“Oh!” She cried out with a gasp as a woman accidentally bumped into her, pushing Cassie forward as she walked past.
Torn from her thoughts, she stumbled forward and started to fall. But just as she was seconds away from performing a spectacular, arm-flailing faceplant in front of God and everyone—a video that would no doubt go viral in minutes—a pair of strong, masculine hands grabbed hold of her hips and pulled.
The abrupt change in motion had her stumbling backward, toward the source of the hands. Before she could keep it from happening, Cassie found her entire backside smacked flat against Archer’s front.
The tempting man kept her steady, his grip was unwavering as he made sure she wasn’t going to lose her balance once more. His hands felt strong yet gentle as his fingers curled around her in what she could only describe as a protector’s hold.
Cassie’s heart raced with the rush of adrenaline from the near mishap. Against her back, she felt Archer’s beating to a powerful, even staccato. She could also feel the hard lines and curves of his muscular form.
That’s not all that’s hard.
A low curse reached her ears a breath before Archer jerked back. Putting several inches between his body and hers, he sounded angry when asking, “Are you okay?”
Doing everything in her power to forget what she’d just felt, Cassie gave her head a quick nod. “Yeah.” She breathed. Her racing heart began to slow its fast pace. “I’m okay.”
“People need to watch where they’re going.”
The growled statement was loud enough for others to hear, which she suspected, was the man’s point.
“It’s okay, Archer.” She turned, regretting it instantly when his hands fell back to his sides. “It was an accident.”
“Not so sure about that.” His focus was on something behind her.
Glancing over her shoulder, Cassie realized what he meant.
The woman who’d bumped into her was looking back at them, a snide smirk spread across her Botox-filled lips. With an arched, pencil-thin brow, she slowly turned her hoity-toity self around and continued on her way.
And then she and the two women walking with her began to laugh.
Definitely no accident.
“Ignore them.”
The gruff order pulled her away from the snobby socialites and back to Archer. No longer watching the immature women, his sunglass-covered eyes were staring directly down at her.
Embarrassed, Cassie looked away with a whispered, “Thanks.”
“Look at me.”
Another rough command she followed without question.
Bringing her gaze back to his, she had to force her lungs to work when he reached up and slid those glasses to the top of his handsome head. The browns in his eyes darkened, his expression so intense it sent her heart racing once again.
“Those women are miserable bitches hiding behind too many fillers and their daddy’s money. You can’t let people like that get to you. The minute you do, they win.”
Her chest tightened, and her lower belly tingled. She hadn’t felt even the tiniest amount of interest in men or sex in…forever. Not with Russ or any other man.
Not after everything he’d put her through.
But here she was, standing in a freaking cemetery of all places—a handful of yards away from her husband’s freshly dug grave, no less—and she was more aroused than she’d been in over a year.
I am so going to hell.
“Yeah, we’re good.” Archer spoke to his team through the tiny earpiece he’d told her about earlier. “What about you guys?All good on your end?” There was a long pause, and Cassie knew he was listening to his teammates’ responses. And then, “Copy that. I’ll let you know when we’re on the move.”
Squinting a bit from the sun, she stared up at him in awe. Black suit, tactical sunglasses, an almost indiscernible earwig so he can talk to the team of hidden warriors, watching their backs…
He was seriously like the sexiest, most tempting superspy the world had ever known.