I had a maid, but I actually enjoyed doing stuff for myself. Except windows. No one liked doing windows. I finished cleaning the dishes, then grabbed the s’more stuff and walked into the living room. Achilles was stoking the fire. His bag was propped against the sofa and I eyed it. It was one of those military rucksacks. He turned to me and I handed him the goods. I sat on the floor right in front of the fireplace and Achilles stretched out on his side next to me. We sat there and watched the flames licking up.
“Why did you want to join the military?” Achilles asked softly. “Weren’t you into music?”
“Yeah, but joining would have taken me away from home.” I punctured a marshmallow with one of the sticks I kept by the fireplace and held it near the flames, browning it. “Between Holden and Jinx, I stayed put.”
Achilles grabbed a stick and placed his own marshmallow near the fire. He seemed to be concentrating hard, like he wanted to ask me something, but didn’t know how.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I can’t see you as a soldier. Not that you’re not physically fit to be one, but your attitude would have gotten you smoked.”
“Oh, you mean my utter lack of caring?” I snickered.
“If you hold a combat boot to your ear, do you know what you’ll hear?”
“The ocean?” I smiled.
“No, you can hear your first drill sergeant calling you a moron.”
“That’s good,” I laughed. “Cute. Didn’t know you had it in you, big guy.”
“I do, on occasion, try to have a good time.”
“Why is it that you guys hardly ever talk then?”
“It’s called keeping it professional. The more time you spend with your charge, the more the lines seem to disappear. In order for us to keep you safe, we can’t make it personal.”
“But you’re here.”
“That’s different.”
“Why is that different?” I narrowed my eyes.
“I am assigned to you, Harley. I’m not the kind of guy who stands in the corner and says nothing. Especially if we’re in each other’s space all the time.”
“Assigned to me? Meaning what?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer to that question. Was Achilles with me all the damn time because the guys thought I’d do something stupid? Okay, I did a lot of stupid shit, but I’d never tried to off myself.
“I’m keeping you safe.”
“From what?”
“Yourself.”
“I’m not going to try and kill myself, ya know.” I placed my browned marshmallow on the chocolate and grabbed some crackers. I bit into it and moaned.
“I know you wouldn’t do it intentionally, but you do get yourself into some pretty precarious situations.”
“I’m thrill-seeking, remember?” I grinned and Achilles smiled — just a tad. He reached over and thumbed something off the corner of my mouth.
“Chocolate.” He showed me his thumb as proof. “What’s on the agenda tomorrow?”
“Studio time. A couple more tracks need to be tweaked.” I yawned. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until just then. “I think I’m going to hit the sheets. I’m fucking wasted. Want to crash on the couch or do you want the guest room?”
“Couch.”
“Okay, I’ll get you a blanket.” I stood up and glanced over my shoulder as I headed to the linen closet. Achilles was licking his thumb. I didn’t know why, but my dick popped up immediately from just watching him. I grabbed a fluffy blanket from the top shelf and went back to the living room. Achilles was just making his own s’more.
“Here ya go. Anything else?”
“No, goodnight, Harley.”
“Night.”
Chapter 2
Achilles
I watched Harley’s ass as he walked back to his room. Part of me wanted to join him, the part that had lost all perspective when it came to Harley Payne. I cursed myself for the thousandth time. I needed to stay focused when it came to Harley. He’d had enough shit in his life without adding me to the mix. I needed to keep him safe, and that was all. He didn’t remember kissing me back in L.A., and I wasn’t going to bring it up. I thought for sure he’d say something the next morning, but he didn’t remember any of it.
Not the pool.
Nothing.
I talked a lot with Jinx and the other guys, so I knew Harley hadn’t had it easy. Especially when it came to his parents. I was an only child, so I didn’t know what it was like to have a sibling.
I leaned back on my elbows and watched the fire. I’d done my homework and I didn’t like what I saw. Harley’s older brother was killed in combat and although Harley seemed fine on the outside, he was anything but. I was lucky enough to be raised and loved by my parents. I was born in New York, but my parents moved back to Greece when I was ten. My grandparents had died in a car crash and left their restaurant to my parents. My father had his own company in Greece and my mother ran the restaurant. Sometimes I’d go just to help out in the kitchen. The place was still very successful, even now. I held dual citizenship, so I went back and forth between the U.S. and Greece a lot.