“What about breakfast? I have toast and eggs for you.” Ivy called after him, but Archer had turned away from them and disappeared out of sight.
When she whipped around to look at Leon, he was finishing up his food, taking a quick gulp of his lukewarm coffee. She wanted to ask him if everything was fine between the two brothers. If something had happened since they last spoke, but Leon had shut himself off again.
“Have a good day, Ivy.” He said, standing up suddenly. He pressed his lips to her cheeks quickly before he walked past her. And he was gone before she even had a chance to wish him the same.
Ivy was taking her online classes, when she heard a knock on the door.
“Come on in.” She called out, not quite sure which of the two brothers it was. When the door opened, she found Archer on the other side, with a polite smile on his face.
“Leon wants you to know that he won’t be home for dinner tonight. He’s going to town for some work and will be eating there.” Archer said, with his hand still on the doorknob.
Ivy was a little taken aback by this information, considering that Leon had never done this before. In the weeks that she had been at the ranch, he had not once left the place or gone anywhere, other than to shop for their pantry. And even then, he was always back in a few hours. But she tried to hide her surprise now.
“I see. So, will I only cook for you and me then?” She asked, smiling. It was her way of finding out if Archer was going with his brother as well.
“Yeah, only me and you.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame. He was looking at her now, studying the dress that she had previously used to seduce Leon. She could see that Archer liked it too. The brothers definitely had the same tastes.
“Good.” She said, meeting his eyes.
“Good.” He repeated after her, a knowing smile creeping up his face.
She could feel her nerves twitching. She was getting the sense that Archer was implying something, that perhaps it was going to be their night. But was Leon leaving to give them privacy? Why would he do something like that? The house was big enough, the ranch was big enough for privacy. But she said nothing, only held Archer’s gaze.
He looked hand
some in his rugged clothes, the stubble he had not yet shaved had grown to a full-fledged beard now and she was curious how it would feel against her face. His blue eyes were piercing, trying to communicate with her, slowly undressing her as she sat in front of her computer.
Even though Ivy was sexually satisfied now, after Leon that morning, she found herself beginning to crave Archer again. Just the way he was looking at her was enough to tell her what he planned on doing.
“So, I’ll see you tonight then.” He said abruptly and she nodded her head. He was gone again and Ivy was left alone with her thoughts.
The way it looked now was that Leon was leaving for the evening to give his brother his promised share of Ivy, and she couldn’t be more excited. Her one encounter with Archer had left her craving for more, and this was going to be her first opportunity in days.
She blushed as she thought about Archer, his body, about how he was still unexplored and new to her.
She tried to concentrate on the classes again, but it was too late, he had successfully managed to distract her by now and she couldn’t get back to it.
So eventually she left her study and proceeded to the kitchen. It was time to start preparing dinner, it was already late afternoon and if she didn’t start now, she wouldn’t have time to clean up and dust the house before they sat down for their meal.
While she was distracted with thoughts of Archer, she only realized much later in the evening, that she hadn’t seen Leon at all. Not since that morning.
It was when his truck started with a roar outside the kitchen window that she looked up and was surprised to see his face at the truck’s window, looking intently ahead. Ivy waved, hoping that he might look in her direction. But he didn’t. Then Archer appeared in her view, he was walking towards his brother’s side of the truck. They were talking about something, something serious but unfortunately they were too far away for her to be able to overhear.
All she could see was that Leon was saying something, and Archer nodded his head repeatedly. Then he was clenching his jaws and placed a hand on the truck’s roof. Ivy bit down on her lip as she tried to study the brothers’ body language. It didn’t seem like they were having a normal conversation, but it didn’t seem like they were arguing either. As far as Ivy could tell, Leon seemed to be giving Archer strict instructions and he was simply agreeing with them.
She decided they were discussing work. They couldn’t be talking about her! So, she turned away from the window and started tidying up the kitchen counter. When she looked up again, Leon was driving away. He hadn’t once looked in her direction, not that she had noticed, and now Archer remained where he was, watching the back of his brother’s jeep driving away. He had his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans and was slowly shaking his head. Like he was disappointed with something that Leon had said.
Then he suddenly looked up, it was too late for Ivy to look away and their gazes locked. For a moment, she thought that Archer was going to say something, something harsh. But instead his face broke out in a smile. The dimples appeared and deepened on his cheeks and then he shrugged. She had no idea why. What was he trying to tell her?
And then Archer had walked away from her vision, back to the fields to finish the work for the evening.
Not that Ivy had any reason to, but the exchange she had witnessed had left her with a nagging feeling. She remembered how casually Archer had appeared at the kitchen door that morning, just moments after Leon and she had orgasmed, like he was waiting for them to finish. How he hadn’t remained for breakfast. How Leon had ignored her all day, and sent her his messages through Archer. Something didn’t quite feel right, but she decided that it was only them. The two brothers were strange and stand-offish and there was no point dwelling on it.
Archer was on time for dinner that night, he appeared in the kitchen right at eight and took a seat silently at the head of the table. Ivy felt her brows furrow a little when she saw that. It was strange seeing someone else sitting where Leon usually sat, but she said nothing. They were brothers, twins, and like Leon had insisted so many times, they shared everything.
“This looks lovely. You’ve outdone yourself, Ivy.” He said, picking up his fork and knife.
She had cooked them each a medium rare sirloin steak, with mash, peas and carrots. A garlic peppercorn sauce was served in a gravy boat on the side and some rosemary potato wedges as well. He was right, she had outdone herself. She wanted to impress Archer, she wanted to demonstrate to him that this night was special. Without being too forward. She didn’t know Archer well enough, unlike Leon, to simply out rightly seduce him. And they had gotten off to a rocky start in their relationship.