Only Mine(Only One Series)

Chapter 2

“Your place is trashed,” Tyler continues, grabbing an armful of empty beer cans from the coffee table now that the random guy is no longer there.

“I mean, if you want to clean up, go for it. Not gonna stop you, but I’m not paying for your services either,” I tell him, chugging more water. I drank way too much last night, but I’m a grown-ass woman, so I refuse to apologize for living my life how I want.

Tyler rolls his eyes.

“Don’t forget what yesterday was. You should be impressed that I even came home.”

“I just thought you’d be more responsible since...” He glances toward Archer.

responsible ..“I’m thirty-three, Tyler,” I remind him. “I can do whatever and whoever the hell I want. You need to go ahead and give up the ghost on that.”

whoeverSeconds later, the toilet flushes, and the guy I brought home last night stumbles back to the living room. He picks up his clothes from the floor, almost falling over as he puts one foot in his jeans.

“Jared, right?” I ask.

“Jacob,” he corrects, zipping and buttoning his pants.

“Oh yeah. Okay. Well, thanks for a fun night. I’ll call you later.”

He gives me a head nod before searching for his keys. “Shit.”

“You can go look in my room,” I offer as I put food in Sassy’s fancy sterling silver dog bowl.

Sassy immediately leaves Archer’s side and prances over. I bend down to pet her, wishing my booty call would hurry the hell up and leave. I can tell how uncomfortable Tyler and Archer are. My brother’s always been protective of me, but at my age, he’s more like an overbearing dad. I put the ground Colombian coffee beans in my coffeemaker, then press start. Right now, I need something strong and dark, and for once, it’s not a man.

“Found ’em,” Jacob eventually calls out. When he returns to the living room, I notice the purple hickeys on his neck. Except I’m not the only one who does.

onlyTyler grinds his teeth when Jacob walks over and tries to give me a kiss on the mouth. Before our lips can touch, I quickly turn my head, so my cheek takes the brunt.

“See ya soon, baby,” he purrs, and I realize in this lighting how dirty those shots of tequila did me. The guy isn’t my type, but it’s not like I slept with him with the intent to marry him. I just wanted to have a good time. Gemma did try to text some sense into me, but her warnings not to do anything stupid apparently didn’t work.

As my brother crosses his arms over his chest, I somewhat wished I’d had listened to her. Then again, what’s done is done.

Jacob lingers as if he’s waiting for me to agree. “I think it’s time for you to go,” I bluntly say since he’s oblivious of the awkwardness that’s swallowing me whole.

“Oh right,” he says, looking at my brother and Archer as if they magically appeared. I let out a breath when he finally leaves.

“I can’t f*****g believe this. You didn’t even know his name?” Tyler questions in a snappy, judgy tone. My head pounds, and I just want this coffee to finish brewing so I can drink it, then sit in the tub for an hour.

“Meh.” I shrug. “Not sure what the big deal is.”

“The deal is you’re acting like a player.”

“I didn’t choose this life. It chose me,” I taunt, aware it’ll irritate him more, though I don’t give two shits what he thinks about my personal life. The last thing I want is to be berated in front of Archer, who’s actively avoiding eye contact with me. Once the coffee finishes, I pour a cup, then add sugar and creamer.

“Want some?” I ask Archer, grabbing another mug from the cabinet.

“Sure,” he says, but I’d already started filling it full.

He takes a few steps toward me, and I smell the light hint of his cologne.

“Help yourself to the cream and sugar.”

“Thanks, but I like it plain.” He sips it, and his eyes go wide. “That’s strong enough to put hair on your chest.”

A small smile hits Tyler’s lips. “Better than that instant s**t, isn’t it?”

“You want some?” I glance at him.

He shakes his head. “I’m good.”

I meet Archer’s gaze. “You ready for the big house tour?”

Swiping away loose strands of hair that have fallen from my bun, I’m somewhat embarrassed by the first impression I’ve given him. Tyler’s need to call me out for it hasn’t helped.

“Yeah, that’d be great,” he says.

With a smile, I lead him to his room. Since I knew he was coming today, I made sure to change the sheets and wash the comforter. I also moved all my spare clothes out of the closet so he’d have more room. Though I don’t think he brought much with him.

Archer looks around, but I can’t quite read him.

“Is it okay?”

He turns with a perfect smile and kind eyes. “It’s amazing.”

“It’s not a huge room, but…”

“It’s more than enough. Thank you,” he says genuinely.

“I’m happy to help. You’re a dog person, right?” I ask when Sassy saunters in and jumps on the bed.

Archer chuckles. “I can be.”

I lead him to the main bathroom, and he peeks inside. “There are two in the house. This one only has a shower, but the master suite has a tub, and if you ever wanna use it, go ahead.”

“Great, thanks,” he says.

“And this is the laundry room.”

Archer scans over my scattered dirty clothes on the floor.

“Sorry for the mess,” I admit. “I’ll try to be a bit more tidy since you’re here.”

“Everleigh,” he says. I love the sound of my name rolling off his tongue. “It’s not a big deal. I was in prison for five years. Seriously, this is already a million times better. Even with a naked dude on the couch.”

That has me laughing hard, which only makes my head pound more, but at least he sees the humor in all of this. “Well, I’m glad I haven’t made you want to run away yet. So some ground rules….” I say, moving back to the living room.

“Oh, Tyler already laid some of those down.”

“Did he?” I pop a brow, watching Tyler clean the mess in the kitchen.

“Yep. I sure did,” he admits, and I roll my eyes at his fatherly tone.

“I’m sure they’re nothing like my rules.” I give Archer a wink.

myA smirk meets his lips, and I can only imagine what my brother has said about me. I halfway wonder if Archer got the same “off-limits” talk as I did. Tyler drove it home that I wasn’t to lead Archer on, sleep with him, or flirt with him. I explained that flirting was a hard limit of mine and laughed it off. As I’ve told him a million times before, I do whatever I want.

whateverI glare at Tyler, then meet Archer’s chestnut brown eyes again. “Well, my rules are simple. Clean up after yourself. Treat Sassy like the queen she is and take her out if you can. She gets fed twice a day and gets treats after she goes potty. I like to spoil my sweet little baby.” I bend down as Sassy runs over, then starts jumping and licking my face.“Yes, you are my sweet baby girl.”

Tyler rolls his eyes.

“Hey, don’t even. She slept in your bed when you lived here, and you spoiled her more than I did!”

He laughs. “Maybe, but I don’t let her lick me in the mouth. That’s just gross.”

I keep my comments to myself and turn to Archer. “Want to see my room now? It’s where all the magic happens.”

Tyler nearly chokes as I lead Archer past him. If my brother wants to push my buttons, I’ll make sure to return the favor.

“Excuse the mess. I really like clothes and shoes,” I tell him as he follows me to my bathroom. “The tub’s pretty great after a long day at work. I can only imagine how much of a hard-ass your boss is gonna be.”

“I heard that!” Tyler shouts from the kitchen. I can hear a ball bouncing, followed by Sassy’s nails tapping across the hardwood floor. The fact that he’s playing with her makes me smile, especially since he tries to act like such a hard-ass all the time.

After Tyler has nearly cleaned up my entire house and taken out the trash, he checks the time and tells me he needs to get going.

“You gonna be okay here by yourself with her?” he asks Archer, but I’m not entirely sure if he’s joking.

“He will be just fine, big brother. I don’t bite that hard.” I smirk, because my brother’s about to pop a blood vessel.

just Tyler looks at Archer. “Call me if she gets out of hand and you need to be rescued.”

“You act like I’m going to make an Archer voodoo doll or something. We’ll be just fine,” I reply, then face my new roommate. “I’ll show you my doll of Tyler later.”

Archer chuckles, clearly amused by our antics, but Tyler is less than impressed.

“Remember what I said,” he warns me, and I wave him off.

“I’ll be here at six to pick you up in the mornin’.”

“Sounds good. Thanks again for everything,” Archer tells him.

“You’re welcome. Bye, y’all. Stay out of trouble, Everleigh.”

Everleigh“Pfft.” I turn on my heels and grab some meds for my headache.

Once Tyler is gone, I let out a relieved breath. “Well, now that Buzz Killington is gone, are you hungry?”

“I’m okay. You’ve already done so much for me.”

“Nonsense. I’m starving, so I’m gonna make some avocado toast. It’s not a big deal to make you some too.”

“Uh, sure. Never had that before, but I’m willing to try anything once.”

I look over my shoulder at him as I pull the ingredients from the fridge. “Awesome. It’s actually my specialty. Has had men beggin’ for another night.”

He ignores the last comment. “So you like to cook?”

This question makes me snort. “Not really. I can make a few key things, but usually, it’s a frozen meal or a sandwich. Easy stuff.”

“That actually doesn’t sound so bad.”

I meet his eyes and see the same broken expression I saw on Tyler’s face when he was released. Archer’s mysterious and polite, and I’m drawn to him in a way I’ve never really experienced before. I have this urge to protect him at all costs, though he probably doesn’t need it.

“Do you like to cook?” I pull out the bread and throw two slices in the toaster.

He chuckles, and I love the way it sounds. “I’m probably rusty now, but I enjoyed it at one point in my life. My mom loved to cook, and it’s how we bonded when I was a kid. But those times were few and far between before I moved out.”

“My mother was useless, so consider yourself lucky you got that much,” I blurt out, though I’m positive Tyler told him all about our childhood. “What was your favorite thing to cook?”

“Meatballs with a homemade marinara sauce,” he responds quickly.

“Ooh, that sounds delicious. I love Italian food, especially with wine. Maybe you can make it for me one day?” I can feel Archer’s eyes on me as I peel, then mash the avocado onto the toast.

“Sure, I’ll have to see if I can remember the recipe for the meatballs.”

“If not, I can always help you find a new one,” I offer, then c***k the eggs into the hot, buttery skillet. Honestly, I think these are the most perfect sunny-side ups that I"ve ever made, and when I slide what I prepared in front of him, I can tell he’s impressed. The black cracked pepper just adds a special touch.

“Damn. These make me feel like royalty.” His eyes widen as he grins. “Thank you.”

It makes me smile as I sit in front of him at the breakfast bar. We eat in silence for a while, and it feels nice and normal. I want to learn every single detail about him and his past, but it’s important I give him space right now. The last thing I want to do is bombard him with a million questions. So instead, I say nothing at all. I’ll wait until he’s ready to talk about it.

When Archer finishes eating, I fill my mug to the top as he rinses our plates.

“Thanks again for allowing me to stay here. I’ll try to stay out of the way, so you won’t even know I’m around.”

“Don’t be silly. Roam around naked if you want,” I tease. “Plus, if my brother trusts you to live with me, then I do too, Archer. He said you were like family, and that’s enough for me.”

“Means a lot,” he says, then goes to his room. A part of me wants to follow him to make sure he settles in okay, but I don’t want to come across too pushy.

Tyler may have warned me to stay away, but I didn’t realize how hard it’d be when Archer Boone is so damn sexy and mysterious.