Page 33 of Seven Princes: A Very Dirty Fairtytale

“Archer,” She laughed nervously as she shook her hair out. “You know why. Don’t make me say it. We got caught up back there, and it was great, but—“

“Don’t do that.” Archer shook his head as he stood in front of her.

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Do what?”

“Attempt to write it off as another sexcapade just like that.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “I wasn’t trying to, but I wasn’t under any illusions, Archer.”

“Neither was I,” he said casually, his gaze smoldering as he began casually strolling towards her. Claudia wanted to take a step backward, or maybe she wanted to take a step forward. She couldn’t even tell. There was even a part of her that was telling her to run. As if Archer was some kind of predator, and she was a prey.

Except she was the willing kind, and that not only made it so much harder for her, but it also made it so much easier for him. It wasn’t typical at all, but it was what was happening.

She thought about sidestepping around him, but she realized she couldn’t. He was a big man, and rather burly, so there was that to take into account. But it was also the fact that even if she ran away from how she felt about him, she wouldn’t have anywhere to go. This was place was her home.

“You need to move,” she said firmly.

Archer raised an eyebrow and crossed his arm over his chest. “Why should I?”

Claudia let her eyes meet his, defiantly. “Archer, you’re only making this harder on yourself. You need to move because as I said repeatedly, nothing can happen between us. Also, my friends are waiting for me, so I should be going.”

“Something did happen between us.” He pointed as he uncrossed his arms, his muscles flexing in the process causing Claudia to momentarily stare and forget why she was arguing against this in the first place.

“I’m not denying that it did. I’m simply saying that it can’t happen again.”

“Are you going to spew forth that crap about how you can’t be near anyone again?”

Claudia’s eyes flashed dangerously. “It’s not crap. Just because you don’t believe it doesn’t make it any less true. It’s my truth, my beliefs, and you don’t get to invalidate that.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not trying to invalidate it. I’m trying to make you see reason.”

They stood in front of each other, breathing heavily, the tension in the room was so thick, and you could cut through it with a butter knife. They were both in the middle of a staring match, neither one willing to be the first one to break.

Finally, Archer turned his gaze away, the frustration rippling off of him in waves as his mouth pressed into a thin line. “This isn’t over, Claudia, and you know it. You will be the one to ask me to kiss you next time, you’ll see.”

Claudia crossed her arms over her chest. “I doubt it.”

She knew that he was probably right though. Her heart was already hammering in her chest at the mere thought of it, and she didn’t if she’d be able to handle being around him now that she’d gotten a taste of him, but she knew that she had to at least try.

Archer bent over the couch and began to slip on his shirt. He picked up her shirt and bra and tossed it to her from across the room without even looking at her. Claudia’s hand snapped up and caught them mid-air, and she began to put them back on, all the while wondering if she’d made a big mistake.

Besides her belief that she lost everyone she cared about, she really had no convincing reason not to do this. Realistically, he wasn’t asking her to care about him nor him her. He was just asking her to give in to her carnal desires and enjoy it, so he could enjoy her too. In retrospect, it didn’t sound like such a bad idea especially if it meant she could break the loop she was stuck in.

Before she had any chance to consider it further, Archer had turned his back on her and walked straight out without even saying bye. She flinched as she heard the door slam shut behind him, the sound resonating throughout that empty hall. She sighed as she ran her hands through her hair, picked up her purse and headed out the door.

Chapter Four

Claudia’s nose crinkled in distaste as the smells of the pub hit her nostrils. It was packed tonight. They usually liked to come here because it wasn’t. Given the nature of their work, they tried to avoid clubs because they actually wanted some privacy for a change while they were out. But O’Malley’s had a larger than usual crowd.

Claudia’s eyes scanned the room as she looked for her friends. She finally spotted Chastity waving her arms about furiously to get her attention. She smiled at her as she weaved in and out of the throngs of people.

“You made it,” Chastity said, a little too loudly.

Claudia smirked as she realized that she probably had quite a bit to drink by then. “I see someone’s already started the fun.”

Chastity waggled her fingers at her. “Why not? Life’s too short, Clo. I wanted to wait for you to get here, but you took way too long.”

Claudia shrugged off her coat as she slipped into the booth next to them. “Yeah, I had some unfinished business that I had to attend to.”

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