Stripped Love (Guys Next Door #1) - Baylin Crow Page 0,53

arms shook as I lowered him to the bed. Hovering above him, I buried my face in the crook of his neck as I tried to catch my breath. "Give me a second. I can't feel my fucking face."

His hands ran up and down my arms soothingly as I fought not to collapse. Once I steadied, I gingerly slipped out of him. Rolling on my back beside him, I blindly reached for his hand and laced our fingers together. The storm began to wane, but the winds still howled, sharpening my focus on how silent the room had become in the aftermath.

I rolled to face Archer, suddenly worried I’d been to rough. "You okay? Sore?"

He turned his head toward me, and a shadowed drowsy grin tipped his lips as he tightened his fingers around mine. "It hurts a little, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Warring between pride and concern, I simply leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. "That was hands down the hardest I've ever come."

His hand cupped the back of my neck, running a lazy finger across my nape. "It was indescribable. I never thought…it would be like that."

"In a good way?" I cocked a brow.

He sighed as he continued to tease my skin. "The best way."

I chuckled and sat up. Tying the condom, I tossed it into the bedside trash and then rolled off the bed. On my feet, I tried to help Archer to his. "We need to get you cleaned up."

"I'd rather stay in bed," he murmured sleepily and put up a half-hearted fight. He relented and slightly winced when he stood.

"You are sore." Despite my better judgement to ease Archer into sex, I'd given in to his demands and now guilt tugged at my conscious.

He blinked heavy lids and flashed a crooked grin. "Worth it."

I ducked to kiss him and then led him into the hall where we made our way to the bathroom. After waiting for the shower to heat up, we climbed in and took turns soaping each other. Paying careful attention to his tender hole, I gently cleaned him.

He shivered. "It hurts a little but feels good at the same time."

My cock twitched, and I cursed. Shaking my head because I had no control over the damn thing when it came to him, I rinsed off. After he'd done the same, we stepped out, and I snagged a pair of white towels from the shelf.

We dried off and returned to the bed where I pulled back the rumpled comforter. He crawled between the covers first, and I took my time scanning his naked body. Mine. I wanted to beat my chest like an animal and let every other creature in the world know he belonged to me. A stir of hunger made my cock harder, and his gaze dropped before his mouth popped open.

"Ignore that." I slipped in beside him and lifted my arm. "Come here."

Archer scooted close, shifting until his back pressed to my front, wiggling his bare ass against my length. I popped his thigh. “Stop that or it’s never going to go away.”

A small laugh puffed through his lips, and I wanted to put it in a bottle—much like the first time I’d heard it—so I could listen to it any time I wanted to. I folded him in against me and kissed the top of his damp hair that smelled of my shampoo. "I told someone you were my boyfriend today.”

Archer turned his head enough that I caught his grin. He shrugged his shoulder. “Okay.”

My lips kicked up on one side. “Just okay? You’re not mad at me for assuming you were okay with it first?”

His eyes sparkled in the dark. “I like the way it sounds.”

“Me too,” I admitted and pulled him so close there wasn’t an inch of space between us. “Night, babe."

Archer yawned and snuggled into the pillow. "Night, Phoenix."

Even though I was exhausted, I itched to capture this moment in lyrics. But the one thing I wasn’t willing to give up for the chance to write was already in my arms. I breathed him in and swore I’d do whatever it took to keep him.

When I woke, the sun was peeking through the thin curtains. I was sweating beneath the heavy blanket and Archer's body. Sometime during the night, he'd gone from the little spoon position to sprawled on top of me.

Soft snores drifted from him, and I hated to wake him, but my leg was cramping and I had