Chapter 9
ARCHER
“Come on, come on, come on,” I anxiously whisper into the silence of my car, drumming my fingernails restlessly on the steering wheel.
Fucking hell, this is risky, even for me.
A few floors above, I’ve got my center and best friend saying good night to his baby sister, thinking she’s heading home because of a headache. That’s what Darcy told me she’d say right before I withdrew my hand from between her thighs and licked my fingers clean.
My engine idles in Jack and Kendra’s apartment parking lot as I drop my head between my shoulders and wait outside the door Darcy will walk through at any second.
“What are you doing, Archer?” I breathe quietly to myself right before there’s a light knock on my passenger window.
I dart my head around to find Darcy waiting, and I quickly unlock my car, checking to make sure I heated her seat.
She pulls the door open and immediately climbs in, dropping her Saint Laurent tote onto the floorboard between her feet.
Her eyes track to my dash and then to me.
“You realize it’s not cold?” She giggles.
She’s nervous—I can tell, although I’m not surprised. I know from talking with Jack and overhearing conversations on nights out between her, Kendra, and Jenna—which I likely, definitely, shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on—that tonight, I’ll be only the second guy she’s been with.
Darcy isn’t the only one nervous. I’m officially shitting myself.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been in this position—a smokeshow sitting in my passenger seat, waiting for me to take her home.
This isn’t just any girl though, and tonight isn’t like any other I’ve shared.
Darcy was right when she said the stakes are higher than the average hookup.
But what she doesn’t seem to realize is, for me, there isn’t a chance in hell I’d fuck her and then tell her to leave. The fact that she even asked me not to do that tore me in two.
Tonight is way more than just a fuck to me. I thought I’d made my intentions clear when I pinned her up against the wall in Jack and Kendra’s apartment.
Jesus. I never want to hear the word playboy fall from her lips again.
I grin playfully. “I use my heated seats throughout the year. No one likes a cold ass.”
She rolls her eyes at me, cheeks pinkening with flirtation.
It’s all the invite I need as I lean across the center section of my Mercedes and palm the back of her head, pulling her toward me.
“You’ve got no fucking idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”
On a crimson flush that descends her chest, I brush my lips over hers. Darcy’s eyes flutter closed, but I keep mine open, burning the visual into my brain.
Another pass of my lips, and she opens her eyes, fixing them on the door she just walked through.
“Anyone could come through there unannounced.”
“Mmhmm,” I hum into her mouth. “I probably should care, but I really don’t give a fuck.”
She giggles again at that, doing things to my heart rate. After tonight, I’ve got no idea how hard I’ll have to work to get her into my bed again, and I intend to savor every last noise she makes for me.
“Well, I think it’s best if we get out of here.”
She moves away, but I pull her back into me.
“You’re right. If we stay here a second longer, doing this, I’m going to take you in my car, and that’s the opposite of how I pictured us together. I want this to be perfect for you.”
Her eyes sparkle with mischief. “It’s just sex, Archer. Or respectful fucking, if you will.”
I shake my head at her, forcing another fake grin. I hate that she thinks it’s only sex to me.
I lean into her, smoothing my hand along her left knee, and her soft skin pebbles beneath my touch.
“I dare you to say that again in the morning.”
“Come here.” I flip my hand toward me as we ride the private elevator to my penthouse.
In her pink designer heels, she takes a step forward, and I clamp my hands on her waist, spinning her around so she’s against the railing.
Baby-blue eyes peer up at me as she rests a hand on my forearm, her other holding the Saint Laurent tote bag by her side.
With my spare hand, I reach down and take the bag, hooking it over my shoulder. We’re inches—no, centimeters—apart, and Darcy’s sweet breath and perfume wash over me in waves.
“You’re really intense—you know that?” she repeats her previous observation and swallows thickly, gaze dropping to my mouth. “When I imagined …” She trails off, and frustration curls inside me.
“Finish your sentence, Darcy. What were you imagining?”
Her eyes widen, and I suspect that’s exactly how they’ll look when I slide inside her later. I can wait for that though, sensing this is a first glimpse into whatever fantasies she might’ve had about us.
She shakes her head, and I move my hand from her waist, snaking it up to her pulse point. It’s racing, just like my heart.
“You’re hiding something, Doll. Tell me what it is.” I trace my fingers over her delicate skin, pushing back a few strands of hair. “What’s going on in that pretty mind?”
“I guess … I always thought you wouldn’t be this attentive with women.” Her eyes fall to her bag on my shoulder. “You surprise me, is all.”
I know she can feel how hard I am when I press my body against her, dropping my forehead to meet hers. The elevator doors to my apartment open, though neither one of us looks away from each other.
My heart thumps faster. “That’s because this isn’t how it usually goes.
Ordinarily, I’d already be in bed with her.
” I don’t know how much to divulge since I’ve never been in this position with a girl before.
I’ve never been this vulnerable. “I’ve always called the shots during hookups.
I don’t want to do that with you. I want to be sure that whatever I do is one hundred percent for you. I’m just lucky to be here.”
Releasing a steadying breath, she rolls her lips together. “Are you sleeping with me because you’re worried I’ll go home with the wrong type of person? I know you’ve said I’m special to you, but is that because you know we’ll have to see each other again after this?”
The way I want to wrap her in my arms and extract the intrusive thoughts from her head has my own mind spinning out. “It’s neither, Darcy. I’m here because I want to be, because it’s all I’ve thought about for far too long.”
Her look of pure innocence as she absorbs my reassurance squeezes my chest. I’ve never had a woman look at me like this before, and I know exactly why—I’ve never allowed them to. Everything I’ve ever done was devoid of emotion, the complete opposite of tonight.
She reaches behind her back, and I inch away.
Holy fucking hell.
When her black top drops to the floor by her feet, she slowly lifts her eyes to look at me.
I am certifiably fucked.
Darcy stands in front of me, wearing a black lace bra, revealing that her perfectly proportioned tits make the ideal handful, and her pink miniskirt—along with the killer heels I’m seriously thinking about asking her to leave on tonight—pump my blood faster.
“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she teases.
I swipe a palm across my mouth, utterly speechless.
Liam let this woman go.
“Don’t fucking tempt me,” I whisper because that’s all I’m capable of right now. “Seriously, don’t fucking tempt me.”
A bubble of laughter spills out as she lurches forward and dips her hand into my pocket, pulling my cell out and handing it to me. “Actually, take the picture. You can use it as a screensaver and show Jack.”
I deadpan and fight for breath as she hooks her thumbs under the waistband of her skirt, letting it fall down to the ground. The flimsy excuse for panties I pushed aside earlier sit high on her hourglass figure, matching her bra.
“Are you being serious?” I ask, voice trembling at the sight and my need to put my hands on her.
She nods once, kicking her clothes out of the picture. “I told you, I want to have fun. You make me feel sexy, and I want to remember the feeling.”
I unlock my iPhone and open the Camera app, bringing the screen up in front of me.
I’m so fucking close to blowing straight into my pants.
I’ve done some pretty outrageous stuff with women, but this, with Darcy right here, is a first for me, and it’s single-handedly the sexiest experience of my life.
“Take the picture, Archer,” she breathes, her chest rising and falling more quickly than before.
I snap two shots, both with her hands braced on the railing behind her, hair falling in waves around her shoulders.
It feels like there isn’t any air in the elevator—or maybe it’s only my lungs that are struggling to inflate.
A moment of nothing passes between us before I pocket my phone and walk a couple of paces forward, taking Darcy by the hand. I’ll send the images to her later and lock them down on my phone, where no one, apart from me, will ever find them.
I look down at her, feral need burning an inferno inside me. “Tell me, at what point did you elevate yourself to the top of my priority list?”
She tips her head to the side, and I wrap my hand around the nape of her neck, waiting for her to give me the green light and take her to bed. “The moment you laid eyes on my impeccable underwear?”
On a chuckle, I drop my gaze down the length of her half-naked body, plucking at her lacy panties.
“Who bought you this set?”
She rolls her lips together, amused, maybe even entertained at my apparent jealousy.
“It wasn’t Liam, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Did he ever buy you underwear?”
She shakes her head. “No, never. Or a Saint Laurent tote.”
My hands fall to her tight, round ass, and I palm it, ready to pick her up and walk us both to my bedroom.
“What about orgasms? Did he give you many of those?”
When I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist on a cute squeal, I swear I can feel the heat radiating from her pussy, seeping through my clothes.
“They were … fleeting …” she replies like it’s no big deal.
It absolutely is a big deal. Seismic.
With my girl wrapped around me and feeling like the luckiest motherfucker alive, I step out of the elevator and begin walking through my darkened apartment, nipping and sucking at her neck.
“Yeah?” I moan against her sensitive flesh, kicking my bedroom door closed after we enter. “That’s a crying fucking shame.” I spin around and sit on the edge of the bed, and she straddles me. “Let me remedy that with the best night you’ll ever have.”
I reach behind my head and pull off my shirt in one smooth motion.
Her eyes drop to my chest, and she smooths a soft palm over my pecs, causing me to suck in a sharp breath. She isn’t touching an erogenous zone, but this is Darcy.
My obsession.
“I don’t know why, but I expected you to be tattooed.”
I cock my head to the side, curious about her statement. “You dig the bad-boy look?”
She shakes her head, trailing a single fingertip down my abs. “No, but I am digging this perfect torso.”
I let her tease and feel me for a few seconds before pushing her hair back and whispering into her ear, “Darcy Doll, I think it’s time we quit fucking around and you let me do what I want with you.”
I reach around and unhook her bra, bringing her nipple into my mouth and sucking it lightly.
She groans and melts beneath my touch, throwing her head back, her long hair trailing over my legs. “Archer, that feels so good.”
I move to the next nipple, sucking this one harder.
“Take these off,” she commands, grabbing at the button on my pants.
I grin against her chest while she pops it open.
Both lifting up, we drag my pants and boxer briefs down together.
Darcy pauses, not moaning when I lick and nip across her chest. I look up at her as she stares down at me.
“Y-your dick is…”
I move my mouth to the underside of her jaw, desperate to leave marks but all too aware of how tricky it will be to explain how they got there.
“What’s the matter?” I croon, satisfaction swelling inside me. “And before you freak out, it’s absolutely going to fit. My cock is perfect for you.”
She shakes her head, still looking down. “I mean, yeah, you’re huge, but …” She shuffles back a little, running a hand along the top of my right thigh, a victorious smile pulling at her lips.
Her confidence catapults another surge of need through me.
“What’s got you all speechless?” I know exactly what’s stolen her words. I just want to hear her say it.
She breathes out slowly when I reach between her thighs, teasing through her damp panties. “Your dick—it’s pierced. A-and … oh my God … you have a thigh tattoo as well.”