away quickly, trying to work out what the hell was going on.
The heavily muscled and ink-covered arm tucked around my middle was my first clue. The sizable hardness pressed against my ass was my next clue. Thank fuck I still wore my sleep shorts, or it'd be all too tempting to arch back into that solid warmth.
Make smart choices, MK.
Well, thanks to Cass, that was going to become my new mantra. I needed to make smart choices if I wanted to stay alive. Fortunately, Archer's alcohol-fueled confessional had eased that process.
But first, I needed to establish some boundaries and draw clearer lines. I couldn't go into another day with Archer holding the balance of power and me just clinging on for the ride.
I shifted slightly, testing how asleep he was, and he didn't react. Soft, barely audible snores rumbled from his throat, and his face was buried in the mess of my hair. How the hell we'd ended up sleeping like that, I'd never know. Blame it on our magnetic connection pulling us together in sleep.
As carefully and gently as I could, I lifted his arm from around my waist and slithered out of the bed. Holding my breath for fear of waking him up, I quickly padded out to the living room. My phone was where I'd left it on the sofa, and I had a dozen or so messages from Steele and Kody each, along with a couple from Bree and Scott.
I sent a quick message to both the guys, reassuring them that we were both still alive. Kody immediately replied, asking if he should come over, but I told him not to bother. We'd be back at the mansion soon enough.
Because, after all, I was making smart choices. And the top of that list was moving back under Archer's roof where my security wasn't endangering any more of Zane's guys.
Tucking my phone into the back pocket of my shorts, I headed into my kitchen and pulled the jug of filtered ice water from my fridge. Grinning like a maniac, I carried the jug back through to the bedroom and stood beside the bed for a moment, admiring the sight of Archer in deep slumber.
He was gorgeous, but he had this coming.
I popped the lid off the jug, then upended the whole thing over his handsome face.
"What the fuck?" he roared, spluttering and choking as he exploded into wakefulness, and I took a swift step away from the bed. Not that I was scared of Archer's wrath, but because if the roles were reversed, I'd be swinging punches before assessing the situation too.
It only took him a second to get his bearings, though.
"Princess. I take it you're not a morning person, then?" Water dripped from his hair, face, and beard, running down his tattooed chest and across his washboard abs. Small mercies, the blankets were still bunched at his hips, hiding anything more.
I gave him a tight, sarcastic smile. "Quite the opposite, Sunshine. It's time to finish our conversation from last night, don't you think?"
His eyes narrowed at me, a flicker of doubt and concern in his eyes. Was he regretting being so honest? Or was that just worry for how I'd processed his truths?
"Get dressed," I snapped at him. "I'm taking a shower, then you can buy me breakfast. Trust me when I say I'm much less likely to jam my foot up your ass if I've been properly caffeinated."
I didn't wait for his reply, spinning on my heel and retreating to my bathroom. I slammed the door after me, then cranked the water and stripped out of my sleeping clothes. I'd need to come back and pack up my meager belongings at some point, but that could wait until Archer and I found some sort of truce.
Not two minutes into my shower, the bathroom door flew open, and suddenly the room was way too freaking small.
"What the hell are you doing, D'Ath?" I drawled, rinsing the soap from my body.
He just shrugged, opening the fogged glass shower door and stepping into the cubical with me. Naked. Both of us, totally naked and wet in more ways than one. Goddamn it, I wasn't strong enough for this shit.
"Showering," he replied with a smug grin. "I feel like I was run over by a truck last night."
I rolled my eyes, careful to keep them above the waist. There was no point in feigning modesty; he'd seen me naked several times before. But this was so much more intense.