Page 42 of Kingston
And if I open this door, it’ll be nothing but skin and sin. My brain runs and runs in circles about how she’s in there, naked and soapy… and how she runs her hands over every inch of her body… and maybe how she’s touching herself and thinking of me. Wishful thinking, for sure, but my dick hardens in my pants all the same. Breathing slowly, I force myself to master my base urges. Every greedy, selfish cell inside me wants to put my possessive-as-fuck brand on her like Kingston did. I don’t even care if he was there first. I don’t care if his cum is still inside her. The question is… how long am I going to be able to hold out?
TWENTY-THREE
ARCHER
IsElliot ever going to sleep? I take another sip of my whiskey and glance at my watch. She took forever in the shower earlier, singing away to her heart’s content. Poorly, which cracked me up. But still, kinda endearing. And actually surprising, considering what we did to her tonight. That fuckin’ video was the worst, man.Jesus.
If I were this chick, I’d have already pounded the pavement. I’d be fuckin’ outta here. So I’ve gotta hand it to her, she’s definitely got some guts to stick around. What must she think life will be like for her after this? And Kingston. Dude really does mean business and certainly doesn’t fuck around. Not ever. Not even for pretty little things like our Peaches. I like the way he handles things, though. Most of the time, anyway.
As my eyes shift back to the screen, I find Elliot moving around like a deranged monkey, looking all over the room, standing in the middle of the bed, poking around behind framed pieces of art, and searching the furniture. She’s never going to find where I installed the cameras. She might be smart, but not quite in my league when it comes to that sort of technology.
Pouring myself some more whiskey, I throw it back, letting it slither down my throat like a demon lover. I snort to myself. I think of some weird shit sometimes. My head swims pleasantly. What I need is another drink. I’m not drunk enough that I don’t realize my hand borders on unsteady as I tip the bottle to my glass one more time. Anything to dull all the thoughts in my head.
I watch Elliot pace for a while, eyes wildly scanning the room. She stops next to her bed, looks at whatever drink she has in the mug, then resumes pacing. With her hands in her hair on either side of her head as she walks, she looks like she’s physically holding herself together. Hell, maybe she is. I can only imagine what’s going on in that whip-smart brain of hers.
All at once, her body locks up, freezing in place. She stares in the direction of the door.Oh, shit.What’s this?I sit up, switching the video feed to the one facing the door. No one’s there.
But— Hold it. There she goes. My brows shoot up in mild surprise.Uh-oh.Where’s she heading? I gulp down the last of my whiskey and set the tumbler on my desk, the ice cubes clinking in the glass.
Two seconds later, there’s someone knocking on my door—Elliot, obviously.
Funny how I didn’t anticipate she’d march right on over here. Dammit, I take pride in being a step or two ahead of people most of the time. I quickly kill my computer and the screens go blank right as she knocks again, only this time it’s much louder. It’s as if she knows I’m in here and awake. Hurrying so she doesn’t rouse the entire house, I pull open my door a crack.
Sure enough, Elliot stands there with her hands planted on her hips, looking like an avenging dark angel out of one of the fantasy books I like to read. Her hair is down, loosely cascading around her shoulders, and for my purposes, I’ll imagine she’s in a black nightie, fluttering in the breeze, even if she’s wearing the black sleep shirt and shorts I saw her put on after her shower. She looks gorgeous either way, especially with the splotches of color high on her cheekbones and a bright fire in her eye.
She doesn’t look at all surprised I’m still up. “Can we talk for a sec?” She tucks her tongue into her cheek, crossing her arms over her chest.
I let loose an internal whistle. Oh damn. Somebody’s still pissy.Well, good.She has a right to be. I would have respected her less if she were to let this fly like she was okay with it. Throwing caution to the wind, I slowly lean against the doorframe and use one finger to push the door open far enough for her to enter. “How’d you know I’d be awake?”
“I’ve heard your music playing late.” She walks past me, giving me the evil eye. I snort to myself. Go figure the first girl I’ve had in this room since I moved in this year is on a mission, and not one I’m liable to enjoy very much. Totally my luck.
I close the door behind us, then wait with my back against it while she makes a slow circuit of my room. I ruffle my hand through my hair, then after another minute passes, I decide I’m not waiting any longer.
“Look, if you want some company, I’m down with that, but I’m gonna pass out. You’re welcome to join me.” I give a wild flourish toward my unmade bed and push off the door, then weave unsteadily to the bathroom. Because, yeah. I’ve had plenty to drink. Tonight was… weird for me. I eye the rapid rise and fall of her shoulders as I pass her.What the hell, woman?
As I get partway to the bathroom, she whirls around, “So, where are they?”
“Where are what, Peaches?” I’m not trying to be an ass, I swear, but sometimes I mess with people more than usual when I’ve been drinking. I can’t help myself. The filter is gone. “I like direct communication. Use. Your. Words.”
“Are you kidding me?The cameras.”She storms in my direction like a beautiful cyclone, all whipped up and ready to take me out. Stopping in front of me, she looks directly into my eyes. Stops. Squints. “Wait. Are you drunk?”
I shrug, hell-bent on distracting her by pulling my suspenders from my shoulders and unfastening my pants. I shove them, along with my boxer briefs over my ass. “What I am is tired. And we’ve got nine o’clock classes. You’d best”—I make a running motion with two of my fingers—“run along and get some sleep yourself. I figured your schooling was important to you.”
Her eyes widen as she makes the mistake of looking down.
My dick twitches. Sometimes, he can’t help himself. I’m definitely not one of those guys who can’t perform while drunk. I lazily glance down at my erection. “He’s ready if you are, Peaches.”
She spins around. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. I already asked you once. Why do you call me that? How did I pick up a nickname so quickly? We hardly know each other.”
I wriggle my brows. “We could fix that.” Probably not the best time to let on I’ve been referring to her ass and how I liken it to a ripe, luscious peach. I’m kinda drunk, but I’m not stupid. “Besides, it’s a fuckin’ adorable nickname. Now, if you don’t mind getting your cute ass either into my bed or yours, I think we could both use some sleep.” I rub my hand over my jaw, unable to get thoughts of her lush backside out of my head, and blurt out, “I saw yours, now you’ve seen mine? We’re even.”
She huffs out a breath and leaves the room without turning back around at all.
“What? Come on!” I whisper-shout as loudly as I dare.Damn.That’s really too bad. A good fuck is a probably one of the few things thatdoeshelp me sleep—especially when it’s with an actual person and not my right hand.
I finish brushing my teeth and stumble back into the room to find Elliot about to leave.Again?Am I that drunk? “What…? Why…?” My gaze narrows on her. Both of her.
She points to the table next to my bed where there’s a bottle of water and two pills sitting. “Take those and drink the entire bottle.”
