Getting Grayson up those god-awful stairs went even worse than Amberleigh had expected. The billionaire had winced, tensed, and cursed on the way up as expected, but it was when he went quiet that scared the fuck out of Amber. She would have preferred he screamed and cried to that awful, gut twisting silence. And worse yet she couldn’t even get to him as she was trapped down the stairs due to it being so fucking narrow.He’d tried to be stoic, especially in front of the other men. But Amber had wound up crying enough for the both of them when Grayson stopped responding. Giovanni had brought along his beefy friend Tito again and Amber began to wonder if that was the man’s official role in the gang, to help get injured men in and out of Doc Corbin's basement.Leo walked beside her the best he could in the confined space and tried to calm her panic the best he could.“He’s probably just out again Love. It’s probably for the best right now.”“But what if it’s something else Leo? What if h
Amberleigh thought it was the beginning of a bad joke, a chef, a hooker, two gangsters, and a billionaire walk into a bar. Well, there technically was a self-service latte bar at the fancy medical complex, but it was really just her exhausted mind running away with her that night. Or more correctly, that morning as they were on the cusp of dawn. She would need to make a stop at that latte bar or violence was likely to happen.And that violence was in danger of being directed at a certain man whom she wondered how she’d ever found him attractive. As Dr. Gainey let them in the back door, Amber had to resist the urge to take those same nails -she’d dug into her palms on the brutal drive here while listening to Grayson’s jagged breaths during each bump- and not rake them down the doctor’s face. How had she ever found the thirty-something man with the small, dark beady eyes, and full lips that spoke lies with a smile, in a velvet voice, worthy of her appreciative gazes and flirting? She de
It seemed the issue of what to name their daughter wasn’t going to be solved in a small, crowded waiting room at five a.m. Several more names had been crossed off the list, and fewer more added. When it’d become apparent that Grayson had flowers on the brain, perhaps from the fake ones in decorative vases in the room, Amber decided his suggestion of was the last straw. She asked the billionaire if he loved their daughter, and if he wanted to get laid ever again, after which he stopped making suggestions that morning. It was probably for the best.Surprisingly Tito, whom Amber had assumed to be the strong, silent type, had offered up a suggestion which went to the top of the list. Mariella had sounded beautiful rolling off his Italian tongue, and even though Amber doubted most would do the pronunciation of it justice, it’d still made the number one spot. At least for now anyway.Dr. Gainey returned not long after Amber closed her list and said she was taking no more suggestions. Leo’s
They stole the wheelchair. And Amberleigh had no fucking remorse on the matter. Besides Dr. Gainey owed Grayson far more than he could ever atone for and it was a start. It was one less thing they needed to take care of the billionaire over the coming weeks.This model was unfortunately not the collapsible kind, so it took some maneuvering on Tito’s part to get it in the back hatch. Amber heard a few curses in Italian emitting from behind the SUV as she got Grayson settled in for the ride back to the warehouse. It was a cozy ride as she, Leo, and Grayson were crammed into a single row of seating as Tito had to fold down the back row of seats to get their stolen property in. But Amber didn’t mind being so close to her boys.She rubbed Grayson’s back and shoulders on the ride, as he fidgeted constantly to try and get into a comfortable position. But there was none to be found. He was miserable, though he never said it, she could tell by the sweat on his skin, the tense of his body with
Amberleigh found a secret weapon in the war against keeping Grayson’s ass in bed, and it wasn’t just threatening to withhold future sex from him. It came in the form of a beautiful woman with silver hair, bright blue eyes, and a sweet smile, Viola Godwin, aka Grayson’s mother. For such a petite and gentle woman, Viola had no trouble keeping both of the men in her life in line.After the day had bled into a decent hour, and a nap on Grayson’s part, Amber had guilted him into calling his mother. He decided to stick with the car accident story. Amber chuckled when she could hear over the phone when motherly concern turned into angry mama bear whose cub hadn’t informed her immediately after he was hurt. She enjoyed the scolding he got and was thrilled with the declaration mama bear was coming right over. Upon waking, Grayson had already made the mistake, of asking Amber to bring him his laptop from his home office.With list in hand, Leo was sent off on a medical supply run, and Viola mad
Viola came by to sit with her son every day until the end of that first week. While Grayson loved his mother dearly, he’d soon grown tired of her company, not just because he hated to be taken care of, but also because of the stories his mother brought with her. She and Amber grew closer as the hours passed and their lips never seemed to stop moving, much to the surly billionaire’s chagrin.But Amber loved every fucking minute of her company, got satisfaction from the flushed cheeks or aggravated sighs from Grayson that his mother’s stories often caused. And she had the best stories indeed. Amber would tuck herself into the armchair by Leo’s bed and listen to Viola spill all the embarrassing anecdotes, often laughing until she peed herself a little. The stories were worth pure gold. Even though Leo often made an appearance in them, the chef never seemed to get embarrassed by their retelling and often added juicy details of his own. He seemed to enjoy the trip down memory lane while hi
While there was no magic make Grayson not an ass button, the billionaire’s mood did seem to somewhat improve with Amberleigh’s new battle strategy. Between that and the electric wheelchair Amber had Leo buy, it gave Grayson a greater sense of control. He spent the better part of the next morning trying to figure out a way to maneuver himself into it using 1.5 arms and the power of his thigh muscles. He seemed to like challenges and it gave him a focus to strive to achieve.And even though they didn’t like it much, Amber and Leo gave him a bit of breathing room to attempt it. Leo stood waiting in the wings of the room to intervene if things went bad. Amber was too nervous and had to force herself into a task to keep from hovering and cringing while it occurred. A fall wouldn’t feel good and could hurt his already fractured bones more. But she had to trust Grayson enough to let him try, to know his own body, his own limitations, and make his own decisions. Within fucking reason of cours
Leo laughed uncomfortably, but Ash’s laugh was filled with merriment. He was not offended in the least.“As I said before, there’s plenty of me to go around. But I’m just friends with everyone in this room.”“For now, at least,” said Ebony boldly, “don’t you two have somewhere to fucking be?”“Yes, we do. And we need to get a move on it before were late. Especially if we hit traffic. Amber give Ebony the list of instructions you made so we can hit the road.”Amber eyed Ebony and then Ash. There was definitely an attraction and sexual chemistry going on there. She was likely to return with Grayson bitching about having to watch his caregivers hook up while they both neglected their duties. She’d never hear the fucking end of that.“Yeah, I’m not so sure this is such a good Idea,” she argued.Ebony huffed, “We'll be just fucking fine here without you.”“At least come meet Grayson before we leave.”“I’ll go start the car Love. Meet me in five or we will be late. Ash, Ebony take care. And