Read My Everything - Seth & Amber Online
Authors: Melanie Shawn
Tags: #womens fiction, #Romantic, #Contemporary Romance, #romance series
My Everything - Seth & Amber
by
Cover Design by Hot Damn Designs
Published by Red Hot Reads Publishing at
Smashwords
Copyright 2013 Melanie Shawn
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the
original purchaser of this book. No part of this may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing
from Melanie Shawn. Exceptions are limited to reviewers who may use
brief quotations in connection with reviews. No part of this book
can be transmitted, scanned, reproduced, or distributed in any
written or electronic form without written permission from Melanie
Shawn.
This book is a work of fiction. Places, names,
characters and events are either products of the author’s
imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and
not intended by the author.
Chapter One
Amber’s heart races as she walks
down the long hallway,
passing door after door. She can’t stop staring at his strong back
as he stalks in front of her. He moves with an easy grace. His long
legs carry him forward with a powerful stride.
Finally, he stops. Pulls out a keycard and
slides it into the lock with a loud click. The light turns
green.
This is it. Decision time. Is she going to do
this or not?
He opens the door, moving to the side to
allow her to walk in. His deep compelling eyes meet hers and a
shiver runs from the tip of her head to the bottom of her feet. Her
legs feel unsteady as her knees weaken from just his stare.
Decision made.
Inside, a surreal orange glow fills the room.
She realizes it's coming from a florescent light on the adjacent
building's neon sign. Good, she thinks. It's best if this seems as
unreal as possible. His jet black hair shines from the golden
illumination beaming through the window. He takes off his jacket
and hangs it on the desk chair, causing his button up white shirt
to pull taut against his strong, muscled back.
“Do you want a drink?” At the sound of his
deep, sexy voice, the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck stand
up.
“No.” She reaches down, rolling her delicate
gold bracelet around her wrist. She can feel her pulse rapidly
beating as her thumb brushes the soft skin below her palm.
“Do you want to sit?” He motions smoothly to
the small maroon couch that lines the wall beside the king sized
bed.
“No.” Amber stares directly into his piercing
blue eyes.
“Do you want to talk?” His question sounds
more like a challenge than an inquiry.
Amber shakes her head slowly back and forth,
her long dark hair softly brushing her shoulders. “No.”
She stares, captivated by his tall, athletic
form. He stands a few feet away from her, legs planted shoulder
width apart, hands hanging loosely by his sides. His eyes never
leave hers, never stray down to her low-cut neckline or further, to
the rest of her tight black dress.
“What do you want?” he finally asks, breaking
the electrified silence.
“I want one night,” Amber replies with a
shaky breath. “One night where I can forget. One night where I
don’t have to think. One night where I don’t have to take care of
anyone. One night where I don’t have to make any decisions. I want
one night where all I have to do is feel.”
He doesn’t immediately respond to her
request. Instead, with seemingly none of the sense of urgency or
intensity that is flooding her entirely, he reaches up and slowly
loosens his red tie. Then, after unbuttoning the top two buttons of
his crisp white shirt, he removes his cuff links and rolls up each
sleeve twice, his gaze never leaving hers.
If it were up to Amber, her cocktail dress
would already be on the floor and they would both be in bed. Naked.
If she decides she wants something, she takes it. And she
definitely wants him.
But somehow, his deliberately easy pace is a
turn-on. He has an air of authority and the appearance of someone
who is to be instantly obeyed. He seems completely…contained.
“How much have you had to drink?” he asks
flatly, his tone indicating that he is not to be lied to.
“That rum and coke was my first, and I didn’t
even finish it,” she answers honestly as all of her nerve endings
begin to tingle with anticipation.
Taking two wide steps, he crosses the room,
effectively closing the distance between them in what feels like a
millisecond. He is standing in front of her, his broad, wide chest
even with her hungry eyes. His scent, a combination of soap and
earthiness, surrounds her and causes a fluttering in her belly. She
lifts her chin as her eyes scan up to meet his.
“What’s your name?” he asks. His gravelly
voice sends an aching need through her that begins pulsing between
her legs.
She doesn’t hesitate.
“I’m done talking.” She reaches up and winds
her arms around his neck as she lifts on her toes to press her lips
to his.
She softly kisses him for just a moment
before he engages. Taking over, his firm lips do not leave any
question of who is in control. She feels the roughened pads of his
fingertips graze the side of her neck as his large hand wraps
firmly at the base of her scalp, tilting her head even further up,
giving his mouth complete and total access to hers.
A soft whimper of need escapes her lips as
they part. His tongue sweeps inside, meeting hers in a sensual
caress. He claims her, owns her, with his passionate kiss.
His hand possessively grips her hip as his
other continues to hold her head in place, exactly where he wants
it. His dominance creates a fierce desire that quickly spreads
through her body, consuming her like a wild fire. Her hands move
down his shoulders. She feels his muscles ripple beneath her touch,
sending a tremor through her arm and down her spine.
He tears his mouth from hers as he quickly
pulls her dress over her head. Then grabbing the back of her thighs
he lifts her up, pressing her back against the wall. She feels his
erection pressing firmly against her silk covered mound.
“Is this what you want?” he growls as he
rocks his hips into hers.
A jolt of pleasure shoots through her core at
the intimate contact. Her panties, already damp, are now soaking
wet with arousal.
“Yes,” her voice is barely audible above the
loud siren.
She tries to ignore the noise. She reaches to
kiss him again but she can’t. The siren is growing louder and
louder. She closes her eyes and tries to just feel. She wants
nothing more in this moment than to lose herself in animal
sensation. She bucks her hips towards him, searching, desperate
with need - but feels nothing.
She opens her eyes again and is greeted with
nothing more than the sight of a plain white ceiling.
What the hell? She closes her eyes, willing
herself back into the erotic escape, and then opens them once
more.
White ceiling.
Damn.
Amber shook her head to clear it, and then
turned to look at her alarm clock, sitting on her nightstand,
blaring its unwelcome song.
All of her senses returned to her at once.
She realized she was not in DC, back in that hotel room, at all.
She was lying in her bed, at home in Harper’s Crossing. And that
wasn't a siren she heard just moments ago. It was the shrill cry of
her alarm clock, jerking her unwilling consciousness back to
reality. She reached to turn it off as disappointment flooded her.
Exhibiting what (she considered) admirable restraint, she refrained
from throwing it at the wall across the room.
“Why do I always have to wake up before the
good part?” she grumbled under her breath.
Then she noticed the time.
Damn!
She picked up the phone and quickly scrolled
through her contacts. Before she was able to find the correct one
the phone began vibrating in her hand as Haley’s picture
appeared.
Amber pressed the answer icon, “Hey…”
“Where are you?” Haley interrupted.
“Still in bed. I overslept. But I will be
there in fifteen.”
“No, don’t rush, it’s fine. Sophie stopped by
to invite us to a party and stayed to help out. I only called
because I was worried about you.”
“We’re that busy?” Amber didn’t think her
small boutique shop could possibly be so slammed that Haley
wouldn’t be able to handle it on her own, especially since they
open at ten and it was only ten-fifteen.
“Um...it’s the fifteenth,” Haley’s voice
sounded confused. “Are you okay?”
Damn, how had she forgotten the date? On the
fifteenth of every month, Amber opened Bella, her clothing store,
an hour early and invited the women that were staying at HCWS
(Harper’s Crossing Women’s Shelter) to come and use their gift
cards.
Each month, Amber donated gift cards to the
shelter, and the women staying there could earn the cards by
participating in programs. The shelter offered everything from
counseling to self-defense classes. The morning of the fifteenth
was Amber's favorite time of the entire month! Something happened
to a woman who was trying to get her life together when she slipped
on a beautiful suit or office dress and looked at herself in the
mirror. It was like she suddenly saw herself as the strong, capable
woman that all of the HCWS counselors had been trying to convince
her that she was. It was like the belief in her own abilities
magically entered into her consciousness as the fabric slipped over
her body.
Amber had seen the transformation happen a
hundred times, and would never tire of it if she saw it a thousand
more.
Dang, girl, she chastised herself – get it
together!
Her phone buzzed from another incoming
call.
“Hold on, Hales,” Amber said as she checked
to see who the call was from.
She sighed. Of course! Why was she even
surprised? It was that kind of morning.
She put the phone back to her ear to wrap up
with Haley. “I’ve got to take this call, Hales. Don’t worry,
though, I’m fine. I’ll see you in a few.”
Amber disconnected Haley’s call and took a
deep breath before answering the other. She pressed the button and
moved the phone back to her ear.
“Hi, Mom,” Amber tried to sound as upbeat as
possible.
“Hey, Sweetie,” her mother slurred.
Amber felt her entire body tense as she
carefully controlled her tone. “Mom, where are you?”
“Um, well, I can see the road but can’t see
the sign,” she giggled. “Hey handsome, do you know where we
are?”
“Yeah, a shitty motel. Can she give us the
money or what?” Amber heard a man’s gruff voice in the
background.
“Hold on! I haven’t asked her yet, Bubba,”
her mother whispered loudly.
“You can tell Bubba she said no,” Amber said
flatly, not wanting to draw this conversation out any longer than
necessary.
“What?” her mother asked, her voice
shaking.
“No, Mom, I am not giving you any money. I
will come pick you up and take you back to Horizons, but that’s
it.”
“No, no, no, you don’t have to do that,” she
hiccupped. “Just send me the money and I’ll take a bus back.”
“No, Mom, I’m serious. I’m not sending you
any more money.” Amber felt like her head was being squeezed by a
vice and her fingers began to tingle. She knew those were signs
that her blood pressure was shooting up. She needed to calm
down.