Chapter 22
Winter
The needle buzzes in the air, mixing with the heavy rock song playing beside us, before Cole lowers the gun to Caden’s forearm, and drags the tip over the intricate sketch.
The ink pools and splatters as the needle stabs repetitively into his skin, and Cole lifts it back for a second so that he can wipe gently at the overspill.
Then his nitrile-gloved hand is resting back on Caden’s muscular forearm, unblinking and laser-focused on the scene that he’s inking.
Caden stares at it for a couple of moments before exhaling quietly and caressing my thigh, dark hair pushed back from his forehead and his skin bronze from our Larch Peak summer.
He’s leaning back in the black leather recliner, one arm out for Cole and the other around my waist, keeping me propped up with one large quad while I run my fingers through his hair.
I’m pretty sure that getting tattooed is literally Caden’s idea of therapy, nothing but the feel of the needle to focus on while he runs his palms up and down my dress.
The volume of Caden’s metal playlist is quiet, and Cole has a hockey rerun playing on the mounted TV, surrounded by framed sketches and paintings, showcasing his unbelievable skill.
Cole has a no-nonsense demeanour and he’s built as big as Caden, being a former hockey player for the Texas Stars before opening his parlour on Main Street after he retired.
It’s inconspicuous on the outside, with its traditional front and pretty awning, but on the inside it’s even more beautiful, with its dark wood furnishings and walls of art.
It’s the only tattoo studio in our town, as well as being the only place that Caden has allowed to tattoo him, and Cole has been like an older brother to him since we first stepped through the doors at eighteen years old.
There’s only two more days of winter break before Caden heads back up to Carter Ridge and leaves the ranch, and I can tell that it’s playing on his mind because he hasn’t let me out of his sight in the last twenty-four hours.
I make sure that Cole is totally preoccupied and I press a kiss against Caden’s cheek, squeezing him in my arms as his tan skin blushes, practically missing him already.
Cole wipes at the ink again and spares me a glance, his eyes crinkling playfully.
“This piece is good,” he tells me, his Southern voice gentle but deep. “It blends real well with all of the others. Your sketches are next level.”
Then he gestures to the sign on the wall, making Caden breathe out a laugh.
“You know that vacancy sign is there just for you, right?” Cole asks me, before flicking Caden a grin.
Caden smirks back at him. “Back off, man.”
Cole laughs huskily, his smile-creases flexing. “I’m just saying, the opportunity’s open if she wants it.”
Caden’s chest heaves calmly up and down. “No-one gets to wear Winter’s art except for me.”
Then he tightens his arm around my waist, his hold possessive as he spreads his thighs.
I bite back a dimpled smile.
I secretly love Caden’s protective side.
“I appreciate the offer,” I say honestly, because the guys in this town have an inspiring amount of faith in me, and I fluff my free hand through my curls as Caden runs his palm up and down my back.
“You know how much I love your studio, and your work is so beautiful, but there’s a big difference between drawing on paper versus drawing on human skin. ”
Cole finishes another line, flashing me a roguish grin. “Not really.”
Caden stares at him, his brow lifting. “Not reassuring, man.”
Cole chuckles, his tan skin glowing as he flexes his hand and looks at Caden, a paternal look in his eyes as he shakes his head in amusement.
“You know what I mean. Human skin is obviously much more important, but that’s why we do a base sketch first before we go in with the needle.
Other than that, they’re pretty similar.
In fact,” he adds, and then he’s wheeling back in his seat, reaching into one of the drawers, and coming back with a pair of black gloves.
A second pair of black gloves.
The kind that you wear when you tattoo someone.
My eyes widen on a shaky inhale, and I whisper tentatively, “Uh, what are you doing?”
Caden’s chest swells, his expression intrigued.
Because we all know what he’s doing.
“Here,” Cole says, holding the gloves out to me as I gape at him. “Put these on and take my seat. If Caden’s cool with it, I think you should do it.”
I stare unblinkingly at the gloves, clutching onto Caden for dear life, and his biceps flex as I press against him, a surge of testosterone pumping through his body.
“No way!” I say breathlessly, laughing at the dare in Cole’s stormy eyes. “You’re a trained professional with years of experience – there’s no way that I’m going to risk his skin.”
“I trust you, baby,” Caden rumbles quietly, his voice deep as his eyes meet mine. His broad palm flexes on my hip and he squeezes firmly. “You can do it.”
I blink down at him, my heart pounding, before he takes my hand in his, intertwining our fingers together and bringing them to his lips.
He looks deep into my eyes as he kisses my fingertips, his thumb rubbing comforting circles against my wrist as he wills me to try it.
I flick a glance back toward the needle, really not wanting to mess up Caden’s beautiful skin.
“One line,” Cole says, his broad shoulders rising as he looks me over. “Just over the purple base sketch.”
He holds the gloves out to me again.
And this time, I take them.
Caden presses a firm kiss against my cheek, stubble caressing my skin as I pull on the gloves, and I laugh breathlessly as he squeezes my waist before I slowly step down from the leather recliner.
“Come on.” Cole gives me a handsome smile, getting to his feet so that I can take his chair. “It’s your art – no-one knows it like you do – and you’ve already drawn it once before. Which means that you’ll probably be even better at it the second time around.”
I nod my head, understanding his logic, and he pushes up his shirt sleeves as he kneels beside me, exposing the extensive tattoos covering his muscular forearms, his bronze tan so similar to Caden’s.
He sits back on his haunches, his black jeans stretching over his quads, and he nudges my elbow reassuringly, before sharing a brotherly smile with Caden.
“I’m going to give the detailed explanation, okay?” he asks.
Caden nods. “Take your time.” Then he subtly flexes his palm out, silently asking me to hold his hand.
He keeps my fingers firmly leashed through his as Cole shows me how to use the gun, before giving me a slow demonstration over one of the pines on Caden’s forearm.
I watch the amount of pressure that Cole applies, how he moves the needle, and then I meet Caden’s eyes, sparkling down at me in the intimate studio.
“I’m just doing one line, okay?” I ask, and he nods his head before tugging me in, pressing a firm kiss against my lips that has me giggling softly as he chuckles.
His chest pumps roughly up and down and he swallows hard as he says, “Please.”
“Damn,” Cole grins, and Caden laughs quietly as he shifts on the recliner, giving my hand a final squeeze as he sets his forearm back into position.
I adjust the tattoo gun in my hand, appreciating Cole’s guidance as he kneels beside me, before leaning forward in the chair and setting the needle against Caden’s skin.
I move slowly, precisely, my breathing silent as I drag the needle, focused on nothing but the beautiful pine as Caden’s rock playlist hums in the background.
“Here,” Cole murmurs, passing me a wipe when I finish the branch, and I use it gently, the way that he showed me, before continuing with the next pine.
“You’re a natural,” he says quietly, but I don’t respond, too engrossed in the work.
It’s beautiful, and totally captivating, the feel of the needle as it glides against his skin.
And I get lost in it for three full songs before I realise that ‘just one line’ has turned into half the sketch.
I blink down at it, entranced, and then up to Caden, who’s breathing hard.
He stares down at me as his chest expands, and his forearm flexes after being still for so long.
“That was amazing,” he rumbles, his voice deep and husky, before grabbing his jacket from beside the recliner and arranging it casually over his groin.
The fabric tents and he sighs, chuckling softly. “Sorry,” he murmurs.
Cole groans out a laugh and covers his eyes, and Caden grins as I peek beneath the jacket.
My cheeks flush pink as I bite back my smile.
When I tattoo Caden… it really affects him.
“Sorry, man,” Caden says to Cole, when his need has finally settled down, and Cole shakes his head and chuckles good-naturedly, just like a brother would.
“Don’t worry about it. Happens way more often than you’d think.”
“I lost track of time,” I admit as I pass him the tattoo gun, and he nods in understanding, giving my shoulder a gentle nudge.
“Like I said, you’re a natural. You can finish the whole piece if you want.”
“Cole,” I laugh, as I remove the gloves, fighting back my smile at how incredible that was. “That was amazing,” I admit, “but I don’t know how to shade and stuff, you know?”
“Different nib,” he tells me, jerking his chin toward the shader needles as he heaves himself back down on the seat, and then he breathes out a laugh. “Damn, you’re neat.”
Caden holds his free arm out to me as I move around the chair, mouth curving into a handsome smile as he pulls me onto his lap.
“Will you do that again?” he asks, his voice deep and rumbling.
I cup his jaw in my hands. “Do what?” I ask.
He grins as he searches my eyes. “Tattoo me.”
I bite my smile as I glance at Cole and wait for him to look up, needing his approval seeing as this is his studio.
Cole chuckles as he gives me the nod. “Fine by me.”
Caden’s chest swells with satisfaction and he laughs huskily as I kiss his cheek.
“You were amazing,” he says.
“It felt pretty amazing,” I admit.
Cole’s smile-creases flex and he gives me a wink. “Vacancy’s got your name on it, darlin’.”
I breathe out a laugh, stroking Caden’s abdomen as he squeezes my thighs, and then Cole readjusts the ring-light, hunching down and getting back to business.
“I bumped into Maverick the other day,” Cole says, glancing up at me with a wry smile.
“What’d he say?” I ask, laughing.
“He mentioned the big rodeo happening in February.”
“Oh, yeah?” I tease. “What’d he say about it?”
“Big news, apparently. Said that they just released the official line-up.”
I bite my smile and nod my head. “Yeah. They released the final line-up.”
Caden screenshotted the webpage as soon as he saw the names on the spreadsheet.
And in two months’ time?
I’m going to the rodeo.