Chapter Seven
Amber
I finish my exam, too afraid to hope. Yes, I think I passed.
But did I get a C? C-? D? It is anybody’s guess.
I need the D to pass the class, and I really believe in my heart it is possible.
But even with that huge concern off my shoulders, I’m not free of worry because I still don’t know what Shane’s Don’t worry, I have it handled text meant.
I step into the bright sunshine and look around. If I hoped to see Shane, I am disappointed. There are plenty of happy students whose final test of the summer has ended but no Shane.
I make my way home, taking the long way, needing to walk and clear my head.
L.J. is coming home tomorrow with his grandparents, and real life is about to descend on me.
I am so excited to see my baby, but I know it means more responsibilities, more routine, more schedules.
I’ll have to find ways to find time to see Shane …
if he still wants to see me after what went down with Dan.
By the time I arrive on my street, I decide I’m going to Shane’s house to talk to him and find out what is going on. Except I don’t need to.
Shane sits on my doorstep, waiting for me.
With trepidation, I meet him at the bottom of the porch.
“Hi.”
“Hi. How was your test?”
“You’re a hard teacher, Professor Warden. But I think, I hope I passed.”
A pleased smile lifts his sexy lips. “I asked Eric to grade them this afternoon,” he says of the teacher’s assistant. “They should be posted by morning.”
I blow out a deep breath. “Good. Another night tossing and turning.” I smile wryly. “Don’t worry, I expected to have to wait to find out.”
I pull my purse in front of me and look for my keys, extracting them from my bag. “Want to come inside?” My heart pounds in my chest, the fear of not knowing what is going on consuming me.
“Sure.” He smiles at me, but I still don’t know where we stand.
After letting us into the house, I close the door behind us and turn to face him. “I can’t take it anymore. What happened with Dan?”
“I took him to Dean Frost myself and showed him the video. Dan has a history of reporting people for cheating when he doesn’t do as well as he’d like in a class. The dean wasn’t pleased with him. I don’t think he’s going to be my problem anymore. As for us…”
“Oh, my God. Is he angry? Am I in trouble? Are you?”
He shakes his head and tries to breathe deeply and evenly.
“Then what did he say?”
Shane’s serious expression makes my stomach twist with uncertainty.
“At first he asked for the night to think, which was why I didn’t want to explain things last night. I didn’t want to leave you hanging the night before a test. Well, any more than you already were.” He shakes his head, a wry twist to his lips.
I twist my hands in front of me, nerves getting the best of me. “And this morning? What did he say?”
“Before I tell you what he said, you need to know what I said. In no uncertain terms, I told him that if it came down to a choice between my job and you, I chose you.”
“You did what?” I get light-headed. “I need to sit down.”
Chuckling, he wraps an arm around my waist and leads me to the nearest sofa in the family room, easing me onto a cushion and sitting beside me.
He clasps my hand in his. “I’m serious. I know it’s early days, but I know what I’m feeling for you and it’s not casual. It’s not something I’m going to walk away from.”
“But your job, your career … tenure.”
“I’d have dealt with losing it if I had to…
Luckily I don’t have to. Dean Frost is a smart man.
He was able to discern the differences between us and me and an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old student.
And regardless, I didn’t violate any school rules or policy.
Although I have a feeling that might change going forward, but it won’t affect us. ” His hands tighten around mine.
I swallow hard, trying to come to terms with what he’s done. “You risked your career … for me.”
Meeting my gaze, his expression softens. “For us. I risked being terminated for us because I believe what we could have is too special to let go.”
My heart thuds in my chest. “I think so, too,” I whisper, almost afraid to jinx what we share.
“So we’re in agreement? We’re together?” He moves closer, as if my answer is a foregone conclusion. Which, of course, it is.
“Yes!”
He rises, pulling me to my feet.
Happy tears in my eyes, I grin, take a few steps, and jump into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and trusting he’ll catch me. Then I press my lips to his.
I kiss him, and all my worries flee, replaced with hopes and dreams I thought I gave up on. After the kiss, which is long and beautiful, I draw back.
“L.J. is coming home tomorrow,” I tell him. Although he is saying all the right words, I feel compelled to remind him of my real life. The one he hasn’t experienced yet.
He meets my gaze, all the while holding me tight. “And I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Really?”
He tilts his head to the side. “Really. Haven’t I done everything possible to prove that to you?”
I nod. “You really have. Now can we go to bed and let me prove to you how much I appreciate you?”
He strides out of the family room, down the hall, and into my room. Laughing, he tosses me down on the bed and strips me out of my clothes. I do the same to him, and we come together, skin to skin.
Pressing my cheek against his, I close my eyes and breathe in deep, feeling his chest rise and fall beneath mine.
“I love you,” I say, the words tumbling out. “I mean—”
“I love you, too, so you’d better not mean anything else.”
I let out a puff of air. “Well, no. I don’t. I just thought maybe it was too soon or I shouldn’t have said it yet…”
“It’s soon. I get that, but if we feel it, what’s wrong with saying it?” He slides his lips over mine, and his thick erection pulses against my belly.
At the feel of him hard against me, my legs open and his cock comes to rest at my entrance. “Amber.” He lets out a groan.
“I’m on birth control for other reasons. And you know I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. I’ve had an annual exam and I’m clean. I want to feel you bare inside me.”
He visibly swallows hard. “I wouldn’t put you at risk. I’m fine, too.”
His cock seems to throb in response and I grin. “Then what are you waiting for?”
He slides into me and everything inside me settles. My world seems brighter. Everything that is uncertain falls into place.
Long after I climax and he comes right along with me, I lie in his arms, happy and complete.
* * *
Shane
The next morning, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, made by Amber and me together, I am dressing after a shower, stuck in my clothes from the day before. My gaze falls on a long tube leaning against the wall.
Amber strides out of the bathroom, makeup complete, dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a tank top, looking fresh and sexy.
“What are your plans for the day?” she asks me.
“I was going to go home and change. Then I hoped to come back and meet L.J.?” I hear the hope in my voice. But how can we become closer, more like a family, if I don’t first meet and spend time with her son?
“Sounds good! I want you two to meet.” She braces her hands on my shoulders, leans down, and kisses me.
“Hey, what’s that?” I point to the rolled tube I noticed earlier.
She grins. “A Spiderman Fathead. L.J. wanted a life-size superhero on his wall. I thought I’d surprise him when he came home, but I didn’t anticipate how big it actually was. I can’t put it up by myself.”
“Then let’s do it. He’s going to be home soon, right? So let’s hurry and put it up.”
Her eyes light at the idea.
For the next thirty minutes, we struggle getting the life-size decal onto the wall behind the head of the bed, but between the two of us, we manage.
“You do realize it’s going to have to come down when I paint the room blue?” she asks, a little out of breath from our work.
I groan. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes—”
The sound of the doorbell cuts me off.
“Who could that be? It’s too early for L.J. They said they were leaving around eleven and would be home by lunch.” She heads for the front door and I follow.
Amber peeks through the side narrow window and lets out a shriek of excitement, unlocking the deadbolt and yanking the door open.
“Baby!” She kneels down and pulls a brown-haired boy into her arms.
He hugs her back but very quickly begins squirming to escape her hold.
“I think you’d better let him go,” a muscular dark-haired man with a scruff of beard says from behind him.
I know immediately from photos I’ve seen this is L.J.’s father’s twin. His Uncle Landon.
Amber releases her hold, but her gaze never leaves her son. “You’d better believe I expect more hugs later.”
“Mooom!” He groans her name. “I have to go to the bathroom!” he says and takes off at a run.
I chuckle, drawing the other man’s attention to me.
“Who are you?”
“Landon, don’t be rude!” Amber holds up a hand against his chest. “Landon Bennett, this is Shane Warden. Shane, this is L.J.’s uncle,” Amber says, eyeing the man warily.
I extend my hand, and Landon takes it, shaking hard.
Okay, I get it. The man is protective of Amber and L.J. Well, he damn well better learn he comes second to me now. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s early for you to be here,” Landon says pointedly.
“And you’re ridiculous! I’m a grown woman. You have no say in what I do. Although in this case I better warn you, you’re going to be seeing a lot of Shane, so I’d appreciate it if you got to know him and didn’t just act like an ass on first meeting.”
“Mom! Five bucks in the swear jar,” L.J. says, rejoining us.
She sighs. “I unpacked it, and it’s in the kitchen. You can watch me add money later.” She ruffles his hair. “I swear you grew a couple of inches. We need to set up a measuring wall here.”
Landon grins. “He’s certainly eaten enough to have a growth spurt. Which reminds me, we stopped for breakfast on the road.”
Clearly the reprimand has been forgotten. I don’t need Amber fighting my battles for me. I can win L.J.’s uncles over on my own, but I appreciate her coming to my defense.
“Why did you leave so early?” she asks.
“Your boy couldn’t wait to see you.” Landon chuckles.
“L.J., why don’t you take your suitcase into your room?” She gestures to the bag with wheels that Landon placed inside the door.
“Okay.” He pulls the luggage along, and as we watch him go, she meets my gaze with a knowing grin.
“Cool! Mom, you got me the Fathead!”
She laughs. “I’m going to talk to him for a few minutes. Can you behave while I’m gone?” she asks Landon, who is still eyeing me warily.
“Go ahead, we’ll be fine,” I assure her. I want a word with the other man.
I wait until Amber disappears, deliberately not watching her sexy ass, before I turn to Landon. “I get it,” I say before the other man can speak. “You’re protective. You’re worried. You don’t know me, don’t trust me, and you don’t live nearby.”
The other man cocks his head to one side. “That about sums it up.”
I hold up my hands. “I love her, and she loves me.”
Landon lets out a snort. “In one short summer?”
I ignore him. I heard from Amber how quickly Landon fell for Vivi. The man has no room to judge us. “In the meantime, I’d appreciate it if you cut me some slack. Get to know me before deciding how you feel about me. And know I’d cut off my arm before I’d hurt them.”
Arms folded across his chest, Landon studies me, his expression shifting a bit at my last comment. “You said them. So you understand they’re a package deal. L.J. isn’t some kid you can push aside so you can fuck his mom.”
My blood boils at the careless words. “One,” I say through clenched teeth, “don’t talk about Amber like that. She’s worth a lot more than a fuck,” I mutter. “And two, it pisses me off you’d jump to that conclusion. I know L.J. is her world. I only want to be part of them. Not come between them.”
Landon scrubs a hand over his face. “Fine. You pass. But I’ll be watching you. Jason, Tanner, and I will all be keeping an eye out. Just because we’re in New York doesn’t mean we’re not involved in their lives.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” I say. “I’m glad she had the three of you all these years.”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
I shake my head and let out a low chuckle. “I didn’t think you were.”
“Everything okay in here?” Amber asks, returning from L.J.’s room.
“Perfect.” I wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her cheek.
“Good. Landon, are you staying for the day?” she asks.
He shakes his head. “The club needs me. I just offered to take the ride so Mom and Dad could go straight home. They said they’ll call you later so you can work out a schedule for when school starts.”
She shoots him a grateful look. “Thanks for everything.” She hugs him and he returns the gesture, but even I can see it is all platonic … even if he does look exactly like his twin brother had.
I let out a relieved breath I wasn’t aware of holding.
A few seconds later, Landon says his goodbyes and walks out to his car. Amber shuts the door to the house.
“Where’s L.J.?” I ask.
“Doing his best to unpack. There are no dirty clothes, thank you, Carrie,” Amber says with a grateful smile.
“Want me to go so you can spend some time alone?” I offer.
She wraps her arms around my waist and shakes her head. “I’d like my two boys to get to know each other. Unless you want to go home and change?”
I chuckle. “It can wait.”
She stares up at me with those big, beautiful blue eyes. “We’re a lot to handle,” she says nervously.
“I can’t wait to do it. I know the juggling of schedules won’t be easy, finding time alone won’t be simple, but I know what I’m getting into. And I’m all in.”
She reaches onto her tiptoes and brushes her lips over mine. “I’m so glad. You changed my life, Shane Warden.”
“Same, Amber Davis. And I couldn’t be happier.”