Pretend You're Mine (Inked Hearts 3)

It feels good on my tongue. Like a dirty demand.

Like her name.

But I’m still not sure what the fuck that means.

I pull out my cell and text her.

Ryan: Let me know you’re okay.

She texts back immediately.

Leighton: I’m safe.

Ryan: Where are you?

Leighton: Safe.

She isn’t gonna tell me. I know her that well.

Or maybe I don’t. Maybe Leighton wants me to ignore her boundaries. To fight her no. Plead for a yes. Beg her to change her mind.

But I respect her too much for that.

Ryan: I’ll be here if you want to talk. All night.

Nothing.

I stare at my cell for ten minutes, but it fails to blink with a notification. The humid air—the AC is off—gets warmer.

My suit sticks to my skin. My tie strangles my throat.

Layer by layer, I shed my suit.

I leave it a mess on the floor—what does it matter how I look tomorrow?—and step into the shower.

The hot water washing away the sand and the salt, but it does nothing to erase the day.

When I close my eyes, I see her. The hurt in her blue-green eyes. The tremble of her lip. The heave of her chest as she mustered up the courage to spill those three little words.

My eyes get itchy. Tired. I shampoo, condition, soap, scrub, rinse.

When I’m done, I step out of the shower, wrap myself in a towel, take out my contacts.

My eyes relax behind my thick lenses. The world isn’t quite as sharp. But then it’s not like I can see any of the shit in front of me.

She left because I wasn’t enough.

How the fuck do I deal with that?

Leigh is my best friend. My silver lining. My favorite part of every day.

Losing her as a partner is one thing. But this…

She doesn’t want to see me again.

She wants to run a million miles away.

That’s what she does when someone hurts her. She burns the bridge to the ground.