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  “He’s gone,” Nick discerned. “I’m sorry you lost him.”

  “It’s just me now.”

  “Your mom?”

  “She left a long time ago.” I swallowed hard. Speaking about my parents didn’t normally choke me up. Why was it affecting me so easily talking about it with Nick?

  He moved his arm and rested his hand on my knee. He squeezed gently. It was really, truly kind of him.

  “Your parents?” I asked him now. I wanted to put some heat on him in return, see how he handled the same question.

  “Both alive. Both around. They live in Maine. My mom’s especially overbearing. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried calling me three times since I’ve been lying here.”

  I smiled. He sounded fond of her, of both of them. “Okay,” I said. I’d finished my sketch on his skin with the temporary pen. “It’s... um... big.” I bit down on my lip. “I don’t know if this is what you had in mind at all.” I peeled off my gloves, tossing them in the trash, and grabbed my phone for a picture.

  He pushed up on his elbows, twisting his body in an attempt to see what I’d done. “I like it, you can start.” He laid back down.

  “Want to see it from my angle first?”

  “No. I’ve seen all your other designs you have posted online. I don’t think you could fuck this up even if you tried.”

  “You looked me up?” He had my heart trying to beat itself right out of my chest.

  “Yes.” He touched my leg again. And that smile I loved so much of his came out on his lips. I decided that he was, hands down, my most favorite customer I’d ever had. “Okay, let’s get started then.”

  ~ CHAPTER 15 ~

  NICK

  Not gonna lie, I didn’t give a damn about what Amanda was adding to my tattoo. I trusted her enough. I know I should have worried a little more, since this would be on my skin for life, but I hadn’t come in today for the tattoo. It was her I came in for. The tattoo was only an excuse.

  She worked differently this time. Less on guard, more at ease. She was talented, and I don’t think she knew that about herself the first time we’d met. I’d been truthful with her. I’d been following her online, checking out the different photos she’d been posting of the ink she’d been doing over the last two months. I wanted to believe my little turtle had sparked something in her. Because she also had pictures posted of her work prior to my turtle. They were good and all, but nothing compared to her more recent work.

  I figured, one butt cheek... a small sacrifice on my part in an effort to help her continue to grow. Because the Nick from six months ago would never have wanted something this large on his skin. But I wanted this. I couldn’t wait to see what this woman would dream up without limits.

  I also wanted to ask her out to dinner.

  As she began with the tattoo gun, putting real ink into my skin, it was all I could think about. She had my heart pounding right out of my chest. The words were there on the tip of my tongue, wanting out, but I had a hard time saying them. Crazy because even Emma hadn’t been this difficult to ask out the first time around. The thing was... if Amanda said no, it would make this appointment awkward as hell. If she said no, that would be that, no second chances, because I couldn’t keep coming in here asking for more and more tattoos from the girl who’d turned me down.

  “Can you pull your pants down a little more? I need to...” She fumbled on her words, her cheeks turning pink. “I need you to uncover your whole butt. Your other cheek, I mean, so I can get a little closer to the... the edge.”

  “Closer to my crack?” I smiled.

  “Exactly.”

  The blush on her cheeks was the most adorable thing in the world. I wondered where, on other guy’s bodies, she’d put tattoos before. Was it only my ass that made her blush like this? Or all of them? Because if it was me making her blush, maybe asking her out would be easier than I feared.

  I inched down my pants.

  “Wait.” She set down her tattoo gun and hopped out of her chair. She grabbed a towel from a shelf on the wall and brought it to me. I took it. Then, crossing her arms over her chest, she turned around. I guess she meant for me to cover my front with the towel because there really was no way around pulling my pants down without freeing my junk.

  “Fuck,” she whispered.

  I stared at her back, at the way her pretty pink ponytail fell, at the skin exposed on her neck. I wanted to put my hands on her, to feel her skin, and it did not help that my cock, as I let my jeans fall, was now in open air, with only a towel to keep it in line.

  I carefully lay back down on the chair on my stomach. “Okay, Amanda,” I muttered, swallowing.

  She turned back around, her eyes meeting mine. She wheeled her chair closer, close enough that I could feel her warmth. She leaned over me, her tits almost close enough to graze against my side, as she started tattooing me once more.

  I shut my eyes, growling in my frustration, because she had me hard as fuck. Hard enough to pound nails. It was uncomfortable lying there, thinking how much I wanted to be inside her, right here in her chair, right this very second.

  “Nick? Hi.”

  Fuck. Me. Sideways.

  I picked my head up. Because someone else had said my name. And I recognized the voice. Sure enough, I opened my eyes to Emma Winchester.

  Kill. Me. Now.

  That helped me get rid of my erection. Someone might as well have dumped ice water over my body. Emma stood with her Rockstar boyfriend, Caleb Mills, in the entryway to Amanda’s tiny station. He was literally a famous Rockstar. And I had my pants at my fucking ankles with my ass on display for the both of them. Not exactly an ideal way to run into your ex.

  “Hi, Emma,” I said, trying to be polite.

  “I thought you’d moved back to Maine a couple months ago.”

  “No. Nope, I’m still in town.”

  “Oh.”

  She seemed disappointed. Amanda stopped working and stood. She bumped into her desk and something clattered to the ground. She didn’t bend over to pick it up. “Would you excuse me, Nick? I need to use the bathroom.”

  She walked away, past Emma and Caleb, in a hurry. She muttered a ‘hello’ and a ‘great to see you’ as she passed, leading me to believe they knew each other well. But I’d already figured that much. Everybody knew everybody around here.

  Emma made more polite small talk. She asked about my job. “Save any animals today?”

  “Not today.”

  “How’s it been going otherwise?”

  “Fine,” I assured her, not wanting to say anything more on the subject.

  “Well, it was good seeing you, Nick. Take care,” Emma said, finally ending the conversation, finally leaving me alone.

  Well, that made me feel like shit. She’d completely moved on. While I was getting a tattoo the size of China on my ass rather than being man enough to just ask this woman out.

  I lay there for almost ten more minutes before Amanda returned. She looked flushed, sweaty even. Her breathing was heavier. I even noticed her hands were shaking.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked her.

  “I’m tired. I haven’t been sleeping lately. Can we stop here? I’ll take lots of pictures to mark where I’m at in the design, and then you can schedule another appointment for another day. This tattoo will actually take a few more sessions to finish. Does that work for you?”

  Her big brown eyes—I swear they were close to tears.

  “Yes,” I said. Whatever she needed.

  I couldn’t figure out what had happened, what I’d said wrong; if it was Emma, if it was my ass, or if it was something else entirely. Had something happened in the bathroom? Had someone hurt her? Finn... where was that asshole today? Was it something to do with him?

  “You okay?” I asked again.

  “I’m fine. Just tired, like I already said.”

  She definitely wasn’t fine. I wished I knew how I could help her. But she was being stubborn as hell. I let her take her p
ictures and bandage my ass, then I pulled up my pants. But I didn’t plan on leaving until she gave me some reassurance that she was okay.

  ~ CHAPTER 16 ~

  AMANDA

  Oh gosh. I’d barely eaten today. And yet, once again, the nauseated feeling struck me. Right when Emma showed up too. My stomach just rolled over on itself. I could see how awkward this was for Nick. His whole body went tense. I wanted to stay. I wanted to say something that might make this less awkward for him. But throwing up all over the floor would have been more mortifying for everyone.

  I excused myself and hurried away.

  In the bathroom, I kneeled on the floor by the toilet, waiting for the inevitable, but nothing happened. Little beads of sweat formed on my forehead, while I willed myself to just get it over with. It wasn’t exactly well ventilated in the shop’s small bathroom, and I felt miserable. After a few minutes, I gave up. But I hung around longer, trying to cool down.

  Eventually, I went back to Nick. Back to where I’d left him. Emma was gone. Thank God. Frankly, there wasn’t a chance in hell I could continue working feeling as shaky as I now felt. Since I’d found out I was pregnant, I’d been determined not to let it slow me down. But I couldn’t continue today. I said everything I could to end our appointment, and he agreed to come back another day, another time.

  We were checking out at the register. Nick had his credit card out to pay. Patrick was working tonight, helping two attractive women, both in their mid-twenties, close to my age. One was trying to decide which sea turtle she wanted on her ankle. I gave Nick a look because she was pointing to a picture on the wall where he’d found his design. She was about to pick the same turtle he originally chose the night we met! The turtle I talked him out of getting.

  “It’s her,” I whispered, initially excited.

  He shook his head, fighting a smile.

  “Nick, she could be your turtle soulmate,” I muttered under my breath, completely teasing him. I grabbed his hand across the counter, I couldn’t help myself.

  “Stop.” He grinned. “She isn’t.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “I love this turtle,” we heard the woman say to her friend. My eyes widened at her words. “But what kind of butterflies do you have? I’ve always wanted a butterfly in this spot.”

  “Shucks,” I whispered, my eyes still locked on Nick’s. “Maybe next time you’ll find her.” I’d been joking around, but I also found myself relieved the woman hadn’t decided on his same turtle. And it wasn’t even his turtle, not the one he had on his skin anyway, but I still didn’t want her to have it. Maybe I’d take that picture off the wall later tonight.

  Nick moved his hand, lacing his fingers with mine. “That’s not my girl. It’s got to be on her ass, remember?” I had mentioned something about his ‘turtle-ass-soulmate,’ hadn’t I? “You looking for any new ink?”

  Wait. “What?” I whispered. Was he suggesting I get the turtle on my ass?

  He smiled. “What are you doing right now?” he said instead, changing the subject.

  “Me?”

  Right this moment I was having trouble focusing on anything beyond the fact that we were holding hands over the top of the counter. The same counter I looked at every day of my life. The same counter I’d stood at with countless customers before him. The same counter, actually, he’d had me on top of, naked, my legs spread open wide, his mouth...

  “Yes, you,” he confirmed, becoming playful with me now. “Because I really don’t want to leave this business again without asking you out. Not a mistake I’d like to keep making.”

  I froze.

  I hadn’t seen that coming.

  My heart, already racing under my shirt, pounded harder, pounded so hard I was feeling almost weak.

  “If you’re too tired, I get it, maybe another day. But I’d love if you came over and had dinner at my place tonight.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, quick to give him some sort of excuse, but then I closed it as fast as I’d opened it. I’d been on my feet or hunched over doing ink all day. My back ached. My stomach was still queasy. I wanted a shower, or possibly a bath, and to crawl into bed for the rest of the week. But I didn’t want to say no. I didn’t want him to walk away again either. So my answer was easy.

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  He bit down on his lip. “Good.” Then he took a breath. “I live with a roommate. Lou. She’ll be home. It’s likely we won’t see her, though. She mostly keeps to her space in the house.

  Lou—the same person who made his appointment today. Was she also the girl in the hoodie?

  “When is your last appointment?”

  “You were my last appointment.”

  “Great.”

  “I need to clean up my station.” I breathed out. “I need to set up for tomorrow.” I needed to go home, shower, change clothes, redo my hair and makeup. I needed someone to splash some cold water in my face. I needed him to stop staring at me like that. Like he wanted to fuck me on this counter all over again. Because it was impossibly hot in this room. And I needed to know how to be a normal human being around this guy. Because normal was the furthest thing from what I felt.

  “I’ll help you do all that.” He moved his hand away from mine.

  “Really?”

  “Of course.”

  Nick was super obliging. He listened and did whatever I asked as far as helping me clean up and prep for tomorrow. What did all of this mean? Dinner? His place? Staying to help me after work? I could feel my excitement growing. Our first night together had been purely physical. Was this the same? Or was it more?

  ~ CHAPTER 17 ~

  NICK

  I had Amanda in my car. This beautiful pink-haired, tattooed, sexy—so fucking sexy—woman. She had these bubbly flower tattoos all down her left arm. Pinks and greens, teals and purples. I spotted strawberries mixed in there. I don’t know why I never noticed the strawberries before, but I could see them now. Little heart-shaped strawberries. She was about one thousand times cooler than me. I was the kid who couldn’t fit in with anyone, even my family. My only true friend growing up was a homeless girl in a library. But Amanda—one look at her and I could just tell, she knew exactly what the fuck she was doing with her life. She had this job and this life as this tattoo artist. I could picture it, and it made me wonder why the hell she’d just agreed to have dinner with me.

  I could tell she was exhausted. Today had been a long day for her. I had this urge to take her home. Take her to bed with me. Hold her in my arms. Take her clothes off too, if I was being completely honest with myself. Keep her all to myself. That was the introvert in me—this need to revert to my safe place. But it surprised me, that I had the urge to pull her into that space with me.

  Still, if all that happened between us tonight was dinner, I’d be happy with that. Really, I just wanted to find out why she made me have all these urges in the first place.

  She freed her hair from her hair-tie, shaking out her strands of pink, combing her fingers through the pieces. I could smell her—lavender. Fuck me. I was trying to play it as cool as possible. Because I wasn’t cool, not in the least. And she was making it so difficult.

  I turned the radio on; music while I drove calmed my nerves. But when I recognized a Sunset Revival song, I immediately turned it off again. Emma’s new Rockstar boyfriend was part of the band Sunset Revival, the lead singer actually, and I couldn’t bear to hear their music or his voice. Shame, because I used to be a fan.

  “It must be awkward running into her and him all the time in this small town,” Amanda commented, looking out her window. I guess she’d also recognized the song on the radio. Clearly, I’d been about as transparent as possible.

  “It was why I tried to move back home,” I admitted.

  “But you didn’t?”

  “I didn’t.”

  She ran her hands over her jeans. Was I making her uncomfortable? I pulled down the street I lived on and turned into t
he driveway of my brand new rental. It was tucked back in the neighborhoods of Kill Devil Hills, not in the prime beachfront areas, not even walkable to the beach, but the street was quiet and I liked quiet.

  “I’m going to go inside and talk to Lou,” I told her, cutting off the ignition. “Lou is sensitive to a lot of things. I should warn her first that I’m bringing you inside. I’ll just be a minute.”

  Amanda had to be wondering what the hell that meant. But she didn’t complain, she simply nodded. So I jumped out of the car and rushed up the deck stairs that lead straight to the second level. “Lou,” I yelled once I got inside.

  I found Lou on the couch, right next to me.

  “Jesus Christ, don’t do that,” she whispered as she stood up. She held the book she’d been reading over her chest like it was a shield. “You can’t just run in here like a crazy person. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry.” I was out of breath. I knew better than that. I knew better than to startle Lou. She’d been making so much progress navigating new things lately. I didn’t want to make a wrong move and hinder that in any way. “I have Amanda with me. She’s in my car outside. I offered to make her dinner here. What do you think?”

  In a split second, I could see the panic in Lou’s eyes. I immediately realized I probably shouldn’t have sprung this on her so suddenly.

  “She’s really calm,” I said to Lou, in an attempt to fix the damage I’d already created. “She’s been gentle when she does ink on me. She doesn’t say much while she’s working, but when she does, she has this soft, sweet voice. She’s not full of shit either. She talked me out of the original turtle tattoo I wanted, that I admit now was totally lame. She’s patient, and a little OCD. Which I can tell by the way she keeps her workstation so impossibly clean at Kill Devil Ink. I really like this girl. You will, too. I would have taken her out to a restaurant, but I know somehow that isn’t her style either. Trust me, Lou. She’s safe. She’s safe like us. I know she is.”