Page 30 of Merc

“Why not?”

“Because we’re just friends.”

He stood and made his way behind me as I removed the toast from the oven.

“Were we just friends when you were cumming on my dick and asking for more?”

Just the thought had my pussy leaking. It had been hell abstaining from food and him, but I was sure it was worth it. Besides, I didn’t want us being confined here to blur the line of friendship drawn between us more than it already was.

“That was a onetime slip; it won’t happen again.”

“What if I want it to?” He turned me to face him. “Again and again.”

Between the heat from the stove and the heat from his body, my breathing grew ragged.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with you, but we agreed to be friends.”

“Things change.”

When I tried to walk around him, his arms gripped the oven handle and locked me in place. Closing my eyes, I pulled in a deep breath.

“You’re right, things do change. And now, I never want to be with a man who has children who aren’t mine again. So… cut whatever is on… off.”

Merc chuckled and licked those sexy, juicy lips. Lord knew I was trying my hardest to maintain control, but the longer he stared at me with those tight, dark eyes, the more willing I was to submit to whatever it was he wanted.

“I ain’t nothing like that nigga. I ain’t been a cheater, and I for damn sure won’t start with you.” Finally, he dropped his arms and put some space between us. “You were patient with me, though, so I’ll be patient with you.”

I would accept that for now because I was sure when we were able to go our separate ways that whatever he was feeling would wear off. I stacked the toast up and put it on a plate then put the sauce in a round foil pan and topped it with the cheese. After a few minutes in the oven on broil, it was perfect. Once I had everything set up on the island, I poured us both a glass of wine. He said grace for what we would eat now and later, then we dug in.

“If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?” I asked between bites.

“Orlando with my son. What about you?”

“Heaven Can Wait.” His brows wrinkled, causing me to laugh softly and elaborate. “It’s a vacation property in Knysna, South Africa.”

“Oh, okay. Have you been there before?”

“No. I went to Africa on a mission trip when I was a teenager, but it was with family and a few members of my church. It’s been popping up on my TikTok and looking like the perfect escape from everything back home. Have you been to Africa before?”

“Yeah, I’ve been to Zimbabwe. I want to take Marz eventually, but this Heaven Can Wait place sounds cool too.”

I grabbed my phone and showed it to him, and he was just as amazed as I was. “Can you imagine going to sleep and waking up to a view like this?”

“Damn. I’d never want to leave.”

“I know, right?” I agreed with a giggle.

We continued to talk about the places we’d traveled to and experiences we had, which led to us talking about future plans, goals, and motivations. I admired the fact that he wanted to distance himself from not just illegal organizations but dangerous security jobs too. Even if it was for Marz’s sake, everyone in Merc’s life would benefit from it, because they’d have the peace of mind that came from knowing his every day job wasn’t putting his life on the line.

“So what do you plan to do now?” I asked as we wrapped up our little snack.

“I want to open a training academy. I have a group call scheduled with a few of my guys tomorrow, actually. If I can get them to agree to teach a few classes, I’ll be able to bring in more students at a time. Even though I can do it all on my own, community is big to me, so I’d like for them to be a part of it too.”

“That’s really cool. I’m sure it’s going to be great. And Marz will be happy to have more of your time I bet.”

Merc chuckled with a bob of his head. “If he’ll be in Memphis, yeah. He understood I had to work, and we had a good schedule in place, but not all of my jobs were as easy as Rey’s. With some clients, I had to be with them twenty-four-seven and would miss days or months away from my little man. So I’m excited to finally be done with that and moving into something more stable. He’s getting older now, and I want him to see me as not just a provider but as a present father too.”

It was crazy how different the person made your perception of a situation. With Steven, him being a father was an inconvenience most of the time. My intuition was telling me something was off, but I didn’t think it was him cheating with Asia. With Merc, I loved and admired the love he had for his son and enjoyed hearing him express his devotion.

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