by Mj Fields
I stood taking in all that she had just said to my mother.
“I see you like books. Me too.” She picked up the book and opened it to the page I had left off at the last time I was here. I sat next to her and we took turns reading to mom for well over an hour.
When we stood to leave, I asked Nikki to give me a minute alone with my mom. She planted another kiss on Mom’s head, then waited for me in the hallway.
“Hey Mom, so the ring, the one that you saved of your mother’s for the day I found the one? Well, I found her. Nikki is the one. From the moment I saw her, I knew. She’s so beautiful Mom, I wish you could see her. I wish you could just open your eyes and see her, but I know you can’t and I know how incredible selfish it is to ask that. She just made me realize you’re so much stronger than Pops and I. You’ve been here for us even though you’re not here. Does that make any sense? Well it’s been like that since I was born, another thing Nikki opened my eyes too. They talk about the woman behind the man, and you’ve been the woman behind two, very stubborn, selfish Irishmen who love you. I want you to be selfish for once. Remember my first year playing little league how I struck out almost every time up to bat? It was funny that it came from you and not Pops; but I remember you telling me that at least I swung and you couldn’t be any more proud of me for the courage I showed in doing that. I was upset that my teammates were picking on me and you told me when I was up to bat it was my game. They were at my mercy and that if I felt it I should swing, I should without worrying about what anyone else thought. The next game when I was up to bat I had two strikes at the bottom of the ninth inning. We had two outs, were two runs behind and the bases were loaded. I looked at you. You nodded and smiled. That smile told me to go for it. I hit three runners in and we won the game. My point Mom, is that I want you to choose for you and not for us whether or not you wanna play the game for us or for you. Either way, if you need to go now, I support you, respect you, and love you always.”
I gave her a kiss and walked out.
Nikki and I went to see Mom every other night after that. She said it was cruel not to finish reading her the book. When the book was finished, I started telling her about O’Donnell’s ball team and that we had our championship game on Thursday. Nikki was amazing with her and in my deepest most childlike moments, I wished just once she would open her eyes and see how beautiful my Nikki was on the outside even if she could hear it and feel it in everything Nikki said or did.
The night before the game, Nikki and I stopped by and she changed Mom into an O’Donnell’s ball jersey. She even painted her toes the same shade of green. Have I mentioned how in awe of Nikki I am? More and more so every day, she was more than I had hoped for or dreamt that she was.
***
After a very close game, O’Donnell’s won the championship baseball game and as usual, we headed to the bar to celebrate. Nikki showed Dad the pictures she had taken of me and mom all decked out in O’Donnell’s gear. I felt closer to my mom now than I had in years, and it was all because of Nikki. I even allowed myself to hope the next time I saw her she would wake up.
I let Pops take off. He seemed pretty emotional by the pictures of Mom, even though he would never admit it.
He said he wanted to go tell her about the win in person.
I locked up the bar and drew the blinds. I turned around and Nikki was sitting on the bar in a Jersey and nothing else but a pair of matching green thongs.
“What are you doing, Miss Bassett?” I said as I pulled out Pop’s stool and sat between her sexy- as-hell legs.
“Waiting for a drink, Mr. O’Donnell.”
“Hmm.” I kissed her knee.
“Mmm,” she moaned.
“What can I get for you?”
“Do you how to make a Lesbian Joy cocktail?”
“You lost me at lesbian, but gained my attention with cock—tail.”
“Oh well, it’s a great drink. The girls and I had them—”
She stopped talking when I pulled her shirt over her head.
“How about you tell me the ingredients and I’ll see what I can do? But let me worn you, the L word is not to be part of your vocabulary anymore.”
I unsnapped her bra, pulled it down, and bit on her nipple a little bit harder than she liked but it was definitely earned.
“Now lay back and tell me how to make this cock-tail.”
“It was a wild night,” she giggled.
“Are you trying to rack up punishments, Miss Bassett?”
“Oh no, Mr. O’Donnell, not me,” she batted her eyelashes. “A dash of Amaretto,” she said as she lay down. “A dash of kirsch, a dash of whiskey, a few ounces of red—Oh my God.” She gasped when I placed an ice cube on her belly and poured the Amaretto onto her belly button.
“Don’t move, Miss Bassett. Spilling a drink will be immediate grounds for harsh punishment. Keep going.”
“Lemonade,” she squirmed a bit with each ounce of liquid I poured. “A slice of orange and a cherry, of course.”
“Of course,” I said as I placed the cherry stem up in her folds. “Don’t let that drop either, Miss Bassett.”
“Of course not, Mr. O’Donnell.”
“Now the way I see it, this cock-tail needs a different name because even a man would be tempted to drink something that looked this delicious and men are not—the L word.”
“Men seem to like—”
I swatted her little bottom, “I wouldn’t if I were you.”
Her moan and her glazed eyes made me realize she may do it again just to feel the sting of my hand on her sweet little bottom. “You liked that.”
“I did.”
I grabbed two ice cubes and rubbed them on her nipples. Watching her squirm while her nipples grow more erect than I had ever seen them made me even harder.
“You’re doing wonderfully, Miss Bassett.”
I ran one cube down her sternum and to the very spot where all the liquid was pooled.
“A taste test, just to make sure it’s as good as you say.”
“Of course.”
I sucked the pooled alcohol and her flesh, then dipped my tongue into her belly button.
She took in a deep breath and her stomach concaved even more.
I drank from her and allowed my tongue to lick her clean.
“It’s delicious.” I sat back on the stool between her legs and looked at her now swollen lips. They tightened around the cherry holding it in place. “What am I forgetting?”
“The cherry,” she gasped.
“Oh. How could I have forgotten that? But I do prefer my cherries cold and by the looks of this,” I ran my tongue from her ass up to the cherry, “It’s hot as hell. How do you suppose we fix that?” I asked as I stood.
“Abe please,” she begged.
“Patience. I want to enjoy looking at the cherry enclosed in the most beautiful pussy I have ever had the pleasure of gazing at. You are incredibly strong and so perfect. Do you know that?”
“You make me feel that way,” her voice was husky and filled with need. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold out.
I took the ice cube and ran it around the outside of her lips and then kissed her. “I’m going to sit and chill that beautiful little cherry you’ve been hanging onto for me. Then I am going to take my time eating it, and you. Then, Miss Bassett, I ‘m going to pull you off the bar and onto my lap and fuck you until you can’t move.”
“Please, oh yes please.”
I did just what I said I would. I licked around the cherry then under the cherry and sucked her little hard clit until the cherry nearly fell out of her clenched lips.
I pulled her down onto me and pumped into her with all I had as I resisted the urge to come.
I stood, needing more leverage, and pushed her ass up against the beer cooler and pounded into her until her grip loosened from the exhaustion of orgasm after orgasm.
I yelled out “I love you” as I filled her pretty little pussy with everything I had.
***
We slept in until seven and Nikki jumped up and began to panic.
“We’re fine, I shut it off. We had a late night.”
“You’re sure?”
The phone rang as I nodded.
“Hey, Pops, good morning … Repeat, please… I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I jumped out of bed and Nikki followed. I felt sick to my stomach and then confused because I wanted peace for her but more than, that I want her.
I was throwing clothes around in the closet when Nikki grabbed both my arms. “She’s gone?”
I couldn’t answer because I would not break down in front of anyone, and especially not the woman who I wanted to be the strongest for.
“Abe,” she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks,” I tried to step back but she held tighter.
“Please don’t push me away. You ask for trust and I give it to you completely and without regret. Do the same for me.”
“I wasn’t ready. I shouldn’t have told her I was.”
“That was the most unselfish thing I have ever seen anyone do. She knew you loved her enough to let her go and be at peace.
“When we have children—”
“You want to have children with me?”
“Sorry that’s a bit presumptuous.”
“No, not at all. But If I crack you’ll—”
“Love you even deeper.”
I stood there, holding onto her, not letting go. I wouldn’t break. I wouldn’t, because Pops was gonna need me to be strong.
“We should go,” she said and stood on her tip-toes and kissed me.
“Thank you.”
“No need.”
“You can stay here.”
“No, I’m going.”
We dressed in silence.
***
Nikki said we should stay with Pops, that he needed us, and she was right. We lay in my childhood bed, her asleep in my arms and me awake. I watched her sleep and thought of Mom. I thought about our future children not knowing their grandmother and then I thought of what she’d done for Pops and I.
When I become a father, I know what I would expect from myself. I would be their protector, their champion, and I would be there for them without exception. I would be just like mom had been, even in the last days of her life.
“She waited until she knew you were okay. She waited until she knew you had everything you ever wanted.”
I smiled down at my darling Nikki, “I thought you were asleep.”
“No, not until I know you have stopped thinking you’re at fault for her letting go.”
“How can I not?”
“Abe, she waited until you were ready to let go. She waited until she knew she had done everything she wanted to as a mother.”
“I know.”
“You made her proud.”
“I tried.”
“Now try to celebrate the most amazing woman you have ever known. The woman who gave you life and fought with all she was to stay until she knew she had finished her job.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah. She played her game.”
“She did.”
“We need to have kids, like now.” She laughed. “I’m serious, Nikki, I want them to know Pops, and your family.”
“Well, me too but—”
“Wait, give me a minute.”
I went down to see if Pops was awake.
“Pops.”
He looked up from a photo album he was looking at. He hadn’t broken down either. Not at the home, not when making Mom’s final arrangements, and not now as he looked at the album.
“Everything alright, Abe?”
“Yeah. I need the ring Mom was saving for me.”
He nodded, “You sure now’s a good time?”
“Not sure, but I know now is when it needs to happen.”
“You gonna ask her father, Abe? It’s the right thing to do you know.”
“He’ll tell me no.”
“Why?”
“Too soon, but it’s not, Pops, she’s the one and right now I need a fucking win. We need a win. She wants children with me so—”
He stood up, “Say no more, I’ve liked her since the first time she walked into the pub and tomorrow isn’t a guarantee.”
***
I walked into my room and she was pacing, “You’re alright, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Nikki, have a seat.” And as always she did as I asked. “You are it for me. I don’t want anyone else. I want you. I want you strong, I want you broken, I want you tied up, I want you on a bar. I want you to be my partner and the mother of my child. I want you now and I want you forever.” I knelt down on one knee. “Nikolette Bassett, you said that she was the most amazing woman I knew. Well you are no less amazing. I don’t want to wait to start our forever, because as Pops just said, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Marry me, Nikki. Say yes and I promise you, I will give you the moon and the stars.”
Tears fell down her face and she nodded and giggled as she wiped her tears. “That’s a lot you know, the moon and the stars. I want more than that though, I want your heart, your soul and your promise that no matter what, you will never stop pushing my limits and taking me any way you want.”
“Of course, God yes. Fuck could you get any better?” I pushed the ring onto her finger and she knelt beside me.
“I plan to age like wine and cheese, so yes, I can get much better.”
“I plan to push the hell out of your limits,” I placed my lips to hers, “I’m gonna shatter them.”
“Good. I love you, Abe.”
“I love you.”
The End
Playlist for Abe
“Guardian” by Alanis Morissette
“Stay” by Safety Suit
“Over My Head” by The Fray
“Make Damn Sure” by Taking Back Sunday
“Addicted To You” by Avicii
“Here’s To The Night” by Eve 6
“Rude” by Magic
“Show me What I’m Looking For” by Carolina Liar
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to the owner of this copy of Abe.
Thank you to my agent, Marisa Corvisiero, the ambassador of Crazytown, and honorary board member of Steel Inc. She wears each hat with class, a smile in her voice, and professionalism that blows me away. You loved the naughty ‘voice’ in my writing and you saw the beneath the crude exterior in which all things Steel possess and looked deeper. You believed in me, and for that I am eternally grateful.
To Georgia McBride, my editor. You came to meet me at my very first author signing and stood beside me, helping me and embracing my readers the same way you did me. You’ve guided me through, answering my questions and pushing me to pay more attention to detail.
Because of that, Abe’s story is stronger. I am very excited to see where this leads as you work your magic. Thank you.
To the staff at Swoon Romance, I may not know all your names or all you do, but please know I am grateful to the work and dedication you have to Ties of Steel and making it a success.
To Brandi, Michelle, Ellie, Jen, and Stephanie a million thanks is not enough but you have them.
To the F2 crew, BR ninjas, blogs and bloggers who constantly share my work with others via social media and word of mouth, I send you a million virtual hugs and praises. Without you to #sharethelove I would never be where I am today. I <3 U all!
To my family whose support and encouragement does not go unnoticed, even if my nose is buried in the computer, or I am on the phone talking about my books, you are my priority always. Never, ever doubt that. Someday, eighteen hours a day will be more than worth it. I pinky promise.
To Ally B., when you read these books in ten years (or twenty…please) look past the naughty, there’s a story of growth and love. Every woman deserves to be loved
by a man who protects her and her heart. A man who knows she is a privilege. And she needs to feel the same.
Choose otherwise and mommy will kick his ass. :)
Connect with MJ Fields
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Website – www.mjfieldsbooks.com
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First Chapter Sample of Ties of Steel: Book 2
(Uncorrected Sample)
Dominic: The Prince
Graduation
~L~
I walked out the door with my belongings in hand. It was time to move the hell on. I had made a promise to myself: when it was no longer fun, I would be done.
It was no longer fun. Hell, it bypassed fun four months ago. And after this, well it was over.
