Page 36 of Ink Me Three Times

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He’s not doing anything. Just standing there. But it’s enough. The air feels thick between us. Heavy with all the things we’re not saying.

But whatever he was about to say, he doesn’t.

He just gives me that crooked half smile again, the one that somehow punches a hole straight through my defenses, and says, "Thanks for staying."

And somehow, it feels like he means more than just the job.

I nod. "Thanks for the noodles."

He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. There’s something flickering there… uncertainty, maybe. Or hesitation. Something he’s holding back.

I turn toward the hallway. "I should go. I have a bit of a walk home…"

I take one step, then another.

"Ivy," he says again, softer this time. Like a thread pulling tight.

I pause.

"You don’t have to."

Four words. Quiet. Simple.

They land like a warm hand at the base of my spine.

I almost laugh. Almost bolt straight out the door in self defense. That would be the smart move. The safe one.

But then I turn to him, and he’s just…lookingat me.

Not like I’m a mess. Not like I’m baggage. Not like I’m something to fix.

Like I’mreal. Like he sees me. And doesn’t flinch.

No one’s ever looked at me like that before.

And the way he’s watching me now is doing something dangerous to my breathing. My body.

Heat blooms under my skin, slow and sure, unfurling between my thighs with humiliating ease.

Dammit.

I can’t resist it. Not tonight.

"Maybe I don’t want to," I say, barely above a whisper.

My heart pounds.

My head swims.

I’m already moving toward him and I haven’t even decided yet.

What the hell am I doing?

CHAPTER TEN

Freddie

I didn’t plan this.

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