Lover's Kryptonite

Intimacy

"I'll make the reservation."

"Remember that I'm not as rich as you, so don't pick a place that will break my pockets." He smiled teasingly and leaned over to kiss her so that she knew that he was joking.

Before Amber could reply, Brandon saw that the precinct was calling. "Hold that thought, baby," he told Amber.

Amber began to clean up the kitchen as she waited for Brandon to come back. When he did, he was grinning and she glanced over at him.

"I got good news."

"Well don't keep me in the dark."

"Raul and I traded shifts with a couple other officers, so I don't have to go to work until after midnight. Which means that I can spend all day with you."

Brandon pulled Amber into his arms and was rewarded with a wide smile from Amber, her eyes lighting up. She could never know what seeing that look on her face did for him.

She wrapped her arms around him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Back to this lunch."

"Just try not to break my pockets."

"I can make lunch. If you don't have work until tonight, I want to stay in."

Brandon was a little conflicted on that. He wanted to be seen with Amber on his arm, but on the other hand, spending the whole day inside with her wasn't a bad thought either.

"What if we order in," he suggested, meeting her in the middle.

"That works for me," she agreed.

Brandon leaned down to kiss her and slid his arms down her waist to lift her up and carry her to the couch. She giggled as he laid her over the arm and she looked up at him as he took her hands in his, looking down at her.

"Should I ever have the fortune of looking at such a beautiful woman," he mumbled before he lifted her up and sat on the sofa beside her, pulling her closer to him.

She slid her arms around his waist, and before she had time to realize it, his lips were against hers. She adjusted herself on the furniture and wrapped herself around Brandon, allowing him to consume her.

Every piece of her ignited with his touch. The feeling of falling in love again was all at once the most luxurious and the simplest pleasure. As badly as Amber wanted to jump Brandon's bones, she respected his need not to feel like a sexual object, and she accepted the necking session for what it was.

Brandon slowly pulled away from Amber and looked down at her for a moment, just admiring her beauty for a moment. He took this moment to be alone with her and just give her 100 percent of his attention like he never could when Samiya was with them.

Amber reached up to stroke his face. There it was, that soft, vulnerable piece of her that surprised him when he got it.

"Amber?"

"Hmm?"

He sat up and she slowly sat up too, her eyes following him in concern. She watched Brandon shake his head slowly before he put his face in his hands. This worried her and she got on the floor, sinking to her knees to take his hands and see into his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I projected my fears onto you, and that was unfair of me. You owned your end of our last fight, and now it's my turn to own mine."

Brandon sighed and lifted Amber off her knees and sat her back on the couch, holding her hands in his, looking at her.

"I don't believe my father is right. However, I can't help but wrack my mind over the what ifs. I've been hurt so many times, he made me wonder if my judgment is just poor. Just looking at the love you and Samiya share, I want to be a part of that. I want to spend the next several years, the rest of our lives, with the two of you. Sometimes, it's hard to tell how Sammi feels about me. With you, though, there's never any guessing. The fact that you're a physical, sexual person should never take away from that. When we were having breakfast, I had a chance to really think about that. If you want to, we can make love."