Winter Heat

by Kennedy Fox

  It’s not even nine o’clock when Jimmy, the bouncer, tells us we’ve hit capacity. A Rebels Havoc isn’t even set to take the stage for another twenty minutes, and the place is packed. I lose track of time once the band starts. I’m in the zone, doing all I can just to stay on top of the orders.

  I step into the back, needing to restock the ice when I notice a man leaning against the wall opposite me. His foot is perched beneath him, dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans and a white t-shirt underneath a black leather jacket.

  I stop to look, but when my eyes catch the sight of his sharp jaw, I do a double-take, realizing it’s Merric.

  My mouth waters at the sight of him. The Merric I’ve come to know has always been dressed like he’s about to head into a business meeting. This side of him looks like he’s ready to shed his jacket and jump on stage with the band.

  “What are you doing here?” I shout over the music.

  It’s hard to make out his words over the crowd of people. I don’t have time to talk. We have four bartenders working the front bar tonight. I’d be leaving them in a bind if I were gone too long.

  I huff, stepping in close to hear him over the music. It’s a bad idea, though.

  The woodsy smell of Merric mixed with leather is intoxicating. It takes everything in me not to pull him closer and lick him.

  “What are you doing here?” I repeat. “I’m busy right now, so whatever this is about, it’s going to have to wait until I’m off.”

  “Okay…” He nods. “Then I’ll wait.”

  My eyes narrow into slits, shaking my head in confusion.

  “I probably won’t be off for another couple hours, so…” I trail off.

  You’re wasting your time. I complete the sentence in my head, although I wish I knew why he’s here.

  “I’m not in any hurry. If I must wait, then I’ll wait.”

  Jayde whistles at me from behind. When I turn to look at her, she holds her finger in the air, signaling for me to wrap it up.

  “I gotta go,” I mutter. “I can’t do this right now.”

  Against my better judgment, I look back at Merric, finding his eyes trailing down my body before snapping up to meet mine.

  I sigh, shaking my head. It’s hard to get a good look at his face from where he’s standing. The disappointment and hurt I’ve tried to bury over the past couple of weeks stirs in my chest.

  I don’t think I’m ready for whatever brought him here tonight.

  Chapter Eight

  “I got a place for the night. I was hoping you’d come stay with me?”

  Merric is leaning against the side of Whiskey Barrel. It’s probably close to two thirty now. Most of the cars in the parking lot have since left, except for a few, which I assume won’t be leaving until tomorrow.

  I consider it for a moment. I haven’t seen or spoken to Merric since the early morning after the wedding when he came to my room. The lingering questions in my mind want to know what changed and why he’s here now.

  The thought of him coming back for round two hits me, and I shake myself from the fog.

  I’m not some plaything he can come running to when he’s looking for some pussy. It seems like that’s all it was to him the last time. One week, that was all it was supposed to be.

  Now here we are, back to the place where we swore we wouldn’t be.

  I held up my end of the agreement. As hard as it was, I didn’t reach out to him. I came back to Wilmington and attempted to get back to my normal life.

  The reality of the situation is this is how it will always be between us. We can’t continue to fan the flames between us only when the lights are out. Sooner or later, the fire will burn out, and like Merric has already said, we’ll be left with nothing but the mess of the situation to deal with.

  “It’s probably not a good idea, don’t you think?”

  He winces. His eyes narrow, snapping up to meet mine. He hadn’t expected me to turn him down. Probably because up until this point, it’s been him calling the shots, and I’ve gone along with everything he’s said. I’m not going to stand here and continue to let him drag my heart through the mud.

  I step back, pulling my keys from my purse and hit the unlock button on my remote.

  “I’m sorry you drove all the way up here for nothing. You could’ve just called.”

  “I didn’t want to do this over the phone. Will you at least come with me so we can talk? I promise, I won’t even try to touch you. I just want us to talk.”

  I hesitate before turning to leave. Merric wants to talk? Is he serious?

  I want to fly back and make some offhanded comment, questioning if he’s even the same Merric as before, but I bite my tongue, instead nodding, asking him where he’s staying.

  “I got a suite at the Ritz for the night. I didn’t know what to expect, and, well, I knew we couldn’t exactly sleep comfortably on your bed.”

  My eyes shoot over to his, tilting my head to the side. “Oh, so that’s all this is about? What happened to it only being for the week?”

  “No,” he states matter-of-factly. “If you’ll give me a chance to talk, you’ll know it wasn’t only about sex. You can’t be mad at me for hoping I’d be able to spend the night with you again or for wanting to know you’re in my arms while I do.”

  My stomach flips at the mention of him wanting to hold me. My heart begs for me to go with him, while my mind shouts what a giant mistake this will be.

  “Okay,” I agree. “I’ll follow you there.”

  He stares down at me. I can tell he’s trying hard to give me space, not wanting to push me too much. He’s going with whatever I’m comfortable with, but I know him well enough to know this isn’t easy for him.

  He presses his hand against my lower back, following me to my car. His hand shoots past me, reaching to open the door. He waits while I climb in, making sure I buckle my seat belt before he closes the door behind me.

  “I’ll see you there then?”

  “I’ll see you there, Merric.”

  He nods, finally accepting my answer. My eyes follow him as he crosses the parking lot to his Maserati parked away from the rest of the cars.

  The entire drive to the hotel, I’m playing out all the ways this will go in my head, shuffling through the possible theories of what he wants to talk about. The truth of the matter is, nothing has changed, and there’s no easy way for us to work through any of the reasons he’s holding back.

  It’s only going to make this worse when the time comes for us to go our separate ways, knowing we’ll still likely see each other at different family events. While his dad is no longer here, it’s not like he has to show up. My mom will continue to stay in touch with him, and I know Merric won’t push her away.

  Merric must’ve already checked in before he showed up at Whiskey Barrel. When we pull up at the hotel, he motions for the valet to park both cars. He once again presses his hand against my lower back, guiding me through the lobby and toward the elevator. Each second we’re alone on the ride up to his room ticks by at an agonizingly slow pace.

  His hand never leaves my back, and I don’t pull away to put space between us. It’s as though we both understand what the distance over the past few week has done, and we don’t want to lose this connection, no matter how brief it may be.

  It’s not until we’re standing outside his room that he drops his hand, reaching into his pocket to pull out his room key, sliding it into the reader. He gets the door, urging me inside.

  We make it no more than two steps through the door when I turn to face him, letting it spring shut behind us, as I push him against the closed door.

  “You drive me so damn crazy,” I moan, reaching my hands up to wrap around the nape of his neck, pulling him closer to me.

  He grunts, his hands sliding over my ass, squeezing it before he lifts me into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist, my arms circling his neck, holding him against me.

  He carries me easily into the room, and I blind
ly drop my purse on the floor, not caring in the least where it lands.

  “I’ve missed you,” he whispers, pressing his forehead against mine. His words reach into my chest, gripping my heart, and steal my breath away.

  “I missed you, too.” I exhale the words harshly.

  My lips are on his, kissing him with every ounce of passion burning inside me. It’s not until he passes by the bedroom suite that I finally pull back, my eyes searching the room for where we’re going. He carries me into the living room area, taking a seat on the couch with me straddling his lap.

  “First, talking,” he insists, answering my unspoken question. “We can do whatever you want after we talk.”

  The windows are open, the salty air from the ocean mixes with the cold breeze flowing through the curtains. I turn back to face him, a devious smile curling the edge of my mouth.

  “Whatever I want?”

  He nods. “Whatever you want.”

  My hands frame his face, leaning in to kiss him again. This time, it’s slow and full of passion. When we finally break apart, his eyes take a second before they slowly blink open.

  “No more kissing until we talk.”

  I sigh dramatically. “Okay… fine. Why don’t you start by telling me why you’re even here?”

  He looks away, seeming to consider his words carefully. I worry whatever he’s about to say could change things between us. Despite wanting answers, I wish I could push all my questions out of my mind and forget everything.

  I didn’t get enough time with him before. No matter how much I wish I had, I can’t let myself forget how badly he hurt me.

  “I made a mistake, Oaklyn.”

  My fingers toy with the end of my hair, repeating his words over and over to myself.

  I was a mistake. He regretted being with me.

  “You didn’t need to come all this way to tell me it was a mistake, Merric. Why even come here now?”

  I bite down on my lip, holding myself back from saying anything I may regret.

  I attempt to slide off his lap, needing distance between us while I try to gain some control to at least hear him out. His hand grips my thigh, stopping me.

  “I made a mistake when I walked away from you.”

  I look back up at him, my arms wrapped around my middle, trying to hold myself together. My breath is lodged in my throat, waiting for him to continue.

  “I’ve had some shit going on back at the office I needed to handle. Trying to deal with that while sorting through what was going on between us, I couldn’t figure it all out while being stuck in a house with you, and your mom not far away. I bolted. I took off,” he sighs heavily. “The further I got from you, the more I realized how big of a coward I was.”

  I trace my finger over the floral print of the couch, thinking over his words. I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out.

  “All I could think about was how terrible things would be if we went down this road and it didn’t work out.”

  “Messy… right? It would be messy.”

  His throat bobs, and he nods subtly. “I do think it would be, but it doesn’t matter now. We’ve crossed this line together, and no matter what we do, there’s no turning back.”

  I shake my head, my fingers rubbing absently over my arms. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m sorry I’ve made this so difficult for you, Merric.”

  “Oaklyn, that’s not what… you’re not understanding what I’m trying to say,” he huffs out. “It doesn’t matter because I don’t want to turn back. I realized on the drive home how quiet it was without you there next to me. I know it’s stupid, I know what people will say or how things will be if I fuck this up, but it’s worth the risk.”

  He pulls my arm away, silently asking me not to close myself off from him.

  “You’re worth the risk to me. I don’t want to go back to what my life was like before that weekend, before I got to experience what it’s like having you in my arms.”

  A grin breaks out across my face, damn near splitting it in two. Merric’s body relaxes seeing it. When I see his mouth curve in a smile, happiness blooms in my chest.

  I grab his face between my hands and slam my mouth against his, unable to control myself. The sound of his moan vibrates against my lips.

  I pull back enough, my forehead pressed against his, and whisper, “You’re stuck with me now. No more pushing me away. No more running.”

  “Promise?” He grins, crashing his mouth to mine.

  Epilogue

  SEVEN MONTHS LATER

  “Good afternoon, Oaklyn.” My heels click on the tile floor as I cross through the entrance of Paine and Thorne Investment Management. “Mr. Thorne is in his office. He already let me know he was expecting you.” Tessa smiles as I pass by her desk toward Merric’s office.

  Merric has taken over managing Paine and Thorne after his dad passed. Maxwell’s best friend and business partner Erik has recently retired, and just like Merric, his son has come in to help fill his shoes.

  Things haven’t always been smooth sailing between Merric and River since working together. Their history goes back to when they were younger, but setting aside their differences is something they’ve both agreed on to keep their professional relationship running smoothly. I could sense things are tense, though, when I had spoken to Merric on the phone earlier this week.

  Despite how closed off Merric was in the beginning, we’ve continued to grow closer over the past few months. We don’t spend a lot of time together during the week between work and school, but every weekend, I’ll make the drive down to stay with him. Sometimes, on days like today, we’ll make plans to take trips away, just the two of us.

  I knock on the door, reaching for the knob to peek in, finding Merric sitting behind his large oak desk, the phone held to his ear. His back is facing me, staring out the large window spanning from floor to ceiling. When he hears me knock, he turns his chair toward me.

  He nods a hello. “Can you send over the report once it’s finished? I’d like to look at it.”

  I drop my purse on the couch, shrugging out of my jacket. His eyes track me, staring down at the cobalt-blue top and the black dress pants I’m wearing, dragging his teeth over his lower lip.

  “Ahem.” I clear my throat, motioning with my finger for him to wrap it up already.

  “I’m about to head out of town for the weekend, but I’ll be sure to take a look at it when it comes through.”

  He nods again, trying to hurry along with whoever is on the other end. His arm is stretched across his desk, his hair looking like he has raked his hand through it at least a dozen times today. It’s clear whatever is going on between him and River is getting to him more than he’s led me to believe. I will make it my mission to spend the weekend distracting him from whatever is bothering him.

  I circle the desk, pressing my palms against the armrest, leaning over to press a soft kiss against his cheek. I rest my hip against the edge of his desk, and he doesn’t move to give me anymore space. His eyes wander over my body, waiting ever so patiently while he wraps up his call. “All right, I’ll talk to you later. Yes, okay, sounds good.”

  He foregoes any goodbye, leaning over to hang up the phone. His face is right near my waist, and I can see the devious smile curve his mouth the closer he gets to me.

  Grabbing his face in my hands, I tilt his head back to look up at me. “Eyes up here, Thorne.”

  He slides his hand across the desk over my ass, gripping it and pulling me closer.

  “I like this color on you.” He smiles. “It makes your eyes stand out.”

  His fingers trail over my hip, dipping under my shirt, pushing it up to expose the tan skin on my stomach.

  “Don’t you think you should wait until later tonight? I didn’t even lock the door when I came in.”

  “Tessa knows better than to come in here without permission when you’re here.”

  I raise my brow in question. “Oh, really? Is this a conversa
tion the two of you had?”

  “No, I’ve just made it clear that when you’re here, I’m not to be bothered.”

  I choke out a laugh, letting out an exasperated sigh. Of course, he’d warn his assistant not to trouble him when I’m here.

  He leans forward, pressing a soft kiss against my stomach. The slight touch of his lips against my skin has my body trembling. While I’ve appreciated having FaceTime on those nights when Claudia was away and I was missing Merric too much, nothing compares to having his hands and mouth on my body.

  In the beginning, we took things at our own pace. We didn’t put any labels on our relationship, not wanting to add any pressure. We already added so much with the fear of what would happen if things didn’t work out.

  I would often head down to Myrtle Beach after class on Friday and stay with him through Monday morning when he left for work, then I’d make the drive back. It worked out perfectly because I could leave when he was heading out the door and be right on time for my first lecture.

  Merric often spent late nights at the office, so while I hated not going to sleep next to him, I knew he was able to focus on his job.

  When we made the trip back a couple of weeks ago for the Fourth of July weekend to see my mom, we did so with the plan of also coming clean about our relationship. Merric and I have both joked about how our family would respond, only for us to realize the stress it added was unnecessary.

  Neither of us knew what to expect, but the amount of support my mom has shown us put any worries to rest.

  I still remember when she pulled me aside at our family barbeque and asked how I was doing. I know she just wanted to check in on her only daughter to see how I was handling things.

  I glanced over at Merric while he talked to Penelope, who was now four months pregnant, and told her how Merric had shown me a different side of himself. Tears filled my eyes when I told her how he had broken down all his walls for me, showing me more than the hard exterior he had toward the rest of the world and how well he took care of me.