Sins of the Father

Chapter 7





I peeked into the room and I instantly felt my jaw drop in surprise. This was Archer’s office, but it was obviously so much more than that. There were glass cases on the walls that were filled with swords, knives, shields, medieval maces, battle axes, armor, and every gun under the sun. I took a deep breath and sighed in awe. My proverbial penis had just gotten a serious chubby. I saw Archer and Jameson staring at me and I shook my head and walked in, shutting the door behind me.

“Who ordered the blood?” I asked as I pursed my lips and put my ‘mad mask’ back on.

Archer raised one eyebrow at me and beckoned me forward with his finger as Jameson resumed his one man sword fighting. I watched Jameson’s body gracefully ebb and flow, slice and jab. He was absolutely beautiful to watch…and most definitely lethal with his weapon. My lower abdomen tightened in desire and I had to look away. I walked up to Archer’s desk and roughly dropped the bag of blood on it.

“Thank you, Skye,” Archer said leaning back in his chair and ripping a corner off the bag with his teeth.

I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. “Don’t thank me. Thank Trey. I didn’t do anything for you.”

Archer’s brow furrowed as he glared at me, his mouth taking deep pulls from the bag. I pursed my lips and cocked an eyebrow. I’d wait him out if I had to, but I wasn’t going to be the first one to speak. I was angry at him and the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in a room with him right now.

Jameson suddenly cleared his throat and put the sword back in the case. “Well, I’ve got to get to band practice. I guess I’ll be taking the Porsche tonight since I no longer have my car.” He stood there for a few seconds and then sighed. “Okay. I’ll see you both tonight after the show.” He walked up to me and briefly touched my arm while he leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Try and be nice, okay love? I’ll miss you.”

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and give him a proper goodbye kiss, but I knew he wouldn’t have wanted me to in front of Archer. Jameson was doing his damnedest not to touch me more than he needed to, that much was obvious. Part of me understood that he wisely didn’t want to rock the boat right now, but the other part wanted to shove it in Archer’s face and say ‘Ha! There! How do you like that, a*shole?’ So immature, I know. I reluctantly watched Jameson walk out of the door and close it softly behind him.

“Are you going to stay mad at me all day?” Archer asked after he finished the bag of blood and threw it away in the trashcan under his desk.

I bit the inside of my cheek and momentarily looked away.

“You have to talk to me sometime, Skye,” he said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair.

“I do?” I asked, looking back at him. “Why? So we can rub salt in each other’s wounds? I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you.”

Archer got up from his desk and flashed to stand in front of me. I jumped at the unexpectedness of it, eyes wide, and stumbled backward. Archer easily caught me and helped steady me. My skin tingled where he touched it and I gasped, taking a step away from him.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said softly, looking down at me. “I just want you to talk to me.”

I rubbed my arms where his hands had been and tried to calm the blush I felt spreading across my cheeks. “Well, fine. Talk. Let’s get this over with already since you seem hell bent on doing it,” I said as I walked around him and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

I heard him sigh as he turned and sat on the edge of the desk in front of me. I uncomfortably crossed my legs and arms and waited for the yelling to begin.

“I’m not going to yell at you,” Archer said reading my mind.

“Oh, yes you are,” I said, narrowing my eyes up at him. “You may not be planning on it, but you’re going to end up doing it. Mark my words.”

“And why do you say that?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was wearing a tight, dark grey t-shirt and his impressive biceps bulged underneath the thin fabric.

I swallowed hard and focused on his face. “I say that because we are both really upset at each other right now. I’m probably going to end up yelling at you. As a matter of fact, I can almost guarantee it. You’ll get frustrated with me and, in turn, yell back. It is a simple case of cause and effect,” I said with a smart-assed smirk.

“Why didn’t you tell me Aoife was bothering you?” he asked suddenly, throwing me off my game.

My brow furrowed and I looked away toward his glass gun case as I bit my bottom lip. “Who said she was?” I knew that Jameson had told him earlier today, but I didn’t want to exacerbate the situation by tattle-telling to Archer. He would probably say something to Aoife and she would in turn make my life here a living hell. No thank you!

“Don’t play dumb with me, Skye.”

“I’m not playing dumb, Archer. I’m playing indifferent.”

He growled lowly in frustration and glared down at me. “Fine, don’t answer. It doesn’t matter because I know now and I’ll put a stop to it.”

I rolled my eyes and uncrossed and re-crossed my legs uncomfortably. “Jesus. What is it with you guys always interfering in my shit? You know, if something is bothering me, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of it myself. I’m not some damsel in distress, Archer. I don’t need to be rescued, damn it.”

Archer chuckled rudely. “Oh, yes you do. You just don’t know it yet. If Aoife is as pissed as I think she is, you’re on her list. And, you really don’t want to be on her list. She can be an absolute nightmare, trust me on this one.”

“Why the hell did you even have to bring her here?” I asked angrily, my emotions showing more than I had intended. I shook my head in frustration and sighed. Damn it! I needed to play this cooler than I was.

“I need to protect my children, Skye,” he said simply, elaborating no further.

“Whatever,” I said with a huff. “Next question.” I wanted to get this over with before I had to go to work this evening.

Archer briefly growled a warning, but I paid him no mind. I was in a dangerous mood myself right now and didn’t care the least bit if I ruffled his delicate feathers.

“Why didn’t you tell me you saw Aoife kiss me?” he asked next. “And, why didn’t you give me a chance to explain?”

I bit the inside of my cheek hard and looked away. I couldn’t meet his eyes. I refused to let him see the hurt still deep in mine. Answering this question was not something I wanted to do, but I knew it had to be done. The dirty laundry needed to be aired out.

“I didn’t tell you because it absolutely crushed me, Archer,” I said, looking at the swords on the wall. “And I didn’t need to hear an explanation. Your tongue down someone else’s throat is pretty self-explanatory to me. I’ve been through that before, remember?”

Archer got up off his desk and flashed to his office window. He stared out the window for a minute before he spoke. “You should have told me.”

“Oh, to hell with that!” I yelled, no longer able to keep my cool. I bolted upright, enraged, fists clenched tight down at my sides. “You should have told me before you kissed me that you were MARRIED, Archer! How could you do that to me?! How could you make me fall for you then stab me in the freakin’ heart?!” I immediately clamped my right hand over my mouth and squeezed my eyes closed. Damn it! Damn it! Son of a… Damn it! I had said WAY more than I intended to. I never wanted him to know that I had fallen for him. Never.

Archer slowly turned around to face me and I instantly turned my back on him. My face was crimson red from rage and embarrassment and I didn’t want him to see that.

“Well,” he said, after a moment, with a bitter, mean laugh, “you must not have fallen that hard for me if you jumped into bed with my brother two days later. I think that’s got to be some sort of a record or something.”

Did he just call me a slut?! I whirled around so fast that I almost didn’t stop. My eyes were murderous and my teeth clenched so tight it hurt. “Go to hell! You just go straight to hell, you son of a bitch!” I yelled before turning and stalking to the door.

Archer flashed to stand against the door right as I reached for the knob.

“Get the hell out of my way, Archer!”

“We’re not done talking,” he said plainly, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yes. We. Are,” I said staccato between clenched teeth, my eyes narrowed in what may very well be the most extreme case of anger I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I was beyond mad at him. I was beyond livid. I was a walking Chernobyl.

“Why did you f*ck my brother, Skye?” he asked, looking down at me, his ice blue eyes no longer blue. They were washed out and starting to fade rapidly. He was extremely angry but I didn’t care. I wanted to hurt him as bad as he had just hurt me. I was about to take this fight to a whole other level. It was going to get nasty.

I smiled devilishly, looked up into his eyes, and bit the corner of my bottom lip before I answered. “Because once I had my hands wrapped around his huge cock, I totally forgot your name.”

Archer’s top lip twitched a couple of times and the next thing I knew, I was on my back on top of Archer’s desk and his hand was wrapped around my throat. My breath caught as I realized what had just happened. I’d pushed him way too far. His eyes were completely white, aside from his pitch black pupils, and his lips were pulled back in a snarl. His long, lethal fangs were down and there was only a mere five inches of space between our faces.

I swallowed painfully and gathered every ounce of courage I had left in my body. “Get the f*ck off me,” I said a little unsteadily.

Archer roughly grabbed my face, turned my head to the side, and ran his nose up the length of my neck as he took a deep breath in. “You let him feed from you,” he growled inhumanly. He turned my neck to the other side and slid his tongue from the hollow to behind my ear, tasting me.

I gasped at its unexpectedness and tried to push him off of me. “What does it matter to you if Jameson fed from me? We aren’t together, Archer! We never will be! You’re with Aoife and have been for six hundred years, or so I’ve heard.”

Archer turned my face to his and looked me deep in the eyes. “I should take you right here on this desk and be done with it,” he growled lowly, anger burning red hot in his pale eyes. “Then I wouldn’t have to daydream anymore about your tight little ass, or how good you’d feel on top of me, your warmth wrapped around my cock.”

I struggled harder to free my body from under his but it only excited him more. I growled in angry frustration as I yelled at him, “Well, you’d better get used to it, because a daydream is as close as you’re ever getting to me again, a*shole! Now, GET OFF ME!”

Suddenly, I was no longer on the desk, but backed up against the door. Archer had both of my hands above my head and we were both breathing hard.

“Tell me or I’ll steal it from your mind,” he whispered, his face dangerously close to mine again, his eyes a mixture of anger and sadness. “Why did you f*ck my brother, Skye?”

I swallowed hard and looked up at him. I felt tears immediately spring to my eyes and I tried to blink them away, but it was no use. They spilled over and Archer silently watched them slide down my cheeks and onto my white tank top. “Because,” I answered unsteadily. “You hurt me and I needed him. He lessened the pain in my heart and I desperately needed that. He kissed away my tears and showed me that love doesn’t have to hurt, Archer. I made love to your brother because I wanted to. I made a mistake choosing you over him and I wanted to make it right, before I lost him forever.”

Archer leaned closer to my face, his lips barely an inch from mine. “Have you chosen him, Skye?” he asked softly as he stared deeply into my eyes. “I read in your mind just last week that you weren’t going to be with either one of us because it was too complicated. Did you change your mind? Are you his?”

I licked my lips as I looked down at his. “I…I,” I started to say when a loud knock sounded at the door, interrupting us.

Archer growled, quickly flashed me to the chair, and flashed back to open the door. “You just don’t know when to leave well enough alone, do you Aoife?” he rumbled, reaching for her. There was a quick blur of movement and a slam of the door. When they finally stopped flashing around the room a full minute later, Archer had Aoife up against the glass gun case by the neck and they were both breathing hard. I think they had been fighting, but I couldn’t tell for sure. They had been just one big blur.

“I heard she was staying here and came to see for myself. Why is she here? Why is she ALONE with you?” Aoife asked angrily.

Archer looked down at her with absolute disgust on his face. “It is not your concern, Aoife. What I do and with whom is never your concern. I’ve heard that you’ve been causing problems for me this week and you’re going to set the record straight…right here and now.”

Aoife shot me an angry glare and shouted something at me in a language I didn’t understand.

Archer said something back to her in a low, menacing snarl and she immediately lost her fight. He let go of her neck and she moved to fix the yellow string bikini top and black sarong that she was wearing. I noticed that she had the body of a Victoria’s Secret runway model and a chest to match. I took a quick glance down at my grungy jeans and tank top and felt completely inadequate next to her.

She moved to sit in the chair beside me and refused to look my direction. Her face was a blank mask.

Archer slowly walked over to his desk, perched on the edge in front of us, and looked at both Aoife and me.

“This ends here, Aoife,” he said in a calm, controlled voice. “You will tell her the truth and then you will get out of my office. You will not come to my private quarters or my office again unless I personally summon you, is that clear?”

Aoife clenched her jaw and nodded. “Yes, Athair,” she said, her voice calm and compliant. She turned to me and stared at me for a few seconds. A sudden growl emanating from Archer encouraged her to speak.

“I may not have been entirely truthful when I said that Archer and I were married,” she began as her eyes bored into mine. “We were together for a time, but Archer chose to end our relationship in 1899. Even though we took the sacred blood oath for life, he has denied me ever since that rainy day in March. It’s been 113 years now. I thought that 100 years away from each other would have given him a chance to cool off and change his mind, but it seems as though that’s not the case.” She looked up at Archer for a moment before she turned back to me. Her eyes were murderous. “It seems as though he loves another.”

I flinched at the look in her eyes, quickly stood up and took a few steps away from her. “Don’t look at me,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender and shaking my head. “He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t even know me. He’s only known me for two weeks. He can’t possibly love me, Aoife.”

She growled at me and I took another step back.

“Enough, Aoife!” Archer rumbled. “Now, if you have any ideas about retaliation, you’d better drop them. Skye never told me anything. She never once came to me or told me how you were treating her. I found out on my own. I tried ignoring the little things I saw, tried giving you time to adjust, but you were obviously behaving far worse than I thought.” He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I will always care about you Aoife, but you know why we can’t be together romantically. Nothing has changed since we’ve been apart and you know it. I brought you and the rest of the family into my home because I want to protect you and keep you safe. Do not make me turn you away, Aoife. You are my child, my blood, and it will kill me to do it, but I will for the greater good of the others.”

“She is not your family!” Aoife yelled, gesturing wildly to me with her left arm. “I am your family! Why have you even brought her here? She does not belong with us!”

Archer stood in a flash and glared down at her while she sat in the chair, his fists clenched dangerously tight at his sides. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I had a feeling the color was draining. “You do not dictate who belongs, páistí. You have no say in anything anymore and you will do good to remember that. You are no longer my mate and I will not tell you so again, Aoife. This is the last time we will have this conversation. Do you understand me, páistí?”

Aoife dropped her head in submission and I could have sworn I heard a small sob emanate from her, but I wasn’t sure. Seconds turned to minutes as no one moved or said anything. I wanted to turn and run for the door, but I knew Archer wasn’t done with me yet and would only block my escape again.

Finally, Aoife lifted her head and her face was back to being blank of all expression. “Yes, Father. I understand you completely.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as Archer motioned for me to sit back down next to her. I quickly shook my head and remained where I was. I wasn’t fooled by Aoife’s miraculous Zen transformation. I knew that under that kitten of a mask she now wore, a true lioness prowled back and forth past the cage in her eyes that she had only constructed for Archer’s sake. I had been the thorn in her paw for almost a week now. The first chance she got, she’d pluck me out and throw me away, guaranteed.

I gathered up my courage and asked the question that had been bothering me for days. “Why did I see you kiss him, Aoife, if you two aren’t together?”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me. I could tell that she didn’t want to answer me, but would because Archer would make her. “I kissed him because I wanted us to be together again. I thought if I reminded him of what he was missing, he’d come back to me. He only responded for a few seconds before he pushed me away.”

I looked over at Archer for confirmation and he nodded his head. So, he didn’t make out with her? He pushed her away? Now I understood what he meant about giving him a chance to explain. But, did this change anything? I slept with Jameson last night. I made my choice…hadn’t I?

Archer sat back down on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest again. “I’m sure someone told you what happened at Skye’s house today, Aoife, so you know why she is staying here. I’m not willing to risk an employee’s safety just to make you happy. Now, she will be staying downstairs and you’ll be upstairs.” Aoife quickly turned her head to glare at me. She obviously wasn’t happy to hear I would be feet from Archer’s private bedroom. “I fully expect you to be civil to her in this house. You will stay away from the hallway leading to my room, my office, and her room, is that clear? You need to realize that Skye is part of this family now and she’s going to be around for a while.”

Archer’s brow furrowed slightly and he took a deep breath before continuing. “Jameson and Skye are…dating each other, so get used to seeing her around here. Jameson’s home is her home and we will do our best to make her comfortable in it.”

Aoife slowly turned her head to look at me, her eyes wide and a crooked smile on her face. “Well, well, well…you cheeky girl! I thought I smelled Jameson’s scent on you.” Her face morphed as the news sank in. It went from being surprised, to happy, to relieved, and then to grudgingly accepting me and my presence here. At least I could tell she wouldn’t try to kill me in my sleep now. She was happy that I was with Jameson and no longer had my eye on her pseudo-husband.

“Well,” she said standing up and brushing her sarong off. “Nice chatting with you both, but I was just on my way out for a swim. Care to join me, Skye? The pool is lovely.”

I felt my eyes widen in shock. Is this bitch crazy? I don’t want to ‘accidentally’ drown. I quickly got control over my face and shook my head. “Um, no thank you, Aoife, but I appreciate the invitation. Maybe another time.”

She shrugged her shoulders as she walked to the door. “Suit yourself, dear. I’ll see you both in time for work.” With a flick of her wrist, she sashayed out the door and quietly closed it behind her.

My eyes were still wide when I looked over at Archer. “Has she been tested for a wide range of mental disorders?” I asked shaking my head in disbelief.

Archer smirked before quickly frowning again. “I told her about Jameson to keep her off you. You should be okay with her now. If you have any more trouble, you must come and tell me.”

I waved my hand at him dismissively. “We’ve been through this before. I’m a big girl, Archer. I can take care of myself.”

He walked over to me and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You’re not as big as you think,” he said, looking down into my eyes.

I crossed my arms over my chest, too. “I’m big enough. I don’t need you running to my rescue all the time, Archer. Let me fall. If I do, I’ll dust myself off and get right back up. The world will go on, honey.”

He considered my words a moment as he studied my face. I cocked my eyebrow at him, determined to have him see me as the woman I was, not the child I was sure he was seeing.

“Fight me,” he said suddenly as he took a step back.

My eyes bulged and I glared at him like he was crazy. “What? Have you lost your mind?”

“Fight me,” he said again as he walked over to one of the glass drawers under the weapon’s case and withdrew a short silver dagger. He walked back up to me and tossed it to me.

I caught it in my hands without thinking and was surprised when it didn’t cut me.

“It’s fake. Were it real silver, and sharp, you could kill me by piercing my heart. Remember that,” he warned as he lunged for me.

I squealed in surprise and turned to run for the door. When I reached it, I heard laughter and stopped. I slowly turned around and saw that Archer was bent over laughing. “What the hell is so funny?” I asked angrily.

“You,” he said as he got control over himself. “Look at you. You’re supposed to be this big girl who can take care of herself…yet you run away from a simple sparing match?”

I clenched my teeth and gripped the dagger tighter in my right hand. “I…well…you just surprised me, that’s all. Have a lethal vampire lunge for you and see how you like it.”

Archer beckoned me over with a crook of his index finger. I silently, slowly obeyed. “Fight me, Skye. I won’t hurt you, I promise. You once told me that you’re skilled in the art of Israeli Krav Maga. I want to see if you can indeed take care of yourself. And, I want to make sure you can fight back if you’re ever attacked. Okay?”

I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. He won’t hurt me, I silently reminded myself.

“Never,” Archer said, shaking his head. “I’ll never hurt you again, Skye.”

I gripped the eight inch dagger tighter as his words sank in. I didn’t need to be reminded of how hurt I’d felt over the last couple of days. It only sparked the anger inside me again. I took another deep breath and added fuel to that spark. I stoked the anger that had been inside of me until it had become a roaring blaze. I was ready.

I glared at Archer in anticipation and smiled wickedly. His eyes widened briefly as he saw what was behind mine. He nodded his head to tell me, signaling that he was ready, and I lunged for him, slicing the air between us with the dagger.

He easily sidestepped and flipped around me to place me in a choke hold from behind. I stomped down hard on his foot, elbowed him three times in the ribs, reached up and grabbed his arm, pulling it down, as I flipped all six plus feet of his body over me and onto the ground. Archer flashed up off the floor and smiled as he dusted his hands off. “Good. But stop taking it easy on me. You can’t hurt me,” he said before he lunged for me again.

I switched the dagger to my left hand and steadied myself as he came at me. Right before he grabbed me I protected my head with my left hand and shot my right palm out, quickly heel punching his nose. I paid no attention to the crack I heard as I did the same to his throat. I extended my arms out to grab a hold of his shoulders, but he had recovered by then.

Archer grabbed my right arm and spun around my body to pin it behind my back. The move shocked me. What was even more shocking was that he did it so fluidly without using his vampire speed. I snapped out of my daze and reached my left arm behind me to stab him in the side with the fake dagger. He easily stopped me and pinned my left arm behind my back with the right one. At least he had let me keep the dagger. I growled in frustration as he maneuvered me the few feet to the wall. He pushed my body against it and held my arms behind my back with one hand.

“You broke my nose,” Archer said with a chuckle. “You actually broke my nose. Good for you.”

I turned my head to look, but he was standing too far behind me. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, babe. Let me see,” I said sweetly.

He leaned his body against mine, pinning me to the wall, as he brought his head over my shoulder. I turned to look and there was blood on his nose, lip, and chin. “You pack quite a punch for a human girl,” Archer said with a chuckle. “No wonder Stellan was pissed when you attacked him. It hurts.”

“Aw,” I said with a tsk. “You have blood on your chin, honey. Do you want me to get that for you?”

His eyes softened as he leaned his lower body harder against mine. I could tell that our fighting had excited him and I felt a familiar jolt of butterflies. His rock hard body was pressed tightly against mine and I refused to acknowledge the sexual thoughts that now raced through my head. Stupid vampire pheromones.

Archer released one of my arms to wipe the blood off his nose and I took that moment to strike. I head-butted his face with the back of my head as hard as I could and spun around him to face his back. I heard Archer growl and I wasted no time jumping on his back, wrapping my legs around his waist, and putting him in a chokehold. I held the fake dagger point to the side of his throat and grinned.

“Got you,” I said with a triumphant smile.

I felt this body rumble with a low growl as he put his hand to his face again. When he pulled it back, there was a lot more blood than last time. “It was almost healed and you broke it again!” he growled.

“Oops,” I said with a tiny laugh. I was trying my best not to gloat. I had beaten another vampire and it felt awesome. “I thought you said I couldn’t hurt you, babe.”

I felt a ripple pass through his body as his muscles flexed. Uh-oh, I thought quickly and was on my back, on the floor with him straddling me before I finished that thought. Jesus they can move fast! Archer had both my hands in one of his and they rested tightly on my lower abdomen. I looked up into his face and immediately felt bad.

“Oh, Archer,” I said in a breathy whisper. “I’m so sorry. I…I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

Blood painted his lower face, neck and the top of his shirt. His eyes were completely, beautifully blue, so I knew he wasn’t too mad at me. “You used your feminine wiles to trick me,” he said with a cock of his eyebrow. “Well played. But how are you going to get out of this one, Miss Morrison?”

I took a good look at his body and mine. He was sitting on my hips and he had both of my hands locked down right under where my belly button was located. He wasn’t taking his eyes off of me and smiled when he saw the moment I realized that I couldn’t get out of his hold. “Well, how about a kiss for the winner?” I asked with a smile.

Archer laughed. “I’m not falling for that one, Skye. I’m not that gullible.”

I smiled widely and wagged my eyebrows. “Not gullible. Okay, how about drop-dead sexy then?”

He threw his head back and laughed and I took that moment to act. I brought my legs up, sat up as much as I could, leaning his body further back, and I scissored Archer’s throat between my ankles, pulling him back and off of me. I quickly rolled him and straddled his waist just as he had done me. Only this time, I had the dagger pointed at his heart.

He was breathing hard as he looked up into my eyes. “Nice move,” Archer said with a smile. “I didn’t see that coming at all.”

“I know,” I said grinning.

He moved to get up and I clenched my legs harder to his hips and pushed the tip of the dagger forcefully into his chest again. “You’re not going anywhere until you admit defeat.”

Archer laughed and interlocked his fingers behind his head, relaxing. He wiggled his hips against mine and I became painfully aware of his raging hard-on. I felt my cheeks flush hot, but refused to get up until he admitted that I had won.

“And if I don’t?” he asked with a cock of his eyebrow, his sexy ice blue eyes boring deep into mine.

“Then I’ll just have to stake you,” I said a little unsteadily.

He laughed again and slowly brought one hand out from behind his head. He gently wrapped his hand around mine, lifted the dagger, and moved it three inches down and to my right. “You can’t stake a vampire through the sternum, love. The best place to strike is where the ribs end.” He took his other hand out from behind his head and slowly reached for my chest. My breath caught as he gently placed a finger on my chest and slowly trailed it down between my breasts, stopping right where my bra ended. He pressed his finger harder into me and smiled. “Right here. See where the sternum ends?” I nodded my head as my heart sped up. Archer started moving his finger again, his hand grazing the underside of my left breast. “You want to follow the curve past where the ribs meet the sternum.” He stopped and pushed his finger into me again. “The heart is just under here, tucked behind the ribs. To make the kill, find where the ribs end just below the heart, tilt your dagger upward at an angle and shove it in as hard as you can.”

I swallowed hard and nodded my head. My heart was pounding from Archer’s touch and my mouth suddenly felt dry. I was overwhelmed with the pheromones he was throwing off and decided I’d better move before I did something I might regret later. “Well,” I stumbled, getting up. “You learn something new every day.”

Archer chuckled as he looked up at me. “Take a deep breath, Skye, and try to slow your heart rate.”

I blushed and walked over to sit in the chair in front of his desk. My ponytail was a disaster, so I quickly took it down and wrapped the band around my wrist. I heard Archer get up and dig around in a cabinet behind me for a few seconds. When he came to sit in front of me on his desk, he had a wet cloth in his hand and he was wiping his nose.

“Here,” I said standing up as I walked over to stand between his long legs. “Let me help you. It’s the least I can do for making you bleed.”

Archer smirked and handed me the cool, wet rag. I gently dabbed and wiped at his nose, lip, chin and neck. When that was all clean, he lifted his shirt up over his head and allowed me to clean the blood that had soaked through his shirt. Oh my…he has such a magnificent body. As I was gently wiping his chest, he reached up and cupped the back of my neck for a moment before sliding his fingers and hand up through my hair.

“Ouch,” I hissed as I flinched at the unexpected pain.

Archer’s brow furrowed and he turned my body around. He pulled me close and parted my hair in the back, searching for the cause of my pain. I heard him tsk and I turned around.

“Well, what is it?” I ask worriedly.

Archer shook his head and chuckled lightly. “You have a massive knot on the back of your head from head butting me, Miss Morrison.”

“Oh,” I said, deflating some. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It hurt like hell when I did it.”

Archer smiled down at me sweetly. “You’re something else, Skye,” he said gently before shaking his head and resuming his usual guarded face. “But, you need more practice with a dagger. I think I’ll have one of the guys help train you tomorrow, if you’re up for it.”

I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. “Okay. Sure, why not?”

Archer smiled and took the bloody rag back from me. “Go get some ice on that head of yours before the bleedin’ thing gets any bigger.” I smiled and turned to leave.

“Oh, and Skye?” Archer called. I turned back to him and raised my eyebrows in question. His brow was furrowed a bit and his lips were pursed. He looked a little angry and I swallowed hard. What is he mad about now?

“Take a shower,” he growled. “I can smell my brother’s scent on every inch of your body.”

I bit my lip and hurried out the door. The fact that his brother’s scent was all over me still pissed him off. I smiled and thought back to how Jameson’s scent got there as I made my way down the hall and into the kitchen. I grabbed a dishtowel and put ice into the middle of it before twisting it tight and holding it to the back of my head. I walked over to the kitchen window and looked outside.

There was a huge pool and hot tub out back. I glanced over at one of the lounge chairs and saw Aoife lying down on her back sunbathing. Her yellow bikini top was off and I turned away. Well, maybe she won’t hate me so much now that she knows Jameson and I are together? I chuckled aloud and shook my head. Fat chance of that happening.

I walked into the family room, silently nodded to the guys at the poker table, and made my way back to my new room. My bags were by the closet and I quickly dug around in my messenger bag and got out my iPod. I set it in the dock by my bed and put on some music to listen to as I held the ice to my head. I wanted to make sure that I held it on there long enough to actually help with the swelling. I figured twenty minutes would be enough and glanced at the time before I laid down on the white chase lounge in the corner.

I laid there and thought about everything that had happened in Archer’s office. Aoife had admitted that they were no longer together and that the kiss they shared was brief and one sided. Would this change things between Jameson and me? I had fallen for Archer and had just found out that I had been mad at him over a misunderstanding. He never went behind my back and kissed another woman and he wasn’t married like I was led to believe. I swallowed hard and thought of Jameson. I thought of the way our bodies felt against each other’s, how safe I felt in his arms, how wanted and cared for he made me feel. I shook my head. Jameson is who I want to be with. Archer may be sexy, smart, rich eye candy, but he didn’t hold a candle to how I felt about Jameson now. What we shared last night was life changing. He did things to me, made me feel things that I’ve never felt before.

I sighed as I looked at the clock on the bedside table and got up to unpack my bags. I hung up all the clothes in the spacious walk-in closet and lined my shoes up on the shelves. I put all my unmentionables and tights in the built in dresser drawers and stacked my empty suitcases in the corner. Lastly, I grabbed my makeup/toiletry case and took it into the bathroom with me.

I unpacked my blow dryer, hair straightener, makeup and toothbrush and lined them up on the counter top. I walked over to the massive garden tub, turned on the water and selected a sweet smelling bottle of bath oil to add to it. After turning up the volume on the iPod dock, I quickly undressed and stepped into the hot water. The smell of honeysuckle and almonds was strong and soothing. I sighed as I leaned back and ducked my head under the water.

I took my time bathing and shaving before washing my long hair. I was careful to avoid putting pressure on the still sensitive knot. When I was done, I released the drain and got out. I wrapped up in a deliciously large, fluffy white towel and tucked it closed under my arms. I took my time combing out my hair and blow drying it straight for work tonight. Next, I put on my makeup, selecting red as tonight’s color, and topped the look off with ultra-long red false eyelashes. After painting my lips blood red, I hung up the towel to dry and walked to get my clothes out of the closet.

I had a hard time trying to figure out what to wear, but I ended up selecting a red and black stripped fishnet tank paired with a blood red demi bra underneath, my black pleated ultra-mini skirt, ripped black tights, and my new black patent leather pumps that had a five inch red lightning bolt for the heel. I walked back into the bathroom and looked at my outfit in the mirror before spritzing myself with perfume and grabbing my messenger bag to walk out the door.