Owned by Him (18 page)

Heather agreed, and Amber
added in her thoughts as well. She hoped this night out got better.

****

Elijah waited for Wade to
serve him. The other man was glaring at the table. His emotions were clear to
see, and Elijah saw what Amber saw. Wade was totally in love with Connie.

“If you don’t act soon
you’re going to lose her completely,” he said, gaining the other man’s
attention.

“What?” Wade walked over to
him.

He ordered the drinks and
waited for him to finish before talking with him.

“You’re in love with
Connie.”

“She’s taken up with the
suit. I fucking hated him on sight with Amber, but now I’m tempted to ban the
asshole from my club.”

“Ban Dale and you’ll ban
Connie.”

“She’ll come in with her
friends.”

Elijah shrugged.
“Maybe?
Or maybe not.
There’s only
so much a friendship can take. You’ve got to act fast to win her back.”

He glanced behind him to see
his woman tense. This was not the atmosphere he wanted for tonight. He’d asked
Heather to organize everything for him.

“I can’t do this. She was
always supposed to be mine. There was a moment some months ago. The bar was
closed, and it was only the two of us. She was singing up on that stage. Her
voice is amazing. When she was finished she didn’t look happy. We were talking,
and I reached out to put up some of her hair and then she was staring into my
eyes and I was doing the same to her. In the next moment it was gone. I should
have kissed her or done something. I bailed, and ever since then she finds a
reason not to come to me,” Wade said, opening up.

“There’s still a chance.”

“How the hell would you
know?”

“I’ve been fucking around
with Amber for the last seven years. She’s now my woman, and I’m going to get
up on that stage and show her. If Amber can forgive me and be with me, then
Connie can do the same with you.” Elijah slapped his hand on the counter. “Is
everything set up for me?”

“Yes, Heather was very
specific. I cancelled a band for tonight. You owe me.”

Elijah nodded and headed up
onto the stage. This had to be the craziest thing he’d ever done, but for Amber
he’d do it right.

Grabbing the microphone from
the floor he stood into the center. He tapped the microphone to gain their
attention. Wade was in control of the lights, so the room went dark with only
one light on him. This was supposed to be his big romantic gesture, and he
hoped to God it worked.

“Hello,
everyone.
I’m sorry to interrupt your
evening, but this is really important.” He’d not practiced any speech or
anything. “If any of you are offended, the next round of drinks is on me.”
There were a few cheers.

“I’m stood here tonight
because there is a wonderful woman in the audience, and I really wanted to
prove to her that she means the world to me.” Wade activated the light bringing
Amber into focus.

Elijah looked at her across
the dance floor.
“Hello, baby.”

She stood up, frowning.

“Seven years ago I fell in
love with this woman. Her name is Amber Phelps, and for seven years I’ve been
breaking her heart because I’m a dick.” A few chuckles filled the air. “Anyway,
I almost lost this amazing woman when I didn’t speak up. Seeing her in the arms
of another man was a real eye-opener for me.” He hoped Wade got the message
loud and clear. “In life we have only moments with people where the connection
is so fleeting yet feels so right. That moment is still there every time I look
at you, baby. I’m completely in love with you and have been all this time.”

Tears were glistening in her
eyes.

“There are no words that can
make up for the time lost. So I’m going to give you forever with me. I’m asking
you, no, I’m begging you.” He dropped to his knees on the stage for her to see.
“Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” he asked.

His focus was on her. Amber
stared at him, smiling. “Yes.”

He climbed down off the
stage and ran to her. The crowd moved out of the way as he tugged her into his
arms and kissed her.

Cheers, catcalls, and
applause met them.

“I love you so much,” he
said.

“Did you plan this?”

“Yes. I wanted you to
remember this moment for the rest of your life. I’m not going to fuck up again.
I promise, baby.
You and me, for the rest of our lives.”

“Shut up and kiss me again.”
He slammed his lips down on hers, loving her with everything that he had.

Words or gestures would
never be enough to make up for their seven long years. He hoped this moment
could change all that.

Her friends and Wade offered
them congratulations before he took her onto the dance floor.

“I can’t believe you planned
all that,” she said, amazed.

“Oh, crap.” He let go of her
long enough to take the ring he’d bought for her out of his pocket. “I should
have put this on you first.”

“I don’t care. I can’t
believe you got up on stage to propose.”

“What about the begging?” He
wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

“You begged me. Admittedly,
it wasn’t a lot of begging, but I thought you looked hot on your knees. Maybe
we’re in for a little role reversal at some point,” she said, waggling her
eyebrows.

“Not on
your life, baby.”
He grabbed her
butt tight. “I’m the one in charge, and you’ll be the one on your knees before
me.”

She laughed. “Have you got
any more fantasies for me to play out?” she asked.

“Amber, I’ve got lots for us
to try out.” He leaned down taking her lips under his once again. This was the
start of their future, and he was going to cherish every single second of it.

Epilogue

Two months later

“I hate you,” Amber said,
grumbling into the toilet. Elijah held her hair back as she puked up all of her
breakfast. She’d already been sick once, and this was her second time this
morning.

“You don’t hate me. Elijah
junior is making himself known.”

She groaned once again as
another wave of sickness took over.
 
Being two months pregnant meant she was now
sensitive to food and drinks she loved. They’d not even bothered with any
contraception. She’d been pregnant before they could sort anything out.

“I hate you.” Amber didn’t
mean any of the words, but she always spoke them to him when the morning
sickness got too bad.

Slowly, her stomach began to
settle, and she collapsed away from the toilet in Elijah’s waiting arms. He was
the most patient man in her world. His soothing strokes helped to calm her.

“You must hate me,” she
said. Now that she’d finished throwing up she felt bad for being mean to him.

“I could never hate you,
baby. I love you too damn much to hate you.” He lifted her finger where her
engagement and wedding ring fell. After they found out she was pregnant, Elijah
had driven them to Vegas for a quick wedding. Julian made sure the rest of her
friends were there, and when they got back home, they told their families.

She stared at her ring and
then at the one resting on his finger. “We’re together.”

He kissed her head as she
started to regain some control over her emotions. The words she’d spoken to him
replayed in her mind, and Amber couldn’t stop the tears from falling. She’d
been a horrible bitch.

Amber started to sob and
cry, talking nonsense.

All throughout her moment he
held her without saying a word. Heather hadn’t gone through this, and if she
had, she’d not said anything to her.

When it was all over her
helped clean her teeth before helping her into bed.

“I’ve got to go to work,”
she said.

“No, I’ve called Dale, and
he’s giving you the day off, paid.”

She thought about Connie and
wondered what her friend was going to do with the two love interests in her
life.

Amber fingered the loose
collar around her neck. When they were inside her apartment she loved wearing
his mark. The collar was a lovely pink with a locket in the centre. It symbolized
their connection to each other.

He kissed her hand, stopping
her from playing with it.

“I don’t think I can do
this,” she said, touching her stomach. “Bringing a baby into the world is hard
work.”

“You’ll do it, Amber. You’ve
got me by your side. I’m never leaving you. We’ve got this.
You,
me, and the baby.”
He kissed her head. “If you argue I’ll get your
friends on your case. None of them will allow you to fail. Our little guy is
going to have three amazing Aunties and an amazing Uncle.”

Elijah refused to give Wade
or Dale the credit of an Uncle. The two men were fighting over Connie, and it
was starting to get ugly. The last time she saw both men was over a week ago
when they were both sporting black eyes and bruised lips. Connie looked
heartbroken.

What concerned Amber more
was Ashley. Their friend had become withdrawn from them as a group. She knew it
had something to do with Jonathan, but she never wanted to pry.

She took hold of his hand
and rested his palm on her stomach. They could do this together. They’d fought
each other for a long time, but now, nothing was standing in their way.

There was still something
she needed to tell Elijah.

The sound of her apartment
door opening cut through their moment.

“I fucking hate that
bastard. I swear, Amber, I’m going to cut his cock off and feed it to him,”
Ashley said. Her voice was loud as it travelled through to the bedroom.

Elijah helped her out of the
bed, and together they made their way toward the kitchen. “I thought you locked
the door after getting the mail,” Amber said.

“I fucking forgot. I think
we should be fucking in the living room, and it might stop her coming in,” he
said.

“I doubt it. She’d wait
until we finished.”

They found Ashley pounding
at their chicken fillets that Elijah had bought for dinner. The meat was
covered in cling film, and Ashley was holding a rolling pin.

“She looks ready to kill.”

“Keep your dick away from
her,” Amber said, laughing. “What’s the matter, honey?”

Ashley looked between them.
“Have you told him the truth? He looks a little pale.”

Amber looked up at Elijah.

“Why is this about me?” he
asked.

Shaking her head, Amber
tried to get her friend’s attention. She was hoping to break the news to him
when they were alone together.

“Tell him, Amber. He needs
to know.” Ashley had been the one to go to her first appointment.
Elijah’d
had a prior appointment that he couldn’t cancel.

Glaring at her friend, she
grabbed Elijah’s hand. “Baby, I love you, but we’re having twins.”

When Elijah came to, he
pulled Amber into a tight embrace. Their twins would come into the world with
two loving parents. After all, Elijah owned Amber’s heart, body, and soul.

The End

www.samcrescent.wordpress.com

Other
Books by Sam Crescent:

www.evernightpublishing.com/sam-crescent

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