Page 45 of Edged
I was dizzy, mindless, panting and desperate. And Archer ignored it all. He petted his fingers down my face, through my hair, against my Adam’s apple while I begged and whined. He made soft shushing sounds, nodding as I pleaded for release.
“Archer. Fuck.Fuck.”
I let my head fall against his shoulder, defeat washing over me as I realized that he wasn’t going to let me come. I knew I didn’t need his permission. That I could reach between my legs, even there on his lap, and make myself come. But I could have done that at home. That wasn’t what had brought me to the airport, and that wasn’t what was taking me back to California.
“I know,” he soothed, stroking his hands down my back as I found myself settling against his chest, on his lap. “I know, Owen. It hurts. It hurts, but I promise that it won’t hurt forever.”
I wanted to believe he was talking about my cock, but the burst of agony in the center of my chest had me thinking otherwise. Another tear slipped out of my eye, and I was glad he couldn’t see it or the things it meant.
CHAPTER13
ARCHIE
BringingOwen to California had already made its way on my very short list of regrets.
I couldn’t just fuck him, so the only thing our days together would do was put my heart on the line before shattering it into pieces when he got back onto the jet to go home. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that Owen would give me so much as a second thought after our time together, no matter how good I made it for him.
And those were the thoughts I was lost in as I navigated the city streets back toward my house, Owen in the passenger seat beside me, silent and staring out the window.
“Do you really like it here?” he asked as the high-rise buildings of the city gave way to sprawling homes and mansions.
“In L.A.?” I glanced across the car in time to watch him answer with a jerky nod.
“I don’t not like it,” I said. “I have a good job and good friends.”
“Good men?”
“They are,” I confirmed.
Owen scoffed. “That’s not how I meant it.”
“Are you asking after my sex life?”
Flipping on my turn signal, I came to a stop at the intersection, waiting for clearance to make a right on red. Owen’s face was almost the same glaring shade as the light and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
Was he jealous?
“Considering the first time we got reacquainted was at a sex club, Owen, I think you know the answer to that.” My statement to him was a non-answer, and if he wanted to think I was pulling more men than I was, that was on him. I wasn’t hurting for partners. The emotional connection was what was missing.
The cars around me cleared, and I made my turn, only a few blocks from my house and even more unsure of what that meant for us.
“Maybe I should have thought twice about letting you come down my throat,” he muttered.
“I came directly into your stomach,” I corrected, pressing the gas. “But I get tested enough to know my status, and I’m offended you would imply otherwise.”
“I don’t know a single thing about you, Archer.”
Fuck, I hated when he called me Archer.
Pulling into my driveway, I cut the ignition and let my head drop back against the headrest with a soft thump.
“Well.” I sighed, shouldering open my door. “I assure you that you won’t get anything from me. I don’t know if I can say the same about you.”
It was mean and I knew it. It was unnecessary, but the insinuation stung. After he’d already let me get him off as many times as he pleased…as I had pleased, and he had the audacity to question me like that. It made me angry, and while I wanted to take that out on him, I knew he didn’t deserve it. The feelings that twisted up in my head were my own problem, not his.
Slamming the door closed behind me, I sucked in a breath of fresh air, knowing that having Owen at my house was a dangerous plan. Especially with the text message thread that I knew would pop up on my phone as soon as I took the device off airplane mode. Flynn was a ringleader, and I wouldn’t have put it past him to show up at my house demanding that I produce Owen in all his tragic glory.
Fishing my keys out of my pocket, I heard the passenger side door close, and the rapid sound of Owen’s footfalls as he chased after me.
