As we walked, he pointed out a few of his favorite things about the town—Cherry Blossoms Bakery served the best pastries and coffee in the mornings. Gypsum’s Auto Body, where the mechanic was a woman but knew her way around a car better than any man he’d ever met and didn’t bullshit about what was wrong just to drive up the price, and the Bumblebee Café, where he sometimes got lunch and was always good for a slice of pie (if Cherry Blossoms was closed).
We ended our walk in the park, at a gazebo. It was lit up and empty, like it was just waiting for us to arrive.
“I bet you read out here sometimes, don’t you?” I asked.
“On occasion, but it’s usually occupied.”
I sat on the wraparound bench, leaning back to look out into the night sky. I couldn’t get over how endless the starry sky seemed. It always ended at the smog in Chicago.
I looked across the gazebo at Archer who was staring at me like I was the last bite of soufflé.
I left my elbows on the railing, knowing full well my breasts were propped up. “Are you okay?”
He licked his lips and nodded. “Just having more inappropriate thoughts.”
My eyes dropped down to his crotch. The man had been in one state of arousal or another all evening long. Even now he was straining against his zipper. I didn’t even know how he was walking properly. And it made me a little giddy with desire to know he was so affected by me. But I shouldn’t be. It was just going to get me into trouble.
“Are you orally fixated, or what?” My tone remained my dry tone, hoping I wasn’t giving anything away. I was hot and my body was warming up under his heated gaze.
“I never thought I was before, but with you, I might be developing a fixation.”
I pressed my knees together, clenching my sex, trying to subdue the ache throbbing there. His eyes dropped to my legs like he knew exactly what was happening to me.
“Maybe we should head to your place for that nightcap,” I suggested.
I needed to get my surveillance set up in his apartment in order to do my job. If he kept looking at me like that, he was going to get his way and find out exactly what I tasted like.
He grinned. “I could drive us over there.”
I pointed at him. “Nice try. Just give me your address,” though I already knew it, “and I’ll meet you over there.”
I typed his address into my GPS, and we parted ways. I gave him a head-start, sitting in my car trying to calm my libido down. Once I felt like I had sufficiently blocked out any need to get laid, I headed over there. It didn’t take long.
He opened the door before I even had a chance to knock.
He’d definitely settled into a relaxed mode. He done away with his dress shirt altogether and was just wearing a tank top and jeans. The lack of sleeves revealed plenty of dark ink, stories etched into Archer’s muscular skin. I swallowed around the instant desire bubbling up again. Why did he have to be so fucking hot?
“Come in.”
I don’t know what I was expecting, but his apartment was sparse. There weren’t pictures, posters, art or anything on the wall. There was a couch, a TV, and a coffee table with two glasses of red wine on it, in the main room. There was no sign of a kitchen table or chairs.
“Lived here long?”
“A couple months. It’s not much to look at.”
I glanced over at him. “Nothing wrong with keeping it simple. I’m just surprised with as good as you are with kids, I thought you’d have all kinds of pictures of nieces and nephews or something.”
“I don’t really have any family anymore.” He gestured to the sofa, quickly redirecting conversation. “Please, have a seat.”
I curled my legs under me and sat on the couch on one end. I expected him to sit on the other, but instead he sat right next to me. I popped up when I saw his hand reaching for me. “Mind if I pop into your bathroom first?”
“Sure, it’s through the bedroom.”
I took my purse and headed for the bathroom. This would be easier than I thought. I could drop a few bugs and get out of here before I did anything stupid.
I managed to place one on under his nightstand and one on his dresser. I went into the bathroom. I scoped out the medicine cabinet, drawers, cabinets below the sink, behind the toilet bowl and inside. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. He had a couple of headache and pain aids, band aids, a prescription for anxiety medication, and cotton swabs.
I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, and headed back out to him. I had one bug placed strategically in my hand so I could get one in the living room.
He was sitting exactly where I left him, fiddling on his phone.
I leaned over to set up my purse on the floor next to the end-table and placed a bug on the table and then returned to sitting down. His hand slid onto my bare thigh and scooted an inch up, moving my dress up my leg with it.
He shifted so he was facing toward me more. “You okay? You seem a little tense.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea.”
“V…”
I placed my hand on his. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just… not something I jump into lightly.” I let out a long, slow breath. The problem was I wanted to. Way, way too much. “If I stick around long enough to get to know you better, something tells me you’d be really good at it.”
“What would it take to at least get a kiss at the end of the night?” As I raised an eyebrow, he added, “On the lips. Maybe with just a little tongue.”
I chuckled and nudged him with my elbow. “You’re on a good path for it, for sure. I’ll let you know if you do anything that might jeopardize that.”
“I invited you over to keep talking not jump your bones. As much as I’d love to.”
And there went my body screaming into overdrive. I shifted in my seat trying to keep the ache at bay.
“You don’t have family. You just moved here. I imagine you don’t have a lot of new friends. What do you do for fun around here?”
“I hike some around the falls. Have you been? It’s beautiful out there.”
“I haven’t yet.”
We fell into easy conversation, his hand remained on my thigh, the heat of it burning straight to my core. I hated that he didn’t seem like the hardened criminal he was supposed to be. It would’ve been easy to turn him over, but nothing he was doing made sense. I needed to get to the bottom of Archer Janson.
“There has been something I’ve wanted to do with you all day,” Archer said.
I cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”
He smirked. He lifted off the couch and disappeared into his bedroom. When he returned, he was carrying a book. He flopped back down on the couch.
“You’re probably going to think I’m a nerd…”
“Archer, you’re a librarian with Clark Kent glasses. You’re a hot nerd. It’s too late.”
“Have you ever read The Princess Bride?”
“I’ve seen the movie.”
He chuckled. “Everyone has seen the movie. The book is really good.”
“Okay, you going to give me a book report or something?”
“I’d like to read it to you.”
I froze. It wasn’t unappealing. It was just the weirdest request a guy courting me had ever given. And just what was he going to get out of reading to me like a child?
“I don’t mean it in a condescending away. Look, my parents were a lot of things, not great parents to start, not great being married to each other, not great at most things. But the one thing we did as a family was read to each other. Mostly, my mom read to me and my dad. It’s the one thing I really enjoyed as a kid.”
“And so, you want to read to me?”
“I promise, you’ll enjoy it. And if not, we never have to do it again.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I’m game.”
He grinned, genuinely please I didn’t tease him or scoff at his request.
He opene
d the well-worn, well-loved copy of The Princess Bride and started to read.
Archer was engaging and it was easy to see why the kids hung onto every word. He did voices and gestured. He made me laugh and relax. I enjoyed listening to his low voice. The story was funny.
It was such an odd shared time together, but it was something I could picture doing with a man I trusted and loved. Come home from a long day of private investigating, get wine and popcorn and listen to him read. There was something intimate in it. His eyes kept flickering to me, catching glimpses of my reactions while he read.
He closed the book after he brought the scene to an end. “Thanks for indulging me.”
I smiled. “It was fun.”
The buzz of the wine had dissipated and left me sleepy. I stood and stretched my arms. When I dropped my hand to my side, Archer grabbed it and pulled me into his lap.
“You’re not getting away so easily.”
I reached up and cupped his cheek, letting my fingers linger there as I blinked once, twice. I wanted to know what was going through his head, but it didn’t feel like my information to know. Not when I couldn’t even tell him a fraction of the truth.
“I should probably go.”
He moved slow enough I had plenty of time to tell him no, to tell him to stop. Instead, I licked my lips in anticipation.
And then he captured my mouth and I immediately wanted more once his hot mouth was moving over mine.
As soon as our lips connected, it was as if all rational thought fled my brain.
He cupped the back of my head and hooked his other hand onto my hip and pulled me in tighter, his tongue slicking over my lower lip before he snagged it between his teeth, tugging slightly.
I moaned into his mouth, while I adjusted my body, so I was straddling his hips and pressing as much of myself against him as I could.
He was deliciously hard between my thighs and pressing against my damp panties. I rocked my hips impatiently, my fingers gripping the hair at the back of his head.
He groaned and teased my lower lip with my tongue. As I opened to him, he flicked the tip of his tongue against mine with playful strokes. It felt like he was testing what I liked, but with him I seemed to like it all. His hands slid over my ass and gripped the globes tight, pulling to meet his jean-clad cock.
I pulled away, my cheeks flushed and my chest heaving. With my legs spread over him, my body resented the pause. I kept my hand on his chest, to keep him at bay, or maybe keep myself in check. It didn’t even matter. I wanted more, which meant I needed to get the hell out of there.
“Damn.” My eyes dropped to the front of his jeans again before I pulled them back to his face, slowly. “You kiss all the girls you meet like that?” I pushed off his lap and tugged at my dress. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to rip it off or tug it down for some modesty.
He raked his hands through his hair. “I got a little carried away, that was just supposed to be a… good night kiss.”
“Good night, indeed.” My voice was still heavy with desire and my body was still buzzing. I needed to get the hell out of there.
He smirked. “I should walk you to your car before I talk you into staying.”
“Cocky,” I teased.
He stood up and crowded me. Every step backward I took, was one more he took toward me until I was pressed against the wall. “Want me to test my theory about how wet I bet you are?”
“Yes,” I said, but added quickly, “but don’t.” He was so close. I could reach up on my tip toes and pull him into a kiss and we’d both be gone. But it was a monstrously bad idea.
“Come on, V. I’ll walk you out to your car.”
He took my hand and he led me out to the parking lot and to my car. He pressed me back against my car and gently kissed me one last time before he stepped back and let his hand fall away.
“Are you going to think about me when you go to bed?” Why was I asking? The truth was, I wanted to know I was driving him as crazy as he was driving me.
“Definitely. Do you want to know exactly what I’m going to think about, and what it’s going to make me do?” He leaned in close and kissed along my jawline, letting his teeth scrape slightly along my skin. Goosebumps prickled across my skin. “Do you want to hear about how I’m going to fuck myself to the thought of you in this dress? Of stripping you out of this dress?” He hooked his fingers under one thin strap, just barely letting it fall over my shoulder.
I let out a soft moan, my breasts skimming against his chest as I slid my hand up the back of his shirt. I loved the feel of his hot, muscled flesh.
“Are you always this forward? I get it; you think I’m hot. I turn you on.” I was trying to play it cool, but even I could hear the huskiness in my own voice.
“Then I think the real question is, how wet are your panties, right now?” He ran his hand over the curve of my ass, teasing along the bottom of my dress. I was practically panting. “Since I doubt you’re going to let me find out the fun way, you should tell me, so I have something more to think about.”
I glanced around at the mostly empty parking lot, then I stepped closer to my car and pulled him in front of me.
“I can’t believe I’m about to do this.” But I wanted to.
He watched with rapt attention as my hands disappeared under the skirt of my dress, pulling it up as I hooked my fingers into the lacy waistband of my panties.
“V, what are you doing?”
Grinning, I slid my underwear down my thighs, gingerly stepping out of them. I balled them up, then reached for his hand, pressing the damp slip of lace into his palm.
“That should give you plenty to think about, Archer.” I winked at him and leaned up and kissed him, my mouth slanting hungrily against his as my tongue glided across his lower lip.
He shoved my panties into his pocket before sliding his hands into my hair, pulling me closer against him as he thrust his tongue into my mouth.
With a groan, he pulled back and pressed one more chaste kiss to my lips before he took a couple steps away from me. “Jesus, V.”
I was glad for the space, because I was about a heartbeat away from dragging him back up to his bedroom. It was so close. And now that I was going commando, my arousal was almost painful with the warm, summer air licking my skin.
“Yeah, I should get into my car right now, or I’m going to want to do something I’m not ready for.” My eyes dropped toward his crotch again, just for a moment, then unlocked my car and reached for the handle. “Sleep well, Archer. Don’t keep yourself up all night.” Just before I slipped into the car, I said, “If you want, you can call me Veronica.”
Finally, in the safety of my car, I got out of the parking lot before my libido changed my mind and went back for round two.
I kept glancing in my rearview watching him until he was out of sight.
I was in big trouble.
When I got back to my room, I pulled out my computer right away and made sure that the bugs were working that I’d put in his house. All three of them were registering.
There wasn’t much coming through. I didn’t think there would be for a guy who lived alone after midnight who worked the next morning.
But then I heard a grunt. I froze.
Another grunt and then an unmistakable groan.
My eyes widened slowly, and a hand clapped over my mouth.
Was he alone? Or had he invited someone else over, who was more willing to play than I had been?
“Veronica.” The moan came through the speaker loud and clear.
Oh god. I knew exactly what he was doing. I should’ve closed my laptop and stop listening on such a private moment.
Except, I couldn’t seem to.
I could hear flesh on flesh movement and my body, already wet and wanting, grew more so. He was thinking about me and stroking himself to climax.
I couldn’t stand it anymore, my hand dipped under my own dress and I closed my eyes imaging his fingers were mine. All achy and needy, my body re
sponded quick to my ministrations.
And then I heard the roar of his climax and it sent me right over the edge. I cried out and it was the emptiest orgasm I’d ever had of my life. I wanted him to be touching me, filling me, tasting me. As soon as my sex stopped clenching around emptiness and my body’s need waned, I fell back against the bed and stared at the ceiling.
There were so many things wrong with me. What had I been thinking?
I had no answers, but I definitely wanted to see Archer again, which meant I definitely shouldn’t. Of course, at the moment, he was the job.
7
VERONICA
Sleep was elusive.
Every time I dozed off, the dreams started—dreams starring a certain wanted criminal, dreams where he was usually shirtless... or more.
In my dreams, he was very good with his tongue.
Around seven, I gave up trying to sleep and got out my laptop, checking emails. Nothing new from work, nothing new from Jared. I checked the recordings, there was nothing but the noises of a guy getting ready for work.
Pulling up Archer’s bio from Parsons, I skimmed the information for anything to help me keep my head in the work. The operation was fraying out of my fingertips. I didn’t screw up jobs, especially just to get screwed.
But nothing he’d told me made me think he was the criminal Parsons described. Even though I knew he was lying about almost everything he told me last night—so perfectly, he had to have practiced—the look in his eyes wasn’t nefarious. In fact, there were times when he almost looked sorry to lie at all.
That didn’t change the fact I was dealing with a man who skipped bail. Who had an entire town believing he was a docile librarian named Daniel. Who built an entire alter-ego with a past, a history, a social media—everything to make him look completely real.
He was also the man who read to small children during the day and said the sexiest, panty-soaking things at night. Who looked at me with such need, such desire I’d almost given in.
Staring at the photos filling my computer screen, I had to admit I still wanted to see all those dark tattoos up close—to run my fingers over the ink and learn the stories behind each one, learn what made him groan, what kinks he liked in the bedroom, whether he was as good at oral as my imagination wanted to believe.
Lip Locked in the Library Page 5