Page 61 of Ink & Desire

“Are you getting close?” a voice says from behind me, yanking me out of my fantasy/memory.

I turn quickly, blinking away the image from my mind. Only to come face-to-face with the object of all my recent sexual fantasies. Avery is standing entirely too close to me, a bowl in her hands and an amused expression on her face. She nods toward the microwave.

“You finished?”

Shit. The microwave. Of course. While I’ve been standing here daydreaming about fucking Avery, my food has been finished heating for who knows how long. And she’s been standing there waiting. I hadn’t even heard her walk into the room. How long has she been standing there, trying to get my attention? I decide it’s best not to ask.

“Oh, yeah,” I say, quickly opening the microwave and removing my food. “Sorry.”

She just smiles. “No big deal,” she says, leaning forward to place her bowl into the microwave.

She closes the door and presses the buttons to start the appliance before looking back up at me, that same smile still on her face.

“Were you lost in thought?” she asks. Her voice is pitched low even though we’re the only two people in the room. “Daydream? Or fantasy?”

I go still as I meet her gaze. Her hazel eyes are teasing, but there’s a hint of something more there.Something that has my cock turning to stone in my pants. It’s the same look she’d worn the other night as she’d wrapped her fingers around my length.

“Because fantasies can come true, you know,” she whispers.

Fuck.

I swallow hard, my fingers gripping the food container in my hands so tightly it’s a wonder I don’t shatter the glass. It’s all I can do not to reach for Avery right now, principles be damned. But despite how incredible I know sex with her is, I also know it’s a terrible idea in the long run. So, I keep hold of the dish in my hands and take a small step backward, away from her.

“That’s not always the best idea,” I say.

Avery looks more amused than anything, which is a little confusing. I keep expecting her to be angry or even hurt, but she keeps surprising me.

She smiles and gives a one-shouldered shrug. “Speaking from recent experience, I can tell you that sometimes reality surpasses fantasy.”

With that, she turns back to the microwave just as it beeps to signal it’s finished heating. What the hell is going on? Is Avery really not angry with me after the other night? That doesn’t align with anything I know about her. She’s fiery and headstrong. She doesn’t back down and she’s never held back when she’s pissed at me. So, why does it seem like she’s being overly pleasant? And what was all that shit about fantasies? Is she saying shewants to fuck me again? My dick grows uncomfortably hard, and I resist the urge to adjust myself. She’d see it immediately and know she was the cause. I really need to talk to her about the other night.

I glance around the break room to make sure we’re still alone. Jessie and Noah are still in the main part of the shop, so I’m not sure who I expect to see. The door is also closed, so I know there’s no way anyone can overhear what I’m about to say. Now’s as good a time as ever to have this discussion, I suppose. I wait until she brings her food over and takes a seat at the table. Instead of sitting across from me, she takes the chair nearest me, sliding it closer after she sits.

She’s close enough that I can smell her subtle perfume. My mind immediately takes me back to the other night when all I could smell was her. I try to breathe the scent of her in and hold it there without her noticing. Then I realize I’m being a fucking weirdo and I force myself to stop.

“Avery,” I say, working to keep my tone neutral.

“Yes?” she turns her gaze on me, and I realize again just how close she is.

She’s close enough that if I lean forward just a few inches, I could claim her mouth with mine. It would be so easy. My gaze slips lower to her mouth for the barest of moments. I see her lips curve into a knowing smile.

“Was there something you wanted?”

Her voice is barely above a whisper, but I hear her easily in the quiet of the empty room. There’s somethingplayful and knowing in her tone and it makes me wonder if she’s implying something more with her words. I could be imagining it, but ever since the other night nothing about my interactions with Avery feels innocent.

I shake my head. “Not exactly. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

I clear my throat and decide to bite the bullet. “About what happened the other night.”

Okay, now I know I’m not imagining the smile on her face and the way her eyes soften with something like desire.

“What about it?”

Her voice has a definite teasing quality to it now.Shit.I look down at my food rather than meeting her gaze.

“Just that it shouldn’t have happened,” I say. “I shouldn’t have let it go that far.” I’m not sure my words sound convincing even to my own ears.

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