Page 10 of Built for Mercy

I frowned at my phone as I followed Maverick through the club.

Sophie 8:48 PM

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Callie 8:48 PM

Then you’re as blind as I was about Liam.

Sophie 8:49 PM

Bitch.

Callie 8:49 PM

Come on. You have to admit he’s HOT. He’d probably have you screaming MAAVVERRICCKK all night long and YOU KNOW IT.

Sophie 8:49 PM

I liked you better before you were getting laid all the time.

Kidding. I love you. But seriously. STFU, he’s RIGHT HERE and looking at me like a psychopath!

Also. You're ENGAGED.

Callie 8:50 PM

I can appreciate when an attractive man is looking at a woman, specifically my best friend, like a GD snack. And that man there wants to eat your kitty cat. Trust me. He does not think you’re crazy.

I didn’t realize we were away from the loud music until silence fell around us.

I rolled my eyes and glanced up as we approached a set of stairs. Maverick just gestured for me to go first, face devoid of emotion. I didn’t miss how his eyes dropped to my hips as I swished past him.

Good. I wasn’t the only one feeling this attraction, then.

His gaze felt like a searing trail of fire on my skin, and I was acutely aware of his presence. I waited on the landing as he unlocked the door at the top of the stairs. As he ushered me inside, I was surprised to find us entering a security room.

I made note of the cameras, the computer setup, and the long, tinted window that overlooked the club.

Bet that’s where he saw me and beckoned me to the VIP area.

The room felt smaller as the heavy metal door clicked shut, closing us off from the rest of the world. It was entirely too intimate for comfort, so I whirled and pinned him with a glare. Maybe if I put some hostility between us again, I could ignore the slight ache presenting itself between my thighs at the thought of being alone in here. With him.

“What the fuck is your deal? Couldn’t you leave me alone for one goddamn night?”

His eyebrows raised. “Didn’t I already warn you about speaking to me that way?”

I snapped my mouth shut, the room feeling a hundred degrees hotter suddenly. I wasn’t sure what he’d do about my smart mouth, but my arousal only grew at the thought of a punishmentfor it. Suddenly the few feet between us felt like mere inches. “You did.” It came out all wrong, breathy and pitchy in an embarrassing way.

A smirk ghosted his full lips, and the silence in the room made it so fucking obvious how hard I was breathing. “Are you always this stubborn?”

I crossed my arms. “When I want to be, yes.”

“So why are you wanting to be difficult now?”

Rolling my eyes and trying to not focus on the way he tilted his chin to look at me through his lashes, or his visibly growing erection, I felt myself flush from my face to my ears. “You’ve been harassing me for weeks, and I want to know why. I gave you an answer the last time we ran into each other, and now tonight you interrupt my time with my friends by summoning me? Then you throw out Victor’s name. What do you want?”

His eyes searched my face intently, dipping to my mouth for a brief second. I stopped breathing as he leaned down to whisper in my ear, a single finger tracing my jaw and tipping my chin up. “I want you to listen to me.”