Page 28 of Shots Fired

She shakes her head, and I move my hand from her waist, snaking it up to her pulse point. It’s racing, just like my heart.

“You’re hiding something, Doll. Tell me what it is.” I trace my fingers over her delicate skin, pushing back a few strands of hair. “What’s going on in that pretty mind?”

“I guess … I always thought you wouldn’t be this attentive with women.” Her eyes fall to her bag on my shoulder. “You surprise me, is all.”

I know she can feel how hard I am when I press my body against her, dropping my forehead to meet hers. The elevator doors to my apartment open, though neither one of us looks away from each other.

My heart thumps faster. “That’s because this isn’t how it usually goes. Ordinarily, I’d already be in bed with her.” I don’t know how much to divulge since I’ve never been in this position with a girl before. I’ve never been this vulnerable. “I’ve always called the shots during hookups. I don’t want to do that with you. I want to be sure that whatever I do is one hundred percent for you. I’m just lucky to be here.”

Releasing a steadying breath, she rolls her lips together. “Are you sleeping with me because you’re worried I’ll go home with the wrong type of person? I know you’ve said I’m special to you, but is that because you know we’ll have to see each other again after this?”

The way I want to wrap her in my arms and extract the intrusive thoughts from her head has my own mind spinning out. “It’s neither, Darcy. I’m here because I want to be, because it’s all I’ve thought about for far too long.”

Her look of pure innocence as she absorbs my reassurance squeezes my chest. I’ve never had a woman look at me like this before, and I know exactly why—I’ve never allowed them to.Everything I’ve ever done was devoid of emotion, the complete opposite of tonight.

She reaches behind her back, and I inch away.

Holy fucking hell.

When her black top drops to the floor by her feet, she slowly lifts her eyes to look at me.

I am certifiably fucked.

Darcy stands in front of me, wearing a black lace bra, revealing that her perfectly proportioned tits make the ideal handful, and her pink miniskirt—along with the killer heels I’m seriously thinking about asking her to leave on tonight—pump my blood faster.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she teases.

I swipe a palm across my mouth, utterly speechless.

Liam let this woman go.

“Don’t fucking tempt me,” I whisper because that’s all I’m capable of right now. “Seriously, don’t fucking tempt me.”

A bubble of laughter spills out as she lurches forward and dips her hand into my pocket, pulling my cell out and handing it to me. “Actually, take the picture. You can use it as a screensaver and show Jack.”

I deadpan and fight for breath as she hooks her thumbs under the waistband of her skirt, letting it fall down to the ground. The flimsy excuse for panties I pushed aside earlier sit high on her hourglass figure, matching her bra.

“Are you being serious?” I ask, voice trembling at the sight and my need to put my hands on her.

She nods once, kicking her clothes out of the picture. “I told you, I want to have fun. You make me feel sexy, and I want to remember the feeling.”

I unlock my iPhone and open the Camera app, bringing the screen up in front of me. I’m so fucking close to blowing straight into my pants. I’ve done some pretty outrageous stuff withwomen, but this, with Darcy right here, is a first for me, and it’s single-handedly the sexiest experience of my life.

“Take the picture, Archer,” she breathes, her chest rising and falling more quickly than before.

I snap two shots, both with her hands braced on the railing behind her, hair falling in waves around her shoulders.

It feels like there isn’t any air in the elevator—or maybe it’s only my lungs that are struggling to inflate.

A moment of nothing passes between us before I pocket my phone and walk a couple of paces forward, taking Darcy by the hand. I’ll send the images to her later and lock them down on my phone, where no one, apart from me, will ever find them.

I look down at her, feral need burning an inferno inside me. “Tell me, at what point did you elevate yourself to the top of my priority list?”

She tips her head to the side, and I wrap my hand around the nape of her neck, waiting for her to give me the green light and take her to bed. “The moment you laid eyes on my impeccable underwear?”

On a chuckle, I drop my gaze down the length of her half-naked body, plucking at her lacy panties.

“Who bought you this set?”