Chapter 26
DENVER
Time doesn’t have as much meaning now that we’re into summer and I have no classes to teach and nothing to do except rot in Archie’s home. They still haven’t been able to find the piece of shit who’s been tormenting me, and the longer the wait goes on, the more frustrated Archie seems to become.
He doesn’t mind keeping me in his bed, of course. Right now, I’m waking up from a long nap after being tied up and fucked silly, Archie holding my legs up and my panties to the side so he could feel the slide of silk along his dick as he wrecked my hole.
Really, it’s not the worst way I’ve had to spend idle hours. But I’m also starting to feel a bit antsy and uncomfortable because Jasper had promised they would take care of this issue, but they’ve made no progress on finding Byron—and that’s still assuming this has anything to do with him.
Milo had initially suggested we use me as bait, but the idea was shot down almost immediately after Archie almost strangled his brother to death in the kitchen.
Milo’s been pissed about it and spending almost all of his time sleeping at the café, and it makes me feel awful for disrupting the harmony of this home.
But I can’t leave. The stalker is MIA, and we currently have no leads.
Percy and Jasper spent one afternoon going up to Byron’s last known address, but all they found was an empty apartment being prepared for new tenants.
Jasper said he worked his charm on the office staff, who told them that Byron had moved out six weeks prior without notice, and they were still trying to serve him with a summons so they could get the money he owes them.
And right now, he’s either in the wind, or…hell. Maybe he’s dead. Maybe the wounds Archie gave him the last time he got too close to me were enough to end his life.
If they weren’t, it doesn’t matter. Death seems like an inevitability for him at this point.
Unless he realized who he was fucking with and decided to flee the country, he has no hope of making it through the next time we have a confrontation.
And that is the only thing bringing me any kind of peace as I sit on my ass, watching the start of summer, with no idea when I will be able to get back to life as normal.
We’ve settled into a routine, of course, but I am starting to get restless.
My body and head are almost completely healed, and I’m really missing my shows and being able to see my friends whenever I want.
When I brought up going to one soon, Archie had a huffing tantrum about it, and it was only when I stripped down to nothing and lay in his coffin that he got out of his funk.
We fucked, then talked quietly, hands moving softly between us as he told me he didn’t want me getting hurt, and I reminded him that he would be there to protect me.
He still wasn’t having it though, and right now, it just doesn’t seem like it’s worth the fight.
As much as I hate it, I can be patient for a little while longer as they try to solve this problem.
Grazing my knuckles along the coffin as I pass by it, I head for the basement door, my thighs gently burning as I walk up the steps.
I put my CIs on so I can listen for the sound of where everyone is, and by the time I make it into the main hallway, I can hear the low hum of conversation coming from the dining room.
No one ever uses it to eat. It’s more of a space where they gather to talk about things that I’m not part of, but I’m never made to feel unwelcome.
Turning the corner, I step into the room, and my eyes immediately find Archie, who’s at the far end near the window, pacing and wringing his hands. Jasper’s at the head of the table with a tablet open, and Percy’s in the corner, shoulder leaning against the wall, his face full of concern.
The only one who looks unaffected is Milo, but I’ve started to realize that’s his default state. He’s leaning back in his chair with one arm behind his head, the other holding a plastic bendy straw that he’s been chewing on.
Nico is missing, but he often is these days, and after asking a few times about what he’s up to and not getting an answer, I’ve given up trying to track him.
“Everything okay?” I ask, my question directed toward Archie.
He stares at me, then swallows thickly. His lips do the thing they always do when he’s trying and failing to speak. He lets out a frustrated hum and turns back to the window.
“I’ve upset him,” Jasper says softly.
I look over at the man who might one day become my father-in-law and raise a brow. “What’s happening?”
“I have a lead,” he says. “It’s out of town, and Archie wants to come with me. He’s not comfortable leaving you behind, but he also doesn’t want you anywhere near this.”
I appreciate that. The last thing I want to do is get in a car for a road trip to track down my stalker. My nerves cannot take it. I nod at him, then cross the room and very carefully set my hands on Archie’s shoulders.
He stiffens for a moment, making another distressed whine, and then he curls into my arms and buries his face in my neck. One hand slips between us where no one can see, and he toys with my right nipple as though soothing himself with it.
His lips part after a second, and he begins to mouth at my tendon.
“It’s okay,” I murmur. “You need to go with your dad, and I will be safe here.”
He shakes his head almost violently, then forces himself to pull back. ‘Not safe,’ he signs.
I scoff. “I’ll be with your brothers and Nico. You trust them, right?”
Archie’s eyes narrow. I guess he’s still not over the whole campus thing and how Percy was almost too late to reach me.
‘I won’t go anywhere that isn’t safe, okay? I’ll stay with Percy and Milo at all times, okay? Home and café.’ It can’t get much safer than that. ‘He also hasn’t shown his face in weeks. You probably scared him off.’
Archie blows out a puff of air, then looks over my shoulder at his dad for a long, long moment. When I have his attention again, he licks his lips. ‘Promise you will stay with my brothers. No risks. No club.’
I feel a slight pulse of irritation, but I also understand this is fear talking. It’s not that he doesn’t trust me. ‘Promise,’ I echo with my hands. ‘Café or here, okay?’
‘No club,’ he repeats.
I laugh softly and roll my eyes. ‘No club.’
‘No Leaf.’
‘Baby,’ I sign gently, ‘Leaf’s place is right near here, and Thorne is with him. I—’
‘No Leaf!’
My hands droop for a second, but I don’t torment him with my refusal to obey his request. It’s not like he’s asking me to stay inside forever. It’s just a few days at best.
‘Okay, okay. No Leaf,’ I vow.
He sags in relief, then grabs me by the face and kisses me hard and possessively. My senses are overwhelmed, and even with my CIs on, I don’t hear everyone leaving the room. I only notice when I pull back and realize we’re alone.
‘Sorry,’ he signs, his fist a little stiff as it makes a circle over his chest.
I pick up his hand, use my thumbs to spread his fingers, then kiss his palm with the pressure I know he likes. “I trust your brothers,” I remind him aloud. “And I trust you.”
He swallows thickly, then takes a single step back. His fingers reach up to graze my jaw, and then they fold into a very familiar sign. One I’ve been thinking about for a while now. One I was terrified was too soon. That might send him running.
And here he is, offering it to me.
‘I love you.’
My eyes get a little hazy as I take his hand between mine, and I respond with my voice so he can hear it from me. “I love you too, Archie. I’m so in love with you.”
He grunts loudly and shoves me against the china cabinet.
Behind me, the dishes rattle loud enough for me to hear them clearly, but I’m overwhelmed by Archie’s roaming hands.
They dip beneath the waistband of my sweats, beneath the elastic of my lace panties, cupping my cock against his warm, almost desperate palm.
“Here?” I whisper. “Your family—”
“Gone,” he grunts. “Outside.”
It’s risky, doing it like this. There are probably cameras and other things that will capture what’s about to happen. But I can’t stop him. I don’t want to stop him.
I’m in love with him, and he loves me too, and clearly he wants to seal this with a mutual orgasm.
My lips find his again, and he swallows down my heady groan as his fingers tug at my waistband and then his. He shoves me with his hips, bracing me against the fragile wood of the old cabinet as he takes both of us in his gorgeous, rough palm and squeezes just the way I like.
“Archie,” I groan.
He’s mouthing something against my lips and tongue, and it takes me a moment to realize he’s whispering my name over and over and over, like a prayer.
Like a hymn.
His arm speeds up, and pleasure explodes inside me as my eyes slam shut, and between one shattered breath and the next, I let go. Cum spurts from the end of my dick, and he catches it in his hand, using the spill as lube to stroke himself to completion, his kisses becoming frantic.
He tumbles over the edge a moment later with a sharp grunt into my mouth, his arm stiff, then going limp as he shoots hot ropes all over my lower stomach. His chest presses into me, and then he gathers me into his arms.
His hand is sticky, but for the moment, I don’t care as he shoves it into my hair and holds me in a fierce grip. “I…” The word is strained and lingers as he tries to find his voice.
“It’s okay,” I murmur back.
He shakes his head, then swallows, pulling back to stare at me. His lips work, and I can feel the breath of his whisper, even though I can’t hear it, but I read his lips perfectly. “I’m in love with you.”
It’s enough.
I press my face into his chest and allow him to hold me as the last vestiges of my insecurity fade into the quiet, dark places where I hold all of my fears. I think I’ll always worry that someday he’ll realize I’m not enough.
That I’m boring and bland and too simple to keep him happy for the rest of our lives.