Chapter Eighteen
Zoe
The fire that started when I watched Archer drop Mr. Beetle to the ground spread slowly, growing larger and larger until I was consumed by it, lying on my back in Archer’s kitchen, my dress hiked up above my knees as he dove his head between my legs, his breath spreading up my thighs.
He moaned and flicked his tongue over my pussy.
“Oh, God.”
“You like that?” He clamped his finger down on my clit. I jolted. His finger twisted through me.
“Yeah, I love it.”
He flicked his tongue over my sex, driving his finger deeper, twisting it slowly. He took his time, easing me into it, his finger moving in and out, his tongue moving over my clit. He was hitting my spot now. Moisture was building up, like gas to the fire, and I could barely control myself.
He lifted his head up and his eyes locked on mine. “You’re so wet. You ready to come for me?” He rubbed my clit in between his thumb and forefinger before leaning down to roll his tongue against my soft skin.
My legs shook, and my whole body buzzed. I couldn’t do it now, not without getting a taste of his cock inside me, but he was too good. His finger was like a burning ember, scorching through all of my self-control. I couldn’t fight something as powerful as that.
I cried out and threw my head back. The fire rose inside of me, growing brighter until there was nothing else but that finger of his and the eruption, like a wave of warm water that exploded out from between my thighs, up my stomach into the farthest reaches of my body.
Archer watched the whole thing, smiling and nodding his head. He stood up straight and slid his hands down his pants. “You want this, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I sat up.
“Oh, no. Don’t think you’re going to get away that easy.” He slipped out of his pants revealing his engorged dick, up and ready. “Here.” He grabbed my ankles and drove his cock deep inside me, letting it rest so he could take in the way my mouth hung open and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.
“Fuck me,” I told him.
“Yes, ma’am.” His cock was like a jackhammer, pounding in and out. He was moving so fast that I lost track. All I could do was cry out, soft at first, then in fierce, sharp jolts in time with his relentless drilling.
He was grunting, staring down at me, meeting my eyes with his mouth curled up at the side. He fell on me, his lips like sweet magma fueling the flames that had taken over everything else. It was more than a fire now. It was a steaming volcano, gaining pressure, mounting as his cock slipped through.
The explosion was coming. It wasn’t a small burst or a little wave. This was a mountainous peak, shaking and shuddering in time with his movements. When it blew, there would be nothing left of me but that unforgiving force and the electric tension swirling around us now.
Archer’s face was bright red, scrunched, and serious. It seemed like this was more than just sex for him. It was the serious business of bringing intense pleasure to the woman he wanted.
He drove through, let his cock rest on my g-spot, deeper now, and the mountain exploded, spewing fire and magma, ripping through me, devouring skin, flesh, and bone. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, and I was vaguely aware of a sound pouring out of my mouth, but I was too engrossed in the explosion to register it.
Archer was spewing hot liquid inside me, shuddering just like I was. He was feeling the full force of the blast. I could see it in his face, and I could feel it in the way his cock seemed to jump inside me. Finally, he pulled it out and grabbed a paper towel to wipe himself off.
“I don’t know how you do that,” I said.
“I thought it was you.” He threw the paper towel away and pulled up his pants.
“A combination, I guess.”
He bent down to kiss me and help me up off the counter. Then he pulled away. “I have to tell you something.”
I knew this was the secret that had been keeping Archer away from me. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I was afraid.” He couldn’t even look me in the eye. “I didn’t think you’d want to be with me once I told you. That’s why I was afraid of letting myself get close to you. Because you’d leave me. And I knew that I’d just get hurt when you did. Even now, I’m taking a risk. But you’re worth the risk.”
My heart sank in my chest. “You’re married.”
“No, I’m not.” He whipped around to face me. “I’ve never been married.”
“Then what could it be? What could you tell me that would make me run away?”
“I have twins.”
“That’s it?” I asked, smiling. “Oh, you poor, misguided man. You thought I would leave over that?”
“You’re not upset?”
“No, of course not. I want to meet them. Are they here?”
“No.” He stood up straight, no longer subdued or brooding. “But I have pictures.” He pulled his phone out to show me.
“Let’s see. Let’s see!”
“Here.” He pulled up a picture of two red-faced little boys wearing baby blue beanies. Their eyes were closed slightly, and they were both reaching up into the air as if to grab a piece of heaven.
“Aw, they’re so cute. How old are they?”
“Almost a year. This one’s Abel.” He pointed at the smaller one. “I guess you could say he’s the runt, but he’s the sweetest. And this is Andrew. He’s my little brute.”
“They are so darling. Why would you hide that from me?”
“You don’t understand, Zoe.” He put his phone away. “I wake up every night to the sound of them screaming. Once I get one to bed, his brother wakes him up. It takes me hours to get them to sleep, and half the time when I do, it’s already time for me to go to work. I don’t think I’ve gone a full week without staying up all night since they were born.”
“Then you need help.”
“And that’s the thing. I couldn’t ask you to be a part of that. You have work to do, and your job involves a lot of manual labor. You couldn’t work after staying up all night.”
I laughed and waved my hand to dismiss what he was saying. “Archer, my business is my baby. It keeps me up. I go without sleep as much as you do. If I enter your world, and I think I will if this continues, I won’t be sacrificing anything.”
He shook his head. “Do you know what this is like?”
“Yeah, I do.” I took his hand and tilted his chin toward to me to look him in the eye. “I’m telling you, it’s okay. It’d be an honor to be in their lives.”
He pressed his lips together and looked away. “I want to believe you, but raising those boys has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“Let me prove it to you. Can you do that?”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you. I don’t want to dismiss you or give you the cold shoulder the way I did before. I want to be with you.”
“Good, because I’m not going anywhere.”
“No, you’re not. Not after that freak attacked us downtown. What if he finds your address? You can look it up online.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Will you stay?”
“Of course. Sleeping next to you would be the second greatest thing that happened to me tonight.” Archer reached down and grabbed me up off the floor. He cradled me as he walked me up the stairs. This time, I didn’t protest. It felt so good being close to him. His body was like solid fire, masculinity embodied. He laid me down on the bed then collapsed next to me, pulling me closer so I could rest my head against his chest.