Page 9 of Ink & Desire

Annoyed at my wayward thoughts and my body’s reaction to this woman, I toss the book back into the drawer and get to my feet. I can’t sit here fantasizingabout this woman. I don’t even know her. Aside from the fact that she’s a good artist and a liar—and hot as hell—I don’t know shit about her. She could be a sociopath, for all I know. I need to push all thoughts of her from my head if I’m going to get anything done today. I don’t have time to get caught up in thoughts of full, pouty lips and angry hazel eyes. I’ve got a business to run.

Chapter 6

Avery

Seeing Cass walking toward me through the train station sends a surge of happiness though me and I can’t contain my wide smile. When she sees me, her face lights up in a big grin and she runs the last several feet toward me, arms outstretched. She doesn’t hold back, smacking into me with full force, nearly knocking me over. I laugh as I hug her tightly to me, feeling so genuinely happy to see her that my eyes prick with tears. I fightthem off, managing not to start blubbering in the middle of the busy train station during the evening rush.

“I missed you,” I whisper.

“Me, too.”

She pulls back, her hands on my shoulders as she looks me over.

“You look fucking hot,” she says, making no effort to lower her voice.

People walking by give us sidelong glances, making me laugh. Cass doesn’t seem to notice or care. That’s the thing about being friends with Cassidy Brooks. She doesn’t hold back, and she doesn’t have a filter. The only time she reigns it in is when she’s around my mother. Not that my mom has ever said anything bad about Cass. She knows how close the two of us are. Mom might not approve of Cass’s sometimes outlandish behavior, but I think, deep down, she likes her. She’s even told me how happy she is that I have a friend who’s in my corner, no matter what. Case in point, Cass just rode for four hours on a train to see me because she knew I’d need her after today.

Looping her arm through mine, she leads me toward the exit.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s go get fucked up.”

After a quick stop at my apartment so Cass can change her clothes, we drop off my car and take a ride share to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. Cass waits until we have our food in front of us before she starts questioning me about my visit to Elemental Ink. I’m impressed she waited this long. She’s not usually a patient person.

“Okay, tell me every detail,” she says before popping a fry into her mouth.

“There’s not much to tell,” I say. “I met him. He was nice until he found out why I was there. Then he turned into an asshole and kicked me out of his shop.”

She rolls her eyes. “Details, A. Seriously.”

“What do you want to know?”

She shrugs. “What was the shop like? Was there anyone else there? Is Corbin as hot as his picture online? What does he smell like?”

I laugh, but I can feel my face heat with a blush. Of course, Cass picks up on it immediately.

“Oh, my god. He smells delicious, doesn’t he? I knew it!”

“Shut up,” I hiss, looking around to see if people are staring at us.

“Well, you’re not telling me anything,” she says. “Don’t make me pry it out of you.”

“Fine. Just give me a second.”

I take a deep drink from my water glass. I’m stalling, I know. But I don’t know what to tell her. Corbin’spresence had been overwhelming, and I haven’t wanted to evaluate why. But this is Cass. She’s my best friend. If I can’t talk to her about it, then I can’t talk to anyone. I take a deep breath and do what I’ve been trying to avoid since I left Elemental Ink earlier today. I think about every detail of my encounter with Corbin James.

“He’s…intense,” I say. “I guess that’s the best way to describe him. He has a large presence.”

“Meaning he’s big?” Cass waggles her eyebrows at me, grinning.

I feel myself blush as I roll my eyes. “He’s tall, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I wasn’t, and you know it.”

“Will you just let me talk?”

“Fine, fine,” she says. “Go on.”

I sigh. “I can’t figure out how to explain it. It’s like he takes up all the space, all the air in the room. Not in a bad way, exactly. But when he was focused on me, it felt like he could see right through me. That’s probably why I screwed up my pitch.”

---