Chapter Text
Before Roy could act on his potentially ill-advised idea, they were interrupted by the sound of wolf whistles, howls, growls, woofs and aggressive purrs. He and Keeley looked over to the door to see Dani, Zoreaux, Jamie, Bumbercatch, Isaac, Colin, Sam and a few other stragglers, all leaving for the day, but all delighted at catching them in the act. They shamelessly walked into the press room, as if they wanted to watch the proceedings.
Keeley rolled her eyes and laughed, releasing her legs from the death grip around Roy’s hips and standing on her own, but still with an arm around Roy’s waist. “Fuck off boys, can’t you see we’re busy?”
“Gettin’ busy, you mean,” Isaac shot back.
To which Keeley shot back, “D’uh.”
At the sound of all the noise, Ted walked through the door with Beard not far behind, and after assessing the moment, smiled and said, “Well, look-y here, y’all remind me of two turtle doves in a pear tree – wait, don’t think I got that right. Never mind. We’ll just call y’all a match made in heaven. Are these fine gentlemen bothering you?”
“Gentleman is a strong word,” Roy replied darkly.
“I suppose I used the term loosely.”
“Come on, Coach, they were going at it hot and heavy. If we showed up two minutes later, we’d‘ve walked in on porn in the press room. Disgusting!” Jamie teased, not realizing how accurate his prediction was.
“Yeah! What’s up, Coach Kent? Needing to spice up your sex life? Bringing it to the office?” Zoreaux bravely teased.
But then all the boys started giving individual jibes and digs, and then more of the team peaked their heads in to hear what the commotion was about.
“Now, now, guys, I’m sure these two mature adults wouldn’t expose themselves like that here,” Ted reasoned.
The team snorted and guffawed at Ted’s claim.
“Course not!” Keeley exclaimed, mock offense on her face.
“See there, told ya’.”
“I’d’ve locked the door first,” Keeley finished with a cheeky grin, which inspired another round of catcalls, whistles, howls and approving claps.
Roy hadn’t said much but his angry stare grew underneath his furrowed eyebrows, and Keeley heard him growling under his breath, unhappy at being interrupted.
“Oi, stop it, Roy,” she said soothingly. “Can I tell them?”
“We’ll never get out of here if you do.”
“We’re not getting out of here anytime soon, babe. They’re having too much fun.”
“What’re y’all whisperin’ about?” Ted approached them with his own nosy whisper, looking back and forth from Roy to Keeley like a tennis match.
“What’s all the commotion? Are we celebrating again?” Rebecca asked as Higgins followed her in, both also on their way out for the day.
“The gang’s all here now,” Ted smiled at Rebecca and then looked back as a sparkle caught his eye. Looking down, both his smile and eyes widened when the realization hit him. He looked to Keeley and then Roy, who uncharacteristically shrugged and smirked bashfully.
Keeley was not going to let Ted spill the beans so she immediately walked over to Rebecca and held out her hand dramatically, “I took the bull by the horns like you said, babe, and look what happened!”
“Holy fucking shit. You two don’t mess around!” The two women screeched and Rebecca hugged Keeley fiercely.
The realization hit everyone – the left hand, the ring finger, Roy grinning like a drunken sailor.
A loud cheer erupted from all the them, and after Rebecca finally let her go, Keeley was kissed and embraced by everyone else in the room. Roy couldn’t escape the hugs either and he didn’t even try to stop anyone. He was beside himself with joy. No one could ever recall seeing his smile that wide for that long.
“About fucking time you popped the question,” Jamie said after hugging him.
“I didn’t.”
“The fuck?”
“Keeley did.”
“The fuck?” Jamie repeated. “What’d you let her do that for?”
“What the fuck do you mean let her? She does what she wants.” Roy answered strongly.
There was a tinge of anger and protectiveness in Jamie’s voice when he replied, “I mean, why didn’t you do it first? You better be sure you love her.”
Keeley’s open love and commitment, her reaching out to him about spending their lives together, had been a watershed moment for Roy. For the first time, he felt free to be purposefully vulnerable to people he trusted, and he realized he now trusted Jamie, at least with understanding his feelings for Keeley. “I love her more than I ever thought possible. Problem was, I didn’t think I deserved her. I … I was afraid if I’d asked, she’d’ve…”
Roy didn’t finish the sentence. He bit his lower lip roughly and looked away. Keeley had asked him and loved him, and the thought that he was free to be happy, free to be in love for the rest of his life – when less than an hour before he’d seen Jamie and Keeley talking and still had doubts about losing it all – it all overwhelmed him.
Jamie chuckled, not in amusement but understanding, but even still, he cut himself short. Roy Kent, the man who wore a gruff mask to the world, who almost only showed anger or bluntness, who he worshiped like a hero as a child, who he then hated for the better part of a year and who he now loved like a big brother, stood before him with a childlike openness on his face. For the first time, Jamie could read his every emotion as if there was a window to his soul: the depth of Roy’s love for Keeley and the fear of losing her that still terrified him – even now, even when the two had just promised themselves to each other.
Jamie nodded in understanding. He wondered what it would be like to love or be loved that deeply. “You deserve her, mate. You absolutely do.”
And they hugged again both afraid of tears, but both having a hard time holding them back.
“What’s this, you two? Are you trying to steal‘im from me, Jamie?” Keeley teased, shoving his shoulder playfully and lightening the mood.
They both stood back from each other, cleared their throats and straightened up, a bit embarrassed by their mutual expression of emotion, even though the whole team was getting used to it.
Jamie was the first to return to his usual bravado. “Nah, wouldn’t do that to ya’, Keeley. Even though I’m younger and prettier, you love’im too much, yeah?”
“Oi, don’t even joke about being prettier.” Roy snarled.
“Oi, who you calling prettier?” Keeley asked at the same time.
“Fuck,” Jamie laughed, pointing back and forth at them. “You two are made for each other.”
Noticing Keeley’s ring again, his face scrunched in confusion. “Wait. If she asked you, where’d the ring come from? Don’t tell me she bought her own ring!?”
Roy took a step toward Jamie and squared his shoulder, back to a traditional aggressive Roy Kent stance. His voice matched. “Oi. Just because I was cautious, doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about it. I spent my life as a midfielder. I’m always fucking prepared for unplanned situations.”
Jamie again simply nodded. He wasn’t about to argue with the former captain, current coach, infamous hard man, and one of England’s best ever midfielders when he used a football analogy to compare carrying a girly 4-carat pink heart-shaped diamond ring around in his pocket.
“Jamie, you’re hoggin’ the engaged couple’s time. Give us all a chance to check out that ring,” Ted interrupted.
Upon hearing Ted use the term “engaged”, Keeley ‘s face lit up, she squeezed her hands together and her body shook, excited over the new language she would now get to use when she talked about Roy. “I dunno what my fiancé thinks, but I have no problem showing off my wicked new ring.”
Keeley’s arm shot out and making sure she caught the best light in the press room, wiggled her fingers and waved her hand so her ring look extra sparkly. Roy’s eyebrows shot up at her delight and he moved to wrap an arm around her waist. Every silly thing she did, every excited word she spoke, escalated his pleasure, and the funniest thing was, he didn’t care who saw. He willingly smiled and laughed, unconcerned about his reputation or any ribbing he’d get over his effusively happy demeanour.
However, watching the team watch them, Roy became acutely aware that everyone was happy for both of them. They all approved of him with Keeley – not that it would matter to him in terms of his relationship. All that mattered was that Keeley approved, but it opened his eyes to his value to others. Among the people who loved her most and knew him best, he wasn’t regarded as undeserving, and while Dr. Sharon wanted him to appreciate his worth despite external judgment, being able to see himself as others saw him made it easier for him to open his mind to the possibility that he was too harsh on himself, that his value was beyond football, and that he was deserving of love, any love, even if Keeley hadn’t entered his life. She just happened to be the best kind of love he could have ever asked for.
Over the course of his football history, from a very early age, he’d been battered down and pushed into a corner where the only way to ever get out was to fight back with anger, but that didn’t mean that the man (and former child) underneath the hardness didn’t warrant better treatment from others. He was free to appreciate and value that person. It wasn’t wrong. He was a good person, had always been a good person, and deserved happiness. Having finally grasped and felt the truth of that idea, he couldn’t help but press his arm tighter around Keeley’s waist and kiss her behind the ear in loving gratitude.
Having no concept of the depth of Roy’s thoughts, her reaction was to flirt with her man, to giggle happily, and to reciprocate by squeezing his ass and pressing her body even tighter to him. Beyond their sexy engagement kiss, beyond her perpetual attraction to him, she had been watching him be openly joyful, teary-eyed and emotional in front of everyone, showing a side to him that he would have previously defined as weak. But today… today, he let himself be happily vulnerable, and that was her ultimate weakness. It had been lovely to celebrate with friends, but what she really wanted was to celebrate with Roy privately and repeatedly.
Rebecca looked from Roy to Keeley and shrewdly assessed the situation. “Jesus. While we’re all delighted with the news, we just barged in on their very personal moment. Perhaps we should let the two of them have some time alone? Why don’t you go off and celebrate somewhere more private?”
“If they wanted private, why would they propose in the press room?” Colin piped up.
“He’s got a point.” Isaac backed up his best friend.
“Perhaps it has some significant meaning to them,” Sam suggested wisely, and discussion between teammates ensued.
Roy knew he had to interject.
“Right, I think it’s time we break up the celebration. Keeley, I’ll go get my stuff from the office. You can finish up here and then,” he paused looking at them all, “I’m going to cook my fiancée a delicious meal accompanied by the most expensive champagne I can find.”
Roy turned back to Keeley, her eyes beaming at being called fiancée. Was there such a thing as Cloud 10? Because being on Cloud 9 didn’t do her feelings justice.
“Cook? Order in mate,” Jamie smirked as he couldn’t even imagine Roy’s thought process.
“Then you’ll have more time for lovemaking,” Dani announced so unexpectedly everyone turned in surprise.
Keeley was quick to join in Dani’s thought process and laughingly responded, “You’re right Dani! More time to celebrate with mucho, mucho, joy, yeah?”
“Right.” Roy repeated more firmly. He was putting an end to discussing his love life with the team. “Oi! Get the fuck out, you lot. I’ll get my stuff, babe, and I’ll be right back.”
Roy may have turned over a new leaf but that didn’t mean he couldn’t turn it right back. He knew how to use his authority to kill a mood and he was content in showing that side of him when it suited his purpose. But before he left, he turned at the door to genuinely say, “And thanks for your congratulations. I appreciate you all.”
He looked to Ted, smiled, lifted his chin in a slight nod, and left the room to collect his gym bag. The team drifted out, again hugging Keeley and joking amongst themselves. Everyone bid their goodbyes but for Rebecca.
“This is quite a day for you,” Rebecca began. “I’m sure you didn’t expect this when you left for work this morning.”
“AFC Richmond is my lucky charm.” Keeley’s eyes were shining as she grabbed Rebecca’s hand. “I found you here, my life took on a new direction with my career, and as if that wasn’t enough, Roy and I found each other. It seems only fitting that I get engaged here too, yeah?!”
“I’m so happy for you both. You’re glowing, you know. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as happy and that’s impressive! When you get the chance, I want all the details! It certainly was a fast turn of events since we chatted, but I couldn’t imagine a better suited couple. I know you’ve really worked to make each other happy and to make the relationship work.”
“He’s so, so good, Rebecca. No one understands how truly good he is, especially Roy himself.”
“Well, you have a lifetime to convince him.” Rebecca couldn’t resist hugging her best friend again.
Roy arrived to collect Keeley and Rebecca continued to speak from the heart. “You both know, I had a horrible marriage, but I’ve also regretted not speaking up to those I loved when I knew they were making mistakes. So, believe me when I say – you two make me believe in love again, in truly happy relationships. You are both such good people and deserve all the happiness in the world. I love you both.”
Rebecca, who once joked she wasn’t much of a hugger, wrapped her arms around Keeley and motioned to Roy to come closer. Roy was slightly hesitant but wasn’t one to disrespect his friend and boss. When he reached them, she brought him in for a group hug. He softened to the attention, as Keeley was lapping it up and Rebecca looked at him with such affection. How could he really complain about being in the arms of those two amazing women?
Releasing them both, she shook her head. “Here I was telling everyone else to leave you two alone and now I’m the third wheel, so I’m off. I will see you both later this week. We have a celebration to plan!”
And with that, Rebecca made her exit, and Roy and Keeley were finally alone again. The boys had helpfully packed up her things before leaving and Keeley was about to collect all her gear when Roy lifted her into an embrace, even hungrier for her than earlier, having been denied his moment to celebrate privately. Breaking apart from their steamy kiss, his impatient libido was overtaking rational thought again and he unexpectedly removed her blazer and threw it onto the front row of seats. He spoke quietly, the rasp of voice echoing the rest of his body’s desire. “You know, babe, I was this close to ripping off your clothes before the team arrived.”
Keeley stepped back, held one of his hands, swinging it back and forth as she led him back behind the desk, but not before closing and locking the side entrance door. “Funny that. I had the same plan,” she replied casually, while removing his leather jacket and placing it on the desk.
They began to kiss again, and Roy lifted her so that she was seated on the desk as before, her legs spread to welcome his body between them. “Would’ve been awkward,” Roy admitted, while he unbuttoned her blouse. His mouth soon followed his fingers’ trajectory and nestled in her cleavage, licking and nipping.
“Yeah,” Keeley answered breathily, pulling him back up after a moment so she could remove his shirt. He then returned the favour. “Nothing worse than being interrupted in the middle of something important.”
She then attacked his mouth while her hands worked on his belt and zipper. While she assumed the coast was clear and they wouldn’t be interrupted this late in the day, there was something electrifying about fooling around in a room normally filled with cameras and nosy journalists, and while she pondered that thought, Roy had already managed to unclasp her bra and was steadily working on removing the rest of her clothes but for her fit, black, stiletto boots.
“We’ll need to try it sometime. Might be fun.” Roy suggested, finally stripping off his jeans, crushing his bare skin to hers, and bruising her lips with the force of his pent-up desire. His hands caressed their way down her body, trying to show patience, but desperate to reach the heat between her thighs. As soon as he brushed his thumb again her wetness, she flung her head back and moaned.
“Oh… god!” she cried, her nails digging into his shoulders. After a moment, she added, “Didn’t think… you’d go for it though, babe. Work … n’all.”
The thumb soon led to fingers and the fingers soon slipped inside her while his other hand tweaked and teased her tightened nipple. He watched as her eyelids fluttered and she breathed quickly in and out, her mouth open, her eyes dazed. He loved seeing her lose herself in sex, she was absorbed in the feeling, the sounds, the tastes, and her mind was focused on pleasure alone.
“The chance to shag my fiancée? Hard to say no to that. You’re so fucking hot!” Roy answered hoarsely.
Ugh, that word again. Something about it immediately brought Keeley back from her daze to look in Roy’s eyes. Boring into them, she hungered for more, faster and harsher. Sucking in her breath through clenched teeth, she raked her nails through his chest hair, scratching his skin to the point of blood, awash in a carnal need for her man, moving her hands lower to wrap them around his hot, thick erection, tugging on him gently to move herself in to kiss him again, thrusting her tongue in a motion copying their finger play. They remained that way for a spell; pleasuring, stroking, increasing each other’s arousal until Roy backed away and grabbed the chair.
She smiled as he sat down, having an idea of where this would lead. “So, shagging in the press room, though? Seems like it’d be uncomfortable, yeah?” Keeley asked through heaving breaths.
“I dunno, we’re pretty creative. We could figure something out.” Rolling in to her, Roy’s mouth seized her wetness, his tongue licked and probed, his fingers aided and abetted, working mercilessly, lingering at all the right pleasure points. He was very, very good at this.
Groaning, Keeley leaned back and moved her bottom closer to the edge, tilting to give Roy as much access as possible and he lapped her up, measuring his pace so she could bask in her journey, as much as her eventual destination.
“Another reason… to love you… resourceful team player,” she managed to say before whimpering. His fingers deliberately roamed her inside and out, working in tandem with his tongue, masterfully manipulating her. Leaning her head back, Keeley closed her eyes again, forgetting where she was and even, for a few moments, who she was with, as she immersed herself in touch alone, fire slowly engulfing her whole body, the feeling of his strokes spreading to every inch of her most sensitive areas, mingling with her slickness. Her responsive moans drove him insane and he groaned against her folds in response, the vibration escalating their vocal one-upmanship to the point where she couldn’t hold out anymore. She just let go.
Climaxing, she looked down at him between her legs and saw how he revelled in being where he was, in doing what he was doing and in making her come. Damn, if that didn’t propel her orgasm further and deeper. She cried out louder and yet again he was spurred on by her reaction so that her spasms redoubled and rippled over the first wave. Her eyes blanked to white and she came so close to passing out that she put her hand to his head, seemingly trying to push him away.
While he was never one to ignore protestations, her soaking pussy and her cries of “Yes, ohm’god, Roy! More, yes!” seemed to outweigh her hand’s weak effort and he continued to press on so that her powerful pulses continued. He would have been challenged to move away if he’d tried, as she unconsciously squeezed her legs to his head and pushed herself forward. Her movement did force him to remove his fingers so his hand could support her bottom. She had lifted herself off the table and would have been in danger of falling if he hadn’t supported her. He would never let her fall.
When her muscles had reached exhaustion and her body slackened, she took in a deep breath. Somewhere along the line, she’d forgotten the need for oxygen. Couldn’t an orgasm sustain life?
Roy immediately sensed the shift and released her from the grip of his mouth, tenderly kissing her as if she was delicate and fragile, a vast switch from the ferociousness of his actions moments prior. When he finally looked up, he smiled wickedly. Gone was the put-together, competent Keeley Jones from earlier that day. Before him sat a sweaty, dishevelled, naked ragdoll with a look of bewilderment and awe.
He couldn’t help himself, he chuckled deeply. They could stop right there and then and it would have been worth it just to see Keeley so utterly wrecked from her orgasm, or, he corrected himself orgasms.
She wanted to smack him for his swagger but she couldn’t – oh, she could have mustered up the energy to do so if she really wanted to, but how could you smack a man who just did that to you? How could you blame him for laughing when he could see the impact of his efforts? How chuffed must he be?
And how could you smack a man who, given the opportunity, would repeat that for you every day for the rest of your life.
Those thoughts reenergized her and her mind raced to what should come next. Pushing his chair back, she popped off the table with more pep than he expected, and grabbed his cock, getting to her knees to happily return the favour. She stroked his shaft and balls, her fingers straying to places that made his chest hair curlier, and his intake of breath, followed by a groan from deep inside, informed her she was hitting her target… or his target.
She felt him tangle his hands in her hair, gently encouraging her to take him deeper. She had a knack to her movements, she knew him so well by this point that she could tease and advance and escalate his arousal knowing precisely when to retreat and when to attack more aggressively. Someday she’d have to explain to him that her methods of going down on him were like his tactics as a midfielder on the pitch. She knew he’d enjoy that comparison – but then again, she suspected it may have already contributed to his methods of going down on her.
Midfielder really was the best football position.
As she relaxed her mouth and took him in ever farther, he removed his hands from her and gripped onto the chair, his head rolling back while grunting desperately. He was close enough that he had to mentally stop himself from coming so she withdrew her hands and mouth… cold turkey. His eyes flew open, looking at her, half-mad with desire and frustration.
She rose off her knees and dragged a perfectly manicured finger across her open, inviting lips, and then repeated the action playfully in the opposite direction. Smiling, she felt one more question needed to be asked, “Mr. Kent. Could you please elaborate on the hip movement that makes your penis feel like it has a curve in it?’
He grabbed her hips and she sunk down onto him hard, both of them gasping. Grabbing his shoulders and wrapping her legs round the chair, careful not to spear him with her boot heels, she leaned back as far as possible, giving him a sight to behold while he thrust into her again and again, performing the hip movement as requested, fiercely bucking up against her strategically, so that she felt his full presence deep inside her very core. While one hand held her lower back for support, the other slid against every exposed curve until he reached her cheek, caressing it gently, only for her to turn and grab his finger between her teeth, sucking, licking and biting roughly.
Roy opened his mouth to say something but it got lost in the fog in his head. He’d be hard pressed to put two words together as she worked her special magic. Staring into her face, he noticed that mischievous twinkle to her eye that only came out when she knew she had driven him to the edge, and truthfully that sparkle, that joy always pushed him that much further, so that he lost control of his senses and, just as she had moments ago, he let go.
She, however, did not. She clenched him tightly with her muscles, contracting around him as he climaxed into her, riding him hard and rotating her hips for as much of an impact as possible, her hand having moved to his neck, clutching hair and skin roughly. Her coordinated efforts released a wild growl of pent-up emotion from him. The power of his orgasm, the elation at being her chosen man, the realization that he was worthy, overwhelmed him. It created a wild, charged energy that flowed through him, and it captured and aroused her again, so much so that she cried out in the unexpected pleasure of another peak.
He pulled her into him in a frantic kiss, wrapping her tightly to him, skin to skin, appreciating the gift they had together – the mad, sexy, loving, fun gift of a relationship that seemed pulled from the stars. In some ways, he felt he’d had too much good fortune in his life, but he’d give all of it back if he had to, as long as he could keep Keeley in his arms.
The kiss finally slowed and transformed into leisurely, gentle post-coital affection, as if they needed to carefully step away from the ferociousness of their lovemaking before they could talk. For the first time, Roy glanced at the doors and was relieved that they were still firmly shut. He had no clue if the back door was locked, but quite frankly, the whole team could have returned, and he wouldn’t have noticed. At that moment, he didn’t care if anyone had.
Nuzzling noses and smiling, Roy finally got some of his dry humour back. “So, right. Like I said, we should try to do that sometime when we’re up to it. Shag in the press room, that is. Might be fun.”
“I dunno, Roy. What if someone walks in? Aren’t you worried?”
“Should be, shouldn’t I? Somehow now, feels like it kinda belongs to us. Asked you out here for the first time and now you asked me to marry you, be your fiancé, here. Shouldn’t we have the right to shag here when we want?”
“Hmmm, a kind of all access pass?’ Keeley kissed him soundly. “You know, I already love you like mad but when you say fiancé, it keeps turning me on, babe.”
He smiled roguishly as he grabbed her bra off the desk and began to help her dress. “Oi, just think of what’s going to happen to me every time I’m in a fucking press conference. I hate doing that media shit, but It’ll be a fucking delight to sit down on this chair, and you know I’ll make sure it’s this fucking chair right here. I’ll zone out and remember exactly what just went on here. I’ll have to be careful not to go too far though, or it won’t just be Ted who gets called a wanker.”
“Ah, babe, you’re such a romantic,” she laughed while buttoning herself up and watching him twist down to a shelf under the desk to retrieve tissues. He then carefully slid back and gently cleaned up whatever mess he made between her legs. Keeley giggled at his thoroughness, though she didn’t stop him. Always taking care of me, she thought. He then grabbed more tissues to wipe down the table and was relieved to see the chair was not affected by their activities.
“Oi, babe, you’re such a neat freak! Or are you making sure there’s no evidence? Have you done this here before?” she teased.
He turned back to her with a serious face and answered, “Do you really want me to answer that?”
For a moment, Keeley took that to mean he had, and a sudden surge of jealousy ripped through her. She jumped off the table and snatched her knickers off the floor aggressively, but then shook her head and wizened up. Looking at him crossly, she said, “Fuck off. Teasing me about something like that on today of all days?”
“It’s fun to rile you up, my gorgeous fiancée. Gets you all hot and bothered,” Roy teased as he slipped on his boxer briefs.
“Now you’re just using that word to get out of trouble.”
“Is it working?” He asked in a low, sexy voice, standing close to her, his hands resting on the swell of her hips.
“Yes,” she answered breathlessly, still so easily swayed when he put on a little charm.
“Fancy another round?” He pressed himself against her and she was surprised to feel his stiffness already returning.
“Tempting,” she answered honestly, biting her lip a moment while she thought, her fingers tracing over where she’d scratched him earlier. “But so is that celebratory dinner with champagne. We can go for round two at home, yeah? Might be cozier. And, we do have desks and chairs if we need to recreate the atmosphere.”
“A little less exhibitionist too.” Roy reasoned.
“That is disappointing.”
Roy smiled and was sweet enough to help her with her skirt. “I’m a lucky man. In love with a kinky fiancée.”
“Uh, there you go again, babe,” she stopped to kiss him. “You don’t know the power of that word coming out of your goddamn lips.”
“Oi, I definitely get it, babe.” He nodded sagely. “And between you and me, it’s my new favourite F-word.”