You Belong With Me (With Me in Seattle 14)

“You wouldn’t be standing here now if you had,” I remind him. “And that would have destroyed me. I did what I had to do. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you whole.”

He tips his forehead against mine.

“That’s the whole story. You know everything now, Archer. My family is more ruthless than you could ever imagine. Every cliché, every rumor you’ve ever heard about the mafia is true, and in some cases, worse. They kill people, they run drugs. They hide money. They’re bullies. But if you’re part of the family, you’re in for life. There’s no leaving.”

“You left,” he reminds me.

“I escaped. And only because my parents were murdered, and my grandmother was worried that I would be the next target. I got lucky. But I don’t know how long this is going to last for me.”

“I won’t let anyone touch you ever again,” he pledges and brushes his lips over my chin, then up to my lips. “I’ll keep you safe, Elena. I swear it.”

“I’ve missed you so much,” I admit. My heart rips open wide and feels so full of joy that he’s here. “It terrifies me that you insist on staying, but God, it’s so good to feel you. To talk to you.”

“I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”

His fingers draw light circles over my back, making my nipples tighten in anticipation of receiving the same attention. I push my hands up into his hair and hold on as he takes the kiss deeper and guides me back to his massive bed. He lowers me and then covers me with his hard body. He’s familiar and new at the same time, filling my senses in new and exciting ways.

Archer and I were together sexually when we were young. Still, it didn’t happen often, and only in the last few months of us being together. I was a good Catholic girl, and I was young. Archer was patient, and when we did finally have sex, it was sweet and loving. Innocent.

And usually, it was quick. Not because he had no stamina, but because of our schedules and our families. Getting caught was always a concern.

So, taking our time to truly explore each other never happened until our wedding night.

Three days later, it was over.

“Stop thinking so hard.” His voice is rough with lust as he kisses down my neck. “Say the word, and this ends.”

“Definitely don’t stop,” I reply with a grin and then sigh when his hand glides behind my knee and begins to make small, soft circles that trail up the inside of my thigh, making my pussy tighten in joy. “Oh, man, that feels good.”

“Your skin is so fucking soft.” His fingertip brushes over the W, and he pauses. “Look down, E.”

“Huh?” I open my eyes and find him staring down at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

“Look down,” he repeats and glances down to my thigh, where he’s tracing the W on my skin. “When we look down like this, it doesn’t look like a W at all. It looks like an—”

“M,” I say with him and feel the last knot in my stomach break free.

“Montgomery,” he says, his grin cocky, and then kisses me once more before moving those talented fingers in toward the part of me that’s been longing for him for a dozen years. “Ah, baby.”

I gasp as his finger slips inside, and when he pushes a second one in with it, I feel the orgasm gather at the base of my spine.

“Archer.”

“Yes, sweetheart. Let go. I’m right here.”

I fall apart, my back arches, my toes curl. And he’s there, murmuring sweet words and caressing my neck with his lips as I float back to Earth.

“I don’t have condoms,” he admits with a growl. “And trust me when I say, I want to punch myself in the face for not getting some.”

I laugh and shake my head. “I’ve been on the pill for years.”

His eyes light up again. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. We’re good.”

He links our fingers and presses them into the mattress near my head. “Are you sure?”

“Archer, I’m gonna need you to get a move on here.”

His lips twitch as he fumbles with his clothes. Then he’s braced over me once more, kissing me softly and thoroughly as he pushes in gently, inch by inch, until he’s fully seated inside me.

“Christ Jesus, Elena. How is it better than I remember?”

“Because it’s now.” I lift my legs higher on his hips, opening myself to him even more. “And because it’s right.”* * *I don’t even know how much sex I’ve had with Archer over the past few days. I’m quite sure it’s more than all of the times we did it put together when we were young.

Maybe we’re making up for lost time.

Or maybe we’re creating memories to hold on to when he’s gone, and I’m left alone again.