Virgin Seeks Bad Boy (Bliss River #3) - Lili Valente Page 0,30

“Sorry about that.”

“About what?” she asks, cocking her head.

“You know, the cursing. Over breakfast.” I shrug and stuff another bite into my mouth. I’ve never heard Melody cuss, not even a “damn” or “shit” when she dropped a giant bag of flour on her toe a few weeks back.

“Oh, that.” She waves a breezy hand. “As long as you’re not being mean to me or someone else, I don’t give a fuck about your language,” she says sweetly.

I choke on my waffle in response, and Melody starts laughing. Hard. By the time I recover enough to suck down a drink of water, she’s still grinning with a satisfied gleam in her eyes.

“Proud of yourself, aren’t you?” I ask. “Are you always this unpredictable?”

“I don’t know.” Her smile widens. “I confess I’m not totally myself lately. I’ve been trying new things, pushing my boundaries…” She shrugs. “So far, I’ve been enjoying a little unpredictability in my life. That okay with you?”

“That’s more than okay with me,” I say, my appreciation clear in my tone. “But I’m still not tattooing you.”

Her lips push into a pout. “Why not? I wasn’t joking. I really love your work. I haven’t been able to get that phoenix out of my head.”

I almost confess that I don’t tattoo girls I’m sleeping with—not since I was twenty and Kenzie threatened to cut my dick off for working on her the day before I broke up with her. I assumed she would just be glad to have received the tattoo free of charge, but she hadn’t seen things that way.

Instead, I bite my lip. Melody isn’t just another girl I’m sleeping with. We haven’t even slept together, and it’s already more than that, so…

“Give it six months,” I say, stabbing another bite of waffle. “If you still want it then, I’ll do it in exchange for a kiss and a pan of that shepherd’s pie you made for the Downey wedding.”

“Sounds like a deal.” She smiles, but it isn’t one of her usual smiles. There’s something…anxious beneath the surface of that smile. Anxious, but excited.

I recognize the feeling because hell, I feel it, too. I’m not sure what’s happening between us, but so far, every moment I spend with Melody is better than the last.

We finish our meal and head back to the shop. I drive her home in her car, assuring her I can catch the bus back across town to my place.

“The Midget doesn’t work half the time, so I have the bus schedule memorized,” I say, lingering in her doorway. “I had fun tonight. Well, most of tonight.”

“Me, too,” she says, leaning against the doorframe. The lamplight from inside catches her hair, turning it into a halo that glows around her face. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance to show you I’m not always an asshole.”

She laughs. “True. Not a trace of asshole all night.”

“It’s a new record,” I say, grinning as I press a kiss to her cheek. “Good night.”

“Good night,” she whispers.

Damn her skin is soft, so soft I want to kiss her again. So I do. I kiss her cheek, then her ear, and then I can’t seem to resist tracing a path along her jawline with my lips, trailing kisses down her neck to her bare shoulder. My tongue slips out, teasing along her clavicle as her breath rushes out in a sexy little sigh that leaves no doubt she’s as affected by the chemistry between us as I am.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come in for a little while?” she murmurs.

“I should get home,” I say, forcing myself to pull away and take a step back into the hallway. “But you want to do something tomorrow? I’m booked at the shop until three, but I can get John to cover after that. We could hit the lake or something.”

“I have to help Lark and Aria cater a baby shower tomorrow afternoon,” Melody says with a sad twist of her lips. “How about Tuesday?”

“I’ll pick you up at four,” I say, resisting the urge to kiss her goodbye one last time. With Melody, stopping is definitely harder than starting. “Sleep well.”

“You too,” she says with a smile that sends a rush of giddy anticipation rushing through me.

I trot down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, grinning like an idiot. I’m halfway to the bus stop when my phone rings.

I dig it out of my pocket, expecting it to be Melody for some reason, but when