Just after nine, the tone of the party changed. The house began to fill with Inked Armor clientele and acquaintances of Lisa’s and Jamie’s. I felt inadequate among the inked and the pierced, like an imposter surrounded by those who had embraced the lifestyle to an extent that I hadn’t. Hayden was such an extremist that it made me curious about the kind of women he’d been with prior to me. I didn’t have to wonder for long, though.

A tall blonde with death trap shoes came into the kitchen and shrieked when she saw Lisa. They hugged, obviously old friends. The blonde didn’t even acknowledge my existence as she looked around the adjoining rooms. “I don’t see Hayden. Is he busy already?”

“He’s not here yet,” Lisa replied, shooting me a quick glance.

“Well, when he gets here, tell him I’m looking forward to catching up.” She winked at Lisa and sauntered off.

“Who was that?” I asked, watching her long legs disappear around the corner.

“Just a friend.” Lisa poured more wine into my glass. “Hayden should be here soon.”

Several more women asked after him. While some of them wore designs that were clearly his, not all of them seemed to be clients. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was gorgeous and talented and recalcitrant, a heady combination of masculine energy. They all preened as they surveyed the room and wore the same look of disappointment when Lisa informed them he had not yet arrived.

When he did, he was a sight to behold. Dressed in black pants and a white button-down, he obviously decided he’d tried hard enough. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. The top two buttons of his shirt were open, revealing a white undershirt. His hair was out of control, as if he’d been in too much of a rush to bother with it. He didn’t look happy as he scanned the room, his frown deepening as he took in the crowd until he saw me standing alone in the kitchen. His eyes burned with a predatory gleam as he took a step toward me.

And then some she-banshee threw herself at him.

27

HAYDEN


Son of a mother-fucking bitch.

Of the dozens of people packed into the living room, I could count four that I’d been with. And not as in dated. As in fucked once and never repeated the act again. Getting through the throng of bodies to Tenley would be like crossing a minefield. I’d be lucky if I didn’t come out with shrapnel in my ass.

Lisa had warned me, but I hadn’t factored how many of the girls Lisa and Jamie were friends with were also familiar with me. Not much had been off-limits back in the day. I probably should have prepared Tenley a little better for who or what she might encounter.

To make the situation worse, Tenley looked disconcertingly hot dressed up like a ’50s housewife, with her hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail. People were looking at her. She’d been here for hours without me, and any number of assholes could have hit on her. I wanted to flip her skirt up, wrap that ponytail around my hand, and bend her over the closest surface available, just to make a point. I didn’t even have a chance to close the door before Trina, a former fuck, came hurtling at me. I’d been with her once, three years ago. Sienna had participated, too. I flinched as she vise-gripped my neck in a hug. She blatantly rubbed her tits on me. I kept my hand up, refusing to return the molestation, and watched Tenley’s smile dissolve.

Fuck.

“Hey, Trina.” I disentangled myself from her.

“Hayden! How are you? You look gorgeous,” she tittered.

I had a vague memory of what she’d sounded like when she’d come. It wasn’t pleasant. Her hands were like annoying little birds, flapping around my face and my chest.

“I have someone I need to talk to. I’ll catch you later.” I stepped around her and headed for a very irritated Tenley.

“Friend of yours?” she asked and took a sip of her wine.

“We used to hang out.”

“Is that a euphemism?” There was a bite in her tone I’d never heard before. It made me nervous.

“It wasn’t meant to be.” Though in this case it was. I moved on to a less detrimental topic. “Sorry I’m late. Chris stuck me with a closer who needed a break every five minutes, even after I gave him a pussyball.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Pussyball?”

I smiled and leaned in close so my lips were at her ear. “Say it again, but whisper this time, and just the ‘pussy’ part.”

She poked me. I grabbed her finger and bit it right above the first knuckle, dragging my tongue over the pad. “Please?”

That did it. Her glower disappeared and she parted her lips. Her palm flattened on my chest, and she rose up on tiptoes. I bent to accommodate her, until my ear was at her mouth.

“No,” she whispered in a voice that sounded like sex.

“I’ll eat yours later if you do,” I whispered back, bargaining.

“Hayden!” she exclaimed loudly and glanced around the room.

“Later then.” I’d get her to say “pussy” again, in the privacy of her bedroom. Then I could make good on my promise. Right now there were eyes on us. More specifically, her. I didn’t like it.

“Who put you in this?” I asked. Her dress was practically backless, most of the outline on display.

“Lisa.”

“Where is she? I need to have a chat with her.”

“Why?”

“Because.” I touched the marks I’d left on her neck. I could barely make them out anymore. “You look entirely too fuckable.”

She adopted a sugary smile. “It seems we both have that problem tonight. I need more wine.”

She tipped her head back and downed what was left in her glass. With a flip of her ponytail, she spun around and strutted to the makeshift bar. Tonight would either be very good or very, very bad. Tenley was already half in the bag, judging from the fluidity of her movements and her willingness to chug white wine.

I remained by her side, introducing her to former and current clients, but only the ones I hadn’t engaged in illicit activities with. Tenley gravitated to the rooms where the crowd was less dense. She was inquisitive and engaging. She didn’t gawk or grow uncomfortable around the guy with the fucked-up neck tattoo depicting a very realistic open wound, or the chick with more steel in her face than an android. I hovered over her protectively when people checked out her ink. She accepted compliments with humble grace, defaulting to me when they praised the artwork. I’d never been so proud of an outline in my entire career.

The party started to get a little more raucous as the evening wore on. Around midnight, Sarah waltzed in the door in her nine-inch stilettos. Tenley was ecstatic to see her. Sarah and Lisa petitioned to steal Tenley from me to do whatever the hell chicks do together at parties. I wasn’t keen on the idea. If Sarah and Lisa took her, I couldn’t monitor her alcohol consumption. Or ensure my post-fucks wouldn’t approach her.

Lisa patted me on the arm. “Don’t worry, Hayden, we’ll take care of her.”

“I’ll come find you in a bit,” Tenley said and kissed my cheek.

I pulled her up tight against me, unconcerned with the audience. “Don’t talk to strangers,” I murmured.

And then, because I couldn’t help myself and I was a territorial asshole with issues, I parted my lips and sucked on her neck. Hard. I released the skin and smiled down at my handiwork. Then I looked around to check if anyone noticed. Lisa seemed like she was trying not to laugh. Sarah clearly thought I was insane. Tenley was pissed. Superpissed.

She ran her hand over the purple-pink mark. “Why would you do that?” she asked, loud enough that several conversations close by came to a halt.

“Uh . . .” I couldn’t answer the question without sounding like a complete dipshit.

“I haven’t been able to wear my hair up for two weeks, Hayden.” Her hands flailed and wine sloshed over the edge of her glass. “Now I have to walk around with a hickey for the rest of the night.”

Tenley was irate. Her cheeks were deep pink, her eyes burning. I had a feeling the hickey wasn’t really the problem and that later, when we were alone and she was sober, I was going to get it. Most of the time I liked it when she got feisty. Unfortunately, this might be one of those occasions when the feistiness could end in a fight if I wasn’t careful. The potential for hot sex in the aftermath might not be so bad, though.

“Do you think this is funny?”

Shit. I must have been smiling.

She tugged me forward by my shirt. Her lips parted and her tongue swept over my neck. Then her teeth pressed down and she sucked so hard it hurt. When she was done repaying me for my transgression, her teeth scraped over the sensitive skin and she nipped me. I rubbed the spot, half expecting to feel blood, but my fingers came away clean.

“Maybe that’ll keep the bitches at bay.” She turned away, stomping through the crowd.

Sarah shot me a look that would neuter a weaker man. Lisa smiled sweetly. “I love you, Hayden, I really do, but you have a lot to learn. I hope you enjoy the couch tonight, or the solitude of your own bed.”

“You think she’s that mad?” Tenley’s ponytail swished angrily as she headed for the sliding doors that led to the backyard.

“You just gave her a giant hickey because you can’t stand the thought of anyone looking at her but you. Yes. She is that mad.”

“Shit.”

“I’ll go talk to her. In the meantime, find Jamie and stay out of trouble.”

“Okay.” Lisa turned to leave, but I caught her arm. “Wait. Make sure you steer clear of Trina and Erin and Destiny and that other one . . . Cl—” Christ. I was such a fuckwit. I couldn’t even remember the name of the woman I had sex with less than two years ago. “Charity?”