Chapter 5
Chapter Five
KASS
The bell above the front door rings, indicating someone new has entered the shop. I look up, and it's exactly who I expect it to be, but she's late.
She brushes her wild purple hair out of her face.
It looks like it was blowing in the wind, or like she just got railed in the back seat of her car, and her heavy breathing doesn’t help the dirty thoughts in my head.
Was she likely just running down the street to get here?
Yes. But still, I can’t fight my body temperature rising at the thought.
I should not have spent hours obsessing over her prior to this appointment.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't wake up to my alarm."
I glance over at the clock on the wall to check my sanity. "It's 10:20. What time does your alarm go off?"
She approaches my station and sets her bag and coat down on the empty bench nearby. "Well, today the first one was set for 9:30."
"The first one?"
"Yeah, I usually set two because I can't be trusted. Sometimes I accidentally turn the first one off instead of hitting snooze."
"At 9:30? Why don't you just wake up to the first alarm?"
She was facing away from me, grabbing her phone out of her coat, but now she's slowly turning around as if I just insulted her mother. "Because," her tone is sharp, sassy, "I was up until 3am, and I need my sleep."
"My bad. I didn't assume you were up till an ungodly hour, doing god knows what," I tease.
She takes a step closer to me and leans onto the client chair. Her chest is now hanging right in my face, and I fight the urge to look down. "Oh, honey, god was nowhere to be found at that time this morning."
The tension between us rises as we stare each other down, neither of us giving an inch until Arlo gets our attention from across the room. "Will you two just kiss already?"
Both our heads shoot over to where Arlo is sitting at their workbench, sketching.
"What the fuck, Arlo?" I say through gritted teeth.
"What? I'm just observing over here."
"Keep those thoughts to yourself, why don't you?" I narrow my eyes at them, and they only smile back at me.
With my gaze fixed on Arlo, I don't see B walk over to the bench, but her intoxicating smell dissipates, getting my attention.
"So, are we doing this or what?"
She hoists herself up onto the edge of the client chair, her legs dangling off, unable to reach the floor.
From where I'm sitting on my rolling stool, I'm basically eye level with her chest. As if she can hear my thoughts, she spreads her legs ever so slightly.
Her eyes are like fire, burning into me.
I don't know for sure what mine look like staring back at her, but I can imagine they look similar.
With a roaring fire starting in the pit of my stomach, I fear this is going to be a very long session.
I clear my throat as well as my thoughts. "I'm ready when you are."
"Just tell me when I need to take my shirt off."
I hear a faint snicker coming from Arlo on the other side of the room. "I'll be in my office."
I wait until I hear the door to Arlo's office click shut before speaking. "Let's go through the design first."
I stand so I no longer have to be tempted by the position of our bodies.
I'm now towering over B as she leans back on her hands and looks up at me.
When she leans back like this, her shirt rides up, exposing more of her midriff.
Before I can stop myself, my eyes dart down to look at her exposed skin, a tattoo peaking out from under the waistband.
"You sure you don't want to look at the area I want it?" Her fingers start to pull the bottom hem of her shirt up even higher.
My hand shoots out on instinct and stops her from revealing any more to me. "After is fine." She smirks, and I just know she’s purposely needling me.
I pull my hand away when I realize my palm that's touching her is starting to get clammy. Fuck. I'm never this unprofessional. What is this girl doing to me? I knew she'd be trouble, I just didn't know I'd be this tempted.
B
I grin up at him, knowing I'm making him nervous.
I love making men squirm.
"You're the boss." I release my shirt and let it fall back down over my stomach.
He turns to face his workbench, but I can still hear him mumbling under his breath. "Be professional, Boss."
This view of his back has my eyes wandering.
I take in his broad shoulders and the firm muscles under his fitted shirt.
I'd love to know what his back looks like without his shirt.
Is it covered in tattoos? From the small bits I can see peeking out over the neckline of his shirt, I would say yes, it is.
Is it one large piece or several smaller pieces tied together?
My mouth starts to water at the thought of what his bare front looks like, also wondering how much of that side is covered.
When he turns around, his demeanor has changed.
It's almost as if he gave himself a little pep talk while his back was turned to me.
He's in professional mode now. His eyes are no longer dark and filled with desire.
Instead, they're glued to his tablet. His face is expressionless, unlike the restrained tension it held moments ago.
“If you could get your ID out for me to scan, that would be great.”
I take my ID out of my pocket because I don’t have a wallet. Thank the universe that I didn’t forget it today. That would have put a big wrench in my plans. I hand it over for him to scan.
"And here's some paperwork for you to sign while I get everything set up." He hands over the tablet without even looking at me. It's as if he can't even trust himself to do that.
I click through the documents without reading them thoroughly. I've done this a million times; I know what I'm signing up for.
"Done."
He looks over, surprised. "Did you even read any of it?"
I fake a gasp. "Of course I did. Do you really think I'd be that irresponsible?" I put my hand on my chest for a little extra drama.
He shakes his head and purses his lips together to hold back a laugh.
One hand grabs the tablet from me while the other runs down his face.
But I don't let go. He tugs at it, and I hold my grip firm, pulling him toward me.
Now let's be honest. If this man didn't want to be closer to me, I wouldn't have been able to pull him so easily. He wants me like I want him.
For a moment, I see that fire spark in his eyes before he shakes it away again. Having gotten the response I wanted, I let go.
"You are something."
"So I've been told."
Ignoring me now, he taps on his screen and pulls up his sketches.
To my surprise, he sits down on the chair next to me.
Not close enough that we're touching, but close enough that I can feel his body heat.
I always run cold, which makes me a magnet for any source of warmth.
But I've already come on pretty strong, so I resist. I've gotten my point across; he knows what I want. Now it's his turn to beg for me.
"These are a few different sketches I did. Let me know what you like and what you don't like, and we can make some tweaks as needed."
I take the tablet from him again, and his hand brushes against mine. Fuck me. I want those hands wrapped around my neck.
I scroll through the images, taking in all the details he poured into them. "These are fucking amazing, Kass."
KASS
That's the first time she's said my name. It sounds so good rolling off her tongue. I bet it would sound even better when she's screaming it or moaning it into my ear, barely able to speak because I'm making her breathless.
"Thanks. I really loved the concept, so it made it easy to play around with."
"Do you listen to Sleep Token?"
"Of course."
"The eyes were something I've wanted for a while, but after I texted you, I heard someone humming this song, and then this popped into my head."
"Well, it's pretty sick."
She scrolls back to the second image. "These eyes are my favorite, but I like the flames on this other one a little bit better."
"Great. Let me switch them out and see what you think." I take the tablet back from her and make the edits she suggested. "How's that?"
"Fucking perfect." She's beaming. I love it when I can make a client smile like this.
It makes me confident that they are actually in love with what I'm about to permanently ink on their body, rather than just saying yes so I don't feel bad.
But something about B tells me she'd have no problem letting me know exactly what she thinks.
"Let's get started then."
"So do I take my shirt off now?"
I chuckle. "Yeah, you can take your shirt off now.
There's a wrap right there on the chair that you can put over your chest if you're not wearing anything under your shirt.
And there's a bathroom right around the corner if you want to change in there.
" I turn my back for a second, pretending to do something at my workbench to give her a moment of privacy.
Not like she wants that, but it's best practice.
As hard as it is with her–for some dumb fucking reason–I need to be professional.
I don't know what it is about her. I've had plenty of beautiful women in my chair. I've tattooed labia, breasts, asses, you name it. All without batting an eye, but here I am getting nervous about this woman taking off her shirt behind me to expose her stomach.
"Ready."
I turn to find her sitting in the same spot–just topless–like she never moved.
I noticed earlier that she wasn't wearing a bra under her shirt, her pierced nipples giving her away.
Now she has the wrap I laid out binding her chest, leaving the rest of her upper body bare.
I now have a clear view of all the art that covers her body.
I force myself not to stare too long, but I can't help it.
"Should I lie down?"
"What? Yeah...yeah. Lay down."
She situates herself so she's in the center of the chair and lies back. "This good?"