Whispers and Wishes (Untouchable Book 4)

by Heather Long

  “He’s my father’s dad? Yeah. But I figure he’s mellowed as he’s gotten older. He’s tough as nails and it’s still there, under the surface. Maybe he was a different guy. I don’t know.”

  “He reminds me of you,” I admitted.

  “Thank you, I’ll take the compliment.”

  “And, Archie, I am proud of you for getting in to all the schools. I know you think it’s just because of your last name, but you are worth so much more than that. You work hard, and you are so smart. You and Jake make robots and shit.”

  “Maybe.”

  “No maybe about it. You’re a smart cookie. Just another reason I like you so much.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What are the other reasons?”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “I plead the fifth.”

  “It’s going to incriminate you?”

  “No, but it might stroke your ego.”

  With a snort, he countered, “You can stroke anything on me you want.”

  The drive didn’t take us as long as it had to get to the restaurant. “We’re not going home?”

  “Nope,” he said. “I got us a room for tonight, if that’s okay with you. I wanted an evening away from all of it—the house, the worries, school, or the nascent fear Edward would show up at my place or your mom will come to yours.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  “And I want to be greedy. I want you to myself.” He pulled straight through to the valet before glancing at me. “If that’s okay with you.”

  “I’m not complaining.” I wasn’t. “Do we need to call the guys?”

  “Nope. They know.”

  Of course they did.

  “Coop and I packed you a bag for you yesterday, so you’d have a change of clothes, but I don’t plan on you needing clothes much until we leave.”

  A shiver skated right through me, pumping the little bubbles of elation higher. Once out of the car, the colder air brushed my face, but it felt good since I was overheating.

  Inside, we didn’t even have to wait that long to get checked in or the key. Excitement and nerves vied for dominance in my stomach as we took the elevator up. We weren’t talking, but every time our gazes clashed, we both grinned.

  All the way to the top.

  He got a penthouse room.

  It was easy to forget Archie was rich until he did things like this and I had to pinch myself. His money wasn’t what I wanted. Once inside, he set our bag down, and I glanced around the sitting area with its fireplace and rich furniture and sumptuous carpet. It looked more like someone’s fancy apartment than a hotel room. There were French doors leading out to a balcony and another set that opened into a darkened bedroom with a huge king-sized bed in the middle.

  “How’s your arm?” he asked as he set the room key, his wallet, and phone down on the coffee table before he stripped off his jacket. His dark hair hung over his forehead, a hint of a wave that softened his face. The clean cut of his jaw would be smooth, he’d probably shaved before he’d picked me up, and his dark brown eyes held so many promises and warmth, it heated me as he walked to the entertainment system.

  “It aches,” I admitted. “But I’m almost used to it. So not bad.”

  “I hate that you’ve gotten used to it,” he said as he flipped on the sound system, then reached over and dimmed the lights. “But I’m glad it’s not bad. Would you dance with me?”

  We hadn’t danced since Homecoming. While he didn’t say a word about it, it was written all over his face. This was what I’d been struggling with verbalizing. What happened to me didn’t just happen to me. It happened to them, too. I couldn’t remember, and that gap in my memory sucked. But they remembered all too well, and it colored how they interacted and handled me.

  Sometimes they were so careful, it made me want to scream, and at others…at others, it squeezed my heart so tight, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get over it.

  Sliding off my shoes, I met him halfway, and he braced my cast against his shoulder as I slid my left hand against his nape. The slow song barely registered, just the fact that I was dancing with Archie, slowly swaying to the music.

  I don’t know how long we danced, but the songs kept playing and we kept moving. We just let it all fall away. Eventually, we shed the clothes, and he was right, I didn’t need them until the next morning.

  With my arm in a cast, some of our options were limited, but he made the most of all of them. Sprawled next to him, my arm propped on a pillow while he lay on his side drawing patterns over my skin with his finger, I studied him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Everything is great.”

  “Then why do you look worried?”

  “’Cause I don’t want to get too comfortable. It’s usually when things are at their best that everything goes horribly wrong.”

  “Hey,” I murmured, cupping his cheek. “Even if it does go wrong, we’ll deal with it. All of us.”

  A smile lifted one side of his mouth. “You’re the best, you know that?”

  “Someone keeps telling me that,” I whispered, and he buried his face against my throat, wrapping an arm around me. When he slid his leg over mine, it was like having an Archie blanket. “Someone I love, too.”

  He went very still.

  I licked my lips as my heart hammered. It had been hard to say that. At his continued silence, apprehension fisted in my chest. “I don’t…”

  “Shh,” he said, jerking his head up. “It’s okay. I just needed a moment to process that without getting up and making a fool out of myself by rushing buck-ass naked out to the balcony and shouting that you love me.”

  I cracked up at the image. “You wouldn’t…”

  I didn’t even get to finish the thought. He rolled off the bed and charged out to the living room and then to the doors.

  “Archie…”

  They opened before I made it to the bedroom door, and he walked out there and put his hands to the side of his mouth. “Frankie Curtis loves me!”

  When he turned around, he wore a delighted grin, and I gaped at him. Even the cold air rushing in couldn’t cool the heat raging through me. I wasn’t just turned on—though admittedly, him standing out there on that chilly balcony wearing nothing definitely did it for me. He marched back in and closed the doors, then swept me up.

  “You’re crazy,” I informed him.

  “About you? Absolutely.” Then he kissed me. Even the roots of my hair seemed like they were on fire. Still kissing me, he carried me back to the bed. “I love you,” he whispered in between kisses, and I shuddered. “You’re always there for me…”

  “Archie, that’s not entirely true.”

  “That was then,” he said, dismissing my concern about the summer. “If the guys had actually gotten to you and told you about the appendectomy, would you have come?” Everything in his expression demanded an answer. “Even mad as hell at us for what we did, would you have come?”

  “Yes.” No hesitation. “I wish I had known, that I hadn’t ignored the calls…”

  “You had a reason. See, this is how I know, you’ve always been there for me. I want to always be there for you.”

  “You are. You have been.”

  “Good.” Then, “Does this mean you picked me?”

  My stomach bottomed out, and I hesitated. That wasn’t what I’d meant. Suddenly, I was trembling. “Archie…”

  “Eh,” he said with a wry smile. “A guy can dream, but no—that wasn’t what you meant.”

  I shook my head slowly. “Not in a, I’m not going to date the other guys kind of way.”

  Oh man.

  “I do love you though.” It got a little easier each time I said it. “I loved you before.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” I loved all of them. I had for a long time, but admitting it aloud was different. Admitting it to them was something else altogether. “I didn’t—I don’t say that to anyone a lot. Maddy’
s not demonstrative, if you haven’t noticed.”

  “I get that,” he said, settling against me again until we were curled together. “And I’m glad you can tell me.”

  “But I don’t want to choose between you guys.” It took everything I had to say that. “I know you all think I’m going to—especially Ian.” I swallowed and met Archie’s gaze. “But I don’t want to. I like…love all of you.”

  “Good,” he whispered, then nuzzled a kiss against the corner of my mouth.

  Really?

  “I want you to choose me,” he said. “If you’re going to choose, I want it to be me. No lie. I’ll fight with everything I have to prove to you I’m the right pick. But if you don’t choose—then I get to keep my best friends and you, and I don’t have to fight them.”

  Relief swarmed me.

  “You know I have no idea how this works.”

  “One day at a time,” Archie said. “I think we’ve been doing pretty awesome the last few weeks. We’re almost living together.”

  We were. “I’ve gotten really used to having you guys there.”

  “So, not kicking us to the curb yet?” he teased.

  “No…”

  “Does that mean we can finally clear out the master and fix it up so we have more space and get you a bigger bed?”

  I groaned. “Archie…”

  “Look, I like how snuggly we get in your bed. But more space never hurt anyone, and I think getting rid of the rest of her things would be good for you. I don’t want you holding on to some idea she’s going to come back and suddenly everything will work out.”

  Was I doing that? “I don’t even know how we would start over, or even if we could. Especially now…”

  “Because she knows you’re suing for your emancipation.”

  “And the whole thing with your dad and their living together.”

  “Their lives,” Archie said slowly. “Not ours. We don’t need our lives to be about bad meatloaf.”

  A giggle floated up through me. “We deviated on your birthday again.”

  “Babe, you told me you loved me. Best. Birthday. Ever. I win. Hands down.”

  We talked for another hour about everything and nothing. Eventually, the tired caught up with us, and I was listening to the drum of his heart when I went to sleep. I woke up to Archie nudging my legs apart and eating me out with a gusto that utterly destroyed sleep and left me a trembling, shaking mess before he moved up to slide into me.

  An hour later, we’d showered and ate room service breakfast before we got ready to check out. It was almost lunch time and a lot later than I expected, but Archie hummed all the way back to my place. The guys were waiting for us. We’d texted to say we were on the way. The moment Archie got out of the car, he got hit with super soakers from three different directions. While it wasn’t as chilly as it had been the day before, it couldn’t have been warm.

  “Oh, you assholes,” Archie said before handing me his keys. Someone had set a super soaker down for him, and he grabbed it. “Be right back, babe.”

  Then they were racing around the parking lot, ducking in and around cars, hitting each other with water.

  It was hilarious, and something inside of me unlocked as I watched the shenanigans. I really wished I could be out there doing it with them, but at the same time…I adored my front row seat.

  And the fact that I was base. Anytime one of them got too close to me, they were suddenly safe.

  Jake stole a morning kiss that way. So did Coop.

  But Ian startled me when he slid an arm around my waist, turned me around, and half-lifted me like a shield before his mouth closed over mine.

  Already breathless, I think something in my brain short-circuited at the glide of his tongue against mine. I’d missed him. Missed kissing him. Missed feeling the hard heat of his muscles bunching as he moved. The kiss lasted three seconds and seemed to last forever, then suddenly, he set me on my feet and grinned.

  “Good morning, Angel.” Then he winked before he raced back into the fray. I was still touching my tingling lips when I caught Coop’s knowing look.

  Wow.

  Leaning back against the Ferrari, I tracked them all as my guys darted in and out.

  My guys.

  Seriously.

  Wow.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  You Had Me at Goodbye

  The Halloween party was in full swing when we got there. It was rare enough that I attended parties, much less parties thrown by other kids. Clearly, I’d gone to Archie’s or Ian’s places when they’d had parties—more often at Archie’s than Ian’s, but the principle was the same.

  This was Corey Kaplan’s party though—another senior. Our arrival had snared some notice, we’d all come over in Jake’s SUV. The costumes the guys had picked out cracked me up and worked, too. They’d even made it so I could put my cast arm in a sling to ease the weight and added this faux basket.

  I was Dorothy.

  Jake took the Cowardly Lion, which made him laugh, and he kept growling at me. Coop was the Tin Man, but swore he wasn’t remotely rusty, though they had drenched him in this silver body paint. Archie had tackled the Scarecrow, and he had the loose arms and goofy hop-walk down. But Ian?

  He’d gone for Toto, and I laughed so hard when he yipped at me that even the guys cracked up. Once we got to Corey’s though, Ian planted himself at my side.

  “Toto and Dorothy go everywhere together,” he reminded me. “Even the bathroom.”

  That got three firm nods from the guys. I couldn’t really argue with it. As it was, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to come to the party. But I think this was kind of our do-over. Homecoming had been spoiled, but not all of it. I still loved all the dancing we’d done and the silly pictures, but I couldn’t think about them without the gap in my memory swimming to the surface or waking in the hospital.

  Tonight was about all of us, or so Jake and Archie insisted, while Coop said we’d stay as long as I was comfortable. Corey’s parents had a place almost as nice as Archie’s.

  Almost.

  Halloween was chilly, so the heavy costumes were actually comfortable, which was good ’cause the skirt I had on also had layers. At least the ruby slippers had chunky heels.

  Inside, drinks of all variety including alcoholic were flowing. Kids were dancing in the living room where all the furniture had been shoved back against the walls and draped with covers, probably to protect them.

  There were witches and sorceresses, superheroes and cops, a few firemen and enough naughty witches, nurses, and more to turn all the guy’s heads. There was even a naughty Dorothy.

  Rachel found us five minutes after we arrived.

  “Nice costume,” Jake told her as he eyed her Hogwarts School uniform. “You are…?”

  “Hermione of course.” She gave a toss of her hair. “The only intelligent one.”

  I grinned. “I like it.”

  “Looking good.”

  “I know, right?” So modest, too. I glanced around, looking for Skylar, and Rachel gave an exaggerated sigh, then nodded toward the bar where the sodas were flowing and, without a doubt, alcohol. Another girl in a Hogwarts uniform waved at us. The platinum blonde wig threw me though. “Luna Lovegood. I love long time.”

  Coop groaned at the tease, but I just laughed. “Good.”

  “You want to dance?” Rachel asked me, then glanced at the guys. “’Cause I’m not sure there’s a Yellow Brick Road for you to skip on.”

  “Go torture Ron and Harry,” Archie suggested. “You’re supposed to be a good witch.”

  “Ha.” But the laughter that followed was real, and I was grinning all over again. At least they were getting along. Skylar joined us with drinks at the same time Ian nodded to the make shift dance floor and “Who Let the Dogs Out” started playing.

  “We have to,” he said, then grasped my hand and tugged me with him. Yes, we absolutely did. Ian danced with gusto, singing along with the lyrics, and it wasn’t long before the guy
s joined us.

  The rooms were getting more crowded, but they kept a barrier up around me. Rachel and Skylar got in, no one else.

  On one cool down break, I spotted Maria. It was the first time I’d really seen her since everything happened. Our gazes locked, and I gave her a small smile. She offered the same back. I’d been the lucky one, I knew that. We might never be close again, but we had been friends once upon a time, and I really didn’t wish her ill. Then people moved between us, and I lost sight of her.

  Mathieu came by with his date and introduced us. There was a lot of grumbling from the Cowardly Lion until I stepped on his foot, and the Tin Man elbowed him. Whether he was aware of the grumbling or not, Mathieu only stuck around for a couple of minutes before he wandered.

  Patty appeared, hanging off the arm of one of the football players, but I didn’t remember his name. Ian wrapped an arm around my middle and pulled me back against him because there were more and more people filling in.

  “Want to go outside?” he asked against my ear.

  I kind of did. There were so many people here. So many costumes. I knew some of them, but not all. Coop and Jake had gone to get us drinks. When Ian jerked his chin toward the door and said in a little louder voice, “We’re taking this outside,” Archie nodded.

  “You got her?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good, I’ll let the guys know.”

  Like I wasn’t right there. Then again, Ian hadn’t moved from my side all night. My one and only trip to pee, he’d gone into the bathroom first, then parked it inside with me, back turned while he leaned against the door.

  It had been very sweet.

  Hand in hand, he guided me out while Archie headed for the bar. I looked around for Rachel, but Ian found her first. She and Skylar were lip-locked in the corner. And the ferocity of those kisses suggested they should find a room sooner rather than later.

  The tempo from the bass throbbed through me, and the sudden cessation as we made it outside was a relief. The colder air was more than welcome against my flushed cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I’d gotten a little sticky and clammy, though that made sense from all the dancing.