“Yeah? What haven’t you tried?”
“Ahh…well…” Christ, she could see exactly where this conversation was going. What could she give him?
“Figging.”
“You’ve written about it?”
She nodded.
“Well, we’ll need to see if we can give you a real-life experience.”
Yep, she’d guessed correctly about where he’d been going with that. And she felt pretty safe, considering she knew there was no ginger in her house.
Dodged a bullet there, Caley.
“Umm, Issy?”
“Yeah, girl?”
“Can I…shall I…”
“Spit it out.” It wasn’t said in a mean way. Just his usual, blunt Doc way.
“Touch you?” she squeaked.
“You can touch me as often as you like. But if we’re talking about my cock here, and I damn sure hope we are, then I’m going to make you wait for that.”
She pouted.
“Don’t pout now, girl. It’s cute as hell but it’s not going to be used to manipulate me.”
Well, damn.
“Now, it’s time for sleep,” he told her. “You wake up again, then you make sure to wake me. Oh, and you’re getting your butt spanked for this in the morning.”
She yawned sleepily, not even concerned about her impending spanking.
Then he started to massage her scalp. Oh. That was nice. She yawned, finding herself relaxing.
He gently rolled her onto her front and rubbed her shoulders. Even better. He found all of her knots, massaging until she was a pile of goo. And then he rolled her back, tucking her into his chest.
Almost immediately, she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
“Do you think she knows it’s her turn?” She heard Archer ask.
“That’s her thinking face. She’s probably plotting the destruction of one of her characters.”
“Hmm, as long as she’s not plotting against us,” Archer replied.
“Entirely possible, bro. You’re kind of annoying.”
“Me? What about you? You’re the one who made her get up this morning and exercise. Then you set about organizing her wardrobe. Women don’t like it when you touch their underwear,” Archer advised.
“Oh, she likes it when I touch her underwear just fine,” Issy said slyly.
That brought her right into the here and now. “Issy!” she scolded, feeling her cheeks grow red. She thought back to the spectacular orgasm he’d given her when she couldn’t sleep last night. She shifted around on her seat, pressing her thighs together.
She stared at the two of them. They were in the midst of another poker game. They were both sinfully gorgeous. It was kind of unfair how beautiful they were. She felt inadequate. She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling it tangle. Did she even brush it today?
“Okay, I’d really like to know what you’re thinking now?” Doc drawled, placing his cards face down on the table.
Her mind raced as a possibility just occurred to her in her story. “I just got an idea. I have to go write it down. Is there a notepad somewhere?”
“Ahh, I believe I put about three in the Caley-basket today,” Archer told her as he stood and strode towards a basket near the front door. Where had that come from? And why was it there? And how long had it been there?
“You didn’t notice it, did you?” Doc sighed.
“Umm, no. How long has it been there? What’s it for?”
“You owe me ten dollars, brother,” Archer crowed as he picked the basket up and hauled it over to where Caley and Doc still sat at the dining table.
“I thought she would have noticed it when she went outside.”
“That was your mistake,” Archer told him. “She rarely goes outside. And she doesn’t tend to notice things unless she trips over them.”
“Guys,” she said with exasperation. “She is sitting right here.”
Archer, at least, had the grace to look slightly sheepish. Doc just kept frowning. “Knew I should have put it in the middle of the room.”
“And risk her tripping over it and injuring herself? Like you’d do that.”
Archer was right. Doc had been almost fanatic in keeping the cabin clutter free. Or Caley-clutter free since these two were ultra-tidy. At first, she thought it was his OCD at work, until she’d tripped over a chair which had been left pulled out of the table. From the way he’d reacted, you’d have thought she’d chopped her foot off.
It had been over-the-top, but definitely sweet.
Archer set the basket down next to her. She looked down, shuffling through for a notebook and a pen. There was a whole lot of stuff in here. More notebooks. A scarf. A sweater. Even a pair of bumblebee slippers.
“I wondered where these went,” she said, pulling them out and putting them on her feet. Then she looked over at Archer and Doc.
But they didn’t give her a funny look. Archer just winked at her. They weren’t exactly sexy or sophisticated. She bet none of the women Archer had slept with would have been caught dead in these slippers.
She ducked her head, opening her notebook to hide her thoughts. Then her mind turned to the basket again. “Why is a whole lot of my stuff in this basket?”
“It’s everything you leave around the cabin during the day,” Archer told her, picking his cards back up.
It was? She looked down at the basket. She’d left all that lying around just today? Yikes.
“Although I found the slippers in the spare bedroom,” Isaac added. “Don’t know when or how they got there.”
“I’m so sorry. You guys don’t have to pick up after me.”
“Oh, I’m working on a plan to help you pick up after yourself.” Isaac winked at her.
Uh-oh. She wasn’t sure about the sound of that.
She started writing down her ideas in her notebook to hide her thoughts about his plan. She drowned out their voices as she wrote everything out. There, that was perfect. It filled in her plot hole. She sat back with a smile. She wondered if she should go write it out now.
She glanced over at her office door.
“You’re finished for the day, girl,” Doc told her.
“But it would be better to get this written down now.”
He eyed her for a moment. “How long?”
“An hour? Maybe two?”
He glanced over at the clock. “You can work until eleven. But that means you sleep in tomorrow. No getting out of bed before ten.”
Drat. She wanted to argue, but at the same time she knew how stubborn he was.
“All right. Deal.”
“Come give me a kiss before you get to work.”
She glanced over at Archer, feeling herself blush, which was ridiculous.
She walked around the table and leaned down to kiss his cheek. But oh no, he wasn’t going to let her get away with that. He drew her onto his lap, leaning her back slightly so he could ravage her.
When he drew away, he winked down at her. “Consider that inspiration.”
She groaned at his smug look. Inspiration? More like distraction now that her clit was throbbing, and her lips were swollen.
As she walked into her office, she couldn’t help but wonder what Archer kissed like. Would he be firm and demanding? Or soft and gentle?
Urgh, Caley, you have got to stop this.
* * *
“Caley? What are you doing?”
The shock of hearing Archer’s voice made her wobble on the stool. She let out a gasp as she realized she was about to fall. Two big hands wrapped around her waist, steadying her, then lifting her to the floor.
Her breath caught, her heart racing as she felt his chest pressed against her back. Goosebumps covered her skin and gulped nervously. Then suddenly, he stepped back away from her. Her legs shook slightly.
Archer cleared his throat. “Caley? What were you doing?”
She turned then leaned back against the counter behind her, trying to give them both some space.
There was no denying how gorgeous he was. How potent.
“I, umm, I thought you were working,” she said brightly. He’d commandeered one of her old laptops and had been working in the spare bedroom. Issy was outside, doing some work on her gutters now that the weather had calmed.
“I was. Then I came out to get some coffee and saw a naughty sub standing on a wobbly stool. Why didn’t you come get me if you wanted something from a high cupboard? Is that how you always access things that are up high?”
“I don’t usually store much up there.”
He raised an eyebrow. He was so debonair. So put-together.
Unlike you.
“So what were you after?”
“Umm, well, see…”
“Okay, now I’m really curious.” He moved closer and she stepped back hastily, almost stumbling.
He stilled, frowned. “Caley?”
“Oh. Sorry.” Calm down. You’re acting like a dork. She glanced up at the cupboard. “You really don’t need to see what’s up there.”
“I definitely need to see what’s up there.”
He reached up and pulled out a box. He placed it on the table. His eyes almost bugged out of his face as he looked inside.
She found herself blushing as he drew out bags of cookies, boxes of chocolates and candy. Then more candy.
“It’s my, umm, stash,” she confessed. “I put it up there so it’s not so easy to get to then I won’t eat it all at once.”
He gave her a firm look. “I should hope not. This is enough sugar to last you a year.”
Well, maybe a month or two.
“And just what were you after?”
“Oh, ahh, maybe some cookies.” She pointed to a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Her favorite.
He turned and grabbed a small plate. “Milk?”
She’d been planning on taking the bag back to her office. But it would be nice to share some with him. “Oh, yes. I’ll grab the milk.”
“You’ll sit. I’ll get everything.”
So bossy.
So like his brother.
She sat and watched him move around her kitchen. He poured them both a glass of milk and she frowned as he placed just four cookies on the plate.
“Umm, where are yours?”
He snorted. “Love, if you think you’re getting more than two cookies, you can think again.”
She pouted as he sat across from her. He wiggled a finger at her. “Uh-uh, you can put that away. It doesn’t work on me.”
It didn’t? Well, that sucked.
She grabbed a cookie, dunking it in her milk then sucking on it. She noticed him staring at her and she blushed.
Way to be unsophisticated, Caley.
But he just grinned at her and picked up his own cookie, dunking it.
“You dunk your cookie too?”
His eyes widened. “Doesn’t everyone?”
She smiled and sunk her cookie into the milk again.
“Next time you need something up high, you come get me, understand?” he told her with a firm look. “If you’d fallen and hurt yourself, Issy would have had my hide.”
She rolled her eyes at the exaggeration, but nodded.
“You’re good for him, you know,” he told her, surprising her. “He’s more relaxed. Happier. I haven’t seen him smile this much in years.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really. How are you feeling with him? I know it must be an adjustment for you, having us here when you were used to being alone.”
She bit at her lip. “It is. Dave was…he was nervous of something bad happening again like in Spencerville and so was I. So we’ve never really gotten to know the people in town. And I only got closer to Murray and Geoff after his death. I thought I was good with being so isolated but now…now I realize I was lonely.”
“People aren’t really meant to be on their own.”
“I’m nervous, though. I know that Issy wants me to show him my, uhh, my Little…”
“And you’re scared of being vulnerable? Of being hurt?”
“Yes.” He could read her so well. “I want to open up. To show that side of myself. But I just can’t seem to take that next step.”
“It’s understandable that you’re having trouble after losing Dave and after what you went through.”
The door banged open and Issy stomped in. Archer let go of her hand and she moved it back, missing the warmth of his touch. But she stood with a smile, wrapping herself around Issy as he came close. He held her against him and she sighed happily.
“Everything okay? What’s going on? Hey, are those cookies?”
“Everything is fine. And yes, they are,” Archer answered with a wry grin.
“Awesome.”
18
“I just spoke to Mal.” Archer walked outside through the mud to where Doc was chopping up wood. He stopped and wiped at his forehead with his arm. They’d been here at Caley’s cabin for six nights now.
“Who?”
“The guy at the local garage. He said that there’s a crew currently working on the downed tree and he ought to be able to get through to get my rental vehicle by tomorrow. He can give me a ride back down the mountain. The rental company already has another vehicle waiting for me. I figure I can drive to Bozeman and get a flight back to Dallas.”
Fuck.
That meant Archer would be leaving. Should he be leaving too? He couldn’t stay here forever.
But he also wasn’t ready to leave her.
“I’m not ready to go.”
“I don’t blame you. If I had Caley in my bed, I wouldn’t be willing to go either.” There was a hint of longing in Archer’s voice. Was his brother lonely? Used to be that Archer had a gorgeous woman on his arm almost every weekend. He wasn’t a player, exactly. He always made it clear to the women that he had no intention of getting into a relationship with them. Still, he’d never lacked for companionship.
Maybe seeing him with Caley had shown Archer he wanted something more meaningful. A sense of sadness filled him. Now that he’d patched things up with his brother, he was reluctant to say goodbye.
“I don’t know where to move from here,” he admitted. “She still hasn’t shown me her Little.” And he needed that part of her. It was who he was. He knew himself; he wouldn’t be happy if she permanently kept that part of herself back.
And neither would she.
Archer studied him for a moment. “You spoke to her about Evelyn? About our parents?”
“Yeah, couple of days ago.” Still nothing. He’d noticed her pulling into herself more than usual. Could be the book she was working on, but he had a feeling she was thinking about everything he’d told her.
“I don’t think Caley is the impulsive type. Well, other than letting us stay here with her. But that was kind of out of her hands unless she was willing to leave us out in the cold.”
Doc nodded. “I know. She likes to mull things over.”
“But sometimes thinking too much can be detrimental,” Archer added, reading his mind. Why had he gone so long being angry at his brother? “But I think you’ve made more headway than you realize.”
“How do you mean?”
“You’ve been topping her almost since we got here. She now has a nighttime routine, a bedtime, rules to follow. She has to eat regularly, exercise.”
“You’re right,” he said slowly.
“She’s worried about getting hurt, but she wants to take that next step. So maybe you should give her Little a bit of a subtle nudge.”
Yeah, except how did he do that?
His mind whirred, thinking. “Do you think the rental car company would bring the car up here?”
“If I pay them enough, they will. Why?”
“Just thinking I could take over the rental. Don’t like to be up here with her crap truck as our only transport option. If you can get a morning flight out of Bozeman, I’ll drive in, drop you off and do some shopping.”
Archer frowned. “Shopping?
You hate shopping…ahh…I see. You’re not going subtle at all, are you?”
“Brother, you hurt me. Subtle is my middle name.”
Archer just shook his head.
* * *
It was hard to say goodbye.
Far harder than she’d expected. She didn’t want him to go. She’d gotten used to him being here.
At least Doc was staying. But for how long? He wouldn’t be patient with her forever. She just didn’t know why her Little was still afraid to come out. After everything Doc had told her about himself, after giving him her submission in bed, after allowing him to boss her around when it came to her work, her eating, her sleep.
You’d think it would be a no-brainer to let her Little out.
But it just wasn’t happening. And it kind of worried her. What if it never happened? What if he grew impatient with her and gave up? What if he left?
He’ll have to leave at some stage, Caley. What are you going to do then? He has a life. A job. Putting your head in the sand over all of that doesn’t make it go away.
He only lives a few hours away.
What? And you think he’d be happy visiting? That he’d want to do long-distance?
Groan. She really should have thought all this through before she agreed to anything. And now…now she was in so deep she couldn’t end things. It would break her. He would have to do it.
Which he would likely do soon with the way she was holding back on him.
And now Archer was leaving. Her partner in teasing Issy out of his grumpy moods. She liked having someone to gang up on him with her. Although she got the feeling that in anything serious, he’d be on Issy’s side.
She didn’t want him to go. But that was incredibly selfish of her.
“Hey, Caley, don’t look so glum,” Archer sat down on the sofa beside her. He reached over and gave her hand a small squeeze. “I know being left with this guy is a daunting prospect, but if his bossiness gets out of control, you can call or FaceTime me. I’ll help you corral him, okay?”
She gave him a small smile. It was early in the morning and they were headed to Bozeman. Archer to catch a flight. Issy to do some shopping. For what, she wasn’t sure. Although she guessed some of it was for groceries.
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