“Hey,” I tell him, pressing my palm to his face.
His chin wobbles, and I know he’s seconds away from losing it.
I usher him toward the bank of elevators, knowing my personal and professional life are starting to overlap each other. I wanted to kiss him, calm his fears, assure him that nothing bad will ever happen to him on my watch, but I’m surrounded by friends, some close enough to consider family.
Instead of doing what my body is urging, I tuck him in close and guide him on to the elevator.
We’re not alone in the car, but the people closed inside with us don’t even drop their conversation or pay us any mind.
The elevator dings our arrival on my floor. Archer sticks close while I unlock the door, but the second we’re inside, he pushes me away, his fingers scraping over the top of his head.
“You’re upset, but I don’t think putting off this conversation will do either of us any good,” I say. “What you did tonight was stupid. How many times have I told you—”
“Stupid?” He laughs but there’s no humor in it. “What’s stupid is coming here in the first place.”
I grind my teeth together, my hands clenching at my sides because I don’t think he’d take too kindly to me shaking the shit out of him in an attempt to make the man see reason.
“What’s stupid is wanting to call you at all. What’s stupid is all the time we spend together that has nothing to do with your fucking job. What’s stupid is how fucking crazy you make me.”
He grows more and more agitated with each word.
“Do you honestly think I want you to be the first person I have the urge to call when I’m in trouble? That I want you in my fucking head twenty-four seven? That I get hard every time I think about that damn kiss in the elevator? That I ache every second you’re around, knowing you don’t want me to touch you?”
I shake my head. “You stupid, stupid man.”
He growls, his hands in fists like he’s seconds away from punching me in the face.
“I swear, Brooks—”
I shut him up with my mouth on his, with my fingers tangled in his hair.
I want that sound he makes, want the tension and irritation to leave his body. I’m desperate for it.
“That,” Archer says, pushing me away as he lifts his arm and swipes it across his mouth. “That hurts the most.”
I shake my head, my protective instincts taking over at the pain in his eyes.
“I’m not trying to hurt you.”
I step in closer to him, and I see the indecision in his eyes before they flutter closed. He blinks as I run my hand up his chest, and when they open, he’s made his choice.
“Brooks,” he whispers, my name a plea on his tongue. I know exactly what he wants because I want all the same things.
My hands tremble as I lift his t-shirt over his head, and he doesn’t seem any better off as his breathing grows erratic. His heart pounds against my lips as I press a kiss to his chest. I want my mouth on every inch of him. I’ve wanted this for a long time, and I’m so tired of fighting it.
I lift, pressing my lips to his again, and then I get it, that soft noise from his throat that I’ve been needing to hear again.
He steps into me, the length of his warm body against mine, but I have to inch back to work open the buttons on my shirt.
“Let me,” he offers, his lower lip clamped between his teeth as his fingers get to work.
I don’t think I’ve ever been harder.
“Have you ever been with—”
“No,” I answer before he can finish his question. “Hand job in college from a dude, but that was it.”
He smiles against my skin, pushing my shirt off my shoulders.
“I’m the first guy you’ve kissed?”
I nod, and that information seems to make him ecstatic.
“No pressure,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
His eyes find mine, searching for something. “I’m going to do more than just touch your dick, Brooks.”
“Please,” is the only response I can manage because his fingers are now sliding my leather belt free and unbuttoning my slacks.
He licks at my skin, paying extra attention to my nipples before lowering himself to his knees.
In the next breath, my dick is right in front of his face.
“Nice cock,” he says, his eyes locked on mine. It’s exactly what we needed to take the serious edge off.
I chuckle, remembering I told him that exact same thing when he sauntered into the living room completely naked before proceeding to taste his own precum.
“Yeah?” I swipe my finger over the leaking tip and hold it to his mouth. “Try this.”
It’s a mistake. The biggest fucking mistake, because Archer locks eyes with me as his mouth wraps around my finger. The suction, the tiny amount of teeth, the fucking warmth… all of it combined nearly has me jetting on his face without even being touched.