Chapter 32 Mercy
Mercy
My grandmother won’t let go of Malachi’s arm.
As soon as we stepped into the sitting room, she took my place by his side and hasn’t let go.
Once they sat at the round table in the corner of the room, he was done for, unable to get up without invoking her immediate sorrow at his parting.
But the two of them have always been close; he used to help my grandfather tend to the grounds before he passed, and he and Grandma speak to each other in hushed tones, like they always do.
It’s a special dynamic that I’ve never had with either of them, but it’s okay. Now, I have three other men to confide in.
Zane walks in a steady loop around the room, ensuring that we don’t stay in one place or conversation for long.
What few times I catch up with my older sister and the dashing gentleman on her arm or speak with some of our longest-standing clients, I’m able to relax and go with the flow.
I keep hoping that Zane will take the hint and do the same, but there’s a wrinkle of tension written across his face that I can’t riddle out.
“You don’t have to be so tense,” I tell him after our third rotation through the building.
“No one’s going to bite if you say hello and introduce yourself.
” I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to introduce him to others, switching between calling him my friend and my roommate, although neither are exactly true.
“And you don’t have to be perfect,” Zane replies smoothly, “but it’s fun to watch you try.”
I purse my lips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You keep filtering yourself when you talk to people. Just tell them how it is. If you’re sad or bored or lonely or overwhelmed—be honest, and people will either understand, or they won’t. You don’t need to put on a fake smile.”
“These are my family’s clients,” I protest, pulling him to a stop near the door to the morgue.
Zane raises an eyebrow. “Your dad calls them family.”
I wave away the semantics. “It’s a blurred line.”
He taps my forehead with a teasing smile. “Then unblur it, Mercy.”
Grabbing his hand, I frown. “But I don’t know what to say.”
He laces our fingers together and leans close. “You can tell them that we’re lovers.” Chuckling in my ear, he presses a gentle kiss to my neck. “I’m sure they’ll be happy for you.”
I clear my throat as someone walks by and studiously ignores me and Zane. “No one actually says that out loud.”
“I just did.” His throat clicks on a swallow. “How does it feel?”
My emotions are too hard to grasp. I can’t possibly sift through them. “I don’t know. I can’t think with—” His lips find my pulse point. “—you doing that.” I dig my fingertips into the back of his hand. “Zane, my family’s here. Stop it.”
“They’ll get over it.”
“It’s not appropriate!”
He pulls away from me and licks his lips salaciously. “Seeing you happy isn’t appropriate?”
“Seeing us makeout isn’t appropriate,” I hiss.
A silver spark ignites in his eyes. “I want to kiss you, Mercy.” He grabs my waist and hauls me against his chest. “You look beautiful tonight, by the way.”
“That—that’s not going to work,” I stammer, feeling my face warm. How often does someone call me beautiful?
Not often enough.
With a twist of his wrist, Zane unlocks the door to the morgue and pushes it open. “Then let me find something that does.”
Normal girls wouldn’t makeout in a morgue, but when have I ever been normal?
As soon as we step into the room and the door clicks shut, Zane sweeps me into his arms and kisses me hard. Grabbing my throat, he pushes me against the cadaver coolers and smirks. “Looks like The Dead Girl isn’t very dead, after all. I can feel your heart racing.”
My voice catches as he lifts my leg and hooks it around his hips. “Z-Zane, how—”
He cuts me off with his lips on mine. “I’ve always known who you are, Mercy.” Grabbing my wrists, he pins them over my head. “The question is, do you?” He stares into my eyes as he thumbs my pulse on my wrist. “It doesn’t matter what people call you. What matters is how you see yourself.”
I bite my bottom lip, and his eyes track the movement. “What if I don’t like what I see?”
“Then change it, as many times as it takes.” A crooked smile makes him even more handsome. “Don’t tell Kane I said that.”
“Why not?”
Zane puffs out a breath. “I’ll never hear the end of it.
” Without elaborating further, he slants his lips over mine and traps me beneath his body, interlocking our hands over our heads and pinning me to the wall.
The icy chill contrasts the raging heat of his body as he rolls his hips, stealing my breath and setting my heart on fire.
“I want you, Mercy,” he breathes, his eyelashes fluttering against my cheek. “I want you so damn bad that I—” A laugh catches in his throat. “I can’t think straight.” He mutters something that I can’t catch.
“What?”
“That’s a problem,” he says loud enough for me to hear. “Sam’s going to murder me if I fuck this up.”
“Fuck what up?”
He kisses me again, sliding his tongue into my mouth and groaning as we collide.
The hard line of his body crushes mine, creating an ache that I feel in the depths of my soul.
I shiver as he rocks against my core, sending shockwaves of pleasure deep within.
Biting his bottom lip, I draw it into my mouth and suck, moaning in sync with him.
His erection digs into my panties, nearly spearing me through our clothes. “I have a—” I inhale sharply as he latches onto my neck with his teeth. “Condom.”
A shudder rolls through his body. “Don’t tease me, Mercy.”
“I’m serious.” I tug on his hair until he pulls up. “In my boot. I have one for you and Kane. He gave them to me after I got dressed.”
Zane’s midnight eyes smolder like liquid gunmetal.
He releases me and crouches at my feet. “If you’re lying, I swear, I’ll—” Slipping his fingers inside my boot, he caresses my ankle as he searches for the package.
Once he snags a corner, he pulls it out.
“No fucking way.” He chuckles deep in his chest and kisses my knee.
“Remind me to thank Kane for the foresi—”
I pull him to his feet and lunge into his arms, shocking him badly enough that he stumbles backwards into an embalming table. He recovers immediately and spins us around, bending me over the stainless steel and lifting my skirt over my ass.
“I’m going to make this quick, are you—”
“Yes, God, yes.” I arch my hips. “Hurry up and fuck me, Zane.”
He smacks my ass and the sound echoes in the empty room.
“Careful, Kitten, or I’ll have to slow down and enjoy it.
” Rubbing my stinging flesh, he chuckles darkly.
“I’d hate for someone to walk in and see their darling girl in such a compromising position.
” He drags my panties down my thighs but keeps them snagged around my knees.
Then I hear him unzip his pants. “This might hurt at first.” The wrapper crinkles as he tears open the package and rolls the condom onto his cock.
The only warning I get is the smack of his dick against my pussy before he thrusts, burying himself inside my heat with a loud groan. “Ohhh, fuck.” Grabbing my hips, he slams me onto his cock in time with his thrusts, not giving either of us a second to breathe before he sets a punishing pace.
My walls stretch to accommodate him, the drag of his cock making me delirious. Pleasure builds slowly, burning through my body like a fever. I struggle to catch my breath as Zane rocks into me, growing more frantic with each passing second.
“Knew you could take it,” he growls, “so fucking wet for me, Kitten, so—” He snaps his hips. “Fucking—” Grabs my ass. “Wet.” The slap of his hips bumping my ass is loud as hell, filling the air with the unmistakable sound of sex.
I whine as embarrassment floods my system.
Zane catches on immediately, slowing the drag of his cock to punctuate with hard, deep thrusts.
Although anyone listening at the door can probably hear us, the cadence has dropped so that it’s not nearly as obvious.
He squeezes my butt and groans. “God, you feel amazing, even with the—” He grunts. “Condom.”
Part of me wonders how different it feels without one, but then I remember the intoxicating pulse of Sam’s dick as he came inside me, and my pussy clenches.
“Ooooh, Mercy, don’t—fuck.”
Burying himself as deep as he can, Zane’s voice catches as he comes, his cock twitching as he fills the condom. Heat bursts inside of me, and I bite my hand to keep from moaning aloud. As Zane pulls out, he curses under his breath. “You didn’t come, did you? Give me a second.”
Something thunks into the trash can and he’s back in a flash, spreading my cheeks and slipping his thumb inside of me. With a groan, he slides his fingers through my folds and presses against my swollen clit. “You’d let me take your pussy raw, wouldn’t you?”
I spasm as he fondles my clit. Pleasure shoots like sparks up my spine, hardening my nipples into hard points.
“I could do it right now.” He rubs his thumb against something inside of me, and I cry out at how good it feels.
My desire liquifies, slicking his hand as he caresses my pussy.
“There wouldn’t be anything between us. Just my hard cock filling you up, Kitten.
” Leaning over me, he presses a kiss to the back of my neck and adjusts the angle of his wrist, sliding his fingers inside my heat and pressing down on some kind of— My body shakes and I cry out, unable to stop myself as he bares down on that spot.
Every brush of his fingers causes my body to convulse, and I moan over and over again.
“That’s it,” he rasps, nipping my shoulder. “You’re so beautiful when you unravel, Mercy.” Brushing his lips over my ear, he chuckles, his voice dripping with desire. “I can’t wait to come inside you.”
White-hot pressure explodes deep inside of me, every nerve in my body sparking at once.
I cry out so loudly that Zane bites my shoulder, making me gasp from the flash of pain and silencing the sound of my pleasure.
He rumbles deep in his chest as he works me through the orgasm, sliding off of me only to bury his face in my cunt.
He groans as he licks me clean, then rings my asshole with the tip of his tongue, unable to help himself.
“Zane!”
“Shhh,” he coos, slipping his fingers back into my core.
“Let me eat your ass, baby, please.” My pussy flutters as he slides three fingers in and out of my soaking wet hole.
Then his tongue pushes against my tight ring of muscle and I jump.
Groaning, he teases my back door, the wet smack of his lips and glide of his fingers illicit.
But so is the way my body responds, burning from the inside.
This time, I come silently, praying to whichever gods can hear me that no one will know I just had my ass eaten.
As Zane lovingly rubs my cheeks and steps away to grab a wipe, he hums happily.
Only once he’s done cleaning me up does he wash his face at the sink, a devilish smirk curving on his lips.
“Don’t say a word,” I hiss, my face flaming as I stand on shaky legs. I adjust my panties so that I’m fully covered, but I can feel the slick heat of my pussy drenching the fabric.
I’m doomed for the rest of the night.
Zane kisses me hard before we rejoin the party. Cupping my face, his eyes soften as he smiles down at me. “You’re beautiful, Mercy.” Then he winks. “Beautiful and delicious.”
I put on my best fake smile as he pulls open the door. “Breathe a word of this to anyone, Zane Hunter, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
He kisses my cheek where everyone can see. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they already know.” We turn towards the open hall and a few knowing smiles from old ladies without any shame greet us. My face turns bright crimson, and Zane laughs out loud.
At least there’s no more ambiguity about who we are to each other now.
Lovers is as accurate as it gets.