Dipping down, he hooked one of her knees over his elbow and raised it as high as it could go until she was perched on one set of tiptoes. Using his shoulder for support, she gripped him tight and hopped up to hook her other leg around his hips. “That’s why I fell in love with you.”
Despite the unstable surface he was standing on, he didn’t hesitate or waver; he gave her all the support she needed as he slid his shaft into her. “You didn’t need much prep time either,” he said. “One of the reasons I picked you… you’re easy, girl.”
She hadn’t even kissed him good morning, or needed to. Waking up surrounded by his scent was enough to get her body started. Nya had woken up wriggling, squirming in the bed, her dreams must have been carnal, though she couldn’t remember them now.
Her legs spread wide in that bed, seeking him out, her hips had arched and she’d turned her head to reach for him only to find herself alone and that was when the memory of the previous day came back to her. But there was no need for her to be disappointed because here he was, pampering her with full service treatment in the shower.
“Oh, God,” she panted, suddenly remembering how impossible it was for her to stay quiet when he was inside her.
“Don’t even think about it,” he grumbled, pressing his forehead into hers, forcing her head back at an awkward angle with the weight of his. Nya didn’t give a fuck about the pain in her neck when her pussy felt so good being massaged by his pounding.
“I can’t,” she yelped. “I can’t… not!”
“You fucking can,” he said. “Hush.”
With his head still on hers, he smacked a hand over her mouth forming a damp seal, making it harder for her to get the air she needed, but stifling her moans and shrieks.
Mumbling, grumbling, she wriggled against him as she bucked and writhed through the orgasm that he ignored. He kept on going, fucking her good and hard. And maybe because they weren’t supposed to be doing this, and they’d stolen this moment together, Nya was excited to the point of madness.
Her wild eyes met his that were deep in concentration and she wished he would kiss her, wished she could taste his tongue, wished she could do more than run her hands over his shoulders and drag her fingernails through his hair.
On the apex of her third orgasm, she grabbed his hips, and dug her nails in deep, begging for him to stay right there, filling the hollow space in her body, designed and destined to berth him alone.
Pressing his mouth into the back of his hand that was still clamped over hers, it acted as a barrier between their kiss and she tried to yelp to ask for his mouth, but he didn’t give her the chance. With a brutal thrust, Archer hit her hard in her deepest, most sensitive spot, then he exhaled and let his eyes lift to hers very slowly as he allowed his hand to leave her mouth.
“That’s a good morning,” she whispered and tipped up for his mouth.
He eased back. “I love fucking you. You came just when I needed you.”
Nya didn’t know if he meant literally, that her orgasm matched his or if he meant she’d appeared in the shower at the right time. It didn’t matter. She draped her arms around his neck, to hang her body from his and this time he did kiss her. Except as she was enjoying the sweet slide of their tongues saying their intimate good morning, she felt the insistence of his cock poking against her belly button.
Lowering her mouth to look at its girth, just to be sure she was feeling what she thought she was. “Didn’t you come?” she asked, sure that she’d read his signs right and had seen that familiar expression contort his features before he’d pulled himself out of her body.
Archer put her on her feet and took half a step back. In an involuntary action, she touched her own core and looked at her fingers to see that yes, his seed was mingled with her juices. “You did.”
“Yeah, I did,” he agreed, but had his erection in hand.
He’d always been virile, he worked out and recovered from their bouts quickly… but not usually this quickly. “You want more?” she asked, unsure if she should be downright terrified, concerned, or amused, because he certainly didn’t seem to understand his arousal.
And then his shoulders sort of sagged and an expression of annoyed understanding crossed his features. While she was still confused, Archer sucked in a breath. “I’ll fucking kill her.”
“What is it?”
He threw back the shower curtain and with the water still thrumming on her body, she watched him grab his towel from over the rail. Opening the bathroom door an inch, he hollered into the apartment. “Ester, you fucking bitch, what was in that coffee?”
That was when Nya hit the same conclusion he had. Hiding a laugh behind both hands, Nya didn’t want to upset him further by giving into her amusement.
“What?” Ester asked, her voice coming down the hallway.
He put the towel around his hips before his mother pushed the door and Nya had to grab for the shower curtain to cover her body, so she could watch the scene unfold while maintaining her modesty.
“You fucking bitch,” he said. “What was in the coffee you fed me?”
Ester gave Nya a finger wave, but Nya was too busy hiding her mouth behind the shower curtain to reciprocate. “You left that girl chained to a bed,” Ester said, folding her arms to drum her talons on her upper arm. “And not for fun reasons. I think she deserves an apology. A proper one. And I just made sure she’d get one.”
Ester was proud of herself and Nya wasn’t complaining. Archer was fuming and she didn’t know where to look. “You put drugs in my coffee?”
“Only to save your relationship. Nya is gold and I won’t let you lose her,” Ester said on a sigh, lifting up her fingers to examine her manicure. “You’re welcome, son.” She patted his shoulders. “I have some errands to run this morning. You kids have fun. I’ll be back later.”
Ester turned and flounced away.
Archer couldn’t exactly follow given his current state of undress. When the front door closed, he swore again, and then turned to look at her. Nya had to keep the shower curtain over her mouth, otherwise she would lose it for sure and he was not a man who wanted to be messed with right now.
“She’s a fucking bitch.”
Nya didn’t know if she would go that far, although nobody should drug another person without their permission. But Ester’s prank would make Nya’s morning interesting. She fought to keep a straight face. “How long will it last?” Nya asked, feeling vindicated. Ester was right, she had been left chained to that bed, he’d abandoned her there and hadn’t trusted her to stay put as she’d said she would.
He’d left her there like one of his captives and shown her no respect. Nya had vowed to have payback and cursed his name while she was lying there. Ester had just served that up on a platter.
“How long does it last? That’s your fucking question?” he spat. “I don’t fucking know. I’ve never used that shit. She’s a fucking bitch!”
He was a man at the end of his rope, Nya left him there to steam while she finished washing herself before climbing out wet, to find him still standing just inside the door. Taking the towel from his hips, she made a show of drying her body, but actually wanted to see if the drugs were still in effect.
“Well,” she said, after towel drying her hair and tossing the towel back into the corner she’d once resided in. “I guess I’ll have to make the most of it.”
Taking his hand, she led him through to the bedroom and this time it was her turn to push him down onto the bed. “You’re not actually going to—”
“Yes,” she said, climbing on top of him and pushing him back down when he tried to prop himself onto his elbows. “Yes, I am.” Tilting her head, Nya kissed him. “Because Ester got one thing right, you have a lot of apologizing to do, and since it’s there anyway, we wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”
He grumbled. “You’re a fucking bitch too,” he said, but she could hear the lightness of the accusation, so knew it wasn’t serious and his hands were roaming
over her back and ass.
“That’s why we’re so well suited,” she said, angling her head the other way to kiss him again. “Because you’re the biggest prick I know.” She cast her eyes south to the dick that was already trying to probe between her folds. “In more ways than one.”
“Ok,” he said, scooping his arms around her to flip her onto her back. “Like you said, since it’s there anyway… but I’m fucking you under protest.”
She was laughing but accepted his kiss. He’d still be pissed at his mother when she came back. Maybe this was a gift in disguise because it gave them both a chance to exist in oblivion without facing the truth of what had transpired and the real danger that was lurking around the corner in their lives. This morning they were a couple in love, who’d been forced to enjoy each other. There were worse methods of torture to endure, so they’d just have to embrace this one and live with the consequences.
thirteen
Nya wouldn’t have to work out for a month and she’d probably be walking funny for the same amount of time. After around five hours of almost non-stop fun, both of them had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. Her jaw ached, her breasts tingled, and her pussy had never been so spoiled. But she couldn’t keep the smile off her face even in spite of Archer shutting her down.
After waking up, they’d showered alone, and she came out to find Archer eating a sandwich. She tried to talk to him about what had happened with Hexam last night. All he would say was that he had taken care of it and that she was no longer in danger.
She recognized that he was being shifty. He didn’t maintain eye contact and his tone was abrupt, but there was nothing she could do to force honesty from him. With the stiffness in her joints and the tenderness of her muscles, Nya couldn’t be bothered starting a fight.
It turned out Archer had plans of his own and once he finished eating, he bid her farewell. Again, she’d tried to question where he was going and if she could go with him. But he’d told her that he had something to take care of on his own and she couldn’t help but think this was something to do with Hexam.
Archer had told her that he wouldn’t take on Tag’s cause again, that he wouldn’t be bailing him out. But it was guilt that made her hold him for longer than he wanted her to. Because even though he was infuriating her by not being completely open, she knew he was taking on a burden that should be rightfully hers.
Ester hadn’t come back yet. But Archer hadn’t been worried about his mother, so Nya wasn’t either. The woman had her own life to live. Archer had said in the past that Ester often swanned in and out of his life depending on her relationship status and her need for money.
Nya had missed the mother-son exchange at breakfast, so it was possible Archer had handed over money, or promised to take care of the boyfriend Ester had been upset about last night. Either way, Nya had some time to herself.
So after eating alone at Archer’s, she went to her apartment to change her clothes, and then set Tag’s place in her sights. Archer had said he was lying low, but hadn’t said he wasn’t home. Hexam couldn’t have been in town for long if Kristof had just revealed his return to Archer the previous night. Maybe Hexam hadn’t gotten around to knocking on Tag’s door.
Wherever her friend was, checking at the apartment was a good place to start. If Archer was fixing this problem, and she was being threatened for it, Nya would have to confront Tag to find out if what she’d said was true, did he really love Farrah? Was he willing to go all the way to protect their relationship? Or was Archer on a fool’s errand? Committing himself to helping a man who would own him, not because Archer valued Tag’s friendship—the men wouldn’t classify each other as friends—but because he loved her.
Nya decided not to draw attention to herself in the hallway by knocking and waiting or shouting. She also didn’t want Tag to come to the door and show himself. Although she didn’t see anybody watching, that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone lurking or a camera planted nearby. She didn’t want Hexam to confirm Tag’s location if he was actually here.
Putting her key in the lock, she went inside, and dumped her purse in the entryway. The last time she’d walked into Tag’s living room, she’d found Farrah wrapped in nothing but a sheet. She’d thought that was the most shocking thing she could witness given Farrah’s identity.
Turned out she was wrong.
When she went into the living room this time, she saw Tag sitting in an armchair by the fireplace with Archer in the one opposite. Both men stood up fast and if that wasn’t an indicator of guilt, she didn’t know what would be.
Nya waited for one of them to exclaim that this wasn’t what it looked like, except, she didn’t have a fucking clue what it did look like. Archer was being cagey. Tag hadn’t been in touch. And they weren’t the kind of men who would get together to shoot the breeze.
“What are you doing here, Yorkie?” Tag asked her.
Her mouth opened in an exhale of disbelief. “Yeah, I’m the one out of place here,” she said, frowning in time with her accusation.
The bedroom door opened and Farrah was talking as she emerged. “Ok, I’ve booked us three one way tickets to Bogota, but the flight leaves in an hour and—” Farrah stopped talking when she lifted her head and spotted the unexpected guest.
Nya was descending further into her stupor. So they were running away, but why together and why now and why was she kept out of the loop? “A vacation?” she asked. “How nice for you all. Bring me back a keychain.”
Glad of being close enough to the door that she could spin around and hurry out, she snagged her purse before slamming the door. The elevator came as soon as she pressed the call button and she was so grateful when the doors closed and it began to descend, because she didn’t want a scene.
Nya didn’t know if she should be angry or upset and the burn of tears in the corner of her eyes were just as confused. Was she just embarrassed about them planning a getaway that excluded her? Was she upset that she was to be abandoned while the two people she cared most about in the world were picking up and leaving the country without her?
Her upset came from the deception because a lie of omission was still a lie. Archer had to have known this was a possibility before he left her in his apartment. Yet, he hadn’t hinted that he was going to Tag’s or out of the country.
Getting out onto the street, Nya took the first right into an alleyway and picked up her pace because she knew if she cut straight through, she would get onto a crowded city street, and she needed to lose herself for a while. Apparently for an hour because after that they’d all be on a plane.
It wasn’t until she was two streets over that it occurred to her she was panicking for nothing, no one was coming after her. No one was worried about her feelings or her perception of what she’d just seen.
If Archer was getting on a plane in an hour, he would need to get home to pack. That would take priority over soothing her if he was rushing to get to an airport. The schedule was too tight to add in an argument with his girlfriend, who wouldn’t be easily appeased.
More disappointment weighed her down, but at least this clarity also gave her direction. She got into a cab, and ordered it to her apartment, because she didn’t have to hide if no one was trying to seek. It was while she was in the cab that her phone rang. Nya wanted to answer, but didn’t want to argue in front of her current audience because she knew she would end up getting angry and shrill, so she diverted the call.
At least Archer had made the attempt, whether it was to explain, or to tell her to get over herself, he’d tried to get in touch. Tag hadn’t bothered. Her supposed best friend had plenty going on in his life with his new girlfriend and her intimidating brother, Archer had been right about her sliding down on Tag’s priority list. She hadn’t been naïve enough not to see that, but she hadn’t expected to fall off that list completely.
Nya paid the cab driver and ran upstairs to her apartment, and that was when the chime of a voicemail echoed from her phone. Taki
ng the device from her bag when she got inside, she laid it on her tiny kitchen table, and stared at it for a second.
She made coffee, more because she wanted to stay busy than because she actually wanted to drink it. While she completed the task, her gaze flitted back to the phone time and again. She wanted to hear the message because she wanted an explanation, but she didn’t want to listen to any excuses or half-answers.
As much as her love for Archer was immense, some part of her feared that he was calling to say goodbye. Filling her mug, she sipped her coffee then went over to sit down at the table opposite the phone. After clucking her tongue, she reached over to retrieve it.
She wasn’t fooling anyone. She was going to listen to the message eventually, so she might as well put herself out of her misery and get it over with.
Dialing into her voicemail, she put it on speaker. “You have one new message,” came an automated voice who listed the date and time it was left.
When Nya glanced at the clock, she realized that the trio must be at the airport by now. They may even be queuing to get on the plane.
“Squirm.” The word burst from Archer through her phone speakers and made her jump. There was noise behind him, probably airport bustle, but his voice was clear. “Goddamn it! You know why I’m doing this. Something happened with Hex last night. I came to see your boy today to figure it out and I was roped into a job. That’s all it is, Ny, it’s a job.” He barked the words like he too was warring with anger and upset, though he would never admit to the latter. “I’m fucking doing this for you. I don’t give a shit about this fucker!” Anger definitely won out in that sentence, and she traced a fingertip around the edge of her phone case. “I’ll call you tonight and you’re going to pick up the fucking phone, Squirm, or I’m leaving this bastard to rot. If you’re not around, I don’t need to risk my life for him.”
There was a long pause, she didn’t know if he was doing something or just thinking. “What?” she whispered, anticipating what he’d say next.
Scarred (Branded Book 2) Page 14