Tank lumbered into the suite, kicked his shoes off at the door and then rested across the sofa. He could hear his sweetheart's melodic voice singing away and smell the mix of foods, but he still couldn't relax. He thought that the craziness that he had already dealt with earlier that day could never be topped.

Mercedes sat at his side. "I know Reverend Smith can preach all day, but you could have left the service to change," she poked, beginning to undo the knot in his tie. When she noticed the vein bulging at his temple, she melted with him. "What's on your mind? It's trying to escape" was her go-to line when he was upset.

After hearing that his accountant was arrested for stealing money from clients, Tank spent his Sunday reviewing his books and ignoring the man's phone calls. The lawyer was not a victim, but he was always expected to help in the fight against the embezzlement charges. He refused to ruin his winning streak for someone "too dumb to be that greedy."

She always wondered what parts of his work life were safe to talk about, so she never poked for more information than what he told her. Hearing the phone ringing in his pocket, she requested, "Please turn that off before dinner." She pecked a kiss on his temple before moving to his lips.

Sam froze when he caught the couple lip locked. He had been playing with the boys in Christian's bedroom, but he left expecting to have a PG adult conversation. When the couple's attention fell on him, he tried to get back to the kids, but they invited him to sit.

Mercedes introduced, "Tank, this is Captain's dad, Sam." She slid aside to allow Tank to stand and shake the other man's hand. "Tank is my, um-"

His eyebrows raised at her lapse of memory. He found his smile before announcing with pride, "I'm her fiance." He watched the blond sit in a chair on the opposite side of the coffee table before taking his own seat and resting his arm around Mercedes' shoulder. "So Christian finally wants to make friends? That's nice."

Mercedes beamed as she explained Tank's mistake, the test results and even her and Sam's standoff. "Christian and Captain are so cute together," she excitedly declared with Sam co-signing. "I have a second son, and I wouldn't have known if it weren't for you."

He saw the twinkle in her eyes and worried that she had fallen too deep into a fantasy. He believed that he could calmly talk her back into her right mind. He wondered, "How could you go nine months without knowing you were pregnant with twins? Never saw it in your medical notes? The doctor never said, 'The BABIES are healthy'?"

In elite groups, there was more shame in being pregnant than there was in having a baby, and Mercedes' father wouldn't let his unwed daughter carry that mark. After her college graduation and way before she could show the signs of carrying, he booked her into a private hospital. He insisted the baby's growth be tracked with blood work that could only be shared with the one paying the hospital bill; Mercedes grew to accept it and took her fathers promises that she'd have a beautiful, healthy baby at the end of the journey.

When the time came to give birth to her child, Mercedes was told that the baby was at risk. She was given an anesthetic that left her faint for days. When she was adjusted, she was given a baby boy- just one.

Sam shyly asked, "Have you told their dad that they're twins?"

She tucked her lips and shook her head. She usually dropped her head at the topic, but Sam's green eyes caught her. She tugged at her sleeves as she decided that the man that took half of her responsibilities deserved the truth. "I don't know the father because, um, because it was a drunken one-night stand," she quietly admitted for the first time. "We all make mistakes. Mine gave me a son- two," she corrected with a weak giggle.

When Tank reached out to stop her fidgeting, she knew they were later going to have a conversation that would start with, "Why couldn't you tell me that sooner?" From the first moment they met, she only heard others compliment him: how handsome, smart and strong he was. She could admit that she had faults, but sharing her body with a stranger seemed too far, too reckless, for his ideal wife.

Her eyes shifted to the laptop on the coffee table, and she got ideas for the next topic. She pointed, "I read that you had a carpentry business." She couldn't recall the thought that turned her late night work session into research on the man.

Sam welcomed the change with a nod. "Woodwork." He explained, "My wife gave me the idea to try it. It was something to do on the weekends before we had Cap. I liked it, but couldn't stick to it after my divorce." He smiled as if it was truly that innocent.

Sam started his small business as part of the couple's scams. He was welcomed into homes full of stuff. He had gotten good at guessing the worth of items with just a glance. He'd finish his job, and after some time, his wife would sneak in to snatch the valuables. Their most memorable case was a woman that tipped Sam extra to finish remodeling her closet before her vacation, and then she returned home to nothing but the shelves he put up. After his divorce, Sam tried to be legit with his business, but without his wife pulling the last step, he didn't bring in enough money to support his son.

Mercedes offered, "A few rooms could use a makeover. Even working part time would give you a great discount, so you and Captain could live at the hotel."

Tank apologized for cutting their guest out of the conversation, but pulled Mercedes to the kitchen. "I swear that you're trying to drag my sanity down with you," he grumbled as they leaned into the island. He could accept that he brought the wrong kid home, but he protested against the DNA test. He warned, "I took a comb from Christian's room and told the lab to do what they could. You're getting excited for Christian."

She smirked, knowing the problem with his argument was that the son she raised was too orderly to leave hair in his comb.

"I mean Christian is a good kid, but nothing is changing." He scolded, "I know how much you love children and how badly you want more. Snatching a child off the street doesn't make him yours. You can't get attached to these people who you know nothing about. You're confusing them."

Mercedes happily jumped for the chance to prove him wrong. "Sam agreed to a second test tomorrow after the boys are done with school." She swore that she didn't need the test to know the truth. "There is a difference between loving all children and loving my children. Captain made my heart feel everything that I feel for Christian, but he scared me because they're so different from each other. I've never felt happier than I have today, watching them together, and that won't change because you refuse to believe it."

Sam couldn't listen to the couple's bad attempt at whispering any longer. He felt his chest thumping as he approached them. "Mercedes," he called. When he saw the mother with her children, his brain tried to form a specific idea, but her words made the image clear; he was looking at his family. "I would like to be tested as their father?"

8 YEARS PRIOR

"To your biggest mistake." Jude ignored his friend's scowl and threw the shot back alone. He shrugged off the burning in his throat before lashing, "Listen, I'm not your best man, so I don't have to say anything nice about her. In three days, you're going to stand in front of a crowd and tell us what you like about this girl- you have to 'cause we don't see why." He wasn't shy about his feelings for the soon-to-be Mrs. Evans.

Before Sam could argue, his other friend, Ezra, returned, leading a girl along by her hand. He introduced, "This is Mercedes, and she's gonna be drinking with us tonight." He nudged her to sit in the open seat and quickly turned a chair away from the table beside the group. "That's Jude and Sam, the man of the hour."

She gave a warm smile and a wave. "I just asked what was good to drink. I don't want to crash your party."

"Real men wouldn't let a lady drink alone."

She quickly discovered her favorite of the three bottles on the table and stuck to its tangy taste. After a few shots, she was pulled out of her seat to be proven wrong about line dancing only being for corny road trip movies. She clapped and stepped to the beat, fueled by the joy shared with the growing crowd of movers and the shots she'd rush down between songs.

Every trip to their table, Mercedes' would lock eyes with the abandoned man. She finally asked, "Are you okay?" She slid into the seat beside the pouting blond. "I feel kind of bad for enjoying your birthday more than you are."

"It's not my birthday. It's my… It's not my birthday," Sam sighed, slumped in his chair.

She never missed the sadness in his eyes, so she offered her ears. "I'm a stranger, but after you say your thoughts to someone, they don't feel as big. I can tell you my problem. Trade a story for a story?" She only got a lazy head nod. "I'm graduating college soon, and my parents just found out that I was majoring in music. They got so angry," she giggled.

Her brother had taught her to laugh at her parents' flip outs, but they began to find any reason to nag about her degree. "Can you take these forms to your father? If you studied business, you could have helped me with them… The security cameras on the first floor are spotting. Why didn't you get a degree in economics?... Dinner is ready. We would have been happy even with you taking up hospitality." They had chased their daughter away for a break.

She chose a bottle and refilled their glasses without giving thought to it. "They told me to focus on my studies, so no friends, no parties, no games. All the preaching they did for a degree that they don't want me to use." She took her shot, but when the glass lowered, her smile was gone. "That's the spicy one," she gasped, beginning to fan her lips.

Sam rushed to pass his glass of water, but he failed to bite back his smirk as she tried to take control of the taste.

Before another word could be shared, Ezra crashed into his seat. "The bar is closing soon. Mercedes, where do you stay? I have to help clean up here, but Sam will get you home safe." He noticed his friend's unsatisfied look.

"I'm staying at the Jones Hotel," she answered. "I caught a car here. I can call for another to take me back."

Eyeing Sam, Ezra promised her, "You're not causing any trouble. Sam has no good reason to rush home."

She pranced beside Sam through the parking lot and to his old model truck. She cooed at the dented side and peeling paint work. She didn't mind that the passenger door didn't work as long as the radio did. She spent the entire ride shuffling stations for songs to sing along to.

Sam waited for the final song to fade before turning the truck off and ending her concert. "You were right to go to college for music. You're a really good singer," he complimented. He eyed the hotel though his rearview mirror, and for choosing the farthest parking spot in the lot, he had to apologize. "I wish I could have gotten closer. I didn't know this place could be so busy." His intentions were always to walk her inside, but as he reached for the door handle, Mercedes caught onto the sleeve of his jacket.

"You promised to tell me what was bothering you."

He slowly sat back as she turned in her seat. "Well, um." He twisted his lips. Since the start of the week, he'd found that a few words didn't roll off his tongue as easily as they did before. He thought of giving a smaller confession, something he saw as equal to the rich college girl's, but catching her scanning him, he knew he'd be caught for downplaying. "I made a promise to someone. I want to see it through, I do, but everyone is against me. They don't even hide it."

Her fingers slid into his hand, and his eyes fell to watch her thumb gliding back and forth over his knuckles. "I'm sure that they aren't trying to hurt you. You seem too sweet for anyone to want to do that," she teased. "They want you to be happy and safe- What you're doing is safe, right?"

He nodded, and a relieved sigh filled the truck. "I want them to feel happy for me. I'm not like you. You don't care that your parents are mad at you."

"Of course, I care, but sometimes it's okay to follow your heart and deal with the consequences later. You can prove them wrong, but if your promise doesn't work out, they'll be there to pick you up because they love you." She cupped his face in her hands to lock his attention on her. "When you think no one is supporting you, remember me. I think you're going to do something amazing one day." Before releasing him, she squeezed his cheeks to pucker his lips and laughed at his fish expression.

He stilled as he studied the glow of her joy. It was something he'd seen all night, but the closeness made him vulnerable to its hypnotic energy. It was an energy that cramped the truck and pushed Sam towards Mercedes until their lips met.

Sam revealed his enthusiasm quickly, driving his fingers through her fluffy curls and sampling the flavor of her tongue. How his least favorite drink could taste so sweet on her, he didn't know but was already dizzy with thirst. Forgetting the small size of the truck, he continued to scoot across the seat until Mercedes had no other place to go but his lap. With her straddling him, his hands freely roamed along her curvy hips he'd watched dancing the night away.

He kissed a trail along her cheek until he reached her neck. At the first feel of her chocolate colored skin, Sam grew greedy for more. He freed her from her jacket and then her shirt. His lips followed the strap of her bra as he pulled it along her shoulder.

She felt her skin prickle when his kisses reached the tops of her breasts that filled their support. "Sam," she whispered with a tone he thought was just as pleasant sounding as her singing. Noticing his fingers working at the hooks of her bra, she reached out for his arm. "Wait, please."

Sam sighed at the interruption. His eyes closed tightly before he fell back. He held his breath, expecting his consequence to come down across his left cheek. He questioned if an apology would do any good, but before his lips could shape to form a word, Mercedes spoke up.

Wrapping herself in her arms, she admitted, "I'm cold. Can we go inside?"

He silently waited for her to redress. With his head hung, he walked her into the hotel. He let her lead the way until she stepped behind the check-in desk. "I don't think you should be back there," he worried. His green eyes scanned the empty lobby, checking that there was no one hiding.

She brushed him off with "It's fine." She ignored the blond's panic as she clicked away on the computer. With her room marked, she took the key from the wall and marched away to the second floor. She reached her door and looked up at Sam with her round, brown eyes.

"Well, um, goodnight," he hesitated. He warmed his hands against his jeans as he gave a tired smile. "It was nice to meet you."

"Do you want to come in?"

There was a long wait before Sam began to mimic her slow nod.

The pair got comfortable in the king size bed, hiding their naked bodies under the covers. They rested on their sides as their hands petted and held the other close. Her plump breasts swelled into his wall of a chest. His rigid manhood waited along her thighs for all the goodness that its owner was sure was between them.

Sam had another slow trip over her curves before his fingers shaped to her thigh and placed her leg over his hip. He positioned his member at her entrance. He slowly eased his member into her until she broke their kiss with a gasp and dropped her face into his shoulder. His body froze, only letting his lips move to ask, "Are you okay?"

"It hurts a little. I didn't know it could feel this big," she huffed against his skin. She declined his offer to stop. She hugged his upper body closer and requested, "Go slower, please."

Although her order seemed easy, he let her take the lead. "Swing your hips," he began to coach, remembering that she had plenty of practice earlier that night. His arm snaked her body as she began to move with care, and when she began to pick up her pace, he tried to bite back his moan. "You got it," he complimented.

After a while, Mercedes lifted her head, but her eyes were too heavy from the excitement to take in Sam's expression. "It's starting to feel really good." Her womanly center warmingly snuggled every inch of his throbbing length that she could manage.

She found her rhythm just a moment before she abruptly stopped. Opening her eyes, she realized that she wasn't the only one disappointed with her need for a break. Still feeling the sensation running through her body, she stumbled, "That was, I mean, WOW, but it got overwhelming- I mean all these feelings, you know?"

Sam smirked and nodded in understanding, but his amusement faded as he felt her grip onto him loosen. He gently squeezed her body into him as a vain plea to keep her limbs tangled to him. "That's how it feels when you like it… Did you like it?"

"So much," she swooned and fainted into his lips.

He rolled onto his back, causing her to struggle to catch her balance over him and keep covered. He guided her hips to sink down onto him. "Just like before but don't stop this time." With her body wrapped tightly in the cover, his hands settled to feel the ride of her hips, and as he kissed her neck, he listened to her breaths turn into moans.

Her hips rocked until they were back at the previous rhythm. She was too distracted by her newfound manic feelings to celebrate the extra length she had taken in. Waves of pleasure drowned her with every plunge down. "Sam, Sam," she strangled out. She fisted the sheets and hung her head at her idea of giving up.

"Mercedes, please," he begged between breathy exhalations. "Please don't stop." His hold of her tightened to guide the motion of her hips as she rose and fell. He closed his eyes and bit at his bottom lip, hoping his prayer would be fulfilled, even if she didn't have to go much longer.

Mercedes shivered, never again trying to find her voice in the raspy moans and gasps for air.

Sam called out her name as he stiffened and flooded himself into her.

Both trapped in ecstasy.

Mercedes slowly continued to grind against Sam, but when his grip loosened, she fell aside into a pillow and cuddled it close. Laying silently, she studied the man as he looked up at the chandelier: his sharp jaw, plump lips, straight nose and long lashes. When the last nerve in her body stopped buzzing, she questioned, "Is that all?"

He shook his head before doubting, "I mean, unless you want it to be. I'll go if-" He stopped at her stiff headshake. His smile reappeared when he noticed her eyes watching him- locked on him. He tucked her pillow down for a clear trail to her lips.

Soon he was back between her thighs for another round… and then another.

Sam was woken the next morning by ringing echoes. Before he could gather his thoughts of where he was, the girl he spent the night with had answered her cellphone and crawled back into bed. He lay and watched the black hair in front of him as she spoke.

"I'm in the hotel," she promised. She huffed as her parents demanded that she return to the family's suite. "No, I don't want to see you today."

When the call ended, Sam softly reached out for her shoulder to ask, "Are you okay?"

"Please leave," she muttered while pulling the covers over her head.

He hesitated, but fulfilled her request. He dressed and threw out a goodbye without having a sober look at the girl. He didn't waste another second before returning home and confessing his actions to his fiancee. He married, believing he would never see his one night lover again.

But eight years and three DNA tests later, he learned that they would forever be tied.

Thank you so much for reading.