Page 65 of Tears of Ink

“Are my tattoos a problem?” Jeez this guy.

“Not for me, but you are the one who covers them up.”

“It’s not ladylike to have this many.” My cheeks burn.

“You don’t strike me as being the kind of woman who worries about being ladylike.”

I start to get up. “What do you know about it?” I’d die if he knew about my physical cravings. The way I am when I need to pay an insurmountable price and I’ll do it anywhere with anyone.

My breath begins to come in ragged gasps. Panic.

“Why do you only have sex with someone once?” His hand grabs my arm and stops me from running.

“Why do you sit in your kitchen and get drunk by yourself?”

“Why aren’t you finishing your degree when you are so talented you could end up anywhere.”

That does it. I slice at his grip with my arm, knocking him free. “You don’t get to say that. Why don’t you fight your family and do what you want?”

“I do what I want. I help people.”

I wave my hand at the easels and glorious canvases.

His arms drop to his side. His face when it meets mine makes my heart still. “That’s just fairy-tale.”

And then I’m flying into his arms, winding my fingers around his neck, pushing my lips against his, hungry and desperate all at once. He groans a little and grabs onto me tight, anchoring me to his firm body. Everything about him is challenging. Electric. He bites on my bottom lip, swiping it after with his tongue, and I groan into his mouth.

“I’m not sleeping with you,” he mumbles against my lips.

I go to wrestle away. How dare he presume.

He holds me tight, levering me against his rock-hard body. Even from just one kiss, his desire for me is pressed against my hip. When he’s sure I’m not going to run, he releases his hold on my arms and slides his palms down my bare arms. A shudder rumbles deep inside me.

This guy, he confuses me. Makes me want to run, makes me want to stay. Makes me question everything.

His forehead rests against mine, his breath fanning my face. I want him to kiss me again. I also want to smack him over the head with the heaviest object I can find. “I’m not going to sleep with you, because as I said downstairs, I don’t think once will be enough. And that’s all you offer, right?”

He bends slightly so he can stare me right in the eyes. God, I hate his directness.

“Yes. That’s all I can offer.”

“Then it’s no deal for me.” He presses closer, his erection painfully jabbing me in the soft stretch of skin along from my thigh. “Believe me, I want to. I’ve never met anyone like you. Not ever. You make me challenge everything. I shouldn’t even be here right now, but I am, because of you.” His eyes won’t break contact and I start to squirm. “But once won’t be enough. I will want all of you, over and over again until I know you inside out.”

“Is that what you said to your fiancée?” My instinctive need to hurt and lash out, to protect myself flares into action.

He grins. He actually grins in my face. “Not working.” His lips dip to my neck, kissing along my throat to my ear which he nibbles with sharp teeth. “When you are screaming for more, then I might change my mind.”

What a cocky shit!

“You are unbelievable.” I push against his chest and slip out of his grasp. My legs are wobbling, but I ignore them. “I suggest you go and be wherever you need to be and leave me alone.”

I march past him onto the landing.

“Friends don’t run away,” he calls after me.

“Friends don’t act like arseholes,” I shout back.

“Sometimes they do. Look it up, it’s part of the friendship definition.”