CHAPTER SIXTEEN
KELSEY
I WOKE NAKED IN MY BED. Gray morning light streamed through the curtains. I blinked. A sheet draped over my body, but I had nothing else on. I shifted and rose to one elbow, shoving my hair out of my eyes. The scent of fresh coffee drifted to my nose.
Oh, no, he wasn’t. Archer West was not in my kitchen right now making coffee. No way.
I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. I got in the shower, welcoming the spray of scorching-hot water, trying to wash away all the thoughts I didn’t want to think, the feelings I didn’t know what to do with.
I was surrendering. That meant I was giving up, relinquishing control, waving the white flag because I’d lost all hope of winning the battle. At the same time, I wasn’t even certain what winning actually meant where Archer West was concerned.
I stepped out of the shower and pressed a towel to my wet face. I could hardly remember what had happened last night after we’d left the club. I’d closed my eyes in the car, but after that everything was a blank. I couldn’t imagine that Archer and I had engaged in more hot sex and I’d forgotten about it.
I dried my hair and pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt. I’d be damned if I was going to give up my weekend frumpiness for him. A girl had to hold on to something.
Even so, I quickly brushed my hair and powdered my nose. I found my glasses on the nightstand and put them on before I went in search of him. A delicious, intoxicating smell drifted through the house.
Bacon. The man was frying bacon. I had to get him out of here.
I stopped in the kitchen doorway. Bacon sizzled and popped in the frying pan, and a carton of eggs rested on the counter. Archer stood by the stove, dressed in the same jeans and wrinkled shirt from the previous night.
I leaned a shoulder on the doorjamb and tried to ignore the flutters of awareness tingling through me.
He turned. “Morning.”
“What are you doing here? What happened last night?”
“You fell asleep in the car.”
“I did?”
He nodded. “You crashed pretty hard. I carried you in and put you to bed.”
“Did you, um…” A flush crept up my neck, which was silly considering how raw he and I had been together. “Undress me?”
“I did.” Archer looked at me solemnly. “But I did not cop a feel.”
I narrowed my eyes with suspicion. “You didn’t?”
“Well.” He held up his thumb and forefinger close together. “Maybe just a small one. I couldn’t help myself. You have an incredible pair of breasts.”
My flush deepened. He really couldn’t do the cute Archer thing. Not now.
“Where did you sleep?” I asked.
“Next to you.”
Next to me.
Archer glanced down at his wrinkled shirt. “Gonna have to bring a suitcase next time.”
A suitcase. Something twisted inside me at the idea of him bringing his stuff over. Staying here. In my house.
“Hey.” He turned from the stove, resting his hips against the counter. “You okay?”
I was not okay. I’d gone out last night dressed like a slut. I’d let him finger me in a parking lot. I’d rubbed my bare ass against his erection in the middle of a crowded dance floor. Then I’d let him… no, begged him… to fuck me against the side of the building in a goddamn garbage alley.
My throat constricted. What the hell was I doing?
I rubbed my hands over my thighs. “You need to go.”
He lifted an eyebrow. I shook my head. I couldn’t have him standing in my kitchen making coffee and frying bacon, like we were suddenly some warm and cozy domestic couple. Next thing I knew we’d be going to the hardware store and paying a visit to the fucking mall.
I cleared my throat. “You need to go now.”
He reached back to turn off the stove burner. “You’re going dark again.”
“Damn right I am.” I stalked across the kitchen and yanked open the refrigerator. “Because of you. Because I agreed to whatever the hell it is we’re doing.”
Archer frowned. “Why does it scare you so much?”
“What?”
“Giving up control.”
“It doesn’t scare me!”
Even as the denial burst out of me, I heard the quaver in my voice, the pathetic attempt to sound brave even while I was trembling.
But it wasn’t just giving up control that scared me. It was Archer West. It was the way I felt about him, whether he was fucking me up against a wall or standing in my kitchen frying bacon.
I pressed a hand to my tight chest. My heart raced. He moved closer. I felt him with every step he took in my direction. Next thing I knew, he was crowding me up against the open refrigerator, his body a solid wall of muscle and heat. I tried not to go weak in the knees as he put his hands on my waist and turned me to face him.
He studied me for a second and reached up to run his finger across my lower lip. I looked at his beautiful eyes. I had fallen, spinning wildly, into their bright darkness.
“Don’t be scared, storm girl,” he said. “I’ll protect you.”
I knew he would. That was the problem. I had spent most of my life protecting myself. The instinctive pull toward danger might be part of me, but there was no way it would ever fit in my life for good. I knew that. It was the reason I had armor.
And yet with Archer, I could surrender to the wild, impulsive side of me that I’d buried for so long. Even though he was a force of nature I couldn’t control, I wanted to live right in the center of him.
I groaned softly and leaned forward to press my forehead against his chest. I couldn’t figure out if this thing with him was completely fucked-up or the most natural, normal relationship I’d ever experienced.
“God in heaven,” I whispered, closing my eyes. “Last night was so hot I thought we’d set the whole world on fire.”
His soft chuckle brushed against my hair. “One day, we will.”
I didn’t doubt it. His lightning-bolt intensity would ignite the first spark.
He slipped his hand under my chin and lifted my face for a kiss. Gentle and sweet, his lips brushing against mine. I spread my palms over his chest. The heat of him was a striking contrast to the open refrigerator behind me.
“My ass is getting cold,” I murmured.
“Hmm.” He reached around to squeeze my rear. “I can think of a few ways to warm it up.”
I smiled, even as a hot shiver coursed through me. I hadn’t forgotten his remark that I was “getting spanked.” Clearly he hadn’t, either.
He lowered his mouth to my ear. “Does that scare you?”
“No,” I admitted, though it did make me a little nervous. “Not with you.”
“Good.” His breath heated my neck.
I was getting all melty and soft again. Hadn’t I just ordered him to leave?
He didn’t seem at all inclined to follow my order as he moved his lips back to mine. He put his hands on either side of my head, angling my mouth against his. I fell into the delicious sensations, letting him overtake me.
After a minute, he moved us both away from the refrigerator and closed the door. He grasped my waist and lifted me onto the counter.
I wrapped my legs around his hips, expecting him to get back to the serious business of kissing, but instead he rested his hands on my thighs and looked at me with that unnerving, penetrating gaze.
“What?” I said.
“Why did you quit storm chasing?” he asked.
Frustration stabbed through me. I looked at his throat so I wouldn’t have to meet his eyes.
“I know you loved it,” he continued. “You loved the danger and unpredictability, even though it scared you.”
“I was not scared.”
“You sure?”
“Oh, for god’s sake.” I shoved his hands away from me and climbed off the counter. “I stopped because I got a job and started doing the work from a university computer lab. That’s it. There’s no big, dramatic reason. I chased storms a thousand years ago when I was young and liked the challenge. Then I grew up. End of story.”
“Bullshit.” Now he was frowning. “Tell me.”
“No. And stop barking orders like a drill sergeant. I don’t like it.”
“Yeah, you do. Because I’m the only person who’s ever ordered you to do anything. And even with all your tough-girl talk, you’re attracted to anything or anyone stronger and more powerful than you. Things that challenge you. Things you can’t control. That’s exactly why you love storms.”
All the air escaped my lungs. It was like he had just opened up a secret part of my heart that even I hadn’t known existed. And I couldn’t figure out if it was exhilarating or terrifying to discover that Archer West was the only person who had ever unlocked me.
“Come on, storm girl,” he said. “Show me how not scared you really are.”
I took a breath. My skin tingled.
“Is that a challenge?” I asked, injecting a note of disdain into my voice.
“No.” Archer grinned. “It’s a triple-dog dare.”
Well, shit.