Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
My eyes flick down to his lips, still parted, still tempting, and I feel the ache of unsatisfied desire pulse through me, stronger than ever.
His smile is slow, predatory in a way that sends a shiver through me. “That’s a girl.” He leans in, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of my nose before his lips find mine, more insistent this time, more real. It’s a kiss that says everything we haven’t spoken yet, everything simmering beneath the surface.
I can’t help but laugh softly, even though my body is still thrumming with the release he gave me. He knows what he’s doing, knows the effect he has on me. Gone are the subtle hints, the cautious games we’ve been playing. Now there’s only the truth—he wants me, and I want him. There’s no denying it anymore.
He’s made it clear, and now, it’s only a matter of time. I feel it, deep down—the pull toward him, the way he’s slowly breaking through my defenses. The way I’m already falling, even if I’m not quite ready to admit it to myself yet.
But Archer... he knows. And I can see it in his eyes—he’s ready to take everything.
Chapter Ten
Archer
The private jet looks completely out of place against the rugged backdrop of Copper Mountain, its sleek lines cutting through the sky like a reminder of a world Bella thought she’d left behind. My fists tighten at my sides as I watch the plane descend. Of course, the guy thinks he can just show up, sweep her back into his life like none of this—like I—ever existed.
I grit my teeth. He’s got money, power. The city’s slick confidence wrapped up in a designer suit. Everything I’m not.
And now he’s here.
“I can’t believe he’s here,” Bella’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. She’s at the window, watching the plane land in the distance, and there’s something in her expression I can’t quite read. Anger, definitely, but there’s something else there too. Something like fear.
“I won’t get in the middle of this if you don’t want me to, but say the words and I’ll pound that asshole into the tarmac if you’ll let me,” I say, my voice coming out sharper than I intended. I take a step toward her, my chest tight with the question I’ve been avoiding since that plane showed up on the small Copper County runway. “I hate to ask, but I need to know... Are you thinking about leaving with him?”
She turns toward me, her eyes widening. “Leave? With him?” She looks incredulous, like the idea is so absurd it barely registers. “Archer, do you really think—”
“I don’t know what to think.” I cut her off, stepping closer, feeling the frustration bubbling up. “He’s got everything you left behind. The life you had, the power to pull you back. I need to know if this is something I should be worried about.”
Her lips press together, and I can see the frustration in her eyes now, just beneath the surface. “This is about more than him showing up, isn’t it?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I look back at the jet, my stomach twisting into knots. He’s stepping out now, adjusting his sunglasses, his suit sharp and tailored. He looks like a man who’s never heard the word “no.”
“I can handle this,” Bella says, her voice firmer now. “He doesn’t get to control me.”
I want to believe her. I do. But something in me pulls back, makes me shake my head. “Maybe you don’t want him to, but I don’t know if you’ve really cut ties. Not with the way this keeps coming back.”
Her expression softens, and she reaches out, her fingers brushing against my arm. “You don’t trust me,” she says quietly, and the way she says it hits harder than I expected.
“I want to,” I admit, the words coming out rough. “But this—this is too big to ignore. And I’m not going to stand here and watch him take you.”
For a moment, we just stand there, the silence between us thick with everything we’re not saying. Then the sound of the jet door slamming shut breaks the tension, and we both look up. Her old boss is strutting toward us, that smug smile on his face like he’s already won.
Bella squares her shoulders, her eyes narrowing with a determination I haven’t seen before. “I’ll deal with him,” she says, her voice steely.
I follow her out onto the porch, but I keep my distance, watching as she crosses the road and faces him head-on. Even from here, I can see the air between them crackles with tension, but Bella stands her ground. I step off the porch and cross the road after her, keeping my distance but remaining close enough to hear every word that passes between them.
“Bella,” he calls out as he approaches, that smug smile never faltering. “I knew you couldn’t resist forever.”