27. Shane
Chapter 27
Shane
Archer needed a few minutes to gather an overnight bag. Normally, I’d have given him the choice of where he wanted to spend the night, but my house was quieter and far more private. And it had the massive bathtub he seemed to enjoy. I planned to make use of it again.
Cyrus’s reaction to everything had caught me completely off-guard. I’d expected a little bit of grumbling, but nothing could have prepared me for how angry he’d been. He could be grumpy, everyone who knew him was aware of that. But this was next level… and it was bullshit.
Archer came downstairs with a backpack slung over a shoulder. The circles under his eyes were so dark they looked like bruises. For the past few years, if I saw a problem, I fixed it. A friend needed something, I stepped in and gave it to them. Mom’s house needed a new roof? No problem. I could fix that.
But this wasn’t something I could throw money at and make it go away. There was no amount of money in the world that would patch the rift between Archer and Cyrus. They had to do that on their own. Knowing this left me feeling restless. Helpless. It wasn’t a feeling I was used to anymore.
“Are we ready to go?” Archer asked, sliding in next to me and wrapping an arm around my waist. I draped one over his shoulder and held him tight.
“Yeah. Vivian’s got everything in hand. ”
He glanced around the kitchen. “Cyrus is going to shit if he sees the kitchen like this.”
I had to agree. It wasn’t messy, but it wasn’t how Cyrus would have left it. Trev had done his best after Ethan finished up the last of the orders.
“Well, if he wanted it done his way, he should have stayed. I can come in tomorrow and get it straightened out.”
“You don’t need to fix it for him,” Archer told me as he tugged me toward the back door. “He’s not going to quit or anything.”
“I wish I was sure about that.”
We left the bar hand in hand, his slender fingers looped loosely through mine. We drove home that way too, our hands linked in the space between us. Archer rolled his window down and the breeze rushing in made me think of the road trips I’d been on as a kid before Dad died. Trips through mountain passes and dusty gravel roads. Getting lost. Getting found. Dad’s unflappable nature.
“We should go on a road trip some time,” I told Archer.
“I’ve never been on a road trip.”
“Then we definitely need to. We can take short ones to start with. A weekend here or there.”
I stole a glance at him. He stared out the window, trouble still lingering in his expression.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.”
Archer heaved out a sigh. “I wish I had your faith in that. I’m not used to things going my way.”
The rest of the drive was quiet. Archer didn’t seem to be into entertaining the idea of a road trip so I’d have to find some other way to get his mind off of the fight he’d had with his brother. I never realized that Cyrus had been such an important figure in Archer’s upbringing. It was clear to me now that his emotions weren’t that of a protective older brother, but more like a worried father.
Coming home with Archer next to me gave me a light, tingly sensation in my stomach. I could imagine a future here with him. Now that I hired Vivian to step in as manager, I’d have more free time. I wanted to help Mom out with the house more often. I also wanted to fix up the attic space for Archer. Hiring someone would be easier, but I kind of wanted to do it myself.
Archer followed me inside and kicked off his shoes. Wrapping my arms around him, I pulled him close and slanted our mouths together.
Unlike other kisses we’d shared, there was no urgency in this kiss. It was slow and lacked the heat to lead anywhere. It was comfort and reassurance and I was glad I could be that for him. I knew this wasn’t a problem I could solve, but I hoped it was solvable. The thought that I could’ve come between the brothers was a knife in my gut.
Archer pulled away and curled into me, resting his forehead against my chest. He took a deep breath.
“Did you want to call him?” I asked.
“No. I don’t.”
“Maybe he’s had time to calm down and we can explain.”
Archer stiffened in my arms. Lifting his head, he looked me in the eyes. His brow was pinched and he looked irritated.
“This thing with Cyrus isn’t only about you and me. It’s about him acting like a parent instead of my brother. It’s about a lot of things that don’t have anything to do with you. We were just the catalyst. The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.” Archer’s frustration overflowed, pouring out of him. I’d never seen him in a state of irritation quite like this one.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked.
“You’re going to be mad if I tell you. ”
Archer reached for me. Wrapping a hand around the back of my neck, he pulled me down to him. Fuck yes, I could get behind him using me to vent his frustrations on. My dick throbbed, suddenly very interested in what was going on.
“Tell me.”
“I was just thinking that when you’re mad—”
“I’m not mad. I’m annoyed,” Archer clarified.
“Okay then, when you’re annoyed, you remind me of a hedgehog. All cute and spikey.”
Archer narrowed his eyes at me and the hand on my neck moved to my shoulder. With the slightest bit of pressure, I let him guide me to the floor. On my knees for him was exactly where I wanted to be. Sliding my hands up his legs, he nodded when I reached for his fly.
“I don’t look like a hedgehog,” Archer protested, glaring down at me.
“The cutest, angriest hedgehog.”
He gripped the back of my head and ground his cock against my face. I hadn’t freed him from the confines of his briefs yet. I opened my mouth, doing my best to try and taste him through the fabric.
“You need to talk less.”
“Do you have a specific way you plan to shut me up?” I looked up and watched Archer’s eyes flash.
“You have three seconds to get my cock in your mouth.”
I’d like to think that I did it in one second, because the minute he spoke, I yanked his briefs down and took him in my mouth. Archer swore. His hips bucked forward, forcing more of his length into my mouth.
“That’s right,” he encouraged me as he sank his hands into my hair. “Not so mouthy now, are you? ”
Taking that as a challenge, I swirled my tongue around the head, then flattened it against the underside of his cock and took him as deep as I could go before pulling back to do it again. Archer’s grip in my hair tightened and his hips thrust gently. But I didn’t want him to be gentle. I wanted him to own me.
I pulled back and looked up at him again. His cock bobbed in the air in front of me, glistening and wet. Silent, I opened my mouth and didn’t move. It took all of two seconds for him to understand what I wanted him to do.
He grinned at me, looking feral, like a predator looming above me. My scalp stung when he shoved his fingers into my hair and tugged, yanking me closer. His cock slid into my mouth like it belonged there and the groan that tore out of Archer had me pressing the heel of my hand against my dick, urging it to behave.
“God, Shane. Your mouth was made for this.” He thrust forward, burying his cock into my throat. Tears stung my eyes and they fluttered shut. “Eyes on me,” Archer said. Commanded.
I obeyed, opening them and gazing up at him like he was a god that I was worshipping. A deity whom I’d gladly kneel for. He clung to me as his cock slid in and out of my mouth at a steady pace. Tears pooled and spilled, running down my cheeks. Archer swiped them away with his thumbs. The sharp predatory gaze was gone from his expression, leaving a softer look. Something fond and sweet and just for me.
“I need to fuck you,” Archer said. “Need to be inside you.”
I fucking whimpered because I needed that too. The turmoil with Cyrus had left me feeling shaken, I realized. And now that Archer had voiced that he wanted me, I needed him inside me. Needed to feel like he was choosing me, even though I’d never ask him to make that choice .
His grip tightened. My scalp sang, screaming as he tugged my head back. His cock came out of my mouth, but before I could protest, he’d replaced it with his tongue. His body curled around mine like a comma as he licked his way inside my mouth. I hoped I tasted like him. I wanted him to kiss me and know who I belonged to. I was irrevocably Archer’s.
“Get to the bedroom, get naked, bend your ass over that bed, and wait for me.” Archer released me and I scrambled to obey. Getting awkwardly to my feet, I half stumbled through the house to my bedroom, shedding my shirt on the way. By the time I was entering my room, I was flicking my pants open and shoving them off. Kicking them aside, I bent over and folded my arms on the mattress. I used the crook of my elbow for a pillow and looked over my shoulder at the door, waiting for Archer.
Seconds felt like an eternity, but Archer appeared, gorgeous and rumpled. His fly was still open and he’d lost his shirt on the way to the bedroom. Instead of making a beeline for me, he went to the nightstand and grabbed the lube and a condom.
“We can ditch those,” I said suddenly, not wanting any barriers between us. Not tonight. And if we were going to keep doing this, not ever again.
“Are you sure?” Archer asked. “Because I don’t mind if you don’t mind.”
“I was tested recently.” Heat rushed to my cheeks, even though there was no reason to be embarrassed. “I hoped—”
“I’ve only been with you since I was tested last. But it has been awhile.”
“I trust you. ”
Archer examined my expression for any hesitation before tossing the condom back in the drawer. He circled around behind me, dropping the lube on the bed before running his hands down my back.
“Fuck, look at you.” He sounded awestruck. “So broad and gorgeous. This fucking back. I could come just fucking looking at you.”
“No offense, but that sounds a lot less fun than what I’d had in mind.”
Archer laughed and grabbed my ass in a punishingly hard grip. “Yeah, and what did you have in mind?”
He let go and smoothed his hand over the same spot.
I stretched my arms out and went pliant. Boneless. His willing subject, ready to do as commanded.
“Whatever you want,” I told him. And because I hadn’t said it in a while, I held his gaze with mine, hoping he saw the truth there. That he was it for me. I was his for however long he wanted me to be. Nothing short of forever would be long enough. “I love you.”
Archer grinned at me, and his eyes sparkled with affection and mischief in equal measure. “I love you too.”
I wiggled my ass at him. “Do you? You better show me.”
A sudden strike had my ass cheek singing with pleasure-pain. I sighed when he did it again on the other cheek. His touch turned gentle and he soothed the sting away.
“I wasn’t aware that you were into being spanked.” Archer looked pleasantly surprised by this turn of events.
“I think it’s you I’m into.”
Something glimmered in his eyes as his fingers dug into me, sharp and sudden. “Let’s find out, shall we?”