Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(54)

He smiled at her then, and her breath caught, her pulse doing a little dance she couldn’t quite name. Silly heart, it needed to stop doing that.

“Sounds like a plan,” he said after a moment. “What time are you off?”

She licked her lips. “You’re my last appointment, actually.” She could stay for walkins if she chose, but she didn’t have to.

“Then let’s go to your place and finish up the sketching,” he said after a moment. “I’d like to see your place, Maya.”

She nodded, her hands shaking. Her hands didn’t shake, damn it. But, apparently, Jake and Border made her body do things she couldn’t control. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Border put his shirt back on while Maya gathered her things. They did it in silence, but it wasn’t an awkward one. Instead, it was a quiet filled with promise. She knew the others in the shop had an idea of what she and Border would be doing once she took him to her place, but she ignored the smirks and wiggling brows. She’d done the same to them when they’d left with their significant others for an afternoon of…rest and relaxation. She didn’t have any room to talk.

Border followed her home in his big truck since there was still snow on the ground. She’d have liked to see him on his bike since she loved riding. She wasn’t a fan of having her own bike as she tended to want to watch the scenery and enjoy the air, rather than having to focus on the road, but the fact that Jake and Border had bikes made her happy. Maybe when it got warmer they could go for a ride together, just the three of them.

She blinked as she made her way into her home, annoyed with herself for thinking long-term. She needed to live in the now and revel in what she had because if she didn’t, she’d only be hurt in the end.

Border followed her into her apartment and set his phone and things on the table near the door. She did the same with her sketchbook and purse, nerves suddenly taking over. It had never been just her and Border before, would they have sex? Or maybe just talk? She wasn’t sure, but she knew that whatever happened today would change things. She just hoped that the change would be for the better, rather than breaking everything before it had truly started.

“How long have you had the shop?” Border asked as he sank down onto her couch.

She let out a breath, relieved that Border was taking point. The fact that she was so ready to give up control spoke volumes about the kind of man Border was and how she felt around him.

“Since before I met Jake, actually.” She smiled as she sat down next to him. Border put his arm around her, along the back of the couch, and she turned so she faced him. “Well, only a few months before I met Jake, but long enough. At first, it was just Austin and me, with our cousin Shep coming in to help when he wasn’t in New Orleans working.”

“Your cousin is a tattoo artist?” Border traced patterns on the thigh of her jeans with his fingers, and she had to take deep breaths to stay calm. This man could probably make her come just by looking at her the right way, and she needed to remain somewhat in control. Or at least do a better job pretending.

“Yeah, and I have a few other cousins who are artists as well and have dabbled in ink.” Deep breath. “We’re the oldest set of cousins, so we kind of found our way before the others did.”

“Makes sense.” He kept his gaze on hers even as his fingers danced up her thigh and then down to the seam between her legs. She sucked in a breath, but he just slid his hand up again to rest on her thigh. His fingers were so close to her clit that she knew if she arched her hips just a little she’d be able to rub against him. Of course, that meant she didn’t arch her hips. For some reason, she wanted him to be the one to get her off, rather than getting herself off on him.

“What are we doing, Border?” she asked, suddenly afraid of the answer.

“We’re being us, Maya,” Border answered patiently. He moved his fingers, the longest one brushing along her clit. If she hadn’t been wearing clothes, she’d have come right then, his flesh against hers, his hardness against her wetness.

“What does that mean?” A breathless question, full of anticipation.

“That means I’m going to f*ck you, and we’re both going to come,” Border answered, his fingers continuing their exploration. “And then when we’re both sated, we’re going to learn more about each other and find out how we work as Border and Maya, rather than two parts of a trio. Then I’m going to make you dinner and eat you out afterward before heading back to Jake so he’s not alone tonight. How does that sound?”

She blinked, and instead of answering, she moved to straddle his lap. To hell with control. “I think it sounds like we should be naked.”

His hands gripped her hips, his fingers digging into her skin. She’d bruise in the morning, and she didn’t care. She’d wear his marks with pride and have Jake lick them all better.

When he cupped the back of her head and brought her closer, she closed her eyes, needing his taste, his touch, but knowing if she looked at him, he’d see too much. She opened her mouth for him when his tongue traced her lips, and she moaned, her body shaking. She needed more.

“Your tongue ring makes me so f*cking happy,” he growled as he rested his forehead on hers. “At first, I was afraid it would get in the way when you suck me off since my dick is pierced, but we work it out nicely, don’t you think.”