Page 15 of Chasing Amber

The idea of letting myself be Little makes me feel incredibly vulnerable. When I combine it with Isaac knowing, chills run up my arms. The man could and would so easily Daddy me. He stepped right over the line last night, and if I let him, he will do so again.

My phone rings, startling me so badly I nearly drop it. It’s Cassandra. I take a deep breath and answer. “Hey.” I try to sound calm and relaxed. I’m neither.

“Hi!” The one word is filled with exuberance. It’s hard to be sad around Cassandra. I’m smiling already. “Spence said he invited you over. Will you come? Your brother is like a prison warden. I never get to go anywhere, and I don’t have any friends. If I play one more game of checkers with Ben, I’ll die. Please say you’ll come. It’ll be like a playdate. I’ll ask Alice to make us lunch. We can hide out in my room and barricade the growly Daddies out. Please?”

Shit. It’s hard to turn down Alice’s cooking. My brother is fucking lucky to have her working for him. It’s doubly hard to say no to Cassandra. Plus, she would improve my mood. It’s not like I’m going to get anything done in my studio today. I’m too frazzled. The idea is also scary as fuck, though. Risky. I’m teetering on the edge of madness with Isaac. He will probably eat this up.

“Amber? Will you come?” she encourages.

“Sure.”

She squeals. She’s younger than me. Twenty-two. But age is just a number, I suppose. After all, she’s in a relationship with my brother, who is thirty-five, and Ben, who is forty.

I glance at the closed door to my studio. I’m thirty. Isaac is forty-five. That’s a huge age gap. Isn’t it? And why the hell am I worrying about such a thing? He’s not my man. He’s not my Daddy. He’s my bodyguard.

A bodyguard who called mebabylast night. The tone of his voice as he spoke to me is still ringing in my head. It was the most cherished I’ve felt since I was a child, though I’m loathed to admit it—and it scares the fuck out of me.

“Do you need to check with Mr. Bossypants first?” she asks.

I chuckle. She puts me in a good mood. She calls IsaacMr. Bossypantsand fully believes Isaac is my Daddy. That’s why she’s asking. “No. I make my own decisions.”So far.

“Okay. You’ll be here at noon?”

“Yes. Thanks for inviting me. See you then.” As soon as I end the call, I text my brother again.

You’re meddling. And you didn’t answer my question.

You’re welcome, and nope. I did not. See you in a few hours.

Darn him. Why can’t I know Isaac’s salary? Why have I never asked before? Mostly, I’ve pretended I didn’t need or want a bodyguard, so I’ve ignored anything regarding their existence: Isaac and everyone who came before him. However, suddenly, my curiosity is piqued. I want to know how much money motivates Isaac to stay with me.

I’ll nail my brother down in person later. For now, I think I’ll spend a few hours working on something abstract. If I paint something that freely flows out of me, it won’t be right or wrong. Nothing specific. Just whatever my hands decide to do.

I pick up the paintbrush and dip it in the purple. I think I’ll splash some color on the canvas and see where it goes.

CHAPTER 6

Isaac

She doesn’t speak to me during the car ride to her brother’s. That’s okay. Frankly, I’m confused about how we’ve ended up going to Spence’s house this morning. Why was my girl texting her brother while I was on the phone with him?

I feel like my life is a series of questions with no answers.

Amber sits as far away from me as possible, pressed against the door. She has her arms crossed, and she’s staring out the passenger window. She’s very closed off from me, having a silent tantrum. And she says she’s not Little.

I’m divided between being frustrated that she’s being so petty and trying not to smirk at how fucking cute she is when she’s bratty. Bratty is never going to work for her because I will end up laughing.

When I pull up to the back of the house, she jumps out of the car and slams the door almost before I turn off the engine. She jogs to the house, leaving me behind.

I take a deep breath and slowly exit, taking a few seconds to lean on the car and watch her hurry away from me like I have theplague. I wish I knew what the right thing to do is, but I don’t. I’m teetering here.

After Amber rushes into the house, Ben comes out. He’s smirking as he approaches me with his fingertips in the front pockets of his pants. “I want to cringe and ask what the hell is going on, but knowing Amber, you don’t know either.”

I groan as I shove off my car and shut the door. “Not a clue.” That’s mostly true.

“Spence told me what you’ve asked him to do.”

I’m not surprised, nor would I expect Spence to keep secrets from Ben. Ben is his right-hand man. He knows everything.

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