Archer

by Haley Jenner

  "Baby, I need to pee," I talk against his ear, pulling his attention from a conversation with Bennett. I move from the table and he rises with me. I realize his intention to come with me, but before I can protest he meets my eyes pleadingly, causing my heart to crack for him. Archer is the most confident, dominating man I’ve ever met. But here, surrounded by the people who love him most, he seems so lost. I know it’ll take time for him to settle into his life back here in Carnation, so I don't argue as he pulls me into the house.

  I trail behind him slowly up each stair. "You're not actually going to watch me pee, are you?" I question, but am met with silence.

  Pushing me into the bathroom, he locks the door before turning slowly. I feel tiny under his assessment. So small in stature in comparison to his towering height.

  Hunger. That's evident in his eyes. My nipples harden under his predatory glare before his mouth descends on mine in a hard kiss. I melt against him as his tongue strokes into my mouth. He pulls back to bite and suck on my bottom lip and I groan at the feeling. Turning, Archer pushes me against the door, hiking up one of my legs to wrap around his waist, pushing his excitement against my core. We groan simultaneously at the pressure and even through his jeans I can feel him hard and hot against me. He drags his large hand over my naked ass, sliding a finger between my cheeks, adding slight pressure to my back entrance. The foreign feeling has me pulling from our kiss, my eyes wide. Archer's grin is wicked as he pulls me back towards him, keeping his hand firmly placed between my ass cheeks.

  "Feel good, baby?" he growls into my mouth and I'm a little stunned at how turned on I am. "Wanna fuck you here" he instructs before biting down on my bottom lip, eliciting a breathy moan from my mouth. "Turn you on, Belle? The thought of me balls deep in your ass?" he whispers, watching my eyes. "Are you wet at the thought, baby?" he says, gliding a finger of his free hand up my thigh and into my wet heat. His smile is wicked, groan feral when he feels how ready I am for him. "We're leaving," he informs me, pulling his hands from my pussy and ass, smirking triumphantly when I whimper at the loss.

  My need to pee is promptly forgotten as he clasps my hand and pulls me from the bathroom, down the stairs to say our goodbyes.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Archer

  I watch her sleep for a long time, taking comfort in the familiarity. We fell asleep as we’ve always done, her back to my chest. I can smell her best that way. I can kiss her neck, feel every curve and the softness of her skin against my own body. Feel her heart beat through her back and into my own chest. It's rhythmic, consistent, strong and for me, calming. She’ll always move shortly after she drifts off though, turning to face me, head tucked into my neck. So, I watch her. The way her eyelashes flutter when she dreams. The way her lips move softly as she mumbles incoherent nothings into the air. She laughs sometimes, lightly. I fall in love with her more when I hear that. Maybe because I know that when I'm sleeping my body relaxes to a point that allows the darkness to enter, overtake my thoughts. My dreams wake me, haunt me. But hers, hers are happy. This means that in her deepest subconscious the emptiness that lives inside me doesn’t affect her. She speaks my name often in sleep. I like that. I often wonder what those dreams are about. Are they memories? Hopes? Maybe they're dirty. I can only hope.

  I pull the blanket down to look at her. To see her properly. She’s so fucking perfect. So soft. I palm my hand across her tattoo. I love it. I love that she has a mark that encapsulates us inked into her skin. Forever. The ink looks good on her. I just wish she had my name put on it. So everyone knew she belonged to me. That whenever she saw it she knew that she was mine, forever. I didn't say that to her. Maybe another time.

  I can't sleep. Coming home, the first few weeks are always the hardest. Reflecting on what’s been lost, working through the realization that you’re no longer in a war zone. That loud, abrupt noises don't mean death and destruction. To understand that your loved ones are here, with you and not another world away. Knowing you can speak to them, touch them.

  All I need to do is keep myself busy. Start building my life with Belle. Again. That's my plan. It worked last time so it has to work this time. The nightmares will eventually come less and less regularly, until they almost cease completely. Almost anyway. They never completely leave. The haunting memories will begin to subside, but like the nightmares, they’ll never completely free themselves from my mind. But even with that, life will continue to move forward.

  Too restless to sleep I slowly untangle myself from Belle's embrace. She groans softly in frustration at the loss, but quickly curls into my pillow, breathing deep, before settling again. Placing a soft kiss to her forehead I find my boxers and quietly walk from our room. I need a smoke. The nicotine calms me and it gives me something to do with my hands when I'm on edge.

  Sitting on the front steps I stare into the darkness of the trees surrounding the house, the only light visible, the red embers highlighting my cigarette. I take a deep drag and welcome the taste in my throat. Settling back, I lean against the wood of the porch and feel its roughness on my naked back. The house needs work and to distract my overworked psyche, I mentally start renovating it. Sanding the porch, re-lacquering the wood. Repainting the house, the shutters, the roof. A garden would look good too. Bordering the bottom of the porch line. It would look a million bucks, with the right amount of work.

  "Baby?" Belle's soft tone meets my ears and I turn my head in the opposite direction briefly to exhale the smoke in my lungs before turning back to her. "Couldn't sleep?" she questions, her face marked with the crease lines of sleep, her voice thick with drowsiness.

  I smile softly at her as she sits down next to me and leans into my side, completely unfazed by the cigarette smoke dancing around us. "Baby, you should go back to bed. I'll be up soon," I prompt before taking another deep drag on my smoke.

  "I don't really sleep well without you. I'm happy to just sit with you. If that's okay?" her lips meet my shoulder and I arrange our bodies so her back is leaning into my chest as I use the post of the porch as support for my own back. She’s wearing nothing but a silk robe, tied tightly at her waist. It sits mid-thigh, exposing her firm legs, with the sleeves long enough they reach her wrists. It feels good against my bare chest and I pull her tighter into my body, loving the feel of her weight against me.

  We sit in companionable silence, pressed in close, as I finish my smoke. It’s nice to be here with her, to be able to do this. Being without her over the last few months was a brand of torture I couldn’t have imagined. I feel selfish thinking it was hard for me, shit, there are so many men and women who have been separated from their wives, husbands and kids, for a far greater amount of time. I admire their strength. I felt this constant feeling of emptiness, like a huge part of me was missing and no matter how many times I spoke to her, looked at her picture, I couldn’t feel whole. Not until yesterday when I felt her weight in my arms.

  Stabbing the butt of my cigarette into the wood beside my foot, I bury my nose into Belle’s hair, breathing her in and feeling a consuming sense of relief of being with her. "Was thinking of the work we can do to this place," I start, touching my lips to her neck.

  Waiting for my lips to lift from her skin, she twists her body slightly, meeting my eyes and resting her head against my shoulder. “Yeah? Tell me.”

  I tell her everything that ran through my mind. Most of the work I could do myself. Straight-forward labor that I do day in, day out working with Brian.

  Brian owns a small construction company on the outskirts of Carnation. He’s a good guy, took me on when I was a punk kid in need of a male role-model. Didn’t take my shit, but always welcomed me back into the fold each and every time I fucked up. Which was often. Brian gave me a decent amount of work when I came home last time, taught me a lot. I’m looking forward to getting back into it, to settle back into some kind of normalcy. I make a mental note to touch base with him the next morning.

  Belle is smiling openly when I pull my a
ttention back to her. "I want a red front door," she announces and I laugh at her addition.

  "Red, huh? Red it is," I kiss her neck. "I want us to buy this place, Belle," I share and she sits up straight turning to meet my eyes. "You said that you wanted this place as your own and I've thought on it. We can do it. I have a bit of money saved up, with your cash as well, there's our deposit. You're not a single income any more. With what we both make, we can do this." I'm aware that my voice is pleading, but I want this, more than anything. I search her eyes for something, anything to hint that she too, wants this as much as I do. "I know it seems fast but..." she stops my words with a finger to my lips. Her head starts nodding fervently and her large eyes are wet with unshed tears. "Words, baby, I'm gonna need the words," I prompt and she smiles wide.

  "Yes. I want to buy this house with you. I want it to be ours," she cries out quietly before crushing her lips to my own.

  Crawling onto my lap, her hands cup my jaw as she continues stroking her tongue into my mouth softly. Standing with her in my lap, I move along the porch, placing her ass along the railing. Pulling the tie of her robe, the silky material parts, revealing her creamy skin.

  "Never get tired of looking at you, baby. So fucking perfect," she blushes at my words but keeps my eyes. "Are you ready for me, baby? I can't wait."

  She answers by freeing me from my boxers and guiding me to her entrance. Her firm legs wrap around my waist, pulling me into her body slowly. I watch as her eyes flutter closed when I'm buried deep, her juicy lips turned up in a sexy as little smirk.

  "God, I've missed this," she whispers before pulling my face down for a long wet kiss. Our lips don't break contact as I slide in and out of her lazily. Her hard nipples brush against the nakedness of my chest making her whimper at the friction. No words are exchanged, only our low and quiet sounds breaking through the dark of the night. We come together, our climax swallowed by our kiss.

  Our eyes focus in on where our bodies were connected, watching as I pull from her body and glide my cock along her folds, causing her entire body to shudder once more. Tucking myself back into my boxers, I lean forward, kissing her swollen lips before picking her up and walking back into our house.

  Settling back into bed, sleep comes easily and I rest soundly, nightmares safely kept at bay.

  In less than two weeks we’ve submitted the paperwork and have been approved to buy the house. Seems the owners were happy to sell it to Belle, they were sentimental and were always hoping she would be in a position to purchase it. Settlement is within the month. I’ve never seen Belle happier and this makes me fucking ecstatic. She’s my world, and it hasn’t taken much to realize that making her happy is all that matters for me now. She hasn't been able to wipe the smile from her face. It's infectious. I don't think I have ever smiled this much in my life.

  "Dude, happy, smiling Archer freaks me the fuck out. Just being honest," Toby's voice breaks through my thoughts. I look at him questioningly and he shakes his head laughing. "That, dude, so happy you're off with the fuckin' fairies. I kinda miss pissy, brooding Archer." He pauses for a minute watching me cautiously. "You're kinda weird now," he jokes and Bennett and I smile at his mocking.

  "Whatever. I can still kick your ass, hippy boy," I retort and his laugh is loud, grabbing the attention of the surrounding tables occupied around us.

  We sit in silence for a few minutes nursing our beers, content in one another's company. The quiet is comfortable, but then it’s always been that way between us.

  "I'm gonna ask Willow to marry me," Toby announces quietly, angling his body to look at us both, to gage our reactions to his news. I smile widely at him, a strange buzz coursing through my veins at the happiness clearly felt by one of my closest friends. Joy? Certainly something liken to that anyway. Maybe peace of mind that two people who I care for deeply, who I hold in high regard, are moving towards establishing their lives together, as a family. And for that, I couldn’t be happier. I know Bennett’s face would read similarly to mine, his perma-smile wide, showcasing his teeth.

  "That's awesome, man," I congratulate and Bennett gives his back a slap in approval.

  Toby and Willow have been together since school and he told me he wanted to marry her the first moment he saw her. Granted it's because she had the biggest tits the three of us had ever seen, on an incredibly small but curvy frame. Willow Thompson was hot, epically so and Toby fell hard and fast. They’ve been together ever since and while they've had their ups and downs like most, they're solid. Toby never once gave up on the idea of being her husband. I thought he was a tool thinking about marriage all those years ago. But I get it now, the want of forever with someone.

  "Another round to celebrate then," Bennett wanders off towards the bar and I watch his exit, still caught up in thoughts.

  "It may be presumptuous considering I haven't actually asked her, but I'll need you as my best man," he tests quietly and it touches me deeply.

  Bennett and Toby are good people. Genuinely decent men. I’ll never know why they stood by me all these years. It’s not as if I offered them a whole lot in the friendship stakes, but they always took my back. Never hesitating, not for a second. They taught me the benefits of lasting loyalty, through their friendship they’ve shown me the people you need in life. The four of us met in first grade and have stuck together all these years. Nothing seems to have the ability to crack our bond, not even the cold reality that we had to bury one of us.

  "Honor to be that person for you, brother," I say, moving in to clasp his hand and pull him into a tight embrace, the words meaning more than Toby would ever know. That after all these years, after all the selfish shit I’ve pulled, he still sees me as that person.

  "Aww, I'm feeling a little left out at this obvious display of affection assholes," glasses clink as Bennett places our fresh beers on the table.

  "I was just telling Archer here that I think it's best we stop fucking now I'm basically a married man," Toby smirks and I shake my head on a laugh, reaching for my beer.

  Pulling his own glass to his lips, Bennett's attention turns to me as he finishes a mouthful of amber liquid. "What about you dude, looking to settle down with Annabelle?"

  I drink deeply from my glass, considering my words. I like my business private, but Bennett and Toby are family and their curiosity is genuine, not prying. "Definitely on my mind. Never really thought it was on the cards for me. But fuck me if that woman hasn't buried herself deep," I pause and they wait patiently. "I reckon I have one more contract in me," I share and they nod in understanding. "I can't…. won’t marry her until I'm back. If something happens, I won't…. can’t leave her as a widow," I finish, refusing to meet their eyes on a shake of my head.

  Draining my glass, I retreat to the bar, irritated that I overshared. That I vocalized my deepest fears. I didn't mean to give so much, those thoughts, those doubts are private. Honest, but my own personal dread, shit, I haven’t even had this discussion with Belle. It scares the fucking shit out of me. Leaving her permanently haunts me more than anything, but how do I bring that up in conversation? I order a shot of tequila and down it quickly before returning to the boys with another round. Bennett and Toby are engrossed in a conversation about the Mariner's latest game and I ease into their conversation effortlessly. We talk about the game, work, nothing of substance for the next few hours and as time passes we’re well and truly buzzed.

  "Archer, I get you're a private person and you’re gonna shut down as soon as I bring it up, but what you said about leaving Annabelle a widow man, you’ve gotta know that’s shit. You can't not marry her because of that. You think she'll be less heartbroken if you're not married?" Bennett states, his voice slightly groggy from the booze.

  "Not up for discussion," I declare meeting both their eyes.

  Of course they don’t leave it, both staring me down in challenge before Toby speaks first, "All we're saying is don't put your life on hold because your scared."

  My brows furrow at h
is words and I start to speak. "I'm not...." but I stop mid-sentence, because it's a lie. I know it, they know it. I am scared, I’m fucking petrified. "I'm gonna head home and fuck my woman," I divert the conversation, finishing my drink in one large gulp.

  "Don't drive," Bennett warns on a sigh and I lift my chin in acknowledgement at his words.

  "He knows he needs to walk, sober him up. He won't be able to get it up otherwise," Toby teases drunkenly and I bark out a laugh.

  "That’s fuckin’ shit. My cock’s constantly hard around her, drives me fucking crazy," I laugh as I tap my fist against each of theirs in farewell, before exiting the bar. The cooler air hits my face and there’s no denying I’m really fucking drunk. I'd be able to get it up, sure, but my performance would be sub-par. Maybe a little messy, which isn’t entirely a bad thing if Belle was in a similar state, not so much with her being stone-cold sober. Toby’s right, the walk will probably do me some good.

  It doesn’t take long to walk home and I still feel drunk as I approach our house. Our house. The light in our living room is visible through the blinds and I know she’d be waiting up for me. Reaching the door, I see her asleep on the couch, book close to her head forgotten, tea on the coffee table, no doubt left cold. I watch her openly, constantly shocked by how beautiful she is. Her creamy skin is covered by the black silk of her robe and laying on her side, the material of the silk gapes slightly to show off the swell of her tits. Fucking amazing.

  I work to make as little noise as possible when I enter the house, pausing for a moment, willing her to stay asleep when the sharp sound of the lock echoes through the stillness of the house. My head spins as I turn towards her, the effect of the alcohol not yet starting to wear off. My cock begins to harden immediately at the sight of her, of the knowledge that within seconds I’ll be touching her. It’s ridiculous that any one person can have that affect, but Belle does, the thought of touching any part of her body heats my blood.