Liar (Madison Kate #2)(100)

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 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?"

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 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.