Act of Mercy

by Mandy M. Roth

  The wolf nuzzled closer to her, pushing at her with its snout. Smiling, she rubbed behind his ears again. “It’s good to see you too, though, I’d prefer the man right now. I need to be held, but you probably don’t feel much like comforting me, do you?”

  One second there was fur under her fingertips and the next, long, silky hair.

  Gasping, she jerked and slid back slightly from Duke, who was now in human form.

  Very naked human form.

  She gulped.

  “Mercy?” Duke asked, his voice low, deeper than normal. He looked confused.

  She ignored his nakedness and touched his scruffy face, her eyes growing moist. “Hey you.”

  “W-what happened?” he asked, seeming disoriented.

  “They said something about shifting and blood lust.”

  He sucked in a big breath and tried to move back from her, as if he were afraid of harming her. That was silly. He’d not eaten her when he’d had the chance. She felt safe with him.

  She kept her hands in place, easing up more, nearly lying against him on the floor. Her hands went to the collar around his neck and the tears managed to escape. She realized then that in wolf form his neck had been the same size as in human form.

  That was some wolf.

  She tried several times to undo it but was crying too hard to make any headway.

  Duke touched her cheek and shook his head. “No. They did this because they had no choice. I’m sure of it.” He glanced away a moment and tensed. “You were lying in a pool of blood. You weren’t moving.”

  “I took a good knock but I’m fine now. Promise.” She hated seeing him beating himself up over what had happened. It wasn’t his fault. Her foolishness had caused her to be harmed. She found herself leaning, her lips going to just below where the chain was on his neck. She kissed the spot, hating seeing him this way. “Tell me how to get this off you.”

  Duke stiffened as if remembering the sight he presented. “M-Mercy, go. They’ll undo this and then I can get cleaned up and get dressed.”

  Her gaze moved down his steely torso and stopped on his cock. It was huge and hard. She couldn’t seem to look away. “The reports were right. You are larger than the average males. Much, much larger.”

  Duke caught her under the chin with one finger and forced her gaze up. His own looked hungry and it excited her. “Don’t ever talk about other males in that way. Now go before I do something you’re not ready for.”

  She had a sneaky suspicion that something he warned of involved his cock. Desire raced through her and Duke sniffed the air at the same moment her inner thighs began to dampen.

  “Mercy, go,” he pleaded.

  “No.” She wasn’t going anywhere again.

  “Doc, you were hurt and I’m sensing you’re still sore. I won’t take you now. I won’t hurt you more,” he said, straining against his chain.

  She ran her hands over the hard planes of his chest. He was sculpted in a way she’d never dreamed a man could be. While she’d never given a ton of thought to sex, she understood the process. In fact, she probably knew more about the scientifics of it than a seasoned veteran. While she understood her body responses to him, she never dreamed the feelings that would come with the experience.

  She wanted nothing more than to have this man in her. To give herself over to him completely. His mouth crashed onto hers and his kiss was possessive, exactly what she needed. His hands found her hair and he held her head, controlling their kiss, making her entire body light with fiery need.

  Duke slid over her, his body massive, making her feel extra small in comparison. He touched her hospital gown, growling softly. She caressed his cheek. “I’m fine. I promise.”

  “I’m going to kill him,” he said, his voice hard. Hate poured off him in waves. “Bertrand.”

  “I know,” she whispered, her lips finding his, a welcome surge of pleasure racing through her. She wanted his attention with her, not on Bertrand. Duke and his team of men would track down the crazed doctor and they’d make sure he couldn’t hurt anyone again. She had that much faith in them. For now, she simply wanted Duke with her, loving her.

  He eased his hand under her gown, his tongue sliding around hers, turning her on more. As Duke put his hand between her legs, Mercy stiffened. He kissed her deeper, taking her mind from being worried about being inexperienced.

  He parted her folds and she nearly melted against him as rubbed her clit. She gasped into his mouth, her hands finding the chain around his neck. She was about to insist they bring in one of the others to remove it when Duke thrust a finger into her, tearing through her virginal barrier. The pain was fleeting and she wiggled against his hand, the pleasure of his thumb rubbing her swollen clit chasing away any discomfort.

  “Tight,” he said, drawing his mouth back slightly from hers. “Too tight to take me just yet, baby.”

  Confused, she grabbed for him as he slid down the length of her, tearing the gown from her body with a clawed hand. She gasped and then smiled at the sight of the raw need on her man’s face. And without a doubt she knew he was her man.

  And what a man he was.

  He looked up from between her legs and the look on his face said it all. He was going to make her scream as he’d promised. Mercy had never been happier.

  He put his head between her legs and she nearly exploded then and there. She’d never felt anything like it. Never had pleasuring herself felt quite like this. His tongue lapped at her slit and he tweaked her clit, driving her closer and closer to culmination.

  Panting, she reached down and laced her fingers through his hair, holding his head to her. He chuckled into her pussy and Mercy tipped her head back, finding bliss.

  Chapter Twenty

  Duke couldn’t get enough of the taste of her. Hot damn, the woman was tight and wet. She responded to his every touch as a mate should. Feeling her come around his tongue made his cock come to life. It wanted in her and fast. More than that, the urge to claim her pounded in his head. He’d thought he’d lost her once. He’d not let the moment slip by him again.

  She was his and it was high time he took what belonged to him.

  Easing his finger back into her, he waited for her body to adjust to him before adding a second finger. He licked her swollen bud, making her whimper. He smiled, liking how she reacted to him.

  When he felt she was ready, he eased up and slipped over her, his cock pushing at her entrance. She opened her legs wider and Duke drove home, sliding into her in one long thrust.

  “Duke!” she cried out, her nails digging into his arms, drawing blood, spurring him onward. Unbridled passion reflected in her warm gaze. He pumped into her, again and again, losing himself in her tight, warm, wet body.

  She did the unthinkable, lifting her head and licking the blood that pooled near the scratch marks on his arms. The moment her tongue made contact with his blood, the wolf in him roared to life—demanding he do what must be done.

  His teeth lengthened and he dipped his head, his mouth going to the top of her breast. He pushed in deeper and felt her tightening around him, her back arching, the smell of her cream flooding his nostrils. Duke bit and blood filled his mouth. He swallowed and then licked the wound, his saliva’s natural healing abilities closing the wound and healing it over nearly instantly. He lost control and came in jetting waves within her.

  “Mine,” he ground out, holding firm in her as pleasure racked his body.

  “Yours,” she said, licking her lower lip.

  “And I’m yours, Doc. Sorry ’bout that.”

  She touched his lower lip and her eyes moistened. “Don’t be.”

  He bent, kissing her thoroughly, leaving nothing to the imagination in the way of his thoughts for her. His cock wanted another round. He had to strain to keep from taking it. She needed a moment. He wasn’t that much of a gentleman, since he didn’t withdraw from her. He couldn’t. She felt too good.

  He stared down at her, so happy he couldn’t even find the r
ight words. “I don’t hate you.”

  Laughter erupted from her and she ran her hand over his cheek tenderly. “I don’t hate you either, Duke. Far from it.”

  He began to move in her again, needing more of her, all the while hating that he’d taken her while chained and on a cold, hard floor. That being said, being in her felt too good to stop. So he went with it.

  She wrapped her legs around him, her hands going to his collar. She held it and yanked on him. “Harder.”

  “Yes, Doc.” He did as she asked, pushing away the thick chain, making it slide up and over his back as he made love to his woman. He knew how animalistic it all was. The wolf was part of him and he wasn’t ashamed of that fact. Beads of sweat trickled down him as he continued to thrust into his mate.

  And she most certainly was his mate. He’d claimed her and she’d accepted it, claiming him right back.

  Duke kept his weight propped up by his arms, his muscles straining as he found heaven inside his woman. Never had he felt anything this perfect.

  “Mercy,” he whispered, his lips moving over hers once more.

  She kissed him with a wanton fire that caused him to hit his zenith. His ball sac drew up and he jetted seed into her, his body shaking as he did. She squeezed his arms, bucking against him, taking pleasure from him as well.

  He smiled down at his little doctor, feeling more blessed than he’d ever felt before. Damn if he didn’t feel like he had very little to hate in the world.

  She’d changed him somehow, for the better, he suspected strongly.

  He withdrew from her and mourned loss of the feel of her at once. He dipped his head, kissing the tip of her nose. “Let’s get you off the floor and then we can clean up. I’m sorry I took you this way.”

  “No, you’re not,” she said, sitting up. “Not really.”

  He cupped her breast, his fingers squeezing her pert nipple. “You’re right. I’m not that sorry.”

  She gifted him her quirky smile.

  Duke shook his head. “Keep that up and I’ll refuse to let you leave here.”

  “You’re chained. I can walk away anytime,” she mocked.

  He caught her around the waist and jerked her against him. She gasped. He grinned. “I’d follow you to the ends of the earth. You’d never shake me.”

  “Is this a selling point?” she asked, laughing softly.

  He took her hand and guided it to his erection. Duke worried he’d live with a hard-on for life around her, never getting enough. “This is.”

  She went to her knees and waggled her brows. “Okay, I’ll give you that much. It’s a selling point.”

  She was so incredibly sexy there before him that Duke couldn’t seem to stop himself as he lifted her gently and turned her, placing her on her hands and knees before him, assuring he had enough play with the chain to move freely behind her.

  Her ass was perfect. He traced his way up and down it before guiding a finger into her wet core. She moaned and rocked back against him. His doctor was a little minx. And he loved it.

  I love her.

  The thought made his breath catch. He did love her. Joy surged through him as he cupped his shaft, guiding it to her entrance. He pushed in slowly this time, knowing he’d feel even bigger from behind.

  She hit at the floor and nodded, looking back at him, longing in her expression. She was surely pixie. They were insatiable and she showed no signs of slowing.

  A redheaded pixie.

  He was the luckiest man on earth!

  And he damn well knew it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mercy had never behaved so wild or been so free with her wants and desires. She felt like a new woman—a changed woman—and Duke was who she had to thank. Emotions she shouldn’t feel for him surfaced, confusing her as he pounded into her from behind. So much pleasure, so much passion and so many feelings of love.

  She hardly knew him. She shouldn’t love him. Not yet. Not this soon into it all. She was a rational woman. Sex did not equal love. Yet she loved the man filling her. As if she’d been loving him all her life.

  Mates.

  The words bounced around in her head as he grabbed her hair and held tight as he shoved deeper into her. She moaned in delight, having him fill her so completely. The man seemed to go on forever. He tugged on her hair, forcing her head back more. He bent over her, his body pressing to her back, the feel of his steely torso against her skin nearly making her hit her peak. She rocked against him, wanting more of what he was offering.

  Bliss.

  She arched her back as he pounded into her. She dug her fingers at the floor, pulling on them, doing anything she could in attempt to ground herself. It would be so easy to slip away into a state of sexual delight. It wasn’t in her to lose control like that, but she was dangerously close to making a liar out of herself.

  Duke kissed her shoulder and then nipped at it, his teeth seeming sharper than they should. She’d thought the same thing when he’d nibbled at her breast before. There had been pain, but only a small amount before pleasure had rushed over her. Instead of being worried, the idea he might bite her turned her on more. Mercy pushed against him.

  She could barely think with his body thrusting in and out of hers with such a hard pace. Her body spasmed around his and she lost control of herself, slipping into erotic bliss. Duke pounded harder, prolonging her orgasm.

  “Say you’re mine,” he commanded. “I want to hear it again.”

  “Yours.”

  She felt pressure on her shoulder and then intense gratification washed over her, accompanied by the strangest feeling of buzzing in the air around her. She felt as if someone was tying her to Duke from the inside out with the smallest of threads that were indestructible.

  The next she knew his palm was before her, sliced open enough for blood to well. Mercy couldn’t stop herself as she put her lips to the wound and licked. The second the blood rolled over her tongue, another orgasm took control of her body. She shook as Duke thrust in deep, holding steady there, releasing in her. She’d heard of people seeing stars during a moment like this and had always thought it was just an expression. But as white burst behind her closed lids, she knew the truth. He’d just fucked her brains out and the saying was totally warranted.

  She felt drunk from the passion. More than that, she felt connected to Duke on a baser level. She knew whatever had just happened between them transcended simple sex. Whatever it was left her changed—for the better.

  He pulled out and she turned, looking up at him, trying to figure out what, exactly, had just occurred. Her hand went to her shoulder and then her breast. He’d bitten her.

  No. He did more than that, she thought. He claimed me.

  “What does this mean?” she asked, her voice weak, worry that he might regret what he’d done washing over her.

  Duke swatted her ass cheek playfully, making her yelp. “Means you belong to me.”

  She lifted a brow. “I belong to no one. I’m my own person.”

  He swatted her again and rubbed the spot his hand had made contact with her butt. “Not true, Doc. See, in the eyes of the supernatural community, we’re now,” he leaned and widened his eyes, “husband and wife.”

  Mercy felt faint.

  Duke grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back to rest against his body, her back to his front. “I’ve got you, baby.”

  Baby.

  Hearing the word made her panic more. They’d not used protection. She knew better. She understood the risks. How could she have lost her mind so completely when it came to him?

  Because you’re mates. It’s destiny.

  She gasped. “Duke?”

  “Yes, Doc,” he said, his hand easing up as he went for her breast. He began to play with it lazily as if it was no big deal that he was chained and they were on the floor of a holding cell, or that he’d just said they were man and wife.

  “We didn’t use protection.”

  “I know,” he said. He kissed her sho
ulder, squeezing her nipple. “Wouldn’t have done us a bit of good. We’re mates, Doc. That means no birth control works for us. Nature sorts it out. We don’t get a choice, and before you go getting yourself worked up, we can’t transmit any sexual diseases either. Trust me, I looked into that one long ago.”

  She stiffened and he jerked.

  “Well, what I mean to say is…”

  She drew out of his hold. “Exactly, how many women have you been with?”

  Silence.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. He was eyeing the floor as if the bare, hard surface would produce some perfect answer. One she’d want to hear. Not the truth which was probably way more than she wanted to know about.

  Damn him.

  She was upset with herself as well for falling so easily for his charm.

  “You’re the only woman for me from here on out,” he said. “That is how it works.”

  From here on out.

  The words seemed to stick to her, making her itch. Before her there had been how many? Mercy knew it was irrational to be upset about his past but she couldn’t help herself. There had been no other men but him for her. She’d hoped the same was true for him—that somehow he’d been saving himself for her all these years.

  Clearly, that wasn’t the case.

  She needed space.

  Distance.

  Time to think.

  Without him near.

  Huffing, she grabbed the torn remnants of her hospital gown and stood. Duke tried to grab for her but she darted out of his reach. The chain around his neck caught him, jerking him back from her.

  “Mercy,” he pleaded. “I mean it. The other women don’t matter. You’re my mate.”

  Overwhelmed, she nodded, backing away from him, as she tried to cover herself as best she could. “I need time to process all of this.”

  He reached for her. “Mercy!”

  Shaking her head, she rushed from the room and made it down the hallway before Striker was there, taking off his shirt, his gaze upwards. He handed her his shirt. “Cover yerself, lass. I’ll take you to a guest room. You can shower and I’ll get you some clothin’.”