Merci leaned back to glare at me. “That’s a bit presumptuous. This doesn’t have to be serious.”
“Merci,” I begged. I wasn’t sure if I was asking her to stop or keep going.
“Hatchet,” she said, shifting her hips again and reminding my dick that this was serious. Very serious. “You want me.”
“Of course I want you. Fucking look at you.” I raked my gaze up and down her body.
She continued, as if we were talking about a to-do list. “I’m a consenting adult. You’re a consenting adult. What we do in the privacy of my own home is no one’s business.”
“In Merrick’s home,” I corrected.
“He’s not here. It’s my bedroom. Listen, I’m tired of battery-operated orgasms. Let’s just hook up. It’ll be out of our system by the end of this week. Then, when Merrick gets back, we go back to being friends like this never happened.”
She acted like the entire scenario made perfect sense.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said, grazing her cheek with my knuckles. “I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”
Her gaze softened for a beat, and then sharpened with the stubborn sassiness I’d grown to love. “You won’t. I’m not expecting anything but hot sex and a distraction from the dysfunction that hasbecome my life. I’m not asking you to marry me or to make me an old lady. I’m asking you to fuck me.”
I leaned my head back on the sofa and closed my eyes. “You’re going to get me killed.” I blew out a long breath, fighting the urge to flip her onto her back. To bury myself so deep into her that I’d forget my own name.
She smirked, knowing she’d won. “I’ll be sure to tell the story of the valiant efforts of your resistance at your funeral.” She rolled her hips again, grinding against my hard cock. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Merci slid off my lap, her fingers trailing down my chest as she rose. She hooked her fingers around the hem of her shirt and dragged it over her head. I stared, mesmerized by her perfect tits and the cute piercing hanging from her belly button. A little fucking armadillo.
“Fuck,” I groaned. I scrubbed my face with my hands, hoping to clear my head. When I re-opened my eyes, she stood before me in a lacy thong, her cut-off shorts abandoned on the floor.
“Upstairs,” Merci commanded. She tilted her head and gave me a wicked smile. “Unless you’d rather I find someone else to give me a few orgasms. Coast looks pretty capable with those big hands of his.”
My restraint snapped. I stood, startling Chaos from her nap, and grabbed Merci by the waist. I kissed her before tossing her over my shoulder. She laughed as I carried her upstairs.
“Put me down, ogre,” she squealed.
I smacked a palm to her ass, and she shrieked. I tossed her on the bed, and she bounced once before stretching out before me. I stared at the curves of her body, mesmerized by the fucking masterpiece.
I unbuttoned my jeans and shoved them down. Her eyes widened as I kicked them away. I always went commando, and from the way her breath caught, she appreciated the time-saving measure.
“What’s that?” she asked, staring with hungry curiosity at the curved titanium barbell that sat where the base of my shaft met my body.
“A piercing,” I said, smirking as her jaw dropped. I stroked my cock as she stared.
“Obviously. But why? What does it do for you?”
I stepped closer, wrapping my fingers around her ankle and jerking her toward the edge of the bed until her thighs framed my hips. “For me, not a lot. It’s for you.”
Her gaze heated as she considered the placement. “Oh,” she whispered. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips.
“You sure about this?” I asked one last time. “We can stop. Pretend this never happened.” My thumb stroked the inside of her ankle as I watched her expression.
She arched a brow. “And live the rest of my life wondering whatthatfeels like?” She eyed the piercing again. “Do you want to stop?”
“No,” I admitted, my voice rough.
“Then fuck me already.”
“Not yet,” I said. I peppered kisses down the column of her neck before moving to her chest, stopping to lavish attention on the peaks of her nipples. I pulled one between my teeth, rolling my tongue against it and sucking hard. She gasped and arched into me.
I pulled her hips toward the edge of the bed and ripped the flimsy lace in half.
