Barber Shop Ink: Always Blue in Memphis

by Penny Blush

  I placed my hands on his chest, feeling the wall of solid muscle below his tight t-shirt. I didn't want to go back to reality I just wanted to stay cocooned within this moment with Memphis, together and forget the rest of the world.

  "I'm happy," I whispered, going up on my tiptoes so that our lips were all but touching, like they were when we were in the kitchen, "here, now, with you like this.”

  A small smile teased the corner of his lips as he slowly ran his hand from my hip, tracing up my spine, sending a shiver through me until he once again held the back of my neck.

  "Hedge," he whispered against my lips, running his thumb along my hairline, his eyes locked on mine.

  I pressed my chest further into his without changing the distance between our lips, as he snaked his other hand from my hip to the small of my back. Watching his eyes darkening, I asked, “Memphis, are you going to kiss me?” my words ghosting across his lips as I breathed.

  “I kissed you in the kitchen,” he said, brushing his smirking lips against me, “it’s your turn.”

  Letting go of my brain-mouth filter, I fisted his t-shirt in my hands, my smile skimming his lips.

  “You did kiss me, in the kitchen Memphis and it was a sweet, little kiss,” my smile going to a full-blown grin. I raised a hand, running it through his beard, dragging my eyes from his full lips to his sparkling eyes adding, "But I used tongue first." That was if you could count the light sweep of my tongue that accidentally brushed his as I licked my lips as using ‘tongue'. "So, you see, by my count, it's your turn."

  “True, very true” his laugh rumbled in his chest as he slid his hand down until it rested on my backside, “that was quite bold of you,” he said, squeezing my ass.

  “What gave you the impression that I was shy?” I gasped at the feeling of his long, powerful fingers digging into my flesh.

  Suppressing a moan, I thought; Well Mr Blue if you want bold, I can be bold. Stepping forward, removing all space between us, our bodies fitting perfectly, his scent and body heat surrounding me. Pushing my hips forward, I ground myself against his arousal feeling just how affected he was.

  Holy-weapons-of-mass-distraction-Batman!

  Memphis let out a deep, rumbling growl. "Okay I take it back, you're not shy, but I did not think you would be this forward," he pushed himself against me, wrapping his hand around my ponytail, giving it a pull.

  I gasped. Memphis had me so unbelievably turned on that I wasn't just wet, I was embarrassingly soaked, and I did not care. I could feel my nipples hardening against the padding of my sports bra, I wanted Memphis, and I wanted him now. I wanted the promised wildly passionate kiss that had been interrupted. I wanted the spine shattering, pussy igniting, multi-orgasm producing, hot as hell, down and dirty, wall banging sex that the fire in his eyes promised. I wanted it all, and I wanted it now.

  “If I want something, someone,” I rotated my hips against him, “I go for it. So much time is wasted waiting for things to happen.” I moaned into his mouth, no longer able to contain myself I dug my hands into his beard, tugging hard.

  "I can't believe you would tease me like this," Memphis growled deep in his throat as his hand slid down the back of my thighs. His long fingers snagging the end of my singlet-dress, raising it as his hands travelled back up, exposing my dark purple lace, cheeky style panties, before grabbing my ass and grinding against me. “Just kiss me already, it’s your turn,” he demanded, moaning against my lips, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

  “NO! It’s your turn,” I protested panting. “You’re only making it…” I rotated my hips, grinding my aching core against the hard steel of his erection, “…Harder on yourself.”

  Pun abso-fucking-lutely intended!

  He was so very hard, and it was making me needy. At this rate, we were going to get each other off while fully clothed, dry humping against a wall. There was no way I was giving in on this kiss-tease. I was having way too much fun. Dirty, sexy, steamy fun!

  Memphis tugged my ponytail again, making me gasp-moan before I locked eyes with him. I raised a challenging eyebrow. Time seemed to stop as I held his gaze, then his eyes blazed. A deep thundering growl tore from his throat as he pushed off the wall grabbing me by the top of my thighs, lifting me until I wrapped my legs around his waist. Kicking off my flip-flops, I locked my ankles behind his back as he turned, slamming me against the wall.

  “You know Sweetness. I think you like me being hard on you,” he smirked as he thrust his arousal against me.

  I couldn’t stop the hard-core porn moan that erupted from deep inside me. How the hell, did we go from awkwardly flirting, to power-dry-humping against the wall of my new home? I didn't know how it happened but fucked if I'm going to stop this.

  “You can be as hard on me as you like, Memphis. Just as long as you are fucking kissing me while you're doing it!" I moaned, trailing a hand down the sculpted planes of his chest. I no longer cared what I sounded like or who heard me. I was so turned on, if he touched me where I needed him to touch me, I would explode.

  “Oh, trust me Baby Girl, I plan on fucking you,” his fingers digging into my ass. His thumbs were sliding under the lace of my panties.

  “Memphis, Baby. Please just kiss me, already,” I begged.

  “You first,” he moaned, grinding on me hard.

  Oh, God! I was so hot and wet. There was no way that the thin lace of my panties contained the desire for him that was dripping from me. I was sure that if you looked at the front of his jeans, you would see evidence of that.

  “Memphis, please I want you. I need you to fuck me like you said you would.”

  I was so very close to orgasming, and Memphis wasn't even inside me. Hell, he hadn't even touched me, and I was going to go off like fireworks on New Year’s Eve. I wanted his hands on me, his lips, and his tongue on me and in me. I wanted to be naked. I wanted him naked. I didn’t want anything between us.

  “Hedge, this needs to come off,” he growled dragging my dress up over my hips.

  “Yes, it does,” I moaned.

  What’s going on? My brain screamed at me. You haven't even kissed, and you want him to what? Fuck you?

  “God, yes!” I replied to my brain out loud, but it also was in response to Memphis and his amazing fingers.

  His hands slid up my back taking my dress with them, massaging as they made their way up to the clasp of my bra.

  Shit! Damn it!

  My bra, my stupid bra was a racer back sports bra. I know those things are designed to keep the girls contained and locked down during exercise, but they are no good during sexy times. There was no way you could get out of one quickly. Getting a sports bra off is a full-blown workout in and of its self. Sports bras, were clearly designed by a man, why? Because they were so God damn frustrating!

  I needed to get my stupid bra off. I need Memphis to have full access to all of me, every single hyper-sensitive inch of my body. My nipples hardened at just the thought of his fingers, hands and his mouth on my breasts. I imagined his tongue tracing sensual circles slowly around the outside of my nipples making them harder and tighter, almost painfully so. His sexy beard would be tickling and scratching me as he slowly kissed a path across my skin.

  "Memphis, hurry up get this stupid thing off me and kiss me," I moaned.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he growled nipping at my earlobe.

  I gripped the back of his head, pulling it back so that he could see the intent in my eyes. “Now damn it! Tear it if you have too.”

  My hand slid down the well-defined muscles of his chest, feeling every ridge, every dip and every valley. I needed him to get this damn shirt off so that I could get my tongue on his skin.

  “Memphis! Dude, are you up there?”

  My roaming hand stopped just as I reached his belt, having been interrupted by my cock-blocking, jerk-bag of a cousin.

  “Ignore him,” I begged, squeezing my legs tighter around Memphis, sliding the belt through the buckle, the snicking sound of the leather sl
ipped against the metal making me moan, “I promise he’ll go away, we just have to ignore him.”

  Wow - Did that needy whining sound just come out of me? I know it's been a while but my God! The sound escaped my lips again, yup that sound came from me. I blame Memphis! It’s entirely his fault. The giant, sexy, mountain man has led me to this, with all his muscley-tattooy-beardy-dorky-sexiness. He’s turned me into a non-kiss getting, non-sex-having, needy-horny-whiny person!

  “But, it might be important,” he said his mountain-man beard brushing against my cheek as he whispered into my ear.

  It might be FUCKING IMPORTANT!!!

  Me winning this little argument and getting Memphis to kiss me is fucking important. I was wound so fucking tightly at this point that I am confident that if he gave in and kissed me if his lips crashed into mine if his tongue duelled with mine that I would erupt. I would cum so hard I’d probably pass out!

  “Memphis, this…” digging my heels into his back, grinding on him hard “…Is Important.”

  “Memphis!?” Jaxon yelled again.

  “What?!” Memphis yelled back in frustration.

  “Dude it's six o'clock. Darcy's here for his appointment."

  “Fuck,” Memphis's urgency to get me naked came to a screeching halt at the mention of a client. He growled in frustration and rested his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry Sweetness, as much as I would love…” smirking he thrust his hardness against me again making me gasp “…to continue this debate that I was clearly winning. I have to go.”

  “Don’t go,” I pleaded, digging my fingers into the hair at the back of his head tugging on it, “stay. You weren’t winning damn it! You were just about to give in!"

  Yep, I sounded like a desperate whore, I knew it, but I didn’t care.

  “It’s a paying client Baby Girl, I have to,” Memphis chuckled at my desperation, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead before stepping back, allowing me to reluctantly untangle myself from him and lower my feet back to the floor.

  “MEMPHIS!”

  Fucking Jaxon I am going to kill him.

  "Jax fuck off! I heard you the first time. I'm coming damn it," Memphis yelled down the stairs.

  “Not before me, you’re not,” I snarled.

  Annnd we are back to having no filter and just blurting stuff out. Again, I blame Memphis. He had me so worked up and hot, I'm convinced that my brain overheated and melted causing some type of damage. I turned my back to where he stood in the doorway; my cheeks burned with the heated blush that started at my chest and rose. I ducked my head so that he wouldn’t see as I put my flip-flops back on.

  “That, Baby Girl, I can guarantee,” Memphis said coming up behind me, taking hold of my hips pulling me into his firm chest and resting his chin on my shoulder. I reached my hand up running my fingers through his beard. Having him hold me like this felt so right and natural like we had been doing this for years. "I really don't want to go, but I really, really have to, if it was anything else but work we wouldn’t have stopped.” He kissed me on the cheek, “I promise we will finish…” Kiss. “…this…” Kiss. “…conversation.” Kiss.

  I was such an emotionally hormonal mess I couldn’t look at him. Between the flirting, the teasing, the touching and the tenderness I no longer knew which way was up. If I looked at Memphis, into his unusually beautiful eyes, I was either going to throw him down on the floor and have my way with him or burst into tears.

  “Hedge,” his voice soft and full of emotion, I still didn’t turn. “Baby Girl,” I turned to find him again standing in the doorway, “I promise you this is not going anywhere. There is something between us, and I am not walking away. I'm just putting it on hold. Besides, you now owe me five kisses,” he smirked, winking at me and just like that, my need to cry dissolved and my desire to throw him on the ground sparked back to life. “Take your time up here but come and see me before you leave, okay.”

  I turned back to the glass balcony doors, looking out over the river. I couldn't bear to watch Memphis go, and so I just stood there listening to his heavy-booted footsteps retreating down the stairs.

  I have lived off the memory of that encounter for the last month, and all it did was make me antsy, horny and sulky. Apart from the few brief minutes that we had managed to snag here and there, the odd touch and an epic amount of workplace inappropriate eye-fucking that we did when we thought no one was looking, Memphis and I, had not managed to have any time alone together since and it was making me cranky.

  Poor Jax copped the brunt of my irritation for the first week following the ‘Great Kiss Debate’. It turns out that revved up, non-kiss getting, non-sex-having Hedge was worse than PMS Hedge. I was irritable, snappy and growling at everyone or I was walking around with a goofy smile on my face, sighing all the time. I was starting to annoy myself. It was part of the reason that I decided that working nights after everyone had gone home was such a good idea.

  I distracted myself with designing the layout of the apartment. I wanted it to be perfect, but I also wanted it to look nothing like my old apartment. If I was going to move on and take my life in a new direction, I didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past things were going to change, starting with where I lived.

  My old apartment was like a country cottage in the city, with lots of wood, stoneware and wrought iron with a clean, simplistic pallet of pale colours, natural fabrics and classic patterns. The only thing that was missing was a view of trees and livestock wandering around the green rolling hills, and you would have thought you were out in the country and not in the middle of the city.

  Memphis had said that I could do anything that I wanted to the apartment and that I should make it my own. When I asked about redoing the kitchen and bathroom, he told me that if I could afford to do it, then I should go for it, then profusely apologised for sounding like a bastard for saying as-long-as I was paying for it. I told him that there was nothing to apologise for and that I didn't expect him to pay for anything, which led to another debate that no one won.

  I had Memphis look over my completed design to see if he had any issues with what I wanted to do; it was his building after all. We were standing back in the apartment with the plans spread out on a folding card table in front of us. Elizabeth, my designer, was popping in and out with samples and design options, so once again we weren't entirely alone, but that didn't stop the flirting or either of us taking advantage of any opportunity to touch each other no matter how innocently or briefly.

  “Hedge this design is fantastic," Memphis said looking over the plans. "I wish that I could help you out. I should at least be paying to put in a proper kitchen and bathroom. My Pops was a simple man. He said that he didn't need anything fancy," shaking his head looking at the kitchenette that was just a sink and a small bench. "Nothing fancy, most people have more amenities when they go camping," he grunted.

  "Memphis its fine, with my insurance payout I have more than enough to do all of this,” I said waving a hand over the plans.

  We had argued more than once about the extent of the designs and the fact that I was willing to pay for everything. Memphis is a prideful man and felt it was his responsibility to pay for what was happening to his building.

  “But you shouldn’t have to,” he replied running a hand down my arm, “this place is my responsibility. I should be doing all this for you,” his hand captured mine is thumb drawing lazy circles on my skin. “It’s just I don’t want you to think that I am taking advantage of you or your money,” he gave me a quick, embarrassed smile.

  "Memphis …." I had started before he cut me off.

  "Looking at everything that needs doing, no one who didn’t have a vested interest the place would do this. I don't know why you would bother and blow all your money on this place. A place that you don't own, it just doesn't make sense to me."

  “Memphis, will you please stop stressing about it, it is fine. I offered, and I wouldn't be spending my money if I didn't want to."

 
“I just don’t get it, it’s a big, dusty space over a row of shops, it’s nothing special, and I’m sure you have better things to spend your money on,” he muttered.

  “It is special Memphis. I can see a lot of potential in this place, in Barber Shop Ink, and in you,” I said bumping him with my hip.

  “A potential disaster maybe,” he chuckled, “on all accounts.”

  "Honestly Memphis you are on to a good thing here. You've just been trying to do it all at once and all by yourself for so long it’s no longer fun for you. You see it as a burden,” I turned into him running the back of my hand against the bristles of his bearded cheek. “I want you to see the fun in everything again Memphis, let me help you."

  He turned his face placing a soft kiss on my palm. “It still doesn’t seem right. You have no financial interest in any of this, but you're putting in all this time, effort and money into it,” he dropped his gaze, but not before I caught the look of wounded pride in his eyes.

  I tipped his chin so that he was staring at me again, "Memphis if it makes you feel better you can pay me back. Things will turn around for you, and before you know it, you'll be making so much money you can pay me back ten times over, okay," I smiled at him. "You’ve already helped me out so much. Let me return the favour and do this for you, let me help."

  Memphis took my hand placing a kiss on my palm and on the inside of my wrist. “Okay fine. But, I am paying you back every cent yeah. That's a guarantee, and I don't want any argument from you okay. If I let you do this for me to help me out and make the changes in the apartment and the shop that needs to be done to bring everything up to scratch you have let me do this. I'm not in the habit of owing people, I pay my debts, and I’m paying you back."

  “Sure Memphis,” I smiled dropping the issue.

  He was letting me live in the apartment rent free for as long as I wanted. The potential rent that he could earn in a year this area alone would be enough to cover the renovation costs, so I’m the one getting the better deal.