by Zoe Chant
Need burned within her. Mercy could feel her climax beginning to build. Dante’s every thrust sent her closer and closer to the edge.
“Mercy.”
She cried out as he said her name, throwing her head back in pure pleasure, letting herself go for the first time in years – perhaps, truly, for the first time ever.
Stars spun behind her eyes as at last she felt her orgasm explode within her, shaking her down to her very core. Never before had she felt like this. Never before had she heard her own voice cry out in pleasure the way she was now, feeling wave after wave of white-hot ecstasy coursing through her body. She felt Dante’s own body shaking with his release, his cock pulsing inside her, filling her even more completely – something she hadn’t imagined possible. He held her as the shocks of his own climax shuddered through him, his breath warm against her face, his fingers pressing hard against her skin.
They lay together breathlessly, coasting down from the peak of their pleasure, bodies tangled. Mercy didn’t know how long it took her to catch her breath – and to be honest, she couldn’t say she cared. In a perfect world, she would have lain there forever, feeling the weight of Dante’s body against hers.
Finally, however, she admitted the need to move – if for no other reason than because she risked her leg falling asleep if she didn’t shift it.
“Hey.”
Dante lifted his head at the sound of her voice, looking down at her. He raised his hand to her face as he moved off her, stroking his thumb across her cheek.
“Mercy, that was... that was....”
His voice was low and rumbly, and Mercy swallowed. She felt renewed heat pooling within her at the sound, despite her fatigue.
“You don’t need to tell me,” she said, laughing lightly. “That was incredible.”
“Yeah. Incredible just about covers it.”
He leaned down, kissing her deeply, and Mercy allowed herself to be swept away by the feel of his tongue against hers, the warmth of his lips where they pressed against her own.
“Should we get up and maybe get something to eat?” Dante asked when he finally broke away, his hand still resting against her cheek.
Mercy laughed. “Oh, probably. But honestly, I don’t want to move an inch right now. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
She snuggled against his side, enjoying the feeling of his skin against hers. For a moment, she felt Dante tense slightly, before he too relaxed.
“You must be exhausted,” he said softly.
Mercy nodded sleepily. The long day and the panic attack had definitely taken their toll, even if now she could barely remember them – Dante’s touch had unwound all the tension in her body completely, leaving her more relaxed than she could remember feeling in years. Here in Dante’s arms, she felt safe, protected, and warm.
“Sleep now,” Dante said. “Just relax. You deserve it.”
Mercy wanted to say thank you – she wasn’t sure what specifically she wanted to thank him for, only that she wanted to say it. But before she could open her mouth, she felt tiredness well up within her, and, yawning once more, she drifted off into deep, untroubled sleep.
***
Mercy woke slowly, savoring the feeling of gradually surfacing into the real world.
It’d been a long time since she’d felt this way – usually, waking up meant the screech of the alarm, rubbing her sore, still-tired eyes, and groaning as she forced her aching muscles to move her out from under her warm covers and toward the shower.
Today, however, she felt only the delicious sense of finally having gotten a good night’s sleep.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so well or so deeply – and she definitely hadn’t woken up feeling so good in years. The warmth of Dante’s body beside her in the bed made her smile before she’d even opened her eyes to look at him. The solidity of his presence beside her was enough.
The sunshine glimmering on the wall when she finally did open her eyes made her heart lurch a little within her – until she remembered it was Friday, and Mercy’s Kitchen wasn’t open for breakfast on Fridays. It was the one day a week she let herself have a small sleep-in. Tai wouldn’t be arriving for work for another three hours, and she didn’t need to spring out of bed for at least another ten minutes.
Smiling, Mercy let her eyes slide shut once more, glorying in the way all her muscles felt relaxed, the tight spring of tension that always seemed coiled in her belly finally having been released.
“You awake, Mercy?”
Dante’s voice was soft, the touch of his hand against her cheek even softer.
“Mmmm.”
Mercy rolled over, finding his mouth with her own and kissing him deeply. She remembered vaguely that she’d fallen asleep on the floor last night, too satisfied and tired even to move to the bed – but that was where she was now. Dante must have picked her up and carried her there.
The thought sent more warmth flowing through her.
God, he’s perfect.
As Dante’s arms came up around her shoulders, Mercy had the thought that she’d be happy to stay in bed for a lot longer than ten minutes – until the loud grumble of her stomach interrupted them.
“Sounds like you could use something to eat,” Dante said, pulling back with a laugh.
Ordinarily, Mercy might have felt a little embarrassed by the gurgling noises emanating from her stomach, but with Dante, she just couldn’t find it within herself to care.
“I think so,” she agreed. “How about you?”
“Definitely.”
He kissed her once more and then rolled away, standing up and treating Mercy to an unobstructed view of his spectacular physique. The play of his muscles beneath his skin made her mouth water. Everything about him was in perfect proportion, sleek and sexy. Even the scars on his side and arms couldn’t mar his godlike appearance. She didn’t know how he’d gotten them, of course, and she thought that perhaps Dante might not mind if she asked – but then, his amazing body disappeared beneath the t-shirt he’d picked up while she’d been busy staring at him.
Her stomach grumbled once again, reminding her that yeah, actually, she needed to get up and get something to eat.
“You sure you don’t want to stay there?” Dante asked her as she finally managed to drag herself out from under the covers. “I could just bring you something.”
Mercy laughed. “You know your way around my kitchen, do you?”
Dante hesitated. “No, but –”
Mercy shook her head. “Sorry, but as great as that sounds, once I’m awake, I like to get going.” She found some clean pajamas in a drawer, pulling them on. “Tell you what though – you can fix the coffee.”
Dante smiled. “Sure.” His smile faltered briefly, and a pensive look entered his eyes. “And then, Mercy... I think we need to talk. There’s a couple of things I think I should tell you before anything else happens.”
Frowning, Mercy felt her stomach fluttering. Like what? she wanted to ask him, but then shook her head. Whatever it was, it could wait until after breakfast – she needed coffee before she could deal with anything else.
“Okay,” she replied. “But let’s eat first.”
She didn’t make her own meals in the restaurant kitchen, of course – she had a small kitchenette for personal use, in the upstairs part of the building. More often than not, Mercy found herself re-heating leftovers from the restaurant for her breakfast, throwing together whatever she could. Since they hadn’t been open yesterday, however, Mercy found herself opening her fridge, not sure what she was going to find inside it.
Thankfully, there was a carton of eggs she was pretty sure were still good, and a bag of coffee in the freezer. Between the two of them they had fried eggs on toast and a big pot of coffee on the table in no time.
“Mm. Breakfast never tasted so good,” Mercy said as she swallowed the first mouthful. She shot a smile in Dante’s direction. “Must be the company.”
She wasn’t sure why,
but now, she felt a little bashful. It wasn’t like her – she would never have described herself as shy. But it’d been a long time since she’d woken up next to a man, and thinking back over the details of the time they’d had together yesterday, Mercy could feel herself blushing just a little.
She’d never heard herself cry out like that – but then, she’d never had sex that felt like that before. She didn’t usually go in for clichés, but it had been earthshattering, in the truest sense of the word. Mercy hadn’t even known it was possible to feel that good.
Looking down, she quickly shoved another forkful of fried egg into her mouth. If she let herself think about that for too long, she’d probably launch herself over the table at Dante and tear his pants off with her teeth.
“Mercy, you remember I said I wanted to talk to you about something?” Dante said, his voice low, as they continued to eat.
Mercy nodded. “Sure. Talk away.”
There was a moment of silence, and Mercy glanced up. Dante was frowning, as if he was having difficulty thinking of what to say next. Concerned, Mercy reached forward, touching his hand.
“What’s up?”
Dante glanced up at her, his green eyes piercing.
“Mercy, I have to tell you –”
His words were interrupted by the sound of her cell phone going off in her purse. She’d dumped it on the ground in the hall before she’d run to her room yesterday, and it was still sitting there now, just by the kitchen doorway.
“Sorry,” Mercy said, shooting him an apologetic glance. “I have to get this. It might be Tai.”
“Sure,” Dante said, though Mercy saw a slight flash of impatience in his eyes.
“It’ll just take a second.” She rummaged through her purse, only to see an unknown number on the screen of her phone. Who could be calling her so early in the morning?
Concerned, she hit answer.
“I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I, Mercy?” Roy’s smooth voice drifted down the line to her. “I can always call back.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” she said quickly. “I was just, uh, having breakfast. It’s no problem.”
“That’s good. I was just wondering how that list was coming along.”
Mercy swallowed. She knew Roy had said he wanted to move fast, but this still seemed like a hell of a rush.
“It’s great,” Mercy said quickly. “I’ve got a couple of proposals for you. I could bring them around this evening if you –”
“This evening’s not good for me, I’m afraid,” Roy said. “You know how it is – wining and dining.”
If it hadn’t been for the note of self-deprecating humor in his voice, Mercy might have been tempted to roll her eyes. Of course she didn’t know how wining and dining was!
“But I’m free now, if you have something to show me.” Roy’s voice was so smooth that for a moment, Mercy wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.
“Now?”
“Unless it’s a bad time.”
Mercy blinked. “No, it’s not bad at all,” she said quickly. “Could you come by in about half an hour?”
“Sure. I have a couple of other things to discuss with you too, Mercy.” Roy paused. “Are you by yourself?”
“I –” Mercy shot a glance over to where Dante was still sitting at the kitchen table. Well, that would be one way to let Roy know he needed to back off on the dinner invitations, she thought. “No. I have company.”
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.
“Well, I’ll see you in half an hour then, Mercy. Have that list ready for me.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Mercy found herself staring down at her phone.
“Everything all right?” Dante asked her, concern showing clearly on his face.
“That was Roy,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s coming over now.”
Dante glanced up. “Right now?”
“Pretty much.” Mercy stood up, hurrying toward the bathroom. “I’m really sorry, Dante – I’ve gotta get ready to meet him and figure out what I’m going to say. I’ve got Jessa and Jimmy’s proposals, but I’ll need to present them to him. Shit! I didn’t know he’d want to see them now.”
She bustled into the bathroom, throwing back the shower curtain and turning on the taps, stripping out of her pajamas. She jumped under the spray before the water had finished heating up, shivering as it hit her skin.
“Do you want me to be there with you?” Dante asked her from the doorway as she scrubbed herself with a bar of soap.
Her eyes closed, Mercy smiled. She couldn’t see him, but just having Dante there with her felt reassuring. It made her feel like she could handle anything Roy might do or say.
“Yeah,” she said, hearing the warmth in her own voice. “I’d really like that.”
Chapter Seven
Dante
Dante could sense how nervous Mercy was, even if nothing in her face or the way she moved betrayed it. She appeared as confident as always: her mouth was set in a determined line, her hands firm as she quickly read through the funding proposals she’d collected from Jessa at the library and Jimmy at the hardware store. Her concentration was complete.
It gave him a moment to think.
He didn’t like Roy. That much he knew. It might have been just his dragon’s instinctive reaction to someone it may have seen as a rival, but Dante didn’t think so. Mercy was his mate. There was no connection that could rival that.
He had wanted to tell her this morning about himself – who he was, what he was. He wanted to explain to her about shifters – to take her outside the city and show her his dragon form, if that’s what it took for her to believe him.
And he wanted to tell her about his past. It had been his plan to do so before things progressed between them, but she’d been so irresistible last night, so unwavering in her desire that he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He’d wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything before in his whole life. In the face of his fierce desire and burning passion, any and all obstacles had seemed insignificant.
Our mate will understand us. She will see us, his dragon purred. She knows us.
The dragon was so certain that Dante found himself believing it.
But either way, Dante knew that right now, he had to focus on Roy, and try to figure out what it was about him that put him on edge.
After so many years of only being allowed contact with his dragon when the manticores had allowed it, he still sometimes found himself uncertain of its instincts – usually, he knew it was trying to tell him something, but what exactly that was was sometimes hazy.
Obviously, with something as clear and obvious as the mated bond, he had known instantly what it meant. But with Roy, there was only the vague sense of a shadow on the very edges of his perception, and something within him that said be wary.
“Everything all right? You look lost in thought.” Mercy’s voice broke into his reverie.
Dante turned to her, nodding. “I’m fine.” There was no point in sharing his thoughts with her just yet. Not until he had something solid to go on. Right now, Roy was just a guy who was offering to do something amazing for the community Mercy loved so much. “You prepared?”
Mercy let out a long, slow breath. “Yeah. I think he’ll like this. Jessa and Jimmy know what they’re about. They’re old hands at wrangling funding out of people. If I can get Roy to agree to a meeting with them, he’ll be handing out checks like a whirlwind.”
Dante couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm in her voice. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“Well, he’ll be here any second –” Mercy started to say, just as there was a sudden, sharp knocking on the front door of the restaurant. Mercy took another deep breath, then shot Dante a quick grin. “Wish me luck.”
“Of course.”
Dante swallowed as the moment stretched out, Mercy’s deep black eyes looking up into his. Without thinking, he pulled her forward, kissing her. Her full li
ps were soft and luscious against his, the curves of her body fitting into his hands perfectly. When they broke away from each other, he felt breathless, his heart hammering in his chest. He could see the blush burnishing Mercy’s cheeks, feel the heat rising within her.
“D-don’t distract me right now!” Mercy scolded him, tapping her hand lightly against his chest. “If I get all worked up I won’t be able to concentrate!”
Dante couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sorry. Consider it a good luck kiss.”
“Save it for later!” Mercy shot back at him as she bustled toward the door. “And don’t sit at the table with us! I won’t be able to convince Roy of a thing if you’re sitting there with all your... all your you.”
“Well, where should I go?” Dante asked, shaking his head.
“I don’t know! Elsewhere!” Mercy said, making a shooing motion with one hand while opening the door with the other.
“Am I interrupting something?” Roy’s voice when the door opened was as smooth as ever.
“No, of course not,” Mercy said. “Please, come in.”
Dante moved to a different table farther inside the restaurant as Roy stepped inside. He watched him carefully, but he still found he couldn’t get a clear read on Roy at all. If he’d been another shifter, his dragon would know immediately, and this made Dante doubt himself. What if what he had sensed yesterday had just been his imagination, or a misreading of his dragon’s instincts due to the danger his mate had been in? What if Roy was nothing more than he seemed to be: a man who wanted to help Mercy? Could he really risk ruining what was a great opportunity for Mercy because he had a vague hunch?
So why do I feel even more unsettled now than I did before?