It was early evening when my uncle Nate stopped by Inked Armor. He was still in a suit, so he must have come straight from work to get Cassie.

I dropped my pencil and pushed away from my desk. We did the man-hug back-pat thing. Chris and Jamie greeted him with the same enthusiasm as I did. It had been a while since I’d seen Nate. We both worked long hours, and he spent his spare time doting on my aunt. He was whipped, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m glad you stopped in,” I said. “When are we going to start planning that piece you’ve been talking about?”

“Soon? I’m picking Cassie up again tomorrow. I’ll bring some pictures with me and we’ll figure something out.”

“Excellent. I’m holding you to it this time.”

Nate had been going on for a while about getting a tattoo, but he hadn’t committed. I figured if I could get him to bring something in for me to work with, it wouldn’t be hard to persuade him to put it on his skin. Cassie might not be open about it, but she had a thing for ink.

At six o’clock Nate went over to Serendipity to get Cassie. After they left, Tenley took up residence behind the register. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I was between clients and wasn’t expecting anyone for at least another half hour, which gave me time to talk Tenley into bringing her design by later.

“Getting coffee.” Chris called after me, but I waved him off and rushed out of the shop. It was warm for the beginning of October, so I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt, feeling overly hot and nervous. I hadn’t planned this out at all. I tried to tell myself she was just a girl. All I was going to do was invite her over so I could persuade her to let me put some art on her body. What a crock of shit.

The bells above the door jingled my arrival. So much for the surprise angle. She looked up from the book clutched in her hands, then quickly down again. I was off to a fantastic start. The skittish kitten was back. Clearly Lisa was right; I hadn’t been as well behaved as I’d thought when I’d last spoken to her.

I smiled as I approached the desk and made a futile attempt not to check her out. It worked for all of three seconds. I was thankful for the warm weather, because Tenley wore a gray top baring enough skin to make me want to see more. A shiny silvery strap cut a line across her shoulder to disappear under the collar. Tenley was focused on the black bands of ink on my arm. The way she looked at my art made me feel naked. And not in a sexual way. I was used to being stared at. I hadn’t covered my body in ink and invested in facial piercings to blend in with the general population. But this was different. It wasn’t the typical bad-boy eye-fuck. It was something else entirely. It felt like she was trying to decipher the meaning in my art.

I studied her face. Beyond the understated beauty there were dark circles beneath her eyes, as though she wasn’t getting enough sleep. Even exhausted, she was still gorgeous.

Mild unease made her shift in her seat. “Hi, Hayden. You just missed Cassie.”

“I know. I’m here to see you.” I leaned forward, bracing my forearms on the counter. That way she could have a better look at my ink if she wanted to and I could keep checking her out.

Her eyes dropped, then she looked up. “Oh.”

I was positive she had no idea how sexy she was when she did that. I swept the pad of my thumb under the hollow of her eye. “You look tired.”

Touching her made me feel high. Like she was plugged into me or was plugging me in. I wanted to know what it would feel like to have my hands on her. Everywhere. I severed the contact in order to regain control of my brain.

“I have nightmares,” she said. “Bad ones.”

Like there was some other kind? She lined up the books on the counter. Obviously that was the only answer I would get.

“Did you want to go back down to the basement? Sort through the rest of those boxes?” she asked.

“Can you come with me?”

“I have to watch the desk and deal with customers.”

“There’s no one in the store. You could lock up for a bit.”

“Um . . .” She hesitated, maybe contemplating the request.

I grinned and cut to the chase. “Some other time. You haven’t stopped by the shop yet to show me your design.”

“Sorry.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

That small physical sign of discomfort screamed of deeper meaning. I wanted to know if it had to do with me or the design, or both. I tried not to think about Tenley in my chair, partially undressed, or fully undressed. Tried being the operative word. “Uh, look,” I said, kind of sigh-groaning as she started to chew on her fingernail, drawing my attention to her mouth. “Why don’t you come over after you close up? I’ll schedule you after nine, yeah? Bring the sketch with you and I’ll take a look. No pressure to commit, though. Does that sound all right?”

“Okay.” She said it like it was a question, looking at me with her big Bambi eyes, all hunched shoulders and wringing hands. It made me want to hug her, or jump her, or whatever. I was such a fucking mess over this girl.

“Excellent.” I smiled and pushed away from the counter. “I’ll see you around nine.”

“Sure.” Tenley gave me the sweetest, shyest smile.

I left before I said or did something inappropriate. All I’d done this time was ogle her chest. That was definitely an improvement over the past two interactions. I sauntered into Inked Armor, pretty pleased with myself.

Chris gave me an odd look. “Where’s my coffee?”

I’d forgotten all about my cover for going over to Serendipity. “I said I was going for coffee, not that I was getting you one.”

“Well, where the hell is your coffee, then?” He cocked a pierced brow.

“I already drank it.”

“Whatever you say, brother, but since you were gone for all of ten minutes, I’m calling bullshit.”

I ignored him and perused the appointment book. My client would arrive soon, and I would likely be finished around eight thirty, which left me wide open for the remainder of the night. I would feel like an ass if I told Tenley to come over and I couldn’t see her. I penciled her name in, hoping the design was one I could put on her.

Chris got up in my space, looking over my shoulder.

I elbowed him in the side. “Christ, Chris, are you trying to make out with me? Back off.”

Lisa came out of the office, beaming. Her joy was short-lived. “No coffees?”

“Tenley’s coming by later,” Chris said.

“It’s not a big deal, I’m just checking out her design,” I said, playing it off like it was nothing. I should definitely not be all worked up over the prospect of marking Tenley, since it wasn’t even a guarantee yet. But I was.

Lisa scowled. “I already knew that.”

“How is that possible? I only asked her a minute ago.”

“I went over earlier. She told me she had the design with her. She was thinking about stopping by after work.”

Well, wasn’t that a shot to my ego. Here I thought I’d done a great job convincing her to come see me and Lisa had already gotten to her. “Have you seen it?” I asked.

“Nope, but I guess I will later.” She went back into the office.

Later couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

I was putting gauze on my client’s fresh tattoo when Tenley arrived. Chris and Jamie were in the stockroom, taking inventory, and Lisa was in the back, piercing some girl and her friend. If I was quick about getting rid of my client, I might have a few minutes alone with Tenley before they bombarded her. I wasn’t the only one happy to have her in the shop. Lisa was practically in love with her, in a platonic way, and Chris seemed to have taken a liking to her as well. I made it quite clear he was to keep his hands off and his comments on her assets to himself. Jamie, being Jamie, didn’t notice anyone but Lisa.

Tenley looked around the near-empty shop before finally settling on me.

“You can have a seat. I won’t be long.” I inclined my head toward the waiting area. There were plush chairs and a coffee table with tattoo magazines and custom albums.

She had a few books and a white box tucked under one arm, her messenger bag slung over the opposite shoulder. She graced me with one of her timid smiles, then settled in a chair and leafed through one of my custom albums while she waited.

I cashed out my client and turned my attention to Tenley. Her legs were folded underneath her, hair shielding her face. She wasn’t looking at the custom album anymore; it was lying on the table beside her. Her focus was still fixed on her lap, though. She looked more at ease than she had the last time she’d been here.

I crossed the room and hovered over her, waiting for her to notice and acknowledge my presence. When she didn’t, I leaned in, interested in whatever absorbed her attention. Tenley’s head snapped up and her eyes widened when she came face-to-face with me, my nose almost touching hers.

“Interesting reading?” I asked, straightening.

Tenley murmured something unintelligible and flipped a sketch pad closed. The breathless quality of her voice had an immediate physical impact. Not ideal, considering she was eye level with my groin. Which was exactly where her eyes went. She whispered the same curse that went through my head. Flailing, Tenley shot up out of the chair.

She hadn’t accounted for my proximity. As she rose, the entirety of her lithe little frame brushed against me. I bit my tongue so I didn’t groan out loud at the sensation. It felt like a power surge running through my body, centered in my pants.

“I brought the design.” She rushed the words.