Page 80 of Delilah In Discretion

“Of course I do, Archer. You’re the first boy I’ve literally known—”

“Exactly. Let’s try to forget about our parents for just a moment and realize that this is our life. Let’s focus on us. We can make it work.”

“How?” I asked, beginning to feel overwhelmed, and he shook his head.

“We’ll find a way no matter what it takes. If you want to wait, we can, but there is no way in hell I’m taking no for an answer, because I can easily say I’ve been fighting for fifteen years for you. If anything, we can fight together,” he urged, and I couldn’t help but smile. He looked like a kid in a candy store, and I didn’t have the heart to deny him.

Considering his words for a moment or so, I felt conflicted. Knowing this would end in ruin but anxiously wanting to take the risk. The consequences of that risk outweighed the benefits, but despite his flaws, part of me wanted to see where this would go, to see if the butterflies in my stomach would flutter away the longer I was with him or if they would only continue to grow.

Rubbing the back of his hand, I puffed out a small breath. “We keep this a secret, and we start things off slowly. We are in now in the talking stage of our relationship.”

“Keeping it a secret, got it.” He nodded enthusiastically, and I narrowed my eyes.

“Archer…”

Our food was being brought to the table, and he chuckled as the smell of fresh croissants filled my nose.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I could’ve sworn that was all you said. Now shush; our food is here.”

I rolled my eyes at his antics, and we ate in comfortable silence, only sometimes speaking in small conversations.

We had finished eating, and I pulled on my jacket as he paid. We made our way to the door, and Archer spoke behind me.

“Just one more thing.”

“Wha—?”

I went to move, but I flinched as he’d already turned me around and placed a kiss full of passion on my lips. I sighed heavily and put my hands on his arms as his hands cupped my face. His lips moved sensually against mine and I could feel him pouring his emotions into the kiss as he tightened his hands around my face. My knees buckled slightly as he devoured me.

Softly moaning into the kiss, I could feel him starting to deepen it, but we heard a throat being cleared behind us. Pulling away, we looked to see the waitress waiting to get by with a tray of food, seeming annoyed. We moved out of the way, and I apologized with a growing blush while Archer stood by my side, not looking apologetic at all. I nudged him with my elbow as the woman passed, and he smirked.

“Hands to yourself, Russel.” He winked as he walked to the door, and I groaned heavily as I followed him out.

We spent the next few hours wandering the city, and occasionally, we almost got caught by our group leaders, who were coincidentally in the same area we had been in.

We returned to the hotel, and I walked into a guest room, wanting to slip into something more comfortable. I pulled my shirt over my head and jumped. I pulled it to my chest as Archer walked through the door.

“Archer! The door was closed!”

“We’re dating now. We should start becoming more comfortable with each other...” He spoke as if we had not had an entire conversation about starting slow only hours ago.

I groaned in frustration as he sat at the edge of the bed. “That is not what we agreed on!”

“Well, it’s what I agreed on,” he retorted.

I yelled in annoyance. “Archer! Leave the room.”

He thought about it for a moment, and I watched him as he stood up and approached me… ever so slowly.

Eventually, he stood right in front of me, and I found myself becoming breathless. Abruptly, he grabbed my shirt and tossed it to the side, not breaking eye contact once.

My heart raced in my chest, and I stared up at him wide-eyed. Being this close to him while we were both shirtless was quite a situation to be in—a situation I didn’t mind too much as I got to enjoy seeing him subtly flex his biceps.What was I angry about again?

He placed his hand on the side of my face, and not a second later, I squealed, grabbing onto his shoulders as he picked me up and held me in his arms. Pulling me flush against him, I blushed profusely as my arms and legs wrapped around him.

“Forgive me for my abruptness, Princess,” he murmured, the words rolling off his tongue with a hint of mischief, making it clear he didn’t actually mean it. The smirk tugging at the corner of his lips was anything but apologetic.

He wasn’t sorry for moving so fast, not in the slightest. And the worst part?I didn’t really want him to be.

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