the few times I’ve confided in her.
Her motherly instincts have started kicking in as our relationship grows.
As though he can read her mind, Archer steps forward, and says, “I stopped fucking up.”
My mom smiles. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Everyone digs into the cake, and when I see Cohen is alone, I pounce.
“You invited Mom?” I ask.
He nods.
“Wow, what am I missing? Are we in an alternate universe?”
“It was time I got my head out of my ass.” He runs his hand through his thick brown hair. “Archer’s dad’s death didn’t only help open his eyes; it did mine too. It was time I quit holding a grudge against her. I’m having a little girl, and I’d love for her to have two grandmothers. She’s been in the picture with you for a while now, and she hasn’t given you any reason to doubt her.”
I grin. “I’m happy you and Mom are reconnecting.”
He jerks his head toward Archer, who’s talking with Maliki. “After all this time, I kept telling myself that you two just hated each other.”
“Were we that good at acting?”
He shakes his head. “I think I was good at turning a blind eye to it because I didn’t want it to start drama, but then I sat back and thought, you two dating isn’t shit compared to the situation I’m in.”
I laugh. “True dat, big brother. Your baby momma’s sister is over there, preggo with your next baby.”
“Okay, don’t make it sound so Jerry Springer-ish.”
“Why? It’s so much fun.”
“Man, you’re a pain in my ass,” he says, laughing while hugging me.
I take a look around the yard, noticing everyone and everything that’s happened.
Everyone around me is taking risks.
And I love it.
“I’m sorry,” I say, stretching myself out on Archer’s bed, “for what I said about us being casual.”
I was nervous.
Scared.
Our relationship had turned serious so fast.
No dating. No foreplay. Just diving straight into each other.
In the car, Archer flinched when I said distraction, as if the word was a slap to his face. I was happy with him, on top of the world, but scared. Archer’s way of handling stress is by running, drinking, and fucking. I can’t be blamed for worrying that he was using me to get through his issues and then would discard me later.
He stands at the foot of his bed—in a pair of gym shorts, shirtless, showing off his buff chest.
His face softens, and he gently smiles. “Baby, don’t be sorry for expressing that. My job is to change your mind from feeling that way.”
“I mean, I was in a mood—”
“And I’m in the mood to prove to you that this isn’t casual.”
Leaning over the bed, he grips my ankles in his rough hands, and I shriek when he tugs me down the sheets. My ass is half off the bed, and before I catch another breath, my panties are ripped down my legs. Parting my thighs, he drops to his knees and stares at my bare pussy, his attention riveted.
I gulp, never feeling so on display before.
“Uh … everything okay down there?” I ask before inching my legs closed.
Call me awkward for never having my vagina on display like the Mona Lisa.
He stops me. “I’m admiring you.”
“Can you, uh … stop admiring and start …”
He peeks up at me, a hungry look on his face. “And what, baby?”
I wave my hands in the air in a hurry up gesture.
He chuckles, and anticipation flickers through me when he rains kisses down my thighs and legs and then back up.
My heart pulsates, my body tingling with my need for him.
All of him.
Every damn inch of this guy—mentally, physically, emotionally.
I want him to be my forever.
I want to be his everything.
Without warning, he plunges two fingers inside me.
Laps his tongue around my clit while fingering me.
The attentiveness this man gives my body is like no other.
I’ve never had a man work to pleasure me like Archer does.
His tongue. His fingers. His mouth. His groans between my legs.
“Come for me, baby,” he says.
I arch my back, raising my hips, and he keeps me in place, finishing me off while I ride out my orgasm.
I throw my arms out, catching my breath as my body shakes. He grabs my waist, and I yelp when he tosses me farther up the bed.
He drops his shorts, his cock hard, and slides on a condom. I part my legs, welcoming him, and he kisses me. Darting my tongue in his mouth, I suck on his, and he groans. I wait for