Merry 9
Yes, Billy Ray had already signed the annulment paperwork, which he admitted to, but never filed.
After a few conversations with him and replacing the envelope in his duffel bag, he handed it over to me, and I filed the paperwork.
Afterwards, I helped Ethan sell what was left of his paintings, which thrilled me to no end, then he and I took down his booth, with some help from Connor.
Ethan still loved me, and we had sex that night… hours of sex, with more paint, and this time, we stood while the other person took their time painting our bodies.
“I love painting you,” Ethan said, as he spread blue and yellow paint over my breasts, tugging on each nipple, then rolling them between his fingers.
We were both naked.
So freaking hot, I wanted to melt. “How long am I supposed to stand here?”
“Until I’m done painting you, which could take hours,” he teased. “Especially when I get around to painting your ass.” He slipped his hands around, grabbed each cheek, and pulled me in tight. His hard cock pressed against my stomach.
“You have a way with paint that I can’t resist,” I told him.
“That’s good to know because I intend to take my time.”
“Is that a promise?” I asked, falling deep into his gorgeous eyes.
“Oh, yeah.” He spun me around and guided me to bend over, resting on his table, while he painted my back with his big, strong hands and took me from behind, drilling me so deep and so hard, I couldn’t help but scream out my release right along with his.
“I love you, Merry,” he yelled out. “Did you fucking hear me? I’m fucking in love with you!”
“I love… you… too,” I told him as I tried to catch my illusive breath afterwards. “Truly… love you!”
Day one of the eight-day countdown.
On day two, Noelle took Billy Ray on a sleighride, courtesy of one of Connor’s friends, and introduced him to the stable owner who just happened to work with veterans suffering from PTSD through horse therapy. It did wonders for these wrecked ex-soldiers, so Billy Ray signed up.
Yes, it meant he would remain in Cricket for a while, but it also meant that I just might have played Cupid on this one. Billy Ray might truly find a pathway out of his mental anguish without having to depend on drugs.
On day three, Connor and the guys moved Billy Ray into a studio apartment, and he landed a job at the stables to get more familiar with the horses.
On day four, Connor and I shared another bottle of wine in my living room, and I sent a group text to Ethan, Lucas, Noelle, and even Billy Ray to invite them all to my apartment on Christmas Eve. Everyone said yes, except for Lucas, who gave me a definite maybe.
“You’ll be coming over for dinner and presents on Christmas Eve, right?” I asked Connor once I hit send.
“Yes, but I shouldn’t be doing this,” he said, as he poured us round number two. “You’ve already taken over my coffee shop with that tree and all your decorations. Then there’s all the Christmas cookies you ordered for my display case.”
“I thought we were having fun,” I shot back as I cuddled next to him, enjoying the lights on the tree and the warmth of his hard body.
“Way too much fun,” he said. “You’re still married.”
“Not for long. I filed the annulment paperwork, remember?”
“But you didn’t tell us about the marriage.”
I looked up at Connor. “I know, and I’m truly sorry. There’s really no excuse. I was wrong, and I hope you can find some way to forgive me.”
“Hmm, I may have to spank you for it,” he said, with a lilt to his voice. “On your bare, sweet ass.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Only if you resist.”
“And will that be enough for you to love me again?”
He grinned. “It might be. Depends on how well you take your punishment.”
I stood and stripped out of everything below my waist, then lay across his lap, getting ready for my punishment, but all he did was kneed my ass and give me a few minor slaps.
“You can slap me harder,” I told him, and when he did, I moaned with delight.
“Turn over,” he whispered. “This is too much fun for you. I need a little fun as well.”
I did as I was told, and he proceeded to run his fingers between my legs, slipping his long index finger deep inside me, then he grabbed one of my legs and rested it on his chest, so I was completely exposed to him. He pumped me with two fingers, then three, and rubbed my clit, bringing me to the edge, then stopping, to get my full attention.
“Not yet, babe. Wait. Not yet.” Then he blew on my pussy, sending heat through my body, and he started all over again. Slapping me right on my clit a few times… not hard… just enough to make me crazy. Then he’d stop, wait, and do it all over again, until when I finally came, I yelled so loud, I almost couldn’t hear him.
“I love you, Merry. Did you hear me? I absolutely adore you!”
He spent the night, and sleep came in fits and spurts between bouts of heavy, sinful sex. Declaring our love for each other got easier and easier as we both came again and again. I lost track after our fourth bout that happened in my kitchen when he took me while I sat on the edge of a counter.
On day five, Noelle and Billy Ray went on their first real date to Food Therapy and afterwards, they kissed—a real honest-to-goodness kiss.
“It’s the first kiss I’ve ever experienced,” she said as we shared a pot of hot cocoa at my table. “I’ve been doing this for decades but never kissed anyone before. It’s amazing. No wonder why you humans love it so much.”
“Should I ask for how many decades?”
“I can’t tell you,” she said.
“Oh, it’s a secret.”
“No. We elves don’t have a sense of time, so I truly don’t know.”
“Okay, but what did you think about your kiss?”
“It was, as you humans say… life changing. Now I really want the rest. I want sex. Real balls against the wall, sex.”
This time, I really did spit out my cocoa.
On day six, Lucas passed me in the hallway, but his hello was less than friendly.
“Lucas, can we talk about this, please?” I asked him once he walked by.
“Nothing to talk about,” he said. “It is what it is.”
I sighed and said, “I filed for the annulment. Billy Ray signed all the documents. That must count for something.”
I wanted him to know that the annulment was moving along.
“That’s great, if that’s what you want.”
“You know it is. Why are you being so cold? I thought we had a real connection. I thought… I mean… your kisses. Those were real. Why are you acting like you don’t care?”
He hesitated, then he looked straight into my eyes and said, “Because you broke my heart.”
A tremendous hurt, deep in my soul, overtook me, and I hurried back inside my apartment and went directly to bed.
On day seven, Noelle showed up looking distraught and harried.
“Sweetie, that tingling in my hands and feet has stopped. We only have one more day to get this wish fulfilled. What’s going on?” she asked as she stood next to my bed. I had made it my home for the last twenty-four hours. I only left it a few times for bathroom breaks and to get a banana, a candy cane, and some water.
“It’s Lucas. He hates me,” I told her. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t know how I can ever bring him back around. It’s impossible.”
“Darling, one thing I’ve learned in all these years… nothing is impossible if you keep going. It’s only when you quit or give up that everything turns to shit. You must keep trying.”
“Why? Didn’t you hear me? He hates me.”
I started crying again and buried my face in my pillow.
She stroked my head. “It can’t be as bad as that? You must be mistaken. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, like you’re the one. You’re the girl of his dreams. Why would you ever think he hates you?”
“Because he told me so.”
“That can’t be true. What did he say, exactly?”
I sat up and looked at her, sniffling. “That I… that I broke his heart.”
She brightened, causing me to cry louder and harder. “Sweetheart, that means he loves you or at least he did. And if he loved you once, he can love you again. If you broke his heart, you can repair it and find love again. You just have to want him to love you more than he wants to walk away.”
Sometimes, she said things that didn’t make sense. It was the elf in her. After all, she said she wasn’t human. “What?”
She sang out the words, “ You’ve got to show him that you care, just for him. Do the things he likes to do… etc.”
“Why are you singing? What does this mean?”
“Dusty Springfield, Wishin’ and Hopin’, 1964.”
“Who? And when? How is this relevant?”
“Oh honey, you’re truly missing out. Dusty was a marvelous singer. Look her up. Son of a Preacher Man is one of my all-time favorites, but that’s for another story… wait… Billy Ray… our Billy Ray… Dusty’s Billy Ray. By any chance is Billy Ray related to a minister or a man of the cloth?”
“How do you know about Billy Ray’s father? I thought he was out of your scope, or did he tell you that his dad was a minister in our town. He retired last year.”
“Oh. My. Santa!” she said, then sat down hard on the bed. “You’re not going to believe this, but Billy Ray is the character in the song… Son of a Preacher Man. My all-time favorite song. The one song I used to play over and over again. Being good isn’t always easy. It’s my destiny… started telling me everything is all right. It’s our destiny. Your Billy Ray is my destiny. Can I get away again tonight? Oh, my word! This has to work.” She jumped out of bed like she had a spring under her butt. “You’ve got to get out of that bed right now! We have some hard work to do, ‘cause we won’t get ‘em wishin’ and hopin’. Now let’s go! We’ve got to mend a broken heart.”
AFTER LISTENING TO Dusty Springfield’s greatest hits enough times so that I knew most of the lyrics by heart, I felt empowered to confront Lucas.
I did the only thing I knew would work.
I played my Christmas music so loud, my windows rattled.
And sure enough, not five minutes later, Lucas stood in my doorway looking especially good, shirt open to reveal his perfectly ripped chest, hair all tousled, and a scruffy chin that begged me to touch it… but I didn’t.
“What the hell are you doing, Merry?” he asked, over Nat King Cole.
“Wrapping last-minute gifts,” I told him, ignoring his real question.
“I’m talking about the music,” he yelled. “I can’t handle the music.”
I held out some earplugs. “These should help.”
He peered down at them, then back up at me. “I can’t make a video with this music coming through my walls.”
“You might try the roof. I don’t think you can hear it up there.”
“This isn’t fair.”
“Who said anything about playing fair?”
“We have rules.” He sounded official, like if he were a cop, he’d haul me away.
“So do I, but you don’t seem to care about my rules. Only yours.”
“What do I have to do to get you to turn it down?”
“You’re standing under the mistletoe.” I took a step closer. “And now, so am I.”
He stared at me for a moment longer, as if he were contemplating the situation. I walked in even closer, but it didn’t work. He shook his head and walked back to his apartment.
I still wasn’t ready to give up.
“Think,” I told myself. “What can you do next?”
I shut the door and paced around my apartment for a moment, then I remembered that he’d forgotten that he left his toolbelt in my toolbox. I found it and raced back to his apartment, knocking on his door.
He swung it open. “What?”
“You forgot this,” I told him, holding it up.
“I don’t need it anymore. You can keep it.”
He went to close the door, but I stood in his way. “I’m not giving up. Other folks in your life might have given up on you, but I’m not going to. Just so you know, I’m here for the duration.”
“A big waste of your time. Now, will you please leave me alone and turn down your music?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but I’m truly sorry.”
Still, he resisted. Nothing could penetrate his ego. It was beginning to feel hopeless again.
“Thanks, but I’m not ready.”
“Not ready for what?”
“It doesn’t work like that. I tried to understand what happened. Tried to make sense of what you told me, but I can’t trust you not to… well, it doesn’t matter.”
I heard the sadness in his voice and wanted to hold him, but I knew he wouldn’t let me. He still didn’t believe me. “Tell me what’s bugging you. Let me see if I can fix it. What you’re thinking. It matters a great deal.”
“I can’t trust you to stay here in Cricket. You left Billy Ray. You left your hometown. You left everything behind. Why should I think you won’t do it again?”
He certainly knew how to hit where it hurt most.
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because… because… oh, you’re not going to hear me. I broke your heart. Your family broke your heart. You’re right. Why should I be any different?”
My heart shattered into a million pieces. This man might truly be unreachable.
“How do you know about my family?”
“I can’t say. I just know.”
I wanted to tell him that my bff told me, but that would only get Noelle in trouble.
“This just keeps getting better and better.”
I decided to try an authentic approach, from my heart to his. “I love you, Lucas, and if that’s not enough, then maybe you’re right.”
“Right about what?”
“That you’re not ready for true love, and you might never be. True love rips your heart out. It wrecks you. It destroys you, but you do it anyway. You love anyway because without it, we’re not human. We’re not whole. We’re not alive. You say I broke your heart. Well, you’re breaking mine because you won’t believe me when I tell you I’m sorry, and that I love you. I really, truly love you.”
He didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, cold and distant. Guarding his emotions.
Guarding his heart.
I spun around, walked back to my apartment, and turned the music down.