The Fall (7 page)

Addison woke up with her head pounding so hard she thought someone was sitting on it. She let out a groan and sat up too quickly, making the room spin. She saw she was wearing underwear and a t-shirt.

Shit, she thought. What the hell had happened? Her bra was hanging from the post at the bottom of the bed; her jeans were folded neatly on the bedside table.

She made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Her mouth felt furry and tasted like something had died in it. She put her hair into a messy bun, not bothering to try to brush it, and bent over the sink to regain her balance.

She heard footsteps before Archer stood in the doorway, concern colouring his gaze.

“How are you doing?” he asked, holding out a glass of water and some aspirin.

Addison swallowed the tablets, gulping all the water before answering. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a freight train,” she mumbled, groggily.

Jake came up behind Archer, looking over his shoulder, grinning.

“Good morning, my dear.”

“How are you so perky, Jake?” Addison complained. “You drank the same amount as me, if not more. You shouldn’t even be able to drive, yet you’re completely sober.”

“Good liver,” Jake replied earnestly. “You were insane last night. It was so worth Archer getting shitty at me.” He grinned.

Addison looked to Archer, who was definitely not grinning. Uh oh. Addison let out a sigh.

“It wasn’t his fault, Archer. I’m a grown woman and chose to drink myself under the table,” she said before turning to Jake. “Thanks, Jake. I actually had a really good time. Plus, I remember you saving my butt from a lawsuit with those creepy creepersons with the feely hands.”

Archer jerked his head towards Jake. “What happened?”

“Ah, I’m right here,” Addison said, waving her hand in front of Archer’s face for emphasis. “You could just ask me. Guys just groping me and ah … were making leery comments.”

“You could have been hurt, Addison,” Archer said gravely. “Jake, you knew better.”

“Calm down, Archer. I just wanted to lift her spirits. She was pretty adamant about not wanting to go home yet. Maybe you should have stayed,” he added, turning to Addison. “I had fun too, Addy. I’ll give you a few weeks to recover, and we should do it again,” he added with a wink before walking to the kitchen.

“Archer, that was unnecessary,” Addison chided, before an image flashed in her mind of her pulling Archer down to her for a kiss. “Ah, Archer. Could you please tell me what happened last night? The details are a little sketchy.”

“You could barely walk so I helped you to your room, removed your shoes and jeans, and put you in bed. You kissed me goodnight,” he said before adding, “and you woke me up in the middle of the night when you fell out of bed. Apparently you were trying to remove your bra.”

Addison’s face heated in embarrassment. “Oh, no,” she said, covering her cheeks with her hands. “Is that it?”

“Are you asking whether we had any kind of sex, Addison?” Archer asked bluntly, with traces of humour in his voice. “No, we didn’t. You were too drunk to walk, never mind participate in more rigorous activities. Anyway, I avoid sleeping with women who can’t remember how I made them scream when morning comes.”

Addison was pretty sure her face was steaming. She was mortified. Of course Archer wouldn’t sleep with her when she was completely hammered. Now why was she imagining him above her, pushing his length into her and making her cry out his name?

“Thank you, Archer,” she told him when she was sure she could talk without squeaking, or purring. “It wasn’t your responsibility to baby me, but I appreciate it.” She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a small space between them when she pulled away. Archer pushed a stray curl behind Addison’s ear.

“No problem at all. You were actually quite adorable.”

Addison groaned. “I doubt that.”

Archer smiled and said, “Come on. I made some greasy breakfast for you. It’ll make you feel much better.”

He made his way to the kitchen before stopping suddenly and turning around, a grin shaping his face.

“Maybe you should put some pants on, though. I can barely concentrate when I look at you, and I think I’d kill Jake if he was to stare at you.”

Addison blushed when she realised she had been standing all this time with only a scant piece of lace covering the lower half of her body. She moved past Archer, aware that his eyes were on her rear, which made her put more swing in her hips than was really necessary.

“I can feel you staring at my ass, Archer,” she remarked lightly. She heard a low groan and shut the door behind her, a smile on her face.

***

After Addison ate three huge serves of eggs, bacon, sausage, and muffins, they moved into the living room where Addison called her father. Archer sat on his laptop checking his emails. He was disappointed to discover that although a few of his brethren had heard of Malachi, none had any valuable information on him.

Archer began blindly surfing the web and before he knew it, he was googling India. Well, he rationalised, it was reasonable to want to know about the guests in his house, wasn’t it?

Addison came and sat on the couch next to him, and he shut his laptop immediately. Addison either didn’t notice or was too caught up to mention it.

“JAKE!” she yelled, so enraged that fury radiated from her. Jake came into the room, his expression far too innocent to be genuine.

“Yes, my dear?” he inquired politely, his voice dripping with sugar.

“Why is Kitty asking me about a photo of me getting a lap dance that is apparently on Facebook?” she asked, almost screaming the last word.

Archer’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “You got a lapdance, Addison?”

“Really, now,” Jake said calmly. “What is all the fuss about?”

“Over a hundred people have commented on it, Jake. Take it off, now!”

Jake began taking his shirt off before Addy screamed frustratingly, “You know what I mean!”

Archer let out a long breath. He would definitely avoid leaving those two alone as much as he could.

***

Chapter 9

Archer woke to the sound of a scream. He jumped out of bed and ran to Addy, hoping she was unhurt, and ready to kill anything that was a threat to her. He ran to her room and found it empty, then ran to find her in the lounge room. She was sitting on the floor wearing a blue cricket shirt, one that said ADDISON 28 on the back. She screamed again, although now Archer recognized it as a cheer. Addison turned around to face him with huge smile on her face, but as she saw him her smile dropped to an unreadable expression. A blush filled her cheeks.

Archer glanced down, and realised he had rushed without thinking to put any clothes on. Archer quickly picked up a pillow and covered himself. Addison, with her eyes wide, lifted a brow.

“I … umm … I heard you scream,” Archer muttered.

Addison tried to hide her smile and failed miserably. “Sorry, Archer. I was just watching the India versus Australia game; I tend to get carried away. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Jake opened the front door, carrying what Archer assumed was lunch. Damn, those two could eat. Jake held enough bags to feed an army, and he put them on the kitchen table before returning to the lounge room. Archer noticed he was wearing an Australian cricket t-shirt in yellow and green with his name printed on the back.

“Little underdressed there, Archer,” Jake said, grinning.

“Jake, where the hell did you get that shirt from?” Archer said, completely baffled.

Jake glanced at Addison and said, “Addison had one with her name on it, so I had to get one.” As if that was a reasonable explanation.

“You’ve never watched this sport before,” Archer said, before adding, “Do you even know the rules?”

***

It was taking all of Addison’s concentration not to stare at Archer. His muscles were phenomenal. They were rippling and tensing every time he made the slightest movement. Addison was sure she was drooling and checked that her mouth was closed. Jake left the room, which left her and Archer alone again. Addison licked her lips, feeling awfully flushed.

She cleared her throat before stammering, “I, umm, my room. Yes, I need to go to my room for a minute.” She awkwardly stood up and made her way to the door.

Archer stopped her before she made her way to the hallway. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop, then pushed her back against the wall. He put both his hands on either side of her, trapping her. The pillow dropped. Addison could feel his erection lying against her stomach, hot and heavy, hard and begging for attention.

Archer leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers, pulling away to assess her response. He was obviously pleased with what he saw, because he returned his lips to hers with more pressure. The kiss became deeper, Archer’s tongue dancing with hers. Addison pulled him closer, and then started tracing her lips and tongue down his neck. Archer moaned, encouraging Addison further.

Since the kiss at the restaurant, Addison had been craving another taste of Archer. He smelled like the most exotic spices and tasted even better. She ran her hands all over his back, and dug her nails into his shoulders as she lifted herself up on him and wrapped her legs around his narrow waist. Archer walked into her room with Addison draped around him and shut the door behind him.

***

Archer knew he should stop. Nothing good could come out of this situation. So, knowing all of that, why wasn’t he stopping? Damn, Addison made him constantly hard; he wanted a taste of her desperately. Archer sat down on the bed with Addison straddling him. She was still fully dressed while he sat fully naked, and the effect she had on him made him wonder whether he could handle having her naked in his lap. Archer was trying to maintain control, trying to rationalise the feelings that were taking over. The more he was around Addison the more he wanted her. She made him vulnerable.

The minute the word flew into this head he raised to his feet, putting Addison gently back on her bed. Addison reached out to grab his raging erection, and Archer had to force himself to grab her wrists to stop her. He knew he wouldn’t be able to quit if she did.

“Archer, what’s wrong?” Addison asked quietly, carefully. Her cheeks were pink, and her lips swollen. She looked absolutely beautiful.

Archer ran his hands through his short hair, once, twice. “This isn’t a good idea, Addy. You are amazing and so sexy, but this can’t happen. I’m sorry, I gotta go.” With that Archer walked out, cursing himself all the way to the bathroom where an ice cold shower was waiting for him.

***

Addison was pissed. No, she was enraged. Enraged and confused. Archer was being so hot and cold, and it was driving her insane. After this morning’s incident, he had been avoiding her as much as possible. She went out to lunch with Jake, watched the rest of the match, and Archer was still nowhere in sight. It had been hours. He had no doubt told Jake to watch her, and the looks that Jake kept giving her made her wonder what else Archer had told him.

Addison had spent the rest of the day hidden in her room, attempting to study to no avail. She rang Kitty and told her to meet her at the club. Addison was tired of the seclusion. She needed to get out and have some fun, not sit in a room pining for a man who may or may not want her. No, she refused to waste time on a man who seemed to think he could string her along, and that she would take it with no complaint.

She took a quick shower before dressing in a blood-red, short dress. It was strapless and fit her figure provocatively, hanging onto every curve. Her wild curls were loose and untamed, reflecting her mood. She put black kohl on her eyes and red lipstick to shape her lips. Gold strappy shoes and a matching clutch finished the outfit.

She walked out of her room and over to Jake who was sitting in the kitchen drinking a beer. Jake’s eyes widened when he saw Addison. He smiled gleefully.

“My, my, Addy. Someone is teaching my brother a lesson. One he is likely not to forget,” he said, his eyes sliding from her head to her feet purposefully.

Addison couldn’t help it. She grinned. “Jake, are you in or out?”

Jake walked up to Addy and put his arm on her shoulder. “Of course I’m in. Do you not know me at all? Give me a minute to get ready.”

The club was full, almost at capacity. Addison saw Kitty at the bar, wearing a black mini-dress with red fishnet thigh-highs.  Addison walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed Kitty and her crazy antics. Jake walked up to Kitty, and both of them hugged.

“Kytanna, always a pleasure,” Jake whispered in Kitty’s ear, and Kitty rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm.

“Kitty, how do you know Jake?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, you know, from here and there. He goes out a lot. Quite the social butterfly,” she said elusively. Addison had the feeling she probably didn’t want to know the whole story. Jake ordered them a round of drinks, and the night’s shenanigans began.

Several drinks later, they were all on the dance floor, swaying hips and moving to the music. Jake’s hands were filled with a pretty Asian girl, while Kitty and Addison were dancing together, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. A guy Kitty knew came up and asked her to dance, and his friend offered Addison his hand. He was good looking, about six feet tall, dark brown skin with huge brown eyes. He was dressed well, oozing sophistication, and had a huge smile plastered on his face.

Addison glanced at Jake, but he was otherwise occupied.
Great bodyguard he is
, she mused. Addison was going to politely decline his offer, but “Bumpy Ride” by Mohombi came on, and she accepted. She took the stranger’s hand, and he pulled her into him.

He was a decent dancer and wasn’t overly touchy, which earned him brownie points. Addison actually began to enjoy herself, getting lost in the music with her arms in the air, eyes closed, and her body moving rhythmically. Addison spun herself around so that her back was pressed against his chest. The man rested his hands lightly on her hips, and she began to grind on him slowly when the beat slowed down at the bridge.