The new hire barely smiles. “Hey Katie, it’s nice to meet you,” she says before turning her accusing eyes back on me. “Thank goodness y’all are here because Dawson is being an ass, and if I had to deal with him the rest of the night on my own, I’d probably lose my mind.”
I can’t help but laugh because it’s true; Dawson definitely has that effect on people. After meeting Emily, I figured she’d last one day. Looking at her, she looks pretty tough with her tattoos and piercings, but she was actually quiet and reserved. Then she met Dawson, and I found that she could hold her own. It takes a lot to deal with Dawson; he’s a jerk, and it seems like he can’t help it but there’s no way we’d fire him or anything. He’s too talented. So mostly, we ignore him. “Dawson is always an ass. Aiden and I told you that. You just have to ignore him.”
Emily rolls her eyes and finally smiles at Katie. “Are you getting a tattoo?” She looks Katie up and down and starts clapping her hands together. “Ooooh, are you a virgin?”
Katie’s eyes get big, and she starts to stutter.
I just shake my head at Emily. “Yeah, first tattoo. We’ll be in the back,” I answer and pull a completely flabbergasted Katie next to me.
It’s only once we’re in my booth and I pat the chair for her to sit that it dawns on her. She sits on the edge of the tattoo chair, her feet dangling over the high seat. “Tattoo virgin? I didn’t even know that was a thing.” She tilts her head to the side. “I guess I should have known, I just never thought about it but...”
I grab both her hands and pull them to my chest then lean in to kiss her to stop the rambling. I’ve learned the rambling is from her nervousness, and I don’t ever want her to be nervous around me. When I have her attention, I almost pull away until her legs open wider, and I fit myself between them. Her knees grip on to my hips, and I have no choice but to deepen the kiss. Fuck, I can’t get enough of this woman.
With both hands cradling her face, I pull back and look into her eyes. She blinks as if trying to focus. I stroke my thumbs along her jawline. “Are you trying to stall?”
She smiles. “You kissed me.”
I nod. “I did, but I think you were trying to take it a little further.”
“You think? I mean I pretty much invited you into my bed back at the house, but you wanted...”
I interrupt her with a groan. “I want you, there’s no doubt about that, Katie. But when we do this, you’re not going to be hiding your body from me. I thought this would make you more comfortable with me seeing you.”
She blinks up at the bright light and then back at me. “Yeah, this light is so flattering.”
I kiss her lips briefly and pull away. “You’re beautiful in any light.”
I go about grabbing the instruments and pulling everything out of the sanitizing enclave. “So talk to me, tell me what you want for a tattoo.”
I keep my back to her, hoping it will make it easier for her without having to look me in the face. I’ll give her the chance to warm up to all this, but soon, I’m hoping she won’t feel she has to hide anything from me.
She blows out a breath. “Okay, so I had a child.”
I smile at her over my shoulder. “Yeah, Lane, good kid.”
She smiles at me. “Thank you. Yeah, well, I gained weight with him, and to put it frankly, I have a bit of a road map on my belly, but one section, uh, of stretch marks are really deep. Craig always made fun of it. The rest of them are lighter but these, just wow. So I always thought I’d get something to make it look better. You know, so if I ever did start dating again, I wouldn’t be insecure about it.”
I almost snap the tattoo gun in half when she talks about Craig making fun of her and then again when she talks about dating again, insinuating that another man is going to see her body. All of it puts me on edge. I mentally force myself to relax before I turn around.
“Lie back. Undo those jeans and tug them down your hips a little.”
Even as I say it, my cock hardens in my jeans.
She lies back and slowly starts to undo her jeans. She’s staring at the popcorn ceiling as she lifts her hips and pulls her jeans down a little. My God, I almost forget to breathe. I’ve done so many tattoos, and I’ve never reacted like this before. It’s like there’s a pressure on my chest that won’t budge. She’s curvy and thick, and I instantly take a step toward her. The shirt she has on has raised a little, but only shows a small patch of skin from it to her panties. I see a few marks at the edge of her panties, but they’re barely noticeable. She’s still not looking at me.
I grab on to her hand that is resting beside her. “Do you want to pull your panties down or do you want me to?”
She clenches her eyes closed. “You do it.”
I should try to comfort her, but it’s as if I’m too excited to see her. I pull her panties to sit low on her hips. Her hands go into fists, and she’s like a ball of nerves with her whole body closed up tight. Everything is clenching.
I look at the belly that she seems so unhappy with. Yes, there are a few faint lines, and I see the section that she’s talking about that is maybe a little deeper, but there’s nothing ugly about them. I lean over the table to get a closer look and follow the marks with my eyes. I’m already imagining the artwork that I could put there. I don’t know what makes me do it; I’ve never done anything like this in my life, but I lean over and kiss the end of the deeper mark. I kiss it and then I drag my tongue across the trail that leads farther down to the juncture of her thighs. She moans, and her hand goes to the back of my head. She grips my hair tightly. She doesn’t try to pull me away; she just holds me there. I kiss her stomach again and then rest my forehead on her stomach. I take a deep breath to give me the strength to pull away. When I get myself together, I raise my head and stare into her rounded eyes.
“You’re perfect, Katie. Just the way you are.”
She sits up, and I rise to a standing position to look her in the eye. I wonder if I went too far when she jumps off the chair and pulls up her panties and jeans quickly. “Take me home.”
“Katie, I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have.”
She spins around and puts her hands on my chest and looks up into my eyes. “Take me home and make love to me, Trey. We can do the tattoo another day... I need you.”
She turns to walk away, and I pull her back into my arms, her back to my chest. I know she can feel my cock digging into her because she presses even harder against me. Fuck, it hurts and feels good all at the same time. “If you’re doing this to hide from me...”
She turns slightly in my arms. “I’m not hiding. I’m going to strip down and let you see it all... but I don’t want to do it here with your coworkers.”
I pull her hips against me. “So a tattoo another day... you promise?”
She completely turns and stretches her body against mine. She leans up and kisses my ear and whispers, “I promise.”
“Fuck,” I hiss. “Let’s go, but stay close or else everyone is going to see exactly what plans I have for you.”
She walks out in front of me, and I stay close. We say bye to Emily, who is still complaining about Dawson, and we drive back to her house. She’s quiet, and I’m hoping that she’s not going to change her mind.