DALE
I DID THE duty, meeting Oliver at Archer Agency headquarters. He hands me a contract for employment – Lead External Services Coordinator – or somewhere between a repo man and a hired hitman. I don’t want to take the job, but telling Oliver no is far too complicated this early in the day.
As I sit reading the long-drawn out document, one of his crew chiefs walks in. Ned Gramble has worked in my family’s business so long he has become one of us. His son, Ned ‘Junior’ Gramble even works for the agency. Of course, if Junior can do it, I should be able to as well, at least that is my parent’s logic. If I don’t sign on the dotted line, then I think I am better than them—which I am, but they don’t need to know that.
The contract looks like a mess waiting to happen. While I could have easily signed on before, now I have the responsibility of Mae-Mae to think about. I cannot run off on a moment’s notice anymore, I have to plan and coordinate every effort to insure I am bringing her up the proper and responsible way. I need her to have the security of having me home as much as possible.
Ned and Oliver banter on as I study the intricacies of the contract. Occasionally, I peer over my black frames. Junior is going out on assignment to complete a contract they have been working on for months. I sigh quietly to myself as my phone buzzes to life.
“Archer, this is Rachel.”
“I know who this is Jackson,” I laugh, but I can tell she is in no mood to play.
“Listen to me, we got two unknown vehicles doing surveillance on Amber’s house. Aimee is there now, and I am between Fort Stockton and Alpine, about to head in. I should be at her house within the hour.”
“Fuck,” I shout, garnering concerned looks from the men. “I am on my way.” I shove my phone in my pocket and toss the papers on his desk. “I am sorry, I have to go.”
“If it’s really that bad, son…” Oliver hesitates, studying my face. “You should sign the contract and I’ll have Junior join you.”
“I… I don’t have time for that right now,” I shout, walking out. I call my mom as I run down the hallway, explaining the situation.
“Go, go,” she says, “I’ll take care of Mae.”
I hate to do it, but I can’t risk losing Amber.
I sprint out into the parking lot, mumbling curse words as I see my bike sitting there. I wish I would have brought the truck, but an hour back into Austin in afternoon traffic sounds like wasted time. I check my phone, looking at the distance – a minimum of six hours.
Knowing one of the two most important women in my life is safe within the arms of my mom, I head out, realizing the other is in more peril than I can imagine. As I grip the handlebars, white knuckling my way across the flat, dusty plains of Texas, my memories take hold until nothing remains but Amber.
* * * *
Caressing this beautiful girl, laying her head on my lap and saying she was ready for me, I didn’t know how long I could postpone the inevitable. I wanted to believe I was tough and would resist her demure voice, soft body, and the fragrance of her long locks, but who was I kidding?
Her schoolgirl seduced my senses, and knowing she wore tiny pink lace pressed to her porcelain skin had given me a raging hard-on. I needed to savor taking her innocence. As her mouth travelled dangerously close to my cock, my fingers worked their way over her taut ass to the scrap of fabric covering my prize.
Hot and wet, she desired me because she thought I was a decent guy. I couldn’t burst her bubble, I couldn’t tell her differently. She didn’t need to know, I could act as ravenously feral as the next chump. She didn’t stop me as my finger twisted and turned under the fabric.
Finding her slit, I pushed my way in between her folds as her body dropped onto my hand. Her plush, full lips encircled my dick, licking and sucking with her mouth that was made to give head. I wanted to keep fingering her, but my dick demanded otherwise. “Take your clothes off.”
“I was afraid I was doing it wrong.”
No, honey you didn’t do anything wrong.
You did everything right.
I gazed at her as she undressed completely. Her movements lingered slow and teasing, pulling her shirt off and dropping her shorts. I loved those shorts, and I forced her to wear them everyday for the next eight weeks as punishment for torturing me with her mere presence. She unclasped her bra and tossed it at me. I inhaled the lace smelling sweetly of her—roses and honeysuckle and every childhood scent I could remember.
This girl brought me home, taking me to a place of comfort and salvation. She teased my crotch with a brush of her toe, and I pulled her panties down as my nose dove into her flower—my church, my refuge, my sanctuary I would worship for hours.
I held back, tasting her and standing up. Pocketing her panties—she wouldn’t get this pair back—I let my jeans fall. With a blush rising up on her cheeks, she beamed a smile as a rock ballad crooned low through my speakers.
“Dance with me?” I held out my hand and took her into my arms. She secured into my body perfectly, two pieces of a puzzle that were destined to be.
Under the moon and stars, we found intimacy with one another that night. Our souls skyrocketed out of this world and into the next, beyond any place where we would never be harmed. We were untouchable that night.
Always the pessimist, I knew it wouldn’t last forever, but for that night or the next eight weeks—Amber Rosen was mine and I was hers.
AMBER
I AM STARTLED by the doorbell ringing. Standing in the kitchen, I watch as Aimee hops up and greets another young woman. She embraces her like old friends.
A hug!—My God, she is human.
I feed the wenches in the other room who kept mostly to themselves, talking in a lingo I didn’t understand. I clean the kitchen, change the sheets, and turn back on my phone. I’m taking a bubble bath, anticipating Dale’s arrival in the next hour or so.
I know we hooked up at the signing two days ago, but it feels like months have past since I saw him. He doesn’t think I remember those few weeks we spent together in the summer of 2001.
He’s so wrong.
I know who he is. He may not have his shimmering long blonde hair anymore, but I would know those eyes anywhere—the perfect azure—contrasted with his ginger curls. I miss his smile and laughter as my hand finds my ache and hopes to satiate the craving.
Without warning, Aimee busts in.
My eyes fly open, and I quickly remove my hand, hoping to deter any questions. I notice her flush and slight frustration as she stutters, “I… I… I need a list of everyone you know, past and present. It’s urgent.”
Really? Couldn’t you have asked me this when you encouraged me to bake cookies? Or when you scarfed down my casserole?
“What you are asking is almost impossible,” I grumble, stepping out of the tub. I don’t care if she sees me naked – thousands of people have – and she isn’t special. I grab the towel and scowl, “I am an author, and before that I was a dancer, I know lots of people.”
“Do your best,” she whispers, retreating with her head low.
I sigh. Maybe if she bothered to say hello or introduce herself properly I would feel different, but I don’t and the girl rubs me the wrong way. I cannot wait for Dale to be here, I briefly think. Realizing where my mind is, I close my eyes and shake my head. “No, no, no! He hurt you once. No!” I snap, dressing in pajamas and laying down.
I am not going to fall asleep. I am going to wait up for Dale.
* * * *
My blonde hero kissed me like I was the only woman alive. My body tingled, electric and alive with an energy I had never experienced.
His kisses alone erased everything bad that had ever happened to me. My mother’s drunken, coked up binges fell away as did my sister’s crimes—for which she had every right to commit. And for the first time it no longer mattered that I didn’t have a father, because that hunk of a guy—that man—with his arms wrapped tight around me – he was my everything.
I couldn�
��t explain the connection, an instant love the moment we locked eyes on one another. He promised to keep me safe and I would give him all of me, including that precious V-card. He could have taken it, tonight, tomorrow, or for the rest of my life. I would have never ever turned this man away.
We danced for several songs, kissing and exploring until he pulled me down to the bed of the truck. His lips never left mine as he let his hands run over my body. His tongue washed circles around my nipple. Glancing up at me, he whispered, “Do I need protection?”
“I’m on the pill,” I answered. “My sister took me right after…”
“Stop,” he said, lifting his finger to my lips. “I got it. Don’t say it. It is over and gone. You will never be hurt again, Amber.”
Call me stupid or young, but I believed every word he said, and I didn’t believe he ever said them to anyone before. He seemed so serious and tender, yet taking and mature.
I didn’t want his mouth to ever stop, kissing me and whispering sweet words. Without even asking me, I spread my legs for him, letting his hard muscles lay against my delicate skin. I plunged my hands through his hair as he sucked on my neck, certain I would find bruises by morning. I didn’t care—let him mark me, stain me, bruise me, fuck me.
“This is going to be a night I will never forget,” I mumbled beneath his weight.
“You know, I will never forget it either,” he breathed in between my lips, kissing me hard. His teeth scraped my lip as he bit just enough to show me who was boss.
I arched up without a thought, succumbing to his will. His velvet fingers stroked my fires, coating his hand in my dew, and then he coated his cock in them. I knew the time was coming soon. The moment I had waited to give over to the first nice guy I met, so it would be gone. Breathing deep, I fluttered, “Do it.”
And he did.
DALE
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE mountains in the middle of the night, I manage to make it to her gate by a quarter to two. I punch in the code that Aimee sent, and I instantly realize what Amber did. She bought a place in the woods with a clearing to see the stars. Surrendering to her sky, I marvel at the view—just like Amber, taking my breath away with her magic.
I cut the lights on the bike, following her landscape solars up the drive away and park off to the side of the house under a tree. I sneak up to the backdoor and Rachel pops it open, startling me.
“What the fuck you doing?” She demands as Aimee laughs on the sofa.
“I am coming to save the damsel in distress,” I banter.
“Too late for that,” Aimee chirps, “The lesbians beat you to it!” She smirks as I flip her off and hug Rachel.
“How you doing Bossman?”
“Long ass ride,” I grumble, not bothering to tell them it was better than the rain two days ago. “Aimee…”
“Dale…” she oozes. I couldn’t stand the girl when we first met, her rebel with an ax to grind attitude rubbed me wrong. As it turns out, I didn’t understand her and how hard she worked to have her position. To be fair, she’s also stopped hating the entire male population somewhat. I believe she picks and chooses, and luckily for me, I am in the latter.
The side of her head has been shaved since I can remember, only now her hair drifts down to her mid-back with pink tips. She’s tatted with rainbow flags and pierced in all kinds of ways. Sometimes I wonder if her needle fetish extends into the kink world—I’ve never asked and I don’t intend to.
On the other hand, Rachel Jackson appears like she just stepped out of a Vogue photo shoot. She dresses like a snob, but Jackson is the best damn private investigator I know. By chance, she happens to adore my older sister, Dana Archer, who works for our dad. Dana can take apart a gun and put it back together with her eyes closed in record time. Aimee and Dana get along real well.
“Where is she?” I ask, doing some sort of bro-shake with Aimee.
“She’s in her room,” Rachel offers as I stare blank between them. “Upstairs at the end of the hallway.”
“Thanks,” I say, running up the staircase, “And get the lights off.”
Listening and waiting, I stand outside the door. I’m not sure what I think will happen, but I damn sure don’t want to walk in on her having a hot conversation on the phone. Everything is quiet as I crack the door open.
Tangled in the sheets, Amber stirs awake, sitting up fast and afraid. Her breathing is erratic and heavy as I rush to her side.
Holding her close to my chest, I groan, “Shhh…”
“I don’t know who they are…” she whispers, clasping onto me like a life vest in her perilous seas.
Petting her hair, I simply reply, “But do you know who I am?”
* * * *
I didn’t recall my dick ever being that hard. And I have had a lot of boners. Amber writhed under me as I paused, contemplating what I am about to do. If I took this from her and granted her wish, I worried I would hurt her worse in the end.
“Do it, please,” she begged, her breath wrestling my heart.
God, I wanted to…but shit.
I caressed the tip of my cock around her ripened bud, and Amber moaned like she had never felt something so wonderful. Her whimpers and innocence did nothing to dissuade me. If anything, I got harder, wanting to protect her from everything cruel in the world.
Her fingers clenched my ass cheeks, pushing me closer and digging her nails into my flesh. The pain ached with a sweet bitterness as I dipped down lower, rubbing the head against her wet opening.
“This may hurt,” I warned.
She blinked up with those big doe eyes. “I know how this works.”
I thrust ever so slightly causing her to groan in pain. “Look, I know this is going to hurt, but I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t prolong it.”
I pushed up off of her and asked, “You want me to fuck you?”
“Correction—I want you to pound the fuck out of me. I want you to fu…”
Before she could finish talking, I pummeled into her in one hard thrust as she gasped. “Stay… Stay Still!” she yelped. “Holy fuck your huge!”
Laying against her body, I braced with my forearms around her head. The tears had welled in her eyes, and she tried her damnedest to not let them fall. Maybe she was afraid to offend me, or worse yet, scared I’d pull out. Of course, neither happened, but what she said next stunned the shit out of me.
“Can you pin me down?”
She didn’t know what she was asking me to do. I was the guy you didn’t want picking up your daughter. I glanced up at the back of the truck bed, unable to look at her innocent eyes. I was the bastard that did this horrible thing, and I was certain I’d go to hell. We were nine years apart, and I was a creep.
Exhaling deep, I gazed at Amber, her natural beauty shining through the burn. I must have done something right to have had the gift of that girl, and I knew she was mine right then. I was fucked, and I would have done anything and everything to keep her.
Amber was my queen. And I was just some bastard peasant that got his number picked. I won the god damned lottery. I would worship her and beg for forgiveness after I did as she requested. But having the experience I did, I knew it wouldn’t be pretty or neat. I would leave her a mess, stretched by me, and stained with my come.
I couldn’t escape it—she put the words into play and it was my turn. Amber didn’t know me. She thought I was a nice guy, a hero, a gentleman. I was going to hurt her and enjoy it. She would run away or beg for more, either way I was going to chase her down and take what I wanted again and again.
I gulped and asked once more, just to be certain I heard her right, “Are you sure?”
Amber giggled, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
AMBER
WAKING UP WITH his arms around me, I cannot believe this is happening. Aimee said he would come, but somehow that seemed to good to be true. He’s stroking my hair as he asks again, “Amber, do you know who I am?”
Glancing around and a
voiding his gaze, I smile sleepily. He takes my hands in his, and I am forced to confront the truth of the past. This man sitting on my bed hurt me once, pushing me away and crushing my heart. I don’t want to trust him. But I trust those scouting vehicles even less.
I break one hand free from his grasp and touch his cheek. “If you think I didn’t know who you were underneath the ginger beard and curled hair, you were wrong. I will know the eyes of Cyclone Blonde for the rest of my life, Dale Archer. You changed my life when I was young. You saved me.”
He glances at our hands still locked together. “I made a promise to you years ago.”
Trying to hold back the tears, I admit, “I loved you once.”
“I love you still,” he growls as his emotions take hold, “I never stopped.”
“You sent me away…”
“To keep you safe,” he retorts with conviction. “You had some very bad people wanting to hurt you. I couldn’t let that happen then anymore than I can now.”
“Right,” I snap out of the past, hopping out of the bed and grabbing some clothes. “The cars drove past my property for hours yesterday.”
He follows me closely, grabbing hold of my wrist and spinning me around. Pushing my body against the wall, he traps me with his chiseled arms.
Blinking up into those blue eyes, I can no longer hold the tears—of our past or my uncertain future. I am searching for a way out. “You forgot your jacket,” I quip.
“You mean after I made love to you in the bathroom?”
“Yes, after we fucked in the bathroom.”
“Amber, you and I both know that wasn’t fucking.”
“It was a one-night stand.”
He sighs. “Dammit, Amber Leigh, listen to me! It doesn’t have to be that way anymore. I am not the same and neither are you.”
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