Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1)
Page 28
“The pawn shop next door is for sale and I thought if we made it out of this audit with more than two dimes, maybe we could buy it and open our accounting business.” He touched her hair. “You need to run both our businesses. I never want to see another envelope.”
“Our businesses?” With a shaking hand, she pressed her palm to his cheek.
He nodded. “You have beautiful hair.”
“Not really.” She shook her head.
“You’re so beautiful.” He ran his hand down her hair to her cheek. “No matter what, you’re beautiful.”
“No matter what, I just want to be with you.” She reached down to his sleeve snaking her fingers under the cuff as if trying to reach his tattoos. “With you like you are. I’m proud of you.”
“I’m proud of you.” He dipped his head down. “Say you love me again.”
“I love you, Shane.” Her breath brushed against his lips.
“I love you.” Too many days were spent not kissing her, but as he prepared himself to seal the deal, an IRS man cleared his throat.
Both men stood. The first one closed his laptop.
“Sir?” Shane needed to be the man and fix this.
The second one held his hand up. “We have found all your papers are in order. Pay last year’s tax and we will consider the matter closed … until next year, Mr. Elliott.”
“Thank you.” Lindsay hid her face in his chest. “I’ll need that in writing.”
“Thank you.” He gave the men a thumbs up.
“With all your businesses make sure you file quarterly returns.” The first man sort of cracked a smile before both men exited the room.
“Lindsay.” His life had somehow returned. Things simply came to him, and he couldn’t stop the smile.
She raised her head. “Yes, I think we should get in the car right away and drive to Vegas.”
“Then it’s a good thing I brought a ring.” Yes, good things seemed to land in his lap. After all, he was Shane Elliott. He retrieved the ring from his pocket. “With the same last name, our accounting should be much easier.”
“It will save a lot of paperwork.” She held her hand out.
He slipped the antique diamond ring on her finger and kissed her hand. “This is permanent.”
Lindsay lifted her hand and whispered. “Permanent.”
###
Bonus Sneak Peek
Temporary
Book Two - The Indelibly Marked Series
Chapter One
“I’m breaking up with you.” Emily Elliott rushed into the storage room of Permanent Tattoo.
The crash of the door slamming jolted Ivan Harlow, but he continued to put away the last three bottles of red ink before joining her. “You can’t.”
“Oh, Ivan.” Her eyes glossed over and she approached, pressing her palm to his face. “I know it’s hard, but in the end I think we’ll both realize we can’t be together.”
He took her all in. The seven-year-old girl with crooked teeth and combat boots who wanted to be a boy, had changed into a sexy, sultry woman anyone would want. Now she owned her feminine side like other women owned handbags, boasting endless curves, petite features, a perfect set of teeth and huge baby doll green eyes.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Her cheeks turned as pink as her hair and she yanked her hand away from him. “We’re breaking up and all you have to say is okay?”
He bent down, his nose less than an inch from hers. “Since we weren’t a couple, it will have to be okay.” How they ended up in the conversation was beyond him.
Her jaw tightened and she stepped back. “Well then, this will make it all the easier.”
Since they started sleeping together he’d carefully kept their relationship where it needed to be, behind closed doors. His best friend wouldn’t take kindly to him sleeping with his baby sister. Any formal arrangement would end in disaster with him as the bad guy and losing everything he fought for, including his makeshift family made up of Elliotts. They were simply there for each other when needed.
“What’s going on?”
She closed her eyes.
“Em?” He forced his arms to his side, refusing to reach for her.
“I need a change. I want more.”
More as in a date? A relationship? He narrowed his eyes. Of course she did, all girls wanted the relationship. The image of big-brother Shane finding out flashed through his mind as he rubbed his jaw. No doubt divulging their secret would end up with him in the hospital, losing the benefits of all the satisfying friend sex.
“Emily?”
“Not more with you … just more.” She held up her hand, stopping him from speaking.
The sting of her words hit him like a slap. “Then I say you should go ahead and get whatever you think is more.”
She glanced up at him through her eyelashes. “We’ve been doing this for over a year.” Her tone softened.
“Then I guess we’ve reached our limit.” He inched toward the exit. “I would say let’s remain friends.”
“You said that was all we were anyway.” Her voice sounded different, breathy and far away.
The walls of the small storage room closed in and the need to escape overtook him. Maybe he could make her leave first. “I suppose goodbye sex is out of the question.”
“You bastard.” She clenched her fist.
As she took a breath to shoot more words at him, their cell phones went off in unison alerting them to a text message. Only one of their inner circle would text them both at the same time. They lifted their phones.
Just back from the doc. Lindsay’s on bed rest till baby comes. Need u guys now. Help!
He scanned the message twice. The words baby and help may as well have been in bold with flashing yellow neon. He looked up Shane’s sister.
With her lower lip quivering, Emily shook her head. “I need to go.”
He held his hand out to her. His chest tightened and he struggled to get a full breath. “Come on.”
She paused.
“Together or not we’re still what we are.” He wiggled his fingers.
At last she put her hand in his. “What are we?”
He fished his keys out of his pocket. “Don’t you mean what were we?”
“What were we?” She let him guide her out of the tattoo shop.
He opened the door for her. “Hell if I know.”
*~*~*
About the Author
Kim Carmichael began writing nine years ago when her love of happy endings inspired her to create her own.
A Southern California native, Kim's contemporary romance combines Hollywood magic with pop culture to create quirky characters set against some of most unique and colorful settings in the world.
With a weakness for designer purses, bad boys and techno geeks, Kim married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running and finally admitted handbags were an investment.
Kim is a member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as some small specialty chapters. A multi-published author, Kim's books can be found on Amazon as well as Barnes & Nobel. From alcohol to makeup to infrared cameras and even scientific lasers studying the atmosphere, Kim has worked in some aspect of sales and marketing for over twenty years. Her most recent book, Permanent, was selected as a finalist in the Assent Publishing's Great Romance Contest 2013.
When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.
Please visit Kim Carmichael online
www.kimcarmichaelauthor.com
www.indeliblymarked.com
Twitter: @kimcarmichael4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kim.carmichael.56
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapte
r Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bonus Sneak Peek: Temporary
About the Author