Chapter 40
Juliet
Archer’s first kiss is soft, a brushing of his lips on mine. He pulls back, hovering just above my mouth as if he wants to revel in what has just occurred. But the longer he keeps away from me, the more I want him—the more I need him.
I raise one hand to rest against his chest beneath his unzipped jacket. As if the movement gives him permission, his lips return to mine. This time, they linger, pressing more firmly.
I slip my free hand beneath his jacket and slide it up his back, my fingertips relishing the feel of his firm lines and ridges.
A soft release of his breath tickles my cheek. He parts from me for a second, then resets the kiss, soft, yet strong. Gentle, yet firm. He’s reserved and controlled, but I don’t want him to be. I want more. I want to breathe him in, soak him in.
I want the fire I was promised in his gaze.
I reach up, sliding my fingers down the sides of his beard, then up through his hair, and a soft mumble comes from his chest.
His hands move down to my hips, and he coaxes me backward. I follow his lead, unafraid of stumbling with his capable guidance. The lights in the trees above sparkle behind my eyelids, then slowly fade to blackness. I flick my eyes open to see he’s led me back into the alcove of a dark shop window.
Now, tucked in the shadows away from prying eyes, his large figure conceals me from the street, and our inhibitions slowly unravel.
He deepens his kiss. His mouth moves faster, with more intentionality than ever, and I melt into him, responding with a fervor and hunger of my own.
I expected nothing less from his kiss.
It’s flawless.
It’s Archer.
Archer
I have to control myself, but it’s hard when I’ve never felt anything like this for a woman. But then, Juliet isn’t just any woman.
She’s spectacular.
I can feel her breathing shallow little by little, and I’m doing my best to regulate the intensity of my desires. I intended to stop after the first brushing of our lips. After all, this is only our first date. But I knew she wanted more—she still does.
Do I dare give in?
I bring my hands to rest at the small of her back, stooping as I do so due to our height difference. I love how feminine she feels in my arms. Even though I know she’s more than capable of protecting herself, I’m fully ready to shield her from the outside world—and keep her all to myself.
I pull her in tighter. Her body against mine sends my mind into a vortex I have no plans of escaping. Our mouths move together, as if we’ve been doing this dance forever. It’s peace and happiness. It’s sunshine and warmth.
It’s Juliet, and it’s perfection.
She stands on the tips of her toes to draw closer to me. Tucked away in our own little perfect world, we lean into each other to the point where I can no longer breathe.
I’m losing all sense of reality, but I don’t care. I have a grasp on my respect for her, and it grows ever stronger, but nothing else matters in my life right now.
Nothing but Juliet and my growing, intensifying feelings for the woman she is.
Juliet
Feeling all of Archer’s affection is what I wanted, and finally, it’s what I get. I leave behind all I felt before—the hurt, the confusion, the frustration—and I solely drink in Archer.
He presses me gently against the thick glass window of the shop—which shop, I’m not entirely sure—and I try to catch my breath when his lips break from mine.
He trails kisses along my cheek, ending on the corner of my right jaw before returning to my lips, and I’m lost again, never wanting his attention on me to end.
Please, don’t ever end.
But when a muffled sound comes from somewhere to our right, and a jingle of a bell sounds, a cloudy thought surfaces.
That was a bell. A shop bell.
There’s a lot of shops that have one on Main, but only one at this end of the street.
Sense rushes back to me, and Archer pulls away as I gasp for a breath.
In our shadowed world, a crack of light breaks through, and our spot is revealed as the door to The Velvet Wick opens wide.
I look over as Genevieve stares at us with wide eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, looking away, though unable to help a glance back. Her mouth props open, then she closes it to very clearly hide a smile.
“Genevieve,” I begin, pressing my lips together to hide the moisture no doubt visible.
I don’t know what else to say. Do I ask her to not tell Dad? Do I ask her to not tell anyone?
But she shakes her head before I can say another word. “I didn’t see a thing, sweetie. You keep doing you.”
Without another glance, she wanders down the street toward the barn.
I stare after her, wondering what she was doing inside the darkened shop, wondering how I was ever going to live this moment down as tension builds up inside me like a weakening dam.
Tension from ending a kiss before I was ready to, tension from making out on Main Street, tension from being stupid enough to get caught like a pathetic teenager.
I look back at Archer, his hands still on my hips.
Archer Kade’s hands are still on my hips.
He breathes out a sigh. “Sorry. I should’ve picked a more inconspicuous spot.”
But I shake my head. “That was...”
“Everything you ever dreamed?” he asks with a wink.
He’s teasing. But he has no idea what I dreamed of. Kissing him on his horse. Kissing him in the school parking lot. Kissing him on my front porch.
I never even imagined kissing him on Main. But now, this will go down in history as the greatest kiss of all time.
“Yes,” I say unashamedly. “I’m happy to admit that you’re even better than I thought you’d be.”
He grins. “So were you.” He stares down at my lips, then sobers. “But your dad.”
I look away. “Perfect way to kill the mood.”
“Sorry. But we need to talk about what we’re going to do moving forward. I can’t come between you two.”
“You did the second you moved into town, cowboy.”
He grins, then a loud clapping sounds from the barn down the road. The dance must be close to ending.
Suddenly, I’m overwhelmed with exhaustion.
“Come on,” he says. “I’ll take you home before everyone gets out.”
I nod, and he takes my hand and leads me down the street.
Leaves race alongside us in the gentle breeze, and the lights sway above, casting soft shadows of the trees on the road.
I hold onto Archer’s hand, wrap my arm around his, and lean my head against his shoulder. I know he’ll get me home safely.
Just as much as I know this thing with Dad isn’t over.
It hasn’t even begun.