The Billionaire's Baby (The Romero Brothers, Book 5) (8 page)

The car was coming right at them at they were pulling
onto the road from the ditch.

It was coming right at them…

Amber screamed and
bolted upright in bed.
Her heartbeat pounding hard and fast
in her throat.
Her blood vessels constricted in her body. She could feel
her baby move around rapidly inside her. She nervously turned on the bedside
light. Thank God, she was at least in a nice secure apartment. But she felt
alone.
Very much alone.

She picked up the
phone on the nightstand and called Jules. But she swiftly hung up, realizing it
was two o’clock in the morning. Oh, God! What was with her? She was a nervous
wreck. Again. The anniversary of her family’s death was approaching. It was
always like this. Would Amber ever escape the torment of that night? Trouble
was, she couldn’t remember much else after that. She didn’t want to recall a
single detail. She couldn’t remember any more and maybe that was for the best.

Amber got up and
went to the kitchen. Admiring, along the way, the beautiful marble stone
countertop and the stainless steel appliances that housed her smart fridge and
smart everything in that home.

She made herself
an instant green tea with her
Tassimo
machine. Jules
had spoken to her about not having too much coffee since she was pregnant,
which was fine with her. He was such a sweetie.

Looking around her
environment was certainly a mood picker-upper. Everything was so calming and
soothing in its cream and earth tone colors. The ginormous screen TV was built
into the wall and so was the compact, elite looking fireplace beneath it. The
floor was professionally finished oak hardwood and highly polished. The walls
were painted in an off-white sheen and adorned with calming artwork of nature,
beautiful pictures. Gorgeous and healthy green plants also graced her suite.
But how long would she be able to stay there? She was grateful for Jules’s
generosity. She just wished she could actually repay him.

About five
minutes later, the phone rang. Amber glanced at the digital display clock on
the fridge as she sat in open-spaced kitchen on a seat around the breakfast island.
“Who could that be?”

“Jules Romero
calling,” the disembodied voice sounded from the telephone speaker.

She quickly got
up and answered the phone.

“Jules?”

“Amber, you okay?
You tried to call me?” His voice was tired but strong. Alert.

“Oh, it’s
okay…I’m fine. I didn’t realize the time.”

“I’ll be there in
a second,” he told her without giving her the chance to rebut.

“You didn’t have
to come here, Jules,” Amber said later when he’d arrived at her door.

“You called for a
reason. It’s not a big deal.”

“Really?
You’re something else
,
you know that
?
You’ve done so much for me and-”

“What happened?”
he quizzed, leaning in closer to her. Amber caught the irresistible scent of
his cologne again. God, he was gorgeous and her hormones were going wild for
him. She fought the urge to wrap her arms around him and give him a good hug
and pull him to her, ripping off his shirt. Jules was strikingly handsome and
extremely tall and fit, she noted as he towered over her, giving her a loving
grin.

“I just had a bad
dream.”

“It must have
been one heck of a bad dream, Amber. Come on now. It’s me you’re talking to.”

“I know.”

Amber shared some
parts of the dream, so grateful that she was able to get it off her chest and
talk about her fears, her guilt over surviving the accident and wanting so
badly to be a good mother to her little girl.

“You’ll make the perfect
mother, Amber,” he told her as he stroked her hair as she laid on the couch
curled up into him. She enjoyed the warmth of his firm body as her head rested
on his chest. His heartbeat was strong and steady. Oh, heavens.

Amber and Jules,
like old times, watched a rerun episode of Dancing with the Stars. She didn’t
know when but she dozed off for a moment then re-awakened, still in his arms
feeling loved. Cared for.

The fact that she
could call Jules any time of the night and he didn’t mind spoke volumes about
the type of chemistry they had. Amber was aware when you found someone who
connected to you so well, you didn’t take it for granted,
you
cherished it and nurtured it.

Did Jules want to
take another chance on her? She noticed he was trying to get close to her but
he wasn’t as flirtatious as he’d been in the past but that was probably because
of her pregnancy. Most men were cautious around a woman who was expecting. Some
women had sexy hormones rushing through their bodies, while others wanted
nothing more to do with sex, until after the baby was born.

Hot damn! Jules
looked so good in his half open shirt, his sexy stubble on his chin and those
muscular arms of his. Right now, Amber could think of nothing else but to have Jules
make love to her—for their first time. She wondered what that would be
like. Her heart raced like mad in her chest as she visualized his strong, soft
hands caressing her body as he made sweet, passionate love to her.

Stop it, Amber. It’s not
gonna
happen, remember? Men are no longer part of
your emotional budget. It’s just too costly to enter into a relationship again.

Still, Amber
couldn’t help gravitating towards Jules. And judging by his physique and the
sweet memory of his incredible kiss when they had dated in the past, she was
filled with all kinds of delicious images of what it would be like to make love
to him. That was assuming
if
he would
ever make love to her. The man was hot though. Even though it could never lead
to anything more than physical.
If it ever happened.

Jules was probably
just there beside her for pity’s sake.
 
She prayed that was not the case. Still, Amber
wanted to
savor
the moment because life was about
precious moments and this one with Jules was one she would deposit to her
treasure trove of precious memories to never be forgotten.

She wished things
had been so different between them. She loved her unborn baby, however, it had
always been her dream to have a baby in wedlock. Her father, who died in that
horrible crash, had not been her biological father and for some time before her
parents’ deaths,
she was often called a bastard at the school
by those who knew her parents and were aware of the truth
. She didn’t
want her child to have to go through that. Not that it should matter these
days. But oh, how painful it would be to not be married when she delivered her
child into the world. Her heart sank at the feeling that it may never happen
the way she planned. Yes, Amber wished everything had turned out differently. But
the last thing she wanted to do was to spoil everything that Jules restarted
between them.

Besides, she
could not really cope with any sort of intimacy right now.

Jules and Amber fell
asleep but before long Jules woke up. She felt the soft touch of his lips on
her forehead as she nestled on his chest. Her heart fluttered. She felt a
tingling sensation between her thighs for the first time since she got
pregnant. She couldn’t help but smile widely. She tilted her head up to his and
looked into his beautiful dark eyes.

Jules stroked her
chin gently as he gazed into her eyes. “You are so beautiful, you know that?”

Amber smiled.

She reached up to
his lips and pressed hers to his and oh, the magic exploded between them. What
was she doing?

No kissing, Amber. Don’t get caught up in that
emotional trap again.

Hungrily Jules kissed
her, a raw lust clawing its way from his core. His tongue slid in between her
parted lips and sent shivers of delight racing through her body. It had been
too long since she’d experienced the touch of a man. And oh, she missed Jules’s
amazing passion. She trembled with desire and want as he softly stroked her
skin. Her body pulsed uncontrollably.

Jules
repositioned himself on the couch and got her into a comfortable position then
lowered his head to her arm where her scars were displayed. He gently kissed
her wounds, a heightened sensation that made her nerves tingle rushed through
her body as he lovingly kissed the blemishes as if they were beauty marks. Jules
made her feel so special. Her nipples became erect and strained under the
fabric of her top.

“Oh, Jules!” Amber
groaned in ecstasy,
savoring
the pleasure of being
loved, treasured.

“You’re so
beautiful, Amber. I’ve always loved you,” he said, his voice hoarse. He kissed
the tip of her nose to the bottom of her earlobe and she felt dizzy with
excitement. The touch of his soft lips was a delicious sensation through her
body. He didn’t just kiss
her,
he caressed her with
his sweet lips. Oh, those magical lips of his. His lips were warm and tender on
hers.

Amber could feel
the hardness straining in his pants and delight rocked her body. Oh, she wanted
him. She craved him so badly. Her hormones were racing all over the place. Her
body was aroused for him.
And his for hers.
Perfect!

She reached down
and stroked his erection through his pants enjoying the feel of his powerful
hardness while he groaned with pleasure. He lowered his head to her breasts and
kissed the mound of sensuous flesh.

Then just like
that, Jules pulled away, leaving her breathless, her body throbbing out of
control. Stunned, she gaped at him. “Jules,” she said, breathing heavy. “Why
did you stop? Don’t stop. I want you, Jules. I need you!”

Jules got up.
“I’m sorry, Amber, I…you really need your sleep,” he said, extending his hand
to her to help her up.

She was still
panting. Amber could see that he, too, was still aroused. She lovingly rubbed
her belly and accepted his assistance. She knew he wanted her as much as she
wanted him, but she was pregnant and he was obviously nervous about being with
her—in her condition.
Even if it was deemed safe for
pregnant women to be intimate.
But it was for the best. She didn’t know
what she’d been thinking.
No more relationships,
Amber.
They don’t last
,
remember
?

Amber reached
over and snaked her arms around Jules and he held her so firmly, so
passionately and they went to bed, sleeping beside each other, holding each
other, hugging each other and left it at that. Friends. Nothing more. Taking
chances could prove too risky right now. So why did Amber feel like hell?

A month later,
Amber sat in the waiting room of her therapist’s office flipping through
magazines.

Since she had
that dreadful nightmare and Jules ended up coming over in the middle of the
night, Jules had stayed with her at the dwelling after she asked him to keep
her company. She didn’t know why but she really didn’t want to be alone and he
didn’t want her to be alone. He was so kind to follow her to her prenatal
visits during the past month since they’d gotten reacquainted. She couldn’t
express her appreciation enough.

Dr.
Danye
had been so supportive of Amber after her traumatic
experience since the accident. She was dying to speak with him. She had to tell
him not just about her progress regarding her coping strategies but also about
having Jules back in her life. Amber was still having occasional nightmares of
that horrible accident that scarred her body for life and scarred her emotionally
so that
had to be addressed
first.

Amber told her
therapist about her rekindled relationship with Jules and how he made her feel
these days. She felt completely torn and wasn’t ready to accept everything that
was happening to her emotionally. Jules knew what Amber looked like underneath
her garments, the horrible secret she had hidden from him for fear of rejection
and yet he cared about her anyway. He went out of his way to make her feel
special. Loved. Appreciated. She, in turn, truly appreciated his kindness. But
she’d been through emotional hell with her ex that it was hard to trust again.

At one time she
would have been ecstatic over Jules’s devotion to her, but now Amber was finding
she was a bit afraid of it in addition to finding his obvious love for her—and
while she’s pregnant with someone else’s child
!—
completely
tempting and seductive. How crazy was that?

Jules did
everything and anything wonderful for her, from giving her the most amazing soothing,
gentle back rubs and relaxing soft massages to getting her desired foods and
other odd cravings in the middle of the night when he could have sent someone
else or advised her where to go.

Then there was
the dinner at Romero Manor with Jules’s family a couple weeks ago.

Amber was anxious
at first about sitting down to dinner with the entire Romero clan but it was a
godsend. A contrast from her
emotionally-distant
aunt.
The Romeros were so giving and kind and loving. She enjoyed the warm family
spirit and missed that with her own family after the tragedy. For the first
time she’d had a sense of longing in every
fiber
of
her being. Wishing they were her family. Wishing that her child would be a part
of that loving bond. Wishing that Jules and she would end up…together forever.
Yeah, right. Only in a perfect world!