Owned by Him (12 page)

Happiness filled Amber from
Heather’s lack of reaction. She’d always expected Heather to get angry or
something bad to happen.

“I do love him.”

“I can see it in your eyes.
Every time his name is mentioned you brighten up. I imagine that’s how I look
when Julian enters a room. I love him so much, and I know you, Amber. You’ll
love my brother with so much passion. He’s a lucky guy. I hope he realizes how
damn lucky he is.”

“I’ll make sure he knows
it.”

Her cell phone chimed again.
Elijah was always texting her. Rolling her eyes, she quickly read the text.

Elijah: This weekend, get it off. I want you to myself
for the weekend. I’ve got lots planned.

“What’s he saying?” Heather
asked.

“I’ve got a hot weekend
planned. He’s your brother, and I don’t want to give you the juicy details.”

Heather groaned, covering
her ears. “I do not need to hear all the sordid details. You can keep those to
yourself.”

They finished lunch together,
and Amber made her way to the address of the bar that Ashley had given her. She
wanted to see her friend to let Ashley know everything was okay.

The bar was quiet when she
entered. She spotted Ashley at the bar, cleaning glasses.

“Hey, honey.”

Her friend jerked at the
sound of her voice. Amber waved toward her.

“Amber, what are you doing
here?”

She came from behind the bar
and pulled Amber into a hug.

“I came to see my best
friend. How are you doing?” Amber asked.

“I’m doing
good
.” Ashley took her to the bar and went back to work.

“I told Heather the truth
about me and Elijah,” said Amber.

“That’s good.”

For several minutes Amber
watched her friend. She’d never seen Ashley look nervous or scared, but she
looked it now.

“Honey, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.
Nothing is going on. The bar is always slow during
the day. I change my shifts every week. This week I’m working the day shift,
and next week I’m doing the night shift.” Ashley was rambling, which was
something she never did.

“Ashley, when you’re done
with the glasses you’re needed in the back.”

The glass her friend had
been holding shattered as it hit the floor.

Amber looked toward the
voice and recognized the guy instantly. “Jonathan Cook?”

His gaze hit her. “Amber
Phelps?”

“Yeah, what are you doing
here?” Amber asked. She glanced at her friend to see Ashley had gone pale.

“I own this place.”

“Yeah, could you go,
Jonathan? I’ve got this.”

He looked undecided, but he
left without a word.

“The captain of the football
team is your boss? Why didn’t you say anything?” Amber asked, turning her
attention back to her friend.

“He’s a fucking jackass, and
I’m looking for a different place to work. If nothing comes through soon I’m
going to take Wade up on his offer.” Ashley threw the towel down on the
counter. “I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with the way I handle him. The past
is in the past. You shouldn’t worry about me at all.”

“He broke your heart.”

Ashley snorted. “He smashed
my heart to smithereens and laughed while he did it, Amber. I’m never going to
forgive him for what he did to me, but I moved on.” She shrugged. “I’m living
the high life, honey.”

“You’re fucking everything
that walks and never opening up to another man. You’re not living a high life,
Ashley. You’re just getting by.”

They stared at each other
for several minutes. “I love you, Amber. You’re my best friend, but please,
stay out of this.”

“I worry about you.”

“Don’t. The last thing you
need to do is worry about me. I’m good.”

Amber watched Ashley walk in
the same direction of Jonathan. Her friend was dying inside and had been since
high school. Why hadn’t she seen it before? She’d been so caught up in her own
drama she’d not even considered what her friend was going through.

Grabbing her purse, she
headed out the door. She got back to work and made a list of all the things
she’d need to pack for that weekend. There was nothing she could do to save
Ashley. Her friend would come to her when she was ready to receive help.

Her biggest shock came when
Connie arrived at the office at five in the afternoon.

“What are you doing here?”
Amber asked. She was walking out of the office building as Connie was walking
inside.

“I’ve brought dinner for
Dale. He works too hard, and he deserves a really good dinner as compensation.”
Connie was smiling.

“Are you and Dale a couple?”
Amber thought about Wade. What was her friend going to do about him?

“We’re friends. He’s nice,
and he’s not pressuring me to be something I’m not. Please, don’t get the wrong
idea. He’s different, and you’re all busy. Heather’s dealing with Julian and
her pregnancy. Ashley’s got
some
issue. You’ve been disappearing, and it has just been me.”
 
Connie shrugged. The sadness on her face was
clear to see.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m happy, and
you guys are happy. This is dinner and friendship, and I like him. He’s
different.”

“And he’s older.”

“Don’t judge,” Connie said.

“I’m not judging.”

“Good. I’m going to get this
up to him before it gets cold.”

Amber watched her friend go.
She was the second friend she’d seen walk away. It had been a strange day and a
strange week.

****

“I thought I fucking told
you to make sure my shift is different from yours,” Ashley said. She couldn’t
believe Amber was the one to find out Jonathan was her boss. Shaking her head,
she let out a frustrated groan. When had her life gotten so complicated?

“I’m the boss, Ashley. I’ve
got no choice but to be here all the time. Every shift I’m here. I just stay
out of your way.”

“Then why didn’t you stay
out of my way today?” She turned back toward him, glaring.

“This is insane. You’re my
employee. I pay your wages, and if any other employee was to talk to me the way
you just did, I’d fucking fire them.” He stepped closer to her, invading her
space.

She hated this job. She
hated him, and she wished he’d fuck off.

Grabbing the apron from
around her waist, she slammed the fabric against his chest. “I fucking quit,
you piece of shit.” She thumped him for added measure. His chest was hard.
Growling in frustration, she glared at him. “Do you fuck your other employees
and then destroy them in high school, Jonathan?”

“I said I was sorry. If I
could take it back I would.”

“That’s the good thing, saying
words of regret. It’s a shame you can never take back the shit you did to me.
You bastard.”

Ashley saw red and slapped
him around the face.

When she lifted her hand to
hit him again, Jonathan caught her hand. “Do not hit me again,” he said.

The look in his eye was
deadly.

Tears sprang to her eyes. “I
hate you.”

“I know, but I made a
mistake and I’m sorry.”

She let the pain sink in.
The tears spilled out of her eyes without any pressure. “You ruined my life.
I’m never going to get that back.” She let out a sob as all the men she’d been
with came rushing through her.
“So many men.
All you
had to do was deny it, but you didn’t. Why couldn’t you leave me alone?” she
asked.

His arms wrapped around her
as she fought his hold. Closing her eyes, Ashley wished she could change
everything, her life, what she did. If she could have a do over, she’d love it.

No one could change their
life, and neither could she.

Ashley would be cursed to
forever know what she’d done to help ease the pain because of this man who’d
claimed her heart and ruined her for life.

****

Elijah slammed shut the door
to his car. It was Friday afternoon, and Amber was standing outside her
apartment building waiting for him. He’d never once thought his life could be
so perfect. Heather was talking with him, and Amber was in his life. After
years of Heather thinking he was the perfect son, wrongly on his sister’s part,
she was finally getting over her issues. There were no problems between them,
only what Heather had made up in her mind. At least he and Amber did not have
to sneak around, and now he and Julian could join the ladies at their table in
Wade’s.

Amber rushed toward him. He
held his arms open waiting for her. Elijah caught her easily in his arms.

“I love you,” she said,
laughing.

“Good. Get ready for a
weekend of loving, baby. This weekend you’re all mine.”

“I can’t wait.”

Staring down into her
smiling face, he tugged her close for a kiss.

She moaned, her hands
gripping the hair at the nape of his neck. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, baby.”

He let her down on her knees
and bent to grab her case. She travelled light. He stored her case in his car.

“Where are we going?” she
asked.

“Some place special.”

The
some
place
special was a resort he’d invested in. He was driving them to the
airport where Julian’s private jet was waiting. Asking his future
brother-in-law for anything had been daunting. Julian wanted Heather to be
happy, and if Amber was happy, Heather was happy. It made sense in Julian’s
explanation whereas Elijah just got confused with all the names being used.

“I’m excited now.”

She sang along to the songs
he got playing on the radio. He loved listening to her sing. Every now and then
he’d turn to look at her before focusing back on the road.

“You keep staring, and I’m
going to think something is wrong with me,” she said.

“Nothing is wrong with you,
baby.”

Her eyes lit up when he got
her into the airport. Julian’s jet was stored at the local airport. The guy
must really earn something to be able to afford such extravagance.

During the whole trip he
watched Amber’s excited face. She was really having fun with their time
together.

“Okay, we’re up in the air,
heading toward some fabulous place. Spill, Elijah. I never had you down as a
romantic.”

“We’ve been dating for the
last month and half, and you haven’t pegged me as the romantic type?” he asked.

“Good point. Come on,
Elijah. Spill, I want to know where you’re taking me.”

Her hands were clasped
together, and she was begging him.

“A couple of years ago I was
approached in one of the other clubs I frequented about an idea for a secluded resort.”

“Like an island?” she asked.

“Yeah.
He wanted to set up a resort where couples could go
for the weekend or for a vacation and explore … stuff.”

She frowned at him. “Elijah
Booth, are you taking me to a sex resort?” she asked.

“It’s a kind of sex resort.”

“What do you mean by kind
of?”

He chuckled. The suspicion
on her face and in the tone of her voice was incredibly cute. “It’s a sex
resort that I helped invest in. This is why I’m not hurting for money, and I
don’t really need a job.”

“You’ve got income from a
sex resort?”

“It’s a resort that offers
everything to everyone. One of my wealthy friends is a Dom and a sub. He’s a
switch, but for so long he was undecided.” Elijah twirled a strand of her hair.
“He came to me talking about people and couples exploring certain activities
together.”

“It’s not always safe to go
out hunting close to him,” she said.

“Yeah, so he asked if I’d be
willing to offer my services for several weekends a year, and I do. He’s
wealthy, and he didn’t need any help financially.”

“What’s the resort called?”

“Take Me Away. It’s
incredibly lame, but my friend felt it had a lot of pull. Men and women
experience that feeling of wanting to get away at times in their lives or in
relationships.”

He stroked the back of her
neck, loving the way she shivered against his fingers.

“I like the name. What do
you offer?”

“I’ve never taken a sub or
done anything sexual. I told Derrick I wouldn’t do that.”

“Derrick’s the guy who owns
the resort?”

“Derrick Torres. He’s a good
guy. We offer everything. There are special weekends for Dom/sub pairs, or for
sadists, but they’re not as popular at the moment. We cater to more than one
fantasy.
Two or more men at a time for some women or more
than one woman for the men.
There are auctions where they have the
chance to buy a willing slave. It’s all above board and consensual. Derrick has
a psychologist and some medical staff in case of emergencies. He’s strict on
security as well.”