Rose (Thorn Tattoo Studio Book 1)

by Leslie North

  The last syllable was barely out of her mouth before his lips were against hers. The kiss was passionate, and it stole her breath away, but Giovanni was careful not to push it too far. His touch was tender, like she was more than just an object for his pleasure.

  Like she was someone he truly cared for.

  Someone he loved.

  Tears gathered again in Riley’s eyes, and she wrapped her arms around him and drew herself close. The kiss endured, sweet but sultry, and when it broke, it lingered on her lips and in her heart.

  Riley blinked away her tears and took a small step back.

  “Why don’t I help you with your equipment?” Giovanni asked in a soft voice. “I may have a broken wrist, but I’m not entirely useless.”

  Composing herself, Riley shook her head. “I’m not too sure about that,” she said coquettishly. “I’m worried that you won’t be able to take care of yourself all alone in your apartment with a broken wrist. I think maybe I should stay the night. You know. Just in case.”

  The gleam in Giovanni’s eyes spoke for him.

  The kiss they shared, ravenous and scorching, was the cherry on top.

  Giovanni brought her home that night, and as the apartment door closed behind him, he pulled her into his strong arms and reignited the kiss they had shared in the conference room. The apartment was dark, and Riley didn’t know her way, but she trusted Giovanni. There was an understanding between them now. The cards were laid out on the table, and the way forward was clear.

  There was still ground to cover and things to learn about each other, but their wants were the same. Until he gave her reason not to, she’d trust him blindly.

  He was her protector.

  Giovanni guided her through the apartment, their kiss growing hotter, never breaking. Riley ran her palms along his chest, savoring how muscular his body was and feeling herself start to get wet as she remembered the sculpted planes of his chest and abdomen. Decorated with tattoos, Giovanni’s body was literally a piece of art, and she wanted to enjoy it again and again.

  His hands traveled down her back until his palms met the curves of her ass. He squeezed, and Riley gasped into their kiss and pressed her hips against him. Even with her heels on there was a significant height difference between them, and she felt his hardened cock press against her lower stomach.

  Imagining how deep he’d fill her and how connected they’d be when he pushed all the way inside stirred heat in her groin and pulsed in her clit. Riley craved to feel him stretching her all over again.

  They made it to the bedroom door. Riley pressed him against the doorframe and ground herself against his cock, desperate. The longer he kissed her, his rough lips claiming her in primal ways, the more she wanted him.

  To think they’d have this for as long as they were together—maybe into forever—flushed her cheeks.

  “God.” Giovanni’s lips brushed hers as he whispered the word. “You’re so fucking hot, Riley. I’m so lucky.”

  “You?” Riley hoped he could feel her grinning. “I’m the lucky one. Have you looked in a mirror lately? It’s insane you don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “I do now.” Giovanni’s hands tightened on her wrists, and he pushed her against the doorframe so she was the one now pinned. “I’m dating the hottest girl Vegas has ever seen.”

  “You’re bluffing.”

  “Well.” Giovanni stole another kiss that wrenched at Riley’s soul and made her desperate to take him to bed. Giovanni was untamed, and she wanted him in the worst way. “Admittedly, she’ll be hotter once we get some ink on her, but I still think she’s the hottest woman I’ve ever seen.”

  Riley’s heart jumped into her throat as she imagined herself lounging, nude, looking up at Giovanni as he inked her hip. The pain. The pleasure. Riley pictured how he’d push her onto the bed once he was done and make her forget the pain by making gentle love to her until she came around his cock.

  How they’d spend the rest of the night bringing each other to orgasm, too desperate for each other’s touch to pull away.

  Dizzy, Riley tugged him into the room. They staggered toward the bed together, and Giovanni backed her onto it. Riley’s ass sunk down against the firm mattress. Giovanni’s room smelled like him—like the woodsy cologne he wore, and the natural notes of his body that smelled better to her than any man-made scent ever could. Hard work. Sweat. Masculinity condensed in the air and reminded Riley that she was in the bedroom of a man who wanted her.

  And she wanted no one else but him.

  She crawled backward as he crowded her on the bed until her hand slipped and she fell back against the mattress. Giovanni huffed a dry, growling laugh and lowered himself over her. Their kiss resumed, the pressure of his lips demanding, and Riley gave in to it entirely.

  On the job, she was confident and independent. With Giovanni in the bedroom, all she wanted was to be owned. Taken care of. Made to obey.

  “Take off that pretty dress for me,” Giovanni uttered against her lips. The dominance in his voice sent a shiver down her spine, and Riley knew instantly that she’d obey. “I want to see how good you look naked in my bed.”

  In a haze of kisses and awkward positions, Riley unzipped her dress and managed to tug it off. Left in her bra and thong, she looked up at Giovanni to find that he was shirtless. The bright collage of tattoos on his chest and down his arms captivated her as much as the muscles beneath them.

  “That won’t do,” Giovanni said. His fingers ghosted across the tight skin of her stomach and down to her hips until they brushed against her underwear. “This needs to go. And this, too.” He reached up and squeezed her breast through her bra.

  Even with a single hand, he was driving her wild.

  Riley stripped out of her underwear without a second thought. With other men, she’d always felt shy, as though she had something to be ashamed of. With Giovanni, she had no hesitation at all.

  When Riley was bare from the waist down, she lifted herself on her elbows and undid the clasp of her bra. The straps fell slack and slipped down her shoulders, and she cast the garment aside.

  Giovanni growled under his breath as he watched, and Riley’s sex throbbed in response. She knew she was drenched, and she wanted him desperately.

  “Gio….”

  But his lips were on hers, crushing, needy, and she had nothing more she could say even if she wanted to. Riley drowned in him, and she didn’t regret a second of it.

  Together, they slid Giovanni’s pants from his hips and worked down his boxer-briefs to expose his swollen cock. Riley took it in her hands, caressing it as it drooled precum for her. One of the only parts of Giovanni’s body that was untouched by ink was hers and hers alone.

  The power in knowing a man like him wanted her was astounding.

  Giovanni pressed her against the bed, and Riley parted her legs for him. Their bodies responded to each other naturally, as though they’d been lovers for years. Giovanni worked his hips against her, supporting his weight on his left hand while Riley held and stroked his cock. Effortlessly, they were joined. Giovanni stretched her out and Riley threw her head back in ecstasy.

  The indescribable force that was Giovanni refused to let her go. Riley gyrated her hips and pushed back against him as he thrust into her, delirious pleasure numbing her to everything but the man on top of her. He sank all the way in, then pulled out and did it all over, time and time again, until she was babbling his name and begging for more.

  Giovanni challenged her in her professional life and owned her in her private life. The satisfaction of giving in was otherworldly. Even with a broken wrist, he ravaged her. Riley had never known a greater lover.

  Like in a dream, only flashes of what they shared registered in her mind. Blinding pleasure. Giovanni’s low, gravelly grunts. The weight of his body. The rocking of his hips. The throbbing of her sex. The way her orgasm clenched low and came on all at once.

  Riley cried out, desperate and breathy, as Giovanni pushed her over the edg
e. Her body pulsed and tightened around him, and she felt every inch inside of her, buried deep.

  Giovanni’s cock pulsed and he shuddered as he came. Hot seed shot into her, and Riley clutched at him tight and held herself to him. Panting and slick with sweat, they collapsed on the bed. Giovanni slipped out of her and lay by her side. Riley took a few deep breaths to fill her aching lungs before she spoke.

  “So, after all that, I have a feeling you’ll be fine on your own overnight,” Riley murmured as she drew herself to his chest and kissed him. “… but I’m going to stay over, just in case I’m wrong.”

  “You’re wrong sometimes?” Giovanni cocked a brow and Riley snorted.

  “Rarely, but it does happen. So I’m going to stay here, with you, to make sure you’ve got everything you need. Sound good?”

  “It sounds perfect.” Giovanni kissed her forehead, and Riley melted. Not only was he the best partner she’d ever had, but he made her feel like she was sixteen and in love for the first time all over again.

  In love.

  Riley blushed and cuddled up with Giovanni.

  After all the fear and uncertainty, what could have been a terrible situation had turned into the best possible outcome. Riley was in love, and Giovanni wanted her. Together, they were going to make it work.

  The future had never been brighter. She was working a job she loved alongside a man she loved, and soon, she was sure she’d grow to love Las Vegas, too.

  She’d strayed off the path, but had returned just in time to find her happy ending.

  The struggle had been worth it.

  She’d found Giovanni, but more importantly, she’d found herself along the way. No matter what happened between them, Riley wouldn’t trade the moments they shared for the entire world.

  20

  Giovanni

  “No, there aren’t any available slots for the next three months, and we only book out three months at a time.” Giovanni sat back at his desk and held the phone to his ear. Since Ben had started to apprentice with Riley, and the new girl, Lauren, had been tending to the front, he’d picked up some of the slack. These days the phone rang almost off the hook. They’d had to hire a dedicated piercing and walk-in artist to keep up with demand.

  “None at all?”

  “No. Every artist in the shop is booked solid. What I can do is put you on a waiting list, and if there are cancellations, you’ll be called. There are separate lists for each artist.”

  “I’m looking to book with Riley,” the woman on the phone said. “I’ve seen some of her photo realism, and I know she’s going to be able to do justice to a picture of my late father. I need to book with her.”

  “I’ll put you on the list, then. I’ll need your name and a phone number I can reach you at.” Giovanni keyed the information into the agenda app, grateful that Riley had installed it when she had. With business booming like it was, keeping everything straight in the leather bound appointment book would have been a nightmare.

  The conversation wrapped up. Giovanni thanked the woman, hung up, and then yawned and stretched until he popped his spine. When Riley had started doing it, it had disturbed him. Now he mimicked it without a second thought.

  Thorn Tattoo was thriving.

  After a rocky quarter, they’d rebounded and capitalized on every opportunity. With Riley’s big brain, they’d come up with a plan of action, and with her charisma, they’d connected with Mitch who in turn introduced them to the giants of the tattooing industry. A reporter for Inked magazine covered the progress on the back piece Riley and Mitch designed together, and after that, there was no turning back.

  Riley selflessly dragged all of them into the spotlight with her, and every time Giovanni thought about how far she’d come and how much she’d given the shop, his love for her grew even more. It was six months since the second workshop, and he couldn’t imagine their relationship or business going any better.

  Even Mal and Jaime had become better artists through her guidance, and Ben was doing a spectacular job. In a few months, once he was confident in his skills, Giovanni knew he’d be as good as the rest of them.

  Giovanni himself felt like his art had improved.

  Every day at the shop was a new adventure as new clients walked through the door, but without the possibility of closure, nothing bothered him anymore. Coming to work every day was fun.

  Seeing Riley there made it better.

  As soon as her lease was up, they were planning to move into an apartment together, and Giovanni couldn’t wait. She spent at least half the week at his place, anyway, but he was looking forward to seeing her face every morning when he woke up, and saying goodnight to her every night when he went to bed.

  The phone at his desk double-rang, signaling an internal call. Giovanni picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. “Yo.”

  “Hi, Gio,” Lauren said uneasily. “I need someone up at the front? There’s some guy here—”

  “I’ll be right there.” Giovanni put the phone down and exited the office. After what had happened with Riley on her first day on the job, he wasn’t willing to let Lauren handle aggressive customers on her own. If she thought any customer was going to be trouble, she was to call him immediately. Increased fame meant an increased number of assholes, Giovanni quickly learned. He dealt with them swiftly and refused to let them threaten his employees.

  By the time he left the office, Riley was already on her way to the front.

  The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Since they’d started dating, Giovanni had become increasingly protective over her, and it drove Riley insane. She always insisted she could take care of herself, but Giovanni didn’t like the thought that what was his could be hurt. But Riley was as stubborn as ever.

  He couldn’t blame her. There were plenty of things he was still stubborn about as well.

  Riley stood with her back to him, talking to a man who towered over her. A wall of muscle, he was imposing. The scowl on his face and the many visible tattoos set Giovanni on high alert.

  His wrist still wasn’t one hundred percent healed, but if he needed to, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw punches if it meant he was keeping Riley safe.

  Before he got close, Riley handed a clipboard to him and shook his hand. A stiff cardboard envelope exchanged hands, and the man stepped back. Once he cleared away from her, Giovanni saw the delivery uniform he wore. He was a courier, not a client. Riley had just signed for a package.

  She turned and saw him, her face brightening. “Hi, Gio.”

  “Hey. How’s your day going?” Riley was always busy in her tattoo bay, and now that she was training Ben, she was busier than ever. The times they saw each other during the day were few.

  “Good. I left Ben to work with the client on some sketches. He really seems to be doing great.” She handed the envelope to him. “Here. This has your name on it. I had to sign for it, so I take it it’s something important.”

  Giovanni took it and checked the sender information. He grinned and handed it back to her. “This is actually for you. Why don’t you open it?” The look on Riley’s face was a cross between distrust and curiosity, and Giovanni snorted. “It’s not like it’s got live snakes in it. Open it up. It’s a surprise.”

  The package was sealed with a perforated strip, and Riley shot him one last look before she tore it open. Carefully, she slid the documents out from inside and looked them over. Giovanni watched her face carefully. The distrust turned to confusion, then alarm. He choked back a laugh as Riley looked up at him, eyes wide.

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re not serious!” her voice was shriller by the second.

  “I am.”

  “Giovanni!” It was rare these days that she used his full name, and Giovanni had to laugh. There was no holding it back any longer. “I can’t accept something like this!”

  “Well, then consider it professional development.” He shrugged. Riley punched him square in the chest, and he t
ook a few steps backward as he wheezed in laughter. “What?”

  The surprise had taken months of planning, but he’d finally worked it out. In the cardboard envelope were two badges for a tattoo festival in Ireland taking place in three months. Giovanni was going to speak at one of the events, but what he was most excited for was to reunite Riley with her aging grandparents.

  At its core, the trip was a business expense. Beyond that, he was eager to meet the people who’d raised Riley and turned her into the fantastic young woman that she was. Secretly, Giovanni hoped to corner her grandfather and ask him for permission to marry Riley, but he wouldn’t be sharing that surprise with her any time soon.

  “Gio,” Riley murmured. She looked up from the badges, tears in her eyes. “This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

  “And you’re the sweetest thing that’s ever walked into my life, so I say we’re pretty even.” He stepped forward and kissed her on the forehead, and Riley sniffled and buried her head against his chest. For a moment they held each other, and in that moment, Giovanni knew that he’d truly found the right woman for him.

  Riley wasn’t like anyone else, and he was a fool if he would let her walk away.

  Their forever would be paved in laughter, adventure, and ink.

  Epilogue

  Giovanni

  One year later

  “Gio, why are you being so secretive about my tattoo? Shouldn’t I know what you’re putting on my body permanently?” Riley demanded as she attempted to peek over her shoulder while she reclined on the chair in her tattoo bay. Giovanni had reclined it back but not completely flat as he wanted to make sure the tattoo would flow the way he’d envisioned it. Licking his lips, he tasted lemon and something earthy, as he looked at Riley with her hair tumbled over her shoulders as though she’d just woken up.