I’ve never heard Archer lie, but he was really bad at it. “Sure you won’t…” I mumble, crawling behind Abigail and Matt/Mike in a soldier crawl. I wonder where the rest of the group was, we had at least four other teammates for yellow.
Abigail gets behind a tree, and I mentally applaud her stealth. Who was Abigail before she went into marketing?
Suddenly, she jerks to the left, and the shooting starts again. I see a red member come out of where they were hiding, head hanging in defeat. Abigail whoops and we follow her lead. I hear a branch snap to the left and swing, clumsily holding the gun up and yelping as I shoot.
“What? Are you serious?” The guy removes his helmet and I see Jeff standing there in shock.
“Ha!” Abigail chants, fist in the air. She quickly turns back to us as Jeff walks off and I glance around, looking for Archer. I know he’s around somewhere. “Man, I’m going to be able to hold that over his head forever!”
I chuckle at Abigail, loving the fun relationship she and her husband have.
Suddenly, we’re being ambushed and Matt/Mike gets shot, and so does Abigail who nudges me to the ground and tells me to go.
I crawl away from them as they walk out of the woods and back to the camp area where the defeated reside. I wish I was one of them. It’s equal parts ready to be defeated and never wanting to give up due to my competitive nature.
I see a red vest up ahead and get up onto my knees, ducking behind a tree and trying to calm my breath.
I aim and fire the paintballs, missing and hitting the ground by their feet. I curse and then try again, not stopping until I see paint smeared on their chest. I’m far enough away that I don’t hear what they say but they hang their head and walk off.
Whew, okay. How many more of these guys to go?
I hear someone behind me and spin just as I’m rushed and sent to the ground, a whoosh of air blows out of my mouth and I land on the ground with a thump, a body straddling my own and the owner rips off his helmet to reveal the very smug and cute face of Archer.
“I knew I’d find you here, honey pie.”
I sigh and lay my head back, ripping the hot and muggy helmet/mask off. “You know, I’m starting to rethink that name.”
“Nah, it’s ours now. You made sure of that.” He smirks at me and holds the gun up. “I should shoot you… but I’m not sure I can.”
“No, no, go ahead. You won fair and square.” I rarely ever admit defeat and maybe Archer realizes that because he gives me a confused grin. Like he’s deciding if he can trust me or not.
“How about a different prize for me then?” His voice goes low and gravelly and I wonder what he’s thinking about. Due to the adrenaline that’s been coursing through my body since we started this whole game, I haven’t had much time to let my thoughts wander to the kiss we shared.
The kiss that will haunt me for the rest of my days as the best one of my life.
“Oh? What were you thinking?”
“Mm, I was thinking… how about another kiss?” Heat gathers in my low belly. I have never in my life had such a visceral reaction to someone’s words before. But maybe it’s not just that, maybe it’s the molten look in his eyes, the way his sweat is dropping down the side of his face, or the way he’s straddling my body.
Then again, it could be just the fact that the man I’ve loved forever is on top of me, looking like I’m a delicious snack he’d like to devour.
“Hmm, I’m not sure that’s a fair trade.”
“I think it would be,” he answers before he leans in closer. My brain says to play it smart and coy, but my body says, come. To. Mama! And I rush up to meet his lips. Like the first time, all I can focus on is the contact between his skin and mine, the way he cups the back of my neck, below my ponytail where sweat has made me slick. His other hand starts to move beneath me when I see and feel paintballs being shot our way.
Our lips separate and Archer lies down on top of me, blocking the paintballs coming at us. “Shit. I was hit.”
“Oops.” I giggle and he stands, a grin still on his face when he offers me a hand up.
An air horn blows in the distance, signaling the end of the game and we make our way back hand in hand.
“Sad you lost?”
Archer shrugs. “Eh.” He looks down at me, and I try to hold in the beaming smile that threatens to blossom on my lips. “It was worth it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“There was a time and a place to act like the boss, it’s very rarely at your place of work. The best bossing I do, is in the bedroom.” – Quinn