His traumatic past has left him dark… and longing for love.Hicks thinks good and evil comes in black and white. No blurred lines, no grey areas. After being subjected to a horrific experiment that’s left him damaged as a super soldier, Hicks seeks comfort from his torment in reliability. He’s got clear rules on morality and isn’t willing to break them.Until her. Whitney is a seductress. Secretly … is a seductress. Secretly working for a Senator as a mistress, she puts on leather outfits and a mask of sensuality to bend men to her will— though the money she makes doing so isn’t to save her, but others. Whitney believes she’s past saving, and that love is a silly dream.
Then he enters her life.
Hicks is sickened by what he thinks Whitney is— and undeniably attracted to her. After Whitney’s life is threatened in a violent murder attempt, Hicks calls in his team. Whitney is the target of a government operation, and unless Hicks can discover who’s behind it, Whitney’s life is forfeit.
But the mission isn’t the only thing on Hicks’ mind.
Whitney and Hicks can’t keep their hands off each other… but they can’t stand each other, either. Whitney isn’t the innocent woman Hicks thought, and Hicks isn’t the strong hero Whitney’s looking for. But together, the heat of their romance and the passion of their love cannot be stopped.
Can Hicks rescue Whitney from a tragic end? Or will the lovers lose everything against incredible odds?
Equal parts sexy and suspenseful, Mayhem’s Desire is the second installment in an action-packed love story women of all ages will enjoy. Award winning author Lindsay Cross brings readers a hot romp of military men and strong heroines in Operation Mayhem, a romance saga of cinematic proportions.
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3.75 stars– MAYHEM’S DESIRE is the second full-length instalment in Lindsay Cross’ contemporary, adult OPERATION MAYHEM romantic suspense, sci-fi series focusing on an elite group of genetically enhanced super soldiers. This is Christopher ‘Hicks’ Higginbotham, and Whitney Averton’s story line MAYHEM’S DESIRE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and history. OPERATION MAYHEM is a spin-off series from the author’s Men of Mercy series where the story begins.
SOME BACKGROUND: A secret military experiment known as Project Mayhem, headed by Jack Mankel, General Rainier and Dr. Winters, hoping to create a super soldier has left several victims in its’ wake. US military Captain T. K. Reaper’s team of elite soldiers ‘volunteered’ unaware of what it was they had volunteered for or why. Hoping to avenge the death of a fellow soldier, Reaper frees his teammates (Mercy and Mayhem .5) only to discover the tests are continuing using a young woman as the source of the drug. Operation Mayhem are their stories.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Hicks and Whitney) MAYHEM’S DESIRE follows Whitney Averton in the wake of a break-in and theft of her car, a break-in that was personal and dark. When no one would answer her calls for help, Whitney called the only person she knew she could depend upon-her sister Dr. Melissa Averton- the woman currently trying to save the lives of the men of Project Mayhem. Enter Christopher ‘Hicks’ Higginbotham, one of the subjects of Project Mayhem, and the man with whom Whitney will fall in love. What ensues is the quick building relationship between Whitney and Hicks, and the potential fall-out as Whitney is targeted by a sick and twisted mind.
Whitney Averton is the vice-president of logistics for a non-profit organization that helps children in need in developing countries but in order to earn a little extra money Whitney side lines as a dominatrix for the US Senator, a side line that is about to make her a target of a very important man. Christopher ‘Hicks’ Higginbotham, like his teammates, struggles with the everyday tasks of normal life but his latest assignment to protect and procure Whitney Averton finds our hero at odds with his attraction to, and the ramifications of Whitney’s private life.
The relationship between Whitney and Hicks is one of immediate attraction but a tempestuous relationship wherein Hicks struggles with what Whitney has done in her personal and private life. Battling his attraction to our story line heroine, Hicks tries desperately to push Whitney out of his mind, a desperation that is futile because the heart wants what the mind does not. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
Most of the previous story line characters play secondary and supporting roles: Reaper and Caroline (Mayhems Warrior #1); Dr. Melissa Averton; teammates Diggs, Juarez, and King. We are introduced to Senator Cory Keeling, and his body guard Reinhardt; as well as the return of General Rainier, and someone closely connected to the soldiers who are currently struggling to move on with their lives.
MAYHEM’S DESIRE is a story of obsession, power, betrayal and control; a story of attraction and love; of friendship and family. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the romance is captivating; the characters are strong, colorful, flirty and energetic.
This is the third installment in the Mayhem series and I am really enjoying this series. Each book stands alone however I recommend beginning with Mercy and Mayhem because there is an ongoing story that is building throughout the series. Each book spotlights one of the team members and this is Hicks’ story. He has been altered by Project Mayhem and Dr. Averton has been working tirelessly to help the team. When her sister Whitney calls her for help, Hicks volunteers to go assist. Whitney is the black sheep sister of the Averton family and has gotten her self into a bit of trouble because of her secret part time work for a senator. I do not believe in giving away spoilers so if you want to know what that is then you will have to read their story. These two have great chemistry but Hicks has a lot a baggage. He unfortunately labels Whitney in his mind as being someone that he cannot respect when he should have remembered not judge a book by it’s cover! Hicks is going to have to work hard to get himself out of the dog house! Like all the books in the series it is written in dual POV. I cannot wait to see what Mayhem is coming next in this series.
WOW! This series just keeps getting better. This is book 2 in the Operation Mayhem series and it features Whitney Averton and Christopher “Hicks” Higginbatham. The prologue of this story starts when Hicks was a child and it ripped my heart open. What a terrible thing for anybody to go through. Present day, Hicks goes to help Dr. Melissa Averton’s sister and…BOOM! Whitney’s a mess but they can’t keep their hands off each other. Hicks unfairly passes judgment on her without listening to any explanation, for which he later regrets. I can’t seem to figure her out. One minute she’s tough and the next she’s the damsel in distress. Great story regardless.
This is an amazing action-packed, smokin’ hot romance with very large, very sexy, ex-military men full of muscles AND brains. I love that the whole team is involved in the story line. I can’t wait for the next one!
So this is technically the second book in the Operation Mayhem series and I loved it. This one focuses on Hicks who is also part of the Operation Mayhem team.
Whitney was very smart, I felt so bad for her when she found out somebody was trying to ruin her life, well more so get her killed. She was trying to make the world better and then that happens getting in the middle of it. She was smart, sassy and I loved her.
Hicks was strong headed and was very strong-willed. I loved Hicks the way he felt so protective Whitney and yet at times really disliked her. Whitney and Hicks were definitely an interesting couple, you could tell their attraction the moment they met. I loved how they both fought the attraction between each other.
The tension in the overarching plot that goes through this series, with every book the tension is growing and it’s getting hella tense.
I think my thing was as much as I loved Hicks and Whitney I needed more of them, actually I think that’s the case with all of Lindsay’s characters I tend to want more like they could be doing anything and I could be happy.
It was interesting learning a little bit more about doctor Melissa too and her sister. I loved seeing the other characters and it was nice to see them bonding as a group. And being normal especially as they are slowly re-entering the normal world.
I loved this, the story characters. Everything about it.
Mayhems Desire
Hicks and Whitney don’t have the smoothest of introductions.
Whitney has a rather clandestine relationship with a Senator. His odious bodyguard makes her skin crawl but it’s a means to an end. But when her life & her job are threatened and her apartment trashed, she reaches out to the only person who always has her back, her sister.
Melissa is the wunderkind doctor who is looking after the Mayhem team and trying to undo some of the damage inflicted upon them. When he hears the Doc’s sister is in trouble, Hicks volunteers to scoop her up. But when he makes a snap decisions about who and WHAT she is, he is right back in his troubled childhood and the attraction between him and Whitney is stalled.
Hicks may be a bad-ass soldier, with certain enhancements, but that doesn’t stop him planting his huge foot in his mouth! Whitney may be the polar opposite of her sister and deemed “average” by her parents but she has a huge, caring heart and just wants to relieve some of the suffering in the world.
Fab storyline, great chemistry between the characters and I loved the little glimpse of Melissa and a certain team member!
Mayhem’s Desire by Lindsay Cross
Operation Mayhem #2
Dr. Melissa Averton has a sister and her sister is in trouble so who does she call when the one person she thinks she can depend won’t answer his phone? Her sister, of course. Whitney has a stalker that wants her dead. Melissa knows some men more than capable of making sure Melissa is not killed and that is just what they do. In this story the super soldiers are still in need of the fix Melissa is working on but it is more Whitney and enhanced Hick’s story than that of the entire team. At the end of the book one threat has been eliminated – the one against Whitney – but – there is still the main bad guy still out there and his weapon – another genetically changed soldier – has his identity hinted at. I am eager to find out who will have their story told next as there are plenty of hunky alpha males waiting for their HEA’s and of course…a cure is needed by all of them before the series can end.
Thank you to the author for the ARC – this is my honest review.
4 Stars
Lindsay Cross has added another great book to her series, this is a terrific read with lots of action, passion, danger, suspense and love with some really great characters. Her writing kept me on the edge of my seat. I love Hicks alpha male he is tough but also a little lost, still has nightmares of his childhood. Hicks wants love with the right one and he believes in black and white till he meets her. Whitney is working as a dominant seductress for a powerful man, until one day things take a turn now she needs help and contacts her sister for help Hicks shows up. At first they assume the worst of each other but they definitely have chemistry they can’t deny. I absolutely loved this book and the series it is a great read. I recommend this book it was exciting. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Whitney is not what she appears to be. She works for a charity that raises money for food and water for kids in other countries. She is a Domme for a powerful man and has a NDA with him. When her car gets stolen and her apartment is broken into she has no one to call but her sister. Dr. Averton is working on the Mayhem project and is Whitney’s sister. Hicks is one of the super soldiers the Dr helped create. They are hiding from the man who started the program and wants them back. Hicks had a rough childhood and when he goes to get Whitney, he feels an instant attraction. But when he sees her secret closet, he assumes the worst and tries to get one of his partners to take over watching her. But the more time they spend together, the more the attraction grows. As they hunt down who is trying to kill Whitney, they both realize there is more to the other than meets the eye. Action packed, fast paced story with hunky super soldiers. Secrets. Sex. And great characters.