Page 14 of The Cowboy's Off Limits Option

Stepping out of the shower in his master bathroom, I towel off and reach for the things he offered me to change into; a t-shirt that smells of his laundry detergent and a pair of sweatpants that are far too long for me and have to be rolled down at the waist several times.

This will be the first time I've ever slept in his house, and the first time I've ever been here without Rowan.

I didn't have to wash my hair, but it got damp despite my efforts to keep it dry. Running the towel over it vigorously, I do my best to get it as dry as possible. I doubt Archer has a hair dryer for me to borrow.

Checking my reflection in the steamy mirror, I verify that I got the make-up off. Then I hang the towel on the hook behind the door and walk into his bedroom.

It's also my first time in here.

I've seen his room before-- from the hallway, when I've poked my head through the door to spy on what his personal space looks like while everyone else has been outside, but I've never been brave enough to snoop past the doorway.

Now I take advantage of the opportunity to make my way around the room. Opening a few drawers of his dresser; socks, underwear-- the sexy boxer brief type-- mostly black, a few pairs in dark grays and navy blue, more sweat pants, no pajamas I can find.

Does he sleep naked?

Sliding the drawer closed slightly, I try not to let the idea take up too much space in my head. After all, he belongs to someone else now.

As far as I know, Archer's never dated anyone very seriously. And since I came back to Slow River, he hasn't dated anyone at all. As long as Archer was single, I felt like there was still some hope. I felt like he could be mine, at least on some level.

Now that I know he only seemed single because he was in a secret relationship, it feels wrong to be imagining him naked in the king size bed taking up most of the real estate along one side of the room.

Running my hand over the silky soft, high quality linens and leaning down to inhale his scent from the pillow feels dirty. Not that it stops me. But it still feels wrong.

Until my mind drifts to the pillow on the other side of the bed and I find myself wondering if she's spent the night here. If I sniff that pillow, will also smell of his aftershave and masculine scented hair products? Or will it smell feminine? Will it smell like a woman has slept there?

I didn't see any signs of a woman's things in his bathroom. I don't see a woman's clothes in his dresser or in the nearly empty walk-in closet that sprawls off the master bath.

But Rowan said the woman is a secret. Someone off limits that isn't ready to risk her family's ire to be claimed by Archer publicly.

Whoever she is-- she's a dumb, fucking bitch.

If Archer Dean wanted me, I'd let him tattoo his name across my forehead. I wouldn't care who had a problem with it, I'd be so proud to be his woman-- I'd even tell my brother to go to hell if he tried to get in the way.

A gentle knock against the other side of the closed bedroom door startles me out of my fantasies.

"Thought you might want a snack?" Archer's deep voice is muffled by the door. "I can make cocoa?"

Happy for the distraction from my miserable thoughts, I open the door to laugh at him face to face.

"Cocoa? It's seventy degrees outside, Arch."

Opening the door must have startled him. He stands in the hall, frozen and looking at me like he's forgotten how to talk.

"There's sweet tea in the fridge." When he finds his voice, it comes out raspy.

He seems shaken, and I wonder if the drama at the bar is starting to sink in. Things definitely got out of hand out there. We got lucky that those other guys showed up when they did.

"...and I could make popcorn. If you feel like staying up for a while longer we could...watch a movie? Or maybe you could tell me what the hell you were doing out at the Tollhouse alone and dressed like you wanted attention?"

His voice is filled with concern and curiosity, but then there's an edge to it too that sounds less like the protective big brother that he usually plays by Rowan's side, and more like-- I dunno; Archer almost sounds like he'sjealous.

Weird, but whatever.

I can't tell him all of it, of course. I'd never be able to admit how fucking devastated I am that he's in love with someone else.

"Does it have anything to do with your friend staying up on the Ridge tonight?" He cocks his head sideways, one corner of his mouth pulling into a sympathetic smile, and sending his hair falling over the wrong way from how he parts it. It's longer on top, but not long enough to fall over his eyes.

Still looks sexy as hell though, and my fingers itch to right it; just for an excuse to touch him.

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