Life took strange turns and sometimes didn’t make sense, but I would be forever grateful to whatever fate put us together. Wrapped in lace, he was the man who I wanted with me for the rest of my life. My sweet love. My sexy stalker. My Lane.
Epilogue
Lane
“For god’s sake, I’m going to die of old age before we get there.” Eli’s drama made me laugh, which was probably what he’d intended.
I should’ve left his teasing alone, but I couldn’t help it. “I’m sure you’ll look fine even with wrinkles and gray hair. The little ones you’ve got don’t make you look too old, so see, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“What!”
Eli had been tugging me down the street, pulling on my arm, but he stopped suddenly, bringing me to a screeching halt. He turned to use the window of a store as a makeshift mirror. “I don’t have wrinkles or gray hairs!”
I shrugged and gave him an exaggerated nod like I was willing to humor the crazy person. “Of course you don’t.”
His face scrunched up, and he tilted his head back and forth trying to see behind him. It was so funny. Fighting to hold in my laughter helped to distract me from the nerves that had been plaguing me for hours.
Finally, he straightened and gave me a death stare. “That’s just mean. I look fine.”
I wasn’t ready to let it go yet. “There’s nothing wrong with going gray. Everyone does eventually. And fine lines add character.”
“Eventually being the key word. I have a long time before eventually comes. And you can go fuck your character.” His gaze darted back to the window.
Laughter burst out of me, startling a few people walking by. The fact that the laughing loon was wearing a skirt and heels probably didn’t help any.
No, I wasn’t going to let myself go down that path.
Aside from a few long looks, and one slightly confused tween boy who’d looked really surprised, there hadn’t been that many reactions. Certainly not as many as I’d pictured…or had nightmares about. Not that I’d told Eli or Wilder about them.
“You’re just trying to distract me.” Eli started pulling me back down the street, shooting daggers at me. “If you’re going to do that, it should be with a dirty joke or a sexy story, not something horrific and mean. I don’t distract you by telling you that you look fat in that skirt, do I?”
“I don’t look fat!”
Okay, that came out a bit too loud.
Several girls walking past us started giggling and shaking their heads, agreeing with me. And one older lady coming out of the used book store we were getting ready to pass made a frustrated sound but glared at Eli, not me.
Then she gave me a smile. “Don’t let your boyfriend tease you, dearie. You look beautiful.”
As she walked away, we both stared after her. “Did she think I was a woman?”
Eli shrugged, completely distracted from the hair comments. “No idea. Maybe?”
Then, tugging me onward, he shrugged again. “That’s not the point. But she was right about you looking great.”
“You’re just saying that because you won.” I hadn’t exactly lost a bet, but the skirt definitely hadn’t been my first choice for outfits. Somehow, Eli had just wormed his way in, and by the time I realized what he’d done, it was time to leave the house, and I was dressed in the damned skirt.
He grinned wickedly but was smart enough not to gloat too boldly. “You came to work last week in a couple of your fun, pretty outfits. This is basically the same thing.”
No, it wasn’t.
Going from my apartment to work or Wilder’s house in something feminine wasn’t the same thing as heading out in public to visit him at work. One was baby steps. The other was a marathon I wasn’t sure I was ready for, no matter what Eli said.
I had to admit that I was trying, but this felt huge. In the weeks since I’d first taken Wilder to work, I’d felt more confident. Not sure enough of myself to go home dressed up as the real me, but I was trying to figure out what felt right. I’d also told my mother no more blind dates because I’d found someone I was falling for. She just immediately switched to wanting to know everything about him and planning on when she could meet him.
Wilder just beamed with pride every time I took a step outside my comfort zone. He made me feel ten feet tall and was actually looking forward to meeting my family.
“You and I live in completely different worlds sometimes.”
Eli put a little wiggle in his step and gave me a coy, teasing look over his shoulder. “But you’re coming over to my side now. Don’t worry, we have sexy lingerie and glitter in all the right places.”
“There is no right place for glitter. God, I still remember that insane shoot. Don’t even say that word around me.”
It’ll be fun, he said.
It’ll be sexy, he said.
It won’t be that messy, he said.
I’d washed off the damned stuff for days.
Eli snickered, still refusing to admit he was wrong. “The pictures were fabulous. We still get people writing in about that shoot.”
“They’ve obviously never tried that crap before, or are writing in to ask how to get that shit off.” Before I could continue my rant, because it was just one of those things I could go on for hours about, we were standing outside the tattoo parlor.
My nerves must have been showing on my face because Eli released my arm and gave me a quick hug. “It’s going to be fine. You worry too much.”
He was right. I knew that, but it still didn’t help. Maybe if it hadn’t taken so long for me to visit the place, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. But after seeing how well Wilder got along with everyone at Leashes and Lace and how much they loved his tattoos and his artistic side, I didn’t want to be the one to crash and burn.
Wilder had made it clear that Stan was just his boss and not someone he considered family, so it wasn’t like I was meeting his mother or something, but still…Stan was a significant person in his life even if he was just a coworker.
As the days had gone by, it had gotten bigger in my head, so the reasonable part of my brain knew I was too worried, but I couldn’t help it. After the photo shoot, Wilder had every intention of bringing me to work. But Stan had come down with some alien-type flu that had him out for over a week. By the time he’d gotten back to functional, they were so far behind with their customers, Wilder’s schedule had been packed.
I probably could’ve put it off longer, but Eli hadn’t been willing to wait. Once I’d given in about the BDSM photo shoot, he’d taken it as a sign that everything else I was dragging my feet on, as he put it, needed to be addressed.
He was like one of those little yappy dogs that always got their way because they were crazy and a little bit scary looking.
Eli started pushing the door open. “Come on. We’re going to be late if you keep dawdling.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t the one taking forever to leave the house.”
Eli grinned. “I had to make sure you looked just right.”
Before I could respond, we were through the door and Wilder was smiling at me from across the room. “Perfect, right on time.”
I gave Eli a snarky look. “See.”
Turning back to Wilder, I tried to look relaxed and happy to see him. Because I was. I also just had a small, but powerful, tornado in my stomach. “Someone tried to make me late, but I wrangled him over here.”
Eli huffed and Wilder chuckled as he started across the room. He’d been patient while I worked out my feelings on the photo shoot, but he’d never hidden the fact that he liked the idea. I appreciated that he hadn’t downplayed his desires just because I was nervous.
He was understanding and hadn’t pushed, and had even kept Eli from going overboard, but I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about Wilder giving in on something just because of my feelings. I liked that he was strong and knew what he wanted.
Now that it was time for the shoot, I was nervous for
a whole new set of reasons. It was going to be sexy and erotic. And probably a little bit exhibitionistic. Eli had never had a problem bouncing around half naked with a hard-on. But I wasn’t that type of person.
Once I’d gotten used to seeing everybody like that at work, it hadn’t been difficult for me. But I just wasn’t sure how it was going to feel in a photo shoot where the purpose was to show my reactions, not just the clothes. Well, my reactions to Wilder.
As long as I thought about it that way, it was easier.
I loved the way Wilder made me feel, and I loved the idea of showing him off. He was artistic, beautiful, and covered in amazing tattoos. Letting people see how I felt about him wouldn’t be hard. I just needed to remember that.
And I needed to remember how much I wanted pictures.
The way his face would go soft and his eyes would go distant as he thought about the sketches he would do from them had my anticipation growing. I’d started to realize that he only got that expression when the project would turn out to be amazing.
Like my picture.
Wilder smiled and put one arm around me before leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Do you want to look around before we go?”
His car was in the shop, so we’d decided that I would pick him up from work. But I knew that if I told him I wasn’t ready to see anything yet, he’d be fine with that. He’d made it clear that I could take my time, and I didn’t have to feel guilty about it. He’d also made it clear, though, how much he loved me and how proud he was to have me by his side.
Nodding, I tried to make my smile bigger and hoped it didn’t look forced. “Of course.”
Eli just started bouncing around excitedly. “Yes, he is.”
Wilder didn’t question it, he just snorted. “Then come on back.”
Moving deeper into the room, I forced myself to look around. The walls were covered in sketches and pictures of tattoos on people. Where tattooing businesses on television were sometimes shown to be seedy, dark places, this was open and clean and had a very modern, artistic feel to it.
“You’ve got so many beautiful tattoos up there.” I pointed to the wall that had a mix of fanciful and imaginary creatures on it. Fairies seemed to dance up someone’s calf in one, and in another, there was a unicorn that looked so real I wanted to reach out and touch it.
Eli was drawn to a grouping of photos that showed different kind of phoenixes, and he wandered off to look at them. Knowing his background, and from the look on his face, it was easy to picture one of the mythical birds on his body.
Wilder beamed and looked around like a proud parent. “A good portion of them are mine, or at least my designs. I’m glad you like them.”
A snort came from behind Wilder and an older gentleman walked out of a back room I thought might be an office. “All the ones we put up are tattoos you’ve done or designed, and you know it.”
Wilder looked slightly embarrassed; it was sweet. He shook his head at the man. “You do a fabulous job. I just have a wider range of things that I’ve drawn. You just don’t like to practice.”
Wilder turned back to me and gave me a smile. “Lane, I’d like to introduce you to Stan, my boss.”
Stan snorted again. “Only your boss because you won’t be my business partner.”
Wilder laughed. “I’m not going to learn how to do the paperwork, Stan. You’re on your own with that.”
Wilder had mentioned that Stan wanted to take his position from being an employee to a business partner, but he hadn’t seemed to be that enthusiastic about it. I hadn’t really pushed, but the issue seemed to be that he didn’t have enough time in the day to put in the extra hours that the paperwork would require and get all of his illustrating done.
From what he’d said, Stan had made no secret that his primary goal was getting someone else to help run the business side of things. If the paperwork hadn’t been an issue, I thought Wilder would’ve said yes long ago. He clearly loved the business, and watching his face light up as he looked around the room, I knew he thought of it as his.
As he reached us, Stan stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Wilder’s pretty tightlipped, but he’s had good things to say about you.”
The stiff way Stan held himself, it was clear he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me, but he was trying. “Thanks, and it’s nice to meet you. You’ve got a wonderful business.”
Stan nodded and glanced around like a king looking over his castle. “Thank you. We’re doing pretty well.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, but Wilder quickly filled the silence by introducing Eli and pointing out things around the room. The waiting area held comfortable chairs and a coffee table with what looked like photo albums of more tattoos and designs.
Behind the long counter where the cash register and some forms were sitting, there were several work areas that looked like they could be curtained off for privacy. Wilder pointed out different machines and things, but most of it went over my head.
I was too distracted watching his excited smile and feeling the relief flooding through me at Stan’s acceptance. Wilder had been sure it’d be fine, but considering Stan had thought Wilder was straight until very recently, the fact that I’d shown up in a skirt and heels couldn’t have been easy for him.
Eli gave us a few minutes before he started getting antsy. “All right, as interesting as this is, we gotta get going or we’ll be late.”
Wilder nodded at Eli and turned back to Stan. “All right, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Giving Eli and me a long look, Stan seemed to decide he didn’t want to know what we were going to be doing. It was probably a good thing, because I wasn’t sure what Eli would say. As we started walking toward the door, Wilder grabbed a box from under the counter and grinned when I gave him a questioning look.
Stan distracted me, however, when he started grumbling about getting back to work. I gave him a wave and called out goodbye. He returned the gesture, but then gave me a long look as he stood in the doorway. “You talk some sense into him. As good as he is, there’s no reason for him to still be an employee.”
I didn’t make any promises, but I gave Stan a smile. At the very least, I was curious to talk to Wilder about it. Leaving the building, we headed down the street to where we’d parked the car. Deciding not to wait, I reached for Wilder’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Is the paperwork really the only reason you don’t want to go into business with him?”
There were a lot of reasons that he might not want to do it, but I hadn’t really heard any others. Wilder shrugged. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have a lot on my plate already. I don’t think he understands how many hours a day the illustrating takes up. There isn’t enough time in the day for it all.”
Taking a deep breath, I turned my gaze back down the street. “You know, if that’s the only problem, I could help out. It’s probably stuff I’ve already done with my own business and the rest of it won’t take that long to learn.”
I felt awkward extending the offer, but it was genuine. There were a variety of systems I could set up to make the paperwork and accounting more efficient. If a person saw it as something that was frustrating and painful then they wouldn’t be looking for ways that made it easier. They just avoided doing it.
Wilder squeezed my hand. “You would? I avoided it so much I honestly don’t even know what’s involved with it. I just know it takes him hours every time he sits down to do it. But if you could help me get it under control, I’d consider it.”
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, not worrying about how many people were around. I glanced up at him, smiling. “Okay, we’ll talk about it. And maybe we’ll sit down with Stan another day and actually see what it all entails.”
Wilder nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. He needs to know I’m not promising anything, though.” Wilder was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “He’s usually not that pushy about the idea, but I think getting sick made
it more important to him. I hope he didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”
I’d take being uncomfortable about business decisions over everything else that could’ve gone wrong any day. “No, I think it’s cute he thought I have so much sway with you.”
I was pretty positive that Stan wouldn’t have said that unless he understood how important I was to Wilder. Wilder had a tender look on his face, but before he could say anything, Eli poked his head between our shoulders. “No more PDAs and making lovey faces at one another. I want to know what’s in the box.”
I just laughed. “Don’t be nosy.”
Eli scoffed. “You know you’re just as curious as I am.”
Maybe.
Wilder gave a teasing shrug and waved the box in front of Eli temptingly. “This one?”
We slowed as we reached the car and Eli pretended to try to grab it from his hands. Wilder chuckled and shook his head. “Nope, this is for Lane to open.”
“Me?” I looked down at the package in his hands. It looked like one of the shirt boxes people would get from department stores around the holidays.
Wilder nodded and moved closer to me. “Open it.”
Leaning into him, I took it from his hands and started slowly opening the present. It was heavier than I’d expected, and I felt something shift inside it. “What is it? I don’t want to accidentally break it.”
“Just don’t drop it, and it will be fine.” Wilder didn’t offer any more than that.
The sides were taped down and it took me a moment to run my finger under it and open the box. Peeling off the top, I looked down and my heart leapt up into my throat.
“Oh, Wilder.” It was my picture.
He’d stopped by and sat through so many photo shoots recently, the rest of the guys were starting to tease him that they were either going to put him to work or charge him rent. At the end of the last shoot, he’d tucked the picture away and had refused to show anyone the finished product. He’d just grinned and said that he wanted to tinker with a few things first.
The now-framed sketch had layers of detail. We were all there, hidden in different parts of the picture. As I stared, though, I saw some of the words that he’d put in there too.
Leashes & Lace Books 1-3: MM Romance Boxed Set Page 51