Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
ASHER
I’ve learned two things about Mercury when it comes to sex. She’s super creative and incredibly insatiable.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when she asked me, all those weeks ago, to be her first. Like I told her, it’s not something I have experience with.
I wasn’t sure whether we should take it slow or if she would be sore afterward.
I barely remember my first time, and I doubt I lasted more than a few seconds.
I wanted more for Mercury.
I clearly had no idea what I was in for.
But I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised. Mercury has been just that, a constant surprise, since she materialized on the side of the road two months ago.
She’s so much more than the shy, quiet woman I stood beside on the red carpet. She’s confident and smart as a tack. She takes on problems head-on and tries new things, even when she’s scared.
When it comes to sex, she’s no different.
That early shyness and embarrassment have melted away, leaving a strong, sexy woman who takes what she wants and asks for it. She is also very open to suggestions.
Like shower sex, for instance…
“Harder,” she pleads as I drive into her from behind. She’s pressed against the tile as hot water rains down on us.
“See, I told you I’d get you against a wall,” I tease her, deliberately slowing my movements. She whimpers. I grin. “Do I get bonus points for it being in the shower too?”
She grinds her ass against me. I can’t help but curse as it tumbles from my lips. “You get bonus points if you make me come in the next thirty seconds.”
“So demanding. But I seem to remember telling you that would be your job next time, and then I went back on my word not just once but three times.”
When I told her she’d be up all night, I meant it. She isn’t the only insatiable one. I can’t seem to get enough of her.
A faint blush creeps up her neck. Out of all the things we’ve done over the last few weeks, I’m surprised this one still intimidates her. “Come on,” I encourage her, taking her hand. “I’ll help you.”
“Okay.”
I guide our joined hands between her legs. “Feel how wet you are,” I say, dragging our fingers through the folds of her labia. She lets out a deep moan as we reach her clit, and her body clenches around mine. Fucking hell. “Feel how desperate you are to come?”
She starts rubbing tight circles without my help, which makes me grin. There you are.
“Fuck, I’m gonna—” She doesn’t even finish the sentence before her body is shaking and she cries out my name.
I let go of her hand, grip her hips, and fuck her so hard I can barely breathe. I pull out just in time to come all over the shower wall, since this wasn’t exactly planned.
Okay, that’s not true. I just figured we’d make it onto the bed before we’d need a condom. Clearly, I misjudged how urgent our need for each other was.
After we finish our shower, we both get dressed and enjoy an early-morning walk around the loch. Connor did such a wonderful job finding this beautiful place for us. The least we can do is step outside and enjoy it.
When we return, I surprise the hell out of Mercury by pulling out a pan and a small carton of eggs and start to fix us breakfast.
“You know how to cook?”
A sly grin curves my lips. “I feel like there’s an insult in there somewhere.”
Her brows shoot up. “No!” Then she laughs. “I just mean…shit, okay, yeah, I guess I meant it exactly as it sounded. You don’t exactly strike me as someone who cooks.”
I shrug as I grab a bit of cheese. “That’s a fair assumption. I’ve basically been waited on my entire life.”
“So is this your little act of rebellion?”
I snort. “No. Running away from home to become a rock star was. Learning to make scrambled eggs is just a life skill I decided I might need.”
She takes a seat at the counter and leans in. “And what other life skills have you acquired?”
My eyes gleam with mischief as I turn off the burner, set the eggs aside, and slowly walk toward her. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Her gaze drags down my body. “I would, actually.”
Grinning, I grab her and drag her across the counter. “Your wish is my command.”
The last twenty-four hours felt like a fever dream. Driving back through the gates of Blackstone House brings reality crashing back into the foreground.
I’m suddenly acutely aware of my father’s declining health, my responsibilities ahead, and the fact that Mercury won’t be here for any of it.
My stomach twists as I thank our driver and go into the house. My mother greets us at the door.
“Mother,” I say formally as she gives us each a polite nod.
“I hope you had a relaxing trip.” Her eyes take us both in, as if she’s trying to expose any cracks or hidden strains.
“It was lovely,” I tell her. “Thank you for making the arrangements.”
Another nod, this one even more rigid, as if she’s afraid she’ll accidentally show a real emotion.
The three of us journey into the sitting room.
“How is Father?” I ask as she takes her usual seat on the sofa across from us. Apparently, we are having a chat. I had hoped Mercury and I could enjoy the rest of the day to ourselves, but I was clearly deluding myself.
This is Blackstone House. One does not simply laud about.
“He is resting,” she says simply.
“And his prognosis?” I ask, hoping for a bit more information than that. Mercury slips her hand into mine. It feels grounding, and my pulse instantly slows.
“It’s…” She hesitates, glancing from me to Mercury.
My brow shoots up in surprise. “Are you not sure you can say it in front of her?”
Her spine straightens, a visible sign that she’s about to deliver a harsh truth. “I am worried about the nature of your time away. Why did you need an extra day? Are you two fighting? Should I be concerned?”
Mercury and I look at one another, and then, almost on cue, we both burst out laughing.
My mother’s eyes widen, then her face hardens in annoyance. “What? What did I say?”
“We’re not fighting, Mum,” I tell her, squeezing Mercury’s hand. “Far from it.”
“Then why—”
“We just needed a little alone time.”
“But why—oh!” Her cheeks turn red. My jaw nearly drops to the floor. I didn’t know they could do that. “Oh yes,” she says, clearing her throat. “Of course.”
“Can you trust her now that you know our relationship isn’t in peril?” I ask, amused. But as soon as I say it, I’m left with the haunting reality that in just a matter of weeks, we will have to convince not just this woman but the entire world that we’ve fallen out of love.
I swallow hard, trying not to let my panic show.
“Yes.” The countess nods. “Of course.”
She’s about to continue when there’s a knock on the door. Then Evie walks in, reminding Mercury of a dress fitting.
“Can it wait?” I ask.
“I’m afraid it cannot,” Evie says, looking very different from the last time I saw her.
Her dismal black suit is gone, and she’s now wearing wide-leg trousers and a floral silk blouse.
She still has that iPad clutched to her chest, however.
“The designer drove in from London and only has a few moments before he must go to another appointment.”
“It’s okay,” Mercury assures me with a quick kiss to the cheek. “Spend some time with your mother. You and I can meet up later, okay?”
I nod, hating that our time together is now interrupted by meetings and schedules. “Okay.”
She excuses herself, leaving only the countess and me. She watches me with a curiosity I recognize.
“What is it?” I finally ask.
“You love her, don’t you?”
I look away, hating that she’s figured me out so easily, even though I’ve spent my entire life trying to do the same to her.
“Yes.” It’s barely something I’ve admitted to myself, but when faced with the question head-on, I can’t deny it.
I love Mercury Creed.
Completely. Irrevocably. Indefinitely.
“When do you plan on asking her to marry you?” The expression on my face must say it all, because her brow shoots up, and she follows up with, “Are you not planning on it? She would make a lovely countess.”
My mind is swirling.
I haven’t let myself go there. It’s just too painful to dream of such things, especially since she wouldn’t merely be a lovely countess.
She’d be an extraordinary one.
She’d be kind and generous.
Loving and supportive.
But we have a deal. Three months. Then she goes back to her life in LA, and I try to go on without her.
Without her…
Fuck.
“I can see you’re struggling with something,” my mum says softly.
I look up and, for the first time, notice a hint of concern in her eyes. I’m unsure if it’s concern for me or for the family legacy I will soon inherit. Either way, I seize the opportunity.
“She has a whole life back in LA. How is any of this fair to her?”
It’s the most honest I’ve been with her since I came home.
Maybe ever.
“And yet she’s here with you,” she simply says. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“I don’t know.” Sometimes I worry she’s here only out of pity. But then we’re together like we were last night, and I know it’s more than that.
It has to be.
“Listen.” She sighs, as if it physically pains her to talk about emotions with her son.
“I don’t know what arrangement you two had at the beginning, and frankly”—she waves her hand—“I don’t want to know.
But I do know it wasn’t real. And yet that girl walked away from that life you seem to think she loves so much to be here with you.
Even then. What makes you think she wouldn’t stay now? ”
I stare at her, completely dumbfounded by her words. “She worked her whole life to get a career in the music industry. If she stays here—”
“Then we’ll figure it out,” she finishes my sentence. “She can continue to work remotely like she is now, or she can find some other way to use her talents. We won’t let her waste away, I promise.”
I swear my eyes start to sting at the passionate tone my mother’s words carry.
“Why do you care so much?”
She waves my question away, avoiding my intense gaze. “Perhaps I’m just feeling a bit sentimental. It’s been one of those weeks, hasn’t it?”
I decide not to press her anymore, realizing her walls are rebuilding around her. “Indeed, it has.”
We both get up, but before we reach the double doors, my mother turns to me and says, “She’s a lovely woman. She really will make a wonderful countess.”
I swallow hard. “I know.”
“I knew it the instant I met her.”
My brow quirks. “Really?”
Her lips pucker at my silent accusation. “All right. Maybe not the instant, but it didn’t take me long to realize how special she is.”
Smiling, I reply, “I’ve always known.”
And it’s about time I tell her.