Page 61 of The Sounds of Her
His dark blue jeans hug his legs and the distressed grey t-shirt he has on is tucked in at the front, showing off his belt buckle while the rest hangs out. It’s as if he got bored halfway through dressing, with no thought as to what it may look like.
Archer swaggers towards me, not a lot of guys can pull that off. I’m uncharacteristically speechless as he stops and stares down at me.
I don’t care how many people are in the room, taking pictures or wondering who I am, everything around me disappears when he’s near me. It’s a visceral reaction I’ve never had towards a man before and I’m not sure whether I hate it or love it.
My only outward reaction is to blink. Archer knows full well he’s affected me more than usual.
He lifts his hand and his thumb traces across my lower lip. I swoon. I’m not a god damn swoony person. I have to get my shit together.
I clear my throat, reminding myself he is doing this for show. We already talked about how we only have a few days to convince the world we’re together, so we have to go full throttle from the get-go.
His hand is still tracing my jaw, his fingers walking to the spot beneath my ear. With a gentle tug, he pulls me towards him as he lowers his head. I stare up at him, my lips part in anticipation. Oh God, he’s going to kiss me.
Then he leans close to my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “You look fucking gorgeous. Everyone here is staring at you.”
I have to clear my throat again and clench my thighs together to get control of myself.
“We have to go do a quick interview before we go on,” Archer says, still close, but not pressed an inch away from my body anymore. I can smell the woodsy cologne he’s wearing. “Come with, so the cameras get a few shots of us together.”
And like that, the bubble bursts. Fuck, if this is how I react to him just talking to me and a few light touches, how the hell am I going to manage when we really have to put on a show?
I nod and lean into him when he wraps an arm around me. He winks at the bartender, then guides me to where Jordan is standing with Nick. There is a man with a camera and a woman with one of those tiny little microphones. Another couple of people nearby are snapping pictures of everyone.
When they turn to us, Archer squeezes my waist. He’s smiling at the guy taking pictures and I snap out of whatever the hell has taken hold of me and paste a smile on my face.
When we reach the guys, Adam appears and the noise swells at the whole band being here. Adam eyes me and Archer with an unreadable expression, his gaze lingering on his friend longer, then he smiles and wraps both arms around the necks of Nick and Jordan.
“That’s my queue,” Archer tells me. “Stay close to Jen and Elsa okay, Stone and DiMarco are always close by.”
“Okay,” I nod.
Archer kisses my forehead and then walks away from me. He kisses my forehead. Somehow that seems more intimate than him shoving his tongue down my throat. Something I’m also not averse to happening right now.
Fucking hell.
After the interview, things get rowdy, with the final support act coming off stage, all pumped up from their performance. More people move in, and I’m jostled, then shoulder barged by a guy hurrying past me. I spill my drink but manage to avoid my dress. Fucking ass.
A shout makes me raise my head. Archer is yelling at the guy who bumped me, a dark angry glare on his face. The guy holds up his hands and steps back. I’m not sure if he works for the band or is one of those people who’ve been allowed backstage.
Either way, he’s chastised by whatever Archer is saying to him. The realisation hits that Archer was watching me, he saw the guy nearly take me out. He says one last thing to the guy before he slinks into the crowd. Archer turns his gaze back to me and lifts his chin.
“I’m okay,” I mouth back to him.
His expression is still full of outrage. He’d do it for any friend, I tell myself. Doesn’t mean anything. I take a long sip of what is left in my drink and search for the girls.
“Brooke, Archer wanted me to come get you.”
“What?” I draw my eyes to the man beside me.
I’ve met DiMarco a few times, where Stone is with Adam, DiMarco is with Archer a lot. He’s huge, six foot four at least, which I suppose is good in a man charged with keeping BreakNeck safe. His dark hair is shaved close to his head and his body looks like he could give Joey a run for his money in the cage. He materialised out of nowhere, quiet as a mouse for a guy so damn big. One glance at Archer lets me know he sent his bodyguard over to me.
“I’m fine, it was just a bump.”
“Well, stay with me so we can make sure nothing else like that happens,” he says.
He leads me away from the larger crowd and I spot Jenna standing with a couple of other people. As we approach, Adam comes over to her. He whispers something, then kisses her. It’s enough to make the people she is talking to move away.
I’m undeterred, and step right up to them.