“Are you blushing?” she taunts, scooting off to stand in front of me. “I think you are.”
“I think you’re enjoying this.”
“I enjoy lots of things.” The corner of her lips tilts up suggestively, and that’s when I know I need to leave.
“I’m going to go to sleep now.” I turn and walk toward the door. “Good night.”
“Night, roomie.”
I get under my covers and stare up at the ceiling. Each day it gets harder to be around Everleigh. Not because she’s difficult to live with but because I find myself enjoying her company so much. She always makes me laugh, which feels good. I wish I could kiss those flirty, luscious lips, but I can’t, and it’s pure fucking torture. Doesn’t help that Everleigh tempts me at every opportunity.
The sounds of my door creaking open and then her tiptoeing against the floor have me on high alert.
“What’s wrong?” I immediately ask.
“I can’t sleep,” she says. “There’s a draft in my room.”
I arch a brow because I didn’t feel one the several times I was in there.
“I think I sleep better next to you,” she adds. “Would you mind if I crashed in here?”
As I lower my gaze down her body, I notice she’s not wearing pants again. I’m in only my boxers, but I can’t deny her, especially when I want to hear her whispering my name again.
“Sure, c’mon in,” I say casually. “I see you're wearing socks this time.”
“Figured you couldn’t refuse me if I promised not to put my cold feet on you,” she explains, crawling over my waist to get to the other side of the bed. “But since I didn’t have to convince you, off they go!” She giggles, tossing them to the floor.
“You’re horrible.”
Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her close. She rests an arm over my chest and settles against me. If anyone walked in right now, they’d think we were a couple.
“In case you wondered, the bed held up against the vibrator.”
I groan inwardly. “IKEA for the win,” I force out.
She snickers. “I’ll make sure to tell Tim…since he was so invested and all.”
“Tim’s a fucking creep.”
“And he’s like in his fifties. Small-town people offer their services without expectinganythingin return,” she informs me.
“Is Tim married?” I ask.
She thinks for a moment. “No.”
“Does Tim have a dick?” I continue.
She chuckles. “I assume he does.”
“Then he wasn’t offering to be nice. He was staring at you like he wanted to eat you for breakfast. Trust me, Tim wanted something in return.”
“You must’ve been observing him quite intensely then.”
“It wasn’t hard to notice, Everleigh. You need to be more careful. Guys see you, and they’ll take whatever the hell they want, whether you’re willing or not,” I tell her sternly, my arm tensing.
Everleigh glances at me, but I don’t look at her. My lips are in a tight line as I imagine what I’d do to any guy who hurt her.
“Archer, you don’t have to worry about me so much. I’m pretty tough, even for my size,” she says with a little chuckle. “I’ve had to look out for myself for years.”