by Amy Brent
I turned away from the television to hide my own contempt when Ethan looked up at the sound of his father’s voice. Bastard. That was all I could think while I curled my fingers into angry fists. He couldn’t let go of anything. Our divorce was a slap to his ego. Taking Ethan away didn’t even matter to him. That much was clear when his lawyers agreed to giving me full custody of Ethan. It was all about the cameras in his face.
“He just won’t give up, will he?” My father came from the privacy of his office. He looked up at the television screen with a frown. “He gave up custody of Ethan in court. He didn’t fight for custody at all.”
I glanced over at Ethan who had resumed playing with his cars, completely oblivious to it. I didn’t know if it was a self-imposed oblivion, but I was thankful for it.
“It’s not about that,” I said in a low voice. “It’s about me actually having the strength to leave him, and then challenge him in front of cameras. He cares about what people think of him.”
“He’s a fellow politician’s son. He inherited that from his father. Their camp is naturally on the defense these days.” My father smiled at me then as he rested his hands on my shoulders. “I know that I haven’t said this lately, but I’m proud of you.”
“For what?” I asked, smiling up at him. “I haven’t done anything spectacular recently. Your lawyers are the ones to thank for this win.”
“You could’ve told them to back off. No one was forcing you to go through a custody battle, or your divorce.”
“I had to do it,” I said with a shrug. “If I didn’t, it was only going to get worse. I knew that it would be harder to get away the more time passed. And I couldn’t let Ethan grow up in a toxic household like that.”
My father studied my face for a long time. “I can see that your stay with Gage did you more good than I expected.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, heart pounding. “I’m still the same me. Nothing has changed.”
“I’m not sure what it is,” he said. “I’m not going to complain, though. It’s just nice to see you smiling again.”
The phone rang from inside his office. He smiled apologetically at me before stepping back inside, closing the door quietly. I walked to the large living room windows that overlooked the snowy landscape of Montana. The trees were covered in a thick blanket of snow. Several plows were at work on the roads, and the snow drifts were mini mountains alongside the road. It was a cold and slow start to the weekend.
I caught sight of Gage’s truck at the bottom of the driveway where he was stopped at a security checkpoint. The breath in my lungs hitched with excitement. I pressed up against the glass while I watched the security guards glance through his truck. One of the guards spoke into his walkie-talkie to run Gage’s credentials before waving Gage through. The gate swung open a second later.
“Gage and Lily are here,” I told Ethan, grinning. “Are you excited to see them?”
Ethan looked up from his cars with a strange look. “Sure, Mommy. Do you miss them?”
“Of course, I do, silly.”
My hopes of catching Gage alone before he stepped into the house were dashed when Joe, my father’s head of security, opened the front door first. I clenched my teeth to contain my disappointment, but also to resist the urge to run into Gage’s arms. My heart thumped wildly as Gage entered with his arm around Lily’s shoulders. Both of them were bundled up in heavy coats, but Gage looked sexy as usual with his chocolate locks pushed back to reveal the pepper of gray at his temples. His icy blue eyes warmed at the sight of me.
“I’m glad you all made it safe,” I said breathlessly as Joe closed the door behind them. “Were the roads bad?”
“Not too bad,” Gage said smoothly. His eyes were fixated on me, though, and only me. A small fire danced there, but it was enough to fuel the fire inside of me. “The plow trucks have the main streets in the city taken care of. It’s the mountain passes you have to be careful on.”
I could feel Joe’s eyes on the both of us, studying our exchange with a frown. I forced my eyes to where Lily stood at her father’s side as she looked around with wide eyes. She clutched her father’s hand tightly.
“Your house is big,” she said. “I think it’s bigger than your house, Dad.”
That drew a chuckle out of Gage as he reached up to undo the buttons of his coat. “He has more money than me, Lily. He needs a big house to keep everyone in his camp sheltered, too. They don’t know how to deal with Montana’s weather.”
“I grew up in Alaska,” Joe said, mildly affronted. “I know how to drive in the snow. It’s the other people on my team that don’t know how to do it.”
The doors to my dad’s office opened at the sound of our voices. He poked his head out to look at Gage with a wide grin.
“Just the man I was looking for,” he said. “Come in, Gage. I have to talk to you about a few things.”
I caught Gage’s eyes as he ushered Lily to join Ethan on the floor to play cars. I shrugged my shoulders, even though my insides were twisting with nerves and various emotions. I took a seat on the couch while Gage slipped into my father’s office.
“How are you, Lily?” I asked kindly. “I see that your dad bought you some cute leggings.”
Lily glanced down at her patterned leggings with an approving smile. “Yes, he did. He took me shopping after school to pick clothes that I wanted.”
“That’s great. I’m glad that he listened to my advice.”
“He misses you I think,” Lily commented, looking up at me as Ethan scooted along the floor with a car. “He’s been really quiet since you’ve left. I asked if we could come here this weekend, but he wasn’t sure if you were going to be here still.”
The little admission made my heart melt. He had missed me for the entire week since we couldn’t communicate properly. Not without drawing attention.
“I missed the both of you,” I said. “I’m not sure how much longer we will be here, but I’ll make it a point to stick around as long as I can.”
Lily nodded at that. “Good, because it’s boring when it’s just my dad and I up there by ourselves.”
I half-listened to Lily’s chatter about school when the door to my father’s office finally opened. I turned to find my father’s arm wrapped around Gage’s shoulders.
“You think about what I’m offering,” he said. “There’s no rush on getting back to me. I have other things to keep me occupied in the meantime.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, rising from the couch. “What are you two up to now?”
My father waved an airy hand. “Just business things. Take the SUV, Gage. Avoid the media if you can.” He smiled at me then. “Enjoy your afternoon, sweetheart. At least one of us is getting out of the house today.”
I blinked in confusion, but the phone rang again in his office before I could say a word. I looked over at Gage, who shrugged his shoulders innocently. The living room went quiet, aside from the sound of Lily and Ethan playing on the floor. My father’s team, including Joe, had gone into his office for another meeting. I was finally alone with Gage.
Gage’s eyes were dark with that look of desire flickering to life. My body hummed in anticipation, just seeing him in the flesh, instead of in my memories. I grasped his strong hand and pulled him down the hallway in the direction of the laundry room. I pushed the door open, glancing in quickly to make sure it was empty, before pulling Gage in. He didn’t protest as I locked the door shut behind us.
In the next instant, Gage’s arms were around my waist. His lips were hot and needy against my own while we kissed passionately. I groaned in relief to feel his feel body pressed up against mine again. He pulled back before our senses could get away from the both of us.
“There’s a museum hosting a free event for kids,” Gage said, his fingers running up my back. “Do you want to come with me? It’d just be us and the kids.”
I looked up at him in confusion, but I could see his eyes sparkling. He had a plan. This was
all a ruse of some sort for us to get away. My body vibrated with excitement as I nodded in agreement.
“Yes, let’s take the kids,” I said. “Ethan will love it.”
We bid our goodbyes to my father before climbing into the warm SUV. I kept my hands tucked between my legs to keep myself from reaching out to touch Gage. I didn’t want Ethan or Lily to see the both of us all over one another, but a part of me dimly wondered what the hell Gage had planned. I just wanted to be alone with him long enough to have a proper kiss.
The museum was chaotic when Gage led us inside to check in Lily and Ethan for an afternoon of arts and crafts. I kissed Ethan goodbye on the cheek when their teacher came by to gather them up for the class.
“They’ll be about an hour,” she told Gage, holding onto Ethan’s hand with a kind smile. “You can pick them up then. We are going to do some fun arts and crafts.”
“Go on,” I encouraged Ethan when he looked up at me. “You have fun with, Lily. I’ll be back soon.”
Lily took Ethan’s other hand. They both waved goodbye to us before following the teacher into a classroom. I turned to look at Gage with a smile.
“How did you know about this?” I asked.
“The museum offers art classes for the kids when the snow is too much,” he explained, glancing around at the various paintings. “I take Lily here all the time. The teachers will keep an eye on them.”
“Great. So, are we going this direction to look at paintings or—”
Gage caught my wrist in his hand before I could walk over to look at the painting there. My heart thrummed wildly in my chest all over again when he looked down at me with fiery eyes.
“I have a hotel room down the road,” he whispered. “It’ll take us at least fifteen minutes to get there. That’s plenty of time.”
All of my uncertainty, wondering what Gage had been thinking all week, gave away as I followed him out of the museum. His hand remained locked in mine during the drive to the small hotel fifteen minutes away. It was low-key, nothing fancy, but clean and quiet. No media would be around a place like this as Gage led me down a dim hallway to our room.
About to burst from lust, I didn’t even bother waiting until the door fell shut behind Gage. I jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist, and kissed him passionately.
Chapter 17
Gage
Amber’s legs wrapped around my waist tightly. Our lips met in a heated kiss. I stumbled toward the bed in a futile attempt to concentrate on my legs and the direction we were going. Yes! A small part of me roared in triumph at how well this plan had worked out. I hadn’t been sure if Beau was going to buy the excuse of wanting to get the kids together at the museum when I called him yesterday afternoon. Not with all this media attention on him.
My blood surged through my veins as the edge of the bed bumped into my shins. We tumbled back onto the center of the mattress in a tangle of limbs. I smoothed a hand through Amber’s curly blonde hair to kiss her harder, deeper. The need for this woman squirming beneath me in pleasure was so great that I couldn’t see straight.
Her hands were running up my back, grasping my shoulders to grind her hips up against mine. I hissed in response to the heat of her rubbing up against my already hard dick. One whole fucking week without Amber around had nearly driven me over the edge into insanity. I wanted this woman now. I wanted to plunge into her without a care in the world.
“Gage,” she breathed out, lips swollen and bruised already from our heated kisses. “Please. Don’t take forever.”
I trailed kisses down the column of her neck. She tasted sweet, like vanilla and cinnamon. I could feel her heart already pounding against my chest as I reached for the hemline of her shirt. I bunched the fabric in my fingers to tug it up over her head.
“Finally,” I growled, and sat back on my knees to take in the sight of perfectly shaped breasts that wanted to tumble out of her simple white bra. Her chest heaved with each breath she took. Her skin was already a lovely shade of pink from the desire spiraling through her own body.
Amber reached up to hook a finger in my belt. While her fingers went to work on getting my belt free, I undid the clasp of her bra with ease. I felt my jeans loosen, followed by the brush of her fingers against the tip of my erection. Pleasure jolted through me as she reached in to stroke me with confidence, but I refused to be spent so quickly. At least, not outside of Amber or before her own pleasure.
I pushed her hand away to lean down and suck in a taut pink nipple. Amber cried out in pleasure beneath me. Her hand reached up to tangle in my hair, tugging there insistently as she arched up against my mouth. I focused on the curves of her breasts before moving down her stomach to the elastic band of her black leggings. I ran my tongue teasingly along her lower stomach. Goosebumps appeared instantly as I sat up to work on the buttons of my shirt.
Amber sat up to help me. She pushed the fabric from my shoulders before trailing hot kisses of her own down my collarbone. Her teeth nipped at my chest in teasing bites as her fingers left hot trails down my back. I gently pulled her head up before that sinful mouth could go to the one place of my body that longed for her touch.
“Not going to happen,” I murmured against her lips. “Both of us are going to get pleasure by the end of this.”
“No doubt about that.” Amber glanced at the alarm clock on the bed stand. “Do you think we could skip foreplay? I’ve been fantasizing about you all week now. That’s enough for me.”
I hated that she was right, but we couldn’t afford much foreplay. Not with the kids at the museum for the next twenty minutes while they did their art class before we had to join them again. I had to make quick work of Amber’s pleasure before giving in to my own.
“Lay back,” I instructed, pushing her legs apart. She gave me an uncertain look as she did what I told her. “Don’t worry. I know how to get a woman off quickly.”
Amber’s eyebrow arched upward at that. “Do you, now?”
I slid my hands beneath her firm bottom to pull her to the edge of the bed. I pressed a kiss against the inside of her thigh. She was already dripping wet with arousal. I inhaled the scent of it greedily. Smugness went through me, knowing that this was the reaction I got from her.
“Yes,” I breathed. “Relax, baby. It’ll happen quickly if you relax.”
I didn’t give her a chance to reply. Taking that bundle of nerves into my lips, I let my tongue and mouth bring her to a high peak. Her thighs quivered against the side of my neck while her feet pushed down on the tops of my shoulders. I found my fingers drifting down to my throbbing erection to stroke myself to ease a bit of tension in time with her pending release. Amber’s back arched off the bed as she cried out in pleasure. Her hips rolled against me as she climbed higher and higher to that pinnacle.
Unable to stand it any longer, I stood up before either one of us could go over the edge into that sweet oblivion. Amber looked up at me in sheer frustration, her face the color of a ripe cherry about to burst with juices. I pushed her back down on the mattress when she sat up, and settled myself against the heat between her legs. I thrusted deep into her hot and pulsating flesh with a groan of my own.
I couldn’t think of anything else after that besides for the hot pressure building up in me. I set a hard pace, harder than I’d gone before, and a part of me dimly worried about the intensity of it all. That was until Amber wrapped her legs tightly around my waist, pulling me in even deeper. She whispered broken encouragements in my ear until I couldn’t hear anything over the roar of blood in my veins and my heart pounding.
I teetered on the edge until Amber’s scream tore through her lips. Her body bucked beneath mine, inner muscles squeezing so tightly that it nearly paralyzed me from the pleasure. My release came barreling down as well, while I emptied myself into her before collapsing on the mattress alongside her.
“Holy shit,” Amber panted, reaching for my hand. “I think my heart is about to explode.”
I sucked in
a deep breath to try and calm my own racing heart. “Speak for yourself. I’m older than you.” I clutched at my chest to feel the furious pounding there. “You might have to take me to the hospital for a heart attack.”
Amber giggled breathlessly as she turned to lay on her side. “I thought sex was supposed to be the best exercise for a man your age.”
“It is,” I said, eyes sweeping along her perfect breasts out of habit. “At least, I’m not at the point of having to take pills.”
“That’s true. I don’t think you have to worry about that at all.”
A blonde curl fell against her cheek. I reached out to tuck it back behind her ear with a smile. She nuzzled her face into my palm with a small smile.
“I’ve missed you,” she said softly. “I wish there was a way we could see each other more.”
“I know,” I replied, looking back up at the ceiling of the hotel room. “I wish we could figure it out, too. I don’t want to bring any attention to us both until we can discuss this seriously.”
Amber propped herself up on an elbow to glance at the alarm clock again on the bed stand. She rested the upper half of her body on my chest, breasts pushing up against me. The sensation put a smile on my face. It felt natural to enjoy the afterglow. Especially since our time had been cut short, and it still was short. Too short for us to have a serious conversation about our expectations.
