Page 64 of Ink & Desire

“This is sexual harassment,” he says, but there’s no heat in his words.

“Am I in trouble?” I ask. “What’s my punishment?”

A muscle ticks in his jaw and I know he’s getting annoyed with me pushing his buttons. I shrug and ease away from him slightly.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” I say. “I’m ready when you are.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking for, angel,” he mutters, turning my insides to jelly.

It’s the first time he’s called me angel since the other night when we had sex. The nickname sends a little thrill through me. Before I can think of a response, he turns and walks toward the back. Standing alone in the shop, I allow myself a pleased smile. He’s not as indifferent as he pretends to be. I just need to find the right strategy to push him over the edge again. I nearly shiver with anticipation at the thought of Corbin’s hands on my body again, his filthy promises and his large body. I want all ofit. And I know he does too. I just need to find a way to convince him to give in.

I think I’ve pushed him as far as I want to tonight. His frustration with me is bordering on anger. That’s not what I want. If I want him to realize we’ll both be happier if we keep having sex, I need to walk a fine line. I need to push him to the edge, but not too far. Today, he’s already a little too on edge. It’s time to back off and let him come to me.

I spend the rest of the day—and the week—flirting with Corbin whenever the others aren’t around. I don’t go so far as to proposition him again, but I make sure he knows the offer still stands. I’m not sure when I turned into this bold woman who brazenly flirts with a man as intense as Corbin, but I’m channeling my inner Cass and going for it. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a woman who knows what she wants and does what it takes to get it. Isn’t that why I’m a tattoo apprentice?

By the time Sunday evening comes around, I’m so sexually frustrated by Corbin’s lack of action that I’m looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I need some time away from him. I need to reevaluate my strategy. I hate to admit it, but I don’t think this is going to work. Maybe Cass was wrong, and this isn’t the right way to go about it. Hell, maybe I was wrong, and the sex was only good for me. Maybe Corbin isn’t responding to my flirting because he doesn’t want to have sex with me again. Maybe once was enough for him. That thought is a little depressing. But it’s not like I can force him to want me if he doesn’t.

Case in point, I wore a low-cut dress today that I know makes my boobs look amazing. When you’re not overly endowed, you find ways to accentuate what you’ve got. And with today’s bra and that dress, I know I had the goods on display. But Corbin had seemed immune to my boobs and my flirting. He’d barely looked at me all day. So, when it came time to leave for the night, I was more than ready to go. I need to think about a few things. It might be time to admit defeat. A girl can only take so much rejection before it starts to hurt the ego.

Chapter 26

Corbin

Avery Scott seems determined to drive me insane. Either that, or she’s trying to kill me. I’m going to die from lack of blood to my brain, since it’s all going to my cock, thanks to her. With her sexy, little dresses and those fuck-me eyes, it’s a wonder I haven’t royally fucked up someone’s tattoo. And all that’s before she even opens her mouth and says all kinds of dirty shit that any man wouldkill to hear.

Every time she drops a sexy, little innuendo or bends over in one of those short skirts, I remember how good it felt to sink into her. I remember the way she moaned against my mouth as she came. I remember the way she’d clung to me as I filled her with my cum. And then I remember that she wants to do it again. What’s more, she wants to keep doing it. She wants to have a friends-with-benefits type of thing. The idea is more tempting with every passing day. And with each passing day, it’s getting harder to remember why I shouldn’t.

Like today, she’d been wearing a dress that pushed her tits up high enough to make my mouth water. And the skirt had been short enough to make me imagine those legs of hers wrapped around my waist. It had taken a will power I didn’t know I possessed to keep from throwing my rules out the window along with my principles and bending her over the table in the breakroom. But I’m her boss. Technically, I hold a position of power over her. Sleeping with her the first time broke every ethical rule in the book. To keep doing it would only compound the issue. But god damn, do I want to.

I force myself to stay until the others have all left and I’ve locked up the shop for the night. There’s less chance of me following Avery to her apartment if I have a reason to stay here. I’m doing a final walk-through to make sure all the lights are off when my phone rings. It’s probably Henley. I haven’t talked to her in a few days.She’s probably calling to tell me I work too much or that I need to get laid. She’s been good at that lately.

But when I pull my phone from my pocket, it’s not Henley’s number on the screen. It’s Avery’s. I debate whether I should answer it. She’s never called me before. What if something happened on her way home? Hadn’t she said she doesn’t know anyone in Boston except for the staff at the shop? With that thought in mind, I answer the call.

“Avery? Is everything okay?”

“Just tell me one thing,” she says. “One thing, and I’ll drop it for good.”

Confused, I lower myself into the chair behind my desk. “Avery, answer the question. Are you hurt?”

I hear her sigh. “Just my pride. No big deal.”

I know she’s talking about me. About the way I keep turning her down. I bite back the words on the tip of my tongue.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asks when I don’t speak. “Just one question and I’ll let it go.”

“Okay,” I say, curiosity outweighing my common sense.

“Was it bad?”

Confused, I blink. “Was what bad?”

“The sex,” she says. “With me. Was it bad? Because I didn’t think it was, but Cass said maybe that was why you didn’t want to keep doing it. I was pretty sure you had a good time, but now I’m wondering if maybe she was right.”

“You talked to Cass about that?” I ask, ignoring her question in favor of the other bit of information.

“She’s my best friend,” Avery says as if that explains it.

“What did you tell her?” I ask.

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