by J. L. McCoy
Everyone nodded again. “Gunnar will be picking up Stellan and his crew tomorrow morning at the airport. And, Miss Morrison,” Archer said turning to me “will be in charge of our human staff. If any of you have any issues with them, you are to report it to her immediately.”
Archer paused for a few seconds and I immediately resumed my silent song. His eyes narrowed on me sharply before he huffed in frustration. “I need you to keep your ears open, Skye. If you think at any time that one of our human staff or patrons suspects that we are vampires, you are to report it to me immediately. Not five minutes after the fact…immediately. Do you understand what I am telling you?”
What? Does he think I’m stupid or something? Gosh! Treat me like a child, why don’t you! I saw Archer’s eyes get big as he lifted those brief thoughts from my mind. I quickly resumed my silent song as I poured the chilled concoction from the shaker into a martini glass. “Yes, Archer.”
Archer threw up his hands in aggravation. “Oh for fucks sake, Skye! Will you stop that?” he yelled.
Everyone turned to me and stared at me hard. A look of scared confusion crossed Jameson’s face briefly before he wiped the fleeting display of emotions away. Aoife just stared and smirked.
“Finally!” Trey said, taking the drink from my hand. “It looks delicious.” He took a big sip and fought hard not to spit it out. His face contorted in disgust as he finally managed to swallow the sip. “Oh for the love of God, woman! Just what in the HELL did you put in here?” he groaned.
I laughed and covered my mouth. “I have no idea,” I said, shaking my head and fighting hysterics. The look on Trey’s face was absolutely priceless. “I’m so sorry Trey. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was grabbing.”
Trey took a cocktail napkin from the stack on the bar and gingerly dabbed his mouth. “It will be a cold day in hell before I let you make me a drink again, Skye Morrison.”
I couldn’t contain my hysterics any longer. I threw my head back and laughed heartily. A few of the others joined in too. You could feel the tension in the room lessening and I was so grateful to Trey. I looked over at him and he quickly winked at me.
Archer cleared his throat. “Miss Morrison, I’d like to see you in my office,” he said, refusing to look at me. “The rest of you are free to leave for the night. I will see you all tomorrow.” With that, Archer turned away from us and made his way up the flight of stairs to the second floor and walked through the door that led to his private staircase.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Everyone watched Archer as he walked away and, when he was out of sight, they turned back to stare at me. My face flushed hot and I was suddenly embarrassed all over again.
Jameson was the first to speak up. “Well, I think we should call it a night. We’ve all got a busy day tomorrow.”
“Right,” said Hunter rising from his barstool and clapping Quinn on the back. “Let’s go hit up a bar and have another drink before bed.”
“Aye,” Seamus agreed. “I cu’du with another.”
“Me, too,” replied Trey. He quickly hugged me and whispered in my ear. “You be careful, now. Archer is really angry with you and that’s not a side of his that you want to be on, my dear. If you ever want to talk, I’m here for you. You mind what I said, now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I watched as he walked around the bar and shook Jameson’s hand goodbye.
Lochlan silently rose from his barstool and followed Hunter, Quinn, Trey, and Seamus to the front entrance and out the door.
“Well that was quite the display,” Aoife laughed. “Could it be? Archer’s shining girl has tarnished already?”
Jameson stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “Leave her alone, Aoife. What goes on between her and Archer is their business, not yours.”
I smiled with pride. Jameson was defending me from her unnecessary nastiness and I was grateful.
Aoife raised her eyebrow at me and set her eyes on Jameson. She slowly walked up to him and placed a lingering kiss on both of his cheeks. “Anything you say, love,” she said as she smirked and looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. She ran her fingers down Jameson’s arm and purred. “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, handsome.” I pursed my lips and watched as Aoife sauntered over to the front door and out into the night. Jameson, I noted, had refused to.
He groaned, ran his fingers through his hair, and frowned. “What the hell did you do to piss him off so bad, Skye?”
I bristled at Jameson’s disappointment in me. “You shouldn’t judge someone until you have the full story, Jameson,” I said as I walked around the counter to stand out in the open. “You have no idea what happened between us.”
“No, I don’t,” he said getting angry. “Why don’t you tell me?”
“Because I can’t,” I slipped up and said. I involuntarily covered my mouth and then quickly dropped it when I realized I did it. “I have a right to my private thoughts!” I yelled as I turned on my heel and walked up to the second floor.
“I’ll be down here whenever you’re done getting your ass chewed out by Archer,” Jameson growled up at me. “I’m your ride home, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said just loud enough for him to hear. I quickly climbed Archer’s spiral staircase and walked into his office. He was standing by the mini bar and gulping down a bag of blood. He didn’t even bother with the pretense of a glass this time. I watched as he downed the liquid, crushed up the bag, and grabbed another from the mini fridge. He discarded the bag on top of a pile that included several others. It looked like he was massively hungry because there was at least six pints in the pile, not including the one in his hand. I swallowed my sudden terror and took a seat on one of the black office chairs in front of Archer’s desk. What the hell is wrong with him? I silently wondered.
Archer turned to me and looked at me for the first time since I had entered the room. His eyes were cloudy and an extremely eerie shade of washed out pale blue. He was breathing hard and he looked incredibly scary. I unconsciously put my hand to my throat and sank back into my chair. “What the hell is wrong with me?” he growled angrily.
I shrank back further into the chair as he walked over to his desk and sat down. I had never seen a vampire when they were truly mad before and It was unnerving, to say the least.
Archer roughly tore into the bag of blood and quickly guzzled its contents. A small drop of blood spilled over his bottom lip and I watched as his tongue snaked out and recaptured it. I got a good look at his fangs this time and they were long and lethal looking.
“What? Have you decided not to grace me with any more of your singing?” he spit sarcastically.
Oh shit! I silently swore and resumed my song.
Archer’s fist suddenly slammed into his desk, cutting me off, and the furious sound reverberated throughout the room. “Enough!” he roughly yelled. “I do not know what you are trying so hard to hide from me, but you will stop that infuriating singing and tell me this instant!”
I took a few deep breaths to try and calm my racing heart. It was no use. My adrenalin was pumping full speed and I couldn’t shake the terror. I swallowed thickly. “I…have a right, Archer…to my private thoughts. Not…every word I think should be yours just for the taking,” I said, raising my chin defiantly. Inside I was praying that I lived through this. “That’s not how the normal world works.”
He laughed unkindly and narrowed his eyes at me. “I could make you tell me.”
“Yes, I’m sure you could,” I said slowly, carefully choosing my words. “But, if you have any respect for me at all as a person, you won’t.”
Archer stared at me hard and I picked up my silent singing again. This time I sang Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”. I figured that he had had enough of Lady Gaga for tonight. I was bound and determined to keep my thoughts my own. I didn’t even know what he meant by telling Aoife to keep the secret in his office, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him know that I had overheard him.
Archer smirked and leaned back in his chair. He pursed his lips as I continued to sing. He listened to my silent song for a moment, before he sighed in defeat and sat up. His eyes, I noticed, were slowly gaining some of their beautiful blue color back. “Very well, Skye. I won’t press you to tell me what you are keeping from me, but I do have a few questions.”
“I’ll try to answer them as thoroughly as I am able,” I said, relaxing a bit. I noticed that my hand was clutching my throat and I quickly dropped it back down and into my lap.
Archer took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “You are keeping something very important from me. I can’t tell exactly what it is, but I can see that your determination to mask those thoughts is impenetrable.”
I smiled at my small victory and continued singing.
Archer smiled a tight smile and nodded to me. “You are very lucky that’s the song you chose to keep me out with next. Creedence Clearwater Revival happens to be one of my favorite bands.” My eyes widened slightly in surprise. “If you had continued with most anything else, I don’t believe I would have been able to hold my temper.” Archer said plainly.
I looked down at my hands. “I’m truly sorry that I upset you tonight, Archer,” I said swallowing my pride. What I really wanted to do was yell at him for kissing that bitch Aoife.
Archer chuckled. “Well, I heard that,” he said, nodding his head towards me. “Somehow the words ‘Aoife’ and ‘Bitch’ made it through your CCR wall.”
I blushed and looked away from him toward the couch. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Skye,” he said almost gently. “Aoife can be a handful sometimes. She has strict instructions to play nice with you. If you have issues with her, I urge you to bring them to me.”
I sighed and looked down at my hands. “I’ll try,” I said grudgingly.
Archer swiftly changed the subject. “Did something happen in my absence, Skye, which you don’t want me to know about?”
My head snapped up and I looked at him in confusion. “No, Archer. Not at all.”
“Did something happen between you and Jameson?” he asked, continuing his line of questioning.
I shook my head and answered truthfully. “No.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
My jaw dropped in shock. I stood up and clenched my fists so tight in anger that my long nails cut into my palms. “No, Archer! I didn’t frickin’ sleep with him! Last time I saw you, you wanted us to evaluate our feelings for one another. Why in the hell would I go off and sleep with your brother if I were busy thinking about you all weekend?”
Archer closed his eyes and sighed. He looked relieved and it pissed me off even more. “Not that you have any right to tell me who I can and cannot sleep with,” I continued, my voice a bit quieter, but not by much. “I’ll jump into bed with whoever I please, Archer. I sure as hell don’t need your permission to do it.”
Archer stood up. “SIT. DOWN. MISS. MORRISON!” he growled. The color started draining from his eyes again and I thought it best that I obey him this time. “You are walking a very thin line with me right now,” he said, his voice deadly calm. “I am only able to control my temper to a certain extent, Miss Morrison. Do not push me beyond those bounds. I strongly advise against it.”
I swallowed thickly and lowered my eyes. I took even breaths and tried desperately to get a hold on my anger. I heard Archer turn around to face his bookshelf as he did the same. I braved a quick peek at him from under my eyelashes. His broad back was to me and I could see the slight tremble of his shoulders.
We sat there like that for over five minutes, each of us taming our inner beast. Archer finally turned back to me and took a seat in his chair. His eyes were completely back to normal and he had a small smile on his face.
“I’m sorry, Skye,” he said gently. “I did not mean to be so rude to you.” Archer ran his hand through his hair, sighed, and continued. “I’ve had a rough few days. Normally I have better control over my emotions. I am ashamed that you had to endure that. Allowing you to see that side of me is unforgivable.”
“I’m sorry too, Archer. I’ve had a bad day myself.” I felt a tear slide down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away. “Dammit.” I cursed aloud, angry at myself for crying again. I was emotionally drained. The guilt and sadness that I felt at leaving Drop Kick Dan’s, mixed with the heartache of seeing the man I wanted kissing another woman, was too much for me. “I’m tired, Archer. I just want this day to be over with.”
He got up from his chair and came around his desk to sit in the vacant chair beside me. He turned the chair towards mine and reached over and grabbed my hand. “You know, I’m always here for you if something is bothering you, Skye,” he said, lightly stroking my back of my hand with his thumb. “You can talk to me.”
I sighed and shook my head before resuming my silent CCR song. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was just another one of his attempts at hearing my thoughts. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, can I ask you about something that you mentioned earlier?” I nodded my head and he continued speaking. “You said that you spent the entire weekend thinking about what we discussed Thursday night. I wanted to know what conclusion you came to.”
I held my breath and looked away. I couldn’t tell him the truth. Not after I saw him playing tonsil hockey with Aoife. I knew he must not have been attracted to me, just to my blood, and I wasn’t going to admit I had feelings for him and make a damn fool of myself.
I steadied myself, blew out the breath I was holding, and turned to him. “I did like you said and gave it a lot of thought.” My body started trembling slightly and I silently cursed myself. Another tear escaped my eye and I quickly wiped it away, sat up straighter and took my hand out of Archer’s.
I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves, and continued. “I gave it a lot of thought. And, you know, it’s kind of funny… Once you’re gone, I don’t nearly think about you as much as I tend to when you’re around.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Must be those damn pheromones after all,” I said with a stiff fake laugh. I cringed inwardly. I sucked at lying. I just hoped he bought it.
I saw him look down at his hands and chuckle dryly. “I know what you mean,” he said after a short pause. I cringed inwardly again. Ouch. It felt like he’d just twisted the figurative knife that he’d earlier stuck in my heart. He stood up and went to sit behind his desk. His face was perfectly blank of all emotions and I couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking or feeling. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
Archer started digging through paperwork on his desk. He suddenly looked very distracted. “It has indeed been a long day. I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Morrison,” he said plainly, dismissing me.
I looked at him for a few confused seconds and then quickly stood up from my chair and walked to the office door. I glanced back at him over my shoulder to see him still rummaging around in his paperwork before I walked out the door. I took the stairs down to the second floor slowly, letting my conversation with Archer sink in.
He confirmed it. He really is only interested in my blood. He doesn’t want me. It’s my own fault that his revelation was hurting me so bad. I knew when I met him that Archer was out of my league. I set myself up for disappointment. I allowed myself to entertain the ridiculous idea that he wanted me for me. I alone allowed myself to get swept up in some ridiculous fantasy world of emotions.
All of this was my fault. All of the pain, the tears, and the heartache could have easily been avoided if I had just taken my own advice and never let my heart get away from me. Why would a gorgeous, rich, immortal man want a 23 year old plain looking human barmaid anyway? I laughed bitterly at the absurdity as I walked through the door and down the steps to the first floor.
Jameson quickly closed his phone and got up from the barstool. “Nice to see you’re still alive,” he said, amused. “Are you okay?”
“Just peachy,” I said sarcastically as I
went to the bar and made myself a small glass of diet cola. My mouth was incredibly dry after my nerve-wracking visit with Archer.
Jameson lost his smile and sat back down on the barstool. “Want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “I’d rather have a root canal.”
He quietly looked at me for a few seconds. “It was that bad?”
I looked at Jameson’s concerned face for a few moments. There was worry etched all over it. He seemed genuinely concerned about me. I was suddenly overcome with the urge to cry. Not just cry, but bawl. I wanted nothing more than to run over to him and have him tell me that everything was going to be okay. I wanted him to hold me in his arms like he did that night on my couch. I had felt safe then…cared about…wanted. I had too much on my mind. There were way too many feelings going on inside of me at the moment, and the majority of them were terribly painful.
But what would running to Jameson solve? Nothing. It would just put me back in the same situation that I had been in with Archer. I needed to stick to my earlier decisions and not get closer than was necessary to the brothers. It was only going to lead me down the road to heartache and I think I’ve had just about enough of that lately between Jesse and now Archer. I was sick and tired of being hurt by men. Am I becoming as jaded with men as my mother? I hoped not. I still secretly carried around the childhood fantasy that I would meet that perfect someone one day and grow old with them. I didn’t want to be alone forever, despite my recent feelings.
I quickly threw back my drink and set the glass back down. I stared absentmindedly at the glistening ice cubes in the lowball glass for a few seconds before remembering that Jameson had asked me a question. I looked up at him and sighed. “Would you mind taking me home now, Jameson?”