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16
Mare
Ifinished counting up my tips and cashed out in the back office. Stripping off my apron as I walked back to the front, I rolled my shoulders to relieve the aches of the day. The balls of my feet hurt but no more than usual. There was something about working on one’s toes all day. My legs would ache, and my feet would hurt, but they never reached past a certain point. If I kept going, I didn’t even notice. It was only when I sat down for a moment or two and then tried to get back up that I finally felt the soreness.
I headed for the employees’ entrance, pushing against the hard metal door. Finally, it gave way with a loud creak under my efforts as I stumbled into the alleyway that ran alongside the restaurant. The mouth of the alley called to me, along with my bed. It was still daylight outside, but exhaustion tugged at my bones.
I could go home and sleep for twelve hours, I thought.What’s stopping me?
Pausing as I reached the end of the alley, I gaped at the tiny sports car waiting with its passenger side door hanging open and a very attractive man leaning against the vehicle, looking like he could bench press the thing.That,I realized,is what’s stopping me from the nap of my dreams.
I groaned and scrubbed a hand down my face. “Are you serious right now?” I asked.
Archer lifted his head and shot me a boyish grin. “You didn’ttechnicallysay no,” he said, gesturing to the door. “Come on, I’ll give you a lift.”
“I want to go home, Archer,” I snapped. “I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to do this with you tonight.” And before I could think about it too hard, I forced the next words out. “Besides, you shouldn’t even be here. You shouldn’t have come for me at all—any of you.”
Archer’s smile fell, and he straightened away from the car. “You let us worry about that for a change,” he said. “Just stop thinking. For once, just let it go and get in the car.”
Despite my words, I found myself drifting closer to him and sliding my bag off my shoulder before tossing it towards the floorboards of the passenger side and turning to him. “It’s just a ride home?” I clarified.
“I’ll take you home,” he agreed with a nod. “After we go on our date.”
I glared at him. “Archer,” I growled, “I’m not kidding.”
Instead of answering, Archer’s hands found my hips, and he pulled me closer until I could smell the menthol on his breath as it washed across my face. “Neither am I,” he said. A strong, masculine hand lifted and brushed back a few wayward tendrils of hair. “The word ‘no’ is more of a challenge. I’d think twice before saying it.”
Everything in me tightened, drawing up and coiling until I felt like any sudden movement would send me into a tailspin. My lashes flickered as I lifted them, eyes drawn to the plush curve of his mouth. Archer might not have been like Ian or Jensen—he was kinder in many ways, more easygoing and playful—but he was still dangerous. Still demanding.
Still just as sexy.
He breathed on me, the air flowing from his mouth over my lips and making them tingle. “Get in the car, Mare,” he ordered, his hands releasing me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to challenge him. To demand that he make me like I might’ve with Ian or Jensen, but one grin from him, and I was putty in his hands. My legs wobbled as I took a step back, reaching for the top of the car door and sliding into the seat. As soon as my legs were positioned, Archer snapped the door shut and circled the vehicle. My lips curved into a smile. I’d missed that about him, his ability to make me smile without even trying.
We rode in companionable silence, Archer maneuvering the smaller car with ease. I’d glance over every once in a while just to watch him. “Where are we going?” I asked after several minutes.
“Crazy,” was his immediate response.
I rolled my eyes. “Too late for that, I’m already there,” I replied with a tiny grin. The three of them had driven me to insanity well before everything had gone to hell, and not even all these years apart had changed that.
I glanced behind us, half expecting to see the big black SUV they’d been in when they’d picked me up from the strip club last night. It wasn’t. I frowned. “Where are the others?”
Archer’s mouth dipped down as his grin faded. “They’re working,” he said.
“Working?” I repeated, eyeing him. “I didn’t realize you three took days off from stalking me.” He didn’t reply, so I pushed. “What are they working on?”
Archer shot me a sly look as he deftly steered the vehicle into oncoming traffic, sliding across several lanes. “We have to make money some way, Mare.”
My hand inched over and up to the ‘oh shit’ handle as he sped up. “That doesn’t answer my question. You guys can’t keep it secret forever if you plan on sticking around,” I said shakily. My eyes widened as the speedometer jerked up and my back slammed into the seat. We wove around several cars, and I watched, gaping, as Archer yanked the steering wheel to the side, drifted across two lanes until the front of the car found a narrow side road and shot down it. “Archer!” I wheezed as my breath caught in my chest. “What the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?”
I released the handle and looked back, half-expecting a cop to be chasing us. Archer laughed. “Relax, sweetheart,” he cooed. “I know what I’m doing.”
“You sure about tha—oh my fucking God!” I shrieked as he jerked up the emergency brake and the car came to a sudden, jolting stop. “You nearly hit the fucking building!”
Archer looked over at me and arched a brow. “You want to try?”
Panting, huffing, and clutching my chest to make sure that my heart was still where it was supposed to be, I sucked in several rapid breaths. “You’re insane.”
