Page 39 of Embraced in Ink

She knew the moment she least expected it, the phrasemeaty cockwould come out, and she would die of mortification.

“Enough of that,” she told herself.

She just happened to be wearing pretty panties and a gorgeous bra. Because she liked to wear them. And because she didn’t know what was going to happen tonight, so she might as well feel pretty under whatever clothes she decided on.

Had she groomed herself? Yes. Had she shaved her legs? Yes. Had she made sure her hair was smooth and in waves? Yes. She hadn’t finished her makeup yet, mostly because she wanted to make sure that it matched her clothes, but at this point, she didn’t know. So, she quickly ran to the bathroom to finish up the last of her eyeshadow.

She had everything else done but was seriously worried that she would end up only wearing the pale lavender lace panties and bra.

Her boobs did look great, and as she turned, her ass looked great, too.

Was Marcus going to see that? Who knew?

Because this was just a first date. She generally didn’t sleep with anyone on the first date. In fact, she didn’t think she ever had.

She frowned, thinking. Nope, never. But this was Marcus. This was different.

And she had done her best to never think about her best friend in this situation, but now she was going to have to because…here they were. She added a bit of color to her eyelids and tried to take deep breaths. Was she going to sleep with Marcus tonight? She didn’t know. She didn’t know how this date was going to go at all.

She wanted him. She truly wanted him. And that scared her. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel the depths of this emotion before. And now that it was an option? She wasn’t sure she could actually focus.

But that was Marcus with her. He always made her breath catch, even if she hadn’t realized that was what was happening.

The idea of being with Marcus tonight? She had to get the thought out of her head that they were best friends with all their history. She had to go at this like a real date. Because she liked dates. She liked dating.

She liked touching, feeling, laughing. She liked that butterfly sensation within her belly as she tried to suck in a breath and…be.

She wasn’t the best at dating, not that great at relationships either. But she tried. Her work took her out of the country often, and sometimes, she had to throw herself into practice, too. Well, that was most of the time.

She did her best to be there for the person she was with, but sometimes, she had to focus on herself. It had taken a lot of therapy, and even more family time for her to realize that that was okay. Marcus had always understood. And the fact that she was somehow getting a chance with him after all this time? It had to mean something. Right?

She let out a deep breath and finished her makeup before going back to her closet. She had a lot of clothes. A lot of shoes, and a lot of bags. Most of it was for work. She had to meet with dignitaries, and royals, and people who needed to see her in an elevated state, even if most of the time, she wanted to throw her hair on the top of her head and call it a day.

Because of her shows, and thanks to Zia, she had learned to do her hair and her makeup and wore the uniform and costume that a world-renowned cellist would.

But she didn’t always feel like that.

Tonight, they were going to their favorite Thai place, something that wasn’t too fancy, but it also wasn’t run of the mill and fast food.

They had pretty little white bowls and music playing over the speakers. There was never elevator music or pop, but soft, lyrical numbers.

The place had waiters with crisp uniforms and white tablecloths.

It was a place she and Marcus went to for celebrations, and sometimes, if they were having a bad day.

They always took turns paying, even though she was well aware that she made more money than he did.

They never let it be a thing between them, but now that they were getting married? They would have to talk about that.

And about where they would live, and how many children they wanted.

Her heart raced, and she bent down, hands on her knees. Okay, not the time to panic.

Yes, there was a ring on her finger. She looked down at the antique setting and solid heart. But that was merely the beginning. They hadn’t talked about the basics, the actual logistics of it all. But that was what tonight was for. A start.

The promise made, the promise kept, and the ring that encircled her finger was only the beginning. Tonight was a chance to follow the road to temptation and peer into a future that neither of them could have imagined.

Because it was all good and well to say that they were engaged and getting married and using those words that still made her breath come in pants, but they needed to truly dive into their feelings and make sure that they were whole when they came out of this. And work on what they meant to each other. And, frankly, what was physically going to happen between the two of them.