“Campbell’s the one who was previously injured, right?” Mary asked.
Michael grimaced and threw his napkin down on his plate. “Yeah,” he said, popping off his stool and collecting their dishes and debris for the sink. “He’s the reason that little fucker Johnson is playing.”
“Isn’t Johnson doing well, though?”
Michael rolled his eyes at Mary. “He’s a fucking rookie and shouldn’t be able to reap the benefits of Campbell’s injuries.”
“Isn’t it a good thing you have a competent player, though, who can fill in for Campbell?” she softly challenged.
“Well, it’d be a helluva lot better if it was anyone else other than fucking Johnson.”
“Why do you dislike him so much?”
“He’s an arrogant, little punk ass prick who’s been handed everything during his life and has never had to work for a fucking thing. His rookie season he gets to play on the left side of my line? I don’t fucking think so.”
She left her stool and went to stand directly behind him while he stood at the sink, wrapping her arms around his middle and laying her cheek against his back.
“Life isn’t always fair, is it?” she murmured.
Michael took her hands resting on his stomach and wrapped them in his much bigger ones while looking out onto his backyard. Over the weeks she had gotten to know Michael, she had to learn when to push and when he needed comfort.
“Nope. It sure isn’t.”
Releasing her hands, turning her around, and tugging her towards the living room, he continued to maintain physical contact with her, unwilling to let her go.
“Any of your teammates who are going to be there Saturday night married? With kids?” she asked as they plunked down onto the leather couch.
Michael’s cheeks flushed again, a sign Mary was beginning to associate with him being embarrassed.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know? How do you not know if any of them are married or have kids? All the time you spend with them and you can only quote their draft stats?” She attempted to lighten and modulate her tone, but she couldn’t quite camouflage her disbelief.
“It’s not like we sit there talking about our personal lives.”
“I’m surprised you don’t know some basic facts.”
“Are you telling me you know everything about every single person you work with at Walker?” he countered, shifting on the couch and pulling away to sit in the corner.
“No, not everyone,” she calmly responded. “But I do know who’s married, who’s dating, who’s divorced, who’s got kids, and who’s gay.”
“Of course you do. You’re a woman.”
“Which means what, pray tell?” Mary’s sweet tone belied her anger and hurt.
“You make it your business to know shit like that.”
“Shit like what, exactly, Michael? Shit like basic, fundamental details of people’s lives? If that’s the case, then yeah, I guess, guilty as charged.” She blew a breath out of her mouth. This was their first fight and she didn’t like it. She didn’t shy away from conflict, but she didn’t actively court it, either, and Michael looked as uncomfortable as she did. It wasn’t her place to give in. She was somewhat appalled he’d played with these guys for several years and didn’t even know whether they were married?
~ * ~ * ~
This sucks, Michael thought. Mary’s steady green gaze remained locked on his. He was the first to look away, off towards the silent television mounted on the wall. Finally, he couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “What do you want from me?” he barked.
“I want to know why you let so few people into your life, Michael. Like your teammates.”
“Jesus Christ, Mary. They’re my fucking teammates. They’re not my fucking family.”
“Who, exactly, is your family then? Because you never, ever bring up anything about your family. I have no idea if your parents are alive or if you even have siblings. I have no clue where they live or what your relationship is like with them. Forgive me if I substituted your teammates for your family. I thought maybe you’d want to know a little bit about those you spend so much time with since your biological family is clearly not a part of your everyday life.”
He clenched his jaw and did his best to squelch the panic rising up from the pit of his stomach and gripping his throat. He felt as though he was suffocating and was unable to gather enough air into his lungs. Here was one bridge he was hoping he and Mary would never have to cross, although in the back of his mind, he’d always known better. No way would any woman, especially a woman like Mary who was close to her family, ever let him get away with keeping his family secrets to himself. Not. Going. To. Happen. He’d hoped he could delay it as long as possible, but evidently, the piper had different ideas and was demanding to be paid tonight. Even so, he would do his best to delay the inevitable as long as possible. Once the truth was out, she would have no choice but to leave him, a consequence he desperately wanted to forestall as long as humanly possible.
“You don’t want to know about my family, Mary. Trust me,” he tried, hoping to divert her attention and avoid the issue altogether. If he believed in God or in any higher power, he would have been offering up a multitude of prayers or other offerings in an effort to bribe the big man.
~ * ~ * ~
Michael was about two steps away from jumping off an invisible cliff, his anxiety palpable, sucking the air out of the room. If they had any future, it started now and Mary knew her approach to this subject would foreshadow the course of their relationship.
“Actually, Michael, I do want to know about your family. I want to know everything about you, including where you come from, what your parents do, and what your relationship with them is like. I want to know when you want to tell me, not because we’re having a fight. That’s clearly not tonight.” Mary closed the physical and emotional distance currently separating them and moved towards Michael on the couch until she was straddling his hips and looking into his brown eyes, wary with confusion, tempered with hope.
She placed her hands on his strong shoulders and contemplated her next statement. There was trauma in his past, some act that had scarred him emotionally and was responsible for his inability to trust people. Her heart twisted inside while she considered the man in front of her who’d come to mean so much to her in such a short period of time. Was this what falling in love was like? She felt as though she were doing cartwheels and free falling off a high wire tight rope without a net to catch her. But there was no place else she’d rather be.
“Are we okay?” she asked, stroking his neck.
“Yeah. We’re ok,” he responded, placing his wide hands on her rear and settling her more firmly against his erection.
“Are we okay enough for me to kiss you?” she teased, already moving in to place her lips on his.
He nodded his head and curled his lips upward. “Oh yeah. We’re definitely okay for that.”
Mary poured all the love she was feeling in her heart and her limbs into her kiss, sweeping her tongue into his mouth and caressing him, tongue to tongue, trying to tell him without words that he could trust her, that this was about them, not about anyone else or about his family, and that she was ready to listen whenever he was ready to talk.
~ * ~ * ~
Michael was stroking Mary’s back through her sweater, but it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to get her naked and get her naked fast, anxious to put their first fight behind him. “Let’s get this off,” he whispered, lifting her black t-shirt over her head to reveal what he’d come to realize was his favorite bra of hers: a black, lacy number proudly displaying her beautiful tits, tits he was desperate to place his mouth on. Mary evidently had the same idea as she quickly removed her bra and brought his mouth to her right breast. He suckled her there as she threw back her head, urging him on in both words and deeds, telling him exactly what she liked.
“How come I always lose my tops and bras
while you remain completely clothed?” she teased while he continued his ministrations to her breasts.
“You’re prettier to look at than I am,” he answered, now moving to her left breast to pleasure her there. He loved how sensitive her breasts were. Over the last few nights, he’d discovered to his delight he could make her come by simply sucking and nipping her nipples long and hard enough before he ever reached her pussy.
“Michael, I don’t want to wait. I want you inside me right now,” she pleaded, bending her body and removing his athletic pants and underwear. She displayed his proud cock anxiously waiting for her, the tip wet and ready. He looked into her pretty green eyes, happy all of the lights were on so he could be completely present, completely aware for this moment, all of his senses firing. Then reality intruded.
He placed his hands to frame her face and kissed her sweetly again. “Hold on one second. I need to grab a rubber,” he said and started to gently move her onto her side so he could quickly make his way to the bathroom.
“I know we’ve never talked about this, but I’m protected,” Mary whispered, her eyes pleading with him. “I’m on the pill, so if you’re clean, we’re okay.”
Michael was humbled by Mary’s trust in him and her sweet, sexy offer. He was also hard as hell, close to bursting right now. If he penetrated her without latex, he’d be good for all of about three thrusts. And three wouldn’t be nearly enough for either of them, especially him. Unfortunately, some lessons were never forgotten. He couldn’t take the risk, even with Mary.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmured against her lips before moving off the couch and towards the bathroom.
Michael returned, latexed up and ready as he settled down on top of her and slid deep inside without further preliminaries. He knew exactly how deep she liked his penetration. She preferred deep and fast as he angled his hips even higher in order for his cock to hit her right where she liked it the most. She gloved him, tight, wet and warm as she wrapped her legs around his hips and crossed her ankles behind his back to lock him in as far as he could go until they both came in a singular, blinding rush.
Chapter 15
Mary was quickly growing accustomed to exactly how Michael preferred to wake her up, with his cock pressing against her rear as the rest of his long, hard body spooned hers until she awakened. This morning was no exception. “Good morning,” she murmured, eyes still closed, wishing today was Saturday so they could spend all morning in bed.
Last night’s sex had been fantastic as always. She’d only hoped he could see the honesty and desire in her eyes. She’d never had sex without a condom before, ever, but last night, she wanted nothing between them. She wanted to know him in the depths of her soul and have them as close as two people could be. But it hadn’t happened. Michael closed that emotional part of himself away. As usual.
“Morning,” he responded, moving over her in what he had quickly discovered was her favorite position and snuggling into her neck. “It’s actually not time for us to get up yet. It’s only about two,” he sighed into her ear, nuzzling the top of it.
His hands were active below her waist, while his lips continued their assault on her neck, her collarbone, and her breasts.
“You know, I could get used to this kind of treatment,” she stated as he began the synchronized dance with his mouth and his fingers that was guaranteed to burn her up in about two minutes. Or less.
“Well, you better get used to it. Because I love waking up with you, like this,” he responded as two of his long, graceful fingers worked all over her clit and making her clench her thighs around his hand.
“Don’t make me come by myself,” she urged, wanting him inside her.
“Aww, poor baby. Too many orgasms,” he teased, lapping at her breasts.
“Michael, please,” she groaned, palming his head once he moved it down to replace his fingers. He sucked and nibbled at her, drawing circles around and around her clit as she continued moaning, never wanting it to end but needing to come and come soon.
~ * ~ * ~
He loved pleasuring Mary. He loved watching the array of emotions cross her face, her eyes and her luscious lips. Loved the way her pussy tightened over his fingers and his cock. Loved how she would clench him whenever he was inside of her, as though she couldn’t bear for him to ever leave her, as though he was important to her in a way he’d never been important to anybody. The way her eyes would soften after an orgasm when she’d look at him as though he were rare and special. As though he wasn’t a piece of shit who was the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet for being with her.
Michael loved driving her to orgasm after orgasm. He couldn’t get enough of her wetness, her slickness, her heat. He fucking loved it when she came apart in his arms, as she was now. He’d become completely attuned to her body. He recognized the crests, the hitched breaths and the moans as telltale signs she was about to come. He wanted to be with her, inside of her, right now. Reaching over to the nightstand, he opened the foil packet, but before he could cover himself, he heard the tell-tale rip.
“Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Mary questioned, driving her center into his middle, telling him without words how much she wanted him.
“Nothing. Condom broke. Better now than later, I guess.” He dipped down for another placating kiss. “I’ll be right back,” Michael promised, throwing the sheets back and levering himself off the bed. Mary decided she wanted to see him, to see his male beauty in this moment and turned on the bedside light.
And unleashed a blood curdling scream.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, Michael thought, irrationally angry and mortified at Mary’s primal scream. He knew it had to be a shock. After the last person had seen his back, he’d made it his personal mission in life to make sure no repeats ever occurred. He never stripped in front of his teammates. He never exposed his back to the women who he was infrequently with.
Nothing lasts forever. He’d done his able-bodied best to shield her, but she’d had the bright idea to turn on the fucking lamp. Made him wish he’d removed the light bulb earlier. Grabbing a pair of sweat pants on the floor and the closest shirt he could reach to cover himself up, Michael fled from the bedroom.
~ * ~ * ~
Mary covered her mouth, for a brief second wondering if this was some sort of dream that had morphed into a nightmare. She and Michael had been happy, making love, him on his way to grab another condom. Then everything changed when she switched on the light and glimpsed his back for the first time. Discordant events that hadn’t made any sense were explained by what she’d witnessed. Michael always insisted they make love in the dark, often keeping his shirt on when they fooled around, despite her best efforts to the contrary. Even when they showered together, he always made sure his back was turned away from her. Now, all those times she’d felt the ridges on his back and wondered why he would swiftly remove her hands and either place them on his ass or on his waist, she knew what he was doing. Trying to avoid the current clusterfuck she’d unwittingly caused.
His back revealed a pattern of scars that despite their age, demonstrated a viciousness defying reality. Various shapes and sizes, they lined his back. Some resembled whip marks, while others were circles raised on his skin. Puckered. Angry.
Wanting to be close to him and tell him without words they could work through this as long as he forgave her reaction, Mary pulled on one of Michael’s sweatshirts, its size dwarfing her and landing somewhere in the vicinity of the tops of her thighs. She followed the light edging out from the kitchen and found Max nudging Michael’s hands while he stared out the kitchen window. He cursed when she uttered his name.
“When you’re ready, I’ll drive you and Max home.” He still hadn’t turned around to look at her.
“I don’t want to go home, Michael,” she whispered, willing him to turn around and look at her. He was such a proud man. This had to be killing him. Her approach and how she handled the conversation they were about to have, would determine
the course of their relationship.
“I want to stay with you. I want to be with you.”
“You don’t know me, Mary. You don’t know the first thing about me and you certainly wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me if you did.”
“I think you should let me be the judge of my thoughts and my feelings, Michael,” she calmly responded. If she let him take her home now, they were doomed. If their relationship was going to last, she needed to fight for it and fight for it right now.
With blinding insight that almost brought her to her knees, she knew exactly why he never discussed his family.
Taking a chance, she walked up to him and for the second time that night, wrapped her arms around his middle. While he stiffened, he didn’t pull away. She decided to make another plunge into the deep end. It had been on her mind for the last few days. It no longer made sense for her to keep her feelings to herself.
“I love you, Michael, and I know everything I need to know about you. I know you bought Max a special bed so he’d have a comfortable place to sleep when we come over. I know you always see to all of my needs before looking after any of your own. You always make sure I have enough covers, that I’ve had enough to eat, and that I’m never cold when we’re together. I know you open doors for old ladies and I know that I absolutely trust you with my heart.”
As her words hit his ears, shudders racked his body from head to toe. Yet, he still refused to turn around and look her in the eyes.
She continued. “I love you and I want to know everything about you, good, bad and indifferent. That includes what happened to your back. I want to know not because it’s going to be easy to hear it, but because I want to share your pain and your burdens with you. Relationships are a two-way street. I never want you to think you can’t tell me something, especially about something in your past. Our pasts and our families affect us and shape us, but they don’t define who we are.
Hail Mary Page 16