Page 72 of Gideon's Gratitude

Dare I tell him? Dare I be honest?

“I, uh, like you.”

Archer stiffened.

Crap.“Like, maybe just forget I said anything?”

The man’s grip tightened. Then he did something completely unexpected—he placed a kiss to my exposed shoulder blade. “What if I don’t want to forget? What if I want to say I like you, too?”

Relief, disproportionate to the circumstances, washed over me. Normally I’d never be this bold. But here, in this space, being honest felt like the right thing to do. The only thing to do. “I want you. I mean, I really want you. Like I’ve only ever wanted one person before. And that terrifies me.”

“You’re worried I’ll reject you. That I’ll hurt you.”

Nailed it in one.“You have that power. I’m vulnerable with you in a way I’m not with other people.” Not that there were many other people.

Archer exhaled. “There is pretty much only one other person on the planet who knows about my university boyfriend, and I can guarantee he’s not talking. I’ve been honest with you because you call to me. I want to protect, but I also want more. I’m just not sure what the next step is.”

I exhaled on a giggle. “Yeah, I’m of no help.” I rubbed my temple. “I don’t do relationships.”

“Only twenty-year ones.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Archer feathered a hand through my hair. “Is it safe to assume you don’t have condoms?”

A snort. “Uh, yeah, definitely not. I’ve never actually used one.”

Archer stilled.

“Well, when you’re with the same person forever, and you know they’ve only ever been with you, condoms aren’t a thing.”

“You were sure he never cheated?”

Another snort. “So like a divorce lawyer. No, Leo never cheated. I know because the guy was always scrupulously honest. Abouteverything. If he cheated, he’d have owned up to it. Despite everything, he never strayed. Even when our sex life went down the crapper, he held firm to our vows. Maybe if he’d gone elsewhere…” I couldn’t finish the thought.

“You said the marriage ended because of your addiction.”

“It did.” Of that I had no doubt. Never a moment’s hesitation. And it broke my heart. Cheating we might’ve been able to move past. My use of opioids? Unrecoverable.

Archer slid his hand along my arm. “I’m sorry I brought up such a painful topic.”

I shrugged. “This is my life. There’s no escaping it. No hiding from it. I might wish to stay locked up here forever, but my problems aren’t magically going to disappear.”

Archer stroked down my side. His smooth fingers caressed and soothed.

So easily, I could find himself falling for this man. A man who didn’t even plan to be around that much. On the other hand, maybe this was the perfect relationship. No entanglements. No deep feelings. Just two men finding mutual satisfaction in each other.

Yeah, right.

Was I even built that way? A few days ago, the answer would’ve been an emphaticno. Now I wasn’t so sure.

Archer’s hand rested on my hip. On the waist of my sleep pants. I’d taken a tremendous risk by coming to bed without a shirt. Mainly the risk of rejection. When the other man crawled in practically naked and drew me into his arms, I knew I’d made the right decision. And now, as that warm chest protected me, I had no doubts where this could go. I scooted back a fraction of an inch so my ass touched Archer’s groin.

The man groaned. And thrust his morning wood against the small of my back.

Well, okay then. At least I hadn’t missed the mark on the attraction factor. I wanted Archer, and apparently, it was mutual. Without condoms, things became more complicated.

“I’ve been tested twice since my wife left me, and I haven’t been with anyone.”

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