Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ARCHER
Multiple rounds later, blissfully exhausted, Iris lay against me, her head resting on my chest, our fingers intertwining. We watched as a small bird played on the windowsill outside my flat as the sun gradually rose, bathing the room in a silvery morning glow.
The rain had eased over the course of the night and had stopped about an hour ago. The clouds had parted, and now a small sliver of pale blue sky was visible.
I tilted my head forwards and whispered into her ear, ‘Last night was perfect.’ I kissed her neck and felt her whole body shiver at the sensation.
‘I agree,’ she whispered.
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
We continued watching the sunrise for a while, content in each other’s company – simply happy to be together.
I ran my fingers through her hair and she would giggle when I told her stories from my childhood, back when my mother was still in it – like the time I’d broken my arm chasing a cat because I thought it was lost and needed help, only for it to run straight home to the neighbours.
We talked more about her past. She told me about her father, and the life she had with him. It was a happy childhood, and I was glad for that.
She told me stories about her two friends – Adora and Rory. I only knew a little of Rory from the papers he’d handed in, and I didn’t know Adora, but they seemed like good people. I told her I was glad she had people to look after her when I wasn’t able to.
After a while, I asked, ‘Coffee?’
‘Mmm,’ she murmured sleepily. ‘I like coffee.’
Propping her against the pillows and sliding out of bed, I pulled on some trousers. Iris frowned at the movement and I laughed. I leaned over her and kissed her gently on the forehead as she settled back into the blankets.
‘I’ll be quick,’ I said, edging open the bedroom door.
I padded down the hall, the wooden floorboards cool beneath my bare feet.
Turning into the kitchen – a modestly sized room with good storage and enough space for a kitchen table – I filled the kettle and set it on to boil.
While I waited, I dragged my fingers through my tangled hair and ran a hand over my face.
That was the best night of my life.
Smiling to myself, I pulled two mugs from the cupboard – the two with the least chips in the porcelain – and made the coffee. I set them on a tray, then added a small handful of grapes and two croissants.
Balancing the tray, I walked back down the hall and nudged the bedroom door open with my shoulder.
‘I thought you might be hungry,’ I said as I entered, ‘especially after all our… extracurricular activities last night,’ I laughed.
‘Very,’ she smiled up at me sleepily. ‘Thank you, Professor.’
Smirking, I turned my back to her briefly to set the tray down on the bedside table – and Iris drew in a sharp breath.
I turned quickly. ‘What is it?’ Her eyes were wide. ‘Iris?’
‘Your—’ she began, then faltered. ‘Your… back.’
Oh.
For a moment, I didn’t dare move, but then she rose from the bed and stepped behind me. Her fingers traced slow, uncertain shapes across my skin, following the shapes of the scars she was only just seeing now the sun had risen.
I swallowed.
‘What happened?’ she asked, her voice heavy with sadness.
‘I’m okay. Really.’ Her fingers paused, and she stayed quiet. ‘Iris,’ I added more softly, ‘it was a long time ago.’
‘Tell me,’ she said, quietly but firmly.
I sighed. ‘I told you my father was abusive.’
She rested her forehead between my shoulder blades. The gesture was strangely comforting.
‘I didn’t think you meant…’ She stepped back to face me. ‘I didn’t think it was that bad.’
I let out a short, self-deprecating huff, the sound surprising me. ‘Yeah. It was… pretty bad.’
‘Archer…’ She rose onto her tiptoes so we were eye to eye, her gaze locking onto mine. Her hands came up to cradle my face, gentle and grounding. ‘I’m so, so sorry that happened to you.’
I shook my head. ‘I’m okay.’ The words caught, and I exhaled. ‘I mean—’ I tried again. ‘I am now.’
I guided her back to sit on the edge of the bed and lowered myself beside her. Taking her hands in mine, I folded them carefully between us, protectively.
‘Listen, Iris…’
Her face dropped. ‘What is it?’
‘I—’ I started, then stopped, searching for the right words.
‘Please, Archer. Don’t do this.’
A jolt of panic shot through me. ‘Don’t… do what?’
‘Whatever it is you’re about to say. You look like you’re about to tell me we can’t be together or some other bullshit that isn’t true.’
I laughed before I could stop myself, and the withering look she sent me could have demolished castles, ended worlds.
‘That’s not what I was going to say,’ I said, trying and failing to smother my grin.
‘Oh…’ She studied my face for a moment, and then her expression mirrored mine, albeit slightly embarrassed, too. ‘In that case…’ she did an adorably dramatic flourish of her hand, ‘Continue.’
I swallowed, the words suddenly feeling heavier than they had before. ‘What I was going to say,’ I began, reaching for a lock of her ebony hair and twirling it around my finger, ‘was that… I’ve never felt this way before. About… a person.’
‘Oh,’ she breathed, her eyebrows drawing together.
‘I—’
Wow. When was I ever lost for words?
I tried again. ‘I… I thought I knew love.’ Her gaze dropped to her hands and she began fiddling with the blankets.
‘You read about it in books, hear about it in real life. I always thought I understood it. Thought I had it figured out. But, until you…’ I stopped, drew in a steadying breath.
I reached out and gently lifted her chin, my thumb cool against her skin, until she was looking at me again.
‘Archer…’ she whispered.
‘I’m falling for you, Iris.’ I closed my eyes. ‘I was trying to fight it, I honestly was. When I first saw you and felt what I felt, I hated myself. I didn’t want to risk everything – my job, my—’
I opened my eyes and saw a small tear slip from the corner of hers. My stomach dropped ‘What is it?’ I asked quickly.
She wiped it away hastily, as though she hoped I hadn’t seen it, and looked down again.
Her voice was barely above a whisper. ‘It’s just…
no one’s told me they loved me in a very, very long time.
’ Another tear slipped free despite her effort.
‘I mean, my best friend tells me she loves me, and I love her too. Of course I do. She’s amazing.
’ She gave a small, shaky laugh. ‘But it’s not the same.
You know?’ She shook her head. ‘Sorry, I’m rambling.
What I meant to say…’ She looked up at me. ‘Is that I feel the same way, Archer.’
Something in me cracked open.
My heart slammed against my ribs, faster than it ever had, warmth flooding through me until it felt like my entire body – my entire world – was on fire.
‘You… do?’ The words came out unsure. Afraid. Like I’d misheard her, or imagined the whole thing.
She squeezed my arm. ‘Yes.’
I exhaled a shaky breath and closed the distance between us. I kissed her deeply – properly this time, with all the emotion building up within me.
And in that moment, nothing else in the whole world mattered.