Page 27 of Bleed for Me

He pointed toward another door at the far end of the room. “There’s a weight room in there with treadmills and ellipticals. The weights are built into the machines so they can’t be used as weapons,” he explained, his tone holding a trace of amusement.

Next, he showed me the music room. It looked like any other choir that you’d see in school with chairs positioned on different levels of a ramp. Podiums were lined up against the far wall and on the other side of the room were instruments. I used to like singing as a kid. It had always been therapeutic and was a great way to express yourself when those feelings were difficult to talk about.

As we continued to the next room, I felt myself relaxing. He didn’t seem that bad. Maybe what happened was similar to my situation and it had been a one-time thing and a complete accident. That’s what I wanted to believe, anyways.

“Wow.” I breathed, once we stepped foot into the theatre.

A large stage sat up front with rows and rows of seating surrounding it. When the doors closed behind us, my body tensed, the lights dim compared to the ones in the hall. It struck me then, that I was completely alone with him in a room that was so big, I wasn’t sure anyone would hear me scream if it came to that.

His body heat surrounded me as he stepped against me from behind. My breath caught in my throat when his hands drifted along the outside of my arms, his fingertips brushing along my skin, raising goosebumps with each stroke of his fingers.

“This is the drama room,” he whispered, his breath feathering against my ear.

I whirled around to face him, the movement causing his hands to drop to my hips, which he tightened around my waist. Even in the darkened room, his eyes were captivating. Dark promises danced within them, sending my heart into my throat. He tugged me against him, causing a gasp to slip from my lips and I was forced to brace myself against his chest. His heart was beating hard beneath my fingertips.

“Archer…” I said hesitantly.

“Just one taste,” he whispered.

My head spun, trying to figure out what he’d meant by that, but his lips crashed down on mine in the next breath. They were soft and warm, a complete contrast from what one would expect by looking at him. I didn’t kiss him back. Icouldn’t.But there was a part of me that was too scared to pull away. Would he take it as a rejection?

His hands slid up, wrapping around the sides of my face where he cradled me, holding me in place with a firm grip. Images of Alex flashed within my mind, guilt consuming me even though I wasn’t entertaining this.

I pushed away from him abruptly, my eyes wide with panic.

“Y-you can’t do that,” I stammered. “I have a boyfriend, and we don’t even know each other.” My chest rose and fell rapidly.

His eyes darkened at the mention of Alex. The sight had my skin crawling with nerves. There wasn’t exactly a handbook on how to talk to people like this. All I could think about was how he accidentally murdered that girl. My chest constricted as he took another step forward, invading my personal space once again.

“By the time I’m done with you, you won’t even remember his name. I promise you that.” He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, allowing his fingers to brush across the side of my face with the movement. Finally, he dropped his arm and stepped away.

When he turned to open the doors, letting the light bleed into the large room, tension rolled off my body in waves. Hesitantly, I followed him back out into the hall.

Next, he showed me the art room. Gloria had mentioned this to me earlier, stating they didn’t mind giving away their supplies to patients for decorating purposes. Long white tables decorated the room with what appeared to be art kits in front of each seat. This room contained the most color with paintings adorning the walls and bright, marble wallpaper with various colors.

“My friend Jordan comes here a lot,” he said. “So if you have this class, you’ll probably see him more.”

Jordan—the one who raped his pregnant step-aunt in front of his uncle and then murdered her. My throat constricted, but I knew better than to speak my thoughts on the subject. If Archer was friends with him, knowing what he’d done, then I could only assume he wasn’t much better. The same could be said for Seven.

One of the last places he took me to in the building was the library. My eyes widened as he led me through the bookcases stacked throughout the room. There were probablythousands, if not more, books in this place.

As if noticing my admiration, he released a chuckle that vibrated through his chest. The sound did things to me I didn’t even want to contemplate. “You like books, I presume?” he asked with a small smile.

“I like all kinds of literature. Books, poetry, short stories, all of it really.” I grinned back, unable to help myself. There was just something amazing about getting lost in a story or entranced by words that had the ability to make you feel.

He glanced at me for a moment as if deep in thought, but he didn’t say anything more on the matter. Instead, he led me toward the back end of the library that was secluded from the rest.

“This is where I like to hangout. It’s quiet over here and no one else takes up this space,” he explained, motioning toward an area with a couch and table.

“So, you won’t mind if I steal your spot then?” I joked, the environment already putting me more at ease.

“Not at all. I wouldn’t have shown it to you if I didn’t want to share it with you.” He turned to face me, that same hunger in his eyes that was there when he kissed me.

Instinctively, I took a step back, not wanting to give him the opportunity to do it again. “Archer…” I said hesitantly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t come onto you again. Even though what I really want to do is lay you down on that couch and fuck you senseless.”

My breath hitched and heat spread through my body. I’d never had anyone say anything like that to me or be so…forward in general. I’d wondered what sex was like in the past, and even though, I’d agreed to the whole celibacy thing with Alex, I’d brought it up a few times which he always shut down.

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