by J. L. McCoy
Brian smiled and looked over at Rachel. “Of course I’ll take her home. I’d be glad to.”
I smiled brightly at the potential love connection and told him to go get her. He happily complied and I watched the look of surprise and excitement on her face as he took her hand and lead her to the back. I winked at her and waved as I watched them go.
With Rachel taken care of and the club pretty much empty, I made my way back over to the bar and had Jameson fix me one more drink before we hit the road. I had just sat down on one of the swivel stools when the bar phone rang. Jameson immediately answered it, spoke in Gaelic for a few seconds, and then hung up.
“Archer wants to see you in his office, Skye,” Jameson said, turning back to me. He quickly passed me my drink and I sighed unhappily as I got up and slowly made my way upstairs.
Because Archer was expecting me, I didn’t bother knocking as I opened the door and entered. Archer was sitting behind his massive African Blackwood desk talking on the phone. He motioned for me to sit down in one of the black chairs in front of his desk and I complied.
“I have Miss Morison here, Ruarc,” Archer said into the phone before passing it over to me. I stood up and accepted it from him as I hopped up to sit on his desk. (Standing while intoxicated took too much work in five inch stilettos.)
“Morrison here,” I said into the phone as soon as it was to my ear.
“I hear that you have requested an audience with me,” he said gruffly. “What can I do for you, human?”
“Well, you can start by telling me how the search for Amun is going,” I replied, not liking his tone.
“He is rather elusive,” Ruarc stated plainly, not elaborating any further.
“Do you know when you will be able to catch him?” I asked with an impatient sigh.
“I do not,” he growled. He was obviously unhappy with my request to talk to him. I wondered briefly why he agreed to it in the first place if he hated talking to me so much.
“Here’s the deal, Ruarc,” I said as I crossed my legs, getting more comfortable on Archer’s desk. “I want nothing more to do with vampires. I’m done. I want off this crazy ride. And because Amun is still alive, and because there is still the threat of him kidnapping me again, I am forced to live with Archer. See, that’s the thing. I don’t want to live with Archer. See my previous statement about wanting off the vampire ride from hell. I want to go home, but I can’t go home unless I’m protected. That’s where you come in. I need you to appoint a guardian to me to keep me safe until you and your soldiers kill Amun. Now, before you start arguing with me or shutting down my request, here are the facts as I see them. I was kidnapped and tortured because of your race’s involvement with Amun’s imprisonment. Whatever, that’s water under the bridge. But I did do you guys a solid by giving you valuable information about his past and his future intentions. Because of that, I believe I have earned protection and I am requesting it now. I’ve given Mr. Rhys my two weeks’ notice here at the club and I’ll be no longer working for him at the end of it. I quit this shit. I’m done. I’d like to move out of his house as soon as I have adequate protection, so be a dear and send me someone soon, okay?”
I took a deep breath when I was done and sipped on my drink as I listened to the silence drag on. Finally, Ruarc growled unintelligibly and demanded that I hand the phone back to Archer.
“Nice talking with you, Ru,” I smiled before passing the phone to a shocked Archer. “Take it easy, my man.”
Archer’s bottom jaw dropped as his eyes got wide. He covered the receiver with his hand and scolded me. “I can’t believe you just spoke to him so ungraciously. Where are your manners?”
“Hunter probably sucked them out of me right before giving me the heart attack.” I shrugged my shoulders, unconcerned and continued to sip my drink. I didn’t care one iota that I had potentially upset either of them. They never cared about my feelings, so why should I care about theirs? Yes I know, very uncouth of me, but right then I just didn’t give a damn.
Archer put the phone back to his ear and immediately started speaking to Ruarc in Gaelic. It sounded an awful lot like an apology by the tone of Archer’s voice and I couldn’t help the drunken chuckle that escaped. Archer stared daggers at me as he listened to Ruarc speak. Finally, when the conversation was over, Archer hung up the phone and stared at me.
“What?” I asked before draining the last bit of my drink. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out. Don’t just sit there staring at me. It’s rude.”
“No,” Archer growled as he flashed around his desk to stand in front of me. “You are rude! Do you realize how you just spoke to one of our race’s most respected and revered members? You were so callous and cavalier. What is wrong with you?!”
I stood up from the desk and roughly set my glass down on it. “What’s wrong with me?” I scoffed. “Are you kidding me? How can you even ask me that? You know damn well what’s wrong with me, Archer! I’m pissed…beyond pissed!”
“That doesn’t give you the right to speak to our elders the way you just did!”
“One vampire is the same as the other to me, Archer,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “All you do is take, take, take and expect us humans to bow down to you. Well, I’m done bowing, asshole!”
“I get that you’re mad at me, but for fuck’s sake, Skye…you can’t go around treating others like that. Especially Ruarc.”
“Am I getting protection or not?” I asked, done with this conversation. I knew I was in the wrong, but I just didn’t care at the moment. I was too hurt -not to mention too drunk- to care.
Archer growled and ran his fingers through his lush brown hair. “You are exhausting, you know that? And, while we’re on the topic, stubborn and hard-headed too. Why do you always have to be so damn difficult?”
“It’s a gift,” I rolled my eyes as I made my way over to the mini bar and poured up three fingers of scotch. I hobbled over the mini fridge and bent down low to retrieve a few ice cubes from the designated tray.
Suddenly, I felt hands on my hips and I jumped in surprise, totally not expecting it. I spun around as I abandoned my quest for ice. Archer’s eyes were hooded with desire as a small, sexy smile played on his lips.
“You can’t bend over like that in front of me and not expect me to want to touch you,” he said huskily.
I swallowed thickly and attempted to take a step back but bumped into the mini fridge instead. “I-I’m in no mood for your games, Archer,” I stumbled unsteadily. My heartbeat had suddenly picked up with his close proximity. Half of me wanted to pounce on his delicious body and have my drunken way with him but the other half was still pissed and wanted to stab him in the eye.
His gorgeous ice blue eyes slowly slid down my body before he leaned in a few inches. “This outfit you have on has been driving me wild since I first saw you in it,” he smiled wickedly.
“Have you lost your mind?” I asked incredulously as I pushed at his chest in a desperate attempt to put some space between us. “I’m seriously pissed off at you right now and you have the audacity to come on to me? Do you have a death wish or something?”
Archer chuckled as he backed me up further against the mini fridge and leaned in to run his nose along my neck. “First off, I can smell how much you desire me, Skye. I can always smell it. You wear it every day like a delectable perfume. Even though you’re mad at me, you still want to fuck me. Don’t try to deny it, love; it’s pointless. Secondly, I’m not playing games. You bent over in front of me, fully aware that you had no panties on. I take that as an open invitation. And lastly, you love me; you said so earlier. However mad you are at me at the moment, love doesn’t just dissipate. You love me and I am in love with you. I intend to make you mine, Skye.”
He lowered his head to mine and I grabbed the dagger stashed in my thigh-high boot without thought. “Don’t move another inch,” I growled, the dagger pointed upward under his chin. “I told you earlier that I was done with your k
ind and I meant it. I don’t care how much my body wants to fuck you; my mind hates you.”
Archer licked his lips and smiled. “Do it,” he dared.
“Don’t fuck with me, Archer,” I warned, my eyes wide with uncertain worry. “I’ll do it…I swear to God, I’ll stab you.”
“No you won’t,” he dared sexily as he pushed the knife harder against his skin. “You love me, Skye. You won’t hurt me.”
“I seem to remember a certain someone telling me that same line once,” I smirked cruelly. “Too bad he lied.”
Archer growled and flashed to take the dagger out of my hand. The movement was so fast, I had no time to react. I watched as he threw it roughly to the side and I opened my mouth to yell at him, but he spoke first.
“I told you I was sorry!” he growled. “How many times do I have to say it? How many different ways do I have to tell you? I made a mistake. I fucked up.” He sighed unhappily as he reached around me and grabbed the scotch I had just poured. He began to drink from it and I immediately took the glass from his lips.
“That’s mine,” I furrowed my brow unhappily at him as I tilted the glass back and finished its contents.
Archer growled as he took the glass from me and threw it across the room. I heard it shatter against the wall as he captured my mouth with his. The kiss was hot and heady, filled with deep, desperate need and burning desire. Our tongues slid together in a frantic dance as I ran both hands through his thick brown hair and fisted it. I roughly jerked his head back from mine as I took a much needed breath.
“I hate you, Archer Rhys,” I moaned as I jumped up in his arms and wrapped my legs around his hips. “I hate you so fucking much.”
He growled and flashed us across the room and up against the wall by his apartment door. I moaned at the painful pleasure that being slammed up against the wall brought. He fumbled around blindly for the door handle as he buried his face in my neck. As soon as we were in the apartment, he slammed the door closed and roughly pushed me up against it. His hips ground into me and I felt his obvious excitement at our encounter. I moaned as I fisted his hair again and brought his mouth to mine. I kissed him deeply; so deeply I didn’t know where I ended and he began. I poured my anger, frustration, hurt, and rage into our needful kiss. Archer poured his as well. It made for a heady and hot combination.
“Bed,” I commanded between kisses. “Take me to bed.”
Archer growled with need and immediately complied. He roughly threw me off of him and into the bed. I bounced onto it and bit my bottom lip as I watched him hurriedly take his clothes off. The look of hot desire in his eyes was such a turn on and I writhed a little in anxious anticipation. I wanted him like I had never wanted any man before in my entire life. I wanted the flames of our passion to fully consume me. I didn’t care a bit if it left me a pile of ash.
As he took off his silk boxers and stood naked in front of me, my breath hitched at his beauty. My eyes slowly slid down his delicious body and I moaned when I met his manhood. I didn’t know if I could handle such a job, but I was more than willing to give it the old college try. I was determined to have him buried to the hilt in the next few minutes.
He licked his lips as he stepped to the end of the bed and rested one knee upon it. He grabbed my ankle and jerked my body down the bed, closer to him. He sensually slid his hand up my leg and to the top of my thigh before grasping the zipper at the top of my boot and slowly unzipping it. He pulled my boot off, threw it to the side, and repeated the process with the other one.
I couldn’t take being away from him anymore. I wanted him in my arms and moaned as I beckoned to him with a crook of my finger. He tsked, playfully shook his finger at me, and sensuously ran his hands up my legs again. Before I knew what he was doing, my fishnets were off and dangling from his aforementioned finger. He smiled wickedly as he tossed them over his shoulder and began crawling in bed toward me.
I bit my bottom lip as I watched his hungry eyes slide up my body. He pounced on me and kissed me deeply as I ran my hands over his corded back. I scratched my long nails down the length and he moaned in pleasure as he bit and teased my bottom lip.
The next thing I knew, I was on top of him, straddling his waist. Archer looked up at me with hooded eyes as he began peeling me out of my skin tight vinyl mini dress. As soon as it was over my head, he haphazardly tossed it aside and palmed my breasts roughly. He growled with intense need as I moaned at his touch. He pulled and teased my nipples and I cried out as it sent waves of pleasure coursing through me and to my center. I put my hands over his and kneaded my breasts as his breathing grew ragged. His thick manhood was hard and teasing at my opening. One roll of my hips would have him inside me, but I wanted to draw out the pleasure; I wanted to bask in this experience. Archer abruptly sat up and took my right nipple into his mouth. The feeling of his fangs scratching against my delicate skin as he sucked was exquisite. I ran my hands through his hair and fisted it as I held him to me. I threw my head back and cried out as his fingers suddenly found my center and slowly began moving.
“Oh, God…yes!” I rocked my hips against his touch as my breath quickened. I groaned with need when he expertly massaged me faster and I jerked his face up to meet mine. Our tongues danced wildly together as I felt my imminent climax start to build.
The next thing I knew, he was lifting my hips to enter me. I whimpered as he pulled me down, impaling me on his massive member. The pain was immediate, but oh so wonderful. He slowly rocked my hips, allowing me to acclimate to his girth, as his own breathing increased.
“Ifreann na Fola, Skye,” he growled as he squeezed his eyes closed, a look of absolute ecstasy on his face. “You’re so tight…so very, very tight.”
His words, accompanied by the look on his face and his huge cock, were my undoing. “Oh, Archer!” I screamed out my pleasure as I braced both hands against his chest and rode the wave. My orgasm was mind blowing and lasted far longer than I had ever experienced before.
He growled as I finally came down and he flipped us over as he took control. The hard, relentless pounding was incredible. The sex was rough, filled with every bit of the frustration we felt by having to deny ourselves this moment for the past month and a half. It was desperate, driven, and absolutely divine.
“I want to take you from behind,” he growled and I excitedly moaned my approval.
He withdrew from me, flipped me over and dragged me by my ankles to the end of the bed. He stood behind me, gathered my long hair up in his hand and wrapped it around it a few times. He pulled hard and my head immediately jerked back. I hurriedly scrambled to all fours and he slapped my ass hard.
“Yes,” I cried out, loving his treatment of me. I didn’t want warm and fuzzy with him, I wanted to take the roughest, hardest, deepest pounding of my life.
“Are you ready for this, baby?” he asked as he tugged harder on my hair, arching my back. I looked over my shoulder at him and moaned at the wicked smile on his face.
“Yes,” I moaned. “Fuck me, Archer. Please!”
He grabbed one of my hips as he pulled my hair and slammed his huge length inside me. I cried out in ecstasy and pain. He pounded me quickly as he spoke in Gaelic. I couldn’t tell what he was saying, but it didn’t matter. He was enjoying the experience, too; that much I could tell.
“Oh, God,” I gasped, suddenly. “I’m so close. Don’t. Stop. Fucking. Me!”
“Come for me, baby,” Archer growled roughly in-between strokes as he slapped my ass again. “Come for me. I want to hear you scream my name.”
I was about to tip over that magical threshold when, for some reason, I looked over at the apartment door. To my shock and horror, Amun was standing there with his arms folded across his chest; an amused look on his face. I screamed out in terror and ecstasy as by body climaxed around Archer.
Chapter Nine
I bolted upright, panicked and panting, and the room was completely dark. It took me a second to realize that I was in my room back at Archer�
��s house. I fumbled for the lamp and hurriedly clicked it on. I fearfully gazed about the room, looking for Amun or Archer, but found no one.
“What the fuck?” I breathed heavily as I put my heart to my chest. I looked down and saw that I was wearing black boy shorts and my Heartbreak Honeys TXRD shirt. I ran my hands down my chest and tried to get a handle on my racing heart.
“How did I get here?” I mumbled aloud to myself. I walked into the bathroom and saw the tights and dress I had worn to work sitting in the laundry basket. When I walked into my closet, my boots were sitting in their spot on the shelf.
What the hell is going on? I looked to my door and knew where my answers lay. I immediately threw my door open and walked the few feet down the hall to Archer’s room.
I didn’t bother knocking as I walked in and cut on the lamp by his bed. Archer rolled over and groggily opened his eyes.
“Skye?” he asked softly, sleep still thick in his voice. “What’s wrong? What is it?”
“How did I get here, Archer?” I demanded, and not too kindly I might add.
“What?” he asked, confused, as he fully sat up in bed. “What are you talking about?”
“Cut the shit, Archer,” I huffed as I crossed my arms over my chest. “How did I get home from work?”
Archer ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “You woke me up just so I could remind you of how you got home?” He glanced over at the clock at his bedside and then looked back up at me, displeased. “It’s 5am for Christ’s sake. What’s gotten into you?”
I stared at him and saw no trace of the heat or passion I had seen from him in his office. I sighed as I turned and sat down on the edge of the bed. I was so beyond confused. One second, I’m having the dirtiest, hottest sex of my life with the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen and the next I’m lying in bed with no memory of how I got there.
“Who did I ride home with?” I asked quietly, my mind racing with questions and my heart a bundle of confused feelings.