A/N – The characters you know and love aren't mine – but you knew that. All the crazy OCs that you could do without, those are mine
Chapter 13
He was rewarded by her low moan, and he smiled.
Lifting her off the counter, Logan felt Veronica's legs wrap around his waist. Her fingers pushed through his short hair, fingers scratching against his scalp. She nipped his earlobe before murmuring, "This look, it suits you Lo."
The electricity he felt every time they touched shot through him, and all thoughts of sleep were abandoned. He kissed her deeply as he walked them to the bedroom. He felt her breathing speed up when he broke the kiss, his hands cradled under her ass teasing her sensitive skin as he supported her weight.
Veronica leaned dangerously back, threating their balance. She pulled off her t-shirt, revealing more bare skin. Her nipples so close to his face that Logan didn't resist. He slipped one hand up, pushing her forward so his lips could capture the pink bud. She leaned forward into his caress. Giving the nipple one last playful nip he laid her out on the bed. Veronica smiled lasciviously up at him, biting her lip as her eyes darkened with lust. She was in peacock blue panties and nothing else. Logan's breath caught in his throat, awed, as he was daily, by how beautiful she was. He unbuttoned his pants.
Chet bumped into the back of Logan's legs. His focus on Veronica's glowing skin, what lie under the panties, and what he planned to do next broken. "Not now girl, get out." He made shooing motions towards the door. The large dog sat down at his feet her brown eyes trained on him. She whimpered. "Out!" Chet stood, danced in place and whined again.
Veronica turned her head to the clock on the nightstand. "Shoot, I didn't realize what time it was, she wants outside. I'll take her and we can get back to what we have started." She sat up, grabbed for the Henley that Logan had just abandoned and pulled it on. She took a moment reveling in it, the shirt was still warm and smelled like Logan.
Logan watched as her face went soft, some of the anxious lines he had seen when he opened the door fading away. "No, you stay." He bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'll go take Cockblock here for a quick walk. If you want to get started without me…just remember Mars, pictures or it didn't happen." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, but internally Logan was worried. She hasn't been sleeping well. I need to convince her to nap with me before I have to go back to base. Leaving her alone this week has been a bad idea.
As he was walking Chet, Logan pulled out his cell phone. 5:15AM, Mac would have Dick kill me if I call this early…again. He settled on sending her a text message. Hey Mac-Attack! Do you have any plans next week? Want to come and spend a few days with Veronica? Chet startled a dove and jerked his arm unexpectedly as she tried to give chase. The phone went flying out of his hand and slammed to the sidewalk. Logan cursed, "That's two phones you owe me dog!" Chet wagged her stumpy tail happily.
Veronica was asleep when he got back to the condo. Logan smiled wistfully, glad she was finally getting some rest. His condition had cooled off on the walk, so he wasn't too disappointed to not resume his exploration of her body. Instead, he brushed his teeth and climbed in next to her to catch a few hours rest before heading back to base.
She was still sleeping deeply when he got up in the afternoon to head back. Logan decided not to disturb her, opting for another note and flower by the bedside.
The afternoon debrief was just a longer version of what they had done the last two nights after flying. Lessons learned and things the team needed to work on were discussed. Step updated them on the schedule. Tomorrow would be analysis and reports, and the following week they would have two a day flights Monday to Thursday. Logan and the other pilots muddled through the day, drinking more coffee than they should. He was glad when Step dismissed them for the day.
He considered more take out on the way home, grumbling under his breath that his cell phone was out of commission for a second time that week. Instead he swung by the grocery store and picked up some staples and a burner phone that he could pop his sim card into. Walking into the condo, he was struck by how silent it was. Veronica's car was still in the parking lot, so he worked to maintain the silence as he put the groceries away.
Peeking into the bedroom, Veronica was still sound asleep, wrapped around his pillow. Chet opened a sleepy eye and glared at him from her spot at Veronica's feet. Logan retreated to the kitchen. He went to work prepping the chicken tamale casserole, figuring she would be hungry when she woke up.
~~~In NYC~~~
"Uncle Harrison, be reasonable," Mercer cajoled the older man before taking a puff off his cigar.
Harrison Michaels, Mercer's maternal uncle, looked back at him coldly. The older man's hair had gone full white, but time had not diminished his authoritative air. He looked like a bit like Mercer, if Mercer had ever been a Union boss and in charge of swinging a sledge hammer, both to break rocks and bones. He swirled his scotch before taking another drink. "Tell me again, boy, why I am supposed to care about this piece of ass?"
Mercer sneered, "Of course you aren't supposed to care. Though, let me know if you want to take it for a spin. She is still relatively tight, and completely willing to do anything. It's not like she is meant to be the mother of my children, she isn't worthy of my seed."
Harrison returned his nephew's sneer, "Exactly my point boy, you have always had a problem with shitting where you ate. If you had taken my advice fifteen years ago, you would have stuck to keeping your conquests in Mexico. A nice tip for housekeeping and the pimp, and who cares what you do to them. But no, you had to bring your activities with you to school. Look where that got you."
Mercer ran a hand across his face, along the line of his scar. He took another puff off the cigar. "Well, a few years were less than pleasant," he laughed grimly, "but honestly being disowned by dear old Dad, and having him put you in charge of my trust. That wasn't so bad. A penthouse just off Central Park. A smoking hot slut to come home too. I can't complain."
Harrison laughed, "And yet you aren't satisfied, are you?" His smile was knowing even as his green eyes pierced into Mercer's own. He stood and refreshed his scotch, and poured Mercer one to.
"I am guessing for you, it started the way it did with me. Tell me if this sounds familiar, you were out at a party. Some girl you liked, a little cock tease who had been tormenting you for weeks gets drunk. You take her home, she doesn't say no. Oh, it was awkward in the morning because you fell asleep and forgot to leave. But the look in her eyes, priceless, because she knew she had given you what she had been teasing you with. She knew the power shifted, and she needed you. So you gave her what she wanted, you became her boyfriend. But you knew you couldn't be satisfied with that any more. You knew what power felt like. You kept her around for appearances, but you started developing your craft. You would sleep with her friends after getting the drunk or high at parties. They wouldn't say anything, because of their relationship with her. You benefited from their culture of silence. But still that wasn't enough. Eventually, when she grew a bit too much of a backbone and dumped you, you were relieved that you didn't have to deal with her nattering anymore."
Mercer shifted in his seat, before taking a drink, his uncle had hit it a little too close to the center for his comfort.
"I remember when I took you to Cabo San Lucas for your sixteenth birthday." Harrison smiled. "You were already a hunter then, so I guess you started right after puberty, all the Michaels men got early starts. So when I took you to the whorehouse in Pescadero, I thought I was teaching you the right lesson. That front room strip club, loud mariachi music and all the girls you could ever want on display. And all legal. I taught you that the locals look the other way over a little rough treatment that you could make them do anything you wanted. But still you wanted more."
Harrison lit his own cigar at that point, and took a puff in the silence. Mercer adjusted his seat to hide his embarrassing situation. The memory of some of his earlier adventures had sent a pleasant thrill through him. He drank deeply.
"So, I took you to Juarez, and introduced you to some of the darker clubs. Like I said, so long as you pay housekeeping and the pimps the right price, they don't care. But you never came fully to my way of thinking, you never saw the true intimacy that came as you watched the light drain from your partner's eye. Instead you went off to school. Found some lackeys, and became a trophy hunter. Had a thing for white girls I guess. Though, you should have known you could have come to me. Unlimited funds and resources have their benefits boy, I could have accommodated your evolving tastes."
Mercer took a deep breath. "I know Uncle, and in retrospect, I am sorry about that. But there was something about taking those smug sluts down. When they are bought and paid for, their spirits are already broken."
Harrison smirked, "From what I understand of your MO, you didn't like the fighters. Drug them into submission, no fight at all."
Mercer smiled, "Yes, well for that, I like them docile. That way they don't disturb my experience. But it is the aftermath…Uncle, the rush of watching them process what has happened. Seeing the utter destruction that I achieved on a first-hand daily basis, isn't that what college is all about?"
Laughing, Harrison toasted his drink in Mercer's direction. "I suppose it is boy, I suppose it is. Pity you got caught though, and that the bitch PI was able to pin it on you."
"Really, it was Moe Flater's fault. The fucker turned state's evidence faster than you could say Jack Robinson. He only got a year to my eight." Mercer frowned in distaste thinking about his former henchmen. "It all worked out though, I made sure before I left Chino he left in a body bag. As you say, it is amazing what unlimited funds and resources can do."
Harrison nodded. "So back to the purpose of this visit. Why is this piece of ass special, not a love connection," the way he said the word love, it sounded like the filthiest curse imaginable, "not to grow your spawn, so why?"
Mercer smiled, "Because she is going to help me capture the one who got away."
The older man rose and made his way to a wall safe. Keying in the number, he removed a small velvet box and tossed it to Mercer. "Have fun then, and don't get caught."