7. CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 7

"Ready…"

The moment Mercury saw Dorsey, he'd lost his voice. Had he ever seen anyone as fucking sexy? No. He was certain he hadn't. "Damn, sweetness, you look delicious."

Okay, considering he was trying to convince Dorsey to come home with him without having to worry about being coerced sexually, he probably shouldn't have said that. But…Well, damn .

As much as he hated to admit it, the fact was, even though he had promised Dorsey nothing would happen if he hadn't wanted it, Mercury wasn't entirely certain he could guarantee that was true. Because, damn!!! No. He wouldn't allow it even if his cock was currently as hard as steel.

He'd never once been tempted to do something a partner hadn't been willing to do. Yet, as much as it pained him to admit, he craved Dorsey. Like, genuinely needed, longed, desired Dorsey. Would he be able to stop from taking what he wanted? It wasn't something Mercury had truly had to face before.

He liked to believe he wasn't that much of an asshole…yet, Mercury also hadn't given a shit about anyone he'd fucked before. Dorsey was…different. No. That was an easy description. He was… Mercury closed his eyes and willed his desire under control. Dorsey was everything.

Not once since coming to Cedar Falls had Mercury imagined that he would find that one person who belonged to him. Hell, he hadn't thought there was such a person. But then he met Dorsey, and all those thoughts were blown out of the water.

Fuck if he was going to let Dorsey get away from him. He just hoped his sweetness was onboard because there was no way in hell he'd ever force the connection he felt. It might kill him to refrain, but he would do anything Dorsey wanted.

"Thanks," Dorsey said, and despite his darker skin, Mercury was positive his cheeks had heated.

He gestured to where the SUV was parked. "Let me drive you home." It hadn't been what he'd planned on saying, but the thought of his house being their home was too enticing to ignore. That was especially true when he'd learned Dorsey was living in the apartment about his store.

The thought of Dorsey being forced to stay in a space above his store killed Mercury. It wasn't a bad place to live, he was certain, but living where he worked most likely didn't give Dorsey much downtime.

That, and the main point was, Mercury couldn't deny he desired his sexy sweetness being nowhere other than his bed. Not that he ever wanted to control Dorsey, or stop him from doing what he loved. Still, Mercury also was willing to offer him to do nothing if that was what he wanted.

All he wanted was to love on Dorsey. Keep him happy. Whether that meant working or not, he honestly didn't care. But it meant having him in their home…No, in their bed.

When Dorsey passed by him on the way to the SUV, Mercury thumped his rock-hard dick. It might not have done much to keep it under control, but he was damned if he would let it take charge that night.

Once Dorsey had settled with his seatbelt on, Mercury slid behind the wheel and started the vehicle. As he made his way off of Peachtree, he asked, "How was the rest of your day?"

Once more, he swore Dorsey's cheeks were heated with embarrassment. "Good." Hearing his voice raise at least an octave, Mercury knew his sweetness had been up to something.

"Oh?" He damn well knew that wasn't the truth but for the life of him, Mercury wasn't certain what Dorsey might have done after he'd asked him to dinner. Then he remembered seeing Ethan and Zane rushing past his building shortly after Mercury returned to work and he just knew what Dorsey was trying to hide.

"No one interesting stop in?" he prodded further.

Damn if that voice didn't rise another octave when Dorsey said, "Nope."

That wasn't going to do. Mercury abhorred lying. That said, they hadn't set any ground rules yet, so he didn't have any say in what Dorsey told him or kept from him. But it didn't mean he couldn't call him on it.

Five minutes later, they were pulling into his driveway. When he went to open his door, he placed a hand on Dorsey's arm. "Let me, please."

He preened when his sweetness waited for him to get out and open his door. His cock throbbed when Dorsey placed his hand in Mercury's outstretched one before getting out of the SUV. He kissed those soft lips as a reward, and murmured, "Thank you."

Opening the front door, he gestured for Dorsey to go in before him and was grinning when he gasped as he looked around. "This is…" Dorsey started to say but seemed unable to finish as he took it all in.

When he'd arrived in town, Mercury hadn't been certain what kind of house he'd wanted. In the city, he'd lived in basically an apartment. Yeah, it might have been technically a condo, but the fact was it was a glorified apartment: a small, one-bedroom, six hundred square foot one at that.

On his first day in Cedar Falls, he had a realtor, Mary Fuller, show him five places. The first three had been ranch-style homes, and he just hadn't felt like they were home. But the fourth had been a cabin, and he'd known that was the type of place he could call home. The only problem with the one she'd shown him first was that it was too big.

It had been a two-story, five-bedroom home that he would dread having to clean. He had no reason to have all that space. When he told her it was just too big, she'd taken him to a one-story home with three bedrooms, and he'd fallen in love. It was an open-concept kitchen, living room, and dining room. The master bedroom was to the right of the space and the two spare rooms were to the left. It was perfect.

Since he'd moved in, Mercury had been putting his touches on it, and he had to admit, it was very inviting. To him, at least. Based on the look on Dorsey's face, Mercury thought he felt the same way.

"This is gorgeous," Dorsey finally said.

Pleased, Mercury put a guiding hand on his lower back and led Dorsey to the kitchen island to sit on one of the high-backed stools. "Thank you, sweetness. I haven't finished decorating yet, but I've put a lot of work into making it our home."

Shoot. He hadn't meant to say ‘our.' Nervously, he glanced at Dorsey, but either he hadn't noticed the slip, or he'd accepted that this would be his home too. Likely, it was the former, but it didn't matter. Either way, Mercury was determined he would one day move in.

Placing a kiss on Dorsey's temple, Mercury headed to the oven and pulled out the chicken mac and cheese dish he had made. He had considered using lobster but felt chicken was a safer bet as he hadn't asked Dorsey if he even liked seafood.

Setting it on the stove to cool, he asked, "What would you like to drink? I have beer and wine as well as water or milk."

He was pleased when Dorsey asked for water. Not that he was opposed to alcohol, but tonight he really wanted to get to know Dorsey unencumbered by its effects. Pulling out two glasses, he filled them with ice water.

When he placed them in front of Dorsey, he asked, "Would you mind taking these to the table while I get our dishes?"

Like the good boy he was, Dorsey did as asked. Damn, if that didn't make his cock fill again. If Mercury wasn't careful he was going to be hard all night long. Not that there was anything he could do about it. He was a sucker for a man who submitted to him, and in all of their encounters, Dorsey had done so without question.

It would give him blue balls to wait, but Mercury also wouldn't push. Dorsey had to be willing. More importantly, they hadn't discussed Mercury's kinks. He might have seen Dorsey's submissive nature, but that hadn't meant Dorsey knew he was a sub. That was one of the main reasons Mercury had wanted to have dinner at his house. There was no way he'd embarrass his sweetness by talking about BDSM out in public if he wasn't ready.

He just hoped Dorsey was open to talking about it at all.