Tempting (Inked Hearts 1)

"It's hot, huh?" she asks.

"Yeah." I let my t-shirt fall over my torso. Turn back to face her.

Her cheeks are flushed. It's hot yeah, but that's not it.

She has that look. That mmm, I want more look. I know it well. Fuck, when I bring a woman home, that look is my goal. I like having someone begging, panting, screaming for more.

"You look hot." She presses her lips together. "I mean, flushed. Like it's hot."

I nod.

"How about I run to that coffee shop down the street. Cold brew for you, iced tea for me."

"Thanks." I need the space. And the chance to put something in my head besides damn, Kay is so considerate. She'd make the perfect girlfriend.

She will.

For someone.

One day.

I reach for my wallet to pull out a twenty, but she shakes her head.

"No way. You bought me a room full of furniture. This is on me." She takes a step backward. "Besides, you need to start saving if you want to own a quarter of Inked Hearts."

"Not that you're smug about it."

"No. Never." She smiles. Waves. Spins on her heels and moves down the stairs.

My eyes refuse to get in line. They trace her path out the door. They fix on the way her hips sway as she walks.

I pull my t-shirt off. Toss it aside.

It's not enough.

I'm still burning.

My thoughts are still fixed on that flush in her cheeks. On the way she looks at me. Like she wants me. And like I'm someone worth wanting as more than an easy fuck.

Nobody looks at me like that.

Like I'm worth something.

I move into my bedroom. Bright light flows into the room. It falls over the perfectly made bed and bounces off the shiny hardwood.

And off that mirror across from the bed.

The one I use to watch.

Does she realize that?

There's no way she thinks it's for checking out my outfit. The only time I wear something that isn't jeans and a t-shirt is... never. Em and Kay's graduation.

That meeting with our lawyer Friday. The one where we make this shit happen.

My head fills with other images. Kaylee and me at some fancy dinner. Her in that blue dress. Me in a suit. Staring into her eyes as I take her hand.

Fuck.