Authors: H. Ward
Safe Without You (27 page)
The sound of the waves crashing on the sand as the tide came in seemed to fill up all available space. “I love that sound,” Amber murmured, “It’s timeless. Humans have been listening to that for eternity.”
“I remember you saying that, once before, that beautiful night we had on the beach.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Let’s go skinny dipping.”
Amber giggled as she jumped to her feet and started shedding her clothes. “Last one in is a sorry sack of coca.” Her feet churned up sprays of sand as she ran toward the water. In moments, Cal was naked and chasing her. Amber dived into the surf, the slight sting of the saltwater making her blink her eyes hard as her head popped up above the water. She pushed her hair back away from her eyes, as she treaded water, waiting for Cal to pop to the surface next to her. Cal swam close and tenderly touched Amber’s face with his fingertips.
“Do you remember how I made you scream that night? You were so mad at me for scaring you,” Cal pulled Amber into an embrace.
“You were acting like an asshole, as I recall,” Amber teased.
“My offer still stands,” Cal said seriously
“What offer is that?”
“If you’ll recall, I offered to be your sex slave.”
“Oh,
that
offer.” Amber gave Cal a knowing look as she pushed back a wet strand of hair from his forehead.
“A girl…a
woman
with as much guts as you have, well, she deserves her own personal sex slave.”
Amber laughed and started swimming for shore. Cal watched as Amber rose out of the surf, her naked skin glistening. He loved the strength in her body even more now that he knew the strength of mind and spirit that it held. She stretched her arms out and spun like a helicopter, overtaken with a childlike joyfulness that made him laugh as he watched her. Then she turned to face him, allowing him to gaze at her. Every part of her was beautiful, Cal thought, her lovely breasts full and rounded, the delicate pink nipples, the taut muscles of her legs and arms, her gently curved belly. He could feel himself growing hard, his body longing to possess all that loveliness, but something else swelled within him, something more profound and primal. It was the recognition that this was the woman that he was meant to be with, the woman that fate had put in his path. This was the woman that would save his life.
Amber watched, entranced, as Cal emerged from the surf like an ancient Greek hero. This was the man that had risked his career and his life to rescue her. More than that, this was the man who allowed her to fully be who she was with all of her myriad contradictions. The one thing she was certain about, though, was that she would never need any other man except Cal.
Amber met Cal at the edge of the water, he slid his arms around her, pulling her close. His hardness pressed into the soft “V” between her legs and she closed her eyes, giving herself over both to the pleasant sensation of his body’s warmth—and to the knowledge that Cal wanted her, not just her body, he wanted
her
.
Cal’s hands covered her beautiful breasts, and he leaned in to kiss her. His tongue was delicate in it’s probing, then more insistent as Amber’s mouth became greedy. His thumbs brushed her nipples, his caresses making them hard and sensitive, and she moved her mouth to nip at his neck. Amber could feel the firm length of Cal’s cock pushing against her belly, and she reached down to caress the head with a fingertip. Cal sucked in a breath as his pleasure increased and she began to move her hand in assertive strokes. Feeling his shaft growing even harder and more rigid under her fingers, Cal’s body felt electrified, and it seemed impossible to know how to respond. Amber kissed him hard, as her own passion built, and then she moved her mouth to whisper in his ear.
“Tell me what you want.”
Cal smiled to hear his own words coming back to him, and Amber asked again, “Tell me what you want to do.”
“I want to do whatever you want,” Cal whispered, his hands reaching around Amber to clasp her backside, pulling her against him.
“Oh no,” Amber smiled, “That’s a cop out. I want details, sir, details.”
“I want to look in your eyes while we make love.” Suddenly, Cal dropped to the sand, pulling Amber on top of him. “I want you to be in control.”
Amber sat up, and placed a knee to each side of Cal’s lean hips, her hands resting on his stomach. “You want me to be in control?”
“Yeah, I like that idea.”
Grasping the shaft of Cal’s cock, Amber inserted the tip into her throbbing pussy and then with aching slowness, settled herself over his cock. Cal groaned in delight, grasping her about the waist as he tried to urge her to move more quickly.
“Uh uh, I’m in control.” Gradually, Amber raised herself off of him, until only the smallest bit of his manhood was left inside her, and this time she plunged quickly, feeling the full length of his hardness inside her. Cal slid a finger between her legs, gently massaging her clit with his wet finger. She began to slowly rock above him, Cal teasing her pleasure with a skillful motion. She closed her eyes for a moment, giving herself over to their connection, losing any sense of where her body stopped and Cal’s began. Cal met her motion with perfectly timed thrusts, all the while amplifying her pleasure with the most intimate of caresses.
Amber’s quickening breath told Cal she was close, and then she opened her eyes. Their gazes locked and something happened, something that was not about just the pleasure of their bodies together. Amber whispered, “Now—now you truly know me.” As she smiled down on him, Cal thought his heart would burst, and then their bodies channeled every ounce of the hurt and pain, and joy and love that they had shared in such a short period of time into a shimmering explosion.
Amber slumped, completely spent, her hands trembling on Cal’s belly, his hands still clutching her waist. It took some minutes before they could bear separating their intimate parts.
Finally, Cal lifted her into his arms as he stood and carried her into the surf. They clung to each other as they bobbed in the water, barely able to separate themselves from the elements around them. The moon was rising, and it’s soft light shimmered across the water as they silently floated, feeling boneless.
Cal tightened his arms around Amber, drawing her up so that the lengths of their bodies touched. Finally, when their breathing slowed, Cal found his voice, “This is kismet, Amber McShane.”
EPILOGUE
Two Years Later
“’Morning Amber.”
“Hey Chief.”
“Cal went up about an hour ago on a search and rescue, hiker got separated from his group, they’re afraid maybe he’s hurt. At any rate, definitely lost.”
Amber nodded, “He’ll find them…and hopefully not at the bottom of the canyon.”
“By the way,” the Chief Deputy cleared his throat, “Good work on that domestic violence case. We were sure that asshole was going to kill her before we could get her away from him.”
“Thanks…I’m really glad it worked out that way.”
“Well, for coming straight out of school, you’re doing a hell of a job as a deputy.”
Amber smiled, “I really want to help people.”
“So how are you and Cal settling into life here in Arizona? The desert isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea if you weren’t born to it.” He poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Amber.
“I mean, what’s not to like about the Grand Canyon? People are nice, well, except for the occasional jerk beating on his wife.” Amber took a sip. “Flagstaff is a great town, and we love being so close to the mountains. I’m going to take ski lessons this winter.” Amber grinned, “With any luck, I won’t break my neck”
“An athletic gal like you? You won’t have any trouble. You’ll be whizzing down the double black diamonds before you know it.” He poured a little creamer in his coffee. “You know, the Sheriff about did a jig, getting an experienced ex-DEA guy like Cal to come work for a county Sheriff’s department, and well, you’re proving yourself to be a huge bonus. You don’t often see women follow their husbands into law enforcement, usually they’re trying to make their men give it up.”
Amber shrugged, “Guess I’m not most women.”
“No, I guess not.” The Chief Deputy chuckled. “How did you and Cal meet, anyway?”
Amber tilted her head, “That’s…kind of a long story. Probably better told over something stronger than coffee.”
“Okay, we’ll save that for another day,” he stirred his coffee, “Go get caught up on your paperwork, we may need you to go out on the non-airborne part of this search and rescue.”
“Sure thing,” Amber started to head to her desk, then turned, “You know Chief, I really love being a deputy.”
He turned and walked away, giving her a little wave with the back of his hand, “I know, Amber, I know.”
###
The little frame house sat on two acres of land, a rolling meadow separating them from their nearest neighbor. On the horizon, not so far away, snow capped peaks rose up over purple hued hillsides. Amber stopped at the mailbox, fishing her hand in to pull out a stack of mail. And there, in between the circular for the local grocery and the gas bill, was a picture postcard of Belaton Lake in Hungary. In a neat printed hand it said, ‘Congratulations on your new job. I’m sure you will kick some ass.’ There was no signature, but a small, hand drawn cartoon of a girl kicking a donkey. Amber laughed, at least Tomás had developed a sense of humor.
She pushed through the unlatched screen door, as a dog came barreling at her; she put the mail down and rubbed his ears.
“Who’s a good boy? Are you a good boy?” She ruffled the dog’s fur as he shook himself excitedly.
“
I’m
a good boy,” Cal said. He appeared in the doorway to the kitchen holding a casserole dish in two hands covered with oven mitts. Amber quickly crossed the living room to kiss him.
“Wow, that smells good!” She took a deep whiff.
“Enchiladas de Cal.
Very
spicy!” He kissed her again, “Sit down, dinner’s ready, I made some guacamole and salad too.”
“Did you find the hiker?” Amber asked as she sat.
Cal put the enchiladas down on the table, then grabbed a couple of beers from their fridge. “Yeah, they slid down an embankment about twenty feet, broke their ankle, but they’ll be fine.” He handed her a beer, and sat down.
“Your mom and dad called,” Cal said. “The Colonel is looking forward to our backpacking trip and your mom sounds incredibly excited about dog sitting.” He laughed.
“She’ll have a good time with your mom, they got on so great at the wedding.”
“I’m just worried that the house will be covered with crocheted doilies and they’ll have made Rupert some kind of dog sweater meant for a Park Avenue poodle by the time we get back.”
Amber laughed, “And the problem with that is?”
Cal swallowed a bite of enchilada, “It is pretty great how our families get on…Bill and the Colonel are like long lost brothers.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Do you think you can handle five days in the wilderness with three men?”
“Oh, I think I can hold my own...as long as we aren’t being chased by bad guys with guns, it’ll be a walk in the park.”
Cal snorted a short laugh at her pun as he passed Amber the salad. “Did you remember to get the oil changed on your car?”
Amber studied Cal’s face. He looked relaxed and happy, she thought…and handsome. He was still every bit a sex bomb. A year of marriage had done nothing to change that. A smile starting creeping over her face, and then a heartfelt laugh came bubbling up.
Cal looked at her with a puzzled smile, “What? Something funny about an oil change?”
She reached across the table and caressed his face,
“No, it’s nothing. I’m just in a good mood.” But the fact was, Amber was thinking about how ordinary life was so much sweeter— once a person had truly faced a matter of life and death.
*********
Dear Reader,
If you enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy my other New Adult Romance novel,
HELPLESS
:
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www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FE72UUM
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Thank you for reading.
Love,
H. Ward x
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