by A. M. Hardin
I purse my lips. “Well–”
“Foolish girl gave herself up to save me and her mother. As well as a little human girl,” Roderick snaps before I have a chance to say anything.
I stiffen and glare at my uncle. “Oh, I’m sorry. Remind me the next time that your ass gets captured not to fucking come back and save you. Ungrateful jackass,” I mutter while I cross my arms over my chest. “Besides, it’s not like anything really happened. They fucking shut me in a damn room for hours. The only thing that happened to me was Jerome slapping me for being a smartass, or a bitch. Whichever. Then I got scolded for not referring to Payne as ‘Master Payne’ by some weird she-demon with a weird case of hero-worship on a demented fuck face.”
Roderick raises his brow. “Oh? Is that all that happened?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Yes.”
“No,” Talon and Hunter say together, and I fix my glare on them.
Talon shrugs. “They need to know, Mercy.”
“I don’t even want to fucking know,” I mutter. Shaking my head, I run my hand through my hair. “You guys fill them in if you’re so determined to tell them everything. I’m going to take a shower and pass the fuck out.”
“You’re still tired?” Hunter asks, concern written all over his face.
“Getting your ass kicked by a bunch of hellhounds will do that to you,” I point out as I walk out of the room.
“What?!” My mother’s shriek fills the air behind me, but I just leave the room, too tired to deal with it.
3
Mercy
I snuggle into the hard body beside me, and an arm wraps around my waist pulling me closer. My eyes flutter open, and I blink several times at the bare chest in front of me. Looking up, I bite back a smile as I raise an eyebrow at War.
“I could have sworn I went to bed by myself last night.”
He grins and brings his mouth to mine, kissing me gently. “You did. We got home and saw that Hunter was back and knew that meant you’d be back, too. I wanted to say hello first,” he admits with a cheesy grin.
My lips curl into a smile. “Well, good morning. Why are you guys on a daytime schedule all of a sudden. And why, exactly, aren’t you wearing a shirt?”
War runs his hand through my hair and shrugs. “I just felt like taking it off. We actually aren’t on a daytime schedule. None of us have been to bed besides your mom, uncle, and Vivian.”
“Where were you guys last night, then?”
He smirks. “We went to get help. You’ll find out once you get that sexy ass of yours out of bed.”
“Sexy?” I ask with a laugh. It’s not that I have a low view of myself, but I’ve never really gotten compliments from anyone except my mom and Xena. The fact that anyone could find me sexy, especially a damn incubus, is laughable to me.
He brings his hand down to cup my ass, squeezing lightly. “Extremely fucking sexy,” he says, kissing me between each word.
“You’re a dork,” I mutter.
He grins. “Maybe so, Mimi. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re fucking gorgeous. Now, are you getting up?”
I bite my lip. His gaze darts to my mouth and darkens with lust. “What if I said I want to stay in bed for a little longer?” I ask after a heartbeat of silence.
His eyes meet mine, completely serious. “Then I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you, Mercy. If you don’t want it then you need to tell me and get out of this bed.”
I don’t move. I don’t speak. Instead, I push him onto his back and climb on top of him, so I’m straddling his waist. “I never said I didn’t want it,” I whisper.
“Fucking hell,” he mutters before grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling my face to his, capturing my mouth in a blistering kiss.
I slide my hands across his smooth chest and lightly scrape my nails against his skin.
“You’re wearing way too many clothes,” he says breathlessly. He grabs my shirt by the collar and rips it straight down the middle, ignoring my glare.
“Hey!” I snap. What the fuck is with the ripping of clothes? It’s hot as fuck, I won’t deny that, but damn it, I’m not going to have clothes left if this shit keeps happening.
He smirks and cups my breasts in his hands, his thumbs brushing against my nipples teasingly. He brings one of his hands to the waistband of my sleep shorts and slides them down with my panties. When they get caught on my thighs, since I’m still straddling him, he swears under his breath and rips those off me, too. “Okay, seriously, quit it. I don’t have a lot of clothes here, War.”
“I’ll buy you more,” he promises before pulling me down and kissing me hard. Before I realize it he’s flipped us, so he’s sprawled on top of me. He drags a hand slowly up my thigh, sending tingles rippling through me as my stomach clenches with need and anticipation. Once at the juncture of my thighs, he skims his finger against my folds, making me groan and thrust my hips up impatiently.
“Don’t tease.”
He smirks and does it again before pushing a single finger inside. He leans forward while pumping his finger in and out of me and takes my breast into his mouth, sucking, licking, and nipping at my sensitive nipple, making me gasp. I cry out when War’s thumb presses against my clit as he adds a second finger.
His mouth leaves my breast as he continues thrusting his fingers and trails up to my neck. I grab his head and pull his lips up to mine. His thumb flicks my clit, and he pulls back, self-satisfaction plastered on his face as my walls clamp down on his fingers. I cry out as I explode beneath him.
He removes his fingers and slides down my body, leaving soft kisses across my flesh. “I need to taste you,” he growls, his voice thick with desire.
I groan. “I need you inside me, Warwick. Do that later,” I mutter breathlessly.
He shakes his head, running his lips against my skin. “No. Now.”
Using his thumbs to part my folds, he dips his head and thrusts his tongue inside me for a taste before trailing it up to circle my clit. I moan underneath him, as he sucks the bud into his mouth and nips at it lightly, setting me on fire all over again. I tangle my hands in his hair and buck beneath him as he feasts on me until I come for him again.
“War,” I growl at him, “get inside me. Now. Quit playing.”
His mouth twitches into a smirk as he strips his pants off. What the hell is it with these guys and not wearing boxers? “Whatever you want, Mimi.”
Without anymore teasing, he grips my thighs and pulls me to him, lining his cock up to my entrance and thrusting inside, inch by glorious inch. A groan slips past my lips, and I reach up to him, pulling him down to me, so I can kiss him again.
“Fuck, Mercy, your pussy is squeezing my cock like it never wants to let go,” War mutters biting my lip before kissing me. He withdraws from my pussy then thrusts back in hard, making me gasp and arch my back.
He pounds in and out of me, as if he can’t get enough. I clutch his shoulders, my nails digging into his back.
He pulls his mouth away from mine as his hand dips down, and he puts pressure on my clit and growls, “Come, Mercy.” Leaning down, he bites the curve of my neck and shoulder hard. I explode. I come screaming his name, and he follows immediately after, my name coming out as a groan.
War rests his forehead against mine, both of us breathing heavily. He places a gentle kiss on my lips and pulls out. Climbing off the bed he grabs the tissues off the end table and sets to cleaning me up. I can’t help but smile as he takes care of me.
“This is the best we’ve got, unless you want one of us to walk out to the bathroom naked,” he says with an apologetic smile.
I laugh. “That would definitely not go well with my uncle and mother in the house.” I frown. “Probably my dad, too.”
He finishes cleaning me up and tosses the tissues in the wastebasket beside the end table. “Your dad? I thought he was dead.”
I run my hands over my face. “He’s not,” I mutter.
I stand up and dig through my bag
for some clothes. Grabbing a sports bra, tank top, panties, and some yoga pants, I quickly put them on.
“What do you mean ‘he’s not’?” War asks as he puts his clothes back on.
Throwing my hair up in a messy bun I say, “Payne had him as his prisoner. Everyone thought he was dead because he was badly injured when they got me out, to the point that it looked like he was actually dead. He’s probably with my mom somewhere in the cabin.”
He stares at me for a minute. “You must be glad that he’s okay.”
I bite my lip. “Honestly? I haven’t really processed it. I’m still in shock.”
War walks the few steps to me, closing the distance between us, and settles his hands on my hips. “When it gets to be too much, you know we’re all here for you,” he says, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.
I smile. “I know. Thank you.”
4
Mercy
War lets go of my hand as we walk into the living room and see Parker, Kai, Talon, and Hunter talking.
"What's up?" I ask as we get near them.
Hunter looks at me. "We're discussing our next moves and the information that my father gave us about what's been going on."
"Right," I mutter. "This mysterious baby everyone's all gung ho about." I roll my eyes.
Talon gives me a pointed look. "Mercy, you shouldn't just let that roll off your back. If the old lady's visions are true–"
"Even if there will be a baby. It won't be anytime soon, Talon. I'm on two different kinds of birth control."
"Two?" Parker asks curiously.
I chuckle. "Another downfall to being a half-demon. Not all contraceptives will work unless paired with another because just one doesn't have the . . ." I pause thinking of the right word. "right juice, I guess is a way to put it. Even the demon-made contraceptives are a giant pain in the ass to get the right amount needed to prevent a half-demon's pregnancy."
"Ah," he says as he meets my eyes. "How're you feeling after last night?"
"A hell of a lot better now that I actually got some sleep. Where is everyone else?"
"Your mom is with your dad and uncle in the kitchen. I think she said she was making breakfast. Vivian is with Xena in her room."
"Xena?" I ask, confused. "When did she get here?"
"Remember when I said we went to get help?" War asks. I nod. "We went to get Xena."
"I wonder why she didn't say anything to me," I mutter and then shake my head as I step back from the group. "You guys keep talking about," I wave my hand, "whatever the hell it is you plan on talking about. I'm going to go bug my mom for some pancakes."
I don't wait for a response, I just turn around and walk off to the kitchen. I don’t bother to hide my chuckle when I see my uncle glaring at my mom as he leans against the counter.
"What's wrong?" I ask, coming to stand beside him.
"Your mother is the most infuriating human I have ever met," he grumbles. "She actually kicked me out of the way so that she could cook and ordered me not to touch anything."
I snicker. "You know there's a reason for that right? Your cooking is just as horrible as mine is."
He shrugs. "Doesn't mean the crazy woman had to kick me."
"Wait, she actually kicked you?" I ask, mouth twitching in amusement. That amusement grows when he narrows his eyes at me.
"Right on my shin."
"Quit being a baby," my mom snaps from the stove. My dad's standing on the other side of her watching her with amusement glittering in his eyes. "You’re this big bad demon. A little kick to the shin isn't going to kill you."
"Have you been back to bed, mom?" I ask, hoping to stop yet another argument between the two of them. I have had to do it more times than I care to admit or even want to count since we lost dad.
"No, your dad and I wanted to talk and catch up," she says with the happiest smile I've seen on her face in years.
I glance up and meet my dad's gaze. I give him a smile, happy that having him back made my mom happy. I just don't have a clue how to act with him. Or talk to him. To him, I'm probably still that little girl he lost when Payne and Jerome took me.
"Mercy, can we talk?" Dad asks, gesturing to the door that leads outside.
"Um, yeah, sure."
He leads us outside and leans against the patio railing. I close the door behind me and we look at each other. I purse my lips, not really knowing what to say. Or if I should even be the one who starts.
"This is awkward as fuck," he says bluntly, shocking a laugh out of me. "You're not my little girl anymore," he says softly, eyes sad. "I missed so much time with you, Mercy. You have no idea how much I wish I could have stopped Payne from taking you. Then we finally found you, freed you, and then I ended up being the one trapped. I hate that I've missed so much of your life."
I smile sadly. "You haven't missed much."
His red eyes scan over my bare arms and shoulders, anger briefly flashing. "I wish I could have spared you that pain. He will pay for it, I promise you that."
I grin evilly. "Damn straight he will. I'm gonna kill him. I'm looking forward to it."
Dad chuckles. "I was pleased to hear that your uncle trained you after I was gone. I would have liked it to be me, but I'm glad he helped."
"If it weren't for him, I'd have been killed or taken again a long time ago," I admit.
"Your mother told me a little about your life before you had to go to the Order." He pauses, expression pained. "God, I'm so sorry, Mercy."
I bite the inside of my cheek and sigh. "There's really no point in dwelling on it all. We can't change it. It isn't your fault that I was taken, and it wasn't your fault that you ended up getting taken, too. You got me out of there, that's enough for me."
He nods with a small smile. “Alright, I’ll stop blaming myself.”
“Good. Do you think mom’s done with breakfast? I’m starving.”
“Do you have any threes?” Vivian asks, eyes focused on the cards in her hands.
“Go fish,” Xena says, smiling at Vivian’s pout.
“Okay, Mercy, your turn,” Vivian says after grabbing a card from the deck placed between the three of us.
God. How long has it been since I’ve played this game? Almost ten years?
I eye the cards in my hand. “Uh, do you have any queens?”
Vivian plucks a card out of her hand and tosses it to me.
“Such a sore loser,” I tease, making her laugh. Turning to Xena, I ask, “So, why didn’t you let me know that you were here earlier.”
She smirks. “I knew you were . . . busy,” she finishes. “Do you have any fives?”
“Go fish,” Vivian sings.
“Vivian is handling her parents’ death pretty well, all things considering,” I send to Xena. “Should we be worried? I’ve never been around a child who lost their parents that young.”
“You think I have?” Xena chuckles beside me as she hands the card Vivian just asked for over. “I don’t know. She’s probably still processing. It’ll hit her hard, we just have to make sure we’re there for her when it happens.”
Movement in my peripheral makes me look up from the card game, and I glare at Kai, who’s standing there with his arms folded across his chest, a smirk playing at his lips.
“What?” I ask.
“Are you guys seriously playing ‘Go Fish’?”
I sniff. “Don’t tell me a big tough guy like you has never played it.”
He chuckles. “Not since I was about nine, no.”
“Kai,” Vivian sings. “Play with us.”
Kai’s expression pinches. Clearly, he doesn’t want to play with us. I burst out laughing. “Yeah, not right now, kiddo. I’m actually here to get Mercy.” He meets my eyes. “We all need to talk. Xena would you mind keeping an eye on Vivian?”
“Of course not, she’s a gem,” Xena says, reaching over and ruffling Vivian’s hair, making the little girl giggle.
“I’ll be back, I guess,” I mutter and hand Xena my cards
to put them back in the deck. Standing up, I stretch languidly, trying to get the kinks out of my back from sitting awkwardly on the floor for the last who knows how long.
Following Kai out of the room I ask, “What’s going on?”
“I’m not entirely sure, myself. We’ll find out in a minute.”
“You guys are such wells of information, you know that?” I ask, smiling at him.
He smirks. His smile fades away as he stops and cups my cheek. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Mercy.”
I smile, leaning into his touch slightly. “I am, too.”
He drops his hand and reaches for mine. Linking our fingers together he leads us into the kitchen where the rest of the guys, my mom, my dad, and my uncle are waiting.
My mom’s eyes narrow in on my hand in Kai’s, confusion briefly flaring in her eyes as she flicks her gaze to War and back to my hand in Kai’s.
Shit, she’s not the only one confused about all of this.
Kai drops my hand and moves to stand against the wall. War gestures for me to go to him. As soon as I get near he pulls me onto his lap, shocking the hell out of me.
He circles his arms around my waist, and I look at Hunter, since he’s the leader. Maybe we can get this started instead of awkwardly staring at each other.
“So, what’s going on?” I ask Hunter.
“I’ve explained to the team, and to your parents, about your ability to control the hellhounds,” he says, making me stiffen. War rubs his thumb in soothing circles on my wrist. “What we need to discuss are the next steps. I don’t doubt that my father will make Payne pay for what he’s done. He insulted my father, and that’s not acceptable to him. However, when I checked in with my father earlier about Torn, he informed me that Torn was gone. He disappeared after your fight with Damiana and the hellhounds.”
“I wouldn’t really call that a fight,” I point out. “She was hoping that the hellhounds would do her job for her. It just kind of turned around and bit her in the ass when I managed to gain control of the hellhounds.” I pause. “Pun not intended, but you know what I mean.”