Waverly

We sit together on Archer’s couch after eating our late dinner of greasy pizza. He opened a beer for each of us, and we turned on some sort of reality television. I’m snuggled against his side, wearing one of his T-shirts because the man said if I continued to be naked around him he would most certainly end up knocking me up. I’m on the pill, so as far as I’m concerned, he can try as hard as he wants.

“What is this show?”

He laughs. “It’s Ninja Warrior. The Japanese version. The original.” We watch the people attempt physics defying obstacles over and over, most of them failing. Archer occasionally yells at the competitors to keep their elbows bent, pace themselves, and so on.

“How do you know all those tricks? Are you a ninja?”

“No, not a ninja. But I trained long and hard to get this guard position. I have to be in peak physical condition to protect the royal family to the best of my ability.”

I snuggle closer, my fingers tracing lines on his chest. “And you most certainly are in peak physical condition. A fact I can attest to.”

“I like your hands on me,” he says, his voice rough.

“Me too.”

I tip my head until my lips are within reaching distance of his. Every moment with him is precious and stolen. I don’t want to waste any time. He brushes his mouth over mine, once, twice, three times, before backing away.

“You know how you said you wanted me to treat you like any other girl?”

My heart lurches. “Yes. Why?”

“There’s no way I can do that.” He turns so he’s facing me, and the man cups my cheek in his palm. “Until you have to go back, I want to treat you like I would treat my wife. That’s the only place I can put you in my life. You’re not some girl or some trophy. You and me? Our souls are bound tighter than most people ever experience.”

I’m still stuck on the wife comment. If he treats his wife the way he treated me earlier, she’ll never stray. Unreasonable anger washes over me at the thought of him with another, but I shake it off. I’m not going to end up with him, no matter how much we both might want it. The royal family is tradition bound to only marry someone of noble birth, chosen for them by the king. Father chose for Ryder, he chose for me, and though she doesn’t know it yet, he chose for Alina long ago. Though my intended is a backstabbing traitor. Now I don’t know where my future lies.

“What if...” I bite my lip, trying to put the words together in a way that won’t make me sound crazy. “What if we don’t go back?”

He backs away, his raised eyebrows a clear indication I failed at seeming sane. “What?”

“You’ve already got me here. We could make a run for it. We could make a life away from all this. Some place where I’m not a princess and you’re not honor bound to keep your hands off me.”

Clearing his throat, he leans in and presses a kiss to my temple. “I love you for being willing to give everything up to be with me. But, I can’t ask that of you. You’re second in line for the throne. And you and I both know how quickly things change. Would you really abandon your family? Your mum?”

My chest burns. Mum has lost so much already. When my father died, a piece of her went with him. Could I leave her? “I—”

“Stop it. I won’t let you entertain the idea of a life with me if it means leaving everything you are. You’re beloved by the people of Corline, your family loves you, everyone does. I’ve loved you from afar for years. I can do it again if I have to.”

But can I? Now that I’ve had him, that I know the feel of his body moving inside mine, his heart beating against my chest, his lips on my skin—no, I can’t live without being able to touch him. “I feel like a traitor for not wanting this to end.”

“What do you mean?”

“The all clear means my family is safe, the threat is over, but it also means this is over.”

He threads his fingers in my hair until he cups the back of my head. “Then we’d better make enough memories to last us a lifetime. Lie back for me, Sparrow. I’m going to love you until the sun comes up. Then…we’ll sleep.”

My gaze locks with his and a rush of need hits me, running through my veins and collecting in my core. “I don’t want to sleep. I can sleep when this is over. I don’t want to miss a thing.”

His lips slide over my throat and down as he pushes me to my back. Warm fingers find their way under the shirt I’m wearing, teasing and tempting me as he caresses my breasts and kisses the sensitive spot under my ear. The rasp of his stubble sends tingles through me, all resonating between my thighs. His touch disappears as he lifts the hem of the shirt and pulls it over my head, exposing my naked body. He leans down and bites my breast, hard enough to make me cry out, but the pain makes me wet. “Mine,” he growls.

“Yours. God, I’m yours.”

Then his long fingers slide deep inside me, filling me and making me squirm from the pleasure of it all. He moves them in sure strokes while his thumb draws circles over my clit and coaxes an orgasm from me almost effortlessly.

“Tell me…” I start, but my words are interrupted by my moan of pleasure when he adds a third finger. “God. Tell me what you’d do if I was your wife.”

His eyes burn with lust when I say those words. “If you were my wife…Jesus, Sparrow. I’d fill your belly with my baby. I’d fuck you hard and long until you were so full of my seed you couldn’t be anything but pregnant.”

I moan and roll my hips. Yes. Oh, fuck yes. That’s what I want. “And when you succeeded? When my belly was round with the baby you put there, what would you do?”

He slides the sweatpants off his hips, and his steel length springs free, glistening at the tip, all for me. “I’d fuck you on your knees. I’d palm your tits and belly as I made you come all over my cock. Then, when you weren’t pregnant anymore, I’d fill you up again.”

His blunt head replaces his fingers, and he pushes inside, stretching me in such a delicious way I cry out. Concerned eyes meet mine. “I’m fine. Don’t stop,” I say.

“I love you,” he whispers, sinking as deep as my body will allow. “I will always love you.”

His thrusts are so hard I see stars, and it’s as if he’s trying to leave his mark on me. What he doesn’t know is he’s been inside me since the moment I first saw him, and, try as I might, I’ll never be able to get rid of him.