Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Fury and lust boiled in my chest. Merci gazed up at me, not an ounce of apology on her face for jacking me off at the dinner table—exactly the type of shit I’d instructed her not to do.
“You’re going to pay for that little stunt,” I growled.
She bit her lip, trying not to grin. “It’s fine,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “No one noticed. It’s not like I crawled under the table to suck your dick.”
I invaded Merci’s space and peered down at her, my searing gaze focused solely on her. “I’ll give you a ten-second head start to get to the clubhouse, little Hellcat. And when I catch you—and I will—I’m fucking you on the spot. What’s your safe word?”
Merci raised a brow in question.
“You need a safe word, Hellcat. Your instincts will kick in, and you’ll fight me. But I’m not going to stop fucking you unless you use it. What is your safe word?” I enunciated each word of the question with a bite.
Merci smirked. “Armadillo.”
I shook my head. This fucking woman and her armadillo obsession. “Ten, nine, eight.”
Merci stood still, eyes still wide in confusion.
“Are you going to just stand there? Run, my Hellcat. Seven, six, five.”
Merci spun on her heels, her dark hair flowing wildly behind her.
“Four, three, two, one.”
I listened to Merci crash through the woods, following the sound.
I huffed a laugh under my breath. I knew the woods surrounding the clubhouse like the back of my hand.
She’d veered off the main path, heading for the stream.
I cut through a deer path, branches scraping at my skin and my cock straining in my jeans.
Merci crashed through the woods with all the grace of a buffalo. I stepped over a log and leaped out onto the trail at her heels. She glanced back, and a small shriek left her mouth as she caught sight of me over her shoulder.
I tackled her to the ground, wrapping my arms around her protectively as we hit the ground. She wriggled against me, attempting to break free.
“I said to run to the clubhouse. What are you doing running on this trail, little Hellcat?” I gripped her wrists with one hand and pressed them to her stomach as my other palm slowly scraped against the inside of her thigh.
I pushed the hem of her sundress up, teasing her with my fingers, until I came to the apex of her thighs.
A low growl rumbled from my chest. “You’ve been bare this entire fucking night? ”
She huffed a laugh. “Seemed like a waste of time if you were just going to take them off.”
I shook my head. She was a sight beneath me, cheeks flushed, hair astray with leaves and twigs woven in like a forest witch. Wild. Sexy. Free. The version of Merci that only I got to see. “I’m going to let your hands go. Do you promise to be a good girl?”
She nodded.
“Use your words,” I insisted.
“I promise,” she said in a saccharine-sweet tone that I didn’t believe for a second.
As soon as I released her, her hands flew wildly, hitting me before she crab-walked away from me across the ground. My hand flew to my cheek, and I pulled it away. Blood coated my fingertips.
“I promise to make you work for it,” she quipped. Challenge shone on her face.
“Oh, you want to play like that?”
She grinned and nodded. She kicked dirt in my face.
I pushed myself off the ground and chased her as she ran deeper into the woods toward the boulder that sat on the edge of a small body of water.
I caught up in a few long strides, wrapping my arms around her as she nearly ran into the wall of rock.
“That wasn’t very nice, Hellcat,” I snarled in her ear. I caged her in with my arms, pressing my hard cock against her ass. With one hand, I unfastened my belt and dropped my pants to the ground. I rubbed the tip of my cock between her legs, and she whimpered.
“You promised to be good. And what you did back there? That wasn’t good. That was very, very bad.”
“I lied,” she panted.
Fuck, she was wet. She was as into this as I was.
“This is going to be hard and fast, Hellcat. If it becomes too much, say the word. Otherwise, I’m not giving you any mercy.”
“I don’t want mercy. I want you to fuck me like you mean it. Fuck me like I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.”
I slammed into her with one smooth stroke. She gasped, and her fingernails scraped the rock in front.
“You are the only one who gets to see me like this,” I rasped against the side of her neck as I hammered my hips into her.
Merci let out a choked, breathless laugh. “Good, because you’re mine.”
That tore the last thread of my control.
I reached in front of her to stroke her clit, drawing rough circles as I slammed into her over and over.
Her gasps echoed through the trees as the orgasm hit.
I came with a curse, pressing my forehead to her shoulder while her whole body shook against the rock.
“Totally worth it,” she whispered.
My hand slid up the column of her throat, forcing her chin higher until her eyes met mine. “You will never pull that shit on me again. Not in front of Merrick. And sure as hell not before he knows about us. Do you have any idea what kind of position you put me in?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, her hoarse voice lacking any true apology.
I stepped back, jaw tight as I fastened my jeans, careful not to stumble this time into any leaves or bushes. With the adrenaline burning off, I was left only with the ache of wanting to do it all over again. “Let’s go home, Hellcat.”
She brushed the dirt from her hands, smirking. “Maybe I should sleep here tonight. You still seem pretty pissed.”
“Not a fucking chance,” I said, tossing her over my shoulder and stalking down the path.
“Put me down,” Merci whined, hitting my back.
“I would, but you’d probably run again.”
She giggled. “I would never.”
I snorted. “Liar.”
I dropped Merci beside her truck. She straightened her dress.
“Follow me,” I ordered. I didn’t trust myself to kiss her again without taking her against the hood, so I turned and fired up my bike.
I sped home and parked in the garage as she followed into the driveway. Inside, I went straight for the freezer, reaching behind the stacked boxes of frozen pizzas and burritos to grab the bottle of vodka I kept hidden for emergencies. The sound of the cap twisting off filled the silence.
“We’re telling him tomorrow,” I said flatly, taking a hard swig.
Merci leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “I thought we agreed to wait.”
“He deserves to hear it from us. Not from someone else. And definitely not from accidentally seeing something he can’t unsee.”
“Like tonight?” she teased.
I gave her a look that silenced her smirk. “Tomorrow. No more secrets.”
She exhaled. “Fine. Let’s get in the shower. We need to clean up these scratches.”
Thin scrapes covered both our arms from our run through the woods. After cleaning them and gently applying antiseptic across our bodies, Merci pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.
“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No shit.”
“I just don’t want Merrick to cut your dick off. I kind of like it.”
I ran my fingers through her hair. “We’ll tell him together. We’ll let him be pissed or disappointed, or whatever. Kenna can run interference. You can stay here while he processes.”
She huffed a laugh. “Not sure if that’s going to make things better or worse.”
I shrugged. “Better for me, at least.”
* * *
The next day, I anxiously showed up at Merrick’s doorstep, ready to spill the truth. The house was empty, minus Brisket barking at me through the window. I shot him a text, and he responded, saying that traffic was bad and he and Kenna would be home in about an hour.
I sat on their porch steps, trying to think about how to prevent the implosion of our friendship. I’d crossed a line. From the start, sisters and daughters were off limits to brothers in the club. The rule, created by their father during his tenure as president, was always meant to protect Merci.
She pulled up in her truck and blinked at me through the windshield.
“You were going to start without me?”
“He’s running late.”
“Good,” she said, brushing past me to head inside.
I followed her up the stairs without thinking.
She tossed her bag on the bed, turned, and leveled the gaze that always unraveled me.
She stalked closer and ran her hands down my chest. I caught her wrist and pulled her close, feeling the hammering of her pulse.
I bent down to kiss her, and she hummed against my mouth.
“How much time do we have before he gets here?” she murmured.
“Maybe forty-five minutes,” I said, a rough groan leaving my throat as she pressed against me.
“Plenty of time,” she said, pressing her body against me in a way that shattered any rational thoughts left in my mind.
We hit the bed in a tangle of limbs, clothing hitting the floor, and hot skin brushing under the cool sheets. I forgot the clock entirely. Forgot everything except her. Until a roar cut through it all.
“What the fuck?” Merrick’s voice thundered through the air.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t even have to turn to know that he’d seen too much despite the sheet covering our bodies.
“Shit,” Merci squeaked. She pulled the sheet high against her neck.
Merrick stood, arms crossed and eyes blazing through me. “You’re fucking dead.”
Merci glared at Merrick. “Get out,” she ordered, her voice steadier than I expected. “We’ll come downstairs to talk. Like adults. With words, not fists.”
“I don’t need a fist. I have a fucking blade for his gut and a bullet for his head.”
“Out,” she said, her tone pure ice.
Merrick stepped away and slammed the door behind him. I overheard Kenna questioning what all the commotion was about down the hall.
I swung my legs out from under the sheets and sat on the edge of the bed, cradling my head in my hands. “Hellcat, I’m so sorry.”
Merci’s hand grazed my naked back. “Don’t apologize for loving me. Because I won’t apologize for loving you. He’ll get over it.”
She stood, picking up our discarded clothes spread across the floor. She tossed me my shirt and pants. “Good thing he didn’t see your boxers on the floor,” she joked.
I groaned. “Because I don’t wear boxers.” I pulled up my jeans.
“But he doesn’t know that.” She slipped the dress over her head.
“Right. So there’s a silver lining?” After pulling on my shirt, I shrugged on my cut, wondering if Merrick would call for the club to strip me of it.
Merci grabbed the edges of the worn leather and tugged me flush against her body. “The silver lining is that I’m happier with you than I’ve ever been. When my alpha-hole brother sees that, he’ll get over it.”
I leaned down to press my lips to hers. “I love you.”
I followed Merci out of her room and instinctively moved in front of her as Merrick glowered at the bottom of the stairs. Thick tension filled the room as we settled before him.
Kenna smiled tightly and handed me a beer. “Hey, Hatchet. We, uh, didn’t realize you were here. Staying for dinner?”
“No. He’s not,” Merrick growled, stepping forward to invade my space.
Merci slid between us. “Stop acting like a jerk.”
“How long has this been going on?” Merrick asked, his gaze shifting to me.
I winced. “Long enough that I should have told you.”
“Or not,” Merci countered. “Because, I don’t know, I’m a fucking adult woman, and it’s none of your business who I’m spending my time with?”
Merrick’s eyes flicked to Merci. “How long?”
Merci rolled her eyes. “I mean, it wasn’t serious at first. It was only recently that we realized we wanted something more.”
“How fucking long?” Merrick roared, his voice echoing across the room.
Merci shoved her palms against him. “A few weeks of none of your goddamn business. We hooked up when you went to New Mexico. But we didn’t realize it was going to turn into a relationship.”
Merrick scoffed and stared at his sister. “A relationship? With Hatchet? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Are you that naive? Hatchet doesn’t do relationships. I thought you were smart, but you’re a fucking idiot if you believe he isn’t fucking anyone else right now.”
I stepped forward, shoving Merrick hard. “Don’t fucking speak to her like that. And, for the record, I haven’t been with anyone else since the day she ended her engagement.”
Merrick shoved me back. “You know she’s off-limits.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I wanted to tell you. I love her.”
Merrick crossed his arms. “Clearly. More than your brothers. More than the club. I’m bringing it to Church. There are some lines you can’t cross. This is one of them. You’re done.”
My stomach dropped, but I’d give it all up for Merci. I slipped my cut from my shoulders and held it out. “Then take it. If you’re asking me to choose between Merci and the Mavericks, I choose her.”
I stepped away and shifted my gaze to Merci. Her glassy eyes shone with shock. I cupped her face with my hands and kissed her slowly. “I need to go for a ride. I’ll call you in a bit.”
Merci nodded. “Please drive safely,” she begged.
I kissed her again. “You know my motto: ‘Go fast, don’t die.’”
Merci shook her head with a small laugh, but I could see the worry in her eyes.
“I’ll drop by during your shift. We can talk then.”
I glanced one last time at Merrick, his scarred face stony and his grip tight around my cut. The patch represented the only family I’d ever had before Jessa, but I’d give it all up to be with Merci.