[Men of Inked 01.0 - 03.0] Boxed Set

by Chelle Bliss

  “Sunset Beach for dinner.” He adjusted and gripped the steering wheel tightly as he glanced at my legs.

  “There isn’t a restaurant there.”

  “I know.” Resting his arm behind my head, he backed out of the drive.

  I uncrossed my legs and shifted in my seat, and he glanced down before looking back toward the road.

  “What did you do today?” he asked.

  “Worked at the free clinic in town, and you?”

  “I worked out and went to the shop for a couple hours. Tell me about the clinic.”

  I told him about the work we did, and the residents in the county that lacked simple things like medicine and insurance. He listened intently and asked questions throughout our conversation.

  “Kids too?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

  “They’re the saddest to see.” I frowned, looking out the window.

  He rested his hand on my knee and squeezed, causing a wave of warmth to emanate through my body. “I never knew there was such a problem.”

  “Homelessness and poverty is pervasive in this area, Michael. Underemployment is almost an epidemic.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” His eyes were soft when he looked at me, waiting for the traffic light.

  “Not unless you have a medical degree.” I laughed.

  “Don’t have that, but there has to be another way I can help. My family does a lot of charity work. My parents are huge in helping people in the area.”

  “Maybe. We do have a small fundraiser coming up. Last year we raised ten thousand dollars, which helped us update some of the equipment in the clinic, but there’s so much more that’s needed.”

  I didn’t really want to ask for his help, but if his family already helped organizations in the area, I couldn’t turn it down.

  “I honestly have never heard of it. I’m sure my family would love to help.”

  “It’s very kind of you, Michael.” I smiled at him. His kindness made me feel giddy.

  “I’ve always had a soft spot for kids.”

  “Do you have any of your own?” I didn’t want to pry, but I wanted to know his situation.

  Did he have a crazy-ass ex or a gaggle of kids running around all over town that I needed to be aware of before we went any further?

  “No kids, you?”

  “No, I barely have time to date with work, let alone have a child.”

  “You shouldn’t work so much, Mia. Life’s too short not to enjoy it.”

  Staring out the window, I thought about his words. I did enjoy my life, didn’t I? “I do enjoy my life,” I said without conviction.

  “Are you telling me or trying to convince yourself?” he asked, as we pulled into the deserted parking lot.

  “Where’s everyone? I’ve never seen the parking lot empty before.”

  “It’s closed for a private event.”

  Giving him a confused look, I asked, ‘Then why are we here?”

  He turned off the engine and turned toward me. “I rented the beach for tonight. It’s all ours.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” I said as he climbed out of the truck. “Does this man know how to do anything small?” I mumbled, as I reached down and removed my heels before he opened the door.

  “Great idea,” he said as he looked at my feet. He kicked off his dress shoes and threw them on the driver’s-side floor before helping me down.

  A small white canopy sat in the distance, near the edge of the crashing waves. The sand felt hot on my soles, the sun still beating against the small glass crystals. It was like walking on warm pillows as it squished between my toes.

  “Thank you,” I said as I stared at the waves crashing against the shore.

  “For what?” he asked, sliding his hand into mine.

  “The beach at sunset. It’s one of my favorite places and I rarely get to come here.” I squeezed his hand, feeling completely at peace.

  “It’s one of my favorites, too. Great for thinking and getting away from it all,” he said as we approached the canopy.

  A small, round table was in the middle, decorated with a white linen tablecloth, fine white china, wine glasses, and candles. The floor was the warm sand, and a chandelier hung from the beams. Soft music filled the air, along with the warm breeze flowing off the ocean waves.

  It may have been the single most romantic date I’d ever had.

  “You did all this in a couple hours?” I asked, in shock.

  “I have mad skills, and connections don’t hurt either.” He laughed.

  “I may have underestimated you, Michael,” I said as I kissed his cheek and inhaled his musky scent, mixed with the salty ocean air.

  “Most people do,” he said as he pulled out my chair.

  Leaning over, I brushed my fingers against his cheek. “You’re sweet,” I said, wanting to kiss him.

  Grabbing my hand, he planted a sensual kiss on the inside of my wrist, making my knees feel weak. If he kept this up, my panties would be wetter than the sand after high tide.

  “Thanks,” I said, sitting as I brushed the bottom of my dress against my legs.

  Michael lifted my chair off the ground, tucking my legs under the table before taking a seat across from me.

  A man dressed in a tuxedo poured champagne and smiled at us both.

  Michael looked at me, raising his glass. “A toast,” he said, tilting his head.

  I grabbed my glass, holding it up to his.

  “To new beginnings.” He clinked his glass against mine.

  That was the second time he’d used that phrase. A warm, gooey feeling oozed through my body as I sipped the champagne, letting the tiny bubbles pop on my tongue. We had run into each other less than forty-eight hours ago, but I felt comfortable with him—content.

  I placed the glass on the table. “Tell me more about you,” I said, rubbing my fingertips across the crystal stem.

  “What would you like to know?” he asked, as he motioned to the gentleman.

  “Are you a piercer or a fighter?”

  Two dishes were placed in front of us. Each contained a mouth-watering steak with asparagus and a baked potato. The man grabbed my napkin off the table and placed it on my lap.

  Looking at him, I smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

  “My pleasure,” he said, before walking away and making himself busy.

  “I’m part-owner in the tattoo shop. I don’t have the artistic ability that the rest of my siblings have, so I learned everything I could about piercing. I’ve been doing it for years. I couldn’t tattoo even if I wanted to. My hands get pretty messed up sometimes after a fight.”

  “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that you let someone hit you.”

  “Only if they’re fast enough,” he said as he laughed.

  “Why?” I cut into my steak, avoiding his gaze.

  “It’s a rush, Mia. I can’t explain it, but it’s the greatest high ever.”

  “I still think it’s barbaric.”

  “Street fighting is barbaric, not MMA matches. We both know what’s going to happen. It’s sport.”

  “Softball is a sport and much safer,” I said, placing the steak on my tongue.

  He laughed, and it was so genuine that it warmed my body from the inside out. “It’s a sport for girls. No offense to you.”

  “None taken,” I said as I waved my fork in the air. “Sexist, but I wouldn’t expect anything less.” I laughed, covering my mouth with the back of my hand.

  “Hey, now. My sister would kick my ass if she thought I was sexist.”

  “Oh? Tell me about her. She sounds like my type of girl.” I giggled.

  “Yeah, you and Izzy would get along very well. She’s the baby in the family, but we’re all scared of her. She’s an in your face kind of girl. She takes no shit, but I guess that happens when you grow up with four brothers.”

  “She’s lucky. Sounds like a great way to grow up.”

  “She’d see it differently.”


  “Why?” I asked with a frown. “I’m an only child, and I always wanted someone to play with as a kid.”

  “She didn’t get many dates as a teenager.” He laughed. “We scared most of them away.”

  “I could only imagine, but she was lucky to have brothers that cared.”

  “You’ll have to tell her that.”

  “So, there are three more of you walking around?”

  “Yeah. We’re all very different. My brother Thomas is an undercover cop, Anthony likes to call himself a musician, and Joseph is just a tattooist.”

  “Your poor mother.” I shook my head and sipped the champagne.

  “She kept trying for a girl, which she got after four boys. Now she wants grandchildren.” He smirked at me.

  “Oh.” My stomach flipped from the look on his face.

  He was so drop-dead gorgeous, I’d almost be willing to drop my panties and start working on making her dream a reality.

  “Enough about kids. Tell me about your family, Mia.” He wiped his mouth and set his napkin on the table.

  “My parents are snowbirds, and right now they’re back in Minnesota. It’s just me here, but I would never move back to the freezing cold.”

  “Cold has some good points.” He rested his head on his hands and watched me as I cut the last piece of steak on my plate.

  “Like what?”

  “Lying by a fire and being snowed in together.”

  “Those are the only positives. I think more of scraping my car windows, shoveling snow, frostbite, and other crappy things that go with Minnesota life.”

  We stared at each other as I chewed the last morsel and finished off the champagne in the glass. The sun hovered over the ocean, and the sky blazed with the most beautiful shades of red and orange.

  He stood, holding out his hand. “Come on, Mia, let’s go watch the sunset.”

  “I thought we were,” I said, placing my hand in his, feeling the electricity that sizzled between us.

  “I want to be a little more comfortable for the show. I have a blanket that’s calling our name.”

  Walking hand in hand, we snuck glances at each other as we approached the blanket. Suddenly I felt shy, and my stomach flipped as I sat down and he moved behind me.

  “Come here,” he said, placing his legs on either side of me and grabbing my hips.

  I closed my eyes, inhaling sharply from the feel of his fingers digging into my flesh. I shimmied my body backward until our upper bodies connected. The warmth that permeated off him felt hotter than the setting sun hanging just above the horizon.

  “Lean back, Mia,” he whispered in my ear, sending a chill across my skin.

  Placing my hands against his knees, I rested my head on his shoulder and stared at the sky. Peace overcame me as I sat straddled between his legs; our bodies connected, and we watched the changing colors over the water. His fingers traced a path around my ear to my neck and brushed the hair off my shoulder.

  “It’s so beautiful,” I said as tears formed in my eyes.

  “Not as beautiful as you. Are you crying?” he asked with knitted brows.

  “I don’t know,” I said, laughing and wiping at the corners.

  “Do you want me to take you home?” His lips brushed against my temple as he watched me.

  “No,” I said quickly.

  “Then what’s wrong, doc?” He wrapped his arm around my chest and gripped my shoulder.

  “I’m going to sound crazy.”

  Damn it. How could I explain the peace and happiness I felt without sounding like a total wack job?

  “I’d rather know than sit here and wonder why I’ve made you cry,” he said, stroking my collarbone with his thumb.

  I shook my head and sighed, relaxing against his body. “I’m stressed out after work, and sometimes it takes me days to shake off what I’ve seen at the hospital. It’s been a long time since I felt truly at peace, but being here, in your arms and watching the sunset with the sound of the waves, I feel it—serenity that I haven’t been able to find in so long.”

  “I can’t imagine the things you’ve seen.” He pulled my body closer, wrapping his arms around me, making me feel safe and secure, enveloped by his warmth and muscle.

  “You don’t want to, Michael. The people I’ve lost haunt me at night. I can’t remember the last time I slept without a nightmare or sleeping pills.” I placed my hand on his arm and squeezed. “So to have this brief moment where I’m reminded of the world’s beauty and feel like only the two of us exist brings tears to my eyes. You chased away the demons, if only for a little while.” I stared across the water, watching the sky turn purple as the sun kissed the edge of the world.

  “Stay in the here and now. Nothing else matters but the two of us, on this beach, in each other’s arms. I’m not going anywhere, are you?”

  “We can’t stay like this forever,” I said, turning my face toward him.

  “I’ll stay as long as you need to help chase away your nightmares, Mia.” Grabbing my chin, he pulled my mouth to his.

  We stared at each other, and I searched his eyes. They were soft and kind and made my heart feel funny. Michael Gallo did not fit the mold of fighter bad boy. He was a romantic, and made me feel like the only person that mattered in the world.

  My body ignited as his lips pressed against mine. He glided his hands across my shoulder until they rested against my throat. My heart danced under his fingertips as he kissed me softly.

  Our eyes remained open as I turned in his arms and straddled him. Our breathy moans and the lapping of the waves on the shore were the only sounds, as his kiss became more demanding and I opened to him.

  I never wanted to kiss someone as much as I wanted Michael to ravage my mouth and put his hands all over my body. The power of his grip on my back as I kissed him had me wanting more. Pushing him back against the blanket, I sat up and stared down at him, as his hands slid up my legs and caressed my hips.

  As I leaned forward, my hair sheltered us from the world as it cascaded around his head. “Make me forget, Michael,” I whispered.

  His hand stilled. Squeezing my thighs, he leaned forward and nipped at my lips. I collapsed against his chest, my nipples hardening with the contact. His cock grew hard and I gasped in his mouth.

  “Sorry, doc. Some things I can’t control,” he mumbled against my lips.

  His hands roamed my body as our lips and tongues stayed entwined. Fisting his hair in my hands, I demanded to be kissed harder. My body ached for his touch. I wanted to be filled and feel alive, as I ground myself against him to relieve the throb I hadn’t felt in so long.

  A small moan escaped his lips, as he grabbed my hips, his fingers digging into my flesh.

  “Not here, Michael. Not like this,” I whispered, leaning over him.

  “I wasn’t even thinking about it, Mia.” He looked in my eyes as he pulled my face closer to his. “You want to stay or do you want me to take you home?”

  I wanted to stay on the beach in his arms all night, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready to give myself to him, and I knew the longer I kissed him the more I’d want to.

  “Take me home,” I whispered against his lips, still feeling his hardness against me. A lump formed in my throat as I questioned my decision.

  Sitting up, he adjusted my body, breaking the contact that had almost driven us over the edge. “Just promise me that you’ll see me again.”

  The lump that had formed in my throat disappeared, and was replaced by warmth that flowed throughout my body. Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against his and listened to his breathing—rapid and jagged. “I’d love to, Michael. Thank you.”

  “What are you thanking me for?” he asked, backing away.

  “For not pressuring me and still wanting to see me after I turned you down.”

  “Mia,” he said as he grabbed my face, “if anything, it made me want to see you more. I didn’t think that was even possible. I like you a lot, and we’ll do things at your pace and
when you feel comfortable. I didn’t do all this just to get in your panties.”

  “But you were hoping to,” I said as I smiled, my face growing flushed.

  “I won’t lie. I can’t wait to rip those off of you and feel your body against mine. It’s worth the wait. You’re worth the wait,” he said, holding my cheek in his hand.

  I smiled, resting my hand against his chest. “Want me to take care of that with my needle?” I asked with a smirk, and pointed to his crotch.

  His grip on my arms grew tight. “Don’t ever, and I mean ever, talk about my cock and your needle again, doc. It was funny at the bar, but right now, not as much.” He laughed, his body shaking under mine. “Come on, let’s go before you get any more crazy ideas.”

  I kissed him tenderly, still laughing, as he picked me up and carried me from the beach. Michael wasn’t the cocky bastard I thought when I first met him—well, not entirely.

  I looked at him in a new light after our first date. There was more to the man, and I wanted to know every inch of him.

  9

  Michael

  It had been a week since I’d seen Mia, and I was at my breaking point. I needed to touch her again. We spent the time apart talking on the phone, texting, and learning a lot about each other.

  I found out silly things, like her favorite color, which was purple, and that she loved listening to music and dancing around her house.

  When she talked about her work, her mood usually changed. “Happiness” wasn’t a word I’d use to describe her feelings about her job. The ER seemed to suck the life out of her. When she lost a patient, she’d share her feelings of despair with me.

  It was like a punch to my gut, more damaging than any blow I’d ever felt. I couldn’t imagine working in a place that was filled with sorrow.

  But when she talked about the clinic, the entire conversation oozed happiness. I heard the change in her voice as she told me about the people and how she felt like she made a difference.

  Me: Why don’t you just work there full-time? It seems to make you happy.

  Sitting on my parents’ couch, I tried to pay attention to the conversations around me as I texted Mia. Football season had ended, the basketball playoffs were wrapping up, and baseball season became the main after-dinner attraction at the Gallo Sunday dinners.