“I had a bad dream.” Gillian shrugged with a teeny bit of the attitude that seemed to run in the Johnson family. Jennifer raised a hand for the girl, but Gillian was clearly not in the mood to move from her tranquil position on Dylan’s and Mercy’s legs. Dylan was stroking her blonde hair with a dreamy affection, grinning down at her when she would wriggle or sigh. He’d never thought of having children before, content to live out his days with Austin in their cozy house. But seeing how happy Austin seemed to be, talking to and playing the piano for the kids at the party, started to give Dylan’s mind nudges in the other direction. On top of that, the effect Mercy had on both of them conveyed an entirely new perspective on their relationship…but he was getting ahead of himself.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Jennifer said with a pout, stroking her distended belly. “Do you feel better now?”
Gillian nodded, her lids beginning to droop. “Mercy and her hubbies made me feel better. We talked about Kermit. I miss him.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened at Gillian’s declaration, but she politely ignored it with only a passing smirk at Mercy. “We brought Kermit, sweetie. He’s in the car. I’ll get him later, okay?”
“Kermie…” And with a final wistful sigh, she was asleep.
“I can take her.” Jennifer stretched her arms out to receive the sleeping child, not attempting to move from the chair.
“No,” Dylan said a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. “I don’t mind. Let her sleep.”
“Jenn!” another frantic voice called from the hallway. Jacob ran into the room, cradling the other small blonde girl. “Christ,” he exclaimed upon seeing his child in their laps, letting out a deep breath. “Thanks, Mercy. We’ve been worried sick.”
“No thanks needed,” Mercy said with a wave of her hand. “She found us sitting in here and made herself right at home. Why didn’t you leave Jessica in the bed? She’s still asleep.”
“I’m not letting these critters out of my sight the rest of the night.”
“These poor girls.” Mercy shook her head in amusement at her overprotective brother’s antics. “You’re going to chain them up in their rooms when they’re teenagers.”
“Damn right, I am.”
“And why have you told your daughter only married people are allowed to kiss?” Mercy asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Because that is what I want her to believe until it is too late. I tried it with you, but it didn’t work, much to the disappointment of the family.”
“Except when some boy kisses her and she instantly thinks they’re married,” Austin chimed with a snap of his fingers, “automatic son-in-law.”
“Ugh,” Jacob moaned, then cuddled his other sleeping daughter close and kissing her head. “I can’t win. Girls are too stressful. That one better be a boy.” He pointed at Jennifer’s belly.
“Yes, master, I’ll get to working on that straightaway.” Jennifer stuck her tongue out at him and scrunched her face playfully. The banter seemed to be a familiar pattern between the couple.
“You should have plenty of practice raising kids, though,” Austin said with a laugh. “You’re the eldest of this motley crew.”
“While that seems like it might be true, I wasn’t old enough to take care of any of my siblings until I was ten. By then, there were only four left to be had. The others are too close to my age for me to say I had any hand in raising them.”
“You all must have been overjoyed to have Mercy,” Dylan said, smiling over at the woman in question. She caught his eye, and Dylan felt a simple sense of delight on seeing a blush bloom along her cheeks.
“Oh, you have no idea. A sister, finally a sister. We were all sick of boys at that point.”
Jacob smiled at Mercy fondly, the look not dissimilar from the way he smiled at his daughters. “And you were such a cute baby. When she was a toddler, I used to push her stroller around the neighborhood to pick up girls.”
“How much older are you than her?” Dylan asked, continuing to play with Gillian’s hair as she slept peacefully.
“Fourteen years with seven siblings between us.”
“Yikes.” Austin turned to Mercy. “What was it like growing up with eight kids besides you?”
“Chaotic, which was normal for us,” Mercy replied with a roll of her eyes, most likely thinking back on those hectic years living with eight siblings and two frazzled parents. “I don’t know how Mom and Dad did it.”
“With a lot of Vicodin,” a man standing in the doorway said. He had sandy-blond hair and the same eyes as his brother and sister. The woman’s hand he was holding had a diamond on it so large it couldn’t be called anything other than a rock. She had long, straight brown hair and brown eyes that seemed fixed in a permanent state of joy. They came and sat on the floor next to the couch. The man looked over at Austin and Dylan with a friendly yet curious glance.
“Hey, I’m Niall, Mercy’s favorite brother, and this is my lovely fiancée, Katie.”
Katie elbowed him with a bashful grin. “Stop that.”
“What? Calling you lovely? Never, woman.” Niall leaned in and nuzzled her throat, eliciting hushed giggles from his fiancée. “Get used to it.”
Mercy mimed throwing up in her lap, much to Jacob’s amusement. “Just you wait, Mercy. You’re the last of us. It will happen.”
“Been there, done that,” she said. “No, thank you.”
Dylan didn’t want to examine his immediate dislike of her thoughts on relationships too closely. They had only just met, and any logical person would claim that was a very short time to develop lasting feelings for a person. It was a pity his heart and libido had never been logical.
“You need to find the right guy, Mercy. Lucas was a fool,” Jennifer said, standing to take Jessica from her husband and sit on his lap as he took her seat.
“I don’t need to find anyone. I am fine as I am, alone.”
Dylan could see Mercy’s growing agitation at what was probably a familiar topic for the family.
“Mercy,” Katie began, leaning back in Niall’s arms and sounding like she had a juicy bit of gossip. “There is this yoga instructor I know, hot as hell and with muscles to die for. Almost as handsome as these two gentlemen,” Katie pointed with a wink at Austin and Dylan. “Too bad you guys are together. You’re exactly Mercy’s type.”
Mercy laughed nervously, flicking her eyes at Austin and Dylan before turning back to Katie. She apparently didn’t like this topic. “Oh yeah, and what’s my type?”
“The exact opposite of Lucas.” Niall snorted. “The whole family knew when you married him that it was doomed.”
Dylan had to watch her closely to see it; she was good at hiding her pain, but her lips had tightened, even though she was smiling, and her chin quivered, betraying how much it hurt to hear those words from her so-called favorite brother.
“How many times did we tell you the guy was an asshole waiting to show his true colors? How many times?” Niall asked as he slapped his knee in emphasis.
“How many times what?” Another couple walked into the now crowded den, hand in hand. This time it was two men, or what Dylan had to take a few seconds to realize were two men. Jacob introduced one as a sibling, Peyton, the fourth eldest, twin of Barney, and his husband Oliver—a delicate blond man with long corkscrew curls, eyes that were almost violet, and apparently a propensity for cross-dressing. He currently wore a beautiful red blouse and wide-legged black slacks, but the star of the outfit was the pair of red pumps that were even spikier and taller than Mercy’s. They settled themselves on the carpet, leaning against a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, Peyton throwing his arm around Oliver’s shoulders. Dylan had to admit they made a stunning couple.
“How many times did we tell Mercy about how much of a douche bag Lucas was?” Niall caught Oliver and Jacob up to speed with a concise comment and another kick to Mercy’s already fragile state of emotions. She joked and chuckled along with them, but Dylan saw her nerves were frayed to their last thread.
“Oh, the shithead?” Oliver asked with a scoff and wave of his fine-boned hand. “Sweetheart,” he said to Mercy, “Lucas was cute, but I was happy to see you throw that man to the Johnson wolves. He deserved everything he got.”
“Hear, hear,” Jacob agreed with a raised fist. “I wish we could beat the man all over again.”
Mercy rolled her eyes at their showboating. “Nobody beat Lucas up. Mom would never have allowed it.”
“Please, darling,” Peyton said with a laugh. “Mom was the one cheering us on.”
“I distinctly remember her yelling at us to take out the trash.” Niall chuckled, tugging on one of Oliver’s corkscrew curls. He seemed to be oddly fascinated by his brother-in-law’s hair.
Peyton slapped Niall’s hand away, curling a fist in mock threat at his brother.
“Okay. Fine,” Mercy said loudly over the laughter, attempting to curb any progression on the conversation. “Lucas was a douche bag. We get it. Moving on—”
“You just need a guy who understands you,” Niall continued, ignoring the vehement shaking of her head. “Who gets that you like to be alone every now and then, like Dad.”
“Yeah, a man who understands you’re a cave troll,” Jacob said. “A beautiful and talented cave troll,” he amended when his wife slapped his arm.
Jennifer slapped him again.
“Ow, what?” Jacob asked with a whine.
“Guys, I’ve already been married. I don’t need to do it again—”
“We’d like to finally see you in a wedding dress since you took that away from us the first time,” Jacob scolded, sounding like a father as he shook his finger at her.
“Yeah, I think that was the reason Mom was so pissed about the elopement,” Peyton commented thoughtfully.
“That and you’d married an idiot,” Niall snorted.
“Has anyone heard from Rhys and Mac? What happened to their flight?” she asked, attempting to change the subject yet again and looking as though she were on the brink of a mental breakdown. She turned to Austin. “Rhys is my brother, and Mac, Mackenzie, is his devilishly handsome Scottish fiancé. They live in London, and we never get to see them.”
“Rhys is the brother I mentioned…the one I went to high school with—” Dylan started before getting cut off.
“Their flight was delayed because of the snow. They won’t be in till tomorrow morning,” Niall supplied before switching right back to the previous topic. “Remember that Thanksgiving Lucas kept answering his phone at dinner? And no matter how much Mercy asked, he wouldn’t shut it off. What an ass. I wanted to punch him.”
“He said they were calls from his family,” Mercy tried to explain. She kept nervously scratching her head, and Dylan could have sworn he saw blood tinting her fingertips from how hard she was scratching.
“His mother and father were at that dinner with us,” Peyton reminded her. “Who could it have been? He had no siblings.”
“Probably some piece of ass he was fucking,” Jacob said with a stern shake of his head. “Really, Merce, you know how to pick the losers. Next time, let us pick out your husband for you. It will go better for everyone involved.”
“Enough!” Mercy yelled.
The room went silent, her brothers and in-laws staring at her in surprise.
She gently picked up Gillian’s feet from her lap so she could stand before placing them on the couch in her spot. Remarkably, both children remained asleep. “I love you all, I do. But I can’t deal with this year after year. If you can’t accept that I’m happy the way I am, and all I’m to expect from these get-togethers are criticisms and advice on how I should improve myself by getting married again…I’m going to stop attending.”
“It’s Christmas, Mercy—” Peyton began, looking thoroughly confused by her outburst.
“I don’t care,” she said through clenched teeth. “I can’t take this anymore. What’s wrong with me being on my own? Am I so pathetic and helpless to you that I couldn’t possibly take care of myself?” Her voice was rising, and Jessica stirred in her mom’s arms.
Mercy took a breath and moved toward the door. “I’m going home. Tell Mom I’ll be here tomorrow morning to unwrap the presents.”
“Wait, Mercy. You can’t—” Niall stood to stop her, but she held up a hand.
“Stop telling me what you think is best for my life.” Her eyes were full of hurt and anger, her lips quivering.
“Mercy?” Dylan asked, cuddling the shifting Gillian.
“I’m sorry, Dylan, Austin. It was nice meeting you.”
With a nod toward Jennifer, who seemed to be the only person staring disapprovingly at the siblings, Mercy walked out the door.
Austin caught Dylan’s eyes, and his thought was expressed fiercely in his lover’s face. Oh hell, no, that wasn’t how the night was supposed to end.
“Mom is gonna be pissed,” Niall moaned. “She left earlier this year than she did last year.”
“If she weren’t such a hermit—”
“Jacob!” Oliver chided, running his hands through his lustrous curls in exasperation.
“What? It’s true! Maybe if she got out more, she’d meet a halfway decent guy.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” Dylan laughed incredulously, standing to gently hand the sleeping Gillian to Niall and Katie. The child adjusted to the pass off and promptly settled against Niall’s chest.
When he knew the girl was secure, he rounded back on Mercy’s family. The sounds of laughter and partygoers filled the hallways of the grand house, but all he could feel was censure toward these insensitive brothers.
“Mercy married her first love, a man she thought was her one true love, and he betrayed her, in the most publicly embarrassing way possible. If you think because a few years have gone by that it doesn’t hurt just as much as it did the day, the moment, she discovered them…then you are all a bunch of idiots.”
“Hey, asshole—” Niall exclaimed, but Austin joined in, not letting him finish.
“She is in pain, and all her family can do is berate and criticize her for needing time to recuperate. Your sister never had time to discover who she was as a teenager and young adult like you guys did. She’s been defined by her relationship with this one man since she was a young woman. Mercy has had to relearn and remake herself from scratch. You think that only takes a few years? It takes some people decades to get over a betrayal as keen as the one she suffered.”
“You think we don’t know our own sister?” Jacob demanded furiously. “She never complained, not once, about the loss of her douche husband. She was relieved!”
“That’s exactly what I think, what we both think,” Austin said. “From what I can tell, Mercy is like your father, quiet and peaceful, but just because she keeps to herself at home, just because she isn’t bitching and moaning about how much pain her divorce caused her, doesn’t mean she isn’t feeling it. I don’t think you know her as well as you think you do.”
“Come on, Austin.” Dylan grabbed Austin’s hand to lead him from the den to the living room where the majority of the party action was happening. They kissed Dylan’s perplexed mom good night before finding their coats and rushing into the night, hoping to find Mercy hadn’t left yet. Miraculously, she stood in the snow again, pacing around a car and muttering to herself.
“MERCY, WAIT!”
“Guys, not tonight, please! I’m sorry you had to see that, but—” Austin pulled her in tight and kissed her, washing away the pain she was feeling. She clutched his coat, simultaneously wanting to push him away and pull him closer, at war with what she thought she should do and what she wanted to do.
“Please,” she mumbled against his lips, but that was all he allowed her to say. He pressed her up against the car and took her mouth in a fierce claiming, making it his in every way. Dylan was there, pressing against their sides, alternatingly nipping at her neck and Austin’s, murmuring encouragements, telling them he liked seeing them together.
“No,
” Dylan whispered as Austin pulled away from her, stroking her cold cheeks. “You never have to beg us for anything. Come home with us. Let us make this night better for you.”
“Dylan,” she said, wanting them terribly.
“Say yes,” Dylan pleaded, nuzzling her.
“Austin.”
“You’re ours for the night.” Austin’s smile was roguish.
“Okay. But I want to take my car. My family will be suspicious if it gets left here.”
“I’ll drive your car. You go with Austin.”
“I can drive.”
“We know you can,” Dylan said, kissing her cheeks and the corners of her mouth slowly and sensuously. “But tonight is about treating you, relaxing you. You’ve dealt with enough stress. Trust us, Mercy. Please?”
“Usually I’d laugh at any man who said that to me, but…I feel like I can’t say no to you two.” Mercy kissed him back before climbing into the passenger seat of their SUV. She handed Dylan her car keys with a kiss to his gloved hand. He winked at her and shut the door.
Chapter Eight
Dylan pulled up to the house a bare minute after Austin and maneuvered Mercy’s car into an easily accessible spot. Austin removed himself from the SUV first and, ever the gentleman, walked around to open the door for her. Knowing what he did about Mercy, Austin probably had to tell her to stay put until he reached her side. Dylan trudged through the snow and unlocked the front door, letting it swing open. He turned on the hall light and then chucked his coat, hat, and gloves to the floor.
The second Mercy made it up the path, impressively done in those heels, Dylan picked her up and carried her over the threshold. He left Austin to close and lock the front door. Dylan walked with Mercy to the staircase and set her down on a step close to the bottom. He gently pushed her down along the stairs, forcing her to lean back on her elbows. Spreading her legs—not even giving her time to take her coat off—he then tore her panties away from her body.
“Dylan!” she cried, eyes wide with shock.
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