Oh, shit.My stomach flips. I don’t necessarily see each brother every day, and I hadn’t noticed anything odd until Dane hadn’t shown in chem this morning. Honestly, I’ve been so preoccupied with myself, it’d escaped my notice. “Um. He seemed tired. He got there late, which is a little unusual. Every other class, he’s always gotten there before me, but not that day. And he wasn’t there today at all.”
The idea that our argument—disagreement? Whatever you want to call it—had obviously upset him weighs heavily on me. I accused him of lying. And I don’t think I’m wrong. In fact, I know I’m not. I chew on my lip, hardly paying attention to what Archer is doing as he finishes scraping the razor up my calf, taking special care around my ankle.
“It’s strange. He either left entirely or was holed up in his room. I didn’t get a chance to ask. But he’s back now.” There’s a pause in Archer’s movements, and I think he must be rinsing the razor.
My inhale is unsteady, and I hope Archer doesn’t attribute it to our conversation because I don’t want to have to lie to him. “He should be here, with Taggart being in the middle of initiation, right?”
“I mean, if he has a valid reason, it’s no big deal. Just thought it was odd, the timing of it all.”
“Yeah. I guess so.” I bite down on my lip. Definitely odd timing. More than he realizes.Shit.I need us to be off this topic. Now. “Hey, I wanted to thank you, by the way.”
“What, for something other than this?” Archer leans in, and my eyes flicker open as he reaches for the shave gel. “Switch legs for me.” He lets me pull my leg down from the bench, then replace it with the other.
My hands are shaking, so I reach behind me and grip his hips. “Um, yes. I understand why Kingston and Cannon have given me some space.” I let out a troubled breath, even though I do truly get it. I shift to angle my head toward Archer’s face. “I’m glad you’ve been here the entire time, though. I think I’ve hardly been out of your sight since Monday.”
This time it’s him who spreads the slippery gel over my skin, and he continues his work, gliding the razor over me while I try to hang in there both because I’m trying to divert the conversation, but also because my heart is thrumming a little out of control with each swipe of the razor, especially as he moves up my thigh.
Archer squeezes me gently around the middle. “You okay, baby? I can stop. I was going to do a little more, but no one cares if there’s a little fuzz on your sweet thigh.”
I shudder in his arms, completely overwhelmed. “You can finish.”
His soft, but firm lips connect with the side of my neck. “You may think this is a show of weakness—the shaking, the not wanting to pick up the razor at all. But I don’t. The fact that you could admit you needed my help is a strength not many are capable of. You’ll get past this. Someday, this’ll be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.”
My heart clenches at his belief in me. I nod quickly. “You’re right. I know you are.”
“I usually am.” He lifts his head, lips moving to my temple, where he takes a couple deep breaths before whispering, “Do you want me to take off this bandage, Elliot?”
I inhale unsteadily, feeling the razor move up my thigh. “Just don’t get too close to it.”
“I wouldn’t. I'll tell you what. How about if I cover it with my hand? I’ll protect it.” At my nod of agreement, he picks at the edge of the tape, which is, thankfully, not sticking any longer now that it’s wet, and peels it away. I squeeze my eyes shut, not knowing what he’s done with the bandage until I hear a wet plop on the floor of the shower. “I’m going to shift a bit so I can see what I’m doing.” He releases his hold on me and moves to my side. “I’m still right here.” He rests a gentle hand on my back before letting it slide over to my side. Even though it probably makes things harder for him, I grasp his bicep just as his warm hand covers the wound high on my inner thigh. “That’s it. Just hang onto me. I’ll be done in a sec.”
A shuddered breath works from between my lips, and I try so hard to steel myself for it, but I feel the panic rising within me.
To his credit, though, Archer doesn’t linger any longer than necessary. “Done.” He grabs the detachable shower head and makes quick work of rinsing me off. “Okay, Peaches. That’s it. Breathe. It’s all over.”
He cuts the water off, and for the first time in several minutes, I open my eyes and look up into his. That silvery gray color, no matter how mesmerizing, can’t mask the concern in them.
“I’m o-okay.” I cringe as soon as the shaky words leave my mouth.
Archer presses his lips together as he studies me. “Elliot, it’s okay if you’re fuckin’notokay. No one expects you to brush this off like it was nothing.” He reaches for a fluffy towel and wraps me up in it, then grabs one for himself, which he tucks around his waist before we exit the shower.
Stopping on the mat outside the shower, Archer takes another towel from the rack and gently blots my skin dry, then hands it to me. “Wanna wrap your hair up in it?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I take it from him, and while I bend and fashion the towel into a turban on top of my head, he murmurs, “Be right back.” No more than thirty seconds later, he’s back with one of his T-shirts and a pair of boxer briefs. “This pair is a little small for what I’ve got going on.” He shoots me a boyish wink that has me laughing despite myself and all my worries.
I totally see right through what he’s doing, too, and I do appreciate it. He knows we’re going to have to take a look at my fresh scar and make sure it’s healing properly. It’s a tall order, lightening the mood in here, but he does pretty well.
He cocks his head to the side, a teasing smirk on his lips, and the clothing still held in his hands between us. “What, got a problem with putting that pretty pussy where Archie’s anaconda has been?”
A laugh threatens to escape. I snatch them out of his hand, and drop my towel, which automatically makes the grin fall from his face as his mouth goes slack and his eyes heat. They roam over me, and his Adam’s apple bobs hard. I start with the underwear, bending to step into them, then slide them up my legs, careful to work them over the marked, reddened skin.
I stand upright, pulling them over my ass.
“Shit.”
My brows raise as my gaze flicks up to see what he’s responding to.
