Page 17 of A is for Aftercare

I jerk my head back. “What?”

That's not even remotely part of his job description. Then again, it's only halfway through his first day, and he's already made more of a positive impact on me than any of his predecessors.

“Can I help?”

Be Lee Lawson’s muse. Lie naked on my bed while I write about how glorious you are.

I clear my throat. “How?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. You could bounce ideas off me, or maybe I could read what you’ve written so far and tell you what I think.”

“You just want a sneak peek.”

His blush gets even darker. “You did say that was part of the job.”

“Fine, I’ll send it to you. But I’m warning you. It’s a pile of shite.”

He lifts his gaze and looks me straight in the eyes. “I doubt that.”

"You've only ever seen the end product that makes it to the shelf. Before that, there are several drafts of utter crap."

“Noted. I guess I’ll just have to search for the diamond in the rough, won’t I?”

“Are you quotingAladdinat me?”

He grins. “I can’t picture you watching Disney movies.”

“I’ve got a pair of wee nephews who’ve made me sit through one or two. What’s your excuse?”

“No excuse. I just like Disney movies.” He dips his gaze again as the blush spreads from his cheeks to swallow up his face and ears.

“Which is your favourite?” I ask.

“You don’t really want to know that.”

“I asked, didn’t I?” I’ve never asked my previous PAs personal questions, but Archie has dangled a carrot in front of my eyes, and I want to bite it to find out more about him.

“The Little Mermaid. I had ahugecrush on Prince Eric when I was a kid.”

He’s into guys? I shouldn’t be happy about that, but I am. The scene I wrote about Archer and his bear floods into my mind, making me hot under the collar.

"I should get back to work." I need to put some distance between us before this conversation gets awkward.

“I’ll wash up.”

“You don’t need to.”

Archie shrugs. “It’s my job.”

I’m not sure that it is, but I’m happy to let him get on with it.

“Send me the novel?”

“Collection of shite words, you mean?”

Archie chuckles. “Yes.”

I nod and head back to the office. The first thing I do is send the document to Archie’s computer over the local network. Then I stare at the last sentence I wrote several days ago, trying to figure out what should come next. Orion is still facing off against three thugs in a dark alleyway, Jack and Kaleb are still fucking against a tree, and Archer…well, he’s still on his knees, sucking his bear’s cock.