That was all either of us needed to hear. My hands were shoving his pants and boxers down his thighs while he unclasped my bra, discarding it on the counter behind me, and sucking one of my nipples into his mouth. I arched into the heat of his mouth, his tongue flicking and teasing at my breast, as I wrapped my hand around his length. Stroking him slowly, I let my thumb brush over the smooth tip, smearing the drop of precum as I went.
“Christ, beautiful. Do that again.”
Repeating the motion, I watched his face. All the guarded tension had been replaced by desire, and I loved that I was the one to do that to him. Loved that I was the one he desired. Tonight anyway. Pushing that thought out of my mind, I focused on the man in front of me.
A second later, he stepped out of my hold, taking himself in his fist, and dragged the head of his cock through my pussy, once, twice. On the third pass, he locked eyes with me, and pushed inside, bottoming out in one thrust.
I gasped, the feel of him stretching and filling me so completely was almost too much for me to take, but then he was moving. The pace he set had me clawing at his shoulder, desperate for something to hold onto. His mouth came back to claim mine, swallowing my whimpers as he kissed me hard.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded, his voice gravelly with need.
The second I had them locked around his waist, he lifted me off the counter, his palms gripping my ass, and slammed me back against the wall. His mouth returned to my breast, lavishing the other nipple this time, and then he was pounding into me.
“Archer! Oh my god. Please,” I begged. Every thrust got harder and faster than the last, my head spinning with pleasure, my body trembling with the onslaught of sensation.
“You take me so well, beautiful. I want to feel you come around my cock.”
He powered into me, never slowing, and when he took my nipple between his teeth, biting hard enough to send me over the edge, I shattered. His hold on me tightened, his thrusts becoming more erratic, and then he stilled, burying his face in my neck.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit,” he panted after a handful of seconds, before placing me back on my feet.
I gave him major props for being able to formulate that much of an articulate sentence, because I was speechless. That was, hands down, the best sex of my life, and it just happened in the bathroom of a bar.
I don’t know if it was the thrill of sex in public, or the man himself, but no hookup had ever felt so good. Hookups usually just scratched an itch, and they were rarely something to write home about. Half of the time, they were sloppy and rushed, primal and self-serving. Truly earth-shattering sex came from familiarity, from a level of comfort that allowed you to be vulnerable enough to ask for exactly what you wanted—what youneeded. Which is why sex with Archer had blown more than just my body, because I couldn’t comprehend how he knew exactly what I needed andhowI needed it.
We cleaned ourselves up and dressed in relative silence, but he kept glancing over at me as if maybe he was only truly seeing me for the first time. I knew because I kept stealing glances at him too. By now, the embarrassment and regret probably should’ve started kicking in, but there was nothing except satisfied contentment.
“We should do that again sometime,” he said once we were both presentable again.
I smiled up at him, but took a step back. “I don’t date, remember? Too many assholes”
“I wasn’t talking about dating,” he countered.
“In my experience, repeat booty calls almost always get messy.”
There was no arguing that, and he knew it. “Fair enough. Well, I guess I’ll see you around then, Darcy Adler.”
I smirked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s a small town; I’m sure you will.” Then I flipped the lock, and slipped out of the bathroom.
FIVE
ARCHER
Present Day
I surveyed the cereal selection on top of the fridge in the firehouse before grabbing the Cheerios and dumping them into the bowl of milk I’d poured. I was fairly certain they were stale, but it beat all the other sugary crap the rest of the guys ate. Seriously? What grown man ate Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops? The thought alone made my teeth ache.
I turned to sit at the kitchen table just as Ralph, one of the engineers, walked in. He was an older guy, probably in his late fifties, with dark skin and graying hair that was almost silver at times. Despite his age, he was still in great shape, especially compared to some of the other guys who’d been with the company as long as he had. This April would mark thirty years for him with the department, and I had to give him creditbecause there was still no talk of retirement from him. As far as my colleagues went, he was all right. Sure, he could almost always be heard before he entered a room—he was one of those people whose normal talking volume was three or four decibels too loud, but he was good at what he did.
I gave him a quick nod and took a bite of cereal. As predicted, it was stale.
“How was the night?” Ralph asked over his shoulder as he peered into the fridge. Coming up empty-handed like I had when I attempted, he reached for the cereal boxes and pulled down the Lucky Charms.
“Quiet.” I shoveled another spoonful into my mouth.
He barked a laugh. “Just like you!”
What was I supposed to say to that? I didn’t know, so I remained silent.
