Dangerous to Know (20 page)

He lifted her off his cock and flipped her over. She landed on her back in the middle of the bed. He loomed over her, catching one of her legs and pushing it over his shoulder as he came down on top of her.

“Baby dolls are made to be played with, Zoe.”

She dug her fingernails into his shoulders in response, losing her train of thought when he sunk his cock back into her. Now that he was on top, his length was pressing against her clit. Two hard plunges and she was moaning. Another couple and she was straining up to meet him, her need a living, breathing thing inside her. It was so consuming, there wasn't room for anything but the desire to lift up toward his next plunge.

“And you like the way I play with you, sweetheart.”

She was gasping, poised on the edge of another climax. This one was going to be deeper, harder. Her body was tightening with an unbearable tension. He was pushing her toward the boundary between pain and pleasure, the hard tempo of his hips making it impossible to avoid the next thrust.

And the next.

He was driving down into her, keeping her leg over his shoulder so she was spread wide for his use.

“Mercer … I'm … not sure…”

But her body was. She was lifting toward him, groaning as he hit some spot deep inside her that sent a new wave of sensation through her, white-hot and searing.

“Just let me make it happen, Zoe.”

His voice was nearly unrecognizable, harsh and savage. She opened her eyes, staring transfixed at the tightness of his features.
Untamed
was the only word that suited the moment. The bed was rocking at a crazy pace, their bodies straining toward each other while she heard the wet sounds of her flesh as he rode her. He was harder than she'd ever felt. Larger. Stretching her with every thrust.

She was being driven someplace she'd never gone, some dark, hidden depth of need. It was all bunched up inside her. He was pounding into it, breaking it apart as she lifted up to make sure he had all of her.

She cried out, the sound low and long. Grabbing at the bedding, she locked her free leg around him. Pleasure was burning her from the inside out, flashing like a grenade, but in slow motion so that she felt herself being ripped to shreds.

“Oh … yeah … shit …
yeah
…” He was growling out his words, hammering into her as his cock jerked and began to spurt. She hated the condom in that moment, detested the barrier between them. She could feel his member jerking as it emptied, detect the change in temperature as his cum filled the latex.

But it was a tiny frustration. Her entire body was glowing with satisfaction. Mercer rolled off her, releasing her leg as they both gasped. Sleep reclaimed her as she was still wrapped in the high and she went willingly.

Honestly, she'd didn't have a scrap of strength left.

But she didn't need it. Mercer pulled the bedding over them. She tried to fend off slumber's hold for just a moment as she felt him pulling her into the curve of her body.

It felt so nice. So perfect. So much like something she needed even more than the physical release he'd just wrung out of her flesh.

There was some reason she needed to question it.

But there was no way she was going to find the strength to do it tonight.

So she didn't.

Which felt just about as perfect as the man holding her.

 

CHAPTER FIVE

“Wait a minute…”

It was impossible to tell what time of day it was in the cabin, but the chill in the air suggested it was morning. Her question startled her bed partner. Mercer jerked awake, rolling off the side of the bed before he was completely sure what was happening. He looked around the room, cocking his head to the side as he listened. The pistol was back in his hand, his finger over the trigger.

“I just thought of something,” Zoe said.

Mercer rubbed a hand down his face before putting his gun back on the bedside table with a grunt. “You might consider giving me a little warning before you start in on me, Zoe.”

She shrugged. “I'm a morning person.”

He shot her an ominous look. She shrugged again in response.

“That intel you keep talking about, does it include the location where my brother and dad are at the moment?”

“I can't tell you that, Zoe.” Mercer sat back down and punched the pillows up before laying his head back.

“Okay, but you know. So ask yourself this. If the intel includes their current location, wouldn't that be mega stupid? I mean, money isn't much good to a dead man. And if any of your teammates makes even the slightest reference to me not caring if my family comes home alive … there will be violence.”

Mercer contemplated her for a long moment. It was a tad too long because it gave her time to realize he was wearing nothing but skin.

Oh man, did he look good in it, too.

He caught her watching him. His eyes narrowed in a purely sexual way, transforming his face into something sensual. “We need to have more sex.”

Her mouth went dry. “Ah … why?”

He rolled onto his side and settled his elbow against the mattress so he could prop his head into his hand. “Because your thinking clears up when the sexual tension is relieved.”

She swung a pillow at him, hitting him square in the face with a soft sound. She enjoyed a split second of satisfaction before Mercer surged toward her and pinned her to the bed. He was hot and hard and too damn strong. He settled just enough of his weight on her to keep her beneath him as he stretched her arms out above her head while holding her wrists.

“That was a sucky thing to say,” she informed him.

He only looked mildly amused by her complaint.

“I'm not a piece of ass,” she insisted.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss against her mouth. She turned her head away with a hiss, trying to dredge up some determination to resist him. Or—more to the point—his effect on her.

“You're a great piece of ass, Zoe.”

She snapped her attention back to him, shooting him a killing glare.

“You're sexy, baby.” His voice had roughened. Maybe his words were less than smooth, but something about his tone hinted at emotional involvement.

“Confident,” he continued.

“Get off me, Mercer.”

He slowly shook his head. “You like me right … here.” He rubbed his bare chest against her breasts, holding his weight off her so that she was left with nothing but the pure bliss of having his skin in contact with hers.

“I'm sore.” Her cheeks heated as she admitted it. His lips twitched, rising into a grin that made her want to head-butt him.

“Yeah, I'm feeling it, too.” He rolled off her and onto his feet again, giving her a superb view of his ass cheeks.

“Working out with you sure beats squats in the gym.”

She chucked the pillow at him, half falling out of the bed when he moved out of range. He disappeared into the outer room, where his jeans were draped over the back of the sofa that he'd started the night out on. The door swung shut and she gave in to the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

It didn't give her much satisfaction.

She ended up rolling out of the tangle of bedding. The air was crisp, driving her back into her clothing before she turned around and righted the bed. The foil packet was lying on the floor. She started to bend down to scoop it up but got distracted by the partially open side table drawer.

She tugged it open farther, staring at the contents. There was the box of condoms, the top ripped off to allow for easy access. But that wasn't the end of the contents.

Not by far.

There were bottles of lubricants, tubes of KY jelly, and lots of toys. Dildos, rabbit vibrators, anal plugs, in different sizes and colors. All of them still in their packaging. Batteries were stocked in one corner, along with a selection of restraints, gags, and whips.

Roni would have called it a pleasure chest.

“Something get your attention, Zoe?”

Mercer was in the doorway, watching her from behind what she'd learned was his guarded expression. She offered him a lifted eyebrow.

“Why is this place outfitted with sex toys?”

Mercer didn't want to answer her. His lips were pressed into a hard line.

“Why don't you want to tell me?”

He ended up pegging her with a hard look. “Sure you want to know? The answer isn't pretty.”

He walked into the room. It felt like there was a change in the temperature. Her awareness of him increased. She bit her lip and tightened her mental grip.

“I think I do want to know.”

He walked in a circle around her, his steps slow and measured. Calculated.

“I get the bug-out gear, the fake windows, the whole ultra-secret hideout-house thing,” she said as he crossed behind her. Standing her ground was harder than it should have been. Their midnight romp had done exactly what she'd suspected Saxon might have been plotting: It cultivated new trust between them.

Mercer stopped next to her. “It's about trust. You already called that right on the money. It loosens lips because it builds trust fast. Sex cuts through stress like nothing else.”

“So a hideout is outfitted with pleasure toys?” She pushed the drawer closed, feeling slightly offended. “Bet that one will never end up on a budget report the taxpayers see.”

Mercer flashed her a wicked grin. “I doubt it.” He looped an arm across her body and moved up behind her. “We can play later.”

She wiggled but he held her in place. “Not interested. Thanks. I like a live show.”

“Admit it. You want me to twist your insides.” He held her when she would have stepped away, settling his chin next to her ear. “You won't find the sort of satisfaction I give you while you're in control, Zoe. It doesn't work that way. Nothing in life does. If you want a mega high, you have to take an extreme risk.”

“How many times have you done this?” She didn't care for how wounded she sounded but she just couldn't seem to control the urge to ask him.

He kissed the side of her neck. “First time.”

She snorted in disbelief. He let her go when she pushed on his arm. She made a beeline for the bedroom doorway, needing some space between herself, Mercer, and the drawer of toys. He'd reduced her to a cinder with his body; there was no way she'd survive dealing with him armed with power tools.

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

She stopped in the doorway and turned around to look back at him.

“I could just as easily assume you bar-hop with your girlfriend and pick up one-nighters all the time.”

“I don't,” she said.

“But it's the same logic, Zoe. I met you in a bar. Your friend was coming on to me. Birds of a feather flock together.”

He had a point. She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Fine. You don't make a habit out of working girls over for evidence. I'm just a special case.”

His expression tightened. “Actually, you are. I'm putting my neck on the line for you because I think you just might be telling the truth.”

“I am.”

“Good.” He started toward her and she ended up in the other room. “Time to prove it.”

He cupped her elbow and guided her around to the kitchen table. A laptop was set up.

“No one can navigate your system. Give up your encryption codes. We want full access to your hard drive.”

She landed in the chair. Mercer flattened his palm on the tabletop as he leaned over her.

“Do it now, Zoe, or you're full of shit and I've risked my neck for nothing.”

It felt like a gavel had landed, the sharp sound piercing her heart like a bullet.

“It's not a code.”

The laptop had a shot of her home system on it. The sign-in screen so familiar, while the situation so very strange.

“Wrong answer.” Mercer's tone had turned arctic. He reached behind him and pulled out the gun.

“I didn't say I wouldn't do it,” she snapped as she typed in her password. “I said it wasn't a code. I like puns and I'm a language gal. It's not like I'm the only one on the planet who keeps their personal computer protected.”

The screen changed, opening up to her desktop. She hammered in a few more passwords before making it into the security settings. A window popped up on the upper right-hand side of the screen with Saxon's face on it.

“We're in. This will take some time.”

The window closed.

It felt like something in her heart did, too. Which was stupid, because she knew better than to let Mercer get anywhere near her heart.

But it felt like he was making himself right at home.

*   *   *

“ETA?” Tyler was back on Saxon's phone, eighteen hours later.

Mercer's words rang very true and Saxon was having a hard time finding any reason to discredit them.

The logic was sound. There was more to the case than Saxon had on his data file.

“Are you dead or something?” Tyler demanded as the silence lengthened.

“No sir,” Saxon answered out of habit.

“Estimated time on that hard drive intel?” Tyler pressed the issue.

“Couple of days.”

Thais looked up, her eyebrows lowering: He'd just doubled the time she'd given him.

“The Magnus girl is a language specialist. At least six different languages are floating around in this thing. It's going to be labor-intensive.”

“No one sleeps until it's done.”

The line went dead. Thais was still watching him. Saxon shook his head. He stood up, taking a walk to the curb as he contemplated his misgivings.

Something was off. Zoe Magnus had given them access without a single delay tactic. Either the hard drive was wiped or she was innocent. He propped his foot on the retaining wall that ran along the driveway and leaned over as if he was tying his shoe. Instead he reached into his sock and pressed a button on a small cell phone he had Velcroed to his ankle.