9. Omniscient
Chapter nine
Omniscient
D elilah found it strange as she and Archer continued to kiss even though her brain kept screaming at her to pull away. The atmosphere in the room had changed entirely, and the tension had grown thick.
Footsteps were making their way over to their location quickly, but they didn’t seem to notice in time.
The door opened, and they both jumped and pulled away. Looking over to the door, Archer was slightly relieved to see who it was, but Delilah was petrified, the complicated situation finally dawning upon her.
The person looked over to the two of them and forced a grin. “Okay, so I kinda already knew this was going to happen the second Archer went after you, so don’t even sweat it. The real problem is that Mr. Russel is looking for his daughter, and I would suggest you two pull away as far as you can and get back out there, because her father is close to coming this way... And I won’t say ‘that’s what she said’ after that sentence,” Sterling explained quickly, and Archer looked back over to Delilah and realized his hands were still caressing her.
Slowly pulling away, she cleared her throat and avoided all eye contact with Archer as she made a beeline for the door, but not before making eye contact with Sterling, who zipped his lips and threw away the key.
“I won’t tell a single soul,” he whispered comically.
Delilah, not responding, left the room, already feeling doomed. She gazed at Archer for a split second as he was standing in the same spot, his eyes never leaving her.
Tearing her gaze away, she returned to the ballroom to make it seem like nothing happened. Sterling looked over to Archer and smirked.
“Took you fifteen years, but hey, at least you got there.”
Archer rolled his eyes at his words and walked over to him. “Sterling. Don’t tell anyone.”
Sterling scoffed, placing his hand over his heart. “Archer, I’m wounded... do you really not trust me—?”
Archer cut him off. “Of course I don’t trust you, Sterling. I have to threaten you just to keep the tiniest secret. Do you understand what will happen if someone, especially her father, finds out? Not only will I be going down, but you’ll be coming with me. Tell no one. Understood?”
Sterling nodded. “You have my word… scout’s honor,” he said, holding up two fingers instead of three, and Archer sighed.
“God, we’re screwed.”
Sterling scoffed. “Okay, now tell me that wasn’t an invitation to say, ‘That’s what she said.’ You’re setting yourself up at this point!” he exclaimed, and Archer walked away.
Recalling his moment with Delilah left him feeling… odd. It was all in the moment, and only minutes later did he realize that he’d kissed her. He’d finally kissed her. Running his hands down his face, he tried to keep his composure.
But it was growing more difficult by the minute as the taste of her lips lingered on his, driving him almost to insanity. Pushing his hair back as he couldn’t keep his hands still, he shook his head in thought.
Fuck, Princess. What have you done to me?
Meanwhile, Delilah was hurrying back to join her father, who was sitting impatiently at the table. She gulped softly as she tried to act natural, but he was a ticking time bomb. His tapping his fingers on the table like it was a countdown and her mother being out of sight made her nervous.
He looked over to her. “Delilah...” he said slowly, and she walked over to the seat beside him and hugged him.
“I know I disappeared, and I know I’m in trouble, but you were already going to say that. Sorry, Daddy,” she apologized, knowing he would give in.
He sighed and kissed the top of her forehead. “We’ll talk about this when we get home,” he said, and she smiled.
“Of course we will,” she said, though knowing in the back of her mind, she wouldn’t be saying a word about what happened ten minutes ago.
Thankfully, Brielle returned to the table, and Delilah gave her a look. Brielle immediately noticed and smiled at her Killian.
“Killian, honey, how about we go check on the kids? They’re with Jin and the others. I’m sure Kimiko wants to be with Delilah for a little while before we leave,” she said, and Delilah finally noticed Kimiko sitting across the table, drinking water as she stared at their interaction.
Killian stood silently and allowed his wife to guide him wherever she pleased; anything to calm his now subsiding anger.
Kimiko watched as they walked away before glaring at Delilah as she returned to her.
“Where have you been?! Even though it’s been less than fifteen minutes, a war was about to break out!”
Delilah bit her lip. “I got some… fresh air.”
“Really, Delilah? Fresh air? I think I can tell when you need to kiss up to Uncle Killian to make him ignore the fact that you just made him upset. Now, I’ll repeat it once more. Where have you been? And I need an answer now.”
Delilah groaned. Her best friend knew her too well, and that had its ups, but at this point, it certainly had its downs.
“Kimiko, it’s a long story—”
“How long?” she pried, and Delilah could tell by the tone of Kimiko’s voice that she wanted more than just the details that had just recently passed. And as unfortunate as it was, Delilah had kept Kimiko in the dark about things that happened in the last few weeks.
She was only trying to keep her best friend’s mind void of problems so she could focus on her election, but it didn’t make her feel any less guilty. Especially since they swore as children never to keep secrets, and up until now, they had always been open with one another.
“Kimi… I’ll tell you everything, but right now, it’s not the best time to do so...” she murmured, looking around the room quickly, thankfully not seeing Archer anywhere.
“Sleepover,” Kimiko said with finality, and Delilah giggled.
“Fine. We will have your sleepover, Kimi.”
“We better.”
“Okay, we’re home now, so spill,” Kimiko said as she sat on the bed.
Delilah stood up and closed the door so they wouldn’t be heard. They had returned about an hour earlier and thankfully dodged her father, who was still agitated about the entire situation. Now, everyone in the house was either already asleep or preparing for bed.
“Archer and Luca have been… at odds with one another and, for lack of better words, tormenting me for some twisted reason. After unwillingly finishing my dance with Luca, when I left, Archer followed behind me, and one thing led to another, and… we kissed,” Delilah whispered, and Kimiko’s eyes grew wide as saucers.
She opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish, unable to form words. She then started moving her hands, murmuring as she tried to find her words. Delilah rolled her eyes as she watched her say incoherent things.
“Wait, you kissed Archer?” Kimiko asked, and Delilah shot over to the bed and held her hand against her friend’s mouth.
“Not so loud, Kimi! At some point, these soundproof walls could not work, and we’ll both be screwed!” she whisper-yelled, and Kimiko nodded. Delilah pulled her hand away.
“How? Why? What?” Kimiko tried to begin, and Delilah shrugged.
“I honestly don’t think I can answer at least one of your questions. It just happened. I don’t know, Kimi.”
Kimiko thought about it for a moment and looked over to Delilah.
“Did you like it?” she asked, and Delilah rolled her eyes as she looked away, trying to conceal the blush that had begun to rise to the tips of her ears.
“Don’t ask me questions like that,” she said softly, and Kimiko gasped as she pulled Marshmallow closer to her chest while he slept in her arms.
“You didn’t deny it! You did like it!”
The blush on Delilah’s face grew more massive, and she fell back against the bed in agony. “Gosh, Kimi, I don’t even know what I feel! It was just a stupid kiss and a stupid decision, and I refuse to be subjected to further questioning without my lawyer present.”
“That just makes your ass all the more guilty. If you truly didn’t like it, that blush wouldn’t be reaching your neck.”
“I’m still confused about the entire situation, okay? And what can I do about it? If my father learns about this, do you know how quickly I’ll be six feet under? There’s no point in even thinking about what happened.”
“Does anyone else know?” Kimiko asked, and Delilah nodded, defeated.
“Some guy. I think Archer knew him because he wasn’t freaking out as much as I was.”
“Okay... what are you going to do now?” Kimiko asked again, and Delilah sat up.
“There’s nothing for me to do at all. We kissed. That’s it. Hopefully I can return to ignoring him and Luca without having any issues...”
“And you think truly Archer is going to let this all go?” Kimiko asked, and Delilah thought for a moment, trying to ignore the memories of the passionate kiss and his hands that caressed her body possessively and hungrily.
She would ensure this kind of thing wouldn’t happen again. It would only lead to trouble.
But as Archer’s gaze returned to her mind, the same gaze that had her legs tightening as he practically refused to let their first kiss be their last, she knew this wasn’t the end of it.
“No. I know Archer. He will probably never let this go.”