Page 11 of Possessive Ink

“Oh, I’m fine. The only thing that’s hurt is my pride.” She giggles, and the sound is fucking sunshine and happiness.

Reaching for her other hand, I inspect that one too, keeping it in my palm even after I’m sure she hasn’t hurt herself. That’s when I notice her outfit. Her dress is an adult version of a child’s sailor dress. It’s fucking adorable, but sexy as fuck too. The neckline dips into a deep V, giving me a view of her sexy cleavage. It cinches in at her waist, then flares over her full hips, making me imagine how sexy she is naked, all curves with plenty to hold on to while I fuck her.

“I like your dress,” I tell her, running my knuckles over the fabric at her waist.

“Oh, thank you. It’s one of my favorites,” she says, smiling up at me with guileless eyes.

“I’m Atticus,” I tell her, rubbing my thumb over the skin on the hand that I’m still holding.

“I’m Lemon.”

“Lemon,” I repeat. “Cute.”

When the sound of a cell phone beeping interrupts the moment we’re having, I feel my lips turn down into a scowl.

“Oh god,” she groans, her smile dimming as she wrestles her cell from her purse and clicks into a message she just received, her shoulders slumping at whatever it says.

“Bad news?” I ask, unable to stop myself.

“My boss needs me to do something for him.”

“And you don’t want to?” I ask.

“No, it’s not that. But he keeps forgetting that I don’t drive. He already gave me a list of errands a mile long to get done this morning, and now he wants me to pick up our robe delivery from the other side of town,” she blurts, her lips curving into an adorable pout.

“Are the protein shakes and steak for you or him?”

“They’re not for me,” she scoffs. “Apparently he’s on a bulk.”

She rolls her eyes dramatically, and I can’t help smiling at how cute she is.

“And I have to go and collect his dry cleaning again, which I should have guessed because he always has me do it. But if I’d remembered, I have things I need to take to the cleaners too, only I forgot them at home, and I just want to do my job, not spend all day doing things he can’t be bothered to do for himself,” she says, still pouting, her blue eyes glistening as she talks.

Her attitude, rolling eyes, and pouty lips all make me want to warn her to behave, but instead, I end up reaching up and cupping her cheek. “Let me help you.”

Her pout morphs into a confused smile. “Why would you want to help me? I crashed into your cart because I was rushing, and then I made you listen to me whine about my job like a little kid being asked to tidy their toys.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to help?” I ask.

Giggling, she shakes her head. “Because we don’t know each other.”

“You’re Lemon, and I’m Atticus. There, we know each other. Put your basket in my cart. I only have a few more things to get, then we can pay, and I’ll take you to pick up your dress, then to the dry cleaners. What else is on your list?”

When she doesn’t move to pick the basket up, I reach for it and place it in my cart, ushering her forward with a gentle hand on the base of her spine. If we were alone, my hand would be on her ass, but she’s going to need some time to understand what this is between us before I can touch her that boldly in public.

Pulling a folded sheet of paper from her purse, she starts to read out the list of errands her boss has her doing, and my lips turn down into a frown.

“He has you doing all of this without a car? Are you using Ubers?”

“Are you here on vacation? There are no Ubers in Rockhead Point. There are barely any buses.”

“So how are you getting from place to place?” I ask, stiffening as I anticipate the answer I know is going to piss me off.

“I have feet,” she says, leaving off the duh her tone implies.

Sucking in a slow breath, I steer her down an aisle while I pick up the last few things we need. Heading for the cashier, I unload her basket onto the counter first, keeping my hand on her spine to ensure she stays close without having to pull her into me.

Soon, she’ll know to always be touching me when we’re together, close enough that I can feel her breathing and sense the minute changes in her body. But for now, I’ll allow her a little distance.