Trigger Happy (Girls with Guns, #2) (17 page)

“Hello, anyone home?” Gabbie and Brandi came through the front door. “Are we too late? Is she back in bed with tall, dark and handsome?”

All the girls laughed, “Unfortunately, not yet. Wait, are you trying to talk me in his bed or out of his bed?”

Brandi spoke loudly, “Well, if you are getting out, I could be talked into getting in. I saw a picture of him on the credit union website, and my oh my.” She fanned her face with her hand.

The girls all laughed again, “I don’t think so. He is all mine. The problem is neither one of us has agreed to that yet. Ginger, you look amazing! It’s about time I see you.” Amber gave her a big hug. Brandi was average height, like Marilyn. She had curly red hair that was too-die-for, hence the nickname Ginger. She had appeared in many magazine articles posing as a model. A short model, which is why she never made it any further than a few layouts here and there – because her face was stunning. She had a dark mole right above her lip and her eyes were something fierce. If people thought eyes only came in shades of blue, green, brown and grey (like Gage’s), they had never seen Brandi’s. Her eyes were bright turquoise, exactly like the Caribbean. Ginger was downright sexy.

“Okay! Let me pour you ladies some wine and I can tell you all about Gage Alexander, CEO.”

“Yeah, tell us the good stuff. Like, how is he in bed? Has he changed since you did your ‘thing’ with him way back when?”

Amber seriously considered Gabbie’s question. “He is much more...reserved? That first time, he held nothing back. He gave it all to me, physically and emotionally. Now, although he gave it to me physically,” they all laughed, “he was much more reserved on an emotional level. That is thanks to his ex-wife. She really messed with his head when she left. Five years and not so much as a goodbye.”

“Poor guy. But how long has it been? You’re talking at least eight years, right? He’s not over being dropped after all this time? Blake doesn’t say much of anything about this stuff. But that’s a guy for you. I even try for details and I still don’t get anywhere with him. You know he’s going to be in the wedding, right?”

“No! You are just now telling me? Is he the best man?”

“No, Blaze is the best man. Sorry sugar, he’s walking with one of these girls.”

“I’m still thinking he may not be a guy to waste your time on, Amb. Its been this long and he is still avoiding commitment – he will never change.”

“Gabbie, I know you don’t like him but Mother Nature has already made it clear to me that this is fate. What are the chances that I would ever run into him again? Especially since I never knew his name.”

“Amber, I don’t dislike him. I dislike the crap he’s putting you through. In his defense though, Logan told me they are having problems over there and he’s been pretty crabby. Maybe after whatever is going on gets straightened out, he will come around.”

“I wish he’d come around sooner. And therein lies my problem. I want him so badly but I keep pushing him away. At some point, he will move on whether it’s only sex or not.”

“Then let him. You deserve the best and if he can’t see how amazing you are, then he doesn’t deserve you,” Ginger told her.

Amber and the girls all took turns asking Marilyn about the wedding. She pretty much had everything ready. The girls decided to meet at Brenda’s Bridal Boutique over the weekend to try on and buy their dresses.

“Have you met Blake’s brother yet? Does he look just like him?” Gabbie asked.

“I haven’t met him yet. He will be here for the wedding and Blake said he’s been thinking about moving his business here – says he wants to relax, that he’s burnt-out.”

“What does he do?”

“He does security. Right now, he is in New York City working for this wealthy family by providing bodyguard services for their two kids.”

“Does he look exactly like Blake?” Amber asked.

“From the pictures I’ve seen, yes! So much so that I hope I don’t mistake him for Blake ever!”

The ladies laughed. They embraced their rare time together and Amber said goodbye to all of them close to ten o’clock. They all had jobs they had to be at in the morning and Amber had to deliver newspapers – one of many things she did as a side job. She had a restless sleep. She tossed and turned all night and once she finally slept, she dreamt of her mother.

G
age sat at his desk. He was stuck in a rut. He couldn’t seem to dig himself out of it no matter how hard he tried. Echo called in sick again, promising him that she would be in at some point this afternoon to retrieve the files he needed. Brian neglected to mention yesterday that he would be out of the office attending a much-needed workshop in downtown Denver. Honestly, what kind of employees did he have? They had all seemed competent enough, up until the point the auditors needed the invoices for this fucking crisis and then miraculously no one was around. Even Lisa, through no fault of her own, had the flu and went home. Amber’s closing had to be postponed because the appraisal for the building she was buying didn’t appraise high enough. Which meant she would have to either back out of the whole deal, bring more money to the closing or ask the sellers to lower their listing price. Aside from that, he still had all of the minor details of running the credit union on a day-to-day basis.

As if all of these problems weren’t enough, Gage had Amber to deal with. She wanted more from him than he was willing to give her, yet the idea of never seeing her again had him regretting that choice. What the hell did that mean? Did he think he could try to have a relationship or something even resembling one with her? A major consideration to think about was, did he want one? He definitely enjoyed her company – she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on and when they weren’t arguing, they got along great. In all honestly, she held a small place in his heart, somewhere his ex-wife had never reached.

Their night at the Saloon had meant a lot to him, more than he admitted to Amber. It was true; in the beginning he was worried about his business reputation. He thought he could tell that wild animal what to do? Now, he laughed out loud at the absurdity of that. But she had made him feel good about himself that night – giving him something that was missing in his life. Not just the sex, but something else...self-confidence? He wasn’t sure what it was. It had held a special place in his heart though.

He knew he was a coward. He had avoided relationships for years now. He had easily dated women and made his position on a relationship clear from the beginning – which they all agreed upon. But usually around the fourth or fifth time they went out, the women had always approached him for more. More togetherness, more...just more. More than he had ever wanted to give them since he had gotten divorced. Usually that was about where Gage had ended it.

Reflecting on his options, he realized how much he did want Amber in his life. Leaving the other night didn’t sit well with him. One, he felt foolish putting his heart on the line by showing up unannounced. Two, when he left after their argument, it felt so unsettled – like they still had so much to figure out.

“Hey Gage, here are those reports you wanted. Sorry about the awful timing,” Echo dropped the papers onto his desk.

Finally.

“Thanks. It’s alright, you can’t help the flu. It’s going around. Lisa went home sick today.” Gage picked up the papers and began leafing through them. “Thanks again for these, I need to send them over to Logan and Jay to review. They will have to start doing an inventory making sure we have everything that’s been purchased.”

“Sure. No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Finally. Gage sprang to action. He called Jay and Logan letting them know he would fax the invoices immediately. The both agreed to meet tomorrow at the Fort Collins location to begin taking inventory. The auditors that were at Gage’s branch would inventory the items there. His day was beginning to look better. He sat at his desk and began reviewing the items. There were quite a few items he didn’t know they had ordered or needed. However, there were items all the time that he didn’t necessarily know about. For example, cell phone cords, new cables – those were petty items that he wouldn’t know they needed or if they had been ordered. A few employees had needed new computers, which he saw on the report, but until they did the inventory he couldn’t remember exactly how many.

The bottom line was it was going to be a tedious process.

Next up, Amber.

He called her phone but she didn’t answer. Where was she? He had to speak with her and figure this out once and for all.

Gage got in his car and drove to her house. He knocked. No answer. He rang the doorbell but still no answer. He got back into his car and headed to her dance studio. As he parked his Range Rover and approached the studio door, he experienced déjà vu. A little different this time though, was he wanted her – he didn’t want to avoid her like he had before. He wanted to want her.

He opened the studio door and the déjà vu in the parking lot didn’t compare to the déjà vu that hit him now.

There she was dressed in black leggings that hugged her bottom perfectly and the tiniest white tank top he had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. Exactly like the first time he came here, the lights were dim and her music was blasting. This song he was familiar with - Lay Lady Lay, but it wasn’t the original version sung by Bob Dylan. Still slow in tempo, Amber’s hips swayed side to side in time with the music.

God, she made his dick hard.

He watched her for a few seconds more before his body took over and he inched toward her.

He came up behind her, grabbed ahold of her hips and began grinding into her bottom, matching her tempo to the song.

“I was wondering how long you were going to watch.”

“How did you know I was here?” he asked, surprised.

She nodded to the small mirror strategically placed in the upper corner of the wall in front of them. “After you snuck up on me last time, I added it.”

He didn’t answer her. He reveled in the feel of her body against his. His hands shimmied up her tank top skimming the sides of her rib cage. Surprisingly she didn’t stop dancing with him, she just continued her swaying like she had not a care in the world. Gage couldn’t resist burying his face into the back of her neck, into her blond hair. She smelled so sweet and pure. They danced that way until the song was over. The second it stopped, Gage backed away.

“One more. Dance with me once more.”

He wanted to do more than dance with her, but he obliged to her simple request by opening his arms out wide. She went into them willingly as the next song began to play.

“I don’t know this one.”

“It’s Patsy Cline. Fittingly enough, the song is called Crazy. Was my mom’s favorite. She and my father would dance to this song all night long. Over and over.” She spoke in a reminiscing tone as she relived the memory. Amber rested her head against Gage’s chest as they slowly moved to the music. His heart beat, slow and steady.

Neither spoke.

The song quickly came to an end but she didn’t pull away from his arms.

“I’m sorry, Amber,” he wanted to be the man she wanted. The man she somehow thought he was. He really did. “Are you still mad at me?”

She giggled, “A little. But it’s been so long since I’ve danced with a man that I cannot possibly be that angry anymore. I am not sure where this leaves us though.” With the music stopped, their movements seemed to echo tenfold.

Gage was about to agree with her but instead his mouth said, “I’m willing to try. Whatever you want Amber, let’s try. When you kicked me out,” his chuckle reverberated in her chest, “I realized that I won’t ever know what I have to offer another woman unless I actually offer it. You might hurt me in the end, too, but I think you and I have something going on that can’t be ignored.”

“Are you serious, Gage?” She eyed him speculatively. “How can I believe this sudden change of heart? How do I know you’re sincere?”

Hmmm, how could she know he was sincere? He had toyed with her as much as she toyed with him, truth be told. “I don’t know. Have faith in me. The fact that I came here should tell you something, shouldn’t it? Even after you dismissed me.”

This is what Amber had been waiting for and now that it was happening, she was a little hesitant. She wanted to jump in with her whole heart and not look back. One thing was holding her back though. Her parents. She had this crazy notion that she couldn’t give all of herself to Gage Alexander, CEO unless she could get rid of the demons that haunted her. She told him exactly that.

“Then let’s take it slow. I have my own issues too. Let me be there for you and help you get through that. If I have to tell you every single day that their death was not your fault until you believe it, then I will. What do you say, Amber Prescott? Shall we attempt a boyfriend/girlfriend sort of scenario?” Gage laughed, the sound echoing throughout the bare room. “It’s been a long time since I’ve talked like that. I feel like a teenage boy vying for the prettiest girl in school.”

His steel eyes held the promise of sincerity and she found herself being pulled into them, “Okay. I’m scared, but I’m willing to give it a try.”

Gage picked her up and twirled her around like he did that day in the park. She wrapped her legs around his torso, squeezing him hard between her legs. Their lips mingled together, sucking and probing one another until they couldn’t breathe. Before she knew it, he had her up against the barre along the wall and wasting no time he began pulling her leggings down. His hand slipped in between her legs and inside her panties. She squeezed her legs together as his fingers sunk into her moist center. Amber moaned in delight as his fingers moved inside her. Before she knew it, his firm flesh was there seeking entrance into her body. She welcomed his erection into her wet heat just as she welcomed his tongue. It didn’t take long before Gage brought her to climax. Her muscles tightened around him as he spread her legs further apart. He was so far inside of her, she could feel it in her tummy. He continued thrusting into her harder and harder. She could feel his shirt getting damp from his own sweat. It didn’t take long for her to climax again and once she did, she could feel Gage’s release inside of her.