I put my hand over my mouth and giggled at the sight.
He arched an eyebrow. “Hungry?”
“I thought you left,” I said while climbing onto the bed and lying on my side.
With pillows propping his head up, he looked down at the pie and picked up the fork. “Hope you don’t mind I stole a bite. Here,” he said, handing me the utensil. “I can’t feed you like this. It’s too awkward. Unless you want to switch sides.”
I scooped up a wedge of apple. “Then I’ll feed you.” After giving him a bite, I scooped one for myself. “Isn’t it divine? Mercy’s a lucky woman.”
He wiped a crumb from his mouth. “Yeah.”
While chewing, I gave Archer the next bite. Pie had never tasted so good. Thunder rumbled outside like a slow-moving train as raindrops tapped against the skylight above.
After several more mouthfuls, I said, “I should probably stop.”
“Why?”
“Because. I can’t just eat a whole pie. It’s greedy.”
Archer’s chest rose and fell with a deep sigh. “I could kill that bastard.” Then he squeezed my leg. “You’re not greedy. Bear made you the pie, so if you want to eat the whole thing in one night, do it. If you think I care, you have no idea what I can do to a pan of cinnamon rolls.”
The image delighted me, and I smiled. “Really? Cinnamon rolls?”
“It’s my weakness.”
“Is that what you crave when you come out of a shift?”
“No.” Archer chewed another bite I fed him and then answered, “My craving is milk.”
“Be right back.” I hopped off the bed and padded across the dark living room. Inside the drink cooler, there were two glass bottles of milk. Grabbing one, I returned to the room and flourished it. “Voilà!”
He set the pie next to him and scooted to a sitting position. “I could have used that earlier.” Placing the bottle between his knees, he unscrewed the top and guzzled the entire thing in one go.
When he finished, I took the pie and empty bottle into the kitchen.
“I bet you can’t guess what Bear’s craving is,” he called out.
I pitched the bottle into the trash. “Something gourmet?”
He laughed. “No. It’s Tootsie Rolls. The man can outcook any professional chef, and all he craves after a shift are Tootsie Rolls.”
When I returned to the room, Archer shook his head.
“Take that off.”
I glanced down. “Why?”
He strode into the living room and returned with his white T-shirt. “Because I don’t want you snuggling next to me in another man’s shirt. It smells like Lakota.”
“It does not,” I said with an amused chuckle.
“So what’ll it be? Naked… or white tee?” He lifted up the T-shirt and playfully repeated, “Naked… or white tee? I don’t know about you, but I’m leaning toward the first option.”
I stripped off Lakota’s shirt, and when he realized I wasn’t wearing panties, he drew in a sharp breath. “It’s too bad I don’t have that short Girl Power shirt. Would you object?”
Archer gripped his white T-shirt a little too hard when I tried to pull it from his hand. “I’d have no problem with that one.”
After slipping on the shirt, I crawled across the bed, eliciting a growl from behind me.
