Prologue
Heather’s Eighteenth Birthday
Amber watched her friend blow out the eighteen birthday candles decorating her cake. She sipped from the water bottle and cheered when it was the right moment. There were times she wished she could do more than simply look in on her friends. Ashley was cheering while Connie was slicing up the cake. They were all close friends. Since they were kids they’d always been good friends, but through high-school their friendship tightened. They were big girls and would never fit in with the popular crowd. Amber liked it like that. She wouldn’t change to fit what other girls wanted. Ashley, Connie, and Heather all accepted her for who she was, and none of them pressured her to be something different. She loved them like sisters, and they were as close to sisters she’d ever get.
“Shouldn’t you be with them?” Elijah asked.
She turned as he came up behind her. He never failed to make her hot. Her response to him was embarrassing.
“I-I d-don’t k-know.” She only ever stammered around him. Staring at the floor she shivered as his breath whispered across the back of her neck. He was too close, and there was no way for her to fight her response to him.
“Are you nervous, Amber?”
He knew her name? Shit, of course he knew her name. She was best friends with Heather. Also, they had shared many more moments than these. Whenever she stayed over he was always around, staring at her. God, his voice was pure sin.
“No, of course not.”
A gasp escaped her lips as his fingers caressed along her arm. “I make you nervous.” His hand banded around her waist, pulling her closer against him.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
She wasn’t stupid when it came to sex. Being a virgin didn’t mean she didn’t understand what was prodding against her ass. Ashley was the most adventurous of the group whereas Amber liked to be left alone most of the time.
“You want me, Amber, and I want you.”
It was always like this between them. She didn’t understand it at all. Why was he doing this to her? He could have any girl he ever wanted, and yet he was here, holding her and making her feel like she was the only woman on the planet.
“Why?” she asked.
He tugged her back until he was getting her to follow him upstairs. The moment the door closed behind her, his lips were on hers stopping any question from spilling out of her lips. She moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding onto him for dear life. Elijah made her feel things she’d thought was long since dead. How could she open up like this with Heather as her best friend? Heather hated her brother, and this always felt like a betrayal. Her friend felt like her parents resented her whereas Elijah was the golden boy. He could do no wrong. Amber had stayed up many nights listening to Heather complain about how perfect Elijah was even though he didn’t get the best grades or help with chores. Those nights Amber agreed with her friend’s assessment, trying to be supportive. But there was something about Elijah that called to every part of her body.
Pushing the excuses from the back of her mind, she focused on him right now.
Had their heated gazes and swift conversation led to this moment?
“I can’t get enough of you,” he said, pressing kisses down to her neck.
She pulled on his hair bringing his lips back up to her mouth. For the longest time she’d had a crush on Heather’s big brother. Amber tried her hardest to hide her feelings, but it was getting harder and harder every day. He no longer lived in the same house as Heather, but she knew his parents kept his room the same for whenever he visited, which was often.
The sound of the lock turning made heat swamp her pussy. She was desperate to feel him.
Elijah wrapped his arms around her middle and moved her toward his bed. He lowered her to the bed.
“I’ve got to have you. I need to get you out of my mind,” he said. “I can’t concentrate on anything but you.”
For most of her life she’d been bullied because of her weight. Her mother was always pressuring her to go on a diet, and the guys in high school only valued thin, blonde women. She was a redhead with curves all over the place. Amber had to deal with having a thick waist, large breasts, and plump thighs.
She hated her shape, and her mother made her feel overweight, fat, and ugly.
In Elijah’s arms she could finally feel beautiful.
He unbuckled the belt holding his jeans up. She’d never been with a man before and couldn’t find the words to tell him.
His fingers caressed her knee bringing her skirt up. This was really happening.
Doubts assailed her, and she couldn’t bring herself to stop him. Amber knew she should stop him, but she couldn’t. This was her only chance to experience something and know the guy wouldn’t go tattling to all his friends.