Adoring Ink (Montgomery Ink #6.5)
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Chapter One
Holly Rose needed to come.
Badly.
And hopefully she would. The man above her moved with such heat that she knew she was blushing, but she didn't care. She just needed him to work his magic so she could finally crest that peak and end up a boneless pile of limbs.
She clutched at his tattooed shoulders before sliding her hands down his chest, raking her nails over his thick muscles and the ink that covered his skin. He thrust deeply inside her, and she arched her back, taking more of him in.
Her breath came in pants, and her body shook, sweat-slick from hours of lovemaking with no pause.
Then she looked up and froze.
Once again, her Dream Man was just a blur. A thickly muscled male with ink but no face, no features showing her who he was. No eyes giving her a glimpse of the man deep inside.
She reached out to cup his face, hoping she was wrong.
But she wasn't.
The alarm pulled her out of sleep in that instant, leaving her right on the edge once again, and confused as hell about the recurring dream that never made sense.
Holly let out a sigh and rolled over to press the button on her phone. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to hit snooze and go back to sleep, so she forced herself to sit up. Hitting snooze was one of her favorite pastimes since she had the most comfortable bed ever, but she had to be an adult and forego that. She was the kind of person that, once she sat up, she was awake and slightly functional, but it was the sitting up part that was the hardest. She loved sleeping in but couldn't do it most days because of her job. Heck, she couldn't even slumber on weekends most times thanks to the piles of grading she had. She might only teach first grade, but her kids had books and binders full of state-mandated homework and classwork to complete.
Holly's head hurt just thinking about it.
She let out a breath and rocked herself to a standing position. Her bed was a little tall for her, so getting out was actually a bit of a chore, but she wasn't about to get a new bed or even one of those little stools to help her get in and out. She wasn't that short … Sort of.
As she zombie-walked toward the bathroom to take care of business, she blew out a breath, thinking of the dream that had made her all sweaty with no resolution. This had been the fourth time this week she'd had virtual sex with Dream Man, and yet she still had no clue who he was. All she knew was that he was sexy and inked-her taste, apparently.
The one thing she did know was that Dream Man was not her ex, Jake. The ink and body type were all wrong, and she was so freaking grateful her subconscious didn't carry a torch for him. She'd be beyond embarrassed to see him and his husband and wife after dreaming of all the hot, sexy things she'd been doing in her dreams, things she hadn't been able to do for real in so long.
Yes, her last serious boyfriend was now in a committed triad with not only his former best friend, Border, but also his other best friend, Maya. And they even had the most adorable baby ever, Noah. She would have been jealous of that if she weren't the one who'd broken it off because she knew they weren't right for each other. They hadn't been in the right kind of love, and she'd seen the spark between Maya and Jake. It might have hurt her a little-okay, a lot-to do what she did, but she'd made sure her heart was wrapped as tightly as it could be when she'd walked out the door that last time.
Now, Jake wasn't only a Gallagher, the family of big, bearded men he'd grown up with, he was also a Montgomery, the large family that had taken Holly into their fold.
And Holly was once again on the outside looking in. She was fine with that, though. Things hadn't been any different before her relationship with Jake.
She was just nice and pleasant Holly Rose, and there was nothing wrong with that.
With a sigh, she slipped into the shower and started her morning routine, her mind still a fog and her brain craving caffeine. She'd had to force herself to wait for coffee on weekends because if she didn't shower first and drink second, she'd end up in her loungewear or leggings all day and not accomplish a single thing.
Though, honestly, that kind of day sounded amazing.
Because that was just an example of who Holly was-a dreamer who loved comfy clothes and not leaving the house.
Not exactly the wanton woman who got the sexy, inked man from her dreams.
God, she could remember the looks on other people's faces when they'd first caught sight of her on Jake's arm. He was all rugged sexiness, and she was … the nice girl they glanced over.
She wore cardigans because she loved them, and even pearls on special occasions. She liked her hair one color and cut in one layer because it was easier to work with at school. She liked her shoes plain and her clothes plainer because standing out at school could bring her issues with the principal, who she had a feeling didn't like women outside the home.
There was nothing wrong with her, and she actually liked herself despite what her thoughts kept alluding to. However, one day, it might be nice to throw caution to the wind and surprise everyone.
Even herself.
Shaking those thoughts from her mind because they weren't doing any good, she got out of the shower and ran a towel through her hair. Thankfully, she was one of those blessed people who only had to brush their hair a bit with some product, and it would dry the way she wanted. A unicorn, the Internet called her, and she'd take it because that meant she could sleep an extra thirty minutes most days, and even sneak in a second cup of coffee.
Speaking of coffee, it was high time she had her first cup. She'd been awake for over twenty minutes and hadn't had a sip of the fuel that kept her alive and functioning.
Humming to herself for some reason, she slid on a pair of black leggings and a peach-colored flowy tank with a knit shrug over it. She didn't have to work today and was in the mood to be a little freer with her choice of wardrobe.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she started her single-cup maker and slid two pieces of wheat-germ bread into the toaster. She missed normal bread, but she hated working out, and since she wasn't even having sex anymore to burn calories, she was careful with what she ate. When everything was ready, she poured some vanilla creamer into her coffee and stood at her counter while making plans for the day in her head. She would have sat down, but she figured standing was better for her, and since she really didn't want to work out later, she'd take any activity she could get.
Since it was summer vacation for her school, the students were out, and she had time off as well. Well … not really time off since she still had packets of things to go over for the next year, as well as a few continuing education classes to take to keep certified and updated. She just didn't get paid for those hours since teachers had "summers off." She snorted before taking a sip of her coffee. What a lie that was. Students were spending longer in the classroom nowadays because of snow days and delays throughout the year, and teachers even longer. Between the classes she had to take, the paperwork and notebooks she had to go through, and getting her classroom ready for the next year, she was lucky to get a full week off to actually vacation during her unpaid summer.
This happened to be that week. But because she scheduled herself as precisely as she could, she also had weekends off for the next five weeks. What she was going to do with that time other than lounge around in her new cotton dresses she'd bought on sale, she wasn't sure.
Today, however, she had a little bit of a plan. She was having lunch with her friend Arianna at their favorite café, Taboo. The fact that Taboo shared a wall and a door with Montgomery Ink, the family tattoo shop run by Jake's wife, Maya, and her brother Austin, didn't even worry her. She wasn't in love with Jake, and somehow, she'd even become friends with Maya. Maya was her complete opposite, and that only made Holly happier with herself. Because Maya loved herself and who she was, and Holly wasn't going to let that put a shadow on her own self-confidence because that wasn't who either of them were.
Of course, being a little more … well, just more would be nice.
She let out a sigh and cleaned up her breakfast dishes, annoyed with herself once again. She hated when self-doubt reared its ugly head, and it annoyed her to no end when she let it affect her. So she wasn't a sexy temptress or even a kick-butt woman in leather. She was herself, and that was just fine with her.
She liked her clothes. Liked the fact that she was nice. Considering how she'd grown up, it surprised her she hadn't become a jaded husk of a woman. Instead, she tried to be helpful, smiled because she liked smiling and not because someone told her to, and was just … Holly.
That had been good enough for her for years. Yet, now, she kind of wanted something more.
Holly blew out a breath and grabbed her keys. She slid on her ballet flats and put her purse over her arm as she left her house and got into her car. There was nothing wrong with her.
Just because she was having dreams about an unknown man that she didn't have in her life, didn't mean she couldn't get a man like him. She'd gotten Jake-at least for a little while-hadn't she? And she wasn't about to change herself for a man.
But adding a little spice might be nice.
Being bored with herself even if she liked who she was wasn't the best way to live.