Skye Morrison Vampire 2 Sins of the Father (13 page)

I flinched at the look in her eyes, quickly
stood up and took a few steps away from her. “Don’t look at me,” I
said, holding my hands up in surrender and shaking my head. “He
doesn’t love me. He doesn’t even know me. He’s only known me for
two weeks. He can’t possibly love me, Aoife.”

She growled at me and I took another step
back.

“Enough, Aoife!” Archer rumbled. “Now, if you
have any ideas about retaliation, you’d better drop them. Skye
never told me anything. She never once came to me or told me how
you were treating her. I found out on my own. I tried ignoring the
little things I saw, tried giving you time to adjust, but you were
obviously behaving far worse than I thought.” He sighed and crossed
his arms over his chest. “I will always care about you Aoife, but
you know why we can’t be together romantically. Nothing has changed
since we’ve been apart and you know it. I brought you and the rest
of the family into my home because I want to protect you and keep
you safe. Do not make me turn you away, Aoife. You are my child, my
blood, and it will kill me to do it, but I will for the greater
good of the others.”

“She is not your family!” Aoife yelled,
gesturing wildly to me with her left arm. “I am your family! Why
have you even brought her here? She does not belong with us!”

Archer stood in a flash and glared down at
her while she sat in the chair, his fists clenched dangerously
tight at his sides. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I had a feeling
the color was draining. “You do not dictate who belongs,
páistí
. You have no say in anything anymore and you will do
good to remember that. You are no longer my mate and I will not
tell you so again, Aoife. This is the last time we will have this
conversation. Do you understand me,
páistí
?”

Aoife dropped her head in submission and I
could have sworn I heard a small sob emanate from her, but I wasn’t
sure. Seconds turned to minutes as no one moved or said anything. I
wanted to turn and run for the door, but I knew Archer wasn’t done
with me yet and would only block my escape again.

Finally, Aoife lifted her head and her face
was back to being blank of all expression. “Yes, Father. I
understand you completely.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as Archer
motioned for me to sit back down next to her. I quickly shook my
head and remained where I was. I wasn’t fooled by Aoife’s
miraculous Zen transformation. I knew that under that kitten of a
mask she now wore, a true lioness prowled back and forth past the
cage in her eyes that she had only constructed for Archer’s sake. I
had been the thorn in her paw for almost a week now. The first
chance she got, she’d pluck me out and throw me away,
guaranteed.

I gathered up my courage and asked the
question that had been bothering me for days. “Why did I see you
kiss him, Aoife, if you two aren’t together?”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at
me. I could tell that she didn’t want to answer me, but would
because Archer would make her. “I kissed him because I wanted us to
be together again. I thought if I reminded him of what he was
missing, he’d come back to me. He only responded for a few seconds
before he pushed me away.”

I looked over at Archer for confirmation and
he nodded his head.
So, he didn’t make out with her
?
He
pushed her away
? Now I understood what he meant about giving
him a chance to explain. But, did this change anything? I slept
with Jameson last night. I made my choice…hadn’t I?

Archer sat back down on the edge of his desk
and crossed his arms over his chest again. “I’m sure someone told
you what happened at Skye’s house today, Aoife, so you know why she
is staying here. I’m not willing to risk an employee’s safety just
to make you happy. Now, she will be staying downstairs and you’ll
be upstairs.” Aoife quickly turned her head to glare at me. She
obviously wasn’t happy to hear I would be feet from Archer’s
private bedroom. “I fully expect you to be civil to her in this
house. You will stay away from the hallway leading to my room, my
office, and her room, is that clear? You need to realize that Skye
is part of this family now and she’s going to be around for a
while.”

Archer’s brow furrowed slightly and he took a
deep breath before continuing. “Jameson and Skye are…dating each
other, so get used to seeing her around here. Jameson’s home is her
home and we will do our best to make her comfortable in it.”

Aoife slowly turned her head to look at me,
her eyes wide and a crooked smile on her face. “Well, well,
well…you cheeky girl! I thought I smelled Jameson’s scent on you.”
Her face morphed as the news sank in. It went from being surprised,
to happy, to relieved, and then to grudgingly accepting me and my
presence here. At least I could tell she wouldn’t try to kill me in
my sleep now. She was happy that I was with Jameson and no longer
had my eye on her pseudo-husband.

“Well,” she said standing up and brushing her
sarong off. “Nice chatting with you both, but I was just on my way
out for a swim. Care to join me, Skye? The pool is lovely.”

I felt my eyes widen in shock.
Is this
bitch crazy
?
I don’t want to ‘accidentally’ drown
. I
quickly got control over my face and shook my head. “Um, no thank
you, Aoife, but I appreciate the invitation. Maybe another
time.”

She shrugged her shoulders as she walked to
the door. “Suit yourself, dear. I’ll see you both in time for
work.” With a flick of her wrist, she sashayed out the door and
quietly closed it behind her.

My eyes were still wide when I looked over at
Archer. “Has she been tested for a wide range of mental disorders?”
I asked shaking my head in disbelief.

Archer smirked before quickly frowning again.
“I told her about Jameson to keep her off you. You should be okay
with her now. If you have any more trouble, you must come and tell
me.”

I waved my hand at him dismissively. “We’ve
been through this before. I’m a big girl, Archer. I can take care
of myself.”

He walked over to me and crossed his arms
over his broad chest. “You’re not as big as you think,” he said,
looking down into my eyes.

I crossed my arms over my chest, too. “I’m
big enough. I don’t need you running to my rescue all the time,
Archer. Let me fall. If I do, I’ll dust myself off and get right
back up. The world will go on, honey.”

He considered my words a moment as he studied
my face. I cocked my eyebrow at him, determined to have him see me
as the woman I was, not the child I was sure he was seeing.

“Fight me,” he said suddenly as he took a
step back.

My eyes bulged and I glared at him like he
was crazy. “What? Have you lost your mind?”

“Fight me,” he said again as he walked over
to one of the glass drawers under the weapon’s case and withdrew a
short silver dagger. He walked back up to me and tossed it to
me.

I caught it in my hands without thinking and
was surprised when it didn’t cut me.

“It’s fake. Were it real silver, and sharp,
you could kill me by piercing my heart. Remember that,” he warned
as he lunged for me.

I squealed in surprise and turned to run for
the door. When I reached it, I heard laughter and stopped. I slowly
turned around and saw that Archer was bent over laughing. “What the
hell is so funny?” I asked angrily.

“You,” he said as he got control over
himself. “Look at you. You’re supposed to be this big girl who can
take care of herself…yet you run away from a simple sparing
match?”

I clenched my teeth and gripped the dagger
tighter in my right hand. “I…well…you just surprised me, that’s
all. Have a lethal vampire lunge for you and see how you like
it.”

Archer beckoned me over with a crook of his
index finger. I silently, slowly obeyed. “Fight me, Skye. I won’t
hurt you, I promise. You once told me that you’re skilled in the
art of Israeli Krav Maga. I want to see if you can indeed take care
of yourself. And, I want to make sure you can fight back if you’re
ever attacked. Okay?”

I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out.
He won’t hurt me
, I silently reminded myself.

“Never,” Archer said, shaking his head. “I’ll
never hurt you again, Skye.”

I gripped the eight inch dagger tighter as
his words sank in. I didn’t need to be reminded of how hurt I’d
felt over the last couple of days. It only sparked the anger inside
me again. I took another deep breath and added fuel to that spark.
I stoked the anger that had been inside of me until it had become a
roaring blaze. I was ready.

I glared at Archer in anticipation and smiled
wickedly. His eyes widened briefly as he saw what was behind mine.
He nodded his head to tell me, signaling that he was ready, and I
lunged for him, slicing the air between us with the dagger.

He easily sidestepped and flipped around me
to place me in a choke hold from behind. I stomped down hard on his
foot, elbowed him three times in the ribs, reached up and grabbed
his arm, pulling it down, as I flipped all six plus feet of his
body over me and onto the ground. Archer flashed up off the floor
and smiled as he dusted his hands off. “Good. But stop taking it
easy on me. You can’t hurt me,” he said before he lunged for me
again.

I switched the dagger to my left hand and
steadied myself as he came at me. Right before he grabbed me I
protected my head with my left hand and shot my right palm out,
quickly heel punching his nose. I paid no attention to the crack I
heard as I did the same to his throat. I extended my arms out to
grab a hold of his shoulders, but he had recovered by then.

Archer grabbed my right arm and spun around
my body to pin it behind my back. The move shocked me. What was
even more shocking was that he did it so fluidly without using his
vampire speed. I snapped out of my daze and reached my left arm
behind me to stab him in the side with the fake dagger. He easily
stopped me and pinned my left arm behind my back with the right
one. At least he had let me keep the dagger. I growled in
frustration as he maneuvered me the few feet to the wall. He pushed
my body against it and held my arms behind my back with one
hand.

“You broke my nose,” Archer said with a
chuckle. “You actually broke my nose. Good for you.”

I turned my head to look, but he was standing
too far behind me. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, babe. Let me see,”
I said sweetly.

He leaned his body against mine, pinning me
to the wall, as he brought his head over my shoulder. I turned to
look and there was blood on his nose, lip, and chin. “You pack
quite a punch for a human girl,” Archer said with a chuckle. “No
wonder Stellan was pissed when you attacked him. It hurts.”

“Aw,” I said with a tsk. “You have blood on
your chin, honey. Do you want me to get that for you?”

His eyes softened as he leaned his lower body
harder against mine. I could tell that our fighting had excited him
and I felt a familiar jolt of butterflies. His rock hard body was
pressed tightly against mine and I refused to acknowledge the
sexual thoughts that now raced through my head.
Stupid vampire
pheromones
.

Archer released one of my arms to wipe the
blood off his nose and I took that moment to strike. I head-butted
his face with the back of my head as hard as I could and spun
around him to face his back. I heard Archer growl and I wasted no
time jumping on his back, wrapping my legs around his waist, and
putting him in a chokehold. I held the fake dagger point to the
side of his throat and grinned.

“Got you,” I said with a triumphant
smile.

I felt this body rumble with a low growl as
he put his hand to his face again. When he pulled it back, there
was a lot more blood than last time. “It was almost healed and you
broke it again!” he growled.

“Oops,” I said with a tiny laugh. I was
trying my best not to gloat. I had beaten another vampire and it
felt awesome. “I thought you said I couldn’t hurt you, babe.”

I felt a ripple pass through his body as his
muscles flexed.
Uh-oh
, I thought quickly and was on my back,
on the floor with him straddling me before I finished that thought.
Jesus they can move fast
! Archer had both my hands in one of
his and they rested tightly on my lower abdomen. I looked up into
his face and immediately felt bad.

“Oh, Archer,” I said in a breathy whisper.
“I’m so sorry. I…I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

Blood painted his lower face, neck and the
top of his shirt. His eyes were completely, beautifully blue, so I
knew he wasn’t too mad at me. “You used your feminine wiles to
trick me,” he said with a cock of his eyebrow. “Well played. But
how are you going to get out of this one, Miss Morrison?”

I took a good look at his body and mine. He
was sitting on my hips and he had both of my hands locked down
right under where my belly button was located. He wasn’t taking his
eyes off of me and smiled when he saw the moment I realized that I
couldn’t get out of his hold. “Well, how about a kiss for the
winner?” I asked with a smile.

Archer laughed. “I’m not falling for that
one, Skye. I’m not that gullible.”

I smiled widely and wagged my eyebrows. “Not
gullible. Okay, how about drop-dead sexy then?”

He threw his head back and laughed and I took
that moment to act. I brought my legs up, sat up as much as I
could, leaning his body further back, and I scissored Archer’s
throat between my ankles, pulling him back and off of me. I quickly
rolled him and straddled his waist just as he had done me. Only
this time, I had the dagger pointed at his heart.

He was breathing hard as he looked up into my
eyes. “Nice move,” Archer said with a smile. “I didn’t see that
coming at all.”

“I know,” I said grinning.