Delicate Ink

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Not that she’d tell him that though. If she looked like she wanted to cry, he might stop, and then she’d have to sit in the chair again.

  Okay, so it didn’t hurt that bad, but since he had to keep moving her scarred skin around to fully outline the area with daises, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

  “All done, Legs,” Austin said, squeezing her thigh. “You did good.”

  Sierra gave him a strained smile then tried to sit up.

  “Wait, baby. Let me show you your ink and let you rest a bit. I know that hurt like a bitch.” He leaned closer so only she could hear. “I know you like pain, but only from my palm or a flogger. It’s okay.”

  She winced then closed her eyes, and she kissed him. “It wasn’t that bad. Plus I have one more tattoo to get.”

  Austin raised a brow then smiled broadly. “You’re getting the Montgomery Iris?”

  “I’m going to be a Montgomery, aren’t I? It’s tradition.”

  Austin patted her ass and smiled even wider. “Fuck yeah you’re going to be a Montgomery. I can’t wait.”

  “I can’t either.”

  He finished cleaning the area then went over after-care instructions. Luckily she was going home with her artist so he’d be there to help her. She had to admit, the daisies that cascaded around her scars were amazing. They hurt, but she’d wanted to go big for her tattoo, so she couldn’t really blame anyone.

  Austin cupped her face then sighed. “I’m so glad you came into the shop that morning.”

  “You were an asshole, but I love you anyway.”

  “Legs, I’m still an asshole, but I love you too.”

  “Dear Lord, stop with the mush already,” Maya sneered from her corner, though she was smiling.

  “Aww, we love you too, Maya!” Sierra joked. Austin chuckled by her side, and she licked her lips.

  “So, uh, how long until we can properly test out my flexibility with that tattoo?” she whispered.

  Austin’s eyes darkened. “Soon, Legs. Soon.” He groaned. “You do realize I have a client in, like, thirty minutes, right? I can’t ink a dude while I have a hard-on.”

  She patted his face. “Oh, poor baby. I’m going to Eden and will let you get to it. Leif should be getting out of school in a couple hours, so we can all eat dinner together.”

  They sounded so normal. Like a family.

  The idea made Sierra feel like she’d made the right choice, that she was the luckiest girl in the world.

  In fact, she was.

  She’d walked into Montgomery Ink all those months ago for a tattoo and had walked out not only with fresh ink, but a son, a future, and a man she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

  Talk about lucky.

  A Note from Carrie Ann

  Thank you so much for reading Delicate Ink. I do hope if you liked this story, that you would please leave a review. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us authors know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us. I love hearing from readers and talking to them when I can. If you want to make sure you know what’s coming next from me, you can sign up for my newsletter at www.CarrieAnnRyan.com; follow me on twitter at @CarrieAnnRyan, or like my Facebook page. I also have a Facebook Fan Club where we have trivia, chats, and other goodies. You guys are the reason I get to do what I do and I thank you.

  Make sure you’re signed up for my MAILING LIST so you can know when the next releases are available as well as find giveaways and FREE READS.

  Delicate Ink is the first full length book in the Montgomery Ink series. I do hope you enjoyed Austin and Sierra’s story. Each of the Montgomerys will get their own book and a few non-Montgomerys as well. Next up is a novella called Forever Ink that will be in the Hot Ink anthology with Cari Quinn and Sidney Bristol. That should be out in Nov 2014. Forever Ink is about Callie and an older man named Morgan. It’s a super hot novella that is actually longer than most novellas should be! The next full length book will be called Tempting Boundaries and is about Decker and Miranda. Those two have a long road ahead and I for one can’t wait. I love Best Friend’s Little Sister stories!

  If you don’t want to wait for more Montgomery Ink books, I also have my Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Dante’s Circle series going in full swing now so there’s always a Carrie Ann book on the horizon!

  Thank you so much for going on this journey with me and I do hope you enjoyed my Montgomery Ink series. Without you readers, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

  Thank you again for reading and I do hope to see you again.

  Carrie Ann

  About this Author

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.

  Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.

  www.CarrieAnnRyan.com

  Also from this Author

  Now Available:

  Redwood Pack Series:

  An Alpha’s Path

  A Taste for a Mate

  Trinity Bound

  A Night Away

  Enforcer’s Redemption

  Blurred Expectations

  Forgiveness

  Shattered Emotions

  Hidden Destiny

  A Beta’s Haven

  Fighting Fate

  Loving the Omega

  Dark Fates

  The Redwood Pack Volumes:

  Redwood Pack Vol 1

  Redwood Pack Vol 2

  Redwood Pack Vol 3

  Redwood Pack Vol 4

  Redwood Pack Vol 5

  Redwood Pack Vol 6

  Dante’s Circle Series:

  Dust of My Wings

  Her Warriors’ Three Wishes

  An Unlucky Moon

  His Choice

  Tangled Innocence

  Holiday, Montana Series:

  Charmed Spirits

  Santa’s Executive

  Finding Abigail

  Her Lucky Love

  Dreams of Ivory

  Montgomery Ink:

  Ink Inspired

  Ink Reunited

  Delicate Ink

  Coming Soon:

  Redwood Pack

  Wicked Wolf

  Talon Pack (Part of the Redwood Pack World)

  Tattered Loyalties

  Dante’s Circle:

  Fierce Enchantment

  Montgomery Ink:

  Hot Ink

  Tempting Boundaries

  Excerpt: Forever Ink

  Did you enjoy this selection? Why not try another romance from Fated Desires?

  Next From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Montgomery Ink

  Forever Ink

  (Found in the Hot Ink Anthology)

  Being bent over a table for long hours was only one of the perks in being Callie Masters. No, really...the ache that came from that position felt like nothing else. Since being bent over in just that way came from her inking a new client on her own with a brilliant—if she did say so herself—tattoo, she couldn’t wait for the ache again. In fact, if she was reading her boss right, she might just be in for more soon.

  Today was going to be a kickass day. Callie did a little hip shake around the office, humming to herself. When her hands went up into the air, she closed her eyes, swaying to music only she could hear. She danced to the beat in her head, getting herself in the mindset to work. That wasn’t difficult since she freaking loved her job. I’m doing what I always dreamed of doing—and I get
paid for it. How lucky is that? She was twenty-five and knew she was well on her way to actually having a career bringing art, happiness, and memories to those who asked for it.

  Being an apprentice to Austin Montgomery, the co-owner of Montgomery Ink, was a dream come true for some tattoo artists, and she was the one who held the coveted spot. Austin had only apprenticed one other before her, and that had been a few years before she’d come to the shop in search of a new life. She did another hip shake and turned on her heel twice. Her earrings tapped against her jaw as she wiggled around.

  Yes, she’d had just a bit too much coffee. She couldn’t help it though since her favorite place, Taboo, had a side entrance to the shop. Plus, her friend Hailey owned and operated it. Callie felt it was her duty to support the local businesses.

  She shook her butt again.

  Maybe she should lay off the caffeine. Just a bit.

  “Seriously? Dancing alone in the office without any music is weird. Even for you.”

  Sloane, her friend and co-worker, said it with a smile, but Callie still blushed right up to the roots of her black and red hair. She blinked up at the big bald man who didn’t smile as often as he should. He towered over her but she knew he was a big softie.

  Okay, so he could probably crush someone’s head with his bare hands, but he was like her big brother.

  Still, he didn’t have to make fun of her.

  “I was alone. I’m allowed to dance if I want to.”

  Sloane snorted. “Sure you can, sweetie. And when I walk in on you, I’m going to call you crazy. But we still love you.”

  She punched him in the stomach and winced at the pain in her hand. Did all the men in Montgomery Ink bulk up to work here? She felt so puny next to them. Most girls would love that, and she probably would too if she didn’t work day in and day out with them. They all treated her like she was their little sister. It didn’t bother her much considering she felt the same way relationship-wise, but it would be nice if a man gave her a passing glance once in a while.

  Whoa. Where had that come from? Apparently, coming down from a caffeine high led one down the path of loneliness, self-doubt and self-pity. Best to head that off at the pass and get more caffeine.

  Her body begged for the stuff and she grinned. Yep, coffee could fix anything.

  “How’s your hand?” Sloane asked, bringing her out of her coffee fixation.

  She waved it in the air, then stretched her fingers. “Fine, but next time at least try to make it look like I could hurt you. Okay?”

  His lips twitched and he patted her on the head. See? There was no way she’d find him attractive, not when he made her feel like she was his baby sister. Not that there was anything wrong with that. She loved her Montgomery Ink family.

  She just needed to get laid.

  Well then, more caffeine and new avenues of thought were needed.

  Stat.

  “What is going on in that head of yours?” Sloane asked as he moved around her. He shuffled through a few blank notebooks before finding one that fit his tastes, then did the same with the pencils.

  “Nothing.” She cursed. “I mean, nothing important. I think I just need a chai or something.” She shuffled her feet, not knowing what was wrong with her. She’d been antsy for a while now and she couldn’t figure it out. Yes, everything was going great—job, friends, and life in general— and she couldn’t complain, but for some reason, she felt as if she were on the precipice of something…waiting for something she couldn’t quite name. It was as if she were waiting on the sidelines for something to happen.

  And she hated waiting.

  Callie preferred action. If she hadn’t gone for what she wanted in the first place, she wouldn’t be where she was today.

  It wasn’t like she could control that emotion though, so she needed to push it aside and actually get to work.

  “What are you going to draw today?” she asked Sloane when he didn’t comment on her drink preference. He knew she was a caffeine addict and there was no changing her.

  Sloane looked at her briefly out of the corner of his eye before running his hand over the blank page. She loved watching her artists work. They had a system, a way that was unique to each of them. And yes, she did consider them her artists. One day, she might even have a chair and a station of her own. One day.

  “There’s a guy coming in tomorrow for a consult, ex-military.” An odd expression passed over his face, and she held back the urge to comfort him. She knew Sloane was also ex-military, but he never talked about it and she never pushed him. She knew better than that. “He said over the phone he wanted a hawk on his back so I’m going to get him a few samples.”

  Callie nodded, her throat closing up. “And you want this one to be special,” she said quietly.

  Sloane gave her a brief nod, then got back to work, his attention on the pad in front of him—or maybe in the past she and her friends could never quite reach.

  She backed out of the office quietly, grabbing her own notepad, pencil, and wallet on the way. She loved her brothers- and sister-in-ink so much sometimes that it hurt. She wanted to fix all of them but it wasn’t her place.

  “Hey, you going to Hailey’s?” Austin asked from his stool. He had one hand on a beefy dude in front of him and a tattoo gun in the other. Curious, she walked over to them to admire his work.

  She held back a happy sigh at the look of the iguana wrapping itself around the man’s upper arm. Austin was a genius when it came to shading and coloring. He was working on the different shades of green, blending them in so well it looked like a photo, rather than ink on skin.

  “Callie?”

  “What? Oh yeah, I’m going to Hailey’s. You want something?”

  “A small iced coffee would be great. I need a boost.” He glanced at his client. “You want a smoothie or juice from there? We have some things in the fridge, but if Callie is going next door, might as well get something better.”

  His client gave Callie his order—a large strawberry smoothie—and she left the two of them to it. When she got back, she’d either sit with Austin and watch him work, or maybe take a walk. She was at the point where Austin and his sister Maya let her work on small tattoos with their supervision. Anything that took less than an hour was fair game and she loved it. She also knew she was ready for the next step, at least she felt like it, and she hoped Austin felt the same way.

  Callie walked through the side door into Taboo, Hailey’s café and inhaled the rich aroma of soup, fresh coffee, and baked goods. Her mouth watered and she figured she should probably get a small snack while she was there. Caffeine only did so much.

  Hailey stood behind the counter, talking to one of her regulars. Her friend’s bleach blonde bob shined under the lights, not a hair out of place. Callie didn’t know how the other woman did it. She looked perfect even after a long day of working with food, humidity, and customers who had long days as well.

  Callie ran a hand through her black and red hair, knowing it probably looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. She’d used the flat iron over it that morning, but Denver was oddly humid that day. Considering the city air usually sucked the moisture right out of her skin most days, that was saying something.

  “Stop playing with your hair. You look beautiful. As always. Lucky bitch.” Hailey winked, then came over to Callie. “Sit down and tell me what you need.”

  “A man?” she blurted, then shut her eyes. Damn. Totally not what she meant to say.

  Hailey threw her head back and laughed. “It’s about time you said that, although I don’t know if you need a man so much as to get laid.”

  The other customer at the counter sputtered his coffee and Callie laughed, turning to him. “She meant that I don’t need a man in my life, just an orgasm. I’m not a lesbian. Well, I made out with a couple girls when I was, like, nineteen, but that was just experimenting. It’s good to make sure you’re sure about what you want, you know?”

  The man blushed hard, put mon
ey on the counter, and scurried away.

  Hailey laughed beside her. “If I didn’t know that man has probably heard worse coming in here and listening to Maya talk, I’d get angry with you for scaring away business.”

  Callie rolled her eyes. “What? He was listening in to you talking about me getting laid. I just wanted to clarify.”

  “You’re a dork, but I love you. Now, tell me what you want caffeine and food wise since I can’t help you with the getting laid thing.”

  “Shame,” Callie teased.

  Hailey tapped her fingers on the counter. “You know I’m swoon-worthy, but I’m not what you need. Nor are you what I want.” Her eyes drifted over to Montgomery Ink and Callie held back a retort. There were secrets friends kept for one another. Longing, unrequited love, and lust were just parts of it.

  “I want an iced chai, Austin wants a small iced coffee, his client wants a large strawberry smoothie, and I think I’ll take a fruit salad too since I need sustenance.”

  Hailey nodded, then turned back to start working on Callie’s order. “What about Sloane?” Hailey asked casually. Too casually.

  Callie sighed. She couldn’t fix her friends’ problems even if she desperately wanted to. “He’s working on a project that’s probably going to take a lot out of him. I didn’t want to bother him by asking for his drink order when he was so focused.”

  Hailey shook her head, mumbling to herself. “I’ll get him his energy shake and make him a cup of soup.” She looked over her shoulder. “Make sure he eats it. Okay?”

  Callie nodded, knowing Hailey wanted to take care of Sloane even if she couldn’t do it personally. There was only so much she could do, and since Callie was sure she didn’t know the whole of it, she wouldn’t interfere. It wasn’t her place.