The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set)

by Lashell Collins

  “Mercy?” He sat up beside her, lightly running his hand over her back.

  “I don't understand,” she softly wailed. “I thought you didn't want me. I thought … you didn't like me! That I was too forward or too heavy or too … something. You went right back to her! You never said anything!”

  Her words winded him, and Noah felt his gut wrench. As if she had driven all the air from his lungs with a sledgehammer. He took her face in his hands as he apologized to her. “Mercy … I'm sorry! God, I am so sorry for the way I treated you back then. Believe me … it was not you! It was all me. I was a scared little punk back then. And I'm sorry if I made you feel like you weren't good enough. 'Cause that is just not true. You are so beautiful, baby! You always have been, and I wanted you from the moment I saw you! Please, Mercy. You have to believe me. I never meant to hurt you! I just didn't know how to do things back then. I was an asshole to you. And I am so, so sorry.”

  She fell into his arms then and he held her tightly while her tears subsided. Moving slowly, he shifted his position as he gently pulled her back onto the bed. Reaching down, he pulled the covers up around them and took her into his arms once more, holding her close as she settled into him.

  They lay that way in silence for a long time, and Mercy let her fingers trace the dragon on his chest as he held her. “How many tattoos do you have?” she asked quietly.

  “Just these three,” he answered, referring to the tribal sleeve on his left arm, the dragon she was playing with, and the pin-up girl on his other arm.

  Mercy's hand moved from his chest and her fingers ran lightly over the colorful, buxom figure straddling a guitar that adorned his right forearm. “You didn't have this when I met you,” she said quietly. Then she smiled and looked up at him. “You didn't have any of them when I first met you.”

  He returned her smile. “Well, as I recall, you didn't have that sexy vine of flowers running down your spine either. I would have remembered that!”

  Mercy giggled at him. “It's fairly new. Me and Amber and Barb all got tattoos as a graduation gift to ourselves.”

  “Amber and Barb? Are those the two friends you used to come to the clubs with?”

  “Mmm hmm. If you look closely at my tattoo, you'll see the words 'Jagged Ivory' hidden among the flowers. We each got a different tat but, Jagged Ivory is hidden in each one of them.”

  “You're joking!” He smiled at her in disbelief, and Mercy blushed.

  “Nope. Not joking.”

  He laughed at her. “Wow. Never thought I'd be the type to fall for a crazed fan!”

  “I prefer the term loyal,” she said with a playful huff as she hit him in the chest, and he laughed again. He kissed her, slowly and passionately for a long moment.

  “Okay. Since we're handing out tattoo confessions here … there's something you should know. This pin-up girl?”

  “Yeah?”

  “She's you.”

  “What?”

  Noah smiled sheepishly at her. “She was the first tat I got. And I got her because … she reminds me of you.” Mercy said nothing as she stared at him wide-eyed. “My obsession with pin-up girls began when I met you. 'Cause that's what you reminded me of.”

  Mercy smiled slowly at him. “Is 'Pin-up Baby' about me?” she asked softly, and Noah laughed.

  “Yes.”

  She launched herself at him, kissing him eagerly. And he ran his fingers through her hair as he held her head in place, kissing her back as his other arm tightened around her waist.

  “Does this 'I-write-songs-about-you' line work on all the girls, or am I just really easy?” she asked softly, and he smiled at her.

  “I don't know. I've never used it on anyone else.” Then his expression grew serious as he gazed into her eyes. “It's not a line, Mercy. It's the God's honest truth. I have no reason to lie to you.” He kissed her again, voraciously, as his hands rambled over her naked body. And she felt so good in his arms, all he wanted at that moment was to be inside her once again. He turned, rolling her over onto her back as he continued to kiss her deeply.

  Mercy could feel his growing erection poking at her thigh as she kissed him. He said he wanted her. He told her that he had always wanted her, and they were words Mercy had longed to hear him say. She ran her hands through the soft curls of his hair as she felt his lips travel slowly down, over her chin and to her neck. He trailed soft, delicate kisses over the flesh of her chest and down between her breasts, suckling briefly at each nipple before continuing on, down over belly and toward her abdomen. He let his tongue play around her bellybutton on the way, as Mercy gently tugged at his hair.

  Reaching the smooth, hairless mound at the apex of her thighs, Noah let his tongue play lightly over the area, teasing the sensitive flesh while Mercy squirmed. Taking hold of her thighs, he spread her legs wider and settled in for a nice long feast. This was an indulgence he didn't normally allow himself. Not with the virtual strangers and groupies he encountered on the road. It just wasn't a real smart – or safe – thing to do. But with Mercy, he was going to treat himself. And he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

  The moment his tongue met her folds, Mercy turned to jelly. Her whole body tingled with excitement, as if every nerve ending she possessed was standing at attention. Her hips began to sway to the rhythm of his tongue as it explored every layer of her petals. And Mercy moaned loudly as her hands foraged in his hair.

  He took his time as he devoured every inch of her sex, and he could taste their mingled juices on her sensitive skin as his tongue moved over her. When he gently sucked the tiny nub of her clit between his lips and let the tip of his tongue play over and around it, Mercy's back arched high off the bed and she clutched at the sheets beneath her. Inserting two fingers into her slit as he continued to assault her power button, Noah pumped slowly, hitting her sweet spot again and again. And Mercy cried out as she came around his fingers. He didn't let up until her tremors subsided. Then he removed his fingers and lapped up her nectar, eagerly cleaning up the mess she had made of herself. Once he finished, he kissed a trail back up her body, from her hairless mound all the way up to her lips.

  “You taste so good, baby,” he whispered before kissing her deeply, and Mercy moaned softly as her hands ran over the muscles of his back. Breaking their kiss, Noah looked deep into her eyes as he entered her slowly. And Mercy felt every blessed inch of him as he filled her completely. He made love to her then, unhurriedly, but every bit as passionately as before. His intense, singular focus driving her higher and higher with each thrust. And he talked to her as they made love, his eyes locked on hers as he expressed his sexy, dirty thoughts to her.

  “Oh, you feel so fucking good, Mercy. … You are so beautiful. … Do you know how fucking sexy you are? … I've wanted to fuck you again for so long. … I want to bury my cock deep inside you and keep it there. … Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you, baby? … You want my big dick inside you forever?”

  With every word, Mercy's ardor grew as his dirty talk fueled her fire and fanned the flames. She moaned loudly as he increased his tempo, pushing her higher still. And she called out his name as she felt herself leaping over the edge as her orgasm overtook her. She was vaguely aware of Noah reaching his own climax as she lost all ability to think clearly for a few rapturous moments. When she slowly resurfaced she felt the full weight of his body pressing down on her, and she loved it.

  He moved suddenly, pulling out of her as he sat up. He propped up the pillows and leaned back against them. And as Mercy sat up beside him, she noted the disgusted look on his face.

  “What's wrong?”

  “We forgot the condoms again,” he frowned. Mercy giggled at him as she settled into his side, prompting him to wrap his arm around her. “You find this funny?” he smiled.

  “I find you adorable,” she answered.

  “Well, you don't seem stressed about it so, I'm assuming you're on some sort of birth control.”

  “Yes,” she smiled at him with a smal
l roll of the eyes. “And just so you know, I don't do this. You may have gotten the wrong idea four years ago but, I'm not what you would call … promiscuous.”

  “I know that.”

  She frowned at him. “How do you know that?”

  He smiled at her. “Mercy, you have been with this tour for several weeks now. You party with us on a nightly basis, and trust me … I've been keeping close track of your every move! The only person I thought you might be sleeping with was Otis. I know that you're not promiscuous.”

  His smile deepened as she snuggled close to him. And as he thought about how great it felt to be with her, his mind suddenly centered on two troubling thoughts.

  “You know, Mercy … speaking of Otis, we should probably talk about a few things,” he frowned.

  “Hmm, like what?” she mumbled sleepily.

  He hesitated for a brief second before saying, “Like my brother and your dad.”

  Mercy felt herself frown as she sat up once more and looked at him. “What about them?”

  “You said that you and O are just friends, and I believe you mean it. But I also know my brother. And I know that he's into you.”

  Mercy smiled at him. “No, he's not. Otis just likes the chase, that's all. It's a game to him; he's not actually into me.”

  Noah smiled ruefully at her. He knew that she was only partly right. It was all about the chase for Otis. It was his favorite game, and he played it to the hilt. But Noah also knew his brother a lot better than she did. He knew the difference between Otis just playing the game, and Otis genuinely interested in a girl. But maybe it was better if he didn't point those differences out to Mercy. Maybe it was best if she went on believing that Otis was just being Otis. For now anyway. After all, they did have much bigger issues to deal with.

  “And what about Mike?”

  “What about Mike?”

  He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Well, for starters, I think we need to talk to him. I mean … if we want to be together and see where this could lead … then we need to talk to him instead of sneaking around behind his back. How long were you planning on keeping this from him?”

  Mercy rolled her eyes slightly as she thought about his question. She didn't want to tell Mike. Not just yet. She didn't want to have to deal with his disapproval and paranoia and irrational fear for her safety. “I don't know.”

  “You don't know?” Noah repeated. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to choose his next words carefully. “Mercy … Mike is my manager, baby. And we have an excellent working relationship; the whole group loves working with him. If I can avoid disrespecting him somehow, and pissing him off, I would really appreciate that!”

  “Disrespect him? Why would you think you'd be disrespecting him?”

  “Mercy … come on. You know as well as I do that if Mike had any clue you were in my bed right now, he'd take great pleasure in trying to kill me.” Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Sneaking around is fun. And it can be sexy as hell, but I would much rather just come clean with him and get everything out in the open. I don't want to hide the fact that we're together anymore. Not after tonight. Not after I've touched you and held you and made love to you. Because frankly, I don't know if I can keep my hands off of you in public anymore.”

  Mercy smiled at his heartfelt appeal. But she knew that she wasn't ready to share their secret with the rest of the world yet. “Please, Noah. Just give me a little more time. Just a few more days, please. And then, I promise, we'll tell Mike together.”

  “Mercy, what is a few more days going to do?” he asked in exasperation.

  “It will give me a few more days to have us all to myself. Without Dad's disapproval, without the guys' prying eyes and silly jokes. Just you and me. Just for a couple of days.”

  She looked at him those beautiful, big, brown eyes, and Noah felt his agitation slipping away. He smiled slowly at her as he reached out to caress her face. “Okay. A few more days.”

  *****

  Two days later, Noah wandered out onto the stage and watched as the back line techs hustled around, clearing the opening act band and setting up for Jagged Ivory. He knew from Aaron that it was always the craziest, most hectic twenty minutes of any show for the technicians.

  Even though the house lights were down, he stayed in the background, not wanting to send the crowd into a frenzy if they saw him. It was going to be a strange night, he could already tell. The energy in the stadium felt different, as if every fan out there was as worried and skeptical about the show as he was. This would be their first without Benji, and Noah wondered how many more there would be if their bandmate couldn't get a handle on his problems.

  He sat for a moment on a stool near the back of the stage where all the back line techs set up shop. And as he watched them going about their normal pre-show prep, he suddenly heard a soft, timid voice say, “Mr. Ivory?” He looked up to see a pair of pale blue eyes watching him intently. He recognized the owner of those eyes. She was one of the back line techs and had been with them since the start of the Thank Heaven tour, and Noah knew that her specialty was the bass.

  He raised his hand and pointed a finger at her as he searched for the information he needed in his brain. “Faith, right?”

  “It's Fae, actually,” she corrected him with a small, shy voice.

  “Right! I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I'm horrible with names.”

  “Oh, that's okay. It's a big crew; I wouldn't expect you to know us all,” she smiled bashfully as a faint blush stole over her face.

  She was pretty, Noah noted, in a funky sort of way. Her short, black hair, which was full of curls, contrasted against the pale blue of her eyes, and she sported an elaborate and colorful tattoo of fairies down her right arm, like a sleeve. She had several earrings in each ear, and a tiny diamond stud in her nose. Presently, she was holding her hands together and twisting them in knots, and Noah deduced that she was extremely nervous about approaching him right now.

  “Uh … how are things going for you?” he asked with genuine concern, hoping to put her at ease, and wondering why she had come to him. “I heard you moved up when Joe stepped in for Benji.”

  “Yeah,” she smiled excitedly. “It's been a real learning experience! Although I did run the back end for Mr. Staffon once before, back several weeks ago when Joe had that bad stomach virus.”

  “Yeah, I know. And from what I recall, you did a hell of a job, so I wasn't surprised when Joe tapped you to take over his spot. That's awesome; there aren't many female techs at this level. Good for you,” he said with a smile.

  “Thanks!” She beamed at him as she stood awkwardly. And Noah began to wonder if she was just really star-struck or if there was more to this conversation. Nervously, she turned to walk away, even as he recognized the look of an unasked question on her mind. Turning back to him, she said, “Mr. Ivory, can I ask you something?”

  He smiled at her. “Only if call me Noah.”

  “Noah,” she smiled timidly, blushing once more. “Have you … heard from Mr. Staffon? Is there any word on how he's doing?”

  Noah looked at her with raised eyebrows, clearly surprised by her question. “Uh … yeah, actually. I mean, I don't know much, since we can't communicate with him directly. The facility he's at really frowns on contact with the outside world for the first few weeks. But Mike, our manager, he gets regular updates from the doctors there, and so far, it's all good. Benji had a rough couple of days when he went through the detox. But now he says he's ready to take rehab seriously this time.”

  Fae looked as though she were hanging on his every word. And when he finished his report, the relief in her eyes was evident, and Noah grew curious.

  “I'm sorry, I didn't realize you and Benji were close,” he said. And he watched as that tale-tell blush creeped over her pretty face once again.

  “No, we're not,” she confessed, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she glanced to the floor. “I'm sure he hasn't
a clue who I am. I just … really admire him. He's one of the musicians who made me want to play the bass. I was so stoked to get this gig, teching for JI. I nearly peed my pants when I got the call!”

  Noah laughed slightly at the visual she created, and Fae blushed bright red. “Well, we're lucky to have you.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you. For saying that, and for … talking to me about Mr. Staffon.”

  Noah looked at her with narrowed eyes. “You know, I bet he'd prefer it if you called him Benji,” he said quietly. Cue the blush.

  “Thanks again,” she mumbled nervously as she walked away, and Noah watched her go with a curious expression.

  “There you are. What are you frowning at?” Mercy asked as she approached him.

  “Benji's private fan club apparently,” he muttered softly.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he smiled as he turned to look at her. “So, you ready to go find Mike?” Mercy looked at him with wide, startled eyes, and Noah smiled at her. “Relax, I'm just kidding. There's no way I would do that right before a show. This one already has enough issues surrounding it.” He stood then, and they slowly made their way back down to the dressing room.

  Chapter Ten

  Mercy dressed in her bright red bikini and pulled a short, white sundress over top of it and slipped into her beach sandals. The pool at their hotel in Barcelona was so inviting, and she intended to take advantage of it after lunch. She packed her camera and her Kindle into her bag and made her way down to Mike's room.

  He had called an impromptu lunch meeting with the guys to talk about various band issues, and Mercy always liked to be a fly on the wall whenever they discussed business. And she knew that Mike liked having her there. He had been good about not harping on her working for him during their trip, allowing Mercy the freedom to simply enjoy her graduation gift without turning it into a job for her. And Mercy appreciated it. But she knew that he was still really hoping she would want to follow in his footsteps and do the whole law school thing. She knew that he meant well, but she still hadn't decided whether or not it was something she wanted to pursue. She knew it was silly, but lately she had been toying with the idea of doing some freelance photography work. She really enjoyed taking pictures, and she knew that she would be able to use her shots of Jagged Ivory in a portfolio. Those shots, along with her work on the tour journal, would make an impressive impact on any potential client. And if she played her cards right, she could maybe even parlay her time spent on this tour into gigs photographing other rock stars at work.