“Acceptance,” he finished my sentence, his voice thoughtful.
I turned my head to look at him. His stunning profile looked contemplative as he rolled to a stop. He looked over at me and I saw something in his eyes that spoke to me on a deeper level. I couldn’t quite catch what it meant, but I understood it. And I instantly felt vulnerable.
Why am I telling him all of this? I thought as I pulled my eyes away from him and stared out the window. My vulnerability and baggage hung in the air thickly and I felt like it was swallowing me. How is he getting me to tell him so much? Or better yet, why am I so willingly giving him all this information? I shook my head and we rode in silence for a while.
I opened my mouth to change the subject when he spoke up. “I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you had a really good mom…and she was absolutely right.”
I furrowed my brow and gave him a questioning look.
He continued, “About moving to New York.”
Turning in my seat, I folded my arms and balked at him. “What?”
Colton chuckled. “Hey, I did it too! I’m just saying…it’s pricey.”
I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat. “I just rolled my eyes at you, in case you missed it,” I announced, looking out the window again.
He laughed again. “I did miss it. But thanks for the update.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, looking at the historic buildings in Harlem.
Pulling into a tight parking space in front of a red brick building, Colton parked his car. “We’re here,” he announced.
I climbed out of his car and looked around. People were leisurely walking around and I could hear the loud cries of children in the park across the street. I took in my surroundings before turning and looking at Colton who was resting against his car watching me. He ran his tongue across his full lips and his eyes were trained on me.
I hadn’t ever had someone look at me quite like that before. Lust was one thing. But the way he looked at me went beyond lust. Goosebumps quickly spread across my skin.
“What?” I questioned quietly, walking slowly to meet him on the sidewalk.
His chest rose and fell before he tore his eyes away from me and started walking up the block. “Come with me.”
I followed him to the opposite end of the block. We stopped at a glass door with brown paper preventing anyone from seeing in or out of it. The store front window also had the same brown paper covering it. Colton used his key to open the door and then he stepped back to allow me to walk in first. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the familiarity of the décor made me smile.
“This is the newest Inkwell location,” I stated, looking around the fully furnished tattoo parlor. “Very nice.”
“Thank you,” Colton responded modestly, running his hand over his short haircut. He grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway to a room with the word Colt emblazoned on the wall. “Have a seat.”
I sat in the chair and looked up at him, my stomach fluttered as his brown eyes washed over me. He smiled at me before sitting on the rolling stool next to me. I watched him roll himself to a small sink to wash his hands and then he grabbed gloves. He rolled himself back to me, giving me the same look he had given me outside. My heart pounded in my chest and my mouth was suddenly dry.
Taking his finger, Colton touched the heart behind my ear causing my breathing to hitch. “So I know about this one.” He moved his hand down the left side of my body. “And I know about this one.” His fingers danced from my ribcage to my hip. Even through my shirt, I could feel the heat of his hands and my body reacted.
I watched him as his eyes followed his fingers as he ran his fingertips across my belly to the right side of my body. He trailed his hands up from my hip to my ribcage and then back down again. He toyed with the edge of my shirt. Meeting my eyes, he asked, “Do you mind?”
Unable to talk, I just shook my head as he lifted my shirt over my head. In just my purple satin bra and jeans, I sat still as his fingers stroked my tattooed skin. My nipples hardened and I saw him take notice. His voice dropped slightly when he spoke again. “Now I want to know the story behind this one.”
Finding my voice, I answered, “It says ‘ne laissez pas le joli visage vous tromper.’ It’s French for ‘don’t let the pretty face fool you.’”
Colton nodded knowingly. “I won’t,” he said with a smirk.
I let out a little laugh and continued, “I wrote an article about the perceptions of women and it was called ‘Don’t Let The Pretty Face Fool You.’”
He continued stroking my skin as he stared into my eyes. “What was the article about?”
“The perceptions and misperceptions of women. Being a strong woman and all the disparaging things people say to girls to try to keep them from growing into strong women. Basically, my experiences,” I replied easily, the passion I felt for the topic momentarily distracted me from the fact that I was topless in front of the sexiest man in New York.
“Tattoos tell you a lot about a person.” He stopped stroking me and just rested his hand on my hip. “I’m really good at reading people by their tattoos.”
“Is that right? You think you know some things about me based on my tattoos? By all means, let’s hear it. What do mine tell you about me?” I challenged him playfully, cocking my head to the side.
“What do I get if I’m right?”
“Nothing. Because you won’t be right.”
“Oh, but I will be.” Leaning slightly so he was hovering over me, he smirked. Putting his hand in my hair, he tucked a lock of loose curls behind my ear and then ran the pad of his thumb over my heart tattoo. “This one tells me that you have a big heart, but it’s a bit closed off. That’s why it’s black. I think that you wanted your tattoo behind your ear because you listen to your heart and then follow it.”
My heart thudded in my chest.
Colton ran his hand down my neck and between my breasts and touched the tattoo that quotes my mother. “You never really felt understood. You’ve never had anyone really see you for who you are. You do what you want and people are scared of that. ” Running his hand to the other side of my body, he continued, “You are confident and strong and you stand up for what you believe in. You are so much more than what meets the eye.”
Seconds passed and we just stared at one another. Without warning, I sat up and crushed my lips against his. It was an impulsive, involuntarily reaction to his words. He wasted no time responding, deepening the kiss and letting his mouth move over mine seductively. I pulled away and flattened myself against the reclined chair. My chest heaving as I stared up at him.
Something passed between us and it made me tremble with anticipation. I’d never felt anything so intense without being physically touched before and it made me nervous. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn’t quite stop the fluttering that traveled from my belly to my chest cavity. Feeling overwhelmed, I tore my eyes away from him and changed the subject.
“Did you bring me here to get me naked?” I deflected, hoping he’d get flustered so I’d have a moment to collect my thoughts.
He laughed. “That’s not why I brought you here. But to be clear, I like you and I’d love to see you naked again. But we are here to kick-off our date.”
“There are two things wrong with that statement… I’m not dating right now so this isn’t a date. And I’m already topless so you have me in here halfway naked. Are you sure that’s not why you brought me here?” I teased, folding my arms over my chest.
Colton shook his head and looked to be fighting a laugh. “Fine. We’re hanging out.” He placed his hand in the center of my belly and rubbed his thumb against my exposed skin. “And you’re topless because I’m going to give you the tattoo that you’ve wanted on your back, but didn’t have time to get.”
I uncrossed my arms, letting them fall limply at my sides. “What?” I breathed in surprise.
“You heard me.” He winked before setting up his equipment.
Oh m
y God, I squealed internally as I did a little happy dance in the chair.
Colton and I spent the next thirty minutes discussing the ‘Stay Gold’ tattoo that I wanted on my right shoulder blade. After designing it to my specifications, I prepared myself for the tattoo. Colton kept me laughing the entire time with stories about his friends and family. He talked about his family with so much love and affection that I couldn’t help but think about my family and how strained we’d become. The small tattoo took less time for him to actually ink on me than it did for me to explain what I wanted him to do.
“My dad is going to flip his shit when I tell him I tatted ‘Stay Gold’ on someone. The Outsiders is one of his favorites.” Colton chuckled as he admired his handiwork. He rubbed ointment on the tattoo and then covered it loosely with gauze. “You can flip over now.”
I took my shirt out of his hand and pulled it over my head. He helped me pull it down in the back so it didn’t disrupt the gauze. Once he pulled me to my feet, I asked, “Are you going to tell him you tattooed a woman on a date?”
He smirked as he watched me pull my hair into a high ponytail. “I’m not telling him that because I’m not dating right now,” he said, mimicking me.
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I don’t know why I agreed to hang out with you today,” I growled playfully.
Colton tugged my ponytail forcing my head to tip upward and stared at me for a second. “Yes you do,” he whispered before his mouth covered mine. When his tongue met mine, I moaned in response.
Completely addicted, I thought as I pushed his shirt upward to expose his hard body.
AFTER SENDING AN EMAIL TO my sisters that simply said ‘no,’ I walked into the Berry Street Pool Hall with a renewed energy. I’d seen Colton almost every day since our tattoo date where we christened his new office and then had dinner at an African-Asian-American fusion restaurant. At the end of that date, I had him drop me off at Duke & Duchess so I could talk to Kelsey. He walked me to the door and wrapped me in his arms, threatening to not let me go until I gave him my number.
For the nine days after Colton gave me my tattoo, I inadvertently allowed myself to fall into a routine with him. If I had to work, I’d go to Inkwell to have lunch with him at a food cart or local restaurant. The three nights I didn’t have to work, we hung out at the movies, at a sports bar, and at a concert. All three nights ended with us having heart-pounding, hard-hitting, mind-blowing sex in his office or in his car. I didn’t have the nerve to go back to his apartment. Colton Davis was the best sex I’d ever had and I didn’t want to get caught up like I did our first night together.
Wearing a pair of tight black jeans and a gray off-the-shoulder top, I glanced at myself in the mirror behind the bar as I walked toward the back corner. I immediately saw Kelsey in jeans and corset styled top, standing next to a table.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” I apologized, hugging her quickly. “Are they here already?”
“No worries. And no, no one has shown up yet. We still have ten minutes. Do a shot with me?”
I smiled at Kelsey. “You’re nervous. Don’t be. Tonight will be—”
“Hey,” Phil interrupted, startling me. Standing on the other side of the table looking like a professional football player, Phil appeared to have been working out in the two years since he and Kelsey broke up.
“Hi, Phil!” I chirped, smiling widely between Phil and Kelsey. “I’m going to go get some drinks. I’ll be back in a minute.”
They are so cute, I thought as I walked toward the small bar.
I was three steps away from my destination when I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. Turning quickly, I snatched my arm out of the grasp and balled my hand into a fist. When I realized it was Colton, I immediately broke into a smile and punched him anyway.
“If I didn’t realize it was you, you would’ve gotten punched a lot harder and in the face.” I greeted him with a smile.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you talking,” he said with a chuckle. “Sorry I’m a little late. I had a few last minute things to take care of at the shop.” Pulling me in close, he dropped his voice and continued. “Do you know how hard it is to focus on paperwork in the new office when I can’t think about anything but you spread out over my desk?”
My body came alive with those words and I moaned softly. He trailed kisses from my ear to my mouth before kissing me with raw, unabashed passion that made my heart skip a beat. His words coupled with that kiss caused a shiver to course through me. Vivid memories of the way he consistently handled my body caused my panties to dampen. Feeling how hard he was as my body pressed against his only amplified my desire. It was taking every ounce of strength I had within me to not climb him right there in the pool hall.
Colton pulled away slowly and a whimpering noise escaped me. I let my eyes flutter open to find his beautiful, brown eyes gazing at me. My heart was beating wildly and the pull I felt toward him was overwhelming my senses.
Each day I spent with Colton, I felt an even stronger attraction to him. I told myself it was because the sex was so good. And although I was addicted to his body and the way he handled mine, I quickly realized that the way he made me feel when we had sex was just as good as the way he made me feel during general conversations.
And that’s exactly why I need to walk away. It’s too risky, I thought, feeling my skin heat under his gaze. But the thought of walking away…
I let my thought trail off, turning away from him quickly. “We should head over to Kelsey and Phil.”
With his hand on the small of my back, we walked to the back corner of the pool hall.
After introductions were made, we played a couple of games of pool in between keeping up with a baseball game that was on the television mounted on the wall closest to us.
“My dad told me to tell you hello,” Phil mentioned to Kelsey as he sat down on a beat-up leather loveseat.
“My dad told me to tell you his shotgun is ready,” Kelsey joked, sitting next to him.
My dad basically told me he’d rather mourn the passing of his wife, my mother, by proposing to his mistress so…yeah, there’s that, I thought irritably, turning away from them.
Colton pulled me a few feet away from our table and into his hard body, whispering, “Do you trust me?”
Without thinking, I answered honestly. “Yes.”
Something flashed in his eyes and I realized what I had said.
I started stammering to correct myself when he sandwiched my face between his hands, silencing my struggle to backpedal.
“Do you trust me?” He repeated with his face inches from mine. He was so close and my eyes quickly zeroed in on his lips.
I couldn’t open my mouth to speak so I just nodded.
“Well then you have to tell me.”
“What?” I whispered back in confusion as I dropped my head against his chest.
I inhaled deeply. Why does he smell this good? I wondered dizzily, completely distracted from my earlier thoughts.
He drew back a little so we could make eye contact again, but he had his arms securely tightened around my waist. “What’s the deal with your dad?”
I stiffened in his arms and averted my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve mentioned your sisters and your parents. But you don’t ever talk about them, not really. And you’ve never even mentioned your father outside of the general acknowledgement that you were born of two parents. But every time I’ve mentioned my father or just now when Kelsey and Phil mentioned their fathers, a look crosses your face.”
“I don’t get a look,” I protested, attempting to squirm out of his arms. I pushed against his broad shoulders and he just held me tighter.
“You get a look,” he confirmed and then he waited.
I continued to try to push away from him, but he didn’t relent. I glared at him silently and he just held me and stared at me with a slightly bemused look on his face.
“Fine!” I conceded, throwing my arms in the a
ir. “My father is getting remarried next month.”
Colton’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “Didn’t your mom pass away six months ago?”
“Thank you!” I cried, flooding with relief that he saw my point. “It’s disrespectful. And obviously he was cheating on my mother.”
With a thoughtful expression, he asked, “What did he say when you asked him about it?”
I didn’t expect that to be his next question and it caught me off guard. “I…didn’t ask.”
“Why not?”
Why haven’t I ever confronted him about that? I’ve spent my entire life confronting him and my mother about any and everything else, I thought, surprising myself with the realization. I remained silent as I contemplated.
“I know that’s a loaded question to ask someone. Especially a parent. But…” He shrugged, loosening his grip around my waist. His hands rested on my hips. “You have shown me time and time again that you’re the type of gir—woman,” he quickly corrected. “You’re the type of woman who will say or do whatever you want. So I’m surprised that you haven’t called him out on it yet.”
Because calling him out would mean that I’d actually have to have a conversation with him, I thought, averting my eyes from his. Colton’s right, I don’t back down from anyone. But I don’t have shit to say to my father. Unless you count an RSVP card with ‘hell no’ scrawled across the back in permanent marker, I haven’t talked to him since the funeral. And I can’t believe my sisters are considering going. We haven’t talked much, but I would at least think that we were on the same page about this. Our mother died six months ago and our father is getting married next month!
The more I thought about my family predicament, the more distressed I felt. My eyes prickled with unshed tears. I focused on the anger I felt and the tears that I hadn’t shed in months subsided. I felt Colton’s fingers flex against my hips, bringing me back to the present. Moving his head so that he was in my line of sight, he smiled and then kissed me softly against my lips.
His voice, his lips, and his touch were more than enough to distract me from sadness. The pit in my stomach transformed into a million butterflies from the tender kiss. I didn’t know what to do or how to respond since he’d never kissed me like that before. Our kisses were always sexy, hungry, passionate kisses. But that kiss was different.
Love Discovered in New York (The Washington Triplets) Page 7