Merrick: Harlequins MC (24 page)

“Who knows why those fruits and nuts in California do any of the things they do. But I’m telling you, he didn’t have a gun in the front of his pants when I spoke to him. I would have seen it.”

“I didn’t get your name.”

“Capra. Merrick Capra.”

“Mr. Capra, I have a sworn statement by Mr. Teagle that states he saw the gun under Charlie Harton’s shirt. He has no valid CCW permit and that’s a—”

“I understand what you’re saying, Officer Nevell. What I’m saying is, I think Blake made the whole thing up.”

“But you don’t know why?”

“I have an idea, but I can’t prove it.”

“Care to share it with me?”

“The one thing I’ve learned from working security on this production is some of the cast, Blake in particular, are very concerned with their image. Maybe he’s trying to pump himself up.”

Nevell looked at Merrick a moment. “That’s a pretty flimsy reason.”

“I agree, but you don’t know how serious these people take these sorts of things. I don’t want to see an innocent man go to jail over something like this.”

“What’s your stake in this?”

“Nothing, except I know how I would feel if I were being falsely accused. Can’t you check the gun for prints or something?”

“No reason to. We have an eyewitness, and several others who corroborate they saw Mr. Teagle take the weapon from Mr. Harton.”

“I was right there and saw what they saw, and I didn’t see that. I saw Blake stand up and say he took the gun from Charlie. Who is the gun registered to?”

Nevell grimaced. “The serial number has been removed.”

“You saw the guy. Someone who knows enough about weapons to remove the serial number wore the weapon, with no holster, in the one place where it would be obvious?”

“If criminals were smart, we wouldn’t catch most of them,” Nevell said.

Merrick stood and extended his hand. “Thank you, Officer. I know you’ll do the right thing.”

***

“I was afraid you wouldn’t come back for me,” Poppy said as production wrapped for the day.

“Why?”

“You know why.”

Merrick watched her a moment then softened. “Don’t worry about it. You’re no different than anyone else and I have been dealing with this my entire adult life.” He looked around but nobody was within earshot. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but it’s obviously more than a troubled production. I think Blake is behind most of what has happened.”

“Really?” Poppy asked, her eyes going wide.

“Think about it. He was nowhere around then just happened to find the gun. Will was looking for him just before the gas line problem. Now this? Once is an accident, twice is a coincident, but three times is enemy action.”

“The car wreck?”

“Probably not. But how handy to divert attention away from him. Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

“But why?”

“You said yourself: his career is bombing. Can you think of a better way to get back in the spotlight than catching a guy intending to shoot the star?”

Her eyes narrowed. “After the wreck, while you were working on Tony, he was all huggy. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but last night he invited me to dinner then tried to bed me. He said we needed to get comfortable for our love scene coming up. He also denied telling you he was trying to create buzz around a shomance. He said you were a liar.”

His face hardened. “What do you think?”

“I can’t see you using the word ‘shomance’ unless you heard it somewhere else.”

“I think Blake is working some scheme.”

“I’m starting to think so, too,” Poppy agreed. “How do you prove it?”

“I can’t. There’s no proof he’s done anything.”

“See what I mean? This is the kind of shit that goes on all the time. I hate it!”

“Want to go for a ride? Riding helps me clear my head.”

She smiled. “God yes!”

They wandered around in the bush country, Merrick turning here and there, until Poppy was hopelessly lost, the air cooling as the darkness grew deeper. They stopped for dinner at a hole in the wall restaurant that was once a gas station. The place wasn’t much to look at, but the food was great and the beer was cold.

“I don’t want to go back to the hotel,” she said as they stopped by his motorcycle.

“You want to come back to my place?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Why?”

“Why what? Why do I want to come back to your place?”

“Yes. Is it just because I curled your toes?”

She thought about it a moment. “Honestly?”

“Yes.”

She paused as she gathered her thoughts. “At first I wanted to go to dinner with you because I was so grateful for what you did on the set. The shooting, then the way you talked to me the next day changed the way I looked at you. Then the gas line thing, where you took charge and got everyone to safety then took care of the problem made me decide I’d like to get to know you.” She grinned at him. “It’s silly, I know, but you became much more attractive after you saved my life. Twice.” Her smile faded as she looked at her feet. “After that night, yeah, I will admit it was the sex. That, and the fact you didn’t seem to give a shit who I was. I found that incredibly appealing.” She scuffed her toe on the ground. “I wanted you to stay with me last night, but I liked the fact I couldn’t convince you stay. The other guys I’ve been with…” She shook her head. “After a while they began to suffocate me.”

She looked up again. “So yeah. I’ll admit it. At first it was all about the sex and how you made me feel. But then the accident happened and, I don’t know how to describe it, but it became less about the sex and more about just being with you. When I’m around you, you make me feel special somehow. It’s like you don’t see Poppy Landrieu, movie star, but Perty Landry, normal every day person. I like that. I like it a lot. You make me feel safe and you keep surprising me. Then, that night on the beach. Oh my God! I would’ve never guessed you were so romantic…and what you did to me!” She fanned her face as she grinned. “There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, and I like what I see.”

She looked at her feet again. “Blake said you did all those things to get close to me. I’m ashamed to admit he made me wonder.” She looked up and held his eyes. “But now there is this thing with Charlie. You have nothing to gain by helping him. It just shows Blake doesn’t know shit and I feel a little guilty for doubting you.”

When she looked down again and didn’t say anything, he tipped her face back up. “I told you before, what you see is what you get with me.”

“I know. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

He kissed her slowly and he felt her come alive, her arms going around his neck. “You ready to go?”

“Oh God yes!”

***

He stepped off his bike in his garage and checked his phone out of habit. There was another text from Sonya. He dropped the phone back into his pocket. This was the third text in as many nights asking if he wanted some company. She knew the score, just as he did. If there was no response, the answer was no. He would answer her later.

The moment the kitchen door closed behind them he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. She felt a flutter of fear as he looked at her, his face and eyes hard. He jerked her in and kissed her, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth as she opened for him, the kiss breath taking in its intensity. He held her then pushed her away before spinning her around again. He pulled her back into him and began to kiss and softly bite her neck as he opened the buttons on her blouse. He left the blouse hanging open as his hands roughly caressed her breasts. He wasn’t hurting her and his slightly rough handling was jacking her up, as if he couldn’t wait to make love to her.

He roughly ripped away her blouse and threw it on the counter, her bra following close behind. He slid down kissing along her spine, unbuttoning her pants and jerking them down to her ankles before kissing her ass hard. He helped her get her feet out of her pants, then sat down and turned her toward him, pulling her pussy to his mouth.

She held his head, his hands on her ass, as he destroyed her with his tongue and lips. She couldn’t back away, not with him holding her to his mouth, and she was working herself up to an impressive orgasm. She felt unsteady on her feet, her legs weak with pleasure, her breath coming in hard, panting gasps.

She groaned low and deep as she tipped forward, releasing his head to lean against the counter top. He was delighted with the way she moved, sagging and surging as if she were having a hard time keeping her balance.

Her orgasm hit her like a thunderclap, causing her to clench her eyes tightly shut, her mouth slightly open as she tried to ride out the overwhelming pleasure. She sagged into his hands, his grip on her ass the only thing keeping her on her feet, then giggled low and deep. “Fuck, are you trying to kill me?” she gasped. Only the orgasm on the beach had been harder than the one she’d just experienced.

He smiled, reducing the intensity of his kisses until he felt her get her strength return and she got her feet under her. He slowly reduced his support, then slipped out from between her legs. She tried to turn to face him as he got to his feet, but he pushed her forward and down, mashing her into the counter top.

The granite countertops were shockingly cold against her skin, and each time she tried to rise, he pushed her back down. She tried to rise a third time, to turn to see what he was doing, when he slammed into her, his cock plunging deep as he pressed her into the cabinets with his hips and flattened her down again. She fought her way up to her elbows, his hand between her shoulders holding her down and preventing her escape as he had his way with her.

He smiled as she twisted her hips, her leg rising off the floor. He caught the leg to give her some support as he drove into her. He pounded into her has hard and fast until she began to quiver.

“I’m going to fall!” she gasped, pressing down hard with her raised leg.

He released her and pulled back from the cabinet, pulling her down to the floor with him. The tiles were stunningly cold and hard against his ass and back, but he barely noticed as she settled over him, taking him deep inside again. He pulled her down, bringing her lips to his as he held her tight, driving into her with purpose.

The relief from the erotic agony as they settled on the floor barely registered, her rising orgasm given no time to recede. He was fucking her like a man possessed, as if he couldn’t wait to have her. She fought her way up out of the kiss, and as he growled while pounding into her furiously hard, her orgasm rolled over her in a great wave.

He paused, gasping for breath as Poppy froze, every muscle straining until her breath exploded from her. She panted for a moment then giggled before kissing him deeply. He accepted the kiss, holding her tight. He’d just barely managed to hold off his own orgasm, but as she began to work her hips, he could feel his climax swelling again. He needed more time to control his raging desires and pulled her more firmly into the kiss, trying to hold on to his tattered control.

She broke the kiss with a gasp. His kiss had become scorching in its intensity, stealing her breath and making her want to fuck him until she passed out. She began to thrust harder, his lust for her making her crazy with her own desire.

“Fuck!” he cried, push her up and off of his cock. He couldn’t stand the pleasures she was giving him for another moment.

She fought him, trying to keep him pinned to the floor, trying to keep fucking him until he came, but he was too big and strong. He battled his way off the floor then took her hand and pulled her to her feet and into another torrid kiss.

He broke the kiss and led her to his couch. The big, overstuffed leather couch not only served as a place to sit and watch television, but it also functioned as a visual divider between the kitchen with the small eating area, and the living room. He also knew from experience it was perfectly designed for bending a woman over the back.

She smiled as he started leading her to the bedroom. That suited her fine because then they could pound the shit out of each other with hurting their knees and backs on the hard kitchen floor. He stopped at the couch and pushed her down along the length of the back.

“Leg up here,” he said as he lifted her left leg and placed it on the big rounded arm.

She grinned, realizing what was happening and adjusted herself. She was surprisingly comfortable, the back at the perfect height and thickly padded so she could lie along it like a firm pillow. He stepped up to her and slid into her wetness again, taking her hips into his hands before pounding into her again.

With every pounding stroke of his hips, he inched closer to his orgasm. He was beginning to sweat in earnest as she moaned and gasped and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to last much longer.

“I’m going to come,” he gasped, his voice strained.

“Yes! Yes! Don’t stop! Come with me,” she gasped in return, her hands out in front of her, grasping the couch as he fucked her long, hard and deep.

He shook his head, battling the pleasure, trying to hold his orgasm, but couldn’t. Overwhelmed with pleasure he grunted, but forced himself on, thrusting into her, trying to push her to orgasm.

He splashed into her then began to growl long and loud as he fucked her. He leaned over her and pressed his head into her back as another cry escaped him, an animal like cry of pain and pleasure, and still he pounded into her. No lover before him had ever given her so much, never tried so hard to please her.

“I’m coming,” she cried an instant before her orgasm took her, sweeping her away on a wave of pleasure as she clung to the cushions of the couch like a life raft.

He stopped his pounding hips with a gasp, his forehead still pressed into her back as he gasped and panted from his efforts and the power of his orgasm.

“Fuck,” he breathed as he slowly straightened, taking his weight off of her.

She giggled as she slowly slid off the couch then turned to face him. She smiled softly, then stepped in close and kissed him slowly, luxuriantly, before laying her head against his shoulder.

“That was fantastic. How did you know?”

He kissed her on the forehead, not wanting to tell her she wasn’t the first woman he’d taken like on the couch like that. “Seemed like a good idea.”

“It was.” She sighed deeply. “Take me to bed?”

He didn’t move for a moment then slowly pulled out of her embrace to kiss her again. “It’s still early. When’s your call tomorrow?”

She smiled. “Six.”

“Ugh.”

“PM,” she added, her smile growing broader. “Plenty of time for another one tonight, and one in the morning, if you’re interested.”

He smiled as he tugged her to start her walking to the bedroom. He was in the mood for a nice long snuggle and maybe a little sleep, then maybe another round of slap and tickle.

“If you wake up and I’m still asleep, wake me up.”

She grinned. “Same here.”