Touch of Amber: Hot Rods, Book 7 (7 page)

“Sure.” Amber smiled her best fake smile and went to check out the other gorgeous brides in their distinctive gowns. They truly did look lovely. Kaelyn wore a more casual, though no less dazzling, hand-painted silk gown covered in a riot of wildflowers. Nola had on the flowing lavender dress with a beaded crystal bodice and an empire waistline she’d fallen in love with the first time she tried it on.

They were stunning and unique.

Amber couldn’t help herself. She diverted toward the window to curse the skies for taking anything away from the three beautiful friends and their five handsome grooms.

Two hours later, Amber stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows in the main house, watching rain pour in streams down the panes. They were supposed to be taking group portraits in the flower gardens as of fifteen minutes ago. Hope of that happening had vanished.

She glanced down at her phone and updated the radar once more. It seemed like a cluster of rogue clouds were parked directly above Bare Natural. If they would just scoot out of the way…

Of course, she’d been thinking that very thing for the past hour and a half.

So at first she thought she was imagining it when the rain came slower and slower.

In the distance she spotted blue skies. Limning the edge of them and growing stronger and stronger, sunlight pierced the gloom.

Gavyn squeezed her hand, his fingers entwined with hers as they had been since she’d taken up watch over the storm. “Hey. It’s breaking up, love.”

She turned to him with a mammoth smile, but when she faced the room she found no one else looking except her. The rest of the guests were laughing, snacking on the finger foods the caterers had set out, talking and generally enjoying their time together. Decked out in their snazziest clothes, they lounged around the log cabin as if it were the posh surroundings she’d precisely arranged for today’s festivities.

How much had she missed out on with her back turned in the pursuit of perfection?

Deep in her gut, she felt something shift, and realized that everyone was right. Nola, her mom, Gavyn…

She had to learn to let some of this go.

After today.

Amber raised her voice. “Everyone, I think we have a shot. If you want to do this outside, let’s give everything an hour to dry out and we’ll start the ceremony.”

Not too much later than they’d planned, either. Sure, she’d have to move to Plan B for the pictures. The rest could be salvaged, she’d bet.

The wedding party sounded off in agreement.

Amber went back to work. This time she focused on how to get her friends married rather than creating some storybook vision. Fortunately for the Hot Rods, her excessive preparations meant they’d have both.

Chapter Seven

Gavyn had attended quite a few weddings. Guys from law school getting hitched, former clients remarrying—usually to the people they’d cheated on their spouses with—and even one he’d crashed when he’d followed some hot chick in a pretty dress to the ceremony she was a bridesmaid in. Usually the only thing he liked was the free liquor.

Somehow this was different.

He stood beside Roman, Carver and Quinn under one of the four arches that ringed the large pergola. Beneath each of the other ones was another of the Hot Rods couples tying the knot. In the center, a diverse group of friends and family sat in a circle. As the focus switched from couple to couple, they turned their seats ninety degrees.

Amber really had made a potentially awkward situation into something spectacular and inimitable, like the people pledging themselves to each other that day.

Gavyn stared at her, directly across from him, where she attended her sister.

As if she could feel his gaze, she met it with her own warm stare and smiled.

It was as though trouble had lifted from her soul at the same time the rain had vanished, leaving behind the boldest rainbow he’d ever seen. Sure, the gang had missed out on getting their photos taken in the gardens, but they’d ended up with a backdrop that couldn’t be arranged or bought.

The pergola had sheltered them and been perfectly framed by the complete double arch of vibrant colors. The grooms had held umbrellas over their brides, adding another interesting element to the scene. The photographer had just about passed out with delight when he’d reviewed the shots on the display of his digital camera.

Probably figured he’d be booked solid for the next ten years at least when he added those images to his portfolio. Of course, Gavyn’s favorite part had been the way he and Amber were paired up as the two solo attendees in the wedding party.

Knowing he’d have a memento of their time together sat well with him. Really well, although he wished he could cling to more of Amber than a photograph.

He tuned back in to the ceremony in time to hear the four couples reciting vows that left everyone reaching for the tissues Amber had included in the program packets at their seats. At the last moment, before the recessional music began, Amber announced to the crowd that the Hot Rods ladies had a surprise for their guys. Each of them revealed a matching shop logo tattoo, proclaiming themselves Hot Rods for life.

Gavyn knew the meaning went deeper than business. He was envious of the network of love and lust they had built. He wasn’t greedy. If he could win a single woman’s heart—one particular woman’s—he thought he could be happy with that.

Roman elbowed him in the ribs. He looked directly at Amber, then back to Gavyn, and whispered, “You know, I’d be glad to return this favor someday.”

“That might be a little premature. I haven’t even gotten her to sleep with me yet.” He tried to laugh it off. For the first time, a single hookup didn’t seem like the end goal. Burying himself inside her once wasn’t going to be enough. He already knew that.

“Good luck.” Barracuda smirked. “I don’t think you need it. She’s giving you you’re-going-to-get-lucky eyes.”

“God, I hope so.” He disguised his chuckle behind a faux-cough when Ms. Brown turned her head in his direction. She tipped the wide-brimmed purple hat that made her look like an old-Hollywood starlet so she could glare at him from the opposite side of the space, as if she had supersonic hearing. Or magical powers.

Like her daughter, who had cast some kind of spell on him.

With a dazzling smile, and maybe a hint of laughter, Amber watched him from across the room. Only the thunderous applause and whistles of the Powertools and Hot Rods not on display broke their connection. He realized the four couples were sharing their official first kiss.

Beside him, Roman had dipped Carver and was about to jam his tongue so far down his throat he licked the guy’s toes. Impressive.

Gavyn whooped along with everyone else. Mostly because wrapping up here meant he got to spend time with Amber. Alone, eventually. He’d settle for dinner and dancing until then.

She rounded to his side of the pergola as the recessional went on and he fell into step beside her, offering his arm, which she accepted without hesitation.

“Congratulations.” He kissed her cheek as they headed for the pavilion a little way down the path. Even the soggy grass looked dazzling, covered in raindrops. The fresh scent of spring filled the air. “I can’t imagine how that could have gone any better. You did a fantastic job, Amber.”

“Thanks.” She smiled up at him. “At the end of the day, seeing them all so in love… Yeah. That’s what counts. I kind of got lost for a while, I guess.”

“You’re on the right track now?” He held out her chair at their shared table.

“I could be.” She leaned closer to whisper in his ear, “If you still plan to help me do something wild later.”

“That can be arranged.” He was so engrossed in her that it caught him off guard when the waiters circling hovered over his shoulder and offered them a tray of glasses. White wine on one side, red on the other. Without thinking, his hand reached for one.

Then jerked when Amber gasped, “Gavyn, no.”

Awkward and ashamed, he froze with his fingers dangling in midair.

“Neither of us will be drinking tonight, thank you.” She covered graciously for him as he fought the parched sensation in his mouth that begged the man to return and pour the entire contents of his serving dish down Gavyn’s throat.

Blindsided, he wrestled with the powerful and uncontrolled urge.

Roman must have seen the whole incident. He stepped over with Carver and crouched beside Gavyn’s chair, between him and Amber, while Meep made the rounds and distracted the rest of the guests from the near disaster.

“It helps me to think about something else I really want,” Barracuda said, to no one in particular. Both Amber and Gavyn hung on every word of his advice. “Sometimes the only thing that can make a craving stop is Carver. Sex, I mean. It’s not worth it, Gav. Just think, if you have one, you’ll have a dozen. Tomorrow you won’t even remember your night with Amber. Don’t do that to yourself. Don’t delete this happiness from your memory.”

Gavyn put his hand on Roman’s shoulder as his logic returned. “I’m good now. Thanks. It just…I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. It helps when I’m prepared.”

“If it gets bad, you come find me.” Barracuda slapped Gavyn’s back.

“I’m not going to interrupt your fucking wedding night—”

“You will. If you need to, you should. I want you to.” He smiled at his new husband. “Carver would say exactly the same thing.”

“Okay.” Gavyn swallowed hard, some of the cottony feeling dissipating. “Okay, I will. Thank you.”

Then he couldn’t sit still a moment longer. He shot to his feet and held his hand out to Amber. “Dance with me?”

“I’d love to.” She smiled. Except this time her lip wobbled, tempting him to bite the plump flesh she worried between her stark white teeth.

“Don’t pity me,” he grumbled in her ear as they whirled around the floor in time to the live band, who covered some classic crooner.

“I don’t. But I
am
worried about you.” Her hand rested high on his back, holding him close to her. “Same as you were for me earlier. Neither one of us has been at our finest today.”

“Hey, it’s not about perfect, remember?” Though she did a pretty damn terrific imitation of flawless as he held her in his arms and twirled her around.

“Yes. Do you?” She looked up at him, so beautiful and trusting. He could do nothing except earn her respect.

So he nodded and was surprised to feel some of the oily sickness the alcohol debacle had left behind slipping from his soul. They danced and danced, practically fused together, until the food was served, and again after.

Gavyn couldn’t believe that Amber left her tablet behind so long and didn’t even check to see if the cake cutting happened at the prescribed hour. Things took care of themselves, because she’d done her work in arranging them thoroughly. She went with the flow, enjoyed the moment and lived so fully that she hurt to look at.

Gorgeous and bold, she was unstoppable in his eyes.

When, finally, the guests began to wander away to their own cabins, she made her final rounds with the vendors and her clients. She hugged her sister tight and offered her blessings one more time. Assured that everything was taken care of for the rest of the night, she held out her hand and Gavyn wasted no time in taking it.

“Walk me home, Gavyn?” she asked.

“How about something faster? Can I run you there instead?” He bent down and scooped her into his arms, loving the sound of her riotous laughter. The guests burst into a round of applause as he carried her off into the night, Roman and Nola hooting loudest of all. She tossed them a royal wave at their spectacular exit.

At the edge of the reception area, Gavyn spotted her mother and Tom snuggled together on a bench, looking up at the stars. When Ms. Brown noticed them together, she winked, then went back to her own business.

Gavyn figured that was about the most ringing endorsement he’d ever receive.

Amber tempted him to stop and kiss her senseless with every second that passed. He held off, wanting to seduce her properly this time. Her gown fluttered in the wind as he went as fast as he dared on the slippery path.

Feathers floating on the breeze kept ending up in his mouth, giving him an idea.

“What’s that diabolical grin for?” Amber asked as she reached up to free the dress from his lips.

“You’ll see,” he promised. He couldn’t help but reflect her seductive smile as he finally made it to her cabin, which seemed like it had taken forever. He took the stairs two at a time and practically crashed through the door.

Chapter Eight

Gavyn kicked the door shut and marched to the studio-style cabin’s bed, which was the fancy four-poster kind with mosquito netting draped from the top. It reminded him of their indiscretion at the pergola the day before, and he hummed.

He set Amber on the mattress gently then followed her down. His shoes hit the floor with a double-clunk as he toed them off before crawling between her legs. He lifted first one then the other, running his hands along her toned calves to her ankles then slipping her high heels from her feet. Though honestly, they were fucking hot and seeing her naked except for those would have been a treat.

Tonight, however, he wanted something richer than that. Something more romantic, though no less steamy. Maybe the weddings had rubbed off on him. He needed to feel a connection with Amber that went deeper than physical.

It wouldn’t be hard.

Placing her feet on the mattress, he smiled as her toes curled in the thick comforter where they peeked from beneath the riot of fluffy feathers. A few had come loose, dangling by a thread here or there. He toyed with one, then plucked it from the dress.

Gavyn set it aside and went to work on getting her naked so they could finally press together, skin on skin, something he’d been craving since before she’d even come to Bare Natural in person. The first time he’d seen her on the videochat screen he’d gotten an insta-hard-on that had hardly let him forget about her since.

Now she was here, smiling up at him, her hair a riot of midnight curls haloing her face. As if he’d made his request out loud, she rolled onto her stomach, leaving the lace-up back of her sinful dress exposed to him. He leaned forward, covering her, dusting her hair out of the way so that he could nibble on the base of her neck.

Amber practically purred. She turned restless, squirming slightly against the bed and his chest. Only then did he lift up enough to untie the sash bow at her waist. With that out of the way, he worked along the crisscrossing back, unwinding the ribbon that had held her tight all day.

She sighed as the pressure released.

Gavyn helped her sit up, amused when she crossed her arms, cupping her breasts as the bodice of her dress tumbled into her lap. She rested in a pool of luxurious purple satin and feathers, looking every bit like a pin-up girl or maybe a classy centerfold.

“Beautiful,” he murmured.

Everything he did was slowed by their endless kisses. He couldn’t help himself from taking a new taste of her every few seconds, and she seemed as hungry as he was. Amber forgot her modesty long enough to bury her fingers in his hair and knead his scalp as she met him for endless sweeps of their lips over each other’s.

When he couldn’t stand to wait any longer, he cupped the unharmed side of her face and drew his thumb down her lips, loving how swollen and rouged they were from their exchange. Her eyes were large and bright, even in the dim light, supplied only by the moon and the stars.

Gavyn tucked his fingers in the sides of her dress and shimmied it lower until she had to lift her ass off the bed so he could sweep it from beneath her. He paused briefly to admire the elegant black panties she’d paired with her outfit, a tangle of strings and lace that hardly covered her pussy.

He nuzzled her there, breathing deep as he continued to peel the dress down her thighs then, finally, off her entirely. He flung it to the floor so that he could simply look at her, almost-naked and willing, before him.

Again, he surrendered to the lure of her mouth and returned to kissing her before her soft moans escalated and he couldn’t resist the invitation she was making by writhing against his still-clothed body. He traveled down her torso, starting with her neck then licking a line to her breasts. He toyed with them, slowly, gently, in a way he’d never found particularly pleasing before.

With Amber, he didn’t want to rush. Didn’t want to binge. He wanted to savor.

So he did.

She gasped when he kissed her stomach, licking and softly biting the tight skin around her bellybutton, all the while stroking her arms and long legs and anything else he could reach. In advance of his mouth’s arrival, he slipped her panties from her curvaceous form, loving the way her hips fit his palms and would give him a perfect grip when he fucked her from behind.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said softly, afraid to shatter the moment. “Perfection is looking better from where I’m lying right now.”

To him, she was flawless.

Her fingers returned to his hair, entwining in it as she urged him between her legs.

He chuckled before lifting her to remove her underwear completely, then spreading her thighs wide around his torso, giving himself a prime view of her pretty pussy. “I’m getting there, love.”

“Quicker,” she moaned.

“Is this what you want?” he asked as he dipped forward, plying her glistening folds with his outstretched tongue.

“God, yes!” Amber rose up to meet him, her long body arching in response to the barest of contact.

Happy to give them both what they desired, he pressed deeper into her core, sucking lightly on her pussy as he brought his hands to her knees and pushed outward. With better access, he drove forward again, circling her entrance with long laps before spearing his tongue inside her as deeply as he could reach. His nose rubbed her clit as he feasted on her, enjoying the taste of her so much that he almost forgot this was intended to be for her pleasure and not his.

Win-win, he supposed.

Gavyn smiled against her when she reached for his hand, holding it and rubbing her thumb over his knuckles as he continued to eat her greedily. She rained an intermittent string of moans over him, adding to the decadent sensations. Unlike the too-consistent fake cries of some of his fucks, who seemed to think he’d take their silence as an insult, Amber’s reactions were honest and organic.

Every time she groaned or hissed or cursed, he redoubled his efforts, intent on making her do it again. When her thighs began to quiver around him, he knew she was holding back on purpose. He scooped his hands beneath her ass and lifted her pelvis to his face, allowing her no room for retreat or half measures.

“I could do this all night, Amber,” he muttered against her body. “Come on my face. I’ll take you there again. As many times as you want.”

As if his breath washing over her—or maybe his promise—was enough to set her free, she cried out. Loud and desperate. So he returned to his feast, paying special attention to her clit as he manipulated her with his mouth.

Though she didn’t seem to need it, he couldn’t help but feel her as she surrendered, so he slid one finger inside her clinging sheath and grinned against her when the penetration triggered her orgasm. She clamped around him violently, shuddering and writhing until he laid one arm across her middle, keeping her in place.

And when she seemed wrung dry, he diverted to less sensitive tissue without stopping, taking his time to build her back up as he’d promised. By the third or fourth time she exploded, she started begging.

“Please, Gavyn. Come here. Take off your clothes. I want to see you. Touch you. Ride you,” she admitted.

That last one got him. To see her towering over him, glorious and proud as she worked his cock with her body… Well, he was human after all, and resisting what they both wanted would be impossible.

He loosened his tie and yanked it over his head, setting it on the pillow with the almost-forgotten feather before slowly and methodically taking off first his suit jacket, then his shirt, button by button.

Amber touched herself, squeezing her breasts and rubbing her pussy as she watched him strip for her pleasure. “You’re so damn handsome. Ripped. I can’t wait to feel your muscles flexing as you’re fucking me.”

“Keep talking like that and it won’t be the kind of ride I want to give you, love.” He groaned.

She lunged up and snatched at his belt buckle, making him laugh. When was the last time he’d done that in bed?

Still, he picked up the pace, if only a little, divesting himself of his pants, underwear and socks, leaving himself completely nude. Amber’s gaze roamed from his pecs to his abs then to his cock, which he was sure had never been so hard in all his life. She licked her lips as she studied him rolling on a condom, then kept going to his thighs before coming back to his erection.

“Can I touch you?” she asked, her hand reaching out anyway.

“You can do anything you want to me.” He grinned.

“Really? You should be careful. There are some things I’ve never had the guts to try with a guy.” The downright naughty smile she tossed him had him groaning. He’d submit to anything if it brought her bliss.

“Later,” he said. “After we’ve done this a few dozen times and I can think straight again. Feel free to experiment as much as you like.”

“I will.” She lifted her arms, welcoming him back.

They both moaned when their bodies aligned for the first time with nothing between them. His cock nudged at her thigh and she wriggled, trying to fit herself to it. When Gavyn resisted, content to hold her and kiss her for a while longer, she protested.

Amber rolled them so that he was lying on his back with her straddling his hips. She reached down between them and pumped his cock in her supple palm a few times.

As if he wasn’t already stiffer than the curtain rods they’d installed the day before.

He watched her, though, because the image of her darker skin against his, cradling him, was alluring and intimate. And when she lifted up a fraction of an inch, angling his cock toward her pussy, he thought he would die from the excitement of witnessing himself enter her. Bit by bit.

Clenching rings of muscle gave way, slowly yielding to gravity and the pressure of his rounded head. It nearly made his head explode as her body stroked his dick from the tip then onto the shaft.

Amber lifted herself then returned, bearing down on him until he was fully embedded in her heat. They stayed locked like that, unmoving, for a long time. First staring into each other’s eyes, then kissing when he reached for her and drew her onto his chest.

He’d never had sex like this before. Made love, he supposed. It’d never been so slow and achingly tender. Never something he was afraid of.

Scared because he knew that it would never satisfy him again to have a quick and meaningless fuck after he’d experienced something so utterly mind-blowing.

Eventually, their make-out session turned into fucking as Amber slowly rocked her hips while she grazed her mouth across his lips, chin and neck. She ground on him, clenching him tight within her as she worked over him in a sinuous figure eight that rubbed her clit against the pad of muscle at the base of his cock.

He smiled up at her as she began to rock faster, moan louder and draw tighter around him.

“That’s it, love,” he coached her. “Come on me.”

“Want to wait for you,” she whimpered.

“Not this time.” He still had plenty to give her. “Keep taking, as much as you can.”

Amber’s eyes grew wide, looking nearly molten in the moonlight. She let him guide her hips, helping her maintain her rhythm as her conscious thoughts were likely overwhelmed by desire. When she bucked, causing him to bore inside her as deeply as possible, then went stiff in his hold and screamed his name, he prayed he could keep his word.

It had never been so difficult to stave off his orgasm as when she unraveled around him.

Then again, he hadn’t done this much without a good helping of whiskey dick either.

It wasn’t that—he knew it wasn’t—that lured him toward climax.

It was all her.

He wanted to experience that lust again. And again.

That thought alone saved him.

Gavyn gathered her to him and rolled, bringing them to their sides so he could croon praise and reassurance to her as she continued to crest for so long he couldn’t tell if she had come down and starting orgasming again or if she was just this incredibly responsive.

Either way, he petted her. Her back, her shoulders, her arms, her thighs, her breasts. He sucked on her nipples, while still embedded in her fully.

When her sighs turned back to soft moans, he began to thrust.

Gavyn drew one of her knees up so that it draped over his hip and shuttled within her. He withdrew until only the barest bit of him remained inside her, then flexed until he had buried himself as deep as possible.

After his arm had long gone numb and they’d kissed each other’s lips raw, he pressed her to the bed, riding her faster and with shorter strokes.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes before she shattered while staring up at him with dreamy, blissed-out eyes. She needed a break, or she’d be completely overwhelmed. Frankly, so did his cock, which was dying for release.

So he pulled out of her, making both of them groan at the loss.

Instead of jacking off on her tits or whatever else it was she seemed to expect, he reached for the supplies he’d left at the head of the bed earlier.

He ordered, “Turn over.”

She obeyed without hesitation.

“Good girl.” He squeezed her ass hard before landing a spank there that made her yelp. Still she didn’t pull away. “Tell me if you’re not into this.”

“I am, Gav. I am.” She sighed and spread her legs as if she missed his cock in her pussy as much as he did.

Without waiting for her to change her mind, he tugged her hands into the small of her back, stacked her wrists on top of one another, then bound them with the silk he’d worn all day. She tugged against the knot, but didn’t get anywhere.

“Still good?”

“So good,” she whispered.

“That’s right, love,” he murmured to her as he held himself over her with one arm while kissing and rubbing every inch of skin on her backside. He followed the moist heat of his tongue with a swipe of the cool feather, making her tremble and moan.

At some point, he lifted her ass, bringing her to her knees with her shoulders planted on the bed. He rotated her face so that her fractured cheek was up, in no danger of him injuring it further, before proceeding. When Amber realized what he was doing, she smiled at him and murmured, “Thank you.”