Chapter 7: The Taste of Him

*Rosie Fay-Donovan*

If Sienna had told me that Archie and I would kiss for the first time tonight, I’d have laughed in her face. Saying he’d be smitten by me was one thing, but pressing me against a wall in the middle of a business event and kissing me like his life depended on it was definitely not in my wildest dreams.

But even though I wanted to reason with myself and understand what the hell was going on, I couldn’t focus on it for long. Archie had his hands roaming all over my body, and I could feel the heat of his skin burning mine through the thin silk fabric of my dress.

I never felt so desired before in my life. Nor have I desired someone so much as I was desiring him now. His lips were hard on mine, exploring every inch of my mouth as his hands explored the curves beneath my dress.

My own hands were splayed out on his chest, feeling the muscles under it, imagining how it’d feel to touch him without so many layers of clothes.

As his lips traveled down my neck, a moan escaped my throat and I mumbled his name, delirious with want. How could someone make me feel so good with just a kiss? I wondered what it would feel like to be claimed by Archie, to have him say I was his and no one else’s. He had said something similar, hadn’t he?

That he’d never allow anyone to touch me but him? What did he mean by that? Did that mean our marriage was going to become a real one after tonight? Was I stupid to believe in such a thing?

“F*ck, Rosie, how can you do this to me?” Archie murmured against my ear, and I was glad he was holding me tight, otherwise, my legs would have failed me.

He was breathless, and so was I, but I never wanted it to stop. I was afraid if I pulled away from him to take a breath, the spell would end as soon as it started. I just wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as I could.

I lifted one of my arms and tangled my fingers in his hair, feeling the softness of his buzz cut and his curly hair. As I tugged on it slightly, I felt his fingers gripping my hip and he pushed himself harder against me.

My body was glued against the wall, and I wished I had more mobility to wrap my legs around his waist and end that small distance between our cores. I wished I could feel him inside me.

“Archie—” I whispered, but before I had the chance to complete my sentence, his lips claimed mine again, interrupting my thoughts once more.

I could feel my insides burning and the wetness between my legs increasing as he pressed his hardness against me.

A moan escaped my throat again and I bit his lower lip, enticing him even more.

What was he waiting for to f*ck me here and now?

“Archie, I want you,” I muttered against his mouth, feeling the scent of his cologne poisoning my senses.

As if my words had shocked him back into reality, his hands stopped on my waist and he snapped his eyes open, staring at me as if he had just woken up from a dream.

“W-What?” I managed to stammer as I stared into his dark eyes. “Archie…” I grabbed the lapel of his tuxedo and pulled him back toward me, but he didn’t budge.

Instead, he released me completely and took a step back, straightening his clothes, running his fingers through his hair, and taking a deep breath. His eyes weren’t on me anymore. Archie was looking around, either making sure no one had seen us or trying to compose himself.

Something told me it was both, but I couldn’t care less. I was still bewildered, numb with what had just happened. My mind was in a frenzy, trying to make sense of everything.

What got into us? Was Archie so jealous that he had to kiss me and almost claim me here just to prove a point? I could not believe that was the case, but I also couldn’t think of anything else to explain his behavior.

As my thoughts ran wild, I tried to compose myself. My body was stiff with arousal and the wetness between my legs was now starting to bother me, so it took me a while to come back to normal.

I took a deep breath as I also straightened my dress, thankful that the fabric hadn’t torn with Archie rubbing against it.

“Sh*t.” I heard him grumble to himself and my head snapped up to look at him.

He looked distraught. I’d even say a bit guilty.

Was that how he saw what we had just done? As if he should feel guilty for kissing me?

I wanted to ask, to argue, but no words came out of my mouth. Instead, I remained still, staring at him and waiting for him to say something, anything at all to break the uncomfortable silence between us.

Archie cleared his throat, and when his eyes returned to me, I was glad I was still leaning against the wall. The intensity in them was too much for me to handle.

“Rosie, I—”

“If you’re going to say you’re sorry, keep it to yourself,” I snapped, interrupting him immediately. I didn’t know what came over me, but if he tried to apologize for kissing me, I was going to lose it. I was on the verge of crying already, feeling unwanted and undesired.

Even though he seemed as aroused as I was while we were kissing, there was no way for me to know if he felt and wanted the same as me. Archie was an enigma—one I was probably never going to decipher.

His eyes traveled down my body, but not in a way I could say was from lust, but rather analyzing what he had done. I was sure I looked at least a bit messy, if not flushed. I could feel my lips tickling, probably a bit swollen from all the kissing.

“I think we should head home.” These were the words that came out of his mouth instead.

For a brief moment, my heart filled itself with hope that he would be suggesting we continue whatever this was at home. I pondered asking him what he meant by that, but truth be told, I was not in the mood to stay at the party any longer. I wanted to spend some time with his father and Audrey, and some old friends I had encountered, but after this, I just wanted to go somewhere I could drop my guard and be myself.

Home was definitely the best choice.

I lowered my eyes, unable to look at him any longer, but nodded, signaling I agreed with him. I straightened my back and pushed myself off the wall.

“I'll go get my purse. I’ll meet you at the car,” I said, walking down the hallway and heading back to the ballroom.

Archie didn’t say anything, but I could hear his steps behind me. I didn’t look back though to see if he was following me or heading toward the car. I simply marched inside and tried to get to my purse without bumping into anyone.

I didn’t want to explain why I was leaving already. And I knew that if Audrey saw me, she’d shower me with questions.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice me, so I grabbed my purse, headed to the exit door, out to the cold night breeze, and climbed into Archie’s black SUV, feeling my heart shrinking in my chest and my eyes burning with unshed tears.

What a terrible end to what was supposed to be a beautiful night.