Amber loved when they talked dirty. She felt him pull back his thumb and heard him squirt more lube out. Cannon’s hold on her was so tight, she couldn’t even jerk when Ryder’s fingers filled her empty hole. Feeling his two digits stretch her wider was almost her undoing. Who would have thought there were so many nerves back there, Amber thought, her eyes almost rolling back in her head when Ryder crisscrossed his fingers to stretch her more. Oh. My. God. If Ryder kept this up, she would come without even moving.
“Ryder, please…”
“A little more, sugar. We need to make sure you can take me.”
“I can, I promise! Please!”
Cannon’s chest rumbled when he told Ryder in a tight voice, “She’s right, man. Not sure how much longer I can hold out here.”
Amber felt Ryder’s fingers slide away as he replaced them with the large tip of his cock. She didn’t know why she thought that it would feel like his fingers, but it suddenly dawned on her how big he was. Before she could utter a sound, Ryder used his weight to press his cock through her ring and the slight stinging intensified, making her entire body tense.
“Breathe, sugar. Breathe through the burn,” Ryder ordered. “It’ll turn to pleasure. That’s it, Amber. Take what I give you.”
Amber felt him enter inch by inch, creating a fullness like nothing she had ever felt before. How Cannon stayed in her, she had no idea. The pressure kept intensifying and just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, the burning blossomed into something else. Not pleasure. Something entirely different and nameless. Bliss… ecstasy…more words bounced through her, but the feeling remained unidentified. By the time Ryder was seated in her ass up to his balls, a ringing had started in her ears and her vision had started to blacken around the edges. They needed to move. Why weren’t they moving?
Amber realized it wasn’t ringing she was hearing, it was her. That keening sound was coming from her throat. Right when she was going to start screaming, Cannon started to pull out. As he pushed back in, Ryder slid out. Back and forth, they set up a tempo where one was always inside her, making sure every nerve ending was sparked. They took her higher, as close to euphoria as she could ever imagine being, and when she couldn’t climb any further, she fell.
Chapter Five
“When are you going to give those boys a break?”
Amber gave an exasperated sigh, tired of hearing Earl and Lou ask her that same question for the past four days. She knew Cannon and Ryder hadn’t said a word to anyone about their affair—she refused to call it a relationship—coming to an end, but that didn’t stop everybody from knowing. Amber was back at the café working the double shifts, even though Tammy and Heather, the high school girl she had hired, were continuing theirs as well. Her leg had gotten used to relaxing over those three weeks, and the continuous standing she was doing brought on a constant ache, which she welcomed. It distracted her from feeling the pain inside her chest.
“Earl, I told you. We’re friends, and nothing else. They have family coming to visit later in the week and I don’t want to intrude on their holidays. It’s better for me to step back and let them enjoy their company.”
“You are their family,” Lou interjected, not even bothering to pretend to play chess. Both men had set up their pieces and had yet to move one, too intent on badgering her tonight. Family. She had no family. She knew only too well the agonizing pain that came from having your family taken from you, and she refused to place herself in that situation again. She had no family, and that’s how she intended to keep it.
Amber limped back to the counter without replying, knowing the only way they were going to shush up was if she was out of hearing range. Heather was still here working the late shift, so she supposed she could always go in the back storage room and take inventory.
“Look at you, girlie. You’re pale, you have dark circles under your eyes, you’re constantly in here waiting on people without taking a break, and you’re limping more than usual. You need—”
“What I need is for everyone to mind their own damn business!” Amber yelled. The place got quiet. A few of the locals sitting on some of the couches turned to stare. Amber felt her face flush and stiffly turned around to face Earl and Lou, who looked shocked at her outburst. Guilt washed over her and she lowered her voice, softly saying, “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I’m fine, really. I know you care for me, but what I really need is for everyone to stop hovering.”
How she managed to get upstairs to her apartment without breaking down, she would never know. Amber vaguely remembered asking Heather to close the shop this evening. As she sat on the floor with her back against her apartment door, she cradled her head in her hands while her elbows rested on her knees. She tried to stop the tears from flowing, but even pressing on her eyelids with her palms couldn’t block the salty water from coming out. Sob after sob wracked her body and she couldn’t control them. This is what she had tried to avoid, this colossal agony that wouldn’t lift from her chest. She couldn’t even breathe.
“Please don’t do this, Amber. Don’t run. We love you with all our hearts and know you love us,” Cannon begged, watching her dress.
Amber shoved her feet in her boots and dragged a hand through her tousled hair, turning to face a naked Cannon. Ryder still lay on the bed, his back against the headboard, the sheet lying across his groin. He’d been silent the entire time she got dressed, which hadn’t done anything for her nerves. She angrily turned to Cannon and screamed, “Do not go there! You do not love me! You agreed that this would be temporary, that we would only have an affair. You agreed that no feelings would be involved and that everyone would walk away in the end.”
“We let you believe what you wanted to, Amber. It was never our intention to walk. We always knew it would be permanent. We just wanted to give you time to get used to us. To make you realize how much you love us,” Cannon yelled back.
“Then this is your fault!”
“It wasn’t about your leg at all, was it?”
Amber turned to Ryder, shocked that he had even spoken. He always remained quiet when Cannon and Amber argued. “What are you talking about?”
“You use your leg as an excuse not to get close to someone. But that’s just a front. You’re scared of having a family again.” His words hit too close to the truth.
Amber moaned in anguish as the memories washed over her, reliving that moment four days ago. They had planned all along to get what they wanted. What difference did her reasoning make? If she had only wanted an affair and they had agreed with her, then why was she the one in the wrong? She was broken inside, didn’t they see that? She had closed off that side of her the day her family was taken from her.
“…vitals are stable. She’s ready to transport.”
Amber opened her eyes, seeing red and blue colors swirl through the snow above her. Why was the night sky red and blue? Trying to focus, she turned her head and saw a man peering down at her. His lips were moving and she strained to hear what he was saying.
“You’re going to be okay. We gave you medicine for the pain, and we’ll be at the hospital soon.”
Pain? What was he talking about? She heard him drone on about a leg injury and metal ripping the muscle, but she didn’t want to look at him anymore. She turned her head the other way. What was that big, black metal thing? Blinking several times, she concentrated on the scene in front of her. It was a car. Smashed into a tree. Looking lower, on the ground, she saw three white sheets. Flicking her gaze up, she saw police officers and firemen standing around the wreckage. What were they doing? One turned to face her, sympathy evident in his eyes. Why did he look so sad?
“Miss, do you understand what I’m saying? We’re going to load you in the ambulance now. Is there someone we can call?”
Her parents, she wanted to say, but couldn’t tear her eyes away from the officer. Why would the paramedic ask a question like that? She was seventeen. Of course they should call her parents. Why was the officer look
ing at her that way? His eyes flickered down to the white sheets and then back up to her. They should call her parents... Realization dawned and with it, an agonizing pain so deep no medication in the world could help her.
Amber jolted back to the present at the knock on the door, but remained silent, stifling the sobs that tore from her lungs. She wasn’t answering the door. She couldn’t handle letting anyone see her this way. If it was Earl or Lou, they would eventually leave and she could apologize again tomorrow.
“Amber, open the door! It’s Annabelle.”
Amber shook her head and tried to get herself under control. Why was Annabelle here? She must have come to visit for Christmas. Was Sam with her? She didn’t want to see anyone. If she didn’t make a sound, Annabelle would assume she wasn’t there and leave.
“Amber, I know you’re in there. Earl and Lou said you came up here and that you were upset. Honey, open the door and talk to me. Did Cannon and Ryder do something to hurt you?”
Amber choked on another sob. Annabelle’s parents obviously hadn’t told her the latest town gossip. It didn’t matter. She’d find out later and then come back tomorrow. Amber would be in control of herself by then. This passing meltdown would be over and done with. She just needed time to gather herself together and everything would be fine.
“Amber, you open this door, or I will go down to the shop and get the extra key I know you keep in the storage room. Your choice. Either way, I’m coming in there.”
Amber stood in defeat and flipped the lock, turning toward the couch. She heard Annabelle open the door and then close it, not bothering to look back. Finally making it to the cushions, Amber sank into the corner, leaving her right leg stretched out. “I’m really not in the mood for this, Annabelle.”
“Those two did do something! What did they do?” Annabelle sat on the other end, careful of Amber’s leg. Tossing her purse on the floor, Annabelle faced her and pulled her feet onto her lap, taking Amber’s shoes off like a mother would a child’s. Amber felt another sob attack coming on and placed her face in her hands. “Awww, honey. Did you go and fall in love with those two lugs?”
Amber cried even harder and her friend just sat there rubbing her feet, not doing anything other than being the caring friend she was. Amber missed these moments, and knew she was to blame for them stopping to begin with, which made the tears keep coming. They sat for what seemed like hours, Annabelle finally getting Amber to tell her bits and pieces of the past three weeks. Annabelle only listened while Amber talked and talked, trying to convince herself more than her friend why she couldn’t love those two men.
Chapter Six
Silence filled the cab of the truck as Cannon and Ryder made their way into town. Nothing had been the same since last Saturday, when their lives had been blown to smithereens. The explosion had been ten times more devastating than the ones they had witnessed during their times in war. Who would have thought a five-foot-three pixie of a woman could do more damage than a nuclear bomb? Looking out the passenger side window, Cannon only saw the wreckage she had left behind.
“What time are your parents due in?” Ryder asked, his voice like a whip cracking through the air. Neither had bothered to speak during their work this morning, the ranch hands keeping clear of them and their dark mood. The only one with big enough balls to say anything had been Max, and the minute he had mentioned Amber’s name, Cannon had left the barn.
“Sometime tonight,” Cannon replied, his tone devoid of any emotion. He put his elbow on the side window, using his right hand to rub the whiskers on his chin. Once they returned to the house, he would have to shave. His parents didn’t deserve to see their only son looking like a slob.
“Annabelle Murphy rang the house this morning.”
“Ryder, don’t go there.” Cannon cut him short. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Silence rained down upon them once more. Neither had spoken about what transpired Saturday morning, and Cannon wasn’t going to start now. His heart felt like someone had placed it in a shredder. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was Amber’s face filled with rapture above him, and Ryder’s eyes behind her filled with love that Cannon knew she saw in his when she looked down upon him. But the image of fear that settled in her eyes afterward made him nauseous. Fear that transferred to him because he knew they had lost her.
“She saw Amber last night.”
“Ryder, enough! I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Cannon said gruffly, pissed that Ryder wouldn’t quit. Since when had they reversed roles? Usually it was Ryder who never wanted to talk about anything, and now here he was, trying to broach the one subject that tore Cannon’s heart out of his chest.
Cannon watched as the scenery sped by a little faster, not thinking much of it as they started down on the slight decline of the road into town, until he heard Ryder mumble a few swear words under his breath and the thumping sound of Ryder hitting the brake peddle.
“What’s wrong?”
“Brakes went out.”
Cannon looked up ahead and saw the wooden bridge that accessed the town of Common. If they got across, the road leveled off. Would it be enough to slow them down so Ryder could pull on the emergency brake? Cannon watched as Ryder tried everything to get even the smallest of traction on the tires, but knew it was useless.
“Cannon, unbuckle your seatbelt.”
“What?”
“Unbuckle your seatbelt. There’s no way we can cross the bridge. We’ll have picked up too much speed and won’t have any control entering town, especially with the road conditions. If anyone’s on the street, we’ll hit ’em.”
Cannon could see Ryder pressing on the brakes and then trying to tap them. Ryder was right. They were going to have to jump. “We’ll have to bail before the bridge.”
Seven hundred feet. Six hundred feet. Both men unbuckled. Five hundred feet.
“On three,” Ryder screamed. “One…two…three!”
Cannon yanked on the truck’s door, using his shoulder to fling it open. His body dove for the ground while he simultaneously tried to pull his legs in to roll with the momentum. He landed with a jarring impact, making his teeth slam together and his back take the force of the ground. Spinning, he finally came to a stop near a snow bank lying up against the bridge. He was still catching his breath and staring up at the cloudy sky when he heard the truck slam through the wood and crash to the frozen creek below. Sluggishly, he moved to his side and forced himself to sit up, taking inventory to make sure he hadn’t broken any bones.
“Shit, man! You okay?”
Looking around, Cannon felt his heart speed up, and not from the collision of his body with the ground. He didn’t see Ryder. Scrambling to his knees and using his shaking hands to push himself to a standing position, Cannon started to yell Ryder’s name. “Ryder? Ryder, answer me, man! Where are you?”
Looking around in a panic, Cannon scanned the other side of the road. Nothing but snow and mush. This couldn’t be happening. No way. Now outright running, Cannon skidded to a halt by the damaged side of the bridge, looking down at the sight of the crash with dread. The black truck was totaled. The front end was smashed into the middle with its glass shattered all around it. Ryder’s still form was lying on the frozen ice below.
* * * *
“What’s all the commotion about?” Amber asked as she entered the shop through the entrance from her apartment.
“Not sure,” Tammy replied as she dried a black mug, twirling the dishtowel around the rim. “The sirens stopped before entering Main Street, so someone must have had an accident before the bridge.”
Amber shuddered, repressing the memories that tried to surface. Her eyes were still swollen from yesterday and it took more than her usual minimal coverage of makeup this morning to mask the bags that hung underneath. In a way, what had happened last night had been very cathartic. Annabelle had stayed into the wee hours of the morning, doing nothing but listening. Amber had been so emotionally raw, that the words ha
d kept spilling out of her mouth and when she had finally finished, it was with relief. She never shared her troubles with Annabelle because Amber hadn’t wanted to be a burden to her friend. She hadn’t known how therapeutic it could be.
Just then, the door banged open with a force, the bell jarring against the metal, making the high pitch echo around the shop. Annabelle stood in the entrance with a pale face, alarm evident in her eyes. Her wild stare came to rest on Amber, and the look of fear made the pit of Amber’s stomach fall out. Amber couldn’t tear her gaze away from her friend and no one moved, not Tammy, not the patrons, not Annabelle, and certainly not Amber. She slowly shook her head, denying what she knew Annabelle was about to reveal.
“Don’t say it.”
“Amber—”
“Please, Annabelle, don’t say it.” Amber continued to shake her head, shrugging off Tammy’s touch to her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Amber. They had an accident on the bridge. Their car went over the ravine and landed on the ice. My dads came upon them on the drive to the diner to meet me for lunch and dialed 911. The emergency vehicles have arrived and Father called me on his cell to come get you. My car’s—”
Amber didn’t let Annabelle finish. She rushed past, ignoring the ache in her leg, and went out the door and headed down Main Street. She heard Annabelle yell something about driving her up the road, but it was a short few blocks to where the bridge entered town. She started to run, adrenaline now pumping through her system and her pain totally forgotten.
Don’t let them be dead. Don’t let them be dead. Don’t let them be dead. The mantra continued as she rushed toward the flashing vehicles and past the crowd that had gathered before the bridge. Amber pushed and shoved her way through, kept moving forward, finally making it to the bridge and screaming out their names. All the firemen, paramedics, and police officers turned to see what all the commotion was about, but she didn’t care. Seeing the gaping hole on the side of the bridge, Amber probably would have gone right over at the speed in which she was going if two strong arms hadn’t caught her and pulled her tight to their chest.
Elizabeth, Peyton - Not So Common (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7
