Chapter Five
Shane Blake
I do the one thing I know I shouldn’t. The one thing I have been craving for years. I kiss her. No, I don’t kiss her, I consume her. I take what I want, fully expecting her to push me away. Instead, she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer.
All rational thoughts leave my mind as all the blood in my body rushes south. Pressing her against the wall I savor the feeling of every curve she has, as they mold perfectly against the hardness of my body. A mewling sound escapes her, and I swear to every deity I have ever heard of I will not be able to live another damn day without hearing her make that sound again.
But I pull back. Because I need to. Because if I really want to claim the only woman that has ever held my heart, I need to think with my brain and not my damn dick. However tempting that may be.
I cradle her face in my palms, taking in the flush of color on her cheeks and the harsh rise and fall of her breasts. It’s nice to know I’m not putting myself out there and she doesn’t feel the same.
“We need to talk,” I say. My voice is husky and low.
“Okay,” she says, keeping her eyes closed.
“Let me take you to dinner and we can have a decent conversation.”
“We can’t do that here? Now?” she asks. She finally opens her eyes to stare up at me and the confusion she is feeling is painted across her features.
“No,” I say, taking a step away from her. “We need to have this conversation in a public place so I know it will actually happen.”
“As opposed to?” I can hear the anger in her tone already.
“Me thinking of every way I can fuck you against the wall because I know no one is coming to see this building anytime soon,” I bite back.
“Oh.” The word falls from her lips in a squeak.
“Yeah. Oh,” I repeat, rolling my eyes.
“Is that a bad thing?” she asks softly, and I can’t help but level her with a look.
“Fuck, no. But if we are going to do this, you can be damn sure I will be doing it the right fucking way.”
A soft smile curves her lips. “Fine. You can pick me up at seven.”
I nod, not wanting to argue. I’m supposed to see Charlotte tonight. But I will move the appointment to another time. She doesn’t want to see me anyway.
Mercy walks up to me and kisses my cheek before walking out of the building into the blinding summer sun. I watch her get into her car and drive away before I allow the panic that has been building to take over. Fuck, I need a drink.
****
Mercy West
I spend the rest of the day obsessing over the best kiss of my fucking life. I have no idea how to even start putting into words what Shane Blake did to me, but I hope he does it again.
Twenty minutes before my date, I finally pull into the driveway of my mother’s house—my house—and unload the bags from my car. I got a new outfit and some shoes to match after getting my hair done at the only salon in town.
On my porch step is a little white box with a red bow that sets my heart aflutter. Did Shane leave me a gift?
Quickly, I drop all the bags on the little kitchen table before retrieving the little box and closing the front door. Taking a seat at the kitchen counter I carefully undo the bow before lifting the lid.
For a moment my mind is blank, and I can’t quite process what I am seeing. But that doesn’t last long before the box slips from my fingers and lands on the counter. My hands tremble as fear flows through my veins. I bite back the tears that threaten to fall as a knock sounds on my door.
Of course he would be early.
Taking a deep breath, I make my way down the hall and open the door. Shane knows something is wrong the moment he sees me, just like he always has.
“What’s wrong?” His voice is low, urgent, but I can’t form any words.
I hate crying in front of other people. Even as a little girl, I wouldn’t do it. In my mind, it shows weakness. Don’t get me wrong, I cry. I just don’t like witnesses. But this is all too much. Since the moment I opened that damn box, all I have felt is fear and anger.
First, that someone would send it to me. And then because some poor animal had to die for this little gift to be a reality. It only took me a moment to realize what it was and from then on, I have been fighting my emotions.
When I shake my head, Shane pulls me into his arms and I breathe in his earthy scent as I try to center myself, hoping the answer will come to me if I just think hard enough. But my brain has gone into a complete shutdown mode, and I simply can’t fathom why someone would do anything like this.
After long moments Shane releases me before taking my hand and pulling me into the house, closing and locking the door behind us. In the kitchen, I point toward the counter where the offending box still remains. He picks up the box and looks it over with disgust. He assesses it carefully like maybe he is going to find some clue as to who the sender is before closing it.
“Was there a note?” he asks, and I shake my head. “When did you get this?”
“Just now,” I say softly before clearing my throat. “I just got home.”
I nod. I can’t seem to speak. He continues to study the box before opening it again.
“Here,” he says before turning the lid to show me what he has found. On the inside, one word is written in black ink: HEARTbrEAKER.
My mind is reeling. Why would someone leave a package like this for me? Who would send me the heart of an innocent animal? What does this mean?
“Kalum,” Shane says after pressing his phone to his ear. “I need you to cancel all my clients for tomorrow.”
He listens as Kalum says something before ending the call.
“You can’t do that,” I say but my voice is still soft. “You can’t just leave your clients hanging.”
“I can and I will,” he says, taking the box and throwing it into the outdoor bin just outside the kitchen door. “I am going to help you figure this shit out.”
“But—”
He cuts me off. “We can go get some takeout and just get you out of here for a bit. But I am staying here with you until we know who the sicko is that sent that.” He stares at me waiting for me to argue. When I don’t, he gives me a soft smile. “Good, let’s go.”
He takes my hand, leading me down the hall once more. Outside, he pulls me toward a massive, gleaming blue truck sitting beside the curb.
It only takes us a few minutes to get to the local pizza place and twenty minutes of tense waiting for our food. But the entire time, Shane never once lets go of my hand, not even when he was driving. He grounds me and keeps me calm even when I feel like falling apart.
As the door to the restaurant closes behind us, we stand face-to-face with Zane, the man from last night. His gaze zeros in on my hand clasped in Shane’s and a flash of disgust crosses his features before he can school them.
What the hell was that? This man doesn’t know me. How dare he judge me?
“I don’t have the time or the patience for this shit today,” Shane says lowly.
“Brighten up, sunshine,” Zane says in an overly friendly tone.
I have no idea what the hell is going on between the two of them, but they clearly don’t like each other.
“Have you seen the new rankings? It seems it will be the two of us next weekend.”
Now it all makes sense. They’re rivals. I can feel Shane tense up beside me and I squeeze his hand before looking back at Zane. It doesn’t matter if I completely understand the situation or not, or whether I haven’t seen Shane in years, I will always have his back.
“Did it hurt?” I ask, suddenly finding my voice and backbone again. This is easier for me. I am better at being a snarky bitch than the damsel in distress.
“Did what hurt, pretty lady?” Zane switches on his best charming smile and I want to smack the smile off his too-pretty face.
Even with his split lip and broken nose, he is an extremely handsome man. The bruise on his jaw looks like it also may make smiling painful, and that brings a little bit of joy to my black heart.
“Getting your ass kicked last night?” I smirk. “I suppose you should get used to it. I mean, Shane is going to beat the ever-loving shit out of you in the ring.”
Shane chuckles as he wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his side. Zane reddens at my words and clenches his fists.
“We’ll see,” Zane says and nods before walking away.
We watch him leave until he turns the corner before we get back into the truck.
“Thanks,” Shane says with a grin.
“For what?”
“Just being you.”