Page 140 of Beautiful Thing

Without a second thought, I rush across the hallway and peek inside her room again. Yes, the door is still cracked open, and yes, I could just let myself inside. But I don’t want to intrude. So I pace around in my boxers like a crazy person outside her door.

Shit, I should have at least put on some pants.

And what am I even going to say? Why didn't I think about that before I showed up at the damn door?

Before I can consider bolting, the door swings open fully and Layla stands there in the pajamas I bought her on Valentine’s Day.

She’s rubbing her eyes, looking alarmed. “Are you okay? Is everything okay?”

“I…uh, I…” I scratch at the back of my neck, shifting my weight from side to side.

“Archer, you’re scaring me.” She reaches out, gripping my arm. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

Still, I can’t find words. So I fall to my knees, reaching out and gripping both of her hands in mine.

“Okay, now you’rereallyscaring me. Archer?” Her big brown eyes blink at me in the darkness.

“I…”Shit.“…I can’t fall asleep one more night without telling you that….that I’m in love with you, Layla.”

Her jaw drops. Then it closes and opens several more times.

Before I can chicken out, I go on. “I can’t close my eyes one more night without you knowing that you’re in my every thought. I can’t go on pretending that I’m only pretending when I kiss you. Because every time I kiss you, it’s real. It’s real when I touch you. When I fuck you.”

“Oh, Archer…” Her fingers rake into my hair and I lean into the touch like a needy puppy.

My lips press against her stomach. “In my mind, this thing between you and me was never just for show. It was never pretend. I kiss you because I’m obsessed with you. You hear me?Obsessed.” I lift the hem of her pajama shirt, touching her with my lips again. “I fuck you because, despite my rules, I can’t resist you. I break every one of my rules because I’m out of my mind for you. None of this is pretend, Layla.”

I pause to catch my breath, my chest heaving as I stare up from where I’m crouched in front of her.

“I’m in love with you, Layla. For real. I have so many regrets when it comes to you and how long I’ve waited. But I can’t let this be one of them. I can’t let you walk away.”

She stares down at me for several long beats. Just when I think she’s going to tell me to get lost, she yanks me onto my feet and pulls me in for a kiss.

“Archer…” she mumbles my name against my lips, before my tongue ventures out to find hers.

My hands tangle into her hair, and we stumble backward into her bedroom. She tilts her head to the side, breaking the kiss and glancing at Sky who is thankfully still sound asleep in his crib.

With two hands on my bare chest, Layla pushes me back out into the hallway, stumbling along with me. “Your room,” she breathes into my mouth. “Your room now.”

Not wasting a second, I scoop her up into my arms. Burying her shriek in my neck, she clings tightly to me.

Inside my bedroom, I throw her sideways across my bed and I start stripping her out of her clothes, not wasting a minute.

“Wait,” she says breathlessly. “Wait, Archer.”

My heart stops cold.

I pause and watch her reach into the pocket of her pajama pants. She turns and flicks on the bedside lamp. That’s when I notice the paper folded in her hands. “I wrote down some things I want to say to you,” she whispers girlishly.

“Oh, yeah?” I ask, climbing over her and kissing her jaw and her neck. “Read it to me,” I demand as my lips travel across her collarbone.

A quivery breath leaves her before she begins. “Dear Archer; It turns out you were right about everything,” she reads quietly in the dim light.

That makes me chuckle into the curve of her neck. “Well, that’s a good way to start. I’m liking this. Keep going.”

I hear the laughter in her voice as I kiss a line down the center of her chest. She holds the old envelope over head and she continues to read. “You were right to have a no-kissing rule. It annoyed the hell out of me at first, because I just wanted to get your lips on me. But with time I’ve come to see that you were right.”

I grunt, cradling her breast and gently taking her nipple between my teeth.

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