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)
“Yes, you should have. You can always count on me. I’ll always be there for you, and I’ll always want you too.”
Damned if I don’t want to believe him. What is it about Archer Thorn that reaches me at depths I didn’t know I had?
“Where are you?”
“About to leave Rhett’s. On my way home now.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
“I…” Thank you. Why do you like me? How do I make sure I don’t lose you? Would you still like me if you knew I told Ella where to hide?
“You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart. I want to be the person you call. And not only that, I want you to be the person I call too.”
I nod as if he can see me. It’s so hard after a lifetime of negative thinking, of cruel words being hammered into me, not to always envision worst-case scenarios, not to always think negatively about myself. But I want to change. Ella would want that for me…and Morgan does too. And Rhett, and Archer. “See you soon.” I end the call and drive home, pulse thumping too fast the whole way.
When I pull up in front of my house, Archer is already there. He’s leaning against his car, waiting for me, arms crossed. When I get out, he smiles. It’s so big, it nearly takes over his whole face, and all I can think is…how? How can someone be that happy just to see me?
I shake my head. “I don’t understand you.”
“But you called me, and you want me. You told me so. I’m gonna wear that as a badge of honor.”
I roll my eyes, but hearing him say that makes my heart grow. It had been shriveled up before, like a plant I never watered, that no one watered until Archer, and while it’s not thriving yet, I’m afraid to be hopeful that it’s coming back to life.
“I want your cock,” I tease, walking up to him and palming his bulge. Which is true, but that doesn’t feel like enough. I can’t wrap my mind around exactly what I’m feeling, what I can handle, but it’s not just the sex. “And no one else’s.” I nuzzle into Archer’s throat, and he tilts it, giving me access. “My head was fucked up…I wanted to do something reckless…but then I thought about you, and it helped. You always help. From that first night years ago when you sat in the dirt with me.” I kiss him, lick his collarbone. “I have no idea why you do it, but I’m so fucking thankful that you do.”
“Jesus, East.” He grabs my face and crushes our mouths together. My words were so simple, it makes me realize I don’t give him enough. I feel how much he appreciates them, how much he wants them in the sweep of his tongue and the eager, possessive way he kisses me. I vow to try and do better, to be the kind of person Archer deserves, and maybe he’ll want to keep me.
He nibbles my lip, then takes over my mouth again. I push closer, wishing there was a way I could sink inside him because Archer feels like the only safe place I’ve ever had.
I groan needily when his hands slide down my body, holding my ass. I want him to push inside me, fill me in the way he does that makes me feel less alone, like I’m connected to someone or something when my whole life has been spent untethered.
“You hungry for it? Your hole needy for me, good boy?”
“Yes. God yes.”
“Me too.” He unbuttons and unzips my jeans right there in the driveway, sucks his finger, then shoves his hand down the back of my pants. I spread my legs for him, Archer’s finger slipping between my cheeks to rub my rim. “This is what you need, isn’t it? I need it too.”
“Fuck,” escapes my lips when the tip of his finger pushes in. “Don’t know why having you inside me makes me feel this way.”
He slides it in and out. There’s not a whole lot of lubricant, and it’s a little rough, but damned if I don’t need it anyway, if it doesn’t make me feel good.
Archer cups my cheek with his other hand, angling my face so I’m looking at him. “You deserve to feel good. I’ll do everything in my power to make you feel that way.”
I nod. He will. I don’t doubt that, and right now, it doesn’t matter if I understand why. I just need it and want to find a way to earn it.
“My results came through,” Archer says. “Negative.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Deeper. And me too. Negative.”
He pushes his finger in more, making me melt against him again. I wish we had lube. I’d let him take me right here. I could take him without it, but I know Archer won’t.