Page 19 of Sigh of Relief

“Yes.”

Her lawyer glare melted into a cheeky grin. “Well, then, it’s a good thing we’re taking up all the rooms in the barn. He’s got no choice but to stay with you.”

“He’s only here for one night.”

She shoved one of the bottles against his chest, forcing him to take it. “Then make it count.”

“He has a flight out in the morning, and I have no idea if he’ll be back.”

“Oh, sweetie.” She rose on her toes and kissed his cheek, distracting him long enough to swat his ass and grab another bottle. “You were sexy as sin the day I met you, and you’re even sexier now. And you’re a good person. Have a little faith.”

The boost of confidence was appreciated and so was the humor, the both of them laughing all the way back to the table. Seeing the wine in their hands, cheers went up from everyone, including Elton, who clapped and kept his gaze locked with Archer’s as he rounded the end of the table. He rested his forearms on the top of his empty chair and lowered his voice, whispering to Elton, “What do you say we get out of here?”

Elton’s grin was as cheeky as Al’s had been. “And leave these beautiful ladies?”

A virtual bucket of cold water splashed over Archer, and he moved to straighten.

Until Elton covered his dangling hands with one of his. Out in the open, for everyone to see, and stopping Archer in his tracks. “Yes, I want to leave with you.” Gone was the cheeky grin, gone were the soft eyes, and in their place was fierce determination and blistering heat. “I came back for you.”

The clatter of plates, the clink of silverware, the other voices around them became a distant buzz as Archer mentally obsessed over Elton’s words.

I came back for you.

Came back for him this weekend?

Came back for him after the harvest party?

Came back for him after fifteen years?

Did he realize the truth?

And if he did, why would he come back here if he didn’t want more?

Starting with tonight, when he seemed to want the same thing as Archer.

Given the ticking clock, Archer decided to stop crashing out and start taking his best friend’s advice. The shot he’d always wanted was here, staring up at him with dark, heated eyes, making his heart pound and his dick throb. Flipping his hand over under Elton’s, he kept hold of it as he stepped back and waited for Elton to follow.

“You’re cut off after that,” Archer said to the rest of the table, gesturing with his other hand at the two new bottles. “I even changed the code on the cellar door to keep you out.” That last bit was directed primarily at Al, who blew a raspberry at him in reply. Noah and Sloan joined in, and it became a symphony of sputters.

“You know I have another wine fridge in the house,” Ezra said.

“You know you have to look at a million spreadsheets in the morning once Feb gets here with Greg and Ford.”

Ezra added his raspberry too, and the entire table lost it, including Elton beside him. Once he recovered, he flashed the table a wide smile—genuine, judging by the deep grooves at the corners of his eyes and the sincerity of his words. “Thank you all for an excellent evening. It was much needed.”

“Make sure Archer gives you what else you need,” Al quipped, and Archer flipped her off before dragging a snickering Elton away from his troublemaker friends.

Elton, though, was a step ahead of all of them in the trouble department. They’d barely cleared the restaurant door when Elton, using Archer’s hand in his and a combo of FBI moves that made Archer dizzy, flipped him around and shoved him up against the stone wall. Archer’s breath hitched as Elton pinned his arm to the flagstone and crowded into his space, a thigh shoved between his legs, that hard body pressed tight to his. “All those people staying in the barn tonight?”

The drop in octaves, the gravel in his voice, made Archer shiver, made his “yes” sound like a two-syllable warble.

“Is there room for me somewhere?”

Elton rolled his hips, erection digging into Archer’s hip, and Archer tipped back his head, groaning out a “With me.”

Chapped lips pressed against the column of his throat, tentative at first, before the next one landed more firmly, each one after that more steady as Elton kissed a path along the line of his beard. “That’s where I wanted to be.”

Archer snaked his free arm around Elton’s waist, aiming his hand down, clasping a handful of cheek and encouraging him to rut harder. “Just like that.”