When I felt the car slowing, I peeled my eyelids open cautiously and glanced over at him.
"Lost them," he informed me with a quick glance. "You okay?"
I licked my lips several times to fix the serious case of dry mouth that had just hit me and nodded. "Do you care?" I replied, an edge of bitterness in my voice. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but my filter grew faulty when I was scared.
Archer slowed his car and rolled to a stop directly in front of my apartment building, then speared me with a hard stare.
"Of course I care, Kate. Your safety is important to me." His voice was gentle, and it sent a shock wave of emotion rolling through me.
For a long, way too tense moment, we just sat there with our gazes locked and silence reigning supreme through the car. Archer was the first to look away, turning his gaze forward as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"I need you alive for another two years and one month, or I don't get my payout." His tone was harsh, and it cut me as effectively as any blade.
I drew a sharp breath through my nose, then unbuckled my seat belt and popped my door open with sharp gestures.
"You're a piece of shit, you know that?" I asked him as I paused halfway out of the car. "It's no wonder you needed to buy a wife. No woman could possibly tolerate your damaged bullshit willingly."
He didn't answer. He didn't even look at me.
Shaking my head in disgust, I climbed out of his car and slammed the door behind me. I didn't pause and I sure as shit didn't look back at him as I stormed into my apartment building. His car remained in front of the glass doors, though, not leaving as I stepped into the elevator.
It wasn't until I got back into my apartment that my resolve cracked, and I looked out the window. Only then did the black Stingray pull away from the front of my building, like he wanted to be sure I'd made it safely inside.
The lengths he'd go to for that payout were impressive. Especially considering he had absolutely no need for my money.
Prick.
24
True to his word, Kody arrived on my doorstep a couple of hours later while I was contemplating dinner.
"New phone," he announced when I answered my door, handing me a device identical to my old one.
I took it from him with a smile. "Thanks," I replied, standing back to let him in. "I hope you put this on Archer's credit card."
Kody smirked. "Of course. It's the least he could do."
I closed the door and wandered back over to my kitchen, where I'd been browsing through takeout menus that had been stuffed into my mailbox over the past week or so. "You want to stay for dinner? I was deciding between Chinese or Mexican."
"Damn, babe, who knew you were such a chef," Kody teased, taking the two top menu choices out of my hands and inspecting them. "Yum, tacos."
"Excellent choice," I murmured, taking the Chinese menu back and returning the losers to a drawer in my kitchen. "And don't be a hater just because I can't cook. I've had a personal chef my entire life. Even in Cambodia we had a cook."
He just dropped the Mexican menu onto the counter and placed his hands on either side of me, boxing me in. It was such an alpha-male, dominating move, and I secretly loved it. "I love everything about you, MK," he told me in a low voice, his body crowding me against the island and giving me vivid memories of the first time we’d fucked—in the middle of the night, on the kitchen counter.
"Mm, nice save," I replied, tilting my face back to peer up at him as his hard length brushed against my lower belly. "But suddenly I get the feeling you're not all that hungry for takeout."
A wicked smile touched his lips. "See, babe? You totally get me. It's like we have a psychic connection, and I love that."
His kiss was gentle and unhurried, a sensual exploration of my mouth. My breath hitched, and my arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer and silently pleading for more.
"As much as I want to take this further," he murmured against my lips, his body crushing me into the cupboards, "you should really order. Food around here always seems to take forever to arrive."