Free More Than Meets the Ink by Elle Aycart

stroked himself harshly, his head falling back.
    “Let me take care of you,” she whispered.
    His warm eyes looked at her with such mixture of gentleness and hunger it startled her. “Baby, I’d love to, believe me, but we don’t have the time,” he said, letting her hand go, wincing as he tucked himself in, the zipper almost not making it all the way up. “Wait here until we leave. When you’re sure the coast is clear, sneak out.”
    She laughed at the image her mind instantly conjured—her sneaking out his bedroom window. “Jesus, we’ve regressed to high school level.”
    “Tell me about it.” He came down on her, forcing her to lay back. He planted his arms at the sides of her head and looked into her eyes. “As soon as I finish with the golf, I’ll come for you,” he said against her lips. Then he kissed her hard and left.
    Once alone, Tate looked around and sighed. She’d known from the get-go James was trouble. It was written all over his gorgeous body and in his cocky grin. What she hadn’t expected was to have so much fun unraveling that trouble. It seemed she’d misjudged him a bit; it took a great deal of discipline to run one’s own business, especially to run it successfully, no time for being irresponsible. And to his benefit, she had to recognize he sounded nothing like Elle’s losers. Not that she’d spent that much time talking to them—she’d always been quite hostile, but anyways, she’d never gotten more than a couple of grunts out of them, once a sleazy remark about landing the sister with the bigger boobs. Assholes. On the upside, Elle had heard that remark and broken up with him, after kicking him in the balls. Tate held that memory dear.
    Maybe James was the exception that confirmed the rule. Maybe. She wouldn’t hold her breath. That she’d been a bit off about him didn’t mean he was a harmless pussycat, or relationship material, for that matter. There were intense vibes coming off the guy, definitely trouble. She could feel it deep inside, a certain awareness that rattled her every time he smiled at her, like he was casting an unseen web of traps around her and she was just too damn eager and stupid to realize it was insane to jump into them headfirst.
    Or maybe that rattling feeling inside her was nothing more than her throbbing pussy begging for action. Too damn bad he wasn’t getting any today, before or after the golf—she had to accompany her mom to the vet, and they’d agreed to stay in town for supper afterward, a girls’ afternoon out. Tate didn’t want to risk letting her go alone to the vet’s appointment; someone might have to restrain her if the vet got cocky. Although her mom seemed better, more relaxed. Unfortunately now that she was less hysterical about Amy, her attention was turning to her. Tate sighed and reached for her dress; better start rolling. Sooner or later, she’d have to go and explain to her mom why her six-foot-four tattooed neighbor was fluttering around her daughter and she was letting him.
    * * *
    “I’m going to take a wild guess here and say the hard-on you’ve been sporting all afternoon is not on account of Mr. Nicholson continually bending over to pick up the golf balls, right?”
    “For fuck’s sake, Dad!” James cursed, looking horrified at his father, who just shrugged his shoulders at his son’s shocked expression.
    “Whaaat? Just making sure,” he added, hardly hiding his amusement. “It’s because of that cute spitfire, the Cooper girl, isn’t?”
    At the thought of Tate sprawled on his bed, her eyes drowsy, her arms held out to him, beckoning him, her core glistening from her release, ready to be taken, James’s erection grew even harder. He shifted uncomfortably in his jeans. Damn, those denims were strangling his shaft.
    “A hard-on girl.” His father chuckled after a quick glance at James’s lap. “How interesting.”
    “What?”
    “A hard-on girl,” he repeated. “The mere thought of her has you