Page 25 of Broken Halos
“Two consenting adults enjoying one another’s bodies isn’t harming a single soul,” Archie said.
I nodded, but added, “There’s obviously more to it than being consenting adults. Adulterers and people in a position of power may gain someone’s consent before a sexual act, but it doesn’t make their actions right.”
“Of course,” Archie agreed then smiled. “Our conversation has steered into deep waters again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Archie said before lightly kissing my lips. “There’s no way for this to work between us without airing these things out.”
“And you want this to work out?” I asked hopefully.
Archie rubbed his nose against mine again. “I want to try.”
“Me too. This feels right to me.”
Archie slanted his head and pressed his lips to mine, gentle pecks at first before his tongue traced the seam between my lips. I automatically parted them, eager to feel his tongue inside my mouth again. Archie was gentle at first, teasing the tip of my tongue with his own before sucking mine into his mouth, making my dick throb and pulling a desperate groan from my chest. I slid my hand under his lacy shirt to feel the silky smooth skin underneath. I trailed my fingers over the hard planes of Archie’s abdomen, reveling in the way the muscles quivered under his skin.
He released my tongue and looked at me with hungry eyes. “I thought we were just kissing.”
“My fingertips are kissing your soft skin,” I countered.
“Well, my fingertips want to get in on the action too,” Archie said, reaching for the buttons on my shirt. “You wear the softest flannel shirts, and they invite a man to rub his face against them. God, how am I going to resist kissing every inch of you I reveal?” he asked after he freed two buttons from their prison. “But a deal is a deal.”
“Maybe we renegotiate,” I suggested. I wanted Archie’s lips working a path down my chest.
“Uh-uh. I don’t want you to have any regrets.” As if. The only way it would happen is if… Oh! I stiffened when I realized he still wasn’t comfortable with our situation. Heat and hunger had overshadowed his hesitation, but it was still there hiding in the wings. Archie freaking out and rejecting me after sex would be something I might not overcome. “Don’t pull away from me,” Archie urged, tightening his grip on my flannel.
“I’m still right here, Arch.”
“I felt you mentally checking out just now. Why?”
“I realized we’re not in the same place,” I admitted. “I’m ready to rush headlong into this, but you’re not.” I slid my hand up to cover his heart. I loved seeing the contrast between my darker skin and Archie’s fair skin beneath the lace. “What do you need from me, Arch?”
“Honesty and time. Life has taught me to be cautious. Unlike you, I’m okay with random hookups because I’ve been convinced it’s all I’ll ever have. In your eyes, I see the promise of more, and I need time to believe it’s real—that you’re real.”
“I can give you time, Arch.” And I would, no matter how desperate I was to know him in every possible way.
I wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him back to me, lifting my head to meet him halfway. Our kiss wasn’t slow and tentative; it was hungry, wet, and filled with promise. Kissing Archie didn’t just involve our mouths; it was a full-body experience. My nerve endings fired to life, emitting messages of want and need and lust until I ached for him from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair. By this time, Archie had my shirt completely undone, pushing it open and touching me everywhere with his greedy hands. I was overcome with the need to at least feel his bare chest against mine.
The buttons on his shirt were much smaller than mine, and laughter reverberated in Archie’s chest when I struggled to get them open with my clumsy fingers. He reached between our bodies to undo them himself, but I pushed his hands away, swallowing his laughter. I would persevere. Archie’s laughter turned to guttural moans when I finally spread his shirt open and aligned our bodies so they pressed together from head to toe. Archie kissed me harder and gripped my ass, rolling and pulling me on top to straddle his hips in the recliner, pressing my raging hard-on tighter against his and urging me to rut against him. The friction sent shivers of pleasure racing down my spine.
I slid my hands in his hair, fisting the silky strands in my fingers while we kissed hungrily, desperately. I broke our kiss so I could look into his eyes. “Archie,” I whispered when I saw how far gone he was too. It would’ve been easy to convince him to go into my bedroom with me, but the time wasn’t right. That didn’t mean I couldn’t make him feel good and give him something fond to think about while we worked up to the point where I’d have him naked beneath me in my bed. I rocked my hips forward and back, months of need and lust spurring me on faster and harder.
“More,” Archie said, sounding as desperate as I felt. His body bowed beneath mine. He was close. I could feel it—smell it.
“Come for me, Arch. Show me how much I turn you on.”
He arched his neck and gritted his teeth. I leaned forward and sank my teeth in the tender part where his neck met his shoulder. Archie’s breath hitched then held for a few heartbeats before he released it on a grunt as he came, soaking the front of his jeans. “Ollie!” he cried out.
I came too, long and hard, while rutting against him. Archie captured my cries with his lips and held me tight in his arms once I collapsed on top of him. He ran his hands up and down my back, learning the curve of my spine while I fought to catch my breath.
“I haven’t done that in a long time,” Archie whispered.
I raised up and looked into his sated eyes. “What? Come?”
“Not in my pants,” Archie said with a wry smile. “This takes me back to my junior high days.”
I snorted. “Got an early start, huh?”