Page 76 of Mercury Rising

“Go now if you like,” Nick said. “I’ll watch dinosaurs with that lot.”

“Sure?”

Surreptitiously, Mercury reached down and ran his fingertip along Nick’s hand.

“I’m sure. Be back as soon as you can.”

Mercury dashed through the front door. He wanted to be at Nick’s in record time. His cock ached at the prospect of Nick’s lips around it.

“Oh, hello.”

Madeline appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“Hi. I’m in and out. I’m staying at Nick’s.”

“Is that right?” Madeline said with a grin.

“Yes, it is.”

“You like him. I can tell.”

Mercury dropped his bag. “Yeah, I do.”

“Come and have a drink with your mum,” Madeline said. “You can spare the time, can’t you?”

It took extreme willpower for Mercury not to bolt upstairs and get his things. Yet he didn’t want to push her away.

“One sparkling water then I’m out of here.”

“Fine,” she replied.

They walked through into the kitchen. Sunlight streamed in through the conservatory. Mercury saw it all through a different lens now. A mixture of guilt and appreciation swirled inside him.

Madeline poured their drinks.

“Go on then,” she said. “Tell me why he’s having this effect on you. Don’t get me wrong, I like him very much. It’s just I’ve never seen you like this. You’re always so controlled.”

“Controlled? Do you mean a heart of ice?”

Madeline handed him a glass. “Of course not. Don’t take it the wrong way. I am loving seeing you so happy. I am intrigued why this man.”

They wandered through into the conservatory. Mercury shifted his mother’s discarded script and flopped down on the sofa. She curled up on the chaise longue.

“I think it’s how he turned his life around. I truly respect him.”

Madeline frowned. “Turned his life around? How?”

A seed of doubt lodged in Mercury’s stomach. “Oh, nothing much. A few bad decisions when he was little. That’s all.”

“That isn’t all, is it?”

“Mother, what is this? An interrogation? We’re only seeing each other. It’s nothing major.”

He got up. Closely followed by Madeline who sprang off the chaise longue like a panther. “You’re keeping something from me, Mercury Morrison. You’ve never been able to lie. Out with it.”

“Nick’s history is his business.”

“And mine. I’ll ask Jessica to sweep the web or whatever it is. I would rather it came from you.”