by R. E. Butler
Mercy
Tails Book Two
By R. E. Butler
Copyright 2020, R. E. Butler
Mercy (Tails Book Two)
By R. E. Butler
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This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.
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Edited by Evil Eye Editing
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Thanks to Joyce, Shelley, and Ann for beta reading
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Coming Next from R. E. Butler
Contact the Author
Other Books by R. E. Butler
Emberly (Tails Book Three)
Mercy
Tails Book Two
By R. E. Butler
Lion shifter Barron has nothing on his mind on Friday night except his work at Tails, the shifter bar. But then he scents something amazing and finds the source in a gorgeous female. She’s human, and she’s his heart-match – the one female on the planet meant for him. Because she’s human, he’ll lose his place in the pride if he claims her, but nothing is as important as making her his.
Mercy expects nothing to come from the evening out with her sister except a few free drinks, some dancing, and maybe finding a guy to fool around with. She never thought she’d get swept off her feet by a huge man who purred whenever they touched. Taking him home was a no-brainer. Finding out he’ll lose his pride because of her? That’s when things get tough.
But Barron isn’t about to let anything quite as silly as the fact that she’s human get in the way of him and his lion securing her as his mate. He’ll show her she’s the most important female in his universe, and that he’ll do anything to keep her by his side and in his arms. Forever.
Chapter One
Barron Kincade tugged on his black T-shirt, his mind wandering to the monotony of the night ahead.
“Hey,” he said as he walked into the kitchen and found his grandfather at the stove, stirring a batch of chili. “Smells great.”
“I’ll leave a bowl for you,” he said. “It’s not ready yet.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Have fun,” Donnie said. “But not too much fun. It’s work, after all.”
Barron snorted and clapped him on the shoulder. “See ya.”
He headed outside and climbed onto his motorcycle, put on his helmet, and drove to the bar. When he arrived at Tails, the shifter bar where he worked as a bouncer, he clocked in, said hello to Titus in the stock room, then settled at his post at the door. Diesel, a male he’d known his entire life, was his partner for the night. They often worked together at the door.
“Damn it,” Diesel said as he walked on to the concrete patio. “Someone swiped my stool.”
“I’ll grab one,” Barron said.
Barron walked into the bar to locate a stool for Diesel, who’d severely broken his leg falling out of a tree when he was young. Even after multiple surgeries and his fast-healing abilities as a shifter, he still walked with a limp and couldn’t run as quickly as others in his shifted form.
Barron carried a stool outside and set it down.
Diesel sat, stifling a groan. He rubbed his leg with the heel of his palm. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem.”
The bar opened at seven, and even at a few minutes till, the line stretched around the front of the building. Friday nights ladies drank free. Barron swept his gaze down the line, his cat practically snoozing in his head. No heart-match in the line.
“What’s that look for?” Diesel asked.
Barron tapped the side of his head. “My cat wants to settle down.”
“Ah. I think that happens to all males after they hit twenty-five. At least you don’t have an injury derailing your prospects.”
“What do you mean?” When Diesel raised a brow in disbelief, Barron amended his statement. “I know about your leg – I meant what prospects?”
The male’s face shadowed for a moment and Barron could see the longing in his dark eyes. “I went to see Abbie last week, and she said she had a match for me from another pride and scheduled a meeting a few days later. The female and her family watched me walk into the front room at Abbie’s with my damn limp and her father refused to sign off on our mating. He said I wasn’t whole, and he wouldn’t have his only daughter mated to a male who couldn’t provide for her. The female agreed.”
Barron wanted to find the female’s parents and beat some sense into them. Diesel was an honorable male, and a damn good hunter, even if he couldn’t all-out run like the rest of them. “That’s bullshit.”
“It is what it is.”
“It’s still fucking awful. I’m sorry.”
Diesel shrugged as though trying to distance himself from the conversation. “I think I’ll be single forever. What’s the male version of a spinster?”
Barron shook his head. “You’ll find someone when the time is right. I believe if a lion chooses to wait for his heart-match then he’ll find her.”
“I think I don’t have a choice but to wait.”
Titus opened the door. “Send ‘em in, guys.”
Conversation between Barron and Diesel stopped as the crowd moved forward. Diesel checked IDs and Barron opened the door for people, scenting as they passed to ensure he couldn’t smell gun oil or anything that would indicate a weapon. He took his duty as a bouncer seriously.
The night moved on, trudging like it could sometimes when he was thinking about something besides work. The faces of the human males and females waiting to get into the club blended together. Aside from the two underage girls who tried to get in with fake IDs, no one stood out.
“Some people just can’t wait to grow up,” Diesel said, shaking his head at the females who scurried back to their vehicle.
“Well, high school sucks so maybe that’s part of it?”
“Yeah, right? I wouldn’t want to be a teenager again for any amount of money.”
“You and me both, brother.”
Barron’s lion sat up suddenly. He looked around slowly, opening his senses and inhaling the warm night air. He felt her before he saw her.
His heart-match was here.
Chapter Two
Mercy Hendrix stared out the windshield and listened to the pop song coming over the satellite radio as her sister, Ree, drove to Tails. Mercy and Ree were about as different as two people could get. Mercy was outgoing; Ree was a homebody. Mercy couldn’t boil water; Ree knew her way around the kitchen. But they were best friends nonetheless, and Ree was hands-down the best sister a girl could ask for.
Mercy worked as a hairstylist at a salon in the sleepy little town of Darrville. She’d heard from a client on Thursday afternoon that a shifter bar called Tails in Kedrick had ladies- drink-free specials eve
ry Friday and was a kicking place to go. She’d invited Ree to join her. Though her sister had tried to say no, Mercy had threatened to use the favor, in which case Ree had no choice but to agree.
Ree had used her one big favor when she’d asked Mercy to move out of the apartment they’d shared for several years. Mercy hadn’t been offended, understanding that her sister just wanted some privacy, so she’d moved across the hall in an identical apartment. Mercy had never cashed in her favor, and Ree hadn’t actually made her use it tonight, simply because her responsible older sister wasn’t about to let her go to a shifter bar alone.
“Have you ever met a shifter?” Ree asked as she put on the signal to turn into the crowded parking lot.
Mercy hummed. “A few of the wolf girls come in for haircuts. I’ve talked to them, but they don’t seem to be the sharing sort. You?”
“The bank handles accounts for the pack, so I’ve talked to them, but just general pleasantries. I got the same impression. Maybe they don’t like getting personal with humans.” Ree found a parking spot, maneuvered her car into the space and turned off the engine. “Which begs the question, why are we bothering coming here if shifters don’t like humans?”
Mercy unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out. She waited until Ree had exited and met her gaze across the top of the car. “I don’t think it’s that they don’t like humans. I think it’s that they don’t get personal with outsiders. Besides, we’re here to have a few free drinks and see where the night takes us.”
Ree tapped the car’s roof. “Just remember the rules.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mercy said. “You drive, no strange men, and when you’re ready to go I won’t fuss about it.”
“Promise?” Ree narrowed her eyes.
Putting a hand on her heart, Mercy said, “I swear.”
Seeming content with that statement, Ree met Mercy at the front of the car and the two walked toward the bar. “There’s a line out the door,” Ree said as they walked to where two big men were checking IDs.
“We’ll have zero trouble getting in,” Mercy promised. Aside from it being ladies’ night, her client had assured her they could get in, no matter how long the line out front was. While there were some women in the line that stretched around the front of the building, she suspected most were the girlfriends or wives of the men in line with them, and didn’t want to go in without them.
The two men were big, muscular sorts wearing tight T-shirts with the bar’s logo emblazoned on the front. One sat on a stool and one stood blocking the doorway, his arms folded.
“ID,” the one on the stool said, holding out his hand.
Mercy and Ree gave him their licenses, and he looked at the plastic cards for a moment and then at the two of them. As he handed them back, he said, “Ladies drink free on Fridays. Have fun.”
The man blocking the door stepped aside to allow them through, and as they walked by, he grasped Mercy’s arm and stopped her. His big hand spanned her biceps and made goosebumps rise on her arms.
“I’m on break in an hour,” he said with a husky tone. “Can I come find you?”
The temptation to ask him to go on break immediately and spend time with her was nearly overwhelming. She was intensely attracted to him in a way that she couldn’t really explain, but she’d just begged her sister to come to the bar with her, and she couldn’t simply stop at the door and leave Ree unattended.
Feeling coy and flirty, she tossed her hair over her shoulder with a light laugh. “We’ll see.”
He growled softly, and then he released his hold on her. She followed Ree into the bar, her arm tingling from where he’d held it. She rubbed at the tingles and looked over her shoulder, finding him watching her. Mercy had to force herself not to turn around and go to him.
What the heck was going on with her?
Shaking her head, she wiggled through the crowd to the long counter with Ree, pushing aside thoughts of the alluring bouncer.
“What do you want?” she asked when they reached the counter and signaled to the bartender.
“Coke,” Ree said.
“You can have one drink. We’ll be here for hours.”
“Designated drivers don’t drink, Merc. Be thankful I’m responsible.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to be a little irresponsible from time to time,” she said, giving her a nudge. “It’s fun.”
“Just a Coke,” Ree said.
Mercy blew out a breath and leaned on the counter, giving her order to a big guy with sandy-blond hair and bright green eyes. He flashed a smile at her, then made her vodka and cranberry juice. He slid it across the counter and dropped two thin straws into the liquid. “Just a Coke? Whatever you want is free,” he said.
“She’s the desi,” Mercy said.
“Ah, that’s cool.”
Mercy turned to the crowd, scanning the faces to see if she could find her clients. She absolutely didn’t look at the door to see if the sexy bouncer was staring at her.
Oops!
Oh, he was!
She bit her bottom lip and purposely looked back into the crowd. The back of her neck tingled suddenly, and she had a distinct fight-or-flight urge sweep through her. Next to her, Ree spun slowly and stared into the crowd of dancing people, which seemed to instinctively part for a huge man stalking through them toward her sister.
He stopped less than a foot from Ree, towering over her. Mercy knew he was a lion shifter because she’d overheard her client say that lions’ eyes were gold when their beasts were close to the surface. Whatever the hell that meant.
“I’m Duke Fairborn,” he said to Ree, lifting her hand and kissing it.
“Memory Hendrix, but my friends call me Ree.”
Duke looked at the man behind the bar. “Clear a booth for us.”
The man jumped to action as if someone had jolted him with electricity, hustling to a booth against one wall.
“Join me.”
“I... I’m human?”
Mercy barely stifled the snort. Her sister was adorable.
“Are you asking or telling?” Duke asked.
“No. I mean, I’m human and you’re... not.”
“I’m aware. Don’t be afraid of me.”
“Said the big bad wolf.”
He grinned, and it was the sort of smile that Mercy thought the real Big Bad Wolf had actually given to Little Red Riding Hood. All fangs and promises.
“Lion,” he corrected.
Mercy internally fist-bumped herself for getting his animal correct. Something very interesting was going on between the big man and her sister.
“You’ll join me?” Duke asked.
Ree suddenly looked at Mercy. “My sister.”
“I’m fine on my own,” Mercy said, putting up her free hand. “I’m Mercy, by the way.”
“But,” Ree protested.
“I see some girls from the salon, so I’m going to dance with them. Don’t worry about me.” She winked at Ree and mouthed have fun, which made Ree’s cheeks turn scarlet.
Mercy strode from her sister and Duke, making her way to the table where her client Maisie and a few stylists from Mercy’s salon were waiting.
“Who’s the hunk with your sister?” Maisie asked.
“His name is Duke,” Mercy said.
“He’s a snack and a half,” Donna said, fanning herself. “All this shifter hotness. Now that Mercy’s here, we should definitely go dance!”
Mercy nodded and walked with the trio into the crowd to dance to the band playing a cover of a popular song. Despite the people, Mercy was very aware of the man at the door, his eyes on her like he couldn’t function unless she was in sight. She’d never been so fully attracted to a man before, and since he worked at the bar, she assumed he was a shifter – perhaps a lion like Duke.
Was it animal magnetism? Or just plain old lust at first sight?
Her stomach flipped and she closed her eyes, her mind and heart in full agreement that it was anything but lust.
Hands s
ettled on her waist and she opened her eyes with a gasp, finding herself staring into the bouncer’s handsome face.
She stopped swaying and dropped her hands to rest on his. “Hi,” she said.
His eyes were golden, and the scent of sunshine and tall grass enveloped her as he moved a little closer. “Hi.”
Everything around them dropped away. She couldn’t hear anything but the beating of her heart.
“I’m Barron Kincade. You’re beautiful.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I’m Mercy Hendrix. I thought you didn’t have a break for an hour.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t wait to come talk to you.”
She moved a little closer, their bodies brushing as everything within her quieted. “You were watching me.”
His dark brow arched. “You were watching me, too.”
“Why?” Her heart started to pound, and she licked her lips. He tracked the motion with his gaze, which morphed between gold and chocolate brown.
“You’re mine.”
Tilting her head slightly, she looked at him for a quiet moment. It was the strangest thing a guy had ever said to her. She didn’t want to play games. She’d come to the bar looking for fun, but it appeared that something more serious was on the menu.
“I’m your what?”
He growled softly and cupped her face. He brushed his lips over hers once and then again. “My mate. Let me take you somewhere quiet so we can talk. It’s too noisy here and my cat is going nuts.”
Ree had made Mercy promise she wouldn’t bring home any strange guys, but there was something very familiar about Barron. She looked over her shoulder and found her sister and Duke in the booth, making out like teenagers. She smiled inwardly. So much for not taking strangers home.
“My sister’s with Duke. Do you know him?”
He lifted his head and looked in the direction she pointed. “He’s the alpha’s son and co-owns the bar. Did you and your sister ride together?”
