Fated Hearts Page 4

  She sighed and stared at me long and hard for a moment. Then she grinned. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what idea was hatching in her head when she called out.

  “Miranda! Let’s get a coffee. My treat.” She winked at me. “Jacob will look after the shop and I have something really important I have to talk to you about.”

  ****

  I wasn’t interested in the games girls played—Lord knew I’d had enough of them with Tara—and I was pissed that Gillian had tricked me into meeting with Lia. Gillian, who I had never thought was capable of such subterfuge. But then Gillian had changed since Alex had come along. She’d grown confident, surer of herself.

  When the door to the shop chimed, I went out to meet Lia, determined to keep the meeting as professional as possible. She was after a tattoo. I had drawn her one, and the fact that we’d shared an incredible night together wouldn’t even factor into the equation.

  As soon as I laid eyes on her, standing awkwardly in the foyer, I realized how wrong I was.

  Immediately, I was assailed with images of her from the other night. Smiling at me. Kissing me. Touching me. Staring up at me, her eyes wide with shock as yet another one of her delightful orgasms swept over her. It’d become a game almost, how quickly, after that first orgasm, she came again. And again. In the end, she begged me to stop as she couldn’t handle it anymore.

  Today, she wore a pale-blue dress and white sandals. Her hair was pulled back into a braid and her face was bare of makeup. She looked stunning, adorable, and sexy as all fuck at the same time.

  Yeah. I was in trouble.

  “Jacob.” Her eyes went wide. “I thought Gillian…”

  I offered her a tight smile. “Gillian had to go out. And so did Miranda. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

  Her mouth twitched and she looked around the foyer as if searching for an escape hatch. “Oh. Well. I can come back.”

  “If you like. Or I have your design. I can show you now.”

  She hesitated and then nodded, following me to the back of the studio. I didn’t need to take her out back. Most of the time I would consult with clients in the comfortable chairs at the front, but for some reason I wanted to take her somewhere private.

  She sat on a stool and I pulled out the design, handing it to her. As she examined it, I searched her face for some sign of what she thought. Did she like it? Was it what she wanted? Was it completely the wrong thing and she was too polite to say it? Was it too big? That was probably it. Someone like her, someone petite and dainty should have something petite and dainty, not something so big that—

  “I love it,” she said at long length, interrupting my thoughts.

  I smiled. “You do?”

  “It’s gorgeous. It’s perfect.”

  I nodded. “I’m glad you like it. I can book in a time for you with Gillian if you like.”

  She swallowed and then raised her eyes to meet mine. “Okay. I mean, you drew this so maybe…”

  “Maybe?” I arched an eyebrow.

  “Maybe you could do it?”

  We stared at each other for the longest moment. I searched her face, looking for some kind of warning, something to make me back off. It was always there, in all the girls I slept with. Something that would send alarms signaling in my mind and make me push them away. With Lia, it should have been easy enough to find. She was sweet, she was kind, she was from a different world, she was new to town, and she was Ava’s teacher…

  Still the alarms didn’t sound.

  “When do you want to start?” I asked, and hated that my voice caught a little. Shit, what is wrong with me? I didn’t get nervous and stutter around women. This girl was messing with my head.

  “I’m not busy now,” she whispered and then sucked in her bottom lip, working it between her teeth nervously. I thought I was going to fucking explode out of my pants. I should tell her that Gillian might be better to do it for her. I should book her in to see Miranda. Miranda was good. I could even book her with Alex. Alex had Gillian and wouldn’t look at her the way I was looking at her. He wouldn’t think about getting her naked and sliding between her thighs and burying himself to the hilt.

  Like I was thinking.

  “Now is good.”

  Chapter Seven

  Lia

  I had to be fucking crazy.

  Music played from the speakers in the ceiling, a Florence and the Machine song that only increased the sexual tension in the room. And it was sexual tension. At first, I hadn’t been sure, not really used to situations like this, but now I was. It was thick and tangible, and it made me want to slide my fingers down my panties and bring myself some kind of relief.

  While Jacob watched.

  I swallowed hard as I pulled off my dress and lay down on the table, flat on my back. How had my thoughts grown so dirty? I would never have thought about doing something so wanton with Declan. God, Declan probably would’ve been mortified if I ever confessed I touched myself.

  Jacob was busy setting up the equipment, obviously doing his best to ignore the thickening air. I swallowed, wondering if he could hear my heartbeat, if he could see the flush on my skin from desire, or smell my arousal. I hoped he could and that thought both confused and aroused me even more.

  “It might hurt a little,” he said, turning back around, “but try not to move and let me know if it gets too unbearable.”

  I nodded, fixing my gaze on the ceiling. I was getting a tattoo, I reminded myself, it was something painful, not anything erotic.

  I told myself this but it didn’t change how I felt.

  Jacob’s attention dipped to my stomach and his gloved hands washed over my skin, sending a rush of goose bumps all over me. I inhaled sharply at the same time that he did, which made me smile. Maybe he was as affected as I was.

  As soon as the needle touched my skin, I closed my eyes, wincing a little from the sting. Jacob murmured to me, assuring me that I was okay, asking for reassurance himself as he worked, his face drawn up in concentration and fixed on the skin around my hip. After a while, I began to relax and the tension between us ebbed a little.

  Chapter Eight

  Jacob

  “What bought you to town?” I asked after a while. Lia looked more relaxed now, less tense, and it was what I was good at. Talking to customers.

  “I needed a change,” she explained vaguely. “I needed a fresh start somewhere far away from home and Anna offered me a place to stay. Then a job came up and everything just seemed to fall into place.”

  “So, you plan on staying? Around here?”

  “I think so,” she murmured.

  I nodded, hating the way that made me feel. Glad. I was glad she was staying and I was glad she wasn’t just passing through.

  We chatted some more. She told me about the school and we talked a lot about Ava and Montana. She told me again what a great job I was doing with the girls, which warmed me more than it should have. I shouldn’t care what she thought, but I did.

  “You’ve done great,” I said as I finished off.

  She looked a bit down. “Is it finished?”

  “Uh huh.” I got up and stretched my back. “Just let me wrap it in Glad wrap.”

  She sat up and stared down at her stomach, which was now covered in the dark ink of intricate Mandela I’d created just for her. “Oh, wow.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I love it!”

  I smiled. “Glad to hear that, ’cuz you’re going to be looking at it for an awful long time.”

  I pressed the wrap around her mid-section, trying not to think how smooth her skin was and how close I was to her. I could smell her, smell her desire, and it was beginning to drive me wild. My hand moved slightly and touched the edge of her panties, which were white and lacy. She shivered.

  I stilled, my body taking over and directing me in a way my mind wouldn’t want it to.

  I looked up and met her eyes. “Lia…”

  She swallowed, but didn’t drag her eyes
away. “Jacob…”

  She moved, ever so slightly, opening her legs a tiny bit. It was subtle, and if we weren’t so caught up, so oversensitive to everything single thing the other person did, I wouldn’t even have noticed. But I did notice.

  My gaze to between her legs and I saw the darkening on her panties. I groaned audibly, knowing.

  Without saying a word, I stood up and went around to the foot of the table she sat on. She watched me, wide-eyed, her mouth open slightly, but otherwise she didn’t move. Grabbing her ankles, I bent. I kept my eyes locked on hers as I ran my hands over her legs, not stopping until I reached the top of her panties. Hooking my fingers into them I dragged them down slowly, over her butt, down her thighs and then off, shoving them in my pocket.

  Color was all over Lia now. A combination of pink and red mottled on her chest, throat, and cheeks. But she didn’t move. She didn’t resist and she didn’t argue. She wanted this, maybe as much as I wanted it.

  Pulling her legs aside, I stared at her for the longest moment. Then I growled, the sound coming from somewhere deep inside me, somewhere primal. “Fuck. You are so beautiful.”

  Her mouth fell open and her small pink tongue came out to wet her lips. “Jacob…”

  “Shh,” I commanded, and, keeping my eyes locked with hers, I lowered my head between her legs.

  The first taste of her, as I slowly ran my tongue the length of her swollen folds, nearly had me coming right then and there. She was fucking incredible. I ran my tongue up again and then, using my hands, parted her to find the pretty little nub that I knew would undo her. The whole time my mouth worked between her legs, I kept my eyes locked on hers. She was embarrassed. I could tell by the spots of color on her face, by her wanton display, by the fact that we could be caught at any second, but she was also highly aroused by it.

  At the back of my mind, I knew this was not a good idea. I hadn’t locked the door. Miranda and Gillian would be back at any moment, and not to mention how unethical it was to not only fuck a client in the studio but my daughter’s teacher…

  I didn’t want to think too much about it. I wanted to taste her. Besides, I reasoned, I had no intention of fucking her. There was no time for that. But I could at least make sure she left here satisfied.

  Delicious little sounds were coming from the back of her throat and her legs were beginning to tremble. She was close. Very close. I slid a finger between her heated folds, reaching deep inside her. I really wanted to slide my cock in her, but for the moment, this would have to do. She cried out and dropped her head back on the table, our eye contact broken as she lost herself.

  I kept working her, my tongue flicking over her nub, my fingers pressing deeper and deeper as she rode out her orgasm. My erection was pressed taut against my zipper, but there was nothing I could do about that now. I’d have to deal with it later. Watching Lia come, feeling Lia come, was worth all the discomfort I was presently feeling.

  Suddenly, a bell sound intruded into the mood and I froze.

  Lia froze.

  We both recognized the sound for what it was. Someone had come in. If it was a customer, they would linger in the foyer, but if it were Gillian or Miranda, they would around that corner in a second.

  Quickly, I was on my feet. Grabbing Lia’s dress, I thrust it at her. Normally we gave our clients robes to wear. Normally we gave clients privacy to change, but then normally we didn’t bury our heads between their thighs.

  Lia nodded, understanding, although her eyes were a little wild still as she yanked the dress over her head. I took a moment to steady my breathing, guessing that it was client since we weren’t interrupted.

  Shooting Lia a small smile, I went out to greet them.

  Sure enough, a customer lingered in the entrance. A guy in his late twenties. He was dressed in a suit, an expensive-looking suit at that, and he was tall and lean, his light-blond hair cut conservatively around his face. He looked like a preppy college kid, just a little older.

  “Can I help you?” I forced a smile on my face and tried not to think about Lia, about what I’d just done. I’d save it. Think about it later when I had time myself.

  “Not sure.” He frowned. “I’m looking for my fiancée.”

  “Fiancée?”

  “Yes. I went to her house and her cousin said she was in here. Getting a tattoo.” He frowned when he said tattoo, his lip curling up in something like disgust.

  I shook my head. “Sorry. No one—”

  “Declan?”

  I looked up to see that Lia had come into the foyer, her hair all messed and face still flushed. She hovered by the door, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at the preppy dude, the one who was looking for his fiancée.

  Oh, shit, I realized too late, he was looking for Lia.

  Chapter Nine

  Lia

  I didn’t look at Jacob as I followed Declan out of the studio. I couldn’t look at him. I was too confused, too caught up in the tumultuous emotions to even dare glance in his direction. Mortified at the behavior I’d just displayed. More than satisfied by how delightful it’d been, and confused by what it meant.

  Not that I expected it to mean something. I knew Jacob wasn’t interested in anything more than sex. And I wasn’t either. I mean, I didn’t think I was.

  “What the hell are you doing, Lia?” Declan demanded as soon as we were out on the pavement. “Did you seriously just get a tattoo?”

  I lifted my chin. “I seriously just got a tattoo.”

  “Let me see,” he demanded.

  I flinched. “No.” For one, I would have to pull up my dress to show him and he would see I didn’t have my panties. Jacob had shoved them into his pocket, a thought which made my face glow. And two, I didn’t have to show Declan anything. We were no longer a couple.

  “We can get it removed,” he grumbled, “if it’s bad.”

  “I don’t want it removed, Declan. I like it.”

  He stared at me like I’d just declared I like eating dirt. “Are you crazy, Lia? How far are you going to go with this?”

  “With what?”

  “With this punishment. I get it. All right. I fucked up—”

  “Declan…”

  “I fucked up big time. I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. If I could turn back time, I would change it all.”

  I stared at him. He didn’t get it. He still, after all this time, didn’t get it. “I wouldn’t.”

  He blinked. “What?”

  I glanced back at Ink Addicted, but the door was shut and I couldn’t see Jacob. Was he watching? I wanted him to know that I wasn’t engaged. I had seen the shocked, almost disgusted look on his face and wanted to reassure him that I wasn’t some wanton slut cheating on her fiancé, but I hadn’t had a chance. I’d find him, though. I couldn’t bear the idea of him thinking I was a horrible person, a cheater, someone using him for a quick fling before I married my rich boyfriend.

  But first I had to deal with Declan.

  “We should probably go somewhere,” I said quietly, “and talk.”

  Declan nodded. “That’s a very good idea.”

  ****

  We drove back to Anna’s house.

  “What are you doing here, Dec?” I asked again, as soon as we were inside. “What about work?”

  “I took a few days off,” he replied. “I had to come.”

  I nodded. “Well, I’m glad you came. I really am. We need to settle this.”

  “I agree. And I’m glad you’re finally coming around, Lia—”

  “I’m not coming around,” I interrupted, “not at all. And I meant what I said earlier. I’m glad you cheated on me.”

  He stared at me. Not understanding.

  “You cheating hurt. It hurt a lot. But not in the way it should have. It didn’t hurt me to think of you with someone else. It hurt because you were my friend and you broke my trust. You were my friend.”

  “And you’re mine. You’re my best friend.”

  “But that’s
just it,” I said softly. “I’m your best friend. We were friends. We weren’t lovers.”

  He snorted. “I think you’re wrong on that account.”

  “I mean we weren’t madly in love with one another. There was no wild passion between us. There was gentleness and kindness, but not the kind of passion that keeps a marriage going for a long time. I think we fell out of love.”

  “That’s not true—”

  “Think about it,” I interjected. “Think about the sex you had with Becky. And then compare it to the sex we had. Which one was more passionate? You don’t have to answer that, but I want you to think about it. You want to marry me because it’s what we both thought we wanted, but now I want something different. And I think you do, too.”

  He stared at me for the longest moment and for the first time, I began to think he heard me. That he understood what I was telling him. I wasn’t punishing him, and I didn’t need time to clear my head. We were over.

  He sighed and sank down onto the settee. “This is it then? For good?”

  I sat down next to him and winced a little, remembering the tattoo. “For good.”

  We were quiet and then Declan began to laugh. It was an odd sound, hollow and joyless. I stared at him.

  “Right. So, I guess I should grab a flight home then.”

  “I’m sorry you came all this way.”

  He shrugged. “You’ve been saying we’re over all along. I thought if you saw me…”

  I shook my head.

  “Yeah. I get that now.”

  ****

  Declan was gone and Anna was out with Ellis. I made myself dinner and was just about to sit down to eat when the doorbell rang. A little tenderly, I made my way there, half-expecting it to be Declan again. I’d said he could stay the night and catch a flight home in the morning, but he’d insisted on going straight away.

  But it wasn’t Declan. It was Jacob.

  “Oh. Jacob.”

  He looked angry, his face hard and an odd glint in his eye. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but you left quickly today.”

  I flushed. “Oh, of course. I forgot to pay. I’m so sorry. How much do I owe you?” I turned and headed inside.