He snorted. “I didn’t break in. Hazel let me in before she left.”
Traitor showed on Elise’s expression. “Did she?”
He nodded, enjoying her fierce look, especially since that fierceness was directed his way. “You never called, so I take it you didn’t find out who broke into your place?”
“Not yet,” she grumbled, shutting the door behind her and locking it. “But I reported the break-in to the police. They sent someone over to fingerprint my desk and door, and I gave them the security tape of the guy, so it’s out of my control. We wait for them to get a hit.”
“Good, going by the rule book in this case only keeps you safer.”
“Mm-hmm,” she agreed.
He kept his focus narrowed on her, enjoying watching her shift her hips. He wondered how hot she was between her thighs. “Get any additional details about Connie and Isaac?”
“That might come later tonight,” she said. Since she didn’t elaborate, he figured she would update him later and kept quiet as she said, “You?”
“They called Rhys separately, both furious that their photographs were exposed in the media.”
Her brows furrowed. “Behavior that actually lines up?”
“Yeah,” he agreed with a nod. “But something still feels off with Connie. She’s just not quite ringing true.”
“Then we’ll stick with her,” Elise said. “How bad was the fallout from the photograph?”
“Bad,” he said. “But that’s expected. Phoenix members pay for tight security. I failed them.” Let me touch you tonight, and I won’t fail you.
“You didn’t fail them. Shit like this happens sometimes.” She studied him for a moment, obviously reading his hunger, and her legs parted slightly. “I take it there is nothing I can say that’s going to reassure you I’m fine and don’t need you to sleep over?”
“Nope.” He smiled. “It’s the soldier in me, Elise. I’ll sleep in my truck if that suits you better, but I’m not leaving until we’ve got the break-in figured out.”
Her skin flushed further before she kicked off her runners. “Okay,” she finally said. “Well, if you plan on staying, then wait here. I need a shower before I’ve got to meet someone later. You might as well come.”
Images of her naked and deliciously wet flooded his mind. “Does this someone have something to do with the break-in and our case?”
Her breath hitched, and she shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, I’m not even sure yet that the break-in has anything to do with our case. But now that I’ve done all the preliminary work, things can start moving ahead.” She gave him a slow-building smile, dripping with lust. “We’ll grab some grub on the way. I won’t be long.”
“Sounds good.” When she headed for the door off to the left, his attention drifted to her spectacular ass in her tight leggings. He remembered how she’d moaned a little louder when he’d slapped that ass last night. His cock, growing harder by the second, remembered too. Yeah, he was done with not acting on this heat between them. “Would you like some company?” he called, throwing the offer out there.
She stopped again and glanced over her shoulder with hooded lids. “In the shower?”
“Mm-hmm,” he murmured.
Not one to back down from anything, she turned to face him. “Listen, I don’t want things to get messy between us. I don’t do serious relationships.”
He considered that, curious what her hang-ups about relationships were. “I’m not looking for anything serious right now,” he told her. Not that he didn’t want that, he did, eventually. Back in the military, he’d avoided serious relationships due to the nature of his work and not being home enough to support a healthy relationship, but his life was different now.
“Perfect,” she said, biting her lower lip. “We understand each other, then.”
He understood that he was done playing with her. He wanted them both to win, every damn time. “Actually, no, I don’t think we understand each other at all.” He rose and erased the distance between them, enjoying how she watched his every move like she couldn’t get enough of him. “Just because we don’t want something serious, doesn’t mean we can’t have something fun.” When he purposely got into her space, tasting that rich lust in the air between them, he added, “Do you not want more of what we had last night?”
She slowly began to smile. “Is that what you want? More of last night?”
Tired of her answering his questions with questions of her own, he pressed her. “Don’t you?”
Her gaze fell to his lips, then returned to his eyes. This time, her smile was dripping with lust. “I really should get to that shower.”
A night of debauchery filled his thoughts as she headed for the bathroom. Those same thoughts intensified as she left the bathroom door wide open, an obvious invitation. The water turned on, and he didn’t need to hear more. With powerful strides, he entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him, then turned to her in the shower. She stood beneath the water, head tipped back, soaking herself. Her long hair was free, her back arched slightly, lifting her breasts, while the water ran over the hard peaks of her nipples down to her belly button, all inviting Archer to lick that same path.
He didn’t need to see more. He stripped. Hard and ready, he entered the shower with her.
Her eyes snapped open when he got close, and she shook her head with a sensual smile. “Stay there. You like to watch, right?”
“I like watching you,” he murmured.
“Then follow the rules,” she purred. “Watch, don’t touch.”
She’d thrown Phoenix’s tagline at him, and he smiled at her, letting her take control now. Keeping her gaze locked on him, she ran her hand over her breast and slid her fingers all the way down to between her thighs. She stroked there in lazy movements as her other hand worked its way over to her chest. Her soft moan filled the bathroom, and Archer swallowed deeply as she squeezed her breast and began to circle her hips, unsure for the first time in his life if he could watch and not claim.
He’d seen many beautiful things in his life, but nothing like this. Nothing this perfect. Nothing this real. It occurred to him then that, that’s what he liked about Elise. She wore no mask; who she was, was who you got. Overwhelmed by need he could not ignore, he fisted his cock out of pure desperation and began stroking himself to the rhythm she set.
His gaze took its fill. The water rushing over her shoulder, down to her taut nipple that she pinched and played with. When her eyes reopened and she caught Archer following her lazy strokes with pumps of his hand, her speed shifted. Mouth falling open, her hand moved faster now, her gaze staying on him, as her half-lidded eyes filled with uncontrolled passion. Need.
Faster and faster, she worked her fingers in circles, pressing deep on her clit. Her breathing became rough, loud, and Archer was right there with her. He pumped his hand, gritting his teeth against the surge of pleasure washing over him.
Until he dropped his cock, not to spill his seed, as Elise broke apart, shuddering, her head tipping back as she moaned, grinding her hips into her hand. He hung on the edge with her, every second longer than the last as this was a punishment far worse than being edged in front of a crowd.