Chapter Nine
Janie stumbled out of the elevator at the employee housing unit, Chance’s friend—whose name she already couldn’t remember—clinging to her arm. Dancing had been fun, but as expected, the man was up for a bit more than dancing and drinking. Unfortunately, the booze hadn’t erased Archer from Janie’s mind—perhaps wild sex would. She only hoped her partner was as good as all his boasting suggested.
“Your room or mine, babe?” he asked, his eyes reddened from the amount of alcohol they’d consumed.
“This isn’t my floor,” she said, flashing a flirty wink. “If it’s not yours either, we’d better find an unlocked room quick.”
It was her policy never to take men to her room. She’d figured that one out the hard way when a few of the more stubborn ones wouldn’t leave.
He chuckled and led her to the right, jingling keys in his pocket with the hand not wrapped around her waist. “Babe, I’m gonna make you feel so good.”
“I’m counting on it,” she replied, trying to push down the twinges of guilt that flooded through her.
It was an unfamiliar emotion when contemplating sex, and Janie didn’t know what to make of it. Was she feeling guilty for leaving Archer alone tonight? He’d admitted to being lonely and bored last night, wanting her company. She wondered if he was having fun with Larissa. Not that she wanted Larissa to be the one to comfort Archer and get him over his injury. Somehow, she had liked how things were yesterday. It scared her, but it was the first time in her life someone other than Larissa had listened to her problems and seemed as though they actually cared.
She shook her head slightly to banish those thoughts. No matter what she did or how much she drank, Archer would not leave her mind. She felt bad for her date. Normally, this was the moment the entire night built up to, and she couldn’t wait to take her partner’s clothes off. Tonight, things felt different. The flirting she managed was forced, and she couldn’t help but think the only man she’d want to take any clothes off was Archer.
Trying to stifle a sigh, she apparently didn’t do a good enough job when the guy looked at her, frowning.
“Am I boring you, babe? We haven’t even gotten started.”
She forced a smile as he opened a room’s door. “I think I’m a little tired, actually.”
He swung the door wide and pulled her inside. “Don’t worry. You’ll sleep like a baby once I’m done with you.”
Resisting his pull, she tried to step back out into the hallway, but he was too strong, and she couldn’t break free.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, pulling her close and kicking the door shut. “We haven’t gotten to the good part yet.”
He shoved her against the closed door, leaning into her as his greedy mouth took hers in a kiss that might have been passionate if Janie was at all into him.
As though sensing her disinterest, he pulled away, irritation clear in his narrowed eyes. “What’s your problem? I thought we were partying.”
Janie gave a little shrug, flashing him an apologetic grin. “I’m not feeling too well. I need to go home. Must have been too much alcohol. Sorry, but I’m not up for this tonight.”
He frowned, his earlier flirtatious manner disappearing in a flash as something sinister crossed his face. “You aren’t leaving.”
“Uh, yeah, I am.” Janie jerked her shoulders, yanking herself from his grasp while trying to slide along the doorway to escape him entirely.
His hands shot out, gripping her shoulders to the point of pain.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, struggling against him. “Let me go!”
“Let you go?” He grinned, but it was not the playboy smile he’d displayed earlier. This one sent chills down Janie’s spine. “Sure thing, babe.”
He twisted in the small room, throwing her onto the bed.
Janie scrambled away, trying to get back on her feet, but he was too quick, coming down on top of her and pinning her in place.
“Why are you playing hard to get?” he asked. “Chance told me the deal. I pay for your drinks, show you a fun time, and you come back to my place for sex. You’ve screwed every guy on this island, apparently, and I did my part. Time for you to pay up.”
Janie glared at him, bile rising in her stomach while his rough hands roamed her body. “If you think anyone owes you sex for a few drinks, you’re deluded. I’m not staying here, so let go of me.”
He returned her glare. “One way or another, slut, I’m getting my payment. Actually, it’s more fun for me if you struggle, so I don’t mind.”
Janie’s body went cold with fear. She’d never refused anyone before, so never had to worry about them forcing her. “Let me go now, and I won’t tell anyone about this.” She hated the way her voice quaked, but she did her best to hold his gaze and remain calm.
He let out a biting laugh. “Tell the whole world, bitch. Who would believe you? Everyone knows it doesn’t take much to get your clothes on the ground, it’s why I went out with you. You’re a sure thing. Everyone saw us flirting at the club, and the employees all knew what would happen. I can do whatever I want because no one will ever believe you didn’t beg for it.”
He lowered his face to her neck, sucking and biting enough to cause pain. In fact, he seemed to delight even more when she let out a little grunt of protest at the biting. He was serious about being more excited about forcing her.
Shit, shit, shit! What have I gotten myself into?
For a second, Janie nearly gave in. What would it really cost her to have sex with him? Sure, he was disgusting and belonged in jail, but it wasn’t like she’d never slept with a man she didn’t particularly like.
Archer’s face once again flashed into her mind. She imagined how low his opinion would drop when he heard what she’d done tonight. While it shouldn’t matter what he thought, it did. She couldn’t willingly sleep with this prick, but she also couldn’t complain if he raped her. He was, unfortunately, right. No one would ever believe she hadn’t asked for it.
There was only one solution.
“Let me go,” she said, her voice calmer now that she’d made a decision and conquered her fear.
“After I’ve had my fun.”
“If you let me go right now, I won’t hurt you,” she said.
He laughed, clearly thinking she bluffed. “Struggle and I will hurt you, and I’ll like it.”
Bastard!
Before he could read her intentions and avoid it, she swiftly jerked her head upward, crashing the hardest part of her skull against the bridge of his nose. Blood erupted from it, spewing across Janie’s face in a hot, sticky mess.
“What the fuck?” With tears of pain, he grabbed at his face, giving Janie the opening she needed.
Using the martial arts training she’d taken for years and still practiced on her own to keep in shape, Janie jerked herself upright from beneath him and grabbed ahold of his free hand, twisting it back to the point of nearly breaking it and applying just enough pressure that he cried out but dared not move. She’d never had to use her skills before, but she sent a prayer of thanks that the moves worked.
“Listen here, asshole,” she said in a low hiss that betrayed her anger. “People might not believe me if I said you tried to rape me, but let’s get one thing clear... If I ever hear about you forcing another woman in any way, even forcing her into a kiss, I will come back here and break all the bones in both your hands before kicking you in the balls so hard that you’ll never want sex again.”
He whimpered when she applied a bit more pressure.
“Are we clear?” she demanded.
Blood and tears streaming down his face, he nodded.
Shoving him away, Janie walked to the doorway, strutting through it without a backward glance. It took all her composure to walk calmly to the elevator, hoping no one saw her with her blood-stained face and dress. It would be awkward if someone had questions.
She made it safely to her room before allowing herself to collapse onto the bed, shaking as she drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, rocking back and forth when everything hit her all at once. She couldn’t help thinking that she deserved what happened. Larissa had tried to tell her for years to stop sleeping around, but Janie had wanted what she’d wanted, and never considered there might be consequences. She knew it was impossible to trust a man with her heart, but now she also realized her body could be at risk.
If she hadn’t surprised him with that headbutt, all the defense training in the world wouldn’t have mattered. He was stronger than her and could have easily overpowered her. It wouldn’t have taken him long to do what he wanted, no matter how hard she fought.
Shaking even harder, Janie let the tears of fear stream down her face without moving to wipe them off. She wished someone was in the room to comfort her, but there was no way she could ever tell Larissa or Archer what happened. They’d only look badly at her, thinking she deserved it for telling that man they would have sex but changing her mind when she’d slept with so many others.
She knew it was her fault, but that didn’t make things any easier to deal with. Sobs ripped through her chest, surprising her since she hadn’t really cried since her mom died.
“What am I doing?”
Shaking her head, but unable to stop crying, Janie plodded to the bathroom, turning the shower as hot as it would go to scrub that man’s dirty fingerprints and blood off her body.
***
Readjusting once more, Archer glanced at the time on his cell phone. Nearly two in the morning. He wondered if Janie was done with her ‘date’ yet. His blood boiled, imagining her with some random guy. Larissa said Janie was worth the work he’d have to put in if he wanted her to like him in return, but a part of him wished Larissa had kept her mouth shut. Ignoring his developing feelings for his angel, feelings that went beyond gratitude and into territory he never expected to feel again, would have been the easiest course.
Now that he’d admitted his attraction, he couldn’t stop feeling jealous and angry that she was out with someone else. Not that he had any claim on her, but he wanted to. Stupid, he knew, considering Carrie proved even a woman he expected to be faithful wasn’t trustworthy. Janie admittedly slept around. Were his feelings doomed before he even admitted them to her?
Then again, trust was an odd thing. As Shane had pointed out, Janie was honest about her escapades. She never pretended it was anything more than sex. If he convinced her to get into a real relationship with him, he could probably trust her to continue being just as honest. Even if it scared him to risk his heart again by giving it to another person, he did know thinking no one could be trusted just because one woman had cheated on him was a bit ridiculous. On the surface, he’d pegged Janie as the same type of woman as his ex but given more time to get to know her and the people around her, his angel was nothing like that.
She was selfless, caring, and overall beautiful inside and out. Her past had hurt her badly, destroying her ability to put her faith in others and believe she could count on people. If he could convince her that he was a man she could depend on, it was quite possible all the trust issues could be conquered, for both of them.
“Texting her couldn’t hurt, right?” he asked quietly in the silent room. If she was busy, she wouldn’t answer.
Needing nothing more than that to convince himself, he opened the messenger app and pulled up her number.
Hey. Larissa said you were going out tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. Missing you.
He stared at the message for several minutes, wondering if it was too much. Would she get angry? Should he erase the part about missing her?
And how pathetic was he? He felt like a teenager sending his first text to a crush. Giddy, scared, second-guessing everything. Yep, he was back in high school.
“Screw it!”
He punched the send button before he could chicken out, not really expecting to hear back from her, but somehow happy knowing the first thing she’d see in the morning would be his words. Maybe some other guy had her body tonight, but Archer intended to capture her heart. From the things she’d confided last night and what Larissa had said, accomplishing that would be a tall order, but he’d never felt drawn to someone the way he was to her.
Even when he’d dated Carrie, it had taken several months before they decided to be exclusive. He’d mostly done it out of convenience and because she had a good family who were rich and involved in the community. He’d been flattered that she’d choose the son of a couple addicts who had nothing going for him.
Things were different with Janie. Yes, the initial draw to her was that she’d saved his life and she was drop-dead gorgeous, but through all his musing tonight, he realized it was more than that. The vulnerability she’d shown him made her so precious. It called to him like a beacon. He wanted to heal whatever hurts her father had inflicted on her. He wanted to make her heart whole, find her real smile, then keep it all for himself. It was crazy since he didn’t even know her yet, but it was impossible to argue with his heart. It never listened to the reasoning of his brain that tried to say it was too soon to be this attracted to her.
After a few moments, his phone rang, startling him. Looking at the display revealed it was the person he wanted to talk to most. He swiped to answer, heart pounding. “Janie? I didn’t think I’d hear back from you until morning.”
She giggled. “So, you texted hoping to not talk to me? You’re a weirdo.”
Well, it did seem weird when she put it that way. “Are you okay to talk? Larissa said you had a date, and I figured...”
There was silence on the other end for so long, Archer checked the connection to see if she hung up on him.
“I’m not okay,” she finally replied in a small voice, and he could hear that she was crying.
“What happened?” he demanded. “If some guy hurt you, I swear I’ll...” He’d what, exactly? It wasn’t like he could do much to defend Janie’s honor with his busted ribs.
She chuckled again. “Thanks, Archer. It’s not often I have people I can count on. Anyway, did you need something? I called because you said you missed me and I hoped that didn’t mean Larissa wasn’t taking care of you.”
He relaxed slightly, hearing her calm down. Whatever happened tonight, she didn’t want to share it, but she was safe and doing well enough to tease him. He’d have to be satisfied with that. “Larissa was just fine, but she’s not the one I enjoy spending my time with. She’s a nice enough lady, but she isn’t you.”
Wow... did that sound romantic or just cheesy as hell? Archer didn’t know. Janie was probably used to hearing guys say all sorts of things and wasn’t affected all too much by pretty words anyway. Hopefully she could sense his sincerity, at least.
“Archer, why do you...?” She broke off, and the sound of her sniffling came over the line. She was crying again.
“Angel? Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” His heart clenched, feeling hot and tight in his chest, completely unsettling him. “Why don’t you come back here? We can talk about whatever happened. I’d love to hold you again, if you’ll allow it.”
“I c-can’t,” she stuttered through her crying. “This is all my fault. Y-you’ll hate me forever if-if I—”
“Whatever happened, I would never hate you. Come over here, please.” He put all the feeling he could into his voice, praying she believed him.
Could she ever get past what he’d said to her in the car, how judgmental he’d been, and believe him now when he wanted to help? The way she was acting, he feared the worst. Perhaps the guy tonight had hurt her, been too forceful or something. She seemed entirely shook up.
Then again, maybe she’d simply received another message from her father. That would also be enough to send her into a tailspin.
Whatever happened tonight, Archer couldn’t help but hope that she’d turned her potential bed buddy down. But if his fears proved correct and her date had done anything to hurt her, so help him, broken ribs and all, he’d kill the guy.
“I’ve sobered up,” she said softly, sounding a bit more composed. “If you really don’t mind, I’ll borrow a company four-wheeler and ride out there. I don’t want to talk about it, but could you hold me?”
“I’d like nothing better. My arms and ready and waiting for you.”