Roar
Be careful when trying to not let sleeping lion/ness lay
Mercy came into town on the bus with a load of other people, dragging her carry on, like a proper tourist, as they all rushed towards the stadium, eager to get a good spot to see their favourite artists. She just happened to be one of the lucky ones her husband was in one of the groups the fans were mooning over, but she was the one leaving with him tonight and that excited her. She'd started the journey in her car but less than four hours in the thing just stopped, she didn't have the time or patience to wait for it to be fixed, she'd miss the concert, so she left it where it was and caught the bus the rest of the way.
Sam and the band were travelling with the summer festival now, they'd finished the winter fun in the Caribbean, toured in Europe over the spring and landed back in America to head straight into it, ending the eight-month long tour, in eight weeks' time, on a high by playing in their hometown
She hadn't seen her husband properly for nearly nine months, the band and he had been promoting their new album prior to the tour, while she'd been performing in theatre, her one-year contract had finally finished and all she wanted to do was see him. He was getting her for an extra week, because she'd led him to believe that she had another week left before she could get to him, so all this was going to be a big surprise to him, and she was extremely twitchy about that too.
Sam had originally tried to get into the film industry, but his application to film school didn't even get a look in, he was down for a while after that knock back, but then one day he took his guitar up again and got serious about it. He was lucky enough to get his big break within five months of auditioning, Mike saw promise in him, as a guitarist and singer, and soon after that he became part of a boy band, their first single was a great hit and the story told itself from there. Ryder, Joe, Artie and he had gelled in a short space of time, they had to Mike had plans, and they proved him right when they finally got things together, between them they had everything a boy band needed to make the crowd scream.
Sam and Mercy had married at the early age of twenty, because of the no sex before marriage thing she had going on, he'd told her in the beginning he wanted to marry her one day, and when everything became too much for him, he hopped on a flight to Los Angeles, popped the question and they were married within two months. The whole family was there, some in protest, but they went through with it, even though Sam had no clue what he was going to do with his life, or how he was going to support a wife. The shoestring wedding ended up being more of a thick double roped affair, once their parents realised, they weren't backing out, and they even got a three-day honeymoon as a present from his older brother Steven.
Today, five years later, regardless of whether they were for and against the relationship in the beginning, all their friends and families were smiling at the success the two of them had made of their lives, and the fact that they'd stuck together despite everything that tried to pull them apart, they were a testament to the strength of their relationship.
The journey wasn't one they'd have called easy, especially when it came to forging their careers, they'd both been put in compromising positions and maybe as single people they would have reached this point in their lives a lot sooner, but they'd made their choice. There were two things that weren't questioned in their relationship, their love for each other and their commitment to their careers, and because of those they understood and respected each other's drive, decisions, jealous, rage, sulks, and urges enough to sit back and let the other work through obstacles.
The excitement rushed through her as she left the crowd and walked towards the back gates, something she was very used to doing, but today she was seeing her husband, it felt like the first date all over again, one of the perks of their long distance thing "Excuse me Miss" the bouncer's arm stopped her as she made to enter the side gate "Artist only through here"
"I'm an artist" Mercy smiled at him, somewhat happy that she wasn't recognised
"Can I see your pass then please" he asked
"I'm Mercy Evans, visiting Sam Evans" she snapped, irritated by yet another obstacle between her and her husband
"There are a lot of Mrs Evans' on site today, do you know his phone number?"
"That's an odd question" she frowned "Of course, I know his phone number, and I'm one hundred percent sure you don't" she looked beyond him at the sound of Mike's familiar voice "And that's Mike his producer shouting"
"And this is me telling you, this isn't happening without a pass"
"I'm sure you can explain that to my husband" she snapped impatiently, looking beyond the gate as she roared "Mike" at the top of her lungs, rolling her eyes and smiling at his head popping from behind the caravan "Will you please tell this fool who I am?"
"Hey" Mike smiled at her walking towards the offending gate "I thought you weren't coming till next week"
"I thought I'd surprise him" she grinned pushing past the guard to hug Mike
"He'll be pleased to see you" Mike looked at the guard "This is Jones" he told him
"She said she was Mrs Evans" the guard told him, looking at Mercy again
"She is, the real one, but she's also Jones you know...the singer, songwriter, grammy award winner, actor"
"I know who Jones is" he laughed through his embarrassment
"Clearly not" Mike frowned before turning to look at Mercy "Come on, I'll take you to him"
"Sorry Mrs Evans" the guard smiled "You look much taller on TV"
"I'm sure I do" she laughed,
"He's rehearsing now but I'm sure he'll want to see you now" Mike
"No" Mercy frowned "I don't want him to stop working, I'll wait in his dressing room"
"It's a bit crowded in there, they're all sing it, why not try the canteen" he pointed her in the right direction
"Don't tell him I'm here will you"
"Okay, he won't be long" he walked in the other direction "Get whatever you want, sign it to the band"
"Okay"
She opened the canteen door to a very busy space, people eating, talking, singing, collecting food, dancing; the quiet cup of coffee she was thinking about wasn't about to happen any time soon in the place. She looked around for a table, not necessarily an empty one, but a space to sit, having spotted one she went to the machine queue to get her drink.
"Jones" someone tapped her on the back, she automatically went into fan mode and turned smiling
"Marley" she smiled seeing the girl she'd classed as her best friend when they were in college
"Giving me your fan face" she laughed
"You called me by my stage name, what was I supposed to do?" she laughed
"I was supposed to be your surprise next week, but it seems you beat him to it" they hugged, it had been a while "Jake's around somewhere, he'll be pleased to see you too"
"You got back with him?"
"You know me, I love a bad boy"
"And obviously a bad boy loves you, if he keeps coming back" Mercy laughed "Are you performing?"
"Yeah, he's asked me to do a duet with him, baptism by fire" she rolled her eyes nervously "I've done nothing this official for three years"
"Congratulations on getting back out there" she hugged her friend again
"I'm passing bricks, I can't believe Jake's finally talked me into doing this and I know I'll love it once I'm up there, but it's..."
"Getting there, I know" Mercy laughed "You'll never get used to it"
"I hope that's not true"
"Girl if you didn't feel like this before every show, you'd never give your all"
"I guess"
"So, Jake finally decided he was good at something else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Getting you to acknowledge you have talent too"
"I'm here, so I guess he is good" she laughed "Another string he has that presses the right buttons for me"
"You and your buttons" she hugged her friend "Come on, lets grab a coffee, catch up properly" she pulled her into the queue. They eventually got their drinks and a few snacks before finding a corner to settle into, Mercy sat getting Marley deep in conversation about their journeys since their last meeting, in the hope of relaxing her a bit.
Suddenly she lost concentration, it was like the universe shifted and somehow, she knew Sam had just walked into the canteen, she looked up and saw him straight away. He gave off that sense of presence when he entered a room, maybe it was because he was a genuine guy and everyone wanted someone genuine in their lives, especially in their business. She could tell by his face he was hyped for the show, it was clear rehearsals had gone well, she smiled at Ryder jumping on his back, a bit jealous he got time to play while he was working, it was lonely being a solo artist on the road.
She watched them walk over to the machine queue, he was stood listening to whatever the conversation was when he suddenly turned, as if he'd felt her presence in the room too, a smile spread across his face so wide, so big it warmed her heart. Whatever the conversation was, he left it and walked fast across the canteen still smiling at the surprise of it all, she got up when he got closer ready for his arms to wrap themselves around her
"Am I talking to myself?" Marley asked watching her stand up "Oh" she smiled when she saw Sam coming towards them
"Babe" he gasped as every bit of air left his lungs with the force of their connection
"Surprise" she giggled, as tears she didn't know she had waiting, left her eyes "I missed you" she whispered in his ear while they hugged.
"We need a room" he whispered in her ear, pulling away because he needed answers "Are you alright, is everything alright with the show?" concern in his voice
"Yes" she giggled "The contract finished; I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you" she closed her eyes at his hands wiping her tears away
"Babe" he pulled her back in and kissed her "I'm pleasantly surprised, and I'm glad you're here" he looked down at Marley watching them "Hi" he giggled "This is crazy, Marley and Jake were supposed to be your surprise, and then you hit me with this"
"That was a surprise" she stroked his face smiling "Thank you" she reluctantly pulled his arms from around her waist "Do you want me to get you your drink?" she pointed at the machine
"You always want to do for me" he smiled "Sure"
"Isn't that what wives do?" Marley asked
"Conventional, back in the day ones, yeah I guess" Sam laughed sitting in the seat Mercy had just got up from "But Mercy's no conventional back in the day anything"
"I can be conventional" Mercy smiled tapping her ass as she walked away from them
His eyes followed her bouncing ass to the queue, watching her hug the guys, then stood talking and laughing with them before his attention went back to Marley "You guys are on form, I was listening earlier"
"I feel like we've put the work in" Marley smiled
"I can tell" he smiled
"Marley" Jake walked up to them frowning "I've ripped my damn trousers"
"Jake" she frowned getting up to sort him out "I'm not a conventional anything, I promise" she smiled at Sam "See you later" he sat watching his wife, smiling, it had been more than nine months since he'd seen her in the flesh, phone sex was great while it lasted, but there was nothing like the real thing with someone you love, and hell he loved her
"I was waiting for her to leave" a blond woman suddenly plonked herself on the chair opposite him
"You were?" Sam quickly glances over at Mercy, she was stood, paying him no mind
"Give me your phone" the woman held her hand out expecting him to do as she'd asked
"Why?" he asked
"You look like someone I'd like to get to know, if you know what I mean, I don't want you to forget my..." she leaned on the table to look into his eyes
"Sorry, too late, I'm married" he laughed at her weak chat up line
"I didn't say I wanted a commitment" she smiled
"And I just told you I was married, I'm sure that means committed" he raised an eyebrow at the woman "Now if you'll excuse us"
"I only see you and I" she moved further across the table towards him
"I think you need to move" he looked up to see Mercy coming back towards them "For your own safety"
"I can hold my own" she turned to look at the woman walking towards them
"She's my wife" he pointed behind her "And she fights dirty"
"That's good, I like dirty" she smirked
"Don't say I didn't warn you" he frowned, watching his wife put the drinks down
"Who's this?" Mercy sat next to him smiling at the woman
"I don't know, but she wants to get to know me, she doesn't care that we're married, and she likes to fight dirty"
"Oh" Mercy looked at the woman, then at Sam "Don't mind me, ask away" she passed Sam his coffee and sat in silence waiting for their conversation to start
"Are you sure about that?" Sam asked shocked, this wasn't the first time this had happened, but usually Mercy would go all out game of thrones on their asses, now she's flipping the switch, she was up to something
"Mm" she smiled taking a sip of her coffee
"I was kind of expecting a private conversation" the woman looked at Mercy like she was asking her to leave
"This is as private as this is going to get" Sam told her politely "I told you I have a wife" he looked at Mercy
"You said you were committed; you never mentioned a wife"
"I'm sure I did, but I'll make this as clear as I can" he sat forward "No, no and no again"
"There's no need to be so rude about it" the woman snapped
"You're the rude one, I told you I wasn't interested, and you still insisted"
"I guess we..."
"I'm sorry" Mercy butted in "I heard private conversation and no; were you waiting for something else?"
"I was..."
"You see, that's where we're going to have a problem" Mercy's hands left the cup "You were, but now you're not and it's time to leave because what I heard was no, no and no again"
"But..."
"Bitch you better get up and leave" Mercy hissed slamming her hand on the table
"How the hell do you cope with her temper?" the woman asked getting up as she spoke
"You better fly before that becomes your problem" Mercy told her watching as she hurriedly walked away "Sorry" she smiled at Sam "I said you could deal with it, but I couldn't help butting in as usual"
"I love watching you go off about me, your jealous is cute" he leaned sideways to kiss her
"And your jealous is frightening" she giggled
"That's why I prefer you to deal with things" he looked at the guys stood watching them "I can't believe the neck on that woman"
"It's the game we're in, isn't it?" she giggled "People watch us on TV and get sucked into the glamour and shit, they think we're bigger and better in real life, we sell dreams" she laughed
"Dreams" he smiled "I've got a few of my own we could be making come true right now, or at least after the show"
"Keep your focus babe"
"My focus is good, we're good" he looked at the other members of the band "We've never been so ready for something"
"We're in for a treat then?
"You more than most" he leaned in to kiss her again
"My boys backed up?" she squeezed his cheeks, while kissing his puckered lips
"Seriously backed up" he leant in whispering
"So am I" she whispered back
"But I know one thing" his breath moved her hair as he rested his hand high on her thigh
"You do?" she smiled as their heads touched
"Yeah" he kissed her neck
"What's that?" she giggled naughtily
"Well..." he kissed her neck again, longer, making her eyes close at his touch "The longer it takes for me to get between these thighs" his hand moved further up her thigh "The rougher I'm going to be when I finally get there"
"Oh" she raised her eyebrows "You can bet your ass I'm about to wake that sleeping lion" she grabbed his face by the jaw "And I'm going to be the one roaring" she kissed his lips
"In coming" his eyes wondered from hers for a second
"You have got to be kidding me" Mercy looked too, rolling her eyes at the drama the woman was about to create
"I'm guessing someone's told her who you are" he rested his chin on her shoulder, still looking at the woman coming towards them again
"And now you're telling me she's a freaking fan" Mercy rolled her eyes at the situation
"Play nice" he whispered pulling away from her as the woman got closer
"Excuse me" the woman's voice almost a whisper compared to how it had been moments ago
"Now you need excusing" Mercy snapped
"Yes, I mean, I came over to apologise, my friend" she pointed at someone across the food hall "Dared me to come speak to him, I didn't know who you were"
"So" Mercy smiled at the woman's focus being on her now "It would have made what you did alright if I wasn't me?"
"No" she blushed "That was for a dare, I'm not like that"
"Of course, you're not" Mercy frowned "And I accept your apology" she smiled "Next time do your research"
"I will" she hurried off, Sam and Mercy watching the woman's friend laughing at her situation
"I think she should ditch that friend of hers" Sam commented "Back to us" he grinned at her "How long do I have you to myself for?"
"Until I find another gig" she grinned
"I'll have to book a room; we're sharing at the moment"
"Done" she told him
"Great" he smiled watching the others making their way over "Here come the guys" he sat up and moved his hand
"Hey" Joe looked at Sam "Great surprise?"
"More than great" Sam laughed
"I try" she grinned
"Guess this means we can finally go out on the town?" Ryder asked Sam
"Early night for me guys, sorry" he looked at Artie smiling
"Except you're not sorry, are you?" Artie laughed
"No"
"Guys" Mike came over to them "Time to set up, we've got sixty minutes"
"Work" Sam frowned at Mercy, kissed her and got up
"I'll freshen up" she jumped up to follow them "Can I use their dressing room?" she asked Mike
"Sure" he grabbed her arm and pointed her in the right direction "Names on the door on the left at the bottom, its messy"
"Hey" she turned to call after Sam "Break everything, but don't break anything"
"I hear you" he laughed walking back towards her "Strawberries" he smiled pulling her to him and kissing her deep "Eat some, I'll order them"
"What for?" she looked at him puzzled
"To go with that cream later" he cupped her face "I just want to kiss, lick, and suck every part of your body, and that's what I fancy, are you hearing me?"
"I hear you" she laughed "Boy I'm going to make you roar" she pushed him away from her "Now get to work"
"I guess I'd better get on with my other job" he backed away from her laughing
By the time she got to the stage Jake was already on stage, she had to admit to herself that he's grown professionally "Good, isn't he?" Marley stood beside her looking on
"Very" Mercy smiled "He's going to be even better when you get up there"
"I hope so" she rubbed her hands together nervously, taking a sharp intake of breath when Jake looked at her and held his hand out while he introduced her
"Break a leg" Mercy smiled pushing her forward before standing to listen to them sing
"Hey" she turned smiling at the familiar voice
"Hey" she grabbed his arm "What are you doing here?"
"Bouncing" he grabbed her hand "I heard Jones was on site, and I couldn't let you pass through without catching up" he looked at the stage "Are you performing, I didn't see your name on the list?"
"No I..."
"Hey" Sam walked up to them "Hey" he turned to the guy smiling
"Sam this is Shane from school"
"Oh" he turned to look at him "Shane, nice to meet you" he held his hand out
"Shane, this is Sam, my husband"
"I know of Sam" Shane grabbed the waiting hand "Didn't know he was your husband though" he looked at Mercy "You're married?" he let go of Sam's hand to focus on Mercy "That's a surprise" he nodded his head "I thought you... never mind" he looked at Sam, Mercy looked at Sam nervously, and he noticed
"Everything alright?" he asked
"Sam" Mike called him "Focus"
"I'm focused" Sam snapped looking at Mercy again "I'll see you later" he moved closer to her side eyeing Shane
"Break a leg" she kissed his waiting lips
"Mercedes Jones finally got married" Shane laughed watching Sam walk away "I thought that wasn't something you ever wanted to do"
"Maybe I hadn't found the right person back then"
"Ouch" he jumped playfully "Hurts not being right for you"
"It was a long time ago Shane, and we were way too young" her attention drawn to Sam and the guys getting on stage "Excuse me" she turned to pay them attention
"You were scared of my dick" he whispered in her ear as he stood behind her "But you're fine with his?"
"Shane" she turned to look at him "Stop"
"Yeah, you said that a lot back then too" he whispered too close for comfort
"Shane" she turned again, half smiling at Sam when their eyes let when she looked back at the stage, his face was like thunder, she shook her head and waved her hand telling him things were fine, but it was clear that wasn't enough for him "You're in my space" she shrugged her shoulder to get his resting chin off her
"You used to like me in your space"
"Shane" she turned again "Please stop, I'm married"
"...My wife, Jones" she heard her head spinning around fast to look at Sam
"What?" she mouthed at him, shaking her head at his waiting hand
"Don't be shy" he smiled that smile that told her he wasn't playing, she fixed her face, forgot about Shane, and walked into centre stage to grab his hand. He stood telling the crowd about her being his inspiration, her roots were in R&B, but she was just as strong in other genres, and how they were going to prove it to everyone
"Too much" she told him
"If it keeps that dick head away from you, it's enough" he hissed, tuning his guitar "What is he to you anyway?"
"An old boyfriend from school"
"And you let me shake his fucking hand" he carried on fiddling with his guitar "You are so going to get it later Mrs Evans" he was talking about sex, she knew that, but it was going to be on his terms, and she knew that too. The band sensed the tension and started playing something familiar, they'd messed about with the song a few times, but it wasn't anything near audience ready "Everyone, this is Jones" he nodded as the music got louder and they sung their rendition of 'Nothing Compares to You' by Mickey Guyton & Kane Brown
"I mean that" she told him as they hugged at the end of the song
"I feel like sitting you on that stool for the rest of the gig" he looked at Shane still hanging around
"Sam"
"I don't trust him" he sulked
"But you trust me, right?"
"Right" he kissed her and let her go
The bands thirty minutes went fast, they were off stage and in the changing room in seconds, Sam didn't bother to get changed, he grabbed his bag, grabbed Mercy's hand and got out of there
"Did you ever love him?" he asked as the door to the hotel room closed behind them
"You're going to answer that question" she walked towards him, and grabbed his neck, forcing him to take her lips
He picked her up, pinning her against the wall, suddenly there was no time for pleasantries, need took over, he growled as he touched her spot through her panties, she breathed heavy against his neck, he hadn't touched her yet and her whole body was trembling. His spare hand fumbling to get his trousers off, while she undone his belt, suddenly he pushed her hands away, that was too much stimulation for him right now. He shoved his pants down to his knees pulled her skirt up, ripping the crutch of her panties and he was in
"Babe" his voice sexy and husky as he slammed harder "I missed you so fucking much"
"Show me how much" she begged, moaning as he grabbed her tighter and slammed harder, her legs wrapped around him, smiling as he lost control
"You love me" his voice raspy and breathless "My turn" he let her legs fall "I need strawberries" he wiggled his eyebrows at her "I'm going to make you roar"