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PROLOGUE
Six months ago, I mether. So cute, so bubbly, and so full of life. Sloane, the woman at the coffee shop. Just the kind of woman I wanted and yet the kind I should keep away from. But I couldn't. I'd tried several times to stay away for fear of ruining her idea of what a relationship should be like, but the harder I tried, the harder it got. A couple of months ago, my choice was taken away from me. She cut me off and told me to get my shit together before I tried to come back into her life again. Hell, I didn't blame her, though, I'd been so hot and cold with her ever since we first met. The moment we got close to anything sexual happening between us, I backed off for fear of scaring her. She was an innocent and my world was dark and scary to most. Too scary to drag her into. She'd seen the beach boy surfer façade I showed to everyone, but what lurked beneath the surface, only a few would ever know about. My business partners and military buddies Dalton, Archer, and Riker, all knew who I really was for the most part. But there were even some things I did that I didn't tell them. Reyna told me to just be honest with Sloane, put all my cards on the table and let her decide for herself. But these cards were dark, and she would never decide for herself because I would do that for her, knowing there would only be one choice I would ever give her.
To bemine.
CHAPTER
1
Archer
Sitting at the deskin my office, I went through the motions as I did every day.
Every day that I longed to have her by my side.
Every day I wanted to tell her the things that I needed to.
Every day I wanted to call her mine, but I didn't.
I couldn't. "She's better off without me." It was what I always told myself anytime I started to think about her beautiful face, her beautiful body, or her beautiful lips that seemed to just melt against mine like they belonged there. A knock sounded at my door, snapping me out of the pit of hell I'd built for myself. Looking up, I saw Dalton waltzing in. "Hey man, what's up?" I asked him, playing as though nothing was amiss in my life.
"I just wanted to see where you're at on the Compton account," he dropped into the chair across from me. "It's all taken care of. You okay? Because you look like shit."
Chuckling, he replied. "Well, thanks a lot brother, but yeah, everything's fine. Just Greyson, he’s teething and kept us up half the night."
Cringing at the thought of having a child of my own to take care of, I told him. "That sucks, man."
"Yeah, well, your turn will come one day so enjoy your sleep now."
I shook my head. "Hell no, I'm not having children anytime soon or maybe not ever."
Letting out a breath, he leaned forward onto my desk. "You know you need to just come clean with Sloane and get it over with before you lose her for good. We can all see how crazy you are for the woman."
"I can't, and you know why. Not until I know what I'm going to say."
"Look, I know you’re still trying to find out who killed Parker's sister, Bryn, at that BDSM club, but don't you think you're taking this whole thing a little too far? I mean it's been months now that you've been going there and still nothing."
