“I have no idea what he’s up to. This whole situation is so insane to me,” I say feeling helpless.
“I’ll do some digging. If Henry’s acting out of character, maybe his digital footprint will tell us what’s going on,” Eric speaks up.
“What do you mean by digital footprint?” Luke asks, the seriousness in his expression a mirror to Eric’s.
“I’ll look into his financial history, call logs, travel trends, social media presence . . .. It might help paint a picture of what’s going on in his life and may give us a clue as to why he’s out to ruin Amber.”
I look at him confused. “Ruin?”
“He’s trying to take your kids from you, he’s melding in your fire insurance claim, and now he’s threatening to make things more difficult for you if Luke doesn’t step out of the picture. Are you seeing a pattern?” Eric asks and for the first time, he doesn’t sound so serious but sympathetic.
“Yeah, I guess . . . but why would he try to ruin me? What does he have to gain? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’m with Amber. It doesn’t make any sense,” Sarah says.
“Maybe he wants to see you suffer,” Luke says quietly. “He’s jealous.”
“Jealousy makes people do stupid shit,” Eric agrees.
“He isn’t jealous. This all started before you and I were even talking.” I put my hands on my hips and let my head fall back, looking up at the ceiling. None of this makes sense.
“Guys, I need to meet with another client in a few minutes. Eric, dig into Henry; we can look over what you find when I’m back in town for the wedding. Amber, Luke, don’t do anything that will raise suspicion. Just continue doing what you’re doing. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Sarah orders and I nod as if she can see me. “I’ll see you guys in two weeks. Bye.”
“Bye,” I whisper, but she’s already hung up.
Lady Luck has finally shown her cruel smile at me. All I get is a taste of happiness.
17
- Luke -
“Thanks for lunch,” I say to Eric as he gathers his stuff.
“Yeah, no problem,” Eric says then nods toward Amber, whose been silent since the call with Sarah. “I’ll dig into Henry. You take care of your girl.”
“Yeah, thanks, see you in two weeks.” I clamp a hand on his shoulder and pull him in for a hug.
“See you, Amber,” Eric calls out over my shoulder.
“Bye, Eric.” She waves with a small smile.
I watch Eric walk to his car and load up before I close the door and turn to face Amber. She’s still picking at her food.
“You need to eat,” I say, coming over to her.
“I’m not hungry.” She sighs, getting up from the stool and taking her plate to the sink.
Moving to stand behind her, I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her neck. When she sags back into my chest a little bit of the tension in my shoulders relaxes. “I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you what happened.”
“It’s okay. I know why you did it.” She puts her hands over my arms. “But in the future, can you clue me in sooner?”
“Yes.” I kiss her neck again.
“I don’t know how to sit here and just wait to figure out what Henry’s up to,” she admits and stares out the window over the sink, looking at nothing in particular.
“Don’t try to handle this on your own, Amber. Talking to Henry isn’t going to give you the answers you are looking for. You need to let Sarah and Eric do their job.”
“I know, but I don’t like being . . . useless.” She turns in my arms and looks up at me, her emerald eyes full of frustration.
“I know what it’s like to have someone come out of nowhere and try to ruin your life. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially you, but at least you have a lot of people to help you get through it.”
“If I can’t confront Henry, then what can I do, sit around and mope?”
“We have a lot to do on the house . . . flooring to pick out for the bathrooms. Dawn’s wedding is in two weeks, so you have a ton of things that will be keeping you busy. Focus on them, and me, and we’ll figure this out.”
“You’re right, I have a lot of things I need to do around here but at the moment, I can only think of one thing I want to do.” Amber fists my shirt and pulls me in for a kiss, and I am more than happy to keep her distracted. I’ll burn off all the stress she has if she’ll let me.
“How about christening the kitchen?” I guide her around to the island. “Take your pants off.”
Amber doesn’t protest as she follows my orders while I unbutton my pants and pull them and my boxer briefs down. I gaze down at her perfect body, with her creamy soft skin so thankful she gave me a second chance. Caressing my fingers down her back before I take ahold of my dick stroking myself a couple of times before running it between her folds. She’s already soaked, and her juices coat me and I vow to christen every room in this house with her.
I slide in just a little before pulling out, teasing her, and relishing the noises she makes. I push in again a little farther and she whimpers. I love that sound and want to hear it again, only Amber has other ideas and pushes back, taking more of me.
I grab a hold of her hips and halt her movements for a moment, then thrust hard. She cries out. Such beautiful music to my ears. Cupping one of her breasts under her shirt, I pull down her bra and pinch her nipple. “You feel so fuckin’ good,” I groan into her ear. She turns her head and smiles at me with lust filled eyes before rocking back hard. I let her have control, wanting her to feel in control just for a moment during these uncertain times. She maintains a steady rhythm, rocking hard and fast. Her insides clutching tighter and tighter around my dick. My name passes her lips in a breathy moan, she’s so close. Moving my hand around her hip to her clit, I circle the bundle of nerves with my fingers.
She rocks harder, I circle faster and flick her nipple knowing all the places she loves me touching. When she releases I want it to be explosive. Gripping the island counter tightly, she rocks hard once, twice, and holds, her inside pulsating tight around my dick. She sags, spent by her orgasm, and I take over pounding into her, each thrust taking me closer and closer to release, but I want to hold on just a little longer. Savor the feel of her hot and tight. A growl deep in my chest climbs its way up my throat, I can’t hold back any longer as it erupts, and I come hard.
We stay where we are, not moving, breathing hard, and waiting for our hearts to return to a normal rhythm.
“Keep me busy like that and I’ll never stress again,” she says, turning her head to look at me. Her emerald eyes free of stress, and slight glazed with the last remnants of her orgasm.
“I will gladly take on that task.” I kiss her shoulder and pull out of her. She mewls in protest and my dick twitches. “Round two in the shower starts now.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
18
- Amber -
Two weeks have gone by, and both Sarah and Eric are expected to arrive tomorrow, hopefully, with some news. So far, they have just reassured me that they are doing everything they can to figure out what Henry is up to, but neither have actually given me any kind of details that would suggest he is up to something.