Inked on Paper

by Nicole Edwards

  I watched as she turned away, then pivoted back to look at me as though confused. Another smile tugged at her mouth, and she spun away again, this time going to one of the stations and grabbing her coat.

  On her way back to the front, she turned to the other tattoo artist. “Gil, I’m going out. I’ll be back for my bike later.”

  “Sure thing. See you at home?”

  Home? I looked at Presley, then back at Gil. They lived together?

  But…

  If that was true, then that meant Presley … lived down the hall from me?

  Presley Abrams was my neighbor?

  No fucking way.

  “Yeah,” she told Gil. “But no orgies tonight, cool?”

  Gil’s smile widened as he looked up at Presley briefly.

  He was the roommate who liked screamers?

  Based on the giggling still going on in the corner, I got the feeling he’d found his next conquest.

  When Presley approached, I allowed her to pass me and then followed. Reaching over her, I pushed open the door and followed her out onto the sidewalk. The street was quiet, although there were a few people out tonight. Nothing compared to how it would be tomorrow night, but we weren’t alone.

  “Did you have a place in mind?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets to keep from reaching for her hand. For some strange reason, I wanted to hold her hand in mine, to feel the smoothness of her skin against my palm. Fuck, what I really wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and feel her heartbeat against me.

  Somehow I refrained.

  “Yep,” she confirmed, peering up at me, still looking somewhat cautious. “Just a few blocks down. You don’t mind walking, do you?”

  At this point, I didn’t care if she wanted to walk twenty miles. Being with her… I hadn’t felt this good in a long damn time. “I’m good.”

  “How’s the book coming along?” she asked as we strolled side by side up Fifth.

  “I’ve taken up playing tic-tac-toe,” I admitted, peering down at her.

  Her smile was sweet. “Maybe we should play together.”

  If she didn’t stop that, I was going to have some major chafing going on because my dick was already stirring to life. I knew she hadn’t meant that the way it sounded, but seriously, my hand simply wasn’t doing it for me these days, and after the quick taste I’d had of her last night, I was definitely in the mood for more of her. And since I wouldn’t be able to be with another woman until I could get this one out of my system, I knew I would only get more painful as the night wore on.

  Not that I wasn’t willing to suffer.

  Just being around her was enough for me right now.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Presley

  The walk to the all-night ice cream parlor didn’t take long, but with every step, I was incredibly aware of Jake. His scent—something woodsy and masculine that made me want to bury my nose in his neck and breathe him in—drifted on the breeze, and I couldn’t help but inhale it. The sound of his breathing and the deep rumble of his voice… Needless to say, it was a good thing we didn’t have far to go.

  When we reached the parlor, once again, Jake opened the door for me, allowing me to enter first. I led him through the restaurant toward a table in the back. The place was relatively busy, but there were plenty of seats available.

  “You been here before?” I asked him when we slid into a booth, trying to pretend that this wasn’t incredibly awkward. Truth was, I’d never had a one-night stand before, and I would’ve never expected to have a follow-up date after one, either.

  Jake shook his head, his eyes on me.

  “What can I get you, hon?” the waitress asked when she approached, drawing my attention away from the sexy man sitting across from me. I peered up at her and smiled.

  The menu was beneath the glass on the table, so I perused it momentarily. “I’ll take a rocky road milkshake with extra marshmallows.”

  “Soy or regular?” she inquired.

  “Soy.”

  “And you, sugar?” the woman asked Jake.

  “The same, but regular. Not soy.”

  “Coming right up.”

  “Thanks,” Jake told her as she hurried off. He turned those blue-green eyes on me. “Vegan?”

  I nodded. “I’m actually allergic to dairy and eggs, and since I don’t eat meat … it kinda worked out that way.”

  “Makes sense,” he said, resting his elbows on the table and focusing his full attention on me.

  For some strange reason, I liked the way he looked at me. As though he wanted to figure me out, and not just what my underwear looked like, though the heat in his gaze was unmistakable. I felt that all the way to my toes.

  There was an intense attraction there; neither of us would be able to deny that. But still, the way he looked at me was different than a lot of men. In my line of work, I’d encountered all different types. The ones who looked at me as though I were a leper because of the tattoos and piercings, others who seemed worried that I didn’t know what I was doing because I was a woman. Then of course there were those who thought that, along with a tattoo, they were going to get something else from me.

  Jake didn’t seem to have any presumptions, nor did it seem as though he’d formed an opinion of me yet, which intrigued me.

  “So, do you live in the city?” he asked, his eyes roaming over my face slowly.

  And now the awkwardness was back… Considering we’d already slept together, the getting-to-know-you part should’ve been out of the way, yet it wasn’t.

  I frowned. “I … uh…” I was confused. “I live next door to you. I thought you knew that.” I’d specifically told Gavin not to say anything, but I honestly thought Jake had figured it out.

  Jake shook his head. “I knew Gavin and Gil did, but didn’t realize you did. Not until Gil mentioned it back at the shop.”

  I smiled. Interesting. “Well, I do. And I actually met you before I actually met you.”

  A crease marred his forehead.

  “The orgy from the other night. You were sitting in my chair.”

  “Ah, hell,” he grumbled. “I swear I didn’t touch those women.”

  Unable to help myself, I laughed. “I already knew that. Gavin told me.”

  “You’ve only been there, what, a couple of weeks?”

  “A little over a month now,” I confirmed. “But I’ve lived down here for about three years, right before…” Wow, I hadn’t intended to get so personal so quickly, but I found myself doing just that. “About a year before my father died, actually. I rented an apartment close to the shop, lived with Gavin for a while. Then Gil moved in with us a couple of years ago. I finally decided it was time to grow up, so I bought a condo. They now live with me. You?”

  “Grew up north of Austin, lived in an apartment when I first moved out, then rented a house not far from here for several years until a couple of years after I got my first book deal. At that point, I moved to New York.”

  “New York? That’s … a long way from here.”

  “I was trying to expand my horizons, see different things.”

  “So why’d you come back?”

  Jake’s eyes dropped to the table and I knew he didn’t want to share the reason.

  “It’s personal,” I said for him. “I get it.”

  “My family needed me,” he said, but he didn’t explain.

  “So, this author gig … pays well then?” I wasn’t digging, just trying to make conversation.

  “It can, sure. I’ve been incredibly lucky.” He frowned. “Helps if I can produce something.”

  I could feel his pain. “Maybe it’s in the air, a freak particle that’s zapped our focus. Maybe we’re only two of the millions currently wandering around trying to figure it all out.”

  He seemed to consider that for a moment. “Or it’s an alien life-force. They’ve beamed down here and sucked all the creativity out.”

  I laughed at that. I could tell he was kidding, but still, I li
ked that his mind had veered off the same as mine. “Or…” I smiled, meeting his gaze. “The CIA has determined a way to monitor imagination and has put a hold on it, for fear we’ll become too powerful.”

  “Or…” Jake grinned. “Amazon has found a way to control everything, including our creativity.”

  “That does make sense. Amazon is in the process of taking over the world.” I was laughing when the waitress returned with our milkshakes, her eyes wandering back and forth between us before she gave a small smile and disappeared again. “It could simply be the matrix,” I told him, trying to sound serious. “They’ve temporarily unplugged us, leaving us to drift aimlessly around until they’re ready to hook us back up.”

  “Could be,” Jake said, pointing his spoon at me as though I were on to something.

  I sipped my milkshake and snagged one of the marshmallows from the top and popped it into my mouth. “You have family here?”

  “My sister and my niece live in Austin. And my mother and stepfather live in Round Rock.”

  The way he said stepfather told me there was a story there. “Not a fan of the stepfather?”

  “Haven’t been a fan of any of them, really.” He seemed to relax, leaning back and resting his arm across the back of the booth. The move made the thin, navy-blue sweater stretch across his chest, accentuating the muscles there.

  “More than one? Tell me more.”

  “Alan is number nine.” He smiled while shaking his head slightly. “He’s only three and a half years older than me.”

  Nine? Holy fuck. Opting not to zero in on that particular detail, I asked, “Which makes him how old?” I didn’t care that I was fishing, although I already knew his age, and the lopsided grin he offered said he knew I was.

  “Alan’s thirty-nine. Forty in July.”

  “And your mother?”

  “Fifty-five.”

  “Good for her. Snagging a younger man.”

  “Oh, he’s not the youngest one she’s snagged,” Jake said with a rough chuckle.

  “I guess I can see how that could be creepy.” Really creepy.

  “And what about you? I read somewhere you started tattooing at eighteen.”

  That got my attention and pulled another smile. “I did. Gavin actually taught me, though it isn’t something he does often. I played around with the idea of doing something else with my life for a while, but realized tattooing is all I ever wanted to do. So, I apprenticed under this really cool chick Gavin introduced me to and the rest is history.”

  Jake watched me and I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew he’d been trying to find out my age, which I had purposely held back.

  “Fine,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m twenty-eight.”

  Jake laughed, a dark, reverberating sound that I felt deep in my core.

  “Good to know. You have other family here? You mentioned your father died.”

  I nodded, trying not to let the sadness consume me. I still had a really hard time talking about my father. “And no, no other family. My grandparents all passed away. My mother did the honorable thing by having me, but when I was born, she took off, leaving my father to raise me.”

  “Do you see her?”

  “Nope. Never met her. My dad always told me he’d find her for me if I wanted.” I waved it off.

  “You never wanted to meet her?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Sure, I’ve been tempted more than once, but for some reason, I always assumed I’d only be disappointed, so I haven’t bothered.”

  Jake nodded, as though understanding. “My father moved on to greener pastures when I was two,” he explained. “He lives in Circle C. Has a wife and three kids.”

  “You see him?”

  Jake shook his head, leaned forward, and sipped his milkshake. I couldn’t help but look at the way his lips wrapped around the straw. I was once again transfixed by his mouth. He had nice lips.

  When our eyes met, I realized he’d noticed I was staring at him. A warmth settled in my belly when his eyes heated, practically glowing as he stared back at me. The same way he’d been looking at me last night when he’d told me he wanted to kiss me.

  Suddenly, I wished I had my sketch pad so I could draw his eyes.

  “Any siblings?” he asked, pushing up the sleeves on his sweater, revealing…

  Momentarily mesmerized, I glanced at the sleeve tattoo on his left arm. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat that I realized I’d been staring. I secretly wondered if there was more ink on his body, because obviously I’d been way off.

  “Nice,” I said, pointing toward his arm with my spoon, which earned me a knowing grin from him. Okay, so I hadn’t pegged him for the tattoo type. Sue me. “And no. It was just me and my dad.”

  “What did he do for a living?”

  It was still hard to talk about my father. I missed him so much. He’d always been such a strong presence in my world. I’d lived with him until about a year before he died, not because I had to but because I’d wanted to. If I’d known I hadn’t had much more time with him, I never would’ve left. He’d suffered a heart attack, which had stolen him from me. However, I kept all of that information to myself.

  “He was a mechanic.”

  “Cars?”

  “Anything, really,” I told him. “He restored Harleys on the side. We worked on them together.”

  “Ah. Bike,” he mumbled.

  I frowned, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

  “You told Gil you’d be back for your bike. You meant motorcycle.”

  I smiled.

  Jake leaned forward, his voice low as he said, “I’m not gonna lie. I find that hot as hell.”

  I laughed, enjoying his straightforwardness. It seemed with him, I would always know where I stood.

  And that… That was not a bad thing.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Jake

  Two hours passed while I sat at that ice cream shop with Presley, and during that time, I’d secretly hoped the night would never have to end. Perhaps that made me sound like a pussy, but it was the truth. Knowing I would be going back to my condo only to stare at the blank page made it easy to pretend we could’ve sat there for hours, talking and laughing.

  Did I mention she had the sweetest laugh?

  And maybe we could’ve stayed right there in our own little piece of the night, but when Presley yawned, I knew I needed to get her back home. We’d long ago finished our milkshakes and moved on to coffee, but it was obvious she needed some rest.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “You noticed that, huh?” She smiled, her gray eyes glittering. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. There’s always tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow, huh?” Her smile widened.

  And the next night, and the one after that…

  This woman… I could sit here all night long and just watch her. She was very expressive. The way she watched people, the way she spoke, even the way she looked at me. It seemed that everything she was thinking was written right there on her face.

  “Come on,” I urged, moving to the edge of my seat and getting up. I waited for her to do the same, then helped her into her coat before pulling mine on. I’d already paid the bill, but I pulled a twenty out of my wallet and tossed it on the table.

  “Thanks for the milkshake,” she said when we made it outside onto the sidewalk that would lead us back to the tattoo shop.

  “Anytime.” And I meant that. I wanted to see her again.

  Before we made it far, Presley looked up at me. “Would you mind just walking me home? It’s closer, and I can get my bike in the morning.”

  “Not at all,” I told her.

  We walked in silence for a few minutes, and this time I was bold enough that I took her hand, reveling in the softness of her palm against mine. The closer we got to our building, the less I wanted to get there.

  I continued to replay our conversation over and over in my head. Although it had started out a lit
tle awkward—I’d never engaged in a one-night stand and then sought the woman out afterward—things had progressed. I didn’t want last night to be a one-time-only thing with Presley and I needed to tell her that.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I stopped on the sidewalk.

  “Something wrong?” she asked, looking around as though trying to find the threat.

  “Yeah,” I told her, swallowing hard before I led her around to the side of one of the buildings.

  Her eyes widened as she stared up at me, the shadows engulfing us completely.

  “About last night—”

  Presley cut me off before I could say more. “Please don’t. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I do.” I kept my voice firm, cupping her face and tilting her head so she had to look at me. “I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed when you left.”

  “It was a mistake,” she whispered, but I could see in her eyes she didn’t really think that.

  “It wasn’t a mistake,” I countered. “Not by a long shot. And I want it to happen again.” I continued quickly before she could interrupt. “But not until you’re ready. We can start over.”

  “Start over? Isn’t that a little awkward?”

  “Not for me it isn’t.”

  She didn’t say anything, but I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

  “Presley…” My eyes drifted down to her lips. “I…”

  I had intended to tell her that I wanted to kiss her, wanting to seek her permission, but the words never came out. The next thing I knew, I had pressed her up against the wall, my mouth on hers. Her hand released mine and I thought she was going to push me away. Instead, she shoved her hands beneath my jacket, pulling me closer until I was crushing her between the brick wall and my body.

  “Jake,” she moaned against my mouth.

  That did it for me. I lost every ounce of control I had, slamming my mouth over hers in a brutal kiss that stole the air from my lungs and hers. Presley returned the kiss, her tongue thrusting against mine, her fingers jerking my shirt up, sliding beneath. When her cold hands hit my overheated skin, I hissed but didn’t pull away.

  Fuck.

  I’d wanted to kiss her lips since the minute I’d seen her in the coffee shop, and the few minutes I’d had last night hadn’t been nearly enough. I’d relived every second, remembering what her mouth had felt like against mine, but this was so much better. The cold metal on her lip piercing slid against my lip, the barbell in her tongue hitting my tongue. God, she was so fucking sweet, her body warm, pliant as she strained against me, trying to pull me closer, though we were as close as we could get. While dressed, anyway.