His Devil's Mercy Read online

  “Then it’s adios, motherfuckers!” Parnell said, which drew laughter all around.

  “Attaboy, mate,” Rhone drawled but he was still tense. He wouldn’t relax until they reached home. Safe and sound. “Snuggle up, Parnell, let’s get outta here.”

  “Roger that, mate. I’m on your left.”

  The collective sigh from everyone in the chopper morphed into the women bursting into tears. The reality of their impending freedom only now bore realization.

  “Where do we take the women, Rhone? It wasn’t something we’d planned on,” Max pondered aloud.

  “I contacted Alex while we were waiting on you. He’s setting up a safe house on a small farm bordering the Cabin John Creek. We’re landing at those coordinates,” Bruce confirmed.

  Alex White was the Governor of Maryland and a very good friend. He was the force behind the crackdown on human trafficking in the US.

  “Try and get some sleep, ladies. It’s a six-hour flight to the airbase and another eight from there to DC,” Max said. He dragged a protesting Joanne onto his lap. “Sleep, baby. I can see you’re tired. I’ve got you, now you can let go and relax.”

  Joanne’s struggles ceased the moment her supple frame made contact with his hard chest. She soaked in the warmth of his body. Her eyes closed and with the soft hum of the chopper blades in her ears and her fist locked around Max’ shirt, she fell asleep. Content and relaxed for the first time in over five years.

  Max looked at the sleeping woman in his arms. There was a dim overhead light illuminating the interior of the back of the chopper. He gazed at the fullness of her mouth; tempted beyond reproach to taste their swollen succulence.

  His senses came alive as he was struck by her beauty, even without a speck of makeup. Her flawless olive skin resembled gossamer marble, scattered with specs of gold from being in the hot sun so much. Her beautiful face was framed by the long wisps of brunette tresses that cascaded in soft layers around her shoulders. Her rosy cheeks and perfectly shaped lips had always beguiled him—something he’d first been drawn to on her eighteenth birthday. She looked fragile, yet ethereal; like she was a result of angels crafting a masterpiece.

  Her long lashes fluttered; a small whimper escaped her lips as she turned her face into his throat. Max exhaled deeply, more affected by the trusting gesture than he cared to admit. His arms tightened around her.

  You’re back in my arms now, baby and come hell or high water, that’s where you’re gonna stay. I let you slip through my fingers once; I won’t make the same mistake again.

  * * * * * * * *

  A battle of wills ensued when the three men were ready to leave, once the women were settled at the safe house. Their mental as well as physical well-being would be taken care of during their stay.

  “I’m staying here, Max. At least for now. These women need me. They’ve been leaning on me throughout their ordeal. I can’t just leave them,” Joanne reasoned when Max demanded she go home with him.

  “It’s not a negotiation, Joanne. You’re coming home with me. You can come back later if you need to ensure for yourself that they’re being taken care of, but I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

  “Max, I—”

  “Let’s go. I’m dead on my feet and need to sleep. We all need to wash the grime of the desert from our bodies as I’m sure you do too.”

  “Look here, Maximilian, you are not going to bully me—”

  Max did the one thing that was the most effective to shut her up. He kissed her. Although, if he was honest with himself, he just couldn’t resist her succulent and pouty lips any longer.

  The kiss was one of aching sweetness and longing, doused with erotic entreaty. It was intoxicating—masterful—and hinted of more to come. Not satisfied with just a touch, he wanted more. His tongue met hers and ignited a firestorm of passion, inflaming her body with a radiant euphoria. He stole her breath until her head spun, destroying her resistance.

  Max ended the kiss reluctantly. For the first time in years, he felt the flicker of warmth that had been missing in his heart. His fingers traced the swollen curve of her bottom lip. He tilted back her head with a gentle touch beneath her chin. He studied her quietly, remembering how easy it was to get lost in her passionate amethyst eyes.

  “The past year has been hell, worrying and wondering where you were. Now that I have you back . . . I need to keep you safe.”

  Joanne swallowed hard. The look in his eyes darkened, with deeper emotions lurking in their depths. It was that, which made her capitulate.

  Max couldn’t keep his hands off her and tangled his fingers in her hair.

  “At least you didn’t cut them,” Max studied her intently. “I must admit, it suits you, Jo. It adds to your mysterious aura.” He leaned closer. “You’ve been playing at being a man for too long, baby. It’s time to embrace being a woman again. Know this, Joanne. I’ll be the one—the only one—who will be the recipient of the passion you unleash.”

  Joanne decided then and there that she had no intention of being alone with Maximilian Shaw. Not if she wanted to keep her sanity and her already wavering heart intact.

  “Not everyone is hyper-sexed like you Maximilian. Besides, what makes you think I haven’t indulged in my sexual needs since you?”

  She was enraptured by the chill that glazed his eyes. Her eyebrows curved upward sardonically.

  “What’s the matter, Max? Surely you didn’t think I was so devastated the day you chased me away that I turned to celibacy? Au contraire mon cher, you unleashed something carnal in me and I’ve learned how to enjoy the earthy pleasures of the flesh. And like you, I’ve realized the benefit of multiple partners. So, as I said, thanks, but no thanks. Monogamy isn’t enough for me anymore.”

  “That sounds like a challenge, my pet. One, that you can be assured I’ll accept.”

  “It wasn’t a—” Joanne took a deep breath. She had enough sense to know that sparring with him would only spur him on. It was better to return to their original conversation.

  “I can never thank you enough for finding me, Max but I’m not your responsibility. I’m a grown woman and things happen. Nothing anyone could’ve done back then would have changed what happened, except my own carelessness. And just so we’re clear, you don’t have me back. I’m back here, in the US, but not with you.”

  “That, my little spitfire, is a topic we can debate another day. For now, let’s go. Rhone and Bruce are just as tired.”

  Chapter Five

  A sliver of moonlight spilled into the room, not enough to ignite the fiery hues of the Indian rug, but enough to navigate between the plush wingback chairs to the dark room beyond.

  Joanne moaned softly, needing a few more hours of darkness. Another tedious morning of taking the guards through their exercises. There was an upside to her ordeal. Her body was honed into a machine, but without turning into a muscle palace. She was relieved that she’d managed to maintain the lean lines of her body.

  Just another ten minutes. I’ll get up then.

  Not so much to sleep, but to prepare herself mentally and physically for the complicated role she’d been forced to play. Her eyes flickered open, still vacant with the remnants of sleep.

  Ugh, no wonder! It’s still pitch-black outside.

  She blinked until the darkness gave way to the soft glow of the moon. She frowned as she took in her surroundings. This wasn’t the dreary room she usually slept in. Nor was the mattress the lumpy, hard one. She sighed as she brushed her palms over the sheets; soft cotton enticed her to close her eyes for a little longer and float away on a cloud of pleasure.

  Wait! Where the hell am I? Home! I’m back home.

  Her eyes popped open. Max! She was in his house, but this wasn’t the room or the bed she’d fallen asleep in, after a long and extremely satisfying bubble bath.

  Warmth suffused her veins from soft lips sucking on her nipples. Her moan sounded carnal, husky and filled with longing.

  “What are you
doing?” She managed to puff as she dragged in much needed oxygen into her lungs.

  Max’s chuckle released a breath of warm air on her skin as he kissed his way over the hollows of her abdomen.

  “I must be losing my touch if you have to ask that, baby.”

  “I told you not to . . . mmm, call me baby.”

  “What’s in a name, right? I’ll call you anything you want, Joanne but one thing I won’t do, is walk away from you. Not now.”

  Joanne waivered. She was quickly losing the battle to fight his hungry kisses and salacious licks.

  “You did once before,” she managed to say. Her body arched into his hands without her mind giving the order.

  “I’m not having this conversation now, Jo. I’d rather drown in your husky moans of pleasure. Ah fuck, baby, I love your taste,” he growled between her thighs. His warm breath tickled the sensitive folds he was lapping at.

  She lost all capacity to think when he took one long lick from the back of her slit to the top, lashing the tip of her clitoris. With the third pass of his tongue, the urge to defy him liquefied in heat that filled her core. Joanne tilted her hips invitingly up to his mouth.

  His growl sounded primeval as he pushed his tongue deep inside her pussy, exploring the soft folds and sucking up her nectar.

  She arched her back and moaned to the gentle caress of his palms over her nipples. They riposted with a spark of lust.

  “Yes, my pet. It’s mine. All fucking mine!” Max licked and sucked her pussy with gluttonous greed. He was intoxicated by her scent and the taste of her honeyed juices.

  “Give me more, baby. You know how wild it makes me when you gush like this.”

  “Max, please, I need to come. I can’t . . . it’s been too long, please.”

  “It’s too soon, baby. You need to hold out a little longer.” He sucked the swollen nub into his mouth. “I’ll never get enough of this succulent little piece of flesh,” he moaned as his tongue thrilled against the tip.

  Joanne moaned too. She gasped when he slowly pushed two fingers deep inside her pussy. He pumped into her, watching her mouth gape open in a soundless cry. He curled his fingers inward to brush his fingertips against the swollen nub inside—her sweet spot, which he knew just how to toggle, to push her closer to the edge. She thrashed and orbited her hips against his mouth.

  “Fucck, Maximilian! Please,” she begged breathlessly.

  “Since you’re asking so nicely, how can I say no?” He added another finger. “Now. Come for me, Jo-baby,” he murmured, just before he clamped his teeth around her tender nub. She fell apart.

  Max watched her face, enthralled by the pleasure that flooded her face. Her scream exploded in the quiet of the night. She clawed at his shoulders, thrashing against the tide that continued to wash over her. It was all Max needed. She was still in the midst of her climax when he pushed his hard cock inside her.

  “Fuck me, you’re still as hot and tight as I remember. Do you know how much I love this little pussy of yours, Jo? Come on, my pet, lock your long legs around my waist,” he purred against her ear.

  Joanne was lost, completely senseless in a swirling cloud of euphoria. The expression on Max’s taut face said it all. He was energized by a frantic urge to squeeze every bit of pleasure from her body.

  “More, Max. I want more,” she urged and dug her heels into his back, forcing him deeper.

  “Easy, little hellion. I’m in no rush.”

  Max was good for his word. He took his time. No amount of pleading or enticing him with her husky moans could make him increase the lazy pace he set, as he repeatedly plunged into her. He loved watching her blissful face. She looked angelic, almost ethereal in the moonlight.

  “I’m coming, Max” Jo mewled. Her back arched in a bow. Max couldn’t resist the alluring offer and leaned down to suck on her nipples. He tugged on them with hard, deep sucks that had her crying with pleasure.

  Joanne struggled to breathe; her body was at war with her desire to orgasm. She orbited her hips assiduously against his crotch, ardently rubbing her clit against the neatly groomed patch of hair at the base of his shaft.

  “Ma-ax,” she cried through clenched teeth. Her breathing turned haggard. Her nails cut into his back at the same time that her muscles clenched in a flash warning. The climax rolled over her in torrents of ecstasy as continuous spasms shuddered through her body.

  “I’d forgotten how tight you clench around me during your climax, Jo. It’s the best feeling ever.” He kissed her briefly, but thoroughly. His whisper warned her that he was far from done with her. “Now, my little minx, it’s my turn.”

  One moment Joanne was drowning in the heat of his body between her legs and the next, he flipped her over onto her stomach. He pulled up her hips and spread her legs apart. The brush of his hand over her wet labia was all it took to re-light the fire inside her that had just started to ebb.

  “Jo, do you know what I’m about to do?” Max asked. He plunged his finger inside her pussy once again, groaning at the wet welcome he encountered.

  “Yes, I do,” she responded, clawing at the sheets, already on the brink, courtesy his masterful manipulation of her body. The prospect of what was coming filled her with excitement.

  “Yes, you do, because you used to love this side of me, didn’t you, baby? Remember? Hard, fast and fucking rough, so scream to your heart’s content. Oh, and one more thing, luv. Don’t bank on this being done quickly. There are still many hours till sunrise.”

  Max moved closer against her and positioned his large blunt tip against her vulva. Her eyes were ablaze with desire in the moonlight as their eyes met over her shoulder.

  “Here we go, baby.”

  He slammed into her—to the hilt. Her high-pitched scream was a mixture of shock and pleasure. Max rejoiced when she pushed back into him. His groan married with hers as he felt her body shudder with a climax just upon his entry.

  He pounded into her then, urging her on as she erupted in yet another crescendo of spasms; the rippling clenches squeezed the taut length of his cock. He kept powering into her mercilessly. His movements were uninhibited. He was robbed of any eloquent thought. He gave in to the ferocious appetite that consumed his body, to possess every inch of her.

  He leaned back. He locked to memory the visual of the tight, satiny lips of her hot, wet pussy that sheathed his tumescent penis as he pumped in and out of her. There was a pressing desire to imprint his mark of possession on her. She was his. Always had been.

  Max drove his hips into her. The strength of his thrusts caused her ass cheeks to spread open and ripple in response.

  God, I missed this. I missed her. This feeling of completeness when she surrounds my cock.

  “I can’t get enough, Jo,” he grunted. His hips flexed against her with hard, tight thrusts. The sound of slapping skin, coupled with her moans, played a lustful melody in his ears.

  “Again, Jo. Now, come with me.” He reached around her waist to tap her clit.

  “God! I can’t anymore, Max. Please, have some mercy,” she wailed as her body immediately responded to his expert touch.

  “Mercy? You forget who you’re talking to, luv. When it comes to you and me, there’s no mercy. For neither of us.”

  His cock swelled even more inside her as his testosterone spiked. It overloaded his senses and pushed against sensitive nerve endings that shattered his control. He pinched her clit, which resulted in her muscles clenching around his shaft. A gush of liquid essence coated his length and yanked him over the edge with her.

  ‘Fuucchk,” Joanne’s scream was stifled as she struggled to breathe. Her body solidified with the pressure and intensity of the climax that ripped through her.

  “Aaagh!” Max’s carnal shout echoed alongside hers in the room.

  He lost the fight to restrain the convergence of emotional and physical sensations that cascaded over him. With a muted roar, he felt himself drowning in a whitewater of ecstasy. The world fell away as he ejacula
ted.

  Few moments later, he tumbled onto his back beside her. His breathing was haggard as he drew her into a tight embrace. He stroked her hair, listening to her desperate struggle to find her breath. They were both consumed by the rapture they’d just shared.

  “You are mine, Jo. I’m not letting you go again. I was a fucking asshole before. We are meant to be.”

  Joanne didn’t respond. She was still struggling to come down to earth from the last shattering orgasm. Her heart fluttered against her chest at the thought of continuing their relationship where they’d left off. She had been hit hard when Max had walked away from her five years ago. She had never gotten over him. He had been her one true love. No one had been able to take his place since.

  Was she ready for what he had to offer? Could she embrace his desire to be surrounded by a flock of women who he could gorge on at his leisure?

  No. The answer is an emphatic no. If Maximilian Shaw thinks he can snap his fingers and I would come running, he had another thing coming.

  She might still be in love with him but this time, she would make the rules. If Max Shaw wanted her in his life, he would concede to her demands. And Joanne Blackmore had no intention of sharing him with others.

  She snuggled closer to his chest and sighed contently. His chest rumbled with a deep chuckle. Her surprised shriek sounded in the room when he settled between her legs with a quick flex of his body.

  “Whatever makes you think I’m done with you, baby?”

  Her breath hissed from her lips when he pushed his insatiable cock back inside her pussy. She pushed against him chest as a sobering thought blackened the moment of pleasure.

  “Only if you wear a condom, Max.”

  He reared back. “Why? You’re on the pill, aren’t you? We never used condoms before and you know I never fuck any women without one, except you.”

  “Max, I’ve been playing the role of a man for the past year. I’ve not been on the pill since I’ve been captured.”

  Max traced her bottom lip. She could see the question forming in the darkening of his eyes, but he immediately suppressed it. Now wasn’t the time to talk about her ordeal. He placed a row of tender kisses on her brow.