Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it.
The problem with the laptop is still not resolved, but I'm using a friend's device for the time being.
Standard disclaimer.
"Would you two cut the shit? We're here to have a guy's night out, not a pissing contest," Noah said, to the two men glaring at each other.
He looked heavenward and sighed,
"This is fucking ridiculous."
"He's the one being an asshole," Hunter said, shoving Sam.
Sam shoved him back, harder, sending his friend into a parked pickup truck. Then, he pointed a finger at him, and said,
"Stay the fuck away from her."
"Oh, fuck off you, you sanctimonious asshole. You don't want her, but you don't want anyone else to have her. She's not your property!"
Sam felt his jaw clench tighter.
"What are you going to do, when she starts dating some other guy? Huh, tough guy?" Hunter continued. "Someday soon, this little friendship of yours won't be enough for Mercedes and she'll go to another guy and you won't have her anymore. Have you thought of that, yet?" He snorted. "She's a beautiful, funny, sweet woman. And a lot of guys would give their right nut for a girl like her!"
Sam felt the blood drain from his face, as he stood there, and the reality of Hunter's words hit him hard.
One day, there will be another man for Mercedes to talk to...to watch games with, or just sit in absolute peaceful silence, while they work or eat.
And worst of all, it would be another man, holding her in his arms at night.
"Fuck!" he swore, then gasped.
"Oh great, you broke him! Are you happy now?" Noah lamented. "Come on, buddy, we'll get you fixed up with a cold beer and a plate of hot wings. How does that sound? Does that sound good?"
Numbly, Sam nodded. And Noah scowled at Hunter, who looked profoundly shocked by Sam's reaction.
He'd probably expected a good shoving match and a few outbursts...but Sam going suddenly quiet...was absolutely frightening.
"Did you see what you did?" Noah yelled at Hunter "You've really and truly broken him!"
"I was just pissed...I didn't know...I…"
He shrugged helplessly, as he helped Noah steer, a very numb Sam into the bar.
"Look, I'm sorry," he said to a mute Sam Evans. "I just thought, you didn't think I was good enough for her. Shit! I didn't realize that..."
Hunter's words were cut off, when Noah shook his head.
Then, he looked at Sam and nodded in understanding, because, the man clearly wasn't ready, to hear what he had to say.
Sam moved robotically. He wasn't even aware that his friends were talking.
His mind was elsewhere.
He just couldn't seem, to focus passed the idea, of another man touching Mercedes.
His Mercedes.
"Please stop!" a woman screamed, as Noah and Hunter pushed, a still frighteningly quiet Sam inside.
They spotted a familiar looking woman, being held back by two women, who were trying to calm her down, while they looked nervously at a small group of men.
Suddenly the group of men parted.
And all three friends stood in shock, when they saw Mercedes in the middle, hitting...well, sort of slapping with her fists, in a windmill type fashion...a large man, who looked more pissed with her assault, than actually hurt.
"You don't ever touch her again!" Mercedes yelled, as she continued her weird ass assault.
"Shut up, bitch!" the man said, shoving her away.
She stumbled backwards and hit the floor...hard, landing right on her generous behind.
Sam saw red, as everything around him blurred into a haze, and he focused on the man, that just put his hands on Mercedes...his Mercedes
Without a word, he stalked over to the son of a bitch and punched him right in the face, sending him slamming back into the bar.
The man bent over in agony, cupping his nose.
"You broke my nose, asshole!" he shouted.
Sam didn't flinch. And his eyes blazed an angry green.
"If you ever lay another finger on her, I will kill you. Do you understand me?" he promised, with barely restrained fury.
The man tried to glare, and winced. But seeing the murderous look on Sam's face, he nodded.
"Good," Sam said slowly, turning around. "Whoa!" he gasped, as his little grasshopper ran into him, in an attempt, to renew her cute little attack.
"Mercedes!" he said, trying to snap her out of it. But she ignored him, trying to swing at the guy, or whatever the hell she was doing.
With an exasperated sigh Sam bent, lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. Then, he headed for the door.
"You're lucky, Tim! Next time, I will kick. Your. Ass!" Mercedes yelled.
Sam gave her bottom a patronizing pat.
"I'm sure you have him quaking in his drawers, my little grasshopper. No need to scare him."
She grabbed the waist of his jeans, to help push herself up, so that she could glare at the bastard.
"Ass whooping! Next time I'm not holding back!" she shouted.
"Tell him to watch his back!" Hunter suggested, laughing.
And Sam rolled his eyes, when Mercedes did just that.
Sighing, he released a weary breath and said,
"Let's get you home, before you have the man wetting himself."
"You're lucky, punk!" she yelled, making Sam grin.
'She's so damn cute,' he thought, as he lugged her out of the restaurant.
Later that night...
Mercedes grunted and kicked the covers off her and Sam.
"Are you going to whoop the sheet's ass as well? Should I run to safety?" he asked, biting back a huge smile, which was threatening to take over.
She rolled her eyes.
"It's hot!" she said, in a cute little whiny voice. "And stop making fun of me. I totally kicked ass tonight," she said, with a sniff. "They might even ban me from the bar after tonight."
Sam blinked.
"For what?" he asked.
Mercedes flopped on her back, away from him.
"What do you mean for what? I started a brawl!"
"Really? When?"
"What do you mean when? You were there. You saw me kicking Tim's ass!"
"That thing you were doing with your hands?" She nodded. "I thought you were having a seizure of some kind."
She gasped and gave him a playful shove.
"Jerk! I totally kicked his ass and I could kick your ass, too."
Sam looked at her for a moment, before he burst out laughing.
The entire bed shook, as he laughed...probably harder than he'd ever laughed in his entire life.
Tears streamed down his face, and he gripped his side as a cramp started.
"Hey! Stop laughing at me! I'm a major threat damn it!" Mercedes said, and her serious tone had him laughing harder.
Damn, she was really killing him here.
"Keep it up and I'm going to kick your ass with my fists of fury!" she sad.
Somehow, he managed to laugh harder. He really didn't think it was possible, but it was and he did.
"That's it!" Mercedes snapped.
She sat up, quickly straddling Sam's hips and grabbed his arms, trying to pin them, on each side of his head.
His laughter became more controlled, as he quickly turned the tables on her and rolled them, pinning her beneath him.
He didn't bother pinning down her hands. There really was no point? He'd seen her in action, after all.
"Alright, my little grasshopper, kick my ass. I'm ready," Sam said, grinning.
He made sure to keep his hips raised. No point in torturing himself, especially, since, she was only wearing a tiny camisole and pink cotton panties.
She began pushing at his chest, trying to shove him off. When that didn't work, she tried to kick him and he thought, she may have tried to give him a good old fashion Indian burn on his arm.
It was just sad.
There was no contest at all.
"Come on, my little grasshopper, I'm ready any time you are. Show me some of that fury." Sam said, cajolingly.
Mercedes shoved and pulled harder, but still he didn't move.
"Seriously, I'm ready whenever you are," he said, smiling down at her.
She groaned loudly, as she increased her attempts. Still, she couldn't budge him.
And he couldn't stop himself from taunting her. She was just so damn cute.
"Aw, is my little grasshopper getting tired? Where did all that fury go? Come on let's see those moves..."
She cut his words off with a kiss, surprising the hell out of him.
It was a quick, gentle brush of her lips over his, but it knocked him on his ass.
Then, she dropped her head back on the pillow, staring at him, while she worried her bottom lip nervously.
And Sam hovered over her, panting for breath, that had nothing to do with laughter.
That kiss...that innocent, sweet kiss...hit him harder, than every make out session he'd ever had in his life.
"Sam?" Mercedes' broken whisper, brought his attention back to her lips.
'This is so over,' he thought.
He was going to climb out of bed, apologize to her, walk her back to her house and put some distance between them.
He was no good for her. He treated woman like shit and had no clue, how to treat someone as special as her.
She deserved a man, who would make her his entire world. A man who would take care of her, hold her and love her.
And he was not that man.
"Mercedes...I..."
His words broke off in a groan, as Mercedes' mouth covered his again.
She brushed her lips against his enticingly. And his entire body went rigid, as he forced himself not to respond.
He couldn't do this to her.
As much as it would hurt both of them, he couldn't give in to her...he wouldn't.
Sam's body shook with the need to kiss Mercedes back and the need to lower himself onto her.
But somehow, he found the strength to fight it.
He didn't her back.
'There,' Mercedes thought. She had her answer. She just had to kiss him, to find out. She couldn't just ask him like a normal person.
Now, she not only, probably, wrecked everything between them, but she was also horribly embarrassed.
'Peachy. Just freaking peachy.'
She felt the tears burn her eyes, but she wouldn't let him see her cry. She absolutely refused, to let him see how much this hurt her.
"Excuse me," Mercedes mumbled softly, breaking away and pushing at Sam's chest.
And he didn't fight her this time. He moved off her.
And she felt herself on the threshold of breaking down.
She jumped off the bed and headed for the bedroom door, not really caring about her clothes, or anything else at the moment.
She just needed to get out of there.
"Mercedes!" Sam called after her. "Let's talk about this!"
But the last thing she wanted to do, was talk about this.
She ran out his door and across the yard to her door.
Barely able to see through the tears, that were now flowing freely down her face, she searched for her hidden key beneath the front step and went into her house.
She locked the front door and ran to her room to lock her window. Then, she pulled her curtains shut, knowing Sam would just come through the window for her and try to joke his way out of this.
But she didn't want to joke about this.
This hurt!
Her heart was broken and she'd probably just lost, the best friend she'd ever had, over her own stupidity.
A sob broke free and then another, until Mercedes was sobbing uncontrollably.
She dropped onto the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands, as she let it out.
She was just too tired to fight it anymore.
Warm breath tickled her hands, at the same time, strong fingers gently pulled them down.
Her head snapped up, and she locked eyes with Sam. But she barely had time to wonder how he got in.
She averted her face, so she wouldn't have to face him kneeling in front of her.
She just couldn't handle that.
"Will you look at me?" he asked softly.
She bit her lip and shook her head.
"Please...Mercedes...I'm not…I'm just not good enough for you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Mercedes shrugged, wanting him to get to the point quickly and leave. Because, at the moment, she didn't trust herself to open her mouth. She was afraid, she'd just embarrassed herself more.
"You're too good for me, my little grasshopper," Sam said softly, as he laid his forehead in the crook of her neck. "You could do so much better than me, without even trying, Mercedes. So much better."
His voice dropped, as he continued and he sounded like he was in pain, but still, she said nothing.
"You're kind, smart, funny...you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met and you're sweet. God, you're so sweet."
His hands slid up her sides and he gently started to rub, in an up and down motion.
His breath came quicker against her skin and Mercedes wanted nothing more, than to wrap her arms around him and hold him one more time, but she couldn't do it.
She couldn't stand for him to push her away again.
"Do you know how sweet you are, my little grasshopper?"
Sam's voice was hoarse, as his hands moved lower to her hips and back up, until his thumbs brushed beneath her breasts.
Then, down again.
He pressed a kiss to her neck, almost as if he couldn't help himself. And a pained groan escaped him when he did it.
"I should walk out of here and never come back and let you go on and meet some nice guy, who will give you everything in life you deserve."
He pressed another kiss to her neck and she barely bit back a moan.
Next, his hands slid down her sides and this time, when they moved back up, they were beneath her shirt.
Mercedes' insides heated, when Sam's large, warm hands, stopped right beneath her breasts.
They hesitated there for a second, before continuing their journey downward, as he continued to kiss her neck, almost desperately.
The next time his hands moved up, he ran his thumbs along the underside of her breasts and groaned.
Instinctively, Mercedes' head dropped back, while her hands fisted in the comforter.
She still hadn't spoken, but for other reasons now. This time, she was afraid if she spoke, she would break through to him and he would realize what he was doing and leave her.
Heaven help her, but he had her too desperate, to chance it.
"I need to leave," Sam said.
He pressed an open mouthed kiss to Mercedes' neck and gently sucked on it, while his hands moved further up, only to teasingly brush over her hard nipples.
They moaned in unison.
"It's the right thing to do…the um…the um…"
He trailed off, and his hands made another swipe, this time, gently squeezing, before moving back down.
"I um, I shouldn't want you…I shouldn't…I care for you so much, my little grasshopper. That's why I should...I should..."
He groaned loud and low,
"...I should leave...God! You're so sweet."
At this point, Mercedes decided enough was enough. Sam, obviously wanted her as much as she wanted him...well, at least, she hoped he did.
Taking a deep fortifying breath she leaned back, dislodging his mouth from her neck.
He looked dazed, as he tried to figure out what just happened.
But Mercedes stuck to her guns. She held his eyes, as she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt.
Hoping she wasn't wrong about him, she pulled it up and off and tossed it to the floor.
Sam froze.
His hands stilled on her hips, as his jaw clenched tightly. He kept his eyes locked with hers and she had to bite back a smile, as he struggled not to look down.
He lost that battle several times.
Sam sucked in a reverent breath, as he allowed his eyes to linger on Mercedes' breasts.
He mumbled something, about not being a saint, before looking back up.
Then, he studied her face for a long moment.
"You know you could do better than me, right?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes and gave him a watery smile.
"Well, duh."
"As long as we're on the same page," he mumbled, before his mouth came down on hers.
Stay safe!