by Jan Graham
Tempting Marcus
Mercenary Heat Book 1
Jan Graham
Tempting Marcus
Copyright © 2017 by Jan Graham
First Published 2018
ISBN-13: 978-0-6482372-5-9
Cover design: Willsin Rowe
Editor: Personal Touch Editing – Sandy Ebel
All rights reserved:
This book is not to be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without the express permission of the copyright holder.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Disclaimer:
The material in the book is for mature audiences only. It contains sexually explicit content and language that may offend some readers. Its intended readership is strictly 18 years and older.
The story contains sex scenes and BDSM elements.
Tempting Marcus
A mission is underway, and in the mercenary game, timing is everything.
Beth has spent the last four years trying to tempt Marcus into her bed so why decide now that it’s make or break with him? The excuses have faded. She’s no longer too young, too innocent, or too naïve about the job. She’s lead on their current assignment, success and failure rests with her. Maybe that’s why she’s decided it’s also time to make one last ditched attempt to secure the man she wants in her life. Marcus Delany, her boss and a mercenary who claims to have no heart.
Not wanting Bethany isn’t the problem. Marcus wants her with every fiber of his being, he just won’t allow himself to give into temptation and have her. For Marcus it’s not about her age or experience, it’s not even about his ability or desire to make Bethany his own. It’s about loss. If he refuses to have her then he can’t lose her. His first life lesson as a mercenary was a harsh one. Loving with all your heart makes you vulnerable. That’s not what he wants to be. He’s been there, done that, and the T-shirt wore out long ago.
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Her Captured Heart - Preview
About the Author
Current and New Books by the Author
Prologue
(Four years ago)
What the fuck just happened?
Marcus stared in astonishment at the napkin in his hand. When she’d said, “Give me a call, sexy,” he’d assumed the napkin contained a phone number, but no. He read the message, unsure if it was a joke or genuine intel. Your target’s about to leave, but he might be visiting the bad guys here, the accompanying address didn’t look familiar nor did the name scrawled next to the words and you might like to check out this creepy dude. She’d signed her name, Beth, next to a little heart. Movement caught his attention, and he stood quickly, donned his jacket and shoved the note into his pocket. His gaze flicked to Hex, who was already moving to follow the low-level, piece of shit, drug dealer they were tailing.
How the hell had she known their guy was about to leave?
Marcus needed to make a decision. He fingered the napkin the sexy young brunette had just handed him. If he left Hex to handle Mr. Lowlife, he could tackle the brunette. Figuratively speaking. If she’d just handed him what he believed she had, he needed to know more about her and fast. Outside the club, the street bustled with Saturday night revelers, and he considered himself lucky to catch sight of her in the crowd.
“Tell Hex I’m following a new lead,” Marcus spoke quietly knowing the communication link embedded in his ear would deliver the message clearly to the members of his team manning a van on the other side of the road. “And find out who the hell that sexy brunette in the red miniskirt standing at the traffic lights is. All I have is a first name…Beth. I want to know everything about her, including what sort of underwear she's wearing.”
“Surely a good-looking guy like you could find that info out for himself, Boss. Just flash her one of your endearing smiles, slap her on the ass, and I’m sure she’ll give you a peek.” Mac’s unique mixture of Australian accent and Scottish brogue chuckled through the link in Marcus’ ear. “Oh, wait up…you don’t smile, do you? Let me take her on, Boss, I have a way with the lassies, and I’d like to get laid tonight. I’ll be able to give you all her details come morning.”
Mac was a good operative and one hell of a cocky son of a bitch, just like most of the men and women on Marcus’ payroll. The idea occurred to him he needed to recruit some polite mercenaries, men and women who did exactly as told without the constant irreverent taunting of each other and him.
“You leave that van to approach her, Kirk McAllister, and you’ll get laid all right. Laid out on the sidewalk courtesy of my fist in your face,” Marcus spoke gruffly, ducking out into traffic to intercept his target when she reached the opposite side of the road.
“Fuck, are you feeling a little protective of this one, Boss? You don’t have a daughter none of us knows about do you? She’d be the right age,” Mac continued to chuckle, which only increased Marcus’ ire.
“Shut the fuck up, Mac, and do your damn job before you don’t have one.” Marcus hated having to communicate like this. He knew he probably looked like an angry psychopath, stalking down the street, growling instructions to the voices in his head or in this case, the one annoying voice in his ear.
“I want to know everything there is to know, and I want it on my desk by the time I get home.”
“I’ve taken some pics of the lass and sent them through to Billy for her to run facial recog. She’s on it already, Boss.” Mac’s tone still carried a hint of amusement. “You’ll have everything you need once you get back home. You know, all the essentials—favorite color, type of panties, bra size, and an address to send the flowers to.”
Marcus chose not to reply to Mac’s jibe, but the word asshole did cross his mind. He followed his mark at a safe distance, not that she posed a threat to him, or at least, he didn’t think she did, at this point. However, looks could be deceiving or so the saying went. But that’s not how he’d describe her, there was nothing deceptive about her looks. Although, as he followed, slightly closer now, he had the uneasy feeling, given time and a few more years, she could be trouble for any man who fancied her.
He estimated her age to be early twenties. Her body was lethal. She was slim figured with lusciously curved hips, and a delightfully plump ass, perfect for spanking. The red skirt fit her like a glove as did the tight, black, strappy sequined top she wore. Her dark hair hung just above her waist, shining in the fluorescent lights, appearing like a silk veil draped over her shoulders. He tried to remember the color of her eyes from the club, he knew they’d sparkled with mischief as she handed him the note before walking away. And her lips—damn it, concentrate man.
He cursed as she took the stairs to the underground station. The com-link always played up down there, too much electrical interference or some shit. Besides that, they could end up anywhere at this rate unless he caught up to her and performed a quick interrogation. It wasn’t the ideal scenario,
particularly in such a public place.
“Going offline,” Marcus stated before he pulled the bud from his ear and pocketed it as he descended the stairs. Following closer now, he halted in surprise when she suddenly stopped at a coffee vendor in the underground walkway and placed an order. Moving to stand behind a cement pillar, he weighed his options. Aimlessly following her could lead nowhere. She wasn’t an enemy, in fact, if the information she’d given him panned out, then she was what? An ally? A friend? As she turned from the coffee cart, a cup in either hand and meandered his way, the decision of what to do was no longer his. Stepping from behind the pillar, Marcus shook his head in disbelief as she held up a large takeaway cup, indicating it was for him.
“Shall we?” Her smile was radiant as she handed him his coffee, then wandered over to a bench seat near the wall. He joined her, of course, although he had no idea how she’d known he’d been following her. Beth remained silent, sipping her coffee as he sat down and took in every detail about her. He liked the name if it was her real one. It suited her. Close up, in full light, she appeared more youthful than he’d first determined, and he wondered if she was even old enough to have frequented the club where’d they’d met.
“Marcus.” He extended his hand in greeting, which she shook in a firm manner.
“Bethany,” her reply matched his, friendly but no last name as if sizing him up, waiting for him to make the first move. His first sip of coffee elicited a smile.
“Black, no sugar…how did you know?” It was the only way he ever drank coffee, no additives, just the strong kick of the bean.
“Double shot, I assumed you like it strong. My parents own a café. I work there sometimes. You get to know who likes what sort of coffee, just by looking at people,” she smiled. “You’re a strong, upfront, no-frills sort of tough guy. Black coffee reflects that perfectly.”
“Impressive.” Marcus couldn’t help but continue to smile which wasn’t his usual M.O. He was known for his serious, gruff communication style, but for some reason, with Beth, that style diminished. “What else do you think you know about me?”
The fact she giggled rather than laughed spoke volumes about who he was dealing with. As did the fact her pale complexion flushed a lovely shade of pink every time his unconcealed gaze roved up and down her body. She was young, more than likely too young for anything that outfit offered. The temptation to hand over his jacket, so she could cover up gnawed at him, but despite the blushing, she didn’t appear to mind being on display. She may have been young, but she didn’t lack attitude and certainly possessed the beginning of some street smarts.
“Well, you’re probably in the military or law enforcement of some kind. You have that look about you, a bad boy but not the criminal kind. That’s something I like, by the way.”
Her smile was the sexiest he’d ever seen, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she was flirting with him. Had he been certain of her age, he'd probably have played along, but until he knew, he wasn’t going there. She was certainly old enough to fuck, but probably not with someone his age. Thirty-eight wasn’t old, but it would be too old for her. Her description of him continued, and the profile she gave was scarily accurate and flirtatious.
“You’re definitely wealthy. I smelled the hint of cigar on you when I whispered in your ear, and not any cigar, I’m sure it was Cuban. They’re illegal, what with embargos and all that. You also dress well. You’re incredibly sexy, and the smell of your aftershave is enough to turn a girl on. I think it’s one of the Beckham fragrances, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, it suits you.”
He continued to smile as she spoke. Correct on all counts, so far.
“Oh, and you like my ass. It distracted you from watching that dude every time I walked to the bar to buy a drink. That’s why I thought I better tell you he was getting ready to leave. I didn’t want you to lose him. Although you’re sitting here with me, so he must not have been all that important. Either that or your brown-haired colleague with the George Michael stubble on his face took over.”
Again, correct on all counts. Marcus didn’t confirm Hex accompanied him to the bar, or that he’d continued on alone, he was more interested in something else she’d noticed.
“How did you know I was looking at your ass?” The fact he had been hadn’t seem to be an issue for her, and he assumed when you were as beautiful as Bethany, attention from men was nothing new.
“The mirror behind the bar. Reflections tell a thousand stories. I could see you checking me out. It’s also how I knew you followed me from the club. I saw you crossing the street in the reflection of the shop window on the other side of the road. The highly polished tiles down here confirmed you were still on my tail, so I decided we should have a chat. You need to take note of these things if you’re going to tail someone, Marcus.”
That mischievous sparkle returned to her eyes, her beautiful, dark chocolate colored eyes. As they drank their coffee and chatted, he marveled at her knowledge and skills in observing and reading people. After hearing her version of how she came across the information she’d provided on the napkin, Marcus determined the intel was probably legit. As they parted ways, he knew she wasn’t part of the drug ring they were investigating. For some unidentifiable reason that certainty filled him with a sense of relief.
One thing that didn’t please him was how she’d managed to evade giving away any details about herself. All he really knew was her first name, her parents owned a café, and she’d totally charmed him.
By the time he made his way back home, the rest of his team was there, sitting around chilling out in his downstairs office facility. They were clearly waiting for tomorrow’s brief on the mission. All except Mac who he could hear bitching about the sexy piece of ass Marcus went off chasing. Marcus quickly curbed an increasing spike of anger at hearing Bethany described that way—What the fuck is that about?
“I’d be a bit more respectful about my new informant, Mac.” He hoped he didn’t sound too irritated as he spoke, the last thing these guys needed was ammunition. “We have a possible address for the local cartel, and I’m hoping, the name of one of the upper echelon in the organization. Hex, you can check out the address tomorrow, I want basic surveillance—whose residence it is, visitors, comings and goings, etcetera. Mac, I want you to find and follow this Dean Ho guy. You can both find the details on this, then pass it onto Billy so she can do her electronic thing with the information.”
Marcus handed over the napkin to the inquisitive stares of the other men in the room.
“What the fuck is this? Are you kidding me? Yeah, Boss, I’ll follow up on the creepy dude.” Mac passed the crumpled napkin over to Hex who laughed as he read the information.
“Oh, yeah, and I’ll go and find the bad guys at this address. You can’t be serious. This is what she gave you? Bad guys and creepy dudes?” Hex continued to chuckle as he began entering the address into his mobile. “What is she, twelve?”
Marcus took in a few steadying breaths as more banter ensued about Beth. He couldn’t fathom why them making their regular jibes and remarks about hot women annoyed him so much.
“Not twelve, seventeen years and four months. She isn’t old enough to even be in that club,” Billy announced loudly as she entered the room. “So, I suggest you all shut your mouths about how hot and sexy she was…is…whatever. Show a bit of respect. She might be of legal age in this country but most of you could be her father or at least, an older brother.”
“Shit, sorry Billy. She didn’t look that young.” Mac’s sheepish reply reflected the surprised expressions of all his team, including Marcus.
“She did when I spoke to her in the subway, well maybe not younger than eighteen, but close up her…” Marcus stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the shocked expressions filling everyone’s faces.
“How close up?” an accusing glare accompanied Billy’s question.
“I sat next to her on a bench, we drank coffee, and talked,” Marcus replied defensively. “She us
ed to date the guy we were following tonight. He’d taken her to Dean Ho’s house and introduced him to Beth as his Boss. When she realized Ho imported drugs and her boyfriend wasn’t going to resign his position as a dealer, she broke up with the guy. She assumed Hex and I were cops which is why she passed on the information.”
“She made us both?” Hex seemed surprised. “Fuck, she’s good.”
Marcus ignored the mumblings of his team. He was still reeling from finding out her age. He knew she was young but…Jesus, seventeen. He was glad now he’d kept the discussion light and hadn’t followed the seduction route with her when she’d started flirting with him. Gut instinct told him to keep it cool, and like always, his instincts were right. On the drive home, he’d tried to dissect why she’d flirted with him. Beth would have no genuine interest in a man his age, so the flirting must have been to throw him off balance, see if she could get information from him, or make him slip up in some way. Whatever the reason, she was a rare find. Beth managed to identify both Hex and him as being undercover, she’d pinpointed who their target was in a crowded club, and she’d handed over the information without blowing either of their covers. Once she was old enough, she’d be an asset to have around.
“What did you find out about her, Billy?” The room suddenly went silent as attention turned to Marcus’ information wiz.
“I ran facial recognition from the photos Mac sent. She didn’t show up in any criminal bases, but because I ingeniously have the program linked to social media sites, I managed to find her. People put all sorts of shit online. As I said, she’s seventeen, her name is Bethany Reid, she’s still in high school, and after hacking the school’s I.T. set up, I can tell you she gets good grades—excellent in fact. She’s just started up an online clothing business that makes skirts and other outfits like the one she wore tonight. I managed to access bank records. The business is making a small profit and appears to be building momentum. She lives in the Southern Highlands area with her parents and a crowd of younger sisters. I haven’t found out much more, but I do have one really spin-out twist that you will absolutely love, Marcus.”
