Page 15 of Theirs to Have

“No, I won’t leave her tonight. Ivy knows what to do and she has my number if she needs me. I’m going to sit up for a bit. I have some paperwork to do for the bar. My accountant is a douche and he’s insisting that I keep better records.” Cash laughed as Callan flipped him the finger and he strode off to check on Mercy.

He peeked in on her and even stood in her doorway for a few minutes, taking in her curvy body and the way that she protectively rested her hands on the baby. He wanted to crawl into bed with her and hold her against his body, but he knew that she would not allow that. They were lucky that she agreed to move in with them, he wouldn’t push his luck. Callan couldn’t wait for the day that she would let them both in. One thing he knew for certain was that they would never let her walk away from them again.

Cash

Cash stood behind the bar wishing that he was at home with Mercy. Callan had taken on fewer gigs with his band to be able to stay home with her on the nights that Cash had to be at the bar. In the past two weeks since Mercy had moved in, she effectively shut them both out still insisting that she have her own room. Emily was adamant that Mercy was out of the woods and that the baby was safe but a part of him still worried about them both.

He looked over the tables making sure that everyone had what they needed. Hiring Ivy was the best decision that he made regarding the bar. Having her around would give him more time to spend with Mercy and Callan and to plan for the baby. Mercy had nothing for the baby’s arrival, and they needed to get a crib and all the stuff a baby would need for the first few months. Whatever that stuff was, he had no idea, but he was sure that their friends would help them figure it all out. He made a mental note to call Regan and have her and Emily over to compile a list.

Having some extra help around the bar also meant that he could start thinking about the BDSM club that he wanted to open. Cash owned the building next to the bar and he let it sit vacant for a little over a year now. He was ready to make it intoa club where everyone would be welcome, kind of like his bar but with a whole lot more kink. He had called a few local guys to get quotes for the job but who he wanted was Slade. Slade Kelly was the best carpenter that he knew but getting him to do the work would require them to be talking to each other. His friend hadn’t talked to him since Jasmine’s death, blaming Cash for everything. Still, Cash had left another voice mail for his old friend that morning, hoping they could reconnect, even if Slade didn’t want to do the work for him.

The night felt like it was dragging on and the only thought that kept Cash going was knowing that he would be able to go home to Mercy after he closed. He wished she would let them both in, wanting more than anything to be able to climb into bed with her and have her body between his and Callan’s every night. But their girl was a stubborn one. She was preoccupied with her grandmother’s little wedding coming up that weekend and he also knew that she had been trying to find another job. Working at the hospital was out since they pretty much blacklisted her for being with both Callan and him. Honestly, he didn’t care if she worked again. A part of him wanted to keep her at home and safe. He hated how people so easily judged them, especially when she was fighting her feelings about their relationship. Cash worried that public opinion and the way she was dismissed from work, played a part in her pushing him away and he hated that.

Cash spent most of his life trying to fit in. He grew up with traditional parents in a home that had very stringent rules. When he left home to join the army he found a whole new set of rules waiting for him. He served his time and left that life to flounder out on his own. He found that he needed rules and discipline to function. That’s partly why he became a Dom; he liked the control that it gave him and the perception that there were rules to follow. Cash knew that he stood the chance of never finding someone to share his life with, especially a womanwho wanted to submit to him. Mercy so freely giving herself to him only made him want her more. She threw him a curveball, wanting both him and Callan but it was one that he could work with.

Things started to slow down after the dinner rush and Cash enjoyed talking to some of the regulars that seemed to show up around that time. He was mixing a martini when Slade strode through the front door and stopped as soon as he spied Cash. It was almost as if time stood still and everyone around the two of them froze. He hadn’t seen Slade in years, not since that night that he discovered Jasmine’s body in his bed. The way that his best friend looked at him that night, hurt and defeated, nearly killed him. Slade and he were friends for as long as he could remember and having to let his oldest friend just walk away hurt. He tried like hell to contact Slade, calling him daily to leave messages and texts, but his friend ghosted him. Cash didn’t hear from him again. He saw him in passing, driving around town, or out at a local bar or restaurant. Small towns didn’t leave much room for privacy, but Cash respected his friend enough to leave him alone. His message was received, loud and clear and Cash wouldn’t put either of them through any more pain just to soothe his conscience.

A part of Cash believed that Slade was right, that he was responsible for Jasmine’s death. But he was trying to forgive himself and move forward. That was the only way that Callan, Mercy, and he would ever have a future together. Slade showing up at Manholes gave him hope that maybe his friend was willing to work through all their past hurt and find a way to be friends again.

Cash rounded the bar nodding to Slade. “Hi,” he all but whispered, clearing his throat.

“Hey,” Slade said. Cash braced himself worried that his old friend had come for a fight. “You called this morning abouta job?” So, Slade did get his message. He worried that his voicemail would be deleted as soon as Slade recognized his number. If he was here about the job, Cash would consider that a win or at least a step in the right direction.

“Yep, I’m looking for someone who can turn the building next door into a BDSM club. You up for something like that?” Slade’s mouth turned up into a half-smile and Cash couldn’t help but smile back at him. It had been so long since he saw that smile that he truly missed Slade’s friendship.

“I think I can handle something like that,” Slade said.

Cash nodded, “How about you come back in the morning, and I can walk you through?” Slade held out his hand for Cash to shake and he hesitated, not quite sure what he was being offered. He hoped that it was the first step towards a rekindled friendship and shook Slade’s hand.

“I’ll be back tomorrow at ten, does that work?” Cash nodded and Slade turned to leave. Cash worried that if he let him walk out of the bar without another word he’d never get his chance again.

“I’m sorry Slade, for everything.” Slade turned and smiled at him and for a moment, Cash could see the young boy that he once knew, his best friend—the person who knew him inside and out.

“I know, man. Me too.” Slade turned and left, leaving Cash standing in the middle of his bar, wondering what had just happened. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and his first thought was that he couldn’t wait to get home to tell the two people who were becoming his whole world all about his crazy, amazing night.

Cash got homea few hours later, reluctantly staying at the bar to take inventory and get his weekly order together for Ivy to place. He had the next two nights off and he didn’t want to have to leave Mercy for any reason. He was determined to make her Callan’s and his again. He was done waiting for her to decide if the three of them were a good idea. There was no doubt in his mind that the three of them worked. Hell—they were a fucking great idea, and it was time that she came to terms with that.

“Hey man,” Cash jumped, startled by Callan’s greeting. He was sitting in the dark family room like a parent would, waiting up for their teenager to sneak in past curfew.

“Fuck, Cal. You scared the shit out of me,” he barked. Cash pulled two beers from the refrigerator, tossing one to his friend. “Why are you still up? Don’t you usually keep banker’s hours?” Cash barked out a laugh at his joke. Callan groused at him letting Cash know that he wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

“Okay, you wanna tell me what’s going on?” Cash had a sinking feeling in his gut that he wasn’t going to like what Callan was about to tell him.

Callan sighed, “Mercy is driving me crazy, man. I just don’t know how to break down her walls to get through to her.” Cash sat down on the sofa next to Callan and clapped him on the shoulder. “Tonight, Mary called to let Mercy know that she and Joe ran off to Vegas and eloped. Mercy told her grandmother how happy she was for the two of them and then got off the phone and broke down. She sobbed, carrying on about wanting to be there for her gram. I tried to comfort her, just hold her and she fucking ran off to her room and slammed the door. I hate that she shuts us out and I’m about ready to go in there and dragher out by her fucking hair.” Callan was breathing heavily as if he had just run a race. Cash knew that Mercy pushing them both away was taking its toll on them, but he didn’t know just how much Callan was suffering.

“You’d think that between two Doms we could figure this shit out and find a way forward with our girl,” Callan growled. Cash knew that he was right, but he also knew that if they pushed Mercy too hard she would run, and he wouldn’t be able to stand losing her again. She needed a home and stability before the baby came but she also needed them, she just didn’t know it yet.

“You’re right man. We need to take more control, show her that the three of us are a good idea, and move her out of that room and into our bed,” Cash grumbled. Callan’s mood was starting to rub off on him and he didn’t want to end such a good night on a sour note.

“I say we go in there, wake her sexy ass up and remind her just how well the three of us fit together,” Callan said. He stood and started for Mercy’s room making it down the hallway before Cash was able to catch up with him. Cash was about to stop him from opening Mercy’s door when they heard moaning coming from the other side of the door. If Cash didn’t know better, he’d think that their girl was having a wet dream about them and the thought made him instantly hard.

“Yes, Callan I love it when you touch me like that. Oh Cash, more,” she cried out. Cash groaned, realizing that he was right—she was dreaming about the two of them and all the naughty things they were all too willing to do to her.

“Fuck me,” Callan whispered. “She’s dreaming about us?” Cash couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat. He wanted to tear down her door and give her something to moan his name about, but they needed to proceed with caution. Spooking Mercy wasn’t an option, not when they heard the proof of how much she wanted them both. Mercy screamed out their names andCash worried that she was hurt. He pounded at her door, and she didn’t answer. He gave her a few seconds to fully wake up and then pounded a little harder. He wanted to see her, make sure that she was all right, and then he wanted to kiss her senseless and take her back to bed to get her to scream out their names for real this time. He was ready to take what was his and from the look on Callan’s face, he felt the same way.

Mercy

Mercy woke to a quiet knock on her bedroom door, and she almost thought that she had dreamed of it. Her crazy pregnancy hormones were making her have sultry dreams about Cash and Callan finally putting her between them again. She had talked to Emily and Regan about her sex dreams and they both assured her that it was normal. Emily said that pregnant women have strange cravings during their pregnancies, some even have a heightened sex drive. She was experiencing that, but she just had no way to work her aggressions out. She had nightly dreams about all the ways she wished Cash and Callan would take her, and tonight wasn’t any different.

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