Chapter 14 #2
His eyes narrow. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”
“I’ll do whatever I want, thank you,” I tell him easily, and only slur my words slightly, so I’m pretty proud of that.
He scoffs loudly, then tosses his head back with a bark of a laugh. “No shit.”
Defensiveness crawls along my skin, and I cross my arms over my chest from where I stand in the middle of his room.
His bed is in the center, against the wall, with a stand and a dresser on one side and a desk on the other with the pinkish-red glow of his alarm clock coming from his nightstand. Simple.
It reminds me of his bedroom back home, and it brings a surprising jolt of comfort to my insides. One that warms me enough, it has me taking a few steps towards the bed.
“Can I sit?”
He rolls his eyes as he takes off his socks and swings one around. “How else do you plan on sleeping?”
“Oh, shit. Sleep sounds so good,” I groan as I drop onto the bed. It’s soft and comfortable as it molds to me, and I want to sleep so bad, but having Peris next to me makes my skin feel like a livewire, so I’m not sure I can.
“Well, come on, runt.” Peris has moved up the bed and is crawling under the covers, and I frown in disappointment for not being able to see his naked body before it disappeared beneath more cloth. Peris smirks, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking—and he probably does, the prick.
“You’ve already seen me,” he says so casually. “So, get your ass undressed and get under here. I’m tired.” And with that, he flops back and extends his arm, inviting me to lay next to him, and I think my heart gets caught somewhere in my throat because I can’t breathe, and I can’t move, and fuck.
Peris must sense my foggy dilemma because he leans up on his elbows and takes over. “Abel, take your shirt off.”
My hands reach for the hem and pull it over my head.
“Good. Now your belts.”
I fumble with them for a minute, trying to get both unlatched, but when they clatter to the floor, my jeans slip down my waist, exposing my cum-covered panties. Peris eyes me hungrily, and I feel like I’m being devoured. I stand there while he stares at me, clad in nothing but a black, lace thong.
“Yeah. Leave that on and come here,” he demands, and I swallow but nod as I step out of my jeans and make my way to the end of the bed. I crawl up into it and sit beside him, where he’s pulled the blankets back and exposed himself to me as well.
His stomach muscles are ripped, abs clearly defined and lined in tattoos. I reach out and run a blunt nail down the ridges of his ribs before Peris snatches my hand away and yanks me down next to him.
“No touching,” he snaps, and I swallow, blinking up at him. My mouth is still so dry, but in this moment, I don’t really care all that much.
Because I’m here with him. In his arms again when I never thought I would be… could be. And maybe this is all just some drunken dream, but it’s the best damn dream I’ve ever had.
“Just get some sleep, runt.”
And with his demand, I let my heavy lids fall closed and allow the darkness to wash me away, Peris still at my side.
The sun peaks in through the gaps in the curtains, and I roll away with a groan—right into a hard, warm body. I freeze, every muscle stiffening as I listen to the sound of their heart against my ear.
I flex my fingers subtly, feeling hard muscle beneath and minimal hair. That makes my brows furrow. Most of my clients are hairy. I spread my fingers wider, getting a better feel, and the body beneath my cheek rumbles with a deep laugh.
“It’s so weird to be on the other side of this,” he mumbles against the top of my head, right into my hair, and all my trepidation seeps from my body. I melt easily into Peris, uncaring in the moment how pathetic it probably seems. I just…
I just don’t care.
“What do you mean?” I croak, using my voice for the first time and wincing at how shitty I sound.
Fingers tug on the ends of my hair near the base of my neck. Peris’s other arm is wrapped around my ribs, his fingers idly tracing them as he speaks.
“Nothing that matters.”
“Matters to me,” I mumble into his chest, lips brushing his skin with each word. His heartrate kicks up, and I feel myself smile, knowing I still affect him in such a way.
“Believe it or not, Abel, but what matters to you doesn’t have any effect on me anymore.”
“Ouch,” I mutter, pulling away from him. He lets me roll off to the side with a sigh. Peris runs his fingers through his wild, wavy hair. It sticks up on all ends, and I find it endearing. The bastard.
“What am I doing here?” I ask dryly, hating how pathetic I sound. It’s too early in the morning for this conversation, but I’m painfully fucking sober now, if not slightly hungover, and I’m bitchy, and Peris fucking asked for it.
There’s a long pause. So long I could probably count to one hundred. Twice. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, that’s just great. You fucking invade my life and then bring me back to your place and can’t even be bothered to tell me why. That’s just brilliant, Peris. Yes, thank you.”
Peris bursts into a fit of laughter so loud, I’m startled out of my anger and lie there staring at him as he laughs and laughs and laughs until he can’t catch his breath and I’m nearly forced to give him my air so he can breathe.
But he finally manages to catch his breath and blows it out loudly. “Whew, that’s fucking funny,” he says, wiping a stray tear away from the corner of his eye. At this point, I’m frowning hard at him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You don’t see the irony in that statement, do you? You bitching about me invading your life without saying why.” He chuckles again for a minute, and I glare, but the words catch on. “It’s too good.”
“You’re a real piece of fucking work,” I snap, and that only makes Peris giggle harder, and damnit, I want to be mad, but he’s laughing, and it sounds so good, I can’t help my own lips twitching to mirror his.
“You see it, don’t you?”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest with a huff. “Yes, okay? I see the fucking irony. No need to be a dick about it. Geez.”
“Oh, Abel fucking Silver. The chaos you have created in my life,” Peris says so casually, as if that’s not the most sobering statement I’ve ever heard spill from his lips. I wince, face twitching in pain as my heart twinges.
“Peris…”
“It’s early. I need coffee.” And with that, Peris throws the blankets back and gets out of bed.
He walks over to his dresser and pulls on a pair of sweatpants, leaving the top half of his body completely bare for my viewing pleasure, which is kind of unfair, if you ask me, but I’m also not complaining because he looks damn good.
“Do you have something?...” I ask, trailing off as I look down at myself. The blanket has pooled around my waist, and my face flushes as Peris stares at me, eyes raking over me like I’m a meal for him to devour.
“Don’t want to wear your clothes?” he asks, brow quirked, and I flush hotly.
“I’d prefer not to,” I mutter, and that makes him smirk.
He digs around in his dresser for a moment. “Here.” He tosses me a huge sweater that flings across my torso. I pull it on, and when I crawl out of bed and stand and it comes to my mid-thighs, I flush again—for an entirely different reason.
“Uh, can I have some pants, too?”
Peris looks at me, eyes bouncing up and down over my covered torso to my bare legs. “No.” And then, he’s turning around and exiting the bedroom, leaving me standing there in nothing but a sweatshirt as the cool morning air burns its way across my exposed skin.
I huff indignantly. The fucking prick. He knows what he’s doing, but I’m also not putting those jeans back on until I have to, so if he wants to play those games… well.
He better remember who he’s playing with.
The house looks different bathed in daylight. The walls are white and bare for the most part, but that doesn’t surprise me. I take the stairs down, following where I hear Peris making noise in what must be the kitchen.
When I reach the bottom of the steps, I take a look around the living room to the right.
There’s a big sectional sofa and a large T.V.
in front of it and a shelf full of DVDs beside the T.V.
stand. I walk over to peruse some of them, just to give myself a little bit of time to prepare myself, when a voice sounds from behind me.
“So, why are you really here?”
“Ah, Gabe. Just the man I was waiting for,” I drawl as my eyes skim over the backs of the DVDs. I straighten and turn around to meet his bright, brown gaze. He’s staring at me with narrowed eyes, which I guess I deserve.
“Well?” he says, not playing games, and I guess I deserve that.
“Peris invited me,” I tell him honestly. “And at the time, it seemed like a good idea.”
“Does it not anymore?”
“I’m not really sure.”
“He’s been through enough. He doesn’t need you coming back into his life and fucking everything up again.”
I frown. “That’s not what I want.”
Gabriel’s jaw is locked tight. “What do you want?”
That makes me grin. “Are you asking me my intentions, Mr. Avalos?”
Gabe rolls his eyes, but his lips quirk as a smirk pulls against his lips without his permission. “Fuck you, Abel. I’m serious.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
I nod vigorously. “Oh, me, too.”
“What the hell are you two doing in here?” Peris snaps as he stomps into the room.
“Making out,” I say, just as Gabe blurts a loud, “Nothing.”
Peris narrows his eyes at us both, lips pulled into a tight line. I grin at him, which only makes it worse.
“Don’t fucking talk without me around,” he finally replies.
“Sure thing, boss.” I salute him. Gabriel blows out a breath and rolls his eyes.
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, shaking his head as he backs out of the room and goes back into the kitchen. He has a towel slung over his shoulder, and for some reason, that makes him look way hotter. I’m practically drooling onto their floor—until Gabe snaps me out of it.
“You actually gonna stick around this time?” Gabe asks, and I snort, eyes never leaving the spot Peris disappeared from, even after my vision starts to blur against the white walls and they morph into a blob I can’t look away from.
I start to laugh. Deep, full belly laughs that make my lungs ache from the effort it takes to inhale.
“What’s so funny?” Gabe exclaims, moving in closer. His thick, dark brows are pinched together in concentration as he stares down at me, trying to figure out what’s so fucking funny. But he just has no clue.
The reality is, I’ve been here the whole time. Unable to truly leave Peris behind. I’m still as insane for him as I’ve always been, and now that I know he’s just as obsessed with me… there is no going back from this.
We’re caught in the visceral whirlpool of destruction we created in one another.
There is no escape. Only a fight to the end to see if we can make it out the other side still breathing.
And I don’t think I care that much if I survive, so long as I die by his side.