The Original Sin

Chapter Eight





After stripping down to my white bra and boy shorts, I dove into the cool waters of Archer’s pool and began doing laps free-style. I had to do something physical to take my mind off the inner pain that I was experiencing. I focused on each stroke, each kick, and each turn. I threw myself into the workout and didn’t stop until my body forced me to.

I climbed out of the pool and noticed Killian standing on the far edge of the backyard. He had his back to me and he was actively scanning our surroundings for danger. I walked over to the patio table and found a bottle of water and a towel next to my clothes. I was glad someone brought them out to me, but I was also glad they didn’t try to stop and talk to me. I wasn’t ready to see anyone just yet; my emotions were still too raw. I wrapped up in the fluffy white towel, chugged the bottle of water and made myself comfortable on one of the loungers. The warm rays of the sun felt heavenly against my cool, dewy skin.

I was almost asleep when a shadow suddenly crossed my face, blocking the light and heat. I opened my eyes, shielding them with my hand, and saw Pádraig standing beside me.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but Trey wanted me to tell you that everyone leaves for work in an hour,” he said carefully. “If you were planning on going tonight, you might want to get ready.”

“Uh, thank you Pádraig,” I said a bit uneasily. To say I was a little gun-shy around vampires right now was a huge understatement; they made me positively panicky. “I’ll go get ready.”

I sat up and grabbed my bundle of clothes and my one black, Converse Chuck Taylor sneaker and started walking back to the house.

“You know,” Pádraig said behind me and I stopped to glance back at him. “Trey is a good person, Miss Morrison. He would have never done anything to intentionally hurt you. He wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone. He’s very upset with himself right now and I don’t like seeing him that way.”

I fully turned around, cocked my head to the side in deep thought and stared at him.

Pádraig rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and sighed. “He loves you, you know. You’re the closest thing to a real sister he’s ever had. Knowing that he hurt you and knowing that you’ll never forgive him for it…well, it’s tearing him up inside.”

“How do you know all this?” I questioned.

“I can read minds like Archer…and Trey told me some. We…talk. A lot,” he answered nervously and a bit cautiously.

My eyes got wide as he finished his sentence. I don’t know why I had never seen it before now, but it all suddenly made sense. The late night talks by the pool, Trey keeping Pádraig company on his watch shifts, them always riding home together from The Mausoleum, and how Pádraig was more relaxed and open around Trey than with anyone else. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“You and Trey make a good couple, Pádraig,” I said honestly. “I’m glad he has you.”

With that I turned back around and made my way through the back door and straight to my room. Thankfully, everyone was in their own rooms getting ready for the night, so I didn’t have to face anybody. I dreaded going to work this evening but I knew I was going to need the money if I was quitting. Maybe Dan will take me back at Drop Kick’s, I thought hopefully.

I hopped in the shower, rinsing off all the chlorine, then toweled off and quickly blew my long hair dry. I carefully did my makeup next, wearing it extra dark to match my mood, and I put on a mixture of blood red and black lipstick, giving me the darkest red lips possible. I chose a black vinyl tank mini dress, fishnets, and black thigh-high stiletto boots to complete the look. After throwing on some perfume and a few gothic jewelry items, I grabbed my messenger bag and prepared to walk out of my room. Remain calm, get to the club, do your job, and remember to breathe, I thought silently. You’ll be out of here and away from these monsters before you know it.

I opened the door and froze; fear suddenly coursing through me at the thought of being around vampires all night long. I was terrified of being hurt and I definitely didn’t trust them right now. I popped my head out into the hallway and looked both ways. No one was around, so I tiptoed down to Archer’s office and quietly opened the door. He wasn’t in there, thank God, so I went over to the weapons case on the wall, pulled out a drawer, and selected a silver dagger. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt me again and would go down fighting if I had to. I quickly slipped the eight-inch dagger into the inside of my thigh-high boots and shut the drawer. I turned around just in time to see Archer walk in.

He stopped in his tracks and eyed me cautiously. “Were you looking for me?”

“Uh..yes,” I stumbled then took a deep breath to calm my sudden racing heart. “I, uh…was wondering if everyone was ready to go.”

Archer stepped into the room and I unconsciously took a step backward. He slowly set a stack of papers down on his desk, eyeing me as if I was a wild animal about to bolt, and went back to the door. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m sorry I had to do that to you, but I couldn’t take a chance of not knowing if my suspicions were true or not. Amun is a dangerous creature and we do not yet know the extent of his power or abilities.”

“I-I can’t talk about this right now,” I said, clutching my bag to me. “Can we please just go?”

Archer sighed, frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair, and opened the door wider. “After you,” he said and motioned with his hand.

“No, that’s okay,” I said hurriedly. “I’ll just follow you out.”

He gazed at me sadly before turning and leaving the office. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding and took another deep one in. Get ahold of yourself! “Two weeks,” I reminded myself aloud and swallowed hard, stuffed my sudden terror deep down, squared my shoulders and made myself leave the room.

As I walked into the foyer, everyone was walking out the front door. As I was the last to leave, Archer held the door open for me again and I bravely made myself walk past him. I stepped down the drive and was met with another challenge. Who the hell do I ride with? Trey and Pádraig had the Audi R8, Jameson was sitting in the 911, Hunter and Quinn were in Quinn’s truck, Seamus, Lochlan and Emrick were in the DeVille, Aoife was in the passenger seat of the Lambo so I knew Archer was going to drive, and Killian and Hagan were in the front seat of the Escalade. I didn’t like my options, but found that the person I feared the least out of the group was Jameson. I sighed unhappily as I slowly made my way up to the black Porsche.

I have got to buy a new car, I thought miserably as I opened the door and slid in.

“Hey,” Jameson said, surprised, wearing a careful smile. “I’m glad you decided to ride with me.”

“Lesser of two evils,” I mumbled as I buckled my seatbelt, hugged my messenger bag to me, and stared out the passenger door window.

Jameson took the hint and put the car into gear. We were second to leave and followed Trey and Pádraig down the drive. As we got onto the highway, Jameson sighed and looked over at me.

“I didn’t know what they were planning to do, Skye; I swear,” he said carefully. “All I know is that I was asleep in my bed and Emrick came around to everyone’s door and told us that Archer wanted everyone to wait outside the house and to be quick about it. Pádraig could mentally read the thoughts of you guys inside and started telling us a bit about what was happening. He conveyed your fear… I wanted to come to you so bad, but Killian and Pádraig held me back. You have to believe me, Skye. I had no idea they were planning to do that to you.”

“Excuses are like a*sholes, Jameson,” I sighed, still staring out the window. “Everyone’s got one and I couldn’t care less what yours is.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” he asked suddenly, worry etched in his voice.

I sighed as I remembered the horrible events of the day. “I was just violated beyond all words. I don’t trust any vampire right now,” I whispered in deep thought. “How can I be with you if I can’t trust you? I think it’s better for both of us if we just go our separate ways. I don’t know if I can ever get past what’s been done to me, Jameson.”

Jameson sighed and started to say something, but decided against it. Mercifully, he was quiet the rest of the drive downtown; I didn’t have it in me to argue with him about our relationship at the moment.

When we finally pulled into the employee lot and parked, I got out of the Porsche as quickly as I could and went inside. As I opened the door to the employee lounge, I noticed a group of five or so dancers huddled around someone on the couch.

“What’s going on, guys?” I called out.

Faces turned to look over at me and I got my first glimpse of a tearful Rachel. She was sitting on the sofa, balling her eyes out, as she repeatedly dabbed at her cheeks with an overly used, shredded tissue.

“What happened?” I asked, hurrying over to her, my brow furrowed with worry. A few of the dancers stepped back so I could kneel down in front of her. “Honey, what is it? Are you hurt?” I glanced down at her jean shorts and Titty Bingo t-shirt looking for injuries.

“I caught my boyfriend in bed with my best friend,” she wailed, burying her face in her hands.

“Oh dear,” I tsked sympathetically as I patted her knee and looked up at the group that was huddled around her. “How long has she been crying like this?”

“She was here thirty minutes ago when I got here and she has been crying the whole time,” Peyton offered sympathetically.

“Honey, why don’t you go home and take it easy. You don’t have to be here. I’ll cover for you, sweetie,” I offered gently, but that only made her cry harder.

“What did I say wrong?” I asked Peyton, horrified that I seemed to have said something I shouldn’t have.

“She caught them in her apartment…in her bed. Her best friend shares the two bedroom apartment with her,” Eden whispered in my ear.

“Oh hell,” I sighed. “What a cold-hearted bitch.” I stood up and quickly stowed my messenger bag in my locker and went back over to Rachel. “Honey, come with me,” I said, extending my hand to her. Rachel gazed up at me, confused, but took my hand and allowed me to help her up off the couch.

“If I’m not back by the time the club opens, make sure everyone is dressed and where they need to be, okay Eden? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Piece of cake, boss lady,” she smiled sadly as she reached over to tuck Rachel’s hair behind her ear and addressed her. “Feel better soon, babe.”

I put my hand on Rachel’s back and steered her toward the door and out into the hall. I led her into the stockroom and had her sit down on one of the many boxes. After making sure she was comfortable, I went over to the massive wall of liquor and spirits and mulled over the selection.

“Jose, Jack, or Johnnie?” I questioned over my shoulder.

“Jack,” she sniffled.

I took a bottle of Jack Daniels from the shelf, cracked the top, took in a huge mouthful, and passed it to her as I sat down on a box beside her. “Some men can be right selfish pigs, Rachel,” I sighed. “I loathe cheaters.”

“Me too,” she said before tilting the bottle up. She swallowed a mouthful and coughed, obviously not used to the bite and burn of hard liquor. “I can’t believe they did this to me.”

“How long were y’all together?” I asked carefully.

“8 months,” she answered as she dabbed her eyes. “We were going to move in together.”

I tsked. “Well honey, I hate to risk sounding insensitive here, but you really dodged a bullet,” she nodded her head, listening, as I continued. “I know it really sucks what he did to you, but isn’t it worth finding out now what a pig he is instead of coming home a year from now, to the house you share, and finding him in bed with someone else then? At least now you know that he’s an unfaithful bastard. You’re free to move on to bigger and better, baby. You’re a knockout, honey, and a catch at that; any guy will be damn lucky to land you.”

“You think?” she sniffed up at me.

“I know,” I answered, patting her knee. “And, I know you’re heartbroken now, but just give it a few months. Soon, that a*shole will be a distant memory.”

She nodded and looked down at her hands. “I know I shouldn’t have come into work today; I’m a mess, but I couldn’t bear to be in the same house with that traitorous bitch.”

“I know what you mean,” I sighed, thinking of my own traitorous roommates. “But, I’m glad you came in. The club is always open to you, Rach, and me and the dancers are here for you as well,” I said, passing her back the bottle of Jack. “I was…having a bad day myself,” I admitted quietly. “I’m glad I have a drinking buddy.”

“What happened to you?” she asked.

I sighed and pursed my lips. “Let’s just say we’re in a similar boat.”

“Did Jameson cheat on you?” she gasped.

“No, no, no,” I replied hurriedly, “nothing like that. I was talking about not being able to trust men.” She looked confused and I shook my head. “You know what? Let’s not talk about my problems right now; we’ll be here all day if we do. Let’s just get drunk.”

“What about work? Shouldn’t I go get ready to dance?”

“Do you think you’ll be able to dance today?” I asked skeptically. Even though she wasn’t balling, Rachel still had silent tears sliding down her cheeks every few minutes.

“No,” she shook her head sadly. “Not without crying.”

“Sad dancers don’t make for very sexy dancers, so why don’t you hang out with me tonight instead? We’ll keep each other company.”

“I’d like that, Skye; thank you,” she smiled for the first time tonight.

“Why don’t you go change into your gear and I’ll meet you by the bar.”

“Okay. Thank you for this, Skye. I’m sorry to just dump this on you.”

“Never apologize for a broken heart, love,” I smiled sadly. “We all get them. We girls have to stick together in tough times like these.”

Rachel hopped up, hugged me tightly, and then went to go change.

I sighed as I took another big swig from the bottle and prepared myself to go talk to Archer. I needed to get tonight’s black access bracelets for the VIP/PVIP dancers and I was dreading facing him again.

I gingerly stood and made my way across the club floor to Quinn. “Is Archer in his office?” I asked, the bottle of Jack still clutched in my hand.

“Yes,” Quinn said, eyeing the bottle as I made my way past him and up the wide metal steps to the second floor.

I ignored looks from Aoife and Lochlan as I opened the door to Archer’s private stairwell and went up. I knocked a few times and waited for permission to enter.

“Come in,” Archer yelled after a few seconds and I pushed the door open. He wasn’t in his office, so I walked over to the apartment door.

“It’s Skye. I’m just grabbing the dancer’s VIP wristbands from your desk drawer,” I called out as I walked back to his desk. I dug around in his drawer and pulled out the five that I’d need for tonight. As I turned back around to leave, I was shocked to find him standing a few feet behind me.

“Oh!” I jumped and clutched my hands to my chest, dropping the wristbands and my bottle of Jack. “I-I uh, didn’t expect you to come out.”

Archer was standing there wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist. It appeared that he had just gotten out of the shower and I had to swallow hard at the sight of the beads of water slowly sliding down his chiseled chest.

I quickly looked away and bent down to retrieve the bracelets and bottle off the floor; my heart pounding with the surprise of seeing him there, the fear I felt at being around him now that I didn’t trust him, and most surprisingly, the desire I still felt when I saw his magnificent, sculpted naked body.

I started to edge my way around the desk, and his imposing form, when he spoke up. “I can’t stand that you’re mad at me,” he whispered as my backside accidentally brushed up against him.

I shrugged my shoulders indifferently as I looked back at him. “We all have to deal with things we can’t stand right now. By the way, I’ll be working exclusively with the humans for the remainder of my two weeks here. I thought you should know so that you can make arrangements for another first floor bartender. Also, I’d like to speak with Ruarc if you can arrange it. I want to know how the search for Amun is going. I’m going home in a few days and I need to be able to live in my house without fear of him kidnapping me again. If he isn’t caught by then, I think it’s only fair that I am provided with someone from The Faithful for security purposes until he is. After all, I would have never been kidnapped by Amun or had him visiting and controlling my dreams if it had not been for y’all.”

“You are not moving out of my house until Amun is killed or captured,” Archer said firmly. “This is not open for discussion.”

“I’m not staying, Archer,” I said heatedly. “I can’t trust you not to hurt me again if it serves whatever purposes you decide to come up with that day. I want nothing more to do with you…with any of you. I’m done with vampires. You all have done nothing but bring me pain since I met you.”

Archer’s face registered agony at my words. He ran both of his hands through his still wet hair and sighed dejectedly. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry I hurt you, but I had to be sure that Amun wasn’t controlling you. You could have given up our location or potentially killed us if he had been. I was just protecting my family.”

I uncapped the bottle of Jack and took two long swallows. I was painfully sober and needed to remedy that if I was going to have any chance of making it through tonight’s shift without bolting or killing someone. I put the cap back on when I was done and hugged the bottle to my chest. Archer eyed me warily as I took a step toward him.

“You said I was your family once,” I said quietly. “And, you said that you loved me. When you love someone, you don’t hurt them…no matter what.”

“I didn’t know what else to do!” Archer pleaded as he held his hands out beseechingly at his sides. “I was panicked, terrified for everyone’s safety. I am their leader, their father, and their brother. It is my duty to protect my children. And I do love you Skye; I love you more than you can even imagine. It kills me that I hurt you, but I had to do what I felt was right at the time.”

“You were panicked?!” I asked, raising my voice. “What about me, Archer?! You almost killed me! The worst part was I had no idea what was going on. I was terrified! I was the one that was panicked!” I shook my head, closed my eyes, and sighed as I tried to calm down. I felt murderous right now; and I felt hurt. So many emotions were coursing through me all at once and I didn’t like how it felt.

When I opened them, Archer was standing just a few feet from me. He looked so sad and hopeless but his emotions no longer affected me. I just didn’t care anymore. I turned and walked to the office door, stopping briefly to speak to him over my shoulder.

“I was actually falling in love with you, Archer,” I admitted quietly. “I think that’s what makes this so much harder for me. I was betrayed by someone I was in love with.” I sighed, fighting the sting of tears, and squared my shoulders before continuing. “Get ahold of Ruarc. I want to talk to him.” With that, I exited the office and made my way back downstairs.

I ran smack into Jameson’s chest as I was exiting Archer’s stairwell. “Skye, I’m so sorry,” Jameson said immediately, grabbing on to my shoulders to steady me, “I didn’t see you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, rolling my shoulders back and away from his touch. A look of hurt crossed his face as he moved aside to let me pass. I gripped the bottle of Jack tighter as I squeezed past him and hurriedly made my way downstairs to the first floor.

As I passed the main bar, Hunter called out to me. “Are you going to help with prep tonight or not, Skye?” He sounded kind of frustrated and I looked over in his direction.

“Not,” I frowned as I continued to walk. “Archer is supposed to find you another bartender. I’m working with the dancers for the next two weeks.” He mumbled something in Irish-Gaelic but I just ignored him.

I made my way down the hall and into the employee lounge. All the dancers were getting ready for their shift and a few were comforting a still crying Rachel.

I walked over to her, put my arm around her shoulders and passed her the bottle of Jack Daniels. “Drink, honey,” I smiled sadly. “It’ll help.”

Rachel gratefully accepted the bottle and took a long pull from it. She passed it back to me and I passed it on to Courtney who had been keeping her company.

“Wow, free drinks? Thanks, Skye,” she said happily.

“Don’t mention it,” I winked.

I waited patiently for everyone to finish getting dressed before I called out to line up for the nightly powwow. Rachel huddled awkwardly beside me as I started the meeting.

“First thing’s first, you guys look awesome, as always. Thanks for making my job super easy. If you will turn your attention to Courtney, she has a nice bottle of gently-used Jack.” Courtney smiled happily as she held the bottle above her head by the neck. “Feel free to have a drink or two before you go out on the floor. Rachel and I have had a rough day, so drinks are on us.” A chorus of cheers and whistles went up and few ‘thank you’s’ were passed our way. “Don’t get sloshed or we’ll all get in trouble,” I added quickly as I saw the bottle being passed down. “I’ve decided not to help out behind the bar for right now, so I’ll be working exclusively with you guys. I’d like to take a moment to thank Brian and Eden for helping me these past few weeks. You guys did a great job managing the dancers,” I said, turning to them. “I really appreciate all your hard work. I know Mr. Rhys does too.”

They nodded and smiled as I continued. “Now for tonight’s VIP dancers. I’ll need Peyton, Courtney, Stacy and Alex to work up there tonight. Peyton and Stacy will take first shift.” They came forward and I quickly attached the wristbands as I continued speaking. “I want you guys to be safe tonight. Remember to lock your cages. Don’t be scared to speak up if you have a rowdy customer bothering you. We had an incident a few nights ago, I won’t name names, but someone should have spoken up sooner in regards to the customer that was bothering them. If you feel scared at any time, raise your hand so I can come to you and take care of the issue. Your safety and happiness is my top priority, guys. No issue is too small, no a*shole is too large. I’ve got your back, dolls.”

I looked up and down the line and met everyone’s eyes. “I mean it, okay? I’m here for you. Now, get your sexy asses to those cages. I’ll see you all out there.”

I smiled and gladly accepted a few hugs as everyone made their way out the door. Brian returned the bottle of Jack Daniels to Rachel with his thanks as he walked passed us.

“God, he’s so cute,” she sighed as he closed the door.

I laughed and slung my arm around her neck. “He definitely is. Now that you’re single, why don’t you ask him out?”

“We’ll see,” she said with a shrug. “I’m a little pissed at the male species at the moment.”

“Don’t let the mistakes of one man ruin you for the others, honey,” I said gently as I took the bottle from her. “There are always a few bad apples in the bunch but that doesn’t mean you have to throw out the entire bushel. Now, come on girl. Let’s get us a real drink.”

I sat the bottle down on the glass table for the dancers to enjoy later and Rachel and I made our way out to the main floor. Quinn had the house laptop up and was selecting tonight’s playlist in the DJ booth. As the music started pumping, I took a moment to watch as everyone climbed up into their designated cages and began warming up.

“How about that drink?” I smiled over at Rachel. She nodded solemnly and followed me over to the first floor bar.

I was surprised to find Jameson assisting Hunter tonight. He looked up from his prep work, surprised as well to see me standing there, and immediately dropped what he was doing.

“Did you need something, love?” he asked sweetly.

“Rachel and I are in dire need of alcohol,” I explained quickly. “What do you say you pour us up something strong? We’ve both had a pretty shitty day.”

Jameson looked back and forth between us a few times but ultimately agreed. Rachel and I took a seat at the end of the bar and made ourselves comfortable. In no time, Jameson sat down two tall glasses of Vampire’s Kiss in front of us and I pursed my lips at him, unamused.

“What?” he asked with a small grin. “I know how much you like those.”

I returned his smile tightly and thanked him before clinking glasses with Rachel in a silent toast. She took a long draw from her straw and smiled instantly.

“Wow! This is awesome.”

I took a long sip from mine and nodded my head in agreement. Jameson’s Vampire’s Kiss’ were always delicious.

Rachel and I chatted about random things as the nightly crowd started to pour in. The music got louder as the club quickly increased to capacity. Before long, it was time to relieve dancers and have them switch cages, so Rachel accompanied me around the floor. We quickly did our duties, had a quick dance, and returned back to the bar for another drink. We happily repeated this routine for most of the night and by the end of it, we were both giggly and well inebriated. I was glad to have helped take her mind off her cheating boyfriend and I was glad she helped me take my mind off of all my recent vampire troubles.

As the crowd dispersed for the night and the dancers exited their cages, I snagged Brian as he came out of his.

“Awesome dancing tonight, Bri,” I smiled. I did a quick check behind me to make sure that Rachel was still sitting at the bar before I continued. “You know, Rachel has had a pretty tough day and I kind of got her drunk. I was wondering, if you didn’t have any plans, could you maybe drive her home tonight? I know she’s well past being able to drive.”

Brian smiled and looked over at Rachel. “Of course I’ll take her home. I’d be glad to.”

I smiled brightly at the potential love connection and told him to go get her. He happily complied and I watched the look of surprise and excitement on her face as he took her hand and lead her to the back. I winked at her and waved as I watched them go.

With Rachel taken care of and the club pretty much empty, I made my way back over to the bar and had Jameson fix me one more drink before we hit the road. I had just sat down on one of the swivel stools when the bar phone rang. Jameson immediately answered it, spoke in Gaelic for a few seconds, and then hung up.

“Archer wants to see you in his office, Skye,” Jameson said, turning back to me. He quickly passed me my drink and I sighed unhappily as I got up and slowly made my way upstairs.

Because Archer was expecting me, I didn’t bother knocking as I opened the door and entered. Archer was sitting behind his massive African Blackwood desk talking on the phone. He motioned for me to sit down in one of the black chairs in front of his desk and I complied.

“I have Miss Morison here, Ruarc,” Archer said into the phone before passing it over to me. I stood up and accepted it from him as I hopped up to sit on his desk. (Standing while intoxicated took too much work in five inch stilettos.)

“Morrison here,” I said into the phone as soon as it was to my ear.

“I hear that you have requested an audience with me,” he said gruffly. “What can I do for you, human?”

“Well, you can start by telling me how the search for Amun is going,” I replied, not liking his tone.

“He is rather elusive,” Ruarc stated plainly, not elaborating any further.

“Do you know when you will be able to catch him?” I asked with an impatient sigh.

“I do not,” he growled. He was obviously unhappy with my request to talk to him. I wondered briefly why he agreed to it in the first place if he hated talking to me so much.

“Here’s the deal, Ruarc,” I said as I crossed my legs, getting more comfortable on Archer’s desk. “I want nothing more to do with vampires. I’m done. I want off this crazy ride. And because Amun is still alive, and because there is still the threat of him kidnapping me again, I am forced to live with Archer. See, that’s the thing. I don’t want to live with Archer. See my previous statement about wanting off the vampire ride from hell. I want to go home, but I can’t go home unless I’m protected. That’s where you come in. I need you to appoint a guardian to me to keep me safe until you and your soldiers kill Amun. Now, before you start arguing with me or shutting down my request, here are the facts as I see them. I was kidnapped and tortured because of your race’s involvement with Amun’s imprisonment. Whatever, that’s water under the bridge. But I did do you guys a solid by giving you valuable information about his past and his future intentions. Because of that, I believe I have earned protection and I am requesting it now. I’ve given Mr. Rhys my two weeks’ notice here at the club and I’ll be no longer working for him at the end of it. I quit this shit. I’m done. I’d like to move out of his house as soon as I have adequate protection, so be a dear and send me someone soon, okay?”

I took a deep breath when I was done and sipped on my drink as I listened to the silence drag on. Finally, Ruarc growled unintelligibly and demanded that I hand the phone back to Archer.

“Nice talking with you, Ru,” I smiled before passing the phone to a shocked Archer. “Take it easy, my man.”

Archer’s bottom jaw dropped as his eyes got wide. He covered the receiver with his hand and scolded me. “I can’t believe you just spoke to him so ungraciously. Where are your manners?”

“Hunter probably sucked them out of me right before giving me the heart attack.” I shrugged my shoulders, unconcerned and continued to sip my drink. I didn’t care one iota that I had potentially upset either of them. They never cared about my feelings, so why should I care about theirs? Yes I know, very uncouth of me, but right then I just didn’t give a damn.

Archer put the phone back to his ear and immediately started speaking to Ruarc in Gaelic. It sounded an awful lot like an apology by the tone of Archer’s voice and I couldn’t help the drunken chuckle that escaped. Archer stared daggers at me as he listened to Ruarc speak. Finally, when the conversation was over, Archer hung up the phone and stared at me.

“What?” I asked before draining the last bit of my drink. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out. Don’t just sit there staring at me. It’s rude.”

“No,” Archer growled as he flashed around his desk to stand in front of me. “You are rude! Do you realize how you just spoke to one of our race’s most respected and revered members? You were so callous and cavalier. What is wrong with you?!”

I stood up from the desk and roughly set my glass down on it. “What’s wrong with me?” I scoffed. “Are you kidding me? How can you even ask me that? You know damn well what’s wrong with me, Archer! I’m pissed…beyond pissed!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to speak to our elders the way you just did!”

“One vampire is the same as the other to me, Archer,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “All you do is take, take, take and expect us humans to bow down to you. Well, I’m done bowing, a*shole!”

“I get that you’re mad at me, but for f*ck’s sake, Skye…you can’t go around treating others like that. Especially Ruarc.”

“Am I getting protection or not?” I asked, done with this conversation. I knew I was in the wrong, but I just didn’t care at the moment. I was too hurt -not to mention too drunk- to care.

Archer growled and ran his fingers through his lush brown hair. “You are exhausting, you know that? And, while we’re on the topic, stubborn and hard-headed too. Why do you always have to be so damn difficult?”

“It’s a gift,” I rolled my eyes as I made my way over to the mini bar and poured up three fingers of scotch. I hobbled over the mini fridge and bent down low to retrieve a few ice cubes from the designated tray.

Suddenly, I felt hands on my hips and I jumped in surprise, totally not expecting it. I spun around as I abandoned my quest for ice. Archer’s eyes were hooded with desire as a small, sexy smile played on his lips.

“You can’t bend over like that in front of me and not expect me to want to touch you,” he said huskily.

I swallowed thickly and attempted to take a step back but bumped into the mini fridge instead. “I-I’m in no mood for your games, Archer,” I stumbled unsteadily. My heartbeat had suddenly picked up with his close proximity. Half of me wanted to pounce on his delicious body and have my drunken way with him but the other half was still pissed and wanted to stab him in the eye.

His gorgeous ice blue eyes slowly slid down my body before he leaned in a few inches. “This outfit you have on has been driving me wild since I first saw you in it,” he smiled wickedly.

“Have you lost your mind?” I asked incredulously as I pushed at his chest in a desperate attempt to put some space between us. “I’m seriously pissed off at you right now and you have the audacity to come on to me? Do you have a death wish or something?”

Archer chuckled as he backed me up further against the mini fridge and leaned in to run his nose along my neck. “First off, I can smell how much you desire me, Skye. I can always smell it. You wear it every day like a delectable perfume. Even though you’re mad at me, you still want to f*ck me. Don’t try to deny it, love; it’s pointless. Secondly, I’m not playing games. You bent over in front of me, fully aware that you had no panties on. I take that as an open invitation. And lastly, you love me; you said so earlier. However mad you are at me at the moment, love doesn’t just dissipate. You love me and I am in love with you. I intend to make you mine, Skye.”

He lowered his head to mine and I grabbed the dagger stashed in my thigh-high boot without thought. “Don’t move another inch,” I growled, the dagger pointed upward under his chin. “I told you earlier that I was done with your kind and I meant it. I don’t care how much my body wants to f*ck you; my mind hates you.”

Archer licked his lips and smiled. “Do it,” he dared.

“Don’t f*ck with me, Archer,” I warned, my eyes wide with uncertain worry. “I’ll do it…I swear to God, I’ll stab you.”

“No you won’t,” he dared sexily as he pushed the knife harder against his skin. “You love me, Skye. You won’t hurt me.”

“I seem to remember a certain someone telling me that same line once,” I smirked cruelly. “Too bad he lied.”

Archer growled and flashed to take the dagger out of my hand. The movement was so fast, I had no time to react. I watched as he threw it roughly to the side and I opened my mouth to yell at him, but he spoke first.

“I told you I was sorry!” he growled. “How many times do I have to say it? How many different ways do I have to tell you? I made a mistake. I f*cked up.” He sighed unhappily as he reached around me and grabbed the scotch I had just poured. He began to drink from it and I immediately took the glass from his lips.

“That’s mine,” I furrowed my brow unhappily at him as I tilted the glass back and finished its contents.

Archer growled as he took the glass from me and threw it across the room. I heard it shatter against the wall as he captured my mouth with his. The kiss was hot and heady, filled with deep, desperate need and burning desire. Our tongues slid together in a frantic dance as I ran both hands through his thick brown hair and fisted it. I roughly jerked his head back from mine as I took a much needed breath.

“I hate you, Archer Rhys,” I moaned as I jumped up in his arms and wrapped my legs around his hips. “I hate you so f*cking much.”

He growled and flashed us across the room and up against the wall by his apartment door. I moaned at the painful pleasure that being slammed up against the wall brought. He fumbled around blindly for the door handle as he buried his face in my neck. As soon as we were in the apartment, he slammed the door closed and roughly pushed me up against it. His hips ground into me and I felt his obvious excitement at our encounter. I moaned as I fisted his hair again and brought his mouth to mine. I kissed him deeply; so deeply I didn’t know where I ended and he began. I poured my anger, frustration, hurt, and rage into our needful kiss. Archer poured his as well. It made for a heady and hot combination.

“Bed,” I commanded between kisses. “Take me to bed.”

Archer growled with need and immediately complied. He roughly threw me off of him and into the bed. I bounced onto it and bit my bottom lip as I watched him hurriedly take his clothes off. The look of hot desire in his eyes was such a turn on and I writhed a little in anxious anticipation. I wanted him like I had never wanted any man before in my entire life. I wanted the flames of our passion to fully consume me. I didn’t care a bit if it left me a pile of ash.

As he took off his silk boxers and stood naked in front of me, my breath hitched at his beauty. My eyes slowly slid down his delicious body and I moaned when I met his manhood. I didn’t know if I could handle such a job, but I was more than willing to give it the old college try. I was determined to have him buried to the hilt in the next few minutes.

He licked his lips as he stepped to the end of the bed and rested one knee upon it. He grabbed my ankle and jerked my body down the bed, closer to him. He sensually slid his hand up my leg and to the top of my thigh before grasping the zipper at the top of my boot and slowly unzipping it. He pulled my boot off, threw it to the side, and repeated the process with the other one.

I couldn’t take being away from him anymore. I wanted him in my arms and moaned as I beckoned to him with a crook of my finger. He tsked, playfully shook his finger at me, and sensuously ran his hands up my legs again. Before I knew what he was doing, my fishnets were off and dangling from his aforementioned finger. He smiled wickedly as he tossed them over his shoulder and began crawling in bed toward me.

I bit my bottom lip as I watched his hungry eyes slide up my body. He pounced on me and kissed me deeply as I ran my hands over his corded back. I scratched my long nails down the length and he moaned in pleasure as he bit and teased my bottom lip.

The next thing I knew, I was on top of him, straddling his waist. Archer looked up at me with hooded eyes as he began peeling me out of my skin tight vinyl mini dress. As soon as it was over my head, he haphazardly tossed it aside and palmed my breasts roughly. He growled with intense need as I moaned at his touch. He pulled and teased my nipples and I cried out as it sent waves of pleasure coursing through me and to my center. I put my hands over his and kneaded my breasts as his breathing grew ragged. His thick manhood was hard and teasing at my opening. One roll of my hips would have him inside me, but I wanted to draw out the pleasure; I wanted to bask in this experience. Archer abruptly sat up and took my right nipple into his mouth. The feeling of his fangs scratching against my delicate skin as he sucked was exquisite. I ran my hands through his hair and fisted it as I held him to me. I threw my head back and cried out as his fingers suddenly found my center and slowly began moving.

“Oh, God…yes!” I rocked my hips against his touch as my breath quickened. I groaned with need when he expertly massaged me faster and I jerked his face up to meet mine. Our tongues danced wildly together as I felt my imminent climax start to build.

The next thing I knew, he was lifting my hips to enter me. I whimpered as he pulled me down, impaling me on his massive member. The pain was immediate, but oh so wonderful. He slowly rocked my hips, allowing me to acclimate to his girth, as his own breathing increased.

“Ifreann na Fola, Skye,” he growled as he squeezed his eyes closed, a look of absolute ecstasy on his face. “You’re so tight…so very, very tight.”

His words, accompanied by the look on his face and his huge cock, were my undoing. “Oh, Archer!” I screamed out my pleasure as I braced both hands against his chest and rode the wave. My orgasm was mind blowing and lasted far longer than I had ever experienced before.

He growled as I finally came down and he flipped us over as he took control. The hard, relentless pounding was incredible. The sex was rough, filled with every bit of the frustration we felt by having to deny ourselves this moment for the past month and a half. It was desperate, driven, and absolutely divine.

“I want to take you from behind,” he growled and I excitedly moaned my approval.

He withdrew from me, flipped me over and dragged me by my ankles to the end of the bed. He stood behind me, gathered my long hair up in his hand and wrapped it around it a few times. He pulled hard and my head immediately jerked back. I hurriedly scrambled to all fours and he slapped my ass hard.

“Yes,” I cried out, loving his treatment of me. I didn’t want warm and fuzzy with him, I wanted to take the roughest, hardest, deepest pounding of my life.

“Are you ready for this, baby?” he asked as he tugged harder on my hair, arching my back. I looked over my shoulder at him and moaned at the wicked smile on his face.

“Yes,” I moaned. “F*ck me, Archer. Please!”

He grabbed one of my hips as he pulled my hair and slammed his huge length inside me. I cried out in ecstasy and pain. He pounded me quickly as he spoke in Gaelic. I couldn’t tell what he was saying, but it didn’t matter. He was enjoying the experience, too; that much I could tell.

“Oh, God,” I gasped, suddenly. “I’m so close. Don’t. Stop. F*cking. Me!”

“Come for me, baby,” Archer growled roughly in-between strokes as he slapped my ass again. “Come for me. I want to hear you scream my name.”

I was about to tip over that magical threshold when, for some reason, I looked over at the apartment door. To my shock and horror, Amun was standing there with his arms folded across his chest; an amused look on his face. I screamed out in terror and ecstasy as by body climaxed around Archer.