The two women freeze and their eyes canvass the mess. Chocolate on the floor, on our chairs, on our robes. Everywhere.
They don’t look too happy.
I wince at their expressions as I shuffle toward the door on sticky feet. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry,” I clasp my hands over my chest as I slip and slide hurriedly across the floor. “But I have to go.”
16
archie
My cheek falls to the faded sheet and I focus my attention just past the window. Slices of the waning sunlight strike between the slats of the blinds. Purple, pink and orange blend into the perfect sunset right behind the coppery hills in the distance.
I grind my teeth and crawl my palm up and down my aching thigh. Fuck. Fuuucckkk.
I should be used to the pain by now. It shouldn’t have the power to knock me flat on my back. The doctors keep insisting that it’s not real. That it’s phantom pain. But it feels like the wheels of a two-ton tank rolling across my leg, grinding my bones to splinters. Why does it still feel the way it did in the hours and days after the explosion? Add that to the back pain and the damaged nerves and I just want to shrivel up and die.
My gaze moves to the half-packed duffle bags on the floor. I should be on the road by now. Driving down some quiet back road, heading into the unknown. Drifting. It’s what I’ve always done.
But all of a sudden, I’m frozen in place.
My body’s trying to fool me, trying to convince me that the pain in my leg is the reason I haven’t gotten out of Copper Heights yet. Yes, the pain is searing, agonizing. But I’ve fought my way through worse. If I really wanted to leave, I would have.
The truth is, I don’t want to go. For the first time in a long time, I’ve found a place I want to stay.
Even if I don’t actually belong here.
“Get up, man. Get up.”
I’m not doing her any favors by sticking around. Sophia doesn’t need me. I’m only getting in the way, complicating the life that she’s managed to map out in spite of the obstacles that were thrown in her way. I can’t allow myself to hold her back. I have to leave.
Using my arms, I push myself upright. I limp across the room and start throwing the remainder of my belongings into my duffel bags. Then, I shake out the bed sheets and smooth them over the mattress.
You never leave a bed unmade. In a world where there’s so much that’s out of my control, making the bed is one task I know for certain I can accomplish to perfection.
As I’m lining up the pillow with the headboard, there’s a knock at the door.
Fuck. I’m sure it’s Charlie.
I shot him a text earlier, telling him I was leaving town. I should have just left quietly.
I stomp to the door, fully ready to tell him off. But when I open the door, my heart launches into my throat. “Sophia?”
She’s standing there looking so pretty. My eyes drink in the shape of her body in her pink tank top with a knee-length skirt and sandals. Her hair is straight and pulled back from her face with clips. She looks pristine but sexy as hell at the same time.
Finally, her lips part. “Hey…”
“Hey.”
We stare at each other and the power of the emotions in my chest threatens to break me. Want her so much. I try to wade my way through the thicket of pain.
I shift my body out of the doorway and make room for her to walk through. “You wanna come in?”
Her eyelashes flutter up at me and she has no fucking clue how sexy that is. “Yeah. Sure.” She knots her fingers in front of her as she steps into the motel room. “I asked Charlie where you were staying. I hope you don’t mind.”
I smile. “I’m sure you didn’t have to work that hard to get it out of him.”
“Nope.” She laughs. “You should probably find yourself some more trustworthy friends. Friends who don’t hand out your address all willy nilly.”
Sliding my fingers through my hair, I grunt out a laugh. Our friends are so invested in getting us to hook up. They’d spill top secret classified information to make that happen.
Maybe I’m just imagining it but Sophia doesn’t seem opposed to that idea, either. Her gaze bounces to the bed. I see the way her pupils dilate as if she’s simply waiting for an invitation to get horizontal. But then her attention fixes on the bed sheet itself. “Wow—that’s the ugliest comforter I’ve ever seen.”
I glance over at the thing. It’s a fucking floral monstrosity. “It is pretty ugly, isn’t it?” We chuckle together. But when I bring my focus back to her, I can tell she didn’t come here to chitchat about the décor.
“You really are leaving...” Her eyes fall to the bags on the floor. Her expression sinks.
I swallow and scrub my face with my hands. “I was planning to leave but…”
…But I couldn’t bring myself to walk away from you.
She sits carefully, right on the edge of the bed, her shoulders tense. Forehead pleated with uncertainty.
“What is it?” I ask, the expression on her face stirring anxiety to life under my skin.
She’s quiet for a while as she considers her words. Then, her lips part and she speaks quickly. “I have an offer for you.”
I cock a brow as I sit next to her. “An offer?”
“Yes.” She nods slightly.
I have no idea where this could possibly be going. So, I just listen.
She looks at me with wide, anxious eyes. “I want you to work for me. At the daycare.”
I rock back on my ass. “Me?” I jab a thumb into my chest. “You want me to work at your daycare?”
Her shoulders slump. “I get it. It’s an unusual request but you were right. I do need help dealing with the kids and running the daycare. Finding someone responsible is impossible around here especially since I’m not paying top dollar.” She sucks in a breath. “And you? You just quit your job so I figured you might be open to it. Instead of leaving town. As I said, I can’t pay much but…I don’t know. It was just an idea I had and…”
The idea sounds nuts. Me, working with children all day. Don’t get me wrong. I like kids, I guess. It’s just that I, like most men, never pictured myself as a daycare worker.
She shakes her head as she moves to stand. She looks embarrassed. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid idea. I shouldn’t have suggested it.”
When I see her heading for the door, when I know that she’s about to walk away from me, desperation kicks to life in my blood. I catch her by the hips and spin her around, my fingers clenching tight to hold her there. I blurt out the words. “I’ll do it.”
“Huh?” Her eyes are round and pretty.
I rise from the bed, smiling as I stand in front of her. “I said, I’ll do it. I accept your job offer,” I say in an overly-formal tone just to hear her giggle.
“You do?” Her cheeks are a rosy hue of pink.
I squeeze her hips tighter. “I do.”
“Oh, thank you!” She leaps onto her tiptoes and throws her arms around me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The scent of wildflowers—and chocolate?—swirls in my head.
A laugh breaks free of my chest. “And you know I’m not taking any money from you, right?”
She pulls back and stares at me. “Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Archie—”
I press a finger to her lips to silence her. “We can argue about this some other time. Right now, I just wanna sniff you.”
Her pretty laugh spills free as I bury my face in her neck. “I’m your boss now. You can’t sniff me.”
“Says who?” Slipping my arms around her back, I hold her to me and breathe her in. She smells so amazing and her body feels so good molded to mine.
My cock stirs to life against her and I think she can feel it, too. She rises onto her toes. Her face is buried in my collar. Her chest rises sharply on a huge inhale. The feel of her breath on my neck causes goosebumps to rise along my skin.
Suddenly, the air is heavy. Lo
aded with wanting. Our bodies pulse against each other, throbbing in sync.
I tilt her face up with my fingers and look into her eyes. “Why did you really come here, Sophia? Why are you offering me this job?”
My skin is buzzing. Everything is tight and alive, craving her.
Her eyes fall to my mouth when she speaks. Her unblinking attention lingers there. “I don’t want you to leave. Not yet.” She presses her body even closer to mine. “We’re not done yet, Archie. You and me—we’re not done.”
My heart soars like a freaking baby dolphin. “Damn fucking right we’re not done, Daisy.”
I palm the back of her head and my fingers get caught up in her silky strands. With a light tug of my hand, her head falls back and I lean down to claim her mouth. My lips cover hers, possessively, unapologetically. I slide my tongue against the seam of her lips, eager to get inside.
My fingers travel down her spine and over the curve of her ass to the back of her leg. I hook my hands under her thighs and wrap her legs around me. Now, my fingers are under her skirt, smoothing along her bare skin.
She’s so eager, kissing me so greedily. She pulls on my hair. She angles my face and probes deep into my mouth with her tongue. Sophia may be a classy woman in the streets but as we’re about to hit these ugly floral sheets, that woman becomes a savage.
When my fingers sneak beneath the silky fabric of her panties, she groans and jerks her hips against me. “Archie, please. Yes. Touch me.” She’s breathless from wanting this so much.
And I’m all about giving Sophia what she wants.
I hiss when my fingertips slide through her crease. She’s dripping. So wet and hot. I stroke her clit, spreading the wetness there and she mewls.
Fuck, I need to taste her.
I set her down on her feet and gently push her against the wall. I kiss her mouth, jaw and neck as I slide the straps of her tank top down her arms and peel the fabric down to her waist. My lips travel across her collarbone. She thrusts her chest forward when my mouth covers her nipple. With each slide of my tongue, she grows more eager. My focus moves to the other nipple and she hisses.
Ignoring the pain in my thigh, I lower myself to my knees and look up at her. Her eyes beam with wanting. When I yank her panties down to her ankles, she digs her fingers into my hair and steps out of her underwear.
I spread her silky lips with my fingers and grin. “Since you seem to have a problem with the bed sheets, I think I’ll just have to eat your pussy like this.”
She starts to laugh but the sound turns thready and high-pitched when I swipe my tongue along the bud of her clit.
Her fingernails scratch at the wall. “Dammit, Archie. Give a girl some warning.”
I throw one of her shapely legs over my shoulder for better access. “You came in here knowing fully well what you were getting yourself into, Daisy.”
She claws at my back and arches her spine, crying out as I swirl my tongue on her clit. When I dip two fingers inside, her pussy spasms hard. My hand probes her deeper and faster, just to hear her animalistic cries and to see the pleasure shattering her veneer.
“Fuck, Archie,” she purrs, thrusting her hips. “You make it feel so good. You know exactly how to make it feel so good.” I hear the awe in her tone.
When I have her like this, flushed and hot and pressed against the wall, she isn’t thinking about right and wrong and other people’s opinions. She’s just living in the moment, riding the wave of pleasure. I love having this power over her. The power to make her let go of her inhibitions.
My tongue stabs through her folds and fucks her tight hole. This is getting messy but I don’t care. All that matters is delivering the pleasure she deserves, making her body sing.
It isn’t long before she’s shaking. Pleas and prayers fly from her mouth. I don’t stop until she’s coming, until her body is clenching hard. When her knees start to give out, I pin her hips to the wall and lick her until the shockwaves begin to subside.
Her body is sweating and shivering and struggling to recover from the violent orgasm. Kissing a path up her torso, I rise to my feet and all the pain I was feeling minutes ago has somehow disappeared. Like magic.
She’s still boneless when I pull her from the wall and position her in front of the mirror. “Hands on the dresser,” I order her as I position myself behind her. My cock is a concrete beam, nestling between her ass cheeks.
Her fingers brace the lip of the wood and she leans forward as I dig a condom out of the drawer. I lower my sweatpants on my hips, just enough to let my hard, twitching cock go free. My lips trail her neck and shoulder blade as I sheathe myself.
She’s flushed all over. Her eyes are shiny and wide in the darkening room. “You make me feel so good,” she whispers as if she’s afraid to say it out loud. As if it’s bad somehow.
“I’m not done making you feel good.” I flick on the lamp on the dresser and we watch each other in the mirror. “I want you to see what you look like when my cock is inside you.”
She sucks in a breath and nods. I angle my cock at her entrance and when I breach her snug opening, her eyes squeeze shut and her lips fall open.
The pit of my stomach goes tight as I plunge into her wet heat. Again and again, I thrust into her, the elastic of my waistband cinched around my ass.
I want to rip myself free of these stupid sweatpants but I can’t stand the thought of her seeing what I’ve become. I hate the idea of her seeing my broken pieces. I want her to see me as a man. I want her to look at me with the same wild adoration she wore that night in Vegas. So, I ignore my discomfort and fuck her harder.
My attention shifts away from my insecurities and fixes on her reflection in the mirror. “Look how beautiful you are, Daisy. Look how gorgeous you are.”
Her eyes snap open and she takes in the image playing out in the mirror. Her in front of me, her beautiful tits bouncing each time I stab into her from behind. My fingers tweaking her clit in a rapid motion. Her soft belly clenching in response to the pleasure.
It’s too much. She drops her head to the side to lessen the intensity.
My lips slide along her cheek until they touch her earlobe. “Don’t look away, Sophia. I know this is scary. And it’s overwhelming. But it’s real…This connection between us is real. So be here with me. Don’t look away.”
A shaky breath leaves her when our eyes connect again. Fuck, it’s intense. The sheer strength of our connection claws into my chest. The need grows so strong that I can’t help myself anymore.
I devolve into a madman, fucking her so hard. No mercy. No restraint. She loves it. She lets go of her inhibitions and releases herself to me completely. Her moans fill my ear as her pussy leaks and clenches around me. She’s slick and hot and perfect.
So eager for this cock. So unashamed to show it.
I needed her tonight. I needed her body. I needed to sink inside of her and feel the comfort that comes only when I’m lost in her. Because there’s no other place in the world like this. No other place that feels like it was made just for me. With this woman in my arms, I feel like I’m home.
I’ve been in love with her since the very first night I met her.
Her body reacts as if it can hear my thoughts. She reaches back and locks her fingers behind my neck, causing her chest to curve into a beautiful arch. She clenches all over and her pussy ripples around my cock. “Archie! Archie! Yes!” She shouts with pleasure.
Her orgasm triggers my own and I pound into her like a man gone mad. And I don’t stop until my knees are barely holding me up.
She collapses into my hold as the pleasure wanes. I kiss a trail down her cheek.
Our eyes lock and we grin at each other. She wipes sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. After a long moment of just holding her, looking at her, I loosen my hold on her waist and step back.
“Sorry if I was a bit 'over enthusiastic’.” She bites her lip with embarrassment as she lowers the skirt bunched up around her waist. “It's
been a while."
That information surprises me. “Well damn. You're really good at it. You should do it more often. Preferably with me."
Her pretty laugh is music to my ears. “Well the last time I had sex was with you. I guess I'm still programmed to your settings."
I blink with shock. Is she telling me that no man has touched this beautiful body in two years? “You haven’t had sex since me…”
“I haven’t,” she confirms.
And the surge of masculine pride I get is downright primal. Right then and there, she becomes mine. Even if she hasn’t realized it yet.
I run my palm down the inside of her thigh. “Go lie down on the ugly comforter, Daisy. We have some catching up to do.”
17
Sophia
You know that vibe you get when you're at a party and you're kind of tipsy and your favorite Top 40 song comes on? I mean, something catchy—a Taylor Swift jam or something featuring Bruno Mars? You kind of just throw your hands up and shake your hips and holler the lyrics with zero fucks about whether or not you're on key. Because you and the music are one.
Well, that's the vibe that breaks out across my living room floor when the Baby Shark song starts on the wall-mounted flat screen.
The kids take over the makeshift dance floor, partying hard. Jumping. Clapping. Flailing. I think Gaston is trying to twerk. God, help us. And from where I’m standing, Sebastian seems to be living his best life on that potty in the corner of the washroom.
Archie is in the middle of it, whirling around with them, dancing despite his subtle limp and the occasional wince on his face. And my heart is so full. So, so full watching that man.
What I did is crazy. Offering him a job here when he doesn’t know that one of the students is his daughter. Every time I think about it, my heart catapults into my throat.
I had no choice, though. I couldn’t let him leave town. Not when I’m starting to realize that telling him about River is the right thing to do. He’s a great guy and maybe he does want a family. Maybe he’d like to settle down. Maybe he’d be a wonderful dad. I’d never forgive myself if I let him walk away without exploring that possibility.
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