Broken Obsession - Part Two (18 page)

Amber soaked in his sadness, “That’s wonderful, I’m
happy for you.”

Tony smiled; he really didn’t expect to fully be
engrossed by her, but she was wonderful. She was also easy to talk
to and he wasn’t the least bit nervous like he usually was around
women he was physically attracted to and who the hell cared where
they first met and who they were both linked to. “Thanks, I’ve come
a long way.”

“I’ve been here almost a year now,” Amber confessed
looking into his brown sincere eyes. “It’s been rather
difficult.”

“I know.”

Amber stared at him for a moment. Why was she so
comfortable with him? “Of course you do.”

“Have you eaten lunch yet?”

His words stumped her heart.
Those words
, that
phrase, Victor had asked her that very same thing when she first
met him! Was Tony brought back to her for companionship or
something else entirely? Her heart began to beat a little bit
faster because of that
something else
. A deep sense of
comfort entered her heart, she couldn’t help but beam. Was Tony her
guardian angel? “No, I’m starving.”

They sat across from each other for hours upon hours
and spilled their guts about other tidbits and about each other’s
pasts. Tony wasn’t surprised about Amber’s description of her
outward appearance while she drank, Tony had been the same way,
only he was an ugly drunk; mean, evil, menacing, and nasty. Anyone
who got in his way would either be threatened with physical harm,
or lashed out by his scorpion tongue.

Tony was now a successful engineer; several downtown
Los Angeles projects in the works, as well as across the country
and a few even in Europe. He was a self-made millionaire at
forty-two, divorced and downright enchanted by Amber.

Amber was...cautious. Here was a man similar to her
ex. Tony spoke to her with authority, with intelligence, with
pride. There wasn’t one attribute she didn’t find different about
Tony other than his eyes and face. Eduardo’s were green and Tony’s
were brown, other than that, he was nearly the same person!
Physically, but by no means compelling, Eduardo owned his sexual
magnetism, whereas Tony was shy and reserved about his
attractiveness.

Could Tony be the next man for her? Amber was
determined to find out. He was at the center for his yearly
follow-up with Dr. Hayward and was only going to be staying at the
Palm Desert Treatment Center for just a week, but decided to stay
longer.

And during this time, Amber and Tony were
inseparable. Talking about where they grew up, whom they married,
if they had any children. And that’s when it got painful. Tony had
a daughter once. She died of leukemia. She was only seven, and it
drove him to drink. Amber was instantly pulled in by their sudden
comparatives. She told him about Peyton, how she felt it was her
fault and how she thought she was being punished. They cried in
each other’s arms for hours, realizing how much they had in common
and made love for the very first time.

They were walking hand-in-hand in through the palm
tree gardens when Tony suddenly whipped her body around and
embraced Amber passionately; kissing her with tender ardor. Amber
was taken-back; it was the first time she had felt loved in over a
year. She instantly felt Tony’s passion, but she still couldn’t
find hers. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she still dead
inside? She was a healthy woman, able to give and receive love and
she still couldn’t find that emotion?

“I’m in love with you Amber,” Tony whispered in her
ear as his hands freely roamed her backside.

Amber closed her eyes. Good Lord, she wanted to say
it back, but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t!

“You don’t have to say anything just yet,” he let go
picking up on her hesitation, “you don’t even have to return my
love. I just wanted you to know how much I care and what my
intentions were. I want to marry you Amber Sanchez, will you marry
me?”

Amber pulled apart from him. “Absolutely,” she said,
grabbing his face with both of her hands. “I could fall in love you
Tony, I know I could. Will you accept my agreement knowing that I
still need some time?”

Tony grabbed her body back to his. He loved the way
her breasts melted into his chest. “I understand,” he gave to her,
kissing her soft pink lips once more. “You’ll be leaving here next
month, and I’ll be right by your side,” he softly expressed, giving
her a peck on her forehead and looking deep into her eyes. “You
make me very happy, Amber and I’m going to do everything within my
power to make sure you feel the same.”

Amber closed her eyes and felt very special. Good
Lord, Tony could very well be the man of her dreams!

Tony Rivera was now the new man in her life. By
default or by magic, Amber was feeling more energized than ever
with a future to suddenly look forward to. She was making plans and
setting up trips for them take, something she hadn’t done or felt
like doing in such a long time. He brought back hope into her life
and she loved him more and more each day for that. She actually
felt like she had discovered another soul mate. Time spent with
Tony had been too easy and she felt like she had known him her
whole life. He introduced a spiritual connection to her rather than
a emotional one.

He was humorous too, something her ex never possessed
and she was so thankful for the non-comparatives. Tony was
IT
for her. They were both Air Signs; him being an Aquarius,
she a Libra. They were also an ideal match in that Amber was always
so mesmerized at how smart he was. Her ex was an intellectual too
(an Aries) but there was something different about Tony when they
could talk for hours without sex ever being a factor and they
became instantaneous best friends. There was a graciousness and
mutual respect between them that was also exceptional. Tony saw in
Amber a lady worthy of his affections, while Amber found a
gentleman who gave her the freedom to be herself. Always the
constant romantic, Amber was appeasing to Tony and loved her social
skills and admired her natural beauty, light-heartedness and
reliable silliness. She could envision the rest of her life with
him and Amber was finally appreciating living at the moment, her
sadness slowly vanishing, dissipated until it was gone.

Tony, in addition was also a very generous man;
openhanded to charities, liberal with his investments and happy to
spend, so when Tony was invited to attend an event, he usually went
and this time he had a steady date.

Amber and Tony were seen all around town at several
ceremonies making appearances as a couple and accepting various
awards. So when Tony was asked to fly across the country on the
spur of the moment, he usually dropped everything and attended. He
had people he trusted to oversee his business affairs and it opened
up opportunities to take Amber away on several impromptu
vacations.

Amber hugged Tony near, trying to get warm from the
Hudson River’s frosty air.

They were on the Staten Island Ferry, taking a tour
of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. Amber had never been to
New York and Tony didn’t hesitate to show her all the tourist
sites. Tony lived there once, only for a few years back in the
1980’s when he was trying to get a project off the ground and knew
his way around town. They visited the Empire State Building,
Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Ellis Island and
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park and lastly, a
Ground Zero Museum.

Amber was in awe of every little thing, not only
because she had never seen New York City, but because Tony was so
knowledgeable about everything that Amber felt like she could
listen to him talk for hours with no end in sight. His voice was
low and sexy, smooth and almost lyrical; she was so mentally
transfixed on him she wondered how she was ever able to carry on a
chat with her pompous ex husband always trying to monopolize any
conversation.

Back at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Times Square, Tony
and Amber were in bed keeping each other warm when Amber finally
declared the words “I love you.”

Tony simply smiled, “Really?”

Amber closed her eyes, “Yes, really, I love you.”

Tony brought her body in closer to his. The heat from
his naked chest paralyzed Amber in that she never wanted to leave
the safety of his arms around her or feeling that close to another
human being ever again.

Kissing the tip of her forehead resting languidly on
his upper body, he relayed, “And not just because you flied out
here first class?”

Amber started to giggle and strained her neck to kiss
his lips, “No silly—well OK, maybe that did have something to do
with it.”

Tony didn’t think it was funny and over-powered her
and stretched out her arms and held them against her head. “I’m
gonna make you pay for that remark.”

Amber knew he was just kidding when she fathomed the
lust still in his words, “I bet you will.”

Right where he wanted her, Tony opened up her mouth
with his tongue and kissed her long and deep, then released his
leverage so that she could embrace him back in return while he
cupped one breast to his mouth and suckled, licked until Amber
panted with anticipation.

“God,” he breathed between bussing her skin down
towards on her midriff, “I can never get enough of you.”

Amber reached up and caressed the center of his back
first before laying her hands at the back of his head, “And I with
you.”

Tony positioned her lower torso to receive him and
kissed Amber repeatedly, lovingly, passionately like there was no
tomorrow and happily watched her as they visited their final
highlight of the day. Pushing and holding her body near, he grabbed
at the base of her buttocks and felt Amber quiver beneath him as
she reached another orgasm. Two more thrusts for him and he let go
all that was bothering him, all that was holding him back from
fully caring about another woman and rejoiced in the euphoria of
loving someone so deep.

Not moving in the slightest, he began nipping at her
ear when Amber brought his body in closer, if that was possible and
whispered at his neck “I love you” again.

And this time, she really meant it.

Tony handed the valet his Range Rover keys as he
opened up Amber’s passenger side door. “Park it in a nice secluded
area if you can, there’ll be a hundred dollars waiting for you at
the end of the evening if she remains unscratched with the same
mileage.”

“Yes sir!” The young attendant exclaimed, rushing
over to the driver’s side and plopping himself into the car.

Amber beamed up at Tony as they joined in unison on
their way into Spago Beverly Hills, for dinner. “You are such a
giving man Tony.”

“I know,” he said as he gave her an affectionate peck
on her cheek.

It had been almost two years. Two years to the day
Amber swallowed all those depressant pills. Tony wanted to shower
Amber in gold, wanted to give her more than she was willing to
accept. It was such a keen frustration for Tony; he wasn’t used to
a woman who was constantly refusing his gifts. He offered to set
her up in a condo somewhere off the beach, but Amber said no. She
wanted to wait until they got married. Tony would have to rush the
wedding, he soon realized, and the pair set the date for the
summer.
That
summer, which were only a few months away.

They reach the hostess and reception desk. “Anthony
Rivera, I have reservations for two,” Tony pronounced in a stern,
steady voice. He presented the lady with his best laid back
grin.

The attractive redhead beamed back at him, “Yes sir,
your table will be ready in a moment.”

Amber and Tony waited alongside other patrons when
Tony grabbed Amber and kissed her lightly on her lips. “God, you’re
beautiful.”

“No, you are,” she said, returning his
thoughtfulness. Amber went to embrace him; she was feeling more
than secure lately and welcomed his repeated affection.

“Hello Mr. Sanchez, your usual table?”

Amber’s head whipped around and went white with
shock. Her body rotated around within Tony’s enfold as she stared
at Mr. Sanchez flabbergasted.

Eduardo didn’t expect to see her...
ever
.
Remarkable that within the past twelve months he hadn’t allowed
himself to even think about her. Focusing on his ex-wife and the
life they once shared brought forth-painful agonizing memories.
After their divorce, Eduardo went through excruciating withdrawals.
Not being able to look upon her face daily, handle her body,
converse with her took him to depths of stagnation. He couldn’t
work, he barely even slept, the only device that kept him going was
the simple fact that he knew she was at least still
walking
.
That her latest attempt of suicide, failed, therefore, he knew her
stubbornness could guide her through to rise above her depression.
Stacey too, although in the beginning and hated to admit it, helped
besides, with her words of comfort, her gentle caresses...her warm
bed. He found himself going through the motions, trying to claw his
way out of his former life, start anew, fresh, positive and back to
his poise and self-assuredness. And now, all of a sudden, Amber
popped out of nowhere and she was consuming him with her mere
presence?
And,
what the fuck was this?
Anthony
Rivera—his former business partner with his hands all over
Amber?