Romance: New Adult: One Game at a Time - A College Football Romance (Bad Boy Romance) (Sports Contemporary Short Stories) (32 page)

Laurie shouted
to Alexander
to watch out, but Alexander wasn't quick enough. The silver sword lashed across his back, cutting a deep wound in his flesh. As he groaned and arched his back, another Sutherland warrior saw that Alexander was injured, and lashed at him with an ax, cutting his leg open. Laurie roared and increased the tempo of his sword work, killing both Alexander's attackers before they could finish him off. As Alexander lay on the ground, bleeding heavily, Laurie waved
for his father
to ride forward and collect him.

Laird Muir rode towards them and dismounted. With Laurie's assistance, he slung his son over the horse's back and ordered Laurie to take Alexander to safety. Laurie was
reluctant,
but Laird Muir insisted. A few moments later Laird Muir was killed by a sword strike to his neck. Despite the loss of Alexander and Laird Muir, the alliance was holding its own in the battle.

*****

When the guard opened the dungeon door, he walked over to
Eana
and prodded her with his foot. She'd been lying in the damp dungeon for two days. Her body, deprived of food, had closed down and sent her into a deep sleep. When he prodded her again, she woke.
Looking through half open eyes, she saw a large man in Sutherland Tartan looking down at her, longingly.
It was then that she realized her kilt had ridden up around her waist. The guard was clearly no gentleman.

''You're to come with me,'' he said as he pulled her to her feet. ''Laird Sutherland is waiting for you. He took her arm and pulled her up, roughly. The straw she had been lying on must have been years
old;
it was
more black
than yellow. Her hands were
filthy,
and her knee was swollen, making it almost impossible for her to stand. As she struggled to her feet, he pulled her harder, amusing himself, causing her more pain that was necessary. She hobbled next to
him,
his fist entwined in her collar. Mounting the stairs caused her excruciating pain, and soon the guard had had enough. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

When he dumped her on the
floor,
she heard a group of men laughing at her. She was in the great hall where it appeared a celebratory meal was being prepared. From the
ground,
she saw legs, men's legs, in knee-length woolen socks. They grouped around her in a circle, and when she looked up, she saw Laird Sutherland glaring down at her. When he flapped his hand, a younger man bent down and pulled her to her feet.

''Look, this will be our after dinner entertainment,'' Sutherland announced. He put his hand around her neck and kissed her cheek. She spat at him, the men laughed. Not enjoying being the butt of their joke, he thrust his hands down her blouse and grabbed a breast, painfully. ''I will be first, and after
me,
there will be many more.'' He pushed her into the arms of the young man. ''Tie her face down to the table,'' he pointed at a small wooden affair in front of the large banqueting tables. ''I want to look at my dessert while
I'm having
the main course.'' The men laughed again.

When the young man had finished tying her to the table, she was spreadeagled and ready for what Sutherland had in mind.

******

A ring of men stood around the bed and listened to the priest as he crossed himself, and began to give Alexander his last rights. Despite his colossal size, the loss of Laird Muir and the imminent loss of his friend was too much for Laurie, and tears streamed over his
blood-stained
cheeks. When the priest had finished, Laurie took Alexander's hand and knelt down next to him.

''Dear friend, take heart, we did not yield to the evil of the Sutherland clan, and we have our lands still. Laird Irvine is
alive,
and he will assist us to find a new leader.'' He squeezed Alexander's hand more firmly. ''Remember one thing, you were magnificent in battle, we were magnificent in
battle,
and Sutherland went away
empty-handed
.''

He stood up and looked at Alexander. His face was swollen and covered
in
his own and his enemy's blood. His leg had a terrible gash in
it,
the bone was visible. Laurie was the only person
around
the bed to have seen the deep wound in Alexander's back. He knew it was no use hoping.

One of the men cried out and pointed. Then another and a third. Soon they all jumped back in horror. When Laurie followed their pointing figures, he saw it. Flesh closing over the wound on Alexander’s leg. First the bone
disappeared, and then
the tissue began to knit together. In a few seconds the skin was
closing,
and soon
afterwards
, there was no wound at all.

''Turn him over,'' Laurie wanted to look at Alexander's back. They were just in time to see the wound on his back close, no scar visible. ''The Lord is taking him,'' Laurie concluded.

Alexander coughed and spluttered his way back to consciousness.  When he opened his
eyes,
the men ran out of the room leaving Laurie with a drawn sword, ready to slay whatever evil was at hand.

''Laurie.......what happened?''

''Jesus mother of Mary, is it
you,
Alexander?''

''Who else?''

''But your wounds. You should be dead. I took you half dead from the battlefield and unable to do anything for you, a priest gave you your last rights.''

''Well, clearly something very strange has happened,'' Alexander said. He pulled his leg away when Laurie rubbed his hand over the place where the wound had been.

''This place was open to the bone, just a minute ago. Don't you have any pain at all?''

''I have never felt better.'' He jumped up and began to run on the spot. ''Look, like new.'' Alexander thought for a minute. ''Do you know where
Eana
is?''

''Not exactly, but we think she has been held captive by Sutherland after visiting him in a vain bid to keep the peace.''

*****

The great hall at Sutherland Castle was full of warriors quenching their thirst after the battle. When Laird Sutherland spoke to them, it appeared the Sutherland Clan had won the battle. Some of his men looked at each other, rolling their eyes in the knowledge that neither side had won an outright victory, and that,
in all probability,
there would be another battle soon. They were all drunk, very drunk and very relaxed. Few of them could take their eyes from
Eana
as her curves strained against the rope which bound her.

''In  a few moments, men, we will have some fun with this young woman. She's the daughter of Laird Irvine.'' The men
booed,
and some of them threw bread and wine at her. ''Muir is dead,'' the men cheered. ''And if his son isn't dead, I will be astonished.'' More cheers. He waved and walked from his place at the center of the banqueting table. When he reached
Eana
, he ran his hand over her calf and up under her skirt. When she screamed, the men laughed. Several of them began to masturbate at what was about to happen. In one movement, Sutherland ripped her kilt from her, and then her
wine-sodden
underwear. As her naked bottom became visible, Sutherland pulled his kilt up and got onto the table. He was drunk, but soon he stood above her, gripping his hard penis.

As he lowered himself onto her, an arrow fizzed across the room. It hit him in the left buttock, burying itself deep into the flabby flesh. He groaned and thrust a hand to the place of impact. Another arrow hit him in the opposite buttock. He fell
backwards
from the table, landing in a drunken heap. His men stood up and began to stagger towards him, but soon the room was full of Muir and Irvine Clan. Warriors weary after
battle
, but sober
and fighting for a just cause: to rescue the Laird's daughter and the wife of the new Laird Muir.

The drunken Sutherland warriors stood no chance, and most of them died in the great hall.
Alexander
thrust his bow and arrows to the ground and ran to the table where his wife lay. As he approached her, he bent down to Laird
Sutherland,
who was still in agony on the floor. ''Thank you for showing me how important she is to me.'' He took out his dagger and finished Sutherland off with a flourish of his arm.

He cut the ropes and scooped
Eana
into his arms, covering her with his tartan cloak. When they were a safe distance from the castle he stopped and sat down under a tree, still cradling her in his strong arms.

''What did you do? I was dying?'' he asked.

''Sutherland told me you were either dying or already dead. All I did was wish you were healthy. Nothing more.''

''Well, you frightened the life out of Laurie,'' he laughed. ''It was you that cured me, I am
certain,
and I
am certain of one other thing: that I was wrong to doubt you.
I now realize that you are the kindest woman
alive,
and you only know good. I am sorry, please forgive me, I love you.''

''And I love you too, Alexander Muir. Now please take me home and make love to me but more gently than last time, my knee won't stand up to the intensity of your passion for long.''

****

The Irvine Clan and the Muir Clan flourished under Alexander and
Eana's
leadership. The Sutherland Clan desperate for peace after many years of war, elected a new leader, a fierce but kind woman named Morag. The friendship she and
Eana
developed ensured peace for the next fifty years.

*****

THE END

Chapter 1

“Kerri Geiser?  Mr.  Lane would like to see you now.”  Kerri stopped typing mid-sentence before looking up at a well-dressed blonde woman standing in the doorway.  Kerri felt her skin prick with sweat as she became nervous.  Why did the boss want to see her?  Had she done something wrong?  Kerri got up, a little flustered. 

The secretary looked at her, noting her anxiety, but said nothing.  She had escorted many people to Mr. Lane’s
office,
and it was seldom for good reason.  The secretary predicted that this girl would soon be packing up her things. 
Mr. Lane was always so brutal.
  You were never safe with him.  He could love you one moment and fire you the next. 

“O…okay…”  Kerri finally muttered as she ran her fingers through her bright red hair.  She looked at the secretary with big blue eyes, biting her lip.  Her heart was pounding in her chest. 

Kerri tried to focus her mind on the clicking of the secretary’s heels.  She followed the sound down the hallway, all the way to the end.  In front of her now was a large black door with the letters ‘Mr. Lane’ tacked to it.  They seemed to
be made
of gold.

Kerri had worked for Lane Industries for six months now.  She was making decent money, enough to afford an apartment and a good life.  She couldn’t lose her job.

The secretary moved forward now and opened the door.  Kerri looked at her, again biting her lip.  Hesitantly, she walked into the large, luxurious office.  She looked around for a moment, seeing the central desk empty.  The whole room seemed to be empty.  Where was Mr. Lane? 

The door closed behind
her,
and Kerri jumped.  She heard a chuckle coming from the
left-hand
side of the room.  Her head snapped in that
direction,
and she saw Mr. Lane standing at the back counter apparently making himself a coffee.  Kerri looked confused.  Wasn’t it his secretary’s job to fetch him coffee?  Kerri watched as he gathered some tea leaves and steeped them in hot water.  Kerri didn’t expect him to be a tea drinker. 

“No one can ever make tea to my liking, so I just do it myself.”  Mr. Lane turned now, looking at the girl.  She looked nervous.  He knew that look
well,
and he grinned to himself.  “Please, sit.”  Kerri’s eyes widened at his words.  Before she could make a fool of
herself,
she quickly sat down on one of the nearby couches.  Mr. Lane took another moment to perfect his tea before sitting down. 

“You must be wondering why I called you here
today,
” he said after taking a sip of his drink.  Kerri nodded her head, averting his eyes.  Mr.  Lane’s eyes were intense as he looked at the girl.  “Well, I just wanted
to personally congratulate
you on your new promotion.”  He smiled, seeing the girl’s expression. 

Kerri looked up at him in shock.  Her cheeks reddened, nearly obscuring the freckles that adorned her face.  Had she heard correctly? 
She was
getting a promotion?  She couldn’t believe it.  Her boss looked at her with a grin on his face.

“Y…you mean you are
really
promoting me?”  She asked, her voice meek.  Mr. Lane nodded. 

“Indeed, you are now head of the IT department.”  Kerri’s eyes widened.  She was in a state of shock. 

“T…th… thank you!”  She stuttered after a moment.  Her heart was beating
quickly
as she thought about her promotion. 

“You move into your new office next week.”  Kerri blushed, thinking about herself in her
own
office.  She had worked in a cubical all her
life;
now she had her
own
office. 

“Thank you!”  She said again.

Chapter 2

After Kerri’s exciting day at
work,
she rushed to get home.  She quickly changed into comfortable clothes before flopping onto her bed.  She grabbed her phone and dialed her best friend’s number, impatiently waiting for him to pick up. 

As she waited, she looked at her favorite teddy bear.  Her best friend had given it to her on her 12
th
birthday,
and she had never slept a day without it.  She was playing with its paw when she heard the sound of someone picking up the phone.  She didn’t even give her friend enough time to say hello. 

“Patrick!”  She squealed at a very
high-pitched
volume.  Patrick, on the other end of the
line,
had to keep the phone away from his ear to keep from going deaf. 

“Damn… what is
it,
Kerri?  Are you trying to make me deaf?  How am I supposed to be a musician if I am deaf?”  He joked around, his deep chuckle coming through the phone. 

“Sowwie…”  Kerri muttered back in her apologetic voice.  Patrick grinned.  She could be such a child at times.  “But
…
but… but… guess what?!”  She yelled into the phone again before she could stop herself. 

“What?”  Patrick answered once he thought it was safe to put the phone to his ear again. 

“I got a promotion!”  She said excitedly, jumping on her bed. 

“No way!  That’s awesome!  I’ll be right there!” 

Soon enough, Patrick was knocking on her door with a bottle of champagne in his hand.  Kerri smiled
widely
as she saw her friend and hugged him tightly.  Patrick leaned down and scooped her up, carrying her into the apartment.  He playfully tossed her onto the bed and before pouncing her. 

“Oh no!  Big bad Patrick got me!”  He grinned and looked at her. 

“That’s right!  And do you know what big bad Patrick is going to do?”  Kerri shook her head as she looked up at her friend with large eyes. 

Patrick grinned wildly.   Suddenly he tickled her.  She squealed in surprise, curling up into a tiny ball.  She tried to get
away,
but her friend, nearly six feet tall and well-built was too strong for her.  Suddenly he pulled her into a bear hug while smiling to himself. 

He held her for a moment as his heart beat quickly inside of his chest.  There were untold emotions hiding in his
heart,
and he thought about them now as he held her close.  He looked down as he felt one of her delicate fingers trace a tattoo on his arm. 

“You got a new
tattoo,
”  Kerri said, looking up at him.  “And when are you going to shave off that beard?”  She whined at him playfully.  He chuckled. 

“What do you want me to look twelve again?”  They both chuckled. 

“You were
definitely
cuter when you were twelve.”  She giggled as she said this, looking at her best friend.  Patrick looked like a typical bad boy, with tattoos decorating his arms and chest, and a well-trimmed beard.   In reality, however, he was a softie and Kerri loved that about him.  They had been friends since the second
grade,
and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

“C’mon, let’s celebrate!”  Patrick grabbed the bottle of champagne and opened it, the foam spilling onto his hand.  He slurped it up as he heard Kerri giggle.  He watched as she ran out of the room before coming back with two glasses.  He poured the champagne before lying in bed with her.  They then watched a movie together.

Eventually, Kerri fell asleep on Patrick’s shoulder.  He looked down at her and gently kissed the top of her head.  He missed spending time with her. 
She was always so busy with her new job.
  They rarely spent time together anymore.  Patrick thought back to high school when they were inseparable.   He missed those days. 

As he thought about
this,
he looked around and noticed the time. It was still early.  He nudged Kerri awake. 

“Hmm?”  She asked confused as she rubbed her eyes. 

“We haven’t eaten yet, do you want to go to my place? I’ll make dinner.”  Kerri’s face lit up. 

Soon they were at Patrick’s apartment.  It was shabbier than Kerri’s.  Patrick was an up and coming
musician. Therefore
, he made significantly less money than she did. However, he made the most of what he had. 

Kerri was sitting at the kitchen table watching Patrick cook now.  She smiled to herself as her eyes followed his every movement.  For someone so big, he moved elegantly.  While Kerri was admiring her best friend, there was a knock on the door. 

“Do you want me to get that?”  Kerri asked.  Patrick nodded.  Kerri walked over to the door and opened it to find a beautiful woman standing in the
doorway
.  She looked confused when she looked down at Kerri. 

“Um… does a guy named Patrick live here?”  Kerri nodded after a moment of hesitation.  The girl smiled brightly.  “Great.”  She made her way inside and followed her nose to the kitchen.  “I see you are cooking dinner for us.”  Patrick looked at the woman confused.

“Do you know this girl Patrick?”  Kerri asked, her voice barely a whisper.  Patrick shook his head.  The unknown girl hit his arm playfully. 

“Of course you know me!  I’m your date remember!”  Patrick turned bright red.  Recently, he had signed up an online dating site:  Truematematch.com.  This much have been his blind date.  Patrick looked embarrassed.  Kerri looked upset.  Patrick was about to explain himself when Kerri stopped him.

“I hope you two have
fun,
” she said politely before making her way out of the apartment.  As she made her way down the
stairs,
there were tears running down her face. 

Chapter 3

Kerri was soon on the streets of Gloster.  Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she walked down the cracked sidewalk.  She didn’t know where she was
going,
but she felt like she needed to get away.

She didn’t know what these emotions were.  Could it be that she was feeling jealous?  Why?  She didn’t like Patrick, did she?  Emotions took over making her feel weak.  She was forced to stop and lean against a nearby wall.  She looked
around
and noticed the dark, vacant streets.    A shiver went up her spine.  She knew how dangerous the streets could get at night.  Fear suddenly overwhelmed her as she felt very vulnerable. 

She tried not to hyperventilate as she stood there, hugging herself as the cold air wrapped around her, biting
against
her bare skin. As she stood there, her mind reeled back, bringing forth harsh memories. 
At
that
moment,
she thought of her last boyfriend:  Jerimiah.  It was a relationship she wanted to forget. 

As she thought about her bad
breakup,,
her mind brought back Patrick.  She thought about him now.  She knew deep down that she had feelings for him, but she was scared.  She didn’t want to mess things up with him.  She didn’t want to destroy the beautiful friendship they had together.  She didn’t want to fall in love again and get hurt. 

All these thoughts and emotions swirled around in her head as she leaned
a cold brick wall again
.  Up the
road,
a group of men started to walk toward her.  She started to
panic,
but she couldn’t move.  She
was frozen
with fear. 

At
that moment, a sleek black car appeared before her.  She looked at the car and recognized it instantly.  She bit her lip, her gaze shifting from the group of men to the car in front of her.  Eventually, she was forced to pick the lesser of two evils.  She got in the car. 

The car drove off once she
was safely buckled
inside.  She refused to look at the driver.  She looked out the tinted window instead.  She didn’t know what to do. 

“What, no thank you for your prince in shining armor?  I just saved you from those guys.”  Kerri cringed upon hearing his voice. 

She finally looked at him.  His hair
was dyed
white
now,
and there was a dream catcher
earring
dangling from his ear lobe.  His eyes were bright
yellow,
and she wondered how much the colored contacts had cost him. 

“Thanks…”  She finally muttered under her breath.  The man grinned as his hand tightened
on
the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.

“What, after all this time, that’s all you have to say?”  He
asked
his voice tense.  She didn’t want to have this conversation right now.  All she wanted to do was forget about this man, but now she was trapped in a car with him.

“Look, can you just bring me home Jay?” 

“Fine.”  He drove faster. 

Chapter 4

Patrick ran after Kerri the second he got away from Skye.  He rushed down the street, looking for
her,
but he ran in the wrong direction.  Eventually, he turned around and ran in the other direction.  By this
time,
he was too late.