Page 32 of In the Monster's Wake
“You heard Braith.The plans I had fell through.”Archie smiled.“Besides, he’s not wrong.I’m sure I’ll have more fun with you.”
Heat curled in Jasper’s stomach.There was no ignoring what Archie was implying, which was good because Jasper didn’t want to ignore it.
“So, why are you here?”Archie asked as he started walking.
Jasper followed him.He didn’t know where they were going, but he didn’t need to.As strange as it was, he trusted Archie.“I had a visit from my father,” he explained.“I think he’s hiding something, but I have no idea what, and I hate it.If he wants me to get Kester, he should tell me everything he knows, right?But he’s not, and I can’t help but wonder why.”
They stopped walking, but Jasper wasn’t done.Now that he’d started on his father, he found it hard to stop.“I hate when he does this shit.He asked me to look into this.And he thinks I’m coming back to the hunters once I have answers, no matter how many times I tell him there’s no way I’m doing that.If he wants me back, then why is he doing shit like this?Why isn’t he helping me?”
Jasper was startled when two hands landed on his cheeks.Archie pulled him closer and pressed their lips together, and all thoughts of Leroy fled Jasper’s mind.He suddenly didn’t care about his father.
“That’s better,” Archie said as he leaned back.“As much as I enjoy listening to you talking, I really don’t want to know about your father.If we’re going to spend the night together, there are more entertaining ways to pass the time.”
Jasper cleared his throat as Archie dropped his hands and let go of him.“Who said I was spending the night with you?”
“Aren’t you?”
Archie didn’t wait for an answer.He unlocked his car and slid in, and Jasper had to rush around to get into the passenger seat.Okay, maybe Archie was right—theywouldbe spending the night together.
They were silent as Archie drove.Jasper still didn’t know where they were going, but he didn’t have to know.Archie wouldn’t do anything to him that he didn’t want, and if things came to it, Corey could find him through his phone.
Jasper fiddled with this phone and waited.He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he felt he didn’t need to know.Archie would take care of everything.It felt good to let go for a bit and not worry about monsters, Leroy, or anything else.
Jasper was almost sorry when Archie finally parked the car in an underground garage.He followed him to the elevator without saying a word, wondering what was on Archie’s mind.Considering what they were about to do, he had a good idea.
He knew he was right as soon as they walked into Archie’s apartment.He didn’t even have the time to look around.Archie grabbed his t-shirt and twirled him around, and Jasper’s back hit the wall.
Archie pressed Jasper there, his body hard and unyielding, but then, Jasper didn’t want him to yield.He pushed his hands into Archie’s hair and held him in place as he kissed him.He could taste the adrenaline on Archie’s lips and a wild, untamed energy that made him irresistible.Maybe it came from being a monster, or maybe it was just him.Jasper didn’t know, and he didn’t care.
Archie pulled back just enough to growl, “You’re playing with fire, Jasper.”His eyes were dark, and his breath came in short, ragged gasps.
Jasper didn’t think he was playing with fire.No matter how dangerous Archie could be, he wouldn’t hurt him.“Maybe I like getting burned,” he teased.
Archie didn’t need any further encouragement.He kissed Jasper again, deeper this time, and his hands started roving over Jasper’s body with a hunger that made Jasper want to be naked—now.
He responded by kissing back and tugging at Archie’s clothes.He pushed his hands under Archie’s shirt, eager to touch skin, his fingers skimming over the hard planes of Archie’s chest.
“You’re not going to turn into some tentacle monster on me, are you?”he asked, just to be sure.He’d encountered a few monsters that hid appendages under their clothes when he was a hunter, and he didn’t want to be surprised.
Archie laughed.“Would that bother you?”
Jasper grinned.“Try me.”He did hope that Archie wasn’t hiding tentacles, but if he was, Jasper would learn how to deal with them.They wouldn’t be enough to get him to stop this and leave.
He didn’t think much would be enough to make him do that.
Archie’s eyes gleamed as he pressed Jasper harder against the wall and trailed his lips down Jasper’s neck.Jasper’s head fell back, a low groan escaping his lips as Archie’s teeth grazed his skin.It felt dangerous, but, oh, so good.
“You’re mine,” Archie growled.
Jasper’s breath hitched, his hands tightening in Archie’s hair.“Prove it.”He was playing with fire, but he didn’t care.Hewantedto be Archie’s.
Archie’s eyes flashed.He reached for Jasper’s shirt and pulled it off, his hands brushing over Jasper’s chest as he moved, sending fire through Jasper’s veins.
Jasper shivered.
Archie’s lips curved into a wicked smile.“Oh, baby,” he murmured, his voice a dark, seductive purr.“I will.”He pressed their bodies together as he kissed Jasper again.
Jasper allowed his hands to roam over Archie’s body.He explored the surprisingly familiar texture of his inhuman skin with a hunger that surprised even himself.He loved the ridges along Archie’s spine, the faint greenish color of his skin under the dim light, the way his muscles moved with a fluidity that was both not human and intoxicating—Jasper wanted to see and feel all of it.His fingers dug into Archie’s back, pulling him closer.
