“No. I’m not scared.” She rummaged through her duffel but didn’t actually pull anything out.
I moved in, unable to stop myself, and leaned against the side of her bed just so I could get closer to her. I knew I should’ve just left well enough alone. But the sight of her flustered and not so in control? It messed with my reality, to the point where forgetting what had just happened wasn’t gonna be easy.
“You interrupted me.” I frowned, licking my lips as her cardigan slid off her shoulder nearest to me. I had the urge to lean closer and slide it up, but my greedy eyes were desperate to see if the rest of her pale skin matched the polka dots on her nose.
“To be fair, I didn’t know what you were, um, doing.” She huffed and turned around to face me. Wet hair slid over her cheeks, down her chest. The ends dampened the material of her sweater right above her tits and that was damn unfortunate.
Careful with my touch, I lifted my hand, sliding it to the buttons. With surprisingly steady fingers, I toyed with the top one, swirling a finger over the smoothness… chuckling to myself when I noticed her chest rise and fall a little faster.
Finally, I was affecting the sober-version her. She’d been like a vault and I was desperate to find the key to open her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
Fuck if I know.
I tapped the first button. “Mind if I…?” I made a popping noise with my mouth.
Her eyes widened. “Um, yes. I do mind.”
I frowned, pushing my bottom lip out. “Pity. You’re soaked.”
“What?” she gasped. “I’m not… No.”
I shook my head. What a dirty little mind she had. “Your cardigan, I meant.”
“My cardigan is fine.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “What’s with these sweater things, by the way?” I ran my finger down to the next button, circling the outside, careful not to push too far.
She pursed her lips.
“Not complaining.” I met her eyes, holding them for a moment. Then I eyed the curve of her tits again, grin widening when I noticed something poking out the front of said cardigan. Nipples. Both of them were hard, which could’ve meant she was cold, or possibly turned on. I’d bet my left nut on the latter because, so close to me, I could feel the heat of her body.
“Hot for teacher, hot for librarian… What other fantasies can you provide for me, JP?”
Emily rolled her eyes. She turned, giving me her back as she bent over to mess with her bag again. I didn’t miss the way her hands shook when she did. How she opened and closed her fists as she hovered over her duffel for a second before she started actually looking through it again. Like before, she still didn’t pull anything out. Instead of asking what she was looking for, I rolled with the moment and took the time to study her ass beneath those fancy khakis she wore.
“Anyone ever tell you that you got a fine little ass, JP?” Not only did I want to look at it, I also wanted to touch it. Both sides, one side… preferably if she was naked on top of me, her hot pussy gliding up and down over my throbbing dick.
Man. How I ever thought she was unfuckable was pretty damn stupid. I was in deep shit if I didn’t get to finish jerking off soon.
She huffed.
“Don’t be ashamed.” I stepped up to her side, bent down a little, and let my lips slide against her ear as I whispered, “It’s a fantastic ass. I’ll gladly help you wash it next time you’re in the shower.”
She shivered.
She also didn’t tell me no.
Hell. Yes.
Was I finally getting to her? What was the key, though, the turning point, really? Did I keep pushing, did I not push at all? Jesus, I didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t normal for us. Not that I’d complain. The thing was, though, she never acted this way with me. She always called me out on my BS. I wasn’t sure if I hated or liked this more, mostly because I was a horny bastard and resisting the little letter-writing runaway and possible traitor was proving more difficult as each minute passed. I wanted to see just how far she’d let me push her. Tomorrow I’d regret being an ass, but right now? I couldn’t find it in me to be anything else.
“Here’s what’s gonna happen.” I pulled her around to face me, my hands on her elbows. “I’m gonna sit on the bed, like I was before, and finish what I started.”
She whipped her head up, eyes widening, lips parting too.
“You’re welcome to go wait in the shower or outside, or, if you’re interested, you can join me.”
“Join you?” she choked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Have you never watched a man jerk off before?”
Slowly, she shook her head, which didn’t surprise me. That little ex of hers was likely all vanilla in bed.
“I’d be happy to show you how to do it.”
Her lips parted like the no was on her tongue. But something flashed through her eyes at the same time, something I sure as hell could relate to.
Determination.
“Fine,” she said with a huff.
I lifted my eyebrows. “Fine, what?”
“I’m gonna prove you wrong, Archer Benedict, and I’ll one-up you while I’m at it.” With that little snapback, Emily sat on the side of the bed, nearly missing it. Even clumsy and obviously nervous, I wanted her to keep going. Step outside of her comfort zone and prove me wrong. I had no idea why, but I rolled with it anyway.
“How’re you planning on proving me wrong?” I dared her with my eyes, sitting across from her on the bed I’d picked. The space between us was so small our knees touched. The thing was, she didn’t bother moving away like I thought she would.
“I’m going to get undressed.”
“Yeah, right.” I laughed and shook my head.
“You think you know me,” she said, sliding her hands up her thighs, stopping along the base of her cardigan. Her pink-nailed fingers messed with the hem as she kept talking. “But you don’t. Probably never will either.”
“Sure.” I smirked.
“I’m being serious,” she argued. Then she shrugged, sliding her hands up to the top button of her cardigan and doing the unthinkable—the last thing I’d ever expected. She started undoing the first button. The one I’d been toying with. Then the second and the third…
My throat grew hot, almost painful. “Is that so?”
“Yes. It is so. I’m not the girl with a stick up her ass like you think I am. I can have fun and relax. I just choose not to. In fact, when I was in college…”
I tuned the rest of her story out. Not because I didn’t want to hear it, but because she was down to the last button and… Holy. Shit.
She took it off, sliding the cotton off one shoulder, then the other…
“… and if you think that I’m—”
“Shh.” I studied her tits beneath her tank. The nipples pressed against the silk. I shuddered at the thought of putting my mouth over them. But I also knew better than to cross that line.
“Archer?” she whispered. “Did you hear me?”
Only then did I lift my gaze to meet hers.
And what I saw there? It scared me even more than the idea of crossing lines.
Thirteen
Emily
Was I losing my mind? Possibly.
Did I care? Less than I probably should have.
The thing was, the longer I was around Archer, the more I realized that life wasn’t about planning for future moments. It was about living in the ones given to you in the here and now.
I may or may not make it out of Kentucky alive when this was all said and done. But I was sure of one thing right then and there: I loved how Archer was looking at me, like I was so much more than just cute. And because of that, I knew exactly what I wanted—what I needed—to do to prove to this man, and myself, that I wasn’t afraid of letting go.
“Good Christ, Emily, what’re you doing?” he murmured, licking his lips when I began to unbutton my khakis.
I didn’t want him to know how nervous
I was, but if he looked hard enough, he’d see my hands shaking. “I’m getting comfortable.”
“Correction.” He laughed. “You’re taking your damn clothes off is what you’re doing.”
“I am,” I said, pulling in a shaky breath. “But you’re not.”
He pressed his lips together then reached behind his neck to grab his shirt, no second thoughts. Once it was in his hands, he dropped it onto the floor between us, displaying a body I’d only ever seen in magazines.
I bit my lip, allowing myself a selfish moment to look at him. Perfect abs, so many lines, and two glorious pecs that were quite possibly the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. What surprised me the most, though, was that there was only one tattoo on his chest. As far as I knew, the majority of the Red Dragons were covered in ink, including my brother.
Archer’s gaze did an eager sweep of my body too when he started to unzip his jeans. He lay on his back and arched his hips, tugging his jeans down with his fingers. A minute later he was in nothing but his boxers.
“Now what?” He wiggled his brows and propped himself up on his hand.
I swallowed hard, not quite sure what to say. I’d put on quite the show a minute ago but that was before. Before I realized how perfect his body was. Before I realized that there was a reason he was so loved by women. Before I realized he was actually calling my bluff, which wasn’t supposed to be a bluff.
“You tell me. This was your idea.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “My idea was to show you how to jerk off. This getting-half-naked thing?” He waved a hand up and down my body. “That’s on you.”
“I’m not naked.” But I kind of wanted to be. The problem was, I was clueless as to what I wanted to do once I did get naked. Archer may have been super comfortable with sex and all the stuff that went along with it, but I wasn’t. I really hadn’t experienced anything beyond what Sam and I had shared, and our intimacy could only be described as lukewarm. Never bold. Satisfying, but not exhilarating either.
“Hey,” he said, his voice no longer teasing. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Hide yourself from me.”
Looking down, I noticed my arms folded over my chest. I must have done so subconsciously. It wasn’t like I wasn’t actually going to get naked here, this was just me trying to prove to Archer that I was in control.
“Your body, Emily.” He lowered his voice, sounding more serious than I’d ever heard him. “Let me look at it.”
Slowly, I let go of a long breath at the same time I dropped my arms, feeling naked when I wasn’t even close to being so.
Archer’s green eyes darkened as he whispered, “Why you hide that beautiful body under a sweater all the time is beyond me.”
His words emboldened me. I lifted my chin and said, “Show me.”
“Show you what?” His lips tilted on one side.
I swallowed the last of my nerves and finally let my inhibitions go. “How you touch yourself.”
He touched his chest, rubbing a palm over his heart. “Like this?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“No. I don’t think I do.”
Why was he such a tease? And why the hell did I like it so much when just two days ago, he was the most annoying man on this entire planet to me?
And then he said words I would never forget. “Sit there and watch me, Emily. Don’t look away.”
I shuddered at the order and control in his tone, loving it so much more than I should have. Then when he slid his hand into his boxers and pulled out his erection, I couldn’t help but gasp.
More than anything else, I wanted to see his expression. My body burned even hotter at the thought of our eyes meeting and holding as he stroked himself over the edge. So, despite his warnings, I did lift my gaze, heart lurching into my throat when I found his eyes on my face.
“You make me crazy,” Archer murmured. “You and those damn freckles and your inability to listen…”
I reached up and touched my nose, my cheeks where the freckles were most prominent. As I did, he bit his bottom lip and released a low groan, the sound making my belly twist in delicious circles. I didn’t know what to do or say. But my body sure had plans. And for once in my life, I let it take the lead and began to rock my hips a little, the pressure rubbing me all wrong against the mattress.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” The slide of his palm slowed, the wrap of his fist easing.
I looked him in the eyes again, my face warming as badly as the space between my thighs.
He grinned. “Are you wet for me, Emily?”
Was I? Likely. But did I want to admit it out loud? Not really. Thankfully, Archer didn’t push the subject.
“You want to ease the ache? You wanna come like I’m gonna?”
I blinked, chest heaving. Speaking was impossible, so I nodded just once.
“Do it, then. Put your fingers in your panties. Tug ’em aside. Feel how wet I make you, because I can guarantee you are fucking soaked right now.”
My neck was hotter than my face; my ears rang too. “I-I don’t…”
“It’s okay. Don’t be shy,” he murmured, never losing that cocky grin.
This was happening. And I couldn’t stop myself either. Archer had made it so all I could focus on was my desire, and if I didn’t get to chase my release soon, I might just lose my mind.
I slid my hand down like he ordered, slowly tugging my panties to the side.
“That’s beautiful,” he whispered, watching my fingers work. “Spread your legs.” I did. “A little wider so I can see,” he whispered, eyes locking with mine. “Because your pussy is gorgeous. Just like the rest of you.”
His words made me smile a little, relax too. “Nobody’s ever…” I shrugged.
“Fucking bastards. All of ’em. Your pussy is the prettiest I’ve ever seen.”
Feeling brazen from his words, his encouragement too, I slid a finger over my clit, circling, rubbing… “Oh, God.”
Archer’s tongue darted out over his bottom lip, a growl deep in his throat. “Just like that, baby. Pretend it’s me.” He stroked faster again. “Pretend it’s my fingers, sliding around. Pretend I’m between your thighs right now. My mouth right there over the pretty pussy.”
Archer moved his hand faster, our knees touching a little, but nothing else.
“Archer,” I whimpered, already feeling the beginning of my orgasm take over. My fingers were soaked. I was sure I looked a mess down there, but I suddenly didn’t care. For the first time in my entire life I let myself enjoy something without worrying about the consequences.
Faster and faster, I rocked my hips back and forth, looking at him and imagining it was his tongue there instead of my own hand like he said.
I moaned loudly, louder than I’d ever done before. And then I was coming, a blissful electric snap of nerves and tension and a beautiful ache of pleasure that I couldn’t get enough of.
“Fuck, Emily,” Archer growled low, and when I looked at him, his bowed head, his squeezing, stroking hand, I shuddered through the aftershocks of my orgasm as he found a release of his own.
Seconds passed.
I panted and tried to catch my breath, unable to take my eyes off his flushed face when he lifted his head back up. His eyes were closed, his shoulders relaxing.
Archer didn’t look at me. But he did open his eyes and stand. Methodically, he tucked himself back into his boxers then slid on his jeans, avoiding my gaze even still.
I froze, inside and out. Coldness like I’d never known raced through me. Disappointment not far behind.
“Archer?” I whispered, grabbing a blanket to cover my legs.
He stood in front of me then, our knees touching like before, though he’d never felt further away from me. Hair fell over one of his eyes like an animal, uncaged. Rabid.
He curled his lip, a smirk overtaking his face. “Lesson over, JP.”
Turning away from me, he grabb
ed his shirt and slid on his boots. Then he left the small sleeping area, not going to the bathroom to shower or wash his hands.
He left me.
And he didn’t bother coming back.
Fourteen
Archer
Midnight came and went before I finally felt able to face the music and go back inside. I was sure Emily thought I’d taken off, despite the fact that my bike was still in the same spot it’d been in since we’d gotten here earlier. I wasn’t stupid enough to leave her alone like she probably thought. The woman was my ticket to Pops. No way would I risk the chance of letting her run off because I’d had a momentary loss of sanity and thought, for a second, that I might actually have feelings for a woman I’d just jerked off in front of.
No, scratch that. Not a woman. Emily. My best friend’s little sister. Someone who was getting under my skin and making me feel too much. A beautiful, sassy, smart as fuck woman who’d just spread her legs and shown me a piece of herself that I was pretty sure she’d never been generous enough to share with anyone else.
My chest tightened right then and not from my cigar either.
It didn’t matter though. I could not cross that line again, damn it. Not now. Or ever. Not when I had plans to end her old man’s life and she had plans to run away with a traitor and become one to my club too.
I was sated now. That’s what mattered. I’d had my release, my fun, scratched a little itch…
Except I wasn’t. Sated, that is. Not at all, actually. If anything, I was more on edge than I had been before. And I didn’t have a damn clue why either. Or I did have a clue, and wasn’t in the mood to admit it.
I gritted my teeth and headed toward the door, slowly pulling it open. I probably should apologize for running out. But it wasn’t like she’d run after me. If anything, I was guessing she was relieved I’d left, pretended like what had happened wasn’t worth a second thought. She had a type and it wasn’t a biker. She’d made that known to everyone she encountered at the club.
Even with that thought in my head, my heart skipped a little when I stepped inside the caboose. Instead of wanting to touch her, I just wanted to look into her eyes again. Wanted to brush her bangs away and trace her freckles with the tips of my fingers.
Her Hot Ride: A gripping and sexy biker mc romantic suspense novel Page 13