His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 170

Outside the window lay the glittering night view of London's historic center. The distant church steeples were illuminated, and the snow was still falling.

When the menus arrived, Katya flipped through hers and effortlessly rattled off a long list of orders to the waiter.

"Don't look at me like that, Archer. I'm nursing a broken heart today, so I'm eating my feelings."

She stabbed a piece of bread with her fork and tilted her head at Virginia. "Ginny, are you sure you won't reconsider the race car driver? His body was absolutely—"

"Katya," Archer warned, setting down his silverware with a deep frown.

Katya threw her hands up in mock surrender, shrinking back into her seat to dutifully eat her food.

Virginia kept her head down, slicing into her steak. Even from her periphery, she could feel the blistering heat of the man's gaze beside her.

Before this, he had refused to release her hand. From the café, into the elevator, all the way to their seats—for several excruciating minutes, he had kept her locked in his grasp.

He had only let go when she physically needed to use her utensils.

But the very second she set her fork down, his large hand covered hers once more.

Virginia gave an imperceptible frown, her fingers flinching.

Archer acted like he didn't notice. Keeping her hand tightly wrapped in his, he lowered his head.

His cool lips brushed against the back of her hand.

The kiss was feather-light, lingering for less than a second, yet steeped in profound devotion.

Katya slammed her cutlery onto her plate. "I literally cannot look at this."

Who said this man was cold and rigid? As far as she could tell, he was a lethal seducer without even realizing it!

...

After parting ways with Katya at the entrance, Virginia finally yanked her hand out of his grip.

This time, Archer didn't force her back, though his dark eyes grew even more intense.

Stepping back to put a healthy distance between them, Virginia spoke up. "Archer, we—"

"Come with me somewhere."

Vanderbilt Group UK Branch.

Approaching eleven o'clock at night, the entire corporate building was cloaked in darkness.

Archer swiped his keycard and led the way inside. The motion-sensor lights flickered to life as they passed the deserted reception desk and empty hallways.

The sixth floor: The laboratory.

Virginia followed him inside and immediately spotted the silver-white robot, roughly four feet tall, standing right in the center of the room.

Its round head featured two glowing blue dots acting as eyes.

Its design was surprisingly charming—not bulky at all, with sleek lines and finely polished joints.

"What is this?"

"A smart housekeeping robot," Archer said, walking over and tapping the touch panel on its head. The blue dots flared brighter. "Helix Gen 3. It just passed internal beta testing last week."

The robot emitted a soft whir, slowly pivoting to "look" directly at Virginia.