With two quick moves, she was straddling his lap. Her slender arms came around his neck, and her lips came down on his. He put his hands on her waist, with every intention of setting her away, but she felt too good beneath his palms.
Instead his arms closed around her waist and pulled her closer. He slanted his head to take her tongue into his mouth. No one should taste this good so early in the morning, he thought, enjoying her sweet flavor.
He felt her fingers winding their way through his thick curls until she was massaging his scalp and holding his face to hers. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest were too good to resist. Paul felt himself swelling beneath her.
Her body was perfectly positioned over his. If not for their clothes, it would’ve been so easy to just slip inside her. She felt it, too, and her whole body reacted, grinding against his crotch until he thought he would die if he did not get inside her. Using more force than he intended, he flipped her over on the couch and came over her.
His fingers unsnapped her jeans and dove inside seeking her heat. He skimmed over her tight curls and moaned when he felt her hot moisture on his hand. She was so ready for him, and he was certainly ready for her. Her legs parted, and Paul didn’t think he could stand it another moment.
He sat back and pulled his T-shirt over his head. Before he could remove more, she reached for him pulling him back down on top of her. He couldn’t have denied her anything she wanted, and she made it clear what she wanted. She wrapped her hands around his bottom and pulled him tight against her center, while gyrating her hips.
Reaching between their bodies, Paul worked to get her pants down her legs, and she twisted her body this way and that trying to help.
Her hands slipped inside the back of his jeans and she squeezed his tight flesh.
They were almost there, almost naked. Her jeans were down to her knees. She continued to kiss his neck, his chest, any flesh she could reach. They were so close…and then it happened.
A strong and powerful cry came through the baby monitor. That scream was followed by another angry howl. Then another, and another, and Paul roared in frustration.
He pressed his forehead to Amber’s, feeling the smooth sheen of moisture on her face. She was as desperate for him as he was for her.
But his son needed him. He pulled away, and she held onto him with more strength than he would’ve imagined.
“Paul!” Her eyes pleaded her case, and he almost caved.
“I have to,” he whispered with a soft kiss on her cheek. He lifted his heavy body off of her.
He stared down at the beautiful, half-naked woman on his couch…once again. The small, dark bush of hair between her legs was singing a siren song to him.
As if to remind him of his responsibility, another soulful cry came through the monitor.
“I’m sorry,” he said, then turned to leave. He made it as far as the door.
Paul returned to the sofa, and before Amber realized what he was doing, her jeans and panties lay in a small pile on the floor. He knelt beside the couch and whispered in her ear, “Open your legs for me.”
She did, and felt a trembling finger slide inside her body. He slid his finger back and forth, building momentum, and then two fingers working with equal skill.
Amber reached for him, but it was awkward with him kneeling beside her. “Come inside me, Paul,” she begged, having never wanted anything as badly as she wanted to feel him at that moment.
“Shh,” he whispered and covered her mouth with his. His clever fingers continued to work their magic.
Amber felt her body lifting from the sofa. The tension was becoming too unbearable, the pleasure too intense. He took her tiny nub between his thumb and index finger, rubbed once and she exploded, crying out, but the sound was lost in Paul’s mouth.
She was still floating back down to earth when another irate bawling noise came through the monitor.
Within seconds, Paul was on his feet again, staring down at her prone form. Amber smiled at him in satisfaction. He frowned in response, and disappeared up the stairs.
Bothered by that frown, as soon as she’d righted her clothes, Amber followed Paul to the nursery and found him sitting in the rocking chair with Joachim on his lap. The baby was cradled in his arm, sucking on a pacifier and playing with his own fingers.
Paul’s eyes were trained on the wall on the other side of the room, but she knew his thoughts were elsewhere.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
His dark eyes shot to her face, and Amber felt the coldness reflected in their inky depths. “One of his feet got caught between the bars. That’s why he was crying.”
Amber’s heart skipped a beat, as she covered her open mouth with both hands. “Oh, my God!” She came to kneel in front of the chair examining the baby. “Is he okay?”
Paul stood. “Yes, no thanks to—” He shifted his son to his other arm. “Yes, he’s fine.” He stepped around her and headed to the door.
“You blame me, don’t you?”
He stopped at the doorway. “No, Amber, I blame myself.” He turned to face her. “I blame my insatiable lust for you. I blame Luther for sending me after you. But I don’t blame you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Liar.”
His mouth twisted in a sneer. “You made me one.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He walked back until he was toe-to-toe with her. “Do you have to have every man you meet? Why couldn’t you have just left me alone? Now what am I supposed to do with this ache in my chest? This need for you? You’ve had your little holiday fling playing lover to me, and mother to Joachim, and now you’ll fly off and forget about both of us in a matter of days!”
“That’s not true,” she whispered.
“But I won’t forget you, Amber.” He reached out and cupped her chin. “Now that I’ve tasted you, felt you, watched you come.” His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath. “How the hell am I supposed to forget that?”
He turned and walked away again. As he reached the door he called back over his shoulder, “Be ready to go by noon.”
At eleven fifty-nine Paul knocked on the guest room door. “Amber, are you ready?”
Amber sat on the side of the bed glaring at the door. Punctual bastard. “Here I come,” she called back.
She stood and smoothed out the bedspread, taking her time to make sure the lines were straight. She took one final look around the room, hoping to find something out of place, anything that would delay taking those final few steps to reach the door.
Everything was just as it should be. She picked up the group of shopping bags piled on a chair. Those she’d arrived with, and the ones she obtained when Paul took her shopping. It was all she had. After all, she’d only been here four days.
Four days…How could anyone’s life change so much in four days?
She shook her head. Stalling was nothing but self-inflicted torture. Best to get it over with, and get on with her life. She crossed the room and opened the door.
“Ready?” he asked, his chiseled jaw set in a hard line. But even that could not take away from his overall handsomeness. The man truly was beautiful.
She nodded, and he stepped aside for her. As she moved down the hall toward the stairs, Amber felt like a condemned man being led to the gas chamber. Only, she was not exactly sure of her crime.
She could’ve believed that he was angry about what happened to Joachim while he was making love to her. Lord knows, she had enough guilt about that herself. But somehow she knew that was not all there was to it.
Actually, it started with that frown he gave her before he went upstairs. But what inspired it? As she recalled, at the precise moment he frowned at her, she was feeling good—no, she was feeling great! And even though he had not shared in the experience, anger seemed a bit extreme.
She slipped on the stair, and his hand shot out and caught her. “Watch your step,” he said, close to her ear. Very close. So close in fact, his sof
t breath tickled the hairs on the back of her neck.
She glanced over her shoulder with a confused expression.
“Where’s Joachim?” she asked when they were halfway down the stairs.
“I left him in his playpen before I came up to get you.”
“Were you expecting a fight?” she asked with a snicker. “Leaving both hands free just in case?”
He didn’t say anything in response.
Because she was feeling her own share of anger and disappointment, Amber decided it was time for him to experience a little of the famous Lockhart stubbornness. She stopped on the step and braced herself as Paul ran into the back of her.
“Why did you stop?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “I asked you a question. Did you think I would put up a fight?”
His dark eyes hardened. “Why would you? I’m sure you’ll find someone to fill your bed soon enough. A man who’ll accept what you give him and ask for nothing more. A man who will use your body and care nothing for your heart. That is the kind of man you want, Amber, isn’t it?”
Boy, did that backfire! She started down the stairs again, but felt his fingers lock on her upper arm and jerk her back.
“Now you answer my question. That is the kind of man you want, isn’t it?”
The tip of his nose was almost touching hers, and instead of being intimidated, all Amber could think about was the sweet, minty smell of his breath and how good his mouth would taste.
“Isn’t it?” he demanded with a slight shake of her arm.
How easy it would be to deny the accusation. To tell him the truth. To let him know how much he’d come to mean to her. But she was just not feeling that generous.
She arched a haughty eyebrow. “That’s exactly the kind of man I want.”
Paul stared into her eyes for several longs moments. His full lips twisted in a snarl. “He can have you.”
He released her arm and moved around her, hurrying down the remaining stairs and around the corner into the kitchen.
Amber leaned against the wall, trying to get her bearings. Okay, it was official. He was much better at the mean and snappy thing. She felt tears in her eyes but was determined he would not see her cry.
No, she would save her tears for when she boarded the plane. Then she would have a good, long cry on the flight back to Detroit. And when she stepped off the plane in Detroit, she would close the door on Paul Gutierrez forever. But he was wrong about one thing. She would never forget her time with the Gutierrez men.
“Blizzard?” Amber’s eyes widened in surprise. “What blizzard?”
“The entire midwest is getting bombarded. They say it’s one of the worst storms of the decade,” the haggard ticket attendant said. “It’s been all over the news. I don’t see how you could’ve missed it.”
Amber glanced at Paul, who was standing beside her. “I’ve been kinda busy.”
The older, white woman peered at Amber over the top of her half glasses, then she looked at Paul and back to Amber. “I’m sure. The most I can do at this point is put you on a standby flight. It might get out of here today, but that’s not guaranteed.”
“Well…” Amber hesitated, as her mind scrabbled for an answer to her latest dilemma. This was the last thing she’d expected to hear. “Umm, when do they expect it to let up?”
“Not for at least forty-eight hours. That’s why they have been telling everyone to stock up on water and candles.” She sighed in exasperation. “How could you not know about this? You should always check the weather conditions when you plan to travel.”
Amber bit her lip. The last thing she needed was to be scolded like a child by this woman. “Do you know of a hotel in walking distance of here?”
Paul spoke up for the first time. “Why do you need a hotel?”
“Yes,” the attendant interrupted. “There’s one not half a block—”
“She doesn’t need a hotel.” Paul said, glaring at the woman.
The woman said nothing more.
“Paul, don’t give me a hard time about this. I’m just going to check into a hotel and wait the storm out.”
“I’m not giving you a hard time. I’m not giving you any time. You’re coming home with me.”
“If you are not buying a ticket today, could you step aside so someone else can?” the woman asked, making a gesture with her hands.
“Well?” Paul asked tartly, and Amber did her best to ignore him.
“Can you tell me where I can rent a car?” Amber asked the attendant.
“Down the escalator, and to your—”
“She doesn’t need a rental car or a hotel!” Paul growled at the ticket attendant.
The woman reared back from the counter. “Fine!” She turned her eyes on Amber. “Just take your caveman and get out of my line.”
“Caveman?” Paul leaned across the counter. “Who are you calling—”
“Paul!” Amber took hold of his arm, and was surprised to feel his muscles tensed beneath his shirt. “Paul, let’s just go.” She gave his arm a hard jerk, and guided him from the counter.
Paul resisted for a moment, then led the baby’s stroller away.
Once they were away from the crowd, Amber swung around to face him. “Just what do you think you are doing?”
“Why would you rent a car, or check into a hotel, when all you have to do is come back to Moreno Valley with me? I promise not to charge you for the room, and you can use one of my cars anytime you need it. So, what’s the problem?”
“I think you know what the problem is. It’s the reason I’m trying to leave today.”
“We can work around that. But there is no reason to check in to a hotel.”
“Work around it? Exactly how do you propose we work around it, Paul? You kicked me out, remember?”
Paul looked down at the floor for several seconds, then lifted his eyes to Amber. She could see some decision had been made. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Look, Paul, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but we’ve said our goodbyes and I think it’s best that we leave it at that.” She glanced down at the baby in the stroller. Joachim’s wide eyes were going in every direction as he tried to take in everything at once. “It was hard enough the first time.”
“Amber, have you ever wanted something so bad, and then you find out you can’t have it? But still, you want it so bad, it makes you angry that you can’t have it?”
She looked at him, afraid to answer.
“That’s how bad I want you. So bad that knowing I can’t have you makes me angry. And I took that anger out on you.”
Her heart swelled with hope. “But you can have me.”
He placed a finger over her lips and shook his head. “No, not the way I want you.” He chuckled to himself. “Sometimes I forget how young you are. And that’s our problem—timing. See, I’ve lived long enough to know that whatever this is—this magic between us—it’s special and rare.” He moved his finger from her mouth. “It’s okay. We’ll go back to Moreno Valley and try to go back to the way things were before we were intimate. And when the storm lets up, I’ll bring you back and send you home. And maybe if I’m lucky, one day you’ll realize these few days we shared were different than anything you’ve ever known and you’ll come back to me. And if not, that’s okay, too. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I don’t blame Luther for sending me after you. I thank him with all my heart. Because through you, I’ve discovered that I still have the ability and desire to love a woman with my whole being. After what Michelle put me through, I wasn’t sure I could. But now I know…because I love you.”
Amber could almost feel her heart breaking inside her chest. “We’ve only known each other for four days.”
“But I’ve known your soul forever. Look, I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. If you come back to Moreno Valley with me, I promise to lock Crazy Paul away in the attic, and you won’t have to deal with him anymore. Okay?”
“Crazy Paul, h
uh?” She smiled, then chuckled. “You nearly gave that poor ticket lady a heart attack, hissing and snarling at her.”
He frowned. “I don’t hiss and snarl.”
She took his hand in hers, and the trio started moving toward the exit. “Oh, I know you don’t. But Crazy Paul does.”
Chapter 15
When they pulled up to Paul’s house, a little over an hour later, Amber was still complaining about the fact that none of her sisters had mentioned anything about a blizzard in the past few days.
“I talked to Pearl for over an hour yesterday, and she said nothing.”
“Hmm,” Paul grunted, only half listening. Most of his attention was directed at the black Mustang parked across the street. He would have to see it from the rear to be certain, but he was pretty sure that was the same car he’d seen a couple of days ago, when they came home from the street fair.
“You know, if this is going to be a long-term arrangement we’re going to need more groceries.” Amber continued to chat away. “Mind if I take the SUV and go out to the store later?”
Paul continued to watch the Mustang in the rearview mirror. “Maybe that isn’t such a good idea.”
“Why not?”
He glanced at her pretty face and wondered if he should tell her the truth. Should he share his suspicions that the person in the car was Dashuan Kennedy or someone working for him? No, there was no reason in alarming her until he knew for certain.
“I can take you.”
“Why, when I can take myself?”
Paul was beginning to realize there was no legitimate excuse. Especially when he’d just told her she could use the car anytime she wanted. He found the perfect explanation.
“You don’t know where the grocery store is.”
Her eyebrows crinkled in exasperation. “Fine.”
He almost smiled at her disgruntled expression. But he was just too relieved that he would not have to let her go out by herself. Until he found out who was in that black car, Paul had no intention of letting her out of his sight.
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