by Angela Blake
When she was ready, she left Sofia in the bedroom and drove out.
***
The theater center was already packed. She found Dean waiting in line to buy tickets.
“Dean Marshall, waiting in a line like everybody else,” she commented as she walked up to him. “I need to take a picture of this.”
He laughed and handed her their popcorn, “You didn’t think all I do is work and screw girls, right? I do have a hobby outside the bedroom.”
“I don’t know, you tell me,” she replied and ate a handful of popcorn. “What movie are we watching?”
“It’s that new thing with George Clooney,” he answered, “a musical.”
Kayla’s eyes grew wide with excitement, “How’d you know I’d like this? I freaking love George Clooney.”
“Every chick loves George Clooney,” he told her. “Fortunately, so do I. You got everything ready at your place?”
“Yeah, everything’s boxed up.”
Dean wrapped his arm around her waist and hugged her closer, “How’s Sofia?”
“In our bedroom, watching shit on Netflix.”
“Using your account or mine?”
“Mine,” Kayla answered. “She’s been binging that show with Thandie Newton and Chris Pratt. I liked it but I only saw Season One so far.”
Dean hugged her tighter and asked, “How many seasons are there now?”
“Four,” Kayla answered. “I couldn’t continue watching because I diverted back to finishing up Game of Thrones. Then I started watching that weird sci-fi thing you recommended last night.”
“Firefly?”
She nodded, “I like it. The writing is really good but it’s kind of obvious that the budget wasn’t really up to par. It would’ve been better if they made it a few years later. Like a decade later.”
“You know the guy that made it made The Avengers movie right?”
“No freaking way,” Kayla commented. “That’s some cool trivia.”
Dean laughed in agreement and stood behind her, this time hugging her with both arms around her waist.
Kayla felt a warm sense of satisfaction begin to flood her senses as she stood in that line with Dean’s arms around her. She was actually happy and in a relationship, two things she never thought would go together. To make it even more amazing was the fact she achieved it with someone like Dean Marshall, the epitome of a rich, privileged bad boy.
She looked up at him and found him looking back at her. She knew deep inside he still had some secrets and issues locked away but those could be stripped bit by bit. She knew she could trust him now. She knew she had him. She loved him.
The line started moving and they made their way inside. As they walked into the darkness and to their seats Kayla let her mind drift into a well of peace. She was happy, she was content and she was not going to let this feeling go.
“Dean,” she called right as they sat down.
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
Dean hugged her tight, gave her a kiss on the cheek and whispered, “I love you too. I do.”
That was all she wanted to hear. She squeezed his hands as they turned to the screen and watched.
THE END
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Chapter 1
Mark Hummel groaned as he dropped the weights he had been carrying.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it; it was just that his coach had been pushing him extra hard because he was the youngest person on the team.
He knew he had a long way to go to prove himself, and he was willing to go the distance. He wiped the sweat off his brow and dropped to the floor to do twenty push-ups.
He caught a glimpse of a woman staring at him in the mirror, and he winked suggestively. The woman blushed beet red and pretended to be engrossed in what she was doing.
Mark hoisted himself up and grabbed a towel to dry off until he could get to a shower. He grabbed a bottle of water and flexed his muscles as he began to gulp down the water.
He pretended not to notice the pairs of eyes that were on his bare muscular chest. He smirked as he crushed the bottle in his hand, and then tossed it into the bin.
He turned around and stepped on the treadmill to get some mileage in before calling it a night. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his playlist before settling on some hardcore rock music to get him pumped.
A message came in from his friend Blaire-Blaire Hamilton-the NBA’s MVP, and Mark slowed to a brisk jog as he read his way through it.
He and Blaire had bonded almost instantly a few months ago, they often went out partying together, and picked up girls together. In fact, most of Mark’s techniques came from Blaire himself.
He practically idolized the man, but then Blaire found out that the love of his life had his baby, so he mellowed out.
Mark thought it was a damn shame that it had come to that.
Blaire Hamilton the basketball legend was whipped, and Mark couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. So what if they had a daughter? It didn’t mean he had to be with her mother.
Mark’s own parents were divorced and better off for it, he never once felt the need to have his parents get back together.
Mark shook his head at Blaire’s joke and shot him a text letting him know that he’d join him for a beer after he was done at the gym.
He pulled up the playlist once again, and his feet began to really pick up the pace as the sounds of Led Zeppelin came in through his earphones.
Beads of sweat came pouring down his back, and he had his brow furrowed in intense concentration, so he didn’t notice the brunette standing next to him until she tapped him on his shoulder.
He yanked out the earphone and stared at her for a second, feeling dazed.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but aren’t you Mark Hummel?”
Mark’s eyebrow went up as he regarded the brunette with the long legs, tiny waist and round firm ass.
“Depends on who’s asking,” he responded as he dragged a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. His green eyes perused her slowly, thinking that he could definitely picture her as wild between the sheets.
Her brown eyes light up. “I saw you at the game last week, you were great.”
Mark nodded as he got off the treadmill and stood directly in front of her. He was still a good deal taller than her, so he noticed how she had to crane her neck to look up at him. He wanted that head thrown back and moaning in pleasure, but he could wait.
“How close were you?” he inquired conversationally as he made his way towards his gym bag.
“Oh, close enough that we could see the sweat,” she said as she sidled up to him and leaned against the wall as she eyed him, her intentions mirrored in her eyes.
His eyes immediately traveled down to her sports bra, and he let his gaze linger there long enough that a slow flush began to crawl up her cheeks. His gaze traveled down noticing her shapely thighs, and the way her sweatpants clung to her legs as if they were one and the same.
That piece of fabric would look much better on the floor, he thought.
He let his eyes travel back up to her face, and he could see that she noticed he was checking her out, and she didn’t mind one bit. In fact if her body language was any indication, she was very hot for him.
Mark swung his bag over his shoulder and casually strode towards her. He stood next to her and leaned in. He smirked as he noticed that her breath caught in her throat and goosebumps rose on her arms in response to his warm breath on her ear.
“Were you this close?” he asked.
It took the brunette a while to comprehend that he asked a question. “No, not really,” she tried to come off sounding nonchalant, but her tremor gave her away.
“Were you close enough that you could smell the sweat?” he asked as he slid his finger casually down he
r stomach making her quiver in response.
“No,” she stood very still, as if she was afraid that if she moved he’d disappear or somehow stop, and it became very evident to Mark that she didn’t want him to stop.
Her hand came up and traced the electric guitar tattooed onto his bicep. He watched her carefully knowing that if she didn’t stop, it would be very hard for him to leave the gym and go get beers with Blaire.
Her hand began to move to his chest, and Mark could feel a growing bulge in his pants. He deftly grabbed a hold of her wrist and began to run his thumb over the pressure point.
“Would you like to be?” he asked as she took a step back. He had her caged between the wall and himself, and he had to admit that thought of taking her right then and there was very appealing, but there were too many people around.
“Like to be what?” Her voice came out sounding husky. Mark was growing even more turned on, and he casually lowered his bag to hide it. To the rest of the gym it looked like they were simply having a private conversation, but to Mark and the brunette, the air was crackling with sexual tension.
“Would you like to be close enough to smell the sweat?” he murmured as he watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest. He pictured himself tossing away that sports bra and burying himself between those breasts. He shifted and adjusted the bag even lower.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“What’s your name?”
“Laurel.”
Mark chuckled deeply as he noticed how breathy she sounded. He could already see the desire pooling in her eyes. His green eyes met her brown eyes in a direct stare. “Laurel, I want to make you scream with pleasure.” He kept his voice low but purposeful.
Laurel’s eyes widened and her legs tightened in response. Mark grinned because of his earlier assessment of the brunette was right, her reaction meant that she liked to get a little wild between the sheets.
“Unfortunately, I’m supposed to be meeting a friend for drinks in about an hour or two.”
Predictably, Laurel looked disappointed.
“However, I know the manager here. Follow me.” He pointed a thumb towards the door, and they hurried down the hallway. He stopped at the desk and had a few words with the manager who handed over a key.
They were both practically running down the hallway until they reached a shower stall at the end of the bathroom.
“The manager lent me the keys to his private office. He has a steam room, jacuzzi and shower in there.”
Laurel blinked as she took in the sight. Mark shut the door behind them and flipped the lock closed before dropping his bag on the floor. He kicked off his shorts and watched as Laurel’s eyes darkened with lust.
Laurel kicked off her sweat pants until she stood in nothing but her sports bra and underwear.
“Let’s see if we can put those long legs to use.”
They collided into a mess of limbs as Mark switched on the shower and proceeded to keep his promise to make her scream.
***
Mark grunted as he lifted his jeans up and slipped on his shirt. He flicked his hair out of his eyes and watched as Lauren put on her hoodie.
The door clicked open, and he gestured for Laurel to go first.
She paused uncertainly at the door. “Will I see you again?”
Mark let out an aggravated sigh. “Laurel we’re both adults here, we both know how this works, so I’m not going to lie to you, but it’s been fun babe.”
Laurel nodded and straightened up but not before she grabbed the front of his jeans. Mark felt himself respond to her touch, but his face remained neutral.
“Well, if you ever want a repeat performance, you know where to find me.” She slipped a card into his hands before she reached up and nibbled on his ear.
“I doubt that. I make it a point not to sleep with the same woman twice.” Mark responded nonchalantly as Laurel stopped nibbling on his ear. He hooked his thumb in the waistband of his jeans and watched as Laurel eyed him.
“It’s there if you change your mind,” Laurel said once more before she gave him one last seductive look. She patted her hair carefully before she strode out of the room, her heels echoing in the hallway.
Mark let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He was still new to the whole bad boy thing, it had only been a year in fact, and it was Blaire who told him not to sleep with the same woman more than once. He told him that it would mean they expected him to call back, take them out and stuff like that, and Mark didn’t want that.
He wanted to be free and wild on the court and in bed.
And he liked how women fawned all over him. The second he walked into a room, he saw how women’s eyes trailed over his fit muscular body, taking in the piercing green eyes, shaggy blonde hair, and the tattoos that were on his body. He didn’t have many, but he had just enough that would make women want to lick, bite and kiss every single one.
The only person who’d just touched them slowly without doing anything was Jenny McAndrews.
He didn’t know why he was thinking about her now he thought as he made his way out of the gym and headed towards his convertible.
He hadn’t thought about Jenny in a year, not since they met in that bar when he had just joined the NBA, and she was there with a douche bag who had paid her no attention.
He saw her the minute he walked into the bar, how could he not? With her fiery red hair, blue eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
She was sitting next to a guy who was too busy flirting with the woman next to him to pay her attention. He noticed how Jenny had seemed sad about that, and after a few drinks, he decided to walk up to her and start a conversation.
The second she smiled at him, he knew he was in trouble.
Mark shook his head to clear away the remnants of the memory and threw his bag into the backseat. He texted Blaire to let him know that he was on his way, and got into the driver’s seat. He slid the door down and hooked in his phone to listen to some AC/DC.
He turned the music up and hit the gas hard enough to leave skid marks as he let the music wash out all thoughts of a certain redheaded woman he had never been able to forget.
Chapter 2
“Look, it’s not that I don’t want to visit a hospital full of sick kids, but what if they get me sick or something?”
Mark could practically hear his manager roll his eyes. “You’re being paranoid, Mark. Besides, we need to do a little rebranding because your image has taken quite a hit after that fiasco with the Harley.”
Mark grunted as he began to stretch his muscles. “I already told you what happened. I was on my Harley smoothing out, and this woman comes up to me and asks me for a ride, I’m a warm blooded man, and she was hot as hell, why would I say no?”
“Because her boyfriend would start pummeling you, and it would end up all over the internet?” His manager offered sarcastically.
“Thanks Rob, as if I didn’t know what the outcome was, but how was I supposed to know she had a boyfriend? She came up to me.”
“Well, I’ll agree to that, but you couldn’t just walk away when he started trying to bait you?”
Mark bent down to touch his toes, and he let out a deep breath. “I suppose I could’ve, but really, the guy was asking for it.”
Rob sighed on the other end of the line, and Mark could picture him fumbling around for a cigarette in his pocket. In fact, Mark had a feeling Rob wasn’t a smoker until he met Mark. Managing him was a lot more stressful than he thought, and this was his way of venting.
Mark actually did like the guy, he wasn’t trying to make his life harder, he just hated the press; especially when they stuck their nose in places where it didn’t belong.
Mark knew he had a reputation, and wearing leather jackets, driving a Harley and having multiple tattoos put him in that stereotype, and he didn’t care one bit.
It meant he could get away with a lot of stuff he’d ot
herwise be busted for.
Besides, it wasn’t like he lied about who he was. He never did. Mark made it a point to never lie.
“Anyway, look, just go to this hospital on 9th street, they’ll let you in through the back, the press will get an anonymous tip, shake a few hands, kiss a few babies, and we’re home free. Who knows? You might even care about these kids.”
“Is that wishful thinking or a PR thing?”
Rob chuckled, a deep resigned sort of laugh that seemed to say ‘what am I going to do with you,’ “Just don’t be late.”
He clicked the phone shut, and Mark stared at his phone for a minute before he placed it back in his gym bag. He began to work out, but he kept his eye out for the pretty brunette-Laurel-from the other night.
If he was going to get through today then maybe he could break that rule just once.
After all, she didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t take her out, nor was he planning to. Mark bent down to his tie his shoe laces and froze in his place when a soft voice said, “Nice view.”
Mark had a retort ready, but when he looked up, he found himself staring straight at a pair of breasts that immediately had him thinking of other things.
Mark immediately dusted off his shorts, slowly stood up and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I could say the same of you,” he responded smoothly, he watched as the blonde raised an eyebrow at his comment, making no effort to mask her interest in him.
Mark took his time studying the blonde who was almost as tall as him. She wasn’t really his type with her average waist, and small ass, but those breasts. He found his eyes gravitating towards them, and the blonde could see that. She pretended to be stretching, so she could push them closer together, and Mark found himself wondering if she’d let him do that.
“I’ve seen you before.”
“Been to one of the games, have you?” Mark asked conversationally as he bent down to do a squat. He noticed the way her eyes lingered on his ass, and he looked at her over his shoulder, and their eyes met head on, each making their intentions clear.
