There was something off about this whole situation. Archer could be conning me, sure. It didn’t feel right. There was a piece of the puzzle missing or something. There had to be. Or I was being an idiot.
I picked up coffee and breakfast at the Bumblebee Café trying to avoid Archer, knowing he’d more likely be at Cherry Blossoms Bakery.
I needed to get my head back in the game. Archer was a mark, a fugitive from the law—not someone to daydream about or masturbate to. And if something was off that was for him and the Chicago police to worry about. I had a list of other jobs I could pick up. Jobs far away from Jubilee Falls.
A buzzing in my pocket drew my attention, and I pulled out my cell phone to see Lieutenant Parsons’ number fill the screen. Cursing under my breath, I ducked down an alley, looking around for anyone who might be able to eavesdrop, before I answered.
“Neptune.”
“Where are you at on the Janson case?”
I rolled my eyes and glanced at my watch. “It’s eight a.m. on Saturday morning. I have to the end of the weekend for that extra ten thousand payout, right? I’ll get him back to Chicago before then.”
“It’s already been almost a week, Neptune. I don’t have to put someone else on this case, do I?”
“Are you sure you haven’t already, Parsons? Someone was following him the other night.”
Parsons was quiet for a moment. “You’re my guy, Neptune. If someone is closing in on him, my guess is he just pissed someone else off or double-crossed. But they ain’t mine.”
“I’m closing in. You send someone else after this guy, he’ll be in the wind before you know it, and I’ll have to start all over. If that happens, you better up the bounty because I’m not paying for your mistakes.” I sipped my coffee, frustrated by the call—and frustrated by the fact I was getting attached to Archer.
“You don’t get him back here by Sunday night, I’m opening it up. Sending other bounty hunters after this guy. I let you have first crack at it because you’ve never let me down before, but we gotta get this guy in. I can’t let you take all year to do your job.”
“Then don’t bother me and let me get shit done.” I hung up before I said anything to Lieutenant Parsons I’d regret.
The Lieutenant was a ponce—a real misogynistic asshole of a cop, who rarely trusted me to do the job he recommended me for. Most of the time, I couldn’t figure out why he’d even put me up for a gig.
But he paid well, and the jobs never failed to be interesting.
Slipping my phone back in my pocket, I sighed and headed back to my hotel room. I didn’t want to risk running into Archer, not until I had a plan in place that would make it easy to get him back to Chicago and keep my heart in one piece.
It took most of the day to get my plan put together. At some point during my planning, it stopped feeling like a job, like a means to an end. Instead, it felt like I was planning a seduction.
Which, in a lot of ways, I was.
At five minutes before the library was set to close, I slipped in through the front doors with a backpack over one shoulder. Archer was busy with a guest at the circulation desk, so I found a place to sit, waiting until he finished.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to get to see you today.” He smiled as he walked over and took the seat next to mine. “I have to say, though, the library is closing soon, so if you’re here to check out a book, you’d better pick it up soon.”
I looked around at the empty library. Not even Lynette was anywhere to be seen. I leaned closer to Archer and smirked.
“I’m not here to check out a book. I thought I’d check out the librarian instead.” I set my hand on his knee, slowly sliding it up his thigh, stopping just shy of his crotch. “What are my chances of picking him up?”
Archer groaned. “You came here just for me?”
“Even brought provisions.” I gestured at the backpack. “But I think you have to lock up the library first.”
“Are you trying to get locked in here with me?”
“I did have the idea making out in a library might be fun, but I was thinking you might want to take me back to your place tonight.” I got up and pulled him to his feet so I could wrap my arms around him.
Archer took the cue and leaned down to kiss me hungrily, his hands sliding down to grab my ass for a second before he pulled away.
“Let me do a sweep of the library, get everything cleaned up, then we can pick this back up again.”
I grinned and settled back in my chair, waiting for Archer to finish his closing routine. He moved around the library as if he’d always worked there, meticulously re-shelving the last of the books on his cart, checking in returned books, shutting down the computers for the night.
I couldn’t reconcile it. The file I had on Archer Janson described him as a devious criminal who embezzled funds, cooked books, and otherwise made money out of nothing. The Archer I’d met here in Jubilee Falls didn’t seem like anything like the man I’d met on paper.
“You ready?” He held out his hand, smiling.
I slipped my hand in his, picking up my backpack as I got to my feet.
“I believe you promised me some prime making out time here in the library?”
“I know just the place.” He pulled me to the children’s section, and I laughed as he stopped in the middle.
“Seriously? You want to make out surrounded by kids’ books?”
He pointed at the ceiling to the hundreds of stick-on, glow-in-the-dark stars covering it.
“I thought this was more romantic than pressing you against the shelves of the sci-fi section, but if you’d prefer something a little rougher, I’d be happy to oblige.” He pulled me against him roughly, his hands sliding up and down my back, just to settle on my ass again. “So, what’ll it be, V? Soft and romantic or rough?”
I licked my lips and hooked my leg up around his hips.
“I think we should go for rough.”
He kissed me hard, his hands gripping my ass roughly as he lifted me off my feet.
Wrapping my arms and legs around him, I clung to him as his tongue filled my mouth, and he walked out of the children’s section, back to the main part of the library.
I didn’t know which section he carried me to, but as soon as my back pressed against the shelving, his hands slid from my ass, up the back of my shirt, then around to cup my breasts through my bra.
I dug my heels into his ass, pulling him in closer even as I felt him start to harden against me. My fingernails scraped down his shoulders. A moan escaped my lips as Archer’s fingers slipped under my bra to tease my nipples. Archer groaned and broke our kiss, his hips the only thing holding me in place against the shelf.
“V, if you keep kissing me like that, I’m going to end up fucking you here in the horror section.” His hands stayed where they were on my breasts, his fingers toying with my nipples, the motion was completely independent of his words.
I ran my hands down his back, then slid my fingers under the back of his shirt.
“Maybe you should take me back to your place? I brought wine and a couple other surprises.”
“We should pick up dinner. If I get you naked, and I get to fuck you, I don’t intend to stop until we’re both too tired to move.” He kissed me again, just as hard and hungrily as before, before he let his hands slip from my breasts and slowly lowered me to the floor. “I want to find out everything that makes you wet.”
“Then we’d better make our food stop fast.” I smirked, skimming my fingers over the bulge in his pants. “I’ve been thinking about this all day and don’t want to wait too much longer.”
He grabbed my hand, and I barely managed to stop him long enough to get my backpack before we were in his car and on our way to Weather the Storm. Along the way, he called and put in an order, so when we got there, all he had to do was run in and pay.
I waited in the car, taking myself through the plan one more time. I kept trying to tell myself this was just about the job;
all I was trying to do was lull him into trusting me so I could get him back to Chicago. But every time his lips touched mine, it was like my brain short-circuited, and all I could think about was ripping off his clothes. I knew I was crossing a professional line with this plan—a line I never would’ve even considered crossing if it weren’t for Archer.
The worst part of it all was I liked him—liked spending time with him, kissing him, touching him, tasting him.
No matter what I did tonight, I felt like I was going to be the one losing out.
Archer slid back into the driver’s seat, pushing my thoughts out of my head and pulling my focus back to what we were about to do. He looked sexy as hell with his white button-up rolled up to his elbows, the top two buttons open to expose just the first bit of the equation on his shoulder. I wanted nothing more than to strip him out of it and run my fingers over every inch of his tattoos, then follow the motions with my lips.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Just thinking about what I want to do to you when we get to your place.” I licked my lips. “How do you feel about handcuffs?”
“Handcuffs?” He looked over at me as he started the car, his eyes wide. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“I like the idea of having you completely at my mercy.” I reached over and popped open another button on his shirt, sliding my hand inside to scrape my nails over his pecs. “Your body mine to do with as I wish.”
Archer groaned, his hands tightening over the steering wheel.
“Does that mean I get to have your body at my mercy as well? If you get to handcuff me, do I get to handcuff you too?”
Pulling my hand from his shirt, I let my fingers dance down the buttons until I reached his cock.
“Maybe. If I let you loose.” I winked at him and leaned back into my seat again, watching as he drove toward an apartment complex on the outskirts of town. The set of twenty or so identical buildings looked like every other newer apartment complex I’d seen all over the country. With its winding set up and indiscriminate buildings, it made for the perfect place to hide in plain sight.
Archer pulled up to one of the buildings, shutting off the car before he leaned over and kissed me hungrily.
“I can’t wait to strip you out of those tiny shorts and feast on you for dessert.”
“Then we’d better get dinner first. Or did your mother never say you had to finish your dinner before you could get your dessert?” I got out of his car, draping my backpack over my shoulder again, and waited for him to lead me to his apartment.
I’d noted how many times he checked his mirrors on the drive. And now he was scanning everything as we headed inside. He was making sure we weren’t followed. He was still scared. Since I lost all my surveillance on him, I didn’t know if he’d had any more surprises, but clearly, he didn’t suspect me. And for right now, that was all I needed.
We ate quickly. I hardly cared what I was eating—all I wanted was to strip him naked and get to dessert. Archer seemed to be in just as much of a hurry. As we finished eating, he stood, toppling his chair over, then he scooped me up into his arms and carried me to his bed.
I barely managed to grab my backpack along the way.
As soon as I hit his mattress, his lips were on mine, his hands moving over my clothes, pulling them from my body until I was naked underneath him.
I worked just as feverishly to strip him, needing his naked body over mine.
Archer pulled a condom out of his nightstand drawer and rolled it on quickly as his mouth moved over mine, sliding his fingers through my folds.
“God, V, you’re so wet,” he groaned into my mouth.
I arched into his hand and ran my fingers along his spine. I didn’t know who was seducing who, but I didn’t want to enact my plan until I had him just once. My body needed it. I needed it.
“I think you need to fuck me now, Archer.”
He shifted, his cock pressing against me, slowly sliding into me, filling me inch-by-inch. His eyes never left mine, and as he bottomed out inside me, I groaned in need.
I was stretched full. I knew he was big—our playtime yesterday made it very clear to me just how long and thick he was—but having him inside me was completely different. Archer pulled his hips back, just to thrust slowly into me again, torturing me with his slow, even movements.
I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him in closer so I could kiss him more, touch more of him, have more of his body pressed against mine. If this was going to be my only chance to be with Archer like this, I wanted everything. Rocking my hips into his, I tried to urge him faster, but Archer held his slow pace.
Moving his lips over mine, his tongue filled my mouth in the same languid strokes he used to fill my core. Like he was exactly where he wanted, and he was going to draw it out as long as possible.
I had to admit, I didn’t want him going anywhere either. I never thought it would feel so right, being this connected to someone. By all accounts, it shouldn’t have—Archer and I had too many lies between us, too much unsaid.
But with our bodies connected like this, with every thrust filling me so completely, it felt like Archer knew me better than anyone ever had before. It felt like we were meant to be here, like this.
Crazy, insane, mad—whatever word I used, they all seemed inadequate for everything I was feeling. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I loved him.
As Archer’s thrusts grew faster, rougher, so did his kiss until it wasn’t just lips and tongues meeting.
He nipped at my lower lip.
I caught his between my teeth and tugged.
His hands groped my breasts, teasing my nipples into tight, needy points.
My fingernails scraped down his back.
The bed creaked under the force of his thrusts.
The headboard banged against the wall.
When my body bowed under his, and my pussy clenched hard on his cock, I broke our kiss and moaned his name. My voice was raspy and raw, the sound more animalistic than a word, but it just seemed to drive him on more as he buried his face in the curve of my neck, groaning into my ear as he thrust deep and his cock pulsed. As he came, his fingers dug into my hip, my thighs squeezed him tightly, until he collapsed on me.
Archer pulled out of me and rolled off me. He stumbled his way to the bathroom, no doubt getting rid of the condom. And then he was on the bed, wrapping his arms around my waist. He pulled me against him, so my body was half on top of his.
We were both sweaty and breathing hard, but I curled into his side anyway, my palm pressed over his heart.
“If we’re going to keep going like that all night, I’m going to need a breather.”
“I think I can accommodate that.” He chuckled, tracing his fingers up and down my spine. “But then I want you coming all over my tongue.”
My sex clenched at the thought of him going down on me again. “I think that can be arranged.”
By the time Archer fell asleep, I’d lost track of the number of orgasms he gave me. My body was buzzing with the afterglow of fucking fantastic sex. I tried to convince myself the feelings simmering under my chest was the increased production of oxytocin. I couldn’t have feelings for Archer. He was a criminal, my mark, and I was going to take him back to jail where he belonged.
I slid out from under his arm draped around my waist. He didn’t even stir he was so thoroughly sexed up. He was so exhausted, he hardly noticed as I pulled his arms up above his head and handcuffed him to his headboard.
It was time to get on with my plan.
10
ARCHER
I didn’t need to open my eyes to know my hands were pinned. By the ache in my shoulders, I guessed I’d been cuffed for a while.
“Were you planning on waking me before we started another round, V?” I licked my lips, wondering what the blonde minx was up to.
“What did you do, Archer?” Her voice wasn’t the coy, playful, sexy voice I’d heard all night. Opening my eyes,
I saw her standing at the foot of the bed, fully dressed with a gun on her hip.
“Veronica, if this is some kind of kinky game you want to play, I’m all for it, but you have to let me in on the rules.” I tugged against the handcuffs, but these didn’t feel like the kind found in a sex shop—there was no padding or fur—these felt like real cuffs. Flashbacks of being cuffed at Lucky’s filled my mind and a knot settled low in my gut.
“This isn’t funny.”
V moved to sit next to me, just out of reach. She held her cell phone in her hand, but the screen was dark.
“I need to know the truth. I’m supposed to call this in, get you on a plane back to Chicago, but I want to hear it from you. What exactly are you guilty of, Archer Janson?”
I shook my head. This woman sitting next to me wasn’t the Veronica I’d spent these days getting to know. She wasn’t the woman I’d shared my bed with.
This woman was cold as ice. Her shoulders were squared, her jaw set like she was just waiting for me to make a move. She already thought I was guilty, and she was waiting for me to prove her right.
“V, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m…” I sighed. The first rule of WITSEC was not to tell anyone. “I’m in Witness Protection. If you get my phone, we can call my handler. He’ll explain everything.”
Why was I so desperate for her to trust me? She had me handcuffed and was threatening to send me to a city where I’d never been. She hardly looked like my Veronica, but there was still a hint there in her blue-grey eyes.
Still, she’d been playing me from the beginning. Which woman was the real Veronica?
“There’s a bounty on your head, Archer. You really expect me to believe you’re in WITSEC?” She turned away from me, but she didn’t use her phone. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
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