“If I have to stop this car, there will be consequences.”
Amber clutched her stomach, laughing. It was a good feeling that washed away just a little bit of the horror from the day before. Laughing, even with sore muscles, made her feel very much alive.
And then they were home, and Hunter was carrying her up the stairs, in spite of all her shouting and threats and beating his arms with her fists. Megan hadn't helped a bit. She simply waved as Caleb switched from the backseat to the front passenger seat.
“Goodbye! We'll be back later to make dinner!” they shouted.
Megan backed up, spun the car around, and drove off.
Inside, Hunter kicked the door shut and fumbled with the lock.
Amber had given up squirming in his arms.
“You're so damn obstinate!” she muttered as he gently deposited her on the bed.
Hunter laughed. “I was just about to say the same thing about you! Now stay right there while I go and take a shower. I want to be nice and clean for our therapy time.”
Therapy time? Amber smiled. Hmm . . . That sounded like fun! She waited until she heard the water running and Hunter pulling the shower curtain around the giant, claw foot tub. Then she went into her own bathroom and scrubbed her teeth. Ah! She had been wanting to do that all morning.
She stared at her bruises and the gash on her forehead. She definitely wasn't at her most attractive state right now.
“Amber!”
Turning, Amber saw Hunter stalking through the living room, dripping wet and deliciously naked.
“I thought I asked you to stay put! Can't you behave for even five whole minutes?”
Amber pouted and reached up to put a finger on his lips.
“Hush,” she said with a soft purr. “More touching. Less talking.”
Amber ran her finger across his lips, then dropped it to his chest. She lazily made circles, moving lower and lower until she reached his hips.
“I can see you've been missing me,” she said mischievously, taking his growing erection in both hands.
Hunter gasped.
“What do you want, baby?” he whispered. “I just don't want to hurt you.”
Amber released him with one hand and pushed him back toward her bed.
“Lie down,” she commanded, wanting to touch, kiss, and feel every part of him.
“Don't hurt yourself, baby,” Hunter gasped. But he was clearly not going to stop her from doing whatever she wanted to do.
Amber didn't feel like doing a striptease. She simply wanted to be out of her clothes. She moved as quickly as she dare with her bruised shoulder. When she was completely naked, she crawled onto the bed, swinging a leg over his torso so that she was facing his head and straddling his chest.
Bending over him, she started with his face, kissing every inch and then slipping her tongue into his mouth. She heard him groan and his hands reached up to stroke her back, her sides, and her ass. Then he slid his arms beneath hers so that he could caress each breast. She slid lower until she could feel how hard he had become beneath her.
One of Hunter's hands slid down, finding her center.
She gasped, jerking against him, trying to move lower but he probed and stroked her until she literally ached for him.
“Need you!” she gasped. “Need you in me!”
Finally, he released her.
Amber positioned herself over him, guiding him with one hand and rubbing herself against him. When she heard him moan, she lowered herself at last, taking him in and rocking against him. She felt nothing but need and desire and pleasure surging through her. Alive, she thought, with each motion. This is what it feels like to be alive. Every nerve on fire and consumed with need.
Beneath her, Hunter arched his back, and followed her every move, his hands moving along her body as though he needed to touch every inch of her. They both came quickly and Amber collapsed on top of him, her release causing her to cry. But the tears passed quickly and turned to giggles.
Below her, Hunter tried to sit up.
“Baby, you're not going to start hyperventilating are you?”
Amber laughed and shook her head.
“I'm just so happy to be here with you,” she said, rolling over to Hunter's side.
“That's good,” Hunter said, getting up.
“Hey, where are you going?”
Hunter leaned over the bed and scooped her up.
“We are going back to my bathroom so that I can finish my shower.”
Amber pouted. “The therapy session is over?”
“Oh, the session has only begun.”
“Oh?”
Hunter grinned as he placed Amber in the giant, claw foot tub.
“That was just the warm up session, gorgeous.” He grinned. “Since I can't trust you to stay put, you have to stay here in the tub.”
Amber giggled as Hunter reached overhead and pulled down the shower head, still attached to the hose. He turned on the water, adjusted the temperature against his inner arm, and then sat facing her. They were both sitting with their legs crossed. Grinning slyly, Hunter pointed the spray of water so that it came directly in contact with her crotch. Oh! She gasped as the water sent tingles through her body.
Hunter casually washed his hair then reached over to get the sprayer. He slowly rinsed his hair, watching her face.
Damn! She wanted that sprayer back.
“All done?” she asked innocently.
“Oh, yeah, sorry about,” he said. “Let's wash you up with some nice shampoo and soap as well.”
Reaching up, he gently sprayed Amber, starting with her head and working down her body. When she was fully wet, he placed the sprayer back so it was again facing her crotch. Then he tenderly worked shampoo into her hair.
Amber refused to complain when he removed the sprayer to rinse her. Finally, the sprayer went back to its delightful spot between her legs as Hunter lathered first himself, and then her, with foamy soap. When he got to her crotch, he pushed aside the sprayer and slowly replaced it with his soapy hand. She twitched beneath him as meticulously cleaned her, moving along every fold and gently inserting first one finger and then a second inside her.
Amber moaned, reaching out to him.
“Would you like to help wash me?” he whispered and she nodded.
She waited as he patiently filled her hand with soap. He sat completely still as she moved her hands up and down over his hardness. But his groans turned her on. Finally, he clasped her by the wrists.
“I'm so close, baby, but I'm not ready yet.”
He took the sprayer and rinsed the remaining soap off of both of them. Then, standing up, he attached the shower head to its original position. He knelt down as the shower water poured over them both. Grabbing both her legs, he separated them.
Amber wondered if he was going where she thought he was going.
“I don't want you more attached to that sprayer than me,” he said, lowering his head.
Amber gasped as Hunter's tongue touched between her legs. This was new to her. She had never felt comfortable enough to let Hunter have her like this before. But everything was different since yesterday. His tongue circled her little bud until she wanted to scream. And then he was sucking and using his tongue to drive her wild. She felt herself moving helplessly against him, shamelessly bucking and writhing, her back arching until she felt herself exploding and moaning his name.
When Hunter finally released her, there was such hunger in his eyes, staring at her like a panther in the streaming water.
“Can I take you to bed now?” he asked hoarsely.
“You can take me anywhere you want,” Amber said.
“That's good to know,” Hunter said, turning off the water. He grabbed a towel and picked her up, tossing her lightly on the bed.
“But this is exactly where I want you right now.”
Lying beside her, he tilted her head and pulled at her lips with his teeth.
“Does that hurt now?” he asked, p
ointing to her bruise.
She shook her head and he kissed it so that his lips barely touched her skin. Then he moved down her chest.
“Look at me,” he said, his lips just over her nipples.
She stared into his eyes, feeling herself melt. She moaned as he used his tongue to tease each nipple, sucking until she felt herself getting wet again. Oh, how did he know how much that turned her on? His hand drifted between her legs, caressing until she writhed against him.
“I can't wait any longer, baby,” he groaned.
Amber arched her back, meeting him halfway as he plunged inside her. She saw that he was positioning his elbows so that none of his weight was pressing anywhere near her bruise. She wanted to tell him that she didn't care, that all she could feel was him plunging in her and taking her outside of herself.
When, finally, they lay panting side by side, Hunter propped himself up on his elbows.
“Did you mean it when you said that you would go anywhere with me?” he asked.
Amber thought for a second. “Yes, I love you and I would go anywhere with you.”
Saying that she loved Hunter came out naturally. She did love him and she didn't need to think about it.
Hunter beamed at her. “You really love me?”
“Yes,” she said. “I truly love you.”
Hunter kissed her softly. “I love you too. I wanted to tell you long before this. But I was afraid it would scare you off.”
“So where are we going?” Amber asked.
“How about Paris?” Hunter bit his lip as he waited for her to respond.
“You want me to go back to Paris with you?” Amber gaped at him.
“Where would I stay? What about school and work?”
“Details! Details!” Hunter said, nearly shouting. He stopped himself and lowered his voice.
“Just tell me that you want to go. I need to hear you say it.”
Amber smiled. “I want to go to Paris with you."
"In fact,” she added, “I refuse to let you go back without me.”
Hunter pulled her into an awkward hug as he tried to avoid her bruised shoulder.
“I'm going to hold you to that, gorgeous,” he whispered.
Amber snuggled against him as he nodded off. She was close to sleep herself. And then she jolted awake as something finally occurred to her.
If Kayla and her mother were still in Paris, they would see Amber's arrival as a huge setback to whatever plan they had concocted. Amber looked at Hunter and grimaced. They might try to keep her from him, but she wasn't going down without a fight.
“Baby? What's wrong?” Hunter woke up as though he could hear her thoughts. “Why are you so tense? Are you having bad dreams?”
“Um . . . Yeah . . . Just a bad dream,” Amber whispered. “Just hold me and I'll go back to sleep.”
Hunter curled against her, his chest warm and soothing. She held his hand and let his even breathing soothe her. No matter what, she was going to make sure that they were always together.
# # #
Thank you for taking the time to read Shades of Deception. Please consider leaving a review! - xoxo, Amanda
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About the Author
Amanda has a literary soul and has been in love with books since her early childhood. Some of the first books she ever read were from her aunt's collection of romance novels. The library was a special place for Amanda where she'd escape into the many worlds created by authors. Today, there is always a stack of books on her bedside table and loaded onto her Kindle.
Amanda loves the arts and has been writing stories for almost as long as she has been reading. She has taken many creative writing courses and has published numerous works in children's and young adult fiction, nonfiction, and now setting on her journey writing contemporary romance. Art courses that Amanda took in college provide the inspiration for creating a world of new adult romance in The Art Models Club series. Amanda lives in Texas with her husband, son, and their family dog.
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