No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology by Elizabeth Knox (black authors fiction TXT) 📕

Bile forced its way up the back of Sterling’s throat. The urge to flee toward a restroom and lose his dinner in one of the club’s toilets, threatened to move his feet, yet he stood his ground. He was at the club for a reason and it wasn’t because of Abby. She made her decision and so did he.

He strolled over to the bar and leaned over a chair, inhaling mouthfuls of air to tamp down the urge to run back to his car. He was here for a reason. If he was lucky, he’d lose himself in one of the women tonight.

“You okay?”

He jerked his head up to spot a leggy blonde in a shiny, short dress perched on the bar stool next to him. Had she been there the entire time? If so, he hadn’t noticed, his thoughts, instead, centered on a certain frustrating yet fabulously beautiful former best friend.

“I’m Madeline. Maddy for short. And you are?”

He folded his hand over hers, slipping into the barstool next to hers. “Sterling.”

“What a nice name. Can I buy you a drink?”

He arched his eyebrows. Was she picking him up? A woman hadn’t flirted with him since . . . well . . . four years ago before he left Abby, Gunner, and his hometown for a hostile atmosphere and an unknown life. Still, he wouldn’t let her pay. Not when he had the ability to treat her, instead. He placed his palm out in front of him in a motion to stop. “No. I got this. Let me buy you a drink.”

She puckered her lips in protest, at first, but then smiled. “Why sure. I’ll take a cosmopolitan. Thanks.”

After placing their orders, he returned his focus on her. Maddy’s ears sported sparkly earrings to match her dress. Her stiletto spiked heels were ones he’d enjoy spotting on Abby but never would. Abby abhorred such shoes, kidding with Sterling that they were two sticks to walk on. She always spoke of herself as a real girl and picked out shoes with chunky heels and wedges, instead. For Sterling, it didn’t matter how Abby described herself as long as she didn’t put herself down. She tried, on several occasions, to slip something past him but he never let her get away with it. Abby was gorgeous in a way Maddy might never achieve.

Abby’s sweet innocence reflected through her eyes and her gentle smile was a character trait Maddy tried to mimic, but failed. Sporting too much makeup and lipstick, Maddy tried too hard. Abby, on the other hand, was stellar with or without makeup.

Yet, Abby was out with superstar Phil tonight. Hence the reason for Sterling’s visit to one of the town’s most popular nightclubs.

For the next hour and a half, Sterling and Maddy chatted, drank, and danced to several songs. Sterling’s libido sprang to attention with Maddy’s scented perfume and the close proximity of her body. The muscle between his legs throbbed and lengthened picturing Maddy in his bed, underneath him, and delighting in their joining.

Four years with little female contact was enough to make anyone go insane. Although he spoke with Abby two to three times per week and received countless cards and gifts from her, it wasn’t the same as having her right there beside him. She remained his sole female companion throughout his rotation, her photos and memories occupying his right hand to a satisfying completion when he had the opportunity to be alone. If Abby only knew how much he wanted her. How he craved more than friendship with her. Yet, Phil had claimed her heart and their possible, intertwined future.

Abby’s familiar musical tone rang in his pocket. A painful pang struck his heart as he decided for the tenth time, not to pick up. He never ignored her. Yet, tonight, he didn’t want to talk to her and he didn’t want to hear how wonderful, magnanimous, and stellar Phil was. He only wanted to lose himself between a female’s thighs. The way things were going with Maddy, he might get his chance.

Sending her an open invitation to play, his hands lowered down her back and sat atop the crest of her buttocks. He groaned as his fingers squeezed her round globes. Her breathy sigh indicated her acceptance of his gesture yet her hands on his own ass indicated her willingness to take things further.

“You want to go somewhere?” he whispered in her ear while his groin strained against the front of his pants.

“Yes,” she whispered, giving him a saucy smile in return. She caressed her right hand down his growing bulge and gasped. Her eyes widened and the curve of her lips tilted upward. “Oh my, you are big.”

He grinned and then he pictured Abby . . . A pang hit his heart as a heavy disappointment cast over him. Abby . . . He wanted Abby. He slightly shook his head, attempting to cast out the senseless loyalty to her that restrained him from seeking another. She belonged to Phil. She was likely with him, tonight. He gritted his teeth, the idea of Phil’s nude body joining with the only woman Sterling truly craved, urging him to seek her out and take matters in his own hands.

Maddy licked and then nibbled on the fleshy tip of his ear. “You want me?”

Sterling smiled, the sensation of her tongue and then teeth knocking him back into the present. “Yeah,” he lied. Sterling only wanted release until he had the chance to figure out what to do about his unrequited feelings for Abby.

“Let’s go then, lover.” Maddy’s warm breath swirled around the edge of his ear. She grabbed his hand and led him out the door. Sterling sported a goofy smile and possibly the largest hard-on he had in his entire life. The idea of sex with a stranger had always been a thrill and a fantasy. Tonight, he’d receive both.

Chapter Three

Sterling had just made it around the corner when