Chapter 28
TWENTY EIGHT
ARCHER
“Let’s pick up there next time because I want to dive into that more. Sound good?” Doctor Stevens asked, setting his notebook and pen aside. With the amount he wrote, he could probably throw the pen away. There was no way it had any ink left.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you.” I rose from the chair I’d spent the last hour in, which was surprisingly comfy considering it didn’t seem like it would be, and shook his hand.
“Great, then I’ll see you next week.”
I closed the door to his office, checked out with reception, and made my way to the elevators. Pressing the button for the ground floor, I watched the doors slide closed, then exhaled a large breath.
Therapy was a lot harder than I thought it would be.
I knew we’d have to talk about my past, but what I hadn’t expected was the deep dive Dr. Stevens took right from the start.
Our first session was supposedly an intake, and what I thought was going to be simply getting acquainted with one another turned into a vast, yet brief, overview of my entire life.
Nothing I said seemed to faze him in the slightest either—at least not yet.
But I’d expected him to at least raise an eyebrow.
The lack of pity in his eyes was refreshing and greatly appreciated.
I’d also expected him to do a lot more talking, but the reality was that I carried most of the conversation, and that in and of itself felt strange.
However, what surprised me the most about therapy was how exhausted yet energized I felt afterward—it was like I spent the last hour working out, but also getting a massage.
When I described it to Darcy after the first appointment, she’d said it was because I was emotionally exhausted from carrying the weight of my trauma alone all these years, but I didn’t feel emotionally depleted. In fact, I felt the opposite.
I woke up every morning with a smile on my face because, most mornings, she was there in bed next to me.
The mornings she wasn’t were because I was at work, but I knew I’d see her on her lunch break, or on her way home.
On my days off, if she wasn’t at the gym with clients, we’d go on double dates with Harrison and Sophie, or grab mocktails with Shayna who, as I was finding out, was an absolute wild card.
One day, she’d be down to grab a lowkey bite to eat, and the next she’d be rapping shockingly intelligible lyrics into a half-drunk bottle of Jack.
I could see why she and Darcy were friends.
Other days, Darcy and I would stay in at one of our places, curl up on the couch, and alternate who got to pick the movie we watched, and we talked.
We talked more in the last two weeks than I’d probably talked in my whole life.
The latest hot topic of ours? Baby’s fruit or vegetable size.
Nothing about the size comparisons made any damn sense.
Last week, the app Darcy had said the baby was the size of a spaghetti squash, but this week it was a head of cauliflower.
Never in my life had I seen cauliflower bigger than a spaghetti squash.
It didn’t get any better if she switched categories either—they were all equally confusing.
So while she checked the baby’s comparison to a random fruit or vegetable, I focused on the estimated numerical measurements.
I extended the trip home from therapy with a quick pitstop.
The grocery store was a madhouse with everyone getting out of work, but I needed one more thing for the surprise I had waiting back at my house for Darcy.
Now that we’d decided we were doing the whole relationship thing for real, it felt like I should maybe have something for her for Valentine’s Day, which was a holiday I had zero practice in participating in.
Flowers and chocolates were an immediate no.
I’m sure she wouldn’t mind flowers, and I knew she loved chocolate, but I wasn’t going to give her the generic holiday experience.
Plus, we hadn’t actually discussed her feelings on the holiday, and if it turned out she hated it, I wanted to be able to spin the surprise off as completely unrelated.
When I got home, I started on dinner, firing the grill up and getting a pan going with the bacon.
Linnea had been insistent when I reached out to her for advice that bacon was a crucial element.
After that, I started on dessert. There wasn’t much time before Darcy would get here, which had me rushing around to get everything done and in place.
By the time I heard Darcy’s car pull into my driveway, I was just pulling the burgers off the grill.
“Archer?” she called, presumably from the doorway, not having entered the kitchen yet. I smiled, grabbed the plates, and let myself in through the sliding glass doors of the back deck.
“Hi. How was your day?” I asked, dropping the plates on the table before wrapping her in a hug where she stood frozen in the doorway.
“I’m good. Archer, what is all of this?” she asked, peeking over my shoulder. I released her, watching as she took in the scene before her. Had I gone overboard? Was it too much? Not enough?
Candles were scattered strategically across the floors of the dining room and living room, a fact that had me more than a little on edge, but I had to admit it was enchanting.
I did, however, know exactly how many there were, and had all thirty-two sitting in small trays of water.
Just in case. Soft music played through the speaker I’d set up in the living room, not that it was Darcy’s taste, but even the instrumental versions of Eminem songs were still a little too upbeat for what I was going for.
Darcy’s eyes landed on the burgers I’d brought in, then moved to the plate of cheese-smothered fries topped with jalapenos, bacon, and green onion. Her mouth dropped as it all clicked together in her head.
“Is this . . .”
“The bacon cheeseburgers and loaded fries from The Crooked Quill?’ I supplied, pressing my lips together. “Yes.”
“How did you do this?” Her bag slipped off her shoulder absentmindedly, the fries like a homing beacon, luring her toward them. Popping one in her mouth, she let out a moan that bordered on indecent before reaching for another.
“The owner claimed he owed me a favor after putting out a small kitchen fire while Harrison and I were drinking there a while back.” I shrugged, grabbing her a wine glass of seltzer water with lime, and pulling out her chair.
“I was never planning on cashing it in, but I know how much you like their food, so I told him if he could tell me how he makes it all we’d be even.
He gave me the seasoning he uses on the burgers and the homemade aioli and everything. ”
Walking around the table, I sat down in time to see Darcy’s eyes widen. “Shut up, he did not.”
I chuckled. “He did. Take a bite, and let me know what you think.”
She didn’t hesitate. The burger appeared massive in her hands, but she took a bite, her expression unreadable as she chewed.
“Well?” I prompted once I saw her swallow.
“Yeah, you’re not allowed to watch me eat this,” she said in a serious tone.
I huffed out a nervous laugh. “What? Why not?”
“Because I am about to devour this burger in the grossest, most unladylike way possible, and I’d like you to still be attracted to me after this,” she deadpanned.
“I think I’m attracted to you most when you’re unladylike. Eat the burger.” I nodded at her. She shrugged and then did exactly as she promised, finishing the entire thing before I’d made it halfway through mine. And like I’d promised, I was even more attracted to her.
When we were finished, she leaned back in her chair, hands resting gently on her stomach. “That was incredible. Thank you.”
I cleared the plates, then returned to the table, and held my hand out for her to take. She let me pull her wordlessly up the stairs, though I could see the questions she had swirling around in those hazel eyes, as I led her towards my bathroom.
There was a much more reasonable amount of candles lining the rim of the large, two-person soaker tub, and I carefully avoided knocking them over as I started the water. Bubbles instantly started foaming from the soap I’d added earlier, and I turned to see Darcy watching me warmly.
She took a couple steps closer. “Okay, for real, what’s going on?”
Reaching out, I grabbed the hem of her shirt in my hands, raising an eyebrow by way of asking if it was okay. She nodded, and I pulled it up over her head, letting it fall to the floor before starting on her leggings. “What? We can’t have a nice night in?”
She narrowed her eyes on me. “Archer. There are a bajillion and one lit candles in the house right now, and you left dirty dishes in your sink.”
I laughed until it died in my throat once she was fully naked before me. “Fine. I wanted to do something for you for Valentine’s Day.”
The light from the candles mingled with the happiness lighting her eyes. “So you went with all this?”
“Is it too much?” I asked, my hands falling to her hips.
Darcy shook her head. “No, it’s beautiful and incredibly thoughtful, but I didn’t get you anything, and now I feel kind of stupid.”
Pulling my shirt over my head, I grinned. “Don’t. Your present can be getting in this tub with me.”
Smiling, she pressed up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“I can do that.” Then she climbed into the tub, and I watched her skin disappear into the cloud of bubbles.
She glanced over her shoulder, the candlelight flickering against her bare skin.
It was an image that was entirely too sensual for the jeans I had on, and I quickly discarded them onto the pile of our clothes.
She slid forward, allowing me to slide into the luke-warm water behind her. I grabbed her hips and pulled her toward me so that her back was flush against my chest, her ass dangerously close to my dick.
“Lean your head back,” I murmured and waited until she complied before I grabbed the cup I’d set on the edge and used it to pour water over her hair.
Then I put some shampoo in my hand and began lathering it through her hair, spending a good amount of time massaging it into her scalp.
Her eyes closed, a contented sigh leaving her rosy lips.
I placed a kiss to the skin right below her ear, and she squirmed slightly.
“Archer—” She started to speak, but I silenced her, nipping at her earlobe.
“Shh. Relax.”
“Then stop kissing my neck.” Her hands started inching back behind her, the palm of her hand brushing my erection.
“Behave.” I removed her hand with one of my own, and began rinsing her hair. When I was finished, I pushed her slightly. “Other side of the tub with you.”
Doing as I asked, she moved to rest against the other end of the tub, displacing the bubbles as she went, and giving me a glimpse of her breasts in the process.
Fucking hell.
Hold it together, Archer.
I held out my hand. “Foot please.”
She lifted one of her long legs out of the water, delicately placing her foot in my hand, her teeth toying with her bottom lip.
This was perhaps one of the best and worst ideas I’d ever had.
If she kept it up, all the sweetness would leave my body completely and be replaced by the animalistic hunger I was barely keeping at bay.
I began massaging the arch of her foot, working my thumbs in small circles up to her toes and back down, eliciting a throaty groan from her.
After a while, I switched to the other one, giving it the same treatment.
At some point, Darcy had let her head fall back against the edge of the tub, but when I set her foot down, she snapped it up, eyes locking on mine instantly.
“Are you done?” Her tone was lascivious.
I nodded. “I’m done.”
“Good,” was all she said before she launched herself at me, water sloshing up over the side of the bath as she crawled into my lap, her mouth finding mine in a deep kiss.
I wrapped an arm around her waist, my other hand going to the back of her head, holding her to me.
The kiss was an intoxicating mix of slow and fast, of passion and desire, of lust and . . . more.
She rose up onto her knees, not breaking away from the kiss as she grabbed my length, lined me up with her entrance, and then sank down, impaling herself on me fully.
“Fuck, Darcy. Holy shit,” I groaned against her mouth, her tongue darting out to swipe at my lower lip.
The smile curving her lips was sinful. “My turn to take care of you.”
I moved my hands to her thighs as she began to ride me, slowly at first, moving up and down my cock, her pussy gripping me tightly. She stopped at the top, swirling her hips around the head before plunging back down, her rhythm fast and hard.
Sliding my hands up her legs, I gripped her ass, clenching my teeth to keep from controlling the pace she set.
But after a couple minutes, I couldn't help myself.
I pressed her down onto my cock, stilling her as her pleasured cries echoed around the bathroom.
“Archer, please,” she panted, hips squirming in my hands.
I shook my head, sliding one of my hands between us to find her clit. “I want you to come with me.” I circled it lightly with my thumb.
Her hands moved into my hair. “Yes. Yes. More.”
Increasing the pressure, I began stroking the tiny bundle of nerves and her hips snapped into motion. I thrusted up to meet her, her breasts bouncing tantalizingly as she ground down against me, and it wasn’t long until I felt my release building and burning through me.
“Shit, Darcy,” I hissed, sucking one of her nipples into my mouth and strumming at her clit.
“Fuck! Archer!” she moaned, her body tightening around mine as I pumped into her over and over until I snapped and she screamed, the two of us plummeting over the edge together.
Darcy collapsed onto my shoulder, breathing heavily into my neck, and I held her tightly to me as I listened to the steady pounding of our hearts.
When the water grew cold, I carefully lifted her off me. “We’re going to need a redemption round. I finished far too fast.”
She leaned forward, her nose brushing mine. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to get me pregnant.”
I watched as she got out of the tub. If she hadn’t been pregnant already, a crazy part of me thought she might’ve been right.