Long Slow Second Look (17 page)

"Why not come? It's not like you'll be alone with him or are trying to run him down. And he's the one who suggested you come, not me. "

"He did? Why?"

"Presumably because he wants to see you."

"How likely is that?"

"I'm not sure but if you have nothing better to do, why not come and find out?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh come. Please. For me."

She sighed. "Okay. Fine. I'll come for you. Not because I want to see him."

"Great. Now I have to try to get some work done. I'll talk to you later."

When I called Darkwater later to tell him Sher had reluctantly agreed to join us for dinner on Friday he was silent for several moments.

"I see. I'll see you both Friday night. Would you tell her I'll pick her up at seven? I'll pick you up at about seven-thirty provided she's ready when I arrive and doesn't keep me waiting."

"Why don’t you call and tell her yourself, Thomas?"

"Because I just asked you to tell her, Amber," he said in the cool, authoritative voice I'd so often rebelled against in the past.

"Consider her told," I said. "See you Friday."

"Love you, Am."

"And I you, Thomas," I said and hung up.

My thoughts turned to John again. Forgetting him would have been easier if I hadn’t burned my bridges with Deandre. But I had and he was decidedly cool when we encountered each other that afternoon and I knew that ship had sailed for him as well.

I left work feeling totally depressed. The evening dragged on. I lay sleepless for hours before finally drifting into a fitful slumber. The next morning I slept through my alarm and had to scramble to get to work on time.

Once there, I watched Deandre flirting with a slender brunette who seemed only too happy to be the object of his attention.

In an effort to keep from sinking into a deep depression, I fought to keep from thinking about John by thinking about Sher. Things were over between us, but maybe some good would come out of it. I'd keep my fingers crossed that Darkwater had finally seen the light and was now willing to get to know Sher.

I arrived home on Wednesday night to find a beautiful bouquet of roses outside my door.

I kicked off my heels in my small foyer and called Darkwater to thank him.

"I'm delighted they cheered you up, Am, but they're not from me."

I sank down onto the chair by the telephone. "They're not?"

"No. Must be from dumb ass."

I caught my breath and bit my lip. "You think?"

"Unless you have a secret admirer, I think it's safe to assume he sent them."

"He's probably ready for another easy lay."

"Don't say things like that or you're really going to piss me off so much I'm going to kick his ass."

"No."

He sighed. "What's his phone number?"

"Why?"

"I think it's long past time we had a talk and I made it crystal clear to him that he's not going to screw you over."

"No!"

"Amber—"

"No, Thomas! I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions."

"I know you can, but I'm not going to allow him to treat you like a—"

"I said he was probably ready for another easy lay. I didn't say I was going to accommodate him."

"But you will. Won't you?"

I shook my head. "I want to, but I won't. I love him but I do have a measure of pride left. He's made it clear he's only interested in one thing and I've made it clear that I have no interest in a strictly physical relationship. It's over between us."

"Do you need me to come over?"

I wanted him to but I didn't need him to. I knew I had his support and that was enough to help me do the right thing for the sake of my self-esteem. "Thanks, Thomas. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"If you change your mind, call me and I'll come."

"I know. I'll see you Friday night."

"Okay, Am."

I toyed with the idea of calling John, but decided against it. He'd only try to sweet talk me into his bed and I couldn't afford to allow that to happen again.

I spent the night rereading several pages of a romance I no longer had much heart to finish. At some point, I knew I'd enjoy reading happy ever after books again but with my own romantic life in such turmoil, I teared up every time I read the turning point when it was clear the hero did love the heroine after all because I knew I'd never experience such a moment with John.

To keep my mind off John's failure to contact me, I decided to throw all my energies into trying to engineer a relationship between Sher and Darkwater, who I was increasingly convinced was open to the possibility of dating her.

She and I spend most of Thursday after work deciding what she should wear. We settled on a pretty cream-colored dress that emphasized her breasts, while managing to slim her belly a little before falling into folds around her calves.

"You'll look wonderful in this. Thomas won't know where to put his eyes when he picks you up."

She laughed. "Don't I wish?"

"Do you, Sher? Do you still have a thing for him?"

She slowly shook her head. "No. He's sexy and attractive, but he's made it plain he has no romantic interest in me and I have no desire to beat my head against a wall wishing for something with him that will never happen."

If only I could be half as sensible about my relationship or lack thereof with John.

Chapter Twelve

Amber

On Friday night, I was so anxious about how things had gone when Darkwater picked Sher up that I was dressed early and waiting in my apartment building lobby for them to arrive.

Seconds after Sher and Darkwater walked into the lobby looking at ease in each other's company, I glanced up to see John walk in after them.

Seeing the look on my face, both Sher and Darkwater turned to look behind them.

I tensed as John and Darkwater traded cold, unfriendly looks before I walked forward to place a hand on Darkwater's arm.

Although I longed to toss myself into John's embrace, I remained silent, as did Darkwater.

John finally looked at me. When he did, his gaze softened and he smiled. "I need to talk to you, cher. Please."

Hearing the timbre in his deep voice when he used the endearment, I knew my days and nights of misery were over. I stepped forward and leaned against him.

His arms closed around me and he held me tight and chanted that lovely endearment against my ear. "Cher…cher…cher."

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I suppose this means you're not having dinner with us after all, Am."

I lifted my head from John's shoulder to look up at Darkwater. "Do you mind?"

"Not if he treats you right." He looked at John. "I'm warning you, dumb ass, hurt her again and you're going to have not only my foot but the feet of my four brothers shoved so far up your ass, you'll have difficulty walking for years…if you can walk at all."

John inhaled and narrowed his gaze. "I won't hurt her again, not because I fear your threats, but because…"

"Because what, you dumb ass?"

"Darkwater!" I protested.

A painfully long silence followed before John responded in a low, but clear voice. "Because I love her."

Because I love her.
I kind of lost my grip on reality after hearing those sweet, sweet words. I was only vaguely aware of Sher and Darkwater kissing my cheek and then leaving me in the lobby with John. Somehow, the next thing I knew we were in my apartment. We were both naked and on the verge of making love just as I liked it: with me pressed against the wall.

After sucking my neck with enough gusto to leave a hickey and grinding his cock against my pussy with an increasing vigor, he pulled away from me long enough to reach in his wallet and pull out a condom.

Pressing it into my hand, he bent to finger my pussy and kiss and nip my breasts.

I considered tossing the condom aside and impaling myself on his shaft, but only briefly. Yes, he'd finally said he loved me and yes I wanted to have his baby, but I wanted some time to savor and enjoy knowing he was in love with me. And I wanted to be married before I got pregnant.

I tore open the foil package, rolled the condom over his long, thick, honey stick, and then leaned back against the wall with my legs parted. "Fuck me, lover."

After sucking the side of my neck, he paused with his big, thick cock throbbing against my entrance. "I need you," he whispered.

"I've been yours for the taking since the night we met, my handsome Johnny. Take me."

"Even though I was too stupid to realize and admit it for months, I've been yours since then too, cher." Bending his knees, he pressed his hips forward.

Oh, Lord. Yes! The first few inches felt like the sweetest invasion imaginable.

When our genitals were locked together, he lifted his head and gazed down into my eyes. "I love you," he whispered.

I wanted to say I loved him too, but my throat muscles locked with emotion and several tears trickled down my face.

He wiped them away. "Don't cry. I think I fell for you the night we met. I'm sorry it took me so long to admit, but I've never been in love before and it took me awhile to realize what had happened to me. But I do love you, cher."

Cher. What a lovely word. "I love you too," I whispered. "You've told me you love me, now show me."

He bent to press his warm, insistent mouth against mine.

As I parted my lips in open invitation to his tongue, he slid his big hands down my back to my ass.

I arched into him and moaned encouragement against his lips.

Keeping his hands on my ass, he slid his cock in and out of my pussy with a maddening leisure that sent jolts of need and desire sizzling through every part of me that could feel. And with the man I loved locked inside me, every inch of my body felt like a deliciously exposed nerve eager to be touched, stroked, and pushed to the brink of implosion under his masterful sensual manipulation.

John dragged his mouth away from mine and buried his lips against my ear. "Love you, sha…love you."

Yes, yes, and hell yes!

I delighted in hearing his words of desire, need, and love. In response, I dug my nails in his tight ass, and moaned my way to my release.

He lifted my left leg and thrust deep into me with rapid, hard movements that I swear I felt in every inch of my flooded pussy. And when I knew he was coming, I held him close and whispered, "I love you and only you."

He leaned against me, trapping my body between his and the wall. "Oh, shit, cher, the feeling is so mutual, I feel as if I'm drowning in my need and love for you," he said and finally pulled out of me.

We both leaned against the wall in silence before he took my hand and led me to my bedroom. After he removed and discarded the used condom, we tumbled into bed together, ending up with me sprawled on top of him.

"Where have you been since you walked out on me in Atlantic City?"

He stroked a hand down my ass. "You're sweet, but delusional, Amber. You're the one who walked out on me and straight into Dr. Don't Know Shit's arms."

"No, I didn't. We had dinner, John."

"And kissed and—"

"We did not!" I pulled away from him and sat against the pillow and the headboard.

He rearranged his pillow and sat up with his shoulder pressing against me. "The hell you didn't. I saw you kissing him."

About to deny it, I remembered that meaningless kiss we'd shared on the boardwalk. "It was a brief, ain't- nothing-happening-here-with-you-goodbye peck," I said.

"You walked off with him arm and arm, Amber."

"He walked me back to my hotel and left me there. I didn't see him again until work on Monday morning. Why didn't I see you, John?"

"I thought you needed some time to get him out of your system."

"That happened the night we met."

"I saw you kiss him and thought I'd lost you…if not for my brother, I would have stormed after you and ram my foot so deep up his ass he would have been neutered. After seeing you kiss him only hours after sleeping with me, I knew I had to give you the opportunity to sleep with him a few times—even if it killed me. And it nearly drove me mad thinking of you two together. I have the emotional scars to prove it."

Hearing the angst in his voice, I shook my head and leaned over to kiss him. "Any wounds you have are self-inflicted. I've been yours from the night we met. The peck you saw us share on the boardwalk was the one and only time our lips touched. Once I slept with you, no other man was on my radar."

"Damn. Had I known that, I would have saved myself several miserable weeks."

I slipped my arm through his. "So you're in love with me?"

He nodded. "There's no doubt about that, Amber."

"What are you prepared to do about it?"

He turned his head to look at me. "Marry you of course and get you pregnant. What else?"

I smiled, feeling so happy I almost couldn't breathe. "What?"

"I see you need more convincing. I'll be right back." He slipped out of bed and left the room. When he returned, he had a small, dark jeweler's box in his hand. Slipping back into bed beside me, he opened it, revealing a beautiful platinum diamond solitaire. "I hope you like it and that it fits."

Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I love it and I love you."

John removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto the third finger of my left hand. "Now for a question I've spent so long dreading but now find myself eager to ask. Does the ring fit and will you marry me?"

It was a little tight, but that didn't matter since I never planned to take it off. I nodded. "Oh, hell, yes I'll marry you!"

"You're sure?"

"I've never been surer of anything in my life, Johnny mine."

"Good. Then let's shower, dress, and pack a bag for a few nights."

"Where are we going?"

"To the Poconos."

"What's there?"

"We have a family compound there with several houses on a large lot. My grandparents are there now. My son and daughter are driving up on Sunday morning to meet you. My brother Shane would also like a formal introduction. He was the brother with me at the shore."