NaNo Day 1…

WARNING: This is typical Tara Neale shit…i.e. lots of sex…do NOT read if easily offended…

Chapter 1 of Homes for Heroes, Book 4 of the Sergeant Mike’s Miracle Tour…

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Former Master Sergeant Michael O’Malley studied the woman across the room from him. He was certainly glad that his training as a U S Marine had taught him to think on his feet. Because this situation, this woman was not something he had planned for. Hell, this was more than his wildest fantasy about her.

And Esther Samuels had been the sole leading lady in all his fantasies for over two years. Almost from the moment her son, Lieutenant Thomas Samuels, had begun sharing his funny stories of life growing up in small town Texas with his single Mom, Mike had been hooked by the strength, love and character of this woman. When he had seen her photograph, well, her exotic mixed race beauty only sealed the deal.

But life was rarely that simple. The past two years had been full of Fate’s cruel twists and turns. For both of them. Losing her son to an improvised explosive device, IED, had been the one of the worsts. Mike still had more than his fair share of nightmares about that day. About holding the dying man that had been one of his best commanding officers in almost a quarter of a century in the Corps. About his final promise to him…to look after his Mama.

Mike’s throat tightened as he watched her rummage through the green duffle bag that he knew had belonged to his friend. If Tommy had known his less than honorable feelings for this woman, would he have extracted that vow? Probably not. He definitely would not have if he had any idea how the two of them had spent the past week in her bedroom just across from the closed door where his friend had grown up.

Mike had spent most of the two plus hour ride on his Harley Davidson Road King with the woman’s body pressed tight against his, her arms wrapped about his waist. It had heaven and it had been hell.

A thousand times he asked himself what he was thinking…bringing her with him on this one-way journey to his…his final battle, he supposed. But the truth was he was a selfish son of a bitch, who wanted as many stolen moments has he could gather with the only woman he had ever loved or ever would.

Of course, a smart woman like her would figure out soon enough how fucked up he was. When she did, he would buy her a ticket back…

He sighed, that was the problem. He did not want her going back there. Not to Sebida, Texas. It was not just that that house held so many memories of her son that she could never truly be free, never move on, never learn to live again. No, even though all of that was true, what really bothered Mike was the cruelty and hatred that small town held towards her and her son.

It had taken him months to recognize the bitterness that occasionally seeped into Tommy’s voice when he told stories about growing up in that place. Little League coaches and Scout leaders that turned out not to the best of role models for a young man.

But despite all that, she had done it. She had raised one of the finest men and Marines he had ever known. She had instilled a code of honor in her son long before the Corps got hold of him. A code built upon myths, legends and heroes that Mike knew nothing about.

His heart stuttered in his chest as he reminded himself that this was just temporary. This woman was books, theatre and things he knew nothing about. Hell, he had barely finished high school. He had certainly never been much of a reader, especially not those kinds of stories. As for ancient gods, well, he had enough issues with Christianity and Islam. He certainly had no interest her Greeks and Romans.

This woman deserved so much more than some busted up old Devil Dog that was for certain. He just hoped that this road ahead would be kind to her, that somewhere along the way she found something new, something better than Sebida or him. He would do everything in his power to see that she did, that he kept his promise.

“Take care of her. Promise me, Mike. Fucking promise me that you’ll be there for Mama. Promise me?” He could still hear the death rattle in the man’s voice as he gripped his hand so tightly that sometimes Mike swore he could still feel his touch.

Mike shook his head as he looked up at her once more. Clearly, she had said something. Was waiting for some response from him. But he had been so lost in those memories that he had no idea what it was, what Esther had said.

He shifted nervously from foot to foot as he stared at the ugly brown carpet that had seen much better days. “Sorry, I guess I got lost in thought there for a minute. What did you say?” he mumbled in embarrassment.

***

Esther hesitated for a moment. Seductress was a new role for her. A very new one for the woman, who could count her lovers on a single hand with fingers left over. It had taken all her courage to ask Mike to join her in the shower the first time.

She chewed her bottom lip as she thought. Thing was her decision to leave her old life behind in Sebida, to just hop on the back of Mike’s motorcycle and travel with him, had been about learning to live life. To stop watching it pass her safely by outside her window. If she was going to do this damned thing, then she might as well do it right.

She inhaled deeply and picked up the stack of clothes that she had pulled from the bag. Her gaze met and held his as she crossed the few feet to where he stood next to the small table and couple of chairs that filled the room alongside a couple of double beds and a cabinet that doubled as a wardrobe and hidden television.

When she finally stood facing him, she ran her hand up his arm to his shoulder then slowly back to his hand on the table, she licked her lower lip as she met his stare once more, “Sergeant, I asked if you would care to join me in the shower?”

The quick intake of his breath and the rapid beat of his pulse beneath her fingers emboldened her further as she stood on tip toes and pressed her full figure against him. There was less than an inch between his lips and hers as she whispered, “I’ll wash your back if you wash mine.”

***

Mike sucked in his breath as he felt his cock harden inside his jeans. Damn, he had been half hard all day. For a man of forty his dick seemed to think it was back in his teens. At least when it was around this woman.

He fought back the guilt that assailed him, the one that said he was taking advantage of her. He would add that the mountain that he already bore, but not this night. Pathetic fool that he was, he was going to savor every morsel and crumb of solace that this woman would drop at the feet of a starving man.

His fingers wrapped through that lush forest of dark curls at her neck as he tilted her head back. Air froze in his lungs at her sheer beauty. No words could do her justice, not even the picture he had carried of her since that day, the one that he had worn thin around the edges, faded with time where he pressed his lips against it each night and stained with the last of her son’s blood.

But it was not a mere photograph that he held in this moment. It was a flesh and blood woman. Hell, more like one of her damned goddesses as far as he was concerned.

And she wanted him? It still took his breath away, caused his heart to skip beats and defied belief, but like that damned saying…don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Oh, her mouth. He lowered his head and tasted it once more. She exploded over him more powerful than any battle he had ever fought. She was the one time that surrender seemed unbelievably sweet. And he did once more. Surrender to the feel and taste of her as he took her lips once more, captured them with his and drew forth soft moans of her own surrender.

He trembled as his other hand came up between them to cup her full breast, their fingers still laced together as he squeezed and kneaded her through the soft t-shirt and bra. She was whimpering as he broke the kiss, his forehead leaned against hers as he whispered, “Screw your back, woman. I want to wash these.”

He loved the carefree chuckle that erupted from her throat as she stepped back and tugged him after her. Their entwined hands never left her tit as her eyes danced with mirth, “Then follow me, Sergeant.”

“To the ends of the earth,” the words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them.

She turned with a smile and pressed a teasing kiss to his lips. “The shower will do…for now. Besides seems to me it is the other way around. Me who is following you.”

Mike still could not believe that either. And it worried him. The only time he ever got what he wanted, it seemed that the cruel bastard Fate had to snatch it from him. That red bicycle…taken from him along with his mother and unborn sister. Then when he thought he had found other families he was moved. Even with the Halls…just as he was beginning to open himself to his best friend’s family, Billy too was taken from them.

He was cursed. Bad luck. He would do well to remember that. Make certain that this time Fate never got wind of how he truly felt for this woman. He shuttered as true fear unlike anything he had ever felt since the night that his father pushed his pregnant mother down a flight of stairs in his drunken stupor. Since his first battle as he held his dying best friend. This fear might ellipse them both…the fear of losing her. No, Fate must never learn this…his greatest weakness…was her.

He shook his head as her fingers caressed his cheek. Her smile too was gone. His throat tightened. He wanted that laughter and smile back. He had not meant for his morose thoughts to pull her back down.

He wanted to make her smile. Make her laugh. Make her moan and whimper. Make her body sing for him. Make her cum over and over again. He wanted to give her what small comfort and solace he could. Wanted to show her how much she deserved…open the world beyond that hell hole to her.

It was fast becoming his sole purpose…his most important mission on this final tour…was keeping that promise to her dying son. He would do whatever it took to ‘take care’ of this woman. No matter what.

He leaned his head against hers and forced a smile as he drew their clasped hands to his lips, pressing a kiss on the back of hers, “So, woman, don’t you think you are a bit overdressed for the shower?”

She threw back her head and that laughter danced along his spine, more intoxicating than the alcohol in which he had tried to bury the memories of Billy’s death. It was a drug he could become addicted to.

Her other hand slipped between them, tugging at his belt as she teased, “That is a two-way street, Sergeant.”

“So is this another I’ll do you if you do me thing?” he joked in return. “If so, I suggest a little race. First one to the finish line gets…”

“To play,” she said as she managed to free the buckle and made even quicker work of the button and zipper.

Mike completely lost this train of thought as those soft hands slipped inside his boxers tugging them along with the jeans down around his ankles. They got tangled up on his boots for a moment and they both burst into uproarious giggles.

Until Mike battled to kick off both boots, sending them sailing somewhere across the room. He swatted her round bottom playfully before practically ripping his shirt over his head, “You might have won that round, but race you to the shower.”

***

Esther watched Mike’s retreating backside. His backside was one of her favorites. Then too his front was not bad either. She chuckled as she finished the job for him, pulling her t-shirt over her head and unhooking her bra in the back.

He was busy adjusting the shower by the time she joined him in the bathroom. He turned to her with a genuine smile. Sometimes he got those looks, like he was a million miles away. She never knew exactly what to do or say then.

She supposed though that would come with time. She frowned, assuming she had time. Just because he had not objected to her coming with him did not necessarily mean anything. It was not like she had actually given him much choice in the matter.

She reminded herself that this was about learning to live. Live in the moment. This moment. And right now, she had a stunning naked man waiting for her to join him in the shower. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, tossing them in the corner of the room.

Before she could do the same with her panties, he finished with the shower. The steam enveloped them like mists off Avalon. Without a word, he came to her. His lips found hers with familiarity that was growing by the moment.

Had it only been a week? One brief week. How could so much have changed in such a short time?

Her hands found his broad shoulders as she allowed herself the freedom to just explore as the taste of him filtered through to her senses. She wanted to memorize it all, the taste, smell, fell of this man that had been her fantasy lover since the moment she saw that first grainy photograph that Tommy had emailed. Ares…her very own personal god of war…for now anyway.

And that was all that mattered especially as she felt his hands slip inside her panties. His fingers gripped her ass tightly as he pulled her against him. His hard cock rubbed against her until she found herself moaning and grinding back like some teenage girl in the back seat of a car. That seemed how she left around this man…making up for lost time.

Then his hands pushed them down over her hips and she shimmed out of the satin scrap, leaving it to pool on the cool tile floor. That floor was the only cool thing at the moment as they were finally skin to skin.

And even though it had only been twelve hours or so since she last had this man, she could not seem to wait as her fingernails sank into his shoulders and she pressed those breasts that he wanted to wash flat against his chest. Her nipples hardened at the feel of his coarse chest hair abrading them. She moaned into his mouth as she felt the moisture trickling down her thighs.

“Please,” she whimpered into his kisses.

She loved the rumble in his chest as he chuckled into her mouth. His hands gave up their death grip on her bottom as he took one of her hands in his, helping them both into the tub in the process. True to his word, he picked up the soap and began to lather her chest with it.

A gravelly moan escaped from deep inside that chest. She would have sworn it was impossible but her full breasts ached and tightened even more as the water slushed away the last of suds. He bent his head and suckled. Esther cussed under her breath at the intense pool of needy warm wetness that began to leak down her inner thighs.

Not even the thousands of trashy romance novels she had read since she was a teenager could come close to how it felt in this man’s arms. After a life time of fantasy and disappointment, she was greedy. She wanted more. She wanted all she could get with him.

She felt the moisture begin to sting the back of her eyes and the lump grow tighter in her throat as it threatened to constrict her airway. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. ‘This moment. Live. Live in this moment,’ she whispered in her mind though the voice there sounded more like her beloved son’s. In either case, it was the greatest truth that she knew.

Without even bothering to open her eyes she drew back from his tender caress enough that she could slide to her knees in the tub. Her hands followed the rock-hard muscles of his thighs, caressing upwards until she found what she sought. She felt the shower spray pounding against her face as she rubbed her cheek against the soft steel. Her hand cupped the rough tight surface of his balls as her lips and tongue began to kiss and lick at his throbbing cock.

She was in no hurry. For the first time in all the fifty years of her life, she felt like a woman. She felt alive. She felt like a siren perhaps as she revelled in the deep moan that erupted from his throat. It was half roar and half whimper. She smiled against the springy softness as she opened her mouth and swallowed it along with several more inches.

This time it was clearly a roar as she fell forward a few inches. The unexpected movement forcing his cock deeper than she has ever dared to go. At first she choked and gagged. She was afraid that she would embarrass herself…do something decidedly un-sexy. Then she inhaled deeply through her nose and the worst of it passed.

***

“Fuck,” Mike cussed as he gripped the wall of the tiny cubicle tighter. He tried to draw his hips back but her hands moved around to cup his butt, imprisoning him deeper in the recesses of her hot lips than he had ever been. He would have never dared go there had it not been for the sweet torture that had buckled his knees sending him spiralling until he fell against the wall of the shower.

But not even the knot that he felt throbbing and growing on the back of his head where he had pumped it against the shower head could distract him from the pure heavenly hell that her mouth and hands were inflicting upon his cock…and his mind.

He was sure that he had had better blow jobs. He just could not remember them. Mike groaned and reflexively rocked his hips forward a fraction of an inch more as her tongue somehow managed to snake around the tip.

His fingers laced through her thick curls as he tried to pull her head back. He knew he could not last much longer…and he did not want to embarrass himself like some untried teenager, cumming before he had even seen to her needs.

But try as he might he could not dislodge her death grip on the little traitor. She only opened those remarkable tiger eyes and smiled up at him around his throbbing cock.

He was lost. His heart stopped. His grip on the cold walls was all that kept him standing as the full force of it hit. ‘I love this woman. I really love her.’

But his mind did not have time to fully digest the significance of those words as his body, freed momentarily from his steely control, took the release it craved.

His fingers tightened even more in her hair as he closed his eyes, feeling the cum shot from his body. But his balls were nowhere near as drained as his mind at that revelation.

He still had not come to terms with any of it…this total loss of control on so many levels. But he knew one thing. He had never felt more whole. More complete. More alive than he did in that moment. With this remarkable woman.

He felt the sting against his closed eyelids and inhaled deeply. Now was not the time to analyse it all. He inhaled deeply. He would think about it all later.

Opening those eyes, he found what he sought and picked up the small tube of complimentary shampoo. He opened the cap and filled his palm with some. Then his fingers once more laced through those incredibly soft long curls. He loved her hair. It was like a spider’s web…and he was the fly caught in her silken depths.

He took his time massaging her scalp. Their eyes met and locked. He was not certain what it was that he saw in those amber depths…and he feared what she might read in his own. But this moment was too precious, too sacred to worry about such things as he ministered to her.

It could have been a moment or an hour before he lifted her gently to her feet and turned them so that she faced the wall and the water cascaded down her back taking a trail of sudsy bubbles with it. He picked up the soap and rubbed it in his hands until a rich lather gathered there as well.

“I think I mentioned something about wanting to wash these,” he whispered as his hands cupped and caressed her large tits. He found the hard nubs and rolled them between his thumb and forefinger until she was moaning and writhing in his arms.

As impossible as it was, he felt his body begin to stir to life once more. But he forced his thoughts and his hardening erection back from that pathway as he moved his hand lower across the gentle swell of her stomach.

His hands gripped her inner thighs and spread her legs as far apart as the confines of the shower and safety would allow. Then he picked up the bar of soap and once more lathered his hands before returning to the nest of curls that nestled there.

He took his time beginning at the soft skin of her thighs and working in slow lazy circles closer and closer to her core. It was not until she leaned back into his embrace and whimpered, “Please, Mike. Please,” that he gave in…his fingers finding the hard nub of flesh hidden at the apex of those curls. It only took a couple of firm circles until she exploded with a loud cry of release.

But Mike was not finished yet. His fingers delved deeper until he found the wet depths, plunging into them repeatedly to prolong her orgasm. She cried as she collapsed into his arms and still he pushed her higher and deeper until her screams became the hoarse mewing of a satiated kitten.

He tenderly kissed her cheek as he withdrew his hand from between her legs. He smiled as he patted that round bottom and reached for a towel to envelope her, “Let’s get dry, woman. I promised I would feed you.”

She smiled up at him and replied, “I thought you already did,” as she grasped the towel and with a saucy laugh over her shoulder dashed from the foggy confines of the bathroom.

The sound caressed his tortured mind as he reached out for the other towel. “What the hell you gonna do now, old man?” he asked the mist. But it had no answer any more than he did.

First things first…food, sleep and a stop at the Harley store tomorrow morning before they hit the road for the next stop on this final tour of duty.

New Orleans and his friend Matt, who despite being confined to a wheel chair for almost a decade was determined to restore as many of the abandoned homes in the Ninth ward. Restoring them and turning them into shelter for homeless veterans and their families. Homes 4 Vets. As foreign as the concept of home was to the orphan, it was a cause definitely worth a stop. Especially with Thanksgiving looming just around the corner.

Staring through the cloud of mist and the open door, he caught glimpses of her as she moved around the room whistling some unknown tune. This year perhaps for the first time ever, Mike actually had something to be thankful for…no matter how brief this journey.