Abiding Ink (Inked in the Steel City #4)

by Ranae Rose

  “Okay.” She exhaled and her breath formed a misty vapor that drifted up to kiss his lips.

  He couldn’t resist. Leaning down, he pressed his mouth to hers. Despite the heat that throbbed in his groin, he started off chaste – or as chaste as he could be with a woman whose naked body he’d kissed spilled sugar off of, anyway.

  She responded with surprising aggressiveness, slipping her tongue past his lips and letting it tangle with his. For several mind-blowing moments, they stayed locked together like that. Then a car pulled into the parking lot, bass booming to the tune of some sort of weird “Jingle Bells” remix. “I’ll see you New Year’s Eve.”

  “At seven,” she replied. “I’ll be ready for you then.”

  * * * * *

  Jed had been right – Karen had devised a whole new decorating scheme for New Year’s. Her and Jed’s house still shone silver and bright everywhere Tyler looked, but the tinsel and fake presents were gone. So far as Tyler could tell, the theme was glitter. It was everywhere – dusted across tables and other surfaces, even strewn across the staircase. The paper gingerbread men had been replaced by strings of silver stars that also looked as if Karen had recruited help from Abby’s niece again. Overall, it was as if the universe had imploded inside the historic house, producing lots of messy glitz and a buffet of snacks with one big bang.

  “This bruschetta is so good,” said Mallory, who was scooping some onto a cracker as Tyler put together a plate of his own. “You should try some.”

  “Karen made it,” said Jed, appearing by the table and reaching for a tray of brownies. “I’m sure she’d give you the recipe, if you wanted.”

  Tyler suppressed a smirk as Jed took a bite of his brownie, his expression sober as he chewed. There was glitter on his lip, bright as day against the dark scruff that shadowed his jaw.

  “That’d be great,” Mallory said.

  Jed motioned to the left. “Here she comes.”

  In a sweater spangled with sparkly silver thread, Karen matched the party theme. “You mentioned me?” she said, shooting Jed a grin as she bounced on her toes, hands behind her back.

  “I was telling Mallory that you’d share your bruschetta recipe,” Jed said, still oblivious to the glitter lining his lips.

  “Oh, sure.” Karen’s grin widened. “Remind me to write it down for you before you leave. I was actually just coming to find you, Mallory… Well, you and Tyler.” She whipped her hands out from behind her back, revealing – big surprise – more silver sparkliness. “Ahem.”

  A few heads turned in Karen’s direction, and she cleared her throat again. Soon everyone was staring – all the Hot Ink artists and both the receptionists, plus the others they’d brought – Sam, Abby’s husband, and Jess, Mina’s little sister.

  “It’s almost midnight,” Karen announced, now the center of attention. “And that means it’s time for a tradition.”

  Still chewing his brownie, Jed was silent, his gaze trained on Karen, expression unreadable.

  Tradition? Tyler had attended Jed’s New Year’s party annually for several years and the closest thing to a tradition that he could come up with was the fact that someone usually made sure the TV was on so they could watch the ball drop when the clock struck midnight.

  “I’m talking about crowning a King and Queen of the New Year, of course,” Karen continued, raising the items she’d whipped out from behind her back.

  They were crowns, or tiaras, or whatever those things prom queens wore were called.

  “Are you sure that’s a tradition?” Tyler asked as the gems glued all over the gaudy things winked at Karen’s audience.

  Karen had been present at last year’s party and there hadn’t been any sort of crowning.

  “It’s a tradition starting this year,” she said. “Which makes you the first annual King of the New Year.”

  Next thing he knew, she was cramming one of the beauty-queen headdresses onto his skull. He tried to step away, but she was tall – especially in the heeled boots she wore – and cornered him against the buffet table, her eyes shining with feral glee. “Congratulations!”

  “What the hell?” He reached up, rubbed the side of his head and began to pull the crown away.

  Karen slapped his hand lightly. “Leave it on, at least until after midnight. I’ve got to take photos.”

  Tyler glanced around desperately, not daring to meet Mallory’s eyes and settling for Jed’s instead.

  Jed looked away rapidly, taking another big bite of his brownie.

  The bastard was probably just glad Karen hadn’t decided to crown him the King of the New Year. Or the king of dumbasses, which was what he felt like as he stood there glittering in front of a shrimp platter.

  A bright light flashed from the little crowd gathered by the couch, and Tyler almost told whoever had just snapped a picture to put their phone away, only he realized first that it had been Jess. Biting his tongue, he settled for glaring at no one in particular.

  “And Mallory,” Karen said, “you’ve been elected Queen of the New Year.” Karen lowered the smaller tiara onto Mallory’s head, carefully setting it on top of her curls instead of jamming it down onto her skull like she had to Tyler. “Congratulations.”

  She never said who exactly had been in charge of “electing” the King and Queen.

  Mallory played along, flashing Karen a bright smile. “Wow, thanks.”

  “Now…” Karen glanced down at the watch she wore on one wrist. “If I’m not mistaken, we’re only a couple minutes away from midnight. And it’s tradition for the King and Queen of the New Year to kiss when the clock strikes twelve.”

  Tyler rolled his eyes. It might as well have been February – Karen was obviously playing Cupid, and with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. Tyler might have refused to play along, except…

  No way in hell was he going to miss out on a chance to feel Mallory’s sweet lips against his. As soon as the midnight hour arrived, he grabbed her by the waist and crushed his lips to hers, wrapping his arms around her. The ball dropped as their tongues entwined – he heard the cheer coming from the TV in the background. By the time he and Mallory pulled apart, the room’s other occupants had broken into a smattering of applause, led by Karen.

  Jed stood at her side, his hair mussed, a slightly dazed look in his eyes. The glitter was gone from his lip and sparkled on Karen’s instead.

  “Not so fast,” Karen said when Tyler lifted a hand to his head. “I need to take photos of the King and Queen together. It’s not a tradition if there are no photos.”

  * * * * *

  “So for being so small, that party was really something,” Mallory said, adjusting the rhinestone-studded tiara that sat on top of her head, a circlet of silver and crystal above her curls. “I definitely wasn’t expecting anyone to be crowned King and Queen of the New Year.” She dusted her hands across the front of her dark, slim-fitting jeans. “I kinda feel like I underdressed.”

  Tyler barely suppressed a groan. “Everyone was wearing jeans. You look great. As for the king and queen thing, that was all Karen. Every day she spends with my boss Jed, she gets happier and she’s gotten to the point where she thinks she needs to spread true love’s joys to everyone she knows.”

  He rolled his eyes even though he was actually glad that Jed had found someone, just like everyone else at Hot Ink was. For years after the death of his wife, he’d seemed determined to spend the rest of his life alone. Now, he and Karen had been dating seriously for more than a year, and showed no signs of stopping.

  “Really?” Mallory raised a brow.

  “Yeah. She thinks I’m some bumbling doofus of a bachelor and apparently she got all excited when I brought you to the party – I never bring anyone to the parties, so in her eyes we’re practically engaged already. I’m pretty sure she made up the king and queen thing on the spot just to force us to pose for those pictures together.”

  “Hmm.” Mallory looked thoughtful. “That begs the question – why
would she have had the tiara and crown on hand if she hadn’t planned it in advance?”

  Tyler shrugged. “She’s just the kind of person that would have that stuff. They were probably props for one of her photo shoots. She’s a professional photographer.”

  “Okay. But why aren’t you wearing yours?” She held up the bejeweled crown Karen had crammed down onto his head at the party. “The sparkly stones really bring out your eyes.”

  “I’ll put it in the back of my closet with my one and only suit, save it for a special occasion.”

  She stepped forward, crowding him in the doorway of his own apartment as he twisted the deadbolt into place. “Isn’t tonight a special occasion?” A slow smile curled her perfect lips.

  “It doesn’t have to be,” he said, knowing what she meant and remembering what they’d talked about last time he’d seen her. “I mean, we don’t have to sleep together. As long as you keep that bulky coat on and don’t sweet-talk me out of my shirt like last time, I’m pretty sure I can control myself for at least ten minutes. That’s long enough to have a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind burning your tongue a little.”

  “Let’s just set something straight right now.” She placed her hands on her hips, and didn’t move out of his personal space. “Coming back to your place ‘for coffee’ is code for sex. I knew what I was doing when I said I wanted to come here with you after the party. So from now on, when I agree to this, just assume that I’m planning to sweet-talk you out of your shirt … and other things.” She reached out and placed a hand on his chest.

  Even through his jacket, it felt good. The pressure brought a promise of her heat and softness, and his dick sprang to instant attention. “You sure?” At this point, he didn’t trust himself to invite her into the kitchen if she wasn’t absolutely set on sex. Not after the way they’d used that counter last time she’d been there.

  “Yes. I made a New Year’s resolution to let myself be human, not a robot-in-training. This seems like the perfect way to start.”

  “I like the sound of your resolution.” He took half a step forward, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “All I promised myself was that I’d try to eat less chocolate.”

  The mention of their old joke sent a smile creeping slow and beautiful across her face. “It was easy deciding what I wanted my resolution to be. After we talked on Christmas, I decided that I’d rather pay attention to my feelings than let fear be the ruling factor in my decision making. Thanks for helping me get my head on straight.” She rocked up onto her toes, pressing a kiss against his jaw.

  It was nearly two in the morning, and he knew the stubble that shadowed his face had to be scraping her lips. She didn’t seem to mind, and he savored the simple contact for a couple seconds before lowering his head and finding her mouth with his.

  CHAPTER 12

  She tasted faintly of fresh fruit and champagne, refreshments from the New Year’s party. At Jed and Karen’s place, they’d rung in the New Year with a few sips of the bubbly stuff after sharing the year’s first kiss together. He’d never particularly liked champagne before, but had a feeling the taste had been seared into his memory, irrevocably pleasant now.

  They didn’t stop in the kitchen or pretend to have any real interest in coffee this time. They barely made it to the bed, and when they did, all of their clothing came off without jokes or preamble. When they were both naked, he pulled her down onto the comforter, groaning as she rolled on top of him, rubbing her body up against him and settling with her hips pressed firmly against his.

  She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. Okay, so it definitely hurt, below the belt, anyway. It’d been just over a week since the only other time he’d shared his bed with her, since the best sex of his life. Turned out a week was a hell of a long time under those circumstances. He’d taken matters into his own hands quite a few times, thinking of her, but that made no difference now. His cock was hard as steel, pressing stiff and aching against one of her perfectly round ass cheeks as his balls throbbed below.

  As if that wasn’t temptation enough, her breasts rested bare and full against his chest, dark nipples pointed right at him. The sight made his mouth water instantly, and he cupped one of her breasts, teasing the stiff tip to an even harder bud. “I’ve done nothing but work and think of this for the past week,” he said. “Nothing.” And he’d had a hard time not simply collapsing in his own booth at Hot Ink and spending his time there fantasizing about her, too.

  “Nothing?” she asked, smiling like she thought he was joking.

  “Nothing. I didn’t even watch TV. Mostly I just laid here thinking about this moment and did things I probably shouldn’t confess to you.”

  She laughed, apparently oblivious to the way it made her breasts bounce and the agonizing jolt of hyper-lust the sight sent tearing through his body. “I can imagine.” She sat up, straddling him, adjusting her position so that his dick was between her thighs, the bare shaft touching her hot pussy. When she wrapped her hand around it, he nearly came.

  He didn’t plan to confess that to her, either. Fighting for control over his body, he laid back and tried to relax as she moved her hand up and down his erection, putting his fantasies to shame. “Damn, that feels good.”

  “I thought about our night together a lot too,” she said, skimming the pad of her thumb lightly over the head of his dick as she neared the end of one stroke. “I know we were only together for a few hours, really, but I think I memorized every single one of your tattoos.”

  “Really?” That was pretty impressive, considering how many he had. Just a few on his torso, but full sleeves on both his arms.

  “Yeah. I don’t know what any of them mean, though.” She ran a finger across the swell of his left collarbone, over the eagle that was inked there and to the script below. “November nine. What’s that about?”

  “November ninth,” he said, grateful for the conversation she’d started. It distracted him just the tiniest bit from how good her touch felt and allowed him to maintain enough control to keep from embarrassing himself by coming then and there.

  “It was November when I went to apprentice to my uncle at his tattoo studio. That was after I got out of high school and I stayed there for years doing odd jobs around the shop and learning about tattooing before I started actually doing it. He taught me everything I know. It was November when he died, too – November ninth – in an accident several years ago.

  “Considering what he taught me, it would’ve been weird as hell if I hadn’t gotten a tattoo to remember him by. This is what I decided on. He had an eagle tattoo too – he had a lot of tattoos, but it was his favorite. The design was different, but this is my tribute to him.”

  “Sorry.” Mallory frowned. “I had no idea. I guess this wasn’t the best time for me to bring that up.”

  “It’s all right.” An atomic bomb could’ve gone off outside his bedroom window and he still would’ve been hard and ready for her. At this point, no conversation topic could turn him off. Besides, he liked that she was interested in his ink.

  “Tell me about another one,” she said. “One without a sad memory.”

  “Okay.” He breathed a long breath, hyper-aware that his balls were hugging his body as she continued to stroke him, slow and easy. “These—” he reached across his body to tap the roses that were inked on his left bicep “—I got for a couple reasons. One, because I liked the classic art style. Two, because when I went off to apprentice to my uncle my mom told me she didn’t get why I wanted to go. She said she’d never really liked tattoos much, except for maybe the pretty flowery ones. So I got these for her and my family. None of them thought it was as funny as I did, but I’m pretty sure she secretly likes them.”

  Mallory smiled. “See, I told you you’re sweet. I hate to break it to you, but no one will ever think of you as a badass again if you tell them that story.”

  He groaned and shook his head. “Wish I hadn’t told you.”

 
“Why? I already know you’re not the bad boy people think you are.”

  “Because I just mentioned my family while naked in bed with a beautiful woman. Talk about instant regret.” He’d been talking just to talk, explaining on autopilot because what she was doing to him felt so good, he needed to distract himself. “I’ll explain the rest of my tattoos to you later. I don’t want to risk pulling another move like that again.”

  “Deal,” she said, removing her hand from his shaft and splaying it on his chest instead. “I was kind of hoping we could move past talking anyway.”

  She shot him a teasing grin and he rose up, pressing his mouth to hers and covering her smile.

  When she leaned into the kiss, the head of his dick brushed the inside of her thigh, then the slick folds of her pussy. Urgency tore through him, and he wished like hell that he could just slide inside her, fuck her bare without worrying about anything. For one guilt-laced second, he thought back to his Christmas Day fantasy of her pregnant, by him.

  It would be a good look for her – her already amazing curves would swell and she’d be more irresistible than ever. The idea of her body changing like that because of him would’ve given him a hard-on, but that ship had sailed a long time ago. Now it just made him ache more fiercely than ever.

  Maybe someday – there was no hurry. He’d never really thought about getting a woman pregnant before, but it was hard to think of Mallory in the short term. He could imagine being with her for a long, long time, and that might mean anything, eventually. For now, he ignored the silky-soft whisper of her pussy against his cock and cupped one of her breasts, breaking off their kiss so he could suck the hardened tip.

  She moaned and arched her back, causing her soft, hot flesh to swell against his lips. When he pulled away her nipple was wet and tight and she sighed when he teased it with his fingertips, pressing his mouth over the other one.