"Who's fighting?" I asked, against my better judgement.
Damn it, Kody knew he had me. His cocky fucking grin said it all. "Guess you'll have to come along and find out."
I bit my lip, debating my options, but when Kody's eyes dropped to my mouth and his gaze turned hot, I knew my time to decide was running short. "Fine," I said finally, ducking under his arm and swiping my shoes from where I'd kicked them off. "But don't expect me to be pleasant company. I'd still rather trek across the Sahara naked than socialize with you three."
Kody laughed, watching as I stepped into my heels and tugged open my bedroom door. "Ah, that's a shame," he murmured, stepping past me into the hallway. "I was hoping you'd make me do things the hard way."
I ignored him, but couldn't help remembering Steele say something similar on Monday morning when he was offering me a ride to school. Something told me these boys liked it rough.
Stop it, MK. Stop thinking about how they'd fuck.
"Let’s go!" Kody bellowed as we reached the bottom of the stairs, then slung his arm over my shoulders like we were on a fucking date. "You can ride shotgun if you want, babe."
"Fuck no, she can't," Archer snapped, brushing past us on the way to the garage. He stomped over to an Army-green G-Wagen and sat his ass down in the passenger seat. "Hurry up, we're late."
My eyes narrowed, his surly attitude prickling at my skin. I didn't even want to go out with them in the first place, and now he wanted to be a brat?
Two could play at that game.
Bypassing the back door, I reached out and opened the passenger door again. Archer scowled at me in confusion, his hand on the seat belt.
"What the fuck are you doing, Princess Danvers?" he sneered at me. "I'm not getting out so your prissy ass can ride up front."
I gave him a nonchalant shrug. "Suit yourself."
Using the door frame and running bar, I hoisted myself up into the SUV and sat my ass directly in his lap. I was small enough that it was possible without embarrassing myself by getting stuck, but fucking hell... it was a tight squeeze. Archer was freaking huge, and I doubted any vehicles would comfortably fit him alone, let alone with a girl in his lap.
Maybe I hadn't thought this through.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he demanded with a throaty growl of anger and outrage underscoring his words.
Losing my damn mind, apparently.
Screw it. Own your actions, MK.
"Riding shotgun, like Kody told me I could before your bratty ass pushed ahead," I replied with sheer sass. I didn't even give a crap about sitting in the front, really, but the fact that Archer had said I couldn't? Well, it was time to get a few things straight. Namely, that I didn't take shit from anyone. Least of all these three bastards.
"Get out," Archer snarled. "You're acting ridiculous."
"No," I replied, "you get out." I twisted in his lap, sitting sideways so I could meet his blue eyes with a clear challenge in my glare. "Better start getting used to your supreme authority being challenged, sunshine."
Fury washed over his handsome face, and he leaned out of the car. For a moment, I thought I'd won that standoff, but then he yanked the door shut and buckled the safety belt over both of us.
"Stubborn prick," I muttered, but folded my arms and refused to move myself.
Archer's chest rumbled with a small laugh. "Takes one to know one."
Kody cleared his throat, turning on the ignition and arching one eyebrow at me. "Well, this is going to be a fun night," he muttered under his breath, reversing the G-Wagen out of the garage. "I can already tell."
Steele, in the backseat all alone with enough space to spread out comfortably, just yawned and propped his head against the window with his eyes closed. Apparently wherever we were going, it was far enough to warrant a nap, but his fingers drummed on the leather seat beside him in some complicated pattern, like he was playing an imaginary piano.
Archer circled my waist with his arms, pulling me closer against him, and I stifled a gasp of shock.
"What are you doing?" I growled, desperately praying my cheeks weren't as flushed as they felt. As much as I hated this asshole, my body couldn't deny the attraction.
He gave me a sly half smile in return. "Getting comfortable, Princess. It's a long drive to the Rainybanks showgrounds, and I don't need your bony ass digging into my leg the whole way."
My eyes widened before I could catch myself, and a flash of satisfaction lit Archer's eyes. Fucking hell. Rainybanks was the next town over from us in Shadow Grove—a full forty-five minute drive away.
The only saving grace to this failed plan? Archer would be just as uncomfortable as me in such close contact for so long. Based on the way his jaw was clenched and his brow furrowed, I was probably on the money there.
15
For the longest forty-five minutes of my freaking life, we drove mostly in silence. Kody attempted conversation a couple of times, but with Steele asleep, Archer replying in grunted, one-word responses, and me just glaring at him to shut the fuck up, he didn't try for long.
Eventually, we turned down the street marked with "Rainybanks Showgrounds," and I breathed a sigh of relief—just in time for Kody to slam on the brakes and damn near send me hurtling through the windscreen.
I didn't, of course, but only thanks to the way Archer's arms tightened around me like a racing harness and crushed me to his chest.
"Kody!" Archer roared while I frantically chased my lost breath. My heart was thundering, and adrenaline washed through me with enough potency to make me tremble.
"I'm sorry!" Kody shouted back, sweeping a hand over his bleached hair and shooting me an apologetic look. "A dog ran out in front of us. I didn't want to hit him."
"What's going on?" Steele asked from the backseat, his voice thick with sleep. "You almost tossed me off the seat, dude."
Kody scowled, turning his attention back to the road ahead of us and continuing at a much slower speed. "I said sorry, fuck. Just didn't think you guys wanted to be cleaning chunks of dog off the car."
He said that, but the way his eyes darted around suggested he was looking for the renegade mutt to make sure it had gotten away unharmed. He also shot a couple of worried glances in my direction. Checking if I was okay? Or embarrassed?
"It's fine," I found myself saying, reassuring him. "We're all okay, right Steele?" I shot a hard look at the grumbling, sleepy guy in the backseat.
He scowled back at me but mumbled an agreement that he was, in fact, unhurt.
Archer hadn't said anything else after yelling at Kody, and his grip on me hadn't relaxed even a fraction. The way my back was plastered to his chest, I could feel his heart racing almost as fast as my own, and it softened something in my hatred towards him.
But then...
"Just get us there without fucking killing anyone, Kody," Archer snapped, a thread of fury woven into his voice. "The sooner I get this spoiled brat off my lap, the better."
"Maybe you should have thought about that forty-five minutes ago when you had the chance to move," I replied with heavy snark. Kody pulled into a parking space in a lot where dozens of cars were already parked, though, and effectively ended our stupid, childish argument.