Read Innocent Ink for Free Online

slipping into the privacy of her home, where she was free to sigh, collapse onto the couch and dedicate all her mental efforts to wrapping her mind around the fact that Jed had just kissed her.
    Why had he leaned away at first? Why hadn’t he tried to take things further? And why, God why, was he so unnaturally good at kissing? No one else had ever made her feel that way with just a kiss…
    Nothing made any sense, but that didn’t stop her from savoring his heat and taste as both faded slowly from her tongue, leaving a deep craving in their wake.

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 3
     
     
    The sight of Karen’s name on the phone screen snared Jed’s attention more effectively than an explosion would have. As he accessed his messages, guilt sped through his veins like poison. It was going on six in the evening … the better part of a day had passed since he’d succumbed to temptation and kissed her the night before. And they hadn’t spoken since.
    She’d mentioned brunch plans for that morning, and he’d justified the delay in his apology by telling himself he’d probably be interrupting her plans if he tried to get in touch. Truth was, he was fucking procrastinating. Because what could he say that wouldn’t drive home the fact that he’d acted like an ass the night before?
    I’m printing a ton of stuff right now. Need any more prints for around the shop?
    He read her text three times over despite its simplicity, searching for any hidden resentment in her words.
    It was impossible, and trying was more than a little pathetic. For a second, he let his finger hover over the call button.
    Fuck it. A phone call wouldn’t be good enough, either. If she was printing out photos, that meant she was in her photography studio. If he hurried there, he could probably catch her in time to apologize to her face, like she deserved.
    No. Thanks though. Listen, I’m sorry about last night.
    Even if he was about to see her, he couldn’t text her back without at least scratching the surface of the apology he owed her.
    ?
    Her sparse reply burnt itself into his mind, igniting a fresh bout of guilt. If she was trying to say that he owed her more of an explanation, she was right. As he exited the shop with a quick wave to the other artists and receptionist, he tried to stop savoring the memory of having his tongue entwined so thoroughly with Karen’s that he could still practically taste her.
    His apology would seem a lot more convincing if he completely regretted kissing her, but he didn’t – he couldn’t.
     
* * * * *
     
     “Did you hear that?”
    “That was a male voice. It was definitely male. Did you hear what it said?”
    “I didn’t catch any words. It almost sounded like a growl. Let’s get back to the lab and check the EVP recording.”
    Karen leaned back in her chair, adjusting the hydraulic lever beneath the seat. Holy crap, she needed a new desk chair. Why hadn’t she bought one yet? That should’ve been priority number one when she’d started making enough money to do more than just barely pay her bills each month. It was a pain to edit photos – or watch TV online while her printer churned out 5x7s – in the worn out piece of junk-on-wheels.
    “Holy crap!” Voices crackled through her cheap computer speakers – another office essential that could use replacing. “Did you hear that , man?”
    Crappy speakers or no, the EVP recording echoed through Karen’s workspace. Ugh, it really did sound like a growl, and they kept replaying it…
    Karen glanced toward the window. It wasn’t even dark yet, which meant that listening to the static-laced recording alone in her studio shouldn’t scare her, not even a little bit.
    Still, she jumped and nearly upended her aged desk chair when a knock sounded at the door. Spinning as quickly as her wobbling seat would allow, she turned her back on her computer screen.
    Her legs shook as she hurried toward the door. Who could be on the other side? She didn’t have any