Poet (Avenues Ink Series Book 3)

by A. M. Johnson

  When I remembered to breathe again, it escaped my lips in a rush. “You scared me for a second.”

  Her lips twitched and she leaned her head to the side. “I did?”

  “Yeah. I got nervous. I… I thought maybe I pushed you too fast. Heat of the moment…” I brushed a piece of her wild hair from her cheek with a smile. “It’s easy to get lost in you.”

  She grinned and lifted to her toes to press a kiss onto my cheek. “Do you think we could kick him out before we make breakfast?” she asked with a quirk in her right brow.

  “I could arrange that.” I took her hand in mine.

  “Let’s start date number three then.” She spoke softly and it made me chuckle.

  “I’m not keeping count anymore, I figure, once you’ve seen someone naked, numbers no longer matter much.”

  She laughed and it lightened her eyes. “Sounds like solid logic.”

  “Mm-hmm,” I agreed and kissed her once on the lips.

  She released my hand and we made our way to the door. As we moved into the hallway I whispered, “If you hide in the bathroom for too long, he’ll never leave.”

  I smacked her lightly on the ass and she narrowed her eyes as she said, “Make me coffee.”

  I heard Liam laugh in the kitchen, and Melissa’s eyes rolled. She disappeared into the bathroom as I chuckled and turned to stare down the hallway.

  Here we go.

  Liam was leaning against the breakfast bar looking smug as hell. His hands were folded over his chest, his lips fighting a smile.

  “If I promise to work overtime can we not have this conversation right now?” I asked with a defeated tone.

  He snickered. “Sure, little brother, whatever you want.”

  His easy statement stopped me in my tracks. My eyebrows hit the ceiling. “Whatever I want?”

  He nodded. “Your love life is your business.”

  I snorted. The way he said love life was as about as believable as Santa Claus. He was mocking me. I ignored his sarcasm and grabbed the coffee from the cabinet, privately wishing Melissa had come out here with me. Liam’s judgmental glare was setting my spine straight. I quickly went through the motions of getting the coffee ready and hit start on the machine. The silence was impenetrable. I turned around, expecting to see a scowl on Liam’s face, but he was the picture of ease, his dark eyes considering me.

  I finally met his gaze and lowered my voice to an almost inaudible whisper, “We didn’t… I mean we almost did, but—”

  He held up his hand. “I don’t want fucking details.” He spoke almost as quietly as I had. “It was a shock, I guess, seeing her in your room…” His lips spread into a grin. “You do you. You don’t need my permission.”

  “No shit.” I brushed past him and opened the fridge. I grabbed the eggs and set them on the side counter by the stove.

  As I pulled the milk from the shelf, and shut the door, Liam said, “You don’t know her very well. I’m surprised.”

  I eyed the hallway, still no sign of Melissa, and then set my full gaze on Liam. “Mom told me once, you can’t turn your back on what God gifts you.”

  Liam’s throat bobbed. “She said that to you?”

  I didn’t miss the slight croak in his voice or how my eyes had suddenly started to sting. “Yeah, man. She said it to me all the time. Well, after I decided against being a priest. I’d always complain about how I couldn’t connect with anyone, and she’d told me when it was time I’d know it. You think all that stuff is bullshit, but I feel something when I’m with Melissa, and it’s not just my dick, so don’t even say it. I –”

  “Kieran…” The strict lines around Liam’s eyes thawed. “Mom said that shit to me, too, and I never really believed it, but I get it now, I really do. So, save your speech, you don’t have to convince me. You like her, then like her, and if it all goes to shit, because trust me, at some point it will, I’ll be here while you fight for her. Just be safe, little brother… that’s all I was going to say.”

  “It’s only been a few dates and I’m thinking this shit already, Liam…” I smirked. “You don’t think that makes me a pussy?”

  “Well…”

  “Fuck off,” I clipped without any real anger. “And get out so I can make breakfast for my girl.”

  A quiet throat cleared and both Liam and I turned to see Melissa standing in the hallway. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, but she was still in my boxers, still in my t-shirt. The soft, gold skin of her cheeks flamed red as we stared at her.

  “Hi,” she said with a sheepish smile.

  Liam nodded his chin and then looked at me. “The snow is supposed to let up around noon. I called everyone and told them to come in at one if the streets are clear. But, I can give you the day—”

  “I have to head home after breakfast,” Melissa interrupted and my hope plummeted.

  “You do?” I asked and couldn’t keep the disappointment at bay.

  Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and the tension in my shoulders stretched through the muscles of my back. “I have a few things I should do today…” I walked over to her and slipped my hand around her waist right in front of Liam. Melissa’s smile trembled as I dusted my thumb across her bottom lip.

  I didn’t have anything planned, but I was hoping for a repeat of this morning. “Are we still on for tonight?” I asked with a gruff whisper.

  “And I’m out of here. See you at work.” Liam gave me a knowing smirk. “One o’clock.” He reminded me as he opened the door, and finally left me and Melissa alone.

  “You didn’t change,” I said as I dropped my hand and playfully tugged on her t-shirt.

  “I figured changing wasn’t going to hide the fact I stayed over. I was in your bed, for Christ’s sake. Figured I’d just go with the flow. Washed my face and stole some toothpaste. Hope that’s all right?”

  I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. She did taste like toothpaste, and as I kissed her jaw, I noticed her skin smelled like my soap. I liked how little pieces of me were blending with her. My hands skated under the fabric of her t-shirt and around the curves of her hips. My fingertips trailed goose bumps along her spine and then back down to her waist.

  She pulled away from my eager mouth, her breath tickling my lips. “I thought you were going to make your girl some breakfast.”

  I closed my eyes, embarrassment flooding my face with heat. “You heard that?”

  “Yup.” She nipped my upper lip and then gave me a small smile.

  I stood at my full height pulling her to my chest. “Is it too soon to call you that?”

  Her soft lips dipped enough that I noticed and uncertainty began to shift and twist inside my stomach. “Maybe…” She shrugged. “It’s been a long time for me, Kieran, I don’t remember all the ins and outs.”

  “That makes two of us.” I didn’t like that her smile had begun to fade, so I kissed her harder than I should have hoping to dam the rising apprehension in my chest. Shut it down with her taste, with the smell of her jasmine mixed with my soap, and when she moaned into my mouth, I felt a little release of tension. Reluctantly pulling away from her, I asked, “Should we eat?”

  Melissa had enjoyed teasing me about my inability to fry an egg without breaking it. She’d refused to believe that I had stage fright or some shit. The woman made me nervous on all fronts, but now, it was her silence that had me on edge. She was poking her scrambled eggs with her fork, sitting on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, and I was standing on the other side facing her.

  “I promise perfectly sunny side up eggs next time… I’m off my game this morning,” I joked and her smile reappeared. “There it is.” My remark had her eyes rising from the plate. “You’re quiet.”

  “I’m tired,” she said quickly and moved her gaze to the kitchen window. “I’m glad it stopped snowing, I was dreading driving in that shit.”

  “Hopefully the plows will be out…are you sure I can’t drive you home? I have a truck you know, fou
r-wheel drive.”

  She shook her head. “I need my car.”

  “I could bring it to your place later. Have Liam follow me in the—”

  “No,” she said and clenched her teeth. Her tone was sharp, and I tried to hide my cringe. She must have seen the flash of irritation cross my eyes because the hard planes of her face went soft. “I don’t want you to go to the trouble. I’m sure the plows will have it cleared before I even leave.”

  It was doubtful, for a state known for its heavy snow, our department of transportation lacked adequate planning, but Melissa was looking uncomfortable so I chose to drop the argument.

  “You’re probably right,” I conceded, giving her a wide smile, and the stiff line of her shoulders melted.

  I wanted to ask her why she was so quiet, why the color in her cheeks had faded, why, all of a sudden, she was acting like a stranger. She said she was tired. And I wanted to believe her. It wasn’t like me to assume, or fixate, but she was going from hot to cold really fucking fast, and I had no idea what I’d done to cause it.

  We didn’t talk much while we ate. I’d asked her what she wanted to do tonight and she’d give me the standard I don’t care, or whatever you want. She’d helped me clean up and when it was time to go, everything we’d done last night and this morning flooded my head, trickled down into my heart, and propelled wildly through my veins. I had a strange-as-hell feeling that when she walked out that door she’d leave with regret hanging in the air, and I didn’t want to feel that way.

  Melissa was back in her red sweater and was staring up at me. Her eyes were filled with something I couldn’t read, and it only made the dark feeling in my chest bloom.

  “I’m going to see you tonight… right?” I asked and she lowered her chin. I framed her face with my hands and tipped her head up. “Hey…” Her coffee brown eyes appraised me. They searched my face and I wondered what she saw. Couldn’t she see how much I fucking liked her, how much I wanted her? Did she think I was playing games? I didn’t give myself over to others easily, but I would for her. I didn’t think she understood that, if she wanted it, I’d give her everything I had.

  I exhaled a nervous breath. “This is real for me, Melissa.”

  “I know it is,” was all she said as she raised her arms and wrapped them around my waist.

  I leaned in, her scent pulling me under as I pressed my lips to hers. Her kiss was fragile, and I felt it down my spine. Melissa’s lips were hesitant at first, but as I deepened the kiss, held her tight against my chest, she fell into my touch. Our mouths moved together like clockwork. Perfect and full, her lips tasted mine, nibbled and nipped, and when I groaned, she broke away with a breathless gasp.

  My thumbs ran along the length of her cheek bones and, in the heated silence, I watched her retreat inside herself again. “I’ll text you when I get home,” she whispered, and I kissed her lips one more time.

  I lowered my hands and shoved them into my pockets as she backed away. “I’ll most likely be off by eight tonight. Think about what you want to do, or you’ll be stuck with take-out and a movie.” I smirked and her smile parted her lips and lit her face. My anxiety ebbed a little.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  She pulled her keys from her jeans pocket and I opened the door for her.

  The stairs were covered in snow, and when I offered to shovel them for her, the look she gave me could have melted the ice on its own. I surrendered and watched from behind as she precariously maneuvered the stairs. She didn’t argue when I scraped the snow off her windshield, and when I kissed her goodbye again, I made her promise for the third time to let me know when she’d gotten home safely. After she pulled away, all that was left of her was a lingering cloud of jasmine, a muted taste of her lips on mine, and the tire tracks from her car.

  I closed my eyes and sucked in the heavy air. The saliva on my tongue was thick from the frigid temperature. I didn’t focus on how weird she’d acted, instead, I let myself wade in the feeling of her mouth on my skin, the memory of the breathy moans I’d earned as I sampled her last night. I’d repeated the lust-filled words in my head all damn day that she’d uttered. I’d picture the sweet look on her face when I’d told her I was ready to have it all. I’d forget how distant she was just now, and have faith in the connection I’d felt every time I saw her… touched her.

  When you know… you know.

  My eyes opened as I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent her a parting text.

  Me: Loving the moment makes everything right…muse to my smile… I can still taste you.

  “He held her happiness safe in his hands, but what would happen to her smile if his fingers began to shake.”

  A.M. Johnson~

  Overall, I’d say I was a laid-back kind of guy. I’d grown up the youngest of three boys and had grown used to taking things in stride. I wasn’t one to worry, but after the weather had turned the city into a giant snow globe again, and my tenth text message to Melissa had gone unanswered, worry wasn’t an adequate word for the steady pressure building behind my sternum.

  Questions picked at my brain, eating holes through my concentration. Had she made it home safe, did she get stuck on the freeway, was she stranded, had her battery died, or, I cringed at the likelihood, was she blowing me off? The way she left this morning had alarm bells ringing in my ears, but I swallowed it all down, pushed it into that little compartment in my head and breathed. Like always, I tried to use logic, like any man, to quell the panic brewing inside me. But it was seven-thirty, and even if she had been stranded, she would have been home by now. A cop, a Good Samaritan…

  The bell over the front door jingled and a gust of frigid air and snowflakes gushed into the waiting room. Kelly’s high-pitched squeal made me laugh as she removed her scarf and shook out her hair with her fingers.

  “Shit, it’s cold,” she grumbled.

  I chuckled from behind the front desk. “Welcome back to Utah winters, sister-in-law. Missing California yet?” I asked.

  She scowled. “No… maybe a little.” She peeked around to the back of the shop. “But don’t tell Liam.” Kelly gave me a conspiratorial smirk and I laughed.

  “I’m not that stupid.” I stepped out from behind the desk and gave her a bear hug. She giggled, and when I tightened my hold on her she squeaked.

  “Can’t… breathe.”

  I released her from my usual assault. She wasn’t much of a “hugger” so I tried to hug her as much as possible. It pissed off Liam and made her laugh… it was a win either way.

  “What are you doing here?” Liam’s voice was half aggravation and half relief.

  “I came to pick you up.” Kelly smiled as he kissed her cheek, and I went back to my desk to give them space.

  “I could’ve taken TRAX home, just like I took it here this morning, it’s fucking dangerous out there. You didn’t need—”

  “I was on my way home from Irene’s, Liam, it’s no big deal, besides, TRAX is running really behind. A few stations are buried in the snow.”

  So much for reliable public transportation. I looked down at my desk and tried not to glance at my cell phone again, but I somehow managed to stare at it regardless. No flashing indicator light, still no message from Melissa.

  “Buried?” He exhaled a rough sigh. “No wonder this place has been empty all day.” Liam shifted his glare to me. “You mind locking up? I think it’s safe to say we’re closed.”

  Liam and I had opened the shop, but told everyone else to stay home. Declan wouldn’t have left Paige and the kids anyway, and everyone else lived far enough away it wouldn’t have been worth it to drive here.

  “I don’t mind.”

  “You sure, don’t you have a date?” Liam asked and I averted my eyes, hiding my disappointment.

  “I’m not sure. I can’t get a hold of her.”

  “Of who?” Kelly asked.

  “Melissa.”

  “Yeah?” Kelly’s smile was short-lived.

  “She left
here this morning, and I’ve texted her all day and she hasn’t replied.”

  “She hasn’t responded?” Liam asked, the worry in his eyes matching mine.

  “I’ll call her,” Kelly said and pulled her phone from her purse.

  Liam and I waited as we watched her dial and then raise the phone to her ear. I kept telling myself it was nothing. And as much as it would suck, I hoped she was just blowing me off, because the alternative…

  Kelly lowered her phone and glanced at Liam before she looked at me. “No answer.”

  “Shit.” Liam turned his attention to the front window and I followed his gaze.

  The storm was a solid white wall.

  “I didn’t think it was that bad this morning,” I said to no one in particular.

  The slight panic in my voice must have been evident because Kelly responded, “I’ll stop by her place on our way home.”

  Liam whipped his head and gave her a scowl. “The fuck you will, doesn’t she live in North Salt Lake? There is no way in hell—”

  “What if…” Kelly swallowed. “Liam, I’m worried now.”

  Liam grit his teeth and shot me a furious glare.

  “What?” I asked. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m worried, too.”

  “Then you go check on her.” He ordered.

  “Me?” I shook my head. “No way, I don’t even know where she lives.”

  “Kelly can tell you.” Liam turned to his wife. “You can give him directions. It’s his girl, let him deal with it.”

  “I’ve been on two dates with her, Liam. I’ll look like a fucking stalker.” I shoved my hand through my hair.

  “She stayed the fucking night, little brother. I think knowing where she lives is paramount.” He blew out an angry brush of air and turned to Kelly, ignoring my embarrassed expression.

  Kelly didn’t need to know my damn business.

  “I can give you her address, Kieran, but I’ve never been there.” Kelly spoke softly, breaking through the cloud of testosterone like a beam of sunlight. “I have her application in my inbox. Give me a second, and I’ll pull it up.”

  “You don’t think that’s weird, me just showing up at her place, I mean… what if…” The thought lodged in my throat making it difficult to speak without sounding strained. “What if she’s not answering on purpose?”