was a bottle of vodka that I didn't remember being there in the photoshoot.
The image pixelated out, only to be replaced by an even sexier one of both Archer and I. I was in his lap, our eyes locked and our lips just a fraction away from a kiss. On the table in front of us was that same vodka and a martini.
"Guys..." I shook my head, unable to look away from the billboard as it changed again. This time it was a shot of me lying on the bartop, my back arched and every curve of my body accentuated, and Archer's hungry, desperate eyes on my face. "Someone please explain?"
"Remember I told you the photoshoot was a favor to a friend?" Archer asked, still reclining on the couch like a king on his throne. The bottle of champagne was back in his hand, and he held it loosely. "Well, she shifted the concept of the bar away from sexy burlesque and more to sinful strippers. But she loved our images so much she decided to use them on a launch campaign for her own line of vodka." He paused, seeming uncertain for the first time. "Do you like them?"
I blinked at him several times, at a loss for words. Turning back around to the window, I watched the rotation of images again. There were five, in total. One had Archer more prominent and me in the background, then there was the one of me alone and three of us together. In every one, we looked like the living embodiment of sex and desire. It was a goddamn mystery how we'd held out five months before giving in to that insane chemistry between us.
"I love them," I whispered, letting my truth come out. "But this seems like a really risky move, all things considered. Where else has this ad been shown?" I turned back around to face my guys, a worried frown creasing my brow.
"It's a global campaign," Archer replied, not sounding even a fraction as concerned as I was.
My eyes widened. Global. Fucking hell.
"Babe, you can't put your life on hold because of some mentally unstable, serial-killing fucker. He thrives off your fear, and by hiding away you'd be letting him win." Kody was practical, his tone calm, but he had to know I was a bit pissed off.
"You should have asked me first," I replied, catching all three of them with my accusing glare. "You said it was advertising for a new bar in Shadow Grove, not… this. You should have consulted me.”
"Why?" Archer demanded, his own jaw flexing with annoyance. "So you could let your fear rule the decision and hand your stalker another win?"
My temper flared. Guess who wasn't getting his dick wet after all?
"Fuck you, D'Ath," I snapped back. "This was a huge step to take without giving me a heads up!" I indicated to the huge rolling billboard of us. “Don’t act like this was out of your control, either. We both know they would have checked with you first.”
Steele shifted into my line of sight, his expression apologetic. "Hellcat, we never wanted to take the control away from you. This was a last-minute thing, and we thought it would be an awesome surprise for you. Something special, you know? It wasn't supposed to start fights."
I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally counting to five to try and get a lid on my anger. It was a hard pill to swallow that this was a simple misjudgment, not a targeted attempt to raise my blood pressure.
Then again, that'd be really fucking stupid if they had been trying to piss me off. Even as dick-drunk as the three of them had me, I was more than capable of servicing myself and icing them out indefinitely.
"How long ago did the campaign launch?" I asked, trying to keep my anger in check. It wasn't their fault; they just hadn’t been fucking thinking.
Or hell, maybe they had. They’d weighed the risks and decided it was worth it to try and surprise me. Which... yeah it was kind of sweet they wanted to do something like that.
"About two hours ago," Steele replied. He snagged two of the glasses of bubbles from the table where Kody had poured them, and handed me one. "What can we do to bring the mood of five minutes ago back?"
I squinted at him, but took the wine and gulped half of it. Dutch courage for what I was about to suggest. My lips suddenly felt