Chapter 11 Mercy
Mercy
Even being bone tired, my body still woke up a few minutes before dawn. My neck was screaming after sleeping on my brother’s crappy third-hand couch.
I stared at my phone.
Rip:
You home?
Just let me know you’re safe.
I’ve got your truck on my lift. It’s fixable.
Don’t make me hunt you down.
I couldn’t make myself write him back. The embarrassment was cringey enough, but knowing he was worried about me left me even more unnerved.
Annoyed at myself, I stole one of my brother’s hoodies and headed out to walk to my store. My car was parked around the back. I should go home and take a damn shower, but I found I just wanted to get my fingers into some dough.
Something complicated enough to turn off my brain.
Luther’s apartment was a few blocks off Hope Street.
The temperatures dropped on the overnight and the first official day of January was bright and cold as hell.
I tucked my fingers into the front pocket and trudged against the brisk wind.
As I got closer, I squinted at the dark green car in front of Sweet Beats.
Ripley’s Caddy.
Even with the brutal January wind, I burned at the thought of that car.
Like a damn Pavlovian response.
The orgasm from the night before still lived rent free in my brain. Sure, it had been one of the first non-self-induced ones in over a year, but it was more than that. I’d never had a man be so intentional with my pleasure.
And it had to be Ripley freaking Murdock.
What were the odds?
Half the girls in Indigo Valley High had been hot for Ripley.
The other half were just in denial or weren’t into men.
He was a few years older than me, but I’d always been around the Murdock brothers.
They were a million miles different than my own brothers that I’d just been happy to be on the periphery of their lives.
My brother, Booker, had been in and out of Sully’s pockets when we were kids.
I’d tagged along as much as they allowed.
Back then, being quiet had afforded me a spot on the inner circle in the summers.
Days at the lake. The epic Murdock pranks.
The tight knit link I’d always longed to have with my brothers.
After high school, the dynamics changed. The Murdock boys scattered as wanderlust set in.
Except for me.
I’d never wanted to leave. I’d worked up from baking and selling out of my kitchen to save up for the Sweet Beats storefront. Baking was the only thing that ever made sense to me. It was science. It had rules.
It was unchangeable for the most part.
There was always a surprise component lurking, but for the most part baking made sense where most people didn’t.
And right now, that was exactly what I needed.
I passed the Caddy and slipped inside Sweet Beats, locking the door behind me. I wasn’t opening the shop today. This was just for me.
To even me out.
I stripped out of the dress and the strangling bra and changed into backup clothes I had in my locker.
The worn cotton of my favorite Rolling Stones shirt and ancient jeans instantly helped calm me.
Then came the ritual of choosing an album.
The needle drop and hiss of vinyl.
Today, the hypnotic, breathy Lana Del Ray and Justin Nozuka suited my mood.
I washed my hands and pulled down all the supplies I needed. Losing myself in the measuring of flour, in the flaky butter incorporation, adding salt for balance.
While that rested, I concentrated on the filling. The citrus of the fruit to combat the sweet.
The strain of my muscles as I hand whisked the mixture over low heat until the smooth curd came together.
I moved on to some hand kneading for a loaf of bread.
The baked goods grew as sun filled my shop.
The sharp lemon curd and warm vanilla scents soothed as they came together in the perfect Danish.
A shadow fell over the floor and I looked up, unsurprised to see Ripley filling my doorway.
I was tempted to leave the door locked.
To stay safe in the confines of my store with my music.
He didn’t say anything as he stood there. His deep green eyes intense as he watched me.
He could just go. Get in his car and go home.
We could both ignore what happened the night before and move on with our lives.
I slowly walked toward him. Each step a little slower.
If I opened that door, everything would have to change.
I couldn’t stay in my little safe bubble.
He didn’t say a word.
Did he know it too?
Maybe we both had been living apart from everyone a bit too much.
Him in his shop and me in mine.
I paused with my hand on the lock for another moment.
This didn’t need to be bigger than it was.
Lies.
The whisper of the voice in the back of my mind was the one who turned the lock.
Ripley walked in, closing it behind him and flipping the lock.
He lifted me off the floor and I wrapped my legs around him.
“I was worried,” he said gruffly.
“You can see I’m fine.” I said a millimeter from his lips.
He tucked his arm under my butt to hold me up, the other hand delved into my hair, pushing away the bandana I perpetually wore when working. His mouth was hard and unyielding.
I took that intensity and made it mine.
My arms wrapped around his shoulders and I crushed him to me.
I’d starved myself for so long the connection seemed bigger than it should be and perfect at the same time. Like I’d been waiting for this moment.
This man.
I tore my mouth away from him. “This is crazy.”
“Only crazy if you turn me away.”
I could be brave enough to start my own company. I should be brave enough for this.
I shook my head. “What if I want to keep you? What would you say to that?”
His chest heaved once then relaxed. “Thank God.”
“Don’t listen to me,” I said against his mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No taking it back now, darlin’.” He nipped my lower lip. “I’m holding you to it.”
“You could hate me after a week.”
“I could. And you might hate having a guy who plays with cars for a living messing up your well-ordered life. But I’m not going anywhere.”
“You say that now.”
“There’s no guarantees in this life, Mercy. But I’ve seen with my own two eyes how many people can make this work. Why can’t we be two of them?”
“You know who I come from, Rip.”
“I know who you are. What you’ve built. What you’ve made of yourself. That’s what I know.”
I pressed my forehead to his. “When did you get so smart?”
“Pretty sure it was my mom. She married my dad after a week, you know.”
“I am not marrying you after a week.”
He grinned. “Two weeks?”
“Shut up,” I mumbled against his mouth then threaded my fingers through his thick, dark hair.
The kiss was wild and overwhelming. He strode into the bakery and over to the counter.
Usually, it was full to the brim with product, but since I was closed for the day, there was just endless countertops and my iPad I used to check people out. I should take him home. We’d only been in his car for God’s sake.
But then he set me down and pressed his impressive cock against the seam of my jeans and I forgot all about should-haves.
His big hands roamed over me, growling when he realized I was braless under the worn T-shirt.
“These perfect breasts are going to haunt me daily. How am I supposed to ever concentrate on anything else?” He tunneled under the cotton and palmed me, the callouses of his fingers making delicious abrasions on my skin.
I gave a throaty laugh. “You are entirely obsessed.”
“I am. Proudly.” He ducked his head under the shirt and I shrieked with surprise then moaned when his mouth found me.
His fingers dug into my hip as he tilted me forward.
The friction of denim on denim plus his warm mouth ratcheted me up into that filmy space where the orgasm gods were. He should have a warning label on him.
“Ripley.”
His voice was muffled under the cotton until he pushed the shirt right over my head.
“We are right in front of the window.”
“Fuck.” He backed up and set my legs down. “Stay there.”
I laughed, shirtless in the middle of my shop and couldn’t care less if anyone saw us.
He rushed over to the big window and snapped the blinds shut before returning to me. He shook his head. “Yep, still glorious.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m good with it.” He dipped his head to kiss me but bypassed my lips to latch onto my tight nipple.
I couldn’t remember laughing so much during foreplay in my life.
We fumbled for the zippers on each other’s jeans and finally, I got my fingers around him. Hell, I almost needed a minute for that alone.
Proportional indeed.
Hot, hard and thick he filled my hand. I stroked him and he groaned.
“Harder.”
“Like this? Be careful what you ask for, Rip. I have strong hands.”
He growled. “Yeah, you can’t hurt me. See how hard I am for you?” He growled against my ear. “I want inside you so fucking bad.”
“Yes.”
“You should be on a bed where I can stretch you out and do this properly.”
“Next time.”
He leaned back. “Next time. I like the sound of that.” He groaned as I gripped the base of his cock.
“I like the idea of the first time being here. In my place,” I whispered.
He straightened. “Hold onto me.”
I wrapped my free arm around his shoulders as he lifted me, shoving down my jeans. We only managed to get one pant leg off before I vined around him.
Impatiently stroking the hot, thick head of him over my slick center.
Sense prevailed at the last moment and he swore, digging in his wallet.
“There better be a damn condom in here,” he growled. “I didn’t come here assuming.”
“Very feminist of you, but dammit, you should have.”
He groaned against my neck. “God, stop doing that.”
I stroked him against me again. It would be so easy to just take him inside of me. Years of careful warnings of not letting hormones rule me were like distant chatter.
I understood how it happened now.
He slammed his wallet on the counter. “You’re not helping.”
“Sorry.”
I wasn’t.
Was I insane? I wasn’t even sure I wanted kids and I knew his bloodline and mine were fertile as fuck.
His credit cards and business cards scattered on the counter and onto the floor.
“You are evil.” He gripped the counter, still as stone.
“You feel so good.”
“If you don’t stop, there might be a little Mercy being made in three seconds.”
I nipped his chin. I wanted to say it was a bad thing, but the words were stuck in my throat. On my tongue. Wrapped in the haze of want.
Finally, he held up a packet.
“One heartbeat away from a mistake.”
“It wouldn’t be a mistake, but I don’t ever want to be careless with you.” His green eyes blazed with certainty.
My heart stuttered. “Thank you.” I took the packet and protected the both of us.
This time, when I lined us up there was a gloss of reverence instead of insanity. Our eyes locked as he stretched and filled me like coming home.
A feeling I’d never had in my life.
The chaos of my home, my family, nothing had ever made me feel so safe and so right.
He wrapped his arm around my lower back and cupped the back of my head with his other hand as he surged into me again and again. The intensity of the moment overshadowing the fear.
The tension between us strung tight as he filled me again and again until there was nothing but Ripley inside and out.
He rocked against me just right and I felt the chasm open up between us.
I gripped his shoulder and his firm backside, reveling in the muscles and strength.
The gentleness that surprised me in all of this.
He slipped a hand between us and I cried out his name as the orgasm blindsided me.
His mouth crashed into mine as he swallowed each cry. The thrusts becoming more aggressive as his own needs collided with my flex of inner muscles around his cock.
I held on—barely.
Moved beyond measure that he held on for me.
I took each thrust and gave a shocked cry when I came again.
He dragged in big, greedy gulps of breath against my shoulder as he sagged against me.
“Ruined,” I panted.
I could feel his smile against my skin.
“Good.”
I pinched his side. “Good?”
“Yes. Now I just need to perfect my technique.”
“Dude.” I laughed. “Now you’re just being cocky.”
He leaned back and that cocky smile was there as he slid out of me.
“Damn right. I’ll never need another voice in my ear. And neither will you.”
I stretched my arms over my head. “Okay, I can’t argue with you there.” I twisted around looking for my shirt. “Where the hell did my clothes go?”
He glanced over at the bakery case. “Uh, sorry.” He grabbed my T-shirt off the rack. “Here.”
I pulled it over my head against the chill. “Hungry?”
“Starved.” He helped me get my jeans back on. They were currently dangling from one ankle.
He pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked adorably boyish.
I hopped down, swallowing a groan. It had been a minute since I’d had sex. I went around the counter to the rack of Danish and plated a few for us. I brought it back to him. “This will have to do.”
He took the plate and dropped a quick kiss on my mouth. “This is good to start. I’m taking you home.”
“Is that right? To whose home?”
“I’m not fussy,” he said around a bite.
I shook my head. “Mine then. At least I know the sheets are clean.”
He laughed. “I’ll have you know my house is very comfortable. And clean.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
I had a feeling a lot of things were going to be changing in my life.
For the first time I didn’t have a plan.
Nerves slid up my spine.
“Why are you so quiet?”
I shrugged. “Just thinking.”
“Don’t do that.”
“You’re going to learn that’s not an option for me, Rip.”
He put his plate down and caged me in against the counter. “Don’t overthink this. Or us. We want to be together and that’s the first step. One step of many.”
“Got it all figured out, do you?”
He shook his head. “No. But we’ll figure it out together. I’ll find out if you’re a blanket hog.”
“I am.”
“Handily, I sleep hot. You’ll never be cold.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Do you snore?”
“Only when I drink whiskey. I’ve pretty much quit drinking though.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Partying just felt empty. Maybe I’ve been slowly getting ready to find you all along.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Say you just want to figure things out with me. That’s all I ask.” He kissed my forehead. “To start.”
“You’re never going to let me have peace again, are you?”
“Baby, you’re going to be a Murdock. There’s no peace in your future.”
My heart kicked. “You say that like it’s a foregone conclusion.”
“For me it is.”
“You’re nuts.” I tried to push him away.
“Falling for you is going to be the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I’m already halfway there.” His eyes searched mine. “I’ll let you catch up.” He backed away from me and took my hand, drawing me out of the prep area. “How’s tomorrow sound?”
“Ripley.”
“Okay, next week.”
“Ripley!”
“Okay, final answer. February first.”
I laced my fingers around the back of his neck. “We’ll see.”
But I already knew.
Forever started on the side of a winding road when he rescued me.
The rest would fall into place.