Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
When he lies down beside me, he pulls his fingers out of my ass, and I immediately feel empty…alone.
“I’ll get something to clean you up,” he says.
“No.” I rub his cum into my skin, wish it were inside me.
“Okay. I…”
This is where he goes. This is where I’m normally leaving. There’s no point in staying. “I’ll lock the door behind you.”
“I was going to ask if I could stay.” He wraps an arm around my waist, kisses my shoulder, so close to Ella’s tattoo. “Can I stay, East?”
Say no, say no, say no.
“I don’t care. Fine by me.”
Archer smiles like I just gave him some kind of gift, then leans over me and turns off the lamp before pulling me into his arms.
He falls asleep, but I can’t. I’m not the best sleeper on a good day—my past often coming back in nightmares. Most of the time, I can deal with them, work through them and distract myself, but some are worse than others. Nightmares aside, I’ve never slept in bed with someone like this before. And though he’s right beside me, it still doesn’t feel close enough.
CHAPTER TEN
Archer
My body is good at automatically waking up on time. I’ve never been the type who needs an alarm clock, my internal one kicking in early every morning.
I’m surprised that East didn’t pull out of my hold all night. He doesn’t seem like he’d be a real cuddly guy. I take a moment to look at him. He’s on his side, facing away from me. His eyes are closed, his features softer than usual. Like normally he’s trying so damn hard for something—what, I don’t know—but in this moment, he’s not fighting anything.
I wanted so bad to fuck him last night, but I also want to be careful with him. I want him to know that as much as I desire him, it’ll always be important to me to do what’s right for him too. Not in a way that says I don’t believe East can take care of himself—he’s been doing that for too long—but in a way that he knows he doesn’t have to. That no matter what, I’ll be good to him.
I kiss his shoulder, and his eyes pop open. He stiffens for a moment, and then his brows pinch together in this cute way they do when he’s thinking about something.
“I fell asleep.”
“People tend to do that at night.” I kiss his temple, let my lips linger there a moment. As soon as I pull back, East sits up on the edge of the bed.
I move over behind him so my legs are on each side of him, my chest against his back. “This okay?”
“Who knew you were like a fucking starfish?”
I laugh. The thing is, I’m usually not. It just feels right being close to him. I hope it’s soothing something inside him, and in doing that, it will soothe something inside me too. “I gotta head out. I have work, but I need to go home first.” My uniform is there, and my firearm is locked in my safe. “Can I see you tonight?”
“You have eyes, don’t you?”
“Someone is grumpy in the morning,” I tease.
“If you haven’t realized I’m grumpy all the time, you’re not paying attention.”
“True, but inside I think you’re a big old marshmallow.”
He chuckles. “Whatever. You know I’ll be here. Get some condoms so you can fuck me this time. If you’re gonna be here, I should at least get an orgasm out of it.”
I’d be an idiot not to see what he’s doing, that East is using sex as a way to allow himself to spend more time with me, that if he can come up with a reason for us to hang out, it will be easier for him. Maybe I’m just full of myself, but I think he wants me around. He called me last night, and that had to be so fucking hard for him…and the way he clutched me, the way he wanted me inside him so damn much, makes me feel like he’s touch starved, and when we’re together, he allows himself to get something he needs.
I want to be that for him, and not just because I want to fuck him, but because he’s East and he’s already got me wrapped around his damn finger more than he’ll ever believe. It’ll be a fine line to walk, but I can find a way for us to lose ourselves in each other’s bodies, while also showing him that’s not the only reason I’m here. That his friendship, or whatever the fuck this is, means more to me than just that.
“I can do that. And if you want, we can also get tested. I need to anyway.”
He shrugs like it doesn’t matter to him, but then says, “That’d make things easier.”