He gripped my waist, lifting me out of my seat and depositing me across his lap in the blink of an eye. Pays to be stupidly strong in situations like this one, that was for sure.
"You threw down a challenge, baby girl," he growled, tugging his shorts down and revealing his hard cock. "This is one argument you're not winning." He lined himself up and thrust inside me with one rough motion, making me moan like a damn succubus.
My fingernails dug viciously into the sides of his neck, giving as good as I got, but goddamn... this was the kind of argument I was happy to repeat. He gripped my hips, pushing my white Archer's Girl hoodie up as he forcefully coaxed me into riding his cock. Like I really needed the encouragement.
Bracing my feet against anything that would give me leverage, I bounced in his lap, fucking him like I would a sex toy, taking complete control of the pace. It didn't last long, though, before his fingers flexed on my ass and his hips bucked up to meet me. Typical fucking Archer. Couldn't resist dominating from the bottom.
Not that he'd get any complaints from me; I loved the way he took control.
His thumb slid down my front, finding my clit as he fucked me. Within moments, I was coming way harder than I ever managed to achieve with my battery-operated boyfriends. Yeah, I was a dirty liar, but that suited the company I was keeping.
Archer joined me before I was even finished climaxing, his lips finding mine as he came, kissing me like I was his entire goddamn universe.
"Fuck, I love your smart mouth, Kate," he muttered when our kiss ended. My hands were cupping his face, my fingertips threaded into the hair behind his ears, so our gazes were locked together intensely.
I gave him a small smirk. "Well then, I'll make more of an effort to piss you off if you promise it'll end like this every time."
His gaze flattened into a glare. "Next time you pull some bullshit like that, you'll come away with my handprints all over your ass."
I clicked my tongue mockingly. "Promises, promises, Sunshine."
Narrowing his eyes further, he rolled his hips, making me gasp. He was still inside me, yet somehow he was already hard again. Was that even humanly possible? Fuck it, who cared? Archer could be a damn alien for all I cared, so long as he made me come again before we returned home.
This time when our lips met and our bodies started moving together once more, it was slower, less rough and demanding and more... tender. It was scary close to lovemaking—in our book—and shockingly, I was okay with that.
Because deep down and buried under piles and piles of emotional baggage, I knew I was falling in love. Three times over.
By the time we made it home, Kody and Steele were already waiting for us in the kitchen. They were both perched on barstools with crystal tumblers of scotch in front of them. And a slim, gift-wrapped box.
Goddammit.
"You two took your time," Kody teased as we entered the kitchen. As if my ruffled hair and rosy lips didn't give it away enough, Archer also held my hand in a death grip, our fingers interlinked.
"Had to sort out a disagreement," Archer replied, casual as all hell. "That from our friend?" He nodded at the gift box, and Kody grimaced.
"Yup."
"What's in it?" I asked, my heart in my throat and shivers chasing across my skin.
Steele shrugged. "We haven't opened it. Thought it was better to wait for you two first." He slid off his stool and grabbed two extra tumblers from the glassware cabinet, then poured the same Scotch for Archer and me.
"Thanks," I murmured, taking the offered drink, aware I'd need it no matter what was in the box. Shit's sake. Being stalked and almost killed all the time was going to turn me into an alcoholic before I even hit my birthday next month.
I untangled my hand from Archer's and took a gulp of the liquor before moving closer to the package. It looked innocent enough from the outside, but so had the box with a dead bird in it.
"Alright, open it," I said with a sigh.
Kody slid the box closer and flipped the lid off in one quick motion.
I let out a heavy breath. As far as stalker mail went, this wasn't the worst. Not by a long shot. But it was right up there on the creep factor. A page torn out of a glossy magazine had clearly been the trigger point for today's attack, as the full page image showed Archer and I locked in a crazy intimate embrace while the vodka bottle sat on the low table beside us. Archer's face had been scribbled over so many times in black marker pen that it was entirely blotted out, and the paper had torn slightly.
There was a Barbie doll with the pink hair, but she didn't wear any little replica outfits this time. Instead, down the length of her body, down her arms, legs, and even across her forehead, the same word was scribbled over and over.
MINE.
Then, just in case we didn't get the message, there was a box of matches and a pair of mud-crusted, black lace panties. The same pair I'd been wearing that day with Archer before we went to Wisteria. The same ones I'd kicked off on the side of the road and left behind in the rain and mud.
No one spoke.
Then Archer slammed his crystal tumbler down on the countertop so hard the glass shattered, but he didn't even flinch.
"He's a fucking dead man," he announced in a voice as cold as the grave.
I bit the inside of my lip, holding back the scream of frustration, rage, and fear that wanted to tear free of my chest.
"Are you okay, babe?" Kody asked in a quiet voice, his arm resting around my waist in a gesture of comfort.
I nodded, even though I wasn't. Not by a long shot. But then I wouldn't ever really be okay until my stalker was caught and the hit out on me cancelled. So for now, I just needed to be satisfied with surviving.
"I'm going to take a shower," I told them, placing the lid back on the box to hide the contents once more. "Can you guys store this wherever all the rest of the creepy shit is stored?" I didn't know, and I didn't care to know. Probably in my dad's fake office.
Steele gave me a frown of concern. "Are you sure?"
I forced an amused smile to my lips. "About showering? Absolutely. I smell like smoke, and I'm in serious need of a cleanup. Remind me to wear panties next time I leave the house, alright?"
Kody and Archer shared a fucking smirk, the bastards, and Steele just pouted.
"No fair," he grumbled. "But do you mind if I just double-check your room before you shower? This package was found on the front doorstep, so that means whoever left it there got past the front-gate security."
Another ripple of fear passed through me, but I nodded.
Steele and I left the kitchen, passing through the foyer to the main staircase, but a knock on the door caused us both to freeze just two steps up.
"I've got it," Steele murmured, stepping back down. He pulled a gun from beneath the hall table, which appeared to only be there as decoration. It always held a huge arrangement of flowers—Steinwick's doing—but apparently it also hid a convenient weapon.
I clutched the stair rail in a white-knuckled grip as Steele checked the security camera, then gave me a small nod of reassurance. He opened the door, keeping his gun just behind his back, but it was only the front-gate guard.
"Sir, letting you know we've checked the cameras. No sign of whoever left the box," the guard—Dave—told Steele in a clipped, professional voice. "Our guess is that he jumped over the south fence where there's a dead zone."