Warning Track

by Meghan Quinn

  “That’s up to you, do want to move there?”

  “I don’t know what I want and you just confused the hell out of me.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse you. I just want to help you figure out what you want.” Lexi paused as she looked Margo dead in the eyes. “What do you want, Margo?”

  “I want Parker, but I don’t want to depend on him either. We are not mooching mamas.” Lexi smiled and shook her head. “If I move to Atlanta, I won’t know anyone and Parker will be gone a lot, leaving me alone in his apartment just counting down the minutes until he gets back. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I mean, everything is here. I’ve only known San Diego as my home. I just don’t know if I’m ready to toss everything away on the off-chance of making something work with Parker.”

  “You know it would work out,” Lexi offered.

  “How do you know that? It took how long for him to actually notice me? He’s a star athlete, women fall at his feet; he could do so much better and he’s done better. Who’s to say this little relationship we have going on isn’t some fling to eat away his time until spring training comes back around?”

  “Because that’s not who Parker is and you know that. He’s a better man than that.”

  Margo nodded her head. “I know, but there’s always that feeling in the pit of my stomach saying he forgot me once, he can forget me again. Right now, I could just be a casual lay for him.”

  “No,” Lexi shook her head. “That’s not true. I talked to him, Margo, he really likes you. I mean really likes you. I think he would do anything to make your relationship work.”

  “Maybe.” Margo picked at the hem of her shirt as she mulled things over. “I just don’t know if I’m ready. I want him so badly, but I would be more willing to protect my heart first, then give in because, if he ends things with me, I don’t know if I’d be able to bounce back from that. He’s my dream man, Lexi. He has been for years and right now, it just seems too good to be true. Too easy. Something is bound to happen…no one can stay this happy forever.”

  “Well, don’t be stupid and push him away because you think something might happen. You have to live in the moment…”

  “Easy for you to say,” Margo waved around Lexi’s house. “You live in a beach house, in San Diego, with Jake Taylor, star quarterback of the Sand Diego Thunder as your husband. You have everything you want.”

  “Yeah and I worked for it; it didn’t just land in my lap. Love isn’t easy, Margo, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to make things happen. If you want Parker, then you’re going to have to think about moving to Atlanta. He won’t be traded anytime soon, not with the way he’s been playing. It’s time to put your big girl pants on.”

  “You’re not being helpful at all,” Margo huffed out as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “The truth hurts, suck it up girl. Either go be with him and let him take care of you, or find a life for yourself out in Atlanta. Either way, don’t push him away because you’re scared. Love is a scary kind of beast that will eat you alive when you’re least expecting it. If you’re committed to Parker, then everything will work out in the end…it worked out for me.”

  “What worked out?” Jake, Lexi’s husband, asked as he walked into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around Lexi and planted a big kiss on her lips.

  “None of your business,” Lexi playfully swatted him.

  Margo watched the couple with jealousy as they kissed and teased each other. Their life seemed so easy right now, so carefree. That could be her, right? Then again, when Jake was gone, so was Lexi because she was the on-field correspondent for the team, so she didn’t really know what it was like to be away from Jake, to be in a new city all alone. Lexi’s advice was good, but not quite accurate, given that Margo’s situation was entirely different.

  Dread clouded her vision as she thought about what was to become of her and Parker. Would she really be able to just turn her entire world upside down for a man who finally saw her, after so many years?

  **Molly**

  “There’s no way you can fit that in your mouth,” Molly said while laugh-snorting.

  “Your doubt in my mouth-stuffing abilities takes a hit on my man card, babe. You, out of everyone, should know that, when presented with a challenge, I’ll take it.”

  “I swear to God, if you try to shove that in your mouth and you choke, I’m not going to save you.”

  Luke looked around their surroundings and leaned forward. “I’m not going to choke and you know it. Look around us, babe, there are a bunch of rich fucks with their noses in the air. They’ve been staring down those noses at us the whole night for actually having a good time. Let’s give them the old fuck you and shove this pie in my mouth.”

  She loved this man, she loved this man with her entire heart. He was right, the snooty crowd was out tonight and they had done nothing but stare at them for laughing, feeding each other food and actually showing affection to each other. Molly was just about sick of their country club ways.

  Molly leaned back in her chair and motioned for Luke to shove the chocolate pie in his mouth. The reason she really didn’t care about making a scene was because, for the first time in years, she had her old Luke back. So, he could shove whatever he wanted in his mouth, as long as he stayed the refreshing, youthful man she was looking at right now.

  Luke wiggled his eyebrows and grabbed the pie with one hand. He looked around the room, cleared his throat loudly for all to hear and then shoved the pie right into his mouth in one impressive swoop. Chocolate dripped out the corners of his mouth as his cheeks puffed out from the amount of dessert in his mouth.

  Trying to keep it together and not bust out in laughter, Molly put her hand over her mouth and tried to keep to giggling, rather than rolling on the ground like a drunken hyena. Molly looked around at the other patrons of the restaurant and noticed they were either staring at the lunacy of Luke or they were whispering behind menus.

  As Luke chewed on his pie, he gave Molly the thumbs up and smirked. Molly shook her head in disbelief and gave him the thumbs up.

  “Most impressive thing I have ever seen.”

  Luke took a big swallow of his drink, but still had pie in his mouth when he said, “Turn you on?” Pie dripped off of his chin as he continued to chew, looking like an absolute mess.

  Molly laughed and said, “Oh, yes. I think I just came in my panties at your display of food annihilation.”

  Luke smacked the table and called out, “Check!” as a puff of whipped cream flew out of his mouth. Both Molly and Luke looked down at it on the table and then at each other. Molly was the first to break into a fit of laughter as they both buckled over with glee.

  The waiter dropped off their check as he took their plates away and huffed about their inappropriate behavior. Luke dropped a few twenties on the table, wiped his face off, and grabbed Molly’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The way Luke spoke to her at that moment had her toes curling. He used a demanding tone, a tone that said don’t fuck with me…a tone that made promises for what was to come.

  On the entire ride home, Molly could feel herself start to shake with excitement while her stomach bottomed out in nerves. She knew the minute she walked into her apartment, the awkwardness between them was going to fall because the look in Luke’s eyes promised intimacy, something she had been dying for.

  After what seemed like an hour to get back to their apartment, Molly shut the front door and locked up. When she turned around, Luke was leaning against the hallway wall with his arms crossed over his expansive chest, staring at her. He was handsome, the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. There would never be a man in her life that would ever compare to Luke and she would never make the mistake again of looking. If she ever lost Luke again, heaven forbid, then she wouldn’t look for another man because Luke was it for her.

  “Come to bed with me.” It wasn’t a question, as his voice rang out dark and sinist
er.

  Molly obeyed and followed him into their bedroom. Luke closed the curtains, but left a slight slit so the moon could poke through and cast a dim light in the room.

  Molly looked up at Luke as he approached her while he was unbuttoning his shirt. His lapels flew open as he undid the last button, exposing his well-defined chest. Even though he was missing in action for two years, he still had the body of a god. It was hard not to want to throw yourself at the man.

  “Take your dress off.”

  Normally, Molly would give Luke some sass rather than giving into his demands, but right now, she knew Luke needed this; he needed for her to give him all control because control was what he lacked the past two years.

  Molly reached to her side and undid the zipper. Seductively, she removed the dress over her head and deposited it on the floor, revealing her pink lingerie set. Luke’s eyes burned with desire as he took in her appearance.

  “Turn around, I want to see that perfect ass.”

  She did as she was told, showing him the ass that she continued to work on by doing squats at the gym, because she still didn’t feel like it was her pre-Winnie ass.

  Heat pressed against her as Luke stood right behind her. His hands reached around her and grabbed ahold of her stomach, pulling her into his chest. He ran his hands up her stomach and up to cup her breasts. He lowered his head down to her ear and whispered, “You are so insanely beautiful, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you if you weren’t in the mood.”

  “Not to worry, I’m dying for you to be inside of me right now.”

  “Be careful what you wish for.”

  Luke ran his hands back down her stomach and grabbed ahold of her thong. In one swift movement, he pulled at both sides and ripped it right off her body. She looked at the shredded pieces of fabric and was shocked that he had actually ripped her thong in half.

  Instead of protesting and pouting about the cute underwear that just guaranteed itself a spot in the trash can, she let the warmth of Luke’s hands seep into her body.

  His strong hands ran down her thighs, avoiding anything that dealt with her quivering core, which only turned her on even more. She wanted him to touch her, needed him to touch her. She wanted to spin in his arms and take his lips that were now making small pecks along her shoulder, but she knew she needed to let Luke take control, to own this moment.

  His hands continued to skim her thighs as he kissed along her shoulder. Her hands itched to reach down and start massaging her clit, but she knew she would get in trouble, so instead she let him continue to torture her as her pussy throbbed for his attention. The pounding shot right through her belly and up to her heart, overtaking her entire body.

  “Mmmm…” she moaned, as he nibbled on her ear.

  “I’m having a hard time controlling myself,” he said into her ear. “I want to press you up against the door and fuck your brains out.”

  “Do it…” she practically begged.

  “No, you deserve more than a quick fuck.” Luke grabbed ahold of her hands and led her to their bed. Reaching behind her back, he unclasped her bra and let her breasts fall out of the pink confines. He pulled away and looked down at her naked body. The fact that she hadn’t had sex in a while made her nervous, but it was the look of pure lust in Luke’s eyes that made Molly over-anxious. She hoped that she could live up to the image he had of her in his head.

  They had sex when he first gave in and came to live with her, but they weren’t in the frame of mind that they were in now. They fucked then, they were going to make love now. She was in a completely different ballpark.

  Luke pushed her back on the bed and rid himself of the rest of his clothes. His erection stood proud as he looked down at her, right before he straddled her body. As he lowered himself, she felt his erection poke her leg with need. The feeling most likely would have been funny to someone else, but to her, she would never forget it because it meant, after two years and many complications, Luke still wanted her.

  Her arms ran the length of his back and she was startled as she felt multiple abrasions along his skin. She looked Luke in the eyes and said, “Turn around.”

  He dropped his head to her shoulder and shook it. “No, I don’t want you to see.”

  “Luke, I’m going to see at some point. Please don’t shut me out, show me.”

  Knowing this was a difficult thing for Luke to do, she waited as he took a deep breath and slowly turned around so he was sitting up on the bed, facing away from her.

  She was immediately struck by the raised scars that crisscrossed his back. They were a deep purple shade and jagged in all different forms. There was no rhyme or reason to the way they were striped along his back, the only pattern Molly was able to identify was the pattern of torture Luke had to endure.

  Gently, Molly ran her hand over his scars as tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t control her emotions. It was all too much to think about her sweet man going through such pain, such suffering.

  “They did this to you,” Molly said, more as a statement than a question.

  “Yes,” Luke said softly.

  Molly pulled Luke onto the middle of the bed and started inspecting his body.

  “What else did they do to you?” Molly frantically searched Luke’s body, finding scars all over his beautiful skin. How come she’d never noticed them before? Was she that shocked then they first had sex that she didn’t notice one ounce of the hurt puckering Luke’s skin?

  “What did they do to you?” Molly asked in a soft whisper, as more tears fell from her eyes.

  Luke wiped away her tears with his thumbs and said, “I don’t want to talk about that now. I want to enjoy you.”

  “Will you tell me one day, Luke?”

  “Why do you want to know? It’s not pretty, it’s downright disgusting. It’s nothing I want you to know about. I want to keep you as pure as possible.”

  A slight laugh escaped Molly’s mouth. “I’m far from pure, Luke, believe me. I want to understand what happened so I can help you get healthier. I want to be let in, Luke.”

  Molly watched as Luke’s jaw twitched from thinking. He was so sexy, so incredibly sexy with his dark blonde hair, his blue eyes and facial scruff that rubbed her in all the right ways.

  “Please, Luke, let me in,” Molly repeated, trying to encourage him.

  Luke ran his hands up Molly’s sides and said, “I promise I will tell you, but not now. I’ll tell you when we’re stronger, when we can sit through a session with my therapist and talk about it, where we can hash through everything and be healthy about it. I’m just starting to see some clarity through this dark cloud I’ve been living in, I don’t want to go back, not right away and I know if I tell you everything, it will take me back. I’m just not ready, Molly, but I promise, you’ll get my story, you’ll hear it all.”

  Molly nodded her head and kissed him on the cheek. That was all she could ask for now, his promise.

  Wanting to erase their conversation from the present, Luke took Molly’s mouth in his and started working his hands up her body to fully cup her breasts. His thumbs stroked her nipples, making her want to cry out in pleasure, but that would mean removing her mouth from his and she didn’t want that at all.

  She was wet, throbbing, and beyond ready. With one tweak of a nipple, she’d be flying over the edge, but she didn’t want that. She wanted Luke inside of her.

  “Please, Luke. I want you inside of me,” she said breathlessly.

  Not skipping a beat, Luke slowly entered Molly, making her feel like she’d found home again. This was home to her, being connected to this man in the most intimate way possible.

  Once he was fully inside of her, he lightly kissed the tip of her nose and started moving his hips in and out in a melodic-type pace. It was nothing that was going to make her scream for Jesus, but instead it was slow and sensual. Just what she needed.

  Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as Luke continued to whisper affirmations of love while he
moved in and out of her.

  “You’re the reason why I’m still here. You’re the reason why I made it through hell. You’re everything to me, even when I’m a belligerent ass and say the most hateful things to you. You are my life, Molly.”

  Streams of tears now fell from her eyes from his words. She gripped his back and pulled him in with each thrust as her lips sought out his. He allowed access to his tongue as he opened his mouth for her and let her take charge for a split second in time.

  “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so damn much,” Luke’s voice choked out.

  Pleasure was on the tip of rolling through her body as Luke pushed into her one last time. Both of their bodies went completely stiff as they called out each other’s names in complete rapture. It wasn’t the most explosive orgasm she had ever had from Luke, but it was definitely the most intimate one.

  Molly reached up and ran her hand through his hair as he looked down at her. “You’re everything to me too, Luke. Please don’t leave me again. Please stay with me forever.”

  “That’s the plan, babe. Molly’s man for life.”

  **Parker**

  “Hey, Mo, how was work?” Parker asked Margo over the phone, as he stuffed his face with day-old Chinese food.

  “It was alright.”

  Parker had noticed that, for the past two days, Margo had become very short with him and wasn’t very responsive to his text messages. He tried to see if maybe her job was occupying her time, but apparently not. He worried that his extra time in Atlanta, due to some impromptu interviews and taking Brady out a couple of days to help him ease the pain of losing his daughter might have made Margo mad him, but whenever he asked, she always said no.

  “I can’t wait to see you in a couple of days.”

  “Yeah, it will be nice.”