by Grey, S. R.
The fucker has a knife.
And he’s cut me with it.
Plus he’s ready to strike again.
Good thing I’m faster than him.
I hit his knife-wielding arm as hard as I can with my weapon.
The knife clatters to the floor, and Neil starts screaming, “You broke my arm! You broke my arm!”
What a pussy.
I’m so amped I don’t even feel any pain in my arm.
“Yeah, you’re real tough,” I scoff, kicking the knife far out of his reach.
Still seeing red, I’m about to hit him again.
But Morgan comes to me, murmuring, “Don’t, Zane. It’s not who you are.”
“You know what?” I lower the tire iron. “You’re absolutely right.”
Disarmed, and with a clearly broken arm, Neil is easy to restrain.
Even though my own arm is bleeding from the cut, the wound isn’t all that deep.
I shove Neil down to the bed with ease. “Sit,” I command.
He grumbles something but complies.
Morgan hands me a towel to wrap around my arm.
I keep hold of the tire iron in case Neil tries something funny.
But he looks completely defeated at the moment.
Serves him right.
Just then, Grady arrives.
“Whoa, shit.” He stops just inside the doorway. “Is everyone all right?”
I nod, as does Morgan.
I notice then that she picked up the knife I kicked and is holding it tightly, ready to strike captive Neil if needed.
Damn, my girl has my back.
We really are an amazing team, during good times and bad ones.
Grady places Neil in handcuffs, which he always carries, and I finally set the tire iron down.
Morgan does the same with the knife.
Breathing a collective sigh of relief, we then call the police.
Free of Fear
I’m finally out of danger and, for the first time in a very long time, free of fear.
After the police arrived that horrible night, Neil was taken into custody. With all of his parole violations—and on top of what he did to me, Zane, and Grady—the officers assured us he’ll be locked away in prison for a long, long time.
Our attorneys and Zane’s private detective confirmed all that the next day.
The nightmare is finally over.
“This is a much better way to live,” I say to Zane a few nights later.
We’re in the living room, snuggling on the sofa.
Leaning back into his hard, strong body, I add, “I’m not scared all the time anymore, and that is the best freaking feeling.”
“It is, sweetheart.” Zane moves my hair and kisses along my neck, sending the best kind of shivers down my spine. “Now you can do whatever you want,” he whispers against my skin, “with no fear.”
“It really is liberating,” I agree, pressing back into him even more and feeling his growing hardness.
“Maybe we should liberate some more,” he rasps into my ear, “like freeing your sexy body from these terrible, restrictive clothes.”
I have on leggings and a loose hoodie, so my clothes aren’t exactly restrictive.
But I can play along.
“Mmm, yes, I think that’s a great idea. But only if you lose yours first.”
“Pfft.” He snorts. “You have yourself a deal, babe.”
Wow, that was easy.
Zane sits up, as do I, and he whips his tech tee over his head. Next, he stands and removes his jeans, shoes, and socks.
I point to his gray boxer briefs, his cock clearly straining to be freed. “Those have to go too,” I urge.
“On it.” Zane is out of those boxers in three seconds flat.
Not that I’m counting or anything—hee hee.
I’m not snickering for long, though. I’m too mesmerized by this man’s perfect form.
Staring up at him, I’m in awe.
It doesn’t matter how many times I see his body, or how much he uses it on me in so many deliciously salacious ways, it remains a masterpiece in my eyes.
I sigh, allowing myself to get lost in the beauty that is Zane Tinsbury.
Huffing, he starts tapping his foot, which makes his ramrod-straight cock bob.
I giggle.
Clearing his throat, he raises a brow.
“What?” I ask.
“I believe there’s some liberating of clothes that is right now at this moment being neglected.”
“Oh? Ohhh…”
I ditch my leggings and sweatshirt, then my panties and bra.
“Stand,” Zane demands hungrily.
I do as he says.
As I stand before him, both of us bare, he reaches out and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re beautiful, Morgan,” he says.
“So are you,” I murmur, my eyes trailing down.
“Hey…” He nudges my chin. “Look at me.”
My eyes meet his, and he tells me, “I love you more than anything.” Gently, he lays me down on the sofa and settles atop me. “Now let me show you just how much.”
Zane loves me then—with his hands, his mouth, and his glorious cock.
I love him back, professing my devotion with everything I have, which I finally realize and fully accept is more than enough.
Taking on the Sharks
Life is good now.
Not that it was bad before, but there was always the threat of Neil Swain to worry about.
That’s not the case anymore.
Hallelujah!
There really is rejoicing to do, in so many ways.
For one, Morgan is finally able to fully immerse herself as a professional football player’s girlfriend.
It’s great for me too.
I’m able to introduce her to a bunch of players and their respective significant others. Morgan really hits it off with Lars’s fiancée, Becca, which is perfect since he and I are best friends.
More good things happen too.
The Comets make it into the playoffs, and the city of Columbus is ecstatic. There’s electricity in the air that translates to the players.
We’re all so pumped.
Since Morgan and Becca are fast becoming friends, they sit together up in a luxury box the first playoff game.
There’s no more worrying about pics ending up anywhere. Morgan and Becca even take a bunch of selfies.
They really go wild when the Comets win the game in a big way—41-21.
Woohoo, we’re moving on to the next round.
The next game is against the Dover Sharks. It’s another home game, so Morgan and Becca sit together up in the box once more, ready to watch and cheer on our team.
Since Mike, the quarterback for the Sharks, has a really late flight with the team after the game, I make arrangements with him to meet us for a late dinner.
I can’t wait for him to finally meet Morgan.
He is my friend, after all.
But friends or not, we have to first play as adversaries on the field.
Once the game gets underway, the Comets continue with exemplary play.
Our guy in the back catches the ball on the kickoff and runs sixty-two yards for a touchdown.
The crowd and all of us on the sideline go nuts.
There are high-fives and congratulations, but Coach reminds us, “This is only the beginning. There’s a whole game to play. Anything can happen.”
He’s right.
After our defense keeps the Sharks at bay throughout their drive, I put on my helmet and hit the field with our offensive unit.
The first play up is a running one.
But our back only gets three yards.
Shit.
On the second down, Graham steps out of the pocket while I run a simple down-and-out pattern.
I’m open and wave my hands to get his attention.
It’s not the play we planned, but Graham sees me and throws me the ball.
> I catch it.
And then I’m off, chewing up yardage like a mofo.
I don’t make it into the end zone, though.
Damn!
Still, I get a good thirty yards before I’m taken down.
It sets us up to score some points.
And we do—Caleb, a tight end, catches the ball and runs it in for a touchdown.
It’s a rout from there.
Even though the Sharks put up a good fight, we win the game decisively.
Before we leave the field, I meet up with Mike to confirm we’re still on for dinner.
“Yeah, man,” he says. “I’ll meet you out in the players’ lot in, say, forty-five minutes?”
“That works.” I nod. “I’ll text Morgan to meet us down by my SUV. I can’t wait for you to meet her, man. She’s amazing. You’re going to love her.”
Mike laughs at my exuberance. “I don’t know about love, my friend, but I’m sure I’ll like her.”
Laughing, I admit, “Yeah, you’re right. I tend to get a little over-the-top when it comes to that woman.”
“That’s cool.” He smiles. “She clearly owns your heart.”
I have to agree and tell him, “You sure got that right.”
Much Love
After the game, I say goodbye to Becca and receive a text from Zane to meet up with him and his friend Mike down in the players’ parking lot.
Excited, I head that way.
Turns out the Sharks’ quarterback is really nice. He’s good-looking too. Mike has dark hair and deep-set brown eyes. Of course, he also has an amazing football player’s body.
He’s friendly too, very easy to talk with.
I see why he and Zane are friends.
They’re a lot alike.
At dinner, after we devour delicious steaks at a local restaurant, I lean back in the booth and, out of curiosity, ask Mike, “So if you don’t mind me prying, is there anyone special in your life?”
I swear the dude blushes a little, which makes him all the more down-to-earth.
“Ah, hell, you’re not prying,” he assures me. “But no, there’s no one special in my life at the moment.”
I think about some of the unattached and super awesome girls in the office and say, “Too bad you don’t live closer. I bet I could find you someone.”
Putting his arm around me, Zane says, “Ah, my little matchmaker here.” To Mike, who’s across from us in the booth, he explains, “Morgan’s on a mission these days to make everyone as happy as we are.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” I interject, mock pouting.
“Not at all, sweetheart.” Zane pulls me in close and kisses my cheek.
Mike chuckles and shakes his head, and then he informs us, “Hey, you never know. I actually could end up here in Columbus.”
Both Zane and I blurt out, “What?”
“It’s true.” He smiles brightly. “My contract with the Sharks is up now that the postseason has ended. Word is they’re cutting the player salary budget big-time. I could be out.”
Zane brings up an important point. “That would be amazing to have you here, but we already have a good quarterback with Graham. I don’t think he’s going anywhere, so I think if the Comets show any interest in you, it’d be for a backup position.”
“I wouldn’t be averse to that,” Mike says, surprising us both. “I’m thirty-three now and slowing down. I’d take a backup quarterback position just to land with a good team like the Comets.”
“Wow,” Zane marvels. “Speaking of which, I still can’t believe we’re this damn good. If you had told me last year we’d turn things around this quickly, I never would’ve believed it.”
“Well believe it,” Mike replies. “The Comets are up-and-coming, and everyone knows it.”
Zane is smiling like crazy now.
It makes me happy to see him this pumped.
I guess that’s what love is all about.
Later that night, when we’re alone and in bed, I cuddle up to my amazing man, nuzzling into his chest. “I love you so much,” I murmur.
Leaning down, he kisses the top of my head. “I love you too, babe.”
“No, but…” I peer up at him, streaks of moonlight streaming through the blinds our only illumination. “I mean I really fucking love you. I was thinking about us at the restaurant and how your happiness is so tied in with mine. Seeing you smile makes me feel…alive.”
Caressing my cheek, he says softly, “I feel the same way, Morgan. I truly have no life without you in it.”
“Zane,” I sigh. And then more lightly, I tease, “I guess you’re stuck with me, huh?”
Laughing, he says, “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be ‘stuck with.’” He shifts under me, his growing erection pressing into my hip. “And I mean that in more ways than one,” he adds invitingly.
“Mmm, we shouldn’t let that go to waste.”
“Definitely not.”
And we don’t.
We spend a good chunk of the night showing each other just how much love we feel for one another.
And trust me, it’s a lot.
The Future Is Bright
As Morgan would say, Wow, wow, wow, where do I start?
She’d be right to say that too, as so much has happened in the past couple of months.
There has been one bad spot, though—the Comets’ postseason ended the week after our huge win over the Dover Sharks.
Yeah, we didn’t make it to the championship game this year.
But all was not lost.
No one can deny now that our football team is good.
Damn good.
The future is bright, and there’s always next year.
Oh, and hey, Mike Vinceton was right—the Dover Sharks cut him.
The good news is he did indeed end up here in Columbus.
That’s right.
Mike is our new backup quarterback.
And whoa, is he pumped.
The whole team is amped, in fact.
With Graham at the helm and Mike right behind him, we have a really good chance of another winning season.
But there’s more to life than football.
There’s my life with Morgan.
We’re together, of course, and stronger than ever.
I love her more and more with each passing day.
That may sound corny, but it’s true.
Oh, I should mention that I had the private detective track down Morgan’s friend from the past, Mary.
She was a lot easier to find than Neil.
Anyway, she and Morgan are back in touch. Mary is even going to visit us this summer.
Hey, maybe she can be Morgan’s maid of honor.
But that would require a wedding, right?
Well, I’m on that too—I plan to ask Morgan to marry me.
Even though we’re completely committed to each other in body, heart, mind, and soul, I want us to take the next step.
We’re in this for life, so why not make it official to the whole world?
And you know what?
Today feels like as good a day as any to ask Morgan to be my wife.
I’m ready too, in more ways than one.
I have a ring, and it’s already set up for my big surprise.
Remember Morgan’s old duffel bag she brought with her when she started hiding out in my house?
Well I found the thing stowed away under a bunch of moving boxes in an upstairs hallway closet.
I rescued it, and it’s ready to be reunited with Morgan.
Only now there’s a little something special in that bag.
She is going to be so shocked.
So let’s get started…
I set the zipped-up duffel bag on the bed.
Then I head downstairs to find Morgan.
She’s in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher. I grilled some steaks earlier for dinner. It was our first cookout of the spring season.
It was unusually warm today, hinti
ng at the summer to come. The temps even reached into the eighties.
Because it’s so nice out, Morgan has on her black running shorts and lime green tee. It’s the same outfit she was wearing when I found her on the floor of the master bedroom.
Yet another sign that this is the perfect time to propose.
Walking into the kitchen, I clear my throat. “Hey, can I borrow you for a sec?” I say. “I have something I want to show you.”
“Sure.” Morgan smiles over at me as she closes the dishwasher. After wiping her hands on a nearby kitchen towel, she asks, “What do you want to show me?”
“Uh, it’s kind of a surprise,” I say, holding out my hand. “Come with me?”
Walking over to where I’m standing in faded jeans and a blue T-shirt, she places her hand in mine.
Tamping down my excitement, lest I give my surprise away, I lead her upstairs and down the hallway.
When we reach our bedroom, I say, “Before we go in, can you close your eyes?”
Complying, she replies, “All right. But, Zane, what is going on?”
“You’ll see in a minute,” I promise.
Taking her arm, I lead her over to the foot of our bed. “Okay, you can open your eyes,” I announce.
When she does, she stares down at the black duffel bag on the bed.
“Um,” she begins in a confused tone. “This old thing is my surprise? I don’t know, Zane. It’s so ancient and worn. We should probably just get rid of it.”
Shit, I can’t have her tossing the bag before she even looks inside.
Quickly, I counter, “Er, um, let’s think this over first, okay?”
Looking over at me, frowning, she says, “Huh? What are you talking about? What needs to be thought over? It’s just an old bag, Zane.”
She’s more confused than ever, but that’s fine.
All will be clear soon.
“Just look inside,” I say, chuckling.
Pulling the bag over to her, she unzips it and peers inside.
“What’s this?” she murmurs as she takes out the only thing that’s in there—a bright blue velvet ring box. “I don’t remember leaving anything in here, definitely not jewelry.”
When she pops open the box, she’s clearly confused to find it’s empty.
Swiftly, because Morgan doesn’t put up with crap from anyone these days, her confusion turns to irritation.
