Page 67 of Almost Love

I can’t wait either, baby.

“If you’re done mooning over your girl, your client is here,” Auburn said as she pulled his curtain open with a grin.

“I’m not…you know what…” He flipped her off as Lucas stepped into the small space. “Hey, man. How’s the ink healing?”

“Really well. My partner didn’t seem to hate what you did.”

He chuckled and gestured to the table. “Get comfortable. I need to grab supplies.”

Lucas lay down and Oakley silently cursed himself for being so distracted he forgot to prepare for the session that afternoon. Once he had the necessary ink and refills, he returned and closed the curtain to get started. Since he was only filling up parts donelast time, he didn’t need Carin’s help. Lucas chattered the whole way through, talking about a new guy who had joined the squad at the firehouse. He talked about how his partner felt about the ink. Every few minutes, he’d stretch and refill the ink, then return to coloring.

When he was finally done for the day, he cleaned up Lucas’ back and helped the firefighter sit up on the table. As Oakley gave him the usual spiel about care, the curtain slid open to reveal the most beautiful human ever.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said, eyes wide as she looked between them.

“We’re wrapping up.”

She nodded, eyes dropping to the phoenix on Lucas’ back. “Did youdrawthat?”

“You like it?” Oakley asked, looking her over.

“It’s beautiful.” Dropping the curtain, she stepped into the room and he saw the bakery box in her hand as she peered at the tattoo closer. “You’re covering up scars?”

“Survived a lot of fires in my lifetime and my scars stress out my partner,” Lucas said and stood up, carefully tugging his T-shirt on over his head. He offered her a smile before turning to Oakley, he held out his hand. “See you in a couple of weeks.”

“You know the drill, Lucas, be careful with that!”

Once the firefighter was gone, Oakley turned to find Clementine watching him. There was something unidentifiable in her eyes, but it was the smile that floored him. He stripped off his gloves and moved towards her as she did the same thing. They collided in the middle of the small space, laughing as they grabbed each other for support. He let his hands brush over her sides, up her back and then down to her ass. He tugged her against him as she draped one arm around his shoulders.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he mumbled, nuzzling into her neck as her fingers pushed into his hair.

“Thought you might need a sugar hit.”

“I actually need aClementinehit.”

She tugged on his hair, tilting his head back. “Are we revisiting the conversation about murder?”

“I’ll take anything at this point.”

“I try not to lean towards violence with my friends.”

Beaming at the mention of them beingfriends, he batted his eyes. “I like being your friend.”

She rolled her eyes and kissed him, a quick press of their lips. Before he could go in for more, she pulled away and stepped out of his arms. Oakley smiled and sat down on his stool as she set the box of goodies on the table. She flipped it open and he peered inside, his heart racing at the slices of cake.

“Tasters?”

“Had some leftovers and thought you’d like them.”

He didn’t really think, but Oakley was on his feet, hands cupping her face as he swooped in for a kiss. A surprised squeak escaped her lips before it turned into a soft moan as she kissed him back. He dropped his hands to wind around her waist, pulling her against him as she smiled into the kiss. He pulled back and grinned, which made her sigh dramatically and nudge him.

“Behave.”

“That’s physically impossible when you’re around.”

“Do you have a notebook with all these cheesy lines written down or something?”

Oakley laughed. “Probably.”Most definitely.

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