The End Zone: SPORTS ROMANCE (Contemporary Sport Bad Boy Alpha Male American Football Romance) (New Adult Second Chance Women’s Fiction Romance Short Stories)

by Jenna Payne

  My back bowed with the strength of my orgasm as it coursed through me, wave after wave of pleasure. My sex clenched hard around Erik and milked his own orgasm from him. Erik shuddered against me with the force of his climax, but he held himself up over me while we both feathered down from the high.

  “That was amazing, you are amazing Tanya…it’s never—I’ve never felt…” Erik struggled with his words, his tone sounding almost as if he were in awed shock. Erik kissed me hard before he slowly pulled out of me, I felt a little bereft once we were no longer connected. Erik got up and walked into the bathroom; he was gloriously naked and I enjoyed the view of his firm behind. He came back a second later with a damp wash cloth and I was speechless as he gently cleaned me up. He quickly went back into the bathroom and then returned and climbed into bed with me. He was really warm and I didn’t need the blanket as he wrapped his arms around me and tangled his legs with mine. I fell asleep contentedly, and more importantly thoughts of Christopher had fled my mind.

  * * *

  I woke up slowly the next morning, I felt like having a lazy Sunday and simply lying in bed with Erik all day. My heart was full and I’d be lying if I said that Erik didn’t make me feel three-hundred shades of happy. When I opened my eyes I looked directly into his.

  “Good morning beautiful,” Erik said. I giggled at how cheesy that sounded. Secretly though, it made my chest feel all warm and fuzzy. Could it be possible that I loved him already? I found it actually hard not to love Erik, he was just so perfect. “Are you hungry? I can make you some pancakes and turkey bacon.” Erik grinned at me with a boyish smile and I giggled again. Okay I needed to pull myself together, I was acting like some giggling teenager.

  “Pancakes sound amazing, so does turkey bacon,” I said a bit shyly. Erik kissed me twice on the lips and then we detangled from each other to head into the bathroom. Needless to say taking a shower and trying to brush my teeth was nearly impossible with Erik in the room. Our breakfast soon turned into brunch. Erik went downstairs to go and get the food ready while I was getting dressed. I was just about to step out into the hall when I heard a gunshot.

  *****

  I froze, as did my heart as the sound seemed to ricochet through the house. There was nothing but silence and icy dread laced with fear froze my veins as I thought of Erik. John was here too as he practically lived in the surveillance room. What if either of them had been shot or killed? I wouldn’t let myself think about that.

  Another shot went off and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. Silent tears ran down my face and my heart was cold with horror. It was Christopher, he was here. There was yelling and then a string of three gunshots were heard. I heard male voices, but I couldn’t tell who they came from. There was a screeching noise from the street outside and I ran to my window to see Nick and Stephan hastening to the house cautiously with guns drawn. Paul was with them also; he must have driven them. There was a large black truck on the curb that I didn’t recognize and I knew that must be the truck Christopher and his men came in. After Nick, Stephan, and Paul disappeared into the house I saw a sleek black BMW pull up. My eyes widened in horror as three more men with serious-looking automatic weapons rushed into the house, meanwhile Christopher was wearing all black and stayed behind with the car. He leaned against the passenger door and looked right up to my window. He smiled menacingly and waved.

  I quickly drew the drapes and floundered in panic for a moment. Adrenaline coursed through my system; I needed to get out. I needed to get away from this mess. Erik’s team could be overrun as I didn’t know how many more of Christopher’s men were in the house on top of the other three. I wasn’t going to let Christopher have me; he’d torture me and worse. I pulled on a pair of running shoes and zipped up a dark grey fleece over my shirt. Quietly, with my heart pounding in my chest, I made my way down the hall that would lead to the back staircase. That would take me to the first floor family room, laundry room, and finally the rear mudroom that would take me to the backyard.

  I just had to get there undetected. The house was silent, eerily so. I was afraid to think of what that meant. I made my way to the rear stairway and listened for any movement, any sound. After a moment’s pause I silently made my way down the stairs. Once I reached the bottom step I had to cover my mouth with my hands. A man lay bleeding against the banister and he was barely breathing or moving. It wasn’t anyone I recognized, but I wasn’t sure if I should help him or just run. I was halfway to freedom.

  “Tanya!” Erik hissed at me. He had a mean-looking pistol in his hand and was crouched by the archway that opened into the hallway. He gestured at me to leave the guy alone and to go back upstairs. I was briefly flooded with relief that Erik was alive. There wasn’t a scratch on him. He was the same shirtless basketball shorts wearing guy that rolled out of my bed this morning. Whole and…frankly pissed at me that I didn’t stay in the room. I nodded my head and took a step backwards to head back upstairs.

  That’s when a storm of footsteps came rushing down and before I could process what happened, Erik jumped over to the staircase, pulled me behind him and backed us up against the wall. Two of the three men that had come with Christopher came down with their guns raised.

  “Give the bitch to us and no one else has to get hurt. She’s property of Christopher. If we have to kill you for her we will,” the one on the left barked at Erik. They were here to kidnap me, and were ready to murder my security team, too. I was shaking with horror, anger, and panic. Erik was going to die. He had two guns pointed at him; there was no way he’d come out of this unscathed.

  “Alright, fine. Just lower your weapons. I’m handing her over,” Erik’s tone was hard and cold. It took me a moment for his words to sink in. He was going to give me to them? My heart threatened to break, but reason and logic gave me some hope. He was a military man, there had to be some strategy he was working. Erik wouldn’t give me over to them. He wouldn’t, he’d sworn to protect me from these people over and over again.

  “I said lower your weapons, I’m handing her over,” Erik repeated. His tone just as much a command as the other guy’s. The two goons glanced at each other and slowly lowered their guns. Erik took my arm and pulled me slightly forward before he swiftly let off two shots from his gun.

  I hadn’t had the time to process it all, all I knew was that they were standing there on second, and the next they were both on the ground. Each clutching a leg. Erik shot them again, this time in the shoulders and then quickly disarmed them. Erik grabbed me around the waist and we hurried into the backyard. Erik and I ran towards the back fence and then kept running through the small field behind the house until we reached the little stream that was surrounded by trees. We could still hear the occasional shot ring out from the house and we waited out until it was completely silent.

  “We have to stay here until one of my men comes to get us. They know where we are. Don’t worry about them Tanya, my guys are highly trained,” Erik assured me. I nodded woodenly and Erik put down all the weapons he carried to walk over to me and hold me in his arms. The numbness and adrenaline was slowly fading and I was going into a state of shock. I couldn’t stop shaking and tears were falling from my eyes nonstop. Erik tried to comfort me with soft whispered words and reassurances, but the echoes of gunshots still rang in my ears.

  Erik and I stayed in the safety of the trees for what felt like hours. Eventually I gave into pacing to try and steady my nerves, but the events of that morning kept circling around in my head. How could such an amazing morning with Erik turn so sour? There had been a gunfight in my house. I really hoped Nick and Stephan were able to prove Christopher’s guilt to the FBI. That man was sick and twisted and he needed to go away for more than a life sentence.

  “It’s almost over Tanya, you’re going to drive yourself crazy pacing like that. Come over her and try to be still, it’ll help with the shock.” Erik spoke softly, as if I was a frightened puppy. I walked over to him and he put his strong
arms around me. It was a comfort. After taking several deep breaths my thoughts stopped torturing me. The silence that emitted out from the house however, brought an entirely new set of anxieties.

  *****

  The sound of heavy footsteps running towards us snapped both Erik and me into high alert. He palmed his gun and gently pushed me behind him.

  “Sunrise! Sunrise! We’re all clear, the feds are on the scene now,” said Stephan. Erik lowered his weapon at the sound of Stephan’s voice. Stephan emerged followed by John and two FBI agents, with official jackets and insignias. My knees almost gave out with relief. It was all over, but did they have Christopher? Did he get away? The agents started talking at me and to Erik. Erik answered most of the questions as we walked back. He was the coherent one and I was effectively in a daze.

  “You should get her checked out by the paramedic. We’ll get a statement from her later.” That much I heard from one of the FBI agents as we neared the house. They disappeared inside along with Stephan. John and Erik stayed with me to get me around to the front of the house. I didn’t even want to see what the inside looked like. There were so many ambulances in my drive, carrying guys out, that I could only imagine the bloodbath on my floors and walls.

  “We never shoot to kill. All those guys will get to spend their time in jail alive,” said John. He’d meant that as a reassurance, but I was still horrified that a gunfight had taken place here. Erik led me to an empty ambulance. A paramedic began taking my vitals and directing me to follow his finger with my eyes while he shone a light at me. After he checked me out and I was good to go, I saw Christopher being led out of my house in handcuffs. He was looking down and never once looked up as they led him to an armored van and loaded him inside. He was the only one of his gang who didn’t have a wound on him.

  “How many guys?” I asked softly. Erik looked at me questioningly and I repeated myself. “How many guys did Christopher have come here?”

  Erik glanced at the scene of brightly flashing white, blue, and red lights. A huge number of personnel walking in and out of the house, milling around the drive and talking about the crime scene.

  “It was seven of them against the five of us all in all. Some of them were trained, but not all. That’s what gave us the advantage. We were able to pick off the few unskilled and then weed out the more cunning ones to take them down. We’re all okay, but Nick, he got grazed on the arm. It’s nothing major.” My eyes widened and I glanced around to try and see which ambulance Nick was in.

  “He’s fine, really Tanya. His wife is here with him now. Don’t worry you’ll see him later.” I deflated a little bit at Erik’s reassurances. We sat at the back of the ambulance for a while and just tried to decompress from everything.

  “So they were able to get all the evidence they needed to put Christopher away?” I asked Erik after a long silence.

  “Yeah, the guy is smart, but he’s cocky and not too careful. He left subtle clues that Nick and Stephan were able to pick up on and exploit. Christopher built a network. He’d import guns from Asia and northern Europe, then he’d export them to a lot of underdeveloped countries. To warzones, and known terrorist groups. His deals were always airtight. But he wasn’t too smart in hiding all of his money or importing the weapons, which were often coupled with imported drugs. The FBI will tell him only half of what they have on him and force him to give up some of his sources; a fake plea deal. Then hit him with the other half of their evidence and keep him in jail for good.” I gave a sigh of relief; it really was all over then.

  “I hope he rots. Men like that don’t deserve to be free in the world. They’re a virus,” I said. Erik nodded, there was a small smile to his lips as he laced his fingers with mine.

  “They are, and we helped catch one.” Erik brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed each one softly. “Your place is going to be pretty much unlivable for a couple of weeks, so I hope you don’t mind staying with me?”

  I smiled and Erik grinned boyishly, though I could tell he was actually a bit unsure as to what my answer would be.

  “I’d love that. I hope you live far, far away from here.” Erik chuckled and promised me he did.

  “Our farm is pretty far off from here. Both of you are welcome to stay to recover from all of this,” said a deep voice from around the corner of the ambulance. The owner of the voice stepped into view and my eyes widened – he was a near spitting image of Erik. This was obviously his father, though Erik’s dad had greying hair around the edges and laugh lines around his eyes and mouth.

  “Pop, what are you doin’ here?” Erik’s southern accent became more pronounced when he spoke to his father.

  “I saw it all on the news, then Paul called me and I came down here; this is concerning our security firm. Plus, the feds said it was helpful that they could get a statement from me soon.”

  I smiled at how they interacted. The doting father who still had it, trying to show up his son.

  Erik shook his head at his dad and then looked at me curiously, “Do you want to stay on the farm? My mom makes a mean pot pie, and I know you’ll love her hot chocolate. It gets cooler on the farm at night than it does here.” Erik sold me at pot pie and hot chocolate.

  “Yes, that sounds wonderful,” I said gratefully. Both Erik and his dad gave me nearly identical warm smiles.

  *****

  “You know, my family really loves you,” Erik said as he walked into the guest room with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Erik’s mom, Ann, had given me orders to stay in bed today and let Erik look after me. She was so sweet and motherly that being around her often made me think of my own mom and how much I missed her.

  “Really? Already? I mean, we’ve only been on the farm for a week. They are a pretty great family though,” I said while taking the cup from him. The hot chocolate smelled delicious.

  Erik climbed onto the bed next to me and took the remote to find something good to watch. He said, “Yeah, what’s not to love? You’re genuine and sweet and kind and smart and gorgeous and sexy and funny and sexy…” I laughed and Erik smiled lopsidedly at me.

  “I doubt they think I’m sexy…or gorgeous,” I said with a chuckle. Erik shrugged.

  “You are though, it’s one of those things like; when you see a person you automatically categorize a few obvious attributes about them in your head. Two of your obvious traits are sexy and gorgeous. Everyone thinks it, but doesn’t necessarily say it out loud,” Erik explained. I laughed while rolling my eyes.

  “That sounded very scientific Erik,” I said. He grinned and nodded sagely.

  “Yup, it is a science. Freud would definitely agree with me.”

  I laughed again and nudged Erik’s arm. Ever since we came to where he grew up, he’d been acting so silly and carefree.

  “So have you decided when you’re going back home yet? Do I have to join the age old fight for the farm?” said Erik. He grinned at me and I giggled, not really catching what he meant under his quip.

  “Yeah, I’ve earned more than a couple weeks’ vacation and my job is giving me as much time as I need. So two weeks is good I think. I guess I won’t have to have you guys as my security anymore either…” I said slowly as the realization dawned on me yet again that Christopher was locked up. He wasn’t coming after me anymore and I was free to live my life without fear of him.

  “No…I guess not…but I still want to protect you. I don’t want you going home at night by yourself or anything. Some members of Christopher’s gang might be still out there, and they might seek revenge.”

  My eyebrows crinkled at that possibility.

  “But the FBI said Christopher gave up names like a treasure trove. All his guys are off of the streets,” Erik added. I bit my lip in consternation. Erik shook his head and then nodded, his expression intense as if he was struggling with something.

  “I just want to stay with you,” he said. My eyes widened at his earnest tone. He wanted to stay with me because he loved me maybe? I loved him and there
was no denying that. I needed to know for sure though.

  “Why?” I asked.

  Erik smiled, that little look of nervousness entering his eyes again.

  “Because I…I love you Tanya.”

  My heart swelled and jumped for joy at his stuttered admission.

  “I love you too,” I said shyly. Erik’s smile grew into a breathtaking one. Joy lit up his features and I was almost awed at how beautiful he was, how he could love me and want to be with me.

  “I swear, I’ll stick with you through anything and everything baby.” Erik pressed a sound kiss to my lips and then another that quickly turned passionate.

  “I’m glad you said that…because I kind of have something to tell you.” I put the mug of hot chocolate down and faced him completely. My mind wandered back to the first couple of days on his family farm. Erik and I had been tangled up in each other as we helped each other move on from what happened. It was his mom that pointed it out one morning. She asked me if I wanted tea with breakfast while she was clearly making a pot of coffee for her visiting family. They had come in to see Erik and meet me as we were obviously a budding couple.

  Ann casually mentioned that Erik and I seemed ‘awfully romantic’ and she looked at me knowingly. Erik and I were caught up in each other. We never took things easy when we made love and we weren’t careful either. My eyes had widened and Ann nodded sagely as if she knew exactly what I had realized. She took me to go and get a few home pregnancy tests and they all came back positive. Ever since then I had been waiting for the right moment to tell Erik and now he was sitting next to me, looking at me expectantly.

  “I’m…The first night we…had sex. We didn’t use a condom…” I paused, to kind of let Erik’s mind churn the information. After a moment his eyes widened.