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“It’s a masterpiece.”
“It took him forever to get the design right—the artwork was all his idea. We did so many planning sessions, I didn’t know when I was finally going to be able to ink him.”
Nalla frowned. “He did the image?”
“All his idea.” Amore shook their head. “He told me he’d seen something like it on someone he knew, and then he noodled with the skull as the core until it was right. The snakes and the vines and the clouds were all him. After he got the chest piece done, he had a buddy come in for something not dissimilar. Now, that was a male specimen, right there. Too bad he was straight.”
L.W.?she thought. Had to be.
“Nate won’t let me put him in any publications,” they said. “I mean, you’ve clearly seen his, shall we say, hidden talents. He should model—what’s wrong?”
Nalla shook herself back to attention. “Oh, it’s just… Nate told me that his tattoo was—well, never mind.” She smiled. Or tried to. “And yes, he is… um… attractive.”
“Look at you, blushing.” Amore came over and took Nalla’s arm. “Come here, let me show you some things.”
Nalla let herself be led through a door and out into the reception area—and talk about your library of images.
“Holy… crap.”
“I have to give my clients ideas, right?”
The entire front part of the shop was a waiting area that was wallpapered with sketches and stacked with books of tattoos, everything organized by type, from flowers, and fish, and birds, to the hard-core horror stuff, to the old school, Gothic-lettered designs. There was also a lineup of chairs, a desk with a computer, and a coffee bar. And of course, everything was pink, black, and gold.
“I am totally… overwhelmed,” Nalla said.
“Take your time and look around. I’ll be right back.”
Nalla moved slowly down the wall, her eyes bouncing from abstract swirls and a whole panel of roses… to tribal designs and famous quotes in various fonts.
As the door behind her opened again, she wished Nate were here, and was worried he wasn’t going to show up after all.
“I just don’t know.” She exhaled. “There’s so much to consider… and it’s permanent.”
For vampires, if the ink was going to stick, there had to be salt in it—so no lasering the design off if you thought better of it.
Then again, if Nate didn’t come, she didn’t have to worry about the permanent thing, did she—
“Take your time—”
Nalla spun around with a smile. “You’re here.”
Nate was standing where Amore had been, and, dear God, he was good to see. For some stupid reason—considering she had been thinking about him all day long—she felt the need to re-catalog everything about him. Yes, he was still a fighter first and foremost, and dressed in black leather, with what was clearly another jacket. And yes, he was still powerful, all coiled aggression and reserved confidence. And yes, his eyes were still hooded and intense as he looked down at her.
But somehow, she felt like she was seeing him for the first time all over again.
Although on that note, she closed her eyes briefly, and pictured him as he’d been on that bed, no shirt, his leathers open—
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Pulling herself together, she stared into those blue eyes of his and nodded. “I am now.”
The smile that tilted his mouth up on one side was like a secret shared between them, something only for her, only given to… her. And she wasn’t sure who took the first step forward. Maybe it was him. Maybe her.
Did it matter?
Nope, sure didn’t.
They met halfway, in the middle of the waiting room, and for Nalla, putting her arms around his waist and pulling herself against his hard body was as natural as breathing—and so was tilting her head back and offering her mouth.
