Chapter 36
Sam
In the aftermath of my father’s death, not much changes. The businesses continue to prosper and his staff keeps me in the loop, but I’m not obligated to run around for him anymore, so I don’t.
I spend time at Mercy’s house.
All of my time, actually. Sitting at the kitchen table with Grandma Star as Zane attempts to make her famous chocolate-chip cookies, mixing cement with Malachi as we patch up old holes in the walls of the mortuary, and, yes, even having round table discussions with Kane and Mr. Morningstar as we consider the future of his business.
With my father gone, the invisible ban on contracting the Morningstars’ services lifts, and calls are slowly rolling in.
Not just for funerary services, either.
Everyone who comes by the mortuary sees the mural that Mercy’s working on.
We post progress photos online of both her artwork and the cemetery itself as we sweep it clean of decay and plant perennials for the spring and summer.
It’s attracted enough attention that people are asking us to “color the city,” but I don’t think Mercy’s interested in that.
She’d rather brighten her family’s graves, both the ones on the property itself and in the city’s sprawling cemetery.
It takes a while for me to find my mother’s grave.
It’s unmarked, so while I’m researching equipment to survey the land, Kane digs until he hits her bones.
She wasn’t even buried in a coffin but laid to rest in the dirt.
Grandma Star assures me that it’s holy ground and that my mother is better off to have joined the earth than be kept from it.
I just wish that she hadn’t been kept from me.
Mercy and I sit in front of my mom’s grave for a long while, the snow melting beneath our butts and soaking into the blanket. “I think I want to move her,” she murmurs, nodding towards an empty space beside my mother. “Right here. I think our moms could be friends.”
I hold her hand and play with her ring finger. “I’m sure they already are. Star tells me that she can see them dancing sometimes. At sunset, usually.”
“My mom used to love the sunset.” Mercy holds up her hand to grasp the setting sun. “Do you think she knew, Sam? That she was selling us to your dad.”
I lean into Mercy’s side. “I doubt it. My dad was conniving. I’m sure he would have found a way even without the contract.”
Mercy thinks about this for a moment. “What happens to her contract now that he’s gone?”
I’ve avoided this topic so not to overwhelm her, but she deserves to know. “It passes down to his heir.”
She tilts her head back and stares into my eyes. “So you own me now.”
A gust of wind kicks up, knocking powdered snow from bare tree limbs and dusting Mercy’s hair.
I watch her eyelashes sparkle as she blinks.
“I can tear it up.” That won’t break the agreement, but the physical evidence will be gone.
With no one to enforce it, it’ll fade like the rest of my father’s toxic past, slowly forgotten over time.
“Do you want to?”
Closing my eyes, I allow the winter chill to seep into my bones. I should want to throw that contract as far away as I can and stomp it into the ground, but… “No,” I answer honestly, curling my arm around Mercy’s waist. “No, I don’t.”
Marriages can be dissolved, but a document like this lies deeper, settling into flesh and blood.
Ingrid signed the contract in blood, too—a trick of my father’s or whoever came before him, pricking her finger with the pen tip before having her sign.
It’s an archaic, somewhat occult practice that somehow still exists in certain circles.
“What are you going to do with it?” Mercy asks, handling this information much calmer than I anticipated her to. I haven’t told her father or anyone else, really, other than Zane and Kane. It’s a secret I’d rather not make public knowledge.
“Nothing,” I answer honestly. “But it makes me feel…” I struggle to find the right word.
“At ease, I guess. Knowing that you’re mine in a way that no one else can have.
” I bring her knuckles to my lips and kiss each one.
“Plus, it makes me feel closer to her.” I nod towards my mother’s grave. “I can keep you both safe.”
Mercy brushes her fingertips across my thigh. “You don’t have to keep protecting her, Sam, or me.”
A wry smile touches my lips. I’ll never stop protecting her as long as I live.
I’ve even considered digging into my father’s contracts to ensure that no one can ever touch her in the off chance that I die sooner than expected.
I could hire a full-time shadow ops team to monitor her and her family’s safety at all times.
Even that idea helps put me more at ease, and I relax into Mercy’s touch.
I’ll definitely look into it soon.
“I’m okay with it,” she says resolutely, offering a small smile. “So long as you keep me forever, Sam.”
Lowering my head, I ghost my lips over hers.
“I wouldn’t dream of anything else.” She tastes like starlight.
The subtle warmth of her body pours into mine, and I lean into the kiss.
“I’ve missed you,” I admit softly, stroking her cheek with the pad of my thumb.
The last few weeks apart have been hell, and I never want to experience that again.
“Zane told me that you haven’t been sleeping.
I’m so sorry, baby; I should have been here. ”
“You’re here now,” she whispers, nudging the tip of my nose with hers. “So kiss me, Sam.” Clutching the lapels of my coat, she sighs against my lips. “And don’t stop.”
We lie down together and she steals my heart for the thousandth time, with a thousand and one tender kisses, wrapping her body around mine and breathing life into my soul.
It glows brighter with the heat of her skin on mine and her breath in my lungs, the taste of her as addicting as it was the first time I ever kissed her.
I shouldn’t have ever let her go then, and I won’t ever make that mistake again.
Sliding my hand beneath her shirt, I palm her breast and love the way she whines, her back arching into my touch. “Sam,” she breathes, her face flushing, “don’t stop; please don’t stop.”
I can’t deny her anything, and I would never want to.
Kissing the curve of her jaw, I nip the delicate skin along her throat and draw blood to the surface, sucking hard enough to leave a bruise. She gasps, her eyes fluttering shut, and weaves her fingers through my hair.
Fuck, I’ve missed this.
Lifting her shirt, I catch the goosebumps prickling her skin and kiss each and every one, smiling as she pulls my hair to move my mouth where she wants it.
Flicking my tongue over her tight nipple, I hum in delight as she moans, making my dick twitch in anticipation.
I’ve been too strung out to jerk off. My balls are heavy and full, my cock aching to slip inside of her.
I take my time and lavish her tits with open-mouthed kisses before grinding my palm against her clit, enjoying the way she gasps and grinds right back, just as eager as I am.
“I want you,” she breathes, opening her eyes to stare into my soul. “Right now, Sam, hurry.”
I pop up to undo my belt and glance around the cemetery to make sure we don’t have an audience.
From this angle, no one should be able to see us unless I’m on my knees, so I quickly tug down my pants and free my cock.
The cold bite of winter does nothing to dampen my desire; if anything, I burn hotter because of it.
I pull Mercy’s leggings and panties below her hips and notch myself at her entrance, gently rocking against her clit to build friction—or remove it.
She tosses her head back and moans, palming her tits as she rubs against my length. “Put it in,” she pants, her pupils blown wide when she meets my eyes. “I need you inside me, Sam.”
With a gentle thrust, I push the tip past her clit and slip the first inch inside, grabbing the top of her shoulder to anchor her as I thrust deeper, bottoming out in seconds.
Her pussy’s got a vice grip on my soul, choking my dick in euphoria that’s beyond description.
She squeezes around me as soon as I’m inside, rocking her hips to get momentum going.
“H-hold on,” I gasp as a full-bodied shudder rattles my bones and makes it difficult to breathe.
She feels like heaven. Molten warmth caresses my dick as she wraps her legs around my waist and grinds her hips. Blood roars in my ears as my orgasm mounts, barreling through me at record speed.
Oh, fuck.
I come with a pathetic whimper clenched between my teeth.
My dick pulses, spilling my seed into Mercy’s tight channel until it overflows, gushing around my shaft as I pull back and thrust back inside, burying my cum as deeply as it can go.
A bone-deep moan settles inside my chest. I know I shouldn’t indulge like this, but she is mine, now more than ever.
Her fingertips skate across the back of my neck as she gazes up at me, cheeks flushed, heart pounding, lips parted. “That was fast,” she murmurs, licking her lips. I can tell that she’s unsure what to do, and I struggle to hold back a laugh.
Her face burns deep crimson as she smacks my arm. “Sam!”
“I’m not laughing at you!” Smiling brightly, I hug her body and press a flurry of kisses across her face.
“I’m just so happy, Mercy. I’m so happy that you’re mine.
” Drawing a breath, I kiss the frown on her lips.
“Don’t worry, we’re not done.” I rock my hips to keep my blood flowing.
My cum slips out as I push inside, the semen dripping down her thighs and dirtying the blanket beneath us.
With a huff, I rear back onto my knees and grab her hips, punching into her with deep, hard thrusts.
“You just feel too good, baby” I rasp, feeling my desire build.
“I can’t help but come when I’m inside of you. ”
She bites her lip as her eyelashes flutter.
A dark halo surrounds her head as her hair catches in the wind and carries her voice across the graveyard.
I clamp my hand over her mouth as she moans, digging her heels into my ass to pull me deeper.
It’s risky for us to be in this position to begin with, but if she starts moaning like that, someone’s going to find us—
“Ooooh, you should have told me we were having a little outdoor playtime.”
I groan as Kane grabs my shoulders and squeezes, hovering way too close while I’m balls deep inside my girl.
“Go away, Kane,” I hiss, pressing my palm over Mercy’s abdomen.
She squirms, panting as I arch my back and hit a sensitive spot inside her.
Mewling, she grabs my wrist and digs her nails into my skin.
This is way too intimate for an audience.
“No, no, keep going,” he rumbles, his voice lowering an octave as he wraps his arms around my waist and grabs Mercy’s hips. “I’ll hold her. You take her to pound town.”
Mercy whines, the sound muffled as her eyes latch onto the two of us. She tries to speak, so I relent and release her mouth. What’s the fucking point, anyway; Kane’s already here to ruin the moment.
“You’re—here.” Her words are punctuated by a hot exhale in between, her breath billowing out like smoke. “I thought you were—” A shudder courses through her body. “With Zane.”
“Oh, we are.” Kane winks, and I roll my eyes as Zane appears from behind one of the taller tombstones, a bright red lollipop in his mouth. He smacks his lips as he pulls it free. “Doc says I can start regular sessions in March.”
“That’s—” Mercy squirms as I apply pressure to her abdomen, wishing to feel my cock pushing into her body. I’m not big enough or it’s simply not possible, but I imagine it all the same, her body molding to the shape of my dick. “Far.”
Zane hums as he dangles his sucker in the air. “Best they could do, Kitten. Sorry if it’s not good enough for you.”
I could get him an earlier appointment, but the absolute last fucking thing I want to do right now is help the guy interrupting my moment with Mercy. I clench my jaw as Kane rubs Mercy’s clit, making her moan louder. “Could you not?”
Kane laughs in my ear. “You want her to come, don’t you? This is how you do it, Sam. Take notes.”
Closing my eyes would help block him out, but then I’d miss the way Mercy’s lose focus. Her lips open and close silently as she clutches the blanket so tightly that it rips.
The three of us watch as she comes, a crimson flush trailing down her neck and disappearing beneath her shirt before reappearing across the pillowy tops of her tits. Her rosy nipples bud into tight peaks, and she squeezes my cock so hard that I groan aloud.
A sound catches in Zane’s throat. “Damn.” Reaching over Mercy, he holds out his fist for me to bump, and, you know what?
I’m in a good enough mood that I think I’ll help him with that appointment after all.