Page 28 of Embraced in Ink

And there was that jealousy rearing its ugly head again. He never could seem to get out of his own way.

“Marcus?” Bristol’s voice was soft as she put her hand on his back. “I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t invite him here. I promise. All I wanted to do was practice, and then Colin showed up and ruined my day, and then he got all growly and jealous even though we haven’t been together in years. I want nothing to do with him. I’m sorry he was an asshole to you.”

He didn’t turn, he couldn’t. “Not only to me. He’s an asshole to you. Always. I don’t know why you have to be near him.”

Bristol’s hands moved to his back. He felt the warmth through the coolness of his shirt, his skin.

He didn’t know how he had cooled, even though it felt as if he were on fire. Was it her touch? The anger? He didn’t know. Perhaps he should be worried.

Maybe he was.

“I hate him,” Marcus said honestly.

Bristol tapped his back, and he forced himself to turn.

“I hate him, too. But I still have to work with him occasionally.”

“I think you’re brilliant enough, talented enough, and successful enough that you shouldn’t have to.”

“Sometimes, I don’t have a choice. But, for now, he’s gone. And it’s just you and me.” Her skin pinked, and he wanted to reach out and touch her. So, he did.

He trailed his fingers down her skin, and her tongue reached out and licked her lips. And because he couldn’t help himself, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. She gasped, and he deepened the kiss, angling her head for more.

He hated that Colin’s lips had been on hers. That another man had kissed her, and he didn’t know what the fuck to do about it. So, he ignored those thoughts, pushed them from his head, and kissed her again, harder, needier. She moaned into him, her hands sliding up the back of his shirt to rest against his skin. He felt like he was on fire now, her touch igniting the flames. And he kissed, and licked, and bit down on her lip.

He pulled away, his breaths coming in pants, and she looked at him, her eyes wide.

“Hi.”

“Hi. I really wanted to do that.”

“Oh?” She paused. “Because we need to get used to it?”

He didn’t let that hurt him. She was as confused as he was. What were they doing? He didn’t know. Because the facade of a fake engagement that wasn’t truly fake was only the first layer. There was something between them, something they were doing their best to either ignore or highlight. The fact that they kept going from side to side meant that neither of them knew what they wanted, or what they were doing. But they were still finding their way anyway.

“I think we need to keep doing this. Over time. Just to figure out exactly what we were missing.” That was as honest as he could be, and as she gazed at his face and nodded, he figured it was the right thing to say. Either that, or he was simply reaching at this point.

“I’m sorry for Colin.”

He shook his head, anger boiling through him. “You don’t get to apologize for him. It’s not your fault. I just hate the asshole.”

“So you said.”

“Anyway, now that my friends, family, and Colin know, I suppose this engagement’s official. We’re heading into this next phase of our lives together. Like we said we would.”

He bit down on his tongue so he wouldn’t say anything. Mostly because he didn’t know what to say, and he didn’t want to hurt her. Because he was still trying to figure out exactly how he felt, and along those lines, he needed to figure out what she felt, as well. And even though he knew from his family that the best way for a relationship to thrive was to engage in open and honest communication, that wasn’t happening. Not when he didn’t know what to say.

“I have something for you,” he said instead.

Her brows rose.

“What?”

“Well, it’s kind of apropos that Colin looked down at your hand and noticed what was missing when you said we were engaged.”

Bristol put her left hand in her right and looked down, her thumb tracing her ring finger.

“It did happen kind of suddenly.”