Epilogue – London
A rcher and I have been back together three weeks and two days.
I mean, that’s if I’m counting.
And I’m counting.
Because being with Archer is worth keeping track of, and for the first time in my life, I finally feel at home, at peace, and safe. With myself, with a man.
I never thought I’d find that and I’m beyond grateful Archer gave me a second chance—gave us a second chance.
“What’s got you smiling?” Archer asks me from his spot at his computer, his tattooed fingers resting on the keys.
“Nothing,” I lie and put my arm over the back of the couch, turning fully toward him. “What happened to the no falling in love thing?”
“What?”
“When I first got here, you set some ground rules. One of which was no falling in love.”
Archer grins. “I guess some rules are meant to be broken.” He returns to his task but I stay focused on him.
“Tell me how you do it.”
“Do what?” His brows bunch together and because I can, I rise from my spot and walk over to him.
Before, when we were just roommates, I wouldn’t act on those impulses, those urges to be near him. At least not in an unfiltered way. Sure, I gravitated in his vicinity, but not like this.
I’m his girlfriend now, so I’m allowed to invade his personal space.
Putting my arm around his shoulder, I nod to the computer. “How did you stalk me?”
“You’re saying it like it’s past tense,” Archer scoffs and pulls me into his lap, his hand resting on my bare knee. His touch is warm and electric and sends a shock wave straight to my center.
I’ve never wanted a man as badly as I want Archer Sin—and boy am I lucky I can have him whenever I want.
“Come on,” I tell him. “Show me.”
Archer kisses the side of my head. “You really want to know?”
“Don’t make me beg.”
Archer sighs and leans forward to type a sequence of buttons I can’t quite keep track of. A bunch of screens pop up, some loading, some with code still on it, and some with camera feeds. “Traffic cameras are cake to hack into. Those are everywhere. There aren’t many dead spots in the city, so tracking someone is super simple. And most businesses have some sort of security or surveillance system that uses their Wi-Fi, which is child’s play. Once you get the hang of how to get in, it’s pretty easy. Some have audio, some are in black and white, some have color. It just varies depending on what they’re using. I haven’t come across anything I haven’t been able to hack into. Anything with a Wi-Fi connection or a camera is fair game. Cell phones, smart TVs, computers, baby monitors, you name it, I can get access to it.”
I watch in awe at the tabs displayed, wondering if there’s anything I could ever hide from Archer if he truly wanted to find it out. He already knows the worst of my secrets, I guess there isn’t anything I wouldn’t be willing to share with him.
“And…” Archer clears his throat. “Since I’m being honest right now. There are trackers on almost everything you own. Your phone, your purses, your shoes.” He swallows harshly like he’s a bit embarrassed by what he’s saying. “Some of your jewelry, too.”
I breathe in deeply, my shoulders rising with it. “Well, I mean, that explains a lot.”
“Are you mad?” He breaks his attention from the computer to look at me.
“No.” I cup his cheek in my hand, my thumb running along his skin. “But you better not be stalking any other women. I draw the line at me. I know you’re an untouchable Sin brother, but I will castrate you if you?—”
Archer cuts me off, pressing his lips to mine, kissing me in such a passionate way that I lose track of my thoughts. He breaks, resting his forehead on mine. “I don’t want anyone other than you, London, I swear. I give you my word.”
“Good.” I give him a brief peck. “What else can you hack into? Can you get me some of the money my dad had tied up with the Feds when he died?”
“Let me see.” Archer scoots us a little closer, going to work typing on the screen. It takes him two minutes to pull up five of my father’s accounts, all of them frozen.
“I can’t believe the bastard took everything with him.”
Archer lets out a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, little tornado, I’ve got this.”
Ten minutes later, Archer has managed to pull all but a tiny amount of money out of each of the accounts, rerouting it to various offshore accounts and finally depositing it into another, totaling over twenty-three million dollars.
I blink at the screen, not quite following completely. “What did you just do?”
“I got you the money.” He says it so matter-of-fact, like he expects me to understand what he just did. “Long story short, I ran his money through a few different businesses to legitimize it, made a fake will, put everything as payable to you upon death, and put it in an account with your name on it. It’s yours now, legally. And because of the way I set it up, there are no state or federal taxes that need to be paid.”
My mouth drops open at the zeros staring at me in my new bank account. “Holy shit, I have never been more attracted to you in my entire life.”
“Yeah?” Archer squeezes my thigh and grins. “It’s just twenty million, though, I can give you more.”
“Shut up and kiss me, big boy.” I shake my head and smile at him before crashing my mouth onto his, his tongue parting my lips.
He snakes his hand farther up my thigh and under my skirt. My legs part, desperate for him to keep going.
Archer doesn’t stop. He keeps inching closer and closer until the tip of his finger hooks under my panties and is sliding over my wetness.
I moan into his mouth and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him deeper as he penetrates me. He obliges me by putting another finger in, curving them upward and rocking them along my G-spot. I nearly tremble under his touch, my body coming alive for him. I tighten around his fingers and quiver when he brushes his thumb over my aching clit.
Archer weaves his free hand up my back to my neck, and grips a handful of my hair, dragging me away from his kiss. His eyes meet mine and I’m damn glad, because this means he’s going to let me orgasm soon. If the last few weeks have taught me anything, it’s that Archer loves to watch me come undone for him.
He tightens his hold on the back of my head and rocks his fingers inside of me like he’s mastered the art of fucking me with every part of him. “Anything you want, London. It’s yours.” He continues to finger me. “You want money, it’s yours. I’ll take you anywhere, give you anything. You want the world to fucking burn, I’ll light the match. You have me—mind, body, and soul—in this life and the next. A million times over.”
My climax heightens with every word he speaks.
“My heart, my cock, my fingers…all yours.” He tilts my head toward him as I gasp and moan. His nose grazes mine. “Now come for me, little tornado. Show me what a beautiful mess you can make.”
He hits my clit and G-spot at just the right fucking angle to send me flying over the edge, my orgasm hitting so hard I lose vision for a second as I shatter under his heavenly wrath. My legs shake and he kisses me, swallowing every one of my moans. He doesn’t stop moving his fingers, not even while I tremble uncontrollably, pure bliss consuming me. Archer slows his movements and smiles against my mouth. “That’s my girl.” He carefully pumps his fingers in and out a few more times before withdrawing and sliding them around my throbbing clit. Archer tugs my panties back over my pussy and brings his hand to his mouth, tasting his soaked fingers. “The finest delicacy known to man.”
I catch my breath and will my heart to stop racing and the world to stop spinning. I’d think I’d be used to him making me come this intensely, but each time is unlike the last.
The second I’m almost certain I can return to somewhat normal, I almost jump out of his arms when the door to his apartment flies open and Seven steps through.
“Shit,” Archer mutters and glances at his watch. “I lost track of the days.”
“Smells like sex in here,” Seven announces loudly.
I manage to hop off Archer’s lap and stand without my legs giving out, forcing a polite smile at the rest of his siblings that follow Seven in. Dusting off the wrinkles in my skirt, I walk barefoot over to the kitchen and reach for the cabinet where the plates are, but Archer beats me there, swatting my hand away.
“Go sit down, little tornado. I’ve got this.”
I fold my arms over my chest and glare at him. “I can help.”
He presses a quick kiss on my lips. “I know you can, but that doesn’t mean you have to.” Archer gently pushes me. “Go sit at the table. I’ll be right behind you.”
“I wish you were right behind me.” I wink at him and smile as a smirk forms on his handsome face. “I made you blush.”
His eyes darken and I wish like hell I could read whatever filth that’s on his mind.
“There’s my firecracker.” Seven interrupts us and slaps his hands on the counter. “How are we?”
I sense the shift in Archer and react accordingly, moving to get Seven away from him. Archer is still pissed at Seven, and at Leo, and despite reasoning with him, I can’t quite get him to forgive them yet. I’m not even family and he gave me a second chance, I don’t know why he can’t do the same for them. Although, knowing those two, it’s probably their five billionth time stabbing Archer in the back.
Seven leans in close and lowers his voice. “You talk to Grace yet?”
“I’m working on it,” I tell him and guide him over to the table, pulling out a chair for him to sit in, at the far side where I know Archer won’t be. “These things require finessing.”
Seven shoves his bottom lip out, pouting like a damn baby.
“Cut that out. Grace wants a man, not a child,” I tease him.
He immediately straightens in his seat and adjusts his black satin shirt, the top two buttons undone and showing off his tattooed chest. “How’s this?” Seven shakes his head not even four whole seconds later. “Ah, who am I kidding?” He slumps in the chair and throws his arm over the back of the one next to him.
“I was almost impressed, Sev.” I slap his shoulder and turn toward the rest of the family as they settle into their respective chairs.
“London.” August nods a hello and thumbs something into his phone before setting it on the table and taking off his suit jacket. Does he not realize that family dinners don’t exactly require formal attire? Unless that’s all he owns. Suddenly, I can’t picture August in anything other than suits, even when he goes to bed, or gets in the shower, or goes for a swim in a pool.
I bite down a laugh as Ivy’s burning stare draws my attention. “Hey, Ivy.”
“I see you two resolved things,” she says, not even trying to hide her annoyance.
Archer approaches from beside her and sets a stack of plates on the table. “We have, which means you need to get that stick out of your ass, sister.”
She doesn’t get a chance to respond, not verbally—with her eyes she speaks a thousand words at once, none of them nice—because Leo comes over and opens his mouth.
“London, hey, how are you?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before turning toward Archer. “Arch, buddy, have you forgiven me yet? I could really use your help, please.”
Archer, stone-cold, ignores him and passes a plate across the table to Seven. “Here.”
“Oh, so you’re talking to him, but you’re not talking to me?” Leo blurts out.
“A word?” I grab Leo’s arm and tug him away from the table, ignoring the looks of everyone else as I take it upon myself to insert myself in business that probably isn’t mine to deal with.
His muscles bunch under my touch but he complies, letting me lead him out of direct earshot. Leo fixes the collar of his white button-up, his entire aesthetic something straight out of rich man Pinterest . I hate how attractive he is, how attractive each one of the siblings are, especially because they’re not even actually related. Well, Seven and Ivy are, but still, the point stands. How is it possible to have this good of genes between this misfit bunch? It’s no wonder people are intimidated by them, they’re nearly too pretty for their own good.
“You have to stop nagging him,” I tell Leo, hoping he’ll understand. “I know you guys are family and you have a way of doing things, but I don’t think it’s working, Leo. If anything, it’s making him want to help you even less.”
Leo sighs and runs his hand through his hair, the disheveled locks falling over his brow. “We fight. It’s what we do. He’s usually over it by now.” He narrows his green gaze. “Then you had to come along.”
I shove him playfully. “You were an asshole long before I got here.”
“Touché.” He chews on his lip and glances at the table. “I’ll try to do it your way. But could you at least put a good word in for me?”
“What do you even want him to do?”
“Track down the woman that robbed me.”
“To do what with her?”
Leo shrugs. “I just want to talk to her, that’s all…and get back what she stole from me.”
This time, it’s me that glares at him. “You’re rich, Leo. Replace whatever it is she took and I’m sure your ego will repair itself.”
“You don’t get it, she?—”
“Everything okay over here?” Archer comes over and puts his arm around me like he’s marking his territory.
I lean into him. “Leo was just telling me what he wants to get you for Christmas.”
“Christmas isn’t for another couple of months,” Archer says.
“Trust the process, big boy.” I pat his chest and hope he chooses to let it go. I don’t want to watch him get into a fistfight with another one of his brothers. As hot as the whole bad boy thing is, I draw the line at unnecessarily destroying his apartment again. Seven and Archer made one hell of a mess when they beat each other senseless.
Plus, the damage Archer made when he blew the wall out between my apartment and his, and we finally just got rid of all the debris in the aftermath of creating a doorway between the two. I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to tell Camille, but that’s a problem for another day, and Archer claims he’ll handle it since he’s the one who tore it down. I guess that’s one of the perks of having a seemingly endless supply of money—there isn’t a problem you can’t fix by throwing some cash at it.
Archer and I return to the table and slide into our chairs, him grabbing hold of the leg of mine and scooting me closer to him. He opens a box of noodles and puts some on my plate before giving himself some, too.
I give him an egg roll and take one for myself, making sure to hand him a packet of the duck sauce I’ve come to recognize that he likes.
“Thanks,” he says with a soft smile, taking it from me.
To be seen is to be loved , and boy is that all Archer ever does—sees me. When I’m mad, grouchy, hungry, tired, happy, sad, hyper, annoying…there isn’t a version that has turned him away, not even the one where I betrayed him. That is a mistake I will never repeat. I was lucky Archer has forgiven me, I won’t take that for granted again. He hurt me, too, but he was justified in what he did, meanwhile I was just being a selfish asshole.
August clears his throat and I don’t think there’s a single one of us that doesn’t tear our eyes away from whatever we were focusing on to give him our attention. August is a man of few words, but when he speaks, he commands authority. Not like the rest of the guys do, in a threatening manner, but in a respectful way.
“I was contacted by a gaming owner, Leo. He wanted to set up a meeting to discuss a possible merger.”
Leo shakes his head and I already know where this is headed. This is the guy who ambushed him at the gala Grace put on. The one that Leo said he’d never go into business with because of how clean he ran things. I passively suggested killing him, but apparently that wasn’t a viable option.
“My secretary informed me that he has been quite persistent,” August adds.
“Yeah, he calls nonstop. Shows up unexpectedly. Won’t take no for an answer.” Leo rummages through a few boxes of Chinese takeout, settling on some brown meat thing.
Archer, as if he can sense my energy, puts his hand on my knee.
I don’t care if people eat meat around me, but I can’t help the strange visceral reaction from time to time when I see it. Archer stopped consuming it completely and despite reassuring him that it was okay, he insists that it isn’t a big deal. Considering I eat most of my meals with him, that doesn’t allow for much meat consumption. We’ve gone to dinner and have gone out with Grace, but Archer tends to make sure other people aren’t around us. I sort of forgot what it was like to be around meat. Still, I can’t help but think about that man my father dismembered and fed to a pig.
Archer’s jaw tenses and I put my hand on his because I know damn well he’s about to make a scene.
“It’s fine,” I whisper. “Really.”
“Why don’t you kill him?” Seven blurts out, none of which surprising any of us.
Leo chuckles. “That’s what a friend told me to do, too.” He shoots a quick glance my direction.
Seven shrugs. “We could do it right now. I don’t have anything going on. We could be done in an hour. Two, tops. Tell me his name.”
“Seven,” Ivy snaps. “Seriously? Do you have no decorum?”
“I’m going to be real with you, baby sis. I have no idea what that means.” Seven stares across the table at her. “Is that, like, a made-up word or something? You trying to act all smart? Make me look stupid? Is that what this is about? The fuck do you know about decorations.”
Ivy doesn’t soften her glare as she keeps her eyes on Seven. “Decorum.”
“Potato, potahto.”
“Can you stop talking about murder at the dinner table?” Ivy asks Seven.
“They can talk about it but I can’t? How is that fair?” Seven pouts.
“When was anyone else talking about murder?”
Leo stands abruptly, holding his finger out to silence us. “I have to take this. Shut up for a second, guys.” He puts the phone to his ear, his gaze frantically scanning at nothing in particular. “What do you mean? You can’t be serious. What the fuck? How? When? Why am I just now getting a call? Are you fucking serious? I swear to everything holy, if this is some sick prank, I will have your— Yes, yes, I understand. Okay. I’ll be right there.”
Archer remains unfazed in his spot next to me, not wanting to give in that he’s curious in the slightest at what that might have been about, but the rest of us, we’re eagerly waiting for Leo to give us any indication of what’s going on.
Leo lowers his arm and for the first time since I’ve known him, he seems truly fucking haunted. “The casino was robbed.”
“Isn’t that what insurance is for?” Seven asks a pretty valid question.
“Not for what I had hidden underneath.” Leo takes a deep breath, his eyes lingering on Archer, who still won’t look in his direction. “Even still, you won’t help me?”
Archer blinks a few times as if he’s contemplating his response carefully, and I hate that I can already tell what is about to come out of his mouth isn’t going to go over well, not with Leo, who clearly needs him. “I told you not to mess with the diamonds. I told you not to mess with the art.” Archer rises from his seat, finally meeting Leo’s desperate gaze. “I told you not to mess with the jewelry, the cars, the guns. What else, Leo? You never listen to me. And you have the audacity to beg me to help you? This is your mess, fix it yourself.”
Leo keeps his face straight and slowly nods. He leaves the table and doesn’t bother looking back.
“Leo,” Ivy calls out. “Don’t go. Let’s talk this out, like a family.”
Leo pauses at the door. “Seven, you with me?”
“Fuck this shit.” Seven shoves his plate forward and takes off after Leo, leaving the rest of us behind in gaping silence.
I don’t dare say a word, not because I don’t want to, but because I know it’s not my place. I’ve inflicted enough damage since I showed up here earlier this year.
My only option is to accept they’ll figure this out on their own.
Leo takes one final glance over his shoulder at the door. His sights are trained on Archer as he says, “I’ll remember this.”