LIAR (Madison Kate Book 2)

"Same," Steele added, and the two of them slapped hands again.

Assholes.

"Fuck yeah," Kody snickered, then the two of them fucking high-fived over me. They slapped hands like goddamn teenagers. It was so incredibly arrogant and... yeah, okay, it was hot as sin.

"Zane," I barked. "Start fucking talking."

"Do it, boss," Cass added in that rough, broken-gravel voice of his. "She's gotta know."

Zane shot Archer another look, but this time it was full of regret and resignation. "Sorry, brother. You brought this mess on yourself. Maybe you'll think twice next time an in-debt businessman offers to sell his daughter."

Time. Fucking. Stopped.

Steele's shoulders slumped and his face dropped, his hood hiding his real reaction.

Kody breathed a curse, his hand tightening on his gun but not letting his aim leave Zane for even a second. Not even while his panicked gaze shot to me.

But Archer? He may as well have been made from stone for all the emotion he showed.

Zane pulled a stack of folded papers from his jacket pocket and tossed them toward me, letting them hit the steps right beside the bloody heart.

"It's all there, if you want to fact-check it. Your father sold you—and your trust fund—just a week after you were arrested." He paused, looking disgusted. It was his next words that rocked me to my core, though. Words that would become printed across my mind like a cattle brand.

"Congratulations, Mrs. D'Ath. Welcome to the family."

ad.

"Leave now," Archer ordered Zane. "This is between Madison Kate and me. No one else."

Zane's lips twisted in a cruel smile. "If that were the truth, I'd happily give my apologies and leave. But it's not. It can't be between the two of you when she knows nothing about it. 'Cause she doesn't, does she? It’s so fucking obvious it'd almost be funny—if it wasn't Deb's daughter you were hurting."

"Someone tell me what the fuck you're all talking about before I start shooting people myself," I snapped, glaring at anyone who'd look at me. Spoiler alert, none of them would, except Zane

I was only alone for a few minutes before Steele slipped into my room. He didn't speak as he climbed into my bed and wrapped his arms around me. Instead, he just held me and stroked my hair while I cried. Then I mentally berated myself for crying over a guy who didn't deserve my tears. Then eventually, I calmed down and relaxed in Steele's comforting hold.

I fell asleep again to his soft, comforting whisper in my ear, telling me all the creative ways we could hurt Archer for his bullshit. His suggestions ranged from amusing to downright scary, but just the fact that he was willing to suggest creative revenge on one of his best friends warmed me.

When I woke again, the sun was up and Steele was gone. The bed was still warm, though, and my second pillow dented from his head, so I doubted he'd been gone for long.

Archer barked a cold and bitter laugh, shaking his head. My room was still so dark, and he wore the shadows like a cloak, a visual representation of his inner self. "Because they do." He stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind himself before I could formulate any kind of response.

I had nothing to say back, though, even if he had stayed. His words had frozen me in utter shock. What could he have possibly meant by that? Tears slid down my face unbidden, and my shoulders shook as the fight fled my body, leaving me hollow and alone.

I ordered him in a low, furious voice. "Just get the fuck out. I'm done with your stupid games."

His eyes narrowed at me like I was being unreasonable. Seriously? He was the one who just finger fucked me until I came and kissed me like I was the missing piece of his stained, broken soul. Then flipped the switch and decided I was nothing but a needy, desperate slut who was basically gagging for dick like an addict.

Yeah. I was the unreasonable one.

"Get. Out." I repeated the order, holding his eyes with my furious, hurt gaze. Fuck hiding from him; he deserved to see what he was doing to me. He needed to understand that every rejection, every backflip on those tender moments was breaking me down and soon I'd have nothing left to give.

Archer let out a frustrated sigh, sitting up and scrubbing a hand through his dark hair, ruffling it in a sexy kind of way that made me want to run my fingers through it. His face was pure frustration and irritation, though, and it only sparked my anger hotter.

"You're acting like a brat, Madison Kate," he told me in a voice dripping with condescension. "I'm not going to fuck you, so you're throwing a tantrum? Do you even hear yourself right now?"

Outrage rendered me speechless for a moment, and my mouth moved like a fish out of water. It only took a second to find my voice again, though.

"I'm throwing a so-called tantrum because you're giving me fucking whiplash with your split personality bullshit. I'm fucking sick of it, Archer D'Ath. You clearly want me; you can't even hide it anymore, it's written all over your face every time you look at me. I think I've made it abundantly clear I want you too, despite the thousands of reasons why I shouldn't. So what's the fucking problem here? How is it okay to finger fuck me until I'm screaming, yet not okay to actually fuck me?"

"What's the problem?" he roared, leaping out of my bed in an explosion of rage. I'd finally cracked his bullshit exterior, and the raw, molten emotions were seeping out. "The problem is that you don't fucking know me, Kate! You don't know anything about me or what I've done. You have no fucking idea what you're dealing with."

My brows shot up and surprise tempered my anger. "Maybe I don't need to know everything, Archer. Did you think about that? Maybe I'm a big girl who can make her own choices and have come to grips with the fact that I'm okay not knowing all your deep dark secrets. Why the fuck should I need to know your worst sins if they don't involve me?"

My skin was sensitive all over, a remnant of the drugging, but that had manifested in something pretty epic when it came to Archer's hand on my pussy.

His fingers withdrew, but he wasn't going anywhere. His thumb found my clit and rubbed teasing circles around it until I was whimpering and squirming against him. When he finally decided he'd tortured me enough, he pushed two fingers back into me and gave my clit a firm rub in a way that made me cry out.

"Shh," he chuckled in my ear, wrapping his free hand, which had been under my pillow, over my mouth. "If you're too loud, Steele will think you're in trouble and come barging in here."

I whimpered but swallowed my words as he fucked me with his hand. I was tempted to tell him I was more than fine with Steele hearing us... even with him joining us. But something told me Archer wouldn't be okay with it, and right now? I needed him. Just him. I needed to break the glass cage he'd erected around me. Smash it to pieces and grind the shards to dust because I was done being kept at arm's length.

When he added a third finger, I was fucking done. I came hard, my screams muffled by his strong hand over my mouth while his soft kisses feathered over the skin of my throat.

When he peeled his hand off my face, my breath was coming in hard gasps and my whole body was jelly. Electric jelly.

Slowly the weak, boneless, post-orgasm feeling subsided, and I reached behind me, sliding my hand along Archer's hip to find his waistband. Because if he thought I was a one-and-done kinda girl, then he must have lost his sense of hearing over the last few weeks.

"Stop," he ordered me, grabbing my hand before I could make it under his waistband. His grip was tight enough to not be playful, and the cold, unpleasant sensation of rejection washed through me like a toxic spill.

I gritted my teeth to not snap back at him, but my anger was quickly washing away the delicious fuzziness of my arousal. I wrenched my wrist out of his grip and rolled over to face him.

"Don't fucking start, Madison Kate," he told me in a cold, emotionless voice. "I made you come, now you go the fuck to sleep."

My jaw fell open as I stared at him, but he just rolled onto his back to avoid my outraged glare.

Oh. Hell no.

"What is your fucking damage, D'Ath?" I snarled, sitting up and glaring down at him. Fuck he was so gorgeous, all scowling and broody, and it made my heart twist painfully. "Are you seriously going to pretend you aren't lying there harder than diamond right now?"

He cocked one brow at me with that insufferable asshole expression on his face. "Yes," he replied, cool as the Arctic. "Because I have something you seem to be so severely lacking in. Self-control."

Bang. Just like that. Shot straight through the fucking useless heart.

"Get out, Archer,"

I made a sound of frustration, turning my head just enough to see his face from the corner of my eye. "I can tell you one surefire way to get me sleepy," I told him in a breathy whisper. I was starting to feel all kinds of desperate due to the number of times I'd been rejected by him... but I knew he wanted me just as much. He was just caught up on some imagined drama and denying this thing between us as a result. Well, I was ready to push that resolve and see how long it'd take to crack.

"Fucking hell," he snapped, his hand coming up and grabbing my face in a tight hold. He turned my head enough that his lips could lock down on mine like he was drowning.

He dominated that kiss, like fucking everything, his lips claiming mine in a way that was leaving his mark all over my soul. I moaned into his kiss, trying to turn over to face him, but his arm held me tight, keeping my ass against his huge, hard length.

"Stop. Fucking. Wriggling," he commanded me when he released my mouth. His kisses trailed down the line of my neck, sucking and biting my skin in a savage way that was so distinctively Archer that it made my pussy clench with desire and intense arousal.

I bit my lip, not arguing back. Not yet, anyway. Not while his hand was stroking across my bare belly and creeping lower with every movement. My breath was coming in short, sharp gasps, but this time it was for a damn good reason. Maybe this wasn't exactly what the doctor meant when he’d told me to rest and take it easy for a few days, but fuck that dickhead. He wasn't living with three hotter than sin men who played my body like their own personal fuck toy. Or... two of them did. I was really, really hoping the third was about to join the party.

Archer's fingers brushed over my smooth mound, and the rumbling growl that came from his chest was almost enough to make me come. Almost. I was holding out for something more, though...

"Quit fucking teasing me, Sunshine," I told him with a frustrated moan. I bucked my hips against him, reminding him of just how hard his cock was against my ass. Only a thin layer of fabric separated us, and I was going out of my mind hoping it would just magically disappear.

Archer huffed a short laugh, his lips on the bend of my neck. "Be careful what you wish for, Princess." His fingers dipped lower, finding my wet heat and sinking inside me with one firm push.

A strangled cry left my throat, but before he could pull away, I clapped a hand over his, holding him there as I writhed on his fingers. "Fuck," I breathed as he pushed deeper, his palm flattening on my mound and grinding my clit.

"You like that, huh?" he whispered in my ear. As if he needed fucking confirmation.

"God yes," I groaned. "Fuck, I'm already so close."

My skin was sensitive all over, a remnant of the dr

I couldn't help the smug-as-fuck smile spreading over my face. "Calm down, sunshine. You're just lying in bed with me. I'm not forcefully prying that bad-boy bullshit out of your personality with pliers."

"May as well be," he grumbled, but even in the darkness of my room, I could see the small smile playing across his lips. "Now shut up and sleep if that's what we're doing."

I let the subject drop, closing my eyes and trying really hard to let sleep reclaim me. But... it just wasn't so easy to fall back asleep after already sleeping for fifteen hours. Especially when there was someone else in the bed that I was all kinds of hyperaware of.

"Princess," Archer groaned when I shifted my position for about the thousandth time. "Stop fucking wriggling around." He reached out, hooking one of those big hands of his around my waist, and hauled me backward against his body.

We both fucking froze this time.

"Are you—"

"Yup," I replied, my voice a tense squeak. "Naked. Yep, sure am."

I expected him to drop his grip on me like I was made of liquid magma, but he didn't—and that in itself shocked me more than anything else he'd done so far. Instead, his fingers flexed against my bare stomach, and his leg shifted to cover mine.

"Well, still," he muttered, "go to sleep."

I bit my lip, staring into the darkness of my bedroom and trying not to shiver every time his breath exhaled over my bare shoulder. But fuck me, I was only human, and the sexual tension between us had been building for way too freaking long.

It sure as shit didn't help that my naked ass was pressed right against his crotch, so there was no ignoring the way he was growing affected by my nakedness. I couldn't help myself; I wriggled my ass against his hardening cock.

"Kate," he growled in warning, "stop it. It's hard enough being in bed with you naked; don't start that shit."

I snickered a short laugh. "It sure is."

Archer released a sigh in a heavy exhale, his breath warming my skin just moments before his lips touched my neck. He kissed me once, gently, then gave me a sharp nip with his teeth. "Fucking behave, Kate. You just went through a majorly traumatic event, and you need to rest."

My breath caught in my throat and heat rushed to my pussy. "I rested all day," I replied, my voice just this side of a feline purr. "I don't want to behave anymore, and I don't think you want me to either." Reaching a hand behind me, I grabbed onto his hip, pulling him closer and clearing up any confusion over what I meant.

Archer let out a groan, then grabbed my hand and removed it from his hip. He placed it back in front of me, then used his arm to pin me tight to his body. "Go to fucking sleep, Kate."