Bound by Ink (London Inked Boys Book 2)

by Marissa Farrar

  “It’s different for a guy. We’re naturally attracted to younger women. I don’t know what the hell that thug sees in you. Maybe he thinks you’ve got money.”

  Her hands balled into fists, impotent anger burning through her core. “God, you are such a—”

  “Stop fighting!” Dylan suddenly appeared behind Mike and then pushed past him, getting between them and trying to separate them with his hands. “I hate it when you fight.”

  She bit back her hatred of her husband for her son’s sake. She was sorry he was stuck in the middle of this whole mess. She wished Mike would wait until Dylan was out of earshot before he started giving her grief, but he never seemed to care that Dylan could hear every word, and she didn’t want her son thinking it was okay for him to speak to her that way. A part of her wished she’d never met Mike, but then they would never have had Dylan, and that little boy was her world. There were plenty of times over the past few years where she’d have just given up if it wasn’t for him, but she hated that he was always going to be caught in the middle. Mike was still Dylan’s father, no matter how much of an arsehole he was towards her.

  “Sorry, baby.” She reached for her son and pulled him to her, his face pressed against her stomach. “Mummy and daddy were just talking. We’re done now.” She shot Mike a warning glare. “Aren’t we?”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, course we are.”

  The right words left his mouth, but she knew he was thinking ‘for the moment.’ You didn’t live with someone for almost ten years without knowing exactly what was going through their minds.

  She turned her attention to her son and ruffled his blond curls. “What did you have for breakfast? Are you still hungry?”

  Dylan pouted. “We didn’t have anything yet.”

  Holly bit down on her urge to start a brand-new fight with Mike about not feeding Dylan, but she managed to keep it to herself.

  “What?” Mike said, sensing what she wanted to say, just as she’d done with him. “We needed to get out early. It’s not as though he’s going to starve by waiting an hour.”

  She took a deep breath and steered Dylan past his father. “Let’s get you downstairs and find some breakfast, then.”

  “Fine,” Mike said. “I have to go anyway.” He dropped a kiss on Dylan’s head and then headed to the door without saying another word to Holly.

  The door shut behind him, and she sighed but then plastered a smile on her face for Dylan’s sake. She followed the boy into the kitchen and set about pulling bowls out of cupboards and pouring out cereal and milk.

  Her thoughts went to Kane and the expression on his face when he’d looked between her and Dylan and realised the boy was hers. She should have told him. But it was one thing having an arsehole of an ex, and a whole other thing having a child. She came with baggage, and she’d hoped, just for one night, she could be the person she’d been before—young and carefree. It had been stupid of her to bring Kane back to the house, but Dylan wasn’t supposed to have been coming home yet. Mike liked to do stuff like this, though, just to keep her on her toes. God, she hated him.

  She needed to focus on Dylan now. She doubted she’d ever hear from Kane again, and she didn’t blame him. While she’d not exactly lied, she’d omitted a very important truth. If the situations had been reversed, she’d have been seriously pissed off.

  She’d messed up her one chance of being happy again.

  Chapter Ten

  Fucking hell.

  He certainly hadn’t expected his morning to take that turn.

  Kane had been imagining a morning of coffee and sexy foreplay, not sudden confrontations of angry ex’s and surprise children.

  Shit. Holly had a son. How old was he? Seven? Younger? He’d never been very good at guessing kids’ ages. Why hadn’t she told him? She’d told him about the ex, so why not the kid? He’d much rather she’d been honest than be woken up by the boy calling for his mum first thing in the morning.

  Kane had taken himself back to his flat, his emotions battling each other. That she hadn’t told him, combined with the way she’d tried to shove him into the bathroom to hide, left an uneasy feeling in his gut. Yeah, they’d only know each other for a day, but she’d done something to him. Had affected him in a way no other woman had. He thought they’d shared a connection and he’d wanted more of that—more of her talking to him, her big blue eyes focused on his face. More of her kissing him with those perfect, full lips. More of how her tits filled his hands, spilling over his fingers, the nipples pressing into his palms. Fuck, he got hard just thinking about her.

  Yeah, he wanted more of Holly McCarty, even though every part of his head yelled that it was a bad idea. She had baggage, clearly, and she hadn’t been honest with him. Had she been ashamed of her ex and son seeing her with him? Was it because of the tattoos and long hair? Her ex, Mike, had looked exactly the way he’d pictured—well groomed and stinking of money. He also had that superior, cocky attitude that made Kane want to punch men like him in the face. He acted as though he always thought he was better than everyone else. Someone like Holly deserved way better than a guy like that. No wonder he was an ex.

  Today was a Sunday, and Kane didn’t have much else to do with himself. He needed a shower but he didn’t want to wash the scent of Holly off his skin.

  He didn’t know what steps to take now. Had he just been a bit of fun in her eyes, someone totally inappropriate who she could mess around with for one night, and never see again?

  “SOOOO?” TESS’S AMERICAN drawl met him the moment he stepped through the doors of the shop on Monday morning. “How did it go?”

  Kane threw his bag down behind the reception desk. “It went great—right up until the moment he ex-husband and son walked into the house and caught us in bed together.”

  Tess’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me?”

  “Nope. That was exactly how it happened.”

  Art’s big body came barrelling out from their staff room. He slung an arm around Tess’s neck and kissed her on the top of the head. She smiled up at him, and something in Kane’s chest tightened.

  “How what happened?” his boss asked.

  Tess filled things in on Kane’s behalf. “Kane went out with a hot blonde who he worked on, and her ex-husband and son caught them in bed together.”

  Art’s eyebrows lifted. “Holy shit, man. That’s not good.”

  “What’s not good?”

  They all turned as the fourth member of staff pushed his way through the front door, the bell above tinkling to signal his arrival. Rocco must have just caught the end of the conversation. With his shaved head and goatee beard, together with the customary tattoos he was guaranteed to have after working so long in the shop, Rocco probably looked like the toughest out of all of the guys.

  “Ex-husband and kid catching Kane in bed with the wife,” Tess handily filled in for him again.

  Rocco’s brown eyes widened. “Fuck. That really isn’t good.”

  Kane sucked in a breath through his nose and slowly let it out again. “Nope. And I have no idea what I’m going to do now.”

  “Did you know she had a family?” Tess asked.

  He tugged his hand through his hair and shook his head. “Not the kid, no. She said she had an ex, but I didn’t realise he was still on the scene.”

  “On the scene, as in, they’re still together?”

  “No, I don’t think so. But her having a kid makes things different.”

  Tess shrugged. “It’s not always a bad thing. Kids aren’t just baggage, you know. They’re people in their own right. They can even be fun to hang around.”

  “Yeah, but Kane isn’t after that, are you, mate?” Rocco shoved his elbow into Kane’s ribs. “He just wants a bit of fun, not some ready-made family to walk into.”

  Kane found he couldn’t meet any of their eyes. He and Rocco often spent weekends on the prowl in bars and clubs, picking up beautiful women. Rocco probably didn’t want to lose his wingman.
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  “Yeah, just a bit of fun,” Kane agreed. “That’s all. Besides, it bugs me that she didn’t tell me about the boy. And then she was trying to hide me when they turned up, instead of just introducing me to them.”

  Tess laughed. “Well, you can hardly blame her for that, can you? I mean, sure, she should have told you, but people with kids are different. She’d have been thinking about the boy and how it would have appeared to him, not about you or your feelings. She’d only know you for a day, and it’s not as though you have the image of someone you’d introduce to your mother.” Tess gave him a wink to show she was only joking. After all, Art probably looked even more intimidating that he did—he was certainly bigger, with one of those stretcher rings through his ears and his spiky dark hair—but that hadn’t stopped Tess from hooking up with him.

  Her words still struck Kane in the chest. He didn’t have the best background, but he was lucky Art had taken a chance on him. He understood that he wasn’t exactly someone a woman would be proud to have on her arm. Maybe he was fine to mess around with in the bedroom, but he wasn’t right for someone like Holly. She needed a serious man, a family man—a man like the ex who’d walked into the bedroom that morning, only less of a dick.

  The first customer of the day arrived, and the staff of Carved in Ink burst into action. The conversation was over, but that didn’t mean thoughts of Holly McCarty had left Kane’s head.

  He got on with his morning’s work. He had a cover-up to do, but as much as he tried, he couldn’t focus. Lunch time rolled around. He still had her phone number from the contact info she’d filled in before she’d got the tattoo. He had her email address, too, but emailing felt wrong. Cold and impersonal. Business-like.

  He reached for his mobile phone, and he dialled a couple of numbers but then hung up again and sighed. She wouldn’t want him to call. He was just a one-night thing to her. No more. She had a life. A serious life. And it didn’t seem like there was any room in for him.

  Rocco’s shaved head appeared around the side of his door. “Hey, dude. There’s a hot blonde outside to see you.”

  Kane straightened. A hot blonde? His stomach lurched. Was that who he thought it might be?

  “Okay. I’m just finishing up here. I’ll be out in ten.”

  “Sure.” Rocco threw him a wink. “Don’t keep her waiting too long, or I might steal her out from under you.”

  Kane flipped him the bird and Rocco’s laughter filtered through the door as it shut behind him.

  He turned back to his client, knowing he couldn’t rush through the final stages of the tattoo, while feeling desperate to get out there and see if it was Holly waiting for him. Who else could it be? Okay, he probably did know quite a few hot blondes, but none who would be paying him a visit on a Monday lunchtime. His mind churned. What did they have to say to each other? Holly had a kid. Nothing could change that. And not only did she have a kid, but she’d lied to him about it. He wanted her, though. Deep down, he knew that. But single mothers weren’t the kind of women you just messed around with. They were serious people and deserved respect. Plus, her ex-husband had seemed like a total arsehole.

  Chapter Eleven

  Holly sat out in reception, trying to stop her knee bouncing up and down. The American woman behind the desk kept looking at her, and she found herself shrinking under the scrutiny. How much did the brunette know? Had Kane come in to work that morning and told them everything? God, she must look like a total bitch. And not only that, she felt like a failure. One thing she’d always managed to fail at was relationships, and this was no different. Not that she and Kane even had a relationship. It had been one date, and she’d messed it up. She wasn’t expecting anything else from him. She just wanted to apologise, and doing it over the phone hadn’t seemed right.

  “Can I get you anything?” the American—who Holly thought was called Tess—asked her. “Coffee, tea? Water?”

  “No, I’m fine, thanks,” she replied, shaking her head.

  Another of the tattoo artists walked in and stopped behind the reception desk. He sported a shaved head and a goatee. He was attractive, in a rough-and-ready kind of way—with full lips and cheekbones to die for. He glanced over at Holly sitting in the waiting area and then leaned in and said something quietly to Tess. They both looked back to her, and her cheeks flamed with heat. Okay, so Kane had obviously told them all what had happened. Shit. She just about wanted to die. Maybe this had been a mistake coming here. She should probably leave.

  Then the door to Kane’s studio opened, and a man she didn’t recognise came out, pulling down his shirt sleeve, his biceps covered in the same cling film that had been covering her hip on Saturday, but which she’d since removed, as per the instructions she’d been given.

  Kane followed the guy out, and her heart flipped. He was just as gorgeous as she’d remembered. The jaw-length blond hair, the broad shoulders. The gold-flecked green eyes. She was drawn to him like nothing else, and something in her chest tightened. She wished they could start again and that she hadn’t screwed up so badly.

  Mentally, she shook her head at herself. No, she was here to say sorry, that was all. Not try to restart things. She was a single mother with responsibilities. She needed stability, not some tattoo artist who was too young for her.

  But their eyes locked across the room, and Kane gave her a slow nod. His attention was taken with the client he’d been working on, but as soon as he’d passed the guy over to Tess to pay, he crossed the room towards her.

  Holly got to her feet, pulling at the bottom of her shirt and readjusting the position of her handbag strap on her shoulder.

  “Holly?” he said, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry. It was really stupid of me. I should probably go.”

  Holly suddenly lost her nerve. She turned from him, but he reached out a hand and caught her by the elbow. “No, I’m glad you came. I’ve been thinking about calling you all morning but didn’t want to feel like I was putting you in a difficult position.”

  She blinked. “You putting me in a difficult position? I think I was the one who did that!”

  He laughed. “Okay, yeah, maybe a bit. But I’m glad you’re here.” He jerked his head past the reception desk. The others were all trying to look busy, while they were quite clearly listening in on the conversation. “Come out the back, and I’ll make us both a coffee, okay?”

  Holly exhaled a sigh of relief. He didn’t seem to be angry with her, which was a good thing. She’d half expected him to roll his eyes and ask her what the hell she thought she was playing at, and while he’d obviously been surprised to see her, he looked pleased she was there. Self-consciousness swept over her as they passed Kane’s co-workers to go out the back of the building. She felt out of place here and knew they must have been told what had happened.

  They moved into a small room, which contained a couch, a refrigerator, and a kettle. There was also small kitchen surface for them to use. Kane filled the kettle and clicked it on to boil.

  “I offered you coffee,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. “But I reckon you’re more of a tea drinker.”

  She smiled. “You’d be correct. Thank you.”

  They remained in a companionable silence while he made their drinks—from the aroma, he was having the coffee—and then he handed her mug to her and dropped beside her on the couch. He slung his foot over the top of his knee and twisted to face her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had a son?”

  He came right out with it, not allowing her any chance to pad things up or give the well-rehearsed speech about how she’d been trying to keep her family and private life in two separate boxes.

  “Why do you think, Kane?”

  He stared at her, seemingly baffled. “I seriously have no fucking clue.”

  Yes, she’d come up with a speech, but in the end, she discovered only the truth wanted to come out. She sighed and set down the mug of tea on the small table next to the c
ouch. “Because I thought you’d run a mile if you knew. I told myself this was going to be one night of fun, for me to feel young and sexy again. I didn’t know there would be ... this...” She gestured in the air between them.

  “That we’d have a connection, you mean?”

  “Yeah, exactly.

  “You know, I might be a few years younger than you, Holly, but I’ve been through some stuff in my life. It’s not always been easy, but it did make me grow up quicker. I’ve done all the crazy shit, and that’s not what I want now. You judged me before you even got to know me.”

  She lowered her chin, biting her lip in shame. “I’m sorry.”

  “So what do we do now?” he asked.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Is this over between us before it even had the chance to get started? We could have been something good, Holly. I felt that, I know you did, too.”

  She nodded and, unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what to do. I’d never have wanted to introduce you to Dylan in the way it happened—hell, I’d probably have rather waited months rather than days before I’d introduced you.”

  “You didn’t exactly introduce us,” he pointed out.

  “Yeah, but you know what I mean. And I don’t know what Mike is going to say about it all.”

  Kane frowned. “What does it have to do with him?”

  “He’s Dylan’s father.”

  “And that means he gets to choose who you date?”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  “What do you mean, then, Holly?”

  “Just that it’s something I need to consider.”

  “I understand you taking Dylan into consideration but I really can’t see how who you date has anything to do with your ex.” His tone had hardened again.

  “I guess I’d care who Dylan was around while he’s at his dad’s.”