Chapter 14
Amber
It was a swift and surprising kick to my stomach that woke me. I gasped in surprise before realizing that it was Ethan’s little foot buried in my stomach as he stretched out in his sleep. Morning light filtered in through the living room windows. A fire still crackled in the fireplace, and the entire house was motionless.
Images from the night before flashed through my mind while my heart raced again. It hadn’t been a pleasant dream after all. I had slept with Gage Devlin after all these years and past few weeks lusting after him. My skin felt hot as I managed to squirm my way from underneath the tangle of Ethan’s arms and legs. I looked over to opposite couch, expecting Gage to be there, but it was just Lily curled up on the couch cushions under a blanket.
A giddy feeling went through me, despite the lingering soreness between my legs, a sure sign of what happened last night. Every single one of my senses felt alive with sated pleasure. Gage’s skills in bed were beyond what I had imagined. His quiet confidence and steady hands. A shiver went up my spine at the memory of it all as I stretched my limbs out.
The kitchen was cold and empty when I stepped inside. A couple feet of snow pushed up against the sliding glass door, undisturbed. The basement door was cracked open, though. I could hear the faint sound of footsteps down in the basement.
I opened the door, feeling a rush of cold air come up the stairs. I took one step down before a wave of nerves crashed over me. Everything had changed last night. There was no doubt about it, but I didn’t know what to expect with this change between us. A relationship wouldn’t be exactly conventional, or accepted very easily if we pursued one. The topic never crossed our minds last night.
Gage appeared at the bottom of the stairs. All those nerves went away the second that our eyes met while he climbed up the stairs with a smile.
“Morning,” he greeted, pressing a warm kiss to my lips. He tasted of fresh winter air. “I thought I heard you get up. I didn’t know if it was one the kids that was up for the day.”
“Just me,” I replied, gladly sinking into the strong circle of his arms. “What were you doing down there?”
The hum of electricity kicked on a second later. Gage closed the basement door to keep the roar of the generator at a muffled level. He grinned down at me as he let go of me.
“I give you electricity,” he announced proudly. “I needed coffee. God only knows how long it will take for the electric company to get the power back up and restored. There was a lot more snow than anyone anticipated with this storm.”
“No kidding,” I said, laughing. “Have you seen the back porch yet?”
He grimaced. “Yes. I think the snow shovel is off my list of tools today. The snow blower might be more appropriate.”
“I’ll make sure to get a nice warm breakfast for you,” I said. “I’m sure the kids are going to love it out there. I don’t even know if Ethan will be able to stand in it without the snow going over his head.”
“I’ll make a spot for them to play at.”
Gage leaned down to kiss me again. I let out a pent-up breath, grasping the sides of his neck to kiss him back deeply. The sound of footsteps tore the two of us apart in time to see Lily coming around the corner, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“I can hear the generator,” she complained, looking up at Gage with a frown. “Why did you turn it on?”
I took a step back to put more distance between us. The last thing I wanted to do was to confuse Lily about my relationship with her dad. That only added more complications to our situation.
“I’ll get some coffee and breakfast going,” I told her, heading in the direction of the coffee pot. “Maybe we could go outside to enjoy the snow, since we can’t go anywhere today?”
“Better than being stuck inside like we usually are,” Lily replied as she followed behind me eagerly. “Can we have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?”
“Have something healthy with that, too,” Gage said.
He passed by me as I leaned across the sink to fill the coffee pot with water. His fingers brushed against my right ass cheek, a teasing touch that lit my body on fire again. I glanced over at him as he bundled up in a heavy jacket and slipped on a pair of heavy boots over his pants. He winked at me slyly when Lily stepped inside the pantry to grab some pancake mix and chocolate chips.
“I’ll be back to enjoy those pancakes,” he said. “I just have to get the snow blower out of the garage and fueled up.”
I listened to Lily and Ethan’s chatter in the living room after turning on the television. I let them select a movie to watch since the cable was still down, and I went to work on getting breakfast ready.
I could get used to this. The thought crossed my mind suddenly. The peace of the mountains and forest surrounding me at all times. The sound of Ethan and Lily talking in the living room as they watched a movie while Gage worked outside to clear the driveway of snow. I could get used to it. Everything about it felt right and perfect.
I dreaded the day that I would return back to Colorado Springs. I had no idea what was going to happen then. I pushed that unpleasant thought away for the meantime to enjoy the day out in the snow with Gage and the kids.
After spending a few hours making a couple of snowmen, we piled the kids back inside for a warm bath before finding another movie for them to watch. I started on dinner while Gage settled down at the kitchen island to keep me company.
“I’m sorry you have to miss church again,” he said.
I glanced over at him in surprise. “It’s fine. I think with the snowstorm, God might just forgive me.”
Maybe not for other things, though. I was still technically married to Scott.
“I still feel bad,” Gage said. “I know how much church means to you.”
“I’ll be fine without it. I don’t need to be preached to again about lust.” I smiled as Gage chuckled at that. “Thank you for coming with me, though. I know you don’t like going because of your childhood. It’s sweet of you to give it another try for me.”
“It’s not that bad when they are talking to you about things that you can relate to.” Gage shrugged his shoulders. “I just tune out what I don’t find interesting.”
The ring of the telephone startled both of us. I glanced at it as Gage picked it up with a frown.
“I guess the phone lines are working,” I remarked, but it was the dark look on Gage’s face that caught my attention. “What is it? Who is it?”
“It’s your father,” he said slowly. “I don’t know why he’s calling. He’s supposed to be in D.C.”
The pit of my stomach clenched in dread. I mentally counted over the days, trying to remember if anyone had seen something between Gage and me. Nothing. There was nothing out there for someone to suggest it to my father. We had been careful, unless someone had seen us at church, or at the restaurant when Gage had threaded his fingers through mine.
“I’ll answer it,” I said, holding a hand out for the phone. “Make sure to brown this chicken fully so we can have chicken alfredo for dinner.”
Gage handed the phone over wordlessly. He assumed his position in front of the kitchen stove as I answered the phone.
“Hi, Dad,” I managed to say in an even voice. “I’m surprised that you were able to call here. The phone and cable have been down all day.”
“Hello, my darling.”
I let out a relieved breath at his cheerful voice. I looked over at Gage to give him a thumbs up. He visibly relaxed as well, before returning his attention to the stove.
“I know the storm has dumped quite a bit of snow all over the Rockies,” my father continued on. “Montana has taken a hit with the storm as well. I am flying to Montana tomorrow morning to meet with the mayor. He has declared a state of emergency with all the snow this storm has produced.”
“You’re flying to Montana tomorrow?” I repeated in disbelief. “How are you going to be able to do that if the airports are closed?”
“The commercial airport is. I’m taking the private plane here. Are you snowed in up there at Gage’s house?”
“No,” I said, tracing an errant pattern on the kitchen island top. “He managed to get the driveway cleared. I can’t tell you about the rest of the roads.”
“Well, good. I’ll have someone come get you if Gage can’t get down the roads. That SUV I loaned him doesn’t have the best snow tires like his truck does.”
“Why are you coming to get me?” I asked. My heart sank at the thought of leaving. I didn’t want to go yet. “I can stay here, Dad. I know that you’ll have to fly back to D.C. after dealing with the mayor here.”
“I’m going to surprise your mother by beating her home.” Voices echoed in the phone as my father replied to whoever was speaking. “I have to go, Amber. Tell Gage to meet me at the log home we rent up there at nine tomorrow morning. He knows which one I’m talking about. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”
“Dad—”
He hung up before I could say another word. Tears filled my eyes when I looked up at Gage. He set the spatula down on the stovetop with a small smile.
“I know where the log home is at,” he said. “I’ll have you there without any problems. I don’t trust his security driving around in the snow up here.”
I didn’t bother hiding my disappointment through the rest of the evening. The only person excited to see my father was Ethan. It took forever for me to get him to calm down enough to drift off to sleep. Gage had disappeared into Lily’s room to get her settled for the evening as well, and then passed by my room without a word a little bit later. I waited until the house was motionless before rising out of bed. It didn’t seem fair to give up this bubble with Gage so quickly. It was just my luck that something like this would happen.
I strained my ears to hear if there were any sounds coming from Lily’s room, but it was utterly motionless on the other end of the hallway. My bare toes dug into the carpet as I tiptoed down the hallway to Gage’s bedroom door. I pushed the door open, grateful that it was unlocked, and stepped inside the still room.
Patches of moonlight danced across the foot of Gage’s bed as I walked up to the side, gazing down at him with a small smile. He was spread out on his back and completely relaxed in his dream. It hit me then that I was falling in love with him. Not in a silly school girl crush type of way. It was the type of love where I wanted to bury myself around him and never face reality again.
Gage shifted abruptly, but his eyes remained closed. His hands flexed beneath the blankets.
“Amber,” he moaned out, hips rolling beneath the blankets. “Please, Amber. Just do it.”
A wicked thought crossed my mind. If I had only a few hours left in my bubble with Gage, then I wanted to spend it feeling alive with sensation again. Damn the consequences of tomorrow. I wanted him now.
I pulled the sheets back to find that he was wearing a pair of boxers. His cock strained against the fabric there. I reached forward to stroke him while I used my other hand to tug down my underwear. He slept on, but his body responded instantly to the touch of my hand.
I climbed over him gently as possible to straddle his waist. I sucked in a harsh breath when I lowered myself down over his hard shaft. He stretched me in different ways as I gyrated my hips slowly to adjust to the intrusion. Gage’s hands were on my hips then, and when I glanced up, I found his eyes open and fixated on me.
“What are you doing?” he croaked out.
“You asked me to do it,” I responded slyly. “So, I was just honoring what you asked me to do.”
“Amber—”
I placed a finger on his lips to cut off whatever protests he had. Gathering the hemline of my sleeping shirt, I tugged it off to bare myself to the air and to his eyes only. Gage’s eyes flicked down to my breasts while his fingers twitched against my hips.
“I know that tomorrow will be different,” I whispered, leaning down to press my naked chest against his. “I just want to enjoy this one last time with you before I have to go. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?”
“I’d give you anything you want right now,” Gage said breathily. “Just keep moving. Don’t stop, either.”
I leaned back to sit fully on his hips. A shiver went up my spine when he slipped further into me in this position.
“I won’t,” I whispered. “I won’t stop.”