Something for the Pain (Pain #2)

by Victoria Ashley

  Still . . . I can’t help but to wonder how he’s feeling or what he’s thinking. I want to know if there’s just the slightest chance that it meant something to him. I want to know that I wasn’t the only one that felt it.

  “Tripp. You over there daydreaming or something?”

  I snap out of my thoughts of Alex when I hear Lucas’ voice behind me. He just came out of his room from getting ready for work and I’ve been here in the kitchen making breakfast to keep my mind off things.

  I shake my head and force a smile, before looking over my shoulder at him. “No, I was just concentrating on the bacon.” I lie. “I’m still trying to wake up is all.”

  Lucas’ arms snake around my waist from behind, and within seconds I feel his lips brush against my neck. “Damn girl . . . you must still be exhausted from last night. You two definitely put on a pretty intense show. No lie. If I didn’t know better I would think you two had something going on.” His hands wander my body, stopping on my breasts. He moans in my ear as he cups each one, giving them a light squeeze. “I can’t wait to have you in my bed tonight. Just imagine the physical pleasure you had with Alex, but with emotions mixed in. That will be us, baby. Just wait.”

  Pressing his erection against my ass, he bites my neck and begins grinding against me. He starts out slow, before speeding up, pushing me against the counter as if all he wants to do is lift up my dress and take me right here in the kitchen.

  A feeling of uneasiness takes over and I can’t help but try to squirm my way out of his hold. After last night I’m just not in the mood to be this close to Lucas. It doesn’t feel right and he couldn’t be more wrong about last night. The emotions were there for me with Alex far more than they’ve ever been with him.

  “Lucas . . .” I jerk my neck away from his mouth and reach for the fork to flip the bacon. “I need to watch the food. It’s going to burn.”

  Reaching over, Lucas turns off the burner and goes back to kissing my neck. Does he not get the hint? Is it that hard? His dick definitely is.

  I stiffen even more in his arms and push him away with quickness when Alex clears his throat from the doorway.

  “Am I interrupting something?” He asks with a hint of annoyance. “I’ll be quick.” Looking past Lucas, he walks over to me, grabs my chin, and kisses me on the cheek, his lips lingering there for a moment too long.

  I can’t deny that it has my heart jumping.

  The room is silent as Alex walks over to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. I can’t help but to notice the way his jaw steels when his eyes meet mine. Our eyes stay locked as he opens his water and takes a drink. The intensity reminds me of the bedroom. Is that weird?

  Giving Lucas one last push with my hip, I adjust my dress and go back to cooking the bacon. Why does this feel so awkward? Is it time for Lucas to leave yet? “Morning. Want some breakfast?”

  Alex looks at Lucas, before taking a seat at the bar and adjusting the crotch of his favorite jeans as his eyes land back on me. Damn . . . those jeans. He put them back on this morning. Looking me up and down, he cracks his neck. “Yeah. You know I can’t turn down your cooking, babe. I’m fucking starving.”

  Lucas runs his tongue over his lips, before grabbing my chin and leaning in for a quick kiss to show his confidence in us. “I need to run. There’s some important things to discuss at work this morning.” Walking past Alex, he grabs his shoulder and squeezes, before snatching up a banana and walking toward the door. “Hey, you two behave when I’m gone.” He winks and then does this little spin out the door, leaving Alex and I alone for the first time since . . . last night.

  Trying to act normal, I shut off the stove and make Alex’s plate like I usually do when I cook for him. I just hope that he’s starving like he said, because I somehow managed to almost overflow his plate.

  “Am I two people now or are you planning on eating off my plate, Firecracker?”

  Alex lifts his brows and gives me a playful smile as I set his plate down in front of him. It gives me a sense of relief to see him acting like his normal playful self.

  “Shut up and eat.” I tease. “I’m serving you breakfast on no sleep.” The last part slipped. The last thing I want him to know is that I lost sleep over him.

  His face takes on a serious look as he watches me walk back over to the stove to fix my own plate. He doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his eyes studying me, trying to figure me out.

  Stop it!

  I take my time preparing my plate, so that I can gather my composure and play it off, before facing him again.

  By the time I take a seat next to him his plate is half empty and he’s shoving a bite of hash browns into his mouth, chewing as if it’s the best thing he’s ever eaten. Then again, he always eats that way when I cook for him.

  Laughing under my breath, I watch Alex as he grabs for the bottle of whipped cream and squirts it all over my French toast. “Whoa there,” I say while reaching for his hand to stop him. “That’s enough. Alex . . .” I finally manage to get him to stop his whipped cream attack on my toast. I love whipped cream, but damn, not so much that I want to swim in it.

  “My bad,” he says with a wink. “Now eat up, babe.”

  I playfully kick his leg while grabbing for my fork and cutting off a piece of French toast. There’s so much whipped cream that it’s hard to find the actual food beneath it. I take a bite and my mouth becomes filled and covered completely with whipped cream.

  Laughing, I run my tongue over my lips, doing my best to get it all off.

  Alex must find it amusing, because he bites his bottom lip and laughs. “You missed a spot.” Without warning, he leans in and runs his tongue over my lips, before stopping on the corner of my mouth and kissing it.

  As if he just realized what he did, he stiffens and pulls away, running a hand through his dark hair. “It’s gone . . . now eat up.”

  Finishing my breakfast is extremely hard after that. He just licked my fucking mouth and now he expects me to just eat up and pretend that it never happened. Hell . . . I can hardly breathe. How am I supposed to eat?

  I shake my head and clear my throat. “What are your hours at the shop today?”

  “Early,” he says while chewing his food. “I gotta be there by nine to finish this girl’s sleeve.”

  A girl . . . surprising.

  “And it’s . . .” My eyes land on the time lit up on the microwave. “8:45 now.”

  “Shit.” Alex jumps up in a hurry and starts reaching for his dirty plate.

  “Go,” I demand, while reaching for his plate to stop him. “I’ll take care of this.”

  “Thanks, babe.” Reaching for my head, he plants a kiss on the top and rushes to the door. “Come see me later.” He stops at the door and turns around to face me when I don’t respond. “Okay?”

  I nod my head and force a smile. “Don’t I always?”

  Flashing me his charming, dimpled smile, he dips out the door in a hurry and all I can think about is the lucky girl that gets to spend the next two or so hours with him.

  My heart sinks as I imagine her touching him and flirting with him. That’s why the girls go to him, right?

  I shake my head and start cleaning up breakfast. I’m sure that’s not the only reason. He does happen to be one of the best artists that I know. Maybe she’s not even his type. I can only hope, because there’s no way in hell I will be able to deal with him bringing another girl home. Not right now at least. Not until I get him out of my system.

  God only knows how long that will take . . .

  DESPITE MY MIND BEING ON Tripp the whole time, I still manage to make it through my first appointment of the day. It was definitely a bad decision to choose the night before a two hour long tattoo session to sink into my best friend’s pussy.

  I actually had to stop a few times and pretend like I was giving Heidi a damn break, when really it was for my benefit. I couldn’t concentrate for shit, constantly picturing the little sounds that Tripp mad
e as I filled her with my cock last night and made love to her.

  I even found myself pushing down a hard-ass dick every so often, and it didn’t help matters that my client, Heidi, thought it was because of her. I could tell by that confident little smirk as she watched me each and every time.

  With a bite of her lip and a flip of her hair, she kept grabbing my thigh and squeezing as if she needed it to fight against the pain from the tattoo gun. Maybe it was a little, but that wasn’t the only reason.

  Every time her hand got higher, I found myself readjusting in my seat, making sure that my dick was outside of her reach. It’s definitely a first time for that.

  I’ve been here for five hours now and I’m standing out in the lobby, talking to Ace as he plays his video game in between his appointments.

  “I saw that cute little redhead leave unhappy this morning. What was up with that? You didn’t tap that ass?”

  “Nah, man.” I flip his hat off his head and laugh. “Just worry about your game, bro.”

  Sitting up straight, he looks over his shoulder at me, eyebrow raised as he eyes me up. “What the fuck? You seriously didn’t jump on that shit? No wonder she looked pissed. What she needed was a good fuck.”

  “Why didn’t you give it to her, man?” I question, honestly curious. “You could’ve made her whole day.”

  He lets out a small laugh and turns back to his game. “She was all about you, man. She shoulder checked my ass and pushed her way out the door. I wasn’t about to have her rip my dick off.”

  “Good choice. I can’t say that I haven’t had a girl or two try,” I admit, placing my hand over my dick. “It’s not cool.”

  “Where’s Tripp?” Ace throws his controller down beside him. “Well damn.” He turns back to me. “She’s usually here bringing your pussy ass lunch. Did you deny her the dick too? You’re just pissing all the women off?”

  “Fuck off.” I tease. “Things aren’t like that with us. We’re friends,” I say, less confidently.

  “I don’t see how. She’s fine as fuck . . . and those dresses.” He stops to suck his bottom lip into his mouth and grab his dick. “She’s just waiting to be bent over.”

  “I said fuck off, Ace.” I growl out. “Watch your fucking mouth when it comes to her.”

  “Whoa, man.” Ace throws his arms up and takes a step around the couch. “I was only joking. I didn’t know she worked you up that much.”

  Clenching my jaw, I look him up and down. “Yeah . . . well now you do.”

  Ace is my guy and he knows it. We’ve been cool for the last six months or so, but I draw a fucking line. No one, and I do mean no one, talks that way about Tripp. I’ll rip a motherfucker’s heart out.

  “Sorry, brotha.” Ace grips my shoulder and shakes it. “We’re cool, right?”

  I pound my fist with his and nod my head as I start to cool down. Ace is just Ace. I know this by now, but for some reason his words really struck a nerve today. I really need some alone time for a few minutes to get my shit together.

  “I’ll be in my room. My next client isn’t scheduled for another thirty minutes. Send her on in if you’re out here still when she arrives.”

  “Sure, man. If not, I’ll let Styles know when he gets back from lunch.”

  Shutting myself in my room, I start to wonder about what Ace said. It’s way past lunch and usually Tripp shows up around that time when I know she’s stopping in for the day.

  The thought causes me to worry that maybe I messed up big time last night. Should I have gone to her room and held her? I wanted to. I wanted to so fucking bad. She’s not the girl that you just fuck and let her run off, but that’s exactly what I did.

  I only did it because I thought it’s what I was supposed to do to avoid mixing up what it was. Maybe I was wrong.

  Shit . . .

  “Hey, Stud.”

  I look up and exhale, long and hard, when I hear the sweet sound of Tripp’s voice. Seeing her is exactly what I need and don’t need at the moment.

  “Hey, babe.” I smile and walk over to give her a hug, before grabbing the white sack out of her hand and motioning for her to sit down. “Smells so fucking good . . .”

  She laughs and watches me as I empty out the contents of the bag. “Well, I got your favorite.”

  I tilt my head to look back at her, our eyes locking. “I meant you, Firecracker.” I run my tongue over my lips and laugh. “But the food comes in close second.”

  Her hands tightly squeeze the chair between her bare legs, but she pretends that my words had no effect on her. I don’t need her to speak for me to know. I can read her like a fucking book.

  We stay mostly quiet while we both eat, but every time I look over at her I want to tell her how much I want her right now. I want her so fucking bad, but I just chew my damn burger, hoping that it will keep my mouth occupied long enough that I don’t say some stupid shit.

  The fact that her chest is quickly rising and falling tells me that she has something to say too. The question is whether or not we’re smart enough to keep our mouth shut.

  “I want a tattoo,” she blurts out. “Will you give me one?”

  I set my burger down and watch as she wraps the rest of hers up. “You know I will, Firecracker. I’ll give you anything you want.”

  She sits back in the chair and closes her eyes. “I’m ready.”

  “What? Right now?” I shove the rest of the food into the bag and walk over to stand above her. “What do you want?”

  “Anything you give me, Alex.” She opens her eyes and they lock on mine, long and hard, before she speaks again. “I trust you with my body. Even more now than before.”

  Fuck me . . .

  I swallow hard and make a quick decision. I have a client coming in any minute now, but the urge to mark her body is too strong to pass up. “Give me a minute.”

  Walking out to the lobby, I look down the list of appointments and get the number that I’m searching for, before calling it and leaving a message for the client.

  “Ace, if my client comes in, tell her I made a mistake and I need to reschedule. Don’t send her back to my room, alright?”

  Ace nods. “Sure, man. I’ll be out here for the next fifteen minutes or so. I got your back.”

  When I reenter my room, Tripp is lying shirtless with only her bra and shorts on. Is this woman trying to kill me? First she wants me to mark her sweet body and now she’s laying there shirtless, waiting on me.

  She is by far the sexiest, most tempting thing to ever be in that tattoo chair.

  “I heard you tell Ace about your rescheduled appointment.” She sits up, breathing heavily. “We don’t have to do this today.”

  Walking over to her, I press my hand on her shoulder and gently lay her back down. I try my hardest not to stare too hard at her breasts, but her body is too beautiful not to look at.

  “I always make time for you over anyone else. It’s always been that way and it’s not changing anytime soon.”

  A sweet smile crosses her face as she takes a deep breath and exhales. “You’re too good to me, Alex. I promise you that.” I can hear the nervousness in her voice, but her face is doing pretty good at hiding it. I give her credit, but like I said, she can’t fool me.

  “So I can give you anything that I want,” I ask while getting prepared. “Are you sure about that? I’ll give you a few seconds to rethink that decision,” I say with a hint of a smile.

  “I’m not changing my mind, Alex. I’ve seen everything that you have drawn and I would be happy with any of it.”

  She hasn’t seen all of it. There was a picture that my mom used to paint for me as a kid. I was obsessed with it, so she used to paint it on all of my letters. It’s simple, but so was she. My mother was the sweetest woman I knew, and when she got sick she would write both Memphis and I a letter every month until the day the cancer took her from us. Memphis finally got all of his letters a few months ago, when I felt he was ready for them. I didn’t want to throw the
m at him fresh out of prison and overwhelm him. His had a special painting too.

  “You want it right here?” I run a finger over the side of her ribcage, causing her to close her eyes and moan.

  “No,” she breathes. Grabbing my hand, she brings it under her right breast. “Right here.”

  Yup . . . she’s definitely trying to kill me.

  Taking a seat in my chair, I pull it up until I’m right where I need to be. I get ready to reach for the bottom of her bra to lift it a little, but she sits up and unclasps her bra, catching it before it exposes her breasts.

  “Would it be easier without this?” She watches me, waiting for an answer. “You’ve already seen my breasts, so this will be no different. I want it as easy for you as possible.” She lets out a small laugh. “Especially since I’m kind of barging in here.”

  Reaching for her bra strap, I slowly pull it down and away from her right breast. My dick instantly gets hard as my eyes set on her hard nipple. This is going to be the hardest tattoo I’ve ever had to do.

  “Yeah,” I say with a crack of my neck, working hard to cover my want to sink back between her sweet thighs. “This gives me more room to work with. Get comfortable, Firecracker. You’re trusting me so . . .”

  I flash my dimples at her when she smiles up at me and relaxes in her seat, then I slip on my gloves and prepare the gun and ink.

  While holding my breath, I cup her breast in my hand and lift it enough to get right underneath where I place the first star. I’m trying my best to concentrate, but I can see her watching my face as I work, and it makes me extremely horny. She’s studying me, concentrating on her, and it makes me want to focus on pleasing her body and making her mine . . . again.

  I do my best to focus on the trail of stars, making it harder when I notice her eyes lower down to my hard dick. She doesn’t know that I’m watching her, but for the spot that I’m doing, I can afford to pull my eyes away for a few seconds.