Pick us back

ezra kisses her

I sat on the table, my breathing hitching as the heat in the room climbed. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to reach out, pin her to that table, and kiss her until her lips were bruised and swollen. I didn't understand this obsession. I'd only watched her from the cafe, yet it felt like I'd known her for lifetimes, I wanted to hear her voice break, screaming my name-and Julian's, and Marcus's. We could ruin her in the best way possible.

I smirked internally, thinking of Marcus trying to play it safe. To hell with safe. I stroked the soft skin of her inner thigh, watching her composure crumble. The tattoo gun was silent, but the air between us was screaming "I... I'm sorry," she stammered, her face turning a deep, beautiful red. "Sorry, Ezra."

I just watched her, a dark hunger clawing at my chest. She had no idea what I was thinking.

​"You okay, sweetheart?" I asked. I could feel the electricity humming between us, thicker than the smell of the ink. "You're stalling."

​My eyes tracked the movement of her lips as she breathed, and I fought the impulse to pin her against the wall right then and there.

​I stood up, the height difference between us suddenly feeling like a weapon. I reached out, my fingers gentle but firm as I brushed those wild red curls away from her face. I hooked my thumb under her chin, tilting her head back until she had no choice but to look at me.

​"You can do this another time," I said, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous velvet. I didn't care about the tattoo anymore. I cared about the way her breath was hitching and the way she looked under my touch.

​She let out a shaky breath, her teeth catching her lip and holding it tight. I turned my head, looking past the hanging plants to the street outside. I was fighting a losing battle with my own head. The word f**k echoed in my mind-a curse, a prayer, and a promise all at once. I didn't want to leave, and I didn't want to be "just a client."

​I closed the distance in a single stride, my hands finding her waist as I pressed her into the wood of the workbench. "f**k it," I breathed against her mouth. I started soft, a gentle test of her lips against mine, feeling the heat radiating off her skin.

​Nova's response was a desperate, answering kiss. She tasted like the coffee from next door and the smoke from her earlier break. Behind her closed eyes, her conscience was screaming that he was a client, but her heart was drowning it out. She didn't want him to be a stranger with an appointment. She wanted the man whose hand was currently branding her skin.

My hands clamped onto her hips, dragging her body into mine until there wasn't a breath of air between us. I kissed her with a bruised hunger, my hand sliding up her back to grip her hair and pull her closer. I bit down on her lip, a rough sound escaping me as the obsession finally took hold.

When I broke the kiss, she looked wrecked-flushed, shaky, and beautiful. I didn't give her a second to recover. I pressed a wad of bills into her pocket, the paper crisp against her thigh.I'll find another artist," I whispered, my voice thick and dark. I leaned into her ear one last time."I can't have you as my artist, Nova," I rasped. "Not after that. But you're coming with me. My friends are going to want to see exactly what I found in this shop."

I watched him leave, the door clicking shut behind him. My body felt heavy, overcharged, as I sank into my work stool. I ignored the tattoo gun and the messy station, focusing instead on the small weight of Luna as she wound around my ankles, meowing for attention. I touched my mouth, my skin still tingling from the pressure of his kiss.

"What the f**k just happened?" I said out loud. My voice sounded foreign in my own ears. I reached into my pocket and felt the two rolls of cash-one from Leo, one from Ezra. My life had been normal three hours ago. Now, it was a goddamn mess.