Thank you for your continued interest and support. I appreciate it.

I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Reaper's Legacy.

MERCEDES CONT'D

SAM: What time do you get off work?

ME: 5. Why?

SAM: I want to come over and check your place out for security.

ME: No!

SAM: You haven't figured this out yet? I'm going to do it. And I rather do it when it's convenient for you. But happens either way. What time? I'll bring pizza.

ME: We get home around 6. Bray likes his pizza plain.

SAM: Plain? Like nothing?

ME: Yes, plain. Be happy. It used to be he wouldn't let them put sauce on it.

SAM: Plain it is. See you at 6.

ME: He's invading my space...

MARLEY:?

ME: Sam. He's invading my space. He's coming over tonight to check out security on the new place... Bribing me with pizza.

MARLEY: Control freak much? What kind of security?

ME: He likes my apartments to have alarms. And he checks for bad windows and locks... That kind of thing.

MARLEY: That's sweet though! He wants you safe.

ME: He's the biggest danger.

MARLEY: Be happy. You have a hot guy coming over and he's bringing dinner. Women have killed for less.

ME: Whose side are you on?

MARLEY: Mine. Haven't you figured this out yet?

ME: Bitch!

MARLEY: Ho!

ME: At least I don't drive a minivan.

MARLEY: See if I make YOU margaritas again! LOW BLOW!

ME: 3

"You don't have to spend a lot of money to keep a place safe," Sam told Bray, his voice serious. They were crouched together as he installed a new deadbolt on our exterior door.

We had two...one leading outside and the other leading into the rest of the barn, which was pretty cool in its own right.

Among other things, it had a loft complete with mounds of old hay for Bray to jump in. Even better, there were stairs leading up to it and a railing, safety features I assumed they put in for Emma's cousin.

"If you have empty pop cans, you can make an alarm by stacking them in front of your door," Sam said. "The goal is to make noise, so you'll know if someone tries to come in. Most bad guys will run away if there's noise. That's why I put those little alarms on the windows. If you ever see a bad guy, don't be quiet. Start screaming. And don't yell help—yell 'Call the cops!' as loud as you can, okay?"

"You're going to scare him," I said from the couch, debating whether I should eat the last slice of pizza. Between Sam and Bray, it'd disappeared pretty fast.

"You scared, Bray?" Sam asked.

"Nope," my son replied said. "Uncle Wringer is smart. He's teaching me all kinds of safety stuff. He says you need to stop texting on your phone when you walk places, mom, and pay attention to the people around you. He also says there's this little stick you need to start carrying around. It's called a cuburtron."

"Kubaton," Sam corrected, looking over at me. "It's a little baton for your keychain. It's very effective and very safe. You should come take the self-defense class at the shop, Mercedes."

"I don't need a self-defense class," I said, rolling my eyes. "I have my own personal stalker to protect me already... It's almost Bray's bedtime... Are you planning to go home at some point?"

"After I finish up," he said. "Bath time, kiddo."

Bray did the obligatory whining and begging to stay up, but his heart wasn't in it.

Then his bath went fast, with Sam finishing the lock just as he got out.

"Will you do my story tonight?" he asked Sam.

"Sure thing, little man," he said. "What are we reading?"

"Magic Tree House," Bray replied. "I can read it by myself, but I like it when you do it..."

I picked up the small living room as Sam read to Bray.

We had a futon for a couch, which was where I slept. And normally I'd start setting it up by now, but I didn't want to give Sam any ideas.

After about half an hour, he came back out, closing Bray's door behind him softly.

"The kid's out," he said. "He fell asleep halfway through the chapter. I think he's doin' great, but he's been through a lot lately."

"Thanks for your help," I said awkwardly.

"Here are your new keys," he said, tossing them towards me. "I replaced all the locks, so you'll need to give a set to Emma. Her old ones won't work."

"Um...that's great," I said.

"Can I have Bray for a while on Friday afternoon?" he asked. "I'm heading out on a run this weekend. And I might not be back for four or five days."

"Sure," I said. "I need him by seven, though."

"Sounds good," he said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall casually. "So...how long are we gonna do this?"

"Do what?"

He raised a hand and gestured around the little apartment.

"Have you and Bray live here when you could be over at my house."

"This is a nice place," I protested. "It's clean and it's safe. And I don't need to worry about the landlord attacking me in the night... It's not happening between us, Sam... Not. Happening."

He didn't respond... But I watched him warily. He was up to something... I could smell it.

Suddenly, he pushed off from the wall and walked over, catching me around the waist.

"We need to talk," he said.

"Maybe you do...but I don't. You should get going..."

"Not yet... I kinda miss you..."

"Doubtful! You miss having your way with me..."

"That too. But I haven't been hiding the fact that I always want you."

He kissed my forehead and then my nose...

He could be so...

I sighed.

"Haven't I been honest, Mercy?"

"Maybe... But you're still not willing to change your habits. And I just can't be with you... Not when you're still sleeping with other women."

He touched his forehead with mine. Then rubbed my nose with his...

"You know how I feel about that, babe. But I have been taking baby steps in another direction. And I haven't slept with anyone else since you."

My breath caught. And a tiny flicker of hope sparked.

Was he being truthful? I wasn't sure, after all, he had a track record when it came to sleeping around.

But I was too scared to look to look into his eyes... Too scared at what I would see there...

Too scared to really hope...

So I went on the offensive...

"You need to go, Sam. I don't believe a word you're saying..."

"Well, believe this..."

Then he threw me over his shoulder, just like he'd done that weekend.

"No!" I yelled. "You don't get to haul me off whenever you don't get your way!"

He smacked my ass.

"Shut up," he said. "You'll wake up Bray. If he comes out here, he'll see you like this, and then you can figure out how to explain it to him. If he asks me, I'll tell him the truth. Mommy's been a bad girl and she needs a spanking."

"You asshole," I hissed, kicking and smacking his back as hard as I could. Now I wish I had taken one of those kube-thingie classes for real. I could've shoved it up his big, dumb ass as he carried me out of the apartment and into the barn.

Sam ignored my struggles, which pissed me off even more...

He carried me through the barn and up the short flight of stairs to the hayloft. And I sensed a pattern...

Then the jerk dropped me down on a pile of straw...and chuckled. I stared at him...almost losing my breath as I watched him looming tall, even as he unbuckled his belt and ripped it through the loops on his jeans.

Then he folded it between his hands and snapped it...

I glared at him, even as I moved backward.

"Do I need to tie you up again?" he asked.

"We aren't doing this," I declared, even though my brain had already started the familiar shutdown his presence seemed to cause.

God, I loved how he smelled... Not to mention the feel of him deep down inside...

"Go to hell, Sam."

"No way! And we're definitely doing this," he said. "Maybe then, I can screw some sense into you. Words obviously don't work."

"Words obviously don't work with you either. You think sex is the answer... But it isn't, you jackass!"

"You might have a point... Tell me this...would you rather I be somewhere else, with some other woman? I might want sex, but I love doing it with you. Did you ever think about that?"

With that he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside. And I glared at him as he opened his fly and pulled off his jeans without another word.

Next, he knelt forward in the hay and caught my hands, pinning them on either side of my head. And his head lowered as he scented me, kissing the fading bruises on my neck, nibbling and sucking like he'd done at the party.

It was damned distracting. But it felt good.

"They're fading," he said, pulling away just enough to meet my eyes. I didn't like his expression, not at all. "Maybe I'll give you some new ones. What do you think?"

"I think you're a raging asshole. And I don't know what to believe when it comes to you.""

He laughed.

"Yeah, well I think you can be a bitch sometimes. But my dick likes you, so we'll figure something out."

With that, he caught my mouth with his, but this time the kiss wasn't hard and brutal. He had changed tactics, because now his lips whispered over mine, nipping and sucking, drawing them apart gently, even as I tried to ignore him.

Then he tugged my hands together over my head, freeing one of his hands to slide down between us...

His fingers drifted across my stomach before reaching the top of the yoga pants I'd put on when I got home, and started pulling them down...

And I realized this was it.

He was about to win again, because he always won... And I always let him because my body wanted him more than my brain hated him.

But I was in love with him...

I raised my hips, making it easier for Sam to take off my pants, which was just another nail in my coffin.

But the damage was done already, I justified. What difference would it really make?

Then his fingers slid into me and I shuddered...

When he finally stopped kissing me, we just stared at each other, panting, even as his fingers stroked down below, grazing my center. And I twisted, wanting more.

"Jesus, you piss me off, you know that?" he murmured. "Good thing your cunt is so fucking sweet."

"Don't call it that!"

His lip twitched...

"Good thing your vagina is so gosh-darned sweet," he whispered. "Because I really, really want to stick my penis in it and have repeated sexual intercourse, bringing us to a mutually satisfactory culmination of our desires. How does that sound?"

"Almost dirtier," I said, my mouth quirking. Then I lost the battle and laughed hard.

This was so ridiculous. All of it.

I wanted to kill him and screw him and scream at him... And now he made jokes...

But my laughter was curtailed when his fingers stroked me the right way, while his thumb played with my clit.

I couldn't figure out how he made me so wet so fast, every single time.

"Oh, it's dirtier," he told me, nuzzling me again, tugging on my ear with his teeth. "If I let go of your hands, are you gonna try to get away?"

I considered the question seriously...

"No," I admitted. "But this is a one-time deal. We're never having sex again after this time."

Sam gave me that lazy panther smile of his and didn't answer. He did let me go, though...

And instead of leaving, I reached up and pushed him over and back down into the hay. Then I straddled him...

I had one shot at this, I realized. One last chance to play with his body the way I wanted to...

What should I do with it?

I went for his nipple ring first, sucking it deep into my mouth as he groaned, his hands twisting into my hair.

"That's good, baby," he whispered. "But could you grab my dick while you're at it? I want your hands on me... It's fuckin' killing me."

I reached down and found him, hard steel bound in silk. And I trailed my fingers over the head of his shaft, catching the barbell even as I brushed back and forth.

"Holy fuck!" Sam groaned. "Too much, babe. Just the shaft for now, okay?"

At that, his hand covered mine, showing me exactly how he wanted it... Slow and deep, with a bit of a twist that should've been painful. And soon his hips were arching under me.

That's when I gave his nipple a final flick and started working my mouth down his stomach...

Sam wasn't like some guy in a magazine ad... He had a model's perfect abs, but he also had just enough hair to remind me I was dealing with a real man, not some pre-fabbed fantasy of clean, waxed sexuality.

I rubbed my chin against the dip of his navel, savoring the power I held over him before going lower.

Some girls love giving head...

I've never been one of them, so I didn't have a lot of experience to work with. What I did have was a hell of an imagination, and I'd been thinking about taking him into my mouth since that first night on his deck.

I remembered sitting there, seeing him outlined in front of me through the thin flannel of his lounge pants, wanting to touch him more than anything.

Now I could...

Sam tilted his head up, one arm folded back and under his neck...all sexy, lazy arrogance...watching with hooded eyes as I rubbed the head gently against my cheek, considering my next move.

I reached out my tongue and flicked the notch at the bottom of his glans. Then I swirled it around the little metal knob.

He hissed... And I felt a surge of pure, feminine power.

So I licked it again, playing with his piercing before sucking him in hard.

The metal post was weird, but it wasn't like I was planning to deep-throat him, so it didn't matter. I just started bobbing my head up, working him with my hand at the same time.

His fingers burrowed deep into my hair, guiding me...

"You're killing me, baby," he muttered, groaning. "Stop! I'm gonna come if you don't stop."

I liked that idea.

For once, it would be nice to see Sam 'Wringer' Evans lose control...

But just when I'd decided to make it happen, his fingers tightened in my hair, dragging my mouth away from his dick.

"Ride me!" he ordered.

Oh, I could work with that...

I climbed over Sam, reaching down to guide him into my body. And even though I was probably wetter than I'd ever been in my life, taking his full length went slowly.

From this angle I felt every inch of him, stretching me so wide it almost hurt.

I stopped several times to let myself adjust, his eyes boring into me the whole while.

When I finally had all of him I stilled, catching my breath.

Still he watched me, his face full of need and intensity and desire.

He leaned up on one elbow, the flex of his stomach muscles almost painful against my over-sensitized clit. But he reached out and caught a strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear, and then cupped my cheek, his face almost tender.

I closed my eyes...

Angry Sam? Fine...

Horny Sam? I'd gotten used to that, too...

But Sam as a gentle lover? I didn't have room for that in my head, not if I wanted to survive and move forward with my life.

I started rocking back and forth on him, the movement ever-so-slight but almost painfully pleasurable. And his hand dropped from my face to my hip, urging me to go faster... So I did.

It didn't take long to bring him back to the edge...

And at some point, I leaned forward on his chest for leverage, digging my nails into his pecs, which seemed to turn him on even more. He seemed to like a touch of pain, so I did my best to crush him with my inner muscles.

I'm generous that way.

So I kept at it...

And I was close to coming myself when he lost patience, rolling me over and taking control again.

He grabbed my legs, shoving them up and over his shoulders. Then he pounded me hard until I screamed out my orgasm.

He followed right behind, and when he came, he called out my name...

Later, after he'd gone downstairs and grabbed a blanket, and covering the hay creating a nest for us, I fell asleep with him wrapped around me, both of us on our sides, one of his hands resting lightly against my stomach.

At some point I woke to find Sam's hand between my legs, slowly stroking me. Then he rolled me to my stomach, spread my legs, and slid into my body ever so gently and carefully.

I sighed, the delicious pressure building and exploding with a subtlety I'd never experienced before.

Then he wrapped himself around me again and I drifted back into sleep.

I woke up when my cell rang at six the next morning, finding myself alone on my futon, surrounded by his smell.

I didn't recognize the name and the caller hung up... Probably a wrong number.

However, I rolled to my side and saw the empty pizza box still sitting on the coffee table.

Damn! What the hell was I supposed to do with a situation like this?

Insane. All of it.

Hey, I did a bit more toning and pre-empting. I hope it worked. Too tired to read over.

When I can, I will read over and correct anything that needs correcting.

Stay safe!