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  They both moaned in pleasure. Jason couldn’t get enough of Amber.

  “Ohhh. Yesss… That’s it, baby. Ohhh, yessss,” Jason moaned.

  Amber caught his moans with her mouth as they kissed intensely. He couldn’t tell when his breathing started or when hers stopped. At this moment in time, they were as one, breathing the same air. Jason felt Amber completed him.

  Jason held on to Amber as tight as he could as they climaxed together. He filled her with his seed. Her head fell to his chest. They stayed in that position long after the lovemaking. Neither one seemed to want to move. The jet of the hot tub stopping was the only reason they exited.

  They took turns drying each other off. Jason loved every curve of her body. Jason wanted to personally thank each one of Amber’s past boyfriends. They were fools to have let this beautiful woman go. Her beauty not only stemmed from her physical beauty, but her spirit. Her kindness showed in so many ways. How could he not love her?

  He’d gone all these years without truly being in love. Now that he’d found the woman his soul desired, he would do whatever it took to hold on to her. There was no way he was getting an annulment, given the way he felt now. Amber belonged to him, and he would not let her go.

  Amber could hear Jason’s heartbeat as she lay across his chest. They were under the covers in his king-size bed. Jason was sound asleep. She’d dozed off earlier but now she was wide awake.

  She was still on an emotional high after not only their hot tub sexual encounter but also the one that followed when they returned to the bedroom. She had never known sex could be as good as it was with Jason.

  Her last boyfriends had complained about her being sexless, but Jason didn’t seem to have any complaints. In fact, he called her a sex kitten, which put a huge smile on her face. It wasn’t her fault the other guys weren’t skilled enough to bring out that side of her.

  She carefully got out of the bed without waking Jason. She put on her satin robe and went downstairs to get something to drink.

  She fumbled her way through because she wasn’t familiar with the layout of his house yet. She located the light switch in the hallway and made her way to the kitchen.

  “There you are,” Jason said from behind her.

  “Where did you come from?” she asked, startled.

  “I heard some noise and you weren’t next to me, so I had to come check it out,” Jason said.

  “Sorry. I wanted something to drink. It was dark down here, so I had to feel my way to a light switch.” Amber opened up the refrigerator. She pulled out a bottle of water. “Do you want one?”

  “No, I’m good,” Jason responded. “I’ll have to remember to keep the hall light on for you.”

  “Yes, please do. Or get a nightlight. I forgot to tell you, I don’t like sleeping in complete darkness.”

  “I’m here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “When I was a little girl, someone hid in my room in my parents’ house and tried to kidnap me. Ever since then, I’ve slept with a nightlight.”

  “I’ve read a lot about you, but I never heard that story.”

  “That’s because they were able to locate me quickly. The lady who kidnapped me was a fan obsessed with my dad. She didn’t get that far down the road before being pulled over by the police for speeding. I screamed for help and the officer immediately apprehended her. My parents had no idea I was missing until the police woke them up with me standing next to them in my pajamas.”

  “This definitely was before social media, because there’s no way something like that could happen today and remain a secret.”

  “Social media can be a good thing but also a bad thing when it comes to people wanting to be in other folks’ business.”

  “It keeps me busy and in business. Although I now see how my clients feel. I don’t like being part of a story.”

  “Neither do I.” Amber looked at the clock. “It’s three in the morning. I didn’t mean to wake you up, and now I’m talking as if it’s the middle of the day.”

  “I couldn’t sleep after hearing that noise. I wasn’t sure if it was a robber or you. I had to check it out.”

  “I’m glad you did. I feel safe around you.” Amber looped her arm through Jason’s and they headed back to bed.

  “Good night.” Jason kissed her lightly on the lips before closing his eyes.

  She watched him fall asleep before drifting off to sleep herself.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jason wasn’t expecting to smell the aroma of breakfast cooking from the kitchen. To his surprise, when he woke, Amber wasn’t lying next to him. She’d left a note saying she was downstairs.

  He took a shower and got dressed.

  “Something sure does smell good,” Jason said as soon as he entered the kitchen.

  The sight of Amber standing behind the stove, with a kitchen apron on, excited him. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and have his way with her.

  “I wasn’t sure what you liked,” she said.

  “I’ll try everything,” Jason responded.

  He sat on one of the stools by the aisle.

  Amber placed a plate filled with sausage, grits, eggs, bacon, and toast in front of him.

  Jason enjoyed every bite. He hadn’t eaten a big breakfast like that in a while. He wouldn’t be hungry until dinnertime. He was stuffed.

  “I would have made some homemade biscuits, but I forgot to order some baking powder.”

  “Oh my goodness, I’ve married a chef.” Jason laughed.

  “Not quite. But I can work some magic in the kitchen.”

  Jason drank his orange juice. “Do you need me to drop you off at home so you can get your car?”

  “Probably. I also have to get some clothes. This was my backup outfit.” Amber wore a pair of purple jogging pants and a Los Angeles Lakers T-shirt.

  “Finally, a team, you and I can agree on.”

  “What?” She turned around and modeled her Lakers shirt. “I’m a Lakers girl.”

  “I see. Well, I have some season tickets. You can go to some games with me.”

  “Only if it’s courtside.”

  “Mine aren’t that close, but close enough.”

  “Maybe you can go to some games with me. My dad has courtside seats.”

  “I should have known.” Jason put a “duh” look on his face.

  “I do take advantage of some of the perks of being Max’s daughter. Not all of them, but who can resist sitting courtside at a Lakers’ game?”

  “You’re right about that.” Jason looked at the time. “We’d better get going.”

  “I need to finish these dishes.”

  “No worries. I’ll have the maid service come clean up today.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. I need to get you to your place, and I have a morning meeting I can’t be late for. And you know how traffic is.”

  Jason was back in business mode, but it sure felt nice to have someone to talk to before heading out to the office.

  * * * * *

  “Looks like the coast is clear,” Jason said as he drove near her place.

  Amber felt relieved. “To be on the safe side, drop me off here. I’ll walk up through this trail and go inside my house that way,” Amber said.

  Jason stopped the car. He removed a key from the dangling key rings coming out of the ignition. “Here’s a key to the house. The alarm code is 1-9-9-9.”

  “Oh, that’s creative.”

  “I like Prince, so that’s easy for me to remember.”

  “And any burglar could figure it out,” Amber responded.

  “We can change it later,” Jason stated.

  To Amber’s surprise, before getting out of the car, Jason leaned closer and kissed her. The feel of his lips lingered as she walked to her house. She
entered the back door and turned off the alarm. Since she was unsure of how long she would be at Jason’s, she retrieved her big suitcase and packed some of her favorite items.

  She smiled as she read text messages from Jason. He’d sent her several, letting her know he was thinking about her.

  Maybe Jason’s actions were sincere. How could a man be as passionate as he was and not be into the woman?

  Amber needed a few files off her computer. She logged on and was surprised when a message flashed across the screen immediately. She forgot her instant message had been set up to indicate when she was logged on. A blast from her past popped up.

  Congratulations are in order, Anthony, one of her ex-boyfriends said.

  Thanks. Do me a favor. Don’t message me anymore, she quickly typed.

  Oh, it’s like that? he responded.

  Yes.

  You’re going to miss me, Anthony typed.

  Amber found a meme saying the words, Boy, bye, and sent it to him. She then blocked him. Anthony was someone from her past whom she wanted to forget. He was one of the guys who had called her Ice Princess.

  Amber pushed the thought of Anthony to the back of her mind, and downloaded the files she needed to a flash drive before logging off. Although she had a laptop and an iPad, she preferred using her desktop when she worked from home.

  Amber moved the curtains and saw a few paparazzi parked outside. Thankfully, her car was in the garage, so she packed her car with her items. She put on her big shades and a baseball hat.

  She left the garage. The way the driveway was made, she would not be able to avoid the paparazzi. She saw a few flashes of light from cameras as she sped by.

  Her cell phone rang. It was her brother. She hit the speaker button and his voice echoed through the car speakers. “Why did I have to hear about your wedding from everyone but you?” he asked.

  “Well, little brother. Now you know how I feel when I’m reading about you.”

  “I can’t believe you’re married. How long have you known this dude?”

  “You know Jason Lewis. He’s my manager. And I’m sure you’ve run into him at a few parties.”

  “Oh, that dude. I thought he looked familiar,” he responded

  Amber recounted to her brother all that had taken place. “So, that’s how I ended up being married.”

  He laughed. “What you did sounds like something I would have done.”

  “I know. Can you believe it? I’m a good girl gone bad.”

  “How does it feel to be naughty for a change?” he asked.

  “It feels good!” Amber shouted, and she meant it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jason spent most of the morning fielding questions from his employees about his surprise nuptials. The only person who knew what really happened was Charlotte, and she wasn’t going to dispute what Jason said. As far as they were all concerned, Jason was in love and had eloped. It really wasn’t far from the truth. Jason loved Amber.

  Jason sat back in his chair and stared at the computer screen.

  Charlotte cleared her throat, alerting him she was in the room. She shut the door, then wobbled over and sat in the leather chair near his desk.

  “This the first time all day we’ve gotten a chance to talk,” she said.

  “I know. It’s been a typical Monday morning.” Jason stared at Charlotte’s big stomach. “How’s my boy doing?”

  Charlotte rubbed her stomach. “He must be doing okay. He’s been playing kickball all day.”

  “He’s ready to see his uncle Jason.”

  “I’m ready for him to come too, but the doctor said a few more weeks.”

  “I’d better be the first person you call—well, after Sean—when you go into labor.”

  “You will be. And speaking of my husband, he told me he talked to you last night.”

  “Yes. I know you’re probably not too happy about it, but you were so upset. I was concerned about your blood pressure. High blood pressure isn’t good for you or the baby,” Jason said.

  “Thanks to you, the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Things are back on track.”

  Jason wiped his forehead. “Good because you guys are my role models when it comes to successful married couples.”

  “Really?” Charlotte sniffed as if she was going to cry. “That’s sweet. Well, we try, but as you can see, it’s not easy. With miscommunication rearing its ugly head like it did, the end results could have been devastating.”

  “Miscommunication seems to be at the root of a lot of relationship issues,” Jason noted.

  “Learn from my mistakes. Talk things over. Even if it makes you feel uncomfortable,” Charlotte said.

  “Easier said than done.” Jason wanted to share with Amber how deep his feelings were for her, but was afraid it would scare her.

  “So, have you two decided on what you’re going to do?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yes and no.” Jason looked down.

  “What does that mean?” Charlotte leaned closer to the desk.

  “I’ve fallen in love, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  “Jason, are you sure?” Charlotte asked.

  Jason looked at Charlotte and without blinking said, “Yes. I am in love with Amber.”

  “And you’re not still drunk?” she asked.

  “Yes. Drunk in love.”

  Charlotte smiled. “How does she feel about your confession?”

  “I haven’t told her. We’re just biding time until after the engagement party, and once she feels it’s appropriate, we’re supposed to break up and go our separate ways. But, Charlotte, that’s going to be impossible for me to do.”

  “Then do something about it. If you love her, work your Jason charm.”

  “She has my mind all over the place.” Jason held up some papers. “Look at this. I forgot to even bring up renewing her contract.”

  “Getting Amber to understand how you feel about her is more important than those papers right now.”

  “You’re right. Love has snuck up on me and swallowed me whole.”

  * * * * *

  Amber rushed to locate Jason’s alarm system. She was seconds away from it alerting his alarm company when she found it and entered the code.

  “Whew,” she said aloud.

  She went back to the front door and got her luggage. She dragged it up the stairs and into Jason’s bedroom. They hadn’t spoken about closets, so she opened his closet to see if her clothes might fit.

  Her mouth dropped open. His closet was like another room. It was filled with custom-made or designer suits in all different colors. His shirts were crisp and clean and hanging up in one section of the closet, and his shoes were all lined up in custom-made shelves. Everything was so neat and seemed to be in its rightful place that she didn’t know where to put her stuff.

  If she was going to stay here, she would need her own closet space. Another thing about marriage: people had to learn how to share. So today, Jason would learn how to share his closet. Besides, she was hoping that this arrangement would become permanent.

  Amber sent Jason a text and it read, I’m back at your place. I’m rearranging your closet. Please say it’s okay because if it isn’t too bad. She added two smiley faces.

  Jason text her back right away. You can have the left side of the closet. Just please keep my stuff in some order.

  She responded by typing Will do with several smiley faces and a heart.

  He responded with a heart.

  Amber smiled.

  It took her over an hour to get the closet the way she wanted. She was able to keep his clothes organized the way he wanted. She chose to just use the first half of the closet on the left side and left him the rest. However, if she did move in permanently, the closet would have to be rearranged again.

  Amb
er heard a loud thump coming from downstairs. It sounded as if something had fallen. Amber thought she had locked the front door but wasn’t too sure now. She looked around to see if she could grab anything. There was nothing. She recalled seeing some golf clubs in one of the closets in the hallway. She opened the bedroom door and peeked out. She didn’t see anything. She rushed to the hallway closet and pulled out a golf club. She tiptoed down the stairway.

  She almost tripped on the last step when she came face-to-face with a woman. They both screamed at the same time.

  “Who are you?” the woman in a maid’s uniform asked.

  Amber calmed down. She recalled Jason mentioning someone was to stop by to clean up. “I’m Amber.” She extended her hand to the woman.

  The woman didn’t move. “Mr. Lewis didn’t tell me you were going to be here.”

  “He probably forgot.”

  “I’m going to have to call the police because no one is supposed to be here,” the lady said.

  Amber reached forward. “No, please. It’s just a misunderstanding.”

  The lady screamed. “Get away.”

  “Wait. Wait right here. Call Mr. Lewis. He’ll clear it all up.”

  “I’m calling him, and if he doesn’t verify that you’re supposed to be here, I’m calling the police.”

  The maid dialed Jason’s number and put it on speaker.

  “Hi, Helen, everything okay?” Jason asked.

  “No. There’s a woman here in your house. You didn’t tell me you had company,” Helen said.

  “I’m sorry, Helen. I forgot. Amber’s my wife. It’s okay if she’s there.”

  “Wife? Mr. Lewis, I didn’t know you were dating.”

  “Helen, I don’t have time to go into details with you, but please make sure she has everything she needs, okay?”

  “Yes, Mr. Lewis.” Helen hung up the phone.

  Amber stood with her arms folded. “Now, let’s start over. I’m Amber.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Lewis. I didn’t know.” Helen kept apologizing.

  “I understand. You were just looking out for Jason. And please. Call me Amber.”