Page 35 of Zone Protection

It’s hard to admit, but at a time in my life where I should have anxiety and be stressing about the future, he is keeping me completely grounded. I don’t know how long this bubble will last, but for now, I want to stay in it. Stay in it with him. Because with Archie, I don’t have to think. We can just be.

He belts out a laugh. “Well, I hope not, considering this is your place and all.”

Lying back down, he reaches for my hands and scoots closer to me again. He folds our hands together and brings them to his chest.

“Okay, darlin’. I’ll stay the night, but only because you asked me so nicely. And I can’t leave you lonely. You might wake up in the middle of the night, needing my dick again.” He smiles.

He’s right though. I might, in fact, need his dick again.

“I think I have an extra toothbrush in the bathroom that you can use. Although I don’t have any boxers that would fit you.”

“Oh, I sleep naked, so I’m good.”

“Archie, I have roommates. You can’t walk in and out of the bathroom naked.” I giggle.

“Right, right. I mean, it would be a treat for them though?”

I roll my eyes and shake my head.

“Oh, come on. You can’t even deny it.” He brings one of my hands down to his already-hardening cock.

I nod. “It is indeed a treat. But I don’t really want my friends to see my baby daddy’s junk, so I’ll find something you can wear when you feel the need to leave the room but can’t be bothered to fully dress.”

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. I stiffen for a moment. Cuddling? Not usually my thing, but it’s something I seem to be getting used to with him. And just as soon as I start to resist the embrace, I’m enveloped in the warmth of his husky scent. I relax my body into him and sigh.

“Okay, you got it, darlin’. I’m all yours.” He kisses the top of my head, and I swear I feel it all the way to my toes. “So, Emma, I have a question for you. Did I see a tattoo on your back at the doctor’s office?”

“Urgh. Yes.”

“Are you gonna tell me what it is? Because I couldn’t really see it.”

I sigh. “I guess you’ll see it eventually, so I might as well tell you. It’s a tiny tattoo of Dora the Explorer’s backpack.”

He doesn’t say anything, so I look up at him. His eyes aresqueezed shut, and his lips are curled in, like he’s trying to hold in a laugh.

“Go ahead. Get a good laugh. I know it’s ridiculous, but in my defense, I was drunk, and peer pressure is harder to fight while intoxicated. We went on spring break our freshman year, and it just kinda happened.”

The rumbled laugh that comes out makes me smile through my mild embarrassment.

“Oh God. This is so good. I’m sorry, Em. I can’t help it.”

I laugh with him. “No, it is kinda funny. I honestly forget it’s there. My memory of getting it is super fuzzy, but I guess I was going on about traveling, which morphed into me wishing I had a Dora backpack, and … well, here we are.”

“Gold, baby. Solid gold.” He kisses the top of my head again.

After a few minutes of silence, Archie lets out a yawn, and I tilt my head to look at him.

“You getting tired?”

He closes his eyes and yawns again. “Yeah, a little bit. You?”

I nod against his chest. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep my eyes open. Especially after that. But I do need to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed.”

With his eyes still closed, he says, “You go do what you need to do, and I’ll go when you’re done.”

I uncurl myself from his hold and scoot over to the side of the bed. I make a mental note to grab a towel so I don’t need to sleep on a wet spot. Is there anything worse? When I get out of the bed, I move over to the closet and grab my white terry-cloth robe and lay it on the foot of the bed.

“You should be able to wrap this around you. I’ll leave it here for you.”

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