38. I Love You Too
CHAPTER 38
I LOVE YOU TOO
Paloma
The whole way home, Dad is on the phone with his lawyer. He’s disgusted that after three months I’m still not in possession of my inheritance. I lean my head on the car window and stare at nothing. Tonight, I have to entertain Archer’s killer and pretend I’m this happy little doll. I can’t do it. All I want to do is scratch Hunter’s eyes out and tell the world what he did.
My stomach is in knots by the time the car rolls to a stop in front of our house. I don’t bother waiting for Dad to finish his call. I climb out and head inside. I’m halfway up the stairs when Dad calls after me. I stop and turn to face him.
“Hunter will be here in an hour. Wear your black cocktail dress with the bracelet I gave you.” Dad braces his hand on the banister, waiting for my response.
“Okay.” I nod and continue on my way.
I go straight to the shower. Dad didn’t give me time to change out of my sweaty clothes before. After being in the car for so long, I feel gross. The warm water in my hair releases the tension in my muscles. I make quick work of the shampoo and body wash. As much as I’d like to stay under the warm spray, I know better than to make Dad wait. The last thing I want is for him to come into my room and wait for me while I get dressed.
In the closet, I find a cocktail dress hanging on the valet rod. I slip it on, then apply light makeup to my face before I blow-dry my hair. When I’m finished, I stand back to look at my reflection in the mirror. Dad isn’t wrong when he says this lifeless version of me is pathetic. With a sigh, I return to my bedroom to sit on the bed and wait until it’s time to go downstairs.
Something in the air shifts as I stand in the middle of the suite. I glance up toward the terrace, and my heart skips a beat. His tall frame, clad in dark jeans and a black T-shirt, crowds the threshold. He’s more beautiful than I remember. That intense blue gaze of his is filled with yearning. I can’t move. My bare feet are glued to the area rug. Because the moment I reach for his mirage, and he disappears, my hope will vanish along with him. I want to stand here forever, looking at his impossibly handsome features—his straight nose, full lips, and that cut jawline.
“I love you too,” he says as if the last three months hadn’t happened.
As if we’re still in the Hamptons, and I’m confessing my love for him while he lies on the asphalt dying. Except, he’s in my suite, looking at me with so much love in his eyes. And he’s not dead.
Am I dreaming? If I am, I never want to wake up.
“How?” I go to take a step, but my knee gives out from under me.
I brace for the inevitable pain, but it never comes. Archer reaches me before I drop to the floor and pulls me hard into his arms. His body feels like heaven to me, warm and strong, and very much alive. His heart thumps hard in his chest and makes something inside me ignite. My own heart stopped beating months ago, lost in the dark abyss Archer left in his place after he died. But now, I feel it drumming in tandem with his.
“Are you really here?” I take in a deep breath, trying to contain the rush of adrenaline surging through my body, a mix of glee and desire all in one.
“I am.” His mouth finds mine.
I never thought I would have a chance to feel him again. Bit by bit, his desperate kiss chips away at the void lodged inside my chest. The empty hole breaks apart to let in the light as Archer’s body heat fills me up again with his love.
“You’re alive,” I say on his lips, fisting the front of his T-shirt. “You are alive.” Those three words echo in my head as I lift his shirt to inspect him.
A smile pulls at his lips as he lets me explore his torso. I slide my hands over his abs, then move on to his straining obliques until I find the puckered scar. It looks like the stitches were recently removed, but it’s healed. I run the pads of my fingers over it.
“I’m sorry it took me this long to get back to you.” He cups my face. “I tried to come for you, but my family wouldn’t let me. And I was too weak to even leave my room, let alone go against them.”
“I thought I would never see you again.” I press my body to his, reveling in the feel of his muscled frame against me. “You promised you would never leave. And you did. You left me.” My tears soak his T-Shirt.
“I’m so sorry.” He meets my gaze, smiling at me. “I’ve been dying to kiss these lips since I woke up two months ago.” He bends down and claims my mouth again. “I’m here now.”
I glance over my shoulder at the clock over the mantle. “I’m supposed to be downstairs in like ten minutes. Hunter is coming over for dinner.”
“I figured he’d come here the minute he came out of hiding.” Archer rubs the stubble on the side of his face. “But that doesn’t matter. You’re not seeing him tonight.”
“Dad wants me to join them for dinner.” I gesture toward my cocktail dress as proof.
“You’re most certainly not dining with him wearing that.” The lust in his eyes makes me melt into him.
“I have no choice.” I kiss his shoulder.
“I would rather go downstairs right now and shoot them both,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Please don’t do that. I can’t lose you again.” I hug him. “Dad has extra security with him. “You against them. You can’t beat them.”
“I know.” He kisses the top of my head. “I didn’t come here for them.”
“What?” I glance up at him.
He touches the back of his fingers to my cheek. “I came for you.”
“What?” I stand back to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not leaving here without you.” He’s dead serious. “We have a small window to get out of here. Grab your shoes.”
“It’s too dangerous, Archer. Dad’s men will shoot you on sight.” I run a hand through my hair. “They’ll kill you without a second thought.”
“I know.” His jaw clenches. “But I can’t stand watching you in this room, night after night, all alone.”
“Watching me?” I scan the room, looking for a camera.
“You didn’t think I’d let you live here with a known killer without adding a few precautions, did you?” He cocks an eyebrow.
“What did you do?” I ask.
“Before my lawyer let you take over the mansion, Gardenia and Jacob made a few modifications to the house. There are cameras everywhere.” He points at the light fixture overhead. “I’ve been watching over you since you came here.” He cradles my cheek. “It was pure torture to have you so close and not be able to touch you. To see you so sad over my death and not be able to tell you the truth. For that, I am so sorry.”
“I wasn’t sad, Archer. I was dead too.” I wipe my cheek. “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”
“Because your father is a very dangerous man. Up until the night Hunter shot me, I didn’t know just how much.” He releases a breath.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I’ll explain everything later. We have to go now.” He takes my hand. When I don’t move, he cocks his head to look me in the eyes. “I don’t care if I have to carry you out of here kicking and screaming. You’re coming home with me tonight. You’re still my wife, Paloma. You belong with me.”
“If they kill you for real this time, I don’t think I can survive losing you all over again. It’s too risky.” I brace my hand on his chest. “Now that I know you’re alive, I can face something as trivial as a dinner with Hunter.”
He purses his lips, his dark gaze zeroed in on me as he says each word slowly. “Over. my. dead. body.”
“This is not the time to be stubborn.” I furrow my brows at him. “You have to go.” The idea of him leaving me again makes me want to puke, but I can’t let him put himself in danger again. I can’t lose him.
“Not without you. Grab your shoes, you’re going to need them.” He stands back to wait for me to decide.
“You are so stubborn.” I shake my head in disbelief, but then I do as he says. Mostly because I can’t stand the thought of being apart from him again.
My sneakers are by the bed where I left them on the way in. I pad toward them then slip them on. He takes my hand and ushers me to the terrace where he has a dark rope hanging over the balcony wall. He climbed two floors to get to me. The man is insane. And I’m madly in love with him.
“Have you ever rappelled before?” he asks as he hooks a harness around my waist and thighs.
“I’m a ballet dancer. I’m not allowed to participate in risky sports.” I let him secure the double rope around me. “What about you? Where’s your harness?”
“I don’t need one.” He plants a quick kiss on my cheek, then whispers, “Try not to scream.”
He picks me up and tosses me over the wall. I place a hand over my mouth to muffle my scream as I hang in midair, turning a few circles in the dead of night as the rope unwinds. A few seconds later, Archer climbs down the rope and positions himself behind me.
“Ready?” He presses his lips to my ear.
I nod. He releases the rope, and we go flying straight down, stopping only a foot before we hit the ground. I’m still dizzy, trying to figure out what just happened when Archer begins to remove all the ropes off my body. When he’s done stuffing his equipment back into a large backpack, he takes my hand and heads straight toward the woods behind the house.
“There are only two men guarding the back fence. We’ll be able to sneak past them.” He ushers me through the gardens.
I glance behind me at my childhood home, feeling nothing at the prospect of never seeing it again. I follow him into the safety of the dark behind the tree line. If I had to guess, we were headed to his house two miles away. Dad had mentioned that the home had been abandoned since Archer left. He had his men scope out the place before we moved back to Bedford. He wanted to make sure Archer’s family wouldn’t try to contact me.
By now, I’m sure Dad has figured out I’m not joining him for dinner. How long will he wait before he comes looking for me? Before he realizes I ran away with Archer. Butterflies flutter in my belly. I’m with Archer again. And he loves me.
“We’re going home?” I ask, holding on tight to his hand.
He stops and turns. For some reason, my question makes him beam at me. “Yes, Paloma. We’re going to our home.”
“Dad will not stand for this.” I step closer to him.
“We’ll deal with him when the time comes.” He dips his head toward the shimmering light in the distance. “We’re almost there.”
An hour later, the pond behind his property glistens under the moonlight. Even though the last time I was here the ground was covered in snow and the pond was frozen, this place feels like home. I almost died here, but I didn’t because Archer was here to save me. Just like he saved me again tonight.
“Bad memories.” He slows down his pace now that we’re in the safety of our home.
“Not at all.” I smile at him while the night becomes alive around us with the rhythmic buzzing of cicadas, the chirping of crickets, and an owl hooting in the distance. Our voices disturb the call of the spring peepers. The tranquility of the pond settles around us as water trickles quietly somewhere to our right. A minute later, when they feel safe again, they resume their singsong. “This place is so beautiful. When I woke up this morning, I never thought I’d end the night with a moonlight stroll with you.”
“When I woke up this morning.” He walks me back until I’m caged between his body and a huge tree. “I thought about how I could not spend another day without you.” He bends down and kisses me hard.
“I want you.” I slip my hands under his shirt, feeling his skin grow hot under my touch.
“Fuck.” He kisses my neck. “Even when I was in a coma, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. I dreamed of nothing else but you.”
I don’t have the heart to tell him that I made myself never think of him, not even his name. Knowing I would never see him again hurt too much. I was a coward who couldn’t deal with the pain of losing the love of her life. But all that is behind us now. Archer is alive. He came for me.
“I need you now.” He captures my mouth again, and our tongues collide in a desperate dance.
He cups my butt cheeks. On instinct, I wrap my legs around his waist and immediately feel his hard length press against my aching bud. His lips never leave mine as he frees his erection and enters me, stretching my walls to their limit. I dig my nails in his back, reveling in the feel of his steel cock deep inside me.
“Fuck, Little Dove.” He pauses to inhale against my neck. “You feel better than I remember.” He rolls his hips into me.
Bracing a hand on the tree trunk, he leans me against it to support most of my weight. He meets my gaze and then powers into me. Sex with Archer is like getting plunged into another world, a place where nothing matters but my own pleasure and the fulfillment of all my desires. He grips my hips tight as he continues his relentless torment on my G-spot.
My core tightens as he swells into me with precision. I’m already spiraling, tottering at the very edge of the cliff. Desires burns through me, and I can’t hold it anymore. Too much time has passed since the last time I felt this alive.
His entire body tenses, and I know he’s about to climax too. Gripping my ass, he pumps hard into me, fucking me without mercy in the only way he knows how. I want no one else. Only him. I let my head fall back and let my orgasm rip through me.
The sensation that fills me up is hot and raw. It’s more than pleasure or bliss. It’s everything combined into one perfect release of all this love I’ve contained inside my body when I thought he was lost to me.
“Jesus.” Archer wraps his arms around me as we ride the last of our climax together.
“Omigod.” I labor to catch my breath. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” He sucks hard on my neck, branding me as his.
He holds me against him for a few minutes, before he lets my legs fall to the ground. I lean on the tree as blood rushes to my legs. With a knowing smirk, Archer bends down and scoops me into his arms. I don’t protest as he carries me past the pond, beyond the tree line back to our home.
I lean my head on his shoulder and let the sway of his steps lull my senses. As soon as we cross the gate, he helps me into a golf cart. Smiling, I watch him walk around and take the driver’s seat.
“I still can’t believe I’m here again. I thought your family had returned to the UK.” I grip the handle to steady myself as the golf cart wheels bump over everything on the narrow garden path.
“We stayed in the city. We only came back to Bedford a week ago.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “I suppose it’s better if I tell you now.”
“What is it?” My heart beats fast in anticipation.
“My family didn’t want me doing this tonight. They thought it was too risky. So just brace yourself.” He stops the golf cart near the kitchen door, then climbs out.
“They’re going to be mad.” I let him help me off my seat.
“Yes. They got used to calling the shots while I was convalescing. But they need to understand that I’m back. And I’m the only who decides how much I’m willing to risk for my wife.” He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him.
“I thought Gardenia was trying to annul our marriage.” I glance up at him.
“She wasn’t.” He takes in a breath. “She was just trying to buy me some time. My recovery wasn’t easy.”
“I can’t even imagine what you went through.” I hug him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Hey.” He places a finger under my chin to make me look at him. “None of this was your fault. And I’m only sorry you had to live with a lie all these months. I was furious when I woke up to the news that everyone, including my wife, thought I was dead.”
“I understand why they did it.” I glance down at my hands for a beat. “Dad let me out of the cellar after he heard the news.”
“He locked you up?” He grits his teeth.
“He’s not right.” My eyes fill with tears.
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. I promise.” He kisses me gently.
“I trust you.” I let him usher me into the kitchen.
At this hour, the kitchen is buzzing with activity. They all stop to look at Archer and me, but besides that, the staff doesn’t comment on my presence here. Are they also mad that Archer risked his life tonight to save me?
“We’ll take dinner in our suite tonight, Mary Jane.” Archer nods at the rest of the crew.
“Of course, sir. Right away.” Mary Jane gives everyone a stern look, as if saying get back to work.
The chaos resumes, and Archer escorts me out with a big smile on his face. “That wasn’t too bad.” He walks behind me, kissing my neck. “Why did he lock you up? What happened?”
“I called him a murderer.” I turn to look at him. “Archer, I told him who you are. He was so mad he locked me up.”
He growls. “I never should’ve considered the idea of forgiving him. Your father is beyond redemption.”
“I know that now.” I glance down at the floor, then meet his gaze. “What happens now? He won’t react kindly to what we did tonight.”
“He already knows.” Gardenia is in the foyer with her arms crossed over her chest. I’ve seen her be mad at everyone, but her facial expression right now is something new. “Seems getting shot at makes people suicidal.”
“Gardenia, enough,” Fisher says from the living room.
Freya and Jacob are next to him, looking at us like we just eloped or something.
“No, Dad. She has to know how bad this is. Tristan almost died because of her. And now he’s risking his life again. And not just his. This little stunt of theirs will affect all of us.” She puffs out a breath. “Now the Senator knows we’re here, it will take him all of two seconds to realize Tristan is alive.”
“It’s why we must leave tonight.” Freya joins the group.
“I second that.” Jacob stuffs his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I don’t even need to pack; we can just walk out right now.”
“You’re all more than welcome to leave. I told you before. I’m done running. And I’m sure as hell done hiding too.” Archer looks at me, his eyes searching my face. “One way or another, my business with your father has to end.”
“I understand.” I nod. “But Archer.” I stop to inhale and remember that Archer isn’t his real name. “Tristan,” I correct. When he beams at me, I continue, “Dad won’t stop until you’re really dead.”
“I know.” He slides his thumb over my lips. “It took me a while to accept this, but now I see it. My idea for revenge was childish. The Senator has powerful allies. I get rid of one, and another one takes his place. The only way to keep you all safe is for me to kill him.”