Thirteen

"What are you doing, Maddy?"

"Typing out the final draft of my story."

"About Africa?"

She nods.

"About me?"

Maddy looks up from her laptop screen at Archer, who's standing in front of her with his arms folded tightly across his chest. His brows are tense and his mouth is tight in a line across his face. Maddy nods again.

"You know I'm as good as dead when that story goes out, huh."

"You're not in Africa anymore, you're out of danger."

He scoffs. "You are so naive, Miss Bowen."

"I'm not naive, Archer. You're in my apartment in Manhattan, they're not going to find you here. They can't."

"You don't know what men are capable of when they're out for blood, Maddy."

She dismisses his concern with a cool wave of her hand. "You're just being paranoid."

Archer raises his shoulders and kisses the back of his teeth. Maddy looks back down at her screen and then at her notebook before continuing to type. Archer appreciates her optimism.

He walks around the table and picks up a stool. He pushes it against the back of Maddy's stool and she stops typing. Her fingers hover over the keys as Archer lowers himself onto the seat behind her. She feels the sides of his legs on the outside of hers, his hands on her hips under her shirt.

"Archer."

"Ja, Maddy?"

"What are you doing?"

"Huh," she can hear the smile in his little grunt. "You don't know?"

"No, I don't," she says. She straightens her back and puts her hands on her thighs.

He kisses the back of his teeth again, but this time the sound is loose and assuring and Maddy closes her eyes. The pads of his thumbs feel rough against the skin of her back and she makes a conscious effort to suppress a shudder when he presses them into the dimples on either side of her spine.

"Relax, huh," Archer breaths into the back of her neck. She can feel his lips on her now. "You Americans are wound far too tight, huh."

"I'm trying to work here, Archer."

"Ja, Maddy, so am I."

Archer drags his rough thumbs up the soft bumps of Maddy's spine. Her skin is warm and smooth and it reminds him of the red sand back home. He feels the fabric of her bra and grins. Maddy lets out a sharp hiss when she feels a blade pressing into her back. She hears a snap and becomes very aware of how loose her bra has become.

"Archer!"

"Ja, ja, Maddy, I'll get you a new one," he says as he pockets his switchblade. "I can't be dealing with those little clasps, huh."

"Archer," she sighs. "Where's Solomon?"

"What, huh, you want him to join in?"

"No," she turns her head just enough to see his face.

His eyes are dark and shiny and his brows are creased. His mouth his half open with expectancy. His tongue raises to the back of his teeth before he licks his bottom lip.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the shower, Maddy."

"Are you sure?"

"He could be standing right behind me and I wouldn't care," he growls.

"I would!"

Maddy shrugs Archer off and pushes his leg out of the way so she can stand. She shuts her laptop and it closes with a sharp click as she scans the interior of her apartment. Solomon is nowhere in sight. She hears the sound of the shower going in the bathroom and she turns her attention back to Archer, who is still sitting with a smug grin plastered on his face. He raises his head.

"Huh?"

"So he is in the shower."

Archer nods. He stands and approaches Maddy, who steps back until she's backed herself into her bookshelf. Her heart slams against her ribs when Archer's arm encircles her waist. He pulls her shirt over her head with ease before pulling her cut bra off. Both articles fall to the floor by their feet. Maddy holds her breath. Archer grins.

She's just as wafer thin without a shirt on as he imagined her to be. She's flat and almost boyish, but he likes what he sees. Maddy tries to gauge his face for a reaction, but he's stone sober as his eyes take in every inch of her naked torso.

He lowers his head and nudges her jawline with his nose. Her eyes close and her head tilts and Archer presses his lips to the soft of her neck. His lips are just as rough as his fingers and the way his stubble scratches her skin makes her insides tremble. His hands latch onto the bends in her arms and he slides them down to her wrists. He lifts her hands and puts them on his shoulders without breaking contact with her neck.

Maddy laces her fingers together behind Archer's neck. His hands are on her hips now. The sides of her ribs. Groping her chest. Flicking over her nipples. Pulling her closer. He grunts against her throat before sinking his teeth into her. Maddy groans.

Archer makes quick work of their jeans before bending over slightly to pick Maddy up. She wraps her legs around his waist and rolls her hips against his as he presses her back completely against the shelf. With one hand under her thigh and another on the wooden column by Maddy's shoulder to brace himself, he kisses her neck more aggressively. Maddy can barely catch her breath as she grabs his face to pull it back so she can look at him.

"What?" he breathes.

"I like to get kissed before I get fucked."