Page 62 of Ink & Desire

“You didn’t enjoy it?”

My gaze jumps back to Avery’s face. “No, I did,” I say. “I mean…it was…um…” Breaking off, I clear my throat again as her smile grows wider.

“What I mean is,” I try again. “It was great. But it was a mistake, Avery. I’m your boss and I should never have taken advantage of you that way.”

She nods slowly but says nothing.

“It’s just that, we need to work together,” I say. “Adding a physical aspect to our professional relationship is only going to make things confusing. It’s also againstthe shop’s policy. I’m sorry for what happened, but it won’t happen again.”

I go quiet, waiting for her reaction. I expect her to be outraged or maybe hurt or angry. But she just looks at me, her expression a mix of curiosity and amusement. Finally, she gives a little shrug.

“That’s too bad,” she says. “I liked you making me come.”

I nearly choke on my own saliva as I frantically look around to make sure Jessie or Noah didn’t magically appear in the room to overhear Avery’s words.

“Shh,” I say. “Not so loud.”

She shrugs. “There’s no one here but you and me.”

She’s right, I know. But my own guilt and paranoia is strong when it comes to the events of the other night. I’m convinced Jessie is going to figure out what happened. I know she’d never let me hear the end of it.

“But we’re good, right?” I ask.

“Sure, Corbin,” she says. “We’re good.”

I eye her for a moment as she focuses on her lunch, all but ignoring me. “So, we’re on the same page? We’ll go back to our professional relationship, right? No hard feelings?”

She wipes her mouth with her napkin, considering my words. Then she turns toward me again.

“There aren’t any hard feelings,” she says.

Relief pours through me, and I smile.

“I’m glad—” I begin, but she raises a hand, stopping me short.

“But I’m not sure we’re on the same page,” she says. “Because I don’t want to go back to being professional with you. Unless it’s to call you sir while you fuck me. Because that, I can get behind.”

My mouth drops open in shock and my gaze shoots over to the door to make sure it’s still closed. It is. I don’t immediately know how to respond. My first reaction is from my dick, which isyes, please. But then my brain catches up to my body and I shake my head.

“We can’t do that,” I say, but my words don’t sound very convincing.

“Why not?” Avery asks. “I think we did an excellent job last time. I’d like to repeat it.”

I can’t believe it. I’m actually speechless. I’d expected her to be angry. I’d worried she might quit. I never imagined she’d want more. Not that she’d objected the other night. She’d been an incredibly willing participant. So had I. Memories of that night flash through my head for the millionth time. Her throat in my hand, my cock buried inside her hot pussy while she moaned against my lips. I can’t deny that I’d like to do it again. But I know it’s a bad idea. It’ll only end in disaster. When I remain silent, Avery cocks her head at me, considering.

“What?” she asks. “You didn’t like it? Seemed like you did. Besides, I was really looking forward to you making good on your threats.”

My brows furrow in confusion as I try to keep up with the conversation. “Whatthreats?”

She leans closer to me. “You remember,” she whispers. “You promised to useallof my body. Every part of it is supposed to be yours, right? We’ve only just gotten started.”

With that, she leans back from me and takes a big bite of her lunch, leaving me sitting there wondering what the hell is happening.

“Mm,” she says around a mouthful of food. “Before I forget, have you had a recent blood test? I mean, you can never be too careful, right? And we didn’t use any protection, after all.”

The memory of pulling her tight against me as I spilled my release isn’t something I’m bound to forget anytime soon. Or ever. But I hadn’t really considered the idea of catching something from her. I’d only asked about birth control. Damn, I’m an idiot.

“I’m clean,” I say. “I got tested last month.”

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