Another sip, another smoldering look. Zoe was affected but the hell she was going to let him know. “You know I’ve been in Taliban territory, so you scowling at me won’t put the fear of God in my heart.”
He put the mug down and crossed his arms, making them appear twice as big, his ink almost menacing. She was debating if he looked more lethal in a three-piece suit or naked with only tattoos. “Why did you have dinner with Jamieson Finch?”
The name almost made her shiver. “Because he invited me and told me we wouldn’t talk business.”
Archer considered her words. “Only that?”
Zoe knew there was more to the question, and even if it killed her, there was the opening she was searching for. “You have no right asking me that question. I’m a free, single woman. So, what if I decided to have a fling with him?”
Archer uncrossed his arms slowly, his expression going cold. “A fling? Is that what you’re searching for? With anybody or with me?”
Zoe shrugged. “After what happened the other night, I didn’t know what to think about you. Also, you’ll be leaving the United States soon, maybe coming back to organize Blackwood Energies from time to time. Bottom line, your home is in the UK. What more can there be than a fling?”
He came closer, forcing her against the counter, trapping her between his arms. Looming, his face came close to hers.
“Why do I feel there is more to what you’re saying? That you’re hiding something from me?”
Archer being so close made it difficult to think. “Well, it seems you don’t read people as well as you thought.”
“Is that so?” He looked down her body and skimmed his finger over her collarbone. Featherlight, he let his fingertips slide over her clavicle and skimmed over her covered breast, barely touching her erect nipple. Zoe lost sight of it when he palmed her sex. When he started sliding a finger along her slit, rasping against her clit, her good sense filled with desire. It took a second for her to realize she was falling again and she didn’t really care. Unable to prevent her legs from opening, her hands went to him.
“What are you doing?”
“You want a fling, don’t you? I’m giving it to you.” His voice almost made her come on the spot and she gripped his upper arms.
“Archer.” Zoe felt like drowning in pleasure and shivered from the cold air when he removed her t-shirt.
With his other hand, he fisted her hair, making her neck vulnerable to him. His teeth grazed the skin and licked until he reached her ear. “I’ll give you a fling, I’ll blow your mind until I leave Chicago. But until then, it’s only me, do you understand? No more flirting with the staff or clients.”
“I was not flirting.” He penetrated her with one, then two fingers. The sudden invasion made her bow and forget what she was about to say next.
“No flirting with the staff or the clients. No more dates. Do we have an understanding?”
Zoe moaned, unable to answer, but Archer wasn’t backing off. “You will tell me what’s bothering you, what put fear in your eyes.”
The words took a moment to make their way through her fogged mind. “I can’t.”
“You trust me with your body, can’t you trust me with more?”
She was about to deny him when his hands grabbed her hips and lifted her, her bottom half on the counter, and in one thrust, he pushed himself inside her spasming sheath. He was attacking her on all fronts, and there was no way he could win. Even if every part of her wanted to surrender, she had to remain alone, and without him knowing her reasons why.
As pleasure rose and he battled her defenses, tears threatened to spill, and it was a fight of its own to keep them back. Zoe knew he was going to ask her again and again, and she should stop all this and shut him out. Again, she couldn’t. An inexplicable force drew her to him, and she was defenseless. In one desperate move, she gripped his shoulders and kissed him. In her mind, she tried to convey everything that couldn’t be said.
His hands seized her hips and jerked down with more force. The way he was rubbing against her g-spot made her wild, to the point she feared he would be turned off by her reaction and the sounds coming out her mouth. However, it seemed to be quite the opposite. His cock felt like steel, growing larger inside her.
Zoe’s mouth was greedy, and she kissed, licked, and nipped at his lips before plunging her tongue, relishing in this decadent connection. Slick with sweat, she was falling into the molten mercury of his eyes until her orgasm spread like wildfire, forcing her to break the kiss and throw her head back in ecstasy.
If possible, Archer’s thrusts accelerated for a second until he froze deep inside her, trembling, a growling sound coming from him as his teeth bit her skin.
Zoe was gulping air, her muscles burning as if she had run a marathon, but she only focused on her contented body, and the man still holding her upright. An amazing feat considering the size of her ass. And the way he’d taken her the night before.
Way before she was ready to break contact, Archer gently put her back on her shaky legs. Both her hands went to the counter to keep her up, not sure her body wouldn’t collapse. In an unexpected and tender gesture, he framed her face with his big hands and kissed her senseless before straightening her glasses on her nose.
“Keeping things from me will only make me mad. And you don’t want me mad at you, Zoe.”
And still shaken, he turned his back on her, put his clothes and boots on in record time and left.
