could say anything else, he folded into me, his tall stature shrinking to allow him to cave into me and rest his head on my shoulder. “I hate being alone,” he whispered.
Even though the position was more than a little uncomfortable, I knew I couldn’t kick him out of my room. Not when he sounded so sad, not when he sounded like he was falling apart. I’d do my best to put this boy back together.
I moved us to my bed; at least it would be easier to hold him rather than our awkward standing positions. Archer was just too damned tall. “Come on,” I whispered, pulling him down with me. He came without a fight.
Archer’s arms wrapped around me, and he held me close, his nose buried in the crook of my neck. He’d tried to be so strong these last few days, but pretending to be strong was draining, and I knew even the strongest of people needed a break. I would gladly be that break for him, shoulder as many of his burdens as I could.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, apologizing for everything that, in truth, wasn’t my fault, but I blamed myself for it anyway. All of this death… would it still be happening if I wasn’t here?
We lay there for a while, Archer’s strong body calming down as I held onto him and he onto me. I ran my fingers through his hair—his clean hair, I might add, since he’d showered earlier—and focused on just being here for him. Being his rock, the anchor that would weather him through this horrible storm.
“Jaz,” he whispered, his breath hot on my neck. He rolled his head off me, resting it on my pillow as he stared at me through the darkness. One of his hands cupped my cheeks, and he moved his forehead to lean it against mine. “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you.”
His words caused my heart to beat a little faster in my chest, and I ran my fingertips along his cheek. I thought about coming back with a witty quip, but now wasn’t the time. Instead, I let my body do the talking: I tilted my mouth, clumsily landing it on his through the darkness.
He kissed me like I was a desperate need of his. Not a want, but an urgent need he had to fill, otherwise he’d lose it. Archer’s lips were soft and gentle at first, tentative in showing how much he truly needed me, but within seconds those lips told me just how bad his need was.
In the next moment, he had me pinned to the bed under him, his body leaning down upon mine. He learned I had no bra on…and I learned he had nothing on beneath those gym shorts, either.
I should stop him, stop us from doing this. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in each other, especially since neither of us had any protection. I knew what I should do, but what I should do and what I did do were two very different things.
…I didn’t stop him.
I didn’t stop his hands from roaming beneath my shirt, pawing at my chest like two greedy things. I didn’t stop his tongue from pushing into my mouth, dancing with mine and causing a fire to erupt inside of me. And I sure as hell didn’t stop him from pressing his hips down upon mine, forcing me to feel the growing boner there.
Shit. This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea on so many levels, and yet it was like I didn’t care. Bad idea or not, I wanted to do it. I wanted to give in and let Archer take whatever it was he needed from me right now, no matter what the consequences might be.
Right now, I didn’t want to take things slow with him. I wanted to make him feel anything but sad, help him see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if it was only for tonight. Whatever tomorrow brought us, we’d weather the storm together.
His mouth left mine, trailing along my neck as his hands yanked down my shorts. His fingers slid along my slit, finding the wetness around my entrance and bringing it up to my clit. Archer rubbed me as he kissed my neck, and I had to be careful not to let out any moans or cries of pleasure. This session had to be as silent as humanly possible.