INKED 8: A Tattoo Shop Reverse Harem

"What could you possibly do wrong?"

"Overcook or undercook the pasta, so it's hard or glued together. Put too much lemon, so it's sour. There's no end of ways that I could make this taste awful."

"If you had my dad as a teacher, you'd be fine too," Lex says. "He's really patient, and he lets me experiment."

Nodding, I take another sip of the cocktail, suddenly conscious that dessert is the next course. "I think you took his temperament," I say. "Dex definitely doesn't have the same patience."

"No, Dex came out of the womb screaming. He's passionate, and he lets things bother him a lot."

"You're good for each other," I say, and Lex nods, his soft brown eyes searching my face, for what I'm not sure.

"Do you feel comfortable with me?" he asks softly.

"I do," I say, and it's true. Even though we're new friends, there is something so peaceful about Lex, and he's made me so welcome in his home.

"You know that dessert could just be dessert. If you decide that you aren't comfortable with Dex's game, I'd be fine with that. I have no expectations at this point. This is all about you."

Maybe he sensed my nerves when I arrived, but I don't have any nerves now outside of the usual butterflies in my belly that are normal on a first date. This is a first date with a difference, though—a first date with expectations of sex.

"I want the dessert you planned," I say, resting my hand against my stomach to try and still some of the bubbling anticipations.

Lex grins, his tongue piercing glinting in the low light. I've never kissed a man with metal in his mouth. Will it feel different? Will he use it to make me feel good? Isn't that what piercings are all about? Will he have any other piercings? A shiver runs up my spine that is part uncertainty and part arousal. I know so little about this man, but I'm so eager to find out more. My hands tremble as I lower my silverware, knowing that there isn't much time left before he's doing so much more than smile at me across a table covered with empty plates.

His hand reaches across and takes hold of mine, cradling it gently. "Wanna come and see my bedroom?"

Now that is a nice way to phrase it: no sex references or anything sleazy or cringy. When I push back my chair, my heart begins to speed in my chest. The light pink camisole I'm wearing feels suddenly flimsy, and the jeans too snug. I'm aware of my body in a way that feels alien to me, every curve and bone filled with a buzzing vibration.

I'm over-sensitized.

Hyper alert.

When Lex leads me through a door into a small hallway with two doors, my throat tightens. "This is my room," he says, resting his hand on the door. "Ready?"

I don't even know what I'm supposed to be ready for.

Dessert?

Is that's what on the other side of this door, or am I dessert? Or could it be a combination of the two?

A quick nod, and Lex pushes the door open. Inside, the room is softly lit by one shaded lamp on the nightstand. His bed is big, with a soft-looking comforter and more pillows than I’d expect on a man's bed. At the end of the bed is a pile of towels and on a low table, a spread of delicious things that would definitely constitute dessert. A tub of chocolate spread stands next to a tube of squirty cream and a cheesecake. There are strawberries and raspberries and what looks like a small tub of ice cream sitting in a bowl of ice.

There's ice.

I shiver again, imagining the feel of it trailing across my skin. Is that what this is? Lex is going to cover me in all his favorite desserts. Or maybe he's going to cover himself and let me lick them off. Either option sounds unbelievably awesome and sweet as hell, literally and metaphorically.

It's the perfect way to begin this crazy game, and my heart begins to settle into a more normal rhythm.

This is it. The moment that I force myself to break down the barriers I've put around myself since James cheated and I realized I couldn't cope with the teaching job I'd been building up to for years. The moment I lost my footing and started not to recognize myself in the mirror.

Who was I without the man I thought I loved and the career I thought I wanted?

Who will I be after I let myself go and do things with this sexy man that will probably set my cheeks on fire for the rest of my life?

Lex pushes the door closed, allowing the latch to click into place. He turns the lock too, which I know is for privacy rather than to trap me in his lair. His hand slides under my hair until it rests, hot at my nape. His mouth rests against the skin of my shoulder in a long, soft kiss. "You smell of vanilla and blueberries," he says softly, kissing the base of my neck and resting his other hand possessively at my waist.