by Angela Blake
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 otherwise 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.
“You play a good game, you have very deft hands.”
Mark chuckled at the word before he stood up. “Deft, huh? Well, my hands can do other things too.”
The blonde eyed his hands appreciatively before she let her gaze travel over his body. “Oh, I bet they can. Mine can too.”
She gave him a slow wink, and Mark knew that he’d met his match in this field.
This was definitely going to be interesting.
“I do believe that sounds like a bet-” He paused. “What’s your name?”
“Justine, and yes Mark, it is.”
Mark licked his lips, feeling very much turned on by her boldness. He took a quick peak at his watch and realized that he had plenty of time for a quick round, or three, or four.
He began to retrace his steps just like the other day, and the manager didn’t even blink when he saw a different woman standing next to him this time.
He rushed her down the hallway and locked the door.
“So what are the terms of the bet?” Justine asked as Mark shut the door. Justine sat on the edge of the jacuzzi and opened her legs just a bit.
Mark strode towards her purposefully and gently nudged her legs aside, so he was standing in between them, pressed up against her.
“The terms of the bet,” he breathed against her neck as he placed a feather light kiss there, “is to make the other person beg for it.”
Justine’s brown eyes connected with his, and she placed her hand on top of his shorts and gently stroked. “I think I understand. Any rules?”
“None,” Mark responded swiftly as he helped her out of her shirt.
***
Mark cursed as he sped down the hallway, knowing Rob was probably going to kill him for being late, but he couldn’t help it. Justine had been quite the pistol, and they had just finished with round 4 by the time Mark had realized that he was late.
He began a stream of curse words as he ran around the room grabbing his stuff before he quickly ushered her out. He dropped the keys off with the manager and gave Justine a quick wink before he flew out the door.
He skidded to a halt in front of the hospital and switched off the ignition as he reached in the bag for his baseball cap and sunglasses. He slipped on his leather jacket and put on his disguise which frankly wasn’t much of one, but it was the best they could do. He looked left and right before making his way to the back door.
He knocked t
wice before the door opened. He took off his glasses, so the person could see him, and they wordlessly let him through.
The nurse who had opened the door for him led him brusquely down a dimly lit fluorescent hallway, and Mark found himself wondering why hospitals had an odd pungent sort of smell that clung to the walls. They made a series of turns, the nurse never once stopping to make sure that he was keeping up. He got the sense that this nurse didn’t like him very much.
The nurse finally stopped in front of the children’s ward. He took out what looked like a pager and pressed a button.
“Dr. McAndrews will be here shortly,” the nurse announced. Mark had his nose pressed against the glass as he took in the sight of all those children lying on their beds looking very miserable.
He felt a deep aching sadness. Kids shouldn’t be locked up inside a room; they should be outside playing, screaming, running around and just living.
He tried to shake off the feeling because he knew that this was a PR stunt, but suddenly he felt like he didn’t want it to be. He just wanted to go in there and make those kids smile.
“Nurse Russ, I’ll take it from here,” a smooth voice announced a while later. Mark ignored the voice thinking it was probably some snooty doctor who would look down at him for choosing to be an athlete and waste their time while they were busy saving lives. Most doctors had a superiority complex.
He heard the sounds of receding footsteps, so he figured he’d better turn around and acknowledge the doctors presence, lest have Rob hammer into him about being rude…again.
He turned around fully prepared to get a holier than thou lecture, but he was stunned speechless when he took in the sight of Jenny standing in front of him writing on a clipboard.
Chapter 3
Another athlete here for a PR stunt, she thought to herself as she scribbled furiously. She’d just give him a quick tour, pretend to be shocked that the press found out and be on her way. It really wasn’t bad for the hospital to be honest, it gave them exposure, and a lot of people wanted to donate afterwards. She just wished for once that one of these athletes who came strolling through here looking to save their image, would actually try to save lives.
“Mr. Hummel.” She lifted her eyes from the keyboard, and she blinked as she took in the sight of the guy in front of her. Those piercing green eyes, that shaggy blonde hair, and that tattoo peeking out from underneath the hem of his shirt.
“Mark?” she queried.
“Hey, Jen.”
“It’s so good to see you again.” Jenny’s mouth split into a warm grin. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked rather chagrined, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “What about you? I see you got that transfer you wanted.”
When she met him, she’d put in an application for the children’s ward, but it hadn’t been processed yet even though she’d proven herself to be one of the most competent doctors they’d had in years, especially given that she was also the youngest doctor here.
“Yeah, and you, I’ve seen you on TV a few times, you’re a big NBA star now.”
Mark forced out a chuckle. “Yeah, yeah.”
“I’ve been meaning to go to one of your games, but I’m afraid I haven’t had the chance,” she said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Well,” she self-consciously straightened her coat and adopted a more professional tone. “Let me show you around and explain what we do here.”
She began her tour of the hospital as Mark followed behind, pausing every now and again to ask questions. Jenny was pleasantly surprised to find that it seemed like he did have a genuine interest in what they did beyond what they could do for his image.
He even asked about donating so the kids could have an indoor playground, because they looked miserable. It had been one of their biggest issues with the board because they didn’t have enough donors, and playgrounds were considered a luxury.
Jenny drew her curly hair up into a messy ponytail as she continued to walk and talk. If Mark had any trouble keeping up, he never said anything.
Jenny was just beginning to think that perhaps what she had seen of him on TV wasn’t real, until she noticed that when she bent down to pick something up, his eyes had gone to her breasts.
She cleared her throat and adjusted her coat. At first Mark looked a little embarrassed, but then his green eyes met her blue ones in a direct stare as one half of his mouth turned into a lazy smirk.
Not so different from his reputation, then, she mused as she straightened her spine and continued forward, pretending the whole incident had never happened.
Jenny tried to ignore the heat of his stare as he made it clear that he was checking her out. It’s not that he wasn’t attractive, she’d have to be blind not to see that, it’s just that there were certain elements in her life that couldn’t risk being affected by his presence.
No matter how charming she remembered him to be.
“I’ll have a beer,” Brad announced as he plopped next to her and began to belch rather loudly. Jenny tried to hide her discomfort as she told herself that she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and that she had agreed to go out with Brad to give him a chance. Yet here she was, 5 minutes into the date, and he was already ignoring her. Brad was slightly taller than she was with black hair, brown eyes and an average build. She had seen him around the hospital a few times, and when he asked her out for a drink, she had seen no harm in saying yes.
Brad had arrived late, already slightly tipsy and didn’t even bother to greet her except with a very nonchalant ‘hey babe.’
She loathed when men treated her like that, but she figured she owed it to herself to see this thing through just to make sure she had left no stone unturned.
“So, Brad,” She cleared her throat as she sipped on her glass of wine. “What is it you told me you do?”
Brad swiveled in his chair as he nursed his beer, he meet her gaze and took a sip of his beer. “I’m a repair man.”
Jenny studied him over the rim of her glass. “Aha, and do you enjoy it?”
Brad shrugged as he let his eyes trailed over her body before settling on her face. He leaned in closer. “I like fixings things.”
“Really? That’s very interesting. How did you stumble upon this passion of yours?”
Brad blinked as if he hadn’t quite understood her question before he scratched his head thoughtfully. “I suppose it’s because my dad wasn’t around much when I was younger, so I learned to help my mum around the house.”
Jenny thought that was sweet, and she placed a hand on his arm. “Well, I think it was very sweet of you to want to help around the house, I’m sure your mum appreciated it, and what a handy thing to learn.”
Brad shrugged as he titled his beer back and swallowed it in one gulp. He signaled the waiter for another one. His eyes began to examine the bar as if looking for something. Jenny waited for him to say something in response to her statement, and when the minutes ticked by awkwardly, she was about to open her mouth to say something until he turned to her. “How do you feel about sports?”
“Oh,” Jenny paused as she considered the question. “Well, I’m not really big on sports, but I suppose basketball is an interesting game.”
Brad snorted. “Basketball? That’s for wussies. Football is a real man’s game.”
“Is it now?” Jenny took a huge gulp of her wine and smiled at him pleasantly. “Why is that?”
Brad’s eyes lit up as he began to crush a peanut between his fingers. He popped it into his mouth before chewing thoughtfully. “Men are meant to be aggressive, but with all these rules society places on us, we can no longer be as aggressive as we want, so we find other ‘civil’ outlets, football provides that.”
Jenny thought over what he said. “I suppose that is a valid point, but isn’t it a rather violent sport?”
“E
xactly!” Brad slammed his hands on the table enthusiastically. “Best thing about it.”
“Hmm,” she said noncommittally as she gave him a tight smile, already writing him off in her head. She’d just give it five more minutes before she made her way out of here. After all, her mother did raise her to be proper and polite.
A minute later, a bottle head blonde sat in the seat next to her Brad and began to flirt with him. Jenny watched in amusement as Brad completely ignored her and began to turn his attention to the blonde who was lavishing him with exactly the kind of attention he wanted. She was nodding during all the right moments, and touching his arm every chance she got. She could practically see them undressing each other with their eyes.
Jenny rolled her eyes as they leaned towards each other and began whispering. She could practically feel herself gag in the back of her throat, and yet she still felt a twinge of sadness; not over Brad. Of course not.
Rather over the fact that this was her first night out in a really long time, and it hadn’t gone well. She reflected over that for a while and was just about to get up and leave when a voice stopped her.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
She was just about to turn him down not feeling like dealing with another Brad for the evening, but when she turned around to face him, something about the way his green eyes regarded her intently made her change her mind.
“Sure,” she said finally as the man sat next to her. He was even more attractive up close with shaggy blonde hair, an athletic build and piercing green eyes, he was what most women considered eye candy. She couldn’t help but notice a tattoo peek out from underneath the hem of his shirt, and she wondered what it said.
“Can I get one red wine and a Budweiser?” The man told the waiter before he turned around to face her.
“I’m Mark.”