Tempting Marcus (Mercenary Heat Book 1)

by Jan Graham

  “I can’t have you feeling neglected, sweet thing.” Marcus stood at the side of the bed, the deep, velvety smooth tenor of his voice almost hypnotic. “I may have to do something about that.”

  He smiled wickedly, beckoning her to move to the edge of the bed. Beth’s heart raced as he stripped her of her remaining clothing, tossing them to the floor.

  “I want to touch you,” Beth stated as she reached out, grasping his cock in her hand and beginning to toy with it.

  Marcus sucked in a breath the moment she connected with his flesh, his eyes closing and head lolling back slightly as if he were savoring the moment. When he lifted his head to meet her gaze, all she saw was lust and need. Beth imagined her gaze reflected the same.

  “You’re a greedy little girl when it comes to sex, aren’t you?” Beth nodded. When it came to sex with Marcus, she could have him all night.

  “When it comes to you, yes, I want more.” Beth pumped his cock slowly, the appendage stiffening further in her hand.

  She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, Marcus in front of her, gazing down at the hand she fondled him with. Beth’s heart beat harder when Marcus placed his hand on her head, lightly fisting her hair as he pushed her toward his groin. She licked the drop of pre-cum seeping from the eye of his cock before continuing to circle its head with her tongue. Beth grinned as Marcus groaned in response to her actions. This was part of her fantasy world for the last four years, taking him in her mouth and driving him wild.

  Marcus gripped her hair harder, pulling her head forward and lunging his erection into her mouth. Beth made a muffled squeal of surprise. When he said he was the Boss, Marcus clearly meant it.

  “Suck,” he commanded.

  Beth complied, her tongue sliding along the underside of his shaft as she began to suck his hardness. Marcus thrust steadily, holding her head in place, the tight pinpricks of pain from the pull on her hair making her cunt tingle with delight. He forced his cock to the back of her throat, holding the position, forcing her to swallow reflexively. Marcus groaned, easing back to a slow thrust once more with Beth sucking firmly in time to the movement.

  “Good girl,” his tone guttural, deep, and throaty, indicating how aroused she made him.

  He pushed forward once more, holding her in place, both hands now clasping either side of her head. Beth relaxed, swallowed him deeply, knowing he would release her when she needed more air. The muscles at the back of her throat massaged the head of his cock with each tiny swallow, eliciting a deep growl from him. He began to increase the pace of his thrusting, the hold on her hair tightening as he did. Beth held onto his thighs, gripping them firmly as he fucked her mouth wildly.

  She’d never given up control to anyone before, usually, sex was a tit-for-tat sort of affair with her. Both parties sharing, taking the lead in turn. Sex with Marcus would never be like that, and the idea of being under his control made her horny as hell. She trusted Marcus, knew he wouldn’t do anything to harm her. It was true for working in the field and would be no different now he had her in the bedroom.

  Following his lead, doing as he commanded, and hearing she was a good girl got her juices flowing once again. She felt his cock twitch in her mouth, so she knew he was close to losing his load. Beth wanted him to come, to taste his essence, to please him by swallowing every drop he gave her.

  “Enough.” The statement shocked her, as did the fact he pulled her head back, his cock resting on her bottom lip. “Now that you’ve had a taste, how do you want it?”

  Beth stared up at him, meeting his heated gaze. He expected an answer and quickly. She wanted him to take her like he did before, forcefully, compellingly, giving her no option but to obey the demands of his cock and screaming her orgasm loudly.

  “Hard and rough, Sir.” He grinned in response to her words, and she smiled in return.

  Marcus pulled her hair upward, and she followed the movement, rising to a standing position. His cock dragged over her left breast, the shaft rubbing along her distended nipple. Beth groaned in delight as Marcus took her mouth in a forceful kiss, his hand going to her breast, squeezing it firmly, his fingers pressing into the love bite he’d given her in their last round. The bite of pain sent a quiver of excitement through her, making her cunt clench.

  Releasing her mouth, Marcus spun her around to face the bed. Beth felt his hot breath on her neck as he leaned down to speak directly into her ear.

  “Get on your knees, girl.” He gave her a push forward, ensuring she did exactly as he said by landing on the mattress on all fours.

  Marcus followed behind, grasping her hips, and impaling her with his cock. Beth grunted with the impact as Marcus withdrew before quickly nailing her once again. She pushed back as he entered her, forcing him deeper, taking his full length. She loved the pleasurable tinge of pain as she stretched tightly around his girth. He gave her no leeway to adjust slowly to his size, taking her, slamming into her, forcing her body to accept him. Beth was in erotic heaven. Being wetter than a river meant he glided in and out easily, but the stretch remained, his cock butted against her cervix, every nerve ending stimulated by his rapid exit and entry.

  “Fucking hell, Marcus,” Beth screamed, “I love your cock.”

  He continued to slam into her, the sound of their flesh slapping together and combined grunts and moans of pleasure filling the room. Marcus reached forward, grabbing a fist full of her hair, pulling her head back, turning it slightly so she could see his face as he leaned in.

  “I love your cunt as well, baby.” A deep sexy chuckle drifted to her ears, “Clearly my cock and your cunt were made for each other.”

  He didn’t slow his pace jack hammering into her. Beth cried out as her cunt clamped hard around him, beginning to pulse. The waves of orgasm that flooded her eventually stole her breath, and by the time Marcus ejected his load inside her, all Beth could manage to do was slump in a quivering blob on the bed.

  Marcus pulled back the covers, lifted her into his strong arms, and positioned her in the bed before nestling in beside her, covering them both with the duvet. She sighed as he pulled her closer, his strong arms encompassing her, her head resting on his chest as he reclined himself back onto two big pillows he’d propped against the headboard.

  “Next time, I think we might try to do tender and gentle,” he stated as she snuggled tightly against him.

  “I don’t need gentle or tender.” Beth liked the way he’d fucked her, wild abandon suited her just fine. She’d tried the gentle less adventurous style of sex, and it usually reflected the type of man who provided it—boring, staid, unimaginative. Marcus was none of those things.

  He didn’t reply immediately to her statement, instead he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. When he finally spoke, his words surprised her.

  “I do.”

  * * * *

  Nigel’s day couldn’t get any worse. Just as he was on the verge of the biggest payday in his life the bottom fell out of his world, or should he say the top exploded off it? Oshimara was on the run, his Tokyo consortium in shambles. The police had arrested many of the Japanese team based on whatever information the mole in their midst supplied before his death. Clearly, his Boss didn’t sniff the man out fast enough.

  “So, do we collect her or not?” Remo questioned.

  Nigel didn’t have an answer. He only had an idea and needed a bit of time to formulate a plan around it. Usually, he didn’t have contact with the clients, Oshimara generally kept that information to himself, but this time, thanks to a quirk in the client’s schedule, Nigel knew who to contact to complete the sale.

  “Of course, we don’t, Nigel just told us all that Oshimara’s message stated…all bets are off.” Cliff directed the statement to Remo. “So, if everything’s off, we don’t get the girl.”

  That was the message from Tokyo, all bets are off. That meant for the Japanese side of the organization though. It didn’t mean Nigel couldn’t try to cash in.

  “I’m going to
contact the client and see if he’s still interested in going ahead,” Nigel stated, thinking on his feet. “After all, we all want to get paid, and I see no reason why we can’t keep this deal on track.”

  The men before him all murmured their approval, well, all except one, Nik. Nigel watched him sit stony silent, acting more like an observer than a participant. He’d been that way since he’d arrived, keeping to himself, only acting on Oshimara’s orders, making Nigel’s life difficult. He didn’t like the man.

  “Do you have a problem with proceeding, Nik?” Nigel inquired scornfully. “You don’t seem as enthusiastic as the rest of my men. I assumed you’d be keen on completing the task in honor of your previous employer.”

  Nigel watched as Nik raised his head, only to meet the man’s deadly glare. Nik was dangerous, Nigel realized he wouldn’t have made it so far up the chain of command with Oshimara if he wasn’t. What Nik didn’t realize, Nigel assumed, was exactly how treacherous he himself could be.

  “Our previous employer,” Nik corrected firmly. “I would imagine, Nigel, if the Tokyo syndicate has gone under, it’s only a matter of time before the information is passed on to the authorities here, and they begin rounding us up. I thought we’d all be scattered to the four winds by now, rather than discussing whether to increase our bank balances or not.”

  The man was a prick of a thing. Smart mouth, snarky, and more importantly, disrespectful of him. Given Nik no longer had a boss, Nigel hoped he’d at least suck up a bit to try to secure a place back here in Australia within his organization. It wasn’t only people Nigel dealt in, he ran a large import-export business, and if a client was willing to pay enough, Nigel trafficked mostly anything, antiquities, money, people, they were all cargo. The one thing he steered clear of was drugs, they were too risky even for him.

  Nik clearly didn’t care about his future, not that he had much of one now with Oshimara gone. Nigel would be fine if the authorities here descended. He doctored a paper trail longer than his arm, each shipment to Oshimara camouflaged by a genuine and legally documented trade transaction. He remembered their last transaction. Two whores delivered to Tokyo along with a shipment of expensive wine, the wine documented, the carefully sedated whores just going along for the ride. Nigel ensured he’d covered his tracks, in case this scenario ever arose.

  “You are correct, Nik, and given you have more implication with the consortium than I do, feel free to scatter wherever you like,” Nigel quipped. “I, however, would like to save this transaction if possible. Remember, a man can scatter farther with more money in the bank.”

  Even though he didn’t like Nik, Nigel knew the only reason he could continue with the delivery was thanks to Nik. The big guy had come through for him, providing information about the whereabouts of the girl his client would pay big bucks for. Apparently, she’d gone on holiday for a week, arriving back to her regular routine as of today. That meant work, walking alone on city streets, often late at night, and being an easy mark to kidnap.

  “All right then, I’m in,” Nik stated begrudgingly. “Extra cash wouldn’t go astray.”

  Nigel smiled. He’d proven once again, money has power over all creatures, great and small.

  “So, I’m sure the client will want his girl as promised, I can’t imagine he’ll care who he deals with so long as we deliver. That means Remo and Cliff, get back on her trail but don’t grab her until I say so,” Nigel ordered. “And for Christ’s sake, don’t lose her again.”

  He wasn’t sure about the other women. At this point, there were no sale arrangements for any of them, but that might be where Nik could come in handy. The big guy knew some of the brothel owners back in Tokyo, and those clients would need a new supplier. His middleman was no longer in the game, but there was no reason, with Nik’s assistance, he couldn’t deal direct.

  Before adjourning the meeting, he gave instruction for his other men to stay on all their respective targets until further notice. If all else failed and he couldn’t set up contacts as planned, they’d need at least one of the bitches for celebratory purposes.

  “Nik, a word before you go.” Nigel wasn’t sure if Nik would go along with his plan, but it was worth a try.

  The big blond stopped halfway across the room, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at him. “What?”

  Nik’s tone wasn’t friendly in the slightest, but then again, it never was. Still stone-faced, Nigel assumed Nik’s concern involved potential arrest and uncertainty about any delay in going to ground. Nik just glared at him, clearly waiting for Nigel to speak.

  “I’d like your help, and in return, of course, you’ll have mine.” Nik didn’t move or speak, remaining standing even after Nigel beckoned for him to sit near the desk. “I’d like you to try to contact any of the buyers you know back in Tokyo. It would be beneficial to both of us if we could ensure Mr. Oshimara’s work continued.”

  Nik watched him cautiously, probably surprised at the opportunity Nigel presented. Oshimara had spoken many times about Nik’s loyalty, and for that, he held the big guy in high esteem. Playing his for-Mr.-Oshimara card would hopefully sway Nik to comply. When Nik didn’t reply, Nigel continued with his pitch.

  “I’d also like you to use any of the remaining contacts you have in customs, both here and overseas, to aid us in getting this woman to where our client wants her. Delivery will be my only issue if the client still requires an overseas drop-off. We’ll also need to reestablish shipping lines if we take over supply for overseas clients. Since you were instrumental in delivery under the old regime, I’d like that to continue.”

  Nik continued to glower at him. Nigel didn’t like the expression on the man’s face, peering at him like he was an insect that needed squashing. Yes, the big guy was a threat, definitely dangerous which was why Nigel wanted him on the team. Better to control your potential enemy than let him run loose.

  “So, what’s in all this for me?” he was relieved when Nik finally spoke. At least Nigel now knew he’d been listening, and the fact he went straight to the personal gain aspect of the situation indicated he was considering Nigel’s proposal.

  “Well, apart from paying you handsomely for your efforts, I’m sure I can come up with documentation that proves you’ve been working here, in my company, for the past, shall we say, two years,” Nigel smiled, confident Nik wouldn’t refuse his offer. It was virtually a get out of jail free card in the game they played. “That should get you out of any trouble with the Japanese authorities and provide cover should our police come searching for you.”

  Nigel already had the paperwork covering each legitimate delivery overseas, all he needed to do was include Nik’s information on the transport manifestos. It wasn’t a lie, Nik had been traveling back and forth regularly, mainly accompanying shipments for Oshimara, not him. Nigel just needed to ensure he made the dates align.

  He waited on Nik, the silence between them stretching on for a considerable time. When the big guy finally responded, it was exactly what Nigel wanted to hear.

  “Okay, we have a deal.”

  Chapter Nine

  Marcus hated suits. Not wearing them in the literal sense but dealing with the various government officials who did. The last thing he needed this late in the game was a summons from the feds to come and discuss the mission he currently worked on for them. Everyone was in place, all systems were go, and as of two days ago, Bethany was available and ready for the taking. They were in the calm before the storm period, and he didn’t want or need interference from the upper echelon now.

  The federal building was as cold as the man he’d driven for the past three hours to meet. A steel and concrete structure containing floor to ceiling glass and an open foyer with a large staircase leading to the upper levels may look majestic but in practicality, it was nothing more than a large open target in the landscape of the country’s capital. Marcus sat impatiently on the upper level, he didn’t have time for this and certainly didn’t want to be half a day’s drive away f
rom Beth if today turned out to be the day the traffickers grabbed her.

  “Marcus, good to see you.” The suit, aka Albert Goodchild, appeared at the top of the stairs, dutifully escorted by a uniformed federal police officer carrying a large leather briefcase. “Sorry I’m late, I needed to make a stop on the way.”

  Al pointed to the briefcase, an action that caused Marcus to frown. The suit was acting like today was payday which it wasn’t or shouldn’t be as per Marcus’ calendar. The mission wasn’t complete, and payment only came at the end of a mission.

  “Not a problem,” Marcus stated as he rose from the comfy leather sofa he’d parked his butt on and followed Goodchild down the hall to the man’s plush office.

  He took a seat in front of the ostentatious slab of wood Goodchild called a desk. Realistically, it could seat eight, maybe ten if it were a dining table, but true to government excess, Al called this his desk. The uniformed officer placed the case on the floor near Marcus’ chair, nodded to his boss, and retreated from the room, closing the door behind him. Yep, it looked like payday which meant only one thing. There’d been a fuck up somewhere along the line, and Marcus was about to be the last one to find out.

  “Assuming that’s my payment,” Marcus pointed to the case, “you better start talking because I know it isn’t for a job well done. According to my reckoning, I’m about to get an exorbitant amount of money for a job not yet complete.”

  Goodchild adjusted his coat before reclining back in his executive chair. One hand rested on the desk, presumably so he could tap his finger on it as he stared thoughtfully across the expanse of wood. Marcus hated this shit. The suit was the head of Australia’s federal police. Nothing happened without his knowledge. Marcus only ever dealt with him, and the guy was as ruthless as any criminal he’d ever met. As he waited for Goodchild to reply, Marcus already knew he’d have to quiz him patiently for answers until he got to the truth.