Page 39 of Breathless With Her

“Anyway, my older brother, Dimitri? He married Thea Montgomery. She’s part of the Montgomery family that runs the other Montgomery tattoo shop down south in Colorado Springs. Cousins to those who run the shop in Denver.”

“Oh, wow. I love all the connections. So, are you going down there to get your tattoos now?”

“I was literally just thinking about that. I might. I mean, Austin might tan my hide for that, but it could be worth it. I hear every single one of them is amazing.”

Her gaze raked my arms, and she licked her lips. Yeah, it was going to be really hard to drive with a hard-on. But every time I thought about Erin, especially in those wedges of hers and nothing else, I got a hard-on. So I was being pretty good about driving and trying not to look like my dick was pressing through my jeans.

“They do good work.”

“So, what are you thinking about getting?” I asked, pulling onto the freeway.

“I don’t know. I was thinking some kind of tree with some ravens on my shoulder. I know it seems almost cliché now. But I like it. It’s strong, and it’ll be there for ages. Even when the leaves fall, the branches will always be there. And it grows over time. Plus, I’ve always loved ravens. If I could have a pet one I would, but I don’t want to be too weird.”

I looked over at her and smiled. “That’d be cool actually.”

“I’m so not home enough for that, though. And that’s not really a thing.”

“It could be.”

“You’re right. But I’m fine just watching them from afar. Crows and ravens seem to follow me wherever I go. I used to think that was an omen, but now I think they’re just protecting me. Or maybe I just get a little tired, and I want to think something makes sense and means more when it’s just birds that happen to live near me.”

I reached out and gripped her hand. Our fingers tangled, so I kept them there on the console, grateful that she didn’t pull away. We were friends. Friends who fucked. And that was fine. But I wanted to touch her.

All it did was bring on the anticipation of later, right?

“I think if you need to see signs, then they’re there. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting them. There’s nothing wrong with believing that what you need is out there. I see crows and ravens all the time when I’m out on the job. They’re pretty magnificent. Even if that movie,The Birds, kind of ruined them for a lot of people.”

“They get such a bad rap. If anything, it’s pigeons. Pigeons are the devil.”

She said it with such vehemence, I laughed. “Yeah, I can see that. Especially when they’re downtown. They just lower their heads and charge.”

“I know!” she said on a laugh.

I pulled into the lot of a local bar, one where I could have just a drink and then keep driving. It wouldn’t put me over the legal limit, and I felt safe to do so.

It wasn’t the same place I had seen her in the sparkly dress. I didn’t want to bring those memories back. And, frankly, I didn’t want her to think of her ex while she was with me. Call me a selfish bastard, but whatever. We might just be friends, we may be doing whatever without strings, but I didn’t want that layered on top of it all. Even though it was as if it were already cooling to my skin.

Because no matter what happened, Erin would see this relationship, and maybe any she had in the future, with a film of Nicholas over it. There was no getting around that. Hell, I would always have my ex-girlfriends in the back of my mind. Even if none of those relationships were as serious. Even if I hadn’t been hurt like Erin had. There’d always be some form of comparison there. There had to be. It was only human.

It didn’t mean I had to like it, though.

I hated it, actually. Fucking hated it.

I went around and helped her out of the truck, her body sliding slowly down mine. I swallowed hard, my cock pressing against her belly. Her eyes widened, and I knew she felt it.

I cleared my throat. “Hell, it’s hard to stay sane when I’m around you.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” she said with a laugh.

I lowered my head and brushed my lips against hers. Just a soft caress, one that sent a shot of need down deep in my belly and pebbled her skin.

I slid my hands down her arms just to warm her up and then pulled away.

“Can’t keep doing that in public. If I do, I’ll probably get a ticket for indecent exposure.” I adjusted myself behind my jeans, grateful that at least these weren’t too tight in the groin. I was going to hurt myself one day because of her.

Maybe I was going to get hurt because of her no matter what.

Fuck. Where had that thought come from? What we had didn’t mean anything serious. I didn’t need to think past what we had now. I had done something like this before. No strings, just friends, just sex. I could do it again.

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