Sins of the Father

Chapter 8





As I was closing the door behind me, I heard Archer close his. We had both come out of our rooms at the same time and I looked over at him and smiled. He was wearing designer low rise jeans, a crisp, white dress shirt with the top three buttons undone under a black blazer. I noticed his hair was slicked back, accentuating his strong square jawline, as he walked over to me.

“You look fantastic,” he said softly, his eyes roaming the length of my body, appraising my outfit. “And you smell amazing.”

I blushed and smiled, turning my back on him and walking down the hall toward the family room. “Thanks. You bought the outfit,” I said over my shoulder with a wink.

“Money well spent,” he chuckled.

We walked out into the family room and there wasn’t a person in sight. “Where is everyone?” I asked Archer.

“Aoife and Trey take the longest to get ready,” he said, holding out his hand. I placed my hand in his and allowed him to lead me through the house. “Everyone else is either in the garage or out front ready to go.”

Archer stopped at the foot up the stairs and called up to Trey and Aoife. “Get a move on, ladies! Trey, be sure to set the alarm on your way out.”

“Coming,” Aoife called in a singsong voice as Trey flashed down the stairs. He was wearing tight black leather pants, a black deep V-neck t-shirt, and a red scarf around his neck. He looked really handsome and I knew he’d be getting some serious attention tonight from both the men and women at the door.

“Ready, boss man,” he said with a smile and turned to me. “Sakes alive, child, you look good enough to eat.”

I smiled and playfully hit his arm. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

Aoife flashed down the stairs next and joined us in the foyer. She was wearing a skin tight leather tank mini dress with gorgeous REAL black and gold studded Alexander McQueen cage heels. I looked up at her in awe. Those shoes were easily $2,500. I had been drooling over them just last month in Vogue magazine. She looked at the expression on my face and smirked. “I never figured you to be into high fashion. Do you like them?” she asked, turning her leg to the side to give me a better look at the shoe’s profile.

“Love,” I stumbled. “I love them. They are absolutely gorgeous.”

Aoife laughed and tucked her clutch under her arm. “They are, aren’t they,” she said as she turned and walked out the front door.

Archer’s chest rumbled next to me with a low growl and I looked up at him. He was shooting the front door an angry glare. “You know, you can go shopping if you want, Skye,” he said finally looking down at me. “I told you that you could spend what you wanted. You don’t have a limit on the card and I have more than enough money.”

I shook my head quickly. “There is no way in hell I could ever spend $2,500 on a pair of shoes, honey. I could never justify spending that much, no matter how pretty they were. But thank you anyway,” I said as I gave him a smile.

“Well, I need to set the alarm, so you two get to stepping,” Trey said as he sashayed over to the security keypad by the front door.

“Shall we?” Archer asked as he offered me his right elbow with a smile. I looked up into his ice blue eyes for a moment and realized that I was no longer angry at him. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I’m sorry for all the drama, Archer, I said to him silently. I probably should have come to you and talked to you about what was happening.

Archer looked at me and smiled. “Yes, you should have come to me. But I understand why you didn’t. And, for the record, I’m sorry too Skye.”

I smiled, looped my arm through his and briefly laid my head against his shoulder before following him out through a side door and into the five car garage. My jaw instantly hit the floor and I gasped when I spotted its contents.

Sitting there, all shiny and gleaming, was two of the coolest cars I had ever seen in my life. The one furthest away was very familiar to me. I had loved this car since I was a kid and was shocked to see that Archer Rhys had actually been lucky enough to own one. Sitting there, all black and perfect was a 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK Trossi. I immediately drifted towards it and ran my fingers down the length of it. I felt a ridiculously wide grin stretch across my face but didn’t care.

“You own one of the most coveted and sought after cars in the world,” I whispered and turned to him. “It’s beautiful.”

Archer chuckled and walked over to me. “Yes. And I bought it new when it came out.”

I shook my head and swallowed hard. “Do you ever actually drive it?”

“Of course I do. I’ll take you out in it some time.”

My heart jumped in my chest as I gave the car one last look of longing. I ran my hand over its smooth rear fender as I walked with Archer over to the other car. I had never seen a car like this before, but I instantly fell in love with it. It was painted an electric blue and had a sleek, aerodynamic front and a sharp, equally sleek pointed back.

“What kind of car is this?” I asked as I peered inside the windows.

“It’s a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4,” he said as he walked around to the passenger’s side and lifted the vertical door open for me. “It’s got a V-12 engine and it’s an absolute beast on the road.”

I walked around, allowed him to take my hand and help me into the deep black leather bucket seat. Archer quickly got in and started the car up. It purred to life and I bit my lip at the incredible sound of power that pulsed from the rear engine. He slowly pulled out of the garage and hit the button on his keys to close the door.

I saw that Aoife and Trey were getting into Archer’s silver Audi, Quinn and Hunter were waiting in Quinn’s black truck, and Seamus and Lochlan were pulling out in an old 1970s model black Cadillac DeVille.

Archer waited for everyone to go ahead of him and he brought up the rear.

“You have some amazing cars, Archer,” I said with a shake of my head. “How do you decide which one to drive?”

He laughed as he smoothly switched gears. “It’s hard sometimes,” he admitted.

My face fell as I remembered my car. “What did you do with my car today?” I asked softly, looking down at my hands. I was trying hard not to think of what was found in it.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “It’s was unsalvageable, Skye,” he said with regret. “We took both your and Jameson’s cars to the junkyard.”

I hugged my stomach and looked over at him. “What am I going to do? I don’t have enough money to buy another car right now.”

Archer reached over and patted my knee. “While you are staying with us, you won’t need one. You may have your pick of my cars and can take them whenever you want.” I immediately perked up and smiled. “Except the Trossi…that’s my baby,” he said with a laugh as I deflated.

“Well, thanks, Archer. I do appreciate it,” I said as covered the hand that was on my knee with my own. I swallowed the lump in my throat, steadied my nerves, and asked him the question that I’d wanted to ask all day. “What will you do with Jesse?” I whispered, afraid he wouldn’t answer me.

Archer sighed and interlocked his fingers in mine. “He has been buried, Skye,” he said gently as he glanced over at me then back to the road. “I’m sorry we cannot tell his mother what happened to him, but I will make sure that she is taken care of financially. I will arrange to have her inherit a large sum of money from a long lost relative.”

“You can do that?” I asked with wide eyes.

“Of course,” he said with a small smile.

“Thank you for doing the best you can by his family, Archer,” I said as I squeezed his hand in mine. “Jesse may have been a handful, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.”

“I agree,” Archer said as he quickly brought my hand up to his lips to softly kiss my knuckles.

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet. Archer had turned on the radio and was listening to the 24hour news channel as I stared out the window, my thoughts swirling with memories of Jesse.

We pulled into The Mausoleum employee parking lot and Archer flashed around to open my door for me. I took his hand as he pulled me out of the deep seat. We quickly walked in and everyone went upstairs to the second floor.

“Skye,” Archer called to me as I lingered on the first floor. “Come to my office.” I watched him flash behind his private stairwell door and I did as he asked.

I slowly walked up the main stairs and then climbed the narrow spiral staircase up to Archer’s office. He was walking into his private apartment and I followed him in. I took a seat on the edge of his bed, crossed my legs, and watched him as he took off his jacket and went into the kitchen.

“I’m going to have you work up here tonight,” he said as he took a bag of blood out of the refrigerator and popped it into the microwave. “I need someone to help me catch up on paperwork and I hope you don’t mind helping.”

“Of course I’ll help, Archer,” I said with a small smile. “Just show me what to do. But, who is going to take over for me downstairs?”

“I’ll handle it, love,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry so much.”

He smiled at me as he took his blood out of the microwave and ripped the corner off with his teeth. I watched him suck on the bag and I shivered involuntarily at the sudden memory of Jameson’s fangs sliding into my neck. I vividly remembered the instant feeling of ecstasy that overtook my body last night when he fed from me and the intense orgasms that followed.

Archer growled and stepped closer to me. “You have to stop thinking about that, Skye. I can’t handle knowing how Jameson made you feel last night. It makes me…crazy jealous,” he said as he quickly resumed drinking down the bag of blood.

“I’m sorry,” I said, blushing furiously in embarrassment. “I can’t help it. It felt…so good.” I felt my nipples harden and I heard Archer growl again. “Why does a vampire’s bite feel so good?” I asked as I squirmed a little in my seat, my core tingling with longing.

“Our fangs contain a chemical that causes euphoria when released,” he said as he licked his lips. His fangs were fully out and I had to look away. I wanted to feel Jameson’s bite again and it didn’t help when Archer was looking at me all sexy like with his fangs out. “It helps calm our prey.”

“Oh. That explains a lot,” I said, standing up and walking to his door. I was feeling a bit frisky and thought it would be better to wait for him in his office. “I’ll just be at your desk. Take your time and I’ll see you out there.” I quickly walked out and over to the bar under the mounted flat screen television. I picked up the bottle of scotch and poured myself a double serving.

I sipped the drink as I walked over to Archer’s desk and sat behind it in his big, comfortable leather chair. I swiveled side to side, sipping my drink, and waited patiently for him.

Archer finally emerged a few minutes later and came behind the desk with me. He leaned over and opened his laptop, took a thick file out of his desk drawer, and sat it down on top of the desk. “This file contains all of the employee’s personal information. I need you to create a spreadsheet for each employee and enter in all their information. Once that’s done, I need you to log in this weeks’ time card into their individual spreadsheet. Think you can handle that?” he asked as he leaned over me and entered in the password for his laptop.

I took a deep breath in and was hit by Archer’s intoxicating scent. He smelled like citrus, leather, and Drakkar Noir. I found myself leaning into him and I stopped. “I’m going to need you to give me a five foot buffer zone today, Archer,” I said as I gently pushed him out from behind the desk. “Thank you for setting me up at your desk, but your pheromones are seriously kicking my ass today and I can’t take it anymore. I need you to give me some space before I accidently attack you.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” he smirked sexily. I pursed my lips at him and cocked my eyebrow.

Archer laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, love. Anything you say.” He held up his cell phone in his hand as he walked to the office door. “I’ll be up here a little later. If you need anything, call me. Otherwise, keep your sexy ass up here until I come back.”

I raised my hand and mockingly saluted him with two fingers. “Sir, yes sir!” I said with a wink. I watched him go and I swiftly got to work on the files.

The night passed relatively quickly. I drank a few glasses of scotch and listened to the club music as I danced, wiggled, and worked. By 1am, I was finished with everything and I hadn’t seen Archer since earlier that evening. I thought about calling him, but decided against it. I kicked off my shoes, refilled my glass of scotch, and danced around Archer’s office by myself. I was in my own little world, dancing away and singing along to a song when I felt someone’s hands slide around my waist and pull me up against them.

I turned my head and was relieved to see Jameson standing behind me. He had a big smile on his face and I was willing to bet he’d been watching me dance for a while. I squealed in excitement, turned around and jumped up into his arms. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as I pulled his head in for a long, passionate kiss.

Jameson laughed when our lips finally parted. “Well, I’ve missed you too, Skye,” he said as he ran his hands up my skirt and tightly squeezed my ass. I squeaked in delight as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

I readjusted my legs and straddled his lap. “So, handsome, how was your show? I thought I wouldn’t see you until later tonight at your house.”

Jameson leaned forward and ran his nose up the side of my neck. My body shivered at his gentle touch and I bit my lip in excitement. “My show was awesome,” he rumbled as he kissed a trail across my clavicle. “I wish you could have been there. I sang your song again tonight and it made me miss you even more. I can’t wait to have breakfast with you again in the morning.”

I arched my neck back as I smiled. “I can’t wait to have you in my bed again tonight.”

Jameson gripped my shoulders from behind and pulled me down harder against his lap. I took a deep breath in when I felt his excitement and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss. Jameson kneaded my ass with his hands, pulling me tighter to his hardness as we started getting carried away with ourselves.

Jameson suddenly lifted his head away from mine a second before I heard someone clear their throat.

“Not in my office,” Archer growled as I jumped and quickly scrambled to sit beside Jameson on the couch. Archer was clearly not happy at finding us making out on his couch, but he seemed too preoccupied to care much about it right now.

“I’m sorry, Archer,” I said as I moved to cover Jameson’s lap with my legs. He was still showing signs of interest and I didn’t want Archer to have to see.

“Never mind,” Archer said with a dismissive shake of his head as he walked to sit behind his desk. “An Dílis are on their way here right now. It seems as though they have found something linking the murder victims.”

“That’s good news, right?” I asked, looking at Jameson. He nodded his head as Archer spoke.

“Skye, I need you to warm up enough blood for eighteen of us and have it ready on the bar upstairs. Jameson, I need you to call Gunner and see if he has yet acquired what I seek. Time is of the essence. We may be very close to knowing who is doing this and I want that weapon in my hand by sundown on Sunday.”

“Aye, Athair,” Jameson said as he got up off the couch and immediately went into the apartment to make the call.

“Behind the bar on the second floor, you’ll find a locked refrigerator by the ice bin,” Archer said as he held out a key to me. “The blood bags are in there. Let me know if I need to restock it after tonight.”

“You got it, hon,” I said as I quickly put my shoes back on, fixed my crooked shirt and skirt and walked down to the second floor.

The music was still going but the bar patrons were filing out the doors. The second floor was completely empty aside from Aoife and Lochlan who were gathering glasses left at the VIP and PVIP tables.

I waved to them and walked behind the bar, inserted the key into the blood cooler and opened it. I took out ten bags of blood and started warming them two at a time in the built-in microwave under the cabinet. While the first bags were heating, I set out eighteen tall crystal glasses on the bar and lined them up. When the microwave beeped, I took the bags out and added two more. While those were heating up, I made a hole in each bag and started filling glasses. I repeated this over and over until all eighteen glasses were full. I ended up using all of the bags in the refrigerator and made a mental note to tell Archer as soon as I could.

“What are those for?” Aoife asked as she sat down on one of the barstools in front of me.

“Whom,” I corrected. “The Faithful are on their way over here right now.”

Aoife’s eyes got wide and she turned to Locklan. “An Dílis arrive soon, dheartháir,” she called out to him and he turned to the railing and yelled the same phrase down to Hunter, Trey, Seamus, and Quinn.

The two man cleaning crew walked out on the floor and I ran around the bar and downstairs to keep them from coming up here. I quickly told them that I’d need them to come in early tomorrow to clean the club and asked them to leave for the night. Thankfully, they left without any questions. I decided to go down to the employee lounge and make sure everyone was gone for the night. Archer would want total privacy for tonight’s gathering.

When I saw everyone was gone, I went to the back door to make sure the employee parking lot was clear as well. I opened the door and screamed.