by J. L. McCoy
Aoife slowly turned her head to look at me, her eyes wide and a crooked smile on her face. “Well, well, well…you cheeky girl! I thought I smelled Jameson’s scent on you.” Her face morphed as the news sank in. It went from being surprised, to happy, to relieved, and then to grudgingly accepting me and my presence here. At least I could tell she wouldn’t try to kill me in my sleep now. She was happy that I was with Jameson and no longer had my eye on her pseudo-husband.
“Well,” she said standing up and brushing her sarong off. “Nice chatting with you both, but I was just on my way out for a swim. Care to join me, Skye? The pool is lovely.”
I felt my eyes widen in shock. Is this bitch crazy? I don’t want to ‘accidentally’ drown. I quickly got control over my face and shook my head. “Um, no thank you, Aoife, but I appreciate the invitation. Maybe another time.”
She shrugged her shoulders as she walked to the door. “Suit yourself, dear. I’ll see you both in time for work.” With a flick of her wrist, she sashayed out the door and quietly closed it behind her.
My eyes were still wide when I looked over at Archer. “Has she been tested for a wide range of mental disorders?” I asked shaking my head in disbelief.
Archer smirked before quickly frowning again. “I told her about Jameson to keep her off you. You should be okay with her now. If you have any more trouble, you must come and tell me.”
I waved my hand at him dismissively. “We’ve been through this before. I’m a big girl, Archer. I can take care of myself.”
He walked over to me and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You’re not as big as you think,” he said, looking down into my eyes.
I crossed my arms over my chest, too. “I’m big enough. I don’t need you running to my rescue all the time, Archer. Let me fall. If I do, I’ll dust myself off and get right back up. The world will go on, honey.”
He considered my words a moment as he studied my face. I cocked my eyebrow at him, determined to have him see me as the woman I was, not the child I was sure he was seeing.
“Fight me,” he said suddenly as he took a step back.
My eyes bulged and I glared at him like he was crazy. “What? Have you lost your mind?”
“Fight me,” he said again as he walked over to one of the glass drawers under the weapon’s case and withdrew a short silver dagger. He walked back up to me and tossed it to me.
I caught it in my hands without thinking and was surprised when it didn’t cut me.
“It’s fake. Were it real silver, and sharp, you could kill me by piercing my heart. Remember that,” he warned as he lunged for me.
I squealed in surprise and turned to run for the door. When I reached it, I heard laughter and stopped. I slowly turned around and saw that Archer was bent over laughing. “What the hell is so funny?” I asked angrily.
“You,” he said as he got control over himself. “Look at you. You’re supposed to be this big girl who can take care of herself…yet you run away from a simple sparing match?”
I clenched my teeth and gripped the dagger tighter in my right hand. “I…well…you just surprised me, that’s all. Have a lethal vampire lunge for you and see how you like it.”
Archer beckoned me over with a crook of his index finger. I silently, slowly obeyed. “Fight me, Skye. I won’t hurt you, I promise. You once told me that you’re skilled in the art of Israeli Krav Maga. I want to see if you can indeed take care of yourself. And, I want to make sure you can fight back if you’re ever attacked. Okay?”
I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. He won’t hurt me, I silently reminded myself.
“Never,” Archer said, shaking his head. “I’ll never hurt you again, Skye.”
I gripped the eight inch dagger tighter as his words sank in. I didn’t need to be reminded of how hurt I’d felt over the last couple of days. It only sparked the anger inside me again. I took another deep breath and added fuel to that spark. I stoked the anger that had been inside of me until it had become a roaring blaze. I was ready.
I glared at Archer in anticipation and smiled wickedly. His eyes widened briefly as he saw what was behind mine. He nodded his head to tell me, signaling that he was ready, and I lunged for him, slicing the air between us with the dagger.
He easily sidestepped and flipped around me to place me in a choke hold from behind. I stomped down hard on his foot, elbowed him three times in the ribs, reached up and grabbed his arm, pulling it down, as I flipped all six plus feet of his body over me and onto the ground. Archer flashed up off the floor and smiled as he dusted his hands off. “Good. But stop taking it easy on me. You can’t hurt me,” he said before he lunged for me again.
I switched the dagger to my left hand and steadied myself as he came at me. Right before he grabbed me I protected my head with my left hand and shot my right palm out, quickly heel punching his nose. I paid no attention to the crack I heard as I did the same to his throat. I extended my arms out to grab a hold of his shoulders, but he had recovered by then.
Archer grabbed my right arm and spun around my body to pin it behind my back. The move shocked me. What was even more shocking was that he did it so fluidly without using his vampire speed. I snapped out of my daze and reached my left arm behind me to stab him in the side with the fake dagger. He easily stopped me and pinned my left arm behind my back with the right one. At least he had let me keep the dagger. I growled in frustration as he maneuvered me the few feet to the wall. He pushed my body against it and held my arms behind my back with one hand.
“You broke my nose,” Archer said with a chuckle. “You actually broke my nose. Good for you.”
I turned my head to look, but he was standing too far behind me. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, babe. Let me see,” I said sweetly.
He leaned his body against mine, pinning me to the wall, as he brought his head over my shoulder. I turned to look and there was blood on his nose, lip, and chin. “You pack quite a punch for a human girl,” Archer said with a chuckle. “No wonder Stellan was pissed when you attacked him. It hurts.”
“Aw,” I said with a tsk. “You have blood on your chin, honey. Do you want me to get that for you?”
His eyes softened as he leaned his lower body harder against mine. I could tell that our fighting had excited him and I felt a familiar jolt of butterflies. His rock hard body was pressed tightly against mine and I refused to acknowledge the sexual thoughts that now raced through my head. Stupid vampire pheromones.
Archer released one of my arms to wipe the blood off his nose and I took that moment to strike. I head-butted his face with the back of my head as hard as I could and spun around him to face his back. I heard Archer growl and I wasted no time jumping on his back, wrapping my legs around his waist, and putting him in a chokehold. I held the fake dagger point to the side of his throat and grinned.
“Got you,” I said with a triumphant smile.
I felt this body rumble with a low growl as he put his hand to his face again. When he pulled it back, there was a lot more blood than last time. “It was almost healed and you broke it again!” he growled.
“Oops,” I said with a tiny laugh. I was trying my best not to gloat. I had beaten another vampire and it felt awesome. “I thought you said I couldn’t hurt you, babe.”
I felt a ripple pass through his body as his muscles flexed. Uh-oh, I thought quickly and was on my back, on the floor with him straddling me before I finished that thought. Jesus they can move fast! Archer had both my hands in one of his and they rested tightly on my lower abdomen. I looked up into his face and immediately felt bad.
“Oh, Archer,” I said in a breathy whisper. “I’m so sorry. I…I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
Blood painted his lower face, neck and the top of his shirt. His eyes were completely, beautifully blue, so I knew he wasn’t too mad at me. “You used your feminine wiles to trick me,” he said with a cock of his eyebrow. “Well played. But how are you going to get out of this one, Miss Morrison?
”
I took a good look at his body and mine. He was sitting on my hips and he had both of my hands locked down right under where my belly button was located. He wasn’t taking his eyes off of me and smiled when he saw the moment I realized that I couldn’t get out of his hold. “Well, how about a kiss for the winner?” I asked with a smile.
Archer laughed. “I’m not falling for that one, Skye. I’m not that gullible.”
I smiled widely and wagged my eyebrows. “Not gullible. Okay, how about drop-dead sexy then?”
He threw his head back and laughed and I took that moment to act. I brought my legs up, sat up as much as I could, leaning his body further back, and I scissored Archer’s throat between my ankles, pulling him back and off of me. I quickly rolled him and straddled his waist just as he had done me. Only this time, I had the dagger pointed at his heart.
He was breathing hard as he looked up into my eyes. “Nice move,” Archer said with a smile. “I didn’t see that coming at all.”
“I know,” I said grinning.
He moved to get up and I clenched my legs harder to his hips and pushed the tip of the dagger forcefully into his chest again. “You’re not going anywhere until you admit defeat.”
Archer laughed and interlocked his fingers behind his head, relaxing. He wiggled his hips against mine and I became painfully aware of his raging hard-on. I felt my cheeks flush hot, but refused to get up until he admitted that I had won.
“And if I don’t?” he asked with a cock of his eyebrow, his sexy ice blue eyes boring deep into mine.
“Then I’ll just have to stake you,” I said a little unsteadily.
He laughed again and slowly brought one hand out from behind his head. He gently wrapped his hand around mine, lifted the dagger, and moved it three inches down and to my right. “You can’t stake a vampire through the sternum, love. The best place to strike is where the ribs end.” He took his other hand out from behind his head and slowly reached for my chest. My breath caught as he gently placed a finger on my chest and slowly trailed it down between my breasts, stopping right where my bra ended. He pressed his finger harder into me and smiled. “Right here. See where the sternum ends?” I nodded my head as my heart sped up. Archer started moving his finger again, his hand grazing the underside of my left breast. “You want to follow the curve past where the ribs meet the sternum.” He stopped and pushed his finger into me again. “The heart is just under here, tucked behind the ribs. To make the kill, find where the ribs end just below the heart, tilt your dagger upward at an angle and shove it in as hard as you can.”
I swallowed hard and nodded my head. My heart was pounding from Archer’s touch and my mouth suddenly felt dry. I was overwhelmed with the pheromones he was throwing off and decided I’d better move before I did something I might regret later. “Well,” I stumbled, getting up. “You learn something new every day.”
Archer chuckled as he looked up at me. “Take a deep breath, Skye, and try to slow your heart rate.”
I blushed and walked over to sit in the chair in front of his desk. My ponytail was a disaster, so I quickly took it down and wrapped the band around my wrist. I heard Archer get up and dig around in a cabinet behind me for a few seconds. When he came to sit in front of me on his desk, he had a wet cloth in his hand and he was wiping his nose.
“Here,” I said standing up as I walked over to stand between his long legs. “Let me help you. It’s the least I can do for making you bleed.”
Archer smirked and handed me the cool, wet rag. I gently dabbed and wiped at his nose, lip, chin and neck. When that was all clean, he lifted his shirt up over his head and allowed me to clean the blood that had soaked through his shirt. Oh my…he has such a magnificent body. As I was gently wiping his chest, he reached up and cupped the back of my neck for a moment before sliding his fingers and hand up through my hair.
“Ouch,” I hissed as I flinched at the unexpected pain.
Archer’s brow furrowed and he turned my body around. He pulled me close and parted my hair in the back, searching for the cause of my pain. I heard him tsk and I turned around.
“Well, what is it?” I ask worriedly.
Archer shook his head and chuckled lightly. “You have a massive knot on the back of your head from head butting me, Miss Morrison.”
“Oh,” I said, deflating some. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It hurt like hell when I did it.”
Archer smiled down at me sweetly. “You’re something else, Skye,” he said gently before shaking his head and resuming his usual guarded face. “But, you need more practice with a dagger. I think I’ll have one of the guys help train you tomorrow, if you’re up for it.”
I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. “Okay. Sure, why not?”
Archer smiled and took the bloody rag back from me. “Go get some ice on that head of yours before the bleedin’ thing gets any bigger.” I smiled and turned to leave.
“Oh, and Skye?” Archer called. I turned back to him and raised my eyebrows in question. His brow was furrowed a bit and his lips were pursed. He looked a little angry and I swallowed hard. What is he mad about now?
“Take a shower,” he growled. “I can smell my brother’s scent on every inch of your body.”
I bit my lip and hurried out the door. The fact that his brother’s scent was all over me still pissed him off. I smiled and thought back to how Jameson’s scent got there as I made my way down the hall and into the kitchen. I grabbed a dishtowel and put ice into the middle of it before twisting it tight and holding it to the back of my head. I walked over to the kitchen window and looked outside.
There was a huge pool and hot tub out back. I glanced over at one of the lounge chairs and saw Aoife lying down on her back sunbathing. Her yellow bikini top was off and I turned away. Well, maybe she won’t hate me so much now that she knows Jameson and I are together? I chuckled aloud and shook my head. Fat chance of that happening.
I walked into the family room, silently nodded to the guys at the poker table, and made my way back to my new room. My bags were by the closet and I quickly dug around in my messenger bag and got out my iPod. I set it in the dock by my bed and put on some music to listen to as I held the ice to my head. I wanted to make sure that I held it on there long enough to actually help with the swelling. I figured twenty minutes would be enough and glanced at the time before I laid down on the white chase lounge in the corner.
I laid there and thought about everything that had happened in Archer’s office. Aoife had admitted that they were no longer together and that the kiss they shared was brief and one sided. Would this change things between Jameson and me? I had fallen for Archer and had just found out that I had been mad at him over a misunderstanding. He never went behind my back and kissed another woman and he wasn’t married like I was led to believe. I swallowed hard and thought of Jameson. I thought of the way our bodies felt against each other’s, how safe I felt in his arms, how wanted and cared for he made me feel. I shook my head. Jameson is who I want to be with. Archer may be sexy, smart, rich eye candy, but he didn’t hold a candle to how I felt about Jameson now. What we shared last night was life changing. He did things to me, made me feel things that I’ve never felt before.
I sighed as I looked at the clock on the bedside table and got up to unpack my bags. I hung up all the clothes in the spacious walk-in closet and lined my shoes up on the shelves. I put all my unmentionables and tights in the built in dresser drawers and stacked my empty suitcases in the corner. Lastly, I grabbed my makeup/toiletry case and took it into the bathroom with me.
I unpacked my blow dryer, hair straightener, makeup and toothbrush and lined them up on the counter top. I walked over to the massive garden tub, turned on the water and selected a sweet smelling bottle of bath oil to add to it. After turning up the volume on the iPod dock, I quickly undressed and stepped into the hot water. The smell of honeysuckle and almonds was strong and soothing. I sighed as I leaned back and ducked my head under the wa
ter.
I took my time bathing and shaving before washing my long hair. I was careful to avoid putting pressure on the still sensitive knot. When I was done, I released the drain and got out. I wrapped up in a deliciously large, fluffy white towel and tucked it closed under my arms. I took my time combing out my hair and blow drying it straight for work tonight. Next, I put on my makeup, selecting red as tonight’s color, and topped the look off with ultra-long red false eyelashes. After painting my lips blood red, I hung up the towel to dry and walked to get my clothes out of the closet.
I had a hard time trying to figure out what to wear, but I ended up selecting a red and black stripped fishnet tank paired with a blood red demi bra underneath, my black pleated ultra-mini skirt, ripped black tights, and my new black patent leather pumps that had a five inch red lightning bolt for the heel. I walked back into the bathroom and looked at my outfit in the mirror before spritzing myself with perfume and grabbing my messenger bag to walk out the door.
Chapter 8
As I was closing the door behind me, I heard Archer close his. We had both come out of our rooms at the same time and I looked over at him and smiled. He was wearing designer low rise jeans, a crisp, white dress shirt with the top three buttons undone under a black blazer. I noticed his hair was slicked back, accentuating his strong square jawline, as he walked over to me.
“You look fantastic,” he said softly, his eyes roaming the length of my body, appraising my outfit. “And you smell amazing.”
I blushed and smiled, turning my back on him and walking down the hall toward the family room. “Thanks. You bought the outfit,” I said over my shoulder with a wink.
“Money well spent,” he chuckled.
We walked out into the family room and there wasn’t a person in sight. “Where is everyone?” I asked Archer.