Page 53 of Hack
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Archer stared at Carter sleeping beside him. They'd been in bed pretty much non-stop since the night before. It was nearly noon, and sooner or later they would need to get up and find food, but they'd both been content to just be lazy and nap off and on while watching TV.
He didn't want to leave tomorrow, but they needed to. As wonderful as it was taking a day to not work or stress over anything, they had a murderer to catch, and nothing was going to stop them from going after the man they'd both been hunting for years.
Knowing all he did now, he was more than willing to sit back and let Carter take the lead from here on out. He'd be there to support him, talk through whatever he needed to discuss, but it would be Carter's case from now on. He couldn't take that away from him. He'd lost so much more than Archer could even imagine.
He resisted the urge to run his hand over the small of Carter's back. He needed the sleep. It was the only time he looked completely at peace. Well, that and when they had sex, which he wasn't sure they'd be having again before getting back to California. As much as he wanted Carter, it didn't seem right to seduce him after all they'd talked about. He needed to let Carter come to him this time.
He forced his attention back to the television, but he didn't really see it. His mind was still trying to work through all Carter had told him. He wasn't shocked by it, honestly. Maybe he should be, but the job Carter did seemed to fit the man he knew. He couldn't see Carter just sitting back while he could do something to stop the evil in the world. Granted, most men would become a cop or a firefighter to play savior, but like they'd talked about, the courts didn't do more than slap a hand or put a stupid sex offender label on someone's file. None of that stopped someone who was determined to rape a child.
He didn't for a second take for granted the trust that Carter had shown by telling him everything. Knowing, he now understood why Carter had kept things quiet. This really wasn't the kind of stuff you talked about on a first date. It wasn't the kind of stuff you talked about at all, honestly. The fact that Carter told him showed Archer that what he was feeling toward Carter was returned. There was something there between them, the question was what to do with it. And seriously, did he have any right asking that question until they were finished hunting down Lyle? It was where both of their minds needed to be. Whatever was going on with them wasn't important, at least not until Lyle was dead and buried, or burned, or whatever it was Carter had planned for him. He didn't know and he didn't care as long as the bastard died.
That alone showed how his thinking had changed since they'd met. He'd gone into this thinking that turning Lyle over to the FBI would be good enough, but now, after seeing Carter's pain at losing his daughter, at knowing that nearly forty other sets of parents suffered the same way, he wanted him dead.
Carter rolled to face him, opening his eyes. "What time is it?"
"About noon." Archer reached over and brushed the hair back from Carter's face gently.
"We should eat." Carter closed his eyes again.
"Whenever. I'm not starving yet. If you want to sleep more, go right ahead."
"I can't remember the last time I slept so much." Carter opened his eyes again. "Feel safe with you. You keep me from dreaming."
Archer's chest tightened. "I'm glad I do that for you." He lowered himself down in the bed so he was face to face with Carter. "If I can be your dreamcatcher, I will accept the job." He brushed his lips over his cheek.
"Promise?"
Archer wasn't sure what he was promising. Once they left the motel and got on that plane, it was going to be back to reality. It was easy to promise things now, but once they got back to work things would change. "As long as I'm with you, I promise."
"Good." Carter lifted his head and kissed Archer softly. "Your cock working yet?"
Archer laughed. "You need something?"
"Maybe." Carter opened his arms.
Archer moved closer to him, happy when Carter's arms came around him. "What can I give you?"
"Well, I woke up with a problem." Carter glanced down between them.
"This?" Archer reached down and cupped Carter's hardness in his hand. He was hard as steel, the heat from him coursing through his gym shorts.
"Yep." Carter smiled. "You have any ideas how to fix it?"
"Hmm, it's not really a problem I think needs fixing. I kind of like it this way." He moved his hand to the waistband of his shorts, then slid his hand inside so he could grip his shaft in a tight fist. "But if you see it as a problem, then I guess I could take care of it. You're going to have to lose the shorts, then roll over on your back and let me work on it for a bit."
"You don't mind?"
His own cock was already at full attention. "Not a bit. Get those shorts off and we'll see what I can do."
He smiled as Carter lifted his hips and slid his shorts down, kicking them from his feet.
"Better?" Carter asked as his cock stood up proudly.
"Much." Archer kissed Carter for a moment before breaking away and moving down his body, brushing his hands over his chest, then his stomach before he settled between his legs. "This might take some time."
"We have nowhere to be." Carter folded his arms behind his head as he watched Archer take him in his fist again.
