HAND will do the JOB

The room that Archer gave to Elvina was three rooms away from the Master Bedroom.

Archer was disappointed with his parents and more so, he was disappointed with Emily. They did not love each other but he would have preferred it if they had this conversation instead of her running away from the marriage.

As for Elvina, the woman liked to push his buttons.

The first day when they met, he found her cute when she swiftly escaped from the situation when Emily found them together.

And then that night when she hugged him, in that split second, he felt like he had a soft corner for her.

But that's it. The next morning, she showed him her true colors and everything went in reverse.

Everything from before was just a pretense on her side.

Archer could not blame her. Not when his mother was the one who asked her to replace Emily.

But he was adamant about keeping his distance from the woman.

The thing that he hated the most were lies and betrayal.

And Elvina felt like everything he would ever hate.

…

''What's this? So soft…'' Archer stroked the thing gently.

The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself looking into a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

''Surprise,'' Elvina smiled at him.

''What are you doing here?" She was laying atop of him with her soft hair resting on his neck. Their faces were inches apart. He gulped, ''I told you that we would sleep separately and also…''

''Shhh,'' Elvina pressed her finger on his lips,'' I know that you liked the hug that day. Would you prefer a morning kiss now?" Her palm slowly stroked his chest before grazing down towards his torso, ''Or maybe something more?" she stroked the edge of his pants.

Archer's breathing turned uneven; his eyes slightly narrowed.

He grabbed her wrist and she looked startled for a moment.

''You don't like it?" she whispered.

Archer's eyes darkened. He quietly brought her palm to his face and placed it on his cheek.

She stroked his face with the tip of her nails, ''Hmm?"

Her nails were sharp just like her usual attitude towards him. He thought.

''I… Ahhh!!"

Archer's eyes snapped open and he sat up on the bed, panting.

There was a white flash in front of his eyes and his gaze landed on the fat cat sitting on his blanket, glaring at him.

The burning sensation on his face was real.

Archer raised his hand to stroke his face and his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw a drop of blood on his finger.

He could see cat fur on his forearms. Did he crush that fat thing just now?

Both the cat and the human looked at each other intensely.

And it was the cat who ended the staring contest earlier as he stood up and swayed his tail back and forth, elegantly looking around the room.

''Hah~''' Archer covered his face in his palms.

Good, very good.

Only this day was left in his life.

To be scratched by a fat cat again when he thought that it was…

He paused.

His hands slipped from his face and his jaws dropped.

It was…?

The cat's owner?

He threw the blanket aside and his gaze landed on the tent in his pants.

Dammit!

...

In the living room.

Elvina sat on the couch, looking at the crystal in her hand.

'Father, see Livy doesn't share even one of her crystals with me.'

'You know how much your sister adores crystals, gold, and everything that sparkles. Let her have them. Not like you like those things,' The King massaged his forehead as he picked his elder daughter in his arms.

'But these are special ones. They can capture everything and since she has it, I also want them.'

'Little Livy, would you like to share it with your sister?'

Little Elvina glanced at the father and daughter duo who were looking at her hopefully.

She then looked at the bags of crystals in her hands.

Her gaze kept altering back and forth between them before she ultimately hugged the bag closer to her chest and turned around, her braid swishing in the water.

Her small tail fin moved up and down as she gracefully swam away from them in a full-body wave motion.

'Wahhh~' Little Claire burst out crying, 'She is the younger one. Why does she have to be stubborn in everything?' She complained to their father in between her sobs.

'So that you get the chance to pamper her more?'

…

Elvina smiled through the tears in her eyes.

''I'm going to throw this thing outside,'' Archer came to stand in front of her, ''And I am not changing my mind….'' He paused when she looked up.

The tip of her nose was red and there were tears in her eyes

Was she crying?

''Good that you are here,'' Elvina placed the crystal aside as she smiled at him. Since it looked like an ordinary opaque crystal, it did not catch his attention.

''Are you fine…?" Archer's brows tugged together, countless thoughts running in his head.

No matter how much she claimed that she loved money and everything, she must be missing her home too.

Yesterday, she did not even get to meet her aunt and now she was living in this new place with no one familiar around.

He blamed himself for being so inconsiderate.

''How could I be fine?" Elvina raised an eyebrow, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, ''I asked for a shower gel and you gave me one which had lavender. I'm allergic to them.''

Archer released a breath he did not know he was holding, ''Are you fine now?"

''You can see,'' she tilted her face.

Why did he even think was crying? Archer sighed, somewhere blaming himself for trying to believe that the Elvina whom he saw for the first time had something… maybe any little thing real about her.

''It was arranged by Emily..''

''It was hers? I thought so. It did not smell like something that you would use,'' Elvina clicked her tongue.

Her gaze shifted to his hand and her eyes narrowed slightly.

Archer was holding her cat by its collar and the cat was looking at her pitifully.

''What are you doing?" Elvina snatched Gold from his evil hands.

Archer wasn't planning to let her get her way this time but it was useless to argue with a sick person.

''You see this?" he tilted his hand, pointing his fingers towards his jaws.

Elvina pushed herself to her feet and walked to the side, ''See what?"

Archer stretched his neck to let her get a proper view.

Elvina stood on her tiptoes, her eyes keenly observing his face and neck.

Archer shifted on his feet when he felt her warm breath caressing his skin, ''Let it be,'' his voice slightly hoarse.

Just as he was about to step back, she pressed two fingers on his jaws, tilting his face to the side.

The pulse on the back of his neck throbbed.

''Oh, these…'' Elvina glanced at the small scratches on his neck.

Archer closed his eyes. In the next moment, the warmth on his neck disappeared as Elvina stepped back from him.

She glanced at his face, ''Gold did this?" she asked, noticing similar little scratches on his face.

''Yes,'' Archer cleared his throat, ''So, will you punish him or kick him out?"

Elvina patted her cat, ''I opt for informing you that he has been gentle with you.''

''Gentle?" Archer looked at the fat cat before looking at its unruly owner.

Both their blue eyes were non-discreetly glaring at him.

''Usually, Gold likes to pierce his nail inside people's skin and rip it apart,'' her words were deliberate, ''You are a new face so my boy has been kind to you.''

''Can you be any more unreasonable?"

''Were you plotting something behind my back? I don't think my cat would do this unreasonably,'' Elvina raised an eyebrow when he averted his gaze.

Archer pressed his fist on his mouth and coughed twice.

It would not sound too good if he told her that he squished her cat while… dreaming of her.

He wordlessly turned around and walked upstairs.

Elvina glanced at his retreating back, her gaze tracing his muscular back through his thin white shirt.

She looked around the luxurious living room before taking a seat on the couch.

''Let's watch TV for now,'' she stroked Gold's hair who curled up on her lap, ''Later, we are going somewhere.''

''Meow~Meow~'' Getting such strokes from a pretty owner was a privilege!

…

Archer closed the door behind him before he raked his fingers through his hair.

He glanced at his pants and looked at the apparent bulge in them.

For god's sake, can you stop being so desperate? He gritted his teeth.

It must be because he hasn't gotten laid in a long time.

Now, just looking at a woman was giving him a boner.

That too, the woman who has been ticking him off for 24 hours.

He raked his fingers through his hair.

The sight of her standing on her tiptoes, pressing her fingers on his jaws, whispering next to his skin was still vivid in his mind.

''Argh,'' Archer let out a frustrated sigh. He unbuttoned his white shirt and threw it to the floor before striding inside the bathroom.

His hand will do the job.

Just until they are tied in this relationship.