Mercy: Second Chance Military Romance

by Abbi Hemp

  “It’s not bad,” I said. “But we should talk now.”

  “Can it wait until after I work out?”

  “Really? You can’t take a minute now to talk about it before I go to work?”

  “Here we go again,” he snorted as he pulled away. “You want me to pay rent or something? If I remember right, you’re the one who asked me to move in here.”

  “I know, baby.” I stepped over and put my bands on his waist. “It’s been great, but you’re kind of a slob. It’s driving me nuts.”

  He frowned, shaking his head.

  “This is what you’re bothering me about right now?”

  “I’m not bothering you. It’s called communication.”

  I dropped my hands and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Sounds like nagging to me. Can I go work out now? Or do you need to yell at me about something else? I’m really stressed right now, and you’re not helping.”

  “You’re stressed?” I laughed. “That’s a hoot. You don’t work or do anything but sit around here all day messing the place up.”

  “Oh, I’m messing the place up, am I?”

  “Yeah, you are, and I’m sick of it.”

  “Fine. I’m leaving.”

  “Good,” I said.

  After he stormed into the bedroom, I regretted my words. Why does love have to be so damn complicated? I caught him dressing, throwing on a pair of jeans and a white tee-shirt.

  “Are you coming back?” I asked.

  “Of course I’m coming back. Are you kicking me out or something?”

  “No,” I said quietly. “It’s just…”

  “Just what, Andrea? I’m beginning to think neither of us are in a good place for this right now. You spend all your time at work or talking to Kenneth about that damn book of yours.”

  “Damn book of mine?”

  He frowned and took a deep breath.

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “No? What did you mean?”

  “I really need to go work out, okay? Coach might let me back on the team if I can prove I’m innocent.”

  “Is football all you care about?”

  “Of course not,” he said. “But I have to go.”

  He walked around me and out the door. I turned to watch, feeling even more alone than before he had moved in with me. What the hell was up with that? Not wanting his actions to ruin my whole day, I ate a quick breakfast then headed to the Y for a few dives before work. They always helped clear my mind.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Andrea

  I arrived at work twenty minutes late. For most bosses, this wouldn’t be a problem, but Scott was not ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. As soon as I sat down at my desk, the office phone rang. I glanced up and saw his name and title on the LCD display.

  After taking a deep breath, I answered.

  “This is Andrea. Denver Post Sports Department.”

  “You know it’s me, don’t you?” Scott asked.

  “Yes, sir, but you told me I have to always answer it that way or you would write me up.”

  “Don’t get smart with me. Get over to my desk. Now.”

  “If this is about me being late today, sir…”

  “Get over here,” he repeated then hung up the phone.

  I glanced across the newsroom at his desk in the corner. He peered over at me with a less than happy look on his face. While I didn’t need crap from him, especially on that morning, I got up and slowly meandered over to where he sat. My student loans wouldn’t pay themselves.

  He had moved the monitor on his desk so the screen wasn’t visible to anyone walking up. I wondered briefly if I should confront him about the porn at work, but I shot it down quickly. I needed the job and couldn’t afford to rock the boat, especially since his uncle was the publisher.

  “What’s up, boss?” I asked, trying to sound professional and friendly at the same time.

  “Don’t patronize me,” he snarled. “I’ve heard rumors Tony Carlotti has a new woman. Do you know anything about it? She’s supposed to be a real whore.”

  “Excuse me?” I shook my head, wanting to light into him so bad. “He’s not even a player anymore. Why do you even care? It’s like you’re obsessed with him.”

  “I’m not obsessed with him,” he insisted, but I didn’t believe him.

  “Is it like some twisted fan boy love?”

  “That’s enough, Andrea. Remember who signs your paychecks around here.”

  “Janice in Accounting.”

  So much for not rocking the boat!

  “Don’t be smart. You know what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean, but I don’t think it’s right to keep digging into Tony’s personal life.”

  He stared at me with his head tilted slightly to the left.

  “Was that it?”

  “No, of course not,” he snapped. “I need you to go through all the High School football player photos and make sure they’re all up to date. Call each one and ask if they have anything new for us. Check Twitter first.”

  “That’s going to take forever,” I said.

  “You’ll figure it out. You’re a smart woman, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” I said. “Anything else?”

  “That’s all. Give me a call when you’re done.”

  “I’ll probably be here all night.”

  “No problem. I will be too.”

  Ugh. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!

  I smiled, hiding my true emotions.

  As I turned to walk back to my desk, I saw Kenneth in the distance. He can help me, I thought, rushing across the newsroom toward him. He saw me coming and lifted his hand in the air.

  “Hey, Kenneth. I need a favor.”

  “You want me to read your novel? Is it done?”

  Why is he so damn intent on reading my romance novel?

  “No, it’s not done yet.”

  “The publishing house was asking about it.”

  “They still haven’t called me yet,” I said.

  “Oh, that’s normal. They’re going to love it.”

  “Great.” I smiled. “Anyway, Scott wants me to check for new folders for all the players on the local high school teams.”

  “That’s a lot of busy work.”

  “Exactly. You’re so good with computers and everything, I thought you might help?”

  “I’d love to help,” he said.

  “I would owe you another favor.”

  He waved a hand through the air.

  “You don’t owe me anything. Maybe we can have dinner sometime. Or you can let me read your sexy book when it’s done.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But right now, I need to get all this done before my shift ends in four hours. There’s hundreds of players, and I don’t think I’ll be able to call all of them.”

  “That’s not the way I would do it.”

  “No?”

  He shook his head.

  “I have an idea, but it’s going to take a few minutes to whip it up.”

  “You’re the best,” I said.

  A smile spread over his face. If he had a tail it would have been wagging.

  “Let me see what I can do, and I’ll give you a call.”

  “I can help. Do you think it’s going to work? What’s the idea?”

  “Well, I should be able to write a program to take a list of their names and email addresses and have then send a new photo if they have one. You’ll still have to get them into the right folders on the server, but…”

  “You can do that?” I interrupted.

  Maybe I will get out of here tonight.

  While I wasn’t sure what type of mood Tony would be in when I got home, I didn’t want to stay in the newsroom all night. Kenneth went to get his laptop then came to my desk to work on it. Scott glared over at us a few times, but I didn’t care.

  With ten minutes to spare, I finished the stupid task with Kenneth’s help. He smiled at me like I’d done somethin
g for him. I gave him a quick hug, hoping he didn’t take it the wrong way. Scott hated that I’d finished the work he’d given me, but he said nothing.

  After buying a can of Sprite out of the vending machine for the drive home, I went to my car. On the way, I listened to the radio, happy songs full of love that made me feel even better. Tony isn’t so bad, I told myself. We’ll be able to work it out.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  I opened the front door and stepped in, dropping my keys into a wooden bowl on a table in the foyer. The sound of grunting in the living room caught my attention. What the hell? I stepped forward. Is he fucking another woman in my house? While I was at work all day?

  Ready to start World War Three, I rounded the corner. He wasn’t fucking anyone. I felt guilty as I saw him doing pushups in the middle of my living room floor. Crazy techno dance music played from the stereo. He didn’t notice me, continuing to lift his body with those massive arms.

  I leaned against the wall in the opening of the room and watched his sweat covered body move up and down. It wasn’t difficult to picture myself underneath him. And that massive cock penetrating my pussy, making me feel so damn good. My heart beat faster as I stared at him.

  Thoughts of work, Scott, Kenneth, my novel and everything else slipped away. His image filled my mind. Memories of him overcame me, making anything else not matter. I touched my left breast, wishing it was him with his strong hands roaming all over me.

  As he continued pushing his body up and down, I stripped out of my work clothes as quickly and quietly as possible. Once naked, I tip-toed over to him. He screamed out when I grabbed his swim trunks and pulled them down to his ankles.

  “Hey,” he said, craning his neck to look at me. “What gives?”

  “Stay like that,” I said.

  “My arms are tired.”

  “You can do it.”

  “I can do it, but…”

  “Shhh,” I said, putting a finger to my lips.

  As he held his body up with his arms, I walked to the carpet in front of him and got down on my back with my head toward him. Slowly, I scooted upward, sliding under his body. He laughed and kissed my bare skin as it passed his face – breasts, stomach, and my pussy.

  I stared up at his gigantic dick as it hung down, still limp. Holding onto his ass cheeks for leverage, I lifted my head, letting it rub against my cheek. He buried his face between my legs, lapping at me like a thirsty camel at an oasis in the desert.

  All my stress from the day faded away as I licked and kissed his silky smooth shaft. His dick got harder as I played with it. There’s no way I can take it all in my mouth, I thought, studying it closely. And yet, I tried. Wrapping my lips around the head, I took a few inches into my mouth.

  Immediately, he made love to my pussy with his tongue, lips, and even his chin. The spin of the planet did not compare to the miraculous feelings running through my body. As I received pleasure, I gave it back to him. His cock in my mouth made me feel powerful.

  He stopped kissing and licking me, crawling off my body. A moment later, he was between my legs. That huge cock between his legs found its mark with no difficulty. I moaned as he slipped it deep in my pussy. We made eye contact, both of our faces contorted in pleasure.

  My chest rose and fell more quickly as he pounded my pussy like nothing else mattered. A sense of urgency rose up. He thrust faster and harder, making it hard to concentrate on anything other than the waves of ecstasy washing over me. Sweat covered his body, but I did not care.

  I ran my hands through his hair. He bent to kiss me while still penetrating over and over like a piston, some precision machine meant only to make me feel good. His hazel eyes lit up, gleaming as he fucked me like it would be our last time in twenty years. I gave myself to him.

  He split me open, filled me up, and wouldn’t stop. I never wanted it to end. As he fucked me steadily, I moved my hands, wrapping my arms around his back. His chest pressed down onto mine, a wonderful mix of hard and soft, male and female, yin and yang.

  My thoughts focused on my clitoris as I approached the moment.

  “Tony,” I cried out.

  He did not stop or slow down, pushing me over the edge.

  My body convulsed as he pushed that magic cock in one last time.

  “Yes!” he groaned as if orgasm were a conquest of sorts.

  I felt his cock swell inside me even more as his face scrunched up. When he collapsed on the bed next to me, I rolled over on my side to cuddle him closely. His hard chest rose and fell quickly as he tried to catch his breath. Wherever our bodies touched was electric.

  “Now that is a workout,” I said.

  He laughed then craned his neck to kiss me on the lips.

  “I’m sorry about calling you a slob.”

  “Shhh.”

  I stopped talking as he kissed me again.

  “We’re going to make this work,” he said, staring deep into my eyes.

  I nodded my head, believing him with all my heart, mind and soul.

  We’re going to make it, I thought as we cuddled and enjoyed the afterglow of the merging of two souls momentarily.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Tony

  The next day, she left for work like usual, which suited me fine. I loved her quite a bit, but living with the woman was another matter entirely. Every single day she got on me about the stupidest shit like forgetting clothes on the floor.

  While I hadn’t told her about my problem with the bookie, she had to understand I wasn’t a man to be bossed around like some suburban husband. Fuck that shit, I thought as I plopped down on the couch and turned on ESPN.

  After I won the game later in the day, the bookie would get off my back. If I only made small bets going forward, I would be fine. Andrea never had to know. I didn’t think she should know everything about me, the same way I didn’t want to know everything about her.

  I still hadn’t started my job search because I expected Coach to beg for me to come back as the playoffs got closer. They had no other choice if they wanted to win. And I knew they did. Until then, I’d win a few bets and get my money back up to par.

  Once I had money again, I wouldn’t need to stay with her or anyone else. I planned to do everything differently, but I had no idea what would happen. The only thing that mattered in the short term was winning my double-or-nothing bet.

  With four hours until the game, I thought briefly about picking up and doing the dishes, but I knew I would jinx myself if I strayed too far from my usual pre-game ritual. Even though I’d spent hours picking the perfect game to win, a lot of it came down to random variables.

  Did someone not inflate the ball all the way? Is the weather colder than normal? Small things were able to easily change the outcome of a game. I’d learned that early on, back in high school. Since then, I’d followed my tried and true rituals, like having one beer before the game.

  As I grabbed a bottle of light beer out of the refrigerator, I suddenly felt a pang of regret at having been kicked off the team for something I hadn’t done. Still, I’d done a lot of wrong over the years, abusing my privileges and taking advantage of people around me.

  I opened the bottle and took a long drink. If I ever made it back before I got too old to play, I would do it all differently, I vowed as I headed back into Andrea’s living room. It was so much smaller than the one I had been renting, but everything in it reminded me of her.

  After sitting down on the couch and leaning back, I took another drink. On the television, another game unfolded before my eyes. The outcome would have no effect on the game I’d bet on, but I always watched the game before. It didn’t always help me win, but I didn’t want to take my chances.

  The more I watched the players on the field, the more I missed playing professional sports. Beyond the money I brought in as a star player, I craved the competition between grown men at the peak of their prime years in life. As the action unfolded, I became an armchair quarterback.

  “What the
hell are you thinking, Jones?”

  I shook my head then drained the last of the beer from the bottle. Part of me wanted to get another, but I fought the feeling. My real thrills came from betting large sums of money on single games. While waiting for the game to start, I felt the adrenaline and excitement building.

  This is going to work, I told myself.

  If I thought it enough, it would come true. I was sure of it.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  With my team thirty-five points behind during the third quarter, I realized I’d made another horrible mistake. While I may have been able to pay the bookie a half-million-dollars, coming up with a cool million would be more difficult. As I watched the screen in horror, I heard a knock at the door.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, standing up.

  If I didn’t answer, they would hunt me down and threaten people close to me – like Andrea. How did they even find me here? I wondered as I wandered over to the door. After opening it, I saw Big John. He stood a good full foot above me and had even bigger muscles.

  “Hey, big guy,” I said in a calm, friendly tone. “Come in. I was about to call Jackson.”

  He stepped in and looked around.

  “Nice place. You buy it instead of paying us?”

  “What? No, of course not.”

  “That’s right,” he said, staring me dead in the eyes. “A woman owns it. We know you’re going to pay us before you do anything else.”

  “There’s not a thing as triple-or-nothing, is there?”

  “No, there isn’t,” Jackson Cash said as he walked through the doorway.

  He slammed the door behind him without taking his eyes off me.

  “Hey, guys, no need to get rough. Or bring Andrea into this.”

  “Not yet,” Jackson said, looking around. “What’s a nice woman like that doing helping a son-of-a-bitch like you?”

  If Big John hadn’t been around, I would have decked him, but it didn’t go down like that. Instead, I bit my tongue, trying to control my anger. Jackson was trying to provoke me, give them a reason to beat the shit out of me. I didn’t need Andrea coming home to me lying on the floor bloody and bruised.