Chapter Seven #2
“You’re capable of incredible kindness,” Archie continued before Jasper could start freaking out again.
“You’re capable of putting yourself in danger to protect children you’ve never met.
You’re capable of forgiving people who’ve hurt you, of building bridges between species instead of walls.
That’s what I’ve seen. That’s who you are. ”
“I’m a monster.”
“It’s just a part of you.” Archie stroked his thumbs along Jasper’s cheekbones. “And I fell in love with all of you, Jasper. Every part. The human parts, the monster parts, the parts you’re still figuring out. All of it.”
Jasper’s breath hitched. “You didn’t sign up for this. You didn’t know I was a monster when we got together.”
“I signed up for you.” Archie pulled him closer, until their foreheads touched. “And I’m a monster too, so I don’t care. We’re in this together. Whatever happens, whatever you discover about yourself, that doesn’t change.”
“What if it does?”
Archie kissed Jasper. Jasper made a small sound of surprise, then melted into him, hands fisting in Archie’s shirt like he was afraid to let go.
When they broke apart, Archie kept him close.
He wasn’t ready to let go. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be.
“You’re not going to become something I can’t love. That’s not how this works.”
“You sound very sure about that.”
“I am.” Archie meant it. “I’ve spent my whole life around monsters, Jasper. Good ones, bad ones, everything in between. And you? You’re one of the best people I’ve ever known. Finding out that you’re a monster didn’t change that. It makes you even more remarkable, not less.”
“I’m terrified I’m going to let you and everyone else down.”
“You won’t.” Archie kissed his forehead. “But even if things get messy—and they will, because life is messy—I’ll be right here. We’ll figure it out together.” Archie didn’t have the answers to Jasper’s many questions, but he’d find them. He’d do anything for Jasper.
“Together,” Jasper repeated.
“Yep.” Archie smiled. “You’re stuck with me, and I can be annoyingly persistent.”
That earned him a chuckle. “I’ve noticed.”
“Good.” Archie took Jasper’s hand. “Now come to bed. I have plans for you.”
“Plans?” Jasper sounded playful now
“Mmm.” Archie got up, pulling Jasper with him. “I was thinking we could spend the rest of tonight reminding you of all the reasons why everything’s going to be fine.”
Jasper’s hands landed on Archie’s waist, fingers slipping under the hem of his shirt in a touch that made Archie shiver. “That sounds like it might take a while.”
“I certainly hope so.” Archie walked backward toward the bedroom. Jasper followed, still watching him. “I’ll take all the time I need to convince you that you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” Jasper’s voice had dropped lower.
Archie reached the bedroom and pulled Jasper flush against him, smiling at the way their bodies fit together.
“I thought I’d start by showing you how much I love every part of you.
The strong parts, the vulnerable parts, the parts you’re afraid of.
” He walked Jasper backward until his legs hit the bed.
“And I’m very thorough, so this might take a while. ”
Jasper’s breath accelerated. “I’m not complaining.”
“Good.” Archie pushed him onto the bed, following him down. “Because I’m not done talking, either. I want you to understand something.” He bracketed Jasper’s body with his arms, looking down at him. “When this is all over—helping the kids, the hunters, all of that—I want a future with you.”
Jasper reached up to cup Archie’s face, his thumb tracing Archie’s lower lip. “What kind of future?”
“The boring kind. The kind where we argue about whose turn it is to do the dishes and what to watch on TV. Where the biggest crisis is running out of coffee.” Archie turned his head to kiss Jasper’s palm.
“The kind where we wake up next to each other every morning, and the biggest worry we have is what we’re going to eat for breakfast.”
“I want that.” Jasper’s voice was thick. “God, Archie, I want that so much.”
“We’ll have it.” Archie leaned down, his lips brushing Jasper’s.
Jasper pulled him down into a kiss that was hungry and desperate and full of the promise Archie had just made him. When they broke apart, both breathing hard, he said, “Show me.”
“Show you what?”
“That future. Show me that you mean it.” Jasper’s hands slid under Archie’s shirt, pushing it up. “Show me that I’m not going to lose this.”
Archie helped him pull the shirt over his head, then reached for Jasper’s. “You’re not going to lose me. But I’ll spend all night proving it if that’s what you need.”
“It’s a start,” Jasper said, and there was finally a real smile on his face, small but genuine.
Archie kissed him again, deeper this time, and let his hands and mouth do the rest of the talking. He mapped every inch of skin he could reach, whispered reassurances between kisses, and hopefully showed Jasper with every touch that he was wanted and loved.
Archie made sure that Jasper knew that this was real and forever, and no amount of monster blood or hunter prejudice could change what they had.
When Archie broke the kiss, both of them were panting. He dipped his head, finding the pulse hammering in Jasper’s throat with his lips. When he scraped his teeth there, Jasper arched closer, a broken sound escaping him as Archie sucked a dark mark into his skin.
“Archie,” Jasper gasped, his back bowing off the bed.
Archie’s free hand was already on the button of Jasper’s jeans, popping it open. The zipper came down with a harsh rasp that seemed incredibly loud. Archie peeled the fabric down Jasper’s legs, taking his underwear with it, until Jasper lay completely bare beneath him.
Archie sat back on his heels, watching his boyfriend. “Look at you,” he whispered. He wrapped a hand around Jasper’s erection, and Jasper cried out at the contact. He stroked him once, then again, in a slow, twisting motion.
“Please,” Jasper begged.
Archie knew what he was asking for. He released his boyfriend, smiling at his frustrated groan, and quickly shucked his own pants.
Jasper’s breath caught as he watched him, and Archie couldn’t help but show off a little.
The two of them looked very different—Jasper appeared human, but Archie very obviously wasn’t—but Jasper had never cared about that or about what Archie was.
Leaning over, Archie grabbed a bottle of lube from the nightstand. He poured some into his palm, then reached for himself. Jasper watched as Archie coated his cock, and Archie watched him back. How could he not, when Jasper was the most beautiful man Archie had ever seen?
“Turn over,” Archie murmured. Jasper obeyed, turning onto his stomach, then pushed himself up onto his knees. Archie sucked in a breath. “God, Jasper.”
He pressed a lubed finger against Jasper’s entrance, circling slowly.
Jasper buried his face in the sheets when Archie’s finger breached him, but he didn’t tell Archie to stop, so Archie didn’t.
He worked his boyfriend open, adding a second finger and scissoring them, then crooking them until he brushed against that spot that made Jasper moan every time.
Jasper did just that, his knuckles turning white where he gripped the sheets. “Right there, Archie, fuck—”
“I know,” Archie said, soothing him. He pressed against the bundle of nerves again. He knew what Jasper wanted, and he was going to give it to him.
He made sure that Jasper was loose and slick and ready for him, adding a third finger and spreading them. He never wanted to hurt Jasper.
Once he was sure that Jasper was ready, Archie withdrew his fingers and wrapped them around his cock. He pressed closer, but he didn’t take Jasper yet.
“Look at me,” he murmured.
Jasper obeyed, turning his head toward Archie. Archie waited until their gazes were locked to push forward into his boyfriend. “This is forever,” he said, needing Jasper to understand.
Jasper gasped and squeezed his eyes shut as Archie sank into him until his hips were flush against Jasper’s ass. He paused, letting Jasper adjust to him. Archie leaned over him, pressing against his back, wanting to be as close as he could.
Then, he began to move.
He made sure to drag against Jasper’s prostate as much as he could and set a relentless rhythm.
It quickly became less controlled as his pleasure took over.
He slid one hand around Jasper’s front, tugging the dark hair on Jasper’s chest before going down to wrap around his leaking cock.
He stroked him in time with his thrusts, enjoying every gasp and every moan that came from his boyfriend.
The tension in Archie’s gut tightened. “I’m close,” he warned, his voice strained.
Jasper nodded quickly. “Please.”
Archie’s thrusts became erratic as he pounded into Jasper with a force that shook the bed. “I want to feel you come around my cock. Come on, baby.” He continued stroking Jasper, needing him to come so he could let go.
Jasper’s shout was ragged as he came all over Archie’s fist. His body clamped down hard around Archie’s cock, and Archie groaned, driving into Jasper one last time before spilling deep inside him, his body shuddering with the force of it.
They collapsed onto the rumpled sheets, their limbs tangled together.
Jasper’s weight against Archie was a comforting pressure, and he snuggled in, feeling the heavy beat of Jasper’s heart when he pressed a palm over Jasper’s chest. He nuzzled into the junction of Jasper’s neck and shoulder, his lips brushing the mark he’d left there earlier.
“Okay?” he murmured.
Jasper hummed, his body finally relaxed. He reached back, his hand finding Archie’s thigh, and gave it a soft squeeze.
That was good enough for Archie.