Touch of Amber: Hot Rods, Book 7 (8 page)

He kissed her yet again before trailing the feather over her lips then along her neck to her graceful back. He toyed with her for as long as they both could stand. Stroking his cock idly, he tickled the bottom of her foot. She jerked and cried out.

“Is there a problem?” He knew there wasn’t. Except that she was growing needy again.

“I’m so turned on,” Amber confessed. “Every tiny touch feels so strong. My whole body is alive, aching for you.”

Gavyn rewarded her by cupping her mound in his palm.

She shouted his name and rubbed herself on him. He had a front-row seat to the flexing of her pussy, which was slathered with her arousal. He made one last circuit with the feather, this time around her asshole, and when she clenched instinctively, he worked his thumb into her cunt, giving her something to hold.

“Oh God. You’re driving me crazy.” She pleaded with him, “Fuck me, Gavyn. Please. Fuck me again. Harder this time. Please.”

Who was he to say no?

He leaned forward only long enough to lap at her pussy a few times, tasting the proof of her rapture. Then he gripped his cock in one hand, the tie binding her hands in the other, and penetrated her with a single thrust that landed him balls-deep in her pussy.

“Oh fuck. Amber.” He groaned, not unaffected himself. “You
are
perfect. This. Is perfect.”

He did as she asked and as his body demanded, finally riding her hard and fast. Her ass slapped against his abs and she chanted his name, encouraging him to fuck. So he did. And when she exploded, he nearly went with her.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he found a well of self-control he hadn’t known he possessed. Didn’t before her.

He withdrew and tended to Amber, untying her hands and ensuring the circulation hadn’t been cut off, rubbing her wrists as she gasped for air and reveled in her ongoing climax.

She opened one eye and looked up at him. “You still didn’t come?”

“I’m about to.” He grinned. “If you’ve got one more in you.”

“I…” She sighed. “I’m good. Use me to get yourself off. God, Gavyn. You’re the best lover I’ve ever had. Please, just do whatever makes you feel best.”

He smiled and rubbed his nose lightly along hers. “If you insist.”

“I do.” Amber inhaled sharply when he reintroduced his cock to her pussy. She hugged him tight—with her arms clutching his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist, and her cunt sucking at him relentlessly.

“But you’re coming with me,” he told her.

“I can’t,” she protested.

“You will.” He guaranteed it.

Gavyn didn’t have any fancy tricks to ensure she would. Their chemistry and the connection they had built did all the work for him. She responded as he loosened his hold on himself, reacting to each of his honest emotions with some of her own.

He pumped inside her with long, languid strokes that felt more like gliding than thrusting. The ring of muscles at her entrance strangled him, preventing him from falling from her body as he pistoned within her. And when the sweet silk of her pussy began to undulate around him, he knew they both were goners.

He kissed her one last time, staring directly into her eyes as he let ecstasy consume him. It started at the base of his cock and worked outward, a rapture so divine, he swore they’d reached heaven together.

“Go ahead, Gavyn.” Amber sealed his fate. “I want to feel your cock jerking in my pussy with every pump. Watch me come with you and know that no one has ever fucked me so well. You’re perfect for me, Gavyn.”

It’d been so long since he felt like he was worth anything, her words touched the deepest parts of him. There was no option except to do as she asked. Especially when she screamed and climaxed around him once more.

He came with a roar, plunging to the very limits of her pussy before unleashing stream after stream of semen. There had never been an orgasm in the history of man as strong or satisfying as that one, he was pretty sure.

Gavyn kept coming, fucking gently into Amber as she hugged him tight and her cunt milked him with her answering climax. It went on for hours, or at least it seemed like it, until they both collapsed into a sweaty, worn-out tangle of limbs.

Afraid of crushing her, he flopped to his back and drew Amber to him until she draped over his chest. They lay that way for a while, stunned, with her listening to his racing heart as it eventually settled into its regular beat.

“What happens now?” he asked, immediately regretting it. Well, Tom
had
told him to be vulnerable.

“I hope you’ll stay. Maybe we can sleep for a while?” She sounded hopeful and exhausted simultaneously.

He could have let it go, except suddenly it mattered. A lot. “I meant when you go home.”

“Oh.” She shrugged. “You’re the expert with this kind of thing. Mr. Spontaneity. I assumed we’d do our best to wring the most enjoyment out of these next couple days then go our separate ways and think of each other fondly. That’s what you do…right?”

It was.

Until her.

Was that what she wanted, or what she expected? They were two totally different things. Or maybe he was overreaching. Sure, he was a good fuck, but he’d be a shitty excuse for a boyfriend or husband, never knowing when he might crack again.

“Gavyn?” Amber must have sensed the tension coiling his muscles, sabotaging the relief she’d granted him, without even trying.

“Shhh.” He stroked her hair. “Ignore me. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

She seemed like she might press the issue at first. After a minute she relaxed, then whispered, “Okay.”

Was it his imagination, or did she sound disappointed?

In
him, or
with
him?

Neither would be great and the stakes had just gotten raised so much higher. He’d never imagined he could find someone so perfectly suited for him in and out of bed.

Gavyn kept caressing her, trying to memorize the satiny feel of her skin. Before long, her breathing evened out and she surrendered to the utter fatigue plaguing her. He continued to hold her for as long as he could before the misery of his impending loss of her spiraled him into a black depression, stealing his ability to sleep.

Carefully, he untangled himself from her and slipped out of bed.

Chapter Nine

For a long time Gavyn stood there, watching Amber sleep. What they’d shared was epic…and disastrous. At least for him. Because now he was sure that he’d never in all his life have something as brilliant as her.

He’d ruined himself before he even had a chance.

A woman who prized perfection and stability could never settle for someone as irreparably broken as him for a life partner.

Inherently flawed.

Incurably sick.

He paced the cabin. On the path leading farther away from the bed, he thought up every reason he was horrible for her, admitting he should leave her alone before he fucked up her life. On the way back, when he could see her lying there, so heartbreakingly beautiful, he argued with himself about how he’d do better for her. Over and over, he resolved to wake her up and tell her he wanted to try for something that went beyond a wedding affair.

Yet every time he approached her, he chickened out. So he’d nearly worn a groove in the plank flooring by the time his restless energy was depleted.

Though he was exhausted, physically and mentally drained, he couldn’t bring himself to return to the bed where they’d shared the most amazing experience of his life, because he didn’t want to taint her with his presence. He thought about bailing, crossing the lawn to his cabin and pretending like the one-night stand had been nothing extraordinary. With his hand on the doorknob, he couldn’t force his wrist to turn. Torn, he headed instead for the same couch on which he’d spent the predawn hours the morning before.

He plopped down, unconcerned about his nudity, and flung himself onto his side with enough drama to suit a thirteen-year-old girl who hadn’t gotten asked to the spring dance.

That was when he saw the gift someone had so thoughtfully snuck into Amber’s cottage.

A black ice bucket with the distinct gleaming gold foil of a bottle of Cristal peeking out from the top.

Gavyn rocketed to a sitting position. His spine whipped so straight, so fast, it nearly cracked. He lunged for the champagne and cradled the bottle to his chest as if it were a precious baby instead of a hell of a good vintage.

The folded note looped around the neck read,
I hope you don’t mind this one surprise addition to your agenda. Thank you for everything. I love you. Enjoy, Nola.

Gavyn had the neck of the bottle exposed quicker than he’d unwrapped Amber from her dress earlier. Before he even knew what he was doing, he’d popped the cork, sending it flying across the room.

Foam gushed from the bottle, covering his hands with sweet-smelling alcohol. Not letting it go to waste, he licked it up greedily, not missing a drop from his palms.

Then he froze. He stared in horror at his glimmering hands as if they were coated in blood after a brutal murder. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Amber, who’d slept through the noise. She was dead to the world.

To his transgression.

He couldn’t control himself. He couldn’t stop.

He wanted to, for her sake. This wasn’t the kind of man she deserved to be stuck with. Was it?

Desperate, he plunked the champagne on the coffee table, pried his fingers from the lovely bottle one at a time then slid onto the floor and crawled to his discarded clothes. He hauled his phone from his suit pants.

Gavyn made his way to the bathroom and locked himself in so Amber wouldn’t hear or be woken by the glow from his phone. Also so he wouldn’t run over to the champagne and chug the entire bottle before someone could stop him.

He needed help. Eyes scrunched closed, unable to believe he was going to interrupt Barracuda’s wedding night for something so pitiful, he considered his options.

It was either that or wake Amber and admit how fucked up he really was, guaranteeing he’d have no chance with her in any case.

Sweating and shaking, he could barely thumb through his contacts in search of Roman’s name. The fingers of his other hand clenched and unclenched as he tried to ignore the voices screaming at him to forget this and go into the other room instead.

Just then he pulled up Barracuda’s number. When he finally got it on screen, he jabbed the icon before he could change his mind. Again.

It rang. And rang and rang.

Roman didn’t answer.

“Fuck!” He punched the wall by the sink hard enough to skin his knuckles, dropping his phone in the process. It shattered on the tile floor, severing his only lifeline.

It was hopeless.
He
was hopeless.

Why had Roman been able to fix himself when Gavyn couldn’t?

Overwhelmed, he surrendered.

He opened the bathroom door and took a step toward the bottle taunting him. He sniffed his own hands, just for a fix. One taste, that was all—he needed one taste and then he would go search out his friend.

Except the instant his hand wrapped around the bottle’s neck, he knew there was no stopping now.

Gavyn tipped it to his lips and drank.

And drank.

And drank some more.

It burned as it fizzled down his throat.

He welcomed the pain.

Gasping for air, he realized he’d slammed half the bottle in one pull and prepared to finish it, get it over with, with the next. When it was empty, some dribbling onto his chest from where it had overflowed his mouth, he dropped the bottle onto the couch.

Gavyn grabbed the pen and the note from Nola and scrawled on the back of it. He staggered over to the bed and placed the paper beside Amber. Though he wished he could lean forward and kiss her one more time, he refused to defile her like that.

Instead, he slunk to the door and escaped before she could cage him in, away from what he needed. Not that she would care about him anymore if she saw what he had done. Who he really was. All that talk of changing was bullshit.

She was right to play by the rules. They kept her safe.

From herself.

And from the disappointing elements of the world. Including him.

He tried to run when his feet hit the ground, not caring that sticks and rocks and wet dirt clung to his soles. The champagne hit him hard, going to his head and making him dizzy.

Gavyn crashed, face first into the dirt, only laughing raucously when a rock smashed into his ribs. He deserved for it to hurt. It’d been so long since he’d had a drink, he could hardly hold his liquor anymore. What a pussy.

He’d fix that. The catering supplies wouldn’t be hauled away for a solid three or four hours yet, according to Amber’s schedule. He’d make the most of that open bar after all.

Chapter Ten

A sharp knock on the door startled Amber. Fast asleep, she struggled to surface from the coma she’d fallen into after making love with Gavyn.

“Gav?” she called sleepily. “Is that you?”

Maybe he’d gotten locked out after using Kayla and Dave’s kitchen to cook them another spectacular breakfast. One she would eagerly devour. Sex with him was better than cardio for working up her appetite.

“No, sorry. It’s me. Roman.” His voice came quietly from the front of the cabin as if he was unsure or trying not to frighten her. “The door’s not shut all the way—mind if I come in?”

What the hell?

“Yes! I mean…I mind. Hang on a minute.” Amber scrambled to engage her brain. She lunged for a blanket to wrap around her nude body, snatched the gold condom wrapper off the sheets, sprang out of bed and promptly tripped over one of Gavyn’s dress shoes.

Where is he?

Her body reminded her, with delicious aches, of the time they’d spent together the night before, making love in a variety of poses she didn’t usually subject herself to. Maybe Sabra had something with that yoga stuff. If Amber was going to be getting it on with a super-stud more often, she’d have to get into better shape. Be more flexible. In all sorts of ways.

Holy hell. He’d practically knocked her unconscious. She hadn’t slept like that since she was a child, with nothing to worry about. Since before her father had died.

Swiping the tangle of her hair from her face, she tried to appear a tiny bit together. No hope, really.

Barracuda grinned at her when she approached. “If I wasn’t a happily married man, I’d have to say… Damn, Amber.”

She blushed despite her newly turned wild leaf.

“Sorry. I was…really tired. Are you waiting for Gavyn? Is he in the shower?” She peeked toward the bathroom. The door was wide open and there was something on the floor.

“Actually, I was coming to see if everything was okay.” Roman snapped back to serious awfully quick. “I didn’t realize my phone had run out of battery last night. When I plugged it in this morning I saw I had a two a.m. missed call from him.”

“What?” A sick feeling swirled around her stomach. “You did?”

“Yeah.” His gaze began to dart around the room uneasily. For a badass like Roman, that was about as concerning as full-blown hysterics from a regular human being.

Right about then, she realized the object now crumpled in her hand was paper, not plastic, and the condom wrapper had been black, not gold.

“Oh shit.” Amber unfurled her fingers and realized it was actually a note. From her sister? And on the back… Two words scrawled in a barely legible script.

I’m sorry.

“No!” she cried out at the same time Roman started cursing violently, inventing new combinations she’d never heard before. He grabbed something off the couch and held it up to her.

“Please tell me you drank this.” Barracuda waved a fancy champagne bottle.

Amber put her face in her hands, her cheek objecting though nothing could hurt as much as her cracking heart. Her knees gave out and she fell to them on the floor, sobbing. “I didn’t know it was there. I swear I didn’t.”

“It’s not your fault.” Roman rushed to her side. His phone was already halfway to his ear. And seconds later, he was barking out orders. “Meep. I need you. And the rest of the guys. Gavyn is missing. I think he’s on a bender. Run down to the lot and make sure his motorcycle is still here. If it is, then help me search the grounds. We’ve got to find him. Quick.”

As if he’d urged Amber on instead of his new husband, Roman’s instructions clicked in her mind. She didn’t give a shit if he saw her naked. She ditched the blanket and drew on Gavyn’s shirt, which covered her almost to her knees. Good enough.

“Let’s go.” She grabbed Roman’s hand, tugging him toward the door, as he stood still gaping at her.

“Amber, I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but…I think you should stay,” he tried to warn her. “No matter what we find, it’s not going to be pretty and—”

“I’m not going to leave him out there alone. He could be hurt. In trouble…” Her voice cracked. “Worse.”

“Think positive.” Barracuda hugged her then conceded, probably because arguing about it was wasting too much time.

She didn’t even bother to put on shoes before they darted out of the cabin.

Roman immediately began searching the area around the cute bungalow while she sprinted over to the one Gavyn had been staying in. The door smashed against the wall with a bang. It was pretty clear he hadn’t been there since he’d retrieved his suit the day before. The bed was neatly made. Everything was in order.

Still, she checked the bathroom and the floor before giving up hope that he’d come over here to sleep off the champagne. They hadn’t gotten lucky enough for him to quit with that one bottle. She could attest to his tenacity. If he drank like he fucked, then this was going to be bad.

Really bad.

Amber muffled a sob then dashed back outside, nearly colliding with Roman.

“He’s not in here,” she reported.

“Not anywhere outside either.”

They looked at each other, exchanging panic. Her eyes closed and she thought of all the places he could have gone. Just then, Barracuda’s phone rang.

He answered, putting it on speaker. “What do you have, Meep?”

“Good news. All the vehicles are accounted for, including Gavyn’s chopper,” Carver told them. “He’s still here. Somewhere.”

Amber’s worry eased a tiny bit as she erased images of him splattered across the pavement from the horrific reel of movies running through her imagination. “Thank God.”

“Got it. Thanks. Can you get the rest of the gang, and the crew too, to help search?” Roman asked.

“On it,” he confirmed. Then, just before he hung up, he said, “I love you, Roman. Tell Amber I love her too.”

Roman looked at the disconnected phone in his hand and then to her. He assured her, “We’ll find him.”

How cold had it gotten the night before? The rain had brought some cooler air behind it. Though they were on the downhill slide to summer, she was shivering after only a few minutes of exposure. Or maybe that was sheer terror causing her to tremble.

Where would he have likely gone?

“Oh no.” She looked up and found Roman staring back at her as if he’d had the same idea simultaneously.

“The bar. Everything is still in the pavilion, isn’t it?” He grimaced.

“My fault. It’s my damn fault. I knew it was a problem for him and I didn’t have it taken away.” She couldn’t help the tears that fell from her eyes. How could she have been so lax that she didn’t protect the one person who’d needed her lately?

“I told you, this is
not
your responsibility.” Roman frightened her a little with the ferocity of his snarl. “Look, I hurt Carver with my bullshit too. And I guarantee that’s the last thing Gavyn would want for you right now. He owns this. Me too, for not answering the motherfucking phone after I said I would. But we have to put that aside for now. Let’s find him first. There will be plenty of time for playing
what if
later.”

Amber nodded. She still couldn’t help the guilt eating her alive. They both knew there would be so many nights filled with regret that none of them would escape unscathed.

Except Roman hadn’t seen the sides of Gavyn she had. He was generous, funny, smart and kind, when life allowed him to be. Anything she’d done to obstruct his progress would haunt her for the rest of her days.

Worse, if he had—

She couldn’t bring herself to think of what might have happened to him.

Instead, she jumped off the porch and sprinted for the wedding pavilion. Although Roman had been flat-footed, he caught up quickly then surpassed her pace. Probably he didn’t want her stumbling over Gavyn’s corpse if he’d choked to death on his own vomit.

The thought nearly made her black out.

Amber tripped. Gravel skinned her knees. She picked herself up and kept going despite the warm trickles of blood she could feel running down her shins.

Pumping her arms, she ran faster.

Roman shouted, “Son of a bitch!” By his tone, she could tell he hadn’t found what he was looking for. Was that a good sign or a bad one?

Barreling into the pavilion, she was shocked at the mess.

Empty bottles littered the bar. Several of them were broken, along with a slew of glasses and the mirror showcasing the liquor, as if Gavyn had raged as he poisoned himself.

Amber swallowed hard. Why had this happened?

She’d gone to sleep steeped in euphoria. Hadn’t he?

What had caused him to be so angry? What had she done wrong?

“Gavyn?” Roman bellowed as he hunted around, flipping the tables to search beneath them while she rummaged through the shrubs nearby.

Something in Amber’s gut told her he hadn’t stuck around after he’d gotten his fill.

Think!
she screamed at herself, though it was practically impossible given the galloping of her heart, the unanswered questions barraging her mind and the adrenaline-fueled horror pegging her vitals at the moment.

Where would he go?

She looked at the smashed bar and scoured her mind for anything that might bring him comfort.

“I know his favorite place at the resort. The hammock over the koi pond.” Amber took off, not waiting for Roman, who could easily catch up given his longer stride and the boots he’d been sensible enough to tug on before coming to check up on Gavyn.

She skipped the less direct paved paths, not caring about the branches that slapped her exposed legs or even the one that smacked her cheek, causing her to shriek.

“Amber, hang on!” Roman shouted to her, but she didn’t listen. “Slow down!”

Unlike the methodical approach she’d have taken in any other situation, she trusted her instincts and flew. Cutting through the flower gardens might have been a mistake, given the number of rose bushes and the thorns that shredded Gavyn’s shirt. Still, the minor pains had nothing on her mounting terror.

After drinking everything they’d seen empty at the bar, he was in serious trouble. At least, she hoped he was still in danger and not beyond assistance.

She smashed through the last of the greenery separating her from the spot she’d first truly made out with Gavyn, and nearly toppled into the pond.

He was there.

Facedown.

Unmoving.

Buck-naked.

His skin bearing an unnatural blue tint.

“No!” Amber screamed. The sound seemed to come from far away in her mind, as if it had been made by a mortally wounded animal somewhere on the mountainside.

“Amber!” Roman shouted from close behind as he joined her. “Oh no. No. Gavyn! Fuck, no.”

“Shut up.” Gavyn groaned, clutched his head then puked into the pond.

He wasn’t dead.

Oh God. Amber’s heart nearly pounded out of her chest. Her feet were glued to the grass. About that time, Carver charged into the area, clued in to their location by their shrieks, no doubt.

“Help me get him,” Roman begged Carver. Meep didn’t need to be asked. He’d already climbed onto the knotted rope, making it rock.

Which only made Gavyn more ill.

Amber hoped that was a good thing, clearing some of the alcohol from his system. Still she couldn’t make herself budge.

When Roman clamped his hand around Gavyn’s ankle, he hissed. “He’s freezing.”

Together, the two men hauled Gavyn to solid ground, then Meep stripped off his shirt and attempted to get it over Gavyn’s head. Impossible with him fighting them every step of the way.

“Gavyn, let them help you,” she pleaded, hating the hoarse tremble of her voice.

He slumped in Roman and Carver’s arms, then lifted his head far enough to look at her. Only for a second.

“Get her th’ fuck ’way from me!” Gavyn bellow-slurred before wrenching free of the pair of Hot Rods. He crashed to his hands and knees and got sick again.

She didn’t know what she’d done to repulse him so much. To drive him to this after their night together.

Confused and afraid of making the situation worse, Amber turned to Roman. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she asked him, “Will you take care of him for me?”

“Of course,” he answered. He leaned toward her, as if he wanted to hug her, but his hands were decidedly full of pissed-off, drunk, alcohol-poisoned man. “Have someone call an ambulance. We’re going to need to take him for treatment and he’s not going to go willingly.”

“Fuck! No!” Gavyn raged against the pair of guys whose support had turned to restraint.

“I already called 911,” Meep told them. “Help is coming. Dave is out front, waiting for them to arrive.”

“Fuck you!” Gavyn took a swing at Carver that the sober man easily dodged. “Let me die already, would you?”

“No can do, friend.”

“If you harm one hair on Meep—accident or not—I
will
knock you out and make this easier on us all,” Barracuda snarled. “It’s bad enough you’ve hurt Amber. Quit fighting and let us help you.”

“Amber?” For a moment Gavyn went limp in their grip, nearly smashing onto the ground again. “Sorry.”

“Me too,” she whispered, though she couldn’t say what for.

“Go ahead, honey,” Carver encouraged her, distracting her from Gavyn’s mournful gaze. She glanced over to see Meep watching her, his eyes full of empathy that nearly broke her. When she turned back to Gavyn, he would no longer look at her.

So she did as they each had requested.

She turned and walked away.

From the man who’d taught her to break the rules and who was too damn good at that himself. She left part of her heart bleeding there on the grass beside him, afraid he’d never realize what he could have had, if only he’d stayed to claim it.

When she made it around a curve in the path, she buckled. She dropped to the ground and sobbed, thinking she should tell the rest of the Hot Rods and Powertools that they’d found Gavyn and where to go when help arrived, but she was unable to move. It didn’t matter, though. Within seconds, footsteps pounded on the path as someone flew toward her.

Amber tried to stand or simply scoot out of the way. She couldn’t make her shocked muscles respond in time. Luckily, Tom was in awesome shape. When he would have plowed into her, he leapt, hurdling her instead before racing back to make sure she was okay.