Page 181 of Terms Of Un-Endearment
There’s a slight teasing in his tone that sets me at ease. This is familiar ground. I run my tongue over my bottom lip. “This time, yes. But if it happens again, the footage of you declaring you’ve ‘still got a lot of fight left’ in you goes on Tik Tok. Biceps kissing and all.”
His expression morphs from playful to terrified. “You wouldn’t.”
I shrug and let the grin I’ve been fighting take over my whole face. He pushes away from his seat to stand over me, but the only thing threatening is the desire urging me to trace the faint outline of his abs under his shirt. He’s close enough I could, with his hands on either side of me, grasping the back of my chair.
“We’ve ended our battle. Remember?” The hitch in his voice snags my pulse and sends it racing.
“Did that include blackmail? I thought it was only pranks.” My voice matches the breathlessness of his.
We’re not teasing anymore. We’ve stumbled into dangerous flirting territory.
"Hand over the mobile, Piper," Archie growls.
I should run from whatever this is. Instead, I pull my phone from my pocket, then duck under his arm and hold it up. “Come and get it.”
His lip twitches, and he lunges for my phone.
I yelp and jump back, laughing out loud when he stumbles. But then his eyes flicker with a challenge that stops my giggling and sends me running to the other side of the kitchen island, clutching my phone tight.
Archie follows, then changes direction when I dart toward the living room, intending to escape upstairs. He blocks my way before I get out of the kitchen, so I run back toward the island.
“Come on, Piper! You know I’m gonna catch you!”
He’s right, but between his long legs and my lack of coordination, he could have already done it.
But he hasn’t.
We’re both enjoying the chase.
“I dare you!” I call over my shoulder while darting down the hallway toward the gym, forgetting about Valente and myuncertain future. The only thing on my mind is how much IwantArchie to catch me.
He follows, his bare feet slapping against the wood floor. I’m not sure how close he is until I run into the gym. I’ve just stepped over the threshold when his arm winds around my waist. He picks me up, and I gasp.
“Archie! Put me down!” I squeal and kick my feet in the air, but without resisting. His bicep presses into my side, bulging with the effort of holding me inches from the ground with one arm.
I’m enjoying this even more than I imagined.
“Fine.” He kicks the door shut and sets me down, his hands on either side of my shoulders to keep me from escaping. The soft fabric of his shirt brushes against the bare skin of my back not covered by my halter top. “Now give me the phone.”
Archie’s heavy breath skitters down my spine, prickling my skin like a sudden cool breeze on a hot day. I clutch my phone against my chest. If I stick it in my pocket, he’ll go after it.
But there’s another place he won’t try to get it.
I shove it down the front of my V-neck halter, then slowly turn. My elbow scrapes across his stomach, and the thought skims through my head that maybe I wouldn’t mind if he went for my phone.
Which is straight up crazy, because until an hour ago, Archie and I had spent a decade determined to be enemies.
When I face him, his eyes shimmer with the same shades of green that dot the brown Southern California foothills after a good rain. He smells of the sea and salty air. His tongue darts between his lips at the same time his gaze drops to where my phone peeks out from my top.
Archie’s smile falters. The air between us shifts from something playful to something more…charged. Like a Triple A battery transforming into a V-8 engine.
I stare at his mouth and the spot his tongue touched a few seconds ago. My skin prickles with goose bumps. I’ve never let thoughts about kissing Archie linger before, but if he looks at me all hungry much longer, I will have no choice but to feed him. His lips are begging me to.
I tip my chin, and Archie moves closer; so close he has to hear my heart pounding. Every nerve in my body lights up in anticipation of Archie’s lips meeting mine. I don’t remember ever wanting something more than I want his mouth on mine. My eyes flutter shut as he closes the distance between us.
Archie presses into me, and I suck in my breath. His lips brush mine, and I slide my hands behind his neck to bring him back for more.
A door slams and we both freeze.
