Cotter’s legs buckled. “You mean I just called Mankel out on TV and he still has my baby girl!?”
Riser pushed him back to the bed. “Calm down. We need to reason this out. You’ve provided the motive, but now we need to know why. Why wait all these years to make his move?”
“Think Senator, is there anything big going on in the government we need to know about? Anything he’d want enough to play his ace in the hole?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, the wedding for Caro and the General was a big deal then. It would have helped solidify our ties in JSOC, but that’s not Earth changing.”
Merc exchanged a glance with Hunter. Cotter had treated his daughter like a business deal and even though Merc knew that he’d fallen for Marissa and not Caroline, he still despised the man for that.
“There has to be something else, something he wants access to that you can give him,” Merc said.
“No – wait. Maybe – but it’s just in the developmental stages. He can’t want that,” Cotter said.
“Why don’t you let us be the judge,” Hunter said.
“Rainier has been working on a new training program, it’s just now in the developmental stages, we haven’t implemented anything yet.”
“What kind of program?” Hunter prodded.
“This is beyond classified, you don’t have clearance,” Cotter stuttered out.
Hunter said one word. “Merc.”
Merc didn’t need a second invitation. He picked the Senator up by his blue button down and held him over a foot off the ground. “This has to do with my teammates’ lives and with your daughter’s. You will tell us.”
Cotter clutched Mercs wrists, his legs flailed in the air. “Okay, okay put me down.”
Merc lowered the man and sat him back on the bed, towering over him with hurt and fury thrumming through his veins.
“Before my wife died, she’d discovered a combination of proteins and hormones that, when bonded to certain human cells, can enhance a soldier’s abilities. Up until a few years ago, the research had been buried in old file folders, completely gone after Sarah’s death. Then someone stumbled onto her research and we’ve been considering starting the program. We want to test the treatment out on select volunteers to see if it works.”
Merc blinked, trying to put the words into context. “You’ve cooked up a new steroid.”
Cotter shook his head. “Not just a steroid. A protein binding agent that enhances your own testosterone levels, increasing muscle mass and brain function. We’ve blended it with a new combination of purified cells and enzymes that allow the drug to bind to the unit at the molecular level.”
“You’re making super soldiers?” Merc said incredulously.
“No, no, no. Not anything as sci-fi as that, we’re just enhancing the test subject’s natural abilities.”
“Which means what exactly?” Merc asked.
Cotter looked him square in the eye and said, “It means if you’re a fast runner, you’ll be really fast. If you’re good at combat, you’ll be even better. If this drug therapy works, we will ultimately be able to send less men and women into battle. With these special strike squads, we can stop wars before they even break out.”
“And you and the General will be in charge of them?”
“Yes.”
“And if Mankel gets his hands on that intel, if he learns how to make his own?” Merc could feel his blood pressure rising.
“Then God help us all.” Cotter shook off his dazed expression and rose from the bed. “We have to call off the party. I have to talk to my daughter, find out the truth.”
“No. She needs to operate under the assumption that we are all ignorant of her identity, at least until Mankel shows his ugly face.” Merc shoved his broken heart down to the deepest pit of his conscious and focused on the mission.
“But she needs to know the truth,” Cotter said.
“After we capture Mankel, you’ll have the rest of your life to play catch up with her. Until then, keep your distance. She’ll know something’s up the minute she sees your face,” Merc said.
Cotter kept going, oblivious to the fact Merc skated the edge of control. “I’m the only one who could tell for certain whether it’s Caroline or not.”
Merc strode to the door, ignoring Cotter’s protest. He’d be able to find out. He’d had her at her most vulnerable. He knew how to get her guard down.
Just like she’d exploited his weakness for her, Merc would do the same. Although touching her now would shred his already ruined heart, he knew she couldn’t fake her reaction to his touch.
Even if she’d faked everything else.
“I want someone in this room to have eyes on the Senator and his daughter at all times.” Merc stood back while Hunter issued orders. “Merc, you take the girl. Ethan, you take the Senator. Hoyt and Jared, monitor the cameras from the control room. I want to know if you see any suspicious behavior – and I mean anything got it?”
Hoyt nodded and left the room.
Hunter continued, “Ranger, I want you and Aaron at the entryway checking every single person that comes through the front door tonight.”
“Senator, you picked a hell of a time to throw a party,” Ranger said.
“If they haven't personally been invited by the Senator tonight, they don't enter this house. Got it?” Hunter continued.
“Got it.” Ranger stood, Aaron following his lead.
“Keep a close eye on the General, okay? I don't know what it is about him, but something's not quite right.”
“You got it.”
Chapter 25
Nightshade stood at the head of the staircase, dressed in a sparkling black gown that hugged her figure like a second skin, held up by thin straps over her shoulders with a split from her ankles all the way up to her thigh. She'd never felt so decadent or distressed in her life.
Merc had to suspect something. There was no way that move she'd made on him could have remotely been instinct. It'd taken her years of training to perfect it. And as a trained special forces operative himself, Merc would realize that fact very easily. So why hadn't he called her out yet?
She gripped the balustrade, searching the crowd below for any sign of his tall dark head. But so far, the only hint of Merc she'd seen were Ranger and Aaron guarding the front door.
Senator Cotter stood behind them, greeting all the guests with a handshake or a hug and a smile. She should be down there with him, but she had no intention of actually participating in this farce. There was no way she could have studied every single person's file here to know Caroline's relationship with each. But there was one thing she did know – if Cotter was downstairs hosting a party, he wouldn't be upstairs giving her free reign to search.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and then she heard a voice from right behind her. A voice she'd been dreaming about and dreading.
“Why are you hiding up here?” Merc's large hand spanned her waist, and he tucked her back to him, pulling her back so that she could barely see the crowd below.
Instant heat sizzled down her spine. “Just not sure about going down there.”
“You should be happy they're here. Those are your kind of people, it's where you belong.” His hot breath fanned her bare neck sending a rash of chills across her shoulders.
Merc spun her around and the nearly savage ferocity on his face left her breathless, sucking her into oblivion.
She could get lost there, forget her teammates. Forget her mission. She found herself leaning into the hard muscles packing his chest beneath a tuxedo that fit him with stunning appeal. Merc traced her jaw, the magnetism of his touch stealing her will and she tilted her head into his palm. She licked her lips, frantically searching for the reason she needed to put some distance between them.
Merc thumbed her bottom lip, tugging her mouth open to slip his finger inside. The intimate touch paralyzed her with instant lust, and filled her mind with images of Merc standing over her. His hands
in her hair, guiding her…
Shit. She had to get her traitorous body under control. With a will she hadn’t known she possessed, she tilted her head back, letting his finger fall from her mouth. “My people?”
She didn't belong down there with those fake socialites here to rub elbows with the senator and dig for the latest gossip on his traumatized daughter.
Merc gripped her chin in his hand, holding her captive for his perusal. Melting the small toehold of determination she’d managed to piece together. “You’d rather be up here with me?”
Yes! Yes, I want to stay here with you.
“I’d rather not have to choose.”
Merc slowly spun her back to face the crowd, snugging his chest up to her back. “Why don’t you take another look at what you’re missing?” He extended a long muscular arm over her shoulder pointing down to the doorway.
Her insides trembled as she fought for control.
“There’s your fiancée, General Rainier.”
“Ex-fiancée,” she breathed out. Thank God they were tucked next to a wall, which partially hid them from the view of people down stairs and the height that hid her body from the waist up, because Merc’s hand slipped inside the slit of her dress and rested on her thigh. A power move meant to establish his dominance over her body that left her hot and shaky.
“Glad to hear you think so. I’d hate to think you still planned on marrying someone else.” As if to punctuate his words, Merc’s fingers glided up the bare skin of her thigh, resting at the edge of her silk thong.
All he had to do was move his hand a half an inch over and he’d be touching her aching clit. Her body thrummed with awareness of every miniscule inch of him.
“Marriage is the last thing on my mind.” She had something so much more important than that on her mind, if only she could remember….
Merc dipped his head to place a gentle kiss on the curve of her shoulder. Chills raced up her neck and he followed them mercilessly, taking her sensitive ear lobe between his teeth. At the same time, his finger slid over and pressed hard against her nub through her panties. Her knees buckled.
Like a predator sensing her weakness, Merc pulled her backwards into the shadows and completely out of sight, spinning her until her back was pressed against the wall and his huge frame hid her from view. His gaze raked her, intense hunger exploding in his expression. “I can tell you what’s on my mind. I want to pull that dress down and suck on your pretty nipples.”
His words were a lightning bolt of desire that nearly took her to her knees.
“I want to strip you naked, and lay you out on the bed.” He balanced one arm on the wall over her head and leaned down until his face was an inch from hers. “I want to bury my face in your heat and lick you until you scream.”
Her knees did buckle then, and Merc grabbed her waist, keeping her body locked against the wall. Surrounded by him. Overpowered by him.
Aching for him.
She watched, her stomach tight and her pussy wet, as the hand at her waist dipped to the slit in her dress once more. He touched her other thigh this time, and she couldn’t find the strength to worry when his fingers grazed her scar.
“I've been wondering about this car crash, what happened?”
Before she had the chance to answer, he cupped her through her panties, rotating his palm over her most sensitive spot. The slow grind left her clinging to his shoulders and biting her lip to keep in a moan of intense pleasure.
“Tell me, what happened?”
What the hell was he talking about?
She pressed her head against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to remember what she’d told him, but Merc increased the pressure between her legs, robbing her of her memory. “I am - was driving too fast, lost control. I flipped it, that's it.”
“You should learn to be more careful. I bet your father had given you a bright red sports car for your 16th birthday right?”
His finger slipped past the hem line into her panties and eased inside her. Her strength gave out. Merc held her up with his hand as he stretched her tight walls, excruciatingly fingering her.
She slung an arm around his neck, desperately trying to tug his lips down to hers before she moaned out loud. Merc resisted, instead he pushed her back in place, continuing to take her with his finger while the party went on downstairs. “So, was it a little red sports car?”
“Of course. What else would it be?” She answered irritably and then gasped when he shoved another finger inside, stretching her muscles. His dominant, controlled expression unnerving. But she was helplessly nearing an orgasm, close to completely falling apart in his hands.
In a last frantic move to reclaim a little control, she palmed his dick through his trousers in a tight grip, enjoying the way his mouth tensed. “I want you inside me.”
His midnight eyes turned obsidian, his hips bucked forward. “You're playing with fire.”
She shuddered. But not from her fear of fire; from craving more. She found his zipper and lowered it, her hand snaking inside to wrap around his length. His cock pulsed, jumping beneath her caress. “I like your fire.”
Merc took a step back, leaving her speechless that he had the will to deny her. And then he was urging her to a nearby room, slamming the door behind them. A guest bedroom with moonlight spilling through the large windows, highlighting a massive four-poster bed. He propelled her forward, his arm hooked around her waist, and bent her over the edge of the tall mattress. Without a word, he shoved her dress up and to the side and yanked her panties down.
And then she felt his broad head pressing against her entrance, sliding between her folds, filling her so completely she gasped and fisted the silk coverlet.
“So tight. You drive me fucking crazy.” Merc gripped her hips and yanked her back as he drove forward with enough force her teeth rattled.
His words spurred her on and she arched her hips, begging for more. He took her with ferocity, his hard deep thrusts pushing her over the edge, past the point of control. She bit her lip to keep from screaming as an intense orgasm crashed over her, leaving her helplessly clinging to the bed. Merc continued to take her, prolonging the waves of ecstasy, driving her higher.
He growled and slammed in fully. She felt his hot liquid filling her, his own stamp of possession sending her into a bottomless spiral of pleasure that left her limp.
She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, with Merc draped over her back, both of them panting. She only became aware when he slowly withdrew from her and stood.
She heard him buckle his pants and knew she should fix her dress, but he’d stolen her ability to think, let alone function. Merc was the one who pulled up her underwear and helped her stand again. He righted her dress and tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear, all the while she stared up at him, wondering how she’d ever be able to forget him.
And then Merc cupped her cheek, holding her hostage with his caress. His voice was gruff when he asked, “Did I hurt you?”
She turned into his touch, kissing his palm once. “Not even close.”
“Caroline.”
Nightshade fought the flinch. Hearing him call her by her sister’s name now just seemed wrong. But no matter how wrong she felt and how much she wanted to tell him the truth, it wasn’t her life at stake. “Hmmm?”
She knew if she tried to speak her lips would tremble, because she could barely contain the riot of emotions he’d set free once more. If only she’d met him some other way, another place and time...If only...
“I want you to know how much I care about you.” He held her face in his palms. “And that you can talk to me about anything. Anything at all. And no matter what, I will still care about you.”
It was as though her heart swelled and then contracted in one violent movement. He knew. He knew something was up. And he honestly expected her to believe that if she just told him the truth, they could have a happily ever after?
Maybe if she had a normal life, she’d find
it easier to believe his words. If Merc found out her real identity, she knew without a doubt he would hate her. And she knew without a doubt, that if he stopped her from locating and saving her team, she would hate him.
She drew in a shuddering breath, but the oxygen seemed to have disappeared. “Thank you, but there’s nothing to talk about.”
She tried and failed miserably to harden her heart as his expression dimmed into a hard shell. She steeled herself, waiting for him to shove her away, to call her out to make it easier on her to leave him.
But he kissed her instead. The feather light barely-there caress that was a knife to her soul. “I’m here if you need me. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”
Every single cell inside of her body longed to lean into his arms and take him up on that promise, if only it was her choice. If only it was her life.
Her life.
He’d made her forget her team. Her sister. Her mission. He’d robbed her of her resolve, completely demolishing a life time of training and will. A cold hate slithered around her heart, its icy tendrils digging into her veins as the sharp sting of reality set in.
She wasn’t strong enough to stand up to the onslaught of desire that Merc’s touch instilled in her. She had to get away and the only way to ensure he stayed was to make him hate her as much as she hated herself for her weakness.
“Why would I ever need you?” She fought the tremble in her voice and straightened her shoulders. “Did you really think I could ever really be with you? I mean, you were a great distraction. Your big muscles and hot body helped me get over my little desert interlude, but we –” Nightshade pointed to him and then herself and arched her brow – “will never be a couple. I don’t date soldiers.”
Nightshade had to bite back the vomit threatening its way up her throat and lock her knees to keep from collapsing under the weight of Merc’s hurt expression. Please, please hate me.
“I don’t believe you, you know there’s more here. I took your virginity for Christ’s sake.” She heard the edge of emotion to his words and knew she hit a nerve.
Be strong for your team. Fight it. “I might have to take the General back, but at least his family has money.” Nightshade sucked in a burning breath and hammered the last rusty nail into place. “You don’t even have a family.”
Men of Mercy: The Complete Story Page 144