Page 57 of The Price of Mercy
Caressing my thighs, Sam glides his palms up my body until he reaches my panties, gently tugging them aside to reveal my pussy. He sucks in a breath and groans, eyes sparking like wildfire as he inches closer. “You’re still creamy from this morning.”
Oh God.Embarrassment floods my system, and I blush violently. We had sex this morning, but he didn’t have to broadcast that fact! “We used protection,” I remind him, biting my lip. I shouldn’t be creamy since Sam didn’t come inside me. I can tell that he wants to—he practically snarls every time he rips open a condom package—but ever since the accident by the bonfire, I’ve made him swear to always use protection.
We can’t get carried away just because it feels good.
“I know. This is all you, baby.” Sam’s hot breath fans my thighs. “I want a taste.”
Kane shoves Sam back with a boot square to his chest. My panties fall back into place. “It’s not your turn,” he grunts, nodding towards the other man in the room. “Zane.Come. Here.”
Without a beat of hesitation, Zane fills the space that Sam just occupied. Instead of kneeling, he cups my cheeks and tilts my face up, staring down at my lips with the most infuriating little frown on his face. “You better not bite me, Kitten.” Licking his lips, he dips closer, his gaze flicking up to my eyes. “I bite back.”
He descends without any ceremony, capturing my lips like a man on a mission. As soon as he’s sure that I’m not going to attack him, he relaxes and softens his mouth, drinking me in with gentle plucks of his lips on mine. It’s warm and wet and somehow sweet, the way he sucks my bottom lip or rolls his tongue, teasing my mouth and making me melt. Over and over again, he kisses me, seamlessly blending them together and humming with satisfaction every time I kiss him back.
Until there’s arap rapof someone’s knuckles on the wall behind us.
I freeze, but the men jump into action. Someone pulls my dress down over my thighs while another grabs a steak knife from the table. Something crashes into the ground and I hear a body slam against the wall.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sam. He’s shouting.Atsomeone. Oh, God, someone saw us making out. With my dress up and my body exposed and my—my hearton fire.It tumbles in a discordant rhythm, thrown off kilter by the sudden change in mood. The room crackles with electricity as all four of us stare at the intruder: dusty brown hair streaked with gray, a scowl carved on his otherwise perfectly sculpted face, bright green eyes that mirror the emergence of Spring without any of its warmth… and an eerie familiarity.
Kane grumbles as he lifts me out of his lap. “Fucking rich bitches. No goddamn respect.” As he checks the perimeter for more men, he grabs the carving knife from the rejected turkey and hands it to me. “If anyone comes after you, stab them.” He wraps my fingers around the handle and adjusts my grip for a firmer hold, then meets my eyes. “Even Sam.”
I gape at him while he spins around and whispers something in Zane’s ear. The other knife, the one plucked from the table before Kane and I stood up, is clutched tightly in Zane’s fist. His grip doesn’t relax even after Kane pries the knife away and claims it for himself. Looking back at me, he winks and mouths something to me.He gets stab happywhen cornered—I think, unless that’s me projecting. Zane wanted to stabmewhen we first met. It would make sense that a stranger barging in on us, on a holiday, no less, would make him jumpy.
The older man chokes out a response. “Is that any way to greet your father, young man? Put me down.”
“No.” Sam’s entire body tenses.
“Put,” his father snaps, “me,” he grabs Sam’s throat, “down!”
Sam shoves him against the wall before letting go. Unlike in the movies, Samuel Wright doesn’t crumple to the ground. He lands on his feet and releases his son before casually dusting himself off like nothing happened. His pretentious white suit wrinkles at the collar, but he pretends that nothing is amiss. “Sit down, Samson. We have something important to discuss.”
“Like hell, I’m sitting anywhere near you.”
I stare at Sam’s back, not believing my ears. Every time I saw Sam and his father when we were teenagers, Sam always did as he was told without any hesitation. Now, he’s like an agitated dog anticipating a beating. Practically snarling. On edge. Ready to snap at his master’s fingers.
From what I hear, that’s precisely what Samuel Wright is to most people: their master, controlling their lives with money and leverage. My dad doesn’t talk poorly about people often, but the one time I caught him speaking about Samuel, he had this irritated glint in his eye as he told my grandmother what a snake Samuel was—and how much Sam and his mom deserved better. As far as I know, his opinion hasn’t improved over the years.
I wonder what Sam and my dad know that I don’t.
“You called in a favor, Samson, and not an insignificant one. So, either you sit down for a discussion like adults, or I drag you home like the boy you’re proving to be.”
“I’m not sitting anywhere near him.” Zane snatches the steak knife back from Kane and aims the tip at Samuel’s nose. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Your house?” Lifting an eyebrow, he stares at his son rather than at Zane. “You’re lucky you haven’t been charged with breaking and entering. If I hadn’t settled the dispute with the owners, you’d be at the station right this very minute.”
“You’re lying.” Zane glares at Samuel. “There are no cameras on the property, and the security system is offline. No one knowswe’re here.” Tipping the knife, he takes a step closer. “Except you. How did you find us?”
Ignoring Zane, Samuel sidesteps towards the table. “Now, if that’s settled—” A stripe of crimson blooms across his cheek. His eyes narrow as he turns his head and looks down his nose at Zane. “Samson, get control of your dogbefore I put him down.”
It’s Kane’s turn to step closer. “What the fuck did you say, old man?”
Samuel smiles coldly at the two men. “I don’t know how either of you came into contact with my son, but I assure you that whatever relationship you think you have with him ends today.” Snapping his fingers, he returns his gaze to Sam. “Remove them.”
Armed men appear from every entrance to the room, rushing towards us with expertise. They disarm Zane after he slices one of their arms, and two men grab Kane to keep him from swinging his fists. One man takes an elbow to the face and falls to one knee. As for me, I jab forward with a scream, using all of my strength and weight as adrenaline hits. The blade in my hand sinks into flesh, puncturing a soft spot in the man’s neck. His eyes bulge as blood trickles from the wound, made worse when I jerk back and take the blade with me. He collapses to the ground, his body twitching as blood pours onto the carpet, staining it deep red.
Shit shit shit.Shit.Holy shit. What did I do?What did I do?
Someone hits me from behind and I stumble to the floor. The knife tumbles from my hands as I land beside the dead man, burning my palms on the carpet and staining my dress with his blood. I scream at his unseeing eyes, and someone kicks me in the stomach, knocking the air from my lungs and shutting me up.
