Page 61 of Blade
“No. Just watching TV with my two fur kids.” As if he knew she was talking about him, Panther’s long black paw, with claws extended, reached down from the top of the headboard and grabbed a chunk of Amber’s hair. “Ow!” she exclaimed, leaning away from the headboard, which made Panther’s little eyes grow wide, and then he ran off. She laughed. “That cat is insane. Last night, he ran across my head at three in the morning and scratched my ear.”
Robert chuckled softly, filled with affection. He adored the cats and already couldn’t imagine not having them in his life. They were so much fun to have around and brought a sense of whimsy to their lives. “At least you’re not lonely.”
“There’s never a dull moment with these two.” Panther returned, now headbutting Amber in the chin. “But I still miss you. It’s not the same without you here.”
He nodded, his heart now heavy because he felt the same way. He wanted to be with Amber and felt the distance. “I’ll be home tomorrow, though it won’t be soon enough.”
A crazy idea flashed in his head, so he hurried through their conversation instead of dragging it out and called his personal assistant.
Five hours later, Robert was standing in front of Amber’s condo.
She answered the door in an oversized T-shirt that hit her mid-thigh, and is eyes went straight to her bare knees. Her slept-in, wild hair made his heart thump. The combination of those two things plus her thick, black glasses took his breath away. “You’re gorgeous.” Unaware he spoke aloud, the words came out on a soft breath of air.
“What are you doing here?” She rubbed under her eye with her knuckle and blinked, as if she was still dreaming. She even cleaned the lenses of her glasses on her night shirt.
“I hired a private jet. I couldn’t wait until tonight to see you.”
Her eyes opened wide, fully awake by the statement, but before she had a chance to respond, he pulled her into an embrace and crushed a kiss into her lips. Heat and desire filled his soul, but the love he felt for this woman outweighed everything.
She smiled under their kiss, and her arms tightened behind his neck before she pulled away and covered her mouth with her hand. “I didn’t brush my teeth.”
“I don’t care.” He kissed her again to prove it, and she melted under his touch. He carried her to the bedroom, where he made love to her softly and slowly. With each breath, each inhale and exhale, he felt himself falling more and more in love with this woman. She was the one he’d been waiting for, without realizing he was looking for someone. Was it chance? Or fate? Or something else? He didn’t know, but she was here now, and he was never letting her go.
Tiny razor blades sliced into Robert’s bare leg as it hung over the side of the bed, and he woke with a loud cry. “OW!”
“What happened?” Amber jumped to a sitting position, her hands flat against her chest, even though she was sound asleep a second before, just like Robert had been before a three-pound black puma started climbing his leg.
“Panther, your claws are sharp!” Robert helped the kitty onto the bed, where he promptly chirped out a series of purrs and swatted at Robert’s one foot under the covers.
Amber chuckled, clearly amused at Panther’s antics. “He’s hungry. He wakes me up as soon as the sun comes up.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked the kitten. “Food?” He scooped up Panther in his arms, but the rambunctious kitty wouldn’t sit still and climbed onto Robert’s shoulder, where he let out a high-pitched meow directly in Robert’s ear, demanding breakfast.
“OK. OK.” He covered his ear with one hand. “How can a little cat slice open my leg and blow out my ear drum in under 20 seconds?”
Amber wore an ear-to-ear grin while she stroked Biscuit’s fur, who was nestled into a tight ball next to her.
“Why can’t you be more like your momma?” Robert asked Panther, who replied with another ear-splitting meow.
“No need for an alarm clock with that one,” Amber commented. “At least we’re up early and can spend some time together before I have to go to work and you have to meet with the team. And my father.” She shook her head with disbelief. “I still can’t get over that you spend almost every day with him. I barely see the man.”
Robert hated hearing that. He always believed that family was important and that whatever happened, it wasn’t enough to impact the relationship. Even when Tommy and their father were at odds, they were still close and never avoided each other. They still acted like a family. “Oh!”
“What?” Amber asked, startled at Robert’s outburst.
“I just remembered. I spoke to my brother yesterday before the game. We finally coordinated our schedules and we’re both home this week. He invited us to dinner on Tuesday. You can finally meet the rest of my family.”
“This is the Blade-Garcia mansion,” Robert announced, exiting the car. He loved this place. It sat steps from the Atlantic Ocean and had a huge garden surrounding the property. The entire place was high-end luxury. Best of all, it housed his favorite people in the world.
With wide eyes, Amber stopped to admire the expansive mansion and the Bentley in the driveway, hugging her homemade apple pie. “I guess this is how rock stars live,” she commented, completely enamored with the exterior of the home, which was nothing compared to the lavishly decorated interior.
Robert certainly could afford a mansion as big and as grand as the palace in front of him, but he preferred a more modest lifestyle. That didn’t mean he wasn’t impressed by the flashy amenities his brother-in-law insisted upon. He realized he hadn’t elaborated on Tommy’s unconventional marriage and wanted to make sure Amber was aware of it, only because he didn’t want her to be caught off guard. “You know my brother is in a polyamorous relationship, right? He has a wife, Jessi Blade, the fashion designer. And a husband, Angel Garcia, the lead singer in his band.”
Amber turned to face him, unblinking. At first, Robert thought she was shocked by the dynamic of it, until she brought a hand to her chest and said, “I can’t believe I’m going to meet Jessi Blade.”
“You’re gonna love her. She’s awesome.” With his hand on her lower back and carrying a shopping bag in the other, he escorted Amber up the marble steps that led to the entrance. He’d never brought a girl to the mansion before, so this was a big deal. He rang the doorbell, and his chest puffed out a little because of the girl next to him. She had everything going for her. She was a catch. Marriage material. Shock made his eyes bolt wide open. They never talked about marriage. Before he had a chance to think about the unexpected idea that popped into his head, the front door opened to a trio of smiling faces.
“Bienvenidos!” Angel exclaimed, a finger pointed toward the ceiling like a matador.
