His Holiday Bride. Elaine Overton

room. It was a scene straight out of a graphic porn movie. Clothes were strewn all over the floor as naked bodies twisted and contorted in every imaginable way. Men and women coupled, and in groups having sex all over the large room. Women with men, women with women, men with men—she simply could not believe it. The air was pungent with the smell of sex and Amber felt herself getting sick.

      No one seemed to even notice her standing in the doorway too stupefied to move. Or if they did notice they didn’t seem to care. She forced herself to look into each and every face, recognizing many of them as friends of Dashuan’s, but there was no sign of Dashuan in the midst of the orgy. Amber remembered feeling overwhelming relief when she first discovered he was not among the bodies.

      Her eyes fell on Skip, Dashuan’s agent, the man he was supposed to be spending the evening with discussing business. But the only business Skip seemed interested in was what the two young female groupies were doing to his genitals.

      His eyes met hers over the tops of their heads and there was something dark and sinister in the way he looked at her that told her she had to get out of there in a hurry, or she could become an unwilling part of this whole disaster.

      She had to find Dashuan and let him know what was going on. He would put a stop to this. Of that she was certain. She made her feet move in the direction of the bedrooms lining the back hall of the suite, hoping that Dashuan had fallen asleep in one of them and was unaware of what was going on in the other rooms. She threw open the double doors of the master bedroom and surprisingly it was empty, as were the next two bedrooms. She was almost convinced that Dashuan was nowhere in the suite when she came to the fourth bedroom.

      She heard the muffled groan too late, because by the time the noise registered she had already thrown open the door and surprised the two men coupling on the bed. Amber knew she would never forget the look of intense pleasure on Dashuan’s face, or the sight of his strong, muscular arms bracing his body over his trainer. She knew she would never forget because he looked exactly as she’d always imagined he would look. Only in her imaginings, she had been the one beneath him.

      She felt the car make a turn, and the shifting movement brought her back to the present. Slowly, the car came to a halt. Amber felt her heart pounding as she remembered the man sitting next to her. They had finally reached the hotel. Now all she had to do was get away from him with what was left of her dignity intact.

      “I know you’re awake, so you might as well open your eyes.” A gentle voice broke the silence.

      So much for dignity. Amber opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of soft brown ones again. The man really was beautiful, she thought. Too bad they had not met under different circumstances. Looking out the driver’s side window beyond him, she realized they were in some sort of neighborhood. She sat up and realized they were sitting in the driveway of a large, newly built home. She continued to look all around. A subdivision? she thought. What happened to the hotel?

      “Where are we?” Amber felt the first stirring of unease since Paul Gutierrez had appeared, reminding her that she did not know this man.

      “I thought you would be more comfortable here than in a hotel.”

      She narrowed her eyes and studied his face, trying to see any signs of deceit or ill intentions. “I asked you a question. Where are we? Whose house is this?”

      Paul arched an eyebrow, realizing she did not assume it was his. Of course not. He reminded himself of her reaction to his little compact car. What exactly do you do for a living? He could still see the slightly contemptuous expression on her pretty face. Gold digger.

      “A friend of mine. I’m house-sitting.”

      She scooted back against the door of the car. “I asked you to take me to a hotel. Why did you bring me here?”

      “I just told you. I thought you would be more—”

      Suddenly she threw open the door and stood. Paul matched her step for step.

      “Amber!” he called to her realizing she was now trembling. “Calm down, I should have told you what I—”

      “Do you really know Luther?”

      “Of course. How else would I have found you?”

      “How do you know him?”

      “We were in the Navy together. Look, I know you’ve been through a lot tonight but you’re going to have to trust me.”

      “I don’t know anything about you! All I asked was that you take me to a hotel and you brought me here. Where are we, anyway?!”

      He sighed. “Moreno Valley, about an hour southeast of L.A.”

      “We’ve been driving for over an hour?” Her eyes widened, and she glanced at the small gold watch on her wrist for the first time since she’d climbed into the car. It was almost 3:00 a.m. “Oh, my God!” She grabbed her head with both hands. “What was I thinking? Getting in a car with a total stranger?”

      “Amber, calm down. You are perfectly safe here.” Realizing she was about to bolt, Paul held up his hand. “Stop and think for a minute. How else would I have known where to find you? Your name? Think about it.”

      She did, but she did not draw the conclusions he wanted. “For all I know you could just be some creep who hangs around hotel lobbies trying to pick up women. As for my name, you heard Dashuan call me.”

      His mouth twisted in frustration. “You name is Amber Lockhart. You are twenty-one and you grew up in Detroit. From what Luther told me, your family is worried about you right now. So, why don’t we go into the house and give them a call to let them know you’re safe and sound.”

      Her heart slowed considerably as he recited information that could’ve only come from someone who knew her. “Okay, I believe Luther sent you.”

      “Thank you!” He threw up his hands in relief, believing the battle had been won.

      “But that doesn’t change the fact that you took me an hour outside of town without my permission when all I asked is that you drop me off at a hotel.”

      “Stop obsessing about the damn hotel. You’ll be much more comfortable here, all the same amenities and more. This is for your own good.”

      “How would you know what’s good for me?” She shook her head in defeat. “You know what—Never mind. I’ll find a hotel on my own.” She quickly opened the rear door of the car and grabbed her bags and her purse. Slamming the door shut, she turned and headed down the driveway back toward the street.

      “Where are you going?” Paul asked, wondering if his friendship with Luther was really worth this headache.

      “I told you. I’ll find my own hotel,” she called over her shoulder.

      “You don’t even know where you are!” he shouted and instantly regretted it when he noticed the front room curtains moving on the house across the street. Apparently they had an audience.

      Amber did not even bother responding. She just kept walking. The plan was simple. She would hail a cab. Cab drivers always knew hotels and restaurants in their areas. In the morning she would find some way back to L.A., and from there on to…wherever. I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Right now all she wanted was a bed, and sweet, sweet sleep.

      Paul stood and watched her leave and was determined not to follow. He knew she would be safe enough inside the large subdivision, but what if she did manage to find her way out onto the main street? What if the dizzy broad got herself run down or mugged? Of course, Luther would hold him responsible.

      He rested his head on top of the small car, wondering what crazed compulsion told him to bring her back to his home. The girl was nothing but trouble. Look at the situation he had to bail her out of tonight.

      She wasn’t the only one with troubles, he thought, remembering that only a few hours ago he’d been forced to fire a man he had considered a friend.

      He shook his head and decided