Mercenaries

by Anne Kane

  “Okay. I admit it’s a bit of a dive, but the price is right.” She sighed. “I meant it. I needed to get out of the city and I honestly didn’t think about how it would affect the others so you can just turn around and go back and tell them I’m okay and I’ll be in touch when I get myself sorted out. I need time to think.”

  Trace shook his head. Picking up the tankards one at a time he poured them each a generous glassful of the pale liquid. “Think about what?”

  He certainly had a way of getting to the heart of the matter. “Things. My life. What I want to do. I can’t spend my whole life hiding in the shadows in some city, afraid of getting caught.”

  Traced raised his glass and took a long pull on the liquid.

  She had to give him credit for not gagging. The swill they served here was hardly up to his usual standards.

  He sat his glass down on the table. “Okay. You need time away to think. I can respect that. I’ll let the others know you’re safe and that we’ll be back when you’re ready to face them.”

  We? “What do you mean we? I don’t need you to stay with me. I don’t want you to stay with me. I want to be left alone.”

  “Not happening.”

  She couldn’t believe she was hearing this. He didn’t even try to justify himself. He acted so damned superior, as if he thought he had the right to make decisions concerning her. She could just imagine what he’d do if he knew she was pregnant. Oh why the hell did she have to be so damned fertile? It had been one night, just one glorious night and she’d been too caught up in the moment to remember that birth control rarely worked on freaks like her. Brood mares. That insane doctor had altered her genetics to make it practically impossible for her to have sex without getting pregnant.

  She hoped there was a special place in hell reserved for mad scientists who experimented on helpless kids.

  Composing her face to what she hoped was icy calm she raised one brow at the big mercenary. “I beg your pardon? I don’t recall asking for your permission.”

  Apparently he didn’t scare all that easily.

  “You didn’t have to. There is no way I’m abandoning you here in this cesspool of human lowlifes. I’ll be at your side until you’re ready to return to the relative safety of the city.”

  “But I don’t want you to stay at my side!”

  He shrugged. “That’s too bad because I’m not leaving.”

  Why hadn’t she noticed how annoying he could be before this? “Well, you’re not staying with me.”

  “Oh, I think I am.”

  “Nope.” Pushing herself to her feet, she glared down at him. “You’re not. Now finish your drink like a good little mercenary and go home.” Spinning on her heel she stalked over to the bar, fixing the unfortunate pub owner with her glare.

  “I need a room.”

  “For two?”

  “No!”

  “But…”

  “Yes, she means for two.” Trace circled her waist with an arm as soft and yielding as a band of iron. “I will be staying with her.”

  “Yes, of course, sir.” The innkeeper’s voice was annoyingly subservient as he wiped his hands on a rag. “Follow me.”

  Trace leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Behave.” Keeping a firm arm around her waist, he fell into step behind the innkeeper.

  For a brief moment, Winter considered stomping her feet and throwing a temper tantrum but she doubted she’d get any sympathy from the other patrons of the bar. They’d probably just consider it a bit of free entertainment. Rolling her eyes, she let herself be herded from the room.

  The innkeeper led them upstairs, striding down the hallway to push a door open at the far end. “I hope this will serve. You can bar the door from the inside, and the maid will bring a jug of water and fresh towels in the morning.”

  “It’s fine.” Trace passed over a rather generous handful of cred chips.

  “Yes, sir.” Bobbing his head, the innkeeper retreated from the room.

  Winter twisted out of his grasp. “Behave? Seriously? What do I look like, your pet dog?”

  “No, if I had a dog it would know exactly what I expected of it at any given time. I wouldn’t have to remind it to behave.”

  If she didn’t know better, she’d think that twinkle in his eye was humor. She gave her head a mental shake. Trace didn’t do humor. Ever. He was the most serious man she’d ever met. Even in the heat of making love, he’d been dead serious.

  The subject of her recent X-rated dreams pulled his outer shirt off over his head and tossed it on the bed. Not exactly a move calculated to make her feel more relaxed. His biceps flexed enticingly beneath the remaining thin layer of material.

  Crossing the room, he used the tinderbox on the mantel to start a fire in the brick fireplace, adding sticks from the pile beside it until he had a roaring blaze going. The temperature in the room climbed steadily.

  Trace got to his feet and turned to face her. The tight shirt clung lovingly to each and every sculpted muscle of his torso. Maybe it wasn’t the flames from those burning logs raising the temperature in here.

  He fixed her with a stare that was far from icy. As he stalked across the room toward her, she felt like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. She knew she should run and yet she couldn’t get her legs to move.

  Reaching her side, Trace cupped the back of her head in one big hand as his mouth slowly descended to devour her lips in a kiss hotter than the logs spluttering in the fire behind them. She closed her eyes and allowed the magic of his presence to wash over her.

  What was it about the big mercenary? It’s not like she’d never met a male before, and she’d certainly seen guys both cuter and hotter than the one here in this room with her. Trace’s face was rugged and masculine, deep worry lines etched permanently into the rough skin. Faint scars bore silent witness to his violent way of life.

  And yet, he was the only man to set her blood to boiling, to make her knees go weak with a single glance, to make her forget that a single night of pleasure could have consequences that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

  When she’d seduced Trace she’d forgotten all about the heavily boosted morning after pills one of her sisters had concocted for her. Winter had no idea what chemical concoction they contained, but they allowed her to have a normal sex life despite her ever so fertile body. She just had to swallow one of the little pills within an hour of sex and voila: no consequences.

  Trace was the only man who had ever overwhelmed her senses to the point of forgetting all about those consequences. She’d been so sated, so incredibly satisfied that she’d happily fallen asleep in his arms as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  When she woke up it was too late. She was on her way to being a mommy.

  Chapter Three

  She’d always been good at rationalizing what she wanted, and tonight wasn’t going to be any different. Since she was already pregnant it couldn’t hurt to enjoy another night in his arms, now could it? After all, once the baby got here it was going to be damned difficult to date. For the briefest of moments she considered getting rid of the problem, aborting it, but even the thought of that made her feel slightly ill. She might not have planned this child, but she loved it already, and she secretly hoped it had Trace’s eyes, if not his annoying habit of being able to see right through her motives.

  He kissed like he did everything else, passionately. His entire attention was devoted to devouring her lips as his mouth blazed across hers. Heat sparked across every inch of her skin. Had pregnancy increased her sex drive, or was it just that she felt free to enjoy every second of this encounter since the damage was already done?

  It didn’t really matter, and now was so not the time to worry about silly things like motives and consequences. There was no doubt in her mind that they would come crashing down on her later. Right now, she intended to wring every last drop of sensual pleasure that she could out of Trace’s willing participation.

  She fit ag
ainst him perfectly, like she’d been born just for him. When she’d looked up and seen him coming through the door down in the common room, she thought he’d looked glad to see her, despite the ice in his eyes. Her heart had done a curious little dance in her chest, hoping in some dumb foolish part of her that he’d come because he couldn’t bear to be without her. Whether she was willing to admit it or not, she wasn’t immune to his particular brand of sexy.

  “You are so beautiful. Before I met you, I just existed. I had no idea the world could be such a wonderful place.” He whispered the words into her ear, as if he were afraid to say them out loud. Maybe she wasn’t so crazy after all. Maybe there was a chance for the two of them.

  She let out a strangled gasp as he feathered a flurry of tiny kisses down her neck to the tender hollow of her throat. He worshiped her wordlessly for a long moment, his mouth moving over her possessively, hungrily, and lovingly.

  What if she were kidding herself? What if he really didn’t feel anything at all for her except lust?

  He nipped a tiny fold of skin at her throat, sending a shiver of desire spiking across her nerves and she gave up all attempts at rational thought. For tonight, at least, she intended to live in the moment.

  Tomorrow would be soon enough to resume worrying about the future.

  Scooping her up in his arms, he crossed the room in a single step and tossed her onto the bed before pausing to divest himself of his clothing. He had a magnificent body, one she could happily spend the rest of her life admiring. His cock was already rock hard, jutting proudly up from the tangle of dark hair at his groin. She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue in silent invitation.

  Trace moved with deceptive speed. One moment he was standing beside the bed, his cock bobbing enticingly at eye level, the next he was reaching for her with tightly leashed lust.

  “Taste me.”

  He didn’t have to ask twice. Winter reached out to grasp his thick shaft in her hand, tracing the thick vein that ran from the base to the tip with one finger. Lowering her head, she took him in her mouth.

  He tasted every bit as good as she remembered, slightly musky, salty and oh so very male. She used her tongue to tease him, running it along the sides of his cock as she hollowed her cheeks to suck as much of him as she could into her mouth. She loved the sound of his sudden intake of breath, the feeling of power it gave her to have the very essence of his maleness in her mouth.

  Trace buried his fingers in her hair, tugging softly to urge her to take him even deeper. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head back and slowly rocked his hips as she sucked and licked.

  Reaching up, Winter gently cupped his sac, kneading it softly. The twin orbs felt warm and heavy in her hands, and she scored her finger along the skin.

  Trace let out a low growl and dragged her up to claim her mouth with his own. A devouring urgency flashed through her as his tongue pushed past her lips and claimed the inside of her mouth. It proved impossible to concentrate with his hands roaming possessively over her body, removing her clothing with consummate ease, and she gave up the effort.

  This is what she wanted, what she craved, what she had secretly hoped for ever since that first night in his arms. An actual long-term, happily ever after relationship might be out of the question but there was no reason she couldn’t have one more night of amazing sex before she slipped away to start a new life. Was there?

  A whirlwind of emotion cascaded through her. Trace’s scent surrounded her, invading every pore of her body, sending her libido soaring. They tumbled onto the bed, lips still locked together and she found herself staring up at Trace as he straddled her hips, his massive cock pressing into the soft skin of her belly.

  She gasped, wriggling her hips and arching up to try and impale herself on the tempting shaft. Damn. She needed that, needed it planted firmly inside her. Now. Right now.

  A deliciously dark smile twisting his lips, Trace braced himself above her on his elbows. Locking his gaze on her, he reached down and positioned himself at the entrance to her slick heat.

  Winter held her breath, waiting, anticipating. Darts of erotic fire danced along each nerve as she waited for his invasion.

  He lifted his hips, then surged into her, burying himself balls deep with one strong thrust of his powerful hips.

  Winter let out a wordless scream as his huge cock stretched her slick sex, filling her impossibly full. That felt so incredibly good. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she arched into him, attempting to take him even deeper.

  Trace began to move, shafting her with long sure strokes that sent the lust spiraling deep inside her belly. She rocked her hips, matching him stroke for stroke as a blazing heat began to build across every inch of her naked body. Burying her face in the crook of his shoulder, she inhaled his intoxicating scent.

  Trace reached down between them, finding the tiny bundle of nerves at the entrance to her sex, scoring his nail over it.

  A strangled whimper escaped Winter as the blazing heat of her desire overwhelmed her. She could feel her orgasm starting, swelling from a tiny place deep down inside, growing until it overwhelmed her, rolling over her with the force of a tsunami.

  Her sex clamped tight around Trace’s shaft, and he reacted by tightening his hold on her, letting out a roar of triumph as his seed spurted deep inside her.

  They stayed locked together for what felt like an eternity as wave after wave of aftershocks rolled through Winter, rocking her resolve to not let Trace get under her skin. She’d worry about that later. She’d worry about everything later. Thinking sucked. Right now she just wanted to revel in the feel of Trace’s warm, hard body covering hers.

  A long time later, Trace shifted position, rolling onto his side without letting go of her. He was pretty good at that, moving without letting go of her. She kind of liked it. He wrapped one arm behind her head and dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Go to sleep. We’ll figure this out in the morning.”

  Seriously? What did he think he was going to figure out? He had no idea what the problem was, and she had no intention of enlightening him. Winter put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  * * *

  Winter groaned softly and tried to ignore the sound of china clinking. If she opened her eyes, she’d have to admit she was awake and then the lovely dream in which she and Trace were cavorting in a cozy little cottage in the woods would disappear forever.

  “Come on, sleepyhead. Breakfast is here.” Trace sounded disgustingly cheerful for this hour of the morning.

  Oh great, a morning person. Just what she didn’t need. The aroma of strong, freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air, teasing her senses, and she cracked one eye open just enough to see him pouring a hefty cupful of the thick black liquid.

  Then again, maybe having a morning person around might not be so bad -- especially if he were willing to fetch her breakfast in bed every day.

  She gave her head a mental shake. No. She would not let herself be seduced by the thought of having someone around all the time, especially someone as wonderful as Trace. It wouldn’t be fair to him. He might think he was a hard-assed tough guy, but that wouldn’t be enough to keep him safe. No. Not doing it.

  Keeping the blanket pulled up tight to her chin, Winter sat up in the bed. “Is that for me?”

  Trace grinned over his shoulder. “Yup. Coffee, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit. Never let it be said that Trace McDougal doesn’t know how to treat an overnight guest.”

  “Yeah.” She wrinkled her nose, staring at the tray pointedly. “Are you planning on bringing that over here?”

  “Of course. Just waiting for you to show some sign of life.” He shook his head in mock amazement. “Did you know that you can sleep through the sound of a major brawl in the hallway outside our room?”

  She grinned. “Why should I bother to wake up? As long as they stay out in the hall it’s not my problem. Hopefully there aren’t any slippery pools of blood out there. Are you going to be long with that coff
ee?”

  Trace picked up the tray and carried it over, placing it carefully on the bed between the two of them. Picking up one of the coffee cups, he handed it to her. “Here you go. I wasn’t sure if you preferred pastries or fruit for breakfast so I got some of each.”

  “Some of each is good.” Taking a sip of her coffee, Winter braced herself. Last night had been great, but Trace wasn’t going to be put off for long. He’d want to know where she was headed and why.

  As if he could read her mind, Trace began. “So you left the city where you had the support of all your sisters, not to mention my team, because you like the ambiance out here in the sticks?” He managed to make that sound like a reasonable question.

  Winter sighed. “No. I’m not an idiot.” She’d decided the best plan would be to give him enough of the truth to satisfy his sense of rightness without telling him everything. “I want to see if I can find my mother, or any of my family. I had Saralyn hack into the government files and she came up with a name. Not much to go on, but I know where I was originally picked up from so I have to try. I want to know where I come from, who my parents were, if I have any real family left.”

  Trace shook his head. “I understand wanting to know who you are, but the chances of finding your mother after all this time are pretty slim. Do you have any idea how you managed to land in that lab? Did she sell you? Did someone snatch you for the money? Is she even still alive?”

  Winter held out her hands. “Stop it! I know. Chances are she’s dead, probably was dead before I even got picked up but I need to know.” She paused, trying to find the words to explain the deep-rooted need to understand where she came from. “Maybe I have some other relatives living, maybe not, but I have to try.” She realized this would make a whole lot more sense to him if she told him about her own impending motherhood, but that was one secret she planned to keep. “I have to at least try.”

  Trace looked doubtful. “Okay. So where are we talking about? Surely you don’t expect to find your roots in this dive?”