Eligible Receiver: A Second Chance Romance Novella

by Haley Pierce

  Chapter Ten

  Abel watched her coming towards him and had never felt so crazed with desire. He was so hard that it almost pain. His torment only increased when she lowered her head to his lap and put him in her mouth. She took as much of him as she could, and then stopped, wrapping her lips around him and sucking with such slow, steady pressure that he thought he would lose control immediately.

  Nothing had ever made Abel feel more masculine than just how small Lacey was. Strong, but small. So much attraction lay in the differences between men and women, between her and him.

  Lacey released him for a moment, and then pushed him back onto the bed. He wanted to grab her but she was too fast and he was back in her mouth within seconds. She was playful, then aggressive. Slow, and then fast. He heard himself moaning, he couldn’t stop it, but she was making the same sounds.

  Every minute or so she would raise her head and look at him, gauging his pleasure. As it had been for her, finally it was too much for him to bear. He lifted her head and then sat up and stroked her hips. “Turn around,” he said, softly but firmly.

  Abel moved her into position and put his hand on the back of her neck. Squeezing gently, he guided himself into her. Lacey pushed herself back onto him, anchoring herself with fistfuls of the sheets. Abel was able to go deep immediately…they had both warmed each other up so thoroughly.

  He tried to control himself. She was so much smaller than him that he was almost afraid of breaking her in his hands, but instinct took over and she did not seem to mind in the slightest when he grabbed her hips and began pulling her back onto him as hard as he could. The percussive, slapping sounds of flesh on flesh was a rhythmic counterpoint to their moans. It was a song they had been meant to create together.

  Abel grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled so that he could see the arch of her back. “Look at me,” he said. “I want you to see what this looks like.”

  Lacey turned and looked back over her shoulder. Her eyes widened.

  “You are a beast,” she said, biting her lip. “Just look at you back there.”

  It was the sight of her biting her lip, and her eyes starting to roll back into her head as she came again, that finally sent him over the edge. He spent himself, then collapsed on top of her. Their bodies were slick with sweat and it was a minute before either of them finally moved.

  “You know,” he said in her ear, “There are entire religions that say that orgasms are when you see God. That’s never really been my style, but maybe they’re on to something.”

  “Mmm…she said, already sounding sleepy. That makes me want to go to church.” She laughed. “You’d make a good priest at one of those places. Every time you touch me, it’s like a hymn.”

  For an answer, he kissed the back of her neck.

  They separated for a second and got under the blankets together. Lacey put her head on his chest as he put an arm around her. They were both asleep within minutes.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Lacey woke in the morning, the bed was empty. She reached out with her arms, stretching and smiling at the thought of what she’d done in this bed hours before. Abel was an animal. She was going to be sore for a while, but it had been worth it. Soon he’d be gone and things would go back to normal, but the memory of last night would sustain her for a while.

  Will it really? She wasn’t sure. Lacey had always been good about not questioning her decisions. She had not shirked her responsibilities, and had not wallowed when things had not gone her way. She had been disappointed and frustrated by many things, but she had always kept it to herself.

  The bed looked so empty without Abel in it.

  Gone. It looked like he was gone already. She wondered when he had left. He had given it to her so hard that she’d gone comatose almost as soon as they had finished. Her pleasure had shaken her to the core with teeth-rattling force. She imagined going into the dentist’s office and telling someone that she needed to have her fillings checked, and the thought of it made her laugh.

  Right, that’s what it sounds like when I laugh. It’s been a while. But I have a lot to laugh about. I just slept with Abel, the crown prince of the NFL. Women stalk him from coast to coast, falling all over each other just to lie down in front of him. And he came to me. And told me he loved me. Not only that, he climbed up my building.

  She giggled again, a phenomenon that was happening more and more often these days. It was such a simple thing, laughter, but it was so good.

  Then she heard another laugh, coming from the living room. Lacey held her breath to listen intently. It was Dana. She laughed again, harder, then squealed. What in the world was going on out there? The unmistakable sound of her footsteps clomped across the living room, then back again, then the sounds were followed by a massive thump, as if a horse had fallen on its side.

  Lacey sprang out of bed to go see whatever catastrophe had befallen her living room. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Abel lying on the ground with a jump rope tied around his ankles. He was thrashing like a fish on a line, to Dana’s wide-eyed delight. When Abel saw Lacey watching he went still and closed his eyes, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

  “She trapped me,” said Abel.

  “He’s a giant rabbit,” said Dana. “I caught him with a trap and now he’s my pet. I’m going to make a dress for him. He has to wear it for a thousand, million years.”

  “My name is Princess Fluffy,” said Abel, opening his eyes. He started to sit up. Dana yanked on the jump rope and pushed him back down. She sat on his chest and looked at Lacey. “He keeps trying to get away. But it’s dangerous outside. Tell him.”

  “Do you want some breakfast, Princess Fluffy?” said Lacey. “Before you face the dangers outside of this apartment?”

  “I have to ask Dana,” he said. “Dana, can I have some breakfast?”

  “Yes,” said Dana. “But you have to play with me while it’s cooking.”

  “That sounds like a good deal,” said Abel. “I’ll take it. Thank you, your majesty.”

  Lacey got out a griddle and started making pancakes. She couldn’t help herself: she kept looking back into the living room to see the gigantic, larger-than-life football player playing so sweetly with her little girl as if there was nothing in the world that he’d rather be doing. He and Dana had an obvious, instant connection. A lump caught in her throat. Of course, Dana wasn’t just hers. I’ve caused so much trouble she thought. But what can I do?

  “Mom!” shouted Dana. “He’s getting away!”

  It was true. Abel had gotten free of the snare and was crawling into the kitchen on all fours. He scuttled towards Lacey and bit her lightly on the ankle. Dana jumped onto his back and whooped.

  “Get out of here you two, or you’re going to have pancake batter all over your heads!” It all felt so normal. It all felt so good. The last thing on her mind was her job, her past, her music, and her problems. One of Lacey’s biggest challenges had always been living in the moment. This was a moment so perfect that it was impossible not to live in it, and to want to live in it forever.

  Minutes later they were all sitting at the table with their pancakes.

  “This is straight out of Norman Rockwell,” said Abel.

  “Something like that,” said Lacey. “It’s nice, though.”

  “Who’s Norman Rockwell?” said Dana.

  “A painter,” said Abel. “So, you two, I’ve got some stuff to do today to help Sasha,” he said. “Lacey, I’ll pick you up later for the rehearsal dinner. Do you need me to do anything while I’m out and about?”

  “Out and about,” said Dana. “That rhymes.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Lacey. “I’m nervous, honestly. It’s going to be a pretty glitzy thing. Ugh, I just so feel so out of place everywhere I go. Sorry, I shouldn’t complain.”

  “Dana, your mom doesn’t think she’s glitzy,” said Abel.

  “What’s glitzy?” said Dana.

  Lacey smiled when Abel reac
hed out and stroked her knee. “It’s what your mom is. Glitz and glamor to spare.”

  “What should I wear?” said Lacey.

  “As little as possible,” he said with a wink.

  “Do I get to come?” said Dana.

  “Not to this one,” said Lacey. “Tonight’s just for practice. You’re already so good at everything that you don’t need any practice. Especially not with eating.”

  “I don’t know,” said Abel. “She’s got more syrup on her face than in her lap. She could probably use a basic course.”

  Lacey watched him looking at Dana. Despite what she had told him the night before, she knew he still had doubts. She had no idea if he had actually believed her when she had said that Dana wasn’t his. What would that feel like, to see a child, to think that she might be yours, but not to know for sure?

  If it had been her, she thinks it would have been the worst feeling in the world.

  You are not allowed to fall in love with him.

  Abel picked up a napkin and wiped a crumb off of Dana’s lips.

  Too late.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was one of the best mornings of Abel’s life. But he had also left the apartment feeling angry and disappointed. He knew that Lacey was keeping something from him. The night before was a haze, but he remembered enough to trust his feelings.

  Dana. She was the sweetest little girl he’d ever met. Kids had always loved him, but this felt different. It was like they’d had an instant bond. It was like something in my DNA saw her and recognized her.

  He didn’t want to go down that road again, though. Not yet. He had to take Lacey at her word. But that didn’t mean it put him in a good mood.

  His mood didn’t improve when Norman picked him up to go and get their tuxedos. The guy simply could not get over himself.

  On the way, Abel fought the urge to grab the wheel away from Norman and flip the car over, just to get him to be quiet.

  “That’s what people don’t get about the business,” Norman was saying. “They think you can just force things, but it’s a pack of wolves, brother. You have to be the biggest wolf. I can’t tell you how many times they’ve told me that a deal just can’t be done and I’ve had to say, ‘Oh, you just watch me.’ Then I go in, I do my thing, I click my pen, and they sign the deal.”

  Kill me now thought Abel. My sister is marrying someone who sees himself as, ahem, The Biggest Wolf. He was in a familiar mood. He wanted to break things. To hit. To take out his anger and frustration. It wasn’t something he had talked about with anyone but his parents, but football had been the perfect vehicle for his aggressions.

  But the last thing he could afford to do today was to smack Norman around, however much he might want him to close his big mouth.

  He’s not actually doing anything wrong Abel told himself. This is about you, not him. He loves your sister and you’re being a brat.

  It was an interesting thing. Humans were the only animals that could observe themselves and recognize their own moods for what they were. But knowing it was just a mood didn’t make him feel any better. It didn’t give him anything new to work with.

  Lacey. He knew she was lying. He knew it. But why? It felt like another version of when she had blown him off. All he had wanted was a simple response. She wouldn’t give him one.

  The time fit. They had only had sex that one time—before last night, which had been one of the hottest nights of his life—but the time fit with Dana’s age. He and Lacey had such a connection. There was no way to deny that. It was so much more than physical, although that was certainly part of it. Abel could take or leave most people, and most people in his circle were just there to massage his ego. He never felt like his life was suffused with authenticity. Lacey was the opposite of all that.

  She’d had such big dreams. Was it possible that she’d jettisoned them all when Dana was born? Surely she could have taken Dana with her to the city? Why hadn’t she told him? He could have helped her with everything. He would have. It would have made him happier than just about anything.

  “But you know what I’m talking about, am I right?” said Norman.

  “Yeah. Totally.” Abel had completely stopped listening.

  “You get rich enough, famous enough, and people think they can come to you with their hand out,” said Norman. “Like you’re just an ATM. I got to tell you, Abel, I’ve lost the ability to really be friends with anyone who isn’t in the business. They’re the only people who don’t want anything from me because they don’t see me as the connection between them and their dreams.”

  “I actually do get it,” said Abel. “Not the worst problem to have, but I do get it. There are a lot of people out there who think that their lives will get better somehow if they’re just around me for a while.”

  “Life, life, life. No one said it was simple. But at least we’ve got a simple task today,” said Norman, pulling into the parking lot of the store. “Let’s get in there and tell them to make us even more handsome.”

  Soft piano music played in the store while they got their final alterations on their tuxedos. Abel pictures Lacey somewhere, playing with her eyes closed. He was looking forward to the rehearsal dinner. Well, that was not exactly true—he was looking forward to seeing her again, and the dinner is where that was going to happen.

  “Hey!” said the man who was pinning Abel’s jacket. “Aren’t you--”

  “He is!” said Norman. “You are altering the jacket of a god.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” said Abel, looking at himself in the three-paneled mirror. He looked good.

  Norman slapped his back. “And that’s why you’re worth worshipping! You deserve the praise; you just don’t need it. You know, that’s one thing I never got about prayers. Wouldn’t God already know what you were going to ask for? Why make you jump through the hoops of actually asking?”

  Abel tuned Norman’s chatter out for the rest of the fitting. He kept thinking about his sister walking down the aisle, and how one-day Dana would do the same thing. Good grief, part of him had obviously decided she was his. Or at least, that he wanted to be with Lacey, and that would mean that Dana would be in his life either way.

  If Lacey would just agree to be with him, then he would be able to make her problems go away. Hell, he would have been willing to give her all the money she asked for and tell her to get herself and Dana out to the conservatory, but he knew she would never be willing to accept it from him. Abel had the nagging feeling that she was still punishing herself for something she knew nothing about. The thought that anyone was hurting her, even if she was only hurting herself, killed him. The thought of her pain was too much for him.

  Maybe there was nothing he could do. Abel hated to admit it, but he was ready to get this wedding behind him. And if Lacey didn’t want him, or to be honest with him, then he wanted to get back out on the road. Back to real life. Either way, he would know where he stood.

  After the fitting, Norman took him out to lunch. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, although Abel tried his hardest to refuse. Abel was starting to see what Sasha loved about Norman. He was generous and smart, but oblivious. Norman complimented everyone he talked to. Some of it rang false to Abel, the way that a salesman talks to everyone, looking for a way to bond. But the people on the other end of Norman’s chatter didn’t know the difference. They ate it up. Sasha had always run on compliments and praise. Norman was absolutely head over heels for her. That was the one thing Abel had full faith in.

  Norman kept saying that he couldn’t believe he was about to have a brother, just like he’d always wanted.

  “Yeah, me too,” said Abel, again and again.

  “Do you guys think you’ll have kids?” said Abel. His mood was getting darker with every minute. “I wouldn’t mind being an uncle.”

  “Oh, sure. Great genes, you know. And those kids would come into the world with a real leg up. I wasn’t lucky enough to be born into the privilege my kids will have. I know y
ou and Sasha didn’t have it so easy, either. But what about you? I know you would make a great uncle, but are you planning on having kids one day? For that matter, who’s your date for tonight?”

  I think I already have a kid he thought, and the frustration rose again. Abel ordered a drink, even though it was barely 11:30 in the morning. “I don’t know. About the kids, I mean. Life on the road is different. I have no idea if I’ll stop moving until my career winds down. It’s tough to picture, going from place to place, but also trying to feel like I would be a good father. That my kid would get whatever she needed from me.”

  “She? Hoping for a little girl?”

  Abel laughed. “Sounds like it, doesn’t it? But yeah, life on the road. Hard to mix with family.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve got to have a home base. Or a few of them. There’s always going to be the offseason.”

  “I guess,” said Abel.

  “So what about your date?”

  “I’m bringing an old friend named Lacey.”

  Norman’s eyebrows shot up. “Lacey! I had lunch with her and Sasha the other day! She was a hard one to read, I don’t have to tell you, I bet. We just could not get to the bottom of her. Mysterious through and through, that one.”

  “What do you mean?” Abel had finished his drink too quickly. His temper was uncoiling inside of him, looking for something to strike at. The thought of Norman and Sasha spending time with Lacey agitated him. He ordered another drink.

  “She just wouldn’t say much about herself,” said Norman. “She put on what felt like a bit of a front. She talked like she had a little more going on than was the case. Not quite like posturing, but maybe like she was--”

  “Maybe she was just uncomfortable being around your success,” said Abel. “She’s got a lot going on that no one knows about.” Not even me.

  “Could be,” said Norman, not missing a beat. “But none of us have to live smaller lives just so other people can feel secure. I don’t flaunt my success, but I don’t apologize for it either. Neither should you.”