Page 38 of Turning Tides
Shane nudged my brother. “Come on, Cyrus. It’ll be fun.”
Cyrus looked at Shane. “You suck. You are officially uninvited. Fine, we can watch your silly alien movie.” Cyrus got to his feet. “I have shit to do before the bar opens. I’ll see you downstairs, Shane.”
Cyrus clapped my shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze on the way by. Today was the first time in weeks when I’d been happy to see my brother and had actually enjoyed his company. Not living togetherwas doing wonders for our relationship. I could tell he was trying hard not to put his nose too deep into my business and I appreciated it. Just not enough to sit through another viewing ofThe Fast and the Furious.
Shane got to his feet and shot me an apologetic look. “I’d like to stick around, but I should get downstairs.”
Stepping into Shane’s space, I tilted my head back and looked up at him. “Can I call you later?”
Shane leaned down and brushed his mouth against mine. “You can call me whenever you want, Archer.”
He kissed me again and it took everything I had in me not to beg him to stay.
Chapter 19
Shane
I locked the doorsof the bar and turned the lights off. It had been a crazy night and I was ready to go home, shower the stink of booze off my skin, and crawl into bed. I dealt with the closing duties, secretly wondering if Archer was going to come down and join me again.
My phone sat heavy and silent in my pocket. I wanted to text him, but he was probably sleeping. Most people were at this time of night, but a bar owner’s hours suited me. I’d never been the type to get up early and that was never going to change.
I was about to slip out the back and get in my truck when my cell phone buzzed. The volume was always off, as if I’d hear it over a noisy bar anyway. I knew it would be Archer before I removed the phone from my pocket.
If Cyrus had suspected anything, he didn’t show it. Working with him had gone like normal and he didn’t seem at all surprised that I was upstairs getting a consult for a tattoo. Guilt tugged at the corners of my mouth, but when my phone buzzed again, I pushed it away in favor of answering.
“Hey,” I said. Wow. Smooth. Go me. I managed a one-word greeting. Archer didn’t mind.
“You said I could call. Is this is a bad time?” He sounded sultry and sexy in an effortless way that was just Archer. I found him irresistible. Archer Kinsman was my catnip.
“It’s never a bad time for you.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” he said, clearly pleased with my response. It had been more truth than I’d been prepared to give away, but my mouth wasn’t on the same page as my brain. “Open the door, Shane.”
I took half a step toward the back door before realizing he meant the door that led to the upstairs. My keys jingled in my shaky hands as I searched for the right key. Why the hell was I shaking? It was just Archer. But that was a lie. Saying it was just Archer implied that he was unimportant. A passing fancy. Something that I could dismiss. Nothing was further from the truth. Even without his tattoos on my body, he was already under my skin.
The key slipped into the lock and I twisted it. A singular deep breath was all I managed to wrestle into my lungs before I opened the door. Archer stood on the other side, leaning against the wall. He pocketed his phone then crooked his finger, silently urging me forward.
Stuffing my keys and my phone in my pockets, I hurried to close the distance between us. He reached for me and cupped my face in his hands, then pulled me down to him.
His mouth slanted over mine and I let out a satisfied sigh that made Archer laugh before he deepened the kiss. I opened for him, following his lead, letting him devour me. Wrapping my arms around him, I mapped the shape of him with my hands.
Archer pulled away, but my hunger hadn’t been sated. I kissed the corner of his mouth, the sharp line of his jaw, the sweet spot under his ear that made him shiver against me.
“I could spend all night like this.” My confession was spoken into the curve of his neck. I had to stop myself from saying more. It was like I was under a spell. I wasn’t the type of guy to sneak around andkeep things from my friends. Yet, that’s what I’d been doing since meeting Archer. I tried to feel bad about it, but Archer was a grown man. We weren’t doing anything wrong. The only reason we had to sneak around was because Cyrus could be an unreasonable mother hen where his brother was concerned. I wanted to say that it was sweet, but clearly Archer didn’t appreciate that dynamic between them.
He pressed himself against me. “Where did you go?”
“Nowhere. It’s been a long day, that’s all.”
Archer made a thoughtful noise before pulling me into another kiss. The intensity of it nearly knocked me off my feet. It was like he was pouring all of himself into a singular kiss. And as swiftly as it started, Archer pulled away.
“Go home and get some sleep.” He stepped out of my arms, leaving me feeling immediately bereft. Cold.
“Come home with me.”
Archer stepped back to me and brushed his mouth against mine. “Not tonight,” he said.
Disappointment slammed into me like a freight train, and it must have been written all over my face because Archer gave me the softest smile.
