Page 91 of Merciless
The party began to wind down not long after the Sons left. Their departure shifted the atmosphere to a more sobering one, that tomorrow we'd be living in a Four Corners without T-Bone’s boisterousness, Dyno’s sly remarks, and Grudge’s observant silence. I owed those guys everything, which made our goodbyes especially bittersweet.
Until they broke the news, my spirits were higher than they'd been in months. The party was just like the ones we threw back in Sheol. I nursed a good buzz for hours, got a belly full of food, and shot the shit with my favorite people. It was the perfect way to end one chapter and start anew.
Then once the Sons left, everything felt a little more wistful. The music in the backyard stopped, children started blinking heavily, and people started settling on our chairs and couches after dancing the night away.
I spotted Mari on the back porch, leaning against the exterior wall as she watched Jandro and Andrea's kids playing fetch with Hades.
Mari smiled when I approached her, leaning into me when I slid an arm around her waist and pulled her back toward my chest.
"All alone, Mrs. President?" I nudged a kiss by her ear, our fingers intertwining on her waist as I hugged around her.
"Never." She kissed me quickly over her shoulder. "Just enjoying a moment of quiet."
I squeezed tighter around her hands, rubbing my finger over the stone on her ring. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." She rested the back of her head on my shoulder. "Just didn't expect the Sons to take off so suddenly, I guess."
"Ah, they'll be back." I kissed the top of her head, then rested my chin in the same spot. "They might not see this place as home but they know we're family. Besides, T-Bone will miss hitting on Gunner too much to stay awaythatlong."
Mari's laugh was bright and playful as she spun to face me, winding her arms around my neck as she stood on tiptoe to kiss me. I held her flush to me with a heavy grip on her waist, kissing her back deeper than all the short, flirtatious pecks we shared during the party.
"I want you," I groaned out when we parted for a breath.
A coy smile tugged at her lips. "I've wanted you all day."
My palms slid to her ass, squeezing and pulling her forward with not a fuck given about who saw.
"I want you to myself," I clarified.
Sharing her was great, but the five of us had been damn near inseparable for the last two weeks. I still only had partial use of my left hand, but overall my strength and mobility were coming back quickly. Certain positions and movements didn't hurt anymore, but the moment Mari and I would get started, the others couldn't resist touching or kissing her.
Not that I could blame them, especially in the aftermath of everything. It felt like we were on vacation, a honeymoon even. I'd never push the guys away, but it had been months and months since I had my wife to myself. I didn't need it all the time, but fuck me, I needed her now.
Mari's smile only grew wider at my request. "Then what are you waiting for, Mr. President?"
A spark lit up my chest. My doubts of her feelings for me were long gone...mostly. I knew she wouldn't have stayed at my side every day during my coma, wouldn't have been so hands-on with my physical therapy, and endlessly patient once I came home if she didn't love me. She apologized too many times, needlessly and tearfully, for how she treated me before I got captured. I believed she was sincere, I truly did.
But it was hearing that confirmation from her lips that she wanted me, and me alone, that smothered that last, lingering seed of doubt.
I tugged her inside the house without another moment of hesitation. The beautiful sound of her laugh followed me through the hallway to the bedrooms. I went for the nearest door, not caring whose room it was. The five of us had fallen into the habit of spending every night together anyway.
Mari closed the door behind us and headed for the untouched bed, but I tugged her back to my side.
"Not there. Come here."
I smothered her mouth with a kiss, driving my tongue past her lips to taste every part of her I could reach. My hands gripped her ass like a lifeline, encouraging her to rock and grind against my dick that was already fighting to get out of my jeans.
Mari stretched up on her tiptoes, one leg nudging around the outside of my thigh, and I picked her up so that she could straddle my waist. Her legs now secure, I turned to perch her ass on top of the chest of drawers against the wall.
The casual dress she wore, which had spun around her so hypnotically as she danced, now rode up high as her legs spread to accommodate me between them. My touch dove under the fabric, finding the warmth of her bare skin as I followed the curves of her hips and waist.
"I like this dress," I murmured, mouthing my way down the side of her neck.
"The dress or the easy access?" She reached for my jeans, pulling apart the snap and the zipper with quick efficiency.
"Both." I pulled a strap down her shoulder, lingering a kiss on the new stripe of exposed skin. "You looked beautiful tonight. Happy."
"I am happy." Mari's fingers returned to my neck, scratching through my hair as she kissed me with a smile. "Are you?"
