Page 138 of Heart Over Heels

Was that all I’d ever be?

“I think…” My throat tightened, putting a strain on my words. “I thinkImay want to change a few things.” I lifted myhead enough to meet Mercer’s rich, brown eyes. “Be less of Luxe and more of me.”

His features softened. “I’ll love him too,” he said. “If that’s what you need. For as long as you need it.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He kissed me again, right in the center of my forehead, and lingered like he was sealing a promise. When he pulled back, his gaze flicked downward, taking in the mess on both our stomachs. His mouth curved in a smile.

“Let me get something to clean this up before it dries,” he murmured.

He pushed off the bed, and I rolled my head toward him only to find his cock jutting out from his body, straining against his briefs.

My thighs pressed together as a fresh spark of desire licked through me.

He was starting toward the bathroom door when I called after him. “Mercy, do you still have that lube I brought?”

Mercer bent over the bed and braced his hand beside me. The mattress dipped under his weight. “What for?”

I met his gaze and held it. “Because I want you to fuck me.”

His brows arched, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he glanced over my nude body with the same starved look as before.

He wanted me.

He loved me.

Every broken and beautiful part.

But he wavered, mulling it over until his raised brows pinched and he puffed out a breath. “Aren’t you tired?” he asked. “Your eyes are so heavy.”

“It may not be the rodeo,” I said with a smirk. “But I can still ride you, honey. You gave me what I needed. Now it’s my turn.”

He shook his head. “It’s not a job. This isn’t, and I’m not. You are never obligated…”

I pushed a finger to his lips, silencing him so I could echo back the request he’d made of me. “Just let me love on you, baby.”

If he’d stood there any longer, I’d have dragged my limp ass over to him and turned his cock into a lollipop, Zephyr-style, but my plea proved enough to spur him into action, and he took off toward the bathroom in a rush.

And I eased onto my back in his bed, smiling at nothing and feeling as held in that moment as if I were still in his arms.

CHAPTER

FORTY

Mercer

I stood on a precipice, staring out over the landscape of everything I wanted. A new vision for my life. Something far removed from deployments and patrol schedules and a promising military career.

Something better.

It was visits with my daughter, a very pretty man in my bed, and a connection to an oddly endearing bunch of demons. Having them in my house felt right. Like they belonged here, and I belonged among them.

That was the Darby effect.

Holding a damp towel and the bottle of lube, I headed back into the bedroom and—Christ, what a sight.

Darby lay on the bed, his skin even richer in the low light. His hair framed his face in a cloud of white, and the sheets curved around the contours of his body. His tail rested in a lazy coil beside him, and it flicked once when he saw me.