Free Matt Archer: Legend by Kendra C. Highley Page B

sweat as she played with the buttons on my shirt, undoing
them one by one. “That’s what I thought you said.”
    I didn’t ask myself why she
was being so aggressive. No, all I could think about was her fingers working on
those buttons. Her face was so close. Without a single thought in my head, I
pulled her close and kissed her. Sami was tiny, much littler than … .nope, wasn’t
gonna think about her . I let my hands wander and Sami didn’t object. Far
from it. Her skin was warm and soft and totally yielding.
    Sami pulled off my
button-down then wrestled my t-shirt over my head. I burned all over like I had
a fever—this was actually happening. I slid my hand up from her knee to her
thigh while Sami traced the various scars on my chest and stomach.
    “Wow. You have an accident?”
    Her touch was light, tickling
a little, and my muscles tightened, almost like they wanted to demand her
attention. “Um … they’re from snowboarding. I’m kind of a daredevil,
take courses I shouldn’t.”
     “I like a guy who takes
risks. It’s hot.” Sami pressed her body against mine and the lace from her bra
scratched my chest. My ability to think dissolved.
    Before long, we were tangled
up together on her bed. Sami was still in her underwear, and I was close to it,
seeing as how she’d undone the fly on my jeans. She crawled on top of me,
kissing me with her blond hair spread out, curtaining our faces. Her hands were
roaming all over, and my eyes rolled back in my head.
    I wouldn’t lie—it felt great
to have someone want me. Sami wouldn’t push me away. I took risks. I had a
feeling if I told her everything about my life, she’d just want me more.
    I reached around to take off
her bra, but couldn’t seem to make sense of the strap. What were bra designers
thinking? Guys shouldn’t need a degree in engineering to undo the dang things.
I gave it a few yanks, but nothing happened. Finally, I slipped her shoulder
strap off, thinking I’d work around it.
    Sami bit my lower lip … just a little
tug, but it gave me all kinds of good shivers. “Hurry up, Matt. I can’t wait
forever.”
    Neither could I.
    Oh, really?
    Something cold slithered down
my spine and my brain picked right then to remind me what I’d planned to tell
her. I stopped messing with her bra strap, needing to make a decision. I didn’t
care about her. Not even a little bit. Sami was nice, fun, and …
    Convenient.
    On the other hand, I might
die in a few weeks. Did I really want to go out as a virgin?
    What does that matter,
when you’re betraying my trust? Tink
asked . You don’t like it when I’m angry, do you?
    I should’ve known Tink would
butt in. And that she would get her way.
    “Sami, stop.”
    I rolled out from under her,
kicking myself for giving up such an easy opportunity. Sometimes having an
overactive conscience really blew, especially when part of that conscience
wasn’t even my own. The blade-spirit and I were going to have to get our
priorities straight, no doubt about it. I didn’t belong to her like some kind
of indentured servant.
    On the other hand … the warning did
give me a good excuse to leave before I made things worse.
    “What’s wrong?” Sami asked,
sounding out of breath. She put her arms around my neck and tried to pull me
back down.
    I seriously considered caving
it. It might make me feel better, even if only for a little while.
    You will not feel better,
Matt. You know I’m right, otherwise you wouldn’t be arguing with me. Or with
yourself.
    Stupid knife-spirit.
    I stood up with my back to Sami
and redid my fly with shaking fingers. “Sami, I can’t do this with you.”
    “Why not?” She sounded
confused and hurt. Probably wondering why someone wouldn’t want her. The
problem was that I did—just not enough.
    I pulled my t-shirt on, still
not looking at her, and grabbed my button-down from the floor. I took my time
buttoning it, leaving the tail untucked to hide the evidence of just how much
she was