Page 33 of Beautiful Thing

“Is everything all right with you? With Sky?” His eyes dart to my closed bedroom door and he takes another domineering step toward me. Like he’s ready to toss me over one shoulder, toss my kid over the other and haul us to safety, if the need should arise.

I bob my head up and down like an over-caffeinated bobblehead doll. “Yes. Yes, everything’s fine,” I assure him, and only then does the tension in his shoulders release.

“What are you doing out here?” he asks. And when I can’t come up with an answer, understanding begins to dawn on his face. “Wait—are you out here creeping on me?”

My shoulder blades bump into the wall when I take another backward step. “Um, no. Of course not,” I vigorously swing my head left to right.

He clearly doesn’t believe me, and my skin flushes with heat and embarrassment. At the same time, I feel an unexpected throb of awareness between my thighs.

I know that spying on him is wrong.

Wishing he’d pin my hips to this wall and demand an explanation out of me? That’s wrong, too. Yet, here we are.

His thick brows furrow but a trace of amusement appears in the crinkled lines at the corners of his eyes. “So, you’re lost then? Looking for directions? Should I put a map on the wall or something?”

I almost roll my eyes because now, he’s making fun of me. “No, you big jerk. I just…I wanted to make sure you were okay…”

When I say that, he pauses. He looks genuinely confused. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

I’m tempted to bring up Kathryn, to ask him if seeing her bothered him. But with that light-hearted expression on his face, I can’t find the balls to mention his ex. I don’t want to risk souring his mood. So I go with a safer explanation.

“Your siblings are at the bar tonight and you’re…here.”

“Yeah. I’m here,” he says matter-of-factly.

“But…aren’t you…”Lonely?

Archer seems to understand the question, even though it gets caught in my throat. He takes a half-step closer and his eyes fall to my mouth. “I’m exactly where I want to be, Layla.”

The low rasp in his voice combined with the way his gaze lingers on my lips makes my body temperature hit the roof. I can’t find coherent words. I can only stare at the man towering over me with the ferocious intensity in his eyes.

What is going on here?! What is this storm brewing in the air between us?

No. No, it can’t be. This isArcher, after all. He’s already made it clear that he doesn’t want me. It must be the shadows of this hallway playing tricks on my brain.

Archer speaks again. “So, to answer your question—I’m okay, Belle.”

“Good…” I breathe out, aware of how close we’re standing and how amazing he smells and how the electricity from his body wraps around me like a forcefield. “That’s good.”

His gaze is so consuming that I force myself to break eye contact, dropping my stare lower. Not the best idea, because now, I’m staring at his chest. That T-shirt is perfectly fitted to his carved torso and my eyes easily trace the contours of his pronounced abs beneath the fabric.

“And areyouokay?” he asks me, dipping his chin to search my face.

“Yes. I’m okay.”Not really.I’m currently running one hell of a fever at the apex of my thighs.

He gives me a nod. “That’s good.”

A tense silence descends over us.

Well, my lips may be silent but my body is screaming. My tummy sizzles. My nipples throb. My pussy aches. And the whole time, I’m forced to play it cool.

Seriously, though…I wonder if he feels this heat, too. Because I can’t help but notice the way his eyes linger at the hem of my T-shirt. The way his gaze travels lower, down my bare legs. The way his Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows thickly.

This is getting dangerous.

“Good night, Archer…” I finally push through the knot in my throat.

His stare bounds back to my face, flickering around like he’s trying to figure me out. Something that looks like curiosity shimmers in his eyes. But I know he’d never explore that curiosity.

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