Vehn (Exotic Ink Book 1)

by LS Anders

  Involuntarily shuddering from the elation that rolled through her, Callie had to keep reminding herself that this was real. That her fantasy had become a reality.

  When she wasn't with Vehn, it still felt like a bizarre dream. She half-expected to wake up one day in an asylum, only to learn that all this hadn't actually been real, that she had dreamed the whole thing. If that was so, she hoped someone knocked her over the head so she could get back to dreaming.

  She had been excitedly daydreaming about that night's date when she’d been packing. She hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything since she would be leaving from his place in the morning to come back to work.

  She was relieved that they would be hanging out at his place so she wouldn't have to worry about public scrutiny. Vehn thought it was best if they kept their relationship hidden for now, explaining that he didn’t want her to get tangled up with the paparazzi any sooner than was necessary. So far, they had managed to avoid them, but sooner or later their luck would run out. Callie just couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have her image plastered all over the TV and newsstands.

  She recalled reading articles about his ex, Regina, that were depicting her in a nasty light. Callie remembered feeling a smug satisfaction brought on by pure jealousy at reading negative tidbits about the girl, whether they were true or not, simply because Regina was Vehn’s love interest. Jealousy was such an ugly thing.

  Vehn had been closed-lipped about her and seemed to want to focus on her ex more than anything else. She hadn’t pressed him for info on the girl, even though she was dying to know all about her.

  Well, the shoe was on the other foot now, and karma was a real bitch! Callie thought.

  She definitely didn’t want to be some other fangirl’s silent celebration if anything nasty was ever written about her. She guessed it was never too late to feel guilty about acting like a jealous bitch, even if the other girl didn’t know you were thinking ugly thoughts.

  But Regina was now the ex, which meant she was nursing a broken heart, and a broken heart from Vehn would be her undoing. She wouldn’t survive that even with Dylan’s help.

  She had to stop thinking about a potential break up when they had barely even gotten started. What she really needed to do was take a few steps back, holding him a little more at arm’s length, but she was afraid it was too damn late for that. She was afraid she had already fallen head first in stupid love with him.

  She was also worried that she had diluted her personality way too much with her nervousness when they were together. She definitely wasn’t firing on all six cylinders since the unmasking, and often times had to shake herself out of being captivated by him even after they had already spent hours together rolling around naked in her bed. She would still catch herself dipping her foot into that star-struck pond, which seemed sort of silly, considering there wasn't one square inch of her body he hadn’t seen, touched, or licked.

  The only time she truly felt herself was over wireless communication. When he was right there in front of her, it was like she had strapped on a ball gag of insecurity. He just simply stole her voice.

  She hoped once she could totally relax around him and be more herself that he would still like her as much as he seemed to right now. But the stigma of his celebrity still hung heavy around his neck, reminding her that he was her idol. A man she never thought in a million years she would ever meet, but just this past Sunday morning had been drinking coffee in her kitchen out of a mug featuring a woman with rollers in her hair and slippers on her feet, complaining about Mondays. Looking up at his portrait now made that very recent memory so surreal.

  What was even more surreal was that she had sent him half-naked selfies the night before. She was squirming inside her own flesh over the memory. Now she wished she could take them back. She had been feeling rather high on life and had sent them on a whim, but now, looking back through the pics, she just looked like a fat cow. He had even called her afterwards to thank her.

  Despite what she thought he felt about her body, the majority of her self-esteem issues had made an unwelcome comeback, and she was having to really focus on not falling back into post-Ryder syndrome.

  She tried staying focused on how Vehn really seemed to be into her body, especially her ass. His hands always seemed to migrate there, especially during sex, and he seemed to like to hold onto her there while he pumped into her, which was totally fine with her.

  Staring at Vehn’s portrait, she knew his actions were showing her more than telling her that he was into her, but she just couldn’t shake that feeling of inadequacy. It was a heavy cloak she couldn’t always seem to remove on her own. Time for some Dr. Z intervention before she sabotaged this brand new relationship with her dream man.

  “Mooning over your real fantasy man, I see.”

  Callie smiled, thinking back to just a handful of weeks ago when Evana had said much the same thing, only before she had actually met Vehn.

  Who would have ever thought she would be Vehn Mathieu’s girlfriend?

  “I think I will always moon over him,” she answered wistfully.

  “I talked to Rayna last night about hiring another person,” Evana said, changing the subject and becoming more serious. “She says she’s fine with someone using Brent’s space. Do you think she’s fronting, or do you think she’s really good with it?”

  “No. I really think she’s ok,” Callie said, looking to the ceiling to help gather her thoughts. “She seems to be bouncing back, and her interest in Tegan seems to be helping her get through the trauma that freakish man-whore she called a husband put her through.”

  “I think you’re right. I’ll call Gabriel today and set up an interview.”

  “Gabriel? God’s right hand man?” Callie laughed. “Good choice. We’re gonna need some divine intervention to help us handle this sea of clientele.”

  “I hate to turn away people, but we just can’t get to them all. I wish Kyle were here to see how huge his shop has grown.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Callie smiled sadly.

  The bell over the door sounded, like at a boxing match, signaling the contestants to begin, jarring the girls from their reminiscing.

  “Let the games begin,” Evana said, heading to the front.

  Callie was cleaned up and more than ready to go. The chaotic day had gone by fast, but not fast enough, and she was starving to lay eyes on her man.

  She had begged Vehn to let her take a taxi like a regular person and not be picked up by his driver. So he had agreed to a cab, but only if he could meet her at the studio and escort her back to his place.

  He claimed he wanted to check out the progress of the photography studio renovation on the third floor, which was most likely true, but she suspected he was more worried about Ryder. Even though she had explained to him that she hadn't seen the guy creeping around in a long time, he had insisted. She guessed this was his way of being protective, and didn’t that just make her want to dance a little jig!

  When the bell sounded over the door, her skin flushed and she suddenly felt acutely aware of everything around her. She somehow could sense that it was him, even before the deep rumble of his voice floated down the hall as he chatted with Cale and Tegan.

  She was barely keeping herself tethered to her work space. She didn’t want to appear over eager, when all she wanted to do was run to him and climb him like a spider monkey.

  She couldn’t wait to get to his place! She wanted to know everything about him, and for her, having intimate knowledge of where and how he lived was an important factor in getting to know him better.

  She had learned from their chats that he lived in her favorite area of Manhattan, Greenwich Village. She hadn’t asked him for the exact address, because that just felt a little too stalker-ish and she figured she would eventually find out, but she was curious to see how close his place was to her old apartment.

  Gathering her bag and purse, her ears took on bionic characteristics, and she could swear she could
hear the whisper of his clothes as he walked towards her room. She forced herself to keep her back to the door—not to feign indifference to his presence, but to appear calm on the outside when she was anything but.

  On the inside, she was bouncing off the walls. She tried to find that balance between excited to see him and having control of her inner floozy, who was currently hog-tied, screaming past the ball gag as he drew closer.

  “Hey, sexy Callie. Did you miss me?”

  She steeled herself before she turned around, knowing the sight of him would throw her insides into a tail spin. She was already having enough trouble dealing with the electric shock that shot through her soul at the mere sound of his smooth, deep voice.

  “Maybe just a little,” she answered before turning to face him.

  “Where’s my hug, woman?” he asked, holding his arms wide.

  Callie tried to drag her feet and not rush him like a linebacker, but damn, that gorgeous smile and those sparkling ocean-green eyes were almost too much to bear. She noted absently his shoulder-length chocolate locks looked freshly brushed but were still slightly damp, as if he had just recently showered. He was the epitome of male casual in his worn jeans and cashmere sweater.

  He gave the best hugs ever. Her inner tramp had somehow loosened her bindings, and before she knew it, she was rubbing on him like a cat. Her favorite thing was to slide one of her thighs between his and gently rub the underside his balls. As she felt him begin to harden, his hands migrated to her butt, pulling her tighter to him.

  “I love it when you do that,” he moaned before capturing her mouth with his, sliding his tongue between her already parting lips.

  Everything seemed to melt away when she was locked in his embrace, like he could put her in a trance and nothing else around her mattered.

  “Gross! Get a fucking room! You guys are like two horny teenagers,” Cale complained as he passed by her room.

  Nothing except for maybe Cale's smartass mouth! Callie went from hot and ready to ready to kill in less than a nanosecond.

  Vehn chuckled, holding her fast as she made a move to lunge for the kid as he sauntered by on his way to the front. Unable to break his hold, she couldn’t help but run her hands up and down his arms feeling the steely muscles bunching up under her palms. The man was seriously built. She was fairly strong for a girl, but he had no problem holding her in place, and didn’t that just make her feel all small and damsel in distress. Being the height and build she was, it wasn’t an easy task for a man to make her feel petite and protected. She barely resisted the urge to giggle like a school girl and bat her eyelashes at him.

  “Do you mind if I run upstairs and take a look at the renovation progress?” he asked, slowly releasing her.

  “Not at all. I need to do some prep for tomorrow anyway. I have this feeling that I might be running late in the morning,” she commented, looking at him accusingly.

  Making a halo out of both hands, he held it over his head, backing out her door into the hall.

  “Are you trying to convince me of that or yourself?”

  “Both. I’ll see you in a minute.” He patted the door frame before heading to the back to access the elevator that would take him to the third floor.

  Evana’s voice traveled down the hall as she greeted him and filled him in on the progress of the renovation. Callie smiled, thinking how everyone at the shop really liked him, even Cale.

  She frowned hard as realization became a tangible thing slithering down her spine, fear making her shiver, chasing away her smile. If they stopped seeing each other, not only would she have to survive the heartbreak, but she would occasionally run into him since his photography studio would be on the third floor.

  She wanted to believe that she was good enough for him and that he wasn't just toying with her. That this relationship wasn't just a game to him. But her low self-esteem had a firm grip on her and didn't seem like it was going to lessen its hold anytime soon.

  She was confident in some aspects of her life, like her tattooing. She never doubted herself there. Never had. But relationships and men were a whole different story altogether.

  Callie had never really had a serious boyfriend until Ryder, and that had turned out worse than awful. Before him, there was just a scattered handful of random dates never amounting to anything, and the first crush she'd had in her late teens. The same crush that she had given her virginity to. For three days, she was the happiest she had ever been. She ignorantly thought her feelings were reciprocated, but come to find out he had been dared by his friends to get into the pants of the “fat girl”. She was devastated when she’d discovered the truth.

  Lesson learned, she took a break from boys, graduated high school, and focused on her art and her apprenticeship to becoming a tattoo artist. Her mom had hoped she would go to college, maybe become a commercial artist or something, but she had always liked body art, and the other type never held any appeal for her.

  Thinking back on her first crush, Michael, always made her feel nauseous. Frowning down at the tiny sugar skull inked on her wrist, she recalled with perfect clarity that first time she had felt the sting of the tattoo gun. She had gotten her first tattoo to commemorate that serious lack in judgment. She figured, since he was the one to take her virginity, it would only be fitting that the memory of what he had done take the virginity from her skin as well.

  Was Vehn going to turn into another Michael, crushing her already fragile self-esteem, only a hundred times worse than last time?

  “Stop, Callie. Just stop it!” Callie chastised herself aloud. “I will not allow my insecurities to sabotage my relationship with Vehn.”

  With a surety she felt inside the bones of her soul, she knew he wasn’t like those other guys and she had not misplaced her trust in him. She needed to stop questioning and start enjoying, for fuck’s sake! Like enjoying that panty-melting kiss he had just laid on her. Smiling to herself, she raked her teeth across her lower lip, where his taste still lingered.

  Thinking of melting panties, that kiss of his was nothing but a fast cooling wet spot between her legs. She'd better make a run for the ladies' room before they left or she would be sitting in that the entire trip back to his place.

  Rummaging through her overnight bag, she pocketed a fresh pair and made her way to the restroom, where she quickly changed and stuffed the wet pair into her back pocket. The panty situation taken care of and quickly forgotten, she finished her clean-up and prepped what she could for the following day.

  She squeaked when Vehn unexpectedly hugged her from behind.

  “What is this?” he asked, pulling the lacy scrap from her pocket.

  Her cheeks flamed red as she felt the thong pull free from where she had stashed it. Damn it! She had totally spaced about the panties.

  “Nothing.” She tried snatching them back, but he held them high, backing away.

  “Why do you have panties in your pocket?” he asked, the lacy wisp dangling off his finger tip.

  Callie covered her face with both hands, feeling the heat radiating off her skin. She could fry an egg on her face. Someone just needed to scramble one up and slap it on there.

  “Callieeeeee?” He raised a brow at her, determination apparent in the sparkle she saw in his eyes.

  “Fine! If you must know, they’re wet from when you kissed me. Happy now? I’m already embarrassed enough, so can I please have them back?” She held out her hand. Her eyes darted quickly away. She was so flustered she was unable to maintain eye contact with him for long.

  “Nope. I think I’ll keep these as a souvenir,” he said. A wicked grin curled his lips before he held them under his nose, briefly closing his eyes while inhaling her fragrance.

  Callie stood statue-still, shocked to her very core that he had just done that. He kept surprising her in the most erotic ways. First was the dirty pillow talk that made her head spin and her pussy gush. Now he was smelling her panties and looked ready to devour her and the panties both... and had he
just growled at her like an animal?

  Great! Now her fresh panties were soaking wet and he hadn’t even fucking touched her! Good lord, had she just been thinking he might not find her attractive? Because if he didn’t, he was doing a damn good job at acting like he was. Had she just been thinking he was fucking with her and not serious about a relationship? She really needed to get a healthy serving of self-esteem with a side of confidence right the fuck now before she fucked up this relationship.

  * * *

  Just a cab ride later and she was back in holy shit territory!

  Any lingering insecurities she’d had before were now wrapping their dirty fingers around her throat, trying to choke off what little bit of reprieve she’d found before leaving the studio. She was way, way, waaaaayyyyy outside her element in his place.

  She had never felt jealousy over other people’s possessions. Unless, of course, it was a pair of high heels she couldn’t afford, the kind she would find herself drooling over in high end magazines. But ever since she had met Vehn, she had become proficient at self-generating inadequacies for herself. It wasn't like he had ever looked down his nose at her. Nope, this was all her!

  “Um... wow! Your place is amazing.” Callie swallowed hard, taking in the upscale vastness of the space.

  The elegant bachelor pad seemed to have been plucked from the pages of Architectural Digest. Vehn's penthouse was absolutely the most amazing NYC residence she had ever stepped foot in!

  On the cab ride over, she had managed to push aside some of the insecurities that had begun to plague her at the shop. But now that she was standing in Vehn’s home, they had all reemerged with a vengeance, shrink wrapping themselves tightly around her. But she had wanted this, to know him in his natural habitat, and his place was as amazing as the man himself.

  Jesus! What was she expecting, a tiny studio? He was a mega supermodel! Of course he would live in a Vehn-tastic-tical, phenomenal place! And to think he had stayed at her mediocre condo. It was a good thing she hadn’t seen his place first, because there was no freaking way she would have let him put one perfect toe inside her crappy condo. He must have felt like he had been slumming it!