“If there’s trouble,” Emmy muttered, “it’ll probably be because of you guys. But okay, as long as you don’t try to stop me from having fun, I’m good.”
As Archer and his brothers slid into the booth, the space seemed so much smaller than it had moments ago—which made sense. Not only were the O’Brien brothers big in number, they were all tall and broad-shouldered and took up a lot of space.
Charlie stood, grabbing Emmy and June. “Now that that drama’s over, let’s go dance.”
Rose whooped, sliding out of the booth, too. “Honor, you coming?” she asked.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Archer’s hand landed on my thigh.
“I think I’ll sit this one out,” I said.
He leaned in as they walked away. “Good choice.”
“Think I’ll go dance, too. Just to keep an eye on them,” Baylor said and was gone a minute later with Dex and Finn in tow.
I looked up at Archer as his fingers drew circles on my skin.
“Hi again,” I said, a little breathlessly.
“Hi back,” he said. “Did you enjoy your time with Dex?”
I shrugged. “He’s a hard nut, but I think inside he may just be a big old softie.”
Archer’s lips jerked. “Not sure he’d like hearing that.”
“Why not? You’re like that, too.”
“Oh, am I?”
“Yes,” I said. We’d been leaning toward each other, but I didn’t realize how close we were until I felt his warm breath caress my lips. Someone cleared their throat from across the table.
“Yeah,” Chase said, standing up, looking anywhere but at us, “I’m just going to get something to drink.”
I’d forgotten he was there, and as he hurried away, my cheeks reddened.
Looking out to the dance floor, I almost laughed when I spotted Charlie and the other girls. They were dancing alright, but every time some guy tried to push up on Emmy or June, Baylor would pull them back. Dex was doing the same the same thing for Charlie and Rose. Finn was kind of standing off to the side, but every few minutes the guys would rotate out. The look Charlie shot them whenever they pulled some handsy guy away from her was priceless. When Dex did it for the second time, she got all up in his face.
Archer laughed. “She looks pissed.”
“Can you blame her? We just came here to dance and have fun.”
“You want to go dance, Honor?” he asked.
I shook my head. “We’ve been here over an hour. I danced a lot already.”
Archer tilted his head. “Something else you’d rather be doing?”
By the way he was looking at me, I got the feeling he knew exactly what I was thinking. That was further proven when Chase came back to the booth. As he sat, Archer stood and I slid out to stand next to him.
“Honor and I are going head out,” he said, looking to me for confirmation. At my nod, he turned back to Chase. “Look after them. Call me if anyone needs anything.”
“Will do,” Chase said.
And just like that we left the bar. I texted Charlie to let her know I’d gone with Archer. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust Chase to tell her, but just in case, I didn’t want her to worry. Her answering text was immediate and to the point.
Charlie: Have fun you little minx! Condoms are in my desk if you need them ;)
My cheeks burned as I put the phone away.
“Everything okay?” Archer asked, holding the passenger door of his car open for me. His eyes shined in the moonlight.
“Yeah,” I said, “everything’s good.”
We didn’t talk on the drive over. Maybe that was odd, but it didn’t feel that way. I was comfortable, relaxed even. The tension, though, was thick inside that little space. Despite our flirting at the bar, it seemed like Archer was in his head, and I was definitely in mine.
He broke the silence once we were inside Magnolia House.
“Listen, Honor,” he said. “If you want to watch a movie again or talk, I’m good with that. I don’t have any expectations here. Just wanted to put that out there.”
I walked him to my bedroom.
“Really,” he said, “we don’t have to—”
At the threshold, I turned and placed my fingers to his lips.
“Archer,” I said, “do you remember the night we met?”
His eyes darkened as he nodded. I reached past him with my other hand to close and lock the door.
“Do you remember how much I wanted you? Even when I didn’t know who you really were?”
I felt his breath exhale as I pulled my fingers away.
“I thought I was ready then. But I know I am now.”
“Honor—” he said, but I spoke over him.
“Would you be willing to sleep with me?” His face showed recognition as I kept going. “I was hoping to have a one-night stand.”
Archer shook his head, taking a step forward for each one that I took back, but his eyes stayed on me as he came closer. The look in them was the one I’d come to associate with him, that intense, unwavering focus.
Placing a hand on my cheek, his forehead softly meeting mine, he lowered his voice. “I would love to, Honor, but…” he trailed off.
“But what?” I asked.
After a deep breath, he said, “I don’t think one night would be enough. I know it won’t be. There’s so much more, so much more, I want to experience with you.”
I smiled and spoke softly, my hands brushing the sides of his waist. “You feel that way now, but that could change.”
I felt his skin brush mine as he shook his head. “Never enough.”
“As long as you don’t disappear after, I think I’ll be okay.”
“I won’t,” he said. It sounded like a promise.
Closing the distance between us, I kissed him. Archer O’Brien. The guy who had somehow worked his way into my heart, inch by inch, taking me completely by surprise and making his way past every one of my walls. It felt right. It felt like more than our lips meeting as his mouth moved in perfect harmony with mine. More than skin touching when his fingertips ran over my ribs as he lifted my shirt above my head and tossed it away. More than bodies pressing together as he laid atop me once we were both naked.
He stared down for a moment just taking me in beneath him.
Though his body was a thing of beauty, I couldn’t take my eyes off his face. Didn’t want to. Archer’s eyes trailed slowly over my exposed skin, one hand following his progress. The feel of his rough hands awakened every cell inside me. But the look on his face was what made me feel cherished. His frown softened to something that looked like awe as I shivered.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, meeting my eyes again. “So damn beautiful.”
My hand ran over his neck and into his dark hair before pulling him in for another kiss. I felt ready. I needed him like I’d never needed anything or anyone else before.
“Archer,” I breathed as his lips went to my neck…and then lower.
When his tongue flicked out to taste my breast, I thought I might explode.
“Archer,” I said more urgently, trying to tug him back up. “I think I’m ready now.”
He sucked one of my tight peaks into his mouth, and his eyes were smiling as I let out a surprised gasp. As his tongue moved over my flesh, he gave one last suck—then did the same to my other breast, giving it equal attention, before finally releasing me.
“There are so many things I want to do to this body, Honor,” he said.
The deep sound of his voice made my legs quiver and then clench, the evidence of my arousal running onto my thighs.
“I’ve wanted to do this every day since I saw you. Every single day. So I’m going to take my time. If that’s good with you?”
In a daze, I nodded, and he went back to giving me more pleasure than I’d ever thought possible.
Archer used his fingers, hands, mouth, tongue, gah even a bit of teeth to bring me to a fever pitch. I could only try to hold on to those broad shoulders as
he did things with his tongue that should’ve been illegal. It wasn’t until after I was coming down from my high, feeling boneless, that he reached out to his pants to retrieve a condom.
My eyes traced his movements as he rolled it on. The action shouldn’t have been sexy, but it was.
Getting back on the bed, Archer lined himself up at my entrance, looked into my eyes.
I could see the question there and nodded.
Yes, I still wanted this, wanted him. God, yes.
As he pressed into me, it hurt. It did. But he was so gentle I hardly felt the hint of pain that followed. Archer had prepared me so thoroughly, and I was so wet. But more to the point, I reveled in the look on his face, the way he was gazing down at me, the moment when he said my name as if it was a prayer. Then his lips met mine, and there was nothing but pleasure. So much pleasure my heart felt like it might burst right from my chest.
“Archer,” I gasped as we crested and came down together.
The smile on his face, the way he pulled me closer as we lay next to each other, was something I would never forget.
He placed a kiss on my shoulder then said in a rough voice, “I know it’s late, but…do you want to go on a date with me tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course,” I said, laughing as I did, hoping he couldn’t hear the tears clogging my throat.
This had been so much more than I expected. He was more than I’d ever hoped for. And I didn’t know if he meant it like this, but by asking me out, he’d reassured me. It was a signal he wanted this to continue. The question soothed and sent me soaring all at once.
And for me, it made all the difference.
As Archer’s breath evened out against my back, holding me with an arm over my waist, I closed my eyes, certain of one undeniable fact.
I had fallen totally and completely in love with him.
Waking up had never felt so good.
The first thing I saw was Honor, wrapped in my arms. Her face was only inches away, little puffs of air hitting my chest as she breathed. Her soft mouth was parted just like it had been that day on the bus when she’d rested her head on my shoulder. I’d known then—before that even, if I was being honest.
She was the one for me.
Last night was amazing. Being with Honor…I couldn’t remember ever feeling closer to another person, and I only hoped it had been as earth-shattering for her. I felt my lips twitch. It must’ve been good because she’d woken me up about an hour later, whispering, “Archer…I want you again. Please?” A shiver went through me at the memory. As if I’d ever say no to her. The second time had been just as amazing as the first.
And if I had my way, I’d be her first, last and only.
After I kissed Honor one final time and said goodbye, I tried to be quiet while leaving the house. I was hoping to avoid any awkwardness with her roommates—especially Emmy—but the living room was empty. It looked like the girls weren’t awake yet, which made sense since it was still early. They’d probably slept in after all that dancing at the bar.
I just hoped they and my brothers hadn’t gotten into too much trouble.
With that thought, the first thing I did when I left was try to check my phone. But the screen was dark. The battery must’ve died. Frowning, I got into my car and hooked the phone up to the charger.
The screen lit up a second later with tons of missed calls and messages.
“What the—” I stopped, reading the last one I’d gotten from Dex.
Dex: Don’t know where you are. But you should be here. Bad shit went down after you left.
Scrolling down I saw five more from Baylor.
Bay: Arch, something happened at the bar. Give me a call as soon as you can.
Bay: Arch, did you get my text?
Bay: Seriously, man, we’re dying over here! Please call me.
Bay: Emmy’s tried to call you at least a dozen times, left messages. Archer, we’re in deep. Why aren’t you picking up?
Bay: WTF, man! Why the hell aren’t you answering your phone? Chase is hurt and in the hospital! You should be here!
Finn had sent me an address, and I already had it plugged into my GPS and was speeding toward the hospital as I listened to Emmy’s messages. Each one was a little more desperate than the last. It was clear she had been crying.
Hearing my phone ring, I picked up immediately.
“Archer,” Emmy said, “are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Are you? How is everyone?”
“We’re fine,” she sniffed. “It’s just Chase. A fight broke out, and he got hurt. No one really knew what to do, and then we couldn’t find you, and—”
“Don’t worry. I’m on my way.”
I pushed my car faster and sent up a prayer, both for my family and for God to get me to the hospital as quickly as possible. It took me under ten minutes. But the whole time I was tense with fear, terrified of what I’d find once I got there.
As I rushed through the hospital doors, my stomach dropped. The team was here and so was Bear. It had to be bad if they were all out here waiting like this.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“Third floor, room 255,” Bear said, and his voice told me more than anything so far. The man’s growl held a note of pity that I’d never heard in it before. “They’d only let family in.”
I nodded then rode the elevator up to the right floor.
A nurse directed me to the correct room, but when I went in, the sight I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. It was like something out of a melodrama. Only this was my family. And that was my brother in that bed, attached to all those machines, with his arm in a cast that seemed too big for his body. His face was paler than usual—except for the bruises all up and down one side. There were a few scratches that looked fresh and raw, too, but as he looked up from the book he’d been reading, he smiled.
“Hey Archer,” he said. “It’s about time you got here.”
“Past time,” Baylor mumbled then stood up, putting a hand on my chest as I tried to walk past him. “I texted. Emmy called. Where the hell were you?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. “My phone died.”
Baylor just shook his head. “That’s your excuse?”
“It’s the truth,” I grit out. “Now, will you move so I can go check on my brother?”
“Chase needed you last night,” he said. “We all did, and you were nowhere to be found. We needed you, Archer.”
His words hit me like daggers. They sliced right through me until I slumped.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to let anyone down. You’re right. I should’ve been there. I should’ve been.”
Baylor studied me another moment before dropping his arm.
As I walked around him, Dex pulled me down to speak in my ear. “He’s just feeling guilty,” he said lowly.
Join the club, I thought.
“When the fight broke out, Baylor was in the bathroom, making out with some girl. He didn’t even realize anything was wrong until after it was all done.”
I nodded, walked past him, and then Emmy caught me up in a hug.
“It was awful, Archer,” she said, and I squeezed her tight. “We were just out there dancing. Me, June, Charlie and Rose, and all of sudden these guys, like three of them, started going after this other smaller guy. Chase got caught in the middle.”
“I was trying to calm things down,” Chase put in. “But unfortunately, I overestimated my powers of persuasion.”
“One of them picked up a barstool. He swung it so hard, Archer. It hit Chase in the arm, made him lose his footing, and when he went down, Chase clipped his head on a table. His head started bleeding,” she said, the tears rolling down her face now. “It was so bad.”
“I should’ve been there,” I repeated, laying a kiss in her hair. “It won’t happen again.”
Finn was silent, standing next to Mom as she held Chase’s hand.
Meeting her gaze, I noticed her eyes were red around the edg
es, and my heart clenched.
“I’m glad you’re here, Archer,” she said then reached out for me. “When no one could get ahold of you, I started imagining the worst. I’m just happy you’re okay.”
I took her hand, holding it tight. “How are you, Mom? I know you hate hospitals.”
That was an understatement. Mom had loathed hospitals ever since we’d gone through that terrible time with Dad. With his cancer, he’d had to be in them nearly constantly. Some doctors and nurses were good. Others were not. The bad ones, the ones that were so heartless, so thoughtless that it bordered on cruel, were the ones who stuck out in my mind. I’d never forget those last few days, the horror they’d put my father through, the pain they’d caused us as a family. It made it even harder for me to see Mom having to sit here now, watching as one of her sons was in that hospital bed.
“I do hate them.” She looked up at me. “But Chase needed help, so here we are.”
I pulled her into a hug. “I’m here now, so if you need to go, you can.”
She held me a moment too long, and I tried to give her all the strength I could.
“Maybe I will just pop out for a minute,” she said, placing a hand on my cheek. “Just to use the bathroom and get some coffee.”
“I’ll go with you,” Finn said, and I gave him a nod.
“Could you all go?” Chase said. “I want to talk to Archer for a second.”
Once everyone was out of the room and the door had closed, his eyes met mine.
“God Chase,” I said, stepping closer to the bed. “I’m so sorry I left you there, sorry this happened at all.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said with a grin, “enough of all that. How did things go with Honor?”
I shook my head. “That’s not important right now. What’s important is you getting better.”
“I beg to differ. You making love to a girl is far rarer than some bar fight.”
“It should’ve been me,” I said, speaking through the knot in my throat. “If I’d been there, none of this would’ve happened. I can’t even look at you without feeling guilty.”
“My face is a little banged up at the moment,” he quipped.
“Just stop,” I said. Running my hands through my hair, I gestured to him then winced. “Chase you’re acting like you’re okay, but nobody’s buying it. This is serious.”
The Best Mistake Page 20
