“Does it embarrass you?” The longer we stood here, the less flushed I was, though lust still burned pretty hot. If he pushed or asked, I wasn’t entirely certain I would say no at this point.
He smirked. “No, I didn’t want it to embarrass you.”
Dipping my gaze to where he cupped my hand against him, I licked my lips and he groaned.
“Not helping, Frankie.”
“Sorry,” I whispered. I really wasn’t. This was kind of awesome. “This is all because of me?”
“Has been since I got here. Didn’t hurt that I’ve been half-hard thinking about you all day.” The admission dragged my gaze up. “Thinking about taking you out, making you smile, keeping you to myself. Then…those roses.”
At his scowl, I leaned in and gave his cock a squeeze as I kissed his jaw. He hissed out a breath. “You are making me smile.”
My stomach, behaving with all the class and restraint of a toddler, chose that moment to gurgle. I hadn’t eaten in hours, and I was starving. Archie groaned, then stole another kiss, this one short, hot and biting, when he drew on my bottom lip, scraping his teeth over it I shuddered.
“Your erection doesn’t bother me,” I whispered. “It makes me feel really hot…and I’m definitely wet, if that helps.”
Playing with fire should be my middle name.
At his look of pained disbelief, I shrugged. “Just wanted you to know we’re even.”
He glanced at our hands, then smirked. “Not quite.”
“I’d let you, but you can’t feel it through the dress…”
Rolling his head back, he let go of my hand and said, “Give me a taste and then we go?”
My heart stuttered. Seriously?
But the dare in those eyes was so hard to refuse. Withdrawing a step, I bent down to retrieve the lint roller and tape, then set them on the coffee table. His phone was also face down on the floor. Still holding his gaze, I turned to put one foot on the coffee table for balance and shifted my skirt. Easing my fingers under the seam of my panties, I ran two of them along my labia gathering the moisture and then pulled them out, glistening and shiny. When I offered my hand to Archie, he closed his lips over both of them, sucking my fingers into his mouth.
It sent a bolt of heat straight to my core, and I swayed. With a glide of his teeth against my skin he drew my fingers from his mouth but kept hold of my hand. “You taste amazing and that’s all for me?”
At the moment, I could honestly say yes, so I just nodded. I was wound tight and I could probably get myself off with a couple of finger strokes.
“Fuck,” Archie exhaled. “Let’s go, before I just say fuck it and order food in here while I figure out how to convince you to let me eat you out for the appetizer.”
The directness in his words lit another fuse in me. Playing with fire, one hundred percent. He grabbed his phone and tugged me toward the door. There was a huge umbrella parked in the corner. I paused to get my keys and my own phone.
There were a dozen messages from the guys on the screen.
Archie reached over and swiped the screen upward, then hit the do not disturb. Presumptuous, so I glanced at him with raised eyebrows.
“Tonight is you and me,” he reminded me. “They can wait.”
I considered it then darkened the screen and slid it into my purse. “You and me,” I promised. His smile sent another wash of warmth through me.
Thunder rumbled, a reminder of the storm. Outside, he got the umbrella opened and shielded us from the still sprinkling rain as I locked the door. Descending the steps, I half-thought Coop would pop up, but there was no sign of him as we reached Archie’s Ferrari. He opened the passenger door for me and waited until I was in and the door closed before he circled around.
Once he was in the driver’s seat, he got the engine started then glanced at me. “I was going to bring you flowers tonight,” he admitted. “But the rose thing has kind of robbed that of some impact, so I went with this.” He picked up a small wrapped package from the well and handed it to me.
Surprise bubbled up and I stared at the wrapping paper. It was done up in red and gold. “You got me a present? You didn’t have to.”
“I know,” he murmured, shifting a little in his seat to watch me. “I wanted to get you something. Go ahead, open it.”
Curious, I slit the paper carefully along the seams of the tape and Archie groaned.
“I forgot how anal you are in opening things.”
“It’s not anal,” I corrected him. “It’s conservative. Why waste the paper because you’re in too much of a hurry and you shred it?”
“Because that’s half the fun?”
I laughed. Inside was a flat, squarish velvet jewelry box. He got me jewelry? Shock eddied through my surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time someone gave me jewelry.
Actually, I was pretty sure no one ever had. Archie tracked my every movement as I nudged the box open to reveal the silver and gold charm bracelet. It sported two charms, an A and an F.
“Archie,” he said quietly, tapping the A before motioning to the F. “Frankie.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “Archie, it’s…” I didn’t have words for it.
Lifting the bracelet out of the box, he motioned to my wrist, so I gave him the left wrist to fasten it around. The metal was warm and smooth, the links a little chunky but also stylish, and the letters were elegant. “It’s the start of a new adventure,” he said. “We can add charms to it as we go. You said there were a lot of things you wanted to do and to experience. The A and the F are for your first go out for real date.”
I frowned, struggling with the burn of tears in my eyes and clogging my throat. He traced two fingers against my pulse point in my wrist.
“Frankie?”
“It’s really great,” I admitted losing the battle, and he tilted his head.
“Hey.” He turned in the seat and cupped my cheek, catching an escaping tear with his thumb. “I wasn’t trying to make you cry.”
“It’s stupid but…”
“But?” he prompted, studying me intently.
“I just—I wasn’t expecting it. Not sure you noticed, but I don’t really own jewelry. No one has ever given me any before.” The guys had given me presents, don’t get me wrong. We had several years of birthdays and Christmases behind us, but this was different. It was intimate and personal.
“So I get that first, too,” he whispered, then lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm. “We need to add a little present charm to it.”
I laughed and swiped at my tears. The bracelet didn’t weigh much, but it settled on my wrist heavily. “Thank you, Archie.” Stretching over, I pressed a kiss to his mouth. He held me there for a firm, long kiss before releasing me.
His grin dragged another a similar one from me. “You’re welcome. I may bring you a gift for every date, especially if you enjoy them that much.”
Giddy and a little lightheaded, I flicked my fingers at him. “I’m not asking you to spoil me.”
“I don’t know,” he said turning to put the car in gear and then backing out of the spot. “I kind of like the idea of spoiling you.”
Leaning back in the seat, I laughed. “You’re already spoiling me by taking me out.”
“Taking you to dinner isn’t spoiling you, Frankie.” He glanced at me as he navigated through traffic. “That’s something a boyfriend does. They take their girl out. They experience new things with her.”
“Is that in the handbook or something?” I tried to not focus on the label he’d just used.
“Ancient Guy Secret. I could tell you, but then I couldn’t date you.”
“Oh, well, in that case, by all means, keep your secrets.” I grinned as I studied the damp world we passed. It was still raining with the occasional flash of lightning. The air had cooled considerably, but it wasn’t cold. That would happen later in our “autumn.” For now, it was just a relief. “It’s not like I didn’t pick up tips listening to you guys debate your girls
over the last few years.”
He made a horn sound. “Ehhh. Foul ball. The use of accrued knowledge gathered through nefarious means will not be admissible.”
I snorted. “Nefarious?”
“Well, I was looking for a word that meant nope. You’ve been one of us so long, we’ve all managed to screw up in front of you and do the things guys aren’t supposed to do. But since you don’t know all the rules, it would be prudent if you refrained from holding our past behavior against us. Well against me, anyway. If you use it against them, I won’t complain.”
The teasing in his tone demanded I join in, so I said, “But that would really not be fair. A level playing field means you all get the same opportunities.” A thrill skated through my system.
“That means we get the same handicaps,” Archie mused. “Crap, I need to get Coop a car because I am not asking you to pick me up for dates.”
“Seriously? That’s kind of sexist, you know.”
“No, it’s very sexist, but I like being the guy who picks you up. That puts me in charge of your time, of making sure you enjoy yourself, and getting you home safely. I’m not the dude that lets you drop me off and then sends you out into the night by yourself.”
“Wow, you do realize we live in the twenty-first century, right?”
“Don’t care,” he said with a shrug. “There’s a way to do it right. I’m the guy, so I pick you up and I take care of you.”
“So what do I do? Just look pretty?” Some of my earlier giddiness dissipated.
“No, you’re freaking brilliant. You’re probably going to end up running the world someday, and I’ll be looking at the television and saying, I remember sucking Madame President’s fingers clean of her juices before I took her out to dinner.”
Heat flushed through me like a bomb going off, and I squeezed my thighs together. “Your mouth should be illegal.”
“Trust me, babe, I bet in some states it is. For now, you’ll just have to wait and see how much.” The dark promise licking every one of those words went right through me and I leaned my head back against the seat. How long would dinner take?
Trying to tame the chaos, I ran my fingers over the bracelet. It grounded me some, at least enough to not squirm in my seat. “Archie…”
“Hmm? We’re almost there by the way, and I changed the reservation while you were showering, so we’ll be right on time.”
“Thank you.” I still didn’t know where here was, but based on the evening so far, I would be teased, tantalized, and a little tortured before it was over. “This—this thing between us? What we’re doing? The flirting?”
“Umm-hmm,” he murmured, sliding another look at me.
“If you ever decide you’re done, will you just tell me straight out? Don’t just disappear?”
“You mean like you did this summer?” I deserved his sly question and tone.
“Exactly like I did this summer. I should have talked to you guys back when Rachel told me.”
“Rachel told you?” He snapped. “Seriously?”
“She thought I should know.”
“What a bitch.”
“Actually, I don’t think she is as much anymore,” I admitted. “She has always kind of been overbearing but looking back, she’s never been mean to me. Just really, really blunt.”
“Yeah, well, fuck her anyway. You’re right, you should have talked to us then. Maybe we could have been doing this all summer.”
Sharon’s words in the bathroom echoed in my ears. “I didn’t know then. I didn’t know you guys would even ask.”
“I know,” he said pulling off and into the lot of a restaurant. A really nice—really expensive—restaurant. Instead of parking, he pulled right up under the awning for the valet to take the car. “You do now, so we look forward, yeah? Not back?”
He hadn’t really answered my question before he’d asked his own. “We have a lot to look forward to.”
“Damn straight we do.”
Inside, the restaurant was every bit as nice as it had appeared. Our waiter showed us to a table set off to the side with some privacy. The food was expensive enough that there were no prices in the menu. We had a little bit of everything, but the steak was divine, and he had the sea bass. I’d never tried it, so he moved his chair around. We sat next to each other rather than across and we took turns trying the different dishes. He even fed me some of his fish.
It wasn’t bad, but not something I thought I’d order. We talked about a lot of things. We talked about school and post-high school plans. He was still zeroed in on MIT but planned to apply to Harvard, too. When the subject of the other schools came up, we were both a little ambivalent. I really wanted Harvard.
I wanted it bad enough, I could taste it. I wasn’t quite Rory Gilmore crazy for it, but damn if I didn’t want to see that acceptance letter. The money—I’d figure that out later. There was a reason I saved every penny I could and had.
Dessert was chocolate mousse, and I was pretty sure I had an orgasm on the first taste.
It was that good.
“You know, if I don’t get in where I want to go? Screw it, I’ll take a year off and travel. There has to be some perks to having a trust fund.”
Some perks? “You’d really just take a year and go?”
“You wouldn’t?”
“Not really an option for me,” I reminded him. “Whether I go to school or not, I have to have a job. Rent doesn’t pay itself.”
“You could do it if you went with me,” he suggested. “Hell, I’d have asked you to go before we went on a date. I like doing things with you, Frankie. You’re tough and smart and see things so differently. You always have.”
Offering him a spoonful of the mousse, I didn’t miss the way his eyes heated or how he leaned toward me. The warmth rolling off him was like being seated next to a fire. “Thank you for the offer, but… I don’t want to be dependent on anyone.”
“Not even for a vacation? I mean, think about it. Spring break, you and me, we could go anywhere. You have a passport? If you don’t, you just need to get one, and we can really go anywhere.”
“I’m serious, Archie.”
“So am I,” he countered. “Look, I’ve been a lot of places. Yeah, I get it that I’m privileged, and I’ve had opportunities other people don’t. But I’ve never done one of these trips with someone I wanted to go with before. Not since Nana passed. She and Pops used to take me on trips with them when I was little, and they were always fun. They took me for a camel ride when I was seven.”
My mouth widened. To be honest, Archie never talked about his grandparents. Not really. He’d mentioned them once or twice, but no stories. “That sounds amazing.”
“Oh, it was horrible and funny and that beast spit like you wouldn’t believe.”
I laughed. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. But we did it. Nana laughed so hard, kind of like you are right now. Then she wiped me off and said we were still going to take the ride. It was worth it. Got to see a sunset in the desert. Spectacular, if I think about it now, but I was too young to appreciate it, even if it was pretty cool.”
I took a bite of the mousse, the smooth and creamy flavor melting on my tongue. It was almost as sweet as his expression.
“Taking you would be amazing for me, so think about it? For me? Maybe think of some places you’d like to see?”
“Archie, we have to concentrate on college.”
“You’re so damn practical, you make my soul hurt. When do you get to be a wild and crazy teenager?”
“Well, I rode on Ian’s motorcycle the other day, and I walked out of my bathroom naked to kiss you. I think I can make the argument that I’m being pretty crazy right now.”
Not to mention dating four wonderful guys.
Four.
Oh, the idea made my head swim every time I focused on it.
“Want to get a little crazier?” He eyed me.
“Crazy how?”
“Well, walk around the lak
e is out, but I have a hot tub, and you don’t have to wear a suit.”
Oh.
Damn.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tick. Tick. Tick
“If I go back to your place,” I said slowly. “We’re going to end up having sex.” It wasn’t really a question. Not right now. Every single one of them was so damn gorgeous. Jake and I had done everything but actual intercourse and making out with Coop on the sofa had been—yeah.
“That’s not a bad thing, right?” Archie linked our fingers together. “You like me, and I like you.”
“No,” I answered, my libido warring with my logic. Being in the restaurant bought me some time, yet I couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt when he kissed me. I’d imagined it, but they all kissed so differently. “Except… this is our first date.”
He made a face, and I could almost hear him say, never stopped me before, but he didn’t. “We’ve known each other for almost four years, Frankie.”
Technically this was our fourth year, but I wasn’t going to argue semantics.
“We’re not strangers. Most of the time, dating is about getting to know someone. I know you, and I hope by now you know me.”
Nudging the empty dessert bowl aside, I started to answer but paused as the waitress came by to check on us.
“We’re fine,” Archie said. “Just give us a couple of minutes then bring the check, please?”
I waited until she’d cleared away our dessert bowl and spoons then left us again. Meeting Archie’s gaze, I chewed on my bottom lip. This was a little awkward, but one thing he was very right about—he was Archie. Coop was the guy who helped keep me grounded; he’d always been there. Jake was a close second to that, but he never let me keep rose-colored glasses on, we were always brutally honest. Ian? He was the guy who made me think fantasies were possible, but he always knew how to make me smile. Archie was my confessor. We confided sometimes really uncomfortable truths to each other, and we could talk about anything.
I hoped that applied here.
“I do know you. I know the good and the bad,” I told him. “I know about your first kiss, the first time you had sex, and I know the name of every girl you dated, most of whom didn’t last a week, sometimes two.”
Rules and Roses: Untouchable Book One Page 31