Chapter Twenty-One
Garrett
I fucking hate myself right now for sneaking out of Calli’s bed.
She looked peaceful when I left her bedroom, a small smile on her lips as she slept. Christ, she’s gonna lose her shit when she wakes up and realizes I turned off her alarm.
If she wakes up and finds me gone, she’ll assume the worst. Especially as we fell asleep together. Or she did. I pretended to. Then watched her sleep, which took my obsession with watching her to stalker level.
The last thing I want is to leave. Last night, I spent a lot of time thinking about Calli and what this is between us. It’s not nothing. I’m not sure what to call it.
Dressed and out in the living room, I pull up the app to view the camera in the lobby and run it back until I see Caleb leaving. Grabbing my jacket, where I have all the shit I need, I search for Calli’s key. I don’t want to leave the door unlocked while she is sleeping.
Spotting her purse, I hurry over and open it. Her sketch from last night is blocking me from seeing inside. I can’t stop myself. Unrolling the drawing, I smooth it out on the coffee table.
Fucking hell. For a second, I stand immobilized. She’s an amazing designer and her buildings are impressive. This drawing, though. It’s even better than my work. And without sounding like a big-headed asshole, I’m good.
There is no time for this. I find the keys, check on her one last time, and hurry out into the hall. It doesn’t take me long to get inside his apartment. Given I know the layout, I can move around quickly and do what I need to install the cameras again.
I want to search the place but can’t risk being found. I also kind of want to use his toothbrush to clean the toilet, then remember I’m an adult, and in a hurry. Getting out of the apartment is as easy as it was getting in. Thankfully, no one is on the corridor.
Instead of going back into Calli’s place, I take the stairs and hurry out of the building. My bike is where I left it, and I leave it there, hustling to a bakery on the corner of the block.
I could sneak back in and pretend I never left, but I noticed a severe lack of food in her fridge when I went to get some snacks and a drink to replenish her strength last night.
That woman needs to learn to take better care of herself. After the bath, we had another round, but I spent most of that with my tongue inside her instead of my dick. Calli didn’t want to admit she was sore. One more time could have broken her. And as much as that sent a sense of pride through me, I don’t want her to be broken. Not yet.
Something I learned last night. I’m not done with Calli. Not by a long shot.
Back inside her apartment, there is still no sign of her. She is going to be so pissed about the alarm.
Everything she told me last night comes back in a rush. Phoenix and I have terrible moms, but what Calli’s did? Fucking disgusting. And damn cruel, especially after what she’d been through.
The only people she has are here. From what I’ve seen, they’re good friends. I’m glad she met Lucky and Katja. This was what she needed.
The sound of her voice stops me in my tracks. Who is she talking to? Outside her bedroom door, I listen to what she is saying.
“Great, he gives me a huge hickey, then disappears.”
Stifling a laugh, I wait a moment to see what she is going to do next, but when I hear nothing else, I decide to mess with her.
“Who said I disappeared?” I push through the door.
Calli jumps out of her skin. Which is all on display, given she is standing naked in front of me.
“I’m glad I didn’t.”
She watches me taking her body in as I push her hair back to see this so-called hickey. Damn, my chest swells when I see it.
Calli pushes me away and grabs a robe from the back of the door. It’s a damn shame when she covers herself up.
“I thought you left.”
“Nope, still here.” I haven’t moved back, so she has to tilt her head.
“Did you turn off my alarm?”
“You needed sleep.”
“I also need to be at work in twenty minutes,” she glares.
“Don’t worry, I can drop you off.”
“That is beside the point, Garrett.” She walks around me and out into the living room.
I like it when she says my name. Better when I have some part of me buried inside of her.
She’s mad. I’m about to push her buttons some more.
“You left, though, right?” Before I can answer, she spots the bag and takeout cups.
“I was hungry, and your cupboards are bare. You need to go grocery shopping. It’s important to eat right, Calli.”
“Yeah, I don’t need a lecture right now.” She’s not annoyed anymore, lifting the cup and taking a sip, her eyes close in bliss.
“You depend on caffeine far too much.” There is the glare that makes me hard. “You should go get ready. You’re gonna be late for work.”
Peering into the bag, she folds it back over and tucks it under her arm. “For that, I’m having both.”
As she is leaving, her eyes land on the coffee table. And the picture from her purse. Her mouth drops open, and she turns to me.
“I needed your keys,” I shrug.
After a moment, she blows out a heavy sigh. “I guess now I know how it feels.”
It’s not the same thing as her finding and opening my sketchbook, but she doesn’t need reminding of that. Instead of bringing that shit back up, I walk over and put my hand on the back of her head and tilt it so she’s looking at me.
I drink her in, wondering if I’ll ever be this close to her again. She puts a hand on my hip, the other is still holding the coffee. Her hand slides under the hem of my T-shirt.
“I didn’t forget what you said last night,” I whisper against her ear, then scrape my teeth over the lobe. Glancing down, I almost laugh. That hickey is going to take a lot to cover up.
“What did I say last night?”
“Tonight, eight o’clock.”
“What?” she gathers her wits and steps back.
“You have an appointment.”
“No, I don’t. What are you…?” I smirk when she realizes. “Nope, that was said under duress. You dickmatized me.”
Her hand presses against my chest, trying to force me back. She doesn’t have much success given I’m bigger and stronger than her.
“Dickmatized you?” I arch a brow.
“Yes, that happens when you’re under the influence of good dick.” She says it without a hint of embarrassment, far too worked up about what she agreed to last night.
She’s not changing my mind about the tattoo. All she is doing is boosting the shit out of my ego. I grin at her and her lips part, staring like she’s never seen me before.
“You have dimples when you give a genuine smile.”
“And an amazing dick, apparently.”
“Oh God,” she slaps a hand over her face.
“If you’re not at the shop at eight, I’ll come find you. Now less chatting and more getting ready, if you want to be at work on time.”
She hurries away and I turn, catching my reflection in the mirror. Jesus. I am smiling. What the fuck is this woman doing to me?
It’s almost seven thirty and my last client is done. I finish clearing up, I won’t be using my station out here again tonight.
I’m antsy as hell. I mean, why the fuck am I letting my head get all twisted over a woman? She won’t show. She doesn’t want a tattoo. Everyone in her friend group came in and got one, but she refused.
“Boss?”
“Don’t call me boss.”
“Sorry,” Shane says with a grin. He won’t stop doing it. “Have you got another client?” he asks.
“One, but it’ll be in the back room. Has anyone used it today?”
“Nope. No one has used it in a couple of days. I can go in and re-check it if you need.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” I tell him. My gloves snap as I tug them off. What I want to do is hurry upstairs and check the camera feed. One, to see if Calli is leaving her apartment. And two, to check the other cameras.
When I dropped her off this morning, she still hadn’t agreed to come in tonight. She hadn’t said no either. When she went inside, I couldn’t hide my low laughter when her friend caught sight of me, her mouth hanging open. Calli was in for a lot of explaining today.
Sumner stands, puts his hands on his hips, then bends backward, letting out a deep groan. I almost feel the crack of his back. It’s the one thing most tattooists have in common. Back issues suck.
Lucky has left for the night to teach a dance class. I’m glad she’s not here. It’s one less person to give me shit if Calli shows.
“That is gonna cause you long term damage, dude,” Phoenix calls out. He’s sketching on the stool in the back by the mirrors. His client canceled, but he hung around.
“It’s all good,” Sumner turns and grins. “Been dating a chiropractor. She gives free treatment.”
Shane snickers. “How do you find these girls?”
“It’s the luck of the Irish.” He stretches an arm across his body and grabs his shoulder, wincing. “I manifest when I have a problem, and the solution shows right up.”
“It’s not working,” Phoenix comments.
“Maybe I need another session,” he wiggles his brows.
They banter a while longer. It’s good to see Phoenix getting involved, even laughing at some of the bullshit out of Shane’s mouth.
Sumner grabs a drink from the fridge in the corner and sits back down. “It’s the Inked Circus Expo at the weekend.”
“Shit, that came around fast.”
He looks over at me. “Still okay for me to go? Lucky kept the diary clear.”
“Yeah. I booked us a slot.” I glance over at Phoenix. “Are you still going?”
“Maybe for one day,” he rubs the stubble on his jaw. It’s grown longer than normal. Lucky has already expressed her displeasure. He told her what he does with his face is his business.
“Shane, you can go for the day Phoenix isn’t there.”
“For real?” His eyes widen in excitement.
“Watch and learn,” I tell him. “Take a flash sheet. The ones you’ve perfected. A lot of times, people want small designs. Let them know he’s an apprentice,” I remind Sumner.
“Awesome,” Shane claps his hands together.
“It’ll be grand,” Sumner says. “The kid’s coming along.”
He’s right. Giving him this chance shows Shane I believe in him. There is no way I’d let him represent the shop at an industry event if he’d fuck it up.
Phoenix packs up his stuff and comes over. “It’s good you’re giving him the exposure.”
“Sumner’s right, the kid deserves it.”
“You’re a big old softie.” He slides his arms into the sleeves of his leather jacket and laughs at the glare I give. “I’m gonna shoot.”
“You have plans?”
“Called up that girl I told you about.”
“Good,” I nod.
“Yeah, need to let off some steam,” he turns as Sumner bursts out laughing and slaps his thigh. “Shane is telling his stupid jokes again.”
“He can knock that on the head for the Expo.”
“I don’t know,” Phoenix muses. “It’ll be good to draw people in. You know how ridiculously serious most of these artists are. You want people to come to you. Having a friendly face might work.”
“Tell them that joke,” Sumner elbows Shane.
Shane is the king of the ridiculous joke. Fuck knows where he comes up with them.
No one notices the door opening as Shane grins. “What do women and noodles have in common?” Sumner laughs again before the punchline. “They both wiggle when you eat them.”
Phoenix snorts, and Sumner cracks up again. I’m the only one who hears the laugh behind us. Looking over my shoulder, my smile drops. Everyone else goes quiet when they see who entered.
“Nero,” I dip my chin. Phoenix spins around and stares at his brother.
I’d forgotten he promised after his last run he had a job for me. Didn’t expect him to show up here. My eyes flick to the clock. It’s eight o’clock. Never thought I’d be wishing Calli didn’t show.
Shane is staring at Nero and Nashville, who is behind his Prez. This is the first time Phoenix has seen his brother since the car crash with his mom.
Sumner grabs Shane and pulls him further away from us. He doesn’t know much about our ties to the MC, except Phoenix is related to someone there. He’s a smart man. He senses the tension and doesn’t want Shane to put his enormous foot in his mouth.
“What are you doing here?” Phoenix asks.
Nero would lose his shit if anyone else spoke to him in that tone. “We need to talk.”
Fortunately, it isn’t me he’s talking to. He’s talking to his brother, but it doesn’t settle my unease.
“You’ve been avoiding my calls.”
Phoenix bites down on his viper bites. It’s a sign he is about to say something he shouldn’t. He turns to me, feeling my eyes on him. I’ll back him up if he needs me.
“I’ve let it slide, but I’m done waiting.”
The door opens behind them and Calli steps in. She stops short when she sees the two bikers facing off with us. Or at least that is how it looks. Phoenix sees her and his eyes widen. A quiet ‘fuck’ from behind us means the others have seen her.
Nashville turns and eyes Calli, a smirk tilting his lip.
No fucking way.
“Okay,” Phoenix tells his brother. “We can take this someplace else.”
Shit. I didn’t want him to be forced into this, but I damn sure appreciate it. Calli is watching everyone with a frown on her face. Her eyes come to me, and I nod a silent reassurance that all is okay. Her lips twist, but she nods back.
“Hey pretty lady, you here to get a tattoo.”
I take a step forward at Nashville’s comment. Phoenix grabs my arm and holds me back. Nero watches his brother while giving a command to Nashville.
“Wait outside.”
Nashville is a flirt and means nothing by it, but Nero saw how we all reacted to his comment. There was even a shift from Sumner and Shane. Calli is a friend to them all. At his President’s order, he nods to us and leaves.
Calli takes a step back. My jaw flexes. I don’t like her being nervous. Nero turns back and I’m stunned to see his apologetic expression.
“Let’s go,” Phoenix says to his brother.
Phoenix heads for the door which Nashville propped open, not wanting to be out of reach if his President needs him. It’s insulting and pisses me off more than I already am.
Nero looks at me. “We’ll talk,” he says in a low voice.
My nod is terse. When he leaves, it feels like the oxygen in the room starts to flow again.
“What the fuck?”
“Leave it,” Sumner says in response to Shane’s comment. “Hey Calli,” he calls out and walks over to her. He sends a questioning look at me as he passes, but doesn’t stop.
He gives her a quick hug that has my fists clenching. It means nothing. The smile she gives him sets off an angry buzzing in my head. Like a swarm of bees.
“What are you doing here?” he asks. “Not that isn’t a treat to see ya.”
“I have an appointment?” she says, sounding unsure of it, like it’s a question.
“You do? You’re getting a tattoo?” Sumner looks happy to hear it.
“You said you were never gonna get one,” Shane pipes up, coming over to her. She also gives him a hug. “Why’d you change your mind?”
Sumner looks from her to me, and the grin that stretches across his mouth is borderline evil.
“What are you gonna get?” Shane asks her.
Before Calli can respond, I step between her and my two nosey ass employees. “We’ll be in the back. Make sure you lock the front door when you go.”
Without waiting for any response, I put a hand on Calli’s lower back and guide her toward the hall at the rear of the shop. The message is loud and clear. Don’t bother us. Calli waves to them over her shoulder.
She walked in on a ton of shit I still need to unpack myself. There is only so much I can tell her. Seems to be the way things are between us.
Calli heads into the back room. “Who were those guys?”
“They’re friends of the old owner, the guy who trained me.”
Not a complete lie.
“They know Phoenix too?”
Trust goes both ways. Calli is here, trusting me to do something to her she hasn’t wanted in the past. What is happening between Phoenix and Nero isn’t something to gossip about. The way she is looking at me gives me pause. It’s concern. They freaked her out.
“The one who was talking. He’s Phoenix’s half-brother.” I close the door and watch her as she lets that sink in.
“Is he okay?”
That wasn’t what I was expecting her to ask. My quick nod and silence appeases her. Time to change the subject.
“I’m surprised you showed up. Thought you were gonna back out.”
“You threatened to come find me if I didn’t.”
“In the heat of the moment. That was a dick move. I can’t force you to get a tattoo. As much as I want to see my work on you, this is a big decision. If you want to back out, I’m not going to be upset about it.”
Calli stares at me in surprise. I’m not kidding. I might have been a domineering asshole this morning, but talking someone into doing something they don’t want is wrong. Particularly something as huge as a tattoo. This is permanent. Or a costly and painful experience to have removed.
“Can I see the design first?”
“Sure, take a seat.”
Her hesitation concerns me. Then I remember. She’s staring at the bed in the center of the room, biting on her bottom lip.
She doesn’t hear me moving up behind her. I want to keep this as professional as possible. It’s difficult when we’re both remembering what Calli did on this bed all those weeks ago.
She jumps when I put a hand on her hip and step up close to her back. “As much as I’d love to see a repeat of that, we’re here for a different reason tonight.”
Her breath hitches when I run my nose along the column of her neck, breathing in the flowery scent of her skin. Her body relaxes. I love that I do this to her.
Her hand goes out to the bed when I release her and step back. With a knowing smirk, I head over to the counter to grab my design. In my free time earlier, I drew what I want to put on her.
Calli gets on the bed. She takes the drawing from me and I watch for her reaction.
A lotus flower is set inside an intricate mandala. It branches out to the sides, so when it’s situated, the flower will be low down between her breasts. The rest of the design will follow the slopes and lines in a curve beneath them.
The flower is shaded in soft pink hues to make it stand out. It is a large design and ambitious for a first tattoo, particularly in that position.
“It’s beautiful,” she says, tracing a finger over it. “Where did you want it to go?”
I reach forward and press the flat of my hand on her chest, my thumb and little finger spread to encompass the area under her breasts. Her throat works as she swallows.
“It’s big,” she frowns, still holding the sheet of paper.
“I can scale down, or I also did this.” I hand her a second sketch, which is a much smaller but similarly shaped design with a butterfly at the center. “You can choose your own design and placement if you prefer.”
Her head comes up, a contemplative expression on her face. “I thought you wanted to choose.”
“It’s your body, Calli. Your decision.”
Taking a breath, she holds both designs up and studies the intricacies of each one. “You drew both yourself.”
My brow arches and she lets out a small laugh. Of course I designed and drew them. “These are one-off pieces that will never be tattooed on anyone else.”
“What about the one I don’t choose?”
I shrug. “I designed them for your body.”
“How do you know they’ll fit?”
“Because I’ve been up close and personal with you more than once. And I pay attention.”
“This one scares me,” she points to the lotus. It is the bigger of the two. “And this one, I love the butterflies. Can you tell me what it will feel like?”
Switching into professional mode after discussing how I’ve had my hands on her body is hard. I’ve never tattooed a person I’ve been intimate with before. When I start talking, seeing how intently she listens so she can make an informed decision, it becomes easier.
This is where I excel. My work speaks for itself. My entire focus will be on this tattoo if she gets it. I move away and lean against the counter to give her some space.
After a long moment of studying both images, she holds up the lotus, surprising me.
“You sure?”
Calli nods. “If I’m going to get a tattoo, it should be something that speaks to me. And I’m drawn to this every time. It’s beautiful.”
“I had you in mind when I was drawing it. It had to be beautiful.”
She hides her grin for a few seconds, then beams the smile at me. “You’re not as tough as you make yourself out to be.”
“Don’t go making crazy statements,” I tell her. “I’ll work at being an even bigger asshole.”
She hums, though her smile stays fixed. “Can it be a little smaller?”
“The center piece can. I can even leave some of this out.” I point to the intricate pattern behind the flower. “I will need to extend these parts out though, to follow the flow of your body, but I can trim them too.”
She thinks for a moment. Then asks to take some of it out, which is fine. I designed it with that in the back of my mind. It will still be how I want it.
Decision made, I go into serious mode. Calli waits quietly as I rework the design. She only hesitates when I tell her to remove her top and bra and get comfortable. I take my time preparing the stencil, calming my shit down, knowing she is topless behind me.
I’m a professional artist, I can do this. Putting on my gloves, I turn to Calli, lying on the bed in her jeans. She’s watching me as my eyes roam over her body.
Fuck, this is gonna be harder than I thought. My dick lengthens and my mouth waters at the sight of her bare tits.
“I have something you can put beneath you and pull around to cover yourself.”
“I’m fine, although it’s a little cold in here.”
Get it together, asshole. I turn up the heat to make it warmer for her.
Calli never takes her eyes off me as I position the stencil, making sure it follows the curves of her body, ensuring it's central. My focus on doing a good job takes over, and the desire is pushed to the back of my mind.
This is important. She’s trusting me. I won’t fuck it up because I want to put my dick inside her.