I wait on edge as Paisley inspects every inch of Needle and Ink.
Kai puts down his magazine and looks up at me. In an effort to feign nonchalance, I go to greet my best friend while Paisley continues to look around the shop.
“Hey, how’s it been going today?”
“I think Teagan is trying to set a world record for most tattoos before noon. She has over ten appointments today. She’s trying to pull her weight with the income loss from UT. My hands are cramping watching her. What brings you two here?” While he speaks, I watch Paisley from the corner of my eye. The music throughout the room thumps in my veins. I’ve missed being here. The creativity about inking someone’s skin and permanently giving them a piece of my art has always been therapeutic to me. I need to get back in here more for myself and so Teagan isn’t slaving away all day, like she is today.
“Paisley is going to get some ink.”
“She better be covering up that God-awful excuse for a tattoo on her back then!” Nothing about Paisley could be God-awful. While the lines are jagged and the work is visibly amateur, it’s a part of her and a part of her story. There is nothing God-awful about that. While we’ll be covering it up today, that’s her choice, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s necessary. If she wants it gone, then it’s gone.
“Shut the fuck up and go see if Teagan needs anything. Make yourself useful instead of sitting around all day.” Used to my surly mood swings, Kai doesn’t bat an eye at the harshness of my tone. He stands, mumbles something about pussy rotting my brain, and leaves to assumedly go check on Teagan. He ruffles Paisley’s hair as he strolls by her and says something I can’t make out. When I can no longer see him, Paisley returns to me.
“This place is great! The artwork is amazing.”
I pull her to me and kiss her once more. Keeping my hands off her is hard work.
“You ready?”
The overwhelming need to touch her has my hands wandering down her back. The tips of my fingers advance south until my hands reach the bottom of her back pockets and I’m able to cup her ass, giving me the leverage to pull her fully against me.
“More than ready.”
Reluctantly taking my hands off her ass, I head to my tattoo room and close the door behind us once we’re both inside. Tattooing Paisley feels personal. We’re not alone in the shop, so I’d rather close the others out. I want to hear every noise she makes as my needle touches her skin. I want to see her every reaction while I work. I set up as she makes herself comfortable on my tattoo table. She crosses and then uncrosses her legs. Her fingers drum aimlessly against her thighs as she watches me.
“Are you nervous?” I question her fidgety behavior.
“Nervous excited. Is it weird that I’m turned on because you’re about to do this?”
Hell no! I spill some ink as she tells me she’s turned on by this. Paisley being turned on by anything involving her and me could never be anything but hot. “No, and my dick jumped at your words. Careful or we’ll be using this room for something entirely different than tattooing.”
“Couldn’t we do both?” Paisley looks to the small window that looks out to the rest of the shop. She stands from the table and moves to the door. Once she pushes the lock, her next move is to lower the blinds to the window. I freeze my actions and watch her. With the blinds lowered she removes her shirt then drops her hands to the button on her shorts. In under a minute she stands before me in Converse and a matching lacy bra and an unreasonably small pair of panties.
“These walls are extremely thin, ya know? If we do this, then there is a good chance everyone out there will hear.” Never before in my life have I told a girl something that might talk her out of fucking me, but Paisley is different. I need to know she’s okay with that before I can move forward.
“Well then, I guess I’ll have to try to keep quiet. Although, I’m not sure that’s ever possible with you inside me.” She kicks off her shoes, lowers her thong, and unclasps her bra. Before me, completely exposed, she walks over to the table I still sit beside, and with zero hesitation, she bends over with her ass in the air and spreads her legs.
Seeing her bent over the table like that has me abandoning my equipment without another thought. Still in my rolling chair I move to sit directly behind her, which gives me a perfect view of her ass and her pussy. We should make this quick given where we are and what we’re really here for, but I can’t pass up the chance to work her up, tease her, and also feel her come against my tongue.
My hands skim up the insides of her legs, and she struggles to be patient as I take my time. With a nudge of my foot, I urge her to open her legs wider. With two fingers, I spread her already wet lips and use my other to feel the warmth and spread the wetness. My hands move to her ass, as my face lowers and my mouth hovers over her pussy.
I’m an ass man, and this position is more than working for me. I bring my mouth down on her and cover her completely with my lips as my hands knead her backside. I expose her by spreading her cheeks and run my fingers over every inch of delicate skin I can touch as my tongue moves back and forth between her folds. Her taste fills my mouth as her excitement grows. She squirms against the table as I lick and suck on her relentlessly. I’m selfish, and I want to taste her, but we need to be quicker than normal because of our location. The taste of her tells me she’s close.
My hand rubs against her ass cheek before pulling away and swiftly bringing my hand back against her skin. Her body slightly jumps, but she doesn’t get far with my hands on her. I rub against the same skin, and she lets out a sensual moan I’m pretty sure others in the shop can hear. “Shhh. Quiet.” I accentuate my point with another firm smack of my hand against her skin. She moans with her mouth against her arm, muffling her sound, as I taste her come on my lips. Before she can recover, I abruptly stand and grab on to her hips.
I release myself from my jeans without bothering to take them off. My hand slides up the skin of her back as I sink inside her with one hard thrust. She pushes back against me, and it only encourages me to take her faster, harder.
I pull almost all the way out and slam back into her over and over again. I lift one of her legs up to rest against the table, and it enables me to keep driving deeper. My hand wraps around the length of her hair, and I give her quick swift pulls as I feel her pussy around me. She’s so wet, so warm, and so tight, all other thought except us completely leaves my mind. Her cries are strangled as she moves with me, grinding against me, as I pound into her.
One hand moves to grip against her hips, and my fingers dig into her flesh as the sensation of moving inside her overwhelms my whole body. I lean forward and kiss the back of her neck and down her spine. My tongue licks at her skin, and I graze my teeth against her tender flesh. Her hands squeeze the table harder to the point that her fingers turn slightly white.
“Burke. Oh fuck, Burke.” She moans my name like a prayer, and it sends a spike straight to my dick. With her face turned, one side against the table, it allows me to see the periphery of her features and the sheer pleasure written on her face. Her lips are parted as she calls to me, and her eyes struggle to stay open from the feel of me inside her. “You’re so deep. No one has ever gone this deep.”
I raise and up the ante, slamming into her while increasing my pace. Our bodies move with such aggression that I fear we may break the table her body clings to. My grunts fill the room as I near the finish. The harmony of our climaxes join the noise of our bodies slapping against one another, the soundtrack of sex. Our bodies against one another, Paisley’s and mine, two people losing control at the peak of orgasm.
My sense of smell is filled with the scent of Paisley’s arousal and the sweaty heat between us. She comes on my dick as I tremble inside her. The pull of her orgasm clenches me tightly, and I erupt, spilling everything I have to give her. My hands roam her skin as I savor the feel of her around me as we catch our breath. Paisley tilts her head back, and I smile at the satisfied look on her face. She brings ou
t a side of me I never knew I had. Never before have I relished being inside a woman so much before. Never before have I treasured that look of satisfaction. Never before have I felt this emotion and connection while fucking a woman. Paisley has me twisted inside in a way I never knew how much I’d enjoy, but I think it would be only her who could have me feeling like this. Only her.
Paisley
I sit up on the very table Burke took me from behind on only minutes ago while he finishes setting up his equipment. My body aches in the best of ways after our dirty deeds. There is no way people outside this room couldn’t hear us, because with Burke inside me, there is no such thing as restraint. He’s rough but in a way that’s gentle. He’s aggressive but in a way that builds upon the heat between us. I feel intense pleasure as well as emotion from both of us when he rocks into me. His hard touches are laced with care, and his unyielding thrusts are wrapped in emotion. Maybe even love. It’s something I’ve never felt before.
Dirty but affectionate. Lust with devotion. Need and yearning. My weakness and my strength. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of his perfection.
Burke meticulously sets up his equipment, and my belly somersaults with excitement. The image Burke captured on paper with simple drawing pencils could not have been more perfect for me. I can’t even describe the emotions I felt when I saw it. I knew from first glance I needed to have it branded on my skin. Somehow without my telling him everything, he gets me.
He fills up the last ink holder and looks up at me. My cheeks hurt from the grin I’m flashing him. He returns his own sexy, brooding smile back at me. This whole thing with Burke was an effort to find a little adventure, but it’s abundantly clear I found so much more. I care for him in a deep way, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. I’m comfortable with him, and he also balances me out. Not to mention one glance from him makes me feel wanted and sexy. I’ve shattered my comfort zone and limitations and relish in how capable it makes me feel.
“You ready?” He pulls the tray table between us. I’ve put most of my clothes back on since we’re in a public place, but kept the shirt off since he’s tattooing my back anyway. I flip and try to find a comfortable position on my stomach.
“Ready.” I face Burke and watch him transform into concentration mode. His fingers skim the skin of my upper back where he’ll be covering the tattoo from my youth. His hands press against me, and then his lips touch my spine where he’ll be working. He tenderly kisses the skin with his full lips before the buzz of his machine starts. The noise hums a few more times without actually making contact.
“All right, here we go.” The buzz vibrates again, and I feel the pinch against my skin. He stops and checks on me a few seconds later. I have a decent tolerance for pain, and this feels like nothing, especially with his hands on me, even through the gloves he wears. In an hour or two the buzz of the gun against my skin will hurt like a bitch, though.
While he works, I think about all the changes in my life lately. Braelyn is gone, and I don’t think she’s someone who will be coming back. The person I grew up with and survived a life of hell with has completely disconnected from me with seemingly no emotion on her end.
Kai and Teagan are a part of my life now, though.
Kai feels more like a stepbrother than Braelyn ever did my sister. I say stepbrother because, well, it’s impossible not to notice his appeal. Stepbrother taboo is in right now, right? While I prefer the dark moodiness of Burke in my heart and bedroom, let’s face it, Kai is handsome. He looks a little like a meathead but somehow captures the pretty-boy look too, despite his scars. He oozes charm and charisma. He opened up to me about his family, and it was heartbreaking. It wasn’t easy for him to tell me those things. I know a lot about Braelyn because we were present in each other’s lives—or maybe stuck together—for so long, but she never opened up to me like that. Braelyn kicked me out of the house for who knows what reason, while Kai has known me for such a short period of time and has my back in the situation with Braelyn.
Then there is Teagan. She’s fun, bubbly, and colorful, both in personality and with her many vibrant tattoos. She predicted something would happen between me and Burke and possibly even set it into motion that day she showed up in the diner. We’ve spent a lot of time together since Burke and Kai give us a hard time about venturing farther than the deck. I’ve done all sorts of girly things you’d do with a best friend with her that Brae and I never even thought of doing together. We’ve indulged in wine nights and discussed our favorite books, movies, and music. She taught me how to apply a smoky eye and how to add life to any outfit with the right accessories. I think I’ve spoken more words to Teagan in this short time than Braelyn and I have in our entire lives together.
This mental cataloguing makes me feel like I know more personal details about Kai and Teagan than I do Burke. While we undeniably have a deep physical and emotional connection, we really haven’t talked much about him.
“Talk to me. My muscles are stiff and the pinch is turning into a throb. Distract me.”
“Tell me about the flowers from your dreams.” While my intention wasn’t to talk about me, maybe it’ll be easier for him to open up if I give him this first. I take a minute to think about my words before I speak. Burke patiently waits as he continues to ink my skin.
“Inside the room I’m locked in during my dreams, there is a mural of wildflowers. The room is very basic and bare expect for the mural. The colors are vibrant and the image is beautiful. Everything else in the room is dull and suffocating, but the flowers are a source of peace. I’m always rooted to the floor with my sight directly on the colors of the image. I don’t know if it is a comfort my mind has made up over the years or if it stems from something from my childhood. It’s the only part of my nightmares that doesn’t scare me.”
“How old were you when you went into foster care?”
“Almost five. Weeks before my fifth birthday.”
I close my eyes as the needle pricks a sensitive spot on my skin. He continues to talk, to try to ease my mind, but hearing about him would be much more soothing than talking about my past.
“Do you remember your parents or your home from before that?”
“No, not really. I don’t remember the house I lived in or my dad, but I think I have vague memories of a woman I believe is my mom. That, or my memory made her up after all the years of foster care. I remember a blonde woman in sweater sets and pearls. The memories of this woman’s features and stature don’t bear any resemblance to mine. So, if she’s my mom, I guess I took after my father. That’s about it.”
“Have you ever tried looking into it? Checked with the state or the system about your records. It might help give you answers about your nightmares.”
“I’ve thought about it, but I’ve never gone through with the idea.”
The buzz of the gun stops, and Burke places it down. He stretches out his legs and shakes out his hands. “Sit up for a second.” I do as he asks and rise up to face him with my legs hanging off the side of the table. His hands go to my legs and a spike races through my body as his fingers skim my flesh from my knees to thighs. I enjoy his touch, but he’s also making me nervous because he looks like he has something to say.
“When I did the background check on you, I found out right away you grew up in foster care. Curiosity got to me, and I dug a little deeper. Your birth records are sealed tight and even with my vast connections, I couldn’t get a peek at them. However, if you want to know, if it’ll help you, then we’ll figure out a way to get that information, together. There is always a second, third, and fourth way to get what you want. We’ll find a way around the red tape. If that’s what you want.”
Burke already looked into my birth records. I should have known. He told me he had my background checked out. Subconsciously, I probably realized everything that entailed, but I didn’t want to face that he might know things about me I didn’t even know about myself. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll think about it. I
’m afraid the reality might be worse than the nightmares. How about we change topics and talk about you?” I lie back down so I’m flat on my belly, ready to think about his offer, get back to the tattoo, and learn a little more about him. Burke retrieves the tattoo gun, and I brace for the contact again. The gun buzzes a few times before he answers.
“What about me?”
“Anything. I want to know more about you. I feel like you know so much about me, and I know so little about you.”
“You know more than anyone else besides Kai and Teagan, but I guess that’s not saying much.” He lets out an awkward laugh I could never picture coming from his lips if I hadn’t heard it myself. “Not much to say. My parents weren’t evil or bad. They simply didn’t care. I got myself into trouble growing up because there was no one watching. Used drugs, sold drugs, hung around on the streets. I guess it’s what trained us to eventually open UT. Teagan and I have a pretty big age gap, and by the time I was thirteen, I was more interested in sex, drugs, and money than hanging out with a toddler. So, we weren’t very close until she came to live with me. Then, suddenly, there was this little girl I barely knew but was completely responsible for. It’s probably the only thing that ever scared me shitless until recently.”
“Until recently? You don’t seem scared. This threat stuff going on has you that worried?” The gun breaks contact with my skin, and I lean up to better face him. He’s been such a comfort to me for everything, and I want to give that back to him.
“No. Not the threat stuff, directly. It’s you. I’m scared I dragged you into something awful. I’m scared you’ll get hurt because of me. I’m scared about whatever this thing is between us and that I’ll fuck it up. You scare me. You getting hurt because of me. Me hurting you because I wasn’t made for this. All that scares me.” If you take every romantic movie I’ve ever seen, every grand gesture a man bestows upon a woman in a romance novel, and every sappy Hallmark commercial in the history of television combined, it wouldn’t compare to the amount of swoon I feel in the pit of my stomach and in my heart. Taking his face in my hands, I lean in for an epic kiss worthy of his honest words. It’s my turn to reassure him.
Deceit in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 1) Page 20