Danni finally spoke first.
“You really hurt me, you know that?”
“No, I didn’t know that.
I thought you’d be upset with me, but understood why I had to go.”
“I understood just fine.
Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you like crazy, though.
You knew how I felt about you.”
“Not really.
You had Specs, the boy wonder.
How could I compete?”
Danni jumped up from the rock.
“Fuck you and fuck that.
Don’t call him that.
Don’t call him ‘Boy Wonder.’
You didn’t buy into that and neither did I.
The rest of this town thought he walked on water, but you and I both knew him better than that.
He was good at a few things, but he was just a guy.
You could’ve had me, Lord knows I wanted you, but you thought your role was second fiddle to him, so you just let me go.
So fuck off back to wherever you came from or wherever you’re gonna go hide next.”
Mercer was speechless.
He stood up and grabbed her, kissing her hard.
She gave him ten years’ worth of anger and he returned ten years’ worth of passion.
His hands slid up her back, bringing her close.
He was done waiting for what he wanted.
He pulled her shirt above her head and tossed it to the side.
He was so consumed with kissing her, he barely registered she was wearing a black bra that perfectly matched her tank top.
Danni removed his shirt, then went straight for his pants.
She unbuckled his belt, he did the same for her, and they both kicked off their jeans.
Mercer took her by the hand, leading her away from the rocks and into the soft grass beside some tall trees.
When they were back there, they laid down.
Mercer got her bra off immediately and she went for his underwear.
His big member sprang forward and she grabbed in her hands, stroking him up and down.
His mouth went to her breasts and his hand slid beneath her panties.
She was soaking wet, his fingers were drenched right away as they slid up and down her sex.
Danni moaned and pressed against him, squeezing his cock as she did.
Mercer’s mouth moved from her round breasts and up to her neck, staying there for just a minute before moving back to her lips.
He pulled her underwear down around her knees and got them off the rest of the way with his foot.
She spread her legs for him and he moved on top of her.
His rock-hard cock was positioned right at her swollen entrance.
Mercer hesitated there.
This was the moment he had wanted for so long.
To be with Danni, to know her completely.
It had been years of longing, and finally it would be over.
She knew what he was thinking and slid her hand along his rough jaw.
He entered her as he kissed her.
Danni moaned loudly, both from the excitement of being with Mercer and from his size.
He filled her completely, more than any man had before.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed on to his tight ass.
He slid back and forth, pumping her, hitting that wonderful spot inside her over and over again.
Mercer’s hands ran over her body, feeling her, taking in as much of her as he possibly could.
He didn’t want to leave a single inch of her unexplored.
He wanted her to know his touch and to be consumed by it, to think about it for years to come.
Faster they went with each other, as if trying to make up for the missed years.
Her nails dug into his back and he loved it just like that, pain and pleasure mixed into one.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled, and she begged him to do it again.
He pulled harder and knew what she wanted without her having to say it.
He pulled her arms above her head and pinned her down.
He was in charge now and she loved it.
He was dominating her, taking her like she had always wanted.
Her orgasm was close. When she looked down to where their bodies were joined, and watching his thick cock enter her over and over again, she lost it.
Danni’s eyes clenched shut, her toes curled, and her body shook hard as the waves of pleasure took her.
Mercer’s own orgasm took him and he managed to pull out just in time.
He shot his load across her stomach and breasts, milking his prick until it was dry.
They laid back in the grass, completely spent.
His arm was around her and her face was in his neck.
Their breathing slowly returned to normal, but for several minutes neither of them said anything.
They basked in the glow of their new union, not wanting to spoil the moment by talking.
Mercer closed his eyes and felt the warm sun on his body.
He thought he might just fall asleep with Danni in his arms, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered he was supposed to be leaving town.
He opened his eyes and sat up slightly.
He saw the mess he’d made on her body, reached for a handkerchief in his jeans pocket, and handed it to her.
She wiped herself down and threw the rag into the pile of clothes.
“We have to get a move on,” said Mercer sleepily.
“Don’t say that.
The outside world doesn’t exist up here.
I don’t have to get back to work and you don’t have to leave.
We live outside of time up here.”
“You have no idea how much I wish that were true,” he said but he knew they couldn’t think like that.
She ran her fingers over his chest and stomach
.
“I want to say something.
Just listen, OK?”
“Sure,” he said.
“I’m not mad at you for leaving.
I mean, I was mad at you for that, but that’s not what’s going on with me right now.
I know you did what you had to do and I know this town would have never let you stay.
Specs killed himself, but this town’ll never see it that way.
They’ll only ever see you as the guy that killed the best of us.
I’m angry with myself because I could never leave.
I made a nice little life here, but that’s not what I wanted.
I convinced myself I was happy here because the area is pleasant, the people are nice, and the sunsets are beautiful.
But inside there was a longing to escape and break free.
Just like you did.
I was jealous.”
“I get that,” he said.
“I’m also mad because of the way I feel about you.
We’ve never even talked about it because we’re scared of the past.”
“What do you mean?”
“Us.
This,” she said.
“You and me naked in a field.
We’ve wanted each other forever.
We both knew it.
Everyone around us knew it.
The only person who didn’t know it was Specs.
We’re completely in love with each other and I was mad I couldn’t talk about it.”
“I know how you feel.
I’m glad we can talk about it now,” Mercer said
“Right now I want to make love to you again and forget everything.
Just promise me after you leave this time you’ll call or something.
Maybe even come back again.”
Saying that brought them both out of their haze and made them remember they had to get a move on.
“Who’s after you?” Danni asked.
Mercer got up, grabbed his underwear, and pulled them on.
She wasn’t moving and he stopped to look at her naked body in the sun.
He had dreamed of seeing her like this. It was better than he could have hoped.
“Some guys from my old MC.
They corrupted something beautiful.
I took some money from them, a lot of money actually, and they’re coming for it.”
She sat up.
“Can’t you just give them the money back?”
“I don’t think that would solve anything, and I’m not giving it back anyway.
I took it to hurt them.
I wanted them to know they can’t act without consequence.
It’s mine now. And once something is mine, I don’t give it up.”
For the first time she got a good look with his shirt off.
His chest was marked with several scars.
They were pale against his tan skin.
The worst of them ran from his shoulder to just above his stomach.
Mercer saw was she was looking at and pulled his shirt on.
“What’s your boyfriend going to say about all this?”
“Boyfriend?” asked Danni.
“Yeah. Last night you said you had a boyfriend.”
She thought back.
“Oh, that.
I just wanted to make you wait for it.”
He shook his head, but he was smiling.
“Come on,” he said.
“We have to get back.”
They got dressed in a sullen mood, not wanting to get back to the lives that were waiting for them.
Once they were dressed and back on the bike, Mercer took the streets far more slowly than on their way up.
He wanted to make the trip last as long as possible.
She wrapped her arms around him even more tightly, just to hold him close again.
Danni fought back the tears.
She hadn’t cried in years and she didn’t want to start now, or at least, she didn’t want Mercer to see it.
She had the feeling nothing would stop it once she was alone.
No matter how slowly Mercer rode, they got back to Stax much faster than they wanted and saw the sheriff’s cruiser parked out front.
He pulled the bike into an empty spot.
Danni got off and saw Mercer eyeing the cruiser suspiciously.
“Don’t worry,” she assured him.
“It’s just Harvey picking up his lunch.”
“Harvey Ellis became a cop?”
“Sheriff’s deputy.
He’ll probably be Sheriff in a few years.”
Ellis came out of the bar, gun drawn on Mercer.
Another deputy came from around the side of the building, his gun trained on him as well.
Mercer had experienced enough run-ins with the law to know how to act.
He put his hands up in the air, making no sudden movements.
“Danni, step away from the motorcycle,” yelled Ellis.
“Harvey, what the hell is this about?” Danni shouted.
“Danni, I am not going to tell you again.
Step the fuck away from the bike!”
Danni looked at Mercer and he nodded, telling her to get away from him.
She stepped away and pressed herself against the side of the building.
She was out of the way of the guns, but not leaving.
“Mercer Hawthorne, keep your hands where I can see them,” barked Ellis.
“Jesus, Harv.
What the fuck are you doing?” said Mercer.
“We are taking in for questioning concerning the assault and robbery of Linda Witherspoon.”
Mercer and Danni were both confused.
Linda Witherspoon was a very old lady that lived outside of town in a giant house on four thousand acres.
She was known to be very wealthy but something of a recluse.
Neither of them had even seen her in twenty years.
“Harv, I was nowhere near her house last night,” said Mercer.
“Call me Deputy Ellis, asshole.”
“Seriously?
We went to high school together.
Fine, Deputy Ellis, sir.
I was in my hotel room all night.”
Ellis roughly got Mercer off his bike and cuffed him.
He led him to the patrol car and slammed him against the door.
“Can you prove it?”
“Check with the Camelot.”
Ellis pulled him away from the car to open the door, but with his hands behind his back, Mercer couldn’t steady himself and fell to the pavement.
“Harvey, you’ve made your fucking point.
Ease up,” said Danni.
One of the other deputies helped Mercer up while Ellis turned towards Danni.
“Keep running your mouth, Danni, and I’ll haul you in for obstruction of justice.”
Danni glared at him but said nothing.
She knew Ellis enough to know when he was serious, even if he was being completely out of line.
Mercer and Ellis had never liked each other much, and the intervening years apparently hadn’t done much to make Ellis forget that.
The other deputy had Mercer on his feet and was walking him towards the car.
Ellis took over for the deputy and ran Mercer back to the car, slamming him into the side.
He opened the door, then tossed him into the back seat, barely waiting for Mercer to get his legs inside before shutting the door.
Ellis looked to Danni, daring her to say something.