CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KELSEY
HE WASN’T SERIOUS. I WASN’T GOING to do it. I couldn’t. No way.
Except that I was in my bedroom, standing naked in front of the mirror in four-inch strapped black stilettos, holding a tan raincoat.
“You are so screwed, Kelsey March,” I muttered to my reflection. “And I don’t mean that in a good way.”
My cell phone rang. My heart thumped.
“Hello?”
“You ready?” His voice was like dark, melted chocolate.
“No.”
“Half an hour. Be there.”
I tossed the phone on the bed. Last time I’d gone out with Archer to the Queen of Hearts, we’d run into one of my students. What if that happened again tonight? While I was naked under a raincoat?
What if I got stopped for speeding? What if the Queen of Hearts was having a “no coats allowed” night? What if I was in a fender bender and had to talk to another driver and a police officer? What if I saw someone get hurt and I had to whip off my raincoat to… I don’t know, stop the bleeding?
I was beginning to think that maybe my wild past wasn’t quite as wild as I’d always believed. Either that or I really had become an uptight stick-in-the-mud over the years.
That was a depressing thought.
With a sigh, I scrounged around in my closet and grabbed a stretchy blue dress that I hadn’t worn in ages. I tugged it on. It was way too tight, clinging to my hips and waist, and very clearly demonstrating that I wasn’t wearing a bra. I had to pull it down to make it reach mid-thigh.
Though my courage wavered again, I figured it was a decent compromise between Archer’s order and the fact that I wasn’t going to get out of the house unless I was somewhat clothed. I finished getting ready and put my glasses on.
My anxiety ratcheted up higher as I drove to Rainwood and parked in the same lot Archer had the previous week. I couldn’t believe it had only been last week that we’d been here.
When I got out of the car, I felt a presence move from between two cars. Archer. He came toward me, breathtakingly handsome in jeans and a gray button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose his corded forearms. Shadows cut across his strong features, making him look faintly sinister.
“I thought we were meeting at the club,” I said, attributing my shivers to the cool spring air.
“I’d never let you walk alone at night.” His gaze raked over my buttoned, belted coat. “You follow orders?”
I figured he’d find out sooner or later, so I shook my head. “I have a dress on. But it’s really tight and clingy,” I added hopefully.
He frowned, crowding me up against the car. My breath caught. His gaze held mine as he untied the belt of my raincoat and worked the buttons. When the coat was open, he slipped his hands inside and ran them over my breasts and hips. The heat of his palms burned through the thin material.
Then… oh, god… he hooked his fingers under the hem and pulled it up far enough to touch my naked slit. A shudder racked me. He smiled, blocking me from view with his body as he ran his forefinger over my folds.
“It’ll do,” he murmured. “But you still disobeyed.”
“I’m not a dog, you freak.”
He chuckled. “No, you’re a cat in heat. Hissing and scratching.”
He slipped his finger into me. I gasped, curling my hands around his forearms. He lowered his head, and I caught a whiff of his delicious, clean male smell before he pressed his lips against mine. My body surged in anticipation of an open, possessive kiss, but this one was surprisingly gentle, almost chaste.
Which was a very odd contrast to the fact that he was still fingering my pussy.
“Let’s go.” Archer tugged his hand from between my legs and pulled the hem of my dress back over the tops of my thighs.
“We’re… we’re still going to the club?” I’d rather been hoping he’d whisk me off to a dark cave… or anywhere… and have his way with me. Like, right now.
“Sure, we’re still going.” He fastened my raincoat and tied the belt.
I bit back a protest. Archer put his hand on my lower back as we walked, our hips occasionally brushing against each other. I was already damp between my legs, and my lack of underwear heightened the friction.
When we entered the club, I realized I might have made a mistake. If I was naked under the coat, I could have left it on and remained fully covered. But with the dress…
Sure enough, Archer moved behind me to help me off with my coat. Now in a dress tight enough to be a second skin, I suddenly felt more than naked. Especially when the bouncer gave me the once-over.
Archer stepped in front of me, eyeing the guy with a caveman back-off look. The guy shrugged and pulled open the door.
Once we were inside, my tension eased a little. Lights flashed over the dance floor, but the tables were shadowed, and I thought I could lose myself in the noise and activity. A cover band was onstage, “We Are Young” thumping through the room. The lights spun over the couples gyrating on the dance floor.
Archer reached back to grab my hand as he navigated the crowd and tables. I saw nowhere to sit, but Archer scanned the crowd then spoke to the bartender. In a few minutes, a server gestured us toward an empty table at the edge of the dance floor.
I had to admit, as Archer guided me to the table, his ability to get what he wanted was pretty damn sexy. Maybe that was one of the reasons I was so willing to give him… me.
While he ordered drinks, I wiggled around in the chair, tugging my dress back over my thighs. Though I’d worn revealing clothes in the distant past, I’d always tended more toward the goth-chick look rather than outright sluttiness. And in the past ten years, I’d been all about tailored suits. Hiding the sexy underneath.
I shifted again, reaching for my drink. The lights were hot, the air compressed with the music and sounds of laughter and loud conversation. The bass line throbbed in my chest, my body humming with that urge to get up and move.
“Dance,” Archer said.
With a smile, I nodded and pushed my chair back, discreetly tugging my dress down before going to the crowded floor. I turned to face Archer, only to find that he was still sitting at the table. I lifted my hands and gave him a “what the hell?” look.
A smile curved his mouth. He took a drink of scotch and made a circling gesture with his forefinger.
I just stood there. It took a second for his command to penetrate my hazy brain. He didn’t want me to dance with him. He wanted me to dance for him.
Someone bumped into me from behind. I stared at Archer. Lights gleamed on his dark hair, over the hard lines of his face and his beautiful mouth that had done such hot things to my body. He was lounging back in the chair, his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle, all taut, male confidence.
My heart pounded. I wanted to climb on top of him right there and straddle his lap, hike my dress over my hips and…
He lifted an eyebrow. Imagine Dragons’ “Demons” came through the speakers. Blue-and-yellow lights drifted over the crowd. A couple passed in front of me, gripping hands as they came together, their lower bodies gyrating close.
A throb coursed into my blood. Archer and I locked gazes. An electric current sparked through the air. This was a direct challenge. I wasn’t going to let him win.
I started to move. I let the music fire through me, felt the beat pulsating in my core. I twisted, turned, spun. My dress rode up my thighs as I swiveled my hips, turning to shake my ass at Archer… hah, take that… then around again to face him.
Without a bra, my breasts bounced beneath the stretchy fabric, my nipples pressing against the thin material. I slid my hands down my torso, the heat of my own skin burning through the dress, around to the slopes of my rear.
The crowd swelled around me like a wave. My hair clung to my neck, damp and hot, the music and noise filling my ears. His eyes burned through the dim light like twin candle flames. The dress inched up higher with every twist of my hips, and when I reached to pull it down again, Archer shook his head.
My breath stuttered. I fumbled, grasping the hem with both hands, my pulse throbbing. He shook his head again, his gaze steely.
We stared each other down like jungle animals. He won.
I released the hem of my dress and moved back, slowly swaying to the beat again. I was hot and slippery between my legs, and he knew it. My dress hiked up farther. I tried not to wince as a rush of air brushed against the lower curve of my ass. A couple more inches and…
Someone bumped into me. Startled, I jerked away and turned to face the stocky, handsome blond man who had come up behind me. He lifted his eyebrows in an unspoken question.
I started to shake my head at him, certain Archer would intervene. Then I glanced over my shoulder and found him still sitting at the table, unmoving, his hooded gaze fixed on me and the other man.
Hah.
I turned back to the guy. He smiled. We started to dance, his body moving in rhythm with mine, a space clearing around us like the expanding circles of a pebble tossed into a lake. I closed my eyes and let heat wash over me. Music and noise drove everything else out.
My dress rode higher, the pulse between my legs getting stronger with every circling of my hips. Arousal shot to my core each time my hard nipples chafed the material of my dress. A faint dizziness wound through my head. I felt the guy looking at my breasts, his eyes hot, and I knew he wanted to—
Two large, male hands grabbed my hips from behind, pulling me backward. I came up hard against Archer’s body, my ass hitting his thighs as he slid his hands around to my front and flattened his palms against my torso in an unmistakable show of possession.
The other man didn’t even try to protest. He took one look at Archer, held his hands up in defeat, and turned to disappear into the crowd.
All the breath escaped my lungs. Archer’s hot, hard body pressed against my back. Arousal flooded me. For an instant, we just stood there, his grip holding me in place, my heart racing wildly. Then he moved and the ridge of his erection pressed against the upper curve of my ass.
I moaned. Aloud. I reached back, desperate for something, anything, to hold on to. I curled my fingers against his hips as he lowered his head to press his lips on the side of my neck. The room tilted off balance, the lights spinning. His thick hair brushed my damp skin.
He slid his hands down the front of my body, his fingers brushing the hem of my dress and the bare skin of my thighs. Shivers rained through me. He moved again, shifting his hips, guiding my body to the beat of the music. I felt him against my lower back, the top curve of my rear, his chest a solid wall of muscle. His breath was hot on my neck, his lips still against the pulse beating wildly under my skin.
I tightened my grip on his thighs and writhed my hips, rubbing my ass against him, aching to feel him pull my dress up and slip his hand between my legs. Dizziness washed over me.
I didn’t care that we were standing in the middle of a crowded dance floor, didn’t care who was watching, didn’t care about anything except the sensation of Archer pressed against me, holding me to him, his lips on my neck, enveloping me with all his male possessiveness.
And then, oh god, my dress rode up even higher, and my bare ass was against his groin, his jeans abrading my skin, his cock so hard I could almost feel it throbbing through the denim. He pushed closer, sealing our bodies together so my nakedness was concealed from view. I squeezed my thighs. Sweat collected between my breasts. My clit throbbed.
I shifted, rubbing my ass against him. It was so good, the rough fabric against my naked skin, his hands cupping my thighs and holding my body against his, his lips sliding from my neck to my shoulder in a sweeping, unbroken line. Lust unfurled inside me like a ribbon.
A rough noise rumbled through Archer’s chest. His hands flexed on my thighs. He moved enough to edge his hand between us and tug my dress back over my rear, but not before running one finger swiftly down the crevice between my cheeks. Shock and heat bolted through me so violently that I stumbled.
He grabbed my waist to keep me upright. “Come on.”
Blindly, I let him guide me forward, past the twisting and spinning bodies, off the dance floor to a corridor leading to the back alley. I fumbled for the door handle, gasping with relief when a rush of cool night air washed over me.
The door closed. Archer was still there, his breathing heavy, and when I turned to face him, his features were set hard, his eyes lit with a feral gleam.
Before I knew what I was doing, what was happening, we lunged toward each other like attacking animals. I flung myself at him, feeling his arms clamp around me as our mouths crashed together in a sudden, heated frenzy.
“Oh, god,” I gasped, my mouth open over his as I latched my legs around his waist. “I’m going to come already… I’m so fucking turned on… I need you so much…”
“Yeah, you do,” he growled, turning to push me up against the side of the building, already shoving my dress up to my waist. “Tell me what you want.”
“You.” I let my head fall back as his mouth sought mine again. “Your cock inside me… your fingers on my clit… oh, Archer, please.”
He thrust his tongue into my mouth, holding me against the wall with the strength of his body, one arm beneath my thigh. He pushed his other hand between my legs. A thousand shudders rolled through me. He rubbed, squeezed, pressed two fingers into my opening, his thumb circling my clit. Need built inside me with unbearable force. I licked his lower lip, clutched at his shoulders, and drove my hand into his hair.
“Fuck me,” I hissed.
“Say it.”
My blood went into full boil. “Oh, you bastard…”
“Say it.” He lifted his head, his eyes glittering.
“No.”
He slipped another finger inside me. My thighs trembled. The world spun.
“Say it.”
“No.”
We stared at each other. The air crackled.
Archer leaned forward, his breath hot against my lips, working his fingers inside me. I shut my eyes, feeling myself tipping forward into the abyss.
“Say it,” he whispered.
“I… I surrender.”
“Good girl.” His mouth crashed down on my mine again.
I surrendered. I was dimly aware of him pulling his hand away from me, the shifting as he worked the fly of his jeans, the strain of my thighs. But I couldn’t even think past the lust clouding my mind and body, the beat of music pulsing in my blood. I could still hear it through the walls of the club, still felt the sweat trickling down my back.
“Hold on,” Archer muttered, a second before thrusting into me with a grunt.
I gasped, gripping his shoulders, tightening my legs around him. His cock filled me, stretched me, his body slamming against mine as he clutched my thighs and thrust again and again. I let my head fall back, closing my eyes, the bricks behind me vibrating with the noise from inside.
“Archer…”
He plunged into me, thick and hot. A cry broke from my throat. The rough wall chafed against my ass and lower back. I squeezed my inner walls around his shaft. So big. He was so big I felt the blood pumping through his cock, the slap of his testicles against me.
“Oh, fuck…” He groaned, lowering his head to capture my lips again.
I opened, letting him drive his tongue into my mouth in the same rhythm as his thrusts. I was electrified. Consumed. His breath scorched my lips, his stubble-rough jaw abrading mine as he slid his mouth across my cheek to my ear.
“You are so fucking hot.” His voice was as deep and dark as the ocean. “So tight… let me feel you come again… harder than you ever have… come on, baby.”
He surged into me. I cried out and came violently, shuddering and quaking around him an instant before he gave a muffled shout and shot deep inside me. I clung to him, my blood pulsing. Heat drenched the air.
Before the quivers had eased from my body, he lifted me from against the wall, sliding his hands over my naked rear. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and buried my head in his shoulder. I was shaking hard.
The world steadied back into balance with the dizzying, windswept sensation of slowing after a wild roller-coaster ride. Again I had the sense that Archer was the only solid element in the entire world.
His breath rasped over my temple. Music still thumped through the walls. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt his heart pounding against my breasts.
“I need to go home,” I whispered.
Archer didn’t release me right away. I think he might have even held me tighter. He was so strong. I had no fear of falling, not with him holding me, our bodies sealed together like the pages of a closed book.
He slowly lowered me to the ground, steadying me even as he gazed at my disheveled body. He tugged my dress down and smoothed his hands over my waist and hips. He straightened his clothes before we went back into the club. He retrieved our coats, draping mine around me.
As we approached the parking lot, I handed him my car keys without him needing to ask. Part of me was dimly aware how unlike me all this was, turning things over to anyone. Especially a man like him. But I was thrown totally off balance, not even sure if I knew who I was anymore.
And increasingly terrified that I only wanted to be his.