Ballers 2: His Final Play

by Blue Saffire

  “We’ll always be honest with each other and tell each other everything,” I say. “Promise me we’ll talk things out.”

  “You don’t even need to ask this of me. It is already done,” Nico responds lifting my head so his blue eyes lock on my brown. “I love you, Reese. I wouldn’t do anything that has the potential to hurt you.”

  “I love you too,” I purr and wrap my arms around his neck.

  Nico gives me that mischievous smile. “Oh really now, do you,” he croons. “I’ve missed you. I spent the day thinking about you and our baby. I couldn’t wait to get back so that I could taste you.”

  I shiver in his arms at his words and cream my panties. I’m such a sucker for his dirty talking mouth. I know what he is doing. He is trying to distract me and honestly, I plan to let him.

  Nico pushes the papers from the desk and lifts me onto it. He pulls his t-shirt up over his head and balls it up. I watch his muscles play with the movement. It is poetry in motion. Every tanned ripple is another morsel to feast on. Reaching behind me he sets the t-shirt on the desk and then gently lowers me onto my back, resting my head onto his shirt.

  Nico loosens the tie on my wrap dress and peels my dress open slowly. I am panting in anticipation as his eyes take a lazy trip over my body. Nico licks his lips, reaching to curl his fingers into my panties.

  “Beautiful,” Nico rasps as he pulls my panties down achingly slow. “When we are old and grey, I will still want to get on my knees and devour you. I’ll never have enough.”

  “Nico,” I moan and squirm on the desk.

  “Patience, my love. I will eat it all, don’t worry. When I’m done, I plan to fuck you into this desk,” Nico breathes as he drops to his knees.

  I am already soaked. I can feel my juices dripping into my crack. Nico places his hand on my inner thighs and spreads my legs wider. He drags his hands down to my ankles and wraps his long fingers around them. He places my feet flat on the desktop, releasing my ankles he drags his fingers back up to the apex of my thigh.

  This slow torture is killing me. My hips lift of their own accord in yearning for his touch in the place I want it most. Nico runs his thumb through my folds lightly. I whimper as he lifts his thumb to his mouth and sucks. His eyes are blazing and burning into mine.

  “So sweet,” Nico croons in pleasure, his lids become hooded showing off his thick lashes.

  He runs his hand through the front of his hair to push it out of his face, before his face disappears between my thighs. I cry out and reach for something, anything to anchor me to the desk. I come up empty and reach for my own breasts. The friction of the lace of mybra against sensitive breasts sends me reeling.

  “Oh yes,” I moan. Nico hums into me, while locking his arms around my thighs to hold me down. “Nico, baby that feels so good.”

  Nico’s reply is to reach for my clit and circle it with his thumb. I lift right off the desk, but he doesn’t let up, his mouth follows me. I reach for his arms and dig my fingers in. Nico in turn flattens his tongue against my folds and swipes it up and into me.

  My toes curl on the lip of the desk and my eyes roll into the back of my head. I am rocked hard by one orgasm after another as Nico buries his face into my folds and shakes his head and tongue back and forth, side to side. I bite down hard on my lip to keep from screaming.

  I haven’t even surfaced yet, when I suddenly feel Nico pushing inside me slowly and gently. He reaches for my hands and links his fingers with mine. As our eyes met, he starts to move his hips.

  I expect slow and gentle, that is what he has been giving me lately. I know he is being cautious with me because of the baby. However, he shocks me as he swivels his hips and then picks up the pace. He comes to a stop swivels his hips again, then picks up his pace again.

  I am a quivering, writhing mess beneath him. Nico closes his eyes and throws his head back. “Reese,” he breathes into the room, like a prayer. “So good, angelo mio.” My mouth opens in awe of his beauty. He is just a breathtaking sight.

  I tighten around him, knowing I’m not going to last too long at all. As if reading my body to a T, Nico grits his teeth and release my hands to grab for my waist. He holds onto me as he literally fucks me into the desk just as he promised.

  Nico opens his eyes and looks at me with deep dark desire. “Do you feel that, Cara? This is what you do to me. I can’t think straight when I’m away from you. All I want is to be inside you. All I want is you,” Nico groans.

  “Yes,” I sob out. “I want you too.”

  “Then take me, take all of me,” Nico hisses as his seed bursts into me. His release triggers my own and I quake against the desk.

  Nico pulls me up against his chest and covers my mouth with his. He strokes my hair as he kisses me slowly. I wrap my arms around his back. I can feel the tension in his body.

  He may have been distracting me, but I know his own mind is heavy over the events that have taken place in the last few months. I almost forgot that he, Michael and Uri had gone to spend the day with Sam. My heart aches for our friends. I don’t know if things will ever be the same. My initial guilt was cleared away by one of Ellen’s letters, but it hasn’t made things any easier.

  “Maybe we should take that trip to Italy,” I whisper.

  “We will not run from all of this. We will stand with our family like they would stand with us,” Nico replies gently.

  “I just thought you would be less stressed if we got away for a bit,” I say and cup his jaw.

  Nico shakes his head. “I am fine. We are all doing our part. What I would like to do, is pick a decorator for the nursery and handle the applications for those preschools that we still need to get out,” Nico beams at me.

  I giggle. This man is really excited about this baby. He has a ton of preschool applications to all the best schools in New York City. I was baffled the day he came home with them. Believe it or not the apartment has already been baby proofed and that is only because I refused the house he wanted to buy.

  “Nico, the baby is barely a peanut,” I laugh.

  “And to get into the best schools, Valentina and Mama suggest we apply now,” Nico says with hope in his eyes.

  I smile softly at him. “Okay, okay, we will look at the applications but I’m not decorating the nursery yet,” I relent.

  Nico’s whole face lights up. “Let’s get cleaned up. Our little bambino needs a good education,” Nico says proudly.

  God, I just love this man.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Tears of Pain

  Nico

  Two months later…

  I can’t help the shit eating grin on my face. It was confirmed yesterday that I will be having a son. A beautiful little boy. Reese is five and a half months pregnant and she is just stunning. Her baby bump has started to really show and I love the sight of it.

  “What happened to letting your woman pick all this shit out,” Michael grumbles beside me as he looks down at his phone.

  “Tell Sim I said hello,” I reply. I know he is texting Symphony. It is the only time he becomes this grumpy.

  I don’t even touch the topic of Symphony, or Sim as we all call her. If you want to talk Donati secrets, there’s Pandora’s box. I leave that shit to Uri and Annabella. Today, I am too happy to even be sucked into his bad mood.

  I finally talked Reese into decorating the nursery. We are meeting with a designer later this week, but I couldn’t help myself. After a game of football with my brothers, Bobby, Marcus, and Sam Mairettie and Nate and Jasper Briggs, I decided to look for some baby furniture to surprise Reese with.

  It has been a good day. The game was more of a business meeting with a bit of fun. Uri, Nate, Sam and I are getting ready to start a new venture together. I have thought about getting into venture capital and when I mentioned it to Uri, he set the ball in motion.

  We signed the contracts, then hit the pitch to celebrate. It felt good. I can honestly say that I am happy with where my life is going. Sam even seeme
d to be in a lighter mood this morning. I think things are starting to settle for him.

  I was happy to share with the guys that I have a son on the way. I’ve known all along that we would be having a boy. I just felt it in my bones. That is why this smile has taken a permanent residence on my face.

  I stand in front of the mahogany crib staring down into it, imagining my son sleeping inside. I know this is the perfect one for my little one. I can see myself kissing him goodnight, each night before taking his mother to bed to make more little bambinos. Reese is going to make an amazing mother and wife.

  I have wanted, to propose, but I know Reese. With her, things have to be just right. It is okay, I have a plan. She will get the time to adjust to the changes in our lives and then I will make her my wife.

  Things always work out, I think to myself and wave the sales clerk back over to me. I know what I want. Just as the clerk walks over my phone rings. I smile when I see it is Reese calling.

  “Hello, Cara,” I croon into the phone after answering and placing it to my ear.

  “Nico,” Reese sobs, causing my entire body to freeze.

  “What is it, Cara? What’s going on, Reese,” I rush into the phone. I have already waved off the clerk and started for the exit. I don’t even check to see if Michael follows me as I take off running.

  “I started spotting this morning after you left. It was light at first. I didn’t want to worry you. I knew you had that important meeting. I went to the doctor and they sent me home and told me to stay off my feet. Nico,” she sobs my name. “It was fine at first and then it got worse and I…I went to pee and I felt it. I’m losing our baby, Nico.”

  “Fuck,” I roar as I jump in the car and wave to Tony to step on it. I am vaguely aware that Michael has climbed into the car as well. “Listen to me, Baby. You don’t know that. We will get you to the hospital and they will take care of you. You have to calm down, Baby. I’m on my way.”

  “It’s too late, Nico. I know it’s too late. Why Nico, why? We just saw him moving,” Reese’s soul snatching sobs reach into the phone, ripping my heart to shreds.

  I can’t stop my own tear that slips free. “I don’t know, Baby,” I choke out a whisper, feeling so helpless. I bite down on my fist and then I punch the dashboard as I totally lose my shit. I am wrecked at hearing her pain and not being there to comfort her.

  It is my job to protect her, it is my job to give her anything she wants and I have failed. I know the one thing Reese wants more than anything is a baby. The way her face lit up in doctor’s office yesterday proved that all too well.

  She looked so relieved to see our healthy baby boy. Now that joy could all be gone. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. My own heart is hurting. I feel a rage I have not felt in so long, but the helplessness is what’s consuming.

  My son. I’m losing my son.

  ~B~

  Reese

  Today started off like any other day. Everything was fine, I was a little tired, so I decided to let the others handle the clinic today. Brenda has been a great help and I know she and the others would be fine without me.

  I was so happy when I kissed Nico goodbye as he left for his meeting. I just planned to veg out on the couch. All I did was reach for a novel off the shelf Nico filled with books for me. It was not that far a reach at all.

  I set the book down on the couch so I could pee, before I got comfortable for the rest of the day. When I went to wipe I noticed the light pink on the tissue. I wiped again and the tissue came away a little darker pink, along with a sticky film.

  I wanted to freak out then, but I held it together and called the doctor’s office. I called a cab because I didn’t want to bother Nico. I know the meeting today is important to him. Uri, Nico, Nate, and Sam are starting an investment firm. Nico has a tendency to get bored quickly, so he was really excited to have something to do with his time until the baby gets here.

  After a quick examination, I was released. The bleeding had stopped. The doctor didn’t seem to be concerned, even with my history. He sent me home and said to rest for the next few days, just as a precaution.

  I came home to do just that. I put on my pajamas and crawled into bed. I even managed a nap. It was when I woke up that I went to the bathroom and found my pajama bottoms covered in blood.

  I stood to clean up so I could find my phone and call Nico. That’s when I felt it. The tug in my stomach, followed by my baby passing through my legs. The deep sob that tore through me shook my very soul, but the sight of my little boy laying on the floor is what slayed me.

  I didn’t have the heart to tell Nico all of this over the phone. I sent a text to Alee and Valentina, then I called Nico. Hearing the pain in his voice. I couldn’t tell him that I am sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at our baby.

  I couldn’t push out the words to tell him how much physical pain I am in. I should probably call an ambulance. I should probably get up to clean myself up, but right now I don’t know how to move.

  “Baby, are you still there,” Nico says brokenly into the phone.

  “Yes,” I whimper.

  “Fuck,” Nico bellows. I know he has moved away from the phone to do so, but it is still loud enough for me to hear. When his voice comes back through the phone it tears my heart a little more. Nico is always so strong. I have watched him be strong for everyone else in the past few months. Hearing his voice sound so broken kills me a little more inside. “I’m almost there, Baby. I’m so sorry, Cara. I’m so fucking sorry.”

  “Oh no,” I hear someone gasp.

  I look up to see Alee with a shaky hand over her mouth as she stares at my little boy on the bathroom floor. Valentina is standing next to her with tears in her eyes. For once, I am grateful for that key Valentina has.

  Valentina snaps into action snatching a towel and covering the bloody baby that Alee and I are still staring at. I feel like I am watching all of this from outside of my body. None of it makes sense.

  I curl into a ball as my body is racked with pain. I hear Alee on the phone talking to someone. It is only when I realize that I’m no longer holding my phone, that I know she must be talking to Nico.

  “Come on, Sweetie. Let’s get some pants on you. Help is on the way. We need to get you covered up,” Valentina coos as she peels my soiled pants from my ankles.

  Somehow I am in fresh pants when a frantic Nico bursts into the rapidly crowding bathroom. I’m being lifted from the floor, into his arms before I know it. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face into his shoulder.

  “We called an ambulance,” I hear Valentina say.

  “I’m not waiting,” Nico growls, not stopping as he exits the bathroom and heads out of the apartment without missing a step. “I’m here now,” Nico murmurs against my forehead as we enter the elevator. “I’m here.”

  ~B~

  Nico

  I will forever remember the scene I walked in on in our master bathroom. I lost my shit when Alee took the phone from Reese to tell me what she and Valentina found. My son was under that towel.

  The baby I had just been looking to buy a crib for was lying on the floor. I thought I knew pain when I was shot. There is no pain I have known that is greater than this. Seeing Reese curled up in pain, knowing our baby…just thinking it make it hard to breathe.

  I haven’t left Reese’s side since I arrived to find her in the bathroom. With the exception of when they took her for a D and C procedure, but I waited right here in the private hospital room I demanded she have. I don’t care if they don’t plan to keep her overnight. I want her as comfortable as possible while she is here.

  So here I sit, waiting for her to wake. I’m sitting here with my hoodie pulled over my head so that no one can see the tears that won’t stop flowing. My sweats are still covered in blood. A screaming reminder that my son is no more.

  “Nico,” Reese’s voice rasps, breaking into my thoughts.

  I quickly wipe my tears away and push my hoodie back.
Reese is staring at me with sad eyes. She looks so small and fragile lying in that hospital bed.

  I lift to my feet and move over to the bed. I toe off my shoes and move to climb into the bed beside her. I tuck her into my arms and bury my face in her hair. I inhale her scent.

  “We will try again,” I say into her hair. “I promise you, Reese. We will try as many times as we need. We will have a baby, I promise.”

  “Ti amo,” Reese whispers. I feel her body grow heavy as she drifts off to sleep in my arms.

  “Ti amo,” I whisper anyway.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I Need Help

  Reese

  Eight months later…

  I think losing our baby brought us closer together. Nico and I have been through so much together and it hasn’t broken us or our love. It has only made it stronger than ever.

  I don’t know why I was so surprised that Nico was by my side every step of the way. Once again Nico proved to me what being loved is really like, but he is not the only one that has shown me so much love.

  Valentina and I have become so much closer after the day she found me in the bathroom. She has become the big sister I didn’t know I needed. Valentina and Rita are the leaders of the badass crew and somehow they have pulled me into the ranks.

  Seriously! I have learned to shoot a gun. Twice a week I take self-defense lessons with the rest of the trainees at Briggs Security. It all has gone a long way to help me deal with our loss.

  I am actually on my way to the compound when my cell phone rings. I’m not supposed to be at the compound today, but I have been having trouble shaking a few of these pounds and thought stepping up my game will help.

  I look down at my phone, but I don’t recognize the number. I furrow my brows which, grabs Nico’s attention as he sits at the kitchen island watching me. I was just about to kiss him goodbye.

  “Hello,” I say into the phone as I answer and continue to make my way over to Nico.

  “Please Reese, don’t hang up. It’s me, Ty,” I hear the voice on the other end say.