“You never could.”
“I could, but I wouldn’t.”
“I’ll never hurt you either.” We’re not talking about sex anymore, are we?
“I know.” He pulls me tighter against him so his cock is nestled between my thighs as he continues to warm up my arse. He sucks my earlobe into his mouth and then kisses me behind my ear. “Jacob.” His voice is a soft, desperate whine.
“Yes?”
“When did you last get tested?”
My heart patters. “You want—” I swipe my tongue over my lips.
“Can we? We haven’t slept with anyone else since we met. It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m being crazy. I just thought…I wondered?—”
I half turn so I can look him in the eyes and cup the far side of his face. “You’re not being crazy.”
“Tell me to be sensible. Tell me we can’t.”
I stroke his cheek. “We can’t. Not right now.” I tip my forehead against his. “We can get tested as soon as we get home.”
He nods. “Okay. I just?—”
“Needed to be close?”
“Yes.”
“We are. So close my heart is going to burst. I’m ready, Archer. Put the condom on. Make love to me.”
“Sure?”
“I’ve never been surer about anything in my life. Except you.”
Chapter 24
Archer
I can’t stop staring at Jacob. This is the exact opposite of standing at the island’s highest point, where I felt like a small, insignificant cog in a huge machine. Jacob’s words make me feel important, wanted, and needed. Both humbling moments. Both stealing-my-breath-away moments. Yet they couldn’t be more different.
“Archer?” Jacob knits his brows.
I shake myself. “I’m okay.” My voice is choked up and strangled.
He strokes my face. “Sure?”
“Yeah. Just—you’re the best.”
He smiles. “So are you.”
“I want to face you while we make love.”
I turn onto my back, pick up the condom, carefully tear the wrapper, and roll the rubber onto my cock. I’m glad Jacob talked sense into me but also sad he did. It would have been amazing to be truly close to him, with nothing between us. I slick my cock with plenty of lube and beckon him to me.
He widens his eyes. “You want me to straddle you?”
“You’d have more control that way. But if you don’t want to?—”
“I’m good with that.” He rolls over, pecks my lips, and plants his knees on either side of my hips, straddling me.
