When consciousness returned to him, he heard her rough breathing by his ear and became aware of his own as he was slumped over her. Sweat coated his skin, as it did hers. Still deep inside her, he blew out a breath, settling the beat of his heart, when sudden clapping had him glancing back over his shoulder. He’d forgotten the crowd was there at all and guessed Elise did too. As a participant in the show, he was meant to put on a long, sensual show to please the crowd, not fuck her wildly. But he had no regrets. Not a single one. He met Hunt’s amused gaze behind him—his friend was grinning like a fool—before landing on Kieran, who stood next to a wide-eyed Lottie.
Kieran mouthed Holy fuck.
Holy fuck, indeed. And as Archer glanced back to a panting Elise, who had yet to open her eyes, he knew then that what they’d experienced together tonight was as close to heaven as he’d ever get, and he wanted more.
Aching in all the right places, Elise stepped out of the shower in the changing room. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but Archer had oil on his skin, and it had covered every square inch of her by the time they’d both crashed over the edge. She’d never admit this aloud to anyone, but she’d taken a much longer shower than normal to ensure most people had left for the night. What had happened tonight had never happened before, and having sex in front of others was only part of what had her head spinning. She’d never gotten so absorbed in anyone to forget her surroundings completely. It wasn’t until Archer helped her into a black silk robe that she remembered a crowd had been there at all. But as she quickly toweled off and redressed in her jeans and thin blouse with a camisole underneath, she started to feel a tightness in her chest at being so exposed tonight. Dear God, she had to face Kieran and Hunt again at some point. She had to face Archer tonight. She should have scooped out the fastest route out of the place.
A thousand unknowns filled her head, becoming all-consuming as the changing room door opened and Lottie entered.
Lottie took one look at Elise’s face and said, “Ha! Girl, look at those burning cheeks. It’s been so long since I’ve felt embarrassed; I can’t even remember what that feels like.”
Elise laughed softly, grabbing her boots and sliding into them. “Tonight was…unexpected.”
“Maybe for you,” Lottie said, leaning against the wall behind the door, arms folded. “Sure seemed like Archer had a plan tonight.”
“Yeah, it did, didn’t it?” Elise tried to wrap her head around that, around all of this, but the task seemed impossible.
Lottie gave a short nod. “He’s waiting out there for you.”
“He is?”
Lottie smiled. “Seems a tad protective of you.”
No, they were professionals who were working together. They had a job to do. Lottie just didn’t know it. She avoided Lottie’s remark and, instead, said, “Thanks for the help tonight, Lottie. Appreciate it.”
“No worries. Good to meet you, hon. Hope to see you again.” Lottie’s eyes sparkled before she turned to the door. “Oh, and, Elise?” She glanced back and added, “I know, for you, this is all new and embarrassing thinking you had sex with others watching, but for us, this is very normal. Being naked, having sex, and watching that sensual bond, it’s our way of life. Anyone who watched you tonight would only have been thinking how absolutely beautiful you looked and were grateful to take a peek into your passion. So, zip up the embarrassment, okay? It has no place here.”
She left through the door before Elise could respond, leaving her reeling. She didn’t know how to feel about this, beyond embarrassed, but as she lifted a boot on the bench and began zipping it up, she realized that’s all this was an experience. A crazy, wild fantasy she’d never wanted but had fulfilled anyway. So, she listened to Lottie and stuffed her shyness away. Even if her heart kept saying, yeah, keep telling yourself that.
Once her face cooled enough to save her from further embarrassment and her strength snapped back into place, she exited the changing room and found Archer leaning against the wall. She saw no heat in his eyes, and oddly, she missed the way his gaze had sizzled for her earlier. She waited for his regular haughtiness to rise, especially since she’d given herself to him, but his face revealed nothing.
“Good to go?” he asked, his emotions locked up very tight.
She nodded. “Definitely.”
He gestured down the hallway. “Come on. I’ll walk you to the subway, and we can talk about the case.”
“Sounds good to me.” She followed him through a doorway on the right that led to a staircase and exited through the bookshelf in his office. “Neat trick.”
He closed the bookcase. “This entire place is a maze of secret passageways and tunnels.”
Everything about Phoenix was full of mystery, which was probably why so many people paid excessive amounts of money to live out their fantasies here. As Elise followed Archer outside and they were heading toward the subway station, she kept waiting for an awkward moment to rise, but it simply never came. Being around Archer had been easy before the sex and, surprisingly, was just as easy after.
“About tonight,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Any regrets?”
“None.”
He gave her a quick look before setting his gaze back on the sidewalk. “Not feeling anything at all?”
Her stomach roiled at his directness. She didn’t do feelings. Not well anyway. “How are you feeling about what happened between us tonight?”
The side of his mouth arched, a telling sign he read right through her avoidance. “Happy. Relieved. And intrigued.”
She couldn’t go there. Talk about emotions and things. She never went there, not with anyone but Hazel and Zoey. Keeping the focus on him, she asked, “Why intrigued?”
He glanced sideways, grinned a little. “I’m just trying to figure out how you can fuck with enough passion to blow the world apart.”
She laughed softly. “It’s a talent.”
She expected him to laugh back, but he didn’t. He set that intense stare on her again, his eyes searching hers like he was looking for something. Sure, she felt the tug to learn more about him, but she couldn’t tiptoe past the emotional line. She didn’t have a great opinion of relationships. Until everything lined up perfectly with a man, she’d never commit to anyone. And it hadn’t lined up yet. To get the subject back to things not involving emotions, she asked, “All right, tell me the names of the two people I pointed out to you tonight.”
“Connie Mora. She’s an actress. And Isaac Shae, the kid of an oil tycoon.”
She’d seen a movie with Connie in it but hadn’t heard about Isaac before. “I think it’s safe to say she’s up to something if both of us get weird vibes from her. Did you get anything from Isaac?”
“No, I didn’t,” Archer said as they passed beneath a streetlight. “Did you get a look at them during the show?”
She cringed. “I might have been too preoccupied to notice their behavior during the show.”
His smile was so damn proud. “Couldn’t take your eyes off me, huh?”
She rolled her eyes. There was the haughtiness that drove her crazy…and made her armor snap up. “It’s kind of hard to look away from two men being nearly tortured by their orgasms.”