Once More (Mercy Heart #1)

by Madeline Rooks

The bartender handed Marc his drink, and he sipped without moving or even acknowledging Clem, which just seemed to get Clem even more riled up. “You two looked like you were getting up close and personal on the dance floor. Did you come over here to gloat?”

  Marc looked into his glass, and shook his head slightly. Turning towards Clem, he let out a cheerless laugh. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”

  “Cut the shit. This is all working out perfectly for you to pick up the pieces.”

  With a few inches on him, Marc looked down into Clem’s face. “You are a damn fool. We are friends. Even if things don’t work out between you two, there is no guarantee she’d want me to pick up any pieces. There is only one thing in this world that I want more than Katelyn to be mine, and that’s for Katelyn to be happy. Unfortunately for me, the thing that is going to make her happy is you. And I know the second she comes out of the ladies’ room she will be humiliated if she finds us arguing over her, so I’m stepping aside.” Marc finished his drink and slammed his glass down on the bar. He started to walk past, but he stopped and leaned in, speaking menacingly. “But know this, Bryant. If you hurt her, if you use her and discard her, I will find you and you will wish she had never chosen you over me.”

  Clem was certain another moment in his life had never left him as speechless as this. He watched Marc exit the ballroom, and then turned towards the bathroom just as Katelyn walked out. Across the room their eyes met. It’s do or die time, Bryant. Don’t fuck this up.

  Shoring up her strength, Katelyn started towards Clem. He stood rooted to his spot, perhaps testing her to see if she would come all the way to him. Once she was within reach, a few moments passed before either of them spoke.

  Clem couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to touch her. Sliding his hand down her arm, he curled his fingers around her hand and looked at her, wondering if she’d pull away. When she didn’t, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Uh…would you like to dance?”

  She stared around the room before answering his question. Indecision warred within her. In the restroom, she could think of dozens of reasons why she shouldn’t be alone with Clem tonight. Now, standing here, staring him in the face, she couldn’t recall a single one. Her heart wanted to be with Clem. Her body desperately wanted to be with Clem. Her brain was the only hold out and was losing ground fast. She spoke before she even realized what she was saying. “Do you think you could just take me home? I have had enough for one night.”

  Stunned, Clem couldn’t make his mouth form the words for the briefest of moments. “Of course.” He made a gesture at Stuart, who promptly said goodbye to his dance partner and left the room. Katelyn and Clem made their way out of the ballroom, stopping to visit with various other partygoers before they could make it out of the room and down to the front drive. “Do you have your things?”

  Katelyn looked down and replied, “I left my wrap in Marc’s car. Has he left already?”

  Clem knew Marc wasn’t waiting around to watch them leave together, but he wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. “Yeah, I think he has.”

  She frowned for a moment. “I will just get it from him next week at the hospital.” Clem nodded, and with his hand on her lower back, led her out of the hotel and to the waiting limo on the curb. He opened the door, and held his hand out to help her in. Katelyn hesitated for an instant before climbing in.

  Chapter 19

  The ride to Katelyn’s home felt endless. They sat side by side, though neither could bring themselves to say anything. The space between them was charged with an energy that made Katelyn acutely aware of being in Clem’s presence. Her body ached to be touched, her skin already feeling prickly and sensitive to just the air around them. Her frustrations from the previous week had melted to a dull annoyance. She hated to admit it, but the more she thought about it, his concern was flattering. Being taken care of felt so foreign to her. Tonight, she knew she didn’t want to fight accepting his care and affection any longer.

  Clem flexed his fingers, itching to remove her dress, as well as any other barriers keeping them apart. His mind wandered in all directions that lead to intimacy and passion, though he was still unsure about where this evening was headed. She hadn’t given him a chance to apologize or explain. He had no idea where he stood with her.

  As the limo came to a stop at their destination, Katelyn gathered her things and Clem exited first to assist her. Standing in front of him, she made the leap head first, before her good sense could stop her. “Would you like to come in?”

  “God, yes,” he let out, as if he had been holding his breath. He bent down to speak with Stuart. As they walked to her front door, the car pulled away. With the realization that they were now most definitely alone together, her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She fumbled with the keys in the door before finally getting it open.

  Once inside, Clem removed his coat and tie, leaving them on a hook while Katelyn leaned back against the front door watching his every move. Watching him in her home made her feel almost dizzy. Being ready to accept his affections didn’t make her any less nervous about being intimate with someone for the first time in over seven years.

  He turned towards her and leaned on the wall with his hands in his pockets. She was obviously nervous, and truth be told, so was he. If they were going to make tonight the first of hopefully many memorable nights together, he knew he’d have to be the strong one. Stepping towards her, he ran his fingers down her toned upper arm, reveling in her reaction to his touch. “Are you going to give me the tour?”

  “I’d be happy to.” She led him through each room, until finally they finished in her bedroom. He meant to marvel aloud at the understated elegant simplicity of her surroundings, but words failed him as he stared at her in the soft light.

  Closing the distance between them, he softly cupped her cheek in his hand. Katelyn leaned into his touch, delighting in the feel of his fingers on her skin. As their lips met, the concerns between them faded away, each kiss an apology and an explanation by proxy, making the words unnecessary and futile.

  They broke the kiss, staring at each other before moving together. Her fingers worked quickly on the buttons of his shirt while he reached around to unzip her dress. Holding her dress up, she stepped back out of his reach before releasing it, revealing the lingerie underneath. At the sight of her, his knees gave out on him. A bench at the end of her bed caught his descent.

  Staring at her, he willed his vocal chords to work and say something, anything, to get her to come to him. How had he ever lived without her? Finally, he managed to get the words out in a husky tone, just above a whisper. “Sweet Jesus, Katelyn. You are magnificent.”

  Any feelings of fear and inadequacy left her body, replaced by a potent mixture of heady arousal and feminine seductiveness. She stepped out of the pool of fabric that was her dress on the floor and slowly walked towards Clem, straddling his lap. Instinctively, his hands attached themselves to her hips, grinding her warm center down onto his burgeoning erection. Her moans were almost his undoing, right then and there. His hands slid down her thighs to release the straps of her garter belt. With nimble fingers, he quickly unhooked her corset, feeling victorious as he pulled it from her body. The sight of her evoked reactions throughout his entire body, a tingly feeling that started in his toes. The blood rushing from his brain to a more central location further intensified the feeling.

  “You take my breath away.”

  The reverent tone of his whispered words spread warmth throughout her body. Any doubts she had about spending this night with him disappeared. Holding her breath, Katelyn watched Clem slowly bend his head down and take her hard, pebbled nipple into his mouth. Her hands flew into his hair as her back arched.

  Clasping his hands to her firm behind, Clem stood and carried her to the side of the bed. Laying her down, he stood and swiftly removed his pants. As he climbed into her bed clad only in his boxer briefs, he kissed his way up her body until he
completely covered her, center to center, chest to chest, lips to lips.

  Sliding her lips down his chin and onto his throat, her fingers roamed down his chest and abdomen. A sudden burst of reality hit him. Pushing up, he stilled her movements with a groan. “Damn. I don’t have any protection.”

  Pulling him back down to her, she offered reassurance before picking up where she left off at his throat. “It’s okay. I’m on birth control.”

  Six simple words, but they crushed his soul. He knew realistically that he couldn’t have expected her to be celibate for the past seven years, no matter how much he held out hope that she had been pining for him as much as he had been pining for her. Afraid he’d scare her off with his declarations, he attempted to get back into the moment with her, but his mind was racing.

  Leaning up, he stilled Katelyn’s movements. He turned away, sitting at the edge of the bed while the words spilled nervously from his mouth. “Wait, Katelyn…there’s no simple way to ask this without sounding like a complete asshole, and I can’t believe I’m stopping this moment with you, but I’ve got to know. I realize I have no right to know. But it’s killing me. I have to know. In the time we’ve been apart, did you wonder where I was? Did you picture what your life would be like if I were in it? When you’ve been with other men,” he hesitated before continuing in a quiet rush, “did you wish it was me?” With that question, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, shoring up his defenses against her answer.

  Moving slowly, Katelyn sat up, contemplating how she’d answer his question. Telling him she hadn’t been with anyone else seemed so monumental, but waiting any longer didn’t make sense to her anymore. She slid to her knees on the carpet between his feet and grasped both of his hands in her own. “Clem, I’m on birth control because it allows me to have more control over my schedule.” With his silence, she continued. “When you moved to California, my heart was completely trampled. I waited over two years before I went out on a date with anyone else. In the five years I’ve been dating, every single man has been held up to standard that they could not compare to. You are that standard. Not a single one has made me feel the way you do.” He still hadn’t opened his eyes. Standing, she lifted his chin towards her. “I couldn’t bring myself to do anything with men I couldn’t see myself falling in love with. I haven’t made love with anyone in my life but you.”

  Elation coursed through him. Out of all the answers he had expected from her, this one had seemed the least probable to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her chest. “Katelyn, my angel. You have no idea how happy that makes me. I haven’t been with anyone else either. After experiencing what I felt when I was with you, I knew I couldn’t feel that way with anyone else. No other woman excited me the way you did, the way you do. I stayed dedicated to my work until I could figure out a way to get back to you.” He looked up in her eyes as he said those final words, eyes that were now brimming with tears at his confession.

  Caressing his cheek, Katelyn bent down and gifted him with a gentle kiss. “Clem, sweetheart, please make love to me. Don’t keep either of us waiting any longer.”

  Clem didn’t wait to be told twice. Turning them both, he pushed her down onto the bed. He removed her panties but left her thigh-high stockings. Getting rid of his own boxer briefs, he covered her body, sliding between her legs until his erection met her warm center.

  Katelyn wrapped her legs around Clem’s waist. She scratched her nails down his chest and abdomen, relishing the feel of his rippling muscles beneath her touch, and started to move lower, but stopped when he wrapped his hand around her wrist.

  “Oh, no you don’t. It’s been so long, I’m afraid I won’t last long.” Unable to hold back even a second longer, Clem swiftly entered her. Desperately cursing, he found the strength to still his movements so she could accommodate his size. Buried deep inside of her, he claimed her as his own once more. Breathing out, he spoke slowly, his words filled with awe. “Oh, sweetheart…you feel absolutely fantastic.”

  Katelyn was overcome with ecstasy at being gloriously filled by Clem. They quickly got into a rhythm of pleasure, his hard length moving slowly in and out of her. A swirl of his hips as they came together again and again brought her to the peak and crashing full speed over it.

  White-hot stars clouded his vision as his climax came upon him as well, the clenching of her inner walls intensifying his reaction. Collapsing, Clem was certain that after all that waiting, no other moment in his life could rival this one. Visions danced in his head of marriage and babies and growing old together, but he quickly put a stop to those thoughts. He knew he couldn’t assume anything with Katelyn. He’d made that mistake seven years ago. His feelings for her hadn’t changed, but before he laid his heart out on the table again, he’d make certain that she felt the same way.

  Crawling under the covers, Katelyn burrowed into Clem’s side. Though they were at rest, her heart still raced. Being this close to anyone was foreign to her, but being this close to Clem felt surreal. She couldn’t count the number of nights she had dreamed of this moment. She began to say something, but stopped before she could get the words out. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. If she was being honest, she’d never stopped loving him. Confessing her feelings for him felt pathetic, especially when she knew he was going to leave town in a few months. Dread gripped her as she thought about the possibility of surviving heartbreak once more. Clem leaned over slightly and kissed her forehead, the warmth of his lips heating her entire body, clear to her toes. Katelyn knew, in that moment, that spending just a few months of bliss with Clem and then watching him leave was better than not having him at all. She drifted off to sleep in his arms, promising herself that she could find the strength to accept his affection, even if just for a little while.

  Chapter 20

  An unfamiliar noise jolted Katelyn from her slumber, but just as quickly, she identified the sound as Clem’s snoring next to her. Shaking her head with a smile, she slipped out of the bed, stopping in the bathroom before putting on a robe and heading for the kitchen. She started the coffee but was interrupted by a knock at the door. She peeked through the window and saw Liam and Sawyer on her front steps. They knew she had been out with Marc the night before, and if she didn’t answer the door, they might think she’d spent the night with him. Breathing in deep, she adjusted her robe and opened the door.

  “Good morning, gentlemen. What brings you by this morning?”

  “Good morning, love,” Liam said as he slipped past her into her house. Sawyer shook his head and gave her an apologetic grin before she regretfully stepped out of the way so he could enter as well.

  “We are taking a little road trip today to Eureka Springs and thought you might want to join us,” Sawyer said.

  “Yes, please do join us. You’ve been in a dreadful mood lately and you need to just get past it.” Liam eyed her thoughtfully. “Though, at the moment, you don’t appear to be in a dreadful mood. You are downright glowing. What has put a spring in your step, love? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have gotten laid, but surely that isn’t the case since you went out with Marc last night. Or is it the case? Did you get freaky with Captain Buttoned-Up?” Her expression must have given her away because Liam didn’t wait for her answer. “You did! You slept with Marc!”

  “Try again, Sherlock.”

  Three heads turned towards the doorway where a smiling Clem was leaning, looking absolutely delectable in only his tuxedo pants from last night, unbuttoned and laying dangerously low on his hips. In the light of day, his body was magnificent, with broad shoulders and a light smattering of hair across his muscular chest that trailed down the center of a set of washboard abs that should be considered illegal. Liam sat speechless, his mouth agape before Sawyer reached up and shut it for him. With an irritated cough, Sawyer spoke first.

  “Obviously, you aren’t interested in a road trip today. We’ll just get out of your hair.” He started towards the door, but Liam
still hadn’t moved. “Liam!”

  “What? Right, get out of your chest hair. I mean, hair! The hair on your head. Get out of your hair. See you later, you two.” Obviously flustered, Liam hurried after Sawyer, shutting the front door behind them, but not before Katelyn and Clem heard Sawyer giving him an earful.

  Crossing the kitchen, Katelyn grabbed two coffee mugs from the cabinet and started to pour them both a cup. Her movements were stilled as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, sneaking a hand in under her robe. Finding her bare underneath, his breath hitched at his good fortune. “Do you always answer the door in just your robe? If I didn’t know Liam, I might be a little jealous.” He trailed kisses up the column of her throat, whispering in her ear. “I was disappointed to wake up alone this morning. I was hoping for a repeat performance of last night.”

  Without turning around, Katelyn enjoyed the feel of his lips on her neck, but a mischievous smile played across her face. “Really? So soon?”

  In confusion, he jerked back. “Is something wrong?” Considering for the first time that the activities from the previous evening had occurred after all that time had passed, he leaned in close and whispered, “Was last night too much for you, baby?”

  Turning, she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly with a naughty grin. “Nope, not at all. I just thought maybe we could hit the showers first. It’s always been a fantasy of mine.” With a wink, she slinked away, leaving him standing in the kitchen for the briefest of moments contemplating any number of fantasies he looked forward to trying with her before he shucked his pants and chased after her.

  When he entered the bathroom, Katelyn was already in the shower, water cascading down the curves of her body. He froze in his tracks, watching her soap up and wondering what the hell he could have possibly done to deserve this gorgeous goddess waiting for him to join her. He opened the shower door and stepped in. She smiled shyly at him, with a look that made him feel like the king of the whole damn world. Running his hands down her torso and back up, he pulled her close to him and kissed her like his next breath depended on it. She melted into his body, and he took the opportunity, sliding his muscular thighs between her legs. Moaning, he cupped her behind in his hands and effortlessly lifted her up, leveraging her against the wall. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his body and slid down onto his shaft until he was seated deep inside of her. Their lips never left each other as he pumped in and out of her. The delicious friction brought on her climax swiftly, bringing him over the peak as well. It still felt unreal that he had her back, and he relished the feeling of holding her so close.