Chapter 5
FIVE
Archer should not, under any circumstance, walk into his bedroom and slide into bed with Jolie.
He shouldn’t let himself touch her—shouldn’t think about the way her face softened when she looked at him, or what it might feel like to close that distance and finally find out if her lips were as soft as they looked.
And he damn sure shouldn’t be thinking about stripping that red sweater off her, about the slow, dangerous slide from control into something he wouldn’t be able to take back.
None of it fit the rules he lived by.
None of it would end well.
And still—
That was exactly where this was going.
He pushed the cracked door open with a fingertip.
When he stepped inside, she was already waiting for him.
Not sitting on the edge of the bed looking nervous. Not curled up pretending to sleep.
She was standing, as if she’d been listening for him.
The door shut behind him with a quiet click, the sound like an electric charge before a crack of lightning.
She darted her tongue over her full bottom lip, and that only made his cock throb more.
He dragged his gaze over her. The red sweater clung to her curves, soft and warm-looking. But he’d been thinking about that sweater so damn much, he knew it was way more than a sweater.
It moved with her. Clung to her small breasts. And made his fingers twitch to find out what was under it.
He shouldn’t be here.
“You should sleep.” His voice sounded like metal grating over a rock face.
She tipped her head, causing her warm brown hair to tumble over her shoulder. “Is that what you want?”
He wanted to wrap her hair around his fist and drag her mouth to his. He wanted to explore every inch of her body with his lips and tongue and suck on her nipples and her hot pussy until she screamed his name.
No, he didn’t want her to go to sleep. Not even close.
He took a step forward, giving her time to back away.
She didn’t.
Standing inches apart, they just stared at each other for so many heartbeats he lost count.
He brought his hand up and brushed his fingertips over her jaw. Just a light touch, but he caught the change in her breathing and the way her body leaned into his touch.
“Jolie.” Her name came out like a rough warning.
She stepped closer.
And that was it.
He slid his hand into her hair, pulled her in and took her mouth.
Their lips crashed together, all the restraint he’d been holding back breaking loose. He gathered her closer, dragging her hips in to bump his as he inhaled her intoxicating scent.
She melted into him, planting her hands on his chest and twisting the fabric before sliding higher to lock around his neck.
He angled his head and plunged his tongue between her lips. On a gasp, she parted for him, her body wound so damn tight he felt like one touch and she’d explode.
He banded an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. The heat of her sank through their layers of clothes to make his cock pound. Their tongues tangled in a rush of desire that spiraled on for countless minutes.
Sinking his fingers into her hair, he tugged her head back and devoured her. Small noises broke from her lips, and he swallowed those too.
He deepened the kiss, dragging it out, learning the way she tasted, felt and moved. She burrowed her fingers into his hair and twisted, a low, breathless noise escaping her.
The sound cut through his haze of lust and he forced himself to slow.
She rocked back to search his face. “Don’t hold back on me,” she rasped.
Fuck.
He didn’t. He couldn’t.
He yanked her in again and claimed her mouth. The soft plumpness towed him under and he didn’t care if he drowned tonight because tomorrow, the roads could clear and she’d be gone from base.
He’d never see her again. Which made tonight—right now—his only mission.
She fit her body against his, instinct taking over and showing her how to move with him. Their kiss went from hot to volcanic pressure, and he felt it in every quivering inch of her body.
When she raked her short nails over his shoulders, he found her waist and stroked along her slight curves, her body tight and strong.
If he had his way, in about ten seconds she was going to be wrapped around him.
Moaning on another deep pass of his tongue, she slid her hand down his chest, careful to avoid the places she’d bandaged earlier, to the ridges of his stomach. When she cupped her hot fingers over the bulge in his black performance pants, he broke the kiss to stare down at her through hooded eyes.
“Careful. You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“Oh yes, I fucking do.”
He groaned, and she surged on tiptoe and crushed her lips to his. The kiss turned carnal, his hands memorizing her curves and hers tracing every muscle of his shoulders and back.
When she rocked her hips into his, his cock swelled to the bursting point. Christ, he hadn’t had a woman in so long he’d forgotten what it felt like. And he hadn’t had one as eager as Jolie in a hell of a lot longer.
She ground against him, pulling a soft moan from her and a throaty growl from him. He mapped out the arch of her spine and the dip of her lower back, down to the curve of her ass.
Her breath hitched.
“I’ve been trying not to think about this all day. I didn’t plan to touch you. Not like this.” He pressed tender kisses along her jaw, all the way to her ear and back to her lips again. “But you keep looking at me like that.” He dragged his mouth along her jaw, slower now.
She tightened her fingers in his hair, pulling his mouth back to hers.
That was all the permission he needed.
He ravished her mouth, claiming her little cries for his own. Then he slipped his hand under the hem of her sweater. He let one fingertip sweep over the bare flesh of her side, giving her time to stop him.
She arched into him instead.
He clenched his jaw, fighting to go slow. “Tell me to stop. Say it, and I will.”
She shook her head, hair swishing over his knuckles. “Don’t. Don’t stop, Archer. It’s been a long time for me and I’ve never wanted anyone like this.”
Her words shouldn’t make his chest swell that way, but damn if he could prevent it. He spread his hand over her spine, finding out just how silky her skin was, and took her mouth again, slow and heavy and drugging.
As he backed her up a step toward the bed, white-hot desire fogged his mind. He shook it off, needing a clear head in case she wanted to stop. But she threw herself into kissing him with all the pent-up need she claimed.
One more step and her legs hit the bed. Breaking the kiss, he gazed down at her beautiful face, her lips swollen and her eyes glowing with want.
“Archer,” she whispered.
He did what he’d been aching to do all day and eased her sweater up and off. Her soft hair swayed around her shoulders and her skin pebbled from cold or sensation, he didn’t know.
Edging his fingers under her bra straps, he slipped them down the lines of fabric, all the way to the tiny flowers where the straps met the cups.
“Please.” She dashed her tongue over her lips in that mind-bending gesture that ripped at his control.
In one swift motion, he yanked the bra straps off her shoulders.
He pinched the clasp and the cloth fell off.
Her eyes flared wide enough to show him the spark in their brown depths.
Then he was cupping her breasts, swiping his thumbs across the stiff peaks until she dropped her head back and moaned.
He captured her lips, kissing and nibbling at her fuller bottom one as he teased her nipples into stiffer buds, learning just how much pressure he could get away with before she cried out.
“You like that?”
“Yes!”
He twisted each nipple, rolling them between his fingers and thumbs. “What about that?”
“Yes!”
He ducked his head and brought the tip of one to his lips. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you.”
When he sucked her nipple into his mouth, she dug her fingers into his scalp and dragged him closer. He lost it, licking and tasting first one, then the other, until she was out of control.
After tormenting minutes, he lifted his head and looked at her. Her face was flushed. Her breathing uneven. He brushed his thumb along her jaw.
Her lips parted on a hot pant of air.
“If I touch you,” he leaned in just enough to brushed her mouth without fully kissing her, “I’m not stopping halfway.”
“Archer, please. I want…”
He dropped his mouth to her ear. His voice was wrecked, barely controlled. He didn’t care. “You’re gonna let me finish this. Or you’re gonna tell me to stop right now.”
She twisted to look at him, eyes glowing.
“Yeah,” he murmured, voice throaty now. “That’s what I thought.”
* * * * *
Jolie’s body was already gone. Her mind had evaporated, and Archer was the only reason she was still on her feet.
There was no pulling back from this, no second-guessing, not with the way he looked at her, as if he’d been holding himself together all day.
His words were a sinful promise she expected him to keep, the sound sliding through her, low and dangerous. Before she could catch her breath, his mouth was on hers again.
Not teasing. Taking.
Her bare breasts rubbed against his chest, sending a sharp rush of heat between her thighs, and she arched into him.
She lost the flow of their kiss, and he tore away to nip her earlobe. “Stay with me. Don’t drift on me now.”
“I’m not,” she breathed, and it came out as a broken shiver.
He liked that. She felt it in the way his grip tightened on her waist and the way he captured her mouth again, kissing her like he was savoring every second instead of rushing it.
Her body was on fire. She wasn’t lying that it had been a long time since she had a man between her thighs, and never one who looked as hot as Archer. This was one part of her adventure that she would keep for herself.
Every place he touched, he left a trail of goose bumps. His touch was warm, firm, slightly rough in the best way.