by Ann Jacobs
“Just relax and enjoy it, honey. We’ve got the rest of our lives to experiment with kinky sex. Right now you’re tired, and I want you to rest.”
“You know, I think I love you more every day. I think I’ve got enough gas left in my engine to give you a climax.” Bobby raised his head and took her mouth, his warm breath sweet-smelling when he traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. The gesture seemed so generous, because the effort it cost him to lift his head was unmistakable.
“I don’t need one now. Let’s go in the bedroom and I’ll give you a rubdown. Then you can get an hour or so of sleep before we have to see the folks.”
“Thanks, babe. The feel of your hands on me will soothe away the aches and pains.”
More like it will ease the tension, Marly thought as she recalled their earlier conversation while Bobby was driving home. “You know I’ll follow you anywhere,” she said as she massaged pungent oil into his throwing shoulder and back. He rewarded her with a muffled sigh. “Go on, go to sleep. I’ll be quiet.”
Soon his taut muscles loosened up and he started to snore softly. Marly lay beside him, soaking in his warmth. Nobody was going to come between them, not even her own well-meaning parents. Or her own fragile ego wondering when she’d lose Bobby. “I trust you, my big handsome jock. Really I do.”
Marly knew right away that Mom had planned something special. The aroma of homemade lasagna surrounded her and Bobby as soon as they opened the door, and when they went into the kitchen she noticed four prime steaks on a platter waiting to be cooked on the Jenn-Air grill.
Mom was calorie-conscious. She might serve either the steaks or the lasagna with the huge antipasto tray, but not both. So she had to consider this night a very special occasion. “We can’t stay late, Mom,” she said by way of warning. “Bobby had a rough practice today.”
“That’s okay. Marly, will you show Bobby to Dad’s den?”
Oh, no. Daddy’s private place where kids were invited only for very solemn occasions or lectures. “Sure. Come on, Bobby. Brace yourself. We only get invited in here when something serious is going down.”
“I think I’ll survive.” He grinned as he got up and followed her down a narrow hallway to a room at the back of the old house.
“You may be surprised. But remember I’ll still love you whatever happens.”
For a long time Marly stared at the closed door, wondering what was going on inside. When she didn’t hear shouting or the sound of flying objects she went back to the kitchen. “What did Daddy want with Bobby?”
“I’m not sure. Here, taste the marinade. I think it’s a little too acidic.”
“It tastes fine, Mom. Just like it always does.” Marly wondered why her mom always kept quiet when her dad critiqued everything about their meals. “I’m glad Bobby isn’t in the restaurant business. He eats everything set before him and doesn’t say anything negative.”
“Good for you, bella. All men have their little eccentricities. A lot of them are worse than your dad’s tendency to criticize every bite he puts in his mouth. It may take time for those little things to surface, because during the courting period, they’re trying their best to reel a girl in.”
What irritating habits might Bobby be hiding? Marly thought about his practice of never leaving anything lying around. She figured that if that was his only quirk, she could live with it. “Bobby never leaves anything out of place, but he doesn’t complain when I do.”
“Sooner or later he will. I bet he cringes every time he comes here and sees coats and boots strewn around the front hall. You’ll slip and leave something where it doesn’t belong, and eventually he’ll explode over it, just like Daddy does with some of the dishes I cook.”
Marly smiled. Mom was probably right. Still, Brian hadn’t appeared to have a problem dealing with the mess in Keith’s game room the other day. “Can I help with anything?”
“Yes, you can set the table while I grill these steaks. I imagine your dad and Bobby will be coming out here any minute.”
They did, and Marly didn’t notice any blood. Surprisingly, they were talking pleasantly about this Sunday’s game. The meal went well, even though Marly felt like holding her breath, waiting for someone to bring up The Gift.
Mom brought out tiramisu for dessert, and when she did Dad handed Bobby an envelope. “For your first home,” he said as though he’d never once thought of giving them the deed for a house he and Mom had chosen.
“Thank you, Dad.” Bobby slid the envelope into Marly’s hand without opening it. “We both appreciate your generosity.”
On the way home he told her how he’d persuaded her dad to forget about giving them a house around the corner and put some of the money he’d planned to spend into a down payment for the place they’d someday buy or build.
“It wasn’t easy, believe me. I finally had to say flat-out that I felt a man should buy his own home, and that seeing as how I make more than I can possibly spend, it would be unfair for him to buy me a house when he had two boys who might need the money at some point.”
“I wouldn’t have believed you could do it.” Marly squeezed his thigh, still having trouble picturing Bobby changing her stubborn father’s mind.
Just two weeks were left until their wedding. Bobby had never realized how much planning went into a ceremony and reception for just twenty or so guests, but Marly was pretty much at the mercy of her mom every day when she didn’t have cheerleader practice. His urgent job now was to call his own mother and find out what she planned to wear. “Why don’t I just send you to one of the nice boutiques here in town and have you pick out something for Mom?” he asked Marly who shot him a disbelieving look.
“She’d kill you. She’d kill me. Every woman wants to select her own clothes. Don’t they have any stores in Hedgecock?”
“Not that you’d consider dress shops. There’s a general store where they sell jeans and shirts.” Mom would have to come a few days early and shop here, or make a trip to the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and Bobby wasn’t sure she could get the time off work, or that she’d let him pay for her outfit. “I’ll call her. Why couldn’t we just do this casual?” Fortunately he had a suit, the one he’d bought to wear to games when he might have to meet reporters afterward. He was pretty certain his mom had nothing suitable to wear to the shindig Marly’s mother was engineering.
He was pleasantly surprised when Mom told him she already had the perfect dress, shocked when she admitted she was getting married, too—to Mr. Tate from the bank. They weren’t doing anything special, just going to San Antonio for a long weekend and getting married in the chapel at St. Mary’s College. “We’ll be married next Saturday and spending a few days playing tourist at the Alamo. This will work out fine, so we can come the next weekend to be with you and Marly.”
“I love you, Mom. Be happy. You deserve it after all those years, keeping me on the straight and narrow.” He shut off the phone and turned to Marly. “That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I had no idea she and Mr. Tate were serious about each other.”
“The color, Bobby. What color is your mother’s dress? My mom wants to know right now.”
“Royal blue.” Why the hell should colors matter? He was trying to let the idea of his mom marrying Mr. Tate sink in. Not that he objected. Mom couldn’t have found a better man in Hedgecock if she’d tried.
Bobby shook his head as he watched Marly use the speed-dial. Women! He should have figured out they were all obsessed with coordinating colors when Marly had rifled through his tie rack the other day and promptly gone out to get him one she thought went better than any he already had with the dark-gray suit he’d had to have tailored for the wedding. Damn, he hadn’t needed a new suit, but Marly had insisted and he’d dropped another few thousand having another one made. It wasn’t as though he wore suits every day, or that he could saunter into any store and buy one off the rack.
Thank God the madhouse would soon be over. After Sunday, Keith would be ba
ck at the Gamblers’ helm, and Bobby would go on the trading block. “George Woodley didn’t call me on the house phone, did he?”
“No. Was he supposed to?”
“I just thought he might.” Though Marly insisted she’d be okay with them moving right away, he didn’t want to remind her that would almost certainly be happening. “I think we ought to ditch this wedding and go elope tomorrow. I bet we could still get a license if we hurried down to the courthouse.”
“No. Not that I wouldn’t like that, too, but I’m not going to let my mom down. I’m disappointing her enough as it is.”
“I know, baby. Just keep reminding her that you’re marrying a pro quarterback and that reporters would be an annoying fact of life if we went for a huge wedding.”
Time flew when you were having fun. It also seemed to evaporate when you didn’t have a moment to yourself. Marly could barely take in all the changes. They were getting married and moving to Orlando two days later where he’d be starting for a team that had lost its last six games behind a hapless quarterback who no longer had a job. Yesterday she’d flown to the land of Mickey Mouse and chosen a furnished apartment from several empty ones owned by the team owner there. Then she’d flown back here and gone to the shower Liz Grady had hurriedly arranged.
Bobby was with his mom and her new husband in the condo while she was staying here at home for the last few days—her dad’s idea, not hers.
She rubbed her aching sex, recalled the one time they’d made love here in the ruffled four-poster. As crazy as it had looked, having her big, burly jock surrounded by the trappings of her youth, it had been good. Good thing they were getting married tomorrow. Reception or not she intended to grab her new husband and take the edge off her starved libido, the minute they left the church.
Meanwhile she took out the vibrating dildo that didn’t hold a candle to the real thing and tried to imagine it was Bobby inside her.
It was about time. Bobby stood at the front of the chapel, Keith at his side. The sounds of organ music filled the place, and ruby-colored light flowed through the stained-glass windows. His mom and Mr. Tate were already seated on the front row, and a handful of Mauler teammates dotted the aisles. Tina sat near the back with little Jack, looking content as she rubbed her cheek on the baby’s shock of blond hair.
He stopped himself from tugging at his tie and tried to look appropriately serious as the music started to get louder. He saw Liz Grady in the doorway, watched her glide down the aisle and take her place on the other side from Keith. She was one beautiful, sexy woman, but she didn’t hold a candle to Marly, who stood in the entryway with her father. She looked like an angel in something white and soft-looking, and her long hair flowed over her bare shoulders like a dark curtain. The diamond studs he’d handed to her mom last night twinkled in her ears. She lifted her bouquet, a big white orchid surrounded by some of the same little white flowers that were in his boutonniere, and shot him a smile that sent blood flowing quite inappropriately to his groin.
Later, buddy. He tried thinking of something un-sexy, of the priest who’d reluctantly agreed to marry them without them doing months of counseling and who undoubtedly was staring down disapprovingly from the altar. He took a deep breath and watched her come to him until he reached out and took her hand. What had seemed otherworldly suddenly felt right.
Marly felt his heat, even though they stood a few inches apart. Her heart was overflowing. As the music surrounded them and dappled sunlight sent rays of color over them, she knew this was right. Words flowed over them, somber and melodious, words that registered only on a visceral level because Bobby was all she could focus on at a conscious level. Her Bobby, not the budding star signal-caller she’d wanted at first, but the loving, decent man she’d come to love. A little demon whispered in her ear that her future husband’s talent off the field was pretty awesome, too.
She had to jerk her brain back to the ceremony when the priest began reading the traditional vows Bobby had balked at until he gave in to please her and her parents. Trying to keep her hands from trembling, she watched him slide a diamond-studded band beside her engagement ring. “I love you, baby,” he whispered when she slid a simple, wide gold band on his left ring finger.
“I love you, too.”
The priest cleared his throat. “You may now kiss the bride.” She loved Bobby’s audacity when he took her in his arms and gave her a kiss that sent longing clear to her toes. “It’s my pleasure to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anthony.”
Marly didn’t hear the benediction, because her ears were ringing from that hot, wet kiss. When the music rose, she watched Keith take Liz’s arm and hurry down the aisle before looping her arm through Bobby’s. He must have been in a big hurry, because she could barely keep pace with him as he hurried them out of the chapel.
“Let’s find someplace and make love.” His grin was positively evil, as if he didn’t intend to wait one minute to consummate the vows they’d just made in front of God and all their families and friends. “You mind if the driver knows what we’re doing?”
“Not really. I imagine everybody will know. After all, they’ve all been conspiring to keep us apart for the last week. Come on. If he’s shy he can always park and take a walk.”
“Take your time getting to the reception,” Bobby ordered as he shut the panel dividing the passengers from the driver’s seat. Then he pulled Marly onto his lap. “Look, we’ve got privacy, sort of. Open up for me. And help me find you in all this fluff.”
“You’re bad. But I love you. I’m also so horny I’m going to die if you don’t get inside me this minute.” She struggled with his belt and zipper, finally freeing him and shoving his pants out of the way. “The panties have an open crotch. See, I thought ahead.”
Yeah, she had thought ahead. She was wet and hot and ready for his first thrust. So ready that he felt the imprint of her fingernails through his suit jacket and shirt. “Like this?” he asked, lifting her at the waist and slamming her hard onto his swollen shaft. “I think the priest may have noticed my hard-on.”
“Did you care?”
“No. I just didn’t want to embarrass you if the guests figured out how desperate I was to get inside you.”
“Like your mom?” She slid a hand between the buttons on his shirt, and her playful antics damn near made him come on the spot.
“No, Mom has known for a long time that she raised a bad boy. She tried, but she couldn’t make me restrain the testosterone that started flowing way back when. Come on, baby, ride me. Come for me. I’ll try to wait, because I don’t have a condom with me and I don’t want to get your dress all messed up.”
She kissed him, her tongue darting in and out of his mouth. “How about letting me get you off? It’s not fair, you having to wait any longer.”
“Okay. But first you have to come for me.” He lifted her again and again, each time sliding harder and deeper inside her. “Squeeze me.”
When she did, she began to convulse around him. He had to quit breathing to keep from coming inside her. But he didn’t. Instead he let her slide off him and go to her knees. Her pretty mouth took up where she’d just left off, taking him deep down her throat then retreating to lick and suck his cock. “God, baby, I’ve missed you. I don’t think I’ll ever let you out of my sight again.” Maybe there was some way he could finagle his new coach to let him take her with him for out-of-town games.
But not now. Pressure built in his balls. His muscles tensed. “I’m coming, baby. Swallow hard or you’ll mess up your makeup.”
She did, and somehow they managed to straighten their clothes and look reasonably respectable when they arrived at their reception. “We’ve banked the fires, brand-new wife. Now let’s go enjoy our party.”
Epilogue
“Those two seem made for each other,” Bobby’s mother told Keith as he showed Jack off to her. She’d noticed how this other hometown hero had stayed close by Tina even though the sexy looking maid of honor had tried awfull
y hard to lure him away.
Keith smiled, but she noticed his eyes held sadness. “Yeah. They do. I’m glad they found Tina for us,” he said, his gaze settling on her and his adorable little boy. “She’s been a lifesaver.”
“I’m glad, too. She needed something to do, somewhere safe where she wouldn’t worry about her perverted stepfather coming after her.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’m not about to let anyone hurt her.”
They chatted a few minutes while Caleb spoke with Marly’s father. “I bet they’re talking about the market. Cal can’t seem to get it off his mind these days.”
“I know all about that. I worried all the time until I quit trying to manage my investments and turned them over to a professional. Not that he’s been doing a whole lot better lately than I might have done myself.”
Melanie nodded. “Cal set Bobby up with somebody he trusted. My boy told him he wanted to play football and let experts manage his signing bonus.”
“Good idea. I wouldn’t have tried to do it myself except for the fact my wife—my late wife’s father insisted on it.” Keith shook his head. “Good thing Bobby already made arrangements for investment management, or his in-laws might have had ideas he couldn’t very easily ignore.”
“You must have gotten married young—not that twenty-two’s any great age to be starting a family, but I can’t complain because Bobby was three years old before I got to twenty-two.”
“I did. I was twenty and Jackie was a year older.”
“You two waited a long time to have little Jack.” Melanie clapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”
Keith took her hand, tried to smile. After all, Melanie had been a ray of sunshine among a lot of the old crones that worked at the school when he was there. “It’s okay. We tried. Jackie wanted a houseful of babies, but it didn’t work out. Finally we had Jack, but something went terribly wrong and she died.” It surprised him that he got the words out without fighting tears. The hurt was still there, still deep and painful, but at last he’d managed to talk about it.
