by Amy Brent
“He was my hero,” I tearfully confessed as I reached for the box of Kleenex on my desk.
“Mine too. I was devastated when I found out he died. I was on a mission and couldn’t be at the service, and that killed me inside. I think I still talk to him sometimes and remember his advice that he gave to me. He essentially told me that it was okay to do what I did in the interest of my brothers, even if I didn’t save all of them.” Blake said, and I nodded. That sounded just like my dad. “I might have met you if I had been there.”
“I think we were meant to meet later,” I responded as he lifted a dark eyebrow. “I was a mess, Blake.” I watched as he stood and walked around my desk to stand before me.
“I was, too.”
“I missed you so much,” I confessed as I pushed myself out of my chair and met his eyes. He cupped my face gently as he soothed my tears with his thumbs for a moment. “I barely slept worrying about you.”
“I missed you badly.” He looked at me with watery eyes as I started to cry a little harder. “I can’t stay away from you, baby.” He kissed me with a firm press of his lips, and I threw my arms around his neck to kiss him back with a small moan. There was nothing but our connection in this room that we should not be doing this in but I didn’t care. I pressed my body against the warmth and the muscles that I had watched from under his clothes over the weeks. We made up for lost time with every deep kiss, and I pulled away to stare into his eyes as I smiled slowly. “I need you, Blake.”
“I need you too, Aspen.” He drew his lip between his teeth. “Can you help me with something this coming weekend? I need your strength.”
“Yes. I will always be here for you.” I promised him as I kissed him again and cried out all of the pain that I had Felt missing him for the last few months. It had ripped a hole inside of my heart that reminded me of losing my father, and I laughed against his lips. “I was never supposed to fall for a military man. Ever. Not after what my family went through…but I love you, Blake.”
“I love you,” Blake told me before he kissed me again to try and take my pain away from me. He tried to fix what broke inside of me, and I wanted to let him.
We both cried as we kissed until the session was over, feeling something new between us. Something better than before.
CHAPTER 13
Blake
I released Blake from my care shortly after that but by that time we were already secretly together. It went against every grain of my fiber, but I was crazy about him. I couldn’t be without him in my life ever again.
That weekend we went to an ice cream parlor over in the next town with Emma and all of the kids. It was so bittersweet to see how they crawled all over me and how much they loved me so deeply. I knew they would always miss their dad just like I could see that Emma was, but even she was smiling and tearing up over the sight as I was. We ate huge sundaes and talked about Roger as we settled into the afternoon.
There were so many good memories to share, and I could feel Aspen’s support pouring from her eyes as she watched me focus on that instead of the horrible decision that I had been forced to make. I didn’t have a choice on that day, but I could make it up in ways like this, by honoring my promise to both Roger and Emma.
We shared a lot of long looks, and Aspen giggled when we saw the kids pointing and whispering. I had touched her or held her hand every chance that I got and loved it. “Uncle Blake, is Pen your girlfriend?” Brent asked me in his adorable four-year-old voice as she beautifully blushed. I knew that Aspen was watching me, and it made me laugh as Emma smiled at the sight of the two of us.
“She is my everything right along with all of you,” I promised all of them with a long look at each of them.
Barry knew that Aspen and I were involved now, and he was all right with it since she was no longer my therapist. I had another one that I was going to see as needed but for now, I was cleared to work again. I was surprised to hear how well he knew her, and I saw the support in his eyes when I confessed my love for her. There was no reason to hide it anymore, and she beamed as I slipped my arm around her and kissed her hair.
I watched as Emma and Aspen got to know each other over the chatter of the kids, and I knew that they would be firm friends. The kids adored her as much as I did and I realized that there was another person to help them through the rest of their days as they healed. We were all healing, and Aspen looked at me with a sweet smile.
The girls made plans for a movie night the following weekend as they hugged each other tightly before we walked to our individual cars to leave. Everybody was feeling a lot better, and the kids hugged both of us for several minutes as they forced us into pinkie promises for the following weekend.
I led Aspen to my bike and kissed her long and hard as she leaned into me. The world disappeared around us, and I only tasted the fudge of the sundae that she consumed as our tongues met slowly. I murmured against her lips how much I loved her, and she responded by pulling my mouth over hers with her hands as she moaned into my lips.
We hurried to her place much like any night, and I followed her to her room as she stripped off the black cashmere sweater that she was wearing. It was not going to me riding season soon, and I stared at the pale skin as she reached back to unhook her red lace bra. I knew what was waiting for me, and I hurried forward to pull her into my arms and memorize the way she said my name. She pulled me into the door and slid her hands down to shimmy the fitted jeans down her thighs as I greedily took in the body that was all mine.
Aspen dropped to her knees as she unbuckled my jeans and drew my hard cock into her mouth. It was a sin the way she worked my body so well, and I stared down as she met my gaze. My hands went into her hair and pulled the ponytail out as Aspen moaned and took me even deeper into her throat. I came with a deep thrust that she welcomed into her mouth and throat, coming hard with a guttural cry of her name.
After I had recovered, it was her turn, and I feasted on her pussy as Aspen tried to jerk against the hard hold I had on her thighs. Aspen was a sensitive girl this way, but I loved torturing her large clit and made me tremble in my grasp as she let herself go completely. It was a beautiful sight, and I was always hard and ready after to bury myself inside of her.
Tonight I raised back and looked down at her. “You’re mine. I want you bare, Aspen.”
She was on birth control and she nodded as she reached out for me. We were both clean, and we had no intentions of ever sleeping around again. I drove myself into her as I lifted her legs to my shoulders and held them there. She rocked against me thrust for thrust, and I knew that I was going to come soon as I looked into her eyes. She was panting and moaning as her eyes rolled back into her head and she shook as she let out a keening sound and I felt myself let go inside of her.
Someday, though not soon, she would be carrying my baby. I knew that she was my forever, and Aspen opened her eyes and looked at me with love in her eyes as I let go of her feet slowly. We moved to face each other quickly, and she kissed my lips as I watched her with warm eyes. “I love you, baby,” I whispered as she smiled and kissed me again.
“I love you. I love you forever.” Emotion rose in her voice, and I pulled her close. “I am so proud of you, Blake.”
“I am who I am because of yuo Aspen. I owe you everything.” I told her as she hugged me tightly and closed her eyes.
This place was where I wanted to be when I wasn’t off defending my country, something we were both dealing with. I would spend every moment here proving how much I loved her and would take care of her, but when I couldn’t help I knew that Aspen could handle things.
I knew that were going to make it through anything.
THE END
Aspen Thomas was just starting a new job as a therapist in Maryland treating Military Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after years at school as well as a residency. Being a military kid, she would know all about that kind of loss, and she just wanted to help others as she and her family had been helped in their time o
f sorrow.
The night before she started, she wasn’t a therapist, though. She was a woman in a new city after moving from Boston to start a new career. It just seemed right to have a few drinks at the local bar and loosen up a little. Aspen never expected the man next to her to get under her skin and make her stomach do flip-flops, not to mention what he did to her inside.
One wild night later and she is ready to start work even as she relives the night before.
What would she do when her first patient was the very man she had met the night before? What would she do when they both shared a military background after she had steadfastly avoided getting involved with anybody in the field?
Blake Landon was going to be one of her toughest cases, in more ways than one. He would take her heart and body to places she had never been, and Aspen wasn’t sure that either one of them could survive the storm.
HOT SPORTS ROMANCE (and this one involves second chances and a secret baby too!)
THE QUARTERBACK’S SECRET BABY
Chapter 1
Amanda nearly dropped a tray of dirty dishes when an old man pinched her ass as she walked by. She ground her teeth and shot him a glare, but she kept her mouth shut. She'd complained to the boss on more than one occasion about the behavior of the customers, but Spiro didn't care about anything but the restaurant's sales at the end of the day. If a customer kept coming back week after week and spending money, then he wanted that customer treated like gold.
Not that the assholes who treated her like a piece of meat ever tipped well. She'd be lucky if he left her a dollar on the table after he left. But Spiro only cared about the amount of money he made, not what his staff made.
She dropped the dirty dishes off in the back, then printed out the check for one of her other tables. She took the long way around to drop off the check, so she could avoid walking by the perv's table again. She also noticed the perv's drink needed to be refilled, but as far as she was concerned, he could wait. Maybe if she gave him bad service, he'd stop coming back. Spiro would complain about losing a customer, but Amanda had better things to do with her time than be manhandled by someone who didn't even tip.
She dropped off the check at the other table. “Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked, keeping her fake smile on her face.
“You can give me your phone number,” the man said, winking at her.
Amanda rolled her eyes. Max was one of her regulars, and while he never got handsy with her the way some of her other customers did, he was relentlessly hitting on her. But he was at least friendly about it, and he never took it the wrong way when she shot him down, so she tried to at least have some fun with it. “My phone's probably getting shut off next week, Max,” she said, giving him a playful smirk. “Tell you what, wait until I win the lottery, then we'll see.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You either make too many calls, or you're not being paid enough here.”
“Little of both,” Amanda said. “Mostly the latter.”
She flashed him a genuine smile as she took his empty plate. Max, at least, was a decent tipper.
She took a quick glance at her other tables. Aside from the perv needing a drink refill, it looked like everyone was doing fine. She'd have just enough time to slip out for a quick smoke.
She kept an eye out for Spiro as she cut back through the dish room and out the back door. The boss didn't much care for his employees smoking on the clock. But Spiro only paid her $2.13 per hour, which was the minimum wage when you earned the rest of your pay from tips, so she didn't really care what he thought. She ducked behind the dumpster, trying to ignore the smell as she pulled out her Parliament Menthols and lit one up. She never smoked at home, because she didn't want to expose her son to secondhand smoke, which meant she had to get her fill while she was at work.
While she was smoking, and dreading the next three hours of her shift, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw it was a text from her friend Michelle. She almost ignored it. Michelle had been a real party girl ever since high school, and had only gotten worse when she moved away for college. Whenever she stopped back in town during a school break, she wanted to go out drinking and cruising for guys. Amanda didn't have the time, between working two jobs and taking care of her son, for that kind of life. As much as she felt like a jerk for ignoring Michelle's texts half the time, she knew she just couldn't deal with being dragged out for a weekend of partying.
She read the text, already composing a response in her head. She needed to make a good excuse in order to get out of going drinking without hurting Michelle's feelings in the process. Though when she read the text, she nearly dropped her phone.
Hey, Mandy! You need to clear your plans for the weekend. I'm coming home, and guess what? I'M GETTING MARRIED!
Amanda was still staring at the text, trying to process it, when her phone buzzed again with another incoming text.
You'll be there, right? Promise you will! I need my bestie there as my maid of honor!
Amanda held her cigarette between her lips and typed out a response. She didn't see how she could get out of going to her friend's wedding, especially if Michelle wanted her to be maid of honor. Her head was spinning as she typed out her response: Holy crap! Since when are you getting married? Why such short notice? Of course I'll be there.
Just before Amanda headed back in to check on her tables, she got another response from Michelle: Long story, I'll explain when I see you. But Blake only has this weekend available, so it has to be now. OMG! I'm so excited! See you soon!
Amanda tucked away her phone and went back to check on her tables. The man who'd pinched her started complaining about how he'd been waiting ten minutes to have his drink refilled. She muttered a completely insincere apology and went to fetch him a new Coke. Then she finished clearing off Max's table, and stopped, stunned, when she saw the tip that he'd left.
It was a $50 bill. She knew Max had decent money—at least, compared to the usual crowd that came into the diner—but he was never this generous. She immediately felt a surge of guilt about her lie about her phone being shut off. Her bills were tight, but not so tight that she couldn't keep up with them, albeit barely. Max must have taken her excuse to get out of giving him her phone number as a genuine plea.
She pocketed the money, trying not to feel guilty about it. Though she immediately felt better when the perv at the next table only left her seventy-eight cents. She'd earned Max's big tip, if only because she had to put up with so much shit from the rest of her customers.
When her shift was finally over, she took the bus home, then stopped by her neighbor's apartment to pick up her son, James. Mrs. Carter was a stay at home mom, and she watched James for free, in exchange for Amanda watching her son a few times a week so Mrs. Carter could run errands or have a night out with her husband.
“Come on, kiddo,” she said, taking James's hand. “Time for dinner.”
“But I don't wanna go,” James said, stomping his foot.
Mrs. Carter shot Amanda an apologetic smile. “He's been in a mood today.”
“I have not!” James protested, stomping his foot again.
“I'm sorry, kiddo,” Amanda said, scooping James up and holding him against her hip. “You can come back and play tomorrow.”
James made a frustrated sound as she carried him down the hall to their apartment. She set him down on the couch and did her best to clean the place up a bit before dinner. The apartment was eternally a mess, and she had long since given up on ever getting it truly clean. She just tried to maintain a certain level of disarray.
“What do you want for dinner?” she asked as she looked through the cabinets.
“Pizza.”
“We don't have pizza,” she said. She considered using Max's $50 to order out, and save herself the hassle of cooking, but she really needed to put it towards paying off her credit card. “How about pasta? That's Italian, too.”
James grumbled, but since he wasn't old enoug
h to cook for himself, Amanda figured he could deal with her making whatever she wanted. She set the water to boil, then went into the living room to sit on the couch next to her son.
He'd turned the TV on, and the Monday night football game was playing. She frowned at the TV. “Hey, isn't there cartoons on?”
“No,” James said, pouting. “I wanna watch them play!”
Amanda sighed and leaned back against the couch. James loved playing and running outdoors, though she rarely got the chance to take him out anymore. She didn't want to deny him the chance to watch the game, even if watching it brought back painful memories for her.
James clutched his Nerf football to his chest as he watched the players running across the field. Amanda watched just one player in particular, the quarterback, Cole Reed. Michelle's brother.
She sighed and leaned forward, propping her chin in her hands. She usually didn't want to admit it, but Cole was another reason why she'd been avoiding Michelle so much over the years. When they'd been in high school, Cole had been in college, and already making a name for himself playing for his college football team. Amanda had crushed on him pretty hard, mooning over him whenever he came back to town during school breaks. She'd been pretty sure he'd barely known that she existed, and she was even more sure now that he'd completely forgotten her entire existence. After all, they had just had one night together. The night she gave him her virginity.
She glanced at James, the memories rushing back once more. She'd been a bit drunk, thanks to Cole and his college friends buying alcohol for Amanda and Michelle's high school graduation party. There had been dozens of kids there, including half of Cole's college football team who'd driven down for the party, and for the chance to score with some eager and willing high school girls. Amanda still didn't know if Cole had put the moves on her because she had been wearing a tight, low-cut dress that night, or because he'd been drunk enough to forget that she was his sister's best friend. And she hadn't cared what his reasons were. When he asked her to go upstairs, she'd been more than willing.
