Page 86 of Bleed for Me

My heart thundered against my ribcage. There was nothing wrong with a fuck buddy, right? A lot of the girls at college had them. But at the same time, I didn’t want to lead Archer on or make him think this was more than what it was. His obsession with me was bordering on insanity, and I knew that the right thing to do was to keep my distance. But how could I when he looked the way he did?

“No,” I whispered back.

He groaned, hooking his fingers inside me. My back arched of its own accord, a strangled moan flying from my lips. “Archer,” I gasped.

He hummed in response. “Don’t tell me you don’t like what I’m doing to you. Your pussy is clamping down on my fucking hand.” He nipped my lower lip, sending a shudder careening down my spine. “Even your body is begging for my cock. You hear that?” He pulled his fingers out before shoving them backin. A squelching noise reverberated through the library, making my face heat.

“We’re going to get caught,” I panted.

“Let them watch. Let them see who you belong to.” He slammed his mouth down on mine again, much harder than before while simultaneously working his fingers between my legs.

Electricity shot through my veins, spiraling all the way down to my core until my entire body was shaking. My release slammed into me, making me cry out into the kiss. He brought his free hand up to cradle the side of my face, softening the kiss as I rode out the last waves of pleasure.

“You’re so fucking sexy, my little salvation. So, fuckingmine.”

A current of dread pulsed through me at his words. While they were hot, they also sounded like a death sentence.

Finally, he removed his hand from between my thighs. My juices coated his fingers, trickling down his wrist. He stuck two of them in his mouth, keeping his eyes locked on mine while he tasted me. Embarrassment clawed through me. Maybe this was a mistake. He still put me on edge, still confused the hell out of me. I needed to take a step back and reevaluate. I readjusted my skirt and rose on shaky legs.

“I should probably shower,” I commented, shifting uncomfortably.

“I’ll walk you back to your room.” He stood and led the way out of the library. Luckily, it was still mostly empty, aside from the librarian who was messing around on one of the computers.

When we reached my door, he drew me in for another kiss, clearly unable to keep his hands off me. I knew he’d get bored eventually. That was common with his diagnosis. If I wanted to stay alive, I needed to play my cards right with him. All it took was for the smallest display of rejection and he could snap. Ifumbled with the doorknob, eager to put some distance between the two of us. I needed to sort through these thoughts and unwanted feelings. Sidestepping him, I pushed open the door, my steps faltering as my gaze took in my bedroom.

My heart bottomed out, fear slicing through my chest. Papers were strewn all over the place, along with cotton. My gaze caught on the source, tears burning my eyes and blurring my vision.

Beary.

Someone had come into my room and torn him into pieces. He was so ripped up that he couldn’t even be sewn back together. My knees weakened and my breathing was coming out heavy and erratic.

“What the fuck?” Archer growled, taking in my room. He entered my room ahead of me, glancing around at the mess. Kneeling, he started collecting some of the papers, his expression set tight. I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. “Do you know who would have done something like this?” he demanded, picking up Daisy’s bear. A few more pieces of cotton fell from its stomach with the movement.

I swallowed thickly, trying to get my thoughts in order. I knew exactly who did this. The same person who threatened Beary in the first place, who warned me to stay away from Archer.

“Seven,” I whispered.

Archer’s blue eyes hardened, seeming to grow three shades darker. He didn’t even seem surprised, just pissed off.

“Why would he do this?” he pressed. His entire body was coiled tight with tension, and I was afraid that anything else I said, may be the thing to set him off.

Beary was the only thing I had left of Daisy’s, and now it was ruined. I walked over to my bed with numb legs and sank down onto the edge. “He warned me to stay away from you,”I muttered, swiping my hand over an eye in an attempt to rid myself of some of these tears.

Archer clenched his jaw. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It never came up.” I shrugged. I wasn’t going to go out of my way to snitch on Seven. That was juvenile. But now that he took the last thing that I actually gave a shit about… My shoulders dropped in defeat.

Archer tore his hands through his dark hair. “I’ll be back later.” He turned on his heels and stormed out of the room, letting the door slam closed behind him.

I couldn’t even find it in me to care that he was on his way to confront Seven, or that he took Beary with him. Beary was gone now. I curled up into a ball on my bed, allowing fresh tears to trickle down my cheeks. Crying wasn’t going to solve anything. I wanted to make Seven pay for this. I’d never been much for revenge. I’d rather stick to myself and ignore any potential threat at all times, but what he did…

It was callous, unforgivable,cold.

He couldn’t get away with this. But how was I supposed to stop it? He was the pure definition of insane. People like him belonged here. They were unpredictable, cold-blooded, ruthless, and had little to no morality. Going up against Seven Price, could very well be a death sentence. I just had to figure out if the potential price was worth the risk.

I trudged through the hallway, silently making my way to the cafeteria for dinner. My eyes burned from the amount of tears I’d shed today, and a huge part of me wanted to remain locked away, confined to my bed for the foreseeable future. But I was done hiding, done being a coward. Yes, he took somethingvaluable to me. But moping around wasn’t going to change it. I’d done way too much of that lately. It was time to face the music and show him that it would take a lot more than that to break me. Beary meant a lot to me, but he was a stuffed animal. My sister was already gone. Holding on to her stuffed animal wouldn’t change that, either.

I stepped into the cafeteria with my head held high. My heart was pounding furiously, but I wouldn’t let that show. I wouldn’t give Seven the satisfaction.

---