“Um . . .” She hesitated, maybe contemplating the request.

I grinned and cut to the chase. “Some other time. You haven’t stopped by the shop yet to show me your design.”

“Sorry.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

That small physical sign of discomfort screamed of deeper meaning. I wanted to know if it had to do with me or the design, or both. I tried not to think about Tenley in my chair, partially undressed, or fully undressed. Tried being the operative word. “Uh, look,” I said, kind of sigh-groaning as she started to chew on her fingernail, drawing my attention to her mouth. “Why don’t you come over after you close up? I’ll schedule you after nine, yeah? Bring the sketch with you and I’ll take a look. No pressure to commit, though. Does that sound all right?”

“Okay.” She said it like it was a question, looking at me with her big Bambi eyes, all hunched shoulders and wringing hands. It made me want to hug her, or jump her, or whatever. I was such a fucking mess over this girl.

“Excellent.” I smiled and pushed away from the counter. “I’ll see you around nine.”

“Sure.” Tenley gave me the sweetest, shyest smile.

I left before I said or did something inappropriate. All I’d done this time was ogle her chest. That was definitely an improvement over the past two interactions. I sauntered into Inked Armor, pretty pleased with myself.

Chris gave me an odd look. “Where’s my coffee?”

I’d forgotten all about my cover for going over to Serendipity. “I said I was going for coffee, not that I was getting you one.”

“Well, where the hell is your coffee, then?” He cocked a pierced brow.

“I already drank it.”

“Whatever you say, brother, but since you were gone for all of ten minutes, I’m calling bullshit.”

I ignored him and perused the appointment book. My client would arrive soon, and I would likely be finished around eight thirty, which left me wide open for the remainder of the night. I would feel like an ass if I told Tenley to come over and I couldn’t see her. I penciled her name in, hoping the design was one I could put on her.

Chris got up in my space, looking over my shoulder.

I elbowed him in the side. “Christ, Chris, are you trying to make out with me? Back off.”

Lisa came out of the office, beaming. Her joy was short-lived. “No coffees?”

“Tenley’s coming by later,” Chris said.

“It’s not a big deal, I’m just checking out her design,” I said, playing it off like it was nothing. I should definitely not be all worked up over the prospect of marking Tenley, since it wasn’t even a guarantee yet. But I was.

Lisa scowled. “I already knew that.”

“How is that possible? I only asked her a minute ago.”

“I went over earlier. She told me she had the design with her. She was thinking about stopping by after work.”

Well, wasn’t that a shot to my ego. Here I thought I’d done a great job convincing her to come see me and Lisa had already gotten to her. “Have you seen it?” I asked.

“Nope, but I guess I will later.” She went back into the office.

Later couldn’t come soon enough.

I was putting gauze on my client’s fresh tattoo when Tenley arrived. Chris and Jamie were in the stockroom, taking inventory, and Lisa was in the back, piercing some girl and her friend. If I was quick about getting rid of my client, I might have a few minutes alone with Tenley before they bombarded her. I wasn’t the only one happy to have her in the shop. Lisa was practically in love with her, in a platonic way, and Chris seemed to have taken a liking to her as well. I made it quite clear he was to keep his hands off and his comments on her assets to himself. Jamie, being Jamie, didn’t notice anyone but Lisa.

Tenley looked around the near-empty shop before finally settling on me.

“You can have a seat. I won’t be long.” I inclined my head toward the waiting area. There were plush chairs and a coffee table with tattoo magazines and custom albums.

She had a few books and a white box tucked under one arm, her messenger bag slung over the opposite shoulder. She graced me with one of her timid smiles, then settled in a chair and leafed through one of my custom albums while she waited.

I cashed out my client and turned my attention to Tenley. Her legs were folded underneath her, hair shielding her face. She wasn’t looking at the custom album anymore; it was lying on the table beside her. Her focus was still fixed on her lap, though. She looked more at ease than she had the last time she’d been here.

I crossed the room and hovered over her, waiting for her to notice and acknowledge my presence. When she didn’t, I leaned in, interested in whatever absorbed her attention. Tenley’s head snapped up and her eyes widened when she came face-to-face with me, my nose almost touching hers.

“Interesting reading?” I asked, straightening.

Tenley murmured something unintelligible and flipped a sketch pad closed. The breathless quality of her voice had an immediate physical impact. Not ideal, considering she was eye level with my groin. Which was exactly where her eyes went. She whispered the same curse that went through my head. Flailing, Tenley shot up out of the chair.

She hadn’t accounted for my proximity. As she rose, the entirety of her lithe little frame brushed against me. I bit my tongue so I didn’t groan out loud at the sensation. It felt like a power surge running through my body, centered in my pants.

“I brought the design.” She rushed the words.

So she was going with the ignore-it-and-it-doesn’t-exist tactic. I should have been embarrassed by my inability to control my bodily reaction to her, and I was, sort of. But I didn’t take a step back, not even when she held the sketch pad up in front of my face. Noticing the absence of gauze, I took her hand in mine and lowered the pad so I could see her face again.

Tenley met my probing gaze. In those fleeting seconds, I uncovered more of what I’d glimpsed in the basement. The curiosity, the need and the fury. The first two were an echo of my own emotions. The fury made her look away. It made me want to know its origin. I stored her sketch pad under my arm and turned her palm over, interested to see what she’d been hiding under the gauze the last time I saw her. The side of her hand was covered in a crosshatch of barely healed red scars.

“What did you do to yourself?” I asked softly, not expecting an answer, since she’d avoided giving one last time. I ran my thumb over the sensitive scar tissue. I wanted to kiss it better, so I did. Because I was stupid and had no impulse control. Fear swam in her eyes, mixed with longing. It was a dangerous combination. She made me feel the same way, only I reacted differently. The fear I completely ignored, and the other emotion funneled into my hormones.

“Tenley! I’m so glad you’re here! That new jewelry came in this afternoon like I promised.” Lisa broke through my lust-induced fog.

Tenley snatched her hand away, severing the connection.

“She’s here to show me her design,” I said, irritated by Lisa’s inopportune interruption and my own inability to keep my hands and my mouth to myself.

“You can have her when I’m done,” Lisa said, giving me a look that told me not to push it.

Most of the time I would do as she dictated, but I wasn’t in much of a mood to follow directions from anyone tonight, even Lisa. She helped Tenley gather her things, including the white box. It looked suspiciously like the ones Cassie used to transport treats, more specifically, cupcakes.

“What have you got there?” I asked in a frail attempt to keep Tenley from being dragged off by Lisa. She was supposed to be here to see me, and I didn’t want to share.

“Nothing.” Tenley held the box protectively against her chest. Now I really wanted to know what was inside.