"I wasn't aware we were playing a game. Just like I wasn't aware our first time together was a game, Archer. But I'm not as naive and foolish as I was back then, which is probably why I find myself in handcuffs now, Archer Donovan," I spoke, my voice laced with a mixture of hurt and frustration. I hadn't intended to bring up our past encounter, but the mention of the word 'game' ignited a fiery anger within me. His eyes flashed dangerously, but I had more to say.
"I am not one of the women you use and discard, or someone you feel entitled to because you believe you're some sort of sex god that no woman in her right mind would ever refuse," I continued, my voice trembling with raw emotion. Tears streamed down my face, but I refused to let them deter me. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Archer, but I have no desire to partake in this game with you. If you force me, it would be nothing short of rape!"
His gaze locked with mine, a mixture of surprise, hurt, and something else I couldn't quite define flickering within his eyes. He spoke, his voice filled with a depth of emotion that sent shivers down my spine. "That's what you think? That our first time together was a game?"
I whispered, my voice barely audible, "Wasn't it, Archer? It was so easy for you to walk away the following day without a kiss or an acknowledgment of what happened between us as if giving myself to you was nothing and what we shared meant nothing."
"Adele..." he rasped, his voice heavy with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher. It was intense, causing my heart to quiver and tears to well in my eyes.
"Don't you dare lie to me," I pleaded, my voice quivering with pain. "You have a line of women waiting for you. Just leave me alone, please, Archer," I finished, my voice filled with a mixture of heartache and longing.
"Is that what you want? For me to leave you alone?" he asked.
"Y-yes," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. I swore I saw him visibly flinch as if my words had splashed cold water on his face.
Abruptly, he withdrew from me, stepping out of the tub. He reached for a towel robe, hastily put it on, and strode toward the bed. Returning, he released one handcuff after the other, letting them clatter carelessly onto the floor.
"Get dressed. I'll be waiting downstairs," he said, heading towards the exit. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling utterly alone and overwhelmed with pain.
"Archer..." I called out in a low, helpless tone.
"I'll take you home, just as you wanted, and let you be. I'm sorry I brought you here," he replied, each word tightening its grip around my heart.
"Archer..." I called again, but he was already gone. Tears cascaded down my face as I cried, mustering the strength to dry myself and put on my clothes before joining him downstairs.
He sat on one of the couches, his head in his hands, and a glass of golden liquid resting on the table in front of him. Through the side glass wall, I could see a raging storm, dangerous to venture out into. He glanced up briefly as I approached, but refused to meet my eyes as he stood up, emptying the remaining alcohol from his glass before heading towards the exit.
"Can we drive in that?" I gestured toward the storm outside, visible through the glass wall.
"We'll try. If we can't, we will take one of my helicopters in the shed..." he trailed off.
"Or we could wait until it calms down..."
"I don't think that's a good idea," he said, his laughter laced with mockery.
"Why not, Archer?" I asked, my voice soft and gentle.
"We should leave before it becomes impossible..."
"Why did you do that to me? Surely a worldly man like you doesn't need a naive virgin for thrills. So why did you do it, Archer? Did it give you pleasure to know you could make me love you and then just walk away? Why did you leave like that, Archer?"
"Love me?" he repeated, and I turned away, mortified by revealing too much. He stood in front of me, his finger lifting my chin to make me look into his eyes.
"Adele... you can't do that. You can't love me, my sweet innocent girl. You simply can't," he said, and for the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
"Why not? Why not, Archer?"
"For the same reason, I left the way I did that day. I'm a bad man, Adele. You can't love me, Adele. Do you fucking hear me?" he growled, his voice a mix of pain and desperation.
I pulled away from him, and he tried to cup my face. I pushed him in the chest, openly crying now. He framed one side of my neck with his hand, using the other to cradle my chin as he pressed his lips to mine.
The warmth of his kiss sent electric shockwaves through my veins, so intense that I trembled and clung to him.
"Archer..." I moaned, my voice a blend of longing, pleasure, and pain.
"Oh God, we can't do this, Adele," he fervently rasped against my lips, deepening the kiss.
I wasn't sure who initiated it, but before I knew it, we were desperately trying to remove each other's clothes, the sound of fabric tearing filling the air. I whimpered as his bare skin touched mine, calling out his name with abandon.
He lifted me up, capturing my lips as if his life depended on it. We never made it to the bedroom; instead, he made me sit on the stairs. He lowered his face between my legs, and I felt his tongue exploring and entering me, his lips closing around my sensitive bud and sucking.
"Archer!" I screamed without inhibition, shuddering intensely as if my very existence hung in the balance. He then leaned over me, taking my nipples into his mouth one after the other, murmuring my name as he cradled my behind.
"Adele," he breathed as his engorged tip pressed against me, my arousal evident.
"Archer, baby!" I screamed, urging him to take me and alleviate the ache he had ignited within me. When he began to fill me, stretching my walls to accommodate his well-endowed form, we both stilled, clutching onto each other as if any sudden movement would overwhelm us.
Archer trembled intensely, repeatedly uttering my name like a prayer until he was fully inside me. When he moved, the friction created a sensation that made my head feel like it was about to explode.
"Oh God," Archer groaned, and I knew he felt it too. The overwhelming emotions coursing through us with each passionate thrust. "Hold me, baby. Hold me, Adele," he pleaded, needing me as his anchor.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and did as he asked. He started to thrust into me, the pace quickening, eliciting deep cries of pleasure from my lips.
Archer didn't hold back either; he claimed my lips, moaning into my mouth as he continued his rhythm. When I dared to meet his gaze, he looked lost and bewildered.
"I love you," I told him. He growled, and his movements became faster and more urgent. Our panting and moaning filled the room. Archer seemed to have lost control, and I rode the waves of passion with him.
He made me climax before he did, and afterward, he held me tightly, whispering, "I beg you. You can't love me, Adele. I beg you, my darling."
"Archer..."
"I'll take you back home, and we need to forget this ever happened."
“You tore my clothes,” I pointed out as we both directed our gazes to the destroyed clothing scattered on the stairs. He groaned.
“You will wear one of mine.”
"I want to stay," I whispered, my lips brushing against his as I traced his lower lip with my fingertips, planting soft kisses. "
Adele, no," he pleaded in a barely audible voice.
"What if I promised never to utter those three dreaded words? Would you let me stay then?"
"You're not listening to me," he responded with a tinge of frustration in his voice.
"So, you'd rather leave me alone during Christmas and New Year?" I challenged.
"You were ready to leave just a few minutes ago," he rasped.
"I thought you were supposed to be the tough guy. Are you really that afraid of me saying 'I love you,' Archer?"
"For God's sake, you can be such a brat! How the hell did Mark handle you?" he growled in exasperation, yet a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes.
I gently whispered, my voice laced with a teasing tone, "Will you punish me for my insolence, darling?" With a seductive gesture, I ran my fingers through his thick, luxurious hair, stroking his scalp.
Archer groaned in response, his lips eagerly meeting mine in a passionate kiss. The intensity of his touch sent playful giggles cascading from my lips, quickly transforming into moans of pleasure as his skilled hands caressed my nipples. His tongue delved into my mouth, exploring, nibbling, and suckling on my lips, igniting a fiery desire within me.
He effortlessly lifted me, carrying me up the stairs to the room, where he gently placed me on the mattress, our bodies entwined in an intoxicating dance of passion.
"Archer... don't go!" I pleaded, my voice filled with longing, unwilling to let him draw back even the slightest bit.
"Say it," he demanded fervently, his eyes burning with desire.
"I want you," I whispered into his ear, feeling him tremble in response.
Witnessing the anguish and despair reflected in his eyes, and hearing the unmistakable desperation in his voice, I couldn't ignore the plea for me to depart from his life. It became evident to me that Archer Donovan harbored emotions deeper than he was willing to reveal, and he believed it necessary to shield me from his perceived transgressions. In that moment, a glimmer of hope sparked within me, as I yearned for the opportunity to eventually persuade him to accept my love.