The Fall (8 page)

She opened her eyes. She felt as if she were being watched. She glanced around and didn’t see anyone until she looked up towards the balcony.
Archer.
Addison’s heart began to race before she remembered what had happened in the morning. Archer had no right to be jealous or upset. Still, Addison slowly removed the man’s hands off her, trying to spare him his life, because the look Archer was sending their way wasn’t one she had ever seen before. And she never wanted to see it again.

He looked extremely dangerous. He was fuming. His jaw was clenched, as were his fists. If looks could kill, she would have been flayed where she stood.

Addison thanked the man for the dance, and then looked around for Jake. Not surprisingly, he was nowhere to be found. Surprisingly, Kitty was also missing.
Great.
She glanced up to where Archer was, but he had moved from his spot. Addison sighed. She walked over to the corner of the club and pulled out her phone, wanting to call Kitty and ask her where the hell she had gone.

Apparently the fates were out to get her, and no one was going to save her. Archer stormed towards her. He grabbed her arm, firmly, but careful not to be rough, and pulled her out of the club. Addison followed him without saying anything, not wanting to make a scene, although his behaviour tempted her.

They walked to his car in silence.
The calm before the storm
, Addison predicted. Archer opened the passenger door for her, but before she moved to enter it, he slammed it shut again. Then he turned and just looked at her.
Here we go
, Addison thought dryly. However, now that she had accepted that this fight couldn’t be avoided, she was eager. Must be the lawyer in her.

***

Archer was furious. He was seeing red. He wanted to kill someone, namely the human that had his paws all over his woman.
Fuck
! Addison was not his woman. Archer willed himself to be calm. When Archer had gone home to find Jake and Addison missing yet again, he had called his brother and gotten their location. After seeing that man with Addison, he thought he was going to explode. The only thing that saved that man’s life was Addison smartly taking his hands off her and walking away.

Damn, she was so hot, a temptress in red. Red was definitely her colour; she looked so stunning he wanted to cut out the eyeballs of all the men who got to see her like this. Her lips matched her dress, and Archer could only think about how much he wanted to run his tongue along them.
Where am I again?
he thought. Oh yeah, he was furious.

Archer opened his mouth. Closed it. Clenched his fists.  He swung around again, and his eyes softened when he looked at Addison.

“Addison, what the hell were you doing in there? Why are you guys even out again? Shit’s dangerous, and you’re out partying like its fucking Mardi Gras!” Before Addison could reply he continued, “I should have known not to leave you with Jake again; I’ll call Chance or someone.”

“I’m not your prisoner, Archer. If I want to go out, I’ll go out. And don’t blame Jake; he just came along with me to make sure I was safe. Besides, why don’t you tackle the real issue here, which is that you didn’t like me dancing with that guy? Not only do you not want me, you don’t want anyone else to have me, either!”

Archer’s eyes widened at her bluntness. He was about to dispute her comment when he realised she was at least half-right. And he had definitely hurt her with his actions.

“This morning, Addy, I’m sorry. It’s … complicated. It shouldn’t have happened.”

Addison recoiled like she had been slapped. “A mistake?” she replied weakly. She started to walk back towards the club when Archer grabbed her arm.

“Where are you going? Get in the car, Addison. Now.”

Addison shoved him in the chest, leaving him standing open mouthed in shock. “Let go of me, Archer. I’m not a fucking child. I’m going back into the club, because I don’t want to go anywhere with you!”

A car pulled up next to Archer’s, and he was surprised when Chance climbed out. Speak of the devil.

Chance’s eyebrows were drawn together in concern, and he tentatively walked over to them. That just pissed Archer off even more

“Archer, what’s going on, cousin?” Chance asked carefully.

Addison walked up to Chance. “Hey Chance, I’m Addison. I remember seeing you here the other night. Are you going into the club? Can I stay with you?”

Archer scowled. He spoke in Enochian to Chance. “Chance, this is not your business. Don’t get in between my affairs with her.”

Addison scowled. “Do you know how rude it is to talk in another language in front of someone, especially when it is about that someone?” She all but yelled. Chance chuckled, which made Archer want to plan his funeral.

Jake chose that moment to resurface, along with Kitty. Kitty ran up to Addison when she saw her face. “Addster? What’s wrong, honey?” Kitty looked at Archer accusingly. Archer let out a sigh.

“Nothing, Kitty. Archer is just being a jackass,” she said, making Archer scowl.

***

Archer took Jake aside and was giving him what Addison considered a brotherly scolding. Of course he spoke in his language, so she had no idea what he was saying, but the tone of his voice spoke wonders, and he was not happy. When Archer turned around and faced her, she saw Jake smiling at her from behind him. Addison almost laughed. Jake took nothing seriously.

“Okay,” Archer commanded, “Jake, take Kitty home. Addison, get in the car.” Kitty opened her mouth in protest when Jake picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Addison could hear her arguing with him into the night. 

Addison walked over to Chance’s car and got into the passenger’s seat. Yes, she was being a stubborn brat, but she had blindly followed all of Archer’s orders so far. It was her turn to be difficult, because he was wearing her thin. Archer had pushed her to her limit.

Archer surprised her by jumping into Chance’s car and starting the engine.
I guess I’ve caused a car trade for the night.

“I’m guessing you didn’t understand that me jumping into Chance’s car meant I’d rather not see you right now?” she asked him, her arms crossed over her chest, her foot threatening to tap impatiently on the floor.

Archer didn’t look the least bit offended. “Oh, I understood that. I just don’t give a shit.”

“Oh my God, you are such a vacillating, overbearing …” Archer cut her off with a kiss. Addison pulled away, and saw that Chance had pointedly turned the other direction after seeing it which pissed Addison off even more. She saw Chance get into Archer’s car and pull away.

“What? You need to mark your territory? Or just prove to your boys that you …” Archer cut her off again with his mouth, this time wrapping his hand in her hair to ensure she couldn’t pull away. After a few weak protests, Addison changed tactics. She wasn’t going to let him control her actions like this.

She hooked her leg over Archer’s lap so that she was sitting on top of him, trapping him. She was grateful that he drove with the seat at far back as possible, because Chance’s sports car didn’t provide much room for navigation. Archer’s hands immediately went to her rear and smoothed up her hips and waist, rubbing along her. Addison tangled one hand into his hair and pulled his head back, looking into his eyes before descending onto his mouth.

***

Archer’s whole body was burning. He could feel Addison against every part of him, and her scent was penetrating his senses. Her tongue darted into his mouth, tangling with his own. She used her tongue to draw his back into her mouth before she sucked on it, running her teeth along its length. Archer let out a growl, and pulled her closer against him.

Addison began rubbing her breasts against him, and Archer chose to take the action as a hint, moving his hands around to cup them. They overflowed in his hands, and he began pinching them through her soft bra. She let out little moans with each pinch, urging Archer to apply more pressure.

“Archer!” she moaned. “Don’t stop!”

Archer pulled away from Addison’s mouth and licked his way down her neck. When he came down to her chest, he licked along her cleavage while he pulled her dress down so that the matching red lace of her bra was visible. Strapless, thank Heavens.

He lightly bit her nipple through the bra, making her buck in his hands. Archer slowly pushed the bra cups down so that her breasts flowed over their tops. He let out a growl when he saw her deep rose-coloured nipples, hard from arousal. Archer flicked his tongue against one, causing Addison to shudder. He massaged the other with his hand while he enclosed his mouth around the first. He sucked deeply and Addison let out a loud moan.

“Heavens,” Archer groaned. “You taste so fucking good.”

Archer couldn’t get enough of her flavour. Her skin tasted like the most decadent dessert, and Archer knew he would never tire of it.

***

Addison knew that she had initially intended to be in control, but all those thoughts disappeared when Archer covered her nipple with his mouth. Nothing had ever felt as good as Archer’s mouth on her, his body beneath her.

She moved her body closer, pushing her breasts against his face. Archer’s hands slid down to grab her rear while he bit and sucked at her breasts. He switched his attention between the two, ensuring that neither of them was neglected. Addison could feel his hard length pushing against her hot mound. 

She slid her hand down his chest and stomach and stroked against that hardness. Archer let out a deep groan, encouraging Addison to apply more pressure and rub him through his jeans. Addison moved her hand from his hair to his jeans, unbuttoning them.

“No,” Archer said breathily, as if he were coming to, grabbing her hands. “This isn’t a good idea, Addison. Not here. We’re in Chance’s fucking car.” With that, he removed Addison from his lap and gently placed her back into her seat. He started the engine, leaving her to fix her bra and dress, and drove home without saying anything else.

Addison felt so embarrassed. Embarrassed and rejected. She had never behaved so brazenly before. Heck, she had barely even gone that far with a guy before. Maybe she was being too bold? Kitty had always told her that guys love it when a woman takes control, but now Addison was wondering whether Archer thought she was easy. Or maybe he’d just been with so many women that she was just one amongst many. Yes, he was trying to protect her, but was Addison reading too much into that? Whatever the reason was, Addison was sick of being refused by Archer. She wasn’t going to put herself out there again. She could only handle so much rejection, and that point had been long exhausted.

When they got into the house Addison went straight to her room, taking off her dress and bra before putting on a t-shirt and jumping into bed.

***

Shit, Archer thought. He hadn’t meant to upset Addison. He’d been silent on the way home, too busy conjugating verbs in Latin to try and get rid of the foot-long tent he had sticking out between his legs. Talking to her, or even breathing in her scent, had proved to be too much.

Archer didn’t bothered knocking on the door. He walked straight into Addison’s room. The sight of her curled up on the bed made his heart drop
. I’m such a dick
, he thought.

“Addison,” he said, sitting next to her. Addison let out a frustrated groan.

“What do you want, Archer?”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching out to touch her hand and flinching when she pulled away from him.

“I’m trying to sleep, and you are really making that difficult,” Addison replied snidely. Archer let out a sigh.

“Addy, I’m sorry I was so abrupt,” he said, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain why he had behaved like that. When Addison merely ignored him, he took a deep breath and continued. “I couldn’t think about anything but pulling the car over and taking you in the backseat. It took all my damn concentration to keep driving, and your mere scent was distracting me.”

Addison’s jaw dropped as she turned to him.

“Addison, do you want to watch a movie or something?” he asked casually. Addison nodded slowly, and Archer let out a relieved breath.

“Okay, love, you pick something, and I’ll take a quick shower.”

***

Chapter 10

Jake went back to the club after he dropped Kitty back at her place. Jake’s thoughts returned to his brother. He was wondering how Archer was doing with Addison. Jake had a really good feeling about those two. His brother deserved a good, strong female to keep him on his toes. Jake had dreamt of them. The vision made no sense, as usual; more often than not, they took form when it was too late. Jake knew that there were going to be trials ahead, and he was going to be there for his brother no matter what. He wanted to try to piece it together, though, so that he could be the valuable brother for once. Even so, he couldn’t deny that hassling Archer about Addison was pretty much his favourite hobby right now.

Jake hadn’t seen Archer so involved with a female before. Archer was always strictly business, always concerned with duty and obligations. The last time Jake had seen Archer with a woman was around five years ago when he saw a girl named Kate for a few weeks. If Archer had been with someone since then, Jake didn’t know about it. Archer’s attitude didn’t allow him to enjoy a carefree lifestyle like Jake. Then again, not even Jake found it satisfying.

Jake surveyed his surroundings.
Ah, yes
, he thought as a curvy brunette walked up to him and sat herself in his lap. Jake loved women: their scent, their bodies,
everything
. However, he couldn’t help thinking that he would appreciate a challenge. Just once, he wanted to have to work for a female’s attention. The game was becoming far too easy.

Jake was about to leave the club with the brunette when he saw three Nephilim enter. Jake had never seen these three before.

All three were tall and muscular, the usual Nephilim traits. The air around them was filled with menace, and Jake could tell they were trouble. He whispered in the brunette’s ear and told her to go dance, and that he would find her later. She obeyed straight away, and Jake thought that this one might be a keeper.