Page 43 of Protecting Lanie

"You let me in," she said. "On everything. The plan. The takedown. All of it. I need to be a part of this. I need to be part of your life, not just your fuck toy."

“I’ve got news for you, little one. I will let you in, but you want to be my sweet little fuck toy, don’t you?”

The silence stretched between them; the battle waging behind his dark, stormy gaze.

Finally, she nodded.

"Good girl."

Before she could process her quasi-victory, a voice crackled through his earpiece.

"Archer, it’s Reyna. We’ve got a location on Molina. He’s meeting with his buyers in seventy-two hours. Private estate outside the city."

Lanie’s stomach turned.

This was it.

Archer’s grip on her waist tightened. "We end this."

Lanie took a shaky breath. "Yes, Sir."

Archer’s eyes darkened at the word, but he didn’t call her on it. Not yet.

Instead, he took her hand, bringing it up to kiss the underside of her wrist. “You’d better go get back in street clothes. I’ll have one of our guys take you home.”

She thought about arguing but thought better of it. He was already feeling a bit cranky. No need to add to that. “Archer?”

“Yes?”

“Would you kiss me?”

“Only since you asked me so sweetly.”

Lanie felt the warmth of his breath as he leaned in, his lips mere inches from hers. Time slowed, her pulse hammering in anticipation. When his mouth finally met hers, the world around them disappeared. His lips were soft yet demanding, coaxing her into surrender with each lingering press. The kiss deepened, his tongue teasing along the seam of her lips before she parted them, welcoming the slow, intoxicating exploration.

A shiver ran down her spine as his hand traced the curve of her waist, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them. Heat pooled low in her belly, her fingersthreading through his hair, tugging slightly as he deepened the kiss. The way he moved against her—deliberate, hungry, yet achingly tender—set her entire body alight.

The taste of him, warm and faintly sweet, sent a thrill through her veins. She melted into him, losing herself in the rhythm they created, the slow push and pull, the silent conversation spoken through lips and breath and touch. Every kiss was a promise, every sigh an unspoken need.

When they finally broke apart, her chest rose and fell in sync with his, her lips swollen, her heart racing. He rested his forehead against hers, his thumb brushing over her cheek, as if memorizing the moment. Lanie opened her eyes, meeting his smoldering gaze. He turned her toward the submissives’ lounge and swatted her backside lightly to get her moving.

As she started to go, he grabbed her shoulders, pressing his body with its hard cock up against her. “You’re mine, little one. Never forget that. I’d better not hear you gave the security team a hard time.”

God, she hated how when he said things like that in a certain way; it was as if every ounce of her wanting to be in control went right out the window, and all she wanted was him.

CHAPTER 12

ARCHER

The next few days were a settling-in period for him and Lanie. She still argued with him, but then he suspected she’d never be a quiet, complacent submissive, and he didn’t want her to be. She mostly followed his rules, enjoying his unrestricted power to touch her.

As Archer stood in the center of the dimly lit war room, he kept thinking of her. He had to remind himself to focus. The room was almost suffocating with the quiet intensity that seemed to hang in the air.

The blueprints of the estate lay spread across the table, marked with precise notations, entry points, and security weaknesses. Around him, the Cerberus team moved with lethal efficiency—checking weapons, finalizing logistics, and going over contingencies. The mission was clear: infiltrate as buyers, neutralize the threats, extract the captives, and put an end to Vinnie Molina once and for all.

Failure was not an option.

"Reyna, you’re lead on comms. Keep all exits covered. Seth, get me eyes on their internal security grid. I want to know how many bodies we’re up against before we step foot inside," Archer ordered, his voice sharp and controlled.

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