Needing Her

Chapter Seven

Maci

I WOKE TO Connor’s lips kissing a soft trail down the back of my neck, and turned in his arms to face him.

“Morning,” his deep voice rumbled as he pushed my hair away from my face.

“Morning.” I dropped my head against his chest when I started to yawn. “What time is it?”

“Early. I have to go back to the office, we only left last night because we needed to sleep before Sanders and I tried to kill each other.”

Looking back up at his face, I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and reached up to trace them. “You look like you still didn’t get any sleep.”

“I didn’t.”

“Why?”

Connor took a deep breath in and held it for a few moments as his eyes glazed over. “Just had a lot on my mind.”

“Like?” I asked cautiously.

“This case I’m working . . . you . . . your brothers,” he gritted the last two words out.

“They won’t find out,” I said, hoping to assure him and trying not to panic that he was already regretting last night.

He smiled sadly and kissed me before getting off the bed and heading to his closet. I frowned when I saw he was already mostly dressed to leave for work. Sitting up in his bed, I pulled the comforter up to cover myself, and watched as he walked back out, buttoning up a gray shirt, with a blue tie the same color as his eyes draped over his arm.

Not willing to let him see my inner freak-­out, I squared my shoulders and stated with blatant indifference: “You regret last night.”

“What—­no.” His head snapped up, his eyes wide. “Maci, shit, why do you do this?” He dropped the tie on the bed and walked over to lean close to me.

“What?”

“This,” he said softly, his eyes boring into mine. “You act like you don’t care, and I know you do. You put on this brave face and say shit like this, and you get ready to push me away rather than find out what’s happening between us. Its like you’re prepared for me to upset you, and are trying to act like you couldn’t care less.”

“Have you met my brothers?” I tried to laugh. “I have to be tough around them, or they’d give me so much shit.”

“Bullshit, Maci.” I opened my mouth, but he stopped me by talking over me. “I know you have to act tough around them. I know you have to act like you don’t give a shit about anything around them. But I’m not them, so why do you do this with me?”

I stayed quiet for so long that he started to ask why again before I said anything. “Because you’ve never cared about me, and all of a sudden you do? It doesn’t make sense. Nothing you ever say to me makes sense. There are the rare days when you defend me against Bryce and take care of me when I’m wasted. But then you call me Mini, you always call me a child or tell me to grow up; last night you came into my apartment yelling at me that you were done with me. Why wouldn’t I be ready for you to hurt me? You’re—­” Something in Connor’s blue eyes shut me up. It wasn’t his intensity, which I was so used to, and loved. It was the smallest flash of fear, before his hands were cupping my cheeks.

“I’ve been an asshole to you, I know that, and I’m sorry. Last night . . . Maci, I was going off no sleep, and this case is really getting to me. I was already beyond frustrated, and feeling defeated when I got home, and then when I saw that flyer . . . I just flipped. It doesn’t excuse it; it’s just what pushed me over the edge yesterday, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry, you have no idea how much I hate the times I’ve yelled at you; but, Maci, I will never hurt you, I need you to know that.”

“You say that now, but you can’t know—­”

“No. Maci. I swear to you I will never hurt you.”

We’d gone from a six-­month hiatus of even speaking to each other, to pranking each other and pissing each other off, to a night of the most mind-­blowing sex I’ve ever had. He couldn’t be that sure of something because of one night. But with the way his blue eyes were pleading with me to understand what he was saying, and believe him . . . I just nodded my head and forced a smile.

“And I know you act like a badass around your brothers, but I’ve seen you cry, Maci. I know you’re not heartless, and I know, from drunken ramblings and what happened last night, that you’re in this just as bad as I am. So stop waiting for me to show you to the door, and stop acting like you don’t care.”

I’d stopped breathing at drunken ramblings. “What did I say to you when I was drunk?” I asked, horrified.

A massive smile crossed his face seconds before he kissed me hard. “Enough for me to know that you want me, and more than enough for me to be pissed off that you were gone the next morning.”

“Connor. What. Did. I—­”

We both looked over at his phone on the nightstand, and with a huff, he pushed away from me to grab and answer it.

“Green. . . . When’s she coming in? . . . All right, I’m leaving now.”

Shoving his phone into his pocket, he finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it into his pants before grabbing the tie off the bed.

“Work?”

“Yeah, I need to get down there to interview someone who may have information.”

I waited until he was done with his tie before I started climbing out of his bed; but he just put a hand on my bare shoulder and pushed me back down.

“You can sleep a ­couple more hours before you have to get up for work. You don’t have to leave.”

“Are you su—­”

“Maci,” he said my name low, and hard. “I’m sure. Stay, and stop questioning this, okay?”

“ ’Kay.”

After a slow and firm kiss, he straightened up and smiled widely. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.”

I lay there with the biggest smile on my face, trying to convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming until I heard his front door shut. There was no way I could go back to sleep now. I needed to call Amber, and my phone was still in my apartment. After jumping out of Connor’s bed and getting dressed, I ran into my apartment and grabbed my phone.

Less than one minute and five sentences later, I was rushing to put on normal clothes to meet her at our favorite coffee shop before I had to go into work.

I DIDN’T SEE Connor that night or this morning before work due to whatever case he was working on. But he’d texted me two hours after I’d gotten to work this morning letting me know he was on his way home, and was going to crash as soon as he got there.

I was eager to see him; I was still in such a state of disbelief with this that I wanted to be near him to make sure I hadn’t dreamt the entire thing. Even telling Amber yesterday morning, I kept questioning my sanity as I gave her most of the dirty details from the night before with Connor. She’d seemed more excited about it than I was, but, then again, she’d been afraid I would get back with Bryce. So to say she was hoping this night with Connor had snapped me out of my “obviously liquor–induced Bryce phase,” was an understatement.

A loud clap directly next to my ear mixed with Dakota yelling my name caused me to jump and throw my wireless mouse across my office. I noticed my computer had come back to life when I’d moved the mouse, and wondered how long I’d been sitting there daydreaming when I saw a half-­finished game of solitaire on the screen.

“Jesus, what the fuck are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?”

He just smirked as he picked my mouse up off the floor and tossed it back at me. “Not my fault you were somewhere else and didn’t see me walk in here.”

I started clicking on the old game and rolled my eyes. “Can I help you?”

“I’m just making sure you got all your shit done.”

“And what shit would that be exactly? Playing games on the computer, or the hour I actually spend on my job?”

His face fell into an expressionless mask seconds before he kicked my rolling desk chair away from the desk until it hit the wall.

“What is it with you and Dylan kicking me away from my desk?”

“We wouldn’t do it if you weren’t such a bitch. Did you get all the reports done today and get everything ready for the weekend?”

“Fuck you too, big brother. And, yes, I got everything done forever ago. Reports and pictures are uploaded to the site. Stuff’s ready for the guys working this weekend.”

“Funny how you seem to do everything, but I only ever see you playing games.”

“I’ve been doing this job for Dad and Craig since I was thirteen because I was mad I was the only one who didn’t ever get to go in the office. I could do this shit in my sleep. Now if you’re done being an asshole, I obviously have a game that I need to get back to.”

My dad owned a private security company, and later on, Craig bought in to own it with him. The rest of my brothers all worked for them somehow, and did security work for them when they were old enough, and I basically sat here. Uploading reports and pictures for our clients to read used to take me all day . . . and when I say “used to” I mean ten years ago; now it takes about an hour. Making sure the security officers had whatever they needed for working that night or weekend took me fifteen minutes, tops. Which led to me being bored most of the day. I couldn’t complain though. I worked for my dad, for crying out loud. I had a cushy job, especially since I was his only daughter.

Dakota grabbed the mouse from my hand and flipped me off as he walked back down the hall that led to the rest of the office. Asshole.

Just when I stood to go fight him for it, my phone vibrated in my pocket, and I sat right back down in a rush with a smile on my face when I saw the name.

Connor G: Good morning sweetheart

Don’t you mean afternoon? ;) How’d you sleep?

Connor G: Like I hadn’t slept for 72 hours. When will you be home?

I glanced at the clock, and frowned when I saw it wasn’t even four. I was so anxious to see him. And I was still smiling like a freaking giddy-­ass girl.

About an hour and a half.

Connor G: Do you think you can leave early? I need to see you.

Heat quickly flooded my veins, and my stomach curled in the most delicious way possible.

I’ll see what I can do.

Not waiting to see his response, I shoved my phone back in my pocket as I stood to go talk to my dad; and thank God I did. I hadn’t even taken two steps when Dylan and Dakota both walked into my office.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Can’t I smile? I smile all the time.”

“Considering you looked bored as shit about five minutes ago when I was in here, and now you look like you’re ready to go to a Justin Bieber concert, it doesn’t really make sense,” Dakota answered for Dylan. “Here’s this back.” He threw the mouse at me, and I barely caught it before it hit my face.

“Bieber? Seriously? Do you not know me at all?”

“Whatever. You look like a freak, why are you so happy all of a sudden?”

Dylan’s expression suddenly fell. “Oh, hell no. Who is he?”

Well shit. “For fucking real! There’s no one! Will you all get off this whole thinking I have a boyfriend? Jesus, it’s really getting old. I just made some plans with Amber, and I was on my way back to ask Dad if I could leave early.”

“You can’t,” they said at the same time.

“It’s barely over an hour, and it’s a Friday!”

“No,” Dylan said at the same time Dakota looked over at him and said with a competitive grin. “Amber can wait.”

“You can leave,” Craig said as he walked down the hall, and smacked both twins’ heads. “We’re all leaving early, that’s what they were supposed to come out and tell you.”

“You’re both so annoying, and whatever that look was for, Dakota, forget it. Stay away from my friends.”

He raised his hands in surrender, and Dylan smirked. “Who said we were the ones who had to stay away? She’s the one coming on to us.”

I leveled a glare at Dylan and pointed at him. “You stay away too!”

“Stay away from whom?” Sam asked as he walked down the hall with Dad.

“My friend, Amber.” I turned and grabbed my purse out of my lowest desk drawer, and stood to face them. “Good-­bye. I hate all of you. Except you, Dad, I love you!” Kissing his cheek, I didn’t wait for my brothers to say anything as I practically sprinted out of the office and to my car.

Not bothering with my apartment, I let myself into Connor’s and walked around confused when I didn’t find him. Pulling out my phone, I called him as I locked his door and then unlocked my own.

“Yes?”

“Um, I’m home. But you’re not . . . ?”

He laughed low, causing a shiver to run up my spine. “I’m where I need to be.”

“And that would be?”

“Walk toward your room.”

Dropping my purse on the little table near the door, I quickened my steps, a smile threatening to break out on my face. Just as I hit the hallway, he rounded the corner from my bedroom, and I paused . . . phone still to my ear, smile now on my face as I just stared at him. Blue Henley shirt on, and jeans riding low on his narrow hips. His lips tilted up on one side into a smirk, and he took slow steps as he continued speaking softly into the phone.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“Maybe.” My voice came out soft and breathy.

When he reached me, he took my phone from my hand and hung both ours up before putting them in his pocket.

“That was a lot faster than an hour and a half,” he said as he stepped even closer to me, cupping my right cheek in his hand.

“I wanted to see you.”

“Good answer,” he whispered just before his mouth came down onto mine. “You look beautiful, by the way, and you took way too fucking long to get back here.”

Goose bumps covered my skin, and I smiled against his lips. “Did I?”

Turning us to the side, he pushed me a step back until my back was pressed against the hallway wall, and his lips went to my neck as his fingers went to the zipper on my hoodie. My body heated when I felt him harden against my stomach, and my hands went for the button on his pants. I loved knowing that as soon as I had them undone, there would be nothing there covering him from me.

He groaned when my hand covered his length, and pushed against it. “Do I need to answer that?”

“No.”

Connor pulled my hoodie down my arms, and I only released him long enough for him to toss it to the floor and pull my shirt over my head before I was gripping him and running my hands up and down his length.

“Fuck, Maci . . .” he growled, and his hands went to my pants to shed me of them, and my underwear.

When my bra was all I was left in, and his shirt had joined the rest of our clothes on the hardwood floor, he bent to suck on my hardened nipple through the lace, and my head fell back against the wall.

“Open your legs,” he said after a teasing bite.

I did, and almost came the second his fingers touched me.

“God, I love that you’re so ready for me.”

I couldn’t even be embarrassed about that; his fingers pressing against me and pushing into me had my mind blurring. His words were only turning me on more.

My stomach tightened, and blood rushed through my veins as I gripped at his hair to pull his face back to mine.

“Please, Connor,” I pleaded against his mouth.

“Please what?”

“Don’t make me wait any longer.”

Before the words had finished leaving my mouth, Connor was gripping the backs of my thighs and lifting me up against the wall, his cock already pressing against my entrance. I tried to move, but the way he was holding me left little room, and an agitated groan left me.

When he didn’t move, I practically whimpered, “Please.”

He smiled and nibbled softly on my bottom lip. “I just wanted to hear that word out of your mouth again.”

I cried out when he roughly pushed into me, and all I could do was hold on to his shoulders as he slammed into me over and over again. His thrusts got harder and faster, and the moans that I was trying to quiet continued to get louder as the muscles in his back and shoulders tightened under my fingertips from holding me up. A growl built up in his throat, and he bit down on my shoulder as he pushed into me a few more times, his whole body shaking as he came.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed.

I still couldn’t speak, so I just nodded and moaned when he pulled out and set my feet gently down. His fingers went back to touch me, and suddenly his body stilled.

“Condom.”

Still in my daze, I blinked slowly and pressed down against his fingers. “What?”

“Condom, Maci, fucking condom; I wasn’t wearing one.”

“Ok—­”

“No, I’ve never not worn one.”

“Okay, Connor. It’s fine.”

He shook his head and backed away from me. “Maci, I’m so damn sorry.”

“It’s all righ—­”

“It’s not,” he cut me off. “I don’t . . . fuck . . . I don’t do this! I even had them in my jeans. I’m sorry.”

Pushing him back, I bent down to grab my clothes and had taken a few steps toward my bathroom before he grabbed my arm to stop me. “I swear to God, Connor, if you apologize one more goddamn time I will punch you in the face.”

“Maci, I just don’t—­”

“You don’t do that. I get it. I’ve never done it without a condom either, but I’ve also never had that,” I gritted out, pointing at the wall, “and now all you’re doing is pissing me off. I’m on the pill . . . and looking at your face, that still doesn’t mean shit to you.”

With a huff, I turned and walked into my bathroom to start the shower. I angrily yanked my bra off, and put my hair up in a high bun before stepping under the hot stream of water. Almost immediately after, Connor was pushing back the curtain and stepping in behind me.

“You have your own shower right next—­”

He turned me around, and grabbed the back of my head to bring me closer to him and kiss me thoroughly.

I pushed against his now-­wet chest, but he didn’t go far. “No, you don’t get to pull that shit, and then just come in here and act like you didn’t just completely fuck everything up.”

“Just listen to me. I’m sorry for reacting like that. I’ve never had sex without a condom on, and I hadn’t even known until I looked down. Yes, it scared the living hell out of me when I realized that I hadn’t worn one, but I also couldn’t get over the fact that for the first time, that hadn’t been my first thought, and main thought during. But, Maci, I told you that you’re not those other girls I’ve been with. It’s different with you, and I’m not going to lie to you, part of me is terrified by that. But the rest hated watching yo

u walk away from me just then, and hated knowing I’d pissed you off after that.”

I wanted to punch him. I also kind of felt like I was about to cry, and wanted to throw my arms around him. I hated that he could mess with my emotions like this, but I loved the way I felt when he touched me, looked at me . . . talked to me. I was still scared that this was all just going to be gone.

He’d said he’d been thinking of me for a week the other night . . . I’d been craving him for years, and finally had him. I was in too deep way too fast; I knew I was beyond what he could be feeling for me. So he’d freaked over not wearing a condom, understandable. It was the fact that he’d still looked at me with such a horrified expression even after he’d known I was protecting myself that had killed me. But I couldn’t let that be a reason for me to push him away, and gaging from our conversation the other morning, he probably wouldn’t let me anyway.

“Maci, please say something.”

I focused on his bright blue eyes, and came up empty on how to respond to all he’d said; so, instead, I slowly closed the distance between us and brought his face down to mine.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and kissed me firmly.

“Stop apologizing.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I deepened the kiss and leaned my body into him when his hands slid down my waist to grip my hips. The kiss escalated quickly, and soon our hands were searching, and I couldn’t get enough of him.

“Turn around.”

I looked up at him, confused; but turned when he prompted me again, and looked over my shoulder to see his blue eyes. The air in the bathroom had thickened, and not just from the steam of the shower. Connor’s intensity was quickly filling the enclosed room, I could literally feel it radiating around me; but I had no idea what had changed so suddenly.

Reaching above me, he grabbed at my showerhead, and pulled off the detachable part. “I didn’t know you had one of these.”

“Uh . . .”

“Do you trust me?”

My eyes widened as the spray of the warm water got lower and lower, and I jerked back into his chest when the spray went to the jet setting.

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Put one foot on the edge of the tub,” he said in a demanding tone, and I quickly followed his instruction. “Hold on to me, sweetheart.”

I brought my hands over my head, and let them run over his hair and down his neck when the spray hit me. My back arched, and I moaned as the continuous spray put pressure against my clit, and Connor’s other hand ran over me.

“Holy shit.” My breathing quickly turned ragged as I got closer to coming faster than I ever had before. “Oh God, don’t stop.”

The heat in my stomach intensified, and I grabbed at his wet shoulders as I prepared for what I knew was going to be the most intense orgasm I’d ever had.

“Still trust me?”

“Yes, just don’t stop!”

His deep laugh sounded in my ear. “Put one hand against the wall, and grab the showerhead from me.”

“What?”

“Do it, Maci.”

I didn’t want to move. I was so close. But the way his voice had dropped even deeper, and the room got even thicker with his intensity; I would have done anything he’d told me to.

Leaning forward, I put one hand against the wall, and grabbed onto the showerhead. His hand let go, and both went back to my hips, his hardened cock pressing against me. I wanted to feel him inside me again, but I didn’t want what’d happened earlier to make a repeat appearance.

“No, you’re not wearing a condom. Don’t do this to prove something to me.”

“I’m not.” He bent over me and his lips moved to my ear, and the deep tone of his voice had my knees growing even weaker. “I’m doing this because I want to. I’ve never had sex in a shower, and I don’t want anything between us when I do it with you.”

Without warning, he was inside me, and I was screaming as I came. My entire body shook with the force of how hard it hit me, and as soon as I came crashing down from the high of it, I dropped the showerhead and my legs gave out under me. Connor caught me easily and told me to put both hands against the wall.

“Are you okay?”

I was more than okay. I felt like I was dying in the best way possible, and I wasn’t ready for the feeling to end. “Keep going,” I managed to choke out, and had to remind myself to breathe when my second orgasm started as soon as the first ended. “Oh God!”

Connor’s fingers dug hard into me as he thrust two more times before stilling as he came inside me.

Helping me stand, he made sure I was able to stay upright on my own before grabbing the showerhead and returning it to the top portion.

“You okay, baby?”

I sagged against his body and nodded my head. “I feel like I’m going to faint.”

“What?” his voice had gone from deep and powerful to terrified in no time.

“No, no. I’m fine . . . I just stopped breathing there for a while.”

His chest rumbled against my back when he laughed, and he bent to kiss my neck. “Okay, I’ll get you in your bed soon.”

He quickly cleaned us both up before turning the shower off and helping me out of the tub. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he grabbed another and wrapped it around my body before dipping down and lifting me into his arms.

“Oh my God! Put me down,” I laughed. “I can walk, I said I was fine.”

“I know you are, but I’m having more fun this way.”

He dropped me down onto my bed and crawled on after me. Pulling me close, he kissed me softly and settled down beside me.

“Where have I been, Maci?”

My suddenly heavy eyelids slowly blinked back open. “What do you mean?”

“Why did it take me so long to finally notice you . . . notice this?”

I studied his eyes for a few moments before finally lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know; I’m just glad you did.”

With a soft smile and another lingering kiss, he pulled me into his chest and held me there as I drifted to sleep from the exhaustion of the last hour.

Three hours later, my stomach woke me up.

Connor cracked one eye open, and his lips tilted up into a smile. “Jesus, woman, was that you?”

“Mmm, don’t judge me. I didn’t have lunch today, I’m starving.”

“Well then, let’s feed you.” He jumped off the bed, and tried pulling me with him, but I forced my way back down.

“No, the bed is so comfy right now. I don’t wanna.”

One dark brow rose. “Are you about to fall in love with your pillows this time?”

I sat straight up, and didn’t even bother with the towel when it fell to my waist. “Fall in love with my pillows? As opposed to . . . ?”

Grabbing my hands, he pulled again, and this time I let him take me off the bed. “Let’s just say you’re a very affectionate drunk.”

My face fell into a look of what I’m sure was horror. “Oh no. What did I do? You still haven’t told me.”

“I’m not sure I remember. Do you want Chinese food?”

“Connor . . .”

“Pizza?”

My stomach rumbled again, but I was still glaring at him and wondering what I had done almost a week ago.

“Pizza it is. Come on.”

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“Ha. Fuck no. I need to have something to hold over your head.”

“I’m going to punch you.”

He kissed my cheek quickly and pulled me into the hall. “I’m sure you will.”

Pulling on his jeans, he leaned back down to grab his shirt, and I stole it from his hands. When he looked up at me, his blue eyes were dark, and he began biting on his bottom lip as he watched me put it on. He reached for me, and I twisted away from his grasp.

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to get out of bed. This is what you have to deal with now.”

After another few seconds of shameless staring, he shook his head and grabbed my hand and dragged me into the kitchen. “You’re going to kill me, Maci. I have no doubt of that.”

Depositing me on my kitchen counter, he felt around in his pockets until he found his phone and pulled it out. After dialing the number and ordering a medium pepperoni, half with black olives on it, he positioned himself between my legs, and I just sat there shocked.

“How’d you know I wanted olives?”

“I may not have noticed you, sweetheart, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know you.”

I smiled and leaned into his next kiss, slowly putting my arms around his shoulders when his tongue began teasing mine.

“Holy fucking hell, you weren’t shitting!”

I jumped, and Connor gripped my body harder, pulling it closer into his chest like he was getting ready to protect me.

Turning my head, I huffed loudly and eyed Amber standing in the doorway. “Jesus, don’t you knock?”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Don’t you lock your door?”

“When I leave . . . but, fuck, you scared the hell out of me! What are you even doing here?”

“Considering I just ran into your brothers, and they asked where you were . . . I’m saving your lying ass.”

Both Connor’s and my body locked up. “Oh my God, I forgot to call you on my way home.” Looking back over to Connor, I explained, “That’s how I got away from them so fast. I said I had plans with Amber.”

Connor was still tense when he looked over my shoulder at Amber. “What did you tell them?”

“That you’d gotten a beer thrown on you and went home to change, because that’s kind of what I felt like doing to you when I realized you were using me as a cop out, and I didn’t even know about it.” She sat down on my couch, and I looked at her like she was insane.

“Um . . . I love you for saving me, but you’re kind of interrupting.”

She looked at her phone and then looked up at the ceiling as she counted on her fingers. “We’ve supposedly been together for four hours. I’m sure you’ve had more than enough time for me to interrupt, and I’m still saving you by not leaving your side in case they come to check on you.”

I looked up at Connor, and laughed lamely as I let my forehead fall onto his chest. “Christ. She’s really not going to leave, you might want to go get another shirt, because I’m not taking this one off.”

“Oh no,” Amber said loudly, “he doesn’t need to put on a shirt. I’m enjoying the view.”

“Amber,” I groaned. “Seriously, go put on a shirt; I’m going to put on pants.”

Connor smiled softly and kissed me quick and hard before helping me off the counter. “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he was gone, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. “Pizza is on its way, but, really? Could you not see I was busy?”

Amber was practically bouncing off the couch. “OhmiGod! He adores you! Did you see the way he was looking at you?”

My scowl turned into a smile, and I felt my cheeks heat. “We’ll see.” I shrugged and failed at sounding like I didn’t care.

“Oh, whatever. Go put some clothes on. It’s fun to look at him half naked. You . . . not so much.”

I flipped her off as I turned and began walking toward the hall. “Love you too.”

Grabbing all my clothes off the floor, I took them into my room and found a pair of sweats to put on. I wasn’t exactly thrilled I was spending my night with Connor with Amber as well . . . but I loved the shit out of her for having my back with my brothers. And as soon as I was back in the living room, I let her know by tackle-­hugging her on the couch.