Heart Ink: A Fling To Ring Romance: A Bad Boy Tattoo Artist Romantic Comedy

by L. L. Ash

  Timer in my hand, I answered the door.

  Roman was there, leaning against the doorframe like he’d been to my place a million times, grinning at Ryan. They were laughing at something.

  They immediately turned to me and the first thing Roman did was lean in and kiss me.

  “Damn, I’ve been waiting to do that,” he murmured, breath brushing across my lips as he drew away.

  I gulped, grateful that nothing tented when a girl got super turned on. 'Cause yeah...I’d be tenting.

  “Hi Fae,” Ryan called from Roman’s side, startling me out of my kiss-induced coma.

  “Hi Ryan!” I called back and moved, letting them in.

  “So, baked goods, huh?” Ryan asked, looking around the open living, dining and kitchen spaces.

  “It’s a hobby,” I shrugged, then turned around and yelled, “They’re here!”

  Giggles erupted from the back and the guys both grinned, sitting at the kitchen island while I wiped up flour and sugar from my counters.

  “Where’d you learn to bake?” Ryan asked, hand supporting his cheek as he leaned in, looking absolutely cute and curious.

  “My parents’ chef...she’s been around a while. I learned everything from her.”

  “How the hell’d you learn to bake and not cook?” Roman asked and I shot him a scowl.

  “I never said I couldn’t cook,” I bristled, then shot him a mischievous smile.

  “Ok, you’re going to have to clear this up for me, babe. You didn’t say you can cook, then you didn’t say you can’t cook. Which one is it?”

  Ryan laughed.

  “What? I never said I could or I couldn’t.”

  Roman rolled his eyes.

  “How about this. At some point, I’ll cook for you,” I told him, feeling my cheeks heating with a blush from how forward I was being, assuming we’d keep going out. “Then you can decide for yourself if I can cook.”

  His lips slowly curled into a smirk.

  “Deal, babe. No take backs,” was all he said.

  Just then, Josie and Cambria came down the hallway laughing and stealing all the attention.

  All the attention except Roman’s. His eyes never wavered from mine.

  “What’d you make me?” he asked in a low voice I could barely hear over the sound of the girls introducing themselves to Ryan.

  “I’m making cake,” I told him.

  His eyes closed.

  “I fucking. Love. Cake.” was all he said, leaning back in contentment.

  “Only problem is it’ll take some time,” I admitted.

  “It’s my night off.” Roman opened his eyes long enough to wink at me. “I stuck Freddie with closing tonight.”

  Ha. I bet Freddie didn’t like that.

  “So what were you guys doing?” I asked him, leaning forward on the counter, elbows resting on the white and gold granite.

  “We were just hanging out. Watching last Sunday’s football game.” He shrugged.

  “So nothing terribly exciting. Us either. We were just gossiping.” I smiled at him.

  His smile grew into a grin.

  “About what?”

  “About you. Among other things.”

  “Oh yeah?” he asked, waiting for me to expound.

  I didn’t.

  “Just going to leave me hanging?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Guys like gossip too, you know.”

  “Oh do you? How is this the first time I’m hearing of it?” I quirked my eyebrow right back.

  He chuckled.

  “If you have to know, they were dissecting our date,” I told him, opening a stick of butter, preparing it for the buttercream I was going to make.

  “Thought it went pretty swimmingly, myself.” He shrugged, shoving his hand through his hair and stuffing a few strands back into his man bun.

  “It was awesome.” I nodded. “Best date I’ve ever been on.”

  His smirk softened into a real smile, revealing his straight, perfect teeth in a rare, wide grin.

  It melted my heart pretty much instantly.

  Normally I’d qualify Roman as sexy, hot, ridiculously attractive, but in that moment, he was comfortingly handsome.

  I wanted more of that smile.

  “Me too,” he admitted back, his eyes dropping to his fingers, tapping a beat out on my counter.

  I caught a hint of a blush easing onto his cheeks and my melty heart gushed out of my chest...and went straight between my legs.

  For just a moment, I wondered if I could kick our friends out and get a round two with this...almost perfect man.

  “So, when’s this cake going to be done?” he asked, confidence back and his smirk returning to his face.

  “Twenty more minutes in the oven, then it has to cool before I can frost it,” I told him, going to the oven to flick on the light, watching the cake as the dome began to rise.

  “So we have time to...play around?” he asked, coming around the counter.

  Oh God...was he asking what I hoped he was asking?

  I blubbered a few nonsensical vowels before nodding.

  “Ryan,” Roman turned to his friend who stopped his conversation instantly. “It’s time.”

  Ryan’s eyes went wide as he hopped off his seat and ran out the door.

  Me and the girls all looked at each other like, ‘what the hell is going on?’ Roman just grinned.

  I was about to ask the girls to leave too when Ryan came bounding back in, a small-ish white box in his hand.

  “TWISTER!” he yelled and held the box up.

  My eyes widened in surprise, then turned to Roman, who was grinning this shit-eating grin.

  “You’re going down,” he mouthed to me before backing up and jogging to Ryan, who was setting up the tarp and spinner.

  Cambria and Josie looked at me as we shared the ‘what the hell?’ look again, then we went to where the boys were.

  Chapter Nine

  Fae

  “BOOM SUCKAH!” Roman shouted at Ryan who had just fallen on his butt...again.

  Ryan was laughing as Josie ‘accidently’ fell, too. Boobs-first into Ryan’s face.

  “I’m happy to lose all fucking day,” Ryan told his friend, throwing his arms around Josie and wrestling her off the mat.

  Roman looked across at me, being the last survivor on the tarp with him. Right hand on yellow, left foot on red and right foot on blue.

  Needless to say, I was bent over nicely, looking at Roman upside down, through my legs. The man had an awesome view of my butt in my leggings.

  Ryan was sitting against the couch, one of my friends in each of his arms as they all watched the standoff, calling Roman’s next position.

  “Left hand blue!” Cambria yelled.

  His left leg was already on red, right on green, doing a half split, and with his right hand on blue, he had to dip further forward to get another circle.

  Leaning forward, he got the circle right between my two legs, sending his face...yep. Right into my butt.

  Growling, he exposed his teeth and...that’s right. He bit my ass, then had the gall to smile about it.

  “Ow!” I shrieked, almost falling.

  He wasn’t going to get the best of me in this.

  Never!

  “Fae! Right hand red!”

  I moved my hand, barely keeping my balance from yellow to red, above my left leg.

  “Rome. Right foot red!”

  “Shit, really? I’m already on red!” he called, then moved his foot from one red circle up one, toward me.

  He was now taking over about seventy-five percent of the mat.

  “Left foot green!” Cambria called to me.

  Uh...shit…

  I shuffled a little, then gave Roman fair warning.

  “Duck!” I called, swinging my leg over his head and around, my belly now facing up.

  My body officially positioned like a freaking crab.

  And better yet, now, instead of having my butt in Roman’s face, he was now inches from
a certain cooch that he pierced two months prior.

  Yep.

  “Whoa, isn’t this a back room thing?” Josie joked.

  Ryan and Cambria laughed, egging us on, but I managed to see over my boobs and belly just a little to see the look on Roman’s face, purely predatory as his eyes roamed mine, then dropped down to my crotch, just hanging out in front of his face.

  Just like he had with my butt, he leaned forward a little and laid a nice bite just on the inside of my thigh.

  Shivers spiked through me, his lips way too close to certain parts that were already begging for his mouth, and my arms flew out from under me.

  Like dominos, my legs flew out next, knocking Roman in the arm, which caused him to crash down.

  His hard chest landed on my leg, squeezing it almost uncomfortably as we all laughed.

  Roman rolled off me, laying on the mat on his back, catching his breath as he roared with laughter.

  “I won!” he finally wheezed out between laughs.

  “It was a tie!” I called back.

  “You knocked me down!” he told me with a grin, moving back to his belly so he could get up and meet my eyes with his.

  They glowed such a beautiful, deep blue.

  I flopped my arms out.

  “Cause you bit me! That’s gotta be in the rules!” I called.

  The girls were on my side, Ryan on Roman’s.

  “Admit your defeat or you get no cake!” I said finally, sitting up and pointing my finger in his face.

  He dropped his head in laughter, then put up his hands in defeat.

  “Winning isn’t worth losing out on cake,” he said, standing, then offering me his hands.

  I took them and he pulled me up, straight into his arms.

  “Remind me to bring this game again,” he said, low and quiet in my ear. “And we’ll play it naked.”

  Redness flooded my face and neck as I broke out of his arms, hightailing it back to the kitchen to finish the cake before I gushed and begged him to do just that.

  Roman laughed, following me to the kitchen while the other three flirted on the couch.

  “Need any help?” he asked as he leaned his hip on the counter beside me.

  My thoughts instantly flashed back to brownie batter and the heated, searing kisses he pressed onto my neck and mouth in this kitchen just a few weeks ago.

  “No. I’m just going to make the frosting really quick, then we’ll eat.”

  He stood there, watching me as I got the butter whipped in my power mixer, then added melted white chocolate and powdered sugar until the mix was just right.

  Stacking the cake rounds onto a plate, I made a simple two layer cake.

  Taking my straight edge spatula, I made some quick flat sides and spread the top one last time before getting a carving knife and pressing it through the pastry.

  “She’s cutting!” Roman called to the others as he flipped through all my cabinets until he got to the small plates.

  Grabbing forks too, he gave me the stack and I began serving out slices for everyone.

  The girls and Ryan ended up back on the couch, legs all tangled up in each other while I handed Roman his piece.

  “You handled that thing like a pro,” Roman said, taking his plate and fork, waiting there and not digging in like I thought he would.

  “Oh, I’ve been making cakes with Ella forever.” I shrugged, plopping one last piece on a plate for myself.

  “So, almond cake with white chocolate frosting?” he mumbled as he forked his first mouthful at the same time as me.

  “Mhmm,” I nodded, closing my eyes as the first taste of sugar, vanilla and almond hit my tongue.

  Roman moaned, his eyes closed too.

  “Holy fuck woman...why are you a lawyer when you bake shit this good?” he asked, eyes only opening to slits as he looked at me.

  I just shrugged.

  “And the almond hits just at the end.” He was shaking his head now, forking another bite, larger this time.

  As Roman made love to his cake and fork, I noticed the others equally enjoying their treat.

  It made my heart warm, satisfaction swelling in my chest.

  I loved the feeling of people enjoying my desserts as much as I did. It made me happy to make others happy with sugar and skill.

  “Fucking awesome!” Ryan called over at me, his plate empty already. “Got any more?”

  I laughed and nodded, waving him over.

  Glancing up at Roman, he was still looking at me, his face betraying deep thought on his face. But he didn’t say anything else about it.

  “Did you use almond extract?” Cambria asked as she put her plate in the sink.

  “A tiny bit, but most of the almond flavor is coming from almond flour. I mixed it in with the regular flour for some real flavor.”

  “I keep telling you, you have a gift.” She sighed. “We should do that bake stand and sell this stuff. You’d make so much money, Fae.”

  I nudged her shoulder with mine as she went by, a big smile on my face.

  “You totally would,” Ryan agreed as he put another huge slice on his plate. “Don’t judge.”

  “Wouldn’t think of it.” I winked at him and he bounced his eyebrows, going back to the couch before sharing a couple bites with both Josie and Cambria.

  About ten minutes later, after Roman finished a second piece, the guys headed toward the door.

  “Guess if I want to take you out tomorrow, I should probably let you go to bed,” Roman told me with a smile, that whole serious, broody thing he’d done over the cake evaporated now.

  “I guess.” I shrugged, following them to the door, the Twister box in Ryan’s hand.

  “Six, right?” he asked and I nodded.

  “You get their numbers?” Roman asked over his shoulder at Ryan, who nodded vigorously.

  Roman gave him a look of exasperation before turning back to me.

  “I didn’t want him to make the same mistake I did...three times.”

  I just laughed and leaned against the door.

  “Meet you at the car,” Ryan said to Roman before looking at me. “Thanks for a fun night, Fae. And for literally the best cake I’ve ever had.”

  “Anytime.” I smiled back at him and he lifted a hand and went down the stairs.

  Roman pouted for a second before saying, “Ok, I’ll go. But I need something first.”

  I was about to ask what he needed when he leaned forward, slipped his hand around my jaw and raised my lips to his for a proper goodnight kiss.

  At first just our lips moved, then his tongue made an appearance, gently and shyly touching mine.

  I opened to him and he moved closer, deepening the kiss.

  Until one of my stupid, annoying, irritating friends cleared their throat, suddenly right next to us.

  Roman nibbled my bottom lip for just a moment before easing his mouth away from mine.

  “Subtle,” he told Cambria with a smile, who was standing just over my shoulder.

  “It’s my specialty. Now go away, boss,” she told him.

  Roman looked at me again, shaking his head in mirrored irritation before taking one last kiss and bounding down the stairs.

  “Tomorrow!” he yelled up at me from where he opened the passenger door of a sexy looking Audi.

  I waved as he dipped into the passenger side of the car.

  Probably Ryan’s car. I imagined rich club owners had nice cars, anyway.

  “You don’t have to be a mean bitch.” I pouted at Cambria as I closed the door.

  “Make that a jealous bitch.” She lifted an eyebrow. “And you’re welcome. Nobody wanted to see you guys eating each other’s faces. Seriously. Yuck.”

  “Mind your own business.” I gave her a face before moving to my room. “You guys staying?”

  Josie was already asleep on the couch, so I took that as a yes.

  “Yeah. I guess I get the guest room this time.” Cambria chuckled, looking at Josie.

  “Ok,”
I told her before closing myself into my room.

  Tomorrow...I just had to make it to tomorrow.

  Roman

  “Another date?” Freddie asked with a grin on his face. “With red?”

  I grinned back and nodded, getting my station ready.

  It was my last tat before I headed home to get ready for my date with Fae.

  It was so nice to have Cambria at the desk so I could just relax and do what I loved to do. And that woman was freaky good at secretary work. And books. And organization. And scheduling. She was basically my fairy godmother. Another amazing thing Fae had given me.

  “You’re one lucky bastard.” Freddie shook his head. “How the hell do you start an actual relationship with a one-night stand?”

  I shrugged.

  “Guess it works if it’s the right girl.”

  And damn was she the right girl.

  He just kept shaking his head as he settled into his stool, hanging out with his empty chair.

  In walked Steve.

  He was only ever around for his appointments, basically renting the chair like Rosie did, for his own clients, but he was usually tattooing all day long. The man was good.

  Tanner got mad about Steve coming and going as he pleased, but Steve had never once been late to an appointment or been anything other than professional to me, the rest of the staff, or his clients.

  I liked the guy in a strange sort of way. Since he was a strange sort of fellow.

  I held up my fist to him and he bumped it with mine.

  “Sup dude?” I asked him and he nodded at me.

  “Got a dude coming in for a full back piece,” he told me. “Wanna take bets on if he’ll sit the entire thing?”

  Freddie was in on that shit instantly. He also was the first to blurt about my date. My second date.

  “So you’re finally getting laid?” Steve asked, the fluorescent lights reflecting off his bald head as he pulled on some black gloves. “Maybe you’ll stop being so grumpy all the damn time.”

  “I’m not Goddamn grumpy!” I threw up my hands.

  Steve looked up at me with narrowed eyes, smiling a weird, sadistic smile.

  Fuck you, man.

  “And just so you know, I’m not getting laid. It’s only our second date.”

  “You’re such a weird dude.” Steve shook his head and moved to ready his station.