Page 72 of The Butterfly Killer

Mercer’s eyes flickered to Burns’s lips for a brief second. “If you need a practice run, we better make it quick.”

Before Burns’s could say no, Mercer kissed him.

He slammed his mouth into Burns’s hard enough to bruise. It was manic, yet controlled. He kissed Burns like he was thinkingof every detail, calculating where he was going to put his hands, when he was going to suck Burns’s bottom lip and when he was going to shove his tongue inside.

Burns grabbed the front of Mercer’s suit. He clawed at the fabric as he was shoved against the stone wall. He gasped as Mercer pulled away. He wobbled on his feet and held onto Mercer for stability.

“You—”

He stared at Mercer’s chest as he shook the brain fog that clouded his thoughts. It took him a moment to realize that Mercer had kissed him. Kissed him!

Burns shoved Mercer back and roughly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“What the fuck was that?” He tried to take a step back, but he was already against the stone wall. He was caged in.

Mercer had never looked so intimating. His tall thin figure was ominous when Burns couldn’t see much of his features. He could feel them though. The ghosting of Mercer’s nose against his while Mercer’s unnervingly calculative mouth reduced him to nerve endings.

“A kiss, Burns.”

Burns growled. “I fucking know that! Why did you do it? We don’t actually have to fuck to lie you idiot!”

Mercer didn’t make any excuses. He didn’t so much as shrug. He stood with what Burns didn’t have to see to know was an unapologetic look. He was looking down on Burns again. He thought Burns was overreacting.

Burns had never felt so angry and humiliated at once. He couldn’t look Mercer in the eyes even though they were standing in the dark. He looked around them, noticing that more people had arrived and it looked like they’d been standing here for awhile. He hoped no one had seen what Mercer had done—though Mercer might say it would be good because it would make their lie more authentic.

Burns shoved Mercer again and tried to side-step him. He only got a couple feet before Mercer grabbed him and yanked him back against his chest.

“I will advise you to keep your cool.” Mercer’s voice was calm as ice. There was no inflation or tell in it and that drove Burns crazy.

He wanted Mercer to react in some capacity. He wanted to see some kind of emotion because he couldn’t possibly know what was going on inside Mercer’s head otherwise. The man was a walking enigma and Burns had no idea if he was playing a big joke on him or if he was being serious about this charade.

But if he knew anything about Mercer, it was that he would do anything to get what he wanted.

Mercer let him go. Burns shoved away once more. He straightened his jacket and was about to reach for his tie, but Mercer stopped him.

“I have it the way I want it.”

Burns’s face burned. He turned around and made a face Mercer couldn’t see.

But though he didn’t want to follow Mercer’s command, he thought about the job they were here to do. Mercer’s plan might be unconventional, but it wasn’t like it would be the downfall of Burns’s career or life.

He felt Mercer step up behind him. The man wasn’t deterred by anything Burns said or did. He either liked pushing Burns’s buttons or he simply didn’t think Burns was a threat.

A cold chill went down Burns’s spine as Mercer placed his hand on his hip. The touch was dominating and possessive.

A warning sounded in Burns’s head, but he chalked it up to being his response to the unprompted touch.

“Are you going to behave now?”

He knew Mercer was only saying it to get a rise out of him. Or test if Burns needed more time to get himself together.

“Are you?” He spat.

Mercer gave a dark chuckle. “We’ll see.”

Burns bit his tongue. Mercer lead him to the front steps of the large mansion. The white columns grew in size and he couldn’t stop the “awe” look from stretching across his face.

He snapped out of it a second later, reminding himself he was playing the character of a man who was used to such blatant displays of wealth.

---