Chapter 28


    Jake


    Amber shudders and cries out when I make her come, but I don''t stop. I continue to lick her, drinking up the delicious juices she releases into my mouth. Only when she goes slack beneath my touch do I slowly pull my head back from between her thighs.


    I help Amber shuffle back up the bed so she’s more comfortable, before I wipe my face on my duvet cover and get to my feet. When I look down at her, a satisfied smirk creeps up my face. Amber’s body fell sideways. She’s still panting with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open, trying to catch her breath. But tonight I don''t have the patience to grant her much recovery time. I’ve been dying to get inside her all night, from the moment she started feeling me up in the bathroom.


    I take off my boxers before I flip Amber onto her stomach. God, how I love that fucking perfect ass of her! I can''t resist grabbing it with both hands and giving it a nice, tight squeeze. I playfully bite her left cheek before I lower myself on top of her, carrying most of my weight on my arms. I pull her hair to the side and kiss Amber''s shoulder and neck.


    ‘I''m going to fuck you now,’ I whisper in her ear, biting her earlobe.


    ‘Yes, please,’ Amber groans in anticipation, pressing her ass against me.


    I start to get up to grab a condom, but then I pause. Leaning down, I kiss her shoulder softly.


    ‘Amber… you have an implant, right?’ I ask gently. ‘Because I got tested recently, and I''m clean. I mean, I can still use a condom if you prefer, but if you want to…’


    I let the words hang in the air. I’ll definitely wear a condom if Amber is more comfortable with that, but she just gives me a quick glance over her shoulder and I watch the corner of her mouth curl up.


    ‘Yeah, go for it,’ she says.


    I bury my lips in the crook of her neck and fervently start sucking on the skin there. I know I''m definitely leaving a mark, but I don''t care. She’s mine! I leave my right hand on the bed to hold myself up, but my left hand roams down Amber''s body. I follow the dip of her waist and slide over the generous curve of her hip. Then I give her ass another squeeze and bow down to her ear again.


    ‘Spread your legs for me,’ I command her in a low voice.


    Amber obeys me instantly and I slide between her legs. I grab the base of my cock with my left hand and position it in front of her entrance. Then I grab Amber’s thigh again and push myself inside of her. She’s so wet that my entire length slides inside her with a single thrust. A loud groan escapes my lips and I throw my head in my neck. I have to close my eyes and force myself to hold still for a moment. The sensation of her slick inner walls hugging my bare skin is so incredible, that I come almost instantly.


    ‘Fuck, you feel amazing,’ I mutter between my clenched teeth, determined to restrain myself. I don''t want this to be over too quickly. This fucking phenomenal feeling of being devoured by her, without any barriers between us. This is a first for me, so I guess we are both in uncharted territory this time.


    Amber doesn''t make it easy for me, though. She’s already moving her hips, pushing herself back against me. I give her a sharp spank on her ass and then gently squeeze the cheek, to rub the sting away. Holding a tight grip on Amber''s ass to keep her in place, I start pounding into her. I hear her panting in pleasure beneath me and another moan escapes my lips. I move my hand up to grab her hair and press her down on the bed, burying Amber''s face in the mattress.


    Fucking her in this position is hotter than I ever could have imagined. It allows me to thrust hard, and slide in as deep as I could possibly go. Amber’s wanton moans are a clear sign that she loves it too. The sounds she makes and the way she moves her hips to meet me should encourage me to continue. But suddenly I can''t stand it anymore. I need to see her face!


    Amber lets out a protesting sound when I pull out of her, but before she can say anything I’m already flipping her onto her back and crashing my lips against hers. I kiss her desperately as I slide back between her thighs, and immediately push myself between her wet folds again. I brush the hair out of Amber''s face and cup her cheek, deepening our kiss.


    When we finally break apart, both of us breathless, I lock eyes with her. Those big, cornflower-blue eyes—so beautiful and expressive. They usually reflect her kindness, her mischief, her natural innocence, but right now they’re darkened with lust. I’m captivated by the trust shining through as she gazes up at me, and it leaves me feeling completely in awe of her.


    Fuck, I love this woman so much! All I want is to hold her, to be with her, to protect her from the world. For the first time in my life, I’m absolutely certain—I don’t want anyone else, ever. She’s it. Amber is it for me. The women who texted me tonight, asking if I was coming to Pete’s or any of the other places I frequent? I couldn’t care less. I haven’t even looked at or thought about any of them in weeks. Ignoring those texts took zero effort. I’ll probably just block and delete their numbers. They don’t matter. Amber is the only one I want, the only one who fucking matters.


    I slide my hand down the curves of her body, hooking one leg around me. Amber understands my intent and wraps her other leg around me as well, locking her ankles behind my back. I sink deep inside her with slow deliberate thrusts. Amber meets me with her hips and pushes me in deeper using her legs. Our merging bodies are working together as one. I slide my hand back up to massage her soft, malleable breast with my palm. I roll her nipple between my fingers, getting it nice and stiff, before I bow down and take it in my mouth. I suck and nibble on it as Amber''s increased panting matches my own.


    ‘Jake, I… I''m close…,’ she moans, closing her eyes and arching her back to push herself even closer against me.


    I move up to grab her neck with my hand and kiss her again, soft and demanding. Then I slightly tilt my hips to change the angle of my thrusts and Amber lets out a gasp.


    ‘Yes, yes! Right there! Oh, keep going!’ she exclaims loudly, eagerly meeting me at every thrust.


    I groan and increase my speed, slamming into her while I’m still holding onto her as tightly as I can. I can barely hold it together anymore, but I''m determined to get her there first. Amber moans again and lets out a string of indiscernible mutterings, which has become one of my favorite sounds over the last couple of weeks. When I feel her inner walls clench around my cock a few seconds later, I know I can finally let go.


    As Amber shudders beneath me and cries out in ecstasy, I meet her with a loud roar of my own. I thrust a few more times and then bury myself to the hilt inside her, emptying my load without any restrictions. I come so hard that my vision goes black.


    When I wake up the next morning, Amber is still asleep, wearing one of my shirts again. It’s just past nine, and I carefully slip out of her embrace, pulling on a pair of sweats and heading to the kitchen barefoot. The house is quiet except for some faint sounds from the back, letting me know someone else is probably up. On a whim, I decide to try making Amber some scrambled eggs. Not that I really know what I’m doing—I usually grab cereal, a Pop-Tart, or whatever leftovers are in the fridge when I have to fix my own breakfast—but I want to make something nice for her today. I manage to scramble the eggs and make some toast, then arrange them on two plates with forks. When I return to the bedroom, Amber is just waking up, stretching her arms and back as she sits up with a soft yawn.


    ‘Morning,’ I smile at her. ‘You get breakfast in bed today.’


    ‘You made me breakfast?’ Amber asks, her eyes widening in surprise.


    ‘Yes, I did,’ I confirm, rather proud of myself as I hand her one of the plates.


    ‘That is so sweet! Thank you!’ Amber beams up at me, grabbing a fork and taking a big bite of the eggs. But as soon as she starts chewing, her expression falters for just a second—a tiny flicker that I almost miss. If I hadn’t been watching her so closely, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.


    ‘What? Are they not good?’ I ask with a frown.


    ‘No, no! They’re great!’ Amber replies, a little too quickly, taking another big bite. ‘Delicious!’


    I narrow my eyes, suspicious, and take a bite myself—only to almost spit it out. ‘Ugh, these are fucking awful!’


    ‘They’re not that bad,’ Amber says in a consoling tone.


    ‘They’re fucking rubber!’ I exclaim, disenchanted.


    ‘No, they’re just… a little overcooked? Maybe a bit under-seasoned,’ Amber murmurs, giving me an apologetic glance as she bravely takes another bite.


    ‘What..? Fucking stop eating them, then!’ I laugh, reaching for her plate, but Amber fends me off with her foot and her fork.


    ‘No! I’m eating the eggs!’ she declares with a stubborn grin.


    ‘But they taste awful! Why would you want to eat them?’


    ‘Because you made them for me,’ Amber says, beaming as she deliberately shovels another bite into her mouth. ‘So, I’m eating them all.’


    ‘You’re an idiot! I guess I better wait until Nate wakes up next time,’ I sigh.


    ‘He’s better at cooking eggs than you?’


    ‘Definitely, although I guess that’s a pretty low bar,’ I say, scowling at my plate with a dismal expression. ‘But Nate is actually pretty good at it. Breakfast has always been his job.’


    ‘What do you mean?’ Amber asks. She glances at me curiously, while she continues to eat the abysmal breakfast I made for her. I cringe every time she takes a bite.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ‘Back when we first started living together, we all sort of created our own tasks. There weren’t any parents around to pick up the slack, so we kind of had to do everything ourselves,’ I explain. ‘Coop, Nate and I may just have been a bunch of teenage assholes, but we didn’t want to put it all on Hugo. He was always up before dawn, working all day at the construction site, and then he would pick up other jobs for extra cash. And later he would help his boss after hours to learn all about the business side of things, because his boss was grooming him to take over. Nate and Hugo shared a room, so Nate started getting up with Hugo before dawn everyday as well, to make us all breakfast and pack our lunches. We didn’t have a lot of money, so it was cheaper than buying lunch at school everyday. And Cooper started cooking dinner every night.’


    ‘And what did you do? Cleaning?’


    ‘No, we only cleaned when we really couldn’t put it off anymore,’ I smirk. ‘And then we usually dedicated one afternoon to doing it together.’


    ‘What was your task then?’ Amber asks, curiously.


    ‘Captain Laundry, at your service,’ I reply, giving her a mock salute.


    ‘Really? You do laundry?’


    ‘Why is that such a surprise?’ I ask, almost insulted by her skeptic tone. ‘I rinse, iron and fold with the best of them.’


    ‘I don’t know,’ Amber giggles. ‘I guess I just can’t picture it. I’ve never seen you do any laundry.’


    ‘That’s only because you haven’t been paying attention,’ I tease. ‘I did three loads yesterday, in between working on the porch. It’s not my fault you missed it.’


    ‘Fair enough,’ Amber concedes. ‘Do you still all do your own specific tasks at home?’


    ‘The lines have blurred a little, but more or less, yeah,’ I reply with a shrug. ‘I still handle most of the laundry on the nights and weekends I’m here, but if I don’t make it home during the week, the others sometimes put a load on themselves. Cooper still cooks dinner most nights—usually enough for leftovers so I can take them to the ranch when I can''t make it home. Nate still makes us breakfast and packs our lunches on most days, plus he takes care of all the car maintenance. Hugo used to do most of the grocery shopping, but since he’s still refusing to let us pay him rent and we’ve all got jobs now, we all chip in with that. Well, except for Lily, of course. And Hugo usually mows the lawn.’


    Not that we use the large grassy area behind our house much, but we still keep it neat. It used to be the playground of the school, but we took out the tiles and just sowed grass seeds everywhere. None of us is very big on gardening.


    ‘What about Lily?’ Amber asks.


    ‘She’s our trash queen,’ I say with a big grin. ‘Thankfully, now that Hugo owns his own company and makes some serious money, we’ve got two ladies who come to clean the house once a week, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore. He also sends his suits and dress shirts out for dry cleaning most of the time, so there’s less for me to iron.’


    ‘You seriously know how to iron clothes?’ Amber asks incredulously.


    ‘Of course I do! We all have a few nice dress shirts for special occasions, and Lily has some clothes that require ironing too,’ I shrug, not seeing what the big deal is.


    ‘I’ve never known a man who can do those things,’ Amber admits, finishing the last bite and eyeing me carefully. ‘My parents are very traditional, as you probably would have guessed. I’ve never seen my father cook or clean anything, let alone iron. My mother always does all of that.’


    ‘But we didn’t have a mother, or any other woman or parent, to do that stuff for us,’ I remind her kindly.


    ‘You’re right. You’re absolutely right,’ Amber nods, a little apologetically. ‘I don’t know why it surprised me. I think it’s great that you guys can all do these things yourselves. The five of you make such a wonderful family together.’


    ‘We do,’ I agree with a smile. I take the empty plate from Amber and lean forward to press a quick kiss on her lips. ‘If you’re done eating that horrible breakfast now, I’ve got something for you.’


    ‘You do?’


    I nod and get up from the bed, placing her empty plate and my full one on the chest against the wall. It''s filled with old keepsakes from my childhood—most of our belongings were lost in the explosion, but we managed to save a few things. Cooper and I built our chests together, so we could open them up and reminisce about our parents whenever we are feeling nostalgic. I realize it’s actually been a while since we’ve done that.


    Turning to the side of the bed, I open the drawer beneath and pull out a keyboard. Amber’s eyes widen as she watches me.


    ‘Wait… You have a keyboard?’


    ‘No, you have a keyboard,’ I correct her as I hand it over.


    Amber places it gently on her lap, looking up at me in disbelief. ‘Are you insane, Jake? These things are expensive!’


    ‘This one wasn’t,’ I tell her honestly, sitting back on the bed with the power cord in my hand. ‘When we first got this place, there was still a lot of stuff left behind by the old school. Nate and I were in charge of throwing out the broken stuff and storing the rest in one of the back classrooms, just in case we wanted to use any of it later. Last weekend, I remembered there was a keyboard in there. Cooper dug it out for me this week. It’s pretty old, but he checked it, and says it still works.’


    ‘But why?’ Amber stares at me, stunned. ‘I mean, I love it! It’s incredibly thoughtful, but why would you give this to me?’


    ‘Why not? It was just sitting here, collecting dust,’ I shrug and smile at Amber. ‘I know you love to play, and you feel self-conscious about using Ray and Marjorie’s piano when they’re home. This is no piano, but I figured it’ll at least allow you to play in your own quarters whenever you want.’


    ‘I get to take this with me to the ranch?’ Amber’s eyes light up as she clutches the keyboard to her chest.


    ‘Of course,’ I confirm with a laugh. ‘It’s yours.’


    Amber lets out a squeal of delight and tosses the keyboard on the bed, before she throws her arms around my neck and presses a dozen little kisses on my face.


    ‘Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jakey!’


    ‘Hey, only Lily gets to call me that!’ I laugh, wrapping one arm around her lower back.


    ‘Really?’ Amber pouts slightly, tilting her head back to look up at me. ‘I kind of like it,’ she admits shyly.


    ‘Okay, fine,’ I easily relent, actually not minding it at all, coming from her. Then I look at her sternly. ‘But you can’t let anyone else call me that!’


    ‘Agreed,’ Amber promises, before crashing her lips onto mine for another kiss. ‘Thank you! I really, truly love this gift.’ Then she tilts her head back, frowning at me inquisitively. ‘But I thought you believed I should get over my fear and just play for other people?’


    ‘No, I said I believe you could play and sing for other people, and they’d fucking love it, because you’re great. But it’s up to you whether or not you want to,’ I correct her, smiling as I gently brush my fingers through her hair. ‘I’d love it if you could play something for me, though.’


    ‘I think I can do that,’ Amber chuckles with a wide smile. She sits back on the bed cross-legged and carefully balances the keyboard on her knees, while I connect the power cord to the outlet next to my bed. Amber smoothly runs her fingers over the keys to test the sound.


    ‘It works!’ she confirms excitedly. Then she glances over at me. ‘What would you like to hear?’


    ‘Why don’t you play me some of your favorite stuff?’ I suggest. I shuffle back to the foot of the bed to give her some room to play.


    Amber nods and starts playing, seemingly without having to think about it. There’s no hesitation in her movements. Her fingers fly across the keys in a beautiful dance. I don’t know which song it is. It sounds like a classical piece, but I don’t think I’ve heard it before. I can’t deny, though, that it’s a beautiful melody.


    ‘It’s called “Nefeli”, by Ludovico Einaudi,’ Amber answers my unspoken question. I see her glance at me before she closes her eyes again. Apparently, she doesn''t even have to look at the keys while she is playing. ‘He’s by far my favorite modern day composer.’


    ‘That is really beautiful, Amber!’ I suddenly hear Lily’s voice coming from my door.


    Amber’s eyes fly open and her startled gaze darts to the door. I kind of expect her to stop playing, but Amber continues without so much as an interruption in the music.


    ‘Thank you,’ she mumbles, with a barely discernible blush on her face.


    I glance over my shoulder at Lily. ‘What are you doing here, Lil? I thought you were going on a hike with Cooper this morning?’


    ‘We are. We’re leaving in a minute, but I thought that Amber might want this back,’ Lily smirks, stretching her arm. Amber’s black shirt from last night dangles off her index finger.


    Right, I forgot we lost that somewhere near the kitchen last night. I didn’t even notice it when I was trying to make breakfast earlier. Amber chuckles, but continues playing. Lily steps inside my room and tosses Amber’s shirt to me. I catch it at the same moment Lily plops down next to me on the edge of my bed.


    ‘So, you’re not only a master baker, but also a master pianist,’ Lily observes, a look of admiration in her eyes.


    ‘Try musical prodigy,’ I correct my sister with a proud smile. ‘Amber can play anything. And she sings too.’


    ‘You’re kidding me!’ Lily’s eyes widen as she turns to Amber. ‘Really? You can play anything?’


    Amber nods modestly. The red color on her cheeks deepens, but she doesn’t answer. She keeps her gaze down, clearly trying to avoid looking at Lily.


    ‘That is awesome! Could you play something from, like, Sia? Do you know her? I love her songs, she’s such an amazing artist!’ Lily asks excitedly.


    Again, Amber doesn’t actually answer Lily. She just nods once and before I know it the classical melody she was playing turns into something more familiar. There wasn’t even a break or a falter in the music or anything. After a couple of notes I recognize the song “Chandelier” at the same time Lily does. My sister claps her hands together in delight.


    ‘Oh my God, that is so cool!’ Lily exclaims.


    ‘You should hear her sing with it too,’ I smirk suggestively.


    ‘Don’t push it, Jakey,’ Amber murmurs with her eyes closed, but I can see that the corners of her mouth are curling up just a little bit.


    ‘A regular alarm doesn’t cut it for you anymore, Jake? We have our own musical wake up service now?’ Nate yawns from the door opening in his shorts and a t-shirt.


    Amber freezes and instantly stops playing. She sends my younger brother an apologetic look.


    ‘I’m so sorry, Nate! I didn’t mean to wake you up. I should have put the volume down, I apologize,’ she says guiltily.


    ‘No worries, Amber. I’ve been woken up in much worse ways,’ Nate chuckles at her. Then he spots my uneaten plate of eggs on the chest and wrinkles his nose. ‘What the hell is that smell? Did you burn the eggs or something?’ he asks, looking at me with his eyebrows raised in disbelief.


    ‘Shut up, you fucker. You were still sleeping, so I had no choice,’ I laugh, throwing my pillow at him.


    ‘Next time, either wake me up or just have the damn patience to wait until I''m ready to cook you some breakfast. I don’t mess with your flat-iron, do I? Leave it to the experts! With your skills in the kitchen, you could’ve easily burned the fucking house down,’ Nate grumbles, then turns and heads toward the kitchen. ‘I’ll whip up some pancakes,’ he calls out from the hallway.


    ‘Thank you!’ the three of us yell back in unison.


    ‘So, did you guys have a good time last night?’ Lily asks us.


    ‘Yes! Jake took me to a piano bar, and it was really great,’ Amber says enthusiastically.


    Her eyes light up when she describes the bar to Lily, and tells her how great the music was. I can’t seem to wipe the fucking smile off my face, secretly glad that Amber was so delighted by my surprise.


    ‘That sounds really cool,’ Lily agrees. ‘I’ve never heard you mention this place before, though. How did you know about it, Jake?’ she asks me.


    ‘I may not be such a computer whizz as you, but I do know how to use Google, Lil,’ I roll my eyes at her. ‘I was looking for a place that Amber might like, and then I came across this one. We went, and it paid off. It was a great bar.’


    Admittedly, it was nicer than Pete’s, and the drinks were a lot better too. Pete’s is fine for a night out with the guys, but for a date or actually having a conversation Piano & Pour is a lot better. We’re definitely going there again, if only so Amber can work her way through the cocktail list and maybe find enough courage to get up on that stage one day. I’d love to watch her perform. I bet she''ll be amazing.


    ‘It definitely sounds like it,’ Lily says enthusiastically. ‘I love music and theater. Maybe you can take me there sometime as well?’ she looks at me hopefully.


    ‘Sure thing,’ I promise her.


    ‘Great! Anyway, Cooper wanted me to ask if we could take your truck today. That’s why I actually came looking for you.’ Lily suddenly changes the subject. ‘The trail we had in mind for today might be muddy, and your truck is better equipped for that terrain than his van.’


    ‘That kind of depends on Amber,’ I say hesitantly. I glance at the beautiful woman who, to my great delight, is still only wearing my shirt on top of her panties.


    ‘It does?’ Amber asks, examining me with a confused frown.


    ‘Yes,’ I confirm. ‘We still have today off, so I thought maybe you’d like to try horseback riding again at the ranch? I figured I could teach you. You know, on a tamed horse this time,’ I add teasingly.


    ‘What? Are you kidding me?’ Amber’s eyes grow wide.


    ‘You don’t have to!’ I quickly reassure her. ‘I know last time was scary, but you said before that y–’


    ‘No, I want to! I really, really want to! That would be awesome! I’ve been wanting to try horseback riding for ages!’ Amber exclaims enthusiastically, actually bouncing up and down despite being cross-legged.


    ‘Sorry, Lil. I guess you and Cooper are just going to have to take your chances with the van,’ I say, grinning at Amber’s enthusiasm. ‘We are going horseback riding.’