While she waited, he kicked off his shoes and socks and straightened, meeting her gaze. “Your turn.”

  She took in his chest and abs, and he was pretty sure her pulse took a good, hard leap as she bent to take off her heels.

  “Leave the shoes.”

  She straightened with an arched brow. “Really?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “You have some catching up to do,” she noted.

  Obliging, he unsnapped, unzipped, and stripped out of his pants, leaving him in black knit boxers that did little to hide how hot he found her.

  She was staring at that very evidence when she licked her lower lip, prompting him to groan and move toward her, stroking his hands up her torso. When he assisted her bra to the floor, she sucked in a breath.

  “Gorgeous,” he whispered, his mouth at her jaw, his hands gliding over her trembling body. “So gorgeous you take my breath away.”

  “Finish,” she said, a quiet demand that had him smiling because even when she was down, she was never out. She wanted him naked first and he didn’t have a single problem with that. He shucked the black cotton.

  This time her inhale was audible, a low feminine murmur of appreciation.

  “Now you’re overdressed,” he said, his mouth at her ear and he hooked his fingers into the scrap of lace masquerading as panties at her hips and slowly drew them down, crouching before her to ease them all the way down her legs. Leaning in, he brushed a kiss across one of her thighs, and then the other. And then a hip. Her belly button.

  And then just south of it.

  “Archer,” she gasped, her hands going to his hair.

  “Right here,” he said, and he kissed her again, this time letting his tongue snake out and stroke. He worked her over, following the clues of her body as her fingers tightened in his hair and writhed against him.

  He made her come that way, loving the breathy way she moaned his name. And when her knees gave out he caught her, lifting her to his desk. Sliding his palms up the insides of her thighs, he pushed them open and stepped into the vee of her legs. “One of these days we’ll actually make it to a bed.”

  “That will be hard to do since after this we’re going back to staying the hell away from each other.” She sank her teeth into his bottom lip and then slowly let it slide free and kissed him softly, which he felt all the way down to his toes and back.

  “Condom?” she whispered.

  He froze, eyes locked on hers, wondering how she felt about seeing a grown man cry. “I don’t—Christ.” Had he seriously forgotten about a condom for the first time in his entire life? “We used my emergency stash from my wallet the other night.”

  “I see.” She hesitated, eyes on his. “Before that, I hadn’t been with anyone in over two years. I’m on the pill.”

  His heart was in his throat. “Two years?” He cupped her face. “Why?”

  Her eyes shuttered. “You want to talk about that or do this?”

  Good point. “I’ve not done this without a condom . . . ever,” he said.

  She rocked against him again, taking him into her hands, giving a playful tug to bring him right where she wanted. Leaning into her, his hands on the desk on either side of her hips, his breath decidedly uneven, he teased them both until she moaned and wrapped her legs around him.

  “So what’s the holdup?” she asked, impatient to the end.

  Gripping her sweet ass in his palms, he jerked her forward and slid into her.

  Their twin gasps comingled in the air and he was pretty sure he blacked out for a minute. “Oh fuck, Elle,” he whispered, only vaguely aware of her nails digging into his shoulders where she was holding on for all she was worth, her head back, her hair brushing his forearms, her throat bared for his mouth. Her lips were parted, her breath came in little whimpery gasps and he felt her clenching tighter and tighter around him.

  God. He already couldn’t remember what it’d been like before her. He’d thought everything was great in his life but then he’d been thrown a curveball in the form of this gorgeous, passionate woman who he suddenly couldn’t get enough of.

  Which made it official. He was hers, completely. “You’re beautiful, Elle,” he said, pressing tight against her. “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  She shuddered, whimpering against his mouth as she came, and while she was still clenching and pulsing around him, he lost himself in her. When he was with her like this, he found himself. It was as simple and terrifying as that.

  Chapter 15

  #DidIShaveMyLegsForThis?

  After, when they were still entwined, hearts pounding against each other as they attempted to recuperate, Elle tried to memorize everything about the moment. The way his arms wrapped around her tight, protective, one hand cupping her the back of her head, the other settled possessively on her ass.

  It’d been such a bad idea, she knew this, but somehow she always lost focus of that when he touched her the way he did. Things were unbearably complicated between them. Always had been. But not this. This was easy.

  And she didn’t know what to do with that.

  Hopping off the desk, she gathered up her clothes and escaped into the bathroom connected to his office and stared at herself in the mirror.

  She had Hair Gone Wild and her mascara was smudged. Her lips were bare but curved, like she was a woman who’d been well and truly taken care of. Business handled.

  That it was true didn’t help. And how was it that he seemed to know her body better than she knew her own? She didn’t know whether to be horrified or amazed.

  A little bit of both, she decided as she pulled on her clothes. She smoothed down her dress and stared at herself some more. Wow. Sex was good for her skin—she was glowing.

  But it didn’t change the fact that she’d decided to take control of her life. She’d also decided against Archer and yet she’d fallen right back into his bed. What was wrong with her?

  One glance in the mirror at the after-sex glow told her what was wrong with her. She was in denial.

  Dammit. She hated when that happened.

  It didn’t matter. She’d been in worse spots before, far worse, and she’d managed to pick herself up. This time would be no different. Yes, maybe a mistake had been made, a big one, but she’d learn from it if it killed her.

  The way she saw it, she had only one choice here, if she wanted to save any face at all. She would gather her dignity the best she could, give him a kickass smile and walk right out the door, playing it as cool as he always did.

  Her heart started pounding again at the thought, but she fixed her hair and slid a finger beneath each eye, sweeping away the smudged mascara. Without her purse, she couldn’t do anything about the bare lips and suddenly she felt more naked than she had without a single stitch of anything on her except Archer’s body.

  Since that thought made her inner thighs quiver in memory, she turned away from the mirror, took a deep breath, and walked out of the bathroom and back into Archer’s office, heading straight for the door.

  Archer was dressed and back to his inscrutable self. “Hey,” he said with a smile. He had his cell phone out. “I’m going to order us some food. What do you feel like?”

  A mess. She felt like a mess. “Can’t,” she said.

  His smile faded. “Don’t run off, Elle. Give this a shot. Give us a shot.”

  Her heart just about stopped. “Us?” she asked in shock. “There is no us. There’s a you. And there’s a me. And okay, so sometimes we get crazy and become a very momentary us but it’s not real.”

  “It could be,” he said.

  She gaped at him, completely gobsmacked. “You pushed me away for a year.”

  “I was wrong.”

  She shook her head, unable to process this. “So now what, we live happily ever after?”

  “Depends on you. What do you want?”

  What did she want? Had he lost his marbles? “Okay,” she said slowly. “I thought you were kidding but now you’re scaring me because I don’t think you are.”

  “I’m not.”

  Who was he and what had he done with Archer? “Is this so we can keep having time-outs that involve naked time?”

  “God, I hope so.” He barely caught her when she whirled for the door. “Elle, wait. I’m serious.”

  She searched his gaze. “You expect me to believe your feelings changed just like that?”

  “Well not just like that.” He flashed a smile. “You wore me down over time.”

  “This isn’t funny, Archer.”

  “You’re right, it’s not. You need time and we have that. Take all you need. You free tonight?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll pick you up,” he said. “We’ll try the date thing.”

  Her phone rang and she looked down at it. It was maintenance, reminding her she had a meeting with them. “I have to take this.”

  “It’s okay.” Archer leaned in and kissed her gently. “After work, Elle,” he murmured, and then he walked out of his office, giving her some space.

  Elle locked herself in her office, brain going a hundred miles an hour. She paced the small space, unable to decide on a feeling. Shock and panic worked, she decided. She purposely changed gears to problem number two by pulling out her phone and sending a text to Morgan.

  Meet me at O’Riley’s in fifteen minutes.

  Forget Archer and the fact that he knew her better than anyone else. Forget the amazing orgasms or how he always had her back. She needed to forget all of it for a few minutes and give herself some breathing room.

  Instead she’d concentrate on her sister. If anyone was going to help Morgan, dammit, it’d be her. She headed downstairs.

  “Hungry?” Finn asked when he saw her.

  “Starving.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Everything you’ve got,” she said as she slid onto a stool next to an already seated Morgan.

  “Worked up an appetite today, huh?” Finn asked.

  If he only knew . . .

  Morgan laughed. “Used to be, she was always hungry. It was like she was hollow.”

  True story. Living as they had, three squares hadn’t always been part of the program. There’d been long stretches of time when they’d lived off apples, peanut butter, and Top Ramen.

  And just like that, she suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. “Maybe just some tea to start.” She turned to Morgan. “Okay, let’s have it. What is it you really want?”

  “I already told you. I wanted to see you.”

  “And?”

  “And . . . I was hoping you’d give me references, and maybe help me get on my own feet with a place,” Morgan admitted quietly. “But when you weren’t interested, Archer became my Plan B.”

  “Archer isn’t your Plan B,” Elle said. “You need to leave him out of this.”

  Morgan reached for the drink in front of her and took a leisurely sip. “You know, it’s amazing how potatoes give us chips, fries, and vodka. It’s like get your shit together, every other vegetable, you know?”

  Elle narrowed her eyes, wrapped her hand around Morgan’s wrist, and brought the glass under her nose for a sniff.

  “It’s 7UP on the rocks,” Morgan said.

  Feeling like a jerk, Elle let go and nodded. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”

  “No, that was on point.” Morgan met Elle’s gaze. “You’ve got every reason to err on the side of caution with me. I get it, Elle. I really do. But people change. Look at you, for instance—family used to mean everything to you. There was a time you’d have done whatever you could to keep us together.”

  “We weren’t ever a real family.”

  “Yeah,” Morgan said as she stood up. “I know. I’m just saying, people change, including you. In fact, you’ve changed a whole hell of a lot.” She tossed some money onto the bar and walked out.

  “Morgan,” Elle said. “Wait.”

  But she didn’t. Watching her go, Elle drew a deep breath and before she could let it out, Spence slid onto the stool Morgan had just vacated.

  “Am I crazy, or did I just see you and your doppelganger sitting together?”

  “That was my sister.”

  Spence lifted a brow. “The elusive Morgan Wheaton?”

  “The one and only. Long story.”

  “I love long stories,” he said.

  So Elle told him what Morgan wanted, leaving out most of their wretched past. She loved Spence, she loved all her friends as if they were family, but no one knew the whole story.

  Well, except Archer.

  Spence was quiet a moment. “You don’t think she’s good for it this time? You think nothing’s changed?”

  Elle hesitated and then shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Spence nodded slowly. “And I’m guessing you’ve been burned by her in the past.”

  Elle lifted a shoulder.

  “Yeah, you have, and I’m guessing you’re worried you’re wrong about her this time.”

  “Yes,” she said softly.

  Spence slung an arm around her and kissed her on the top of her head. “What does your gut say?”

  “That I’m a bitch.” Elle resisted the urge to burrow in and pretend her life wasn’t in complete uproar. She wanted her calm quiet back. But she managed a smile. “I like to stick with what I’m good at.”

  Spence smiled back but his eyes said he was onto her. “I don’t know, Elle. If you were such a bitch, you wouldn’t be giving this the time of day; instead you’re sitting here hoping she proves herself.”

  “Is that what you think I’m doing?”

  “Isn’t it?”

  Yeah, she supposed that’s exactly what she was doing. She wasn’t big on trust and Morgan would be the first to tell her that was wise. Hell, it’d taken her an entire year to trust Archer.

  And look how that had turned out . . .

  “I know you hired me because Archer asked you to,” she said, and then she grimaced. She’d meant to finesse that statement but it was too late now.

  Spence looked confused. “What are you talking about? Archer didn’t ask me to hire you.”

  “Then how did you end up with me in the pool for the position?”

  “I started out with a headhunter,” he said. “Your resume came to me in a stack of a hundred others. Getting them down to the top ten nearly killed me. Archer helped.” He paused and gave her a quiet look of speculation. “And yeah, he recommended you personally but I made the final decision on my own. The truth is, once I met you, I knew you were the only one for the job.”

  Okay, that didn’t seem nearly as intrusive as she’d imagined.

  Finn brought them a tray of sliders and fries. They dug in for a few long minutes before Spence got a text. He snorted, responded, and put his phone away.

  “What?” she asked.

  He slid her a look and said nothing.

  Annoying alphas. “What?”

  “Caleb wants to know if he should bother trying again.”

  “And you said?” she inquired, brow raised, not sure she knew what she wanted the answer to be.

  “I said that we’re not in high school and he could figure it out for himself. Although I should’ve told him not to bother because you’re all sorts of screwed up.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “You are.”

  “Don’t start,” she said.

  “Then you don’t start,” he said seriously, putting down a French fry—which meant he was very serious indeed. He blew out a sigh, muttered something about hating being forced to discuss feelings, and then looked at her. “Okay, so you’re you, which means you’re going to bury your heart deep and you’re going to continue to wear that ice shield you’re so fond of. Poor Archer probably doesn’t know what hit him.”

  “Poor Archer?” she asked in disbelief. “Poor Archer is a big boy.” A very big boy . . . “He plays by his own rules and anyway neither of us even has a copy of the rules. So trust me, Spence, he’s not the one who’s going to get hurt here. He probably has them lined up.”

  “Are you talking about other women?”

  “No, I’m talking about kittens and rainbows!” she said, exasperated. “Yes, I’m talking about women!”

  Spence blinked at her unusual vehemence. “Elle there’s been no other women for him, not in a long time. A year, in fact.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Did he tell you to tell me that?”

  Spence laughed. “Yes, right after we talked about what to wear to the prom. Jesus. No, we don’t talk about this shit, thankfully.”

  Elle sighed. “He said he wants to have something with me.”

  “Something . . . like dinner?”

  She had to laugh. “I think he meant more than dinner. I think he meant a relationship. Not that it matters.”

  “Let me guess,” Spence said. “Because you don’t trust him.”

  “He didn’t want me until I started going out with other men.”

  It was Spence’s turn to laugh. “If you believe that then I’ve got some swampland to sell you. The truth is, you don’t trust him. Hell, you don’t trust anyone with your heart. And shit . . .” He pushed away the food in disgust. “Not only did you just trick me into a relationship conversation, but you just made me say heart. I hate you right now, but I’ve got one more thing to say and then I’m cutting out my tongue. I think you’re just looking for reasons to hold back. There.” He tossed up his hands and stood up. “I’ve done my Dr. Phil for the day. Hopefully for the year.” He pointed at her. “And if you tell anyone we had this conversation, I’ll deny it.”

  When he was gone, she sat there thinking too hard.

  You’re just looking for reasons to hold back.

  Was that true? No. No, it couldn’t be. This was all about Archer and how screwed up he was. Not her. And that’s what she continued to tell herself the rest of that night as Archer didn’t come to take her out as promised. And she’d continue to tell herself as long as she needed to hear it.

  Chapter 16

  #YouWantFriesWithThat?

  Later that night Archer paced the ER waiting room restlessly until Mollie took his hand.