I was in love with Steele... and with his two best friends.
When the fuck did my life get so complicated?
5
Before falling asleep, I set my alarm for the exact amount of time until Steele could take another dose of his painkillers. Even though he would probably rather stick a fork in his eye than admit he was in pain, I could tell.
I needn't have bothered, though. With the restless way he slept and the overwhelming anxiety tripping through me—fear for what was to come—I wasn't getting any serious rest. So I wasn't startled when the bedroom door opened slowly and Archer padded in on silent feet.
He crouched down beside the bed and lay a finger to his lips while I curled up slightly.
My glare flattened. "No shit, smart ass," I whispered. Like I was going to start yapping at the top of my lungs and wake Steele up? What did he fucking take me for?
Archer just rolled his eyes and indicated for me to follow as he slipped back out of the room. I took my time, mostly just checking that Steele was still asleep, then hunting for my panties. They were nowhere to be found, though, so I gave up and just tugged Steele's T-shirt back on.
Slipping out of his bedroom, I closed the door softly behind me, then turned to Archer, who waited with his back against the wall opposite and his huge arms folded over his chest.
"What's up, Sunshine?"
He didn't respond immediately, just headed down the hall and opened his own bedroom door in silent invitation.
I gave him a narrow-eyed stare as I took the bait, stepping into his bedroom and waiting as he closed the door behind us. His bedside lamps were on and the bed perfectly made, like he hadn't been to sleep yet, which was probably true, considering how early Steele and I had come upstairs.
"Did you seriously just yank me out of Steele's bed to come and sleep with you?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest with a mocking smile. "Come on, Sunshine. You're not actually that jealous of your besties, are you?"
He glared back at me, closing the space between us, then backing me up until my calves hit the edge of his bed and I sat down heavily.
"Princess," he murmured with a wicked smile touching his full lips. "If that was my intention, I'd have your legs already wrapped around my face and you damn well know it." He leaned down, crowding me until I was flat on my back with him hovering just inches away. "And you damn well know that I am jealous of those fucks. But not to the point where I'm going to beat on my chest and make you choose monogamy with one of us."
I smirked up at him, fighting the urge to hitch my legs up and wrap them around his waist. "Why? Scared you'll lose?" Yeah, yeah, I couldn't help myself.
Something dark flashed across his face, then he gave a low chuckle. "That's cute, Princess. Real cute." One of his hands moved to my leg, his palm dragging up the side of my thigh, pushing Steele's T-shirt up. When he encountered my lack of underwear, he paused. "Fuck," he muttered.
"Problem?" I asked, my hands finding a mind of their own and slipping beneath his T-shirt to stroke hot, hard abs.
A small growl of frustration left his throat, and he moved away abruptly. "Yes. No, not..." He shook his head, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "I didn't actually steal you away in the middle of the night to make you scream my name and remember that I goddamn own your ass." I shivered because the way he said it wasn't antagonistic. He wasn't pointing out the fact that he'd bought me from my father and married me behind my back.
Nope, he meant that in a purely sexual, primal kind of way. And in that category? Yeah, I'd let him claim it. When we were alone, anyway. I had yet to see how well he might play with others... Hopefully I'd find out soon, though. It was the sort of scenario that frequently popped into my head while I was showering alone.
"So the fact that I know you're naked under that shirt is somewhat distracting," he admitted, his eyes scorching a path up my bare legs as I hitched one up on the side of the bed. His brows twitched as I did so, and I leaned up on my elbows to grin at him. Luckily, I’d taken a minute to clean up in the bathroom after Steele had fallen asleep, so I wasn’t still dripping with his best friends cum.
"Sorry, did you not want to be distracted?" I shifted my legs further apart. "My bad."
Archer glared, but he made no moves to try and hide the hard length in his pants. "You're plain, fucking evil, Kate. I just got back from sorting out the whole car-bomb situation."
Now that had my attention. I dropped the slutty bullshit and sat up straight. "And?"
"And it was a completely different type of bomb than was used on Steele's car. Other than the fact that they were both our vehicles, there would be no links." He leaned his butt on the dresser, like he didn't trust himself to sit on the bed with me. Fair call.
I pursed my lips, thinking. "So, one was my stalker, obviously." Because he'd left one of his signature notes beside Steele's exploded Challenger. "And the other was an assassination attempt?"
Archer nodded. "That's my guess."
"Alright, so what now?"
"Nothing," he replied with a shrug, his eyes locked on my face. "It changes nothing in our plan. Actually, that was the other thing I wanted to talk to you about."
I cocked my head to the side. "You got cold feet and don't wanna marry me in front of hundreds of guests? I'm hurt, but not surprised. I guess Kody or Steele can take your place, but you'd have to grant me that divorce, first."
He just scoffed a laugh. "As if you still even want those papers, Princess. No, but I did get a call from Demi Timber while I was dealing with the cops about the exploded car."
Something in his tone hinted that Demi hadn’t called about my divorce application. She'd spoken to me about it a few days after Steele was shot, and I'd given her the instruction to let it lie for now. We had bigger fish to fry, and Archer wasn't exactly the worst surprise husband in the world.
"And?" I prompted when he just stared at my legs with a heated gaze for way too long. Or not long enough, depending on how this conversation was going to play out.
His gaze snapped back up to my face. "She said she was trying to call you, but it went to voicemail. I guess you and Steele were busy talking."
I gave him an unapologetic smirk. "Yeah, sure. If talking involves his hard dick inside of me."
Archer glared, and I just grinned wider. There was something crazy addictive about pushing his buttons until he snapped and lost control.
"Okay, okay." I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "What did Demi want? Or she wouldn't tell you?" Because attorney-client privilege and all that.
His brow twitched, and I guessed I was right. "She wants to meet tomorrow night. Says she has some information for you." His jaw tightened, and I got the distinct impression he wasn't pleased that Demi had refused to tell him directly.
Hah. Too bad, sucker. Big dick energy only gets you so far in life. Sometimes you actually have to be a nice person or, you know, accept the fact that you don't get to know everyone else's secrets.
"Cool. At her office?" I kept it casual as fuck, like I hadn't noticed his burning curiosity. He was worse than me sometimes.