I'll Take a Chance (16 page)

“Kyle,” s
he whispers.

I make my way down and remove her panties. I know what my woman needs and I crave it. She moans and
pants as I love her with my mouth. I insert one finger then two. Slowly I stroke her in and out while I hit that sweet spot with my tongue that sends her flying. She starts to breathe heavy and I know she’s close. Her legs start to spasm and she comes, digging her nails in my biceps.

I sit on my haunches and pull her into my lap. She straddles me
placing her feet on either side of me. I reach between us and enter her hard. She uses her leg muscles and lifts herself up and down. She feels so damn good. I hold her tight to my chest as she moves up and down. Her fingers are in my hair and I kiss her breasts taking a nipple between my teeth. I put my hands under her ass and help her move up and down. She clenches her muscles around me and it sends me over the edge.

I seat her firmly in my lap as I pulse inside her. She finds my lips and kisses me sweetly. I hold her tight and scoot off the bed still inside her. I carry her to the bathroom and set her down gently. We get cleaned up
, then I take her hand and walk back to bed.

“Don’t make any plans for this weekend
, I have a surprise planned,” I tell her as I curl up to her side and kiss her shoulder.

“You do?” s
he asks and cranes her neck back to look at me.

“I do. I have the weekend off. Pack warm. Tha
t’s all I’m going to tell you.”

“A surprise, I love surprises. Now I’m not going to be able to go to sleep
,” she says and sticks out her bottom lip in a mock pout.

“You better go to sleep. You need to be bright eyed and bushy taile
d, you have work in the morning.” She yawns as I say it. I run my fingers through her hair several times and she is fast asleep. I smile and kiss the side of her head. “Goodnight, honey.”

The next morning
I wake up early and start a pot of coffee and head back upstairs to wake up Amelia. She’s not in bed, but I hear the shower running. I quietly open the door and set her coffee on the counter.

I just can’t pass up the opportunity to take a shower with her.
Soapy water is sliding off her sexy curves. She smile and steps aside for me to join her. She runs her slick hands up my chest and brings her mouth to mine.

I back her up and sit her on the tiled seat that I am so glad I put in when I remodeled the bathroom.
I kneel on the tile floor in front of her and hitch both her legs over my shoulders. She leans back and closes her eyes. The steam from the shower adds to the sensual feeling. It doesn’t take her long and she screams my name.

I lift her up and press her against the tile wall. She raises one leg
around my hip then reaches between us and grabs my shaft. She runs her slick hands up and down my length. On a downward stroke she guides me in and I lift her other leg up and on my hip. I press her hard against the wall as she locks her feet behind me. She puts her head back and I kiss her throat. I hold one hand above her head and massage her breast with the other. She clenches her insides around me and it sends me over the edge. God it gets me every time.

“Amelia, f
uck I’m coming,” I say and hold her firm rooted as far as I can go. She’s panting hard, she opens her eye’s and has the sweetest smile on her face. I wrap my arms around her and back her into the hot showering water. We kiss for several minutes before I let her down. I grab her gently under her chin and tilt so she’s looking in my eyes.

“I love you,
” I tell her simply and kiss her one last time.

We both finish in the shower and I wrap her in a towel. She eyes the coffee cup and raises her eyebrows.

“You know the way to a girl’s heart,” she reaches for the cup and takes a drink.

“Yea
h, hot shower sex, right?” I tease her.

“That’s exactly what I meant
.” We both get ready for work. I just hope she’s not going back too early. I know she’s going stir crazy sitting at home, but she really should take off one more week. Amelia is strong willed and I know there’s no talking her out of it.

I can’t help but chuckle
at what the two of us look like. We walk out the front door at the same time, with a kiss we each get into our cars and go our separate ways to work. We look like the traditional married couple comfortable in an every day morning routine.

When I get to the hospital
, I order an arrangement of orange roses to be delivered to Amelia’s office. While I’m thinking about it, I dig my cell out of my pocket and call Willow.

“Hello
,” she answers on the second ring.

“Willow, hi
. It’s Kyle. I wanted to ask a favor. I need you to keep it a secret from Amelia though.”

“I’m not sure I can do that
, Kyle. What’s this about?” She covers the phone with her hand, but I can still hear what she’s saying, “No, it’s Kyle. Asher, stop being nosy. Mind your own business. No, I don’t know what he wants, if you stop bugging me I’ll find out.” She uncovers the phone and says, “Sorry, Kyle what were you saying?”

“I’m pretty sure you will
be able to keep this secret. I’m going to ask Amelia to marry me this Saturday and…” all I hear next is Willow screaming. She drops the phone and next I hear Asher on the line.

“I guess you told her you’
re going to ask Amelia to marry you,” Asher says while Willow is still screaming in the background.

“I did, I was hoping I could take Willow with me to go ring shopping. I’d like to do it today if she can
,” I tell him.

Willow has finally stopped screaming and Asher puts her back on the phone.

“Are you done screaming now?” I ask her.

“Yes, sorry. Oh my God
, I’m so excited for you both,” she says.

“Wait. What Asher? He wants me to go ring shopping. Are you kidding me
, I would love to? I’m only working a half a day today, so today will work out just fine,” she tells me.

“Wait a minute. You already knew Kyle was going to propose to Amelia?
” she asks Asher. “I’ll deal with you later,” she tells him.

We make plans to meet after lunch.
Amelia will have no clue.

Amelia

I get to work followed by Willow shortly after. It took a few hours to get back in the swing of things
, but now it’s as if I never left. Willow is only working a half day today. She said Abbey has a doctor appointment for a well baby check.

I have been ordered
by Asher to be in his office for lunch. Ugh, bossy men. I’m surrounded by them. Just before lunch a delivery man delivers a beautiful arrangement of orange roses. Soon my whole office smells wonderful. Willow shuts down for the day and heads up to Asher’s floor to get Abbey and leave for the day. I go with her to give my niece a quick kiss and then make my way to Asher’s office.

I say hello to Charlotte and knock on his door. Willow
, Abbey and I walk in his office and just the sight of his wife and child instantly lights up Asher’s face. It’s funny I never thought that was possible for me, but now I know exactly how he feels.

Willow kisses Asher and gives
a little shriek, startling me. Asher swats her in the ass and tells her she better go or she’ll be late. She kisses me on the cheek and waves her hands in front of her like she’s trying to fly away. Lord have mercy, people are strange today.

Asher has lunch delivered
, and I sit Indian style in his big overstuffed chair across from him. Of course he’s concerned I’m doing too much, and he tries to insist that I only work half days.

“Asher
, I’m fine. Please stop treating me differently. I need to be back at work. I need to have my life back. What happened was terrible, but I need to move on.” I need to get the conversation away from me. I rack my brain trying to think of something to say. I know.

“Did you hear Chloe is dating someone?” I hope she doesn’t kill me for spilling the beans
, but I can’t think fast enough about anything else.

“Really, d
o you know who? Anyone we know?” he asks and takes a bite of his sandwich.

“I don’t know who. She’s very tight lipped about i
t. All I know is his name is Max.” Asher puts down his sandwich and stares at me like I just grew another head.

“What? Do I have mustard on my face or something?” I wipe at my face trying to figure out what’s on my face.

“No, it’s not that. Is that all she said was a guy named Max?” he asks strangely.

“Yep
, that was it. She said he knows about her past and that he is a good guy. Why, do you know who he is?” I ask wondering how he could possibly know.

“I
, uh, may know, but I’m not positive,” he mumbles.

“You do, w
ho?” I ask excitedly.

“Excuse me, Mr. Wellington, sir your
one o’clock appointment is here,” Charlotte says as she buzzes in over Asher’s phone.

“Thank you
, Charlotte, show them into the conference room. I’ll be there in just a few minutes,” he tells her.

“No way, you have to tell me
. You can’t leave me in suspense.” This is going to kill me to not know.

“Sorry Amelia, I need to go to this meeting. It was nice having lunch with you. Don’t work yourself to
o hard, I want you to leave early today too.”

Shit,
my brother can be annoying. First a surprise weekend away with Kyle, now Asher might know Chloe’s mystery man, how will I ever fall asleep ever again? It didn’t look like Asher was all that excited about Max. I wonder what that was all about.

I get back to my office and the first thing I see are the beautiful orange roses on my desk. They bring an instant smile to my face.
I work for a few more hours then head home early.

Kyle will be at the hospital for a few more hours so I decide to go to my apartment to pack up some of my things. Kyle has been here several times and has brought quite a bit over
, but there is still plenty to do.

I put in my thirty day notice so I need to decide what we are keeping and what we have two of and donate them. What I didn’t realize is this is the first time I have been b
ack here since I was kidnapped.

The instant I step
foot in front of my apartment door I know it’s a huge mistake to come here by myself. I have been in counseling for awhile now and we have talked about this and I was warned that it would be difficult, but I am taken aback at the fear that has crept in my heart.

This is stupid
, the man is dead, and he can’t hurt me anymore. I put the key in the door and push it open. There are packed and unpacked boxes all over the apartment.  My senses are on high alert, and I feel like my ears are ten times bigger than they really are.

I walk into the kitchen
, and I don’t really know what I expected, but there is no blood on the counters or floor, someone must have cleaned it all up. It’s stupid to think that it would all still be there. Then it happens, just like a movie playing in my head, I see it all replaying. The way he grabbed me and held me sends ice cold terror through my veins. I run my finger on the counter where he held me down and stuck me with the needle.

Several things are missing from the
counter that were broken in the struggle. I don’t know how long I stood there paralyzed with fear, but the next thing I know someone puts their hand on my shoulder. I scream bloody murder and cower in a fetal position on the floor in the corner of the cupboards.

“Amelia
, it’s me. Oh my God, come here, you’re safe. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” It’s Kyle and he is on the floor on his knees. He scoops me up and sits me in his lap. I am shaking so badly and the tears are streaming uncontrollably down my face. Kyle has a tight hold on me and he’s rocking me back and forth like a baby.

“Amelia, I am so sorry, I was just stopping by to pick up a few boxes before heading home. I called your name
, but I guess you didn’t hear me. Shh, it’s OK, honey. I’ve got you. You’re OK.” He pulls away slightly to look at my face.

“Honey
, please stop looking at me like that. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. God I would do anything to take that fear out of your eyes. I’ve got you, you’re OK, honey.” I don’t know how long I sat in his lap on the floor, but he held me tight and let me cry until I had no more tears left to cry.

I’
m so exhausted now from crying so hard, the next thing I know Kyle lifts me up and carries me to his car. He reaches in and buckles me in and kisses me on the cheek. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know we are in the driveway and he’s opening my door again. He lifts me out and carries me all the way in the house and up to bed.

He sits me on the bed and takes off my shoes one at a time. He pulls back the covers and lays me down. He curls up behind me and holds on tight. It has to be early in the evening and neither of us has eaten dinner
, but Kyle never leaves my side. I feel him moving around digging in his pants pocket. He pulls out his cell phone and calls Willow and Asher.

“Hi Willow, it’s Kyle. Look I need you guys to come over to my house. I stopped by Amelia’s apartment to pick up boxes and Amelia was there. I scared the shit out of her by accident. She was really upset and
she completely broke down. I think I need some help,” he whispers into the phone. I wish I could tell him I’m alright, but I think he hit the nail on the head. I just feel broken.

I must have fallen asleep
again because when I wake up I’m an Amelia sandwich. Kyle is behind me and Willow is in front of me. They are both sleeping, I lift my head to see what time it is, and I see Asher sitting in a chair wide awake staring at me with a look I can’t quite describe.

Uh oh.

“You’re taking the rest of the week off,” he whispers sternly.

“Asher, I’m fine now. I don’t know what happened, bu
t I’m fine now. I can’t take any more time off. I need to keep busy and work,” I whisper, waking up Kyle and Willow in the process.

“
Oh honey, you had me so worried.” Willow grabs me around the neck and crashes me into her boobs. Asher gets up and jerks his head at Kyle and they leave the room.

“Wil
low, I seriously need to breathe,” I mumble in her boobs.

She lets up and I sit
myself up in bed sitting Indian style and she does the same thing.

“Do you want
to talk about what happened?” she asks.

“I’m fine. I don’t really know what happened. You have to talk to Asher. I have to go back to work. Kyle can’t take any more time
off either, really I’m fine now.” If anyone can convince Asher its Willow.

“What happened?” s
he asks again.

“I just wanted to help bring boxes over to Kyle’s. I wasn’t thinking that I haven’t been back to my apartment since it all happened. It was stupid. I should have never gone there by myself. Kyle just scared me
. I didn’t hear him come in and when he touched me I just lost it.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is? You
’re most likely suffering from post traumatic stress. Has your therapist talked about that with you?” We both look to the door and hear Kyle and Asher talking rather loud.

Again
, uh oh.

“This is ridiculous, I’m fine
. I don’t have PTSD, it was just a small set back that’s all. Everyone needs to stop reading so much into it. Why is Kyle getting flack for this? I’m putting a stop to this right now,” I say and get off the bed and march down the stairs to find Kyle and Asher. I am followed shortly by Willow and she stands behind me.

“Look boys
, I’m a big girl, and I’m allowed to have a freak out. I was kidnapped and drugged and shot for crying out loud,” I yell. I look at everyone and it’s such a tense moment and seriously what can you do? So, what did I do? I started laughing.

The three of them look at me like I’m crazy and then they start laughing with me. I’m laughing so hard tears are pouring from my eyes. Kyle stops laughing and comes over to me and wraps me in a hug.

“Honey, are you sure you’re OK?” he asks with concern.

“I’m sure. I’m fine now. I think I just needed to let all that fear and anger out. I feel much better now. Asher
, I’m not taking any more time off. I’ll be at work in the morning. It’s late, you two go home to your daughter. I love you both and thank you for coming over, but I’m fine, seriously.”

I give them each the most sincere look I know how to plaster on my face. I am sure too
. I really do feel much better.

“I’m sorry if I scared everyone. I won’t go back to my apartment by myself again, I promise.”

Asher walks over to me and pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head.

“I love you
, little sis.” He grabs Willow’s hand, and she gives a little wave then blows me a kiss. I feel bad for Willow, I hope Asher doesn’t take this out on her. I know he feels helpless and that makes him angry.

Kyle and I make ourselves some sandwiches and eat on the couch. He pulls my feet into his lap and massages them gently. It’s very late
, and I know Kyle has an early shift. He locks the front door and we walk up the stairs hand in hand. I change into pajamas and climb into bed. Kyle strips down to his boxer briefs and climbs in behind me.

“Are you sure you are alright now
? I think we should make you an appointment tomorrow with your therapist. I can come with you if you want. I should be done with work by four,” he says. He squeezes me tight and never lets go.

The next day we do go to see my therapist and she said I made a breakthrough. That
a major melt down was bound to happen sooner or later with me. She had been telling me for some time now that I was kidding myself before if I thought I was dealing with everything so well. She had been making me mad about the whole thing and I considered not seeing her anymore. But in the end, she was right. She said I needed to let go of all the hurt and fear, that until then I had left it buried deep. The next step is to look to the future and let the past be just that, the past. I honestly feel that I am ready for that. I am ready for my future with Kyle.

The rest of the week goes by without any more problems. I never did go back to my apartment
again though. I just didn’t feel that I needed to. Kyle and my brothers packed up the rest of my things and brought them over. I am now officially moved into Kyle’s house, or I mean, our house now.

Kyle

I have never been so scared in my life. I didn’t know what to do when she broke down in her kitchen. All I could do was hold her and keep telling her she was OK now. I should have known better than to touch her with the look she had on her face. In a way I’m glad it happened
, because it really helped her to move past this horrible thing. She seems a whole lot better now. I was worried I might have to cancel this weekend getaway and that I wouldn’t be able to propose. She has been to work every day since and she really seems to have had a breakthrough. So this weekend is still a go.

It’s December in Washington which means snow.
Friday after work I have us both packed and I load everything in my car. I am taking Amelia to her parent’s cabin in the mountains, the one she loved so much as a little girl and would ice skate for hours at. Willow and I did pick out the perfect ring for Amelia. I have the whole evening planned out to the last detail with the help of Willow and Asher of course.