by Raine Thomas
“So give her a bonus instead,” Keith suggested. “Tell her all of the good shit you shared with us earlier and give her the bonus because of it. Tell her she deserves it for putting herself out there for the band every day.”
Once again, everyone nodded. Archer caught Christopher’s eye. The satisfied gleam he saw there made Archer suspect that Christopher had just manipulated this conversation much like he did his business meetings.
“Fine,” Christopher said, bringing his hands up and folding them in front of him on the table. “I suppose while I’m chatting with Lily about this bonus, I can mention that she’ll have access to the law firm the band has on retainer. She is under our employ, after all.”
Archer hadn’t even thought about the band’s legal team since he’d had his own lawyers from the age of seven when his acting career took off. Christopher surely must have considered it, though.
“You sure as hell could have brought that up at the beginning of this conversation,” Archer intoned.
Christopher smiled. “Must have slipped my mind. Now why don’t we firm up an amount for that bonus?”
By the time their food arrived, Archer felt much better about things. He was glad he had decided to discuss the problem with his band. They made him realize there was more than one way to navigate through the uncertainties of his relationship with Lily.
Now he just had to figure out how to get her to forgive him.
He considered a few ideas as he ate his roasted chicken and mushroom risotto. It was a given that he’d have to do some groveling. He’d also have to apologize for trying to keep the lawsuits from her. It had been an imbecilic attempt to protect her, especially since she’d have to at the very least consult with an attorney herself.
And if his money was an issue with her, he could work around that. Hell, Shelley was holding onto the promotional agreement for Lily from the jeweler who wanted to feature her in their advertising. It had the potential to make Lily some quick money of her own. There were going to be other offers just like that one as Lily’s celebrity status grew. He could offer to help her invest some of it if that made her more comfortable.
Whatever made her happy.
When he was about halfway done with his lunch, Archer noticed Trey step out of the room with his cell phone in his hand. Archer put down his utensils. Trey only left his post if something serious was happening.
Sure enough, Trey’s expression was even graver than usual when he returned. “Mr. Archer, we need to leave.”
Lily.
Archer surged to his feet. “Is she all right?” he asked as he moved around the table.
“Yes, sir. There was an incident. She’s asking for you.”
That cut through the sharpest edge of Archer’s fear. He turned before leaving the room and realized everyone was right behind him.
“I’ll take care of the bill,” Christopher said, waving Archer out the door. “We’re leaving. Now.”
Archer was glad everyone seemed to share his sense of urgency. They piled into the van they’d been using all day and rode in silence to the hotel. Archer kept checking his phone in case Lily tried to reach him. He didn’t know what to think when she didn’t. After saying he only had sketchy details, Trey was close-lipped about whatever incident had occurred.
Archer’s anxiety rose with every passing minute. He silently cursed that the security team he had hired wasn’t arriving until the following morning. He had figured Lily would be safe enough in the hotel’s spa. Could whatever had happened to her have been avoided if the security team had already been in place?
By the time they were led into the back entrance of the hotel’s spa, Archer was moving at a jog. He experienced a mild sense of relief when he saw Barney standing outside of a closed door. The relief dissipated when the door opened and a uniformed police officer stepped out.
She started to say something to Barney until she noticed everyone approaching. Her gaze fell on Archer as he rushed forward. He saw recognition there.
“Mr. Archer,” she said, “I’m Officer Beecher. I’ve just finished taking Ms. Montgomery’s statement.”
“Her statement? Is she in there?” he asked, heading to the door.
Officer Beecher moved to block him. “Yes. She’s being evaluated by the EMTs.”
“EMTs?”
“She’s fine, Mr. Archer. It’s just procedure. You can see her in a few minutes. In the meantime, you can rest assured that we’re doing everything we can to find and identify the perpetrator.”
Perpetrator? What the hell?
“Sir,” Barney said, taking a step forward when he saw Archer was about to start snapping at the aggravatingly vague officer. “There was an intruder. We have reason to believe based on Lily’s statement that it was the same male who gifted her the flowers in Salt Lake City. He managed to infiltrate the spa through a service entrance posing as one of the attendants. He had the proper uniform and credentials and no one questioned his presence. I was at the entrance to the hallway leading to the private treatment rooms and never saw him approach from the opposite side. He entered Lily’s treatment room and detained her. Her assigned attendant walked in and discovered what was happening. The male immediately fled.”
Archer’s blood chilled more and more with every word. “What do you mean, he detained her? Did he hurt her?”
“No,” Barney replied. “He...” His gaze traveled around the group as though debating whether to continue. After seeing Archer’s expression, he cleared his throat and went on, “He secured her hands to the treatment table with the belt from her robe.”
“Holy fuck,” Keith said under his breath.
“The perpetrator identified himself as a fan of Miss Montgomery’s,” Officer Beecher said. “She expressed that he used similar wording to what was reportedly written on the floral card. Because Miss Montgomery’s eyes were covered during the incident, we’ve recruited the assistance of her spa attendant who has agreed to work with a sketch artist. We’re confident we’ll have his face soon.”
“Sweet Jesus,” Xander muttered at the same time Noelle said, “Good God.”
Archer could barely swallow. He now had a visual of Lily lying blind and defenseless wearing nothing but an unsecured robe with some freak in the room with her.
“Christopher, you remember that number we discussed at lunch?” Sage asked.
“Yes.”
“Double it.”
“Yep,” was all Christopher said.
The door opened behind Barney and Officer Beecher, turning Archer’s attention. A female EMT exited. Archer wanted to shove her out of the way so he could get to Lily.
Even as he thought that, he heard Lily in the room asking, “Where the hell is Dane?”
Her disgruntled tone actually eased some of his anxiety. He didn’t wait to get clearance. He just slid right past everyone collected in the doorway.
His gaze immediately fell on Lily where she sat in a chair. He vaguely noticed that they were in a small clinic and that Sydney and Aria were sitting with her. All of them were still wearing their robes. Lily looked even more delicate than usual in the bulky garb. Her hair was pulled back with a white terrycloth headband only a shade or two lighter than her pale face.
Her eyes lifted to him as soon as he strode into the room. She leaped up from the chair and met him in the middle of the room, throwing her arms around him. He felt her start to shake.
“Fair warning,” she said unsteadily against his chest. “I’m about to completely lose it now.”
“It’s okay,” he said, running a hand over her hair and holding her tight. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”
And regardless of how upset it might make her, he would spend every last cent he had to keep anything like this from happening to her again.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“How is she?” Keith asked Sydney later that evening after she hung up the phone with Lily.
“As good as possible,” Sydney replied, plugging her phone into th
e charger on the end table next to the couch where they were sitting. “Archer is taking good care of her.”
He didn’t doubt that. He’d never seen his front man so shaken. None of The Void members had ever had a stalker as unmistakably crazy as the one who had latched onto Lily. Thank God the spa attendant had returned to the treatment room before the guy could do anything more serious than he had.
No one had argued when Archer said he wanted to switch hotels. Christopher had gotten Rebecca on the phone and the arrangements had been made within the hour. After they’d all finished packing their things, they’d traveled to their new hotel to get settled in. Keith ended up taking Sydney to an early dinner since she had missed lunch and his had been interrupted. They had then returned to their hotel room for their nightly tutoring session, after which Sydney had called to check on Lily.
“So, I was wondering something,” Sydney said.
“What’s that?”
“If I used some more makeup to better cover the bruise on my face, would you consider having sex with me again?”
She had quite the habit of surprising him. He didn’t even know where to start with that question.
“Why would you think you’d need to wear makeup for me to want to have sex with you?” he asked eventually.
“Well, we haven’t...you know...since we left L.A. And the only thing that has changed since then is me getting this bruise.”
Oh, how wrong she was. Not just because she apparently thought he didn’t want her due to the bruise. Hell, he’d never wanted a woman more.
She was wrong because so much had changed, and all because she had stood for him in a way no one else ever had. She had placed herself between him and someone meaning him harm. It meant more to him than he had the capacity to convey.
He could hardly explain that to her when he was still trying to process it himself, however.
“I haven’t been avoiding sex with you because of that,” he said. “I just wanted to give you some time to recover.”
Her head tilted in puzzlement. When she finally realized what he meant, her cheeks pinkened.
“Well, I’m fully recovered,” she said, giving him one of her shy smiles.
“Then come over here.”
Her smile brightened. She shifted closer to him. He reached for her and encircled her waist with his hands, lifting her until she straddled his lap. The full skirts of her knee-length dress hiked up her thighs, allowing his hands to brush against the bare skin now exposed to him. Her pupils instantly dilated.
“Well, well, well...what have we here?” he murmured as his fingers moved further up along her thighs. “Is this...”
“A present for you?” she finished. “Yes, it is, Mr. Connors.”
Holy shit.
That was the only thought he could manage as she leaned forward and kissed him. He allowed her to take the lead, curious how she’d proceed.
She pressed her lips against his tentatively at first, as though expecting him to take control. When he didn’t, she seemed to reassess. Her next kiss lingered, her sweet lips moving against his in tender, delicious torment. She did that numerous times, deepening the kiss in slow increments...the tip of her tongue running gently across his lips...a light nip with her teeth...a little suction to draw his lip into her mouth.
His body responded to every sensual tease as though she was touching him with her hands. By the time she finally parted her lips to allow him entrance, he was desperate to taste her.
How had he ever thought kissing was just a means to an end?
They both issued sounds of approval when their tongues connected at last. Sydney kept things unhurried, her tongue brushing leisurely against his. It was an invigorating challenge to keep from taking over and increasing the pace to meet his already insistent need to claim her.
After a few more minutes, his hands began to move. They started on her legs since they were already there, rubbing the soft skin exposed to him. His touch had her shifting in his lap, driving them both crazy. Then he brought his hands out from under her skirt and placed them on her waist.
She reached down and guided his hands to her breasts. He loved that she wasn’t shy about communicating what she wanted. She gasped against his mouth when his thumbs found her hard nipples pressing against her dress’s bodice. So he spent plenty of time teasing her like that.
When her movements against him grew more restless, his hands slid around to her back. He found her zipper and started pulling it down. She didn’t stop kissing him even when the zipper was completely lowered. He took the initiative, lowering her dress so it bunched around her waist. Sydney paused long enough to pull her arms free and then returned to his mouth.
His hands took full advantage of the fresh skin now available to him. He touched her everywhere he could reach, allowing her responses to guide him so that he brought her the most pleasure.
Before long, she parted from him and rose off the couch. His breath caught in anticipation. She held his gaze as she slid the dress the rest of the way along her body, revealing the surprise she wore underneath.
His throat worked as he tried to swallow. Sydney stood in front of him wearing a gold lace bra with matching panties and a gold lace garter holding up white lace-trimmed thigh-high stockings. His eyes started at her long, shapely legs and rose, pausing briefly on the small gold satin bow just below her navel before progressing up to her beautiful breasts peeking out of the top of her bra.
He was so struck with lust that he almost dragged her down on top of him and ravaged her then and there. The only thing stopping him was the thought that she deserved better than that.
“I see you like your present,” she said huskily, returning to his lap.
Rather than respond, he twined his fingers in her hair and brought her close for another kiss. There was nothing teasing about this kiss. It was purposeful, open-mouthed, and deeply carnal.
His free hand caressed her smooth thigh, once again gliding rhythmically back and forth as they kissed until her lower body started moving against him in growing urgency. The scent of her arousal had him barely resisting yanking his jeans down and making quick work of things. Instead, he edged his touch up along her body until he reached yet another surprise.
When he realized she was wearing a thong, he growled against her mouth. His other hand lowered from her hair so he could use both hands to massage her delectable backside. Sydney eagerly responded, giving him sexy moans that had his control close to shattering. He broke away from her mouth and struggled for a proper breath.
“Bed,” he managed. “Now.”
She climbed off of him and reached for his hand. He allowed her to help him to his feet but then he released her and began stripping out of his clothes as he led the way across the room. His shirt hit the floor, followed by one sock and then the other. By the time they reached the bed, Sydney was helping him. She managed to release his belt buckle and unbutton his jeans. He took over from there, removing his jeans and underwear in one efficient motion.
He stepped over to his luggage long enough to grab a condom and then returned to Sydney, who still stood beside the bed. Her eyes moved to the condom.
“Can I try something before you put that on?”
He started to ask what and then decided it didn’t matter. Anything she wanted, she could have.
He nodded. She smiled and lowered herself to her knees in front of him, taking him into her mouth with no hesitation at all.
If he lived to be a hundred, he would never forget his utter shock over his sweet, innocent Sydney doing something so incredibly sinful. The sight of her pleasuring him was almost more intensely erotic than how it felt. The combination was enough to push him right to the brink.
Without warning, he abruptly pulled away from her. He tore the condom wrapper off and put the condom on in swift, well-practiced movements. Sydney got to her feet, seeming to understand that he couldn’t wait any longer.
She climbed onto the bed. Before she could roll
onto her back, he stopped her while she was still on all fours. He moved behind her on the mattress and reached down to shift her thong out of his way. He had to make sure she was ready for him. He issued a silent and fervent prayer of thanks when he discovered she was.
“Let me know if I hurt you,” he told her.
“You won’t,” she promised. “Now, Keith.”
He responded to the urgency in her voice. His entrance was rougher than he’d planned, but he knew when she gasped that it wasn’t due to pain.
In fact, she begged him to do it again.
“Touch yourself,” he told her. “I want to feel you come.”
She obediently reached down with one hand to fulfill his demand. He gave her the hard thrusts they both wanted while he watched and listened to her pleasure herself. It was so fucking hot that he had to close his eyes to grasp for control. The agony of denying himself release blended with the ecstasy of being inside her until he was sure he would die from it.
Then Sydney cried out. He felt the spasms signaling her release. It triggered his own at long, long last. He held onto her waist like a lifeline, choking back a victorious shout as the climax consumed him.
But he wasn’t done.
“Don’t move,” he told her once he’d had a minute to recover his senses.
He left the bed long enough to remove the condom and retrieve a fresh one, which he placed on the nightstand. Sydney watched him from over her shoulder as he returned to the bed, kneeling behind her. Without speaking, he removed the garters from her stockings, taking care to touch her in ways he knew brought her pleasure. Once the garters were free, he lowered her panties, lifting one leg at a time until he had them completely removed. Then he refastened the garters, brushing against her inner thighs several times until she moaned and tried to move into his touch.
He gave her a light smack on her backside, making her gasp. “Behave,” he told her.
When she looked at him over her shoulder and caught her lower lip between her teeth, he knew she liked that...a lot.