“And I know I should stay away from you, for your sake, but I don’t want to.” He kissed her again.
“I’m leaving in a week...”
“Where are you going?”
“British Columbia for six months.”
Marc exhaled deeply.
“It’s for the best,” he said.
“I know,” she agreed, but was as disappointed as him.
“Then for the next week, I want you all to myself.”
“I could use a vacation before I leave,” she smiled.
“I could disappear for a week myself.”
“Can you do that?”
“I’m going to.” Marc playfully kissed her tickling her side. Mercy laughed and flailed around underneath him.
Marc’s phone rang. He reached down onto the floor and retrieved it from his jeans pocket. Mercy looked beyond disappointed.
“Ace,” he answered identifying Ace’s number. Perfect timing.
“I need you here at eleven tomorrow.”
“I’m unavailable for the next week.”
“Unavailable,” Ace repeated, “what the hell do you think this is?”
“Ace, I need this.” This wasn’t negotiable.
Ace huffed. “This isn’t a damn nine to five, you don’t get a vacation.”
“I’ll make it up, I need this.”
“You’ll be my bitch for the next year.”
“I already am. I don’t care. Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”
“Call me next week.”
Ace hung up. Marc didn’t care. He’d pay the price. Marc turned off his cell phone and had no plan of turning it on for the following week.
“Done.”
Mercy looked at him stunned.
“Done? You really are free for a week?”
“At your beck and call.”
“Did you have to sell your soul?”
“It was sold long ago.”
He gathered her up in his arms.
“And you’re worth it.” Marc brought his weight up on his elbows and scented her. “Anything in particular you’d like to do?”
“I’d like you to do me,” she whispered in her ear.
Mercy reached down between them and stroked his member. Marc was instantly hard.
“And you said you were a good girl.” Marc nibbled her ear.
“I’m around a bad influence.”
“You don’t seem to mind.” Mercy pushed him off her and crawled atop of him.
“Not at all.” Mercy kissed his chest and moved south. Down his six pack, his navel, his lower stomach, to his magnificent erection. Mercy took him into her throat. Marc threw his head back and closed his eyes. Deeper she took him and he moaned and rocked back and forth into her mouth. God, she was stunning. Marc savored in her treatment. She brought him higher and higher. Marc felt himself reach euphoria and he gripped her long soft hair. Mercy took all he had and purred.
“Fuck, yes,” Marc expelled with absolute relief.
“Mmmmm,” Mercy said in a mere whisper and smiled cunningly at him.
Mercy crawled atop of him and began kissing his neck. Marc took a few moments to recuperate as she nipped his neck, then rolled atop of her and crashed his mouth into hers.
“My turn,” Marc said gruffly. Marc pulled her to the edge of the bed swiftly and bowed in front of her. Pushing her legs apart, he dipped his mouth into her folds, teasing, licking, sucking. Mercy held the sides of his head and her breathing quickened. The sound of her breathing had him instantly hard all over again. And her taste, Jesus, he could eat her all night long. Her legs began to quake and Marc enjoyed the affect he had on her.
“Yes…yes…Marc!” she yelled as she came undone. Marc delighted in all she gave to him.
“I could live life happily on eating only you,” he climbed back atop of her and began suckling her nipple. Mercy was completely relaxed beneath him. Marc on the other hand, was ready for round two. Rubbing the base of his shaft at her entrance, Mercy gripped his backside firmly.
“I need you in me,” she licked his ear, “right now.”
Marc rest his forehead against hers and watched her eyes as he thrust inside her. Mercy watched intensely back, her eyes widening as he entered.
“You’re so tight,” he winced enjoying the pressure. “You feel so damn good.”
She turned her head and bit his shoulder as he started to thrust further inside her.
“Harder,” she implored grinding her hips into his.
Marc met her request with pleasure. Closer he brought her to orgasm as she dug her nails into his back so hard he knew he’d have red streaks down it come morning. She climaxed, her muscles tensing and releasing against him. Marc grunted as he erupted inside her then leaned his full body weight against her.
“Stay inside me,” Mercy said as she caressed his back.
Marc did so. He’d do anything she asked.
Hours (and a few rounds) later, Mercy and Marc laid together, Mercy tight in Marc’s arms.
“You know how to please a woman,” Mercy said as she laid kisses on his forearm, which was wrapped around her chest.
“We make a good team, you and me.”
“Mmm,” Mercy agreed sleepily.
“Get some sleep baby, you’re tired.”
“You wore me out.” She laughed.
“I’ll give you a few hours to recover.”
Mercy rolled over and faced him.
“Good night Marc.”
Marc kissed her sweetly and they drifted into slumber together.
*****
Mercy
Mercy awoke the following morning smiling. A smile only Marc could bring to her face. She wouldn’t think about the complications, not now, she would only think of the week she would get to spend with him. Beyond that, she wasn’t thinking.
“Morning sunshine.” Marc kissed her shoulder. Mercy leaned back against him.
“How long have you been awake?”
“A couple hours.”
Mercy looked at the clock, it read 11:45. They’d slept the day away.
“You should have woken me.” Mercy turned and faced him.
“I’m perfectly content lying here, holding you, listening to you sleep.” Marc kissed the tip of her nose.
Mercy felt like mush on the inside.
“Let’s go away.” Mercy ran her fingers down his scruffy jaw. Marc looked surprised by her suggestion. “My family has a camp on a remote lake in Maine. We could disappear there for the week.”
“Maine?” Marc asked.
“Mhmm. Where no one can disturb us. Not my work. Not your, ah, associates.”
Marc inhaled her scent and smiled.
“I’ll go wherever you are.”
Mercy playfully kissed him.
“Pack a bag and meet me at my house. I’m going to go home and get ready.” Her smile beamed from ear to ear. She pulled the sheets back and sat up, but Marc seized her by the waist.
“Let’s leave in a few hours.” He rolled atop of her and pinned his weight against her. “I don’t want you out of my bed yet.”
“You can have me tonight.” Mercy pushed against his chest and tried to get up, but Marc didn’t move.
“The problem is,” Marc kissed her deeply, “I want you now.”
Marc was rock hard against her and feeling his erection had Mercy turned on like a light switch.
“We could stay in bed a little longer…”
The sun was rising when Mercy and Marc pulled into the yard of the exquisite looking log cabin. Calling it a cabin hardly did it justice, it was as large as Mercy’s home. The cabin was on the east side of Moosehead Lake and located on the waterfront. Her family didn’t use the cabin often, once a year at most.
“This is beautiful,” Marc said as he stepped out of her Jeep.
“It is, isn’t it.”
Marc retrieved their luggage and Mercy opened the front door. The cabin was rustic and homey in décor. It was modest in size, housing two bat
hrooms and four bedrooms.
“Where should I put our luggage?”
“The master suite is upstairs on the right.” As Marc ascended the stairs it dawned upon her that she would have to climb those damn stairs. She almost called to Marc, but in the end was embarrassed and let it go.
After bringing the luggage to their suite, Marc unpacked the groceries they’d picked up in the small town of Greenville on their ride to the lake. Mercy helped him, walking with a limp, her prosthesis beginning to bother her.
“Is your leg bothering you?” Marc clearly noticed as he got the kitchen in order.
“A little,” Mercy admitted.
“Do you want me to get your crutches?”
“No, it’s alright.” The only way she would get used to the prosthesis was to wear it. “Let’s go down to the lake.”
Mercy and Marc walked hand in hand down the lush green lawn to the water’s edge. Marc was dressed comfortably and looked at ease in a pair of khaki cargo shorts, a salmon colored polo, and sandals. Mercy wore a fitted white tee shirt and dark skinny jeans. They looked like a happy, normal couple.
Mercy took a seat on a bench facing the lake and Marc sat down with her.
“Do you come here often?” Marc asked.
“Not since I was a kid. We spent summers here when I was a child.”
“I’m guessing you had a storybook childhood.”
“I grew up in a loving family. I am lucky.”
“Yes. You are.” Marc looked out at the lake. Mercy couldn’t imagine what his childhood had been, growing up with no mother after she overdosed and a drug addict father who did the same later in life.
“Do you have any family you’re close with?”
“My family isn’t a family.” Marc paused. “Not like yours I imagine.”
“You didn’t have any siblings?”
“I was an only child.”
“Me too.”
“There’s one thing we have in common.” He shot her a smile, but it was a forced one. “I’d rather not talk about my family, I don’t have a single good memory.”
Mercy could tell how hard the subject was for him.
“Okay,” she said and took his hand.
“But I’d like to hear about yours,” he said genuinely.
“We can talk about something else.”
“No,” he kissed her hand, “I’d like to know more about you. Your family is a part of that.”
Mercy wanted to drop the subject. For her to talk about her idyllic childhood would almost be rubbing it in Marc’s face.
“I grew up in Bellview with my mom, Cora, and my father, Kent. They were—are—loving parents. I couldn’t have asked for any better. They spoiled me awful, but kept me grounded at the same time. And protective, oh dear God,” Mercy laughed, “I didn’t date until I moved out of their house because my father put the fear of God into my boyfriends.”
“That’s what fathers are supposed to do.”
“In that case, he did a superb job.” Even in her adulthood, Kent remained a force to be reckoned with, which was why she rarely brought men home to meet her family.
“He wouldn’t think much about you here with me.” Marc again was lost looking out at the serene water.
“My father is not here, so don’t worry about what he would think.”
“What would your family say?” Marc turned and faced her.
Her father would be livid. Her mother would be in tears. Marc would be on the ground after a thorough beating from Kent.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said pushing those thought aside.
“I just don’t want to screw your life up.”
“You’re not screwing my life up.” Mercy stroked his hand.
“It’ll all be over in a week anyway, right.”
He seemed dejected at the thought. Mercy felt the same way.
“Let’s not talk about next week. I want to enjoy this week with you.” Mercy kissed his cheek sweetly. “Can you do that?”
He took his time answering, but finally did. “I can do that.”
Tired from the drive, all Mercy suddenly wanted to do was rest. And laying down with Marc was a bonus.
“I could use a little nap. That ride tired me out.” She yawned.
“I could go for a nap too.”
Marc rose to his feet and offered Mercy his hand. She took it and with difficulty, she stood. After a few painful steps, Marc must have noticed her struggle because she was suddenly lifted into his strong arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked while laughing, arms around his neck.
“I can’t stand to see you in pain.”
Mercy wanted to argue, but at the same token didn’t. When she was in Marc’s arms she wanted to be nowhere else.
“I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
“I know you are.”
Marc brought her inside the house, carried her up the stairs, and lowered her onto the bed.
“I’ll move our luggage to a bedroom downstairs after we wake up. I didn’t think about the stairs when I brought our bags up. And you were too stubborn to say something, weren’t you?”
Mercy took off her jeans and prosthesis. He was keen.
“Maybe.”
Marc kicked off his shoes and pulled the sheets back.
“Come here.” He patted the bed beside him. Mercy laid down in his arms.
“Why don’t we spend the next week right here?” Mercy snuggled into his shoulder.
“Nothing would make me a happier man.”
Marc wrapped his strong arms around her back and they drifted asleep together.
While sleeping, Mercy dreamt a fairytale fantasy. Marc and her, a white picket fence, two children, normal life, happily ever after. If only it weren’t a dream.
*****
Marc
Marc couldn’t sleep. As Mercy slept, he stroked her silky hair and listened to her soft breathing. He didn’t lie when he said nothing would make him happier than simply holding her all week. Nothing would.
At the same time he felt guilty. The week they were spending together would only make it that much harder to permanently say goodbye, which they would inevitably have to do. And soon.
Marc placed a soft kiss on her ear and held her closer.
After a few hours of lying with her, Marc quietly stalked out of bed and tiptoed down to the luxurious kitchen. Marc, though used to ordering fast food, went to work fixing lunch for them. Roast beef on rye, fresh cucumber, and wheat crackers. Okay, he wasn’t a chef, but it wasn’t McDonald’s. Carrying a tray in hand, Marc went back up the stairs. He placed the tray on a chest at the foot of the bed and sat on the edge of the bed by Mercy.
“Wake up sunshine.” Marc gently rustled her. Mercy’s eyes slowly opened and she smiled at the sight of him.
“Did I sleep all day?”
“Pretty close.” Marc set the tray on the bed. “You haven’t eaten since yesterday, I figured you must be starving.”
Mercy sat up and leaned her back against the headboard.
“The company was so good I forgot all about being hungry.”
“Smooth line,” Marc chucked. “Since you picked out roast beef, I figured it was a safe assumption you liked it.”
Mercy took a bite of the sandwich.
“Thank you. I didn’t expect you to make me lunch.”
“I know.” Marc hopped in bed with her and they ate lunch together.
Following lunch, Mercy suggested kayaking on the lake. Marc had a slight fear of water and had never been in the craft, but wasn’t about to show it. After helping her into her kayak, he climbed into his own and immediately flipped it over. Mercy couldn’t contain her laughter. The water was brisk even in the heat of summer. The largest lake in Maine never got much warmer than the cold Maine Atlantic Ocean Mercy informed him.
They padded the shoreline going at least a few miles. On their way back to the camp, Mercy playfully splashed him and then paddled out of reach before he could splash
her back. Soon Mercy was back to the camp’s dock ready to escape.
“Someone has to help you out of you of your kayak.”
“Shit,” Mercy’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t think that through.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t take advantage of that.” Marc grinned cleverly.
Marc managed to not flip his kayak over while getting out, a small feat. Then he helped Mercy out of hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Marc pulled her out of the kayak and against his chest.
“I think you should come swimming with me to appreciate how enjoyable this lake is.”
“No, no! Marc! Don’t do it!”
Marc walked backwards into the water slowly bringing her with him.
“Stop! Marc!” she whined.
Marc brought her into shoulder deep water and didn’t let her go. Mercy gasped from the cold.
“You little…”
Marc laughed.
“Bastard?” he asked.
“Yes! It’s freezing!”
“I’ll keep you warm,” Marc kissed her and Mercy didn’t participate at first, feigning anger. But her protest was short lived. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened up to him.
“I’m cold.” Her teeth chattered.
Marc kissed her again then scooped her up in his arms carrying her into the cabin. Carrying her felt so intimate and he was surprised she didn’t protest in her independent fiery way. They changed into dry clothes and sat down on the couch together watching Mercy’s pick of a movie, Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore. Any woman who liked Sandler was okay in his book.
HEAVEN AND HELL
Marc
The first four day together at the cabin, they never stepped foot into the real world. They spent their time together cuddled up on the couch, barbequing, enjoying a campfire, swimming, and making love. A LOT of amazing sex. Marc simply couldn’t get enough of her. It was Heaven. Each day that passed he felt a piece of his heart given to her, but he needed to keep his guard up, he reminded himself constantly.
“What do you say to a night out on the big town of Greenville? We’re going to get cabin fever.”
“I could stay here forever and it would never grow old.”
“Come on,” Mercy patted his bare chest. “Let’s have dinner out at one of the pubs and go for a walk around the town.”
Save Me Page 7
