“Stay the night with me,” I whisper against her throat. “Say yes, Ivy.”
“Yes.” The word falling so easily from her lips sends pleasure rippling through me. Lifting my head, I kiss her, drown in her like a starving man, telling myself I need to stop now before I lose all control and take her right here on the goddamn terrace.
“Jesus, Archer, you can’t even keep your dick in your pants at a f**king wedding reception? What the hell is wrong with you?”
I let go of Ivy so fast at the sound of Gage’s voice, I hear the click of her heels as she stumbles, though thank God she doesn’t fall. Turning quickly, I face him, doing my best to compose myself. The way I’m standing hides Ivy completely and I wish like hell Gage hadn’t found us.
“What are you doing out here?” I ask with a snarl, feeling like an ass**le. I shouldn’t have let Ivy go like that. Like I’m ashamed to be seen with her.
More like she should be ashamed to be seen with me.
“Looking for you. And I was looking for Ivy. I see that you’re preoccupied, though . . .” Gage’s voice trails off when he glances around my shoulder to see Ivy standing directly behind me. “What the f**k? Ivy, what are you doing out here with him?”
“Nothing,” I say for the both of us. “She, uh . . . she was having a bad night. I was trying to comfort her.” Holy hell, what a choice of words.
Gage’s frown is so fierce he looks like he wants to tear me apart. But his expression is also a mixture of doubt and disbelief. As if he can’t believe the two of us are out here together. “Archer, I swear to God if you laid one finger on her . . .”
“I didn’t,” I assure him, lying through my teeth. “I didn’t touch her. Did I touch you, Ivy?”
She steps up so she’s standing beside me, her body tense. Damn, I hope I didn’t make her angry with my remark. “What did you ask?”
Shit. I did make her angry. She sounds furious.
“You better not have fallen for this dick’s charms,” Gage says, pointing his finger in Ivy’s face. “You know how he is.”
Lifting her chin, she glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “I know exactly how he is.”
I now feel like a bug Ivy’s ready to squash with her pointy heel. “Like I would mess with your sister, Gage. Come on. I’m not that stupid. I know you’d kick my ass if I so much as looked at Ivy the wrong way.”
Gage stares at the both of us for long, quiet seconds. Seconds that feel like they stretch into hours, they’re so uncomfortable. Doesn’t help that Ivy is fuming mad. She practically has steam coming out of her ears, not that I can blame her.
I f**ked up with her. Again.
What else is new?
Ivy
FOR A GROWN man who runs a multibillion dollar business, Archer Bancroft is a complete idiot when it comes to women.
My body was still shaking from the most amazing orgasm I’d ever experienced in my life when Gage stumbled upon us, giving Archer crap for fooling around with a woman on the terrace. Not that I blame my brother. It’s such an Archer thing to do and here he is, doing it with me.
Shocking.
I hate to admit it, but Archer completely rocked my world. As in, no other man has ever made me come like that. Or come, period. I was ready to say yes to his asking me to come home with him. Passing up an opportunity to have sex with him after five amazing minutes with his fingers between my legs? I’m not stupid. I know sex with Archer would’ve been amazing. I came so fast, it’s almost embarrassing.
Then Gage had to appear. And Archer had to open his mouth and completely ruin the entire moment.
I’m an idiot to think there could ever be anything real between us. Whatever just happened surely meant nothing to him. An opportunity to get with me—get with any woman really—and mess around for a few minutes. He’s a known player.
And I just got played.
“I’m leaving soon,” Gage finally says, his gaze falling on me. Since I came with him to this stupid wedding, I know what he’s going to say next. “Are you ready to go, Ivy?”
“Yes.” I nod and start toward my brother, barely withholding the gasp that wants to escape when Archer reaches for my hand, his fingers tangling with mine for the briefest second before they fall out of his grasp.
I glance over my shoulder and glare at him. He looks pitiful. Worried. Sorry.
Good. He should. Not that I care. I can’t believe anything that just happened between us was sincere. I should be incredibly embarrassed at what happened between us. I fooled around with Archer. We almost got caught. Talk about a disaster waiting to happen.
“Call me Monday,” Gage tells Archer as he rests his hand at my back, ready to guide me back toward the ballroom. “Let’s do lunch this week. You’re still coming to the city, right?”
“That’s my plan.” Archer’s deep voice resonates within me, and I repress the shudder that wants to take over. I refuse to react in front of Archer. He doesn’t need any more evidence that he affects me.
“Great. Let’s definitely get together. See ya.”
“Hey,” Archer says softly and my brother and I both still, though I refuse to turn around like Gage does. I don’t even want to look at Archer, let alone talk to him. “Are you both headed back home tonight?”
“Well, yeah,” Gage says with a shrug.
“You should stay the night at my place. It’s not that far,” Archer suggests, sounding innocent as all get out.