Sworn to Be His (The Archer Family Book 3) Read online

  But it seemed as though Derrick knew that, too. Though she could feel him grow impossibly harder inside her with every stroke, she could feel his restraint, too. He was holding back, desperate for something neither of them could name.

  “More,” she breathed, unable to help herself, and he answered her with a kiss and a long, deep thrust.

  “Soon,” he whispered against her hair, but soon wasn’t good enough. The need inside her was taking over, and she raked her nails down his back as she arched into him again, meeting him now thrust for thrust and urging him faster and deeper.

  “Jesus,” he rasped, and then his fingertips dug against her hips as he pulled back and shoved inside her over and over, pounding harder with every thrust until her breasts bounced from the sheer force of him.

  “Yes,” she moaned, not caring who heard her. This was what she wanted. What she needed. This was Derrick, full and forceful and not holding back. She only wished that she could feel him spurt inside her, that he could fill her up with his hot need.

  “Jade,” he called, and with one hand he pinched her nipple, spurring her onto a whole other plane. She pushed herself over the edge, closing her eyes as the need and want and greed devoured her at last and she bucked into him with reckless abandon, gripping and grasping at anything and everything as her walls shuddered around his rock hard shaft.

  She wanted to scream, to yell his name so loud that everyone in the place discovered them, but instead she bit down on her bottom lip and rode him fast and hard until the fissions of pleasure coiled around her every extremity and lingered there.

  Chapter 7

  When Jade woke up the next morning, she had two things on her mind: the irritating, insistent pounding of her head and Derrick Archer.

  For a second, she thought it might have been a dream, the way he'd commanded her body and taken control of her. The way he'd made her come in a way no man had ever managed in her life. But she knew it wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been.

  The awful truth was that she'd slept with her best friend.

  And worst of all? She'd liked it.

  Now she just had to go into work and...what? What could she possibly say to him?

  She didn't have the option of walking up to his desk and making a joke of it. Nor could she imagine bringing it up at all, not when they were supposed to be pretending to be deeply and passionately in love.

  Or were they?

  Would Derrick still want to go through with her plan now that things had gotten so serious between them? Or was it even a serious thing? Did people ever just do it and then get on with their regularly scheduled relationship?

  She had certainly never operated that way, but that didn't mean it wasn't possible. She could walk into work this morning and Derrick could knock on her desk and make fun of her like nothing had ever happened.

  Like he hadn't completely rocked her world.

  "Shit," she rolled over in her bed and stuffed a pillow over her face.

  Lisa pounced on top of her and landed on her stomach with a soft thump, but Jade didn't have the energy to swat her away. Instead, she snuggled the cat close to her and said, "What am I going to do?"

  Okay, first things first.

  How was she feeling about all of this?

  She took a deep breath, trying to put words to the swarm of feelings raising in her chest and swirling in her stomach. It felt like an excited glow, in a way, though there was a nervous energy there too. Like she wanted to run a mile and also lay in her bed for the rest of the day.

  "I've got nothing," she mumbled, then, like a flash, she remembered Zac.

  Zac with his perfect muscles and his history of making her knees buckle. What was she going to do about Zac? What was Derrick going to do about Zac?

  After all, she was still trying to win him over, right? Wasn't that still the plan?

  Before she had the chance to torment herself with any further questions, there was a pounding on her front door and Lisa slipped through her arms and slinked from the room.

  Following suit, Jade tugged an oversized T-shirt over her head and wriggled into a pair of yoga pants before rubbing her eyes and making for the door. She swung it open easily before checking the peephole, and then her breath caught.

  There he was. Derrick Archer. Tall, dark, and sexy. Except not sexy. He wasn't supposed to be sexy, not to her.

  "Great minds think alike," she mumbled, then ushered him into the tiny living room off of her foyer. As she led him, she swallowed hard, suddenly all too aware of the heat rising in her cheeks and the uncomfortable swirling in her stomach. She felt like a little kid waiting for her crush to notice her on the playground. Somehow, that made it that much worse, too.

  "So, I came by to apologize," Derrick said, then sank back onto her bright red sofa.

  "Oh, um, you don't need to apologize. It takes two to tango, you know, and—"

  "I'm not apologizing for that." He looked up at her and suddenly there was a hunger in his eyes, a fire she hadn't noticed before. "I'm apologizing for blowing the case. I shouldn't have let my feelings get in the way of an investigation. No matter how good you looked."

  Her mouth went dry and suddenly she couldn't look anywhere but him and the way his legs spread wide and casual as he surveyed her. She knew what lay underneath his jeans now. She knew exactly how impressive he was. How big and strong. How powerful.

  An ache rose between her thighs and she sank into a chair opposite him, if only to have something to do.

  "You..." She started, but even that was a strain. She had no idea what to do, what to say. Had he just said she looked good? And why did that make her heart do jumping jacks?

  "I fucked up and I shouldn't have." He sighed. "I called Crystal this morning to see if we could schedule another officer to go undercover with her help."

  Jade perked up, her brows furrowing. "Another officer? But I—"

  "I never want to see you dressed like that again unless it's a private viewing. Those men don't deserve to look at you that way. You're too good for them."

  "And you think you're just good enough?" She wasn't sure what made her say it, or why every word sounded so coated with lust. Maybe she just needed an answer. Or maybe she was fishing for the answer she wanted.

  Even now, looking at him, he wasn't the same old Derrick. Not anymore. He was memories of laughter and joy and adventure...and ecstasy. His mouth was full and sweet and tender and his arms looked warm and strong. She longed to feel them around her again, to have him press her up against the wall and—

  "I never said I was good enough either," he said.

  Her heart fluttered inside her chest. "So you're saying..."

  "Nobody is good enough for you, Jade. But I want you. I think you want me, too." His dark eyes took her in and she licked her top lip almost unconsciously.

  "I don't know what I want," she admitted.

  "No?" He didn't sound bothered or surprised. Just vaguely curious. Like he'd found something out from a crossword puzzle.

  "No...I...This is so confusing." She shook her head and let out a deep breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

  "Because you can't choose between me and Zac?" he asked.

  "No." The answer came out so fast she couldn't believe it, and yet she still knew it was the truth. "Because you're my best friend. What if...what if we ruin everything?"

  "But what if we don't?" He cocked an eyebrow.

  "But what if we do?"

  A faint smile touched his lips. "I only know a few things. The first is that you're fucking gorgeous. The second is that I like you. And the third is that I'd be willing to do just about anything to feel your body against mine. I could barely sleep for thinking about you and I can't bring myself to think it was a mistake."

  She blinked, then bit down on the inside of her cheek as she took in the words, playing them back over in her mind.

  "You're all I've got," she whispered. "I don't have Andy and Matt. I don't have Army buddies. I've just got you. It
's not the same risk for you."

  "Then tell me you don't want me. Tell me you want Zac."

  "I don't want Zac." She said, and this time she didn't feel anything at all. Like stating a fact.

  "Tell me you don't want me." Derrick said, his tone gruffer than she'd ever heard it before. More raw. More sexy. Almost like he'd sounded when he'd whispered against her hair the night before.

  Another ache swelled between her legs. "I can't say I don't want you."

  "Then take a risk with me," he said. "Take a risk, Jade."

  * * *

  There was a pause, just the slightest moment of silence, and then her body responded before her mind had a chance to. She met him quickly until her chest was flush with his and her aching nipples pressed against the hard planes of his abs.

  He met hers hungrily, devouring every last ounce of her insecurity.

  "I want you," she said. " I want you right now."

  "I'm right here." His lips were only a millimeter from hers, and his warm breath fanned against her cheek tempting her to kiss him. This, she knew, was the point of no return. Whatever they'd done the night before it would be nothing compared to this. If he took her now, there was no turning back.

  She'd be his.

  But somehow at the moment that didn't scare her. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but him. All she had to do was close the space between their lips.

  But she didn't.

  Instead, she sank to her knees in front of him, unzipped his pants, and pulled them down along with his underwear until his cock sprang out, hard and thick and ready for her.

  He stumbled back, then whispered her name. Not as a warning or in surprise, though, but like a reverence.

  Still on her knees, she guided him back into a chair and once he was settled against the cushions, she took him in her hand and worked up and down, watching the tick of his jaw as she pleasured him. She studied the way he jerked as she pleasured him with her hand, the way his eyes dilated as he took her in, waiting for more.

  And he'd have it. In time.

  "I want to see you. All of you," he said.

  "You will, but first..." She didn't know how to finish, so she figured she’d let her actions do the talking.

  Gripping the base of his shaft, she closed her lips over his sensitized head and swirled her tongue around the tip, catching the bead of precum already leaking from the top. A gentle moan, and she swallowed it, then took him deeper into her mouth until he hit the back of her throat.

  "Jesus, Jade." He closed his eyes and she stared up at him wishing she taken his shirt off so she could see the rippling of his muscles as he moved lower into the chair.

  With one lazy hand, he raised his fingers between the strands of her blond hair and tugged gently. She worked him up and down over and over again. Pulling away, she laved him with her tongue until he let out a tortured little groan and she sucked him again, harder and deeper.

  "Let me see you." It was less a plea than a command, but she ignored it all the same until at last he leaned forward and jerked her shirt over her head.

  "I need you," he rasped, and another thrill shot through her at the words.

  "Let me—" She tried, but he was done indulging her. He pushed her back into the floor, then pulled her pants off with quick decisiveness before pulling off his own shirt.

  For an instant, she simply stared up at him. His tense muscles, the hard plane of his stomach, the square ruggedness of his jaw. This wasn't the face of her best friend any longer.

  This was the face of her lover, and as he sank onto the floor, bracing himself above her, she knew that she'd made the right decision.

  Chapter 8

  Jade breathed deep as she rolled over, her arm still tucked under Derrick's head. She wasn't sure where to look, what to say.

  Good job?

  Thanks for the good time?

  Everything she could possibly think of sounded wrong or dumb or just...strange.

  Still, she opened her mouth, hoping that whatever came out would help break down this invisible wall of anxiety she'd built between them.

  And then her pager sang out from where she'd left it discarded in her puddle of clothes.

  Seconds later, the trill of Derrick's beeper joined hers and they both rushed to them, reading the call quickly before throwing on their clothes as quickly as they could.

  "A murder," he said. "Think it has anything to do with Scaglietti?"

  "I can't imagine what else it could be. The coincidences..." She said, her voice shakier than she would have liked.

  "I guess there's only one way to find out." He glanced at her over his shoulder and she put a hand to her cheek, trying to cool her still warm skin. Even now when he looked at her she felt herself heating up again. Felt the ghost of his kiss on her lips, on her neck, and lower.

  "Right," she breathed. "I guess I'll meet you at the station?"

  "Right," he said, and for an instant it seemed like he was about to say something else, but then, just as quickly, he turned on his heel and left.

  When the door thumped closed behind him, she closed her eyes and leaned against her living room wall, trying to stop the spin of the room and the racing of her heart. What the hell had she done? Twice now?

  And why was it that this time she didn't feel the least bit sorry?

  Securing her badge in her pocket, she made for her car and raced toward the station, her mind humming with thought the whole way.

  Or, more specifically, thoughts of Derrick.

  She had to tell him she wanted him, that she didn't care about Zac. After all, who was Zac compared to Derrick Archer? He couldn't make her body yield to his the way that Derrick had. And he couldn't make her smile the way Derrick did. Didn't make her feel comfortable, like herself.

  She pulled into her parking spot to find Derrick idling by his car.

  "They want us to go to the scene." He nodded at her. "Want to come in my cruiser?"

  She smiled, thinking of how she might have answered the question under different circumstances, then gave a stiff nod.

  Business first. They'd handle business first.

  Then they'd get back to pleasure.

  He opened the door for her and she slid in and turned on the radio, expecting him to whinge about whatever 90's pop band was blaring from the speakers. Instead, he ignored it and started the ignition.

  "So, listen," he said, almost too softly for her to hear.

  "Yeah, I..." she started, but she didn't know how to finish and let the words hang in the air between them.

  "It looks like I have to apologize again." He reached toward her and ran his thumb over the side of her neck.

  She pulled a compact from where she'd left it in his glove box and stared at the tiny love bite on her neck, red and shaped perfectly like his mouth.

  "Oh, right," she said.

  "We'll make sure it gets covered before we get back."

  "Right, good call." She nodded again and folded her hands in her lap. "Listen, Derrick, I think..."

  I think what we did was the best thing that's ever happened to me.

  I think you're perfect.

  I think this could really be something.

  "Maybe you should wait to tell me until you know everything. I think this case is going to upset you."

  "Why? What happened?"

  "The code...the victim was a twenty-six-year old female, blonde hair. She was a dancer. Patricia McGill was her real name, but on the stage she went by Crystal."

  "No." All the blood drained from her face and she stared down at her interlocked hands. "You think..."

  "I know. Someone found out she informed on them."

  "But that's impossible. I was so careful..."

  "I know. Listen, this isn't your fault."

  "It is, though. She would still be alive if I didn't follow that lead. If I..." Her throat constricted and she choked in what little air she could. It wasn't as though she'd never lost a witness before—she had. But like this? To people
like this? Who would have tortured her, maybe even raped her, for what she knew?

  It was wrong. All so wrong.

  "Jade—" Derrick started, but she held up a hand. "Let's just go to the scene. We'll figure it out from there."

  Without another word, he pulled out of the parking lot and sped onto the street, siren blaring.

  * * *

  Something wasn't right.

  The whole time they went through the apartment, he just couldn't shake it. Something here didn't add up.

  After all, there was no record of who'd been held witness after the robbery. Even if the mob did have a guy hacking their files—hell, even if they had a man on the inside, they wouldn't have been able to tell who'd spoken and what they'd said. Jade hadn't even submitted the paperwork yet.

  The forensic examiner nodded to him as he sauntered by with a cup of coffee, grim-faced as ever, and Jade stood by the chalk outline, staring fixedly at something he couldn't see.

  Whoever had done this, Derrick wanted to make sure they saw justice—one way or the other. Not just because a young woman who'd done the right thing had lost her life, but because of what this was doing to Jade. Jade who was ashen-faced and mute since she'd found out about Crystal. Jade who would likely feel this was all her fault.

  He knew that feeling too well to wish it on anyone else, least of all on someone he cared about as much as Jade.

  Maybe if he told her...

  He winced just thinking about saying the words aloud. He'd carried them for so long he couldn't imagine what they'd sound like when he finally let them out. And worse, what if she looked at him differently? What if she saw himself the way he did—like a monster?

  He pursed his lips and pulled out a notebook, determined to set aside all thoughts save for those of this case. For now, he'd focus on getting justice for this girl. After? He'd make sure Jade had some of that justice, too.