The Comeback (BWWM Interracial Romance Book 7) (9 page)

They lay together for a long time, not quite making love, but kissing each other and touching each other at will, like teenagers. Amber felt her body getting hotter and hotter, her skin tingling, her nerves crackling with anticipation. Brenton’s hand slipped up between her thighs and cupped her, his fingers stroking her slowly with a teasing, light touch. He kissed along the column of her throat and back up to her lips, his tongue exploring every corner of her mouth as he stroked and rubbed her with more and more insistent lust.

Amber reached down between their bodies and wrapped her hand around Brenton’s hard heat, stroking him in time to the movements of his fingers. She looked down and saw the contrast between their skins—Brent’s pale pinkish skin almost glowing in the dim bedroom light, her dark fingers seeming to consume the light in shadow. She twisted and writhed, getting hotter and hotter, more and more turned on the longer they both touched each other. Amber kissed Brenton everywhere she could reach with her lips, swiping her tongue against his sweat-salted skin, moaning against his neck and shoulder.

Finally, Brenton brought his fingers away and shifted down between her legs, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her hungrily. He thrust into her slowly, filling her inch by inch, and Amber wrapped her legs around him tightly, panting with the need for more. Brenton teased her by keeping his hips absolutely still for a long time, until she was ready to groan with frustration, until she was ready to beg him to get on with it already. He began to rock his hips slowly, pressing up against her, moving deeper and deeper inside of her, in and out, retreating almost all the way before he thrust into her again. Amber let her hands wander all over his body as her hips pushed down to meet Brenton’s again and again, as if they had a mind of their own. She squirmed and twisted underneath him, hungry for more, desperate for relief.

They both managed to hold back for what seemed like hours; Amber kissed Brenton again and again, clutching his body tightly to her own. “You have no idea,” Brenton told her, holding himself up on his elbows, looking down into her eyes, “how good it felt to see you at my door.”

Amber chuckled lowly, breathlessly, closing her eyes as a movement of Brenton’s hips against hers brought him up against her pleasure center, obliterating any ability to think for just a moment. “I was—I was about to leave,” she told him. “If you hadn’t opened the door…” she pulled his face down and kissed him hungrily, threading her fingers in his hair. Brenton moaned against her lips, picking up his pace a little bit at a time. After a few moments, neither of them could speak, consumed by the bone-deep heat that infected them both, becoming more and more intense with every movement of their bodies together.

Amber felt her self-control starting to break—she wanted to savor the experience, but it was impossible not to feel the onrushing climax gathering from somewhere deep down between her hips with every movement of Brenton’s body against hers. She felt every muscle in her body tense and then wave after wave of sensation washed through her, crackling through her veins, lighting up her nervous system. She clung to Brenton as if for life itself, holding onto him as she rode through her orgasm, barely aware of the feeling of his body tensing against hers as he reached his own climax right behind her. They both sagged against the bed as the last of the spasms of pleasure began to abate, and Amber smiled, curling up into Brenton’s warm, sweat-slick body, knowing that there was nowhere else she would rather be in the entire world. She kissed him lazily, barely opening her eyes to find his lips as they shifted around on the bed. Bone-deep satisfying exhaustion hung over her, and Amber wrapped her arms around Brenton’s waist, pressing her face against his shoulder and barely seeing the interplay of her dark umber over his tan-and-pink before an overwhelming desire to sleep finally stole over her, closing her eyes and drifting her away from any thought  of anyone other than Brenton.

“It’s so bright,” Felicity said, her eyes big as she looked around her. Amber looked down at the three-year-old girl, smiling.

“We’ll be inside soon,” Amber told her, leaning down slightly so she didn’t tower over the child. “It won’t be so bright inside the building.” Cameras flashed on all sides; reporters called out questions—though thankfully they kept them mostly respectable out of deference to the child that accompanied Amber and Brenton on the trek down the red carpet.

Two years before, or even one, Amber’s release party for her new album would have been a very different sort of event; it certainly wouldn’t have been the kind of event that a three-year-old little girl could have attended. But Amber had made the decision that she wasn’t going to have the kind of release party that she would have to exclude Brenton’s daughter from; she was too old for it, and she wanted, more than anything, to include Felicity in her life with the girl’s father as much as she could. It would be difficult when the album promotion really started—Felicity was too young for all of the traveling that would be required, and Amber was not about to ask Brenton to abandon his job to come with her on a long tour.

But the sight of three-year-old Felicity, dressed immaculately in a designer gown that coordinated with Amber’s dress and Brenton’s tie, was precious to her. It was a much classier release party than Amber had attended in all of her years as a performer—but it was a standard that she was more than pleased and proud of setting for herself.

Amber took a few moments to field questions as she, Brenton, and Felicity walked down the red carpet, lifting the little girl into her arms to let her take a few of the queries. Felicity told the journalists that Amber was the nicest lady she’d ever met, that her daddy was very happy, that she was so excited to hear the new music. Amber explained that she had made the release party an early affair specifically so that the toddler could attend, because she had a few songs that the little girl should have the privilege of hearing as soon as possible. “She’s become a big part of my life, and I’ve never been happier.”

They finally got into the venue, and Amber led her guests up to the stage, lifting Felicity into the big chair that she had specifically had decorated with a motif based on the girl’s butterfly drawings. Brenton snagged them both a glass of champagne and Amber took a ceremonial sip, looking out over the audience. A stage hand gave her a microphone, and Amber took another sip of her champagne, taking a deep breath.

“Before we get this party started, I wanted to thank everyone for coming out,” she said. “This is a big step for me, and it wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the support of my label, my management, and these two beautiful people on the stage with me.” Amber gestured to Brenton and Felicity, giving them both a quick smile before she turned her attention back to the audience. “Lots of people told me I was making the wrong moves. Lots of people told me that I had no idea what I was doing. I hope that this album proves them completely wrong.” There was a ripple of laughter in the audience and Amber let herself smile again. “I’m prouder of this record than I have ever been of anything else in my life. Whether it goes platinum or not, I know I did something big.”

The festivities became a blur; Amber sat down while the first music video for the release showed on a big screen set up on the stage, and stood up to sing the opening track of the album—not the single, but one of the songs she was proudest of in the entire collection. As the album itself played over the sound system, Amber carried Felicity around the room with her, Brenton staying close to her side as she accepted congratulations and accolades from everyone who attended the party. She fed the toddler a few of the hors d’oeuvres, let her enjoy the ambience of the party; let her show off her sparkling personality.

It had come as an enormous relief to Amber that the initial reviews—from journalists who had received advance copies of the finished but not packaged album—were overwhelmingly positive. It silenced the voice in the back of her mind that said Kobe had been right and had given her the confidence to go forward with her unusual plans for her release party. She was firmly established in the press as a confident, fully-grown and mature woman, who was in a serious relationship with a man she loved. Gone were all references to her emotional outburst in the wake of her relationship with Kobe. The press focused on her development as an artist and performer, on the new depths of her work and the new stability that everyone saw in her.

Amber knew that she would never have been able to achieve such a massive change not only in the public perception, but also in her life as a whole, if things hadn’t worked out with Brenton. She knew that if she had gone with almost any other man, all of her hopes for something better than she had had with Kobe would have turned to ashes—she hadn’t been mature enough, she hadn’t been ready for the satisfaction of real love. She might never have had the need, the consuming desire to write the kinds of songs that she had composed for her new album if she hadn’t had Brenton and his life for inspiration.

In the months since she and Brent had finally committed to staying together, Amber had weathered the storms of post-production and strategizing for her album; she had helped Brenton to re-connect with his mother to some degree, and she had watched him achieve a kind of truce with his in-laws. Their relationship and closeness had intensified day by day, and though they couldn’t always spend as much time together as they liked, the time they did have together—in between Brent’s work schedule and the seemingly endless meetings, interviews, and obligations that Amber had to accommodate in her life as a celebrity on her way back from obscurity—was better than it had ever been. They still had their arguments, but neither of them ever questioned the seriousness of their relationship.

Amber knew that the real difficulties were to come; they had overcome a great deal, but it would put a strain on their relationship for her to tour as aggressively as her management and the label both wanted. She tried to keep the tour as modest as she possibly could—and when that didn’t work, she insisted on regular breaks to return to Houston. “I am a performer with a life,” she had told Carl firmly. “I will tour, and I will appear on whatever TV shows you want me to be on, but I am not going to put my entire life on hold ever again.”

It would be difficult for Brenton to live with her being away from him; and Amber knew that it would be hard on her as well. But she also knew that she had to take the opportunity that had been presented to her. She had to make the album count for something, and the only way to do that was to promote it.

Felicity eventually lost even the sugar-fueled reserves of energy that propelled her, and Amber let Brenton take her upstairs to the quiet of one of the production rooms, smiling as the pair left the party. She took the opportunity to speak to the press who had attended the event, explaining the rationale behind her family-friendly event. She took the stage one more time before Felicity fell asleep, addressing the audience and her new family. “I wanted to take a quick break—though I know you’re all loving the album and hate to hear it stop until it’s done—to tell the story of track number six. The only reason I have the beautiful man you see me with, and the beautiful little girl who came to this party with us, in my life is because of the passing of a beautiful woman. Track number six, the next one you’ll hear, is dedicated to Kelsey Reed, who passed away tragically over a year ago. She left her daughter without a mother—but I believe that her love lives on through her husband, through everyone who ever knew her.”

Amber’s own energy was starting to leave her as the night wore on, and when Brenton whispered in her ear that he needed to talk to her alone for a moment, she was happy to slip away from the crowd of people sipping champagne and milling around the room, listening to the album for the second time. He led her into a quiet room off to the side of the party, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her passionately for a long moment. “I can’t believe that song,” he told her, breaking away from her lips to look into her eyes. “I can’t think of anything anyone could have said that’s more beautiful than what you put there.”

Amber smiled up at him. “I feel like I owe her that. I’m living her life, you know. The one she thought she would have with her daughter and you.”

Brenton smiled again and kissed her lightly on the lips. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house—not even mine. Felicity will have something to always remind her of her mother’s love, something to tell her it’s never gone.” Brenton wrapped his arms around her waist and held Amber to him tightly. They stood in silence for a long moment, just holding each other, savoring the closeness and the break from the intense pressures of the party.

“We should head out soon,” Amber pointed out. “It’s not good to interrupt Felicity’s schedule so much.”

Brenton chuckled. “She’s fast asleep upstairs. But we’ll get her home as soon as you can leave this shindig without looking like you’re ditching your admiring fans.” Brenton pulled back and looked down into her eyes. “It’s going to be hard on her when you go on tour.”

Amber nodded. “Don’t try and pretend like it’s not going to be hard on all of us. I toured with Kobe as much to try and keep our romance alive as I did it to help him. I guess I knew it wasn’t all that strong to begin with.”

Brenton gave her waist a squeeze, leaning in to kiss her forehead. “Well, we’re a lot stronger. You’re stuck with me, girl.” He kissed her lips. “But I did think of something that would make it easier.”

Amber pulled back, looking up at Brenton with surprise. “What’s that?”

Brenton smiled slowly. “Move in with me. You’re always over at my place anyway. You might as well just go straight there when you land in Houston for a break.”

Amber took a deep breath. The last man she had lived with had cheated with her. But Brenton was nothing at all like Kobe; he would never cheat on her, and he loved her more fiercely than Kobe ever had. “Oh great, you come up with this plan right before I have to start packing to leave town,” she said, shaking her head with a grin. Amber kissed Brenton eagerly on the lips, hugging him tightly. “Of course I’ll move in with you. You think I’m going to let Felicity forget about me while I’m away for weeks on end?”

Brenton laughed. “Neither of us could ever forget about you—but why bother putting any more obstacles between seeing each other right away?” Brenton kissed her again and Amber felt her desire starting to burn inside her body.

“Let’s blow this party and get home with the baby.” Brenton grinned, his bright eyes flashing with an unmistakable intent, and they left the room as one.

The End

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These are some of my other Romance Books.

Her Protector

Sweet Heat

Open Heart

Professional Relations

Letting Go

Full Bloom