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Chapter Thirty-Eight

MERRICK

“Next time, just give me a phone call,” I say, jerking my chin toward Prez. I still don’t know his name, and I probably never will.

Our contract is signed. I’m set to come in and evaluate his construction company and set up his complete surveillance system, state of the fucking art, for free. I already told him that I didn’t want to know what they did in the dark hours of the night. He only laughed and said it wouldn’t bleed over to me.

Whatever the fuck that means.

“You’ll be hearing from me,” Prez announces as I open the driver’s door.

Sinking down into the seat, I start the engine and back up, turning the vehicle around as I follow behind Vaugh, Grayson, and Nadine, who lead the way out of here. I don’t know where I am exactly, although I could easily just plug the office into my GPS, but I’m not in the headspace to think about that right now or give much of a fuck about it.

Instead, my focus is on getting the fuck out of here. Once we pass the gates and turn onto the highway, I let out a sigh of relief. I cannot believe that this shit happened. Gripping the steering wheel, I feel the anxiety inside of my body ratchet up about a million percent of what it was just seconds ago.

“Merrick,” Colette’s soft voice calls out.

I don’t even know if she’s okay. I haven’t spoken to her at all. Maybe it’s the only way I can think to compartmentalize how much I’ve let her down yet again. Swear to fuck. I’m not sure I can be the man she needs me to be at this point.

When I feel her cool fingers curl around my wrist, I shift my gaze from the windshield to hers for just a moment. I can see the pleading in her eyes as she watches me. Clearly, she wants me to say something.

I’m not sure what I can say.

She was fucking kidnapped, and I was standing right there. Fucking taken right from my side. Taken in my own goddamn car. It all worked out, but that doesn’t mean a damn thing. It could have had a much different ending.

A sinister one.

Instead of going to the office, I shoot Theron a text telling him that I’ll call him later. I need the rest of the day to deal with what just happened. He knows where we’ve been and likely had eyes on us the entire time. There was no way Nadine was just going to walk out of the office with Vaughn and Grayson without Theron knowing what the fuck was happening.

THERON: WILLOW CLUB. TEN TONIGHT.

That isn’t the response I want, but then I realize he’s going to want to gauge my mental state. I don’t blame him.

Honestly, I probably do need to check in with everyone, and a night away from my own inner thoughts would be a welcome distraction. Because right now, I want to go home, drink, and fuck until I pass out.

I don’t want to deal with the way I’m feeling or what fucking just happened as a result of me not being man enough to protect my woman.

A woman who I clearly do not deserve.

Pulling into the parking garage of my condo, I find my spot and shift the car into Park . I don’t open the driver’s door, though. Instead, I send Theron a confirmation text that we will be there tonight, then I stare straight ahead until I hear Colette’s voice softly calling my name.

Slowly, I turn to face her. I’m not sure how I expect her to look at me, but it’s not with a smile.

“Merrick,” she whispers again. “It’s really done now,” she says. “Or it will be.”

“How can you look at me like that?”

“Like?” she asks, her brows knitting together with obvious confusion.

Shaking my head, I clear my throat as my gaze continues to stare directly into hers. Fuck me, but this woman does not give a shit that I’m a terrible goddamn protector. Just by looking into her eyes, I can tell she would follow me to the ends of the goddamn earth. She shouldn’t, though. I’m not worth it.

“Like you think I’m the exact opposite of worthless.”

She gasps at my words. Then, before I realize what’s happening, she’s climbed over the center console and is straddling my lap with her hands cupping my cheeks as her eyes search mine.

“You’re anything but worthless, Merrick. I was forced on you, and yet you still take care of me. You could have walked away so many times, but you came back. You’re the best man I’ve ever known. I love you, every single part of you.”

I snort, closing my eyes in a long blink before I reopen them and find hers again. “I don’t deserve it. Not an ounce of it. I can’t protect you.”

Colette leans forward, touching her lips to mine, but she doesn’t deepen the kiss. Instead, she speaks, and when she does, her words take root deep inside my soul.

“I’m alive, I’m safe, and it’s all because of you. Whatever comes our way, you have always protected me, even when you didn’t want to and didn’t have to. I’m grateful for you, Merrick.”

Instead of arguing with her, because clearly, she will not see reason, I lift my hand, grasp her hair with my fingers, and pull her against my mouth in a hard kiss. I know I don’t deserve her. I know I’m not worthy of her. And yet—I’m keeping her.

Forever.

Because I fucking love her—every goddamn inch of her.

COLETTE

I can see the doubt in his eyes. He’s doubting himself, but I refuse to allow that. Merrick has not only been my savior, he’s also been my pillar of strength. I was ready to give up completely on life until he came back.

My life should not be dependent on this man, but it is. It’s always been dependent on a man—my father, Merrick, or Malcolm. The only difference now, the only reason that I am at complete and total peace about it, is because I want my life to be reliant on Merrick.

I love him.

His tongue slides into my mouth, swirling around mine. Warmth glides down to my stomach before I feel tingles in my lower belly. Shots of desire spark between my legs, and since I can’t press my thighs together to relieve the ache, I whimper as my hips roll.

I need him.

It doesn’t matter that we’re in a parking garage, cramped inside of the front seat of his car. I need him right now. Right this damn minute. Reaching for his shirt, I tug at the fabric, then slide my fingers across his abs, feeling every single ripple and trying not to whimper.

He breaks the kiss before leaning back in his seat. Climbing off him, I shimmy my pants and panties down, leaving them in the passenger seat floorboard before I climb back onto his lap.

Wrapping my fingers around the base of his dick, I align his head with my center. Then I pause when he grips my hips, holding me where I am, unable to move. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I lift my eyes to meet his.

“I love you, Colette.”

My eyes widen at his words. I stare at him, unsure of what to say. What to do. I stare, unable to even breathe. I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. His lips twitch into a smirk, but his eyes smolder as he looks at me.

God.

Dipping my head, I touch my mouth to his. He sucks my breath in, taking it from my body to feed his.

So. Damn. Sexy.

“I love you, Merrick. I’ve loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was something.”

“You were made for me, Colette. Made to be mine.”

His words come out on almost a growl, and that’s when he guides me down along his length. Releasing my grasp on him, I wrap my fingers around his shoulders as I sink fully down along his cock.

I close my eyes, my head falls backward, and I let out a sigh as my body stretches around him. His hands slide up my waist, his fingertips gliding up my ribs as new goose bumps break out all over my flesh.

I arch my back, and when my hips move just slightly, we both grunt. Then I feel one of his hands tangle in my hair again, gripping the strands tightly. The other hand, he wraps around my rib cage, his fingers digging into my flesh gently.

Slowly, my hips begin to move. I didn’t think sex in a car could be so damn erotic, but it is. My hips roll as I look into his eyes, his fingers gripping my hair tightly, his muscles flexing against my ribs.

We don’t break eye contact. I’m not sure the rest of the world even exists. I grind my clit against his pelvis on each roll. My breath hitches. “Come all over me, baby. I want to feel your pussy squeeze me.”

I don’t know how his words can be so dirty and so perfect at the same time, but they are. My hips move faster, bucking harder, and then it happens. I don’t expect it. The fall over the edge is more like a surprised tumble, but when I come, I cry out in surprise.

He grips my ribs tightly, his fingers flexing even more in my hair, and then he thrusts upward from his seat, fucking me as hard and fast as he can from his position until he roars and I feel his release fill my body.

I don’t stop moving. I can’t. My body needs to feel more. He releases his grasp on my hair and my ribs, grabbing hold of my hips before he slams me down and keeps me seated with him deep inside of me.

“Vengeance has never tasted so fucking sweet, baby.”

“Vengeance?” I ask.

He hums, releasing my hip with one of his hands before he wraps his fingers around the side of my throat. I feel his thumb glide across my bottom lip, then he gives me a curved grin.

“Vengeance,” he repeats. “Your fucking father, Ravet, they all deserved every ounce of what they got and more. But you’re my goddamn reward, Colette. You’ve always been my reward. I was just too goddamn blind to see it.”

I wrap my fingers around his wrist before I turn and touch my lips to the center of his palm. “You were my prize, Merrick. You were always my prize.”

He grips the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him so that our lips touch before he speaks. “Fuck the world, baby. It’s you and me. Always.”

“Always,” I breathe.

Always.

Fuck the whole world.