Bound to Be His ( The Archer Family 2)

"She's an idiot, you know?" Shay asked, and Matt didn't have to ask who she meant.

"What happened?"

"She's starting to see the cracks in this relationship she's in. You know, I don't even think I'm mad at her. I think I'm mad at me. No matter how many times we go through this, there's some stupid small sliver of me that hopes and dreams of things really being different this time. Just like she promised. Just like she always said..." She let out a little gasp and stopped herself, shaking her head.

"Why do you need it to work so badly?" he asked gently.

"I..." She pursed her lips, tilted her head to the side, and then said, "You know when you were a kid and you woke up on Christmas morning and you and Andy and Derrick all ran down the stairs together and opened your gifts in front of your dad?"

Matt nodded, and the look in Shay's eyes when she met his nearly broke his heart in two. "I don't know what that feels like. Do you know what it's like to go your whole life and not remember what it's like to feel the stability of a tradition? The safety of a family? One year, one stepfather would make Christmas breakfast, the next we'd go out to eat, the next I'd go to some strange grandparent's house who I was bound to never see again."

The ocean crashed behind her as she shook her head again. "It's silly. It's stupid. But when it's your whole life... I just want to know what it's like to feel stable. To have something you can count on. Andy has that with Logan. Why is it so hard for everyone else? Why does everything have to be so hard?"

"It doesn't have to be." He brushed a strand of hair from her face, and then their eyes met again, sending a wave of pure heat through his body. Slowly, she lifted her hand to meet his and held it to her cheek, nuzzling it slowly.

"Thank you," she murmured, just low enough for him to hear her above the current.

"Any time," he said, and his voice was lower and needier than he would have liked.

This was wrong. Wrong to want her right now when she was baring her soul to him. Still, there was a part of him that wanted to lay her down and hold her, just hold her, so she could feel secure somewhere. So she would know warmth and stability, even if it was only with him.

And the idea of her stability coming from him did nothing to curb his need for her.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" she asked, and he blinked.

Even at this time of night, he knew the water wouldn't be cold, but...

"A swim?"

"I think it could be relaxing." Without warning, she pulled the hem of her shirt over her head and left it in the sand, and the ample swell of her breasts in her light pink bra was too much to tear his gaze from.

"I don't have swim trunks on. I can go get them—"

"Just swim in your boxers. Where's your sense of adventure?"

He swallowed, and she pulled her skirt down to reveal matching tiny pink panties. The second she got wet, her underwear would be completely see through. Hell, even now he could see the straining buds of her nipples through the thin fabric of her bra.

His cock surged hot and hard against his zipper, and he knew if he took his pants off now, she would see the evidence of his need. Then again, he remembered the look on her face when she'd first seen his length. The way she licked her lips before she'd taken him into her mouth just the other day...

He unbuckled his belt and slid his jeans off quickly, and then his shirt, and she stood, dusting the sand from her bottom while she waited for him to finish undressing.

It was like she did it just for him. The display of her perfect bottom in those incredibly tiny panties. He wanted to nibble her cheek, to bend her over and lick her up and down over and over until he fucked her right here on the sand.

The tent of his erection flicked, and he ran into the water ahead of her if only to have a moment of relief from his need.

It was no use, though. As soon as he turned around to see her splashing through the waves toward him, he knew he was a goner. She was just too beautiful, her eyes shining in the moonlight while the pink of her bra dampened until it was transparent.

He glanced from her breasts to her face, and when she smiled at him, he knew—this was what she'd wanted.

And if this was what she wanted?

He was damn sure going to make sure she got it.

* * *

For a moment, she didn’t walk toward him. Instead, she stood in the current, watching him as he waded through the water, his boxers dampening with each step. His pecks were unbelievable, speckled with droplets, and she wondered if his body would be warm from the heat, or if the water would have cooled him. What would that water feel like she traced his rippled muscles? What would it taste like as she kissed his neck?

Maybe it was wrong to want him like this. After all, she was vulnerable and needy. Normally, this was when she'd break out the rocky road and her favorite movie. Thinking about that, though, left her feeling hollow and sad.