vulnerability, and Hayden realized he was waiting on her. Her heart tore and she held out her hand to him, needing this connection
, needing him inside her. To take her, to claim her as his own.

  He climbed up and over her, covering her chest with his, and took her mouth in a kiss meant to destroy her defenses. Hayden surrendered, glad she’d never stopped taking her birth control. She couldn't stop touching him—his arms, his shoulders, his chest. She cursed her damn useless injured arm, because she wanted to cradle him even closer.

  “Hoyt, I want to see you. All of you.” She was breathing so hard now. Longing filled her every pore, setting her skin on fire.

  Hoyt leaned back, and the uncertainty in his expression nearly ate her alive. If the people responsible for hurting him weren't dead already, she would have hunted them down herself.

  Drawing in a shuddering breath, Hoyt stood beside the bed and dropped his pants to the floor, fisting his hands at his sides. Sweet Jesus, he was perfection. His thighs corded with muscle, ripped cut abs sawing in and out with his rapid breaths.

  “Come here.” Hayden reached for him and he went to her, cupping her face between his palms and gently taking her mouth. Hayden wanted more. She nipped and bit, sucking his lower lip between hers. Hoyt groaned, tightening his fingers around her head. “I want to touch you, help me up.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” She was more sure now than she'd ever been. Hoyt was on his knees, so Hayden got to hers, facing him. She reached out and traced the hard line down his sternum, learning the feel of him again. The hot smooth satin over hard steel. With the tattoo, she could barely make out the small cuts and scars crisscrossing his body, but she wanted to. She wanted to see all of him. The real Hoyt.

  Hayden pressed a kiss to his chest, working her way to his flat nipple. When she took it between her lips, he hissed in a breath and speared his fingers through her hair. Pleasure flooded her body, heated her core. Hayden worked her way down his torso, licking and kissing each scar, feeling each one in her soul.