Page 24 of Embraced in Ink

Of course, she told herself she hadn’t wanted to love Marcus that way. She hadn’t let herself think about him sexually. Because that would be wrong. It would prove to the world that men and women couldn’t be only friends.

But she had lasted how long? And they hadn’t crossed that boundary.

Well, now they sure as hell were. They wereengaged. They were crossing all kinds of lines. Just his lips on hers alone had changed everything.

And as she faltered on her notes and told herself she needed to rein it back in, she remembered the kiss. And the fact that she wanted another.

The kiss at first had been to seal the deal, to show that they were engaged. And then she’d wantedmore. Now, they were past it being a promise, abet. They were both far too stubborn to go back on their words now. They were good at being who they were. And now, things were changing. Before, her ex had hated the idea of Marcus and her together, even as friends.

Colin had been an asshole. An egotistical jerk who she actually hated, even though she still worked with him since that’s what their careers needed. Each other, apparently.

Colin had loved to insinuate that she was fucking Marcus on the side. But that was fine. Colin had said that she could fuck whoever she wanted, as long as she came home to him.

She should have known that he was just a bunch of hot air—and he was totally cheating on her.

He was an asshole, and she hated him. She didn’t like that she’d even wasted her energy on him in the early days of her career. However, their careers were entwined in some respects. And her label even wanted her to do a song with him, not that she wanted to. She didn’t really have a choice, contractually, though, and they might have to work together again soon.

She let out a groan and set her bow down before rolling her shoulders back so she could stretch.

Oh, she was going to have to see Colin again. Damn it.

The man who had never understood her relationship with Marcus—not that she really understood it herself now, but that was her prerogative, not her ex’s.

Zia had always understood that she and Marcus were nothing more than friends, at least at the time. But the other woman had thought there possibly could be more. The fact that Bristol had always pushed that to the side was her issue. Even now, Zia wasn’t too surprised that they were engaged, even though no one had thought they were actually dating. Right? Oh, yeah. There were always laughs and jokes about it, but did anyonereallythink they were dating?

Was this all a farce?

Maybeshewas the farce.

The doorbell rang, pulling her out of her thoughts, and she felt a clench. What if it was Marcus? What if he was there again? What if there would be kissing? And talking. Then more kissing.

She stood up quickly and made sure her cello was safe before practically running to the door. She was wearing loose yoga pants and a tank top with a sports bra. Not the greatest outfit, but she’d wanted to be loose and comfortable for her practice, and now this is what she’d be wearing when she saw her fiancé.

Oh, dear God, she was engaged to Marcus.

And the more times she said it, the more real it felt. Not like she was playing house. And that meant she was standing there trying to look better, not that Marcus had ever cared about what she wore.

He had seen her in practically everything.

And almost nothing, considering what she had worn when she answered the door the day before.

Then, she supposed, it would be his turn to be completely naked. That was going to be fun.

She froze before she opened the door.

Fun?

Oh, good, now she was thinking of herself having sex with Marcus.

Him plunging inside her as she screamed his name and begged for more.

She squeezed her thighs together and tried to stop thinking of that.

Because if hewasthe one behind the door, this was going to be really embarrassing.

She looked through the peephole and cursed.

No, not Marcus. Though not someone she could ignore either.