Angel Without

by Rhiannon Ayers

  “Are you okay today?” she asked.

  He snorted. “Are you serious right now? Last night was the best of my life.” He kissed her back, smiling affectionately. “Thank you.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

  Riley squeezed her waist. “For making it possible. For me and Maddox to…to admit we wanted each other. If you hadn’t prodded him, I don’t think either one of us would have acted on it. I owe you for that, pixie. Big time. You made me brave.”

  Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink. “I didn’t do anything,” she whispered, looking aside. “You guys did.”

  He cupped her face, made her look up at him. “You did everything,” he assured her quietly.

  Amber shifted, obviously uncomfortable with his praise. She bit her lip, cleared her throat lightly. “Yeah, well. Anyway, um…why don’t you go get your shower, and we can get out of here. I know Maddox wants you over there with his crew. I promised I wouldn’t keep you all day long.”

  Deciding to let it go, he nodded, kissed her one more time, and made his way upstairs. He jerked off in the shower—it was the only way he’d be able to make it through the rest of the day without jumping Amber—then finished washing up, toweled off, and got dressed. Had to remember to pop by his place and pick up some clothes. If he was going to be staying at Maddox’s place for a while, he needed to have some personal stuff here. Grinning to himself, he stepped out of the bathroom and opened his mouth to call out to Amber and let her know he was ready to go.

  But he froze two steps into the bedroom. Amber was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the huge bed, staring at the phone in her lap—and there were tears streaking down her face.

  “Pixie? What’s wrong?” He crawled up next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Something happen?”

  She didn’t respond to his hug, just sat there, sniffling, with the most pathetic look on her face. “They fired me.”

  He tipped her chin, wiping a few tears from her cheeks as he looked in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. Amber grimaced. “I called my work, to tell them it would be a few more days. My boss said they fired me the first day. Said they didn’t want to make my father angry. Demanded to know where I was, because my father keeps calling them, asking for information. Said I needed to go home immediately, and never come back to the office. They already shipped my stuff to my father’s house.”

  He ran his fingers through her silky soft hair, aching for her. “You did say you were expecting it,” he said slowly, not sure how to comfort her.

  She nodded. “Yeah. But not…not so fast. Not like that.” She swallowed hard, her voice going scratchy with tears. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I have nothing. I can’t go home. Can’t go back to my father’s house. No job. No car. No money. No nothing.”

  “That’s not true,” Riley said fiercely. “You have me and Maddox, not to mention your brother and those two crazy people he’s married to.”

  She gave him a watery smile. “Crazy people?”

  He snorted. “Damn straight. Sidri and Tatum are bonkers. Hell, Sid probably already planned for this. That woman is scary-good at predicting things. She scares the crap out of me.” He smoothed her hair back, kissed her forehead. “Here, let’s call Maddox, okay? He’ll know what to do.”

  Before she could protest, he whipped out his phone, had Maddox’s number dialed up instantly. He put it on speaker and set it down on the bed between them.

  Maddox picked up on the first ring. “Riley? What’s wrong?”

  “Amber lost her job,” he said without preamble. “If you’ve got something up your sleeve, now’s the time.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Maddox said, hanging up before they could respond.

  Riley gave Amber a forced smile. “See? Let’s wait and see what Ox has to say before we freak out, okay? No more tears, pixie. I hate to see a pretty woman cry.”

  She sniffled, then threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He was still holding her when they both heard the door open and slam shut downstairs. Damn, Maddox must have been right outside, to get here so fast. Either he’d been on his way back already, or he started heading this way the moment Riley called him. Kind of made Riley all mushy inside, realizing the guy cared so much about Amber that he would come running the moment he thought something was wrong.

  The stairs creaked under Maddox’s weight as he bounded up to the bedroom. He barreled into the room and skidded to a stop, those gray eyes taking in the scene in an instant. Riley smiled a welcome—and felt Amber flinch in his arms. He looked at her in surprise, started to ask her what the hell, but Maddox spoke before he could.

  “Don’t worry, Amber.” Maddox sat on the edge of the bed, his face serious, eyes soft. “I can call Allen right now if you want.”

  She wiped her face, expression woeful. “Do you really think…?”

  Maddox already had his phone out, dialing. “Yeah, I really do.” He thumbed the speaker button, and they listened to it ring a couple of times before Allen picked up.

  “Maddox? Is everything okay?”

  Maddox sighed. “Yes and no. Amber lost her job this morning.”

  “Oh my god, are you serious?” Allen didn’t sound upset—he sounded elated. “But this is perfect!”

  “Dude, seriously?” Riley cried, outraged. “Your sister is sitting here in tears, and you’re happy? How insensitive are you?”

  “Sorry, sorry,” Allen said. “That didn’t come out right. Maddox, did you tell her about Street Smartz yet?”

  Maddox made a calm-down gesture toward Riley as he spoke into the phone. “Not yet. With the confidentiality agreement, I thought it best she hear it from you.”

  “Okay, good. Where’s Amber? I need to talk to her right away.”

  Riley and Maddox both turned toward the tiny blonde woman. She coughed, cleared her throat. “Right here, Allen. Sorry.”

  “I’m the one who’s sorry, baby sister,” her brother said softly. “I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk. It’s just that I was already planning on talking to you about this, but I wasn’t sure how you’d take it if you had a job you liked. I got excited because now I know you might be interested, that’s all. Please, don’t be offended because I spoke before I thought.”

  Riley watched her face clear, a small smile coming to her lips. Everything in him wanted to wrap her up in bubble wrap and keep her safe from the rest of the world forever. He squeezed her shoulders, gave her a smile when she looked up at him.

  “It’s okay, Allen.” She sniffled again. “So, what’s Street Smartz?”

  Allen took a deep breath. “It’s a charity organization me and Sidri and Tatum started. To help kids who are runaways.” He paused, voice going thick. “There wasn’t any kind of help for kids like me when I was on the streets. I was too afraid the authorities would send me back home if I went to a shelter. I wanted to find a way to help other kids who are going through the same things I went through—a place they could go to get help and counseling, a place they can feel safe and not threatened with the possibility of being forced to go back home if they truly don’t want to.

  “We’re setting up housing systems all over the city, where they can have free meals and safe beds to sleep in. We have counselors on staff, to help them work through their problems, and provide advice for dealing with their emotional issues. It’s not like CPS, or any of the existing organizations for homeless runaways. We’re not about getting them back home—we’re about giving them a safe place, good advice, and help moving on with their lives.”

  “Oh, wow,” Amber said, her face awed. “That’s amazing, Allen.”

  “Thanks. We already have two places set up, one in downtown Houston, and one down in Galveston. We’re currently housing around thirty kids, though it’s hard to keep count because they’re allowed to come and go at will, and they don’t always come back every night.�
�� He sounded pained at that, probably knowing more about what those poor kids were going through than any of the people listening to him right now.

  Riley met Maddox’s eyes, raised his eyebrows. Maddox flashed him a wink, then turned his attention to Amber. He reached out, took one of her hands in his and caressed the back with his thumb. “We need some help with the admin,” he told her. “Allen’s dad, Buddy, is taking care of overseeing the counselors, but we need someone to help with the nuts and bolts of running the background services.”

  “We?” Amber said, looking confused.

  “Maddox is in charge of finding and converting properties for us,” Allen said, sounding smug. “The townhouses you guys are in right now are going to be converted into a single unit, with interconnected rooms that still have outdoor entrances and exits. Kids will have their own rooms and kitchens, but they won’t be isolated if they don’t want to be. Maddox found out there were only two other tenants in his complex, and we approached them about buying them out. They agreed, and so Konstruction Kings is working on the conversion while we get the city permits and get the on-site counselors hired. It was Maddox’s idea to set up the shelter there, because there are a lot of runaways who like to hang out in that area. Rich people give handouts,” he finished with a pained sigh.

  Riley winced, hearing the personal knowledge in that quiet statement. Jesus. He hadn’t known any of this shit. He’d heard somewhere—probably an offhand comment from Sidri or Allen himself—that Allen had been a teenage runaway. But he hadn’t known anything about the charity, or that the odd renovations they were doing to the townhomes were for that organization. He’d been staying in the last townhouse while he looked for an apartment, because Maddox said he owned the complex and he could stay there as long as he wanted.

  “We have an enormous backlog of administrative stuff, I’m afraid,” Allen said. “Buddy’s great with the counselors, but he’s too involved with the front end of the shelters we already have to deal with things like making sure the permits are applied for and getting want ads placed. We need someone to go through the paperwork that’s started piling up and help make sure all our t’s are crossed and i’s dotted. Think you could help with that, Amber? I guarantee we could use you.”

  “Of course!” she said instantly, looking excited. “I would love to be a part of a charity devoted to helping kids. Definitely.”

  “Thank God,” Allen said, sounding genuinely relieved. “Me and Tatum have been trying to dig through the paperwork for months, but neither one of us is very good at it, and Sid is useless.” He chuckled. “We made the mistake of letting her talk to an official down at City Hall one time. The poor guy was sobbing hysterically by the time she finished with him. We decided it’s better to keep her on the front end of things, so to speak.”

  Maddox barked out a laugh. “Oh, lord. I can picture that perfectly.”

  “Yeah, well,” Allen said with another chuckle. “Like I said, we learned our lesson. Sidri is absolutely fantastic when it comes to dealing with clients at the ad agency, but when it comes to dealing with government red tape…well, let’s just say she has no patience for fools. On the plus side, whenever we have to talk to that official, all we have to do is mention Sidri’s name and he pretty much does whatever we want, just so he won’t have to talk to her again. Intimidation does have its uses.”

  Riley laughed, as did Amber, who looked really happy for the first time since he’d met her. “Thank you, Allen. For offering. When do you want me to start?” she asked breathlessly.

  “As soon as possible.” They heard someone talking in the background, some rustling noises, as if Allen covered his receiver for a moment. He came back on the line with a quiet curse. “Crap, I have to go. We have a meeting to get ready for. Amber, your car should be there today, okay? We’ll talk more about Street Smartz tomorrow. As soon as we have all this stuff about your ex and your father worked out, we’ll get you set up in the main office and put you to work, okay?”

  “Okay. And thank you again. For everything.”

  There was a genuine smile in Allen’s voice as he said, “No problem, baby sister. Don’t let Riley or Maddox get away with too much, okay? Don’t leave them unsupervised if you can help it.”

  “Hey!” Riley said indignantly.

  Maddox just laughed. “We’ll call you later,” he promised. “Go knock ’em dead in your meeting, then you three go get some sleep.”

  “Will do,” Allen said, then he hung up.

  Maddox palmed his phone, met Amber’s blue eyes with a half smile. “See? Told you not to worry.”

  Chapter 15

  Amber stared at Maddox and thought, From fired to hired in five minutes flat. That has to be a record.

  Then a whoop of glee burst from her throat, and she launched herself across the bed and threw her arms around his neck, knocking both of them to the floor. She lay on top of his impossibly hot body, her fear completely forgotten, and peppered his jaw, neck, and cheeks with kisses.

  “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she said happily, over and over again.

  Maddox chuckled, his big hands coming around her back as he held her close. “No problem, angel,” he rumbled. “I told you it would work out.”

  “You did!” she said happily, pulling back to look into his silver eyes with a huge grin. “Oh my God, I can’t believe it! You really came through for me. I’m so excited!”

  Maddox smiled softly, reaching up with one hand to cup her cheek. Slowly, letting her know she could pull away any time, he brought her lips in for a slow, sweet kiss. Amber shuddered from head to toe when she felt those soft lips against hers, quickly losing herself in the feel of him. His big body beneath her, his overwhelming body heat, the gentle way he held her, all combined into a heady wave of lust that dampened her panties. Since she was straddling his lap, she knew the instant her closeness started affecting him, because his cock hardened underneath her. She whimpered into that hot mouth, suddenly wondering if she’d started something she wasn’t yet ready to finish. But to her surprise, Maddox didn’t try to take things any further. He simply kissed her, holding her close, until her head was swimming. She was panting, close to going up in flames, when he finally released her.

  He ran his thumb over her lower lip, his silver eyes full of so much promise it took her breath away. “I hate to say this,” he sighed, “but I have to get back to work, and you and Riley have some shopping to do. We can continue this…hmm, conversation tonight, okay?”

  She nodded, amazed at his control. Any time Brandon got aroused, he took her, whether she was interested or not. And Wes…

  The thought made her shiver with revulsion. Maddox’s eyes darkened, as if he could read the thoughts going through her head. He cupped her cheek, whispered, “I’ll never force you, Amber. Ever. Do you understand me? Do you accept that?”

  She nodded, swallowing hard. “I know,” she whispered back. “I do, really.”

  He sighed, obviously not believing her, and sat up. She gave him one last grateful hug and rose from his lap, embarrassed that her fear had interfered with their moment. Maddox stood and looked toward Riley, who still sat in the middle of the bed, a concerned frown on his face.

  “Take your time, okay?” Maddox told the other man.

  Riley nodded, slowly rising from the bed. He approached Maddox, glanced down at Amber briefly, before slipping an arm around her waist. “I’ll join you as soon as we get back.”

  Maddox nodded, started to leave—then cursed suddenly, turned around, and yanked Riley over for a hard, hot kiss. Amber whimpered internally, watching them from inches away, wishing she was the one being kissed like that. But then again, if Maddox ever showed her that much aggression, she’d freeze immediately, and both of them knew it.

  But wasn’t it interesting that she was wishing for it in the first place?

  Riley groaned and reached up to cup the taller man’s neck, kissing him back for all he was worth. When Maddox finally pulled away, both men
were panting, obviously regretting the need to postpone playtime. Maddox growled low in his throat and brought Riley in for a last hard kiss. Then he turned on his heels and stormed out of the house, leaving her and Riley staring after him.

  Riley cleared his throat, looking down at her with obvious embarrassment. She smiled to put him at ease, squeezed his arm. “Come on, let’s go. The sooner we get back, the sooner Maddox will come home and finish what he just started.”

  Riley nodded, gesturing for her to precede him down the stairs. Outside, he locked the door behind them, then gestured toward a massive Chevy Silverado that appeared to have monster truck tires. She turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

  “Seriously?”

  Riley grinned. “What? I needed something rugged that could handle getting in and out of work sites when the roads aren’t fully laid.”

  “Uh huh. Sounds like an excuse to be a boy to me.”

  He waggled his eyebrows as he popped open the passenger side door. “Being a boy, I have an excuse for just about anything.”

  She laughed, earning a cheeky grin as he lifted her into the cab. For once she was grateful for the assistance—there were no steps, and the floor of the truck was a good three and a half feet off the ground. Even if she jumped, she wouldn’t have been able to get in there. When she was in the seat, Riley leaned over her lap and helped her get the seatbelt clicked. She hid a blush, feeling pampered in a way she’d never felt before.

  Riley gave her a soft smile before closing her door and walking around to his side of the truck. He hopped up with practiced ease, making her jealous. When he revved the engine, the vibration made her teeth rattle uncomfortably, and she wondered how she’d ever stand riding in this beast for any amount of time. But as soon as he put the ginormous truck in gear, the shaking settled down to a dull purr in the background. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention out the window.

  They sat in silence for a time while she tried not to wince at the heavy metal band blaring through the speakers. After a time, she noticed Riley darting covert glances her way, biting his lip, as if he was wondering whether he should ask her something. She reached for the volume, turned it down, and skewed around to face him.